A/N : Ah, tomorrow is one year anniversary for this story? Time flies fast. (Uhh that's because I didn't update for four months.)

Chapter 43

Perfect Pairing

These past few days SEES were all staying indoors becauseof typhoon. After seeing a clear sky today, Mitsuru finally allowed them to go outside.

Yukari and Fuuka cooked something for lunch so that SEES could gather together. Full moon discussion, of course.

Yukari and Junpei were doing homework at the dining table, with Minato helping them here and there like usual. He already promised to help them with school for this year, so he had to keep the promise, no matter how troublesome it was.

"... I can't fail a certain someone when she says she wanna see me graduate, ya know, heheh." Junpei grinned.

Yukari sighed, hearing this kind of sentences multiple times already. "Love is great, yeah right… So, Junpei." She whispered, "Minato-kun sure looks a bit sad today."

"Eh? He's happy." Junpei whispered back.

Yukari narrowed her eyes. Their opinions always crash like this.

I can hear both of you, Minato thought. Might as well just tell them. "You two know a girl called Maiko, right?"

They nodded. Of course they know her. Junpei went there to pray that he would pass the exam, and Yukari went with Fuuka a lot to play with dogs.

"She left."

"Huh?" Junpei widened his eyes.

"She has decided to move away with her mother."

"Oh," Yukari looked down. "That's great, but… also, sad. So sudden..."

Koromaru whined.

"If it's me I'd cry like a baby," Junpei said. "But… You know, her parents argue a lot so, she would start a new life. That's a great thing, I think."

"Hope so," Yukari said.

They continued their homework in silence.

"Minato, I know you are about to go out. Wait a moment… Please take this." Aigis handed him a ball of wires, but if you look carefully it was his earphones and mp3. "We have finished modifying your mp3. It is now more suitable for battles. Fuuka did a really good job."

"Thanks," Minato said. A responsible robot as always. Also great job, Fuuka. Those tangled wires though.

"Koromaru wanted to play with this, so I curled them up in a ball," Aigis said.

"Teehee." Fuuka smiled and walked forward. "It's not a big deal. Just, cost some money, you know?"

It was clear what she needed.

Minato gulped. "I... I'll… buy you, anything, any, so-"

A test subject.

"Naw. I don't want money." Fuuka smirked. "Ah, I want to try cooking something new, maybe curry-"

"Arf, arf!"

Minato widened his eyes.

KOROMARU.

Aigis threw the earphones up in the sky.

Koromaru who was heading this way suddenly stopped and jumped at the ball. He caught the earphones midair with his mouth. As soon as the paws touched the floor, the dog charged to the exit.

Minato ran after him without hesitation.

The door was swung opened, and then slammed shut by the blonde.

"... Escape route secured. Mission accomplished," Aigis said.

Fuuka blinked. Everything really happened in the blink of an eye.

"Aww..." The teal haired girl muttered. "I thought you accepted me, Minato-kun… Who will taste my curry then…"

"Me." Aigis raised a thumb. "I will never, ever say it is not delicious. I will eat all of your food without any leftover."

"Umm, thanks?"

"By the way, Fuuka, it is not your fault. It is Minato's fault." While saying that, Aigis reached to the top of the fridge and gave Fuuka a box of bon bon, her way of showing care, robot style. "As a leader, and as a man, he must be a 'badass' and accept women's flaws and mistakes." The android poured milk and served it to Fuuka who sat at the table. "Winning a girl's heart is like a war, you must be bold and prepare to attack, but also have to be strong when you receive blows. Be cool. Be strong."

Fuuka silently ate bon bon, ignoring the fact that Aigis gave her food because Shinjiro did that with Koromaru when the dog was sad.

Aigis waved her index fingers like how Yukari would when she taught Junpei about love. "Ah. Minato. He is cool, but he doesn't know how to attack. He has all the theories in his head, but he is still single. Not making any moves may result in being viewed as a weak-willed person. The reason Minato is single is because he doesn't try to stand out, so even if he is cool, he lacks the power of attraction."

"Okay…" Fuuka nodded. "So what are you trying to tell me?"

"I try to make you happy again," Aigis said. "But by saying all that, I realize many major flaws in Minato as well."

"... He's too passive?"

"Yes." The android touched her chin like how Junpei would when seeing a hard question on the paper. "Even when he fights Shadows, he always go safety first, and with multiple plans as backups."

"Isn't that what a leader should do?"

"I want him to fight. Hard." Aigis stood up. "I want Minato to be aggressive and destroy all Shadows! I want him to kill until none of them remains."

"Okay…" Fuuka nodded. "You want Minato-kun to be bold, how?"

"He should have a girlfriend, but according to my prediction, it is very unlikely. He needs someone that is shy, so he could learn to be bold. He should be with a gentle person who could teach him how to sympathize and drop the coolness." Aigis's eyes sparkled. "Fuuka, since you are an expert at something called 'yaoi', who do you think-"

"Shinjiro-senpai. One hundred percent Shinjiro-senpai." Fuuka's eyes also sparkled, her face already dreamy. "Strong yet gentle..."

"... A badass yet so shy," the blonde said.

"It's settled then." Fuuka smiled. "Finally. Aigis, answer me… If you think Minato-kun should taste my food, then why did you help him escape?"

"Oh." Aigis blinked. "... It is an automatic response to Minato's pleading eyes. I could not resist."

No matter how much he seemed like a loner, it was obvious he had his own way of making friends, or he was charming and had high academics, or maybe it was all about meeting the right people at the right time.

Shinjiro wondered what he was supposed to be called. If Minato was a loner, then he was a pebble beside a road.

He didn't like the sound of that, but there's nothing he could do. After all, things take time.

Shinjiro stared at the movie poster. There're so many people coming to the cinema to watch movie together. He didn't want to watch alone, so maybe he could just walk back to the dorm.

...

Tanaka, Mutatsu, Akinari, Maiko...

All of these social links he made, were because of Koromaru.

This fluffy guy tho, thinking he's stupid? Running away with mp3 in his mouth, sitting next to those people and acting as if nothing happened. It was like a scene from some girly mangas, but Minato still had to thank Koro for all the social links, no, for the cool people in his life.

Yukari trying to cook food for the dog, Junpei almost feed him instant ramen, Fuuka brushing the white fur with him, Akihiko talking about all kind of things when Minato was petting the dog, Mitsuru getting worried about the Shiba Inu's health, Aigis trying to befriend the dog, Ken teaching the white dog some tricks, Shinjiro secretly taking care of him.

Now that he thought about it, he met Shinjiro because of Koromaru too.

All being done by a dog. I'm really…

Oh well, at least he's useful.

Useful?

The boy shook his head and followed Koromaru, who was running with steady pace and started running even faster. Koromaru isn't going to really steal the mp3, right? After a few minutes of nonstop running he found himself in front of the cinema.

The Port Island Station was repaired and cleaned. People were walking around and shopping. There's no sign of typhoon at all

"Arf arf!" Something dropped onto the floor.

Shinjiro knew too well who that is. "Oi, Koro, why are you here?" He petted the dog. "And… Is this…?" Minato's mp3 and earphones with dog food smell.

Minato's marathon running finally came to a stop. He halted just right in front of Shinjiro. The boy took some deep breaths, looked at the white dog wagging his tail, and finally at Shinjiro's hand. "That's mine."

Shinjiro stood up and handed him the ball of wires. "Hey."

"Hello." Minato kept it and glanced behind the guy. Shinjiro was looking as a movie poster, huh.

There usually were a lot of posters, but today there was only one, Incredible Pet Stories Series.

"Huh…" As Aigis said, he was going out, but he didn't plan what he wanted to do today. A movie with the rapid level up Social Link wasn't bad. Minato shrugged. "So, movie?"

Shinjiro nodded. "I'll go buy the tickets. You take care of Koro."

A great crowded line was too noticeable; You could see it even before entering the theater building, and that meant you had to wait a long time.

A sad, heartwarming movie could attract all kind of people, it seems.

"Here." Shinjiro showed two tickets in his hand.

"Arf arf!" Koromaru barked, but later changed to a whine. Minato who sat with the dog petted him.

"I thought you'd buy three tickets," Minato said.

"They don't welcome dogs. I know as much."

The blue haired boy stared at the senior. "You once brought a dog here?"

"Dogs, cats, birds, and more." Shinjiro sighed. "I've been trying for a few years, but they never let me succeed. Actually, when they see me, they check if I bring animals or not."

Koromaru whined.

Shinjiro bent down and ruffled those white fur between the dog ears. "Sorry, but you have to go home for now. Take care of everyone, okay?"

"Arf."

Seeing a dissatisfied expression, Shinjiro continued. "I'll play with you this evening, kay? Wait for me. Love ya."

"Woof!" Koromaru's eyes lit up in excitement. He stood up. "Arf arf!" And ran around in circles three times. "Arf!" Before barking at Shinjiro for the last time and headed off

"... You're sweet," Minato commented.

"Whatever. The movie is starting. Let's go." The senior pulled the beanie down and went ahead in a quick pace.

The theater was dark. There's a big screen. Yeah, Minato had come with a few of his Social Links already, but unlike other times, this day wasn't plan ahead. That's new.

All the past movies he had watched here focused on humans while this one was about animals. That's new too.

The screen got brighter. The movie was starting. Minato laid back, somewhat interested in the movie.

Let's see the ending of those puppies.

Most of sound effects were waves of aggressive water hitting the planks, and puppies, giving them fatigue. The sun was setting. The water got cold. Puppies cried in agony, but they still didn't give up.

They are just tiny animals, but they fight to survive. They give it their all, even if they fail...

Is this also "strength"?

Minato respected those surviving animals. On the other hand…

"… The river…" Shinjiro touched the rim of his beanie and looked away. "It just… washed that dog away…"

"Were you trying not to cry?" The boy asked. No answer. "I thought you already know what it is about." Still no answer.

Knowing he couldn't handle it but charged head on anyway, is that strength too?

Nah, more like recklessness.