AN: Fair warning, this story will contain talk of abuse and the effects it can have on victims, later on in their lives. This story will also incorporate a few headcanons that may not play well with information found in material outside of the game, such as Drama CDs.
Yukari Takeba spared a glance behind her to make sure her friend, enemy, ally, and dorm-mate Junpei Iori was still following and had all of her bags. Said boy was loaded up with her purchases from nearly every store in Paulownia Mall by this point and if he was having any trouble, his "macho glory" wasn't allowing him to show it. One wouldn't expect him of all people to be her choice for pack-mule, but he'd been doing this job a long time, since before there was anyone else to do it, and they worked well enough together. He shot her a grin when he realized she was looking and she smirked and rolled her eyes in return. It was such a simple exchange, she thought, but exemplary of their relationship.
"Alright, this one's my last stop." she said as they had reached the chosen store, a ladies' underwear shop. Junpei immediately went to follow her in, but was nearly clotheslined by her arm jumping out to stop him. "Nice try, Junpei."
He just grinned again. "Can't blame me for tryin', Yuka-tan. It's the only place where I'd enjoy giving ya my opinion!"
"Oh, I'm sure you would, ugh..." She did that disgusted sound pretty well. It comes with practice, Junpei figured. "Anyway! Like I promised, after I'm done in here, I'll buy you a drink at Chagall and even consider going to karaoke with you tomorrow after school. You'll have to wait out here though." She cracked a small smile as he shook his knees exaggeratedly, as if about to be crushed under the weight of his enormous burden. "Oh fine, gimme that, you big baby..." She grabbed an armload of bags and turned towards the shop entrance with a huff.
"See ya, Yuka-tan!" he called to her and flopped down on the nearby bench. Mentally, he checked the presence of her bags so he would know if any of them were to go missing, and laid his head against the back of the bench, closing his eyes. Tartarus had wiped him out last night, after Mina-tan took them all the way from the last barrier to the next one in one go. A couple months ago, Junpei would never have thought he could do something like that, but here he was, up and walking the very next day. The first time they tried doing that, they were all so bushed they got sick afterwards and Mitsuru-senpai asked Mina-tan to tone it down a little. Good times.
He could sense someone sitting down on the bench next to him, which was unusual. There were a lot of benches around, normally you'd take one with no one on it. But hey, it didn't bother him. He kept his eyes closed and mumbled a greeting. "Yo, sup?"
There was a short pause before his guest answered. "...Greetings, Iori." Came the distinct, refined voice of Mitsuru Kirijo.
Junpei scrambled to an upright position, while also being careful not to accidentally smack his senpai with one of Yukari's bags. "Uh, I mean...! G-good afternoon, Kirijo-senpai!" Of all the residents in the dorm, Mitsuru was the one he had the least contact with. Mina-tan was the leader, but Mitsuru was the boss. And to be honest, she scared him.
Mitsuru was a little surprised by his reaction. "...Iori, there's no need to be so nervous. I may be your senior, but we are not in school right now, nor are we exterminating shadows. We live in the same dorm, so don't worry."
He relaxed, barely. "Y-yes ma'am. I mean, Kirijo-senpai."
For a few minutes, they sat next to each other in awkward silence. Junpei in a pile of shopping bags, and Mitsuru with one leg crossed over the other, kicking the air softly. "So, uh... what brings you out today, Kirijo-senpai?" Junpei asked when he could no longer bear it.
She flicked her gaze, and her hair, in the direction of the police station. "Akihiko is picking up a special delivery we had sent to Officer Kurosawa. I decided to wait out here." She glanced over at him. "I would ask you the same question, but that bag is from Takeba's favorite store." She finished with a small smile.
Junpei nodded. "I'm her official pack mule, ya know. Have been for as long as I can remember."
Mitsuru hummed. "Wouldn't that start rumors that you two...?"
He shrugged. "If someone brings it up, Yuka-tan corrects 'em real fast. By now, seeing us together... it's just accepted, so it doesn't come up anymore..." He had managed to calm down from before, but there was still a stilted quality to what he said he couldn't get rid of. Normally he had to prepare a little bit before talking to Mitsuru-senpai. This time the interaction was sprung upon him, and although he was aware he had done nothing wrong, speaking with her forced him to subconsciously put his guard up.
Another awkward silence fell in as Junpei switched to watching the storefront for Yukari, then, realizing he was gazing at a lingerie store, pretended to be considering the cafe.
"Is something wrong, Iori?" Mitsuru asked, noting his jumpiness.
"N-no senpai. I'm fine. Just on edge today."
"And why is that, Iori?"
"Uh..."
"I'm back!" Yukari called, emerging from the store with an additional bag. "Didn't take too much time to find what I wanted- Oh hey, senpai!"
"Afternoon, Takeba-" Mitsuru started as Junpei leapt up from his seat, bags rustling.
"Nice seein' ya today senpai, gotta go though, Yuka-tan owes me coffee!" He grabbed Yukari by the hand (who was too confused to react violently) and headed off to Chagall.
Mitsuru watched them go, startled. Iori was acting strangely...
"What the hell was that about?" Yukari demanded, the exact second they hit the seats at their table. "Even you don't usually act that crazy around Mitsuru-senpai. So what's the deal?"
Junpei shifted a little in his seat. "Why wouldn't I? She's scary and I didn't have time to get ready! I didn't know she would be there!"
That confused Yukari even more. What did he mean, get ready? "I'll give you that she's scary, but she's not going to eat you-" Junpei snickered, involuntarily. "-What? Ugh, I'm just going to assume it's a sex thing and move on. Anyway, there's no reason to be, like, afraid of her. So she must have been doing something. Is this about your exam grades again?"
Junpei shook his head. "No, nothing like that... I'm just kinda nervous about tomorrow."
Yukari softened. She had forgotten all about that. "Oh... right, that's tomorrow... Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah... I made it through last month okay, so I can make it through anything. 'Sides, I'm the hero, Junpei Iori. Slayer of shadows! You've heard of me, right?" He thumped his puffed out chest.
Yukari snorted, but in a friendly way. "Sure, I may have seen a video of you getting whacked in the crotch somewhere." a pause as they sipped their coffee. "But seriously though, do you need me to go with you? The agreement's still open."
Junpei was swirling his coffee in it's cup, trying to pretend he hadn't burned the top layer off his tongue on the first sip. "Nah. I'm not really scared anymore. Ever since second year started it's just... sad. I don't really want you to see..."
"Mmm. I could probably handle it."
"...I don't want you to."
Yukari sighed. "We agreed to support each other, Stupei."
"Not really in the mood for that nickname today, Yuka-tan. And anyway, just cause I don't want you seeing the wreck that place is, or the wreck he is, don't mean I don't want your support. I just don't want pity."
The girl stared down at the tablecloth. She was kinda out of her element here. "That's not what I'd do. You wouldn't pity me-"
"How d'ya know I wouldn't?"
"Because- uh, wait... never mind, forget what I said."
They had played the "who's home life is worse" game before. It was never a good idea.
An awkward silence fell in for a moment as they both avoided addressing the previous topic before Yukari broke it again. "I wouldn't have dragged you out here if I remembered what day it is. I should probably mark it on my calendar."
He waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, I like comin' out here. It's kinda normal, y'know?"
She nodded. Normalcy was something that hadn't really been in either of their lives since before they met, and it was in greater demand now than ever.
"Anyway, what are our plans for after?" He asked, after a long sip of his coffee.
"Karaoke. I'll sing the Featherman Ranger opening with you, if you'd like."
Junpei brightened considerably. "No foolin'?"
"No foolin'."
The events at the mall had not left Mitsuru's thoughts since Iori sprinted into Chagall with Takeba. If his strange hostility was limited to this occasion she would have ignored it, but Iori had always seemed uneasy around her, particularly. Akihiko was also his Senpai, however Iori had no trouble interacting with the older boy, aside from the usual respect a junior was expected to show to his senior. In fact, the two had gotten into some kind of trouble at the beach together, although neither seemed willing to explain what had happened. (Mitsuru had let the issue go, it was to be expected for two teenaged boys to have their misadventures, provided no one was harmed.)
With her, however, Iori was getting more and more nervous as time went on. She knew he saw her as an authority figure, and he should, but she was still just a student. Arisato was his true leader, and she was not shy about giving him orders within and without Tartarus. He did chafe under her leadership in the beginning, but now they were arguably the closest pair on the team. Arisato was honestly one of the most intimidating people Mitsuru had ever met, when she wanted to be. So if Iori had issues with authority, why wouldn't he have trouble with her? Was it simply the fact they had contact before joining SEES? Was it because they were in the same year?
Mitsuru shook her head. What was important to her was SEES. If there was disunity in the team, it could lead to greater problems down the road. Each member of SEES needs to be at least friendly with the rest of their teammates, but ensuring this was a task Mitsuru had fallen down on lately. This was so much easier when it was just her, Akihiko, and Shinjiro.
She put down the book she was pretending to read and regarded Akihiko, seated on the couch beside her, for a moment. Her boxer friend was busy stuffing noodles into his face, but turned to look at her when he realized she was staring. He had a few noodles dangling from his lips and was trying to slurp them up, still chewing. The sight brought her briefly back to the years when SEES was first formed, and the horror-filled gasps of the Kirijo family servants at Akihiko's poor manners. He hadn't changed since then, and she didn't want him to. "Akihiko, what do you think of Iori?"
Thankfully, he took the time to swallow before he responded. "...I think he's a decent enough fighter. What do you mean, exactly?"
Mitsuru stood from the couch to begin pacing as she gathered her thoughts. "I mean his personality. What do you know of him as a person?"
Akihiko put down his food and clasped his hands under his chin, leaning his elbows on his knees. "Well... he's kind of a typical second year, as far as I can tell. I don't know him as well as Arisato does, but... he goes to karaoke, hangs out with his friends and flirts with girls."
"When you say he flirts with girls... would you say he's ever nervous with women he does not know?" She asked next.
Akihiko shrugged. "A little maybe, but he hides it pretty well. He's not what I'd call confident, but he's not all that nervous either." Wisely, he decided to leave "Operation Babe Hunt" out of the conversation.
"I see..." Mitsuru murmured, not satisfied. "What about..." She hesitated for a moment, searching for a way to ask "is Iori intimidated by powerful women?" without sounding... weird. That was a lost cause, so she dropped the thought. "Never mind. Akihiko, when we were at the mall earlier today, I sat with Iori while you spoke with Kurosawa. I attempted to make small talk with him, but he seemed very uncomfortable with my presence. As if he was afraid of me."
He nodded. "And this bothers you?"
"Yes. If he was simply nervous around a senior, and overly formal or quiet as a result, that would be one thing. However, he was trying, and failing, to act natural. When Takeba returned, he was in a rush to get away from me. If this was only the one time, I wouldn't worry about it. But he has been acting this way more and more lately. This presents a threat to our team unity, and if I can do anything about it, I must."
As she finished speaking, a horrible thought occurred to Mitsuru. If Iori had become nervous around her, and was getting worse at it, was it possible that Iori had a crush on her? God, she hoped not. That would be awkward and weird, and worst of all, she couldn't really do anything about it, other than hope he got over it... She pushed the thought from her mind. If that was really the case, she would just ignore it and hope it goes away. She had neither the time, nor the experience to handle someone else's feelings. Ugh.
She wondered if Akihiko came to the same conclusion, and that was why he was thinking so long. After considering her words for a while, he finally spoke. "He might be sick. I've seen how he eats, and he hardly exercises outside of Tartarus. That might be making him unstable."
Right, she almost forgot who she was talking to for a second. "I doubt that, Akihiko. His dietary habits have not changed for months."
He raised an eyebrow. "You keep tabs on what the second years are eating, Mitsuru?"
Was that weird, she wondered? "I keep tabs on everything that may effect their performance in battle."
He picked his food back up, a sure sign he didn't intend to continue conversing after his next statement. "Well, that made me think... maybe there's something in Junpei's file that will help. I know you don't like looking at those, but..." He trailed off and just went to eating
Mitsuru bit her lip. She really didn't like intruding on her team's privacy. They didn't know she had received detailed reports on each of them prior to allowing them into SEES, and her assistants in the Kirijo Group had advised against telling them. She had only read them once and then put them away out of respect.
But this was exactly what the reports were for. Just in case she needed some special information to ensure that the soldiers in her little army could fight effectively together. To push, force or intimidate, to coax, entice or persuade, manipulating whatever she could to keep them trusting each other not to stab them in the back so they can risk their lives as a united front.
She pressed a hand to her forehead and paused in her ascent up the stairs. The dark thoughts were back again. That was just what she needed tonight.
Maybe it would be better to make an early night of it and do her research tomorrow.
AN: Thank you for reading to the end! I have not yet decided how many parts this story will take but it's one I've been working on for a little while. I'm nervous because of the rather serious subject matter, but it's not a subject I'm writing about with no personal experience, mind you.
I rarely see any fanwork bring up the fact that Junpei is an abuse survivor. I want to fix that, and do so respectfully. It is a major part of his character, and part of why he's not just an idiot/pervert/comic relief.
If you enjoyed this story, please leave a review! I read and appreciate all of them, registered user or guest, and they help motivate me to continue writing. I have other stories, mostly about Junpei as well if you'd like to read them, or read some of Leafydream's stuff, which I also like. Take care of yourselves.