Chapter 2: Warm Hands
It's been a few weeks since Minato and Yukari started dating. Nothing too serious yet, but they seem to be having a little more fun each time they go out.
xxx
It's Saturday and the two have decided to go down to the Iwatodai strip mall. When they get to the Iwatodai train station, they find a massive crowd of people flooding in and out of the station, with students trying to squeeze through.
"Seems a little more... crowded than usual, doesn't it?" Minato asks.
"A little?!" Yukari exclaims. "If this was a savannah, this would be a stampede of elephants!"
"That's not very nice. They're not all fat." Yukari glares at Minato, who smiles mischievously.
"You know what I meant!" Minato recalls something he heard from a classmate this morning.
"I think it has something to do with the Port Island station," he says. "Apparently, there's been a lot of Apathy Syndrome victims over there. Guess people are trying to avoid it." Yukari looks down and frowns.
"Hm… I know we have to look around Tartarus," she says. "But… can't we just take a night to stop the Shadows outside from attacking more people?" Minato rubs the back of his neck in thought.
"I guess," he says. "But that wouldn't really change anything. The way I see it, the only permanent solution is to get rid of the Dark Hour."
Now that he's said it out loud, Minato thinks about what'll happen after that. Everyone he's met so far have only gathered together for that purpose. Once that's done… will everyone just disappear from his life? Will it be like none of it ever happened?
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Yukari says. "Once we defeat the last of the 12 Shadows, this'll all be over. And the sooner, the better." Minato nods.
"Well, there's a problem we'll deal with more tonight," Yukari says. "Right now, how do we get through here without getting lost… or crushed?"
Minato snaps back to reality when she mentions this. He looks down at Yukari's hand. They've been walking side by side for a long time now and it feels like that hand is getting closer to his. That hand has been calling his name for a long time. Now, he can finally shut it up.
He blushes, takes a deep breath, reaches behind her hand, and quickly locks his fingers between hers. He feels her initial shock as her hand tenses up.
"H-Huh?!" Yukari looks down at their hands, then at Minato. Minato tries to avoid eye contact with her, half expecting her to yell at him, or even slap him, but neither came. Yukari blushes and looks away from him.
"U-Uh… well… I-I guess this could work," she stutters. "For getting through the crowd, I mean." Minato doesn't say anything. He's too caught up in feeling how warm Yukari's hand feels in his. He feels Yukari's fingers slowly wrap around his hand. He takes another deep breath.
"W-We're going in," he mumbles. "J-Just… h-hold on tight and… d-don't let go." Yukari nods as he walks into the crowd, pulling her behind him. As he walked through the large crowd, he didn't feel any of the resistance of people passing by him. All he could feel is the gentle and warm feel of Yukari's hand.
When they boarded the train, it was completely packed with people, which meant there was still a risk of them losing each other. Minato grabbed a bar overhead, still holding Yukari's hand tight.
"H-Hey… that's still you I'm holding, right?" Minato asks. He didn't hear any answer. Yukari was caught with feeling Minato's hand, just like he was with hers. It felt like nothing in this world could break Minato's firm grip. It was a bit terrifying for her… but also very much more comforting. Kind of like… what happened back at Yakushima.
"Yukari?!"
"Huh? Y-Yeah. I'm still here," she stutters. Minato started to feel Yukari's fingers massage his hands as she tightened her grip. He instinctively pulls her slightly closer to him, allowing their arms to touch. They both see each other joined together in the window's reflection, not noticing that they're both looking at it. They can't take their eyes off it. Somehow, it confirmed to them that there is someone with them, right by their side, and that feeling in their hands is not fake. It's obvious that they're both asking the same question:
Do I seriously have to let go?
xxx
They reach the strip mall and Minato scans the three floors for a place to eat. One place catches his eye.
"Wakatsu?" he asks Yukari.
"Sure. Why not?" she says. They walk over to the restaurant. Only when Minato tries to open the door with his right hand do they both notice their mistake.
"Oh geez!" Yukari exclaims. "We're still-!"
"Y-Yeah." They look at each other before disconnecting their hands. They quickly rubs their palms against their jackets, as if to wipe off dirt.
"D-Do you think anyone saw us?" Yukari asks.
"I-I dunno," Minato says. "We were in a crowd, so probably not." Yukari laughs sheepishly as Minato opens the door to let her go first. He sighs under his breath before going in himself.
Guess I had to let go sooner or later, he thinks.
xxx
Long after they got their food, Minato is staring at his right hand, subconsciously missing the feel of Yukari's hand.
"Mm! That was good," Yukari says. "Good thing I got the same thing as you. I kinda knew you had good tastes." Her voice snaps him back to reality.
"Huh? Oh yeah. Right," he passively responds. Yukari stares at her left hand, missing the feel of Minato's hand, just like her partner. As she recalls the feeling, she decides to bring up an interesting topic.
"Hey, doesn't eating fish remind you of the ocean?" she asks Minato.
"When doesn't it?" he says. "That's where they came from, right?"
"Yeah. It's pretty much a part of our lives, I guess, since we live on the coast. We even went to the beach during summer vacation."
xxx
As soon as she mentioned the beach, Minato instantly flashed back of Junpei's fake, perverted bathing suit competition. More specifically, when Yukari came out with her pink and blue bikini top and small jean shorts.
"What's the matter, Junpei?" she asked. "You look even dumber than usual." Junpei, of course, smiled mischievously.
"Man, talk about a feast for the eyes," he says. "Hehehe… Say hello to contestant number one, Yukari Takeba. She's sporting an even more aggressive style than I imagined- quite unexpected. It takes a lot of confidence to pull off a swimsuit like that. Could her boldness come from that confidence that her club training has toned her bod?"
"What?!" Yukari, at the time, was too busy staring daggers at Junpei to notice Minato blushing as he gets an eyeful.
xxx
The thought of it was making him blush now.
Junpei… did have a really good point, he thought to himself. Yukari snaps her fingers in front of his face.
"Hello? Minato?" Minato snaps back to reality again, shaking his head.
"S-Sorry. I kinda spaced out a bit," he says.
"Well, did you hear what I said?" Yukari asks.
"Sorry, no." Yukari groans.
"You're hopeless..." she says. "I asked if you wanted to go somewhere after this is all over."
"Somewhere? Like where?" Yukari shrugs.
"I dunno. Somewhere different, like the mountains or something. We could do stuff like eat lunch outdoors. We could even see a deer. Whaddya think?" Minato smiles.
"Oh. Yeah. Sounds good to me," she says. Yukari smiles.
"Really?! You promise?" Minato nods.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I promise?" Yukari claps her hands together.
"Awesome, then I'll make lunch!" Yukari smirks as she puffs her chest out.
"I may not look it, but I'm a pretty good cook! You just wait and see!" Minato rests head on his right arm.
"If Koromaru could talk," he says. "I'm pretty sure he'd have something to say about that." Yukari blushes.
"H-Hey! That was the one time, and you know it!" she exclaims. Minato chuckles, much to her chargrin.
"S-Shut up!" she shouts.
"Sorry, sorry." Yukari looks down at her plate, making a circle in her soy sauce with her right index finger.
"Hey… don't bring anyone," she mumbles.
"Huh?"
"Don't invite anyone else, okay?" Yukari glances at Minato.
"I-I want it to be you and me," she mumbles. "I-It'll be… just the two of us." Minato realizes he's completely taken this the wrong way. She's not talking about a team celebration party, she's talking about a romantic getaway. He's surprised that she's actually the first one to come out and say something like that. He's at a loss for words.
"Oh… uh… that's, um…" Yukari blushed again.
"Oh! S-Sorry. I know that's kinda bold," she says. "It's just… I know it's been a few weeks, which isn't a lot of time for things to get serious, but… I kinda feel like we barely have time to be alone, ya know?" Minato shakes his head.
"No, it's fine. It's not bad," he says. "It's good... Great." He gives Yukari a gentle smile.
"Actually… there's no other way I'd take it," he confesses. "I… want it to just be you and me too." Yukari giggles and sucks the soy sauce off her finger.
"You know… uh… I don't really know how to say this," she says. "But…" Yukari takes a deep breath before continuing.
"Minato… When I'm with you like this… I don't feel so… alone." Something about the shy tone of Yukari's words pulls a string in Minato. He leans in slightly closer.
"I mean, I do have friends," Yukari says. "Plus everyone at the dorm, but… most of the time, I don't really feel like myself when I'm around them. It's like the real me is locked up somewhere deep down inside me…" Yukari frowns.
"Maybe it's because of my family?" she says. "How it's so broken up? It's just… everytime I look at them, I feel out of place. Distant, kind of. Like… I'm not really one of them." Yukari gently smiles at Minato.
"But… when I'm with you… I don't feel any of that. I feel like I finally belong somewhere. Like someone's finally right next to me."
It was incredible. Yukari's words felt like they were resonating with the one of the deepest parts of Minato's heart. This was what they were both thinking about when they were staring at their reflection on the train.
"So, uh… what I… I-I'm trying to say is…" Yukari looks at Minato's right hand, remembering how warm and comforting it felt. She reaches her left hand out to touch it, to Minato's surprise, and he gazes at her ever so innocent smile.
"You're very special… no… you're very important to me, Minato." Minato puts the pieces of the puzzle together. The sincere tone of her words, the beautiful way she's smiling, and the way she's touching her hand.
"Well… I can tell you're not joking this time," he says.
"No, of course not," Yukari giggles. "To be honest, I wasn't really joking at the flower shop, so… I was never joking in the first place." Minato stares at Yukari's hand, thinking about how much she's opening up to him right now. This is a side of her he's never seen before. Her affectionate side towards the people she cares about. He decides that it wouldn't be fair if he didn't do the same for her.
"Hey… Can I tell you something?" he asks.
"Sure. What is it?" she asks.
"Well… do you remember when we were talking back at the hospital when I woke up? It was after I awakened to my Persona." Yukari nods.
"Yeah. There's no way I'd forget," she says. Minato gulps before saying further.
"Um… when you told me that about how you were all alone, how you lost your dad," he says. "That, honestly, was the best thing that's happened to me since I've been here." Minato slowly turns over his hand over.
"I've had no one for almost all my life," he says. "Ever since the day I lost my parents, I didn't care about anything. I just went with the flow of things. But… when you told me about how you were like as me, all alone in the world, I… it felt like all that just… faded away. For the first time in a long time, I was happy. It made me feel like… I'm not alone anymore. Like someone reached out their hand to me. So, uh… what I'm trying to say is…" Minato holds Yukari's hand and gently smiles back at her.
"You're very important to me too." The two smiled at each other, holding each other's hands tightly, not caring who sees. At this very moment, they had conveyed their feeling to each other clear enough.
Yukari can't help but notice the clock on the wall.
"Oh. It's time to go," she says. Minato looks at the clock.
"Oh yeah. Let's go." The two threw away their trash and left the restaurant. As they walked, they instinctively hold each other's hands. It wasn't awkward, like on the bus. It was really soothing for both of them, as if their mutual affection for each other was symbolized by the warmth of their hands.
And as for his most recent worry about their bond fading away after they erase the Dark Hour? The warmth of her hand pretty much melted that away.
Chapter 2: End
