A/N: "To find the one true path, one must seek guidance amidst uncertainty."

Judgement is an interesting arcana. Something that's not me at all, but maybe that's the reason why I find it interesting.

Minato was looking at the view on the rooftop. The view from here was nice. Winter was near, too.

The rooftop door opened. Akihiko sneaked behind his leader's back. And he punched.

Minato staggered backward and touched his face that got hit by his left hook. Even with that black gloves, his punch hurt. "... Ow."

Akihiko held his left fist. He seemed… happy. "I'm just showing you what a punch is, in case you're curious."

"Seriously?" Minato looked at the senior.

"You gotta be prepared for the unexpected," Akihiko said.

Minato nodded. "But it hurts."

"Of course. Shinji liked to greet me like this with a right hook. It hurts."

"But you punched him too."

"Of course I punched him too." Akihiko grinned. "People always expect a right punch from me… How wrong they are."

"That's all?" Minato asked. Akihiko used a left punch just to confuse the enemies?

"It's how I train to catch his right hook," Akihiko said. "Don't want it too often or I'll need more than one bandage."

Minato nodded and they watched the city view.

Akihiko pointed at the port island. "That back alley is there… I could see it from here."

Minato could see it too. Quite far away.

"... I've told you about Miki, right?" Akihiko asked. "Miki, Shinji, and I. We were like a family back at the orphanage… Well, now I'm the only one left."

Akihiko had lost a sister and then a brother too. Minato thought he could understand that.

"I was so focused on fighting that I didn't notice anything else. I want to be stronger, but it didn't matter how tough I was." Akihiko looked at his fist. "Whatever happens, happens. It's not anyone's fault and I need to understand that. That's what makes me feel better."

Minato nodded.

Akihiko turned to him. "I want to make sure you guys aren't blaming yourself. It's tiring. I've gone through that, and I'm sick of it."

"Thanks." Minato looked at him. "You're like a big brother."

"That's a weird way to look at it. You're all junior so I watch your backs."

"Sure." Minato touched his cheek. "It still hurts."

With Shinjiro gone and an exam week, this month passed by quicker than any week, at least from Minato's viewpoint. Pharos would come this night, physically anyway.

'You remembered that Ken likes omelet and rice.'

Minato glanced at the kitchen. It was empty. Ken was in the lounge watching TV with Junpei.

'He would be happy if you made some for him here instead of going out.'

Minato entered the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. There were rice and some eggs. He grabbed a pan and a bottle of oil.

'You decided to make a dish of omelet and fried rice that Ken likes…' Pharos narrated. 'Thanks to your time in the cooking club, it came out rather well!'

"Geez…" Minato murmured. "Sometimes I wish you aren't back…"

'What?' Pharos grinned in his head. 'You don't want Pharos the great narrator back?'

Take care of Ken… Minato didn't feel like it was a responsibility anymore. Akihiko and Shinjiro had told him to do that and it was annoying. Now, it started to feel like talking with other dorm mates or acquaintances.

Ken walked to the kitchen and glanced around. He must have followed the smell. It was finished. Minato served the omelet on top of rice.

Ken looked at the food on the table. "Is this… for me…?"

Minato nodded. "Eat it."

"Oh, th-thanks for the food!" Ken stopped holding back. He sat at the table and ate it like there's no tomorrow. He really liked it huh. "Yep, it's delicious." Another bite. "It's really good!"

'Seeing how happy you've made him makes up for all the effort.'

"I doubt it, Pharos."

"Huh?" Ken looked up. "Did you say something?"

"... Just talking to myself," Minato said.

"Okay." Ken kept eating. "Thank you very much."

Minato grabbed a noodle cup and sat beside Ken. White stream floated out of the cup. It had sesame smell coming from it. Ken glanced at the cup.

"Did you put sesame oil in?" Ken asked.

Minato nodded. "A little tip from Akihiko."

"Wow, that's cool! It would make the ramen tastes better!"

They kept eating. Maybe Ken was also interested in cooking, or that his mother cooked a lot so he was interested too. Oh right, he had said that. Ken's mother had always cooked him food in the past.

"Phew. I'm full." Ken looked at his empty plate. "It's good."

Minato also enjoyed cooking, so no problem. He should cook with Fuuka soon, even with the maxed social link and all, like how he played with Koromaru even when the social was maxed around a month ago.

"So…" Ken trailed off. The lounge was quiet. Other people had left. "Sorry again. For all the trouble."

"It's okay." Minato didn't know much. Shinjiro accidentally killed Ken's mom on October fourth two years ago and took suppressant. Ken asked Shinjiro to meet up at the place where it happened. That was all the rest of SEES knew. It's hard to blame Ken for that.

"I'm glad all of you are here with me. Or else I would've done something I regret… I have to thanks Aigis, but she doesn't mind it. I have to thank the rest."

"It's good to see you being so mature now," Minato said.

"R-really?" Ken looked at him. "You think I am?"

Minato nodded. "Unlike a few weeks ago or before that."

"What does that mean!?" Ken looked away. "Well, I know what that means. I was childish..."

"Still is."

"Hey!" Ken pouted. He took a deep breath. "Right, right, I am a child. I'm in elementary school and I'm just eleven. Nothing wrong with that." Ken looked at him. "Still, if I start to get in anyone's way again, please tell me. Don't worry about me. Please tell me the truth."

Minato thought about it a bit. "You do your job. You work hard even at school, always doing homework in your room. You don't play around and I know I can depend on you."

Ken started smiling.

"But you're stubborn and don't take care of yourself much. You're also afraid of changes."

"I'm not afraid of changes!" Ken felt the need to justify himself. "I… just didn't want things to change. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to follow the plan that way. I needed to hate. I needed to be angry."

"That's... the other way of saying you're afraid of changes?"

"... Fine. Changes ruin my plan. It messes everything up." Ken frowned. "And yeah, it changed, after all. And I couldn't follow my plan, after all."

"It's not a bad thing in this case, right."

"Yeah. He said that he feared the worst. He probably meant… me killing him," Ken said. "But he said it turned out fine after all. It already happened and it's just how it is."

Ken washed the plate. Minato understood one thing now. He waited for Ken to wipe his hands and came back to the table.

Minato tried not to show his grin."You also don't like being judged, apparently,"

"I don't-" Ken paused. That sentence was familiar. Had someone said that to him? And that sentence hit him so hard. He couldn't deny it. "Uh… Well, you're right. I don't like it. Of course I would be angry when they are messing with my life."

"Learn to accept criticism and ignore the eyes of people that don't matter," Minato said. " People will judge, and yes some of them are rude enough to voice their thoughts. It is best to cut them out from your world and move on."

People pitied Ken, yes, but at least they cared for him too. It's not like they wished for him to change or grow up.

It was a living hell trying to meet their needs. Minato had lived in that until he started to ignore them and then they ignored him too. His life was so nice when his parents were still there, then they were gone, and his world changed for the worst.

"Ignore stupid people," Minato said. "But in your case, I would say it's mostly in your head."

"Yeah. I'm already trying…" Ken glanced at the TV he was watching earlier. He had stopped hiding his own likes. He had stopped pretending. At least it made Ken a little happier and more like a kid, and that's not bad at all.

Actually, Ken was already doing a good job. He knew what's true and what was not. He could do the rest himself. He'll be fine.

"I know." Minato petted Ken's head. The kid was exactly one foot shorter than him, and he enjoyed that. "You do well. You're a great kid learning to grow."

"But I'm not-"

"Ken."

"Uhhh nothing."

"Good evening. It'll be a full moon again in a week. I'm sure you know that." Pharos smiled, standing next to his bed as always. "At last, the twelfth one. Are you ready?"

Minato shrugged. "Ready or not, I'm doing it for you, Pharos."

He'll finally be free. Free from what, Minato didn't know. They had traveled but it was not enough. Pharos wished for freedom, an escape from the cage.

"Thanks." Pharos had a complicated expression. "Thanks. I'm sorry."

"No need to," Minato said. Pharos had said that word enough.

"You'll get it after all this…" Pharos looked at the calendar on the desk. "Regardless of how long it's been, a lot has happened, hasn't it?"

Minato nodded.

"I believe we would still have a chance to see each other once it's over, but…"

"If you're going to say the same thing, then I have the same answer."

Pharos smiled at that. "Of course you want to meet me. But again, we might not remember each other. I don't know how it will be like… Be careful now."

Pharos smiled and disappeared. Minato thought about the last time they met, after the last full moon.

At that time, he didn't like being with Pharos for some reason. But even after all that, Minato still wanted him to stay. Pharos was always there for him after all.