A large, exhausted yawn left Minato's mouth as he squirmed for comfort on the couch in the living room. Junpei, who was sitting on the floor in front of the television with a bowl of ramen in his lap, turned his head to look at the blue-haired man. He had shoved a large quantity of noodles into his mouth and nearly choked as he quickly swallowed them down so he could speak to Minato.
"What's wrong? Did you have a long day at work or something?" He questioned.
The stale-looking man answered his concerned friend's question very dryly. "No. I'm just tired." He quietly stated.
If Junpei hadn't dealt with Minato's simple responses for as long as he had, he would've taken his bland words as a cruelly indirect invitation to stop the conversation. However, Junpei knew better. "You're always tired." He casually replied with a grin.
Minato's lips cracked a small smile, showing his hatted friend that he knew there was some truth to his comment. "I think that raid on that abandoned base ruined my internal clock." Minato concluded before letting out another roaring yawn.
Junpei suddenly gave the man an amazed look. "Seriously!? You're internal clock is still messed up? It's been a whole week!"
"Has it really been a week already...? I guess time really does fly." Minato yawned again and stared up at the ceiling, remembering how quickly time went by during his time at Gekkoukan.
Junpei let out a hopeless sigh. "The raid must've done some serious damage to your sense of time." He mumbled quietly, turning his head back to the television. He continued to shovel ramen into his mouth as the voice of a news anchor filled the empty silence in the room.
"...The police are currently cooperating with the Kirijo Group in the investigation. They are not at liberty to reveal details at the moment, however, our sources say that a small number of the suspected kidnappers are still on the loose-"
A small groan left Minato's tired body. He was so sick of hearing about the kidnappings. That was all that anyone in Inaba had been talking about for the past week. Of course, he didn't expect them not to talk about it, considering that the kidnappings were the only interesting things happening in town. He just wished he didn't have to hear repetitive conversations about conspiracy theories and rumors every time he stepped out the door.
Junpei let out a sigh that was big enough to match Minato's groan. "I know, dude..." He muttered blandly. Minato didn't have to look at Junpei's dry expression to know that he was also sick of hearing about it. His sigh had already spoken volumes more than any face Minato could imagine Junpei making.
From the corner of his eye, Minato could see a car pull into the driveway out the window. Junpei had somehow managed to see the same sight, despite how dark it was outside, and approached the window to get a better look at the vehicle.
"Is it Akihiko?" Minato quietly questioned, beginning to finally doze off.
Junpei nodded. "Yep...and...Is that a girl...?" He thoughtfully mumbled under his breath.
"A girl?" Minato repeated, wondering if he deciphered the almost inaudible mumble correctly.
"Yep. That's definitely a girl." Junpei affirmed after squinting his eyes to see through the night.
Minato's curiosity suddenly rose. He sluggishly crawled off the couch and joined Junpei. They both stared out the window like two excited children waiting for their father to come home with a new toy.
It took Minato's eyes a few seconds to adjust to the night and allow him to see outside. When he finally could see, Akihiko and the mysterious girl he had with him were already approaching the door. They both were carrying fairly large suitcases. Akihiko was holding a suitcase in each hand and was carrying it like it was no problem. The girl, however, seemed to be having issues as she used all of her body weight to lug the single suitcase she had been left in charge of behind her. Given how small she looked compared to Akihiko, Minato assumed she was a scrawny, young girl. Although, he couldn't discover anything else about the girl's appearance before she made it to the front door with Akihiko.
Junpei went to open the door for the duo. Minato calmly sat down on the couch, not wanting to crowd the girl when she entered the house. As soon as Junpei opened the door, a small gust of cold air reached Minato and made him shiver. He watched from the couch as Junpei put on his friendly smile and welcomed them to the house.
"Hey, Akihiko! You're home early." Junpei greeted.
Akihiko smirked back at Junpei. "I had to take care of a little favor for someone." He explained, placing a hand on the small girl's shoulder. The girl jumped a bit at the physical contact, but remained quiet as she examined Junpei's appearance.
While she was looking over Junpei, Minato decided to look over the girl. The first thing he noticed was a black eyepatch covering her left eye. He briefly wondered what happened to her other eye as he glanced at her blonde, shoulder-length hair. Her bangs covered most of her forehead and it looked like it had recently been cut. She wore a baggy T-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts, giving Minato the impression that she had literally just rolled out of bed. She looked very skinny and appeared to be a teenager. Minato looked at the one eye that wasn't covered up and was amazed to see how much of a bright, vibrant shade of blue it was. It gave her face life and almost made it appear as if she were glowing.
The girl finally looked back at Minato, now noticing that she was being examined from afar. Minato felt his face get slightly warm as he quickly turned his head away from the wide-eyed girl. He could see a large, childish grin stretch across her face as she continued to look at Minato. He was absolutely clueless as to why this girl was smiling at him and decided to keep his head turned away from her.
"IT'S YOU!" A loud voice boomed through the house as the pale teen happily dashed into the house and rushed towards Minato. Akihiko and Junpei simply stood still and stared out of curiosity as the girl sprinted towards the confused man. She jumped onto his body and tackled him onto the couch, pinning him down so he couldn't sit back up. "I found you!" She happily cheered, sitting on Minato's stomach victoriously.
Surprisingly, the small girl was very good at pinning people down. No matter how much he struggled, Minato couldn't free himself from her harsh grip. After a few short moments, his exhausted body finally surrendered and he allowed the girl to hold him down. "You found me? What are you talking about?" He finally questioned.
The girl's cheery expression quickly melted into an apologetic frown. "You...You don't know who I am...do you?" The girl quietly muttered in the saddest tone Minato had ever heard in his life.
Minato hesitated to answer, seeing how upset the girl was. However, he managed to muster up enough courage to answer. He simply shook his head. "...I'm sorry." He mumbled guiltily.
The girl sighed and looked down at his chest. "It's okay...Ms. Mitsuru told me that you probably wouldn't recognize me." She muttered under her breath.
"Mitsuru?" Minato quietly questioned to himself. How does this girl know Mitsuru?
The girl bit her lip as she silently thought to herself. Suddenly, her expression lightened up again as if she had come up with some sort of plan. "What if I do this...?" She questioned, her voice trailing off as her hand reached for her eyepatch. She lifted the cloth gently off of her face, allowing Minato to see what had been hiding under the eyepatch. He curiously looked at the area she had revealed to him and his eyes grew wide as he quickly realized what was hiding under the patch.
A single red eye.
"T-Terra...?" Minato stammered out her name in complete surprise.
The blonde giggled and her grin stretched even more. She nodded her head and her body swayed excitedly. "You remember me!" She quickly cheered.
"O-Of course I remember you...! What's with the new look?" Minato questioned, still surprised that the girl sitting on his stomach was the same girl he had spoken to at the raid. She looked like a completely different person than the scared, black-haired girl he had spoken to just a week ago.
"Ms. Mitsuru gave me a m-makeover." She happily explained. She stumbled over the word "makeover", giving Minato the impression that she had never used the word before.
Akihiko finally decided to step into the conversation as he closed the front door. "Mitsuru gave her a makeover so she wouldn't be easily recognized by one of the escaped kidnappers." He explained.
"Do you like my new look, Mr. Minato?" Terra asked, patiently waiting for an answer.
Minato quickly nodded his head. "You look great!" He answered, making the girl grin pleasantly.
"So then...You two know each other?" Junpei quietly questioned.
Minato nodded his head. "Yep. I escorted Terra out of the base during the raid." He stated to the hatted man.
"Hello, mister! My name's Terra." Terra happily introduced herself to the man.
Junpei showed Terra his usual friendly grin. "Hey, I'm Junpei Iori." He replied.
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Junpei Iori." She kindly responded.
"You can just call me Junpei." He commented, the girl's polite formalities making him slightly uncomfortable.
"Okay, Mr. Junpei." Terra quietly giggled as her words rhythmically rolled off her tongue. Junpei couldn't help but to smile after hearing her giggle, despite his desire for her to also drop the "Mr." from his name.
Akihiko cleared his throat, capturing everyone's attention. He smiled at Terra and spoke clearly. "Terra...Do you want to tell them why you're here?"
"Why are you here, Terra?" Minato questioned. The last time he saw her, she was traveling to the Kirijo mansion with Mitsuru. The redhead was supposed to be taking care of Terra. So why is she here?
Terra suddenly grew silent and glanced down at Minato's chest nervously. Her smile slowly degraded into a perfectly flat line. "U-Um...Can you tell them for me, Mr. Akihiko?" She quietly muttered the question as if she'd be punished for speaking.
Minato saw her hesitation and gently placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He gave her a friendly smile and spoke quietly. "Terra, you can tell me anything." He sincerely stated.
"A-Anything...? I won't get in trouble?" She questioned, biting her lip carefully.
"Of course not." He assured to the cautious girl. He wasn't sure why Terra was suddenly afraid to speak, but was determined to make her talk.
Terra took a short moment to find words to say. Then, after taking a large breath, Terra finally opened her mouth to answer the question. "I...I want to live here. With you guys." She quietly muttered. Her eyes looked down at Minato's face with hesitation. She examined his expression, trying to find a response. However, it was nearly impossible to determine how he felt just by looking at his face.
"Wait. You want to stay here?!" Junpei, who definitely wasn't hard to read, blurted out the question without thinking.
Terra nodded her head softly. She looked at Minato's eyes and noticed that he was staring at her intently. It was a cold yet friendly stare that seemed to challenge Terra to a staring contest. It almost felt as if he were silently determining how much Terra truly wanted to stay with them.
Akihiko decided to enlighten the males to calm Junpei down. "Mitsuru called me earlier and told me that she wasn't able to take care of Terra and get all her work done. So, I offered to let her stay here if you two were okay with it." He explained.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean...she's a teenage girl." Junpei quietly replied.
"What's wrong? We have enough space for her here. She can have that room we've been using as storage." Akihiko answered.
"That's not what I'm worried about." Junpei mumbled. "...Shouldn't she have some kind of mother-figure to look up to? We don't know anything about raising a teenage girl." He quietly elaborated, hoping that Terra couldn't hear his doubts.
"We'll figure it out. I'm sure she'd be fine. It's not like she's a toddler. She's old enough to know how to take care of herself...mostly." He assured.
"I guess you're right." Junpei agreed with a smile.
"How do you feel about letting her live here, Minato?" Akihiko questioned.
Minato smiled up at the determined girl above him and she returned his smile for one of her own. "I'm cool with it." He simply answered, making Terra's grin grow.
"Looks like we've got a new housemate." Junpei happily announced.
Terra's energetic aura quickly returned after hearing Junpei's words. She cheerfully bounced up and down on Minato's stomach. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She repeatedly thanked the men for allowing her to stay, unable to control her excitement.
The tired, blue-haired man grunted in slight pain each time she cheerfully bounced on his stomach. "T-Terra!" Minato shouted the girl's name, reminding her that she was bouncing on him.
Terra paused her movements and swiftly crawled off of the couch. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She frantically apologized to Minato as he stood up from the couch.
"Don't worry about it, Terra. I'm fine." He assured with a smile, although his stomach was in slight pain.
"Really?" She quietly asked, her voice trailing off. She almost looked as if she were about to cry.
"Really." He answered firmly. "Here. Let's put tour stuff in your new room." He suggested, picking up one of the three large suitcases. Akihiko and Junpei followed suit, grabbing the rest of the suitcases and carrying them down the hall. Terra followed closely behind Minato, wondering what was behind each door they passed.
The trio reached the end of the hall and Junpei nudged Terra in her shoulder, inviting her to open the door. Terra reached out her hand and gently touched the doorknob. She glanced back at the men as if she were looking for approval to continue. She took a small breath and twisted the knob, opening the door carefully.
The men had been using the room as a storage area for all the useless junk they had collected over the years. The room had been left untouched ever since the trio had moved into the house aside from the few times they opened the door to throw more junk to be forgotten about into the room. Because of all the junk sprawled on the floor, it was nearly impossible to take a step into the room.
But despite the large mess, Terra still stared at the room in awe. She cautiously took a step into the room, trying her best not to step on anything. "There's a lot of stuff in here." She commented with an amused grin.
Junpei rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah...I guess we kind of forgot how much stuff was in here." He sheepishly replied.
"I knew this room was a mess, but I didn't think it was this bad." Akihiko added.
"We have to throw all this junk out before you can sleep in here, Terra." Minato stated.
Terra stubbornly shook her head. "You don't have to clean up. It's fine. I can just sleep in that box of magazines over there-"
"No you can't." Junpei quickly interjected as soon as he remembered what kind of magazines those were. He had placed the box of magazines in there years ago with no intention to ever look at them again. He couldn't remember exactly what was in the magazines, but was sure that it definitely wasn't something Terra should be subjected to.
Terra was about to question why she couldn't sleep in the box, but she noticed little particles in the air that caught her attention. "What's this stuff?" She asked, trying to catch one of the many particles in her hand.
Akihiko poked his head into the room and saw the particles she had been talking about. "Looks like dust." He explained.
"Dust...?" Terra repeated quietly, not entirely sure exactly what it was. A dust particle tickled her nose and Terra let out a large sneeze that made a pile of junk in the corner of the room collapse. She had a very powerful sneeze for a girl of her stature. "I'm sorry." She muttered quietly, apologizing for the small avalanche.
There's no way Terra could stay in this dusty, old room. It was way too hazardous and she'd be sneezing all night. "Come on, Terra. We'll find you another place to sleep until we can clean out this room." Minato said with a smile.
Terra carefully exited the room and returned to Minato's side. Akihiko cautiously closed the door to the dangerous spare room and they tried to think of where Terra would be resting her head for the night.
"I could sleep on the couch." Terra suggested.
Minato shook his head. "That cheap couch isn't comfortable at all." He commented.
"Oh..." Terra muttered quietly as she tried to come up with another idea. "I could just never go to sleep."
Akihiko was the one to shoot this solution down. "You'll get sick if you don't go to sleep."
"How about she sleeps in Minato's room?" Junpei suggested.
"My room?" Minato repeated questionably, not entirely thrilled by the idea of sharing a room. "Why my room?"
"Well, she knows you more than she does me or Akihiko. Plus, we both have to go to work tomorrow; you have a day off." Junpei explained.
Akihiko smiled in agreement. "He does have a good point."
Minato opened his mouth to say that they should brainstorm a bit longer, but he was cut off by Junpei. "Great! Then it's decided then. Goodnight!" The tired man quickly stated. He walked into his own room as if he were in a rush to go to bed.
"Night Mr. Junpei!" Terra happily shouted.
"Night, Terra!" He shouted from behind the closed door.
"I'm gonna go hit the hay too." Akihiko muttered, patting Minato on the shoulder before also abandoning him to go to his room. "Goodnight, Terra." He groggily muttered with a smile as he walked off.
"Goodnight, Mr. Akihiko." She cheerfully replied before the man could enter his room.
Minato sighed. "Looks like I'm stuck with you now..." He muttered quietly to himself. He glanced at the ground and noticed that his friends had also left him with Terra's three large suitcases. He groaned in annoyance as he imagined himself carrying the heavy suitcases by himself.
Terra happily grabbed a suitcase with both her hands. She grinned up at Minato, waiting for him to lead the way to his room. Minato couldn't help but to crack a small smile as he glanced at her childish grin. He ruffled her hair with his hand and picked up the remaining suitcases. Terra stared at him admiringly as he carried the suitcases seemingly without any problem.
"Alright, Terra. I'll show you my room, I guess." He muttered, walking back down the hallway. Terra lagged behind, once again dragging the suitcase as she used all her body weight to move it behind her.
"How'd you get so strong, Mr. Minato?" Terra questioned.
Minato chuckled quietly. "It's a secret."
Terra stared at the back of his head in amazement as she tried to guess what had made him so strong. She hoped to become just as strong as him one day. In fact, a part of her wanted grow to be just like Minato in every regard.
"Here we are." Minato stated, gently placing one of the suitcases down so he could open the door. He walked into the room and placed the suitcases he had been carrying into the corner of the room. Terra copied his actions and placed the suitcase she was carrying into the same corner.
Terra took the time to examine his large, tidy room while Minato made a huge pile of blankets and pillows on the floor. "You can sleep on my bed and I'll sleep here." Minato offered, pointing at the pile of blankets and pillows.
Terra guiltily looked at Minato. "I can sleep on the floor." She replied quietly.
Minato, not wanting to make the girl suffer on a hard floor the first night she slept at her new house, continued to offer her the bed. "I don't want you to sleep on the floor. I want you to sleep on the bed."
"I don't want you to sleep on the floor and I want you to sleep on the bed." Terra repeated.
Minato let out a small sigh and looked at the stubbornly polite child. "You're sleeping on that bed." He stated.
Terra shook her head. "You're sleeping on the bed."
"If you don't sleep on the bed, I'm going to tickle you." Minato threatened.
"What's a tickle...?" Terra questioned naively.
Minato smiled at her and picked her up, lifting her over his head. Just as her scrawny appearance suggested, Terra didn't weigh much at all for a teenage girl. Terra giggled as Minato dropped her onto the bed and began to tickle her until she was out of breath. "There. Now sleep in that bed or I'll tickle you again." Minato threatened.
"Haha...O-Okay..." She breathed. Minato turned off the lights and lied down on the pile. It didn't take Terra long to discover that she couldn't sleep. She couldn't tell if her inability to sleep was because of her excitement towards her new home or if it was due to her guilty conscience scolding her for letting Minato sleep on the floor. "Um...Mr. Minato...?" Terra meekly called to see if the male was still awake.
"What is it?" He questioned from the floor.
"I-I was wondering if...if it isn't too much of a problem...could you...maybe...possibly...read me a story...?" She quietly questioned.
"Having trouble sleeping?" He questioned.
"A little..." She muttered. Minato stood back up and turned on the lights again. Terra sat up in the bed and watched Minato scratch his head in thought.
"I don't have any books in here...I think Akihiko might have some in his room..." Minato muttered to himself.
"Mr. Junpei doesn't have any?" Terra asked.
"None that you should be reading." Minato grumbled. Terra wondered what these forbidden books were about, but Minato interrupted her thoughts with an exciting suggestion. "You want to get some books from Akihiko's room? He should be asleep right now."
"Sure!" Terra happily agreed, getting off the bed.
"Just remember. We have to be quiet. Don't wake him up." Minato added. Terra placed a finger over her lips and nodded her head. After seeing that Minato wasn't going to place a finger over his mouth, Terra tapped her lips with her finger. Minato chuckled and placed a finger over his mouth. They quietly tiptoed to Akihiko's room in hopes of finding a bedtime story for Terra.