Minato cringed as sleep vanished from his eyes and he felt pain race across his entire body once again. The numerous gashes on his chest were giving him hell right now. Despite that, the blue haired devil felt relatively more calmer than he was in the last few days.
Minato hurled a couple of cusses to a certain redheaded male and slowly opened his eyes, and he was greeted by Hamuko's worried face. "Bless me..." He muttered. Things were going good.
"You've come to!" Hamuko gave him a huge grin.
Minato's pain was somewhat lessened by the warmth Hamuko began to radiate. He sorely needed that. "Um, I missed you." He admitted with a shy smile.
"I missed you loads too!" Hamuko poked his cheek.
"So... uh," Yukari started, and Minato lashed out once again.
"We're having a fucking moment here!" Minato growled, balling his fist up.
"Minato..." Hamuko smiled and leaned closer. "Better clean the air up before we go further." She whispered.
Minato sighed in annoyance and forcefully turned around to face the rest of his former team. His rather goofy expression melted into the usual stoic one he wore whenever he interacted with them.
"..." A long, suffocating silence prevailed in the room. Minato gazed deep into the eyes of his former comrades.
"..." Mitsuru was lost for words herself.
Junpei was glaring at him. He paid little attention to that.
Akihiko was trying to glare but it wasn't really working. Somewhat mature.
Yukari was looking conflicted. And so was Shinjiro.
Aigis was as stoic as he was.
The pin drop silence continued on for what seemed to be an eternity. No one could find the rights words to say. Minato was having trouble himself, he was restraining himself from lashing out only because of Hamuko standing next to him.
"How do we start..." Mitsuru finally spoke up with a short sigh.
"You can start by telling me who gave you the genius idea of putting me behind bars while I was asleep," Minato spat, his rage building yet again. He had to control himself fr-
"Ssssshhh," Hamuko clasped his shoulder, making the blue haired demon sigh again. That calmed him down.
Minato bit back the rage and let out another deep breath. "Who gave that idea..."
"I... came up that plan," Mitsuru spoke up.
"You're an idiot," Minato shook his head. "How long how you known me now?"
"Several months now..."
"Then you should have known the repercussions of something as stupid as that," The blue haired teen narrowed his eyes at the rest. "Do you think I would forget what you did to me?"
Akihiko tried to speak up but Minato started unbuttoning his shirt, despite the females currently present in the lounge.
"What are you..." Junpei blinked, but he cringed the next second as Minato lowered his shirt just enough to allow them to take a good look at his battered shoulder. Despite it been weeks, his shoulder looked mangled and it wasn't even bandaged up properly.
Hamuko shivered and retracted her hand.
"That's fucked up," Shinjiro muttered.
"You stabbed that goddamn sword here and shot a bullet in it,"
"You disrespected my father," Mitsuru spat back.
"The hell did you expect me to do, huh!?" Minato yelled back. "Did you seriously expect me to just lay there and take your beatings like Christmas gifts!?"
"And need I remind you, I saved his life!" Minato yelled again. "If you could have just arranged a goddamn meeting like always then maybe, this shit wouldn't have occurred."
Another long silence prevailed as the two sides struggled to come up with words once again.
"... You even had your foot on my head," Minato growled once again, his anger threatening to surge.
"Minato, calm down," Hamuko whispered.
"You should be kissing her ass," Minato panted, jabbing his thumb over at Hamuko. "Otherwise, all of you would be dead right now."
"Don't forget what you did to us," Junpei spoke up, still glaring at his former leader. "Remember what happened at the mall."
"You fucking moron!" Minato thundered back. "You poke a shark in the eye, you get swallowed whole." Junpei gritted his teeth and Minato focused at Akihiko. "You should be kissing his ass," He pointed at Shinjiro.
"Nothing has changed," Minato continued. "I still think all of you are fools."
"What about the people you killed, huh!?" Junpei responded. "That's fucking low."
Minato bit his lip this time and was speechless for a few seconds. "... I don't remember that..."
"Bullshit!" Junpei yelled back at him.
"Junpei!" Hamuko snapped. "Not a single word." The capped teen gritted his teeth in response.
Minato regained his senses and leaned back. "All of the the beatings I've given you, all of you deserved that."
"..." Mitsuru sighed.
"I don't hurt people for no reason," He stared at the ground. "I really don't remember what happened in the last few weeks."
"... I wasn't really you at first," The timid Fuuka spoke up, making the rest divert their attention towards her. "Um, I know you're angry Minato-kun, but what I sensed was some vastly different. I can't put it into words."
Minato stood up from the couch. "I remember something talking into my head about killing people and my senses numbed during the Dark Hour," He sighed. "I get it, the blood is on my hands," He looked back at Hamuko and cringed.
"... Something like split personality?" Shinjiro suggested.
Minato chuckled. "Maybe all the rage, sorrow and grief got to me," He smiled slightly. "The voice disappeared completely when Hamuko spoke to me."
Yukari started to smile.
"I said it before," Shinjiro spoke up once again. "This kid has got loads of baggage, even more than us..."
Hamuko cringed at his comment.
Mitsuru was lost in thought. She did put her junior through severe pain and sorrow without even thinking and that caused a rather bad chain reaction. Also, deep down, Minato saved her father indirectly and despite all the hate he harbored for them, he still ended up saving them from Strega.
"... I apologize," Mitsuru finally swallowed her pride. "You've always warned us about Ikutsuki but we always dismissed you." She bowed, much to the shock of the other seniors.
Hamuko let out a sigh of peace and smiled slightly.
"Holy shit..." Shinjiro blinked.
Mitsuru held out her hand for Minato. "We need you more than ever right now, Arisato."
Minato accepted her handshake without a moment's notice. "Sure."
Mitsuru was confused as all hell. She was expecting Minato to lash out and maybe storm out once again but he accepted her handshake like nothing had ever happened. She chuckled upon realizing that he was probably doing it for Hamuko.
The rest were struck speechless as well but most of them ended up smiling, except for the capped teen.
"Welcome back," Mitsuru smiled, genuinely happy.
"Um..." Hamuko poked him on the ribs. "I'm..." He fumbled over his words as Hamuko kept prodding him. Minato's expression melted into an extremely forced smile as Hamuko kept demanding him to be nice.
"G-Glad to be b-back," Minato flashed an incredibly awkward smile, much to the amusement of others.
"I still ain't sorry for what I did to you," His expression soured once again. He walked over to the pink clad brunette. "Well, except for you."
"Huh?" Yukari blinked once again, not believing her ears.
"I apologize for attacking you," Minato gave her a small smile, probably the first time he had smiled at anyone other than Hamuko. "Guess my other self was going crazy again."
"..." Yukari gulped but she gave him a warm smile. "It's okay Minato-kun," She looked over at Hamuko. "At least she's happy once again."
"Wait wait," Akihiko barged in. "Why her? What did she do?"
Minato turned around to face the boxer. "If she didn't help me then my lawyers would be suing her ass." He pointed at Mitsuru.
"Minato was going to die if it wasn't for Yukari," Hamuko informed.
"He might be might rude," Yukari smiled again, patting the blunette on the shoulder and this time, Minato didn't seem to mind it. "But deep down, he's a pretty decent guy."
"I'm touched," Minato snarked back in return and oddly enough, Yukari giggled. Junpei was quiet and visibly distraught about the whole situation but Minato didn't give a single fuck.
"So I'm going to sleep," Minato winced, the hard talk momentarily made him numb from the pain but it was kicking in once again.
Honestly, he had a lot more to say (and do) to the rest of them but he promised to control himself for Hamuko's sake. He had already caused enough damage and he wasn't going to make her suffer even further. The blue haired psychopath made his up the stairs.
Stepping inside his room, Minato felt countless memories resurface inside his psyche once again. All of them regarding Hamuko and Pharos, one way or the other. He had honestly forgotten all about that during his time in Strega.
"Ouch..." Minato cringed once again as he laid back on his bed and let out deep breaths. "I screwed up my health badly..." He mused, gazing at the ceiling above. "... I hope I can live long enough to get rid of this Dark Hour."
Another wave of tranquility made Minato smiled again. He slightly lifted his head up to see a familiar sight, Hamuko holding onto a first aid box.
"I'd yell at you for being reckless but I'll forgive you for now," She smirked, walking over to him.
"I saved your ass..." Minato murmured.
"I heard that!" The redhead narrowed her eyes at him, making Minato gulp.
Hamuko carefully patched up his every wound and wiped away the blood that was present almost everywhere on his body. She let out a deep sigh and smiled at him. "That takes care of most of the stuff..."
Minato cringed, it was still kinda stingy. "I-I guess..."
Hamuko leaned closer and gently caressed his cheek where a small bruise was forming, definitely due to the slap from earlier. "Well, except this."
Minato's expression soured once again.
Hamuko grabbed a fistful of his hair. "I can make it go away." She grinned.
"Ho-" Minato was cut off when Hamuko silenced him with a rather passionate kiss. Minato was struck speechless for a few seconds and he flailed around for a while before he got used to it. He pulled Hamuko closer and kissed her back.
Hamuko pulled back and blushed fiercely. "Hope that made you feel better..."
Minato blinked and shook his head to snap outta his stupor. "W-Wha..."
Hamuko giggled and hugged him close. "I should be kicking your ass for leaving me."
"I won't ever leave you again," Minato promised.
"You better not," Hamuko pounded on his shoulder, and she wasn't joking, those were meant to hurt. "I never thought I'd cry over a guy," She growled. "You better take responsibility, jerk."
Minato ran his finger over her scars. "I will... I won't let you suffer anymore, I promise."
Hamuko smiled and rested her head against his shoulder. "Good..." She yawned.
"Sleep tight,"
Hamuko snuggled closer. "Mhmm."
Minato smiled and closed his eyes. He needed a long rest after the shit he went through in the past few weeks.
Aigis had stepped in to fetch Hamuko but she found her sleeping on Minato's shoulder. Aigis had been relatively quiet since she wasn't sure what was going on, but she did know that Hamuko had suffered greatly in the past few weeks. She still didn't trust Minato, but this time, she relented. Enough suffering.
She walked closer and threw a blanket over the two of them and then quietly made her way back.
Yukari came to check on them as well, and she let out a huge grin upon seeing the two sleeping so close to each other. Normally, she would object to this but Hamuko was smiling, and that was all she cared about.
However, some issues were still unresolved. Sho was probably the most powerful member of Strega and he even gave Minato trouble. Sho wasn't captured like the rest and he was roaming around the island.
And of course, Theodore was always a threat and a force to be reckoned with. With Minato returning, Mitsuru was sure he would attack once again.
The senior looked over to Junpei who was sulking around the lounge. She let out a sigh, trapped between a rock and a hard place. She wished that time would heal all wounds.
That left Ken, and he was a big question mark. Ikutsuki had informed her that he had the potential but since he died, all the pressure was on her shoulders.
Mitsuru was somewhat glad that probably her most powerful asset had returned. Hamuko had mentioned that earlier and she had to agree : They couldn't offer much resistance with Minato.
"You should take a break," Shinjiro advised.
"I suppose you're right," Mitsuru replied with a sigh.
"The full moon is days away, just saying," Shinjiro reminded just as Mitsuru stood up.
Mitsuru turned around with a small smile. "I believe we'll be victorious. No need to worry. Goodnight."
"Yeah, night," Shinjiro shrugged.
Minato woke up due a severe pain in his gut. He resisted yelling out in pain because Hamuko was still sleeping peacefully. He was able to handle the pain but for a couple of minutes but it just intensified.
"... I'm going to die," He looked up. "Dammit..." He regretted even joining Strega now.
And there we have it. Short but I think you all needed from all the constant fighting and dark themes. Although Minato being severely ill is also kinda dark, hahaha.
Review replies.
Oki-sama : Haha, I ship Minato x Mitsuru way more as well, and it was supposed to be Mitsuru as well but the focus on his this fic is on people bonding while having similar inner demons (literally) So I went with hamuko, otherwise I would have gotten loads of flames for putting death inside Mitsuru or anyone else. Glad you liked it so far, we hope we won't disappoint.
Shadow : I thought it was pretty good as well, and more clashes await the two. Add in Theo and a terminally ill Minato, then boy shit hits the fan.
Hope you enjoyed this as well. Thanks dude.
Bystander : Hahaha, glad you liked you that. Takaya won't sit quiet but what on earth can he possibly do? that's the million dollar question. The oneshot will be posted soon too.
Shad : Hahaha, I think so too. :P never interrupt during serious shit such as that.
Spisant : 9th september is my judgement day, aka college opens again. -_- they're together now and like I said, I prolly won't ever disappoint you with battles. Thanks for the review man. Keep reading.
Impstar : And it will be posted. Also, my bad, insanely psychotic. :P
MinaxMina4real : Chill out dude. Why don't you create an account here? :D That would be nice.
it isn't nyx, that's for sure, the voice is gone but its role is extremely crucial. Won't spoil you but kinda instrumenting in Minato's CD.
Same as always, after the hanged man full moon. Thanks for the review.
And there. Like always, review and all, I hope this hit 400 reviews. See you later.