I'm so sorry! I promised to get this done yesterday, but I totally forgot that a friend invited me to their birthday party! But here it is and I hope you enjoy it! A while ago, Fan of Fanfics21 suggested to make a scene in which Saoto tries to sell the photos and Minato chasing him. He doesn't really chase him, but the main idea is inside. Hope you like it!
bappitybopbop: Thank you for your comment! I'm glad that at least one person thinks the friendship was a good idea. You gave me an idea for the plot, so look out for it! it#s not in this chapter, but it will come soon!
Disclaimer: Don't and won't own Persona!
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Minato woke up to a loud ringing right beside his ear. At first, he tried to ignore it in any way possible like burying his face in his pillow and covering. It worked for about twenty seconds until he couldn't take it anymore and angrily flipped it open. "What?" he mumbled into the phone and he heard a small gasp from the other end of the line.
"Morning, sleepy-head. Or should I say noon? Man, it's almost twelve o' clock, you can't just spend all day in your bed, you know?" a high pitched voice said and the bluenette raised his head from his bed a bit.
"Saoto?" He had to think for a minute until the events of the day before came back to him. "Look, about what I said yesterday-" The persona-user was cut off by another chuckle.
"It's alright. Actually, there's something very important I have to tell you. Are you free right now? Scratch that, you are still in bed. You obviously have too much free time." The older pouted a little.
"Shut up." He murmured as he heard a small shuffle and a cough.
"So, you want to meet up somewhere?" The junior got out of his bed and grabbed a fresh patch of clothes and his towels from his closet. Best to take a shower before he goes out since they had been at Tartarus.
"Sure. I'll be at the shrine in about half an hour." he stated as he slowly opened his door, mobile still in his hand. He heard a small sigh.
"Hey, do you mind if we go somewhere else this time? Knowing you, you must be starving after that nap of yours. How about we go to Hagakure? I heard they are going cheap on their secret menu today." the bluenette blinked but then a yawn made its way out of his throat.
"Alright, meet you there in 30 minutes." he slurred, still dazed from sleep. He slowly stepped up to the girls floor when he heard a laugh – childish, but the first real one he had heard in a while – and he could practically see the other nod in agreement. When the line went death, he noticed the soft footsteps coming his way.
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"There you are!" Saoto cheered as he jumped off the steps of the stairs. He wore some khaki pants and a red t-shirt, in contrast to the usually blue kimono he wore. It had taken a little longer than he had predicted since he had a pretty embarrassing encounter with the girls right after he had hung up on the younger boy. They had seen him in only his pyjamas and he couldn't even phantom what they must have thought. He pushed those thought aside and met the brunette halfway. Now was not the time to think about that kind of stuff. Now he had to hang out with a friend of his. He gave the short boy a small apologetic smile.
"Sorry, there was a... incident." he simply said. The younger eyed him for a moment before shrugging and and taking the tallers wrist in his hand.
"Whatever. Now, come on! I'm hungry!" he dragged him up to the second floor and into the restaurant. After they had received their meals and ate in silence for a few moments the younger spoke up again. "You know, it's been while since I last ate out with someone. Just to have fun. To hang out. Without any real responsibility." He gave the junior one of his most sincere smiles. "I understand now. The reason why I was so pissed at the clan was not because of Kage. I think you're right. It was all just an excuse to run away. Run away from all of it. In reality, I was scared. My grandpa started the whole 'summoning for money'-thing and I was scared and pissed off that he would just sell his abilities to people who don't know how to handle demons. I had always been proud of my summoning even after I knew that it was the reason my sister died."
"Saoto..."
"I talked to him. He understands now that it hurts the pride of our job to do that. While it might be different in other clans, we don't do things just for profit. We do it to protect the people we love and to get closer to the demons. It may sound stupid to most people, but that's how I really feel. You made me see that." He pulled out something out of his pant pocket and gave it to Minato. "You saw the scarf grandfather was wearing when you saw him? It's our trademark color, well, beside the traditional blue. With that, you are now officially part of the clan. Once I finished my school year here, I'm going back. Since everyone agreed to not do it for money anymore, I'm sure they will need a smart head to help them figure something out." He gave him a toothy grin. "I'm really glad I met you."
And then with a loud crash, the whole world turned grey with a hint blue again. The Hanged Man card appeared in front of me again, this time shining even brighter than before. The dark voice then spoke up again with something sounding like a choir of angels singing in the background.
"I am Thou... and Thou art I...
The bond Thou hast nurtured hath finally matured.
You have created a bond that cannot be broken.
We bestow you with the power to summon Attis, the ultimate form of the Hanged Man Arcana"
He took the card into his hands and held it as the world returned back to normal. Saoto leaned over to him and eyed his Arcana. "So now we are as close as can be?" he asked and the older nodded.
"Looks like it." The two sat in comfortable silence for a moment before he spoke up again. "Anyway, let's eat before the noodles get all soggy. Soggy Noodles are just gross." They ate their meals and then moved to Port island to hang out. It was late evening when Minato finally returned home, happier than he had ever been.
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6/15/2009 Monday - After School Naganaki Shrine
That day, the bluenette had decided to hang out with Akihiko for a while. They had started running at school to the station, then took a monorail to Iwatodai and then ran the rest of the way to the shrine. Now they were drenched in sweat and panting just before the offertory box. The senior gave him a small smile. "Come on, let's take a small break." They sat down onto one of the many benches on the playground. Surprisingly, neither Saoto nor Koromaru were in sight, which was very unusual since they both lived there. He snapped out of his thoughts again when the silverette spoke up again. "The winds picking up... That's actually a blessing after working up a good sweat... It feels nice. I usually train in the club room or alone in my room..." the summoner inspected the others face for a moment before responding.
"I can train with you if you want me to, Senpai." he mumbled in his soft voice. The boxer gave him a grin and ruffled his hair. Just what was up with that?
"Thanks for the offer, Arisato-Outoto. It would be nice to have a running partner. But if you join me, we're gonna do more than just running every day, okay?" After the smaller gave him a shy nod he looked down onto his clothes and gave a small groan. "In any case, I should have changed into my workout gear. I thought this would be just a light run for fun but I'm drenched in sweat." the younger gave him another concerned look.
"Please don't catch a cold." he stated and he only received another pat and a laugh.
"You mean this? Don't worry about it, I'll be fine." Just when he finished his sentence, a loud sneeze resounded trough the place and Minato couldn't keep himself from quietly chuckling. A bright blush blossomed on Akihiko's face. "Shut up! I said I'm fine!" A few moments of awkward silence passed until the older raised from his seat. "Hey, how about we try that out before we go home?" He points toward the horizontal bar and walks over to it, soon followed by the junior. "You can't do a back hip circle, can you?" This time it was the others turn to blush and look away.
"I'm sure you can't either, Senpai." That earned him a smirk of the older.
"Oh, really? I'm actually quite good at it. Want me to show you?" he grabbed after the bar as he was talking and then hanged upside down for a moment. The next second, he swings backward in a full circle. He gave the shorter a proud grin. "Everybody should be able to do it." he pushed away again and watched the pout on the bluenette's face before he spoke up yet again. "Can you at least sit up there? Let me help you." As they walked up to it, the taller swiftly wrapped his arms around his waist and lifted him onto the bar. "There you are." After taking care that Minato wouldn't just fall off again, he also pulled himself up and gave a content sigh. "I wouldn't have thought that you would have so many problems with balance, Arisato-Outoto. Maybe that's the reason why you always trip in battle." Aforementioned harrumphed.
"Like I said before, I'm not really a sports person. I took a few years of Karate and other stuff, but didn't really train stuff like that. It's a miracle I haven't seriously hurt myself yet. Aneki's right, I'm way too clumsy to be on the team." When he felt a hand on his shoulder he looked the other in the eye for the first time that day.
"Don't talk that way, you are doing fine." He paused for a moment before he continued. "This kinda takes me back. It reminds me of when I was a child." He then falls silence again and looked off into the distance. "I need to be stronger... If I won't get stronger... then I won't be able to save anything." he mutters, as if talking to himself. Even if it was only a very small step, he could feel the slowly growing trust between them.
"I am Thou...And Thou art I...
Thou shalt be blessed when fighting the Emperor Arcana!"
"We should get going. You sweated, too, right? Make sure to take a cold bath when we get back so you don't catch a cold." Another sneeze escaped his nose and he made a frustrated sound. "maybe I should take one, too."
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"Thank you that you could come, Minato-Senpai. I bet you have a full schedule with high school stuff and all." Souji said as they sat down in at a table of Wakatsu restaurant. Minato shook his head.
"It's fine. I don't really have to do anything right now, so I've got a lot of free time." he responded, as he looked at the menu. The silverette nodded.
"I get that, but..." He turned his head to the right. "why is he here?" he wasn't the most emotional guy but even Minato could hear that the shorter was obviously annoyed to have Saoto sitting right beside him, contemplating whether to take tuna or salmon. The brunette looked up and tilted his head, feigning innocence.
"It was pure coincidence." After his theory, it wasn't even possible, but he had said it anyway. "I was just walking by with Koromaru when I saw you two entering the restaurant. Right, boy?" The dog at his feet barked in agreement and he gave a satisfied smile.
"But that's still no reason to just run up to us and sit here. You could have just ignored us." the silverette retorted and the shorter gave a mock gasp.
"But no! Minato is my friend who so happened to be your friend. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to hang out with your friend, right?" He said with a fat grin on his face. The 14 year old sighed in defeat and turned back to the junior.
"Anyway, I might need some help with my homework. My parents said that my grades are dropping and lower than 90 points is not acceptable in our family." he changed the topic and Minato nodded.
"Alright, so you want me to teach you?"
"Well, I could ask someone else if you want to. I just heard that you were on the top of every exam and pretty much every topic that has not to do with sports." the older groaned.
"I won't deny the intelligent part since I am flattered but how did you find out about the sport stuff? That's the thing I try to hide the most. Well, beside the fact that I'm not very good with languages and art."
"There is that guy in my class that has an older sister that has a boyfriend who is in your class. He said that in physical education, you are the first one to be panting and drenched in sweat. There were also those photos going around the city for a while when you could see how beat you were. They even made it into the middle school and most of the girls almost fainted when they saw them. Something about 'Totally Moe' or something." the bluenette's face burned bright red.
"T-that's what they said..?" he mumbled as he covered his face behind his hands. The boy gave him a quizzical look but then nodded. He sunk back even further. "Gosh, this couldn't be worse..." Saoto grinned when their orders came and he took his tea and sipped it.
"Totally Moe, huh? I can totally see that. Minato-niisan, totally drenched in sweat and out of breath in that short short and almost transparent t-shirt. I get why most girls would think that's great." A dark smirk made its way on his face and he pulled out something from his school bag. "Hey, Seta-kun. I got some very interesting things here. Would you like to see?"
"If it's not a piece of paper that makes you go away, then I don't want to see it." but when the youngest revealed the book and and flipped it open on a random page, his eyes grew as wide a plates together with two grey-blue ones. "W-What the hell is that..?"
"You see right, Seta-kun! This are photos of Minato in a dress!" he pointed at one beside the offensive picture. "That one has him wear the girls uniform of his recent middle school and this one" he pointed at another. "has him in a bear suit. I don't even know why my sister got him into that one. Maybe it was a school play or something. Anyway!" He clapped it closed, making a wind blow that made the other two's hair wave. "I make you an offer. How about I sell some of them to you? I still got the originals." Souji almost looked like a tomato.
"W-why would I want to have photos of Minato-Senpai? That's totally creepy." The shorter gave him a knowing smirk.
"Come one, it's obvious! I know for certain that you have an altar for him at home. You think I don't notice that you are stealing some used stuff when he is not looking." The silverette shrunk back in his seat and blushed even more. "Look, I've got no problem with that. But this offer is limited. If you decide to buy now, you pay for five picture of your choice and three gratis!" before he could say anything else, an embarrassed bluenette jumped up from his seat and practically threw himself at him.
"Dude, stop that! It's so embarrassing! Give me the album! Now!" He threw a fist at the shortest but latter just dodged and gave one of his most maniacally laugh he had and stormed out of the restaurant. But nor before paying for his order first of course. The two remaining teens sat in silence for a moment before blushing and looking away. "Uh, sorry you had to, er, see that."
"What are you apologizing for? I am the one who is worshiping like a stalker. Heck, I'm stealing your stuff without you noticing." He pulled out a used tissue and stood up. "I better get rid of that. It's freaky." When he was back, he sat as far away as possible from the other. They just sat there again until the younger spoke up again. "Man, I barely talk to him and he reads me like an open book. Just how did he know that?"
"Either he's very good at reading people or he's a stalker. I doubt its latter, but the possibility is still there." The older suggested, sipping on his own green tea. Souji gave him one of his low chuckles and looked up to him.
"So you don't mind? I mean that I'm pretty much stalking you?" The bluenette smiled again and shook his head.
"You kidding me? To be honest, I'm flattered. I had a Stalker before but I think you will be a little more decent about it. You know, not taking pictures of me when I get out of the shower." he paused for a moment. "You.. don't, do you?" Another chuckle and he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"I don't. I promise."
"That's not enough." He raised his little finger to the younger's face which earned him a laugh.
"Seriously? A pinky promise? That's so childish."
"Childish or not, my shower privacy is very important to me. Now come on, let's get this over with." With a sigh in defeat, the silverette also raised his pinky finger and they closed the oath. Today, they had both seen each other#s embarrassing side and the trust of them began to grew stronger.
"I am Thou...And Thou art I...
Thou shalt be blessed when fighting the Temperance Arcana!"
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Sorry, I know it's short, but those social links are killing me! It takes me a lot of time to play it out right and I don't even think they are that good. Anyway, I made the pic with Minato in the suit but without cat ears, sorry to disappoint you.
Review or a gigantic chicken will fall from the sky and crush your school! Whether you see it as a good thing or not is up to you!
Your Shadow!