Author's Notes Below

The year 2009 had been an eventful year, to say the least.

Things had happened so fast in the span of a few months that it was hard to believe that it was already December. They had gained things like knowledge of the Dark Hour, exploration of Tartarus and valued combatants whom she could now consider as her closest friends.

But all these gains came in exchange for several other things stress for one as they had to balance school life, their personal life and battling shadows at a very unholy hour. In every new member they gain they lost another, up till now Akihito would space out every once in a while by the mere mention of Shinjiro's name.

Trust was also an issue in the SEES. At first, it was Iori not accepting Arisato's leadership, then there was Takeba being uncomfortable around her, but not could take the cake like Ken and Shinjiro's relationship.

Even before the year started Mitsuru was holding a lot on her plate. She was the leader that everyone looked up to. She was the big sister that always knew what to say and how to deal with situations. She was the bright future of the Kirijo Group. Weakness was something she could not show off be associated with, even as a girl she had already maintained an unbreakable resolve. She had been called an ice queen for a reason.

It would eventually break when her father died.

Ikutsuki's betrayal was already a lot to take in. To think the man that they talked to and interacted with in the dorm so often would do such a thing to them, by the time he killed her father Mitsuru had started to question everything.

She had been, after the incident, described as 'dead girl walking'. Her teammates would not judge her if she broke down, they knew the pain of losing a loved one was difficult. Though despite that she still had a bit of pride left in her, enough to not cry in front of them that is. She had her moments but they have been safely tucked away within the four walls of her room.

It was only during their Kyoto trip and Take . . . Yukari's encouraging words (which included slapping her in the face, the first and hopefully last time she would experience such a thing) that she was able to rise from her self-pity.

A new challenge now arose for the young heiress. She was now the de-facto of Head of the conglomerate, and everyone in the company was already thinking of ways to bring her down.

"Senpai, is something bothering you?"

Mitsuru had broken away from her thoughts and realized that she was in the school library. She then turned to the person who just spoke it was Arisato.

As casual as always, hands in his pocket, improper posture, and headphones dangling from his neck. "You seem to be in deep thought"

"I was just . . ." Misturu tried to choose her words carefully "Reflecting on what happened . . . this past year had been . . . an experience"

There was a twist in his mouth "You could say that . . ."

Then out of the blue, she asked: "How do you handle it?"

He seemed taken aback by her inquiry "Pardon?"

"I mean" she rubbed her chin "I'm sure when you returned to Tatsumi Port Island you did not expect for these things to happen to you. I mean if you think about it everything that's happened to us is . . . crazy." She wondered if she sounded insensitive for saying such things.

Fortunately, her kohai had nodded in understanding "You could say that this entire year was like the plot of some young adult novel." He turned to her with a little smirk "To be honest I half expected a vampire to come crawling to the dorm a few times"

"Shadow Vampires?" Mitsuru shook her head "Heaven forbid"

They had stopped talking, a companionable silence occurred between the two. There were sounds of a few students whispering in the background wondering what the transfer kid was doing with the president. Other sounds included clicks of ball pens, clicking of keyboards from the library assistant and the occasional drop of a book.

"To answer your question," Arisato said after a while "To be honest I'm not sure."

Mitsuru gave him an apologetic smile "It's fine, I don't expect you to have all the answers"

He continued "If I were to guess though, I think it's by . . . talking" he saw the surprise on his senpai's face "Yes I know it's mundane"

"Oh no," the redhead waved her hand "It's just . . . I don't think of you as a . . . what they say 'chatter-box'"

The boy just chuckled at her comment "You're right. I usually keep to myself most of the time. But lately ever since I came here I found myself interacting with people more often." he rubbed the back of his head "I just find it therapeutic to listen to other people, so I still don't talk that much, but I guess the people who I converse with don't mind"

Mitsuru crossed her arms "I see, no wonder you got popular quite fast" she smiled "So if you don't mind then, I'm sure it wouldn't bother you if I told you my problems"

Arisato did a gesture with his hand "By all means senpai"

"I must admit, that was my first time to experience such a thing," Mitsuri said as they exited the theater. "I know it sounds foolish but I can't help but be amazed at how different it is to view films in such a way"

Minato couldn't help at the smirk on how formal yet naïve his senpai was "If it comforts you, this was the first time I watched a French film in a movie theater"

"Is that so" he could see the curiosity on her face "Then may I ask what films do you normally watch?"

The boy shrugged "The usual summer blockbusters, though if I'm alone I usually go for noir films"

"Do you often go alone?"

"Every once in a while when I have time"

At this, the redhead frowned "I'm afraid our work has reduced your free time"

He waved his hand dismissively "No it's alright" he decided to change the topic "You seem to have an affinity for French films"

A smile formed on her face "Well they usually remind me of times with my mother. When I was a child she would often watch Rappeneau's Cyrano de Bergerac or Jean-Luc Godard's Pierrot Le Fou" her smile became a little somber afterward "Those were simpler times"

Minato just nodded letting her relive those melancholy memories.

"Oh I'm sorry" the heiress apologized "It's just . . . those films somehow gave me a sort of illusion of love"

The blue haired teen remained silent but was listening.

"I realized that love could be beautiful, tragic, heartwarming, depressing, absurd and majestic" the girl was looking across the street but her mind had wondered somewhere else "While I know that films aren't a very accurate description of love I know that it's a feeling . . . a strong feeling, not entirely wrong but surely right . . ." she faced him "Am I making sense now?"

"Well . . ." Minato placed his hands in his pockets "I understand where you're going at . . . at least"

Mitsuru gave a little laugh, normally these sort of laughs irate Minato especially if it were from those Gyaru girls from school, though for some reason he did like the sound from his senpai's giggle.

"I'm sorry if I'm talking nonsense, though" she gave him a sort of serious look "May I ask . . . what are your views on marriage?"

Again taken aback "Umm . . . in general?" he thought for a moment, he never really thought of these things "I guess it's . . . a union between two parties who love each other?"

"Is that so?" a tiny smile formed on her lips "Must love always be the reason?"

Without giving a second thought he said "Yes"

"My . . ." Mitsuru teased "I didn't know you were a romantic"

Her kohai tried to fight off a blush "Well love was considered the foundation that surrounds a family. If there's no love well then . . . you're just two people living in the same house"

"You have a point" the redhead tucked her hair behind her ear "But there are reasons why love is sometimes considered idealistic"

Minato observed the young lady's body language and facial expression, she was definitely in deep thoughts of something and if their conversation was any sign he seemed to have an idea on what's going on with her. He was about to say something only but was cut off by her.

"I think we've been talking outside for a while" she looked at the grey skies "You should head back to the dorm before it rains"

"Umm . . . senpai . . ."

"I . . . have some business to take care of" she bowed at him "Excuse me"

Minato watched her retreating figure and couldn't help but sigh. He shouldn't force it out of her he thought, he'll just have to wait until she talks to him about it. He had time.

It didn't seem to be as soon as he thought as he'd received a text message from her during Christmas Eve:

I apologize for the late notice, but do you have plans for the night?

Looks like he'll have to free his schedule tonight.

While her outing with Arisato wasn't exactly 'a date', it still seemed like an occasion that required a little bit of dressing up. When she offered to the young blue haired swordsman she assumed they were just gonna hang out at the mall and eat at Ducky Burger.

So she was more than surprised when he suggested they go out for dinner at a slightly established sushi place.

It wasn't exactly formal dining but it seemed rude to just enter the restaurant in uniforms. It was Christmas Eve so maybe they should enjoy the festivities of it all.

Which lead to her current situation: what should she wear?

It wasn't that she didn't have clothes, she had more than enough. When she moved to the dorm her stylists made sure she had enough clothes to fit for every occasion . . . well almost.

She didn't have one for 'Christmas outing with teammate' or 'Friendly dinner with a close friend'. If she wore something too formal she knew it would be an insult to Arisato if she wore casual attire like her biker clothes she knew it would just be plain out of place.

"I don't even remember owning this much clothes," she said looking over hangers upon hangers of clothing.

"I have to say . . . I never saw you this . . . girly" Mitsuru jumped tossing a couple of clothes in the process.

She turned around to see her silver-haired childhood friend stood by the door "Akihito!"

The boxer chuckled "Relax" he closed the door behind him "You're going out?"

"Umm . . ." the redhead tried to hide her blush by covering her lower face with a dress "Yes"

"Hmm . . . strange" Akihito smirked, "Arisato said he was going out as well"

Mitsuru turned her back on him "Well . . . its Christmas Eve, I'm sure the others have plans as well. Don't you?"

The boxer shrugged "Well I don't know about the others but I'm just gonna watch Christmas specials with Kuromaru and Ken then order take-out"

"You seem to be getting along with Ama . . . Ken" Mitsuru said.

The teen crossed his arms "Everything that happened to him was out of his control, in the end, he's still just a kid. Shinjiro in a sense found redemption from what he did for the kid" he smiled solemnly "So I'm gonna do my best to give the kid as much of a childhood as I can, for Shinjiro and Ken"

The heiress played her fingers on the fabric of the dress she held "I still don't know if he would forgive me. I'm the solid representation of everything he hates, especially now that I'm the head"

"Don't start blaming yourself again?" Akihito said sternly "Ken knows you're not responsible for everything your family did. We all don't blame you for what happened"

"You're right" Mitsuru smiled "I guess I still have a little self-doubt"

The boxer went over to his friend and placed a hand on her shoulder "You've been through a lot, I think this date with Arisato is what you need"

At the mention of their kohai's name the young lady's face immediately went red "It's not a date!" she turned to him "I mean . . . we're teammates . . . I mean . . . what makes you say it's him . . . I mean . . . oh dear" she facepalmed herself.

Akihito couldn't help but laugh at the girl "You know, I could ask Yukari and Fuuka to help . . ."

"NOOOOO!" she pointed a finger at the boxer "If they find out they'll definitely think I'm going on a date with him"

He shook his head; he definitely will never understand girls even if he grew up with one "Why hide it anyway? It's just a date. You're not gonna marry him or something"

It was in here Mitsuru lowered her finger and looked down at the floor.

"Did I say something wrong?"

The heiress looked bittersweet "Yeah . . . it's just one date . . . nothing fruitful will happen from it"

Kenji's recommendations never cease to amaze Minato. Despite the fact that the fellow Gekkoukan student had weird fetishes (and he thought his browsing history was bad), the kid knew a thing or two about restaurants and food establishments.

They were currently in a sushi restaurant not too far from town, it wasn't too fancy and it wasn't exactly just a stall outside a train station. He was currently dressed in a black turtleneck sweater and dark jeans, his brown coat was on his chair, and his ever-present headphones were on hanging on his neck.

"I have to say Arisato I'm impressed," Mitsuru said looking at the décor of the establishment "Where did you hear of this place?"

After much deliberation (and Akihito just telling her to pick something or he was gonna tell Junpei) she decided to wear a white sleeveless tank top and tight blank pants with grey heels (Minato was not amused on how she wanted to be taller than him) and a black coat.

"Umm . . . Tomochika mentioned this place a few times" Minato said eying the menu, as suspected the dishes had weird names typical of a Kenji recommendation.

Mitsuru seemed to have noticed the odd names as well "My . . . is this one dish an actual sperm whale?"

"They even have elephant dung coffee" Minato rubbed his forehead "I rather not think of how they processed that"

His senpai chuckled at his reaction "Well then, this certainly is an experience"

"If we get food poisoning from this I'm throwing Tomochika off the roof of Tartarus," the blue-haired teen said after they ordered.

"That's a little too cruel" Mitsuru commented.

"If we compare it to your 'execution' jumping off Tartarus is basically just bungee jumping" he waved his hand dismissively.

The heiress smiled then took a look at the coffee "Are you sure you don't want the elephant one?"

His answer was a quick and flat "No"

"Suit yourself," she said taking a sip of her cup.

Mitsuru couldn't help but chuckle as Minato tried his best not to look disgusted at her for drinking the coffee.

"You know . . ." Mitsuru said after a while "This is the first time I spent Christmas outside of a party or business meeting"

Minato looked up from his green tea (he was not taking his chances on the coffee) "Is that why you were looking at the decorations earlier?"

"I know it might sound tiring for me to say things like that" Mitsuru tapped her coffee cup "But I lived quite a sheltered life you see, the last actual Christmas memory I had was when my father decided that we go to the mountains when I was a little girl"

The younger teen looked out the window "Now that I think of it, I could hardly remember how I spend Christmas"

This perked the redhead's curiosity "Really? Even last year?"

"Last year I remember playing Super Street Fighter II Turbo the entire Christmas Eve then sleeping the entire Christmas Day" he shrugged "Other than that the other years just seem to be a blur"

Mitsuru crossed her arms "I know this may sound like a sensitive topic to you, but if I may. Do you have any memories of your parents? Even before the accident?"

At the question, Minato just smirked "I don't"

"Ohh . . ." Mitsuru suddenly felt a little awkward.

Sensing her discomfort he faces her "It's alright, I guess the trauma of the accident made me forget the bad things and the good"

"It . . . just feels unfair," the lady said "I've been telling you all these memories of my childhood and here you are not remembering a single one from yours"

Before Minato could say anything their waiter had come and served their food. The conversation then shifted from comments on the sperm whale and odd color of the octopus Minato had ordered.

"Thank you"

They were currently heading back to the dorm; Mitsuru suggested walking as not only was it good exercise but she just didn't want the evening to end yet.

Minato paused in his walking and turned to his senpai "You're gonna take it back when your stomach starts rumbling tomorrow morning"

The redhead just laughed "I'm sure the food poisoning is just part of the experience Arisato"

"I'm starting to think the elephant is doing things to your head" he commented.

Mitsuru just shook her head as the continued walking; she observed the Christmas lights that filled the streets, the carolers that sang under the large tree and the families walking around laughing and singing along the songs. "Christmas seems more magical in here than in all the parties I went to"

"It's also more crowded," Minato said dodging a few kids who were riding on top of their father's shoulders.

The heiress replied by hooking her arm on his "There, we won't be separated"

The younger teen looked at his senpai; he was about to say something but thought better of it and just let her be.

The pair walked through the crowd in silence appreciating the background noise provided by Christmas Carols and several men dressed as Santa ringing bells. It was nice to have an evening walk that didn't involve green murky skies and bloody streets; the sense of normality was calming for them.

As they neared the dorm the noises started to get a little quieter. Though there were sounds of drunken men singing carols from their apartments or someone playing really loud Christmas music it wasn't a nuisance.

At first, Mitsuru thought she was being a little forward with her clinging unto her junior like that, but seeing as they walked the past hour with no complaint she assumed he either didn't mind or said nothing to embarrass her.

"You know you can let go now" Minato suddenly said.

She almost jumped in surprise, it was true they weren't in a crowded place anymore and he of all people should know she was capable of defending herself.

Yet why did she feel saddened by the thought of letting go?

This was ridiculous she thought. He was probably uncomfortable with her clinging to him, he was simply too polite to say no to her.

"I see," she said almost a little too sad as she loosened her grip.

He looked at her again "Are you sure your feet are okay? You've been walking in heels for quite some time now"

This immediately made the heiress look at her feet and indeed they were getting quite red. Her heeled boots were designed for comfort so it was fine if she ran a marathon with them, these grey ones though were not built for that sadly.

Now that she thought of it the back of her foot was starting to sting.

"I'm fine," she told her kohai "I wear heeled boots remember?"

He did not seem convinced "You were leaning unto me for support the whole walk"

"I'm perfectly fine Arisato," she said as she walked ahead of him enduring the stinging in her feet "See?"

"There was a reason why I said let go" he went over to the redhead "Now if you allow me Mitsuru-senpai, I advise that I carry you on the rest of the way"

At this, her cheeks were almost as red as her sore feet "Oh . . . that is absolutely unnecessary"

"Well my next option was to get a cab" he looked at the seemingly empty street "But there's no cab here and two . . ."

All at once the Christmas music that was blaring throughout the neighborhood stopped, the dark sky turned green and everything else just looked murky and dead.

"It's Dark Hour . . ." Mitsuru sighed "Have we been out that long?"

"Apparently so" he replied.

The redhead shook her head "Unbelievable, I've completely forgotten . . ." she stared at the dead atmosphere surrounding them.

Minato then brought out his evoker from his coat "I bought this just as a precaution"

At that, the Kirijo heir let out a loud laugh.

The blue haired young man just blinked at her reaction.

"I'm sorry," she said wiping the tears from her eyes "It seems that I'm slipping"

"I don't think so senpai" he tucked the gun back into his coat pocket "I don't think there are shadows here to attack us at the moment"

At this, she raised a brow "What makes you say that?"

In there they heard sounds of crashes, gunshots and a very familiar voice yelling out baseball references.

Mitsuru blinked "Is that Junpei?"

Shoving his hands on his pockets "I may or may not have told him about a Christmas Shadow going around"

"There's no Christmas shadow"

"DIE YOU SANTA SHADOW!"

Minato smirked "Exactly"

Mitsuru shook her head "You're impossible"

"Don't worry I told Yukari to watch him" he then gave her a look "So shall we?"

"You're still keen on carrying me"

"If you say no I'll do it either way"

At this, she blushed "Oh no! You do . . ." before she could say anything the kohai had already lifted her off the ground one arm holding her knees the other supporting her back.

For a moment Mitsuru froze only to later say "ARISATO PUT ME DOWN RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

Ignoring his senpai's kicking and screaming he ran the whole way back to the dorm.

As soon as they reached the dorm he had dropped her on the couch in the lobby and ran to his room to avoid an 'execution' from the riled up redhead.

Despite the fact that Gekkoukan High had probably the largest book collection of all academic institutions in the region, Mitsuru couldn't find what she was looking for. As she stared at the large shelves with various titles she couldn't help but feel a sense of dread.

"Are you looking for something senpai?" a familiar voice asked.

Not even turning to look at the voice she replied "I can't seem to find anything about marriage"

There was a moment of silence in which she assumed it was his way of saying she should elaborate.

"There are . . . a couple of issues going on in the Group" the girl sighed "I know I'm only a high schooler but as the daughter of the head it's my duty to step up and take control of what my father left behind . . . even if it means sacrificing a few things"

It was in here he spoke "I presume . . . this sacrifice involves an arranged marriage"

She finally turned to him as per usual Arisato looked calm and had his hands in his pockets as always "How did you know? No one knows about it yet"

"I just assumed," he said "Judging from our conversations as of the late"

She nodded "I see, well yes, a 'fiancé' has been chosen for me" she sighed before continuing "He's much older than me and has more experience in the field than I do, the Group hopes that our marriage would be able to salvage the company from the mess it's currently in"

"Are you sure you could do that?" Minato seemed quite concerned.

Mitsuru shook her head "To be honest no, I don't think I can. I've met the man before and he seems . . . to rub me off in the wrong way. Sadly there's nothing I could do"

The blue haired teen looked at the books behind her "I don't think there's an Idiots Guide to Being a Trophy Wife"

"Sadly there isn't," she said forcing a smile "Ever since they told me I've been looking up on the topic and all I found are books focused on events before marriage . . . does that mean everything after marriage is depressing?"

"Were your parents happy during their marriage?" he suddenly asked.

She hummed "They were actually, in fact, their marriage was arranged as well" she rubbed her chin "I guess it's something inevitable, my fate has been sealed"

Minato faced the girl staring intently at her "You can't just let them do that to you"

"Well . . . what should I do then?" she sounded exasperated "Just drop everything? There are employees who rely on this union I can't just let them down. I just can't let my family's legacy crumble just because of a selfish reason."

The younger boy sighed and looked up at the ceiling "Why not? There's nothing wrong with a young woman dropping her responsibilities to go on a journey of self-discovery"

Mitsuru faced him "Are you serious right now?"

"You're still young; you should enjoy your youth as much as you can" he then looked at her "Because when you grow old you might just regret everything"

"Minato . . ."

"But I'm just rambling" he shrugged "It's your decision either way"

Mitsuru bit her lip contemplating on what he just said. There was a long silence after that, Minato was about to leave thinking that the conversation was already over until she spoke again.

"If I . . . were too. . ." she held onto her arm "Go on this so-called 'journey'" she looked at him "Would you consider joining me"

This was not a mere request Minato noted. From the way she looked at him and the way her voice was so soft he almost didn't hear her. This was Mitsuru Kirijo at her most vulnerable if he turned her down now she probably won't show this side ever again.

Not that he planned on declining in the first place.

So I after noticing the complete lack of Minato/Mitsuru fanfiction I decided to take matters into my own hands and write one. This will probably just be two chapters, and to my readers who know me, no I have not abandoned Artemis Fowl.

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