You know, I considered deleting this (hell, this story alternated between being up or deleted a few times now). But in the end, I decided to keep it up... hope I don't ever regret this. *sigh*
Never thought I'd end up doing this...
All right, let me break down what this is: This is a scrapbook of sorts, I guess. It serves no other purpose than to show the "what-if" scenarios, ideas, and/or scenes that were cut from the main story. As such, there's no standard update schedule for obvious reasons, and this isn't really meant to be read by anyone who's not reading the actual DFW (Death From Within) story. Of course, if you're going to do that anyway like I always do, then go ahead but you're gonna be confused af.
All right, this first chapter is the recently uploaded chapter 62 of DFW, but with 1 addition... there's a lemon scene. Yes, I actually went through making an entire different story just because of a cut lemon scene... I mean, I wanted to include it, but my ex-co-author told me it was a bad idea (he was probably right too) so I omitted it, then someone asked why it was excluded, and then someone else just recommended having it be it's own standalone thing.
*sigh* the things I do. Anyhow, enjoy. I certainly don't consider myself good when it comes to writing lemons, but I'll let you all be the judge of that.
"Try not to lunge," Minato advised, taking an almost casual step to the side as his girlfriend did just what he advised not to do, not only missing him but also almost losing her footing as she stumbled past him.
Letting out a groan, Kotone turned around and readied herself with a sword in her hand. "Remind me why we're doing this again?"
"Because you can't always rely on one weapon," Minato answered, hands in his pockets and one earphone in. "If Makoto had been in his proper state of mind while fighting you, we wouldn't be talking."
"Says this after I saved his ass," Kotone muttered as she prepared to attack again. She had no idea how he managed to convince Mitsuru to allow him to use Shinjiro's old room as a personal dojo or something. Luckily, the room was pretty barren anyway, so they didn't have to remove a lot of furniture for this.
"Fine then," Minato reached out his left hand and summoned one of his own blades. "Now I'm right-handed so you should have no excuse. Just give me a little tap, and I'll make you an entire buffet."
"Ooh, you're going down," Kotone grinned now having more than enough motivation to send Minato falling flat on his ass. Not only was Minato using his off-hand, but he didn't even bother to raise it or even get into a proper stance. This fight was all hers…
Minato studied Kotone's stance and noticed a slight error, "spread your legs a bit more."
Kotone's face instantly became red when she registered what he just said, "w-w-what?"
"Your stance," Minato sighed, remembering why he was hesitant to be the one to train her but Junpei used his sword like a goddamn bat and Mitsuru... there were to many awkward feelings between him and her for him to ask. "Whatever, just attack already."
Following his orders, Kotone charged at the bluenette who remained almost completely idle and raised her sword above her head and—
Kotone's attack was stopped before it could begin when Minato grabbed her wrist with his free hand and brought his blade to her throat. "Another small tip," he whispered, "try to avoid raising it over your head too much."
Minato let her go and took a step back before placing his hands in his pockets again once the sword dissipated. Kotone groaned, "But I've seen you do that!"
"I can fight with dual swords while wearing a mask and a hood on, one of which is extremely impractical without a lot of practice and others are blinding," Minato retorted, "sorry Sweetheart, but you're not at my level."
"O-Oh," she said as her face went red again.
"What? I didn't say another accidental innuendo, did I?" Minato tilted his head.
"N-No," Kotone shook her head with her lips forming a sheepish smile, "J-just… I like it when you call me Sweetheart."
"Oh" and here it was again. He chose this, but it didn't make it much easier. Every sweet little moment like this was quickly accompanied by the images of when the two of them were forced to fight each other to the death. He loved her, but he also knew that this wasn't a life a monster like him deserved.
The thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly felt Kotone's arms wrap around him for another hug. She felt his body suddenly tense from surprise, before quickly relaxing and returning her embrace with his own. "Thanks for the lessons, Blue," she thanked before pulling back, "with the Dark Hour still around, I'm sure I'll need 'em."
"Sure thing," Minato nodded, not able to shake off the wistful sensation he felt whenever he was around her. It didn't matter how he felt, as long as she was happy.
Kotone left a peck on his cheek before taking a step back, "I gotta run now, but my door's always open…" her eyes widened for a moment, "I-I mean, I… I'm just going to go now." With a bright red face, she quickly left the room while humming some tune that Minato didn't recognize and shutting the door.
Minato sighed before sitting against the wall. She'd been around him twenty-four-seven ever since he got here, so now he finally had his chance to be alone. Reaching for his phone in his pocket, he dialed a number.
"Hello?" The voice on the other end greeted.
"You name's Rio, right?" Minato asked, wanting confirmation of the identity of the person he called.
"Who is this?!" that answered that.
"Oh, right, we haven't met yet," Minato shook his head. He had 'borrowed' the number from Kotone's phone a few days ago when she 'misplaced' it a few days ago, which would mean that he's probably hitting a solid seven or eight on the stalker meter, "I'm Kotone's… boyfriend." How did such a simple word become so hard to say?
"Oh really?" Of course, there was quite a bit skepticism to be had; made sense, especially after his rather poor attempt at an introduction.
"How do you want me to prove it?" Minato groaned, thinking it probably would've just been simpler to just go to her directly.
"All right, where was your first date then?"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait…" Minato learned forward, genuinely baffled for a moment, "she told you when and where our first date was!? Are you serious?! Oh god, what else did she tell you?!"
"Yup, you're Makoto-kun all right," Rio could be heard giggling on the other end causing Minato groan. He certainly was going to have to ask Kotone exactly what she's been saying to her other friends.
"Ugh, whatever, I just needed to ask for a favor," Minato cut to the chase, wanting to just get this over with as quickly as he could. "Look, just… keep her busy on Thursday, okay? Take to mall or shrine or whatever, just don't let her go back to her dorm for… let's say three to four hours."
"That's it? Why do you need me to—" Rio's voice suddenly stopped, perhaps suddenly remembering the importance of that date, "… take all the time you need."
"Thanks," Minato sighed in relief before handing up.
Step one: Set up a distraction – complete
Step two: Actually think of what to do – In-progress
…
…
"Fucking hell," Minato muttered, sitting on a bench in some part of the city that he didn't even care enough to know the name of. He's been thinking about it ever since the whole incident with Pharos, and he still has nothing.
He was able to get Yukari on board with the whole idea already (although lying that he already had something in mind was needed), Fuuka took it upon herself to handle buying/hiding gifts, Junpei wasn't given much of a choice after Yukari's 'persuasions' a.k.a threatening to beat him to a pulp, Akihiko would probably be best left out of the loop for now, Mitsuru didn't raise any objections, and Ken thought it was a nice thought. In other words, Step 1.5: get everyone on board — complete. Now if he could only finish step two…
Dammit, how hard could just this one simple thing be?! He's managed to get away with crimes ranging from petty theft to murder, yet he couldn't do this?
Then again, that wasn't really him, now was it? It was, yet wasn't. The line was just so blurred when it came to all three of his selves. How much was him, and how much was just them? Were they all just him in a way? Where do his sins and Makoto's diverge?
Moments like this, he began to miss the other self that also called itself Minato. Inheritor was such a strange one. He was the least affected by Death, the most willing to move on, and managed to adopt the younger Minato's mannerisms even better than the so-called 'real' Minato, 'Foundation' had. But he was gone now, and there was no running away from his past anymore.
Minato groaned, shaking his head before grabbing a fistful of his hair. Only reason he's even here to have these regrets and think of these things is because of her, so all he wants to do is make her happy however he can. So why is it, no matter how hard he tries, he just can't think of anything? Are displays of basic affection that foreign to him?
"You look like you're deep in thought." Minato looked up and saw Ryoji of people standing beside him.
"What're you doing here?" Minato asked.
"I could ask you the same thing," Ryoji countered, sitting on the free spot next to the blue-haired boy, "is that how your elders taught you to greet someone?"
"No. Did yours teach you how to dodge questions?"
Ryoji winced at that response, "Ouch, you're ice-cold."
"I get that a lot," Minato shrugged, "I guess you could say it was something that rubbed off on me."
"Maybe that person wasn't the best influence?"
"You're still dodging the first question." Minato turned and turned his empty stare into ice-cold daggers.
"All right, all right," Ryoji threw up his hands surrendering, "I just wanted to get familiar with the city and bumped into you along the way."
"And why don't I believe that?"
"Not everyone has an ulterior motive for everything they do, you know." Ryoji's insistence was enough to even give Kotone a run for her money. Still, for some reason Minato highly doubted that he was here by sheer coincidence.
"Whatever," Minato muttered. There wasn't any way to prove his suspicions true or false, so might as well role with it. "Anyway, yeah, I have been thinking a lot."
"About…?"
"It's Kotone," Minato murmured, unaware that Ryoji unconsciously began balling his hands into a fist, "I just… I want to do something for her."
"She means a lot to you," Ryoji said, his voice sounding flat almost tranquil, "doesn't she?"
"Yeah," Minato nodded. The redheaded girl had done so much for him in such a short amount of time they had known each other—forcing her way through the walls he had built up, staying with him despite his many efforts to push her away, being the first person he had ever cared about ever since he lost everything… she was more than a walking corpse like him deserved. "I just need to do something special for her, okay?"
"I see," Ryoji nodded. It became apparent how much that girl as well as this event that he was trying to plan meant to him. If it meant something to him, then, "Say no more!"
"Huh? What the—Aahh!" Next thing Minato knew, he was being dragged around by Ryoji who had taken ahold of his right arm.
"All right, so I'm going to need details," Ryoji ordered, continuing to hold onto Minato despite the boy's many attempts to free himself, "also, important thing to note: it's always the small and simple things that mean the most…"
And so began a long, long, long, long, long day for poor Minato.
…
…
…
"So get this," Kotone leaned forward in her seat, grinning at her ponytailed friend sitting across from her, "he's left in front of the entire school in nothing but his undies and you know what happens? Everyone slowly began clapping and just gave him a round of applause."
"Pft," Rio had to put a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter, lest she cause an even bigger scene in the restaurant they were currently in, "what then?! What then?!"
"All right, all right," Kotone cleared her throat and continued, "he went red, thanked everyone, and marched down the hallway to the nurse's office like he'd just aced exams."
"You're kidding!"
"Nope," Kotone shook her head, "and for the rest of the year, he was considered a living legend by the students and staff alike."
"Wow," Rio slumped back into her seat, "sounds like your last school was something."
"Certainly wasn't boring," Kotone giggled, grabbing one a French fry she had ordered earlier. "Not that it's too bad here though."
"Why did you come here?" Rio asked.
Kotone shrugged, "got a scholarship and I went for it… well, that and my dad thought it'd be good for me."
"Sounds like your dad really cares about you."
Kotone nodded, "Uh-huh. It was rough for him when Mom left us but he's been good to me." Suddenly, she let out a groan, "But his love-life since… my god, there are no words for that one."
"Ooh," Rio cringed at the thought, "how hopeless is he?"
"Hopeless is a compliment."
"Ouch," Rio was about to say something else but stopped to check her phone once it went off. "Uh-oh, looks like Kenji did something stupid again."
"What kind of stupid?" Kotone asked before her eyes widened for a minute, "Wait, do you mean that kind of stupid?!"
"God, he's hopeless," Rio shook her head, "speaking of which, why don't you go tend to your love-life? We don't need you ending up like your dad too."
"Good thinking," Kotone laughed as she waved her friend goodbye. Minato had pretty much forced her into going out with Rio earlier today saying that she needs to relax with her friends earlier. In a way, maybe that was also a good thing? She'd been afraid to leave him alone for too long in light of everything with Pharos, not to mention how the Stupei himself couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut. That being said, it was nice to relax and goof off with her friend for a while. Alas, it was time that she went back to the dorm.
Come to think of it, her link with Minato still wasn't at its max rank—wait, was it a link with Minato or Makoto? Was there even a difference in that regard? Shaking her head, she made a mental note to ask Igor about this someday.
…
…
"She's coming!" Fuuka warned everyone, running away from the windows.
"Okay, everyone get into position!" Minato whisper-yelled, silently running to the spot he had chosen… which was also conveniently being shared with the dorm's guest.
"Everyone ready?" Ryoji asked the others, taking care to keep his voice low.
"Shut up!" Yukari probably would've hit the boy on the back of his head had they not been forced to sit back and wait lest they ruin everything.
Just a few more moments and—
The doorknob finally turned and a familiar short girl stepped inside, "I'm ba—"
"Happy birthday!" Everyone shouted as loud at the top of their lungs, leaving Kotone completely stunned.
After a few moments of silence, Ryoji titled his head and spoke up, "Wait, wasn't it supposed to be 'surprise' and then happy birthday?"
"That… makes a lot sense actually," Minato actually found himself agreeing that he and the others had just screwed up.
"You're kidding me…" Yukari facepalmed.
"Did we really mess it up?" Fuuka asked just as embarrassed as the rest of them.
"D-D-Did…" everyone looked and saw Kotone blinking rapidly and speechless, "you… you guys remembered my birthday?"
"Actually, it was Ari—" Mitsuru paused when she remembered the presence of the dorm's guest, "this was Yuki's idea. "
Suddenly, all eyes were on Minato who was looking down in such a way that his hair hid even more of his face than usual, "Ryoji helped me plan it. As for me, I just… well, we didn't get to properly celebrate my birthday and… C-Can we move on please?"
Kotone shook her head and muttered, "God, you're such an idiot." Flashing him a large smile, she ran up to the bluenette and wrapped her arms around him, "I can't believe you remembered."
"You told me that one time we went studying," Minato answered, "or rather, that game of truth and truth."
Ryoji's eye began to twitch uncontrollably as he watched those two along with the members of SEES. Why? What was it about this girl that always seemed to get under his skin? And why is it that seeing her with him makes him want to lash out here in now—only managing to keep himself in check by sheer force of will.
"Can't believe you remembered," Kotone pulled back beaming out him, "you made cake, right? What kind is it?"
Minato shrugged, "I didn't know what kind you liked so I just did half chocolate and half vanilla."
"You're the best, Blue." Kotone complimented before running off to the kitchen where she was probably going to spend most of her day.
"I-I think I need to go," Ryoji said, putting his arms behind his back so that no one else saw him digging his nails into his arm in an effort to keep himself under control.
"Same," Minato chuckled, "personally, I hate parties. I think it'd probably be a bit better for everyone if I keep my time down here short."
"No, I mean I think I should leave," Ryoji took a step back; a cautionary step in case he decided to try and get closer, "hope the two of you… e-enjoy yourselves." Why were those last two words so hard to get out?
Minato nodded, not paying enough attention to Ryoji himself to notice the slightly fidgety movements he was making, "Well, thanks for the help. Couldn't have done it without you." He thanked, somewhat dismissively as he was distracted when Junpei decided to pull a little prank by shoving cake into Kotone's face and vice versa… and was quickly being joined by the other members too—even Mitsuru seemed to be getting on it.
If there was anything that was a step away from slicing whatever thin strands of thread that was keeping him together, it was that last sentence from Minato, "Take care." Excusing himself as quickly as possible, Ryoji fled the dorm like a convict would flee a prison. He couldn't explain what it was, but something… something about that girl made him want to lose it.
…
…
Minato yawned as he sat at his desk. He'd stayed down there for an hour or two before retreating upstairs into his room. He'd always hated parties, even before the accident. Although, he always ended up attending them thanks to the little she-devil he shared a birthdate with.
Of course, none of that mattered now, did it? She was gone, and there was no getting her back. He may have survived that day, but that didn't mean he necessarily lived through it either. Whoever that boy was ten years ago, he wasn't him now and he couldn't ever be him again.
"Hello~," a familiar voice chirped from the other side of the door.
"Coming!" Minato pushed in his seat and opened the door for the birthday girl, "congratulations for your seventeenth birthday."
"Thanks," Kotone smiled some more before stepping inside and closing the door behind her, "although, I would've preferred if you were down there to say it with all the others too."
"I was!"
"You didn't even stay for the presents!"
"Well, I…" Minato gave up, there was no winning this, "all right, I just really don't like parties."
"And yet," Kotone raised an eyebrow, "you coerced the others into doing this all for me?"
"What?! Hell no!" Minato acted defensively, "first off, the only coercing was done to Junpei and I didn't do any of that! Yukari was the one who—"
"You've been a bad boy, Minato," Kotone grinned, sliding her hand down behind her before a faint click was heard, "Looks like I'm going to have to teach you some manners."
Minato just remained completely still and blinked, "A-Are you… B-But… They could hear—"
Not even giving him time to finish his sentence, Kotone leapt onto him causing him to fall onto the bed with her straddling him.
"Now, now Minato," Kotone grinned, hovering over the blushing Minato, "I'm the birthday girl, remember? Whatever I say goes, now…" she lowered her head until her face was mere centimeters away from his as her hands began tearing at his shirt, "just shut up and make love to me."
Minato didn't even have a moment to respond before began to devour his mouth, slipping in her tongue before tearing off the rest of his shirt. Kotone moaned into his mouth once he started fighting back and meeting her tongue with his own, pressing his hands against her chest.
The redhead giggled, grabbing one of his wrists and keeping it there, moaning whenever he flexed his fingers and continued answering her persistent tongue with his own.
Breaking the kiss, Kotone reached for the bottom hem of her shirt, lifting it up slowly to show more and more skin while watching the look on Minato's face as he became more and more irritated with the teasing.
"What's the matter?" She asked, letting out a short, teasing laugh. "See something you like?"
"I…" the boy was hardly given time to respond before she began grinding her hips against him, forcing out a groan. It's like this girl wanted him to go crazy all over again.
Minato bit his lip, "don't do that."
"Ooh, now you're giving the orders, huh?" Kotone smirked before letting out a gasp and placing her hands on her chest, "and on my birthday too! So mean!"
"Take it off," he ordered, hissing through his teeth.
"Now, now, Blue," Kotone giggled, lowering her hand to tap on his chest, "Tonight's about me, remember? I gonna need a little more coaxing…" she whispered, leaning down still with her pale lips curled, "think you can do that, sweetie?"
Her words were quickly followed by another kiss. The girl giggled and was about to return the favor until his lips moved from hers to her neck. Kotone tilted her head to provide better access, enjoying the sensation of him kissing and sucking on skin, making marks that were probably going to be there tomorrow.
"Don't forget," she warned, "don't you dare bite me, or I'm knocking you—" she was cut-off with a gasp when Minato gently squeezed one of her breast again and had his other hand snake its way up her shirt.
Pulling away from him, Kotone raised her arms and allowed Minato to take off her shirt revealing herself to be wearing a white bra and threw it where there was soon going to be a whole pile of clothing before wrapping her arms around his neck and place her lips on his again.
Kotone shoved her tongue into his mouth, almost down his throat as he slowly dragged his hand up her back until he reached the barrettes and quickly unclipped them before tossing them somewhere.
The leader of SEES felt his arms wrapped around her, pulling her in and holding her tight, pressing her body against his. The girl's tongue retreated, allowing her to gently and playfully nip her boyfriend's bottom lip.
Minato's hands reached up behind her back and played with the clasp, seemingly waiting for some sort reaction from her. Her kisses grew more frantic, gently biting more and more of his lips while trying once again to force her tongue back in. Taking this as confirmation, Minato undid the clasp, allowing the bra to fall from her shoulders and reveal her assets.
Rather than having her face redden like before, she nipped his lip one more time before grabbing his head and forcing it to her chest. Her silent demands were soon met when she felt his tongue circling the sensitive flesh, and gently sucking on the bud while his hand gently pinched the other.
Kotone let out a pleased hum, grabbing a fistful of his hair as he continued sucking on her breasts. Just two months ago they were nervously making love for the first time in their lives, completely unsure of what they were doing. Now, here they are, getting ready to make love after they'd fought a nigh-unstoppable monster.
She really did love him a great deal. Maybe she did like broken things and maybe she'll never see who that little boy was before he lost everything, but she didn't care. He loved her, and she loved him—that's all that she cared about; all she needed to know.
Kotone's eyes widened when she felt his teeth gently grinding against the rosy flesh. "Hey, hey, hey..!" she yelled, pulling his head away, "I said, no biting."
"Sorry," he looked away sheepishly. "I just got a little too…"
"Just don't do it again," she warned, pecking him on the lips again. "You better try extra hard to make me happy now, got it?"
Minato chuckled, "yes, ma'am."
"Good," she smirked, finally climbing off of him and finding a spot on the bed to lie down with the pillow beneath her head.
Minato followed, hovering over with his lips on hers and his hand slowly traveling up her thigh until…
"Huh?" Minato broke the kiss and looked down where his hand was beneath her skirt.
"S-Shorts," Kotone said softly, now turning her head, unable to look him in the eye. "I-I guess I'm so used to wearing them, I um…"
"It's fine," he laughed, enjoying the meek expression on her face.
"T-Take them off, please," she begged, and he followed through with both his hands going beneath her skirt and undoing the button and zipper before pulling the garment, along with the panties she had been wearing beneath off.
Minato couldn't help but find it amazing in a way. Here was the girl who was brave enough to go against Death itself, yet now she was—quite literally—a blushing school girl on his bed. He'd almost say she looked even more scared than their first night together.
"W-What're you doing?" She asked, sending a weak glare his way in spite of her embarrassment. "H-Hurry, o-okay…?"
"Sorry, hun," Minato answered, kicking off what clothing he had left before climbing on top of her.
Through her blushing face, she smiled at him, "I-I'm ready…" she said, knowing he didn't like to act without permission. "Just… not too rough, okay?"
Minato nodded, leaving another kiss on her lips before slowly bringing himself forward, causing both to let out a simultaneous groan as he entered her again.
Remembering their first time together, Minato paused for a moment, "D-Does it…?"
Kotone shook her head, "Mm-mm, no more pain anymore."
He searched her expression to see if she might've been concealing any pain, but all he saw were the same honest, crimson eyes that she always had.
It was amazing really. Makoto had gone so far down his dark road, yet he still couldn't help but fall in love with a short, childish girl. No matter how hard he tried pushing her away, she just kept coming back like fate itself wanted them together. She knew everything—his past, his sister, his greatest failure—yet she still loved him.
But even then, in the end, he almost…
It wasn't right. He shouldn't be enjoying this. He felt like his own body was disgusted with him for enjoying this.
She loved him so much, and yet… he almost lost her too after—
"Hey, you okay?" She asked, cupping his face.
"I'm fine," he said, shaking the thoughts from his head. Today was all about her—no need to worry about his problems.
"If you don't wanna, I won't—" her words were cut off with a gasp when he slowly began moving again, forcing a moan from her lips.
Minato bit his lips, forcing back a groan of his own, supporting himself with one of his arms as he continued to slowly thrust into her. She moaned in returned, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him in close, with every satisfied groan she made telling him to pick up his back just a bit more.
Kotone's moans grew alongside the familiar sensation of bliss that was building in the pit of her stomach. She felt her legs shudder when he began to push himself in deeper before she wrapped them around his waist, keeping her eyes focused on the boy in front of her.
The bluenette was fighting the urge to let out a few screams of his own, feeling her muscles contracting around him. Every time he heard her cry out, he responded with an ever harder stroke, driving her into a frenzy as her arms continued to wrap around him and her nails began to dig into him.
"K-Keep…" Kotone couldn't even finish her sentence before she screamed out, probably ruining any chance of this being a secret, but to hell with secrecy when it felt this damn good. She felt the bliss continuing to bubble, feeling more and more stimulation in her nerves.
"K-Kotone…" he groaned out her name, feeling the bliss beginning to completely overtake whatever was left of his senses. With every cry, he pushed in harder and her screams of pleasure continued to motivate him more and more as he began reaching the end.
Bliss… there was so much of it.
So much that he almost took away…
He must've slowed his pace or done something to anger her, because the next thing Minato knew, Kotone had forced him onto his back and taken control herself, bringing his hands to her breasts again. Kotone moaned and wiggled her hips in satisfaction when she felt him gently squeeze her left breast.
Kotone dug her nails into Minato's shoulders and likely would've caused pain had it not been for all the pleasure numbing his nerves and hormones coursing through the both of them. Kotone continued to raise and lower herself at a rapid pace, feeling as if her body had been set aflame. Just a little more and…
"K-Kiss me!" She screamed, driving her nails even further into him. This was her day, and it was going to end how she wanted it to, "kiss me right now, dammit!"
Not even thinking of declining for a moment, Minato raised himself and their lips met in another sloppy kiss, his hands still on her breasts and pleasuring her more and her arms around him and still moving her hips to continue building the blissful sensation, and her muscles tightening and bringing him closer until finally…
The two let out a scream as they finally reached their climax together. Her walls contracted one last time, and she felt a familiar warmth in her core as the two leaned into each other. Kotone's grip around him relaxed and Minato moved his arms from her chest to help him cup her face to give one last, long kiss before falling back onto the bed.
Kotone let out one last lust-filled moan before collapsing on top of Minato, leaving the both of them panting heavily to get the air back in their lungs.
"T-T-That…" Kotone panted, reaching towards to sheets to covered the both of them and rested her head on him just like she'd done before, "that… I think I know what my favorite birthday present was."
"Pft," Minato couldn't help but try and suppress a laugh, "always knew you were a wanton."
Kotone sat up and glared daggers into him, "make that joke again, and next time I be the one biting."
"Sorry! Sorry! Bad joke!" Minato shuddered at the mere implication of such an occurrence.
"That's what I thought," Kotone smiled and rested her head again, "Mm, I missed this."
"Um… what part of this? The cuddling or the sex?" Minato found himself asking.
"Just, this," Kotone answered, "being here with you, feeling like there isn't a care in the world."
"Oh," Minato felt his heart sink, but he wouldn't dare let her know why, "I missed this too… although, last time we just went straight to sleep."
Kotone giggled, "You went out like a light," she remembered just how quickly he fell asleep the first time they made love together—the same day they finally became the couple they were now.
"Hey," her voice suddenly became very tranquil, "can I tell you a secret?"
"You know most of mine," Minato replied, "only fair if I know yours too."
"True," Kotone agreed before letting out a sigh, "my mom tried coming back to me."
"Huh?"
Kotone turned to face the ceiling, "One day, she just… came back to me. Dad and I had moved since, so I don't even know how she found me," she explained, "she tried saying she was sorry, that she regretted leaving me, and that she still loved me."
Kotone shook her head, "but I just couldn't. After all those years abandoned, I just couldn't do. I told her that I wanted nothing to do with her, and I couldn't help but enjoy the look on her face as I broke that bitch's heart for what she did to me and Dad. I left her alone in the street to cry her eyes out. She tried contacting me a few more times, but it was always the same until it just stopped. I never told anyone about it—not even Dad."
"Minato, we both know I'm selfish but," Kotone turned back to face the bluenette, "should I… have given her a chance? I never even knew why she left; I just hated that she abandoned me and him without a word."
"I can't really tell you," Minato admitted, the sinking he felt only got worse and worse, "just like with what happened to me: there's nothing you can do to change it. All you can do is make sure it doesn't repeat itself."
"Yeah," Kotone nodded, lifting herself and bringing her face closer to his, "Minato," she called out to him, cupping his face with her hands, "can I tell you another secret?"
Minato nodding, seeing the somber look in her eyes only made this worse… so much worse.
"It's… always been a dream of mine to have a family someday." Kotone said, tears beginning to build up at her oldest memories, "I… I-I always wanted to be the mother I never had and… and…"
"Hey, hey…" Minato reached out and pulled her back towards him. Despite her clearly fighting it, Minato still felt a few tears fall from her eyes onto his chest.
"I know it's selfish of me to just say it all to you like this. I know it's wrong that I'm not taking your feelings into account, but…" Kotone closed her eyes tightly, holding onto Minato like a lifeline, "that dream, is something I want to share with you. It's okay if you don't, but I wanted you to know…"
"I…"
"No more," Kotone shook her head. "It's still my birthday, remember? No more… not tonight."
Minato hesitated for a moment, listening to just how weak and tearful she'd gotten—even more so than the night she apologized to him for using him as a means of escape—before nodding.
"Minato," she whispered, "… I love you."
Minato reached out and combed through her hair slowly as she drifted off further and further to sleep, "I love you too."
…
…
…
…
"U-U-Urgh," Minato coughed and groaned as he leaned over the toilet seat, the feeling of pain and emptiness in his stomach was almost crippling. "G-God… B-Blergh," and just like that, he left regurgitating the contents of his stomach like he had for the past hour, ever since he silently slipped out of bed in the middle of the night with Kotone still dreaming about the two of them.
Gagging a few times more times, but with ultimately nothing else coming out, Minato collapsed onto the floor curling into a small ball and shivering uncontrollably.
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
It didn't make any sense. He loved her, he wanted her, and he heard her say all of those things, so why? Why does he feel like he had just been violated? Why is it that no matter how hard he tries, the memories just keep creeping on in?
He tried to ignore it. He tried to hide it. But after making love to her, he was just forced to remember all of the pain he had put her through, and memories of that pain were accompanied by the memories of everything else—the pain of having someone you trusted betray you in the end, the pain of what Pharos did to Makoto, the pain of watching his little sister burn alive all the while he's left a nothing more than a helpless bystander as everything sent him further and further into the depths of hell.
Minato clutched his head and silent tears fell as they all bombarded his mind once again.
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why wouldn't it all just stop!?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why did the world just seem to hate him? His mind was finally his own again, Pharos was gone, he found some who he loves and loves him in return, he's finally with others who are at least trying to understand him, and the true last remaining person responsible for Pharos' awakening had died to Makoto's hands months ago.
Of course… of course it wasn't over. It was never going to be over. Whether or not he was the original self didn't matter—he was never going to be that boy from ten years ago. He might be the original Minato, but he was never going to be the true Minato. He's just walking corpse that's unable to decay—a state worse than true death, as he was forced to make promises for someone who had died a long time ago.
So why?
Why?
Why?
Why?
Why was he still here?
Jesus... fucking... Christ. I don't know why, but something made me do a massive overhaul of the lemon scene. I guess it was so similar to BL's lemon scene, that I just couldn't stand it. Here's hoping I made it different enough, and can finally move on with my goddamn life.
