I do not own the Persona series or RWBY. Everything belongs to their respected owners.
"So what are you up to, Minato?"
The blue-haired boy slowly looked up and turned his head to see the blonde girl that started to see him for the past week staring right over his shoulder. "Studying." He answered, having his eyes focus on the textbook in front of him. But as pupils drifted, he noticed other people just staring at him. Well… he should maybe consider himself a bit fortunate that he was at least getting attention…
On second thought, it wasn't the kind of attention he would have appreciated.
Yang meanwhile stared at the boy. His clothing was certainly something… average to say the least. It didn't make him stand out, completely unlike her own clothing. He wore a black jacket with a loose black bow tie. A white, collared shirt was underneath and tucked into a pair of black pants that was held up by a grey belt. His shoes were nothing special really either, just being a color of dark-blue or black.
"Hey, Minato, anything wrong?"
Minato looked up from his book and turned his head once more. Staring at Yang, he shifted uncomfortably under a surprisingly intense gaze. He… supposed that he wasn't sure how to talk with the blonde. Even with a week of her around him, he was not exactly sure about what words to speak with her.
He even knew of her reputation, being one of the more well-known students due to her nature among the school. It was odd though to see that she had some friends before him but now she's never been seen with them since her interaction with him. He found himself slightly frowning at the fact that he just ruined a few friendships when he didn't mean to.
"Okay, there has to be something on your mind. Seriously, you're frowning."
That made him pause. The blue-haired boy looked at the blonde whose eyes expressed a varied mix of emotions. He then realized that she was concerned about him. It was… heartwarming to Minato despite his dead, bland nature.
However, it didn't exactly reassure him that he was not in the wrong. Yang considered herself his… friend. How was he supposed to explain this situation to her in the most easiest way possible?
There was always the option of lying to the girl but something told Minato about Yang that lies wouldn't work on the other. She was observant enough to see that something was wrong with him. Telling the truth though… that was an outcome he had no idea where it would go.
"Minato?"
"I feel bad for you not seeing your friends anymore because of me."
"…Oh."
If the male between the two of them hadn't been ingrained with years of constantly being dead (in a sense), he would have run to the nearest corner to cringe at himself the moment he accidentally blurted out the words. The silence was suffocatingly awkward after that as he sunk into regret, reliving the last minute and mentally listing any other thing he could have said that would have resulted in a less uncomfortable situation.
Thankfully Yang decided to be the one to break the silence first. "…So," The blonde gave a smile almost as if nothing had happened between them. "Want to go grab lunch from the cafeteria?"
"…Uh." Minato intelligently grunted.
Y13
The cafeteria at Signal Academy was fairly average considering how large the student population was. Older students that decided to take the Hunter/Huntress elective were expected to keep their weapons in their lockers when it came down to entering the eating area. Many of the older students also brought their own lunches since they would be considered much healthier than school meals as well as the need to eat quickly before getting to the next class.
So among the many young students, Yang and Minato both stood in line in an awkward tense silence among the two of them. It was even more uncomfortable since many of the students around them gave them, mainly Minato, weird looks in their redirection.
Finally, they had arrived to the front of the line where two women and a man ranging from their late-twenties to late-thirties were busily working with only the sounds of sizzling and cooking between them. "Hi, I'll have the…" Yang looked up at the menu for a second. "Spaghetti in meat sauce please."
As the blonde paid for her meal and dropped some Lien on the counter while grabbing her food, Minato walked over to the counter and look at his options. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a could of bills before eyeing the sign above. "…Spaghetti in alfredo sauce." He stated.
The food that was plated for him was simple but not completely unappealing, just a bowl of pasta, some bits of broccoli, and white sauce poured on top. At least this was more to eat than the meals he would have where he lived. Not wanting to look impolite, he nodded to the staff who nodded back in acknowledgement before moving back to their tasks at hand.
The blonde and blue-haired boy left, food in hand to find a comfortable place to sit and eat. Many people gave them second glances as two students with perhaps the most opposite personalities were together in the halls. Minato found himself even staring down a few of them as their search continued.
"Hmm. Oh, what about here?"
"…Sure."
The blonde plopped down onto the cold, ceramic floor as she snuggled in-between the corner of the hall. She liked spots like those since they were easier to lean on rather than a flat wall. About to eat, she looked up her companion expectedly. Minato sighed as he too sat next to the blonde, not touching his food in favor of watching the blonde enthusiastically dig into her meal.
"Yang?"
She slurped up a noodle. "What is it?" She asked, whipping her lips with her arm.
"Do you… regret hanging out with me?"
"Why would I think that?" The question seemed to make Minato face the blonde with a face that looked the slightest bit upset to the blonde. Now this was going somewhere Yang did not expect at all. In fact, she didn't even know what Minato was talking about.
"Why? Well… I've basically ruined your friendship with everyone you liked." He gestured to himself, placing his bowl on the ground while gesturing to himself. "You stopped seeing them. For what? A dead, walking corpse who is separated from every other living soul. Are you not angry? Sad?" Yang just watched the boy develop an unknown feeling as she had forgotten about her food already. Other students began to overhear Minato's words and started to crowd around at a distance. But Minato was too lost in his words to notice or didn't care. There was something inside that fueled him onwards. "Don't you think I'm dead as well? Soulless? Weird? A freak? Why-"
He paused mid-speech as two gentle and warm hands firmly cupped his cheeks. A pair of hypnotic, lilac eyes gazed into the reflective silver ones. But Minato could have sworn he saw his own reflection in hers.
"Is that what you think of yourself?" The voice was still hers, but the usual cheeriness and energy was nowhere to be found. A low, serious tone replaced them both instead. The girl looked at the boy dead in the eyes, her expression not pitying but sorrowful like she was hurt that the other thought so low of himself.
The male's mouth suddenly felt dry. It was odd how he found her so intimidating when she was as bright as the sun and gentle as a warm breeze for the past week. Not really trusting his mouth he hesitantly shook his head instead. The hands on his face loosened and fell back to her side. A small part of the boy wanted those hands to stay where they were though, the warmth being very comforting.
"Doesn't it bother you?" Minato's voice had lost its usual neutral beat. He was quiet, but it uncharacteristically cracked much more than it should have for a boy his age as if he had carried many burdens for years. The crowd of students shuffled slightly closer with intent to hear the blonde's answer. "I… destroyed the bonds you created. Shattered them like glass without intention… But the effect was still strong."
"No, what I did doesn't bother me at all." Yang's gaze never wavered, her eyes straightly directed to Minato. "You're soulless? You have Aura don't you? A Semblance as well? That's tons of proof that everyone is already wrong about you. Who am I to judge you on your appearance anyways? Who am I to reject a person who I barely know? Despite the opportunities to walk away, you were kind and willing enough to give me a chance. Despite the opportunities to join us, my old friends tried to keep you all alone while never giving you the chance. Since then, nothing has changed the fact or my opinion that you are a weird person."
Her voice was clear and even with her expression not betraying even a hint of hesitation, making it as clear as night that she had meant every word. It was like for the person her speech was directed to could feel like he could breath again. It felt like the weight the hung over his shoulders had gotten lighter a small part of it being lifted by those words that so clearly accepted him for who or what he was.
The serious, rigid features softened on the blonde's face as a soft smile graced Minato. "I don't care about those who don't care about you. I however do care about a friend who is in need of company and help. You can call yourself whatever you want. None of that matters. You are Minato Aristo and I know that he's a good person."
A warm silence seemed to settle over the scene. The boy couldn't help the twitch at the ends of his mouth. But that was still noticed by the blonde as she returned to her playful self as everyone else around them seemed to lose interest in the conversation as if nothing had happened. "Well, if that didn't help change the minds of people, I have no idea what will." Yang grinned while gesturing to the students walking away.
She laughed heartily and hit Minato on the back, causing the boy to topple face first into his untouched food. A small glare from the male made the blonde laugh even harder. The boy however noticed how relaxed he had become though as there used to always be a bit of tense feeling in his shoulders. Another twitch of his lips jolted upwards.
The blonde was so loud, yet had managed to open doors that had been locked and rusted over years of solitude to his heart. Even though it was just a crack so far, it was still something.
Finishing their food and dumping their plates and bowls into a garbage can, they were heading to their next class. Taking a shortcut through the cafeteria, an unexpected event happened.
"Ooh, some Lien." Yang said to herself as Minato walked on to the other side of the table she was next to while traveling to the door that was nearby. Bending her knees and grabbing the card, she let out a happy tune.
Moving her foot though… she banged her toe against table leg… very hard.
"Ow!" Yang cried out in pain, hopping on one foot and making Minato freeze while looking over to the blonde. "This stupid-!" She growled out with her eyes turning red. With a powerful backhand smash, she flipped the table over and sent it flying to the wall. Grinding her teeth with panting with frustration, she looked at herself and realized that her hair was on fire. She didn't feel any pain though.
She just felt… stronger…
"No way…" The blonde said to herself, bringing up her to admire herself. She then looked up, "Minato! I think I just discovered my Sem-… Minato?" Her head craned left and right but couldn't find the boy.
"Over here…" His voice was muffled.
Looking over, she gasped. "Oh shit!" Dashing over to the wall, she stood right in front of the table she had smashed away from her. The appliance was glued right against the wall and was slowly falling down. Stepping out of the way, the blonde prevented herself from being crushed by the table. Creating a giant dent in the wall was Minato as his entire front was stuck on the surface. "Minato, are you okay?!"
"I feel like sunshine right now." Minato responded dryly while being muffled by the wall he was stuck against.
There we go. Some more bonding time between MinYang… Get it? Instead of YinYang it's… Min… Yang…
No flames please.