Alrighty, dearies! So sorry it took this long to get a chapter out! Schoolwork is a mess at the end of the semester. Ah, well. Can't be helped. This chapter has some fluff and funny junk in it again; I must be in a good mood. xD Oh. And I've noticed the reviews have diminished almost to none... I really love hearing what you guys think of my story; it helps motivate me to put more of it up here. So if you could review this for me, even just a word or two to know that SOMEONE is still reading this and is not bored with my cutesy drabble(xD), I'd love it. Kthx.

~Ami


After the... Incident...


Yukari and Fuuka blinked for a few times, both in shock. "Uh... I'm pretty sure she likes someone," Yukari murmured, raising her eyebrows and looking concerned. "Shinjiro-senpai's probably going to wonder what the heck we just said to her with the way she sped out of there."

Fuuka laughed awkwardly. "I don't think we should bother her about it. I mean, after all, who could blame her? Everyone took care of her this past week; she probably made a connection with someone." She giggled a little, putting her hand in front of her mouth. "I'm actually kind of eager to find out. What about you, Yukari-chan?"

She smirked. "Yeah. Plus, that means we can bother you guys until you spill, too. Don't think you're off the hook yet. I already know Junpei's got the hots for her."

"Junpei's got the hots for everyone," Mitsuru called as she passed by in the hallway with a handful of books, quickly disappearing with a call of, "Iori! Your grades in Physics need to come up, by the way!"

"Physics?" Junpei moaned. "Physics is the worst...Can't you tutor me, Mitsuru-senpai?" But she was gone, and the prospect of a "tutor" with her.

Looking extremely confused, Shinjiro stepped out from the kitchen doorway. "What was that all about? She came in then ran like a bat out of hell, and then started yelling something about Ken and Chemistry. Did I miss something, or am I just clueless?"

Akihiko pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, feeling as though he were the one who was actually clueless. "Ask one of the girls to explain it, because apparently they understand it all."

"Hamuko's got a thing for one of us!" Junpei interrupted gleefully. "We just don't know who yet!"

"You don't know that for a fact!" Minato insisted. "Maybe she feels uncomfortable talking about her feelings with other people. There's a bunch of reasons why she could've acted like that, so don't jump to conclusions so fast."

With one eyebrow raised, Shinjiro looked skeptical. This was going to make it very difficult for any of them to focus when they went to Tartarus later, him included. Though a little curious about the situation, he honestly had little interest in the drama.

Fuuka looked sheepish. "I guess we pushed her a little too much. I feel bad now," she muttered, trailing off.

Yukari comforted the girl. "It wasn't really our faults. She's a little stressed out. I'd be, too, if I finally got to have some freedom to get around. Moving to a new place so quickly is pretty overwhelming." The girl glanced at Junpei, who had a mix of interest at Hamuko's discomfort and dread at Mitsuru's order. "Do you guys think I should go talk to her? I mean, Ken's probably wondering what's going on. Unless she ishelping him, after all. Or one of you guys could do it."

Fuuka suddenly perked up. "Oh, oh! I know! I could go make her something in the kitchen to cheer her up!"

"Well, Fuuka, I don't know if-"

But the blue haired girl rushed into the kitchen before Yukari could say another word. The girl laughed in exasperation, rolling her eyes. "She's something else," she chuckled.

"Maybe you should talk to her, Takeba," Akihiko suggested tentatively. "She'd open up to a girl before one of us, I think. And since Fuuka's doing her thing, that leaves you by default."

Minato echoed his sentiments. "I'll go with you. Someone's gonna have to save Ken from his Chemistry-induced torture. I need to head upstairs anyway to get ready to go to Tartarus tonight." He mused to himself, wondering if his preferred weapon, the lightweight one-handed sword first given to him by Mitsuru, was sharp enough. Minato couldn't remember the last time he had honed the blade; he'd have to do that before they left later that night.

Yukari nodded quickly. "Kay. Let's go. We'll leave you all to your, uh, conversations," she chuckled, before standing up with Minato to go upstairs.

As the two reached the next level of the dorm, laughing could be clearly heard.

"See? It's like, uh, like THIS!"

"Hamuko-senpai? Are you sure?"

"Sure I'm sure! C'mon, Ken, I got an A+ in this class!"

"Hahaha, okay, Hamuko-senpai. I trust you."

Yukari peeked out from the stairs. The two were seated at a table, laughing with each other like they had been good friends for a while. Wow, she's got a talent for making that kid open up, she thought in surprise. I can't even do that...

Hamuko turned around quickly, sensing the presence of the two. She flushed red again, laughed nervously, and flipped her head around again to continue to point at a problem of Ken's. "Now, see, if this element is present..."

"You okay, Hamuko-chan? You ran out of there pretty quickly."

She bit her lip nervously. Knowing that they were unable to see her face, she waved her hand behind her head. "Nah, nah, I'm good! Don't worry bout it." She was concealing her discomfort fine from them, but Ken could see it clearly plastered on her face.

He glanced up worriedly up at her, then turned his head around toward the others, giving them an unsure look before turning back. She's definitely not fine... Wonder why that bothered her so much?

"Okay, then..." Minato conceded. He bid farewell to Yukari and made his way down the hall to his room. His sword was visibly propped in the corner, its blade gleaming blindingly in the late evening sunset. He tossed the hilt from hand the hand, then carefully ran his finger down the sharp edge of the blade. His finger wasn't cut, confirming his suspicions that it had grown dull. Deciding to do this down in the lounge, Minato dug around in search of his knife stone. He found it shoved under his bed and wondered how it had managed to end up down there in the first place. Though a little clunky, he'd gotten it for a good price from Officer Kurosawa after explaining that his sword wasn't as effective as it used to be.

On his way out, a thought occurred to Minato. He closed his door as quietly as he could and retraced his steps, all done as silently as a mouse. He hated to eavesdrop, but maybe he could overhear a little bit of Ken and Hamuko's conversation. Judging from the look on Ken's face earlier and Hamuko's pointedly avoiding facial contact, it was obvious that everything was not okay.

Yukari, unable to think of anything else to do, said goodbye to the girl and Ken. "Well, I guess I'll just be downstairs then. Let me know if you need anything, Hamuko-chan."

Once the girl had left the room, she let out a large sigh, finally glad that they were out of their hair. "Sorry, Ken-kun," she confessed. "I'm a little stressed out."

The young boy, not quite sure how to comfort the much older girl, traced circles on his paper with his pencil. "S'alright. But I don't think you should lie to them."

"I know, I'm just afraid they'll think I'm a basket-case and not like me... Am I really that bad?"

"No, no!" Ken looked almost frustrated. "Why would you think that?"

The girl let her head drop onto the table with a "thud" on impact. "I don't know... Having older kids to live with is awkward, and I just don't want to seem stup-"

"Imagine how I feel."

Ken's brutally honest statement made the girl cheer up instantly as she chuckled, ruffling his hair. "You're right. I'm sorry. I should feel more for you. We can be buddies, right? You don't act your age.. I actyour age... It'll work out perfect!"

The young boy chuckled, coughing as he tried to compose himself. "Y-Yeah."

"So, what do you think of the others?"

"Well, I guess-"

"Be honest, ya little goof," Hamuko barked, laughing.

"Um, well... Yukari-san's nice. So is Fuuka-san, but she's a little spacey sometimes. Akihiko-senpai almost always seems focused on fighting. Shinjiro-senpai's pretty quiet. Mitsuru-senpai is nice, too, but she can be a little scary sometimes. Junpei-kun... uh... He's a little crazy. And Minato-kun... He seems pretty neat, but he's normally reserved too. It's like he's in his own world, especially when he gets ready for Tartarus. It's a little unsettling."

Minato, from his hiding place around the corner, could understand where Ken was coming from. When he fought, it was like nothing else mattered but the feeling of his sword cutting into the Shadows and the adrenaline rush of summoning a Persona. He clutched his sword tighter to his chest and listened closer. Hamuko sounded like her old self as she talked with Ken. Guilt washed over Minato as he thought about things that were said a little while before. There hadn't been any harmful intentions, but Hamuko seemed to have been more affected by their words than they all realized. There had to be some kind of olive branch he could extend to her to make up for it, but right now nothing was coming to mind.

Hamuko nodded, understanding the boy. She paused for a moment, thinking that she heard something. Closing her eyes in concentration, she tried to pinpoint the small "clink" sound that she heard. It came from the hallway. The girl narrowed her eyes, looking positively miffed.

Ken turned, looking completely confused. He was about to open his mouth to say something, but the girl silenced her by putting her index finger in front of her mouth.

The girl got up from her chair quietly, acting as though nothing were different. "Yeah, I can see where you're coming from. Minato-kun seems like a nice guy, though. I suppose I wouldn't save him for no reason at all. But, you know...there is something strange about him." She carefully stepped over to the hallway, keeping herself still hidden from the boy. "In fact, he's very...-"

Hamuko flipped around the corner, grabbing the boy by the ribbon tied around his neck deftly as she slammed her other hand against the wall by his head. "-sneaky." She sighed, rolling her eyes. "Is spying really the way to go, Minato-kun? I'm not stupid, you know. I knew you went into your room for something and hadn't come back yet. So spill. If you want to talk to me, just DO IT. Please?"

Ken, shocked, stood up, his chair clanging to the floor in a rush. "M-Minato-kun?" he blurted, rushing up to the two. His cheeks were bright red; he had no idea that the boy had heard everything he said, including the things about him.

Crestfallen, Minato clenched his teeth. "I didn't mean to spy, it just sort of happened." The excuse sounded miserable even to him. Her grip on his neck was slowly inducing a choking feeling in his Adam's Apple. Hamuko's free hand threateningly quivered against the wall just inches from his face. Minato swallowed his fear and bravely looked her straight in the eye. "Yes, I shouldn't have done it, and for that I'm sorry. I just wanted to know what was wrong, that's all."

Almost looking hurt at what she did, and surprised by his sudden bravery, the girl retreated, letting go of him. "You could have just asked me..." she murmured, biting her lip. She nodded her head. "I'm sorry for that. I just wasn't really comfortable around you all yet. And I... didn't know what to do..." She looked back, realizing Ken was watching the two intently. "Ken? Do you mind if you finish number 27 while I talk to Minato-kun? Just used that formula I showed you, and I'll check your answer in a minute."

He nodded, respectfully bowing out of the conversation, knowing his place well.

"Now really, Minato-kun. I'll only trust you all more if you just be honest with me. I don't particularly like people snooping. It makes me feel like I did something wrong. And now you know about all of my insecurities," she puffed, her cheeks flushing red as she looked down at the carpet. "I try to act gutsy cause I don't know how to cover it up. I was finally starting to open up to you all, and the walls were coming down, but it was just.. too close.." She wasn't going to tell him that she had a problem with relationships. She was afraid of others getting close to her. Ever since what had happened with her parents, she was afraid to love anyone after that. "I don't know how to get rid of those walls... I don't know if Ikutsuki had told you all about my past life... but.."

"We all have our own pasts. Me, Akihiko, Fuuka, Yukari, every single one of us has suffered in some way. I lost my parents too, a long time ago. But we've all accepted that life has to move on, even though they're not here." Talking about his parents was still painful, even after all this time. It was a fresh wound that would scab over, only to be ripped open yet again by some seemly insignificant thing that triggered the memories.

The remnants that Minato did have were blurry and faded. A woman with dark hair, a man with light eyes, but their faces were gone to him. He wished he had a picture, or even the slightest token of their memory. Yet Minato went through some days and most of his insomnia-induced spells contemplating everything that he didn't know about them: their personalities, their favorite foods, the extent of their love for their young son. What lullabies would his mother sing to him, and what fatherly advice would his dad give to him if he knew his son's mission? Just when Minato thought he'd severed the chain completely, it would all come back accompanied with the crippling agony of ignorance.

He peeled himself off the wall and closer to Hamuko, but not in a way that would make her feel uncomfortable. His heart was heavy and his face melancholy. "I won't spy again, I promise. But just swear to me one thing: don't push yourself away from us. You're not the only one with walls."

Her eyes widened as she realized that he seemed to have the same past. Hamuko's face fell, though, as she murmured, "I'm sick of everyone dying around me. Maybe that's why I saved you, too. Maybe that's why I want to go to Tartarus so badly. Because... I don't want to lose anyone anymore..." She closed her eyes as she remembered when she woke up in her dorm, terrified, scared... determined to save him.

"I burned Yukari just to get to you... I didn't want another to die. I'm so tired of death, and seeing the Dark Hour for the first time made me relive that fear." She took a deep breath. "I will promise.." Hamuko stepped closer, biting her lip as she went so far as to wrap her arms around the boy in a hug. "I won't push myself away from you all.. but you have to promise me... Don't die on me, okay?" she whispered into his ear, her body quivering as flashes of her past with her parents flew through her mind.

Ken glanced back only to see the girl nearly strangling Minato moments earlier was now hugging him. Weird, he thought. I just don't understand them. ...Yeesh, if Junpei saw this, who knows what he'd do? I can hear the rumors spreading already.

Hamuko felt bashful at suddenly using him as her crutch again, albeit a different type of crutch. She closed her eyes as she tried to think of what to say next, her fingers tensing up on the boy's back. "H-How do you cope, Minato-kun? I've tried nearly everything..."

Hamuko's arms felt surprisingly solid as she held him close. In that moment, Minato wondered how she had managed to cope with it. He felt like her only lifeline, tethering her to sanity in this new, unfamiliar place. "Ken said that when I fight, it's like I'm in my own world. It's true, but there's not a day that goes by where I don't think, 'Am I going to die tonight? Will someone else be picked off by the Shadows because I couldn't do anything about it?' It's a hard way to live." He had two very different lives, one of an average, but bright high school student, the other that of a vigilante, guarding the entire city to the best of his abilities and receiving nothing in return. "We might seem brave to you, but inside we're all afraid of losing each other.

"I don't know how I cope, to be honest. Sometimes it's really hard." Minato's entire face suddenly softened and he returned Hamuko's embrace, feeling her trembling against him, more afraid than he had ever seen her, including the night where her death seemed a guarantee. He could see Ken over her shoulder, looking extremely uncomfortable; Minato gave him an apologetic smile. "It takes a lot of time, but I think I'm okay because I know that life is going to go on, with or without me. And I'd rather be with it."

The girl closed her eyes in relaxation as she felt the boy hold onto her tighter. She stopped shaking and her body calmed down, feeling an intense feeling of relief. "M-Minato-kun," she murmured, her fears diminishing as the boy did not let go. "Thank you. I'm just trying so hard to be what you all want me to be. I'm sorry I might be using you as a crutch for a while; you just seem to be the only one that can understand my situation." She sighed, her head seamlessly falling onto his shoulder as she rested her weak body from all of the exertion. "This means a lot to me that you care, you know."

Yukari, who had begun to climb the stairs again to check on Minato, immediately stopped in her tracks as she saw the two in the hallway, hugging each other closely. Her face turning red, the girl quickly dashed back downstairs to prevent being seen. A strange emotion ran through her body as she slowly returned to the lounge, confused. Was it anger? Jealousy? Envy? H-He was just trying to comfort her... Right? she thought, as she sat down, uncharacteristically silent. Why do I feel like this?

Minato smiled as Hamuko's head fell to his shoulder and rested in the crook of his shoulder blade. "Just know that you can talk to any of us, okay?" A sensation of warmth was coursing through him like wildfire, setting every nerve ending in his body blazing. He dimly realized that he was still holding his sword and knife stone and was abruptly reminded of the night's mission. Suddenly very intense, he had one final thing to ask. "I have to go get ready for tonight. Can you promise me that you'll stay here without an argument? Please?"

Hamuko nodded, her hair brushing up against the boy's neck. "Yeah. I promise. Promise you won't die?" she joked. Reluctantly letting go of him, the girl stepped away, putting her hands behind her back. She smiled, blinking the small amount of moisture away that had accumulated in her eyes from the memories of her parents. "Who are you going to take with you tonight, Minato-kun? Have you decided yet?" It seemed as though everything with him was natural; she didn't feel like she had to put on an act, as she seemed to do with the others.

One floor down, Junpei saw Yukari rushing down the stairs. "What's wrong, Yuka-tan? You look like you just saw a whole army of ghosts."

Yukari stopped in front of Junpei, her expression unreadable. "It's nothing, Junpei," she confessed, almost coldly. She never really thought that she had feelings for Minato before. But something clicked in her when she saw Hamuko with her arms wrapped around him. Nevertheless, she pushed that feeling aside. But...what if they really could connect more than she could with him? After all, it was only her father who passed away; Minato and Hamuko lost both of their parents. Feeling almost guilty at her assumption of the situation, the girl looked away from Junpei to the floor. "Hamuko was upset. Minato-kun's making sure she's alright." She sighed, almost seeming to wish that she could be in the girl's place; the new ones always were the center of attention, and especially in her case, Minato owed his own life to.

Akihiko glanced sideways at Yukari, knowing that she wasn't telling the full story. Even worse was the sinking feeling of knowing that Hamuko had been hurt by their conversation. Remembering to apologize as soon as he saw her again, Akihiko settled back into his chair and fiddled with his practice boxing gloves. They were starting to fall apart from daily use and the stitching was coming apart. They'd either have to be replaced or repaired soon. Frowning, Akihiko placed them on the table and turned his attention back to Yukari. "Takeba, was everything alright? Did it look like he had things handled?"

"Oh, yeah. No problems to report, Senpai," Yukari muttered, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. The girl sat down on one of the fluffy couches, closing her eyes in exhaustion. "A lot has happened today... I'm kinda tired... But I still want to go to Tartarus," she murmured.

"Are you sure?" Junpei questioned. "You do look pretty tired." The glare he received in response to that statement was positively menacing. "I didn't mean that in a bad way! Sheesh."

Yukari, still snarling at Junpei, tried to calm herself down. "I'm fine, Junpei," she insisted, rolling her eyes. "Geez. ...Wonder who's all going to come tonight?"

Meanwhile, Minato shook his head at Hamuko. "I'll be fine. I don't know who to take just yet." He thought deeply for a few moments before making a decision. "I'm thinking Mitsuru-senpai, definitely. I'll see if Yukari wants to go. Akihiko-senpai will probably want to go too." It seemed like a fair team, and all three of them would be raring to go quickly.

"Alright," she answered, smiling. The young girl's face fell for a moment, though, as she calculated the outcome. "Wait a minute. You're going to leave me alone with Junpei. And no girls. Except for Aigis, but she's a little out there. ...You better have your communicator on you, or I promise you he'll be dead before you get back." Hamuko laughed, normalcy and content returning to her tired eyes. "I swear I'll kill him if Shinjiro-senpai doesn't first," she choked out, snickering.

"I think Shinjiro-senpai would get to him first. He isn't exactly known for his patience." Minato took his phone from his pocket and flipped it open, checking the time. "It's starting to get a little late. I need to go tell them who's going tonight so they don't jump down my throat about it." Hamuko's weariness did not go unnoticed. "Why don't you try and rest a little? I'll tell Junpei and the others to leave you in peace for a little bit, if you want."

Hamuko nodded, smiling at the fact that he was concerned about her. "Yeah, sure, I will. I'm just going to help Ken finish up his homework first." And with that the girl pat her hand against the boy's arm, giving him a sincere look. "Thanks again. Be sure to give me some updates tonight on how everyone's doing," she muttered as she backed away from him. "I won't be sleeping during the Dark Hour, anyway. And youthought you had bad insomnia. I've been unable to sleep through the Dark Hour since the day I got here. All of those nights in the hospital.. Yeah, you can only imagine how freaky that was." She smirked as she turned around, walking back over to where Ken was sitting.

Minato shuddered, imaging that scenario. The spooky quiet of the hospital, unable to get out of bed, blood on the walls..."Well, you can keep the others company, at least. See ya."

He made his way downstairs, dragging his two objects with him. "Hey!" he announced as he hit the final stair. "Mitsuru-senpai, Akihiko-senpai, Yukari! You guys ready for tonight?"

Akihiko grinned confidently. "You have to even ask?"

Junpei frowned, but his countenance brightened as a thought occurred to him. "Wait, that means I get to stay here with Hamu-tan? Sw-eet!"

An impulsive anger grinned Minato as he gave his friend a warning look. "Keep it G-rated, Junpei. She's in a better mood than earlier, but she's still a little unsure of everything that's going on." The hard edge to Minato's voice disappeared as he teased Junpei. "Besides, I give Shinjiro-senpai permission to knock sense into you if he needs to."

Shinjiro smirked. "Last time I checked, I didn't need your permission, Arisato."

Mitsuru, walking into the lounge as she heard her name being called, nodded. "I'm ready, Arisato. It's good that we will still have Iori, Aigis, and Aragaki to stay here with Arasawa. That way, if any trouble arises, I'm sure they can handle it." She gave the two boys that she spoke about a stern look, making sure that they were listening.

Hamuko sighed as she finally finished helping Ken with his assignment. "They sure give you a lot of work."

"Yeah." The young boy packed up his things, smiling. "Thanks for the help, Hamuko-san."

"No problem," the girl chirped. "But, uh, I'm gonna go back down to the lounge and relax. I'm a bit tired."

And with that, Hamuko trotted downstairs only to see a large group gathered down there. "Good luck," she mentioned to those who were leaving. The girl walked over to the large sofa, grasping a throw blanket that was draped over it. Effortlessly, the girl threw the blanket over her body as she simultaneously grabbed her book for literature class and laid down on the couch, snuggling into the cushions as her eyes closed tiredly. "Stupid...homework..." she muttered under her breath, trying to focus on the words that were becoming fuzzy on the page.

"You have how long until you go back, and you're already getting sucked into the work? Geez." Just thinking of the no-doubt enormous stack of books that Hamuko probably had was daunting to Junpei.

"Wanna help?" she joked, rolling her eyes at Junpei. Hamuko giggled as Koromaru jumped up onto the couch, snuggling with her. "Koro-chan does, I guess..."

Minato's sword made a sleek metallic sound as he started running the length of the blade across the stone. It was tricky work, considering the rectangular stone was much smaller than the sword itself. His shoulder kept extended out as far as it could go above his body, which wasn't far, considering he was sitting down on the end of one of the couches near Yukari. He wasn't really focused on his sword, though; more on the irony of the contrast between two different types of people. Here he was, honing a steel blade intent on slaying supernatural creatures to paper-thin sharpness, while Hamuko sat tranquilly, snuggled under a blanket and reading a book.

Also piquing Minato's interest was the apparent lack of interest Yukari had made at his announcement. Usually she was elated at going to Tartarus, but now she just seemed icy and distant, even though she was only sitting a few feet away. Did someone say something to her and make her mad? "Hey, Yukari-chan, are you feeling alright? You're just really quiet all of a sudden."

Yukari perked up at Minato addressing her. "Nah, I'm fine. Just a little tired, but I really want to go to Tartarus," she confessed, smiling and conjuring up her best happy disguise for him. She wondered why she seemed so jealous of Hamuko. She seemed to just be a girl in a real weak spot; she couldn't blame her for that. It comforted her, though, that she would have Minato to herself for that night. She always seemed kind towards him, and it wasn't as if she was a flirt.

But feelings began to develop that the girl didn't even know she had. She just wanted to be with him much more often than the others. Maybe it was the fact that he had saved her in the beginning, or that he could help her get through her tough times without her father... Nonetheless, she knew that they had a special bond, whether it included Hamuko or not.

Minato nodded his head, feeling relief that Yukari was feeling okay, though something about her still seemed a little off. He peered at his sword, concentrating deeply on the blade. It would take a while before it met his satisfaction. "Just be ready and we'll meet at the entrance to Tartarus in a few hours. You all know what to do."


"Tutela" means "protection." Please R&R, lovlies! =3