A/N: Editing your own/old writing is a pain. It hurts my pride.
Everyone was on the ship deck. The beanie guy was there too. They enjoyed the view of the ocean.
"Here I come, beaches!" Junpei shouted. "Long time no sea!"
Yukari shook her head. "Seriously?"
"Umm please be happy," Fuuka said. "I can sea the beach now. I'm excited."
"Not you too Fuuka." Yukari groaned and Junpei grinned wider.
Yakushima, at last.
Minato liked this place. Clear water and fine sand, with warm sunlight shining on the surfaces... It would be good if others, who are not in SEES, just disappeared from this island, so he could have some moment of peace with his dorm mates.
The girls were coming to the beach one by one. Yukari was just her typical self. Fuuka was cute. Mitsuru was nice. That's about it.
The capped teen asked Akihiko and Minato which one was their type. Yes, he's wearing a cap, at the beach. Akihiko stuttered and didn't answer.
Junpei grinned. "So there is someone who is your type…" His grin got wider. "No, there's someone you like in there. Heheh..."
And when Junpei asked, Minato gave his honest opinion. "I'm not interested."
"Aww man! Just pick one!"
"How about nothing."
"That's impossible." Junpei shook his head. "How could you not like them?"
"... I just don't?"
"C'mon, dude… Just look at their bodies."
"Not interested." Minato shrugged.
"In their bodies?" Akihiko asked.
Minato sighed.
The girls plus Junpei played in the water. Due to his injury, Akihiko couldn't enter the sea, so he ended up building a sand monument with Minato. And that guy told the boxer 'serves you right'. Akihiko sighed. "When your wounds touche the salt, it hurts, real bad." And he wouldn't want to hear his bones crack in the sea.
Minato glanced at the beanie guy. Yes, that guy wore a beanie and a coat, at the beach. The beanie guy slept on the sand. His beanie covered his face perfectly, and he's wearing his usual pea coat. He really loved the sun, didn't he? He was enjoying the sunbath. Minato knew it. This was some kind of a game. No one said the name of that beanie guy. Not even once.
Minato and Akihiko were constructing the Tatsumi Port Island and a town nearby. Minato built the outline with a bucket of sand while Akihiko did the details. It was nice.
After dinner, Mitsuru led SEES to the reception room. It's a large room with three sofas and a projector. A man with a black eye patch sat beside Mitsuru. What was his name again? He probably introduced himself when Minato didn't listen.
'Takeharu,' Pharos dutifully reminded him.
"Good evening," Mitsuru's father said to everyone as they sat down. "From what I understand, Mitsuru has already given you the short version."
Everyone nodded.
"Well, it's true… we adults are to blame. If I could've atoned for it with my life, I would have done so. Now, I have no choice but to rely on you," Takeharu said. "What my father wanted to create with these monsters' power… was a time manipulation device..."
They talked, talked, and talked. Then they watched a video which a scientist explained things and apologized. He told them to kill all Shadows. The video ended with a boom. Turned out he's Yukari's dad, and they assumed he was the one responsible. Partly responsible, still.
"I don't want your pity!" Yukari shouted and dashed out of the room.
Maybe let her calm down, Junpei said to no one in particular. They all looked at each other. Then Takeharu asked Minato, how much do you know about the incident ten years ago? Not much. Nothing. He knew he didn't remember that night. Minato thought for a moment and shook his head. He really couldn't remember anything. He was in a car accident. His family happened to be there. That's all.
"Is it?" Takeharu asked.
Minato blinked. "What do you mean?"
"Your parents being there," Takeharu said. "Is it by chance?"
The man pressed a button on his remote, and the projector showed another video. In the video, there was a blue haired woman running along the hallway. There were explosions everywhere. She was heading somewhere, then there was that big explosion and it all went dark.
"She… She looked just like…" Junpei glanced at his leader.
"That is Minato's mother," Takeharu said.
"What?" Akihiko was surprised, as well as others. He thought the boy was an orphan. Shirogane was a well-known family. Then why…
"She cooperates with Eiichiro in stopping the research," Takeharu said. "She tried to stop the research in early progress but fail. She came back and cause chaos while Eiichiro releases the Shadows. After she escaped, she died in a car accident on the Moonlight Bridge. No one knows the details. Seems like Minato himself doesn't."
Minato stood up. He exited the room. Everyone glanced at each other in silence.