...Do you think it's weird that I was inspired to write this one-shot while in the showers? *sweats* Because that was what happened...
My oddities aside, thank you so much to everyone who'd reviewed, including the ever-mysterious ? the Guest! I'll try to honor everyone's requests but it really depends on if I can get a solid idea going...
That aside, I won't bother ranting about what's happening IRL this time around so...
Enjoy! :D
Fragments of Our Life
Facing Death
The Dark Hour: Sunday, May 17, 2009–Monday, May 18, 2009
Have you ever faced death before?
Have you stared it straight in the eyes and felt that chill descend over you?
Have you wanted to fight, wanted to run, wanted to do something in order to escape from its grasp?
Have you ever despaired?
If you have, then that would be how it was like to battle against the Reaper…
…or, at least, that was how it normally went.
But the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad wasn't reckless enough to challenge the avatar of death on their very first meeting.
In fact, their initial encounter with the Reaper was a bit of an odd story…
Well, the events that led up to it were odd in any case.
And it all started on the twentieth floor of the Arqa block in Tartarus with a certain gold treasure chest…
"Dude!" Junpei exclaimed as he tilted his cap back with an excited grin, "Check this out," he knocked his knuckles against the shiny metal, "Solid gold, baby!"
Yukari rolled her eyes and pushed his cap down–"HEY!"–before sniping, "Ever heard of fool's gold, Stupei?"
Said boy sputtered indignantly–"Of course I have! And stop calling me that!"–as Minako crouched down to their new find and brushed her fingers across the elegant grooves.
"You know," she mused with furrowed brows, "This floor's pretty weird," worry was evident in her eyes, "There aren't any Shadows around and," she leaned back to look down the hall where two common ones laid, "There are all of these treasures…"
A shift from the corner of her eyes drew her attention to Minato whose short question echoed her thoughts, "A trap?"
Hearing their soft conversation, Yukari paused from heckling the taller boy and suggested warily, "Maybe we should just move onto the next floor…?"
But Junpei quickly interjected with a snort, "Aw, come on! Don't be a spoil-sport, Yuka-tan," said girl shot him an irritated look but he ignored it to gesture around, "This is, like, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to get some loot! We should take advantage of the situation!"
The Wild Cards glanced at one another in question before their attention was diverted when Yukari poked Junpei in the chest rather viciously.
"And if a stronger Shadow jumps out at us, then what?!" the archer snapped back, causing the capped boy to shrink a bit, before she turned to eye the gold treasure chest cautiously, "In fact, what if it's actually hiding in there right now…?"
There was a moment of silence as everyone slowly edged away from the innocuous-looking object before–
"EEK!"
–Minako and Minato whirled around, weapons ready, only to see–
"You– You– ARGH–!"
–a flushed Yukari attempting to smack the cackling teenager over the head with her bow.
"Aw~ Is Yuka-tan scared of wittle ol' me?" Junpei teased as he ducked a swipe and chuckled, "I can't believe you actually fell for that!"
Her face darkened even further and she notched an arrow onto her bow.
"Whoa!" Junpei jumped back with his hands thrown up defensively, "Watch where you're pointing that thing!"
The archer simply advanced on him threateningly and the capped boy yelped before hiding behind Minako, crying, "Save me, Mina-tan~!"
Said brunette sweated as Yukari shouted, "Stop being a coward and face me like a man, Stupei!"
"Hey, I happen to actually value my life," he quipped before ducking when an arrow shot passed him and embedded itself into the blood-stained wall and squeaking, "She's gonna eat– I mean– kill me!"
Unsure of how to react to being a human shield, Minako simply smiled nervously as she was turned to always face Yukari who circled around for an opening with a vengeful glint in her eyes.
And I ask myself once more, she thought in exasperation, Why am I the lead–
Her thoughts were abruptly cut off when she caught sight of Minato crouching in front of the treasure chest.
Or, more accurately, he was crouching in front of the open treasure chest.
And there was something strange about his expression.
Is he…blushing?
Minako was a bit baffled by that and swiftly maneuvered out of Junpei's grip–
"Got you now!"
"GAH! Mina-tan, how could you leave your best-est buddy in the whole, wide wo–AH!"
"Prepare yourself, Stupei!"
"NoooOoooOooo~!"
–before stepping beside the blue-haired boy and calling out to him, "Minato-kun?"
He twitched and stiffly turned his head to look at the curious brunette before abruptly dropping the item and–
Bataan!
–slamming the treasure chest close.
There was a pause as everyone stared at him in surprise and one could almost hear the Shadows crawling from the floors above and below them…
…until Junpei sidled up to him with a mischievous grin.
"Ohoho~ And what was that all about?" he almost cackled when Minato's blush seemed to darken but instead rested an arm on the shorter male's head and reached out for the gold trunk, "And what do we have here~?"
Silver eyes widened in an almost panicked manner but the blue-haired boy didn't react in time and Junpei popped open the treasure chest with obvious glee.
"Now let's see~…"
Dark eyes widened and his jaw dropped comically.
The girls suddenly felt a chill run down their spines as they shivered simultaneously.
Oh no… they unknowingly mimicked each other's thoughts, He's got that look on his face now.
That look usually meant that he was going to do something that would embarrass them all to hell and back.
"M-Maybe we should get going?" Yukari whispered to her fellow brunette before squeaking softly and hiding behind her upon seeing the glint in the capped boy's eyes, "Y-You know, before w-we regret staying here?"
Minako swallowed and resisted the urge to back away from the leer that was becoming ever-more evident on Junpei's face (if only because she would've tripped over the slightly shorter girl) before clearing her throat and agreeing, "We should get a move on, guys. We've been here for a while now…"
Her words trailed off as Junpei began chuckling lowly.
They could almost see a pair of horns jutting out of his cap and a forked tail wagging slyly behind him.
Increasingly worried, Minako shot Minato a look that practically screamed "HELP!" but he refused to meet her gaze and opted to glare at his shoes, still blushing deeply.
"So~," Junpei almost sang as he advanced on the girls, "Who shall try this on for size~?"
Red and brown eyes widened in horror.
The…thing…that he was holding was made of white strips of fabric that acted as panties and were attached to silver armor that made up the brassiere along with gloves and boots and…and that was it.
That was it.
Each brunette stuttered incoherently.
The outfit was essentially nothing more than a lingerie suited with pieces of metal!
And they came to only one conclusion as they glanced at each other and made use of that uniquely timed telepathy–
RUN!
–before bolting immediately.
Surprised at how they seemed to vanish from sight, Junpei floundered for a moment before smacking his cheeks to focus and adopting the most serious expression seen as of yet.
Without turning to him, the capped boy grabbed the blue-haired boy by the collar–
"AFTER THEM!"
–and dragged him along in order to hunt down the elusive females.
(Along the way, they popped open the other two treasure chests to find an Amenity Suit and a Revival Bead.)
The jaunty tune that Junpei whistled was completely inappropriate for their surroundings.
Indeed, it sounded sinister as Minako and Yukari suddenly found themselves faced with a dead end.
"Of all the–!" the archer cursed their cliched situation before turning desperately to her leader, "What do we do now?!"
Biting her lower lip, Minako ran through all of their options and patted herself down, nervously asking, "I don't suppose you have a Traesto Gem…?"
The shorter brunette rummaged through her pack and the increasingly agitated look on her face told all.
If only Traesto was a skill…!
Her Personae fluttered in her mind apologetically but she couldn't blame them for her current situation.
What to do…?
A shadow casted over them and they froze upon hearing a familiar cheer,
"Ta da da da~!"
Slowly turning to face the boys, Minako and Yukari clutched their weapons close to their chests and swallowed thickly.
We're doomed, aren't we?
Poor Minato was torn as to what to do.
On the one hand, he'd already vowed to protect his other half no matter what (and that fearful look on her face made his heart clench oh-so painfully) but, on the other hand, he was a growing teenager and the thought of seeing Minako in that outfit…
He palmed his forehead as his cheeks continued to burn fiercely, silently cursing that which was known as hormones.
Sometimes I wish I really were stone-faced…
"N-Not a step closer," Yukari stuttered as she notched an arrow, "I swear I'll shoot…!"
Junpei looked exaggeratedly hurt as he whined, "Don't be like that, Yuka-tan~! Wearing it won't kill ya, y'know? Besides, doesn't it look fashionable?"
A vein throbbed on her temple.
"I'll die from embarrassment!" was her immediate comeback, "And if it's so fashionable, then why don't you wear it?!"
The capped boy made a face and shuddered.
"No," he actually sounded a bit traumatized, "Just… No."
"Well, now you know how we feel," Yukari huffed as she regained a bit of her confidence but didn't lower her bow, "That thing is completely degrading to our gender."
And now he looked on the fence about it.
Seeing their opponent waver, Minako wordlessly pleaded with her still-potential ally.
Hesitant silver eyes met with watery red ones and Minato just melted in response.
Finally getting his act together, the blue-haired boy walked over to the taller male and swiped the equipment–"OI!"–from him before tossing it to the girls when–
"Is something the matter?"
–Mitsuru's voice echoed through their minds.
"You've been running around that same floor for a while now," she continued with the vaguest hint of worry, "Has something come up? Should I send reinforcements?"
Minako parted her lips to respond when–
"Actually, Senpai…"
–Junpei appeared to have gotten a second wind if the glint in his eyes meant anything.
"Yes, Iori?" her voice was as professional as ever but the brunettes were starting to feel wary again, "Can I help in any way?"
"We found something pretty interesting," the capped boy continued impishly, "I think it's a pretty rare armor for the ladies but they don't want to wear it."
"Armor?" Mitsuru sounded curious and asked, "Shall I attempt to scan it?"
Before Minako could respond in the negative, Junpei cut in rather gravely, "That would be best, Senpai. I mean, everything little thing counts, right? Tartarus is a dangerous place after all and we need all the help we can get."
At this point, the others just stared at him incredulously.
But you're the one who always disregards priorities!
Everything went over his head and there was a pause as Minako hoped dearly that the redhead had caught onto Junpei's uncharacteristic explanation but–
"It would appear that there's spiritual energy of some form infused in it."
–Mitsuru seemed utterly intrigued by the equipment, explaining,
"From what I can read, that attribute heightens the wearer's defense considerably and will prove to be very useful until we can find an even higher tier armor."
"So one of the girls should wear it, right?" Junpei was grinning like a madman and he would've been cackling too if he hadn't been keeping up his act, "I mean, it's way too small for either Minato or me."
"Indeed," the redhead mused, "While I do not have a clear picture of it, I feel that Inoue would best fit in it…"
She trailed off when said brunette squeaked in a rather undignified manner.
"Is something wrong with my assessment?" Mitsuru asked with clear puzzlement, "The armor appears to be resonating best with your own spiritual energy."
Minako tried to answer but felt far too mortified to even mimic a fish.
"Senpai," Minato spoke up with just the slightest hint of hesitation in his voice, "The armor is a bit…revealing."
Junpei shot him a betrayed look but he ignored it.
Ko-chan's more important, damn it!
There was a pause before the third year spoke slowly, "I think…that survival is more important than pride in this situation."
The connection cut off and the capped boy whooped loudly as Minako fell to her knees in despair.
Yukari looked torn between cursing out the redhead, beating up Junpei, standing awkwardly with the frozen male or feeling utterly relieved that she wouldn't be wearing it.
One look at her trembling leader though tugged at her heartstrings and the shorter brunette crouched down to pat Minako on the back, sympathetically suggesting,
"Maybe you can wear your uniform over it?"
.
.
.
As it turned out, the magic that boosted the armor's defense also repelled outer clothes (for reasons uknown).
But Minako attempted another way to save her dwindling self-respect by wearing her uniform underneath it.
Unfortunately, given how the Battle Panties contoured perfectly to her body, it was also a no go.
And so the brunette was forced to wear it in all of its original glory.
"Are you done yet~?"
Minako made a face upon hearing the sing-song voice of her not-so best buddy in the whole wide world and huffed,
"Go away."
"Aw~ Don't be like that, Mina-tan~," Junpei cooed in a way that made her skin crawl, "I'm sure you look absolutely sex–OW!"
"Stop being such a pervert, Stupei," Yukari spoke in clear disgust, "Seriously. You deserve to be black and blue right about now," knuckles cracked threateningly, "In fact…"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa–!" there was some shuffling before he yelped, "Oi, Minato, help your buddy out, why don't ya?!"
Said Wild Card didn't respond and Minako readjusted her gloves nervously.
Should I go out…?
Well, she knew that she couldn't stay hidden for long since the Dark Hour would end sooner or later.
"…Minako-chan."
She nearly screamed upon hearing his voice so close to her temporary private room.
"M-Minato-kun…?"
He didn't say anything for a few seconds before mumbling, "You…can hide behind me…if you want to, of course."
The brunette bit her lower lip, vaguely registering the girlish shrieks of pain in the other hallway, before nodding to herself.
We have to move on anyway.
Taking a deep breath, she held it in and counted to ten before slowly releasing the air.
Okay, Minako, you can do this…!
Peeking around the corner of the space that she occupied, the leader of SEES saw the familiar slouch of Minato's back and gulped once before stepping out.
The blue-haired boy couldn't help but tense upon hearing the soft clicking of her high-heels and blushed yet again when he felt her grab onto the back of his jacket.
Swallowing back the urge to turn around and see her, he asked instead, "Ready?"
Her grip tightened and she nodded, whispering, "Yea–"
She was cut off by the sound of rattling chains and the two Wild Cards froze as something pushed down on them.
A beep and–
"Inoue! Arisato! I sense Death!"
–Mitsuru's voice boomed with undisguised fear,
"You must hurry and find the staircase before it catches up to you!"
And there was a whirl of action as they sprinted forward though the brunette stumbled a bit at first, unused to her new attire.
"…Where are Yukari and Junpei?!" Minako demanded after regaining her balance, "Are they safe?!"
"…Yes," the redhead responded after a moment though the stress in her voice hadn't lowered as the sound of metal dragging became even louder, "They've found the exit and– Turn right!"
The duo rounded the corner and the brunette would've tripped had Minato not grabbed her arm and steadied her.
A flash of black appeared in the corner of their eyes and Mitsuru snapped, "Go left and then the second right!"
They followed her directions and a gunshot resounded–
"Inoue!"
–and said girl flinched when the bullet luckily ricocheted off of her naginata before–
"Move…!"
–the blue-haired boy tackled her and they rolled–
"Minako! Minato-kun!"
–before stopping at the base of the staircase where Yukari stood with her bow ready and aiming at the sole entrance to the area.
"Here it comes…!"
The rattling of chains almost echoed in their ears and Junpei swallowed loudly before–
"…huh…?"
–the Reaper stopped just outside of their space.
It (he, she?) cocked its (his, her?) head to the side as its (his, her?) single eye was fixed on the Wild Cards before–
"Shishishishi~…"
–it giggled.
The sound was low and soft and breathless and almost childish in a way that sent shivers of apprehension running through their bodies.
But it snapped them out of their stunned state and they scrambled up the stairs.
Red eyes chanced a glance back at the Reaper just before the floor changed and flickered with confusion.
Is it…sad…to see us go?
But then she blinked and suddenly they were on the twenty-first floor.
Why would it…?
Warmth brushed over her hand and she turned to see Minato looking at her with worry in his eyes.
"I'm okay," Minako whispered with a weak smile as she pushed the question to the back of her mind and looked him over, "What about you?"
He simply nodded and his eyes trailed downwards before abruptly snapping to the side as he froze.
Confused, the brunette leaned forward and waved a hand in front of his face, calling out, "Minato-kun…?"
A dark blush covered his cheeks and she was about to question him when a loud catcall made her jump.
"Wow, Mina-tan~," Junpei waggled his brows as if they hadn't just been chased by death's avatar and leered, "You're lookin' mighty fine~!"
For a second, she didn't understand until–
Ah!
–she remembered her current state of appearance and wrapped an arm over her chest before–
"S-Stupei!"
–throwing her weapon at the capped boy, making him yelp indignantly,
"It was a compliment!"
But Minako didn't want to hear it as she tried to cover herself up only to fail miserably with a blush that matched Minato's.
"Aw~ Don't be so shy~," Junpei continued teasing her upon seeing the brunette retract into herself, "You should show off your body more! And who knows, maybe you'll get a boyfriend sometime soon? In fact…"
His eyes glittered mischievously as he leaned towards her.
"That's sexual harassment right there!" Yukari snapped as she raised her bow threateningly, "Why I ought to–!"
But she was abruptly cut off when–
Paki!
–a spire of ice shot out from under the capped boy–
"Holy– Are you trying to kill me?!"
–who barely jumped away from the deadly attack and shouted at the blue-haired boy.
"Don't worry," Minato spoke lowly and silkily, "I won't kill you…"
Silver eyes glinted dangerously.
"I'll just maim you for a bit."
Dark eyes widened at that before–
"Not the balls! Not the ball! Anything but that–!"
–Junpei was sent running for the sake of his manhood as the ironically Magician-based Persona giggled cheerfully,
"Hee ho!"
And so concludes their first meeting with the Reaper…
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