It was, to say the least, one of his more awkward days on Port Island. Junpei had started to ask about Chidori the moment he woke up and Yukari had no other choice but to tell him. For some reason, they dragged both Minato and Hamuko along. Their classmates probably thought the twins could ease the tension hanging over them but it was a grave miscalculation on their side. If anything, it was just even more tense. They were currently inside the hospital, searching for the room the red-haired girl was residing in. The Archer told them that Akihiko and Mitsuru were probably trying to interrogate her which made the Junior just more anxious. After a few more minutes they reached the room and Junpei stared at it before gripping the door handle. The brunette of the group tried to hold him back with all her might but ultimately failed as he dashed into the room.
"Chidori!" he shouted at the top of his lungs and froze once he saw her sitting on the bed. She looked even paler than usual and didn't even bother to look up from her drawing. His classmates quickly followed him inside and Yukari walked over to their upperclassmen and bowed a little.
"Sorry, but he wouldn't stop bugging me about this place..." Mitsuru looked at Hamuko and Minato for a moment before sighing. Junpei got closer to the patient and gave her a strained smile.
"Hey, are you alright? You seem to have calmed down."
"Indeed she has. In fact, she won't say a word." The older redhead said as she got closer to the bed and stared at the sketchbook. "Maybe we should, confiscate her sketchbook, too." Minato snapped his head to her and gasped.
"Senpai, I think that goes too far. It's not like taking away her things will make her talk!"
"I'm not sure, she was rather aggravated when we took away her Evoker. Speaking of which, where did you even get it from?" Something seemed to change inside her as the girl looked up from her drawing.
"Medea..." Her face twisted in anger and she slammed her sketchbook onto the bed. "Give it back to me! I want her back!" Akihiko turned to his fellow Senior, his own expression of anger on his face.
"Mitsuru! I told you not bring that up, didn't I?" he all but shouted at her. Latter turned around to him, desperation dripping from her voice.
"Then what else am I supposed to do?" She sighed and shook her head. "...I will send someone else to do it next time." Their leader turned to the brunette in the room. "Takeba, call a nurse. We're done for today. Akihiko will inform Ikutsuki-san about the difficulties we're having." The girl nodded.
"Got it." She turned to her classmates and lightly pushed them to the door. She gripped Junpei's arm and dragged him away from Chidori. His pained expression remained and Minato kept staring at the Strega member as she seemed to speak some kind of mantra as she shivered.
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9/7/2009 Monday – After School Home Economics Room
"Oh no..." Fuuka whispered and Minato looked up from the hot sugar cookies he was taking out of the oven. It'd been a while since he had last hung out with the girl and he didn't know how much he had missed just cooking with her. He looked over her shoulder and his mouth opened in disbelief and shock. She had told him before that she planned to make rice balls like the last time they were together since it was the only thing she could do on her own right now, but for some reason she managed to put enough water into the rice to make porridge. "Seriously, why am I always so hopeless at everything...?" The boy gave her a small pat on the back and smiled.
"You just have to try harder next time." The girl looked surprised and nodded with a smile on her own.
"Yeah, thanks..." She looked back to the rice cooker and sighed. "But what are we supposed to do now? I mean, we can't just throw it all away, it would be such a waste." The bluenette followed her gaze and shrugged.
"Well, it's still edible, it's just porridge." A light seemed to pop into the Priestess' mind and she smiled even more as she walked over to a shelf and pulled out a small bag.
"Of course! We don't have to make it into balls, we can just eat it as it is! Come sit, Minato-kun, let's have some rice porridge, I've got plenty of pickled plums!" The boy obediently sat down and waited for the girl to put some of the rice into a bowl and put a few plums on it. "Alright, this is your share! Thanks for the food!" She sat down and dug into her own bowl, a small giggle escaping her lips. "This is good rice porridge!" They kept eating, enjoying the taste. When they were done and putting away the dishes, Fuuka smiled even more than before as she looked at him. "Thank you, Minato-kun." He couldn't help but smile back at her.
"I am Thou...And Thou art I...
Thou shalt be blessed when fighting the Priestess Arcana!"
They soon finished and walked out of the school. It was already a little late and the sun was setting in the distant.
"You know, maybe we should stop eating so much before we go back." The girl at his side seemed a little worried.
"Why, didn't you like it?" He shook his head.
"No, of course I liked it, it's just that I think that Kirijou-Senpai might get mad if we are too full for dinner." They both shivered at the thought of a mad Mitsuru. The walk back home was filled with idle talk and chatter and before they knew it, they were already standing in front of the dorm doors. The first thing they saw when they entered was the bright smile of Yukari as she put the dishes on the dining table.
"Oh, there you are! We were just getting ready for dinner." Both of the teens momentarily froze. The Archer waved her hand in dismiss. "No, don't worry. Aragaki-Senpai is cooking. It won't be lethal." Hamuko stepped out from the little kitchen they had behind the bar with a bunch of chopsticks in her hand.
"Yeah, so, could you get Ken for us, Minato? Fuuka, please help us preparing everything, alright?" They both nodded and the boy walked up the stairs to the first floor. He walked over to the younger's room and lightly knocked.
"Amada-kun? You in there? Dinner's almost ready." No response. The bluenette leaned in close and heard what seemed to be crashing noises and explosions. In confusion, he knocked again. "Amada-kun?" Again, no response. Maybe he went out without the others noticing. He tried the door handle and was surprised that it was not locked. He slowly opened the door and stilled once he saw what was going on inside. There was Ken, obviously jumping in excitement, sitting in front of the TV, watching Featherman. The boy seemed to soon notice him and his face paled in shock.
"Arisato-Senpai? I-It's not what it looks like! I wasn't watching this series or anything! I was just surfing channels and it came up and... N-No! I didn't want to watch it or anything! It was a coincidence!" The child kept on babbling on and on until the older raised his hand.
"It's alright Ken-kun. You don't need to look for excuses." The boy just kept on panicking and was almost hyperventilating. Minato sighed, walked over to him and laid a hand on the younger's head. "Calm down. There's nothing wrong with watching shows like that." The brunette seemed to relax for a moment before putting his hands on his knees and blushing.
"B-But it's so... childish." He said the last word like it was some kind of insult which only made the other sigh. How was it wrong for a child to act childish? Maybe he should try to make him feel better somehow. He looked over to the Tv and smiled a little.
"You know, when I was your age, I used to watch Featherman every time it aired. Actually, I still watch it sometimes." Ken snapped his head up to him and gaped for a few seconds in childish surprise before slipping back to his more mature part of is character.
"But, Senpai, that's not someone at your age should do, right? I mean, shouldn't you study for your exams and do... you know, adult stuff?" Minato shook his head and smiled.
"I don't think your age should influence what you like." His fellow persona-user just stared at him as he walked out of the door. "So now that's settled, let's get to the others. Dinner's ready." They slowly left the room and walked down the stairs. After a few minutes, the brunette grabbed the others sleeve, his face slightly pink.
"Would you mind... watching Featherman with me once in a while?" After his surprise was shaken off, the Fool smiled at him.
"Sure, of course we can watch together. Just ask, okay?" The smaller male smiled back at him and they both joined their friends and teammates for dinner.
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"So, anything you want to do today?" Souji just stared ahead into the distance before tilting his head to the side.
"Not really, you?" Minato shook his head. It has been rather tense in the dorm lately and the bluenette was glad to take a little time away from the fussing team. While he tried to help the best he could, there was only so much he could do when he was not permitted to enter Chidori's hospital room. Well, at least Junpei looked somewhat happy lately. He looked back at the silverette and watched him as he played with a strand of his hair. Something seemed to be bothering the boy but the Fool was unsure whether it was alright for him to ask. After all, if he hadn't told him about it already, it must be pretty private. The fourteen-year-old looked up at him, a little confused before he smiled.
"Hey, I thought I was the stalker out of the two of us." The older blushed a little and took a step away from him.
"...Are you suggesting me being a stalker?"
"Well, what other explanation do you have for staring so intensely at me?" He was about to protest- maybe with some half-baked excuse of his- but a loud and familiar voice made them both turn around. They were at the Port Island station again and people coming from the school were filling the place. Some shady figures were gathering around the vending machine behind the stairs again and the teens immediately recognized them as the people who were always bullying Souji. They steadily got closer to them, despite the younger's protests, as his shouting grew more and more understandable.
"So you want a fight? Huh?" their leader shouted. The little brunette in front of them remained unimpressed and wiped the spit from his face in disgust.
"Why are you asking me if I want a fight? You were the ones who came up to me." Their eyes widened when they saw exactly who it was. Saoto was standing amidst of those bullies, totally relaxed and calm. It surprised Minato that he was not the least scared. But the cold tone he was using, it was something he had never heard of him. Normally, the brunette was always so happy and enthusiastic, like the sun warming him. But while he was not used to it, this kind of attitude somehow looked more natural on the boy; calm and not taking any shit from anyone. He was so deep in thoughts that he had not noticed how Souji ran up to the group and stood in front of his smaller classmate, his eyes flaring with anger.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Get away from him." While he didn't raise his voice, the anger in his voice was obvious. The rogues were slightly surprised at his appearance, but soon found their composure again and sneered at him.
"Well, well, well. Look who decided to not run away from us!" That earned their leader a roar of laughter from his minions. Souji remained stoic.
"If I may remind you, you were the one always running from me." The man was taken back for a moment before he spit onto the ground.
"T-To hell with that! It ain't true!"
"Keep on deceiving yourself. The truth won't change." Minato, who was observing the whole dispute from a safe distance, considered interfering before deciding against it. No, this was a big deal for Souji. If he were to do anything, it would do more harm than good for him. The boy needed to do this alone. He looked back up to the teens and hid walked over to one of the benches before sitting down. One of the minions walked up the teen and grabbed him by his collar.
"You making fun of the leader?" he shouted at him and the silverette didn't even blink, even as spit was splattered all over his face.
"No, I was totally complementing him. Didn't you notice?" Ouch. Didn't know Souji could be that snarky. I have to remember not to piss him off. The young boy teared himself away from the bulky male and rubbed his face with his arm before turning back to their leader. "Anyway, you better keep your distance from Kirita from now on."
"So what ya gonna do about it?" Souji tilted his head to the side and grabbed Saoto's hand, who had just silently watched them until now.
"Let's just say, I won't silently watch while you try to hurt one of my friends." You could almost feel the ice that was attached to that statement. The bullies just stood there as the two boys walked away from them and up to he station. There they talked for a few moments before the younger waved the other good bye and hurried to get his train. The silverette waved back and turned his head to where Minato was seated, surprising the older. His lips moved and the bluenette had to strain his eyes to form words out of them.
"Thank you."
"I am Thou...And Thou art I...
Thou shalt be blessed when fighting the Tower Arcana!"
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"Hey, Chidorita!" Junpei shouted as he entered the hospital room with a sketch book under his arm. Mitsuru and Akihiko were standing not far from their captive and rolled their eyes at the nickname. The girl in question looked a little uncomfortable herself as she sat on the bed, interrupting her drawing.
"Please don't call me that," she said in a flat voice. The Magician's smile grew as he sat down on the chair beside her and laid the book on the night stand.
"Aw, don't be like that! Look I brought you a new sketchbook. I thought the old one might be getting full." A small blush spread over her face as she looked off to the side.
"...That was not necessary, Junpei." The Junior's grin turned into a small, almost shy, smile.
"Hehehe... you said my name. I was worried I might never hear it again." The door opened and quiet footsteps could be heard as Shinjiro walked over to his classmates and looked over their shoulders.
"So, got any luck?" The red-head shrugged.
"She finally started talking but nothing useful yet."
"Well, at least we made some kind of progress. But why are you doing here, Shinji?" The boxer asked his friend who just shrugged and looked over to the two younger teens at the other side of the room. They were idly chatting with each other until something seemed to make the girl choke. The SEES members stared in shock as they saw something resembling a person floating above Chidori. Shinjiro hurried to her side and forced some pills down her throat. After a few gasps and coughs, the red-head seemed to have lost consciousness and the older turned away.
"Was that... a Persona?" Mitsuru mumbled as Junpei almost tripped on his own feet and grabbed the girl by her shoulders.
"Chidori! Are you alright?"
"Relax... It happens." The team turned to the former delinquent in surprise as he made his way to the door. "They're not like us. They can't fully control their Persona. That's why they have to take supressants to keep their Persona from killing them." Akihiko raised an eyebrow.
"You know about Strega?"
"You'd be surprised what you can learn on the streets. I'll give the doc the right pills. The rest is up to you." He quickly left, the boxer high on his tail. Chidori seemed to regain her consciousness and looked around before her eyes fixed themselves on the boy by her side.
"...Junpei?" The Junior quickly jumped to her side again, his eyes filled with relief.
"O-Oh thanks god! I thought you might be..." He didn't dare finish his sentence in fear it might become true after all. The girl seemed sincerely surprised at that reaction.
"Why do you look so scared? Death is nothing to be afraid of... Dying just means you don't wake up anymore... That's all." The Magician's eyes widened in shock and he quickly shook his head and took a step away from her.
"W-What? You don't really mean that do you?" He grew more and more panicked as time went on until he finally snapped, "I don't want you to die!" Tears of desperation were gathering in his eyes, surprising the other people in the room. "Just because you're not afraid doesn't mean no one else is... Did you ever think about how I might feel?" Silence reigned over the room for a few moments before Chidori started to giggle.
"You're so weird, Junpei." The other started to laugh at well, wiping the tears out of his face.
"Ha, yeah, right, look who's talking..."
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Minato woke up with a start, clutching the bed sheets around him. One look at the ceiling was enough to tell him that he was in the nurse office right now. For some odd reason, Hamuko had decided that they should visit this place some time to taste that odd medicine their teacher always made. It took him a few moments to remember what he had been doing until he got there, though.
Right, school just ended and I was about to leave when that odd feeling came over me... The boy turned his head to the side to see his sister sitting there in chair beside the bed. When she noticed he was awake, she leaned in to him.
"Hey, you feeling alright? You suddenly collapsed when you left he classroom." After a few moments of consideration, the bluenette nodded and sat up, still feeling a little dizzy. Must be the vision. I didn't know that had to make me collapse now, too. A chair was pulled on the floor and the twins turned their heads to look at their teacher and resident nurse, Mr. Edogawa. He swirled around in his chair and pointed at an oddly steaming bowl on his table.
"He's feeling better already? Are you sure you don't want to try my medicine today? I bet it can solve all of your problems." The red-head visibly paled at that, confusing her brother.
"What's wrong? We normally come here to try it, don't we?"
"You didn't see him making it. Believe me, you're glad that I'm not letting you drink it." The Summoner tilted his head to the side. If Miss I-would-agree-to-work-with-a-group-of-monster-hunters-I-know-nothing-about was afraid of drinking that stuff, there must be some seriously odd things in there. He slowly got out of the bed, grabbed his bag and backed away from the teacher with his sister. After a few steps, both of them sprinted out of the door, ignoring the shouts and odd stares they were receiving. Once they were safely out of the school building, they stopped and looked behind them to make sure the nurse was not following them. Minato looked at the girl and gave a little smile.
"Well, that was a close one, I guess." He got a pat on the shoulder in return as Hamuko walked to the school gate.
"Yep, I can't allow you to get sick. Especially when we go crash training in Tartarus tonight."
"Wait, what do you mean, 'crash training'?"
"You better warm up before we go or else you're gonna be pretty sore tomorrow."
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Yay, finally another chapter done! Was I the only one holding bets inside their heads at how long it would take to finish this time?
Anyway, I tried to make equally original and adapted parts in this chapter so it's a bit more understandable.
By the way, I planned to start a new original story. I know, I write too many at the same time, which is the reason the updates have been slowing down lately. But this time I try to make a more mature theme unlike Cryptics, which is more like a big fat parody, or Dream State, which is a juvenile mystery thriller that is not very thrilling. It will be BL though and when you have the time, check out my deviantart. I would appreciate it.
Anyway, hope you liked this chapter! Please review!
Your Shadow.