The beginning of a Minato/Hidetoshi multific. I know, not exactly an amazingly popular pairing -- although there will be bits of Minato/Akihiko if all goes well, and perhaps other pairings. I haven't played much of the game yet but have come to like Hidetoshi; this is based during June right now, just after Fuuka joins the group.

Tell me what you think in a review! :D

XXX

It was with a most resigned thwump that Minato heralded the end of the day. Most of the class were, like him, slumped back in their chairs or heaving great sighs of relief that it was finally over; he wasn't altogether sure how history could actually be this boring. After a few moments he pushed himself back into a more refined position, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket -- even as he pulled it out swiftly he knew what it would read.

Junpei, of course. Minato sighed. It would never be Yukari, who preferred seeking people out and speaking face-to-face, it certainly wouldn't be Mitsuru-senpai, who he viewed as perhaps too regal to use something as lowly as a mere cell phone. Akihiko-senpai contacted him so rarely that he didn't even consider it as a possibility, and all his other friends tended to call rather than text. Slightly irritably, he opened the message, which read, as he'd suspected, hey dude! school's out we should ttly go to tartarus tonight. tell me what you think.

Tartarus... yeah. Minato thought they probably should go soon as well; ever since Fuuka had joined the team, they'd been less than attentive to the Dark Hour's whims. He knew it irritated Mitsuru, who made it clear she wanted to get back into the battlefield, but to tell the truth, he was tired. Not just the kind of tired you get after studying late at night, either -- the kind of tired where he wasn't sure he could find the enthusiasm anymore. And yet, it was an inevitability that they would end up going back... perhaps as soon as the next couple of days.

Moodily, he stretched down a hand and picked up his belonging, stuffing the pen he'd been using back into his pocket along with his now switched-off phone. He felt too distracted now to head for sports practice -- so he was busy thinking of a suitable distraction when he left the room, following a crowd of girls also leaving the class.

Then he remembered... he'd been what could only be described as accosted by Hidetoshi during lunch. At the time he had considered going to the student council too much of a drag that day, but now the idea was beginning to sound a little more appealing. Mitsuru would approve if she knew he had been busy working there, so maybe he could have an early night. A Shadow-free early night. Wide-eyed and determined at this new prospect, he crossed the hall, opened the door and headed into the fortunately occupied room.

"Arisato-san," he heard, and turned as he shut the door to see Hidetoshi standing, sounding almost surprised that he might have come. That perplexed Minato; he came often enough, and though not as dedicated to the council as Hidetoshi himself -- because it had to be said; that was just downright impossible -- he was still... an important member, perhaps? The other members respected him... it often seemed like Hidetoshi did too. But regardless, he merely nodded and then took his place between two members.

"I was just referring to the planned punishment of the student we mentioned earlier..." Hidetoshi explained, voice back to the indifferent and slightly arrogant tone it normally adopted, and Minato was able to deduce what had happened so far within those who had been a little faster to the council room.

XXX

Eventually, the meeting was finished. Minato was left feeling refreshed; something perhaps not to be expected, but simple concentration was what he had been needing. It was what he had noticed Akihiko considered fighting to be; one of the few things they simply did not agree on. Fighting was stress-relieving, that was true, and while he held his sword he felt like he was truly powerful, like it was an extent of his limbs. But while training was a large part of Akihiko's life, both inside and outside of Tartarus, for Minato it ended the moment the Dark Hour ended, and he could only pray time went faster each time.

This, though, was soothing. It was not exactly simple work, but it did not stretch his limits in the same way. He had initially been sceptical of the idea to join the council, but in the end it was something he could certainly thank Mitsuru for. Perhaps they were more similar than he had thought, and she had recognised it in him.

The council began to disperse; first the members that he names of but did not speak to outside of the meetings, who nodded politely to him as they left. Then came Chihiro, who smiled, looking a little flustered. She seemed as though she were about to say something, and a slight tilt of her head suggested to Minato that she might be about to ask to walk home with him; but then she turned and noticed Hidetoshi standing close by, and seemed to change her mind. "See you next time, Minato," she said instead, before heading out.

Pulling his hands out of his pockets, he was about to pick up his stuff, when he paused. Hidetoshi was standing with his back to him -- although he could just make out the other boy's sharp profile as he stood facing the window. The light played on his face, catching the light on his slicked hair, and Minato waited patiently. If he wasn't mistaken, Hidetoshi looked somewhat hesitant, and he couldn't help but wonder why.

He was not a popular person, not like Yukari or even like Junpei, who was only playfully scorned by his peers and managed to attract some affection from them due to his easy idiocy -- but he had garnered a couple of friends during his time at Gekkoukan so far. Most of them, however, were mere acquaintances. He found it hard to connect to people he shared so little with -- sports or being in the same class weren't what he meant. It was nice talking to them while it lasted, but in times like these he wasn't sure whether he would have as much interest in what they were thinking. Hidetoshi, however serious he might be, at least held his curiosity. The boy was intelligent, and Minato liked that -- he also liked to think that he was somewhat more than the arrogant persona he often affected with those outside and even inside the council, feeling personally that there were reasons for it other than mere vanity.

Finally, Hidetoshi turned somewhat, gazing at him, mouth twitching slightly into an uneasy smile. This was becoming something a routine for them -- at first he had been straight-forward and almost startlingly down-to-earth, but lately he had become much more prone to indecision and random silence.

"Sorry," he said wryly. "I've been thinking about a lot of things today... and lately." Minato blinked back at him, hands folding back into his pockets. His head tilted slightly, questioningly. Thankfully, Hidetoshi was not one of those people who couldn't stand his quietness.

"Is there anything I can help with, do you think?"
"Yes..." Hidetoshi said, almost too quickly, though his tone was thoughtful. Minato was slightly surprised at that, though it seemed obvious to him what he must be talking about. Most likely it was the incident with the cigarette butt; he'd made it clear that he was uncomfortable discussing it with the rest of the council, who weren't as hasty to place judgement on the unfortunate student. Instead Hidetoshi seemed to think they were on the same level of thinking... although he couldn't really argue with that.

Having paused again, Hidetoshi glanced away, the closest Minato had ever seen him come to fidgeting. "Minato. I think this is something... it might be only you that can help."

He was stepping closer, and Minato perked his ears, hoping that the other was finally going to spill the beans on whichever latest thought was plaguing his mind. Perhaps a new 'case', as they had begun to jokingly refer to them. But what incident was so important that it gripped Hidetoshi so much, and even more confusingly, was something only Minato could help with?

"Minato," Hidetoshi said again, and he was closer than Minato had ever seen him. Things were becoming far too personal for his liking, as someone who had a rather refined sense of personal space. And then, rather suddenly, his arm was being gripped. Forcefully; he could feel and see the fingers curling around his elbow. His eyes flashed back to Hidetoshi's narrowed, piercing eyes, and he had only a mere second to think back to a moment involving a girl he had become close with at his last school, which now seemed startlingly like a deja vu -- and he knew why --

Hidetoshi's lips touched his own, faintly warm and soft, but decisively closed -- it was instantly obvious that he wasn't exactly used to this. For a moment, Minato relaxed against him, if only because of a sudden impatient desire to show him how you were supposed to do it, for goddamn's sake, and then... he realised what was actually happening. With a heavy push quite proving how much battling Shadows had enhanced his arm strength, Minato was free and Hidetoshi was stepping back, a breath between them from the movement.

"What- why," was all Minato could say, eyes flickering to the table as if it were of some importance, anywhere but the face that had suddenly come all too close without his consent.

"I... you did it back," Hidetoshi said, eyes glinting. As Minato's eyes snapped back to his face, he seemed to flinch a little, but there was a slight smug grin there.

"No, I was s-surprised. Let's just say that's not what I was expecting," he said, his head reeling slightly, like he'd turned around too fast. He felt like glaring; Junpei often commented on how powerful his glares were.

"Oh? What were you expecting?" Hidetoshi said, eyebrow raising slightly, but then his expression sunk again, slightly sullen, as his mind seemed to catch up with his mouth. "I'm sorry. I just felt like doing it. Though I have thought about it for a while."

He could have laughed. "That was what you were thinking about? Are-are you...?"

"I don't know," Hidetoshi snapped, making it all too clear that he didn't like not knowing the answer to something. Minato decided to shut his mouth. It seemed pretty obvious to him that it was a distinct possiblity. "I just- I want... if you're willing."

Minato frowned. But Hidetoshi was already backing off. He was picking up his things, and it seemed like he wasn't going to ask him whether they could walk to the door together. Perhaps he didn't expect Minato would accept -- and most of Minato thought the exact same thing too.

"Maybe you could think about it," Hidetoshi said, glancing back briefly before opening and shutting the door in what seemed record speed. Funny how he was the one leaving the room so hastily -- how could he do something like that, and then walk out speaking so arrogantly? It felt like the Hidetoshi he had come to know over the past month or so was someone he'd very incorrectly come to understand.

And what was he supposed to do now?