Tashtastic: I realise that this is where they meet Aigis in the game, but as you already know she's already in my story. If I followed the game exactly, well, it wouldn't be fan fiction would it? There will be a lot of changes and mix-ups in my story, if you don't like this then I do apologise. As a heads up, I have not proofread this so some parts may be poorly written or sound dreadful, I am sorry, but I'm in a rush and if I don't post this now I never will.
Thanks for reading
–x-
"Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart."
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
The Beach
The group stood on the deck of the Yakushima bound ferry looking across for the island. Junpei was the first to spot it,
"Awesome! There it is! Ya-ku-shi-maaaa!" he could hardly suppress his excitement rushing to the barrier and leaning over for a better view.
"W-Wow, so many tropical plants…!" Fuuka seemed mesmerized, "…Look at that one!" Walking to the railing where Junpei stood, she also gazed across to the island. The others stood on the deck silently, the atmosphere still heavy. Minako sat silently, her eyes shut and headphones in, Akihiko, Ken and Mitsuru also stood in quietude looking across the sea to Yakushima. Turning to look at everyone Fuuka saw his or her somber expressions, "Um-" Junpei interrupted the silence,
"I-It's totally amazing, huh! Man, this is so awesome… I'm not even kidding!" Fuuka couldn't help but sigh at Junpei.
"Junpei-kun…" Junpei moaned at the tone in her voice before following with a sigh.
After departing from the ferry and a short walk the team arrived at the Kirijo family Yakushima mansion.
"Wow-!" Fuuka gasped, looking around and observing the structure. Junpei could barely stand still, the excitement evident in his eyes,
"It's like we're in an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Fabulous…" Upon entering the mansion two maids came elegantly walking over, their uniforms clean and flawless, hair perfect.
"Welcome back Milady!" The younger looking of the two greeted, everyone but Mitsuru stood taken aback from the welcome. The senior maintained her calm, casual composure as she addressed the women.
"We won't be here long, but I'll be relying on you during our stay." Yukari turned to Mitsuru,
"You have maids?" She said with her voice slightly elevated. The senior did not reply before the older of the maids turned and spoke to the others in their group,
"And you must be her schoolmates, correct? Welcome to the Kirijo vacation home." The middle-aged maid gestured with her hand, "Please, follow me." She walked off further into the mansion. Yukari stood, looking slightly confused,
"Um, is this the right place?" Junpei leaned in towards his female classmate,
"Dude, real-life maids…" Fuuka looked to the two, joining the conversation,
"I knew she was from an important family, but this definitely confirms it…" The group began to follow in the direction the maid had directed to until they heard heavy footsteps approaching and saw the far door open. Entering the hallway was an older gentleman; a patch covered his right eye as he advanced toward them with a disgruntled expression. As everyone stood in silence staring, Mitsuru spoke,
"It's good to see you." Her voice held no emotion as she delivered the straightforward line. The man stood and stared at the red haired girl without response before walking off. Fuuka and Yukari were the next to speak,
"Was that-"
"…her Father?" Iori leaned in to his female classmate again,
"Dude talk about scary! He's not going to make us walk the plank, is he?" His eyes were widened as Akihiko glared at the younger classman,
"Don't be stupid…" Over hearing everyone's conversation Mitsuru gave a small, elegant chuckle,
"We won't be here long, but make yourself at home." Junpei's mouth widened into a beaming smile,
"Sweet! This is gonna rock!" He grabbed onto Yukari's arm, tugging at it, "Hey, wanna go to the beach? It's right there. Dude, this place rules! Come on, let's go!" Yukari yanked her arm away from him with a shocked expression,
"What, already?" Her shock slowly turned into a small smile, "I mean, sure, but let me get changed first!"
"Then I'll see you there! I'm not gonna waste a single minute!" He happily and loudly hollered as he rushed off.
Minako and the others changed into their swimsuits and made their way down to the beach. Upon arrival, they saw Akihiko and Junpei talking,
"Ahh-" Junpei sighed in relief, "Got my sandals on... Givin' my feet a chance to breathe… Yup! Summer's here!" Akihiko had a relaxed smile on his face. The girls could tell, even at their distance how excited Junpei was.
"Ugh." Yukari scoffed, "Cold he BE any louder…? But yikes, what's with Akihiko-senpai's swimsuit…?" Minako slowly looked up from the floor, within a split second she was sure the blood flushed in her cheeks. "I can feel my face getting red just looking at it." Yukari continued. Turning, the silver haired senpai saw the girls stood watching them and walked over.
"Yo, about time you guys got here." Looking at Yukari's face he had a puzzled look, "Something wrong, Yukari?" Yukari felt her face flush as she pointed down whilst averting her gaze anywhere but at Akihiko,
"That's a pretty … small… swimsuit…" He gave a small laugh and smiled,
"What? Don't you know? Swimsuits like this reduce water resistance and-" She shook her hands cutting him off,
"Oh, that's okay… It doesn't need to be justified." She spoke nervously before looking at Junpei, "Hey Junpei, what's the matter? You look even dumber than usual." She said mockingly.
"Maaaaaaan… Talk about a feast for the eyes, haha." Yukari cringed at his lecherous tone, "Yuka-tan's wearing a more aggressive model than I had imagined! Could her boldness have come from the confidence that club training has toned her bod?!"
"What!?" Yukari griped in response, but Junpei's attention had already turned to Minako staring at her white polka dotted, pink, frilled edges bikini.
"And check out our leader! She's one cute mermaid herself! Those curves she usually keeps covered up are lookin' good! I can't tear my eyes away!" Akihiko glared at the junior, a glare that went unnoticed by Iori.
"Thanks." Minako responded quietly facing the floor.
"Maaaan, the beach is so great. I love this place!" Junpei wore his usual goofy grin. Fuuka approached slowly from the direction of the mansion wearing her newly bought swimwear; her movement was slow and nervous.
"Is that umbrella taken?" Junpei turning eyed her from head to foot, admiring the blue swimming ensemble.
"Oooh, and here we have the lovely Miss Yamagishi!" A red tint spread across his features, "… Wow, Fuuka, I had no idea you were so… I mean, you should wear a swimsuit more often!" Fuuka gasped and felt her cheeks flush,
"Huh…?" Junpei's goofy grin returned,
"Oh come on, there's nothing to be embarrassed about! Heheh." Yukari quickly moved giving the boy a light punch in the arm,
"Stop that creepy laugh, you perv!" Junpei cringed before his attention distracted to the approaching senior,
"And here's our final contestant…." Stopping Mitsuru looked around the group,
"…Hm? Is something wrong?" Fuuka and the others looked at her fascinated,
"Wow… Mitsuru-senpai, you're beautiful…" Yukari inspected her closer,
"Yeah, your skin is flawless! Did you already put on sunscreen?" Even Mitsuru's face tinged red as she gave a small smile,
"N-no, not yet." She stammered. Junpei scooted closer to Akihiko nudging his side,
"Psst, Akihiko-senpai. Level with me… Which one's your type?" Akihiko groaned, before replying in a whisper to the junior, "Huh!? …Really?!" Junpei spoke loudly looking shocked. Akihiko looked panicked,
"Shh! K-keep your voice down!"
"Maaaan, really? No joke?" Junpei looked impressed, smirking.
"What're you two smirking about?" Yukari questioned the two.
"Nothing" he answered in a singsong tone.
"Okaaay?" her eyebrow raised as she gave a confused look to the males as Junpei stretched his arms in to the air before placing them behind his head.
"Man, I'm in heaven!" There was a short pause before he spoke again, "How 'bout a swim?" Before gaining a response he had began to sprint toward the water, "Buh buh buh bump ba baaa! Charge!" Akihiko quickly followed, chasing him,
"Whoa! I'm not letting you win that easily!" The two ran straight into the blue sea, even at the distance the others could hear Junpei's voice loud and clear.
"Woah, it's cold! Hahahahahaha!" Minako stepped over to a sun lounger pulling her shades over her eyes and carefully lying down. Yukari glanced over to her friend and sighed looking to the other two girls. Fuuka looked worried as Mitsuru placed a hand on her shoulder quietly speaking,
"Come on, we should let her be." The juniors nodded and headed for the sea joining in the splashing and carrying on with Junpei and Akihiko. The senior took one last glance at Minako before following the others to the water also. The brown haired leader lay in the sun, her thoughts becoming painful as the glasses she wore hid the tears that now streamed and stained her face.
'Shinji…'
A short while later, noticing her continued absence Akihiko glanced across the sands, squinting and straining his eyes to see where she could be. Then he spotted her. He knew she was still suffering from the incident on the last full moon, their leader was never this anti-social, she smiled, she laughed and at times, she was loud enough to rival Iori. Seeing that the others were in a world of their own, he left the cool water and made his way over to her. Gently he kneeled by her, softly placing a hand onto her thigh. Minako's head turned to look at him, sitting up and pulling her knees to her chin.
"Senpai?" She spoke, quietly, softly, as though she was about to shatter.
"Don't you want to join everyone?" Looking down, her head shook,
"No." Her eyes closed tightly, trying hard to fight back more tears from falling. Akihiko sighed at her response resting a hand on her cheek; he heard her small sniffles as her two smaller hands were placed over his. The other SEES members now watched the two. In the heavy atmosphere it felt as though they would suffocate. Mitsuru quietly ushered everyone back to the mansion, leaving the two alone. Seeing the others disappearing Akihiko grabbed Minako strongly, pulling her in to a tight embrace. She felt unable to breathe, his grip was tight and over empowering, but she felt comforted.
"I won't let you feel alone. I won't" Pulling back he looked into her face, slowly removing her sunshades to see her eyes. After the smallest of pauses he quickly moved and kissed her, passionately, pulling her close to him his hands holding on her upper arms. Raising her own hands she placed them onto his bare chest, feeling his soft skin under her fingertips. She felt her cheeks heat up and her heart race in response to his assertiveness. This wasn't like his usual shy self at all and she loved it. Slowly she felt her pain and sadness retreat to the back of her mind, as he broke their kiss and pulled her near once more. Her head buried into his chest, she felt the vibration as he spoke to her,
"I wont let you suffer, I'll do anything to keep you smiling, no matter what."
'It's not only what I want, but he would have wanted it too…'