Callmecrazylol: Considering Minato is not-dead and is still pregnant with Death, he doesn't have the Universe. Although, in response to the daemon hunting, do remember, they're… well, daemons. They still serve Nyarlathotep in the end.

Though, if you meant that his focus on daemon hunting seems a little out there considering he could be coordinating with his friends… it's a bit messy. We'll get into that later. If nothing else, do keep in mind he's been living in hell for almost twenty years (17 and soon to be 18 years to be exact); he's had it rough.

Guest: Cool beans, mate.

Ichinaruko: AH! DON'T REMIND ME OF THAT FIC! Good Lord, man! Are you trying to kill me?! And define sadistic for me please. If you mean, is there going to be a scene where a character does what Makoto did to you-know-who during that one little trip Minato had… hell no. I have a long list of regrets, and that scene in the fic, it's number 1. Yes, it's ranked higher than chapter 15.

AmeYuuki: Co-author veto-ed me, and her job is to tell me if what I want to do is something I DON'T want to do. However, the FeMC DID exist in this continuity… sorta. Again, we'll get into that later.

Wow, this is actually my first story where FeMC isn't an important character or anything… weird. Sorry, Minako! You're in everyone's hearts!

Alright, for the next few chapters, it might get pretty Minato-focused (mostly because, tbh, I have his route in all of this a lot more thought out than the PT at the moment). PT will get their time to shine again. But I need to make one thing perfectly clear right now: Minato is more of an Anti-Hero in this story than anything. He's firmly on the side of good, but… well… his morals are a bit… just read.

"Dead again," Minato muttered, looking down at his mp3 player that's battery had finally drained dry. Maybe his could use one of his personas to power the thing back up, but mp3 players were already a pain to find, never mind one with songs in it, and that's not even getting into the sentimental value this one has—it was too valuable for him to risk.

"Thanks, Fuuka," Minato thanked an old friend of his—wherever she may be—and took off his earphones. Shoving his hands into his hoodie's pouch, he continued walking down the road that had long since been coated in layers of ice and snow.

He was lucky that today was a relatively calm day in terms of weather. The cold wasn't much of a problem for him—Jack Frost and some of his other personas took care of that—but trying to travel during a blizzard which were increasingly becoming the norm were blinding and impossible to move around.

But today, the skies were clear.

Everything but him was put into a seemingly permanent stasis. The trees had frozen over, and all animals were either gone or had reached extreme levels of endangerment from a frozen hell that had gone on for far too long.

Moments like this were almost rather tranquil—peaceful even. No noise, except the sounds of his feet, the shifting of the snow beneath him, and the branches of the trees rustling in the wind. The air possessed a certain, unnatural yet alluring stillness to it.

How long has it been like this—him on his own, away from the others and traveling place to place in an endless search?

It didn't even begin as a search, now did it? It took a few months after before hunting Ikutsuki became a goal and Takaya was … well, he wasn't a priority, but he was certainly someone he'd been hoping to find for a very long time.

Did they even come up with a proper group name? Even after years of the team's existence, they never had a proper name. He never really saw the point, especially given the fact that the less notoriety the better back then.

Now, they even have a name for him, The Blue-Oni! It was good to know that he's scared the hell out of more than a few daemons now if they're willing to name him. He must've been doing something right.

Snap

Minato paused when he heard the sound of a twig snap in two. It sounded like it came from the right of him, leading to more trees and vegetation that had either frozen over or persevered through sheer stubbornness.

He'd seen this trick before. Anyone traveling knows to keep their eyes and ears open, so you wait for one to approach, snap a twig, and when they turn to look that way…

"Hands up," you come from the opposite direction.

Minato sighed before glancing to his left. Two men, one holding a revolver and another holding baseball bat, to his right, another one holding a small knife. The looks on their faces were of cocky grins; he wasn't the first person they had surrounded, and if they had it their way, he wouldn't be the last.

"I hope you have an army hidden," perhaps those words coming out of Minato's mouth were meant to be a warning, but instead it was just a long yawn; he should probably try taking more breaks. "… Because otherwise, this won't be very long."

"Taking long?" The one with a gun who was very likely the leader asked, waving his weapon around. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm aiming a gun at your forehead."

"Whatever," Minato kicked the snow beneath him. "Doubt it's even loaded."

"Not even—of course it's loaded!" The looter shouted, his gun shaking from the moments his body made in anger.

"Prove it," he challenged, "take your shot."

"What? I'm gonna waste a bullet!" He shouted back, earning a smirk from Minato.

"Well, see you later then," Minato was about to walk away again, but that only warranted another scream from the man holding the gun.

"S-S-Stop!" The leader screamed. "S-Stop talking! Enough of your mind games!"

"Games? Where?" Minato looked around left and right, forward and back. "All I see are children who daddy didn't hit hard enough."

The leader growled, pulling the hammer and cocking his gun. He really waited this long to have his weapon ready to kill?

"Just kill him already!" One of his friends shouted.

"Grrr…"

"Well, you've done it now." A laugh left the bluenette's lips when he realized just how screwed they were.

"Done what?"

"I'm host to a very old, very powerful, and really goddamn annoying primordial entity that makes even the likes of Nyarlathotep piss himself," the persona-user confessed, hearing the growls in his head get even louder. "Thing is, we're sorta life-linked at the moment. If I die, he'll find himself going into a glorified coma until another idiot decided to wake him up."

The group members all look at each other for a moment and laugh.

"R-Right," the leader wheezed, even putting down his gun for a moment when his sides started to hurt. "Never thought we'd end up robbin' a lunatic. Hey, while you're at it, I'm God!"

"In that case, I have a question," Minato cleared his throat, "why did you make our lower backs so wonky? Seems like a serious design flaw. And I thought incest was bad, what's with Adam and Eve?"

"W-W-What?" The leader didn't seem to understand a word of that.

"Sorry," Minato apologized, "my mother was Catholic. Tell you the truth; I don't even think she was born in Japan."

"Cath-what?" Nope, they didn't seem to be following that either.

Minato shook his head. Right, of course they wouldn't understand that. They probably didn't even know what actual Japanese sounded like either, only this gibberish that Nyarlathotep and Yaldabaoth made up.

"You know what?" The leader growled, "Screw this!" he said, finally pulling the trigger.

But that bullet was never going to reach its target.

"Did I mention he didn't like threats?"

In front of Minato was a large blade, with its main body having taken the bullet in his stead. The shooter froze, hearing loud animalistic growls coming from above him as he slowly followed the blade to its wielder's large, white hand and looked up to see large metallic jaws before they ended his life, crushing his head and using his body like a puppy's chew toy.

Opening his jaws, Death flung the now lifeless body into the same trees that he had originated from. He let out a loud shriek, whether this was intimidation or an act of expressing anger was anyone's guess.

Death looked at the one that he been holding the baseball bat, now running away with his tail between his legs and screaming like a child. But Death wasn't going to be slighted and let them live to tell the tale.

Holding his sword like one would hold a harpoon, Death launched the weapon, impaling the would-be looter before staking itself into the ground where the snow beneath it was stained a deep red.

The large monstrosity looked towards the final one who was also running away. Snow made everything so much easier—the poor sod barely made any headway, pushing through piles of white and the slippery ice beneath it.

All he had to do was completely freeze the snow around him into a solid prison and the soul was trapped, unless he decided to cut off his own legs, but then the blood loss would kill him in moments.

Death began walking forward, reaching out with his arm to call his blade back to him, leaving the deceased body there in the snow.

Before it could reach him, Death was suddenly halted. Translucent chains began wrapping all around him, especially its harms and throat, keeping him in place with the only proof of their existence being a faint blue-ish outline that radiated off of them.

"Back in your cage," Minato ordered the abomination that snarled in response, a prisoner angered by his warden, a slave being whipped by his master. But like a slave, there was nothing he could do but obey.

With one final hiss, Death faded away leaving only a puff of dark purple-ish mist that dissipated within seconds, leaving only Minato who was currently walking to the sole survivor of the monster's brief controlled rampage who was currently stabbing the ice around him, trying to break free.

"Told ya," Minato referred to his earlier words. Nothing short of an army of shadows and daemons were going to take him down… Actually, would even that do it? Eh, he supposed that he'd find out someday.

The would-be thief ignored him, hitting the ice as hard as he could in a desperate effort to break free. Unfortunately for him, Death wasn't going to make it easy for him to free himself. It's actually rather astounding if he can even feel his toes right now.

Minato clicked his tongue before reaching out and having his sword appear in his hand, which did more than enough to catch the thief's attention and cause to him cower in fear.

"If you got last words…" Minato paused for a moment.

"W-Wait!" He replied. Oh, right, here comes the begging.

"No," Minato replied instantly. "I'm not your first mark, am I? How many people are dead because of you again?"

"W-We ain't never killed nobody!" he was not good at defending himself.

"You dumbasses shot me," Minato deadpanned, fighting the urge to hit himself with the pummel of his sword. "Yeah, I definitely believe you. You're a murderer, so how many would I be damning if I let you go?"

The bluenette raised his sword, "See ya in Hell, Buddy."

"N-No! Please! Wa—" was all he could get out before his blood stained the snow beneath him.

"Twenty-three, twenty-five, twenty-eight…" Minato thought, counting through the number of black coins he looted from the looters. Officially, these things only held weight at something Nyarlathotep or whoever-the-hell-his-champion-is sanction, and rewarded towns that they particularly liked with a load of them. Unofficially, they were the defacto currency out here.

Good thing he ran into those crooks when he did; he was running low.

What was this town's name? He lived on a tiny island most of his childhood and all of the signs had either been used to build shacks or had long ago been frosted over. Combine that with the fact that whatever maps are left are all in Japanese, they're going to be worthless to everyone soon.

How did they pull of killing the old language anyway? Probably by some magical crap that he didn't even want to try to understand; he was lucky it happened when he was so young otherwise he'd probably never get the new language down pat.

While thinking these idle thoughts, he finally arrived at yet another rundown presumably nameless town. Most of the buildings were coated in white, but that was to be expected.

A few small buildings, probably apartments that people are being used as homes. Wait, are those lights coming from some windows? They have electricity too? Interesting…

Down the (surprisingly shoveled) street was another large building with an open field and… and was that a kid playing in the snow? No, there were two of them! There were kids here? Sounds so minor, but seeing children was a rarity in most places, mostly due to unstable conditions and famine. Just how well off is this place?

Another building that looks well kept, and sounds rather lively; must be the social center of the place. Maybe that's where the adults were? Does that make the other building a school? The longer he's here, the more curious he becomes.

A few more besides that one social hub, maybe those were where the tailors and such work? After all, everyone needs clothes and shoes. Come to think of it, maybe he should visit there? Even if the cold was nothing to him compared to most, it still felt at least somewhat nippy.

With these thoughts in mind, Minato entered the building with his hands in his hoodie's pouch. Shockingly, he felt… warm. The air was actually warm; this place had heaters working! Just how well off are these people?

Disregarding that shocking discovery, the place had been what he expected, with several articles of clothing out on display; not too much, but there probably weren't enough people living here or traveling to warrant it.

"Hello, wel—" the woman approaching halted her words, eyes widening when she caught sight of just who had entered her store. "O-Oh, I wasn't aware there was a visitor."

"Don't worry," Minato assured her, browsing through the items despite her shock. "I just got here."

The woman followed him like a shadow, not that he blamed her, and Lord knows just how common theft must be nowadays.

"How long will you be staying?" She asked with her voice being very soft, still following his every move.

"Not long," Minato answered, picking up a scarf. It looked hand-woven, with a pattern of yellow stripes with the majority of it being blue. "How much is this?"

The woman took a quick look at the scarf, taking it into her hands for a closer look and probably inspecting its quality before turning to say, "Hmm… three coins."

Minato reached into his pockets and handed some dark coins to her, "here's five, enjoy."

The woman let out a surprised, "O-Oh," before giving the scarf to the bluenette who wrapped it around his neck. Generosity was in short supply in today's world; it had to be cherished whenever it was found.

"By the way, I saw a few kids by the building down the street," Minato mentioned, walking to the door with the woman by his side. "Is that a school or something?"

"An orphanage, actually," the woman corrected him, smiling with a hint of pride in her voice, "the fates of children are often forgotten in hard times such as these. We've gather some parentless children and brought them here, giving them a warm bed, meals, and the best education we can, given the circumstances we are in, that is."

"Wow…" Minato actually had to blink in a moment in surprise. "This is actually topping my list on the least screwed up places I've been to so far."

"We hope to continue surpassing your expectations," the woman nodded, the proud smile still on her face.

"Would it be alright if I paid them a visit?"

"Hmm?" The smile went away and was now seemingly replaced with worry.

"I just… have a soft spot for 'em, you know?" Minato explained, trying to make what he said a lot less creepy. "I know what it's like to not have a family. I was an orphaned when I was seven."

"Oh," the woman's face looked relieved for a moment before she nodded again. "Of course, you may visit the children. They so rarely get any company… provided you're around the admin—"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Minato shrugged it off, waving goodbye to the woman before walking out into the streets again.

So far, this place is actually pretty nice. The lady didn't even seem like a daemon either, and he hasn't noticed anything magical about this place.

At this point, however, it was almost scary. The last time he knew a town getting along with well, they were almost wiped out by a large group of feral shadows that Nyarlathotep and his daemons were 'too preoccupied' to protect them from.

Either that, or…

No, if they were that cold-blooded, then they'd have kicked the kids to the curb a long time ago. From his experience with the selfish and the selfless, children seem to be a sort of mirror into how they are. The monsters he'd seen always seemed to scorn children for whatever reason, or worse… send them to Kyoto.

Children were simple; they could become so many things if directed the right way. They could either be the ones to lead humanity, or become the pawns of those that came before.

Right now, children are the future, and the future sure looks as bleak as ever.

"Ugh," the man groaned, tugging at his hood. When in the hell did he get so focused on that subject? How old was he again, his mid-twenties? Could his brain be any less subtle?

Shaking those thoughts before they could unpack something he'd rather not go into, the bluenette decided to pay a visit to this little social hub. When he entered, once again, he felt warm air envelop him from the heaters.

Inside looked like a restaurant, probably one even before the world went to hell too. A few tables were scattered about and filled with people talking about… whatever it was that was going on around here.

Everyone seemed properly dressed, so no succubi. There didn't seem to be any incubi either… thank God.

Of course, his presence was soon met with dozens of silent stares from just about everyone.

"Typical," Minato rolled his eyes, keeping his hands in his pouch as he moved to the counter where someone was on the other side waiting.

"An outsider, eh?" The man asked the obvious. What was he, a waiter? Or was the term barista? He should really start learning restaurant terms.

"Just got here," the bluenette answered, pinching his nose before supporting his head with his elbow.

"About how long do you plan on staying?"

"Not long," Minato gave the same answer he gave before.

"Well, what are you here for?" he dug a little deeper, trying to find out this outsider's intentions.

Minato slowly flexed the fingers in his right hand, cracking some of the joints in his fingers before answering, "Looking for someone."

The man at the counter scoffed, "Ain't that every man?"

Minato immediately groaned, "Oh, no…" he whined, "why'd you have to remind me of my love life now? Ugh… what a mess."

"Can't be that bad," He assured him, but the bluenette only shook his head.

"First relationship was fine," Minato began his story, "I was young, she was young, short, had a nice head on her shoulders, and was just the cutest damn thing ever."

"So what happened?" He asked, pouring a drink and offering it to the hooded man who responded by giving a few coins his way.

"Eh, it just didn't work out." Minato shrugged, "no hard feelings. The second one though? Fucked up to hell!"

"The relationship or the break up?"

"Break up." Minato answered, slamming his head onto the counter. "Nice girl, stubborn as hell, and a figure that most girls would kill over."

The waiter clicked his tongue, "You poor thing."

"Yeah," Minato raised his head, rubbing the red spot that was now forming. "She uh… yeah, she didn't take it well. Although, I'm pretty sure it's over now. We're not kids anymore."

"What about the third?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Dump that one too?"

"Pft," Minato laughed, shaking his head. "No, she dumped me."

The restaurant worker cringed, almost like he could feel the sting from that.

"She was certainly… unique," Minato gulped when the memories flooded back in.

"No, no, no, don't—"

"I have a Megidolaon for everyone!"

"… and aggressive at times."

"More! Give me more!"

"Liz, you're… chok-ing… me…"

"… and strong," Minato shuddered. "Anyway, personal things happened, and she had to go."

The man just silently shook his head for a good minute, "Is there a fourth too?"

"Don't," Minato suddenly frowned and he had to fight this urge from stop his eyes from flaring. "Those three are fine. That one? Don't go there."

"Sorry," The man retreated, almost feeling the bluenette glaring daggers into him. "Anyway, who're you looking for?"

"Two people," the hooded man clarified, "Both males. One would be in his twenties or thirties, and the other… fuck, I dunno, old." He really should get a more in-depth report on Ikutsuki one of these days. "Anyway, there's Takaya who you would know at first glance; tall, weird eyes, and a voice smoother than goddamn wine."

The waiter titled his head, "and the second?"

Minato growled at the memory of the old man, "Ikutsuki. An old prick who... let's just say there's some bad blood there, and that's not even accounting for what he did to a friend of mine."

"I see…." He bit his lip, perhaps unsure how to proceed with the conversation. "Are you gonna drink that?"

Minato glanced at his untouched drink. He didn't even check to see what it was yet. "Fuck it," he cursed, standing up. "Give it to whoever, I already paid so it's on the house for them."

The hooded man didn't stay long enough for an answer, marching out of the store.

First he suddenly had thoughts about children, and then he remembers his love life, and now he's about to visit an orphanage… What the absolute hell? If he starts getting the urge to adopt and build a house somewhere, he's drawing the line.

When he approached the open field he saw the children at earlier, but now there were only footsteps in the bits of snow left behind that lead back to the building. Shame, he would've helped make that snowman they made. Personas make everything a lot easier if you know how to use them.

Following the tiny footsteps in the snow, Minato was led to the front door where he could hear the faint sounds of giggling from the other side.

Children laughing—how long had it been since he heard that? Last time he remembered a child laughing was during Nanako's…

No, not now—he didn't need that. The girl probably hates his guts now, and it's better to not think about it anymore than that.

Turning the knob on the door, Minato entered the building and enjoyed the same heaters the last two buildings had.

From the design of the place, it did look like it had been an actual school back before the apocalypse. At least, it looked like one from his somewhat limited memories of what elementary school was like.

No one was there but him at the front. Was whoever this administrator was with the kids? It'd certainly make sense.

Following the sounds of laugher, he eventually found a room with several kids scattered about, the oldest being maybe nine. There in the corner were three children in particular gathered around an adult who looked to be reading them a story, likely having to translate it for them… otherwise, who in the hell was translating children's books into the new common tongue?

"Um…" Minato looked at the door next to him and knocked loudly enough to get everyone attention. The woman stood up and immediately went to greet him.

"Good afternoon, you can call me Ms. Akane" the woman greeted warmly but with a hint of surprise in her voice, "I didn't know we were receiving a visitor today."

Minato shrugged, "Sorry, I guess I stopped by a little unannounced." He looked at all the children staring at him. There must've been what? Ten? Twelve? "Call me Arisato."

"Kids," Akane turned to the children, brushing back her brown locks, "say hi to Mr. Arisato."

All of the children spoke, some even waving, "Hi, Mr. Arisato."

Minato cringed, "Just Arisato, please," he pleaded, "I don't need to feel that old." His pleas were met with more giggles and more than a few agreements… made out to Mr. Arisato.

"Will you be staying with us long?" Akane asked.

Minato hummed for a moment, "You know, everyone seems to be asking me that lately."

Akane's face suddenly looked worried, "O-Oh, no! I-I mean, we don't get visitors often and—"

The man chuckled, pulling his hood down, "relax, I get it. I'd be more suspicious if you weren't so paranoid," he assured her, instantly calming her. "Anyway, not long. I just wanted to pay the kids a visit before I leave."

Akane titled her head for a moment before suddenly brightening up, "Oh, are you looking to adopt?"

"By God, no," Minato denied instantly, shaking his head, "believe me, my life is screwed up as is. I do not need that on my conscience," he for a moment shuddered at the idea. "Anyway, the reason I came was… well, I'm an orphan too. I guess you could say I have a special place in my heart for them."

"I see," Akane seemed to understand, looking back the children who went back to playing. Suddenly an idea came to mind, "Why don't you tell them about yourself? Or maybe your adventures? The poor children never get to go out."

"Um…" Minato thought for a moment. Weren't most of his 'adventures' really, really, really not safe for kids? Then again, what is in today's world? "I guess I could try."

"Splendid," Akane took Minato by the hand and sat him into the chair she had been sitting in a few moments ago to read them stories, with the children beginning to gather around just like before.

Oh, that cunning witch; she just gave herself a short break while he's the center of attention. He really should've seen this coming… Ah well.

"Um…" Minato cleared his throat. "I dunno your names, so you have to forgive me. Err… first question?"

A girl with long white hair raised her hand first and Minato pointed to her, "What's your name?"

The girl lowered her hand, and spoke softly with her cheeks looking like they were starting to redden; she probably not used to dealing with people she didn't know, "U-Um… m-m-m-my name is…" the poor girl was completely silenced once she heard her friends starting to snicker all around her.

Minato, however, frowned in response, "What's so funny?"

Suddenly, no one was laughing anymore?

"No, go on, tell me," He asked again, leaning forward and locking eyes with each and every one of them. "Was there something funny about someone getting a little nervous? Maybe I should start forcing you all to greet random strangers you don't know, see how well that goes?"

"No, Mr. Arisato," the children answered, their tones making it clear that the laughter had turned into solid feelings of guilt. Good, they'll teach them a lesson for the rest of the day, at least.

"Thought so," Minato smirked before turning his attention to the first girl. "Hey, c'mere," he beckoned her, which only caused her to redden more. "Don't worry, I won't hurt you, I promise."

The girl hesitated for a moment longer before standing and walking towards the bluenette. He urged her just a little closer before picking her up and setting her on his lap.

"There we go," he said, and he could practically feel the girl shaking from nervousness. Maybe he went a little too far? Of course, why give a nervous girl MORE attention?! Crap, he had to cheer her up fast!

"What's your name?" he restated his original question.

The girl looked down before letting out a weak response, "Saki…"

"Saki," he repeated, "That's a pretty name. Do you know what it means?"

Saki shook her head, which came as no surprise.

"The two syllables mean blossom and hope," he answered, hoping his knowledge of his native language hadn't gotten rusty with age.

"Really?" That seemed to pique the girl's interest and her trembling began to ease. Good, he's on the right track. Let's see if he can keep it up…

"So, how old are you?" He asked the girl, hoping that getting to know her would put her at ease.

"Seven," she answered proudly. How long ago was it when seven sounded like a big number? Great, now he really does feel old.

"Seven, huh?" Minato smiled, "You know, I was seven when I lost my parents."

"That's sad…" Saki said, and he could swear she was making a puppy face with those light blue eyes of hers.

"Yeah, and I also didn't have all these nice friends around me," he said, eyeing each and every one of them, "who are definitely feeling very guilty and are about to apologize."

The children grumbled for a moment before they each said, "Sorry, Saki…"

"Hehe," a giggle left the minor's lips before they curled into a smile. Good, now she's comfortable.

"Now," He turned his attention back to her, "what did you want to ask?"

"Um…" Saki thought for a moment before coming out with, "what do you do when you travel?"

Minato thought for a moment, wanting to word this as child-friendly as possible, "I… try to find bad people."

Saki looked worried for a moment, "Is there anyone bad here?"

Minato shrugged, "None that I can tell. What about you?"

The girl shook her head, denying anyone 'bad' being in her town.

"Then you're fine," he reassured the girl. He said something worrying, so maybe he should follow it up with a compliment? Is that what he's supposed to do?

"Jesus, I'm terrible with kids..."

"I like your ribbon," he said, referring to the ribbon that had been tied into her hair. It didn't tie it back in a ponytail or anything; it just seemed to be tied to a clump of hair just for appearances.

Saki seemed to blush for a moment, "Thank you."

"Any more questions?" he asked, looking at everyone again, "anyone?"

Another kid raised their hand and the man called on them, "Have you ever seen a dragon?"

"A dragon?" Minato repeated and the boy nodded.

A dragon, well... there was Seth.

"Um… sorta?" Minato bobbed his head, "I mean… yeah, I guess you could say he's a dragon."

"Whoa…" The kids were clearly impressed.

"Next question?" Minato called the next girl.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Oh, come on!" Minato screamed mentally. This was going to be a long day.

"That was something," Minato murmured, rotating his neck that had gone stiff from sitting down so long.

"I think they liked you," Akane complimented, standing with him to see him out.

Minato scoffed, "Give it a few years; they'll hate me."

Akane laughed, probably not noticing that he was only half-joking. Xenophobia was pretty much the norm, and for good reason.

"Will you be coming back to us?" Akane asked, but the bluenette shook his head.

"Probably not, no," he answered, knowing full well just how much of a drifter he's become.

Akane was about to say something, but hesitated before her smile suddenly dropped and her expression became much more grave.

"What is it?" Minato asked, waiting for her to speak up.

Akane cleared her throat and began whispering, "Arisato, would any of the people you're looking for be the head of any… cults, by any chance?"

"Cults?" there was one person he knew that was enough of a nutcase to join much less lead a cult. "Where is it?"

"A few days south west from here," she answered, constantly looking to the side to make sure none of the children were eavesdropping. "I heard they like to gather in… well, not really a building, just makeshift one made from old signs and whatever they could get their hands on."

"Hmm…" That certainly sounded right. It wasn't Ikutsuki, but you got to save the best for last, right? "Thank you, that's been… most helpful."

He hardly said any farewells before rushing out the door in the direction he was pointed in. Takaya might not mean much in the grand scheme, but… well, he owed it to an old friend of his to send that bastard to hell.

"You're not getting away this time, Takaya," Minato swore, and he could hear the monster in his head chuckling at the idea of sending another to their graves.

Whew, this took a while... my day, I mean. Compared to that long pause that happened, this is nothing.

So, a lot of you probably noticed that Minato pretty much gave 0 fucks that 3 people just died, huh? Keep in mind, this is normal for him. He's been alone for 4 years, and lived with the apocalypse since he was 7. He has his own morals that he adheres to now, and that's not even talking about his plus one.

This got a lot dialogue heavy than I originally intended. Ah well, it happens, I guess. Probably wouldn't call this one of my best chapters, if only because it exists solely for buildup, but I did what I can.

Oh God, now I'm just imagining Liz strangling Minato during the deed at that one part… pft. Oh, yeah, Minato's dated everyone at some point; Fuuka, Yukari, Liz, and Mitsuru. I guess that excludes Ai-chan, but… robot.