Chapter 2: Yu's big plan

Minato actually waking up on time this morning yarns, stretches and gets up from his bed. After a quick hot shower he got dressed and walked into the kitchen to find Yukari by herself pouring a second cup of coffee. "Who's the second cup for? Is Aigis back?" he inquired scratching the back of his head.

"No its for you silly, I heard you were awake in the other room so I decided to make some for you too" she replied smiling and handing him the coffee.

"Oh thanks" he said taking the cup form her hands.

As he was sitting at the table with Yukari sipping from his coffee he suddenly felt bad about how he blew her off the night before. "I should do something nice for her to make up for it, she is letting me live here after all, not to mention she made me coffee" he thought. "And here I was tuning out every thing she said and rushing off to bed". Then an idea came to him and he decided to act on it.

"Hey Yukari" Minato said breaking the silence that was lingering in the room.

"Yes?"

"Are you free tonight?"

"Yeah why?" she said, her eyes lighting up.

"Well since your not busy, if you want to ditch the robot, Yu and me found this great steak house last weekend, and I was just wondering if I could take you there tonight?" Minato asked nervously, shifting in his chair slightly.

"That sounds great, I'd love to" She responded in glee almost jumping out of her own chair.

"Great then I'll pick you up at eight" he smiled at her.

"Alright its a date" she beamed back at him.

With that said Minato noticing the time on his watch excused himself from the table and started to leave. "wait" called Yukari "Your not going to eat anything?". "Oh, no I'm not really hungry yet, and besides Yu usually packs an extra sandwich for me in his lunch bag, so I'll just eat that" He responded and exited the apartment.

Minato exited the apartment building, got on his motorcycle, and drove to work. When he got there he found Yu in the back unloading bags of flour from a truck. "Oh, good your here, give me and hand here will you?" he greeted him. "Sure thing bud" Minato replied walking over to the truck and helping unload some flour. Yu and Minato both work together unloading the flour for a while until Yu decided to break the silence and propose an idea that had been taking shape in his head since yesterday.

"Hey partner, you know how we haven't been getting many costumers early in the morning, and we just mainly get cake orders for birthdays and stuff?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Well I think I thought of a way to turn that all around, and I think your going to like it".

"Well alright lets hear it man".

"Wait for it, Wait for it, How about if we start selling ….. here it comes …... the moment you've been waiting for …...".

"Out with it already, I'm dying of old age".

"Alright, alright, no need to snap, I was just thinking that maybe we could start selling donuts and kolaches here at the bakery. You know just early in the morning when we first open up for the day".

"I …...".

"yes?"

"I LOVE IT, THAT'S THE BEST IDEA I'VE EVER HEARD". Minato shouted excitedly but then suddenly became some what disappointed "There's just one problem tho, I'm terrible at making kolaches". His shoulders slumped and he let the bag of flour he was carrying fall to ground by his feet.

"Don't worry about that, that's why you got me here bro. I'll make all of the kolaches if you make the donuts" Yu reassured him smiling.

"THEN LETS DO IT, LETS START SELLING DONUTS AND KOLACHES AT OUR BAKERY" Minato shouted jumping into the air, his excitement clearly returning.

"Yeah lets do it, and if they become a big enough success lets add in a drive-thru to the bakery and sell them out of there".

"Yeah sounds great partner, I guess I don't give you enough credit some times, you can be a real genius your self when you need to be".

Yu laughed at that and the two high-fived, confirming Yu's plan. The two then finished unloading the flour from the truck and storing it inside the bakery. After they were done Yu went out and told the truck driver that they got all the flour and he could leave. Once he came back in he grabbed his apron off the rack put it on, noticing that Minato had already donned his own apron. "So, when are we going to set that plan of yours into motion? I'm ready to start shoveling out donuts right now" Minato asked as he approached. "We can't start today, I still need to find a good source of sausages for the kolaches, and we should probably advertise a bit before we start".

"Good point, next week then?"

"Yeah sure we'll start selling donuts and kolaches next week".

"We got any orders piled up?" Minato asked.

"Yeah but just mostly for my Izanagi Cupcakes and a King Frost vanilla cake, which I'll handle if you'll man the counter and the phone".

"Alright then leave the counter to me".

Minato then went out to the counter and sat down in the chair behind it. He put his headphones up over his ears and turned them on, setting the volume low so that he could still hear the phone if it rang. Some time past and a costumer came in to pick up his order of cupcakes, which Yu brought out to him; Minato put the money in the register and went back to his music. After some more time past the phone started ringing, Minato upon hearing it removed his headphones from his ears and answered it. "Hello this is Minato with the Fool's Bakery, may I take your order?".

"Yooooooo Minato whats up bro" It was Junpei's voice that Minato heard on the other side of the phone.

"Junpei I hope for your sake that you didn't call this number just to say that". Minato answered back some what harshly.

"No, no of course not I would have dialed your cell if that was all I had to say man".

"Then you better come out and say it because I'm hanging up soon".

"Alright, alright, sheesh would it kill you to be a little friendlier with the costumer, I was just calling in because I would like to place a special order".

"Well okay lets hear it".

"You know those big special cakes you make, the one your famous for, man whats it called …... oh yeah that's right a Messiah Cake, that's what its called, one of those please".

"Well alright then, when would like that made by sir?" Minato asked with faked courtesy.

"Oh wait, I need that specially made, is there any way you could make it into a wedding cake? Oh and I need it done by April 14th if that's alright with you".

"A wedding cake hu?" Minato asked not able to fathom why Junpie would need one of those.

"Well I'm sure I left you like 15 voice messages about it, but I'm getting married to Chidori in April".

"Oh yeah I forgot you were dating her, congratulations man, I'll be glad to make your wedding cake".

"Thanks man, oh and while I have you on the line, I want you to be my best man, that is if you think you can handle it".

"ummmmm I guess I'll do that, yeah sure I'd be honored to be your best man, thanks". Minato said flattered.

"ALRIGHT we're going to have the best bachelor party ever, right bro?" Junpie shouted excitedly

"Yeah sure".

"Oh come on put some more excitement into it".

"Yeah sure, woooooo". Minato said with faked excitement at the end.

"That's more like it, I guess, anyways this is going to be great".

"Listen Junpie, lets talk more about this later, I need to get back to work".

"Yeah sure man, just make sure you make the cake good, can't wait, I'll call you tomorrow to talk party details".

"Okay, will do, bye".

"bye".

Minato hung up the phone and put his headphones back on. Just then Yu walked in from the kitchen. "So what was it?" He asked. "What was what?" Minato asked back confused. "The order, Minato, what did the costumer order?" He asked again slightly annoyed.

"Oh yhea, the order. It was just Junpie on the phone, said he needed me to make him a wedding cake for his and Chidori's wedding" Minato replied lowering his headphones again.

"Oh yeah that's right his wedding is coming up in a couple of months, didn't know he'd order his cake from us though".

"You mean you knew about the wedding, I was a little shocked when I heard about it myself, I never really saw Junpie as the marrying type, you know?"

"Yeah you mean to tell me you just found out, I thought the guy was your friend? Surly he would have called you to tell you about it. I mean I found out about it myself four weeks ago from Fuuka. I would have said something to you about it but I just figured you already knew".

"Fuuka?! What are you doing talking to Fuuka Yu? How dose Marie feel about this? Oh man, just think of the scandal, Yu Narukami with TWO women, who would have known you were the kind of guy who would do that?" Minato asked jokingly.

"N-no its not like that I swear" Yu said a small blush starting to form on his face from the mention of Marie. "Fuuka just called to see if I knew about the wedding, and if I was going or not. She is the maid of honor after all. So I just told her that I hadn't heard about it yet, and that me and Marie would love to go. That's all, and before you say anything I already talked to Marie about going and she said she would be glad to go".

"Alright, alright, I was just messing with you. I know you would never do anything to hurt your beloved Marie". Minato said laughing as the blush on Yu's face became a deeper shade of red.

"Sh-shut up. So are you going to explain to me how you didn't know about it already or are you just going to keep dodging the question?" Yu said trying to get back on topic.

"Well I guess I just didn't care enough. I'm sure Yukari said something to me about it before, but I probably just didn't listen or forgot about it; and as for Junpie telling me about it, I never pick up that guy's calls. He's so annoying, always calling me and talking about baseball and other boring stuff and asking me to hangout, It got on my nerves so I just always pretend not to hear the phone when he calls now. Which I some what feel bad about, considering he asked me to be his best man, not bad enough that I would pick up all of his stupid calls of course, but bad enough that I'll be his best man and throw him his lame bachelor party".

"Well shit bro, remind me never to ask you to be my best man if I get married".

"Good, please don't".

"So anyways, You'll handle the cake I assume?"

"Yeah he wants a Messiah Cake, and Lord knows I'm the only one who can that".

"hummmmmmmm, a Messiah Cake as a wedding cake, that's sure to be interesting".

"Yeah but nothing I can't handle. Anyways we should get back to work don't you think Yu?" Minato said putting his headphones back on.

"Yep we sure should, but when you said get back to work you meant getting back to your song didn't you?"

"Exactly, and that is why we're such good friends, we understand each other".

"Yeah sure" said Yu sarcasticly as he went back into the kitchen. After that the rest of the day at the bakery went by like usual, without any important events worth mentioning until closing time. Once closing time came about Minato hung up his apron in the kitchen and walked with Yu out into the parking lot. The two walked in silence till they reached Minato's bike. Minato deciding to break the silenced asked "So We're for sure doing the whole donuts and kolaches thing, right?".

"Yeah, of course, once I set my mind to something, I see it all the way thru".

"Ha, now I know why your still with Marie" Minato joked.

"Whatever man, but yeah we're still going to do the donuts and kolache thing next week I'll start looking for a good supplier for sausages".

"Alright then see you tomorrow bro".

"Yeah, see ya" said Yu walking off towards his car.

Minato got on his motorcycle and started to drive home. On his way home he remembered he made plans with Yukari to go on a date to that stake house he and Yu ate at last weekend. He immediately started getting nervous. "God, I hope this goes well" he prayed as he drove the rest of the way home.

When Minato got back to the apartment parking lot he parked his cycle in his spot and started to get off like usual, when he suddenly felt a sense of malice in the air. He immediately leaped off from his bike several feet into the air. Just in time, as just as he did so a blast of ice struck his bike freezing it solid. "Damn that close, another second and that would have been me frozen like that" he thought as he landed on the ground a couple of feet away from his now unusable motorcycle. Minato's hand instinctively went down to his hip to pull his evoker, only to realize he didn't have it. "Shit, I never even got it back from Aigis did I? Damn it!" he cursed himself for not being prepared. He looked over to identify his attacker and saw a shadow charging up another attack. It released its attack, another bufu spell, and Minato quickly leaped out of the way, narrowly dodging yet another attack. "This isn't going well, how in the hell am I supposed to fight it with out a weapon" he thought. The shadow rushed him trying to tear into him with its claws, he dodged blow after blow with graceful ease, but he was going to run out of stamina soon if something wasn't done.

Suddenly Pallas Athena appeared before Minato and crushed the shadow in a single slash. Minato taken by surprise from the sudden help, fell onto his butt. Before she even spoke Minato knew who had saved him, he recognized who the persona was and who its owner was immediately after seeing it. Aigis removed her self from the shadows she was standing in and walked over to Minato to help him up.

"Are you alright?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks you saved my life just now probably". He said taking her hand and letting her help him up onto his feet. "Where did that shadow come from anyways, should they be showing up like this?".

"I wish I knew the answer to that, however at the moment I lack the knowledge".

"Well whatever whats done is done I suppose".

"You shouldn't take such attacks so lightly Minato".

His face suddenly becoming more serious "Hey listen Aigis, do you still have my evoker lying around anywhere?"

"Yes of course, in fact I keep it on me at all times for good luck".

"Well, do you think that maybe I could have it back? I think I might be needing it" he asked extending his hand.

"Yes of course, I suppose it dose belong to you after all, I was just holding on to it for you".

She pulled out the evoker and handed it to Minato, who eagerly took it from her, and stuck it in his pocket. "Next time a shadow tries to ambush me, its going to be in for one hell of a surprise" he said smiling.

"Yes I'm sure that it will" Aigis confirmed.

"You just getting home, from your mission?".

"Yes, I just pulled into the parking lot when I saw you being attacked by that shadow".

"Well that's lucky, I couldn't fight that thing without my evoker on me".

The two of them then walked into the apartment building and up to their home. Once inside they were met with an all dressed up, and worried Yukari who thought something bad must have happened to Minato since he was late. Minato quickly explained what had happened to her, and then added at the end "I'm sorry Yukari, but it looks like we're going to have to cancel our date my bike is frozen over and I'm going to have to wait for it to thaw out".

"Oh that's okay, I'll just drive us there, we can take my car". Yukari answered back with a smile on her face.

"Oh but Aigis just got back and I'm sure she wants to tell us all about her mission and stuff, it would be rude to leave her" Minato tried to reason.

"No I'm sure Aigis will be fine. Right Aigis?".

"Yes I will be fine here alone, I wouldn't want to ruin any plans the two of you made together" Aigis replied.

"Oh, okay then lets get going shall we Yukari?" Minato said with a faked smile on his face, disappointed he wasn't able to find a reason to postpone the date.

The two of them then left the apartment and went to the stake house, with Yukari driving. Once there they got a table and ordered. They talked about various things thru out the dinner such as how Yukari's acting carer was going and about Junpie's wedding. Minato even went into details on Yu's new plan for the bakery and how excited he was for it. During the course of the dinner Minato came to realize that he was really enjoying spending time with Yukari and that she hadn't changed much since he last dated her, before being sealed away for four years. Yukari laughed at all of his lame jokes and looked interested when he told her about Yu's plan, which Minato realized she probably didn't care much about but was still great full that she would humor him.

After the dinner Minato paid for the stake and Yukari drove the two of them home. Once back in the apartment room the they began to chat about what a good time both of them had on the date.

"I really had fun tonight Minato, it was a real joy spending time with you again". Yukari said moving closer to him.

"Yhea I had a good time too Yukari, we should do this again some time, I think I forgot how much I enjoyed talking to you" He said back. Followed by a pause, then "I'm sorry I'v been so distant with you lately, I just get so nervous around you now for some reason, but I think I'm over that now".

"Good, because you never have to be nervous around me Minato" and with that she began to lean in closer to him putting her face closer to his. Minato seeing what she was doing leaned in as well and met her lips with his own. Kissing her Immediately brought back a flood of memories of his time dating her in the past, into Minato's head. He remembered the first time she and him kissed on the roof top of Gekkoukan High's roof, the same wonderful feeling of kissing her was washing over him now as it did back then. He slowly wrapped his arms around here and continued kissing her, when Yukari decided to take things farther. She suddenly pressed her whole body against his and forced her tongue into his mouth. Realizing what was happening and taken back in shock Minato immediately pushed her away from him.

"ummmmmm, would you look at the time, I better be getting to bed, don't want to be late for work tomorrow, see you tomorrow Yukari. Night!" Minato said rushing down the hall and into his room before she had time to respond.

Once alone in his room Minato quickly got undressed and rushed into bed, the bright red blush that had formed on his face never leaving. Minato pulled the covers up over himself and drifted off into sleep. Concluding that today had been a very eventful day.