Author note: Good lord, this chapter sucks. Also, uploading at past mighting, if some part seems off, I'll check it tomorrow.

OKAY, QUESTION. First, three days until Shirakawa once this chapter ends. That means you can either a) have it in a pack with the event and the last two days b) have it as a stand alone chapter. A) will take a bit longer to write, obviously. Oh also, I'm letting you know that "Thou chooseth this fate of blah blah blah…" aka you chose the Ship Tease version with 18 votes against the 9 hilarious one got. This means that any thing which may happen was chosen by you and it's by no means my fault. You'll know what I mean when you read the chapter.

Second, have I ever mentioned the three achievements I would like to obtain for this fic? 1_ Being featured in Fanfic Recs of TVTropes –done. 2_ Have an own TVTropes Main Page for my fic, like Fairly English Story does. One day. 3_Achieve 1000 reviews. If these three conditions are met some day, I'll be a really happy girl 8D

"Why did we hafta leave the dorm so early, again…?" Hamuko suppressed a yawn.

"The best way to avoid being assaulted with questions is to run away from the questioners. And the best way to avoid Senpai is to leave sooner than they do." Despite those words, Minato could hardly keep his eyes open.

"…I think that Mitsuru-senpai is mad, and that's why she asks so many questions. And if she's mad, it's soooo your fault."

"I'll regret to ask this, but… Why is that?"

"Because you totally used Narcissus on purpose!"

"…What?"

"Igor said that a Persona comes from you, right…? So, if your Persona is a naked guy… Gee! I wonder what that could mean!" Hamuko raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, of course." Minato rolled his eyes. "It's totally obvious that I secretly want to expose myself in front of S.E.E.S. to enrage our upperclassmen."

"See? You admit it." She laughed while Minato face palmed. "I bet Narcissus is your English name or something!"

The boy preferred not to make any comment about that great display of cultural knowledge. The dense silence between them was interrupted the talk two early-bird gossipers were having nearby.

"Last time I was out with my boyfriend, he was heading to Shirakawa Boulevard!" The Fools, being transfer students, weren't familiar with the more… Obscure places of New City.

"Whoa, Shirakawa Boulevard? Ewww...I know what was on his mind!"

"We just started dating, but I'm already kind of disgusted. He's got such a dirty mind... Maybe I should dump him." Hearing those words, Minato couldn't avoid giving Hamuko an amused look. She was left wondering what he was implying. "I don't want to be the subject of one of those rumors that goes, 'A couple was found unconscious…'"

"Hahah! That'd be great!" The gossipers went too far to be heard after that.

"More couples have been found unconscious together?"

"Don't tell me that the double suicide thing actually became a trend!"

"Hamuko, I don't think that's what they meant by 'found together'." Minato chucked awkwardly. That conversation topic was giving them the creeps, so the Fools decided to resume their walk to school in silence. It didn't last; Hamuko soon went back to bashing Minato with questions about his newest Persona.

Apparently, Junpei had become the target of every teacher's questions. The latest one he couldn't answer was one about Murasaki Shikibu which Mr. Ekoda had ready for him. Whether the boy knew the answer or not still remains a mystery; due to his loud snores no one will ever know.

Once the school day was over, Hamuko quickly dragged Minato out of class.

"Okay, it's Friday! Time to go ahead with the matchmaker plan!"

"Do I really have to help?" Minato released a big sigh. "Listening to me barely counts as a favor…"

"You know… Any normal girl would scream if a boy barged into her room and saw her with only her underwear on and a shirt halfway through her torso..." She cocked up an eyebrow and looked at him rather menacingly. "You don't want me to wake up the whole dorm next time I let you see me like that, right?"

"..."

Making Minato take Kenji to practice hadn't been as much of a good idea as Hamuko had made it to be. The boy was just sitting on a bench by the tennis field with Minato, sighing once and again. This made Rio be utterly distracted, focused only on staring at the depressed brunet, probably wondering if she could do anything to cheer him up. Eventually, Minato decided to take him away from the girls to invite him to bread.

Seeing the girls in the club encourage Rio to confess her feelings to Kenji that very moment was awesome.

"I... I feel like I'm stuck in one place..." Rio explained. "And I can't move an inch... I hate that about myself, too... But I don't know what to do about it. I know that I'm going to be hurt, and it scares me... But it has to be better than where I am right now. I'm sure it won't be as bad as drowning in these feelings I have..." She took a deep breath. "I'm... Gonna go tell him."

"Aw geez, just go already!" Hamuko gave her a thumbs up.

"Yeah, I'll do my best!" With that, the captain ran off to get Kenji.

The members of the Tennis club began staring at each other. "Shouldn't we go see what she's doing?"

"Yes, we have to be there wishing her the best luck!" And that was Yuko strolling into the place, uninvited as usual.

"What were you…?"

"I was looking for Minato." Yuko explained. "He's the main asset of the Track Team now, but he hardly ever shows up to practice…"

"Ah, don't worry, he won't get unfit because of missing practice a few days." Hamuko drummed her fingers on the racket frame while she smiled comfortingly. "I mean, we do a lot of exercise together every other night. In fact, I think that what we do gives more endurance than anything you can do in the track field."

Yuko's jaw seemed broke. "Y-You do WHAT with him?"

"You know, we do some sparring? We sweat it out together?"

The bluenette's face was a rhapsody of emotions.

"We do some training with other dorm members?" She raised her hands defensively, not liking a tiny bit how angry Yuko looked. "We climb a tower full of monsters trying to kill us, of course we're fit!"

The Track team manager's eyes widened and she pressed her lips together. "O-Oh, so you didn't mean…"

"I meant what I just said." Hamuko looked at Yuko with a worried expression.

"Err… We gotta go check on Rio, don't we?"

They found Rio and Kenji speaking on the walkway that took from the clubs corridor to the gym. Everyone began staring indiscreetly from behind the door. There was no trace of Minato, so he probably was still buying bread.

"So... Wh-What do you think about me?" Rio spoke shyly.

"Uh..." Kenji looked at her, confused. "Like family?"

"D-Do you like me?" She yelled suddenly.

"Huh? Yeah?"

"That guy's hopeless..." One of the club members whispered.

"Hang in there, Rio...!" Yuko frowned as she stared at the scene.

"H-How much do you like me?" The black haired girl insisted.

"Uh..." Kenji seemed to come to a realization, as a slight blush appeared on his face. "…About as much as ramen?"

"RAMEN?" Yuko jumped from behind the door and stomped her way towards Kenji. "Are you serious?"

"Whoa, what the-?"

"You've got some nerve, Kenji!" A member with glasses shouted. "What the hell are you telling her? I'm going to smack that goofy look off your face!"

Hamuko knew what the brunet meant and tried to stop the girls from approaching Kenji. "Whoa there! W-Wait, you don't understand-!"

"Stop!" Minato appeared from… Behind the door leading to the clubs zone. He had obviously been keeping an eye on the scene as well. "Hands off him, girls!"

Kenji began laughing as Minato pulled him away. "Haha, uh... I-I've got some business to take care of! Ladies!" Both boys ran away, leaving a trail of angry girls and a awestruck Rio behind.

"What? Minato, don't defend him!" Yuko yelled at the door. "Seriously... That moron!"

"Y-You guys... You were listening?" Nah. It was all just some wild mass guessing.

"Ugh... Sorry. We were all worried about you!" The tanned manager bowed down once and again. "Try and cheer up. But, sheesh! What the hell was that idiot thinking, comparing you to something like a bowl of noodles?"

"No, you don't get it..." Rio smiled. "Ramen is his favourite thing in the world."

"No kidding...?"

"If he likes me as much as he likes ramen, I'll be happy."

"Geez..." Yuko glanced away from Rio and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. "You dope…!"

"Why do you look like you're about to cry, Yuko?"

"I-I don't know!"

After that emotional scene and a 'the Chariot Social Link reached level 8' message, all the girls went together to Wild Duck Burger.

"Y-You sure you can eat that thing, Hamuko-san?" Yuko asked as she looked up at the pile of burgers in front of her.

"But of course!" Hamuko rubbed her hands together. "I'm ready to take the Peta Wac Set challenge again! And this time, I'll win it without anyone's help!"

When she was about to begin wolfing down the burger column, a text message arrived to her mobile phone.

"Kenji's all fired up about Rio's confession. It seems like it was a good idea after all. I'll thank you properly when you arrive to the dorm ;) –Minato."

"Hey, what's with that smile? Who texted you?" Rio began laughing when Hamuko hid her mobile phone behind her back, all blushed.

"Oh u-um, y-you know, it was um… A-Akihiko-senpai." She grinned at the skeptic looks everyone was giving her. "W-well um, Ben proof-it!"

For future reference: Yuko was a perfect replacement for Minato when it came to finishing the Peta Wac Set.

"Hey there!" Hamuko found Minato waiting for her on the stairs leading to the dorm's main entrance.

"Good evening, milady." He got up and pulled her into a waist hug. "Have I ever told you how much I love your crazy plans?"

"As a matter of fact, you have." She smiled confidently at him. "So how is Kenji-kun?"

"He couldn't stop talking about how he would had never seen that coming. He said that he wants to meet on Sunday to speak more about it… Oh, of course, I haven't told you any of this, got it?"

"Haha, of course. I'm so happy those two got their happy ending…" They simply hugged each other silently for a few minutes. "So, weren't you going to thank me or something?"

"Oh, yes..." He gawked at the brunette through half lidded eyes. "Doth the lady want me to thank her here, or is there anywhere more suitable?"

"I guess you can thank me in Paulownia..."

"Paulownia?" His voice sounded kind of disappointed.

"You don't want to go there?"

"No, Paulownia Mall is fine! It's only I was expecting a… Different answer."

"A different—Oh I see…" She casted her eyes down and kicked the ground. Hamuko couldn't avoid thinking how annoying it was that the bolder he got, the more he scared her. "No, I want this! I can't chicken out at the last moment! He cares for me… And I do too…" She boldly met his gaze. "Power Records now, 'training' tomorrow?"

"Training?" The boy snorted. "That's what they call it now?"

"Yeah... W-well, at least your… Girlfriend does."

"My…Girlfriend?" Minato wasn't sure he had understood that phrase correctly, so he only smiled and took Hamuko's hand to go to Iwatodai Station together.

"Daylight… Moonlight… Episode Luck… Episode Rain… A certain day of summer…" Hamuko frowned as she carefully examined the CDs on the shelves labeled as 'drama CDs'.

"You can't find the one you want?" Minato released a tired sigh.

"Nope. Junpei told me that there was a drama CD for the new handheld remake of 'Stair Climbing Simulator 3', featuring the female protagonist, but... It seems it's sold out. …Oh well, I guess these other five soundtracks will do."

"…Do you even listen to the music you buy?"

"The world is too interesting fo-. Is that Risette's new album?"

Listening to Hamuko rant about how much she loved the new songs was by no means how Minato would have liked to spend the night. He couldn't stop thinking that it was probably his fault for always asking her to slow down. Had he known earlier how anxious he'd begin feeling, he probably would have answered to her innuendos much more positively earlier on. Or maybe had that happened, she would have refused him as well? Maybe she was just trying to provoke him… That girl was impossible to understand…

"Junpei." Minato sat down next to the boy, who was watching a film on TV once Hamuko had decided to go to her room. "You're Hamuko's best friend, right?"

"Yup!" The boy answered proudly.

"So uh… You might know her better than I do."

"I doubt that, man." That answer was dry but sincere. "Shoot it; 'sup?"

"Um… She acts different around me than she does around everyone… Do you think I've upset her?"

"Nah, she hasn't told me anything 'bout that." Junpei shrugged. "Different how, man?"

"She doesn't act uh… Flirty around me. It's like she was scared of me or something…" Minato fidgeted with the knot of his bowtie.

"Ah, that's all, dude?" The boy rubbed his goatee and grinned. "She's just playing hard to get, man!"

"…Hard to get?"

"Oh yeah, chicks do that a lot. Everyone knows that challenges are hot! You should feel proud she's doing that for you!"

"I… See?" Minato wasn't too convinced, but apparently even Junpei had more expertise in the matter than him. And that was somewhat lame. "So what do I do?"

"Um… I dunno…" Okay, maybe not so. "Maybe you should seem all interested or something. Show her who's wearing the pants, man!"

That all seemed farfetched, but Minato thanked him for the advice and went to his room.

"So, soon it'll be a full moon…" Yukari and Hamuko were walking together to school. "Are you nervous?"

"Nervous? We've been doing well so far…" Hamuko shrugged. "I'm annoyed, not nervous."

"Well, we have to do this, no matter what…"

"Saturday… Hmmm…" Hamuko tapped her lower lip with a finger. "Maybe I should hang out with Fuuka…"

"Hey Hamuko." Minato smiled rather flirtatiously, even though they were still in their homeroom. "Let's go to the dorm."

"Huh? Why?"

"Power Records yesterday…"

"Riiight." That was the most awkward proposition she had heard in a while. "Um, just like that…? Aren't you going to invite me to have dinner or something first?"

"Whatever floats your boat…" They walked together out of class. "…Without sinking mine, of course." He took it to himself to lead her all the way to the station.

"Man, you're getting pushy." Hamuko frowned.

"I'm pushy in what sense?"

"In the sense of 'Hey, if you're gonna be like that you'll have to go 'train' with another girl.'"

"I-Is that so?" His eyes were suddenly filled with concern. "I knew that it sounded stupid… Damn Junpei… I-If you don't want to go there it's fine, I mean, we can go to Wakatsu and then to Escapade o-or something…"

"Yes, that'd be better… Thanks for being so… Comprehensive." The Fools both glanced away, with Minato unable to hold back a sigh. Being pushy actually worked better in a weird sense.

The train stopped in Iwatodai Station. Both teens got off it in an incredibly awkward silence. Fortunately, it ended when a familiar little girl ran into them crying as they were headed to Wakatsu.

"O-oh my gosh, Maiko-chan." Hamuko gave the little girl a hug. "What's wrong?"

"M-My dad, he—" Before ending that phrase, she was back to wailing in the older girl's arms. Eventually, her cries came to an end, having turned into muffled sobs. "Dad, he... He... He hit me! I don't know what to do..."

"What? How could he?" Hamuko yelled angrily.

"Did you do anything to anger him?" Minato asked more reasonably.

"No! I don't think I did anything wrong!" She sobbed again. "All I did was say I wanted to know the real reason they were getting a divorce. ...They told me I was too young to even understand it. So I kept asking, but then Dad got angry and... And he..." She sniffed. "...Then Mom said since I was so annoying, that it was my fault. I'm not sure they love me anymore... I bet they wouldn't care if I wasn't even here at all!"

"That's ridiculous!" The brunette reassured her. "Of course your parents love you!"

"Are you... sure? But then, why are they so mad?" Silence came back yet again, as neither Fool had an answer to that. "What if I ran away from home...? I want to find out... how they really feel about me. If they love me, then they'd try to look for me, right?"

"What? But you can't—"

"It's a secret, okay?" Maiko smiled. "Don't tell Mom and Dad I'm running away. …I know you won't tell."

"Thanks for the trust, bu—" The voices informing them that the Hermit Social Link had reached level 5 distracted them while the girl ran back home. "…Oh crap. We have to stop her!"

"B-But weren't we going to Wakatsu?" Minato protested.

"Minato, it's a little girl trying to run away we're talking about! That's much more important than having a date! ..Ah, whatever, I'll go look for her by myself!"

Unfortunately, Hamuko didn't manage to find Maiko in Iwatodai. She did find out that Minato had gone to Escapade without her, texting her about how he could play hard to get too. …She didn't really understand what that meant.

Do you know how much I hate writing this kind of behavior in Minato and Hamuko? Do you? No you don't. Because it's rather unmeasurable. I want the normal Minato and Hamuko back, oh god damn it 8U

Remember that Minato has that one side which wants to kill Hamuko and screw every girl with a Social Link in New City. In no particular order.

I suggest you remember this chapter. Seriously. Etch it into your memory.