Author note: hey hey folks! Lots of Social Link stuff below, but there's some other things to mend it. And this is where I go all "Remember that those of you who are subscribed to my deviantArt account, SandraMJ, get to see parts of chapters before they come out!"
Hamuko and Yukari were heading to school together that morning.
"Ya know, if the moon thing is true, there'll be another mission in about a week..."
"Oh really? Well, I hope it's less than a week away…"
"Why?" Yukari shot an eyebrow up. "Ooh, don't tell me you've got plans for Tanabata!"
"Maybe!" Hamuko smiled. "What about you? Does the most popular girl in school have a star-crossed lover for herself?"
"What? Nah, I'm too busy for boyfriends…" She let out a sigh. "Hey, I wonder what the shadow will be like this time? I guess we'll have to keep fighting until we defeat all eight that are left. But... What are we gonna do after that?"
"What are we gonna do after that…?" The red eyed girl echoed, having just realized that she had never questioned any of the things S.E.E.S. had told her. "Yeah, I wonder what's going to happen…"
"You know, I think Mitsuru-senpai is hiding something from us..."
Hamuko only nodded silently. Well, she'd feel a LOT better if the Fools weren't the only ones keeping information in S.E.E.S….
There was nothing like Monday morning class with Mr. Takenozuka. Obviously Hamuko didn't care about the Coriolis Effect, but she couldn't prevent herself from gawking at the teacher every so often; then, she'd come back to her senses and take a look around the class, only to find Minato pretending to be asleep, just so she wouldn't know that he'd been staring at her all class long. Probably this was just the beginning of a longer chain with many girls staring at the startlingly handsome Physics teacher while some jealous boys cursed their lucks… Too bad that entire oh-so-dreamy facade went to hell after he reminded everyone that exams would take place in only two weeks.
"Let's see! Today is… Monday!" Hamuko spoke to herself, rather than to Minato. "So that means I have to choose between Senpai-day, practice ties, Fuuka's cooker or Bebe…"
"Whatever rhymes with Bebe?"
"Bebe… Bebe…?" She sighed under her scarf. "Man, I can't think. It's too hot with this on…"
"I'm not wearing my scarf any longer; maybe you should do the same." Minato's suggestion prompted a glare from the brunette. "Oh, wait …" A knowing smirk crept onto his lips.
"You jerk! See if you're laughing so much when I get my revenge!" Hamuko poked Minato's chest in an accusatory way. "When I'm done with you, you won't be able to walk for two weeks!" She paused and gave him an awkward look as she realized her little Freudian slip. "Talk!" She yelled. "I meant talk! You won't be able to talk for two weeks!"
"…" The boy couldn't bring himself to form any coherent word.
Some yelling followed by a bunch of people walking out of the Student Council Room was the cue for Hamuko to leave that incredibly awkward situation. Inside the Student Council Room all she found was Hidetoshi, looking rather aggravated. Once he noticed her, he ran a hand through his hair and chuckled.
"...Hamuko-kun, were you there the whole time?"
"…Sure."
"What do you think about what happened?"
Thinking a bit about the situation, Hamuko concluded that the one guy yelling had probably been Hidetoshi. Why was he yelling? "Um… They just don't understand your… Goal?"
"Exactly..." Hidetoshi nodded to himself. "Don't hold it against them, though... They're like children, Hamuko-kun: they just don't understand." This had to be the first time someone hadn't use the words "child" and "Hamuko" in the same phrase without using the first to describe the later. "Sooner or later, they'll see the light. Then, they'll respect me. I'm not isolating myself; I'm just being aloof. Sooner or later, someone always gets hurt in any relationship." …Old Minato speech? "...I guess I'm preaching to the choir, though. I apologize."
"Seems like he is trying to be friendly or reasonable or something." The Emperor Social Link reached level 5.
"...There's no reason to have a meeting if no one's here. Let's go."
Well, that was fast. So fast in fact, that when Hamuko walked out of the room she found Minato, still standing in the way like a rock, unnaturally flushed. She considered briefly taking him to the nurse office, but decided against it –what would she have said about that? Instead, she sent Rio a text message, asking her to go to the tennis practice field -they had been absent from practice long enough! And to apologize for that… She'd give her a little surprise.
"Okay, stop practicing!" Someone interrupted the two juniors while they played tennis by themselves. It was Ms. Kanou, accompanied by a bunch of girls –that is, all the old team members. "I heard you all got into a fight? I can't have this kind of thing going on in my club, you know?" She let out an annoyed sigh. "Who started it? Just hurry up and apologize already."
Rio had gone speechless. She just began staring at her feet, incapable to meet anyone's eyes, and pretty much everyone did the same. This wasn't going how Hamuko expected…
"I don't think anyone in particular started it..." A girl with short hair spoke suddenly, attracting everyone's attentions. "But I do think our attitudes did make things worse."
"..." Rio tilted her head up, looking at the girl with wide eyes.
"I feel like I said too much to you, after we forced you to be our club leader and all..." Another girl with glasses murmured.
"...U-Um..." The captain didn't seem to know what to say. "I also..."
"Well, you guys sort this stuff out." Ms. Kanou ordered. "I'm too busy with the transfer papers to deal with all these stupid fights…" And with that she left.
The club members just began staring at each other awkwardly, incapable to say a word. If there was any moment for Hamuko to use a word of wisdom, it was now.
"Aw, c'mon Rio, just say it!" A word of wisdom or something Minato had taught her, it was the same…
"...Yeah." The black haired girl chuckled. "Um... I'm sorry, everyone. Things were said that shouldn't have been. But more importantly than what happened that day, I feel like I've been forcing my opinions on you all this time..." She spoke softly, but she seemed to be sincere.
"Rio..." The girl with glasses muttered.
"We're supposed to be a team… Sorry."
There was some murmuring among the girl. "...Have you, like, changed?"
"...You think so?" Rio looked in the direction that Ms. Kanou left...
"Well, it's been liiiiiike… Two months." Hamuko shrugged. "A lot has changed in that time…"
"Yeah… And hey, I'm sorry that I said things like relationships were stupid. I didn't understand what I was talking about." A nostalgic sigh escaped her lips. "...It's tough being in love, right Hamuko?"
"Why are you saying my na-?"
"Wait, WHAT?" The short haired girl's scream almost sent the brunette to the ground.
"You're in love?"
"Are you serious?"
"Is it that hard to believe...?" Rio furrowed her eyebrows.
"Wait, who's this about? Is he at this school?"
"Huh...?" The captain's face was changing colours quickly.
"Hamuko, you know who it is, right? Tell us!"
"Buh… Secret!"
"Come on, tell us!" Everyone began pestering Hamuko while she did her best to keep them away with her racket.
"I-I'll say it!" Rio's voice got everyone's attention, which only made her stutter even more as her face began resembling a tomato. "Um... It's... K-Kenji..."
"KENJI?"
All the eyes were on Yuko now.
"Y-Yuko? When did you get here...?"
Before Yuko could explain herself, a girl with buns jumped into the conversation. "I mean, KENJI? Seriously, no way! How in the world did you end up liking Kenji?"
Girlish screams of disbelief ensued.
"Still, getting him to love you would be pretty simple."
"I bet all Rio would have to do is push him around a little!" Yuko explained. "It works with for me with-"
"I-It's okay! I'm not pushing anyone! Or saying anything!" Rio shouted out of her lungs. "...I don't want to do anything to hurt the relationship I have with him right now! We're childhood friends... As long as we stay that way, we'll never have to break up." She casted her eyes down. "...I don't have a chance with him anyway. I'd hate to confess it to him and have to stop being his friend..."
Hamuko's eyes widened. That sounded familiar. Like, really familiar. "Rio, I… I know the feeling but…"
"Well... If that's how you feel, then it's none of my business to say otherwise..." The Track Team manager shrugged. "But, seriously, you should take my advice because…"
"Hey, as long as we're all here... Why don't we practice?" Rio interrupted her friend again.
"Hey Rio. If you need any help with Kenji-kun… I'll try to help you more than last time, okay?" Hamuko's grin was a bit forced, but she was totally sincere in wanting to help her friend.
"...I'll think about it." She laughed. "C'mon, let's start off with some running!"
"Well, everyone's back… Rio seems much happier… And now I won't feel bad about not coming to practice, knowing that she has people around…" Hamuko smiled to herself as the not-even-creepy-anymore voices informed her that the Chariot Social Link had reached level 7. "All's well when it ends well!"
"Let's go. Keep the two lines intact!"
It had been a while since the Fools last met after practice.
"I'm glad that things went so well." Minato stated once Hamuko finished telling him the latest events of her life.
"…And now we just gotta get Kenji and Rio together!"
The bluenet put a finger over her lips. "Rewind. First off, 'we'? No. You mean 'You'. Second off, we already went over the whole 'helping friends become more than friends'. It didn't turn out well. And furthermore Kenji-"
"But that's because I didn't have a plan back then! And anyway, you just have to be insistent! It worked well with you, didn't it?" She winked at him, catching a hint of a blush in the process. "C'mon. I'll… I'll owe you a favour if you help me."
Minato raised his eyebrows. "What kind of favour?"
"Oh, anything." Hamuko breathed. "You know, homework, dorm chores... Anything."
"So if I help you…"
"I'll even go all the way with you… To the karaoke, to make my threat real."
"Oh, but, I like my voice." Minato snorted. "Alright. If I promise I'll help you you'll let me think of a favour?"
"Y-yes…?" She hadn't seen that coming. She expected a bunch of mangled words and stutters… "…Sharp teeth, indeed."
Not much else happened for the rest of the day. Minato only dropped occasional reminders about how he was still thinking for something to ask…
"…And that's the situation." Hamuko sighed as she finished the explanation. Junpei had caught her sneaking around school the next day, trying to avoid Minato, and pestered her to tell him why. "You're a guy, so you must know Minato better than I do… What do you think he's going to ask for?"
"Uh… I dunno." Junpei shrugged. "A lap dance?"
That answer made her flinch. "You think he'd ask me to do that?"
"I would!"
"…I think I'm gonna ask Kenji."
"Hey, it's Junpei!" A familiar voice yelled. "You going home?"
"Speaking of the devil…!" The brunette exclaimed cheerfully.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't notice you, Hamuko-chan." Kenji got out his phone as he apologized.
"Hey, why are you getting your phone?" Junpei seemed slightly aggravated.
"Hamuko-chan, mind if we take a picture together?"
"Sure! But I have to ask you something after you take it!" She ran towards Kenji and smiled at his phone.
"Thanks! My sister keeps bugging me for pictures from school, but all I have are guys. What'll she say if I don't show her at least one picture of me with a girl?"
Hamuko took his mobile phone to take a look at the photos. "Well, if she likes yaoi, I think she'll say that you have a pretty bromance with Minato…" Indeed, most of the photos were of the bluenet.
While Kenji was busy shouting that there was no such thing happening, Junpei muttered to himself. "…A picture… Wait..." Junpei looked at Kenji. "Could it be you? Is it YOU!
"So you think he'd ask me to buy him something?"
"Yup!" Kenji smiled. "Wait, what were you saying, Junpei?"
"I-I'm gonna tell you this as a friend, got it?" The boy with a baseball cap took a deep breath. "Peeping on girls is a crime!"
"Who's peeping? I just asked Hamuko-chan if it was okay!"
"Not just now!" Junpei yelled. "PE! Pictures! The ones going around!"
"Huh? What're you talking about? I don't know anything."
"...Oh, right. You're only into older women."
"…Yeah, well…" Apparently, Kenji was hurt about something. "That's right! At least I'm proud of who I am!" He nodded to himself. "So, what's this about? Are there pictures of her going around? Then, wouldn't the photography club be your first bunch of suspects?"
"The photography club...! I totally forgot about them... Alright, we'll go check it out. Thanks, Kenji."
"Make sure you smack 'em for me, too."
"Why...?"
Hamuko and Junpei decided to head together to the Photography Club's room together. The girl couldn't prevent herself from stopping in the way to see if Minato was around the music club… No trace of him.
"Hiragana-senpai?" Hamuko asked surprised as she entered the room. "Weren't you in the Music Club?"
"He's in both." Minato stated simply, startling the brunette badly. "Senpai, we need you back at the Music Room. Fuuka-san isn't feeling well so people told me to call you."
"Yes! I'll go as soon as I've assisted them!" Keisuke replied apologetically. "The other club members are out right now... What did you need to ask about?"
"Th-There's supposedly this photo going around." Junpei stuttered. "You know anything about it?
"Going around...?" The older boy frowned slightly as he adopted a thoughtful stance. "What photo is it?"
"It's um…" Hamuko casted her eyes down. "Apparently, it's a picture of me."
"What?" Minato yelled in surprise. "When did that happen?"
"Um… About a month ago? I'm not sure…"
Keisuke quickly explained that he believed none of the club members could do such a thing, and then ran off to see what was wrong. The Fools exchanged meaningful glances before Junpei and Hamuko walked away.
As Minato went back to his club, he heard a bunch of comments about how 'Keisuke was playing doctor' again. "So, how's Fuuka-san?"
"Oh, she'll be fine!" Keisuke replied happily. "What she's suffering from is known as a chronic tension-type headache, most likely a result of stress." She turned to Fuuka. "You must be spending too much time in front of the computer. You should get outside and exercise more. ...That advice must sound funny coming from the leader of the Music Club..."
"Oh, I thought I might have come down with the flu or something..." Fuuka sighed relieved.
"Well, if you're worried about that, I should perform a more detailed examination. Please remove your shirt, open your mouth, and stick out your tongue..."
"U-Uh, that's okay. I'm fine!" Fuuka exclaimed nervously. "Anyways, my dorm is close by and my dorm mate Minato-kun is here."
"You guys are dorm mates? Wow, I can see how Fuuka lives in the dorm. I mean, she's a girl so she knows how to cook and clean... But what about you, Minato-kun? Isn't it hard living on your own?" That had to be the most bashfully stereotypical assumption Minato had heard in a while. And he lived with Hamuko and Junpei. Anyway, apparently the Music Club president was interested in knowing more about him, and that was enough to make the Fortune Social Link reach level 2. "...Oh, sorry, Fuuka-san! I completely forgot about you... Now, regarding your headache, I don't think you should be walking home. Why don't I call you a taxi? On second thought, maybe a limousine would be better... The ride would be much, much smoother..." …Hamuko would really like that guy.
"Hamuko." Minato said simply as he closed the main door of the dorm. "I've already thought of something."
"Oh, you have?" Hamuko did her best to keep cool. "I can't wait to hear—OH, would you look at that? It's time to go to work!" She ran away before Minato had a chance to say anything.
If it wasn't because the people in Chagall let Hamuko have enough coffee to keep awake for a week, she probably would have ditched the job long ago, family feeling or not, seeing how late she stopped working every night. As usual, she silently walked upstairs and got in her room, sighing against the door as she kicked away a few text books and clothes scattered all over the ground before getting ready to slip into her pyjamas and call it a night.
The rattling of a door being opened behind her changed her plans completely.
"Sorry, Hamu-" Minato stopped on the threshold as his words halted at the same time. He was having some trouble deciding how he felt about having got in the room while she was still changing clothes –or maybe she was done and she only slept with her undergarments and a shirt on. That he couldn't know, but judging how calmed the girl seemed, there was a high chance it was the later. Then again, it was the same girl who liked wandering around an ominous tower in a chainmail bikini every so often...
She finished pulling down the hem of her –in Minato's opinion, awfully long- pyjama shirt and stared at him with nothing more than a mildly annoyed expression. "Aren't you the one who always complains about breaking into others' rooms…? Why are you…?" Minato didn't seem capable to answer, so she had to work it out by herself. "Oh right, the favour thingy…"
"H-Hamuko, I…"
"I'm NOT going to give you a lap dance!" Hamuko yelled suddenly.
"What?"
"What?"
Minato smacked his right hand against his forehead. "I don't want a lap dance."
"Good, because I'm not going to do anything like that!"
"I wasn't going to ask you for anything of the kind!" A sigh escaped his lips as he sat down on her bed. He motioned Hamuko to go sit next to him, which she did after she managed to avoid nearly falling to the ground –she had stepped on a videogame box. "That sounds rather like something Junpei would ask for, don't you think?"
"Yeeeah…" She glanced away awkwardly, seeing that in fact Junpei wasn't a role model. "Wait, then why are you in my room? Why don't you tell me by phone?"
"There are certain things one must say seeing the other's face."
"Of course. And seeing my underwear was just an extra, wasn't it?"
Minato decided to ignore the inquisitive look that Hamuko was giving him. "Anyway, back on topic… What I wanted you to do is to listen closely…" He couldn't avoid cocking up and eyebrow as he heard the girl sigh in relief. "You're always telling me the most stupid things, but I have to force you to tell me the most important things. You think you can do everything by yourself, but what if the stalker's someone dangerous? I'm not saying Junpei isn't a reliable guy, but…" The bluenet reached out to caress Hamuko's cheek. "You are the person I care the most for. I want you to trust me. I want you to know I'm there when you need me. You're not alone when you're with me, remember…?" He could feel the increasing warmth of her face. "I love you. I really do."
"M-Minato…" She held his hand against her face as if she didn't want to let him go, doing her best to contain a sob. They completely ignored the voices informing them that their Social Link had reached level 5, focused only on their increasingly hungry kiss and each other's warmth.
It was when the Dark Hour hit that the Universe reminded them how much it hated them.
"Hi." Pharos spoke happily as the Fools sat up quickly. Minato adjusted his collar to look barely presentable while Hamuko rolled down her shirt in a crude attempt to cover herself. The boy didn't seem as much bothered as amused by the intense glares that they were giving him. "...Can you guess what I'm going to tell you?"
"Yeah, kinda." Hamuko huffed.
Pharos began chuckling. "You're used to it by now, huh? ...The next full moon will be in one week. Are you prepared...?" He smiled kindly. "Be careful, okay? I'll come again." And with that he was gone.
"…" Minato sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Well, I guess that means we should be going back to Tartarus soon."
"Uh-huh…" She grimaced as he got up from her bed, murmuring something. "Sleep well…"
"I don't think I'll be able to…" He silently closed the entrance after he left.
"…" Hamuko took a deep breath as she slumped on her bed again, cursing Pharos under her breath. She stared at the ceiling until realization hit her. "…Wait, one week?"
Don't you just hate how random those level ups seem? Well, they're not :U You just don't know the system!