I walked out of today with two friends on my tail. Yashiro and Kanashi. I had no idea what was going to go down between the two of them; they were looking at each other nonchalantly, however there was… there was a bit of a glare going on whenever their lines of sight crossed paths. I feel like there's some kind of competition going on between the two of them, but…

Once I reached my favourite pier, I heard a 'bang.'

I looked behind me and… Holy. Shit.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked with a slightly worried expression.

Yashiro shrugged, while Kanashi held up a cross-block.

"Sparring," Yashiro said simply, yet I swear I saw something in that set expression of his; like that of a competitive glint. It kinda reminded me of the one time that I saw Akihiko and Shinjiro sparring together when Shinji was still alive.

"Why here?" I asked.

"The new boxing captain isn't supposed to get into fights with other people who aren't in the boxing club and stuff," Kanashi explained with a smirk.

"But if no-one sees us… then well, I don't get caught," Yashiro explained further.

…Uh. Why are they acting so much like Akihiko and Shinjiro? This is almost… it's almost scary. It's almost scary how similar they are to each other. "Then you guys wouldn't mind if I watched you," I sighed, turning to face their fight.

Yashiro thought for a few moments before saying, "I guess. Kinda invited that sort of thing."

Without a timer or a countdown, Kanashi inched closer and tried to throw out a one-two set of punches against Yashiro, but he managed to dodge out of the way quickly, by simply swaying out of the way. Well, now that I think about it, wouldn't they be jabs, not punches? I dunno now. I'm no boxing expert or anything.

"Huh, you sound pretty strong," Yashiro grinned as another punch passed by his cheek, grazing it ever so slightly.

"What do you mean?" Kanashi asked as he moved around Yashiro, trying to find an opening. But the thing was… Yashiro was fast.

"I can hear how strong your punches are," Yashiro replied simply as he tried to throw a jab, in an attempt to get some space away from Kanashi. "When they pass by, I can hear the wind moving," he continued, throwing another jab, successfully deflecting Kanashi back.

"Hmph. I haven't seen anyone so goddamned annoying to even and hit," Kanashi grumbled, taking a firm stance as he looked for yet another opening.

Yashiro only laughed at that before he finally stepped in to try and get some hits on Kanashi. Kanashi seemed to see it coming, and he kept stepping away from Yashiro, but… eventually Yashiro's faster footwork got him to Kanashi and he tried to throw a right hook, and a left.

Kanashi merely dived in further past Yashiro's guard and tried to get in a good strike on Yashiro's opening from using the hooks.

And then… Yashiro jumped back a considerable distance, and…

They were back to square one again.

"…geez! That was the most annoying thing I have ever…" Kanashi muttered and brought his guard back up again.

"…I'm kinda agreeing with you there. I haven't been this frustrated before," Yashiro sighed.

"Can you guys just call it a draw for now and accept that you guys obviously need to train some more, because that fight didn't seem to be going anywhere?" I asked.

"…I guess," they said in unison.

Of course, the calmer of the two as they said that was Yashiro, but he had a set expression on his face; the kind that said that he was going to get Kanashi back for what happened in that fight. I and yet, there was a grin inching across his face. He must've also been excited at the same time…

"Anyways, we should get going," Yashiro said. "We still have school tomorrow."

"Yeah," Kanashi agreed. "I need to get some sleep…"

…well that was interesting. They seem to get along really, really well…

I got back to the dorm in the early evening, and everything was pretty quiet, as ever.

Eh. More sleep for me.

…

The next day, school was up. As always. Like Yashiro had said. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

On the way to school, I found myself listening to some people's gossip. Geez, they were loud. However, it was pretty interesting, and… almost disturbing to say the least.

"Hey, so you know how that Nyx cult thing kinda broke up a while ago?" I heard one of them say.

"Yeah… but what about it?"

"I was just thinking, with a cult that big… I kinda doubt that all of them just went and broke off."

Scratch disturbing, that's scary! I immediately tuned out of their conversation, musing to myself about what they had just said. If what they said was true… this could bode badly if Nyx isn't careful, and by extension… if I'm not careful. I'm so thankful that only my friends at school know about Nyx, and even then, not all of them are aware of the fact that she's actually a goddess of night and death and… other stuff.

"Nah, you might just be imagining it, it's not as if that Nyx stuff is actually real…"

…if only you knew, clueless student. If only you knew.

Why do I have a bad feeling about today though? There was just something about it that… I dunno, the least that I knew, was that it was scary. Imagine that. The Nyxist cult actually not dissolving…

I had enough trouble dealing with Nyx's naivety as it was.

Oh well… Whatever happens… happens. I sincerely hope that this thing isn't for real though. I'd rather not deal with a bunch of sociopaths that would try to recruit me into some weird cult or whatever. That would be creepy.

The day went by pretty normally. However, there was one distinct difference, and that made everybody in the class groan in frustration.

"Yes, mid-terms are coming up, and I know it sucks," Toriumi-sensei sighed. "But you have to do what you have to do. Well now, I hope you do well with your studies; good luck."

With that, the bell rang for next period.

In fact, the timing was just so perfect that no-one even got a chance to protest against sensei about the exams.

Junpei didn't even get a chance to whine about it; now that was impressive timing if I saw any.

The only person besides me that was stoic about the whole situation was Nyx.

…I'm going to have to explain what tests and exams are to her later.

A bit later at lunch… well, everyone gathered at the rooftop once more however the girls all approached me. "Chihiro, Yuko, Rio, Fuuka, Yukari, Aigis… what are you doing here?"

"You see, we were discussing how we could help Nyx break her shell and…" Yukari started, her eyes casting a glance at Chihiro.

"Well, we were thinking that maybe we could hold a party for her after mid-terms… it's cliché, I know, but we couldn't really think of anything else," Chihiro sighed. "Since we don't really know Nyx well enough to know what she likes."

"It is regrettable to say that, however, I do not think that Nyx-san could refuse going to any gathering of any sort," Aigis said. "If we go through with this idea which we will also discuss with the boys, we will be counting on you to make sure that Nyx gets to the venue on time."

…a party huh? "Well… I wouldn't object. Just make sure the guys actually do something other than think about how pretty she is and all that," I sighed.

As the rest of the girls left, only one was left in the end, standing in front of me with a concerned expression. "Minato-kun… how do you feel about Nyx?"

"What do you mean by that?" I asked back immediately, putting my bento box away.

"I mean… you seem to acknowledge that she is beautiful, among other compliments that you may have given her before, but…"

I held out my hand to make sure that Aigis got the message. "…I'm indifferent to Nyx."

"Are you sure?" the android asked.

I looked down at my lap and stood up with a sigh. "…That's a lie," I closed my eyes.

"Then what do you really think about Nyx-san?"

I put on a small smile before saying, "She's a whole lot of trouble that I don't want to deal with. I don't like her that much, even though at times she can be amusing to watch, and I do admit that she is beautiful, almost entrancingly so."

"All in all…" I began.

"I could almost hate her."

Aigis' eyes widened in shock before her gaze returned to normal. "You already know my reasons as to why I don't like Nyx, but why don't you?"

"Aigis… she was the reason why I was killed," I growled, while Aigis seemed to flinch at my words. "I shouldn't be feeling these kinds of things, but I do, and… if she hadn't even existed, if she wasn't so damned ignorant I wouldn't be in a situation where I have to constantly worry about whether the world is going to end, if Nyx even manages to get herself killed, or anything of the sort."

"More than that… I don't think of myself as the best, heck, I'm even close to hating myself just for being so desperate to cling onto life because then I wouldn't have to deal with all this. I should've just stayed back at the Great Seal…"

Aigis' eyes widened once more, her lip quivering. "Minato… you shouldn't think these kinds of things…"

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because you should know that all of us… they were so happy to see you when you came back," Aigis answered with a sad tone. "When you left, everything was so… SEES was in a mess without you. Don't say things like that."

I couldn't help but stay quiet at her words. It was true, even if it was for a few hours… well, a lot can happen in a few hours. "…I'm sorry."

"Just know that we will be happy to support you, and we will help you deal with Nyx," Aigis said with a resolute tone.

"Thank you Aigis."

AN: Hello. I started this chapter five hours before my piano exam. (Or at four in the morning.) Yay. Aaanyways, hope you like Kanashi and Yashiro in this chapter, also, I didn't INTEND before to have Minato reveal his feelings like that, but that's how it happened. Now you know why MiNyx scenes won't happen for a loooooong time. Also, if you catch the reference in the chapter name I would automatically think that you're awesome. I'll tell you what the reference is in the next chapter if you didn't get it.

Tell thoughts in reviews and imma catch you guys later.

*phew* Long AN is long...

Anakin: Haha! That won't be until a while. She's still as cold as ever, but she'll get there, she'll get there…
That would be a fun idea to play with, but I dunno if I'd do it. Just have to see I guess.

Nights: Yeah… But I think what's more interesting is how Kanashi and Yashiro act around each other.
She does. She doesn't take crap from anyone, pretty much.
Yeah, badass Nyx was badass. That was simple, but fun. Of course not.
Thanks Nights.

Yoshikunitsu: …I can only agree on that sentiment. And remember there's ANOTHER Magician whom I can dump shenanigans on. *cough* Kenji *cough*
Yashiro? Like… Shinji? I dunno if I'm guessing right at all. I suck at guessing stuff.
Of course! It won't be until a long time, I can assure you of that, because a relationship like Minato's and Nyx is one that has to be dealt with slowly, otherwise the whole point of the story will be gone.

Raidou: Yay, you agree.
Of course, why wouldn't she be? She wasn't going to verbally kick anyone that chapter, but… there are other opportunities for it, like the situation in last chapter. Minato ALWAYS knew how to do it. Tartarus could only help, and he could've learnt from Akihiko. I have to imagine that Minato was a bit like Shinjiro that chapter. Yashiro? Well, he'll become more awesome later.
Thanks!

JackFrostDoll: Heeey friend.
Haha, okay, I'll explain. I really wanted to explain this actually. Strength has to do with Kanashi. He has to deal with a lot of stuff but he never lets it get him down. To describe him with an Arcanum from Tarot, he is Strength.
Fool refers to Minato, and Fortune refers to Yashiro. Minato you should know the meaning, however… Yashiro is of the Fortune Arcana if I needed to describe him like that. That and… there was a lot of luck going on with Minato last chapter. The Fool crossed with the Wheel of Fortune, so I'm just saying that he had a lot of ups and downs in luck. That's it in a nutshell!