*yawns* It's 12:43am at present ya know. I'm so surprised people actually read this story XD I think even Samson's surprised. He would tell me but I just cooked him some chicken to eat while he sits around waiting for me to go to bed, which won't happen for a few more hours. SO I'm annoyed with this chapter. There is a distinct lack of Akihiko. *glares at Samson* I blame him. But yes! The cliffhanger is resolved. It was anti-climactic but that's because the best is yet to come...Next chapter. Song explanation times!

Title is from Winter by Joshua Radin! The song after the Dark Hour is I Will Follow You Into The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie. Kitchen song is When The Day Met The Night. And final song is Empty With You by The Used! Enjoy...Hopefully. AND I OWN NOTHING. :'( Yet...

~ The Detective Prince

Chapter Six

I should know who I am by now

"Talk? What's wrong, Shinji? Come in," her speech was starting to race like her heart as she moved aside to let him in. He hesitated for a moment but then Shinji walked past her and entered her domain.

It definitely smelt like her. It was a strange yet pleasing smell. He looked over at her desk and saw she'd been studying before he'd interrupted her. There were two photos on her desk. He guessed one was of her parents and her when she was about 4.

"Shinji…" she said as she shut the door and walked beside him, joining him in looking at the picture.

"This is gonna sound really lame, okay? But Minako, are you happy?" after a moment her eyes widened in shock as she looked at him.

"Am I…happy?"

Hours before at Naganaki Shrine

Shinjiro sat on the bench, smoking his cigarette and pondering on SEES, how much it'd changed. Akihiko had been right; they were much more aggressive now. They were actually making progress under the rule of their Leader.

He looked over as two girls were talking near the climbing frame.

"Uh I can't believe all that homework he gave us," the blonde girl said, the brunette sighed.

"I know, but I've got work as well ya know. I hardly even get to see Kanata-kun anymore. He's getting real upset about it!"

"I'm glad I don't have school clubs to go to though. Did you hear about Ai-chan? She's stuck doing all her club stuff as well,"

"Yeah, she's been pretty miserable lately. I hear she's hardly been sleeping too. What does she even wanna do in life?"

"I heard she wants to be a chef. Pretty weird, huh?" the two girls continued to gossip as they walked away but Shinjiro found himself on a new thought trail.

What does she want to do with her life? I guess she doesn't think about it. Her whole world is about Tartarus and the Dark Hour right now. He got up and decided to walk around the graves for a little while.

After a while he found what he was looking for amongst the graves.

"Hey Miki, sorry I ain't got nothin' for ya today," he said to the gravestone of Miki Sanada, Akihiko's younger sister. He knelt down and brushed some dirt off the marble. "Your brother's been taking good care of this place, huh?" he found a single lily on the grave. "I'll come back tomorrow with one for you, okay?" he got up and walked around a little more.

Aiko Amada's grave was near Miki's and he spent a quiet moment there as well before moving on. Suddenly his attention was caught by two more graves. He stood before them, feeling uneasy.

Man, she should be gossiping like those girls as well. There's a lot of things she should be doing that she isn't…

"I guess it's not because of you two though…" he whispered before he hurried away. Yet those names were engraved in his memory.

Tsukiko Arisato and Morihiro Arisato…

He could barely remember his own parents and in a way he was glad of that. He didn't cling to what precious moments he'd spent with them like Akihiko used to with his parents.

However he did realise if he wanted any peace in the bustling city around him, however morbid it seemed, he'd walk amongst the graves.

Her crimson eyes looked right at him, showing no fear whatsoever, so unlike the two beside her that she stood out immediately. It surprised him so much that he paused for a moment and looked at her.

"You…Never mind," her eyes were as keen as his, as soon as he'd opened his mouth she'd started reading him.

Shinji sighed, lighting another cigarette as he headed back to sit on the bench. It occurred to him that SEES were also sacrificing a lot in order to keep on top of things. Fuuka had moved away from home even. Clearly they were all stressed about holding the Shadows at bay. There was no way they could escape it. Even their Leader was showing signs that she was falling apart slowly, under all that smiling she did as well.

"Tch and wouldn't it be nice if someone was to cut her some slack every once in a while…" he muttered to himself as he inhaled more smoke.

"Man I feel sorry for you, Goatee! This bitch is a pain in the ass…HUH?" after the punk struck Junpei; Minako leapt into action and unleashed a kick onto the guy. She leapt right in front of her friend as he clutched his stomach. Shinji knew the punk had taken it too far and he looked as though he was going to strike Minako as well.

He had to step in and stop this.

As soon as he'd turned up Minako had seemed to relax, entrusting the situation to him silently.

He'd never forget what she said to him that day as well. She'd looked up at his, red eyes radiant.

"Thank you very much…"

Suddenly the reason she'd thanked him was deeper than just saving her from fighting a bunch of teenagers.

"I guess I cut you some slack that day, huh? I dealt with something so you didn't have to…Is that really all you need right now as well? Fine, whatever, Minako. I ain't doing this because…"

Because I like her.

In Minako's Room

"W-well…sure, I have friends and I'm part of cooking club and the student council and tennis club and I have my job…I'm never bored…I'm never lonely…" she trailed off, looking at the moon sadly.

"You're a shit liar," he scoffed, watching her.

"I wasn't trying, that's why…I have a lot going on that's all, I like being around you though. You make me feel better. I know it doesn't seem it because I just seem upset but that's not true," a tear fell gently down her cheek as she turned her eyes back to him.

"You cry too much," he sighed, wiping it away with his thumb all the while he barely looked at her.

"I cry too much because I never cry enough," she corrected with a gentle smile, raising her hand up and gently her fingers curled around his.

"Is that so? Anyways, I've gotta go get stuff for dinner later. I just…needed to know," he pulled his hand out of hers and stood still for a moment, then stepped forward and pulled her into his chest smiling at the way she yelped in surprise.

"Don't cry anymore." That was all he said before he let her go and left. She stared at the door longingly before falling back onto her bed, trying to take in what had just happened. The tears were still falling silently but she carried on smiling. Her phone burst into life, no longer a text tone. Someone was ringing her which didn't happen often. Minako didn't even look at the screen to see who it was.

"Hello?"

"Ah, imouto, I was worried when you didn't reply to me for a few days. Are you okay?" She gasped, sitting up quickly. The sound of her older brother's voice was so unfamiliar to her, they usually just emailed each other and she had been doing that less and less as she had more work to do.

"Nii-chan! I'm fine; I've just had a lot of work to do. What's up?" she asked, feeling restless now.

"Nothing, I just said you didn't reply to my messages for a few days. Don't sound so surprised…" he laughed softly before yawning.

"Tired as usual?"

"Maybe a little hungry too. I've had a lot of work from college," suddenly she heard yelling in the background.

"Minato! Minato! I've just about had enough of you cleaning out the fridge on your days off," it was her aunt, Miyuki.

"Oh, sorry, Auntie! I'm on the phone to Minako…" he replied to their aunt, Minako listened with a smile.

"Minako? Tell her a phone call every few weeks wouldn't hurt! Just because she's living it up in the big city doesn't mean she can forget her family…" her aunt was off on a rant again.

"I think I have to go. But Auntie's right, you know. You should call. Maybe I could come see you next time I have a break from college," Minato explained quietly. His sister thought about it for a moment, looking over at her desk at the other picture, the one of her and her brother.

"That'd be nice, nii-chan, I'll talk to you later," she hung up, getting lost in her own memories.

"Nii-chan! Let's go play tag!" she rushed up to her brother's room, he looked over at her from his position of lying on his bed.

"Why'd you wanna do something like that? It's Sunday, we could just sleep or maybe Auntie's cooked something nice today…besides you're in middle school now. Tag is for kids" Minako stood pouting, her arms folded.

"But, nii-chan, you said you'd play with me more. Besides you know that's not why I want to play…" his grey eyes studied her for a moment before he flicked his blue fringe out of his face.

"Compromise, we'll play my new video game…" he sat up awaiting her reply. She sighed smiling slightly.

"Fine but I get to be player 1," Minako ran to her brother's side, sitting next to him.

"Whatever," he yawned, resting his head on hers.

Minako smiled fondly before returning to her studies, patiently awaiting the time before she could eat with Shinjiro. The Dark Hour had set in and she knew it'd be over soon. She reached into the animal cracker packet and pulled yet another one out.

"Oh sweet! The penguin!" she laughed before eating it. She had eaten so many animal crackers she'd found about 20 penguins in her time at Iwatodai alone. All of a sudden the sickening green world turned back to life.

"If heaven and hell decide,

That they both are satisfied

Illuminate the NOs on their vacancy signs

If no one's there beside you when your soul departs,

I'll follow you into the dark…"

It was a sign that the Dark Hour really was over when her MP3 player shone to life again. She waited until the end of the song to head downstairs. As she was heading down Akihiko walked past her.

"Ah, Minako-chan, where are you off to?" he grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"Oh I'm gonna make some dinner before I go to bed. How'd it go with Chidori?" the girl asked, looking around for anyone else.

"Not good I'm afraid. We'll talk about it tomorrow. I'm off to bed. Good night, Minako-chan,"

"Night senpai…Akihiko…" she bowed and carried on downstairs.

Just before she reached the last step she heard sizzling of onions frying in oil. She took a deep breath in to savour the smell; slowly she popped her head round the door.

"I know you're there, Minako…idiot," he called, not even turning around to face her.

"I was wondering when I'd be called an idiot again. What're we having tonight then?" she asked, jumping backwards onto the counter near the door. He looked over to her.

"Curry. By the way, what's with the bandages? Did you hurt yourself?" He asked. His voice was strained from not snapping at her.

"Nah, I cut my hands open earlier by accident and Akihiko-senpai cleaned up the cuts and gave me these, what's wrong?" she tilted her head in confusion.

"Nothin' it's just…Do you realise that you shouldn't sit on a kitchen counter? People prepare food there…Moron," he whispered the last part to himself yet she smiled as if she knew what he'd said.

"You're the only one who prepares anything in this kitchen. Fuuka tries but I don't think what she makes can be legally classified as food yet…" the girl shuddered at the thought of some of the things Fuuka had tried to pass off as food. Shinji caught her reaction and smiled.

"That bad, huh?" but Minako shook her head.

"She has heart. She'll keep on trying. We're in a cooking club together, when I say club I mean…Me and Fuuka break into the home economics room and cook there…It's not a club so much as a pair of girls breaking school rules in order to prepare food and potentially, some sort of bio-weapon," she laughed, she did love Fuuka dearly but as an admirer of food as an art form her skills needed considerable work.

Shinji continued to cut pieces of chicken swiftly, all the while cooking rice and making sure the other ingredients didn't burn. Minako marvelled at his multi-tasking and precision. He noticed the admiration he was being subjected to.

"What're you gawking at? It's just cooking…" he stared at her for a moment, eyes narrowed. But her crimson eyes just gazed back at him complacently.

"I was just wondering…about earlier…" he knew he'd have to explain himself sooner or later.

"Earlier was just me being nice for a change. It happens. Get over it," her expression seemed to dampen slightly. All she muttered was a quiet "Oh…" he wasn't sure what he could say to her though. Well, that was wrong. There was a lot he could say to her. But his pride and his body refused to let him. He knew perfectly well he wasn't going to be around for long. It'd be better to hurt her now and keep her away than to let her get close and then have her be alone again.

That's what he'd kept telling himself over and over. And yet when he saw her upset, it made him loathe himself even more. He still had at least another month. He'd have to go through a month of hurting her again and again. Her stubbornness meant she wouldn't just give up though.

"Why do you even bother?" Shinji asked aloud. She tilted her head in curiosity like usual.

"Why do I bother with what?" Minako was baffled from his sudden query. He'd been deep in thought a moment before though.

"With talking to me." He replied bluntly. "There's nothing you gain from it. You should be out having fun," he was being deadly serious.

So why the hell is she smiling?

"Because I do gain from it. I enjoy our talks. Staying in and talking to you is just as fun, if not more, than if I go out and stuff my face with food somewhere. It's also cheaper. Don't you enjoy our talks?" she retorted, she was back to trying to gauge his reaction again.

"I never said that. Don't try that shit with me," he snapped back but he smiled at her. Shinji was done with talking to her for a while though as he turned his concentration back to cooking. Minako was fine with the comfortable silence they'd fallen into. She placed one headphone in and decided to listen to her music for a while.

"In the middle of summer,

All was golden in the sky

All was golden when the day met the night,"

She couldn't help but smile as she realised what song was on. After 3 songs their meal was ready. The girl rushed to her seat, unplugging her MP3 player as she did.

"You act like you haven't eaten in days," Shinjiro joked as he placed her plate in front of her, seeing that hunger in her eyes.

"It feels like I haven't, ya know. I can't wait for tomorrow night's meal," she laughed, he couldn't help but grimace though.

"Would you stop making plans to eat with me? I did say I'm not gonna feed you all the time," he warned however she just laughed it off after a bite of his elegantly prepared meal.

"You say that and yet your eyes say otherwise," it was his turn to be confused.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah they say to me that you like cooking for other people," she left him with that thought as she settled down to enjoying his curry.

"You're hopeless," he muttered as they finished eating. Again she returned his sour comments with a giggle. He glanced at her; her carefree smile wasn't fake anymore. She sincerely looked happy. He was glad he'd done that much.

"Hey, Shinji, you know you've been smiling more than usual tonight," she suddenly said as he picked up the plates.

"Like I said, it happens, get over it," he expected her to leave him to clean up like she had done before, instead she followed him into the kitchen and watched him wash up as well. Minako was silent as she did though. His behaviour was strange and she could tell something was on his mind.

"You sure you're okay?" she asked as he put the plates back, grabbing the arm of his coat as she did.

"I'm fine. Worry about yourself for a change," he tried pulling his arm back from her but she tightened her grip instead.

"You're part of my team. You'd tell me if something was bothering you, wouldn't you?" her eyes looked deep into his. It was just a reflection of her own feelings. He was alone, worried and deep down something was scaring him. She knew these feelings all too well and as much as she dealt with them on her own it pained her to see someone else going through the same emotions.

"Sure, whatever, just let go of me," Shinji was unnerved from the way she seemed to be looking through him. She was still gripping his coat, unsatisfied by his answer. Those crimson orbs forcing him to look away. "Minako, I know I'm part of your team but I ain't gonna spill my problems to you. You've got your own," gentle chiming and the fluttering of a butterfly flooded her senses for just a few seconds. All he saw was her eyes widening in fear of some unseen evil. Her hand quivered, it was his chance to pull himself out of her grasp but he didn't.

"What just happened?" his voice filled the emptiness the butterfly had brought with it. She jumped in surprise and pulled her hand back as though she'd been burnt.

"Nothing...I should get to bed," she muttered, staring at the floor. Minako took off, running up the stairs and quickly to her bedroom. She stood with her back against the door, panting heavily from fear, sudden exertion and her feelings about Shinjiro overwhelming her. She clenched her eyes shut, hoping when she opened them she would be somewhere else, anywhere else.

Meanwhile

Shinjiro just stood in shock. Slowly he headed up to his room, forcing his mind to think of something, anything other than Minako or whatever had just happened. He shut his door and laid down on his bed. He wasn't sure how long it'd take for these feelings to leave him alone but he was determined that they'd be gone. Even if it meant forcefully ripping them from him, his fists clenched in frustration.

I won't leave anything behind...anything...but even he was starting to lose faith in his own code. Shinji gave in to sleep, hoping that he'd wake up the next morning and he'd be the emotionless person he'd always wished he could be.

Minako's Room

Minako felt like she'd been standing against her door for hours. Gradually she got herself ready for bed and gazed out of the window while lying down in bed. The moonlight that filled her room made her feel soothed somehow and after a little while longer she put her headphones in and fell asleep.

"I haven't lost anything except my mind,

Expect a thousand confessions that you will not find.

I try to take off my head sometimes.

Because I can't escape the memories,

I haven't lost anything except my mind...

You can be empty

And I can be right there empty with you."

You know I update pretty quickly...Maybe I should leave it a few weeks before I settle down to write the next chapter. I'm joking of course. Me and Samson would never do that to you! Yeaaa...Samson does nothing really but I'm sure he can be an inspiration for me sometimes. He's just upset I named the stray cat in this story after his sister LuLu and not him XD Cheer him up with a review and he will hug you...Somehow...Unless you have allergies. He's very fluffy.

~ The Detective Prince (Apparently she feeds her cat freshly cooked chicken...)