The team stood in utter silence. They were already heart-broken by Shinjiro dying but what happened next was nothing short of shocking and sad as well. Minato actually shoved Hamuko away. He really shoved Hamuko of all people away.

"What is going on…" Yukari wondered. Hamuko was still on the ground and Minato still had a scowl on his face.

Mitsuru eyed his condition and cringed, he looked pretty busted up and while Sho disappeared moments after their arrival, he was in perfect condition.

"Ugh," Minato growled in pain. Sho did a number on him but why? He lost every single time in the past and yet now, he did a number on him….

"Minato," Hamuko called out to him but Minato ignored her and started limping his way towards the stairs.

The rest remained silent.

Minato reached the steps and turned around to face them. He looked over them closely and nodded to himself. Shinjiro wasn't there, that wasn't a hallucination. "What happened to Shinjiro...?"

"…" the silence remained between the team, only the usual sniffs and sobs coming out in response to Minato's question.

"What the hell happened, shitheads?" Minato growled in impatience.

"…. He's gone," Hamuko responded.

Minato blinked. Shinjiro was killed? He was expecting a casualty or two but not Shinjiro. "Huh…" that was a surprise. Minato lowered his head momentarily and turned around to make his way up.

"W-Why weren't you there?" Akihiko asked, making the blue hair demon stop in his tracks.

Minato turned back and stared his senior down.

"Why didn't you come along?" Akihiko raised his voice.

Minato remained silent.

"WHY!?" Akihiko yelled at him.

"Don't blame me for being weak," Minato spat. "I am not to blame, you got him killed, you weak pathetic fools!"

"Arisato," Mitsuru growled, barely holding her anger in check.

"What, bitch?" Minato yelled back. "I wasn't there, you were. You failed him. All of you weaklings failed him!"

Ken started to sob but Minato paid it no mind.

Hamuko stood up and slowly made her way over to him. "Minato, calm down please-"

Minato exploded. "Shut your damn mouth!" he yelled at the advancing redhead, levelling her with another glare. "I didn't talk to you!"

"What the heck is going on?" Junpei asked himself. What the hell happened to Minato?

"Listen to me," Hamuko said calmly, ignoring the blood running down her cheek.

"No, you listen to me, fool," Minato spat, walking closer. "Who the hell do you think you are, huh!?"

Before Hamuko could answer, Akihiko barged in again. "You didn't answer the damn question!" he growled. "Why didn't you bring your ass to Tartarus!? You could have made a difference, dammit!"

"…" Minato looked away from Hamuko who started shaking again.

"Answer me!" Akihiko yelled, holding his injured arm. "Why did he have to die!?"

"Wow, seems like you broke your arm and vagina in the same operation, congrats!" Minato spat.

Mitsuru hissed.

"To everyone," Minato held out his middle finger. "Go burn in hell you weaklings!"

Junpei and Yukari didn't respond but the rest did get pissed off by Minato's answer. Akihiko was seconds away from charging over and knocking him out but Fuuka spoke up timidly to halt him.

"M-Minato-kun saved me," Fuuka spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "Sho was about to attack me but Minato-kun saved me from him…"

"Tch," Mitsuru clicked her tongue.

"Someone had to protect Fuuka," Junpei added in, trying to ease the situation.

Minato blinked. Was Fuuka really lying for him?

He looked over to the teal haired girl who gave him a small smile.

SMASH!

Priestess Social Link Rank 1.

The blue haired male blinked again. That had happened before.

Akihiko punched the table and collapsed down. "Shinji…"

Minato looked back at Hamuko and gave her the finger as well, much to her shock and horror. "That's what you get."

"Minato," Hamuko bit her lip. "It's me, Hamuko…"

"Yeah, I know," Minato spat. "Don't need a weakling to tell me."

"Minato," Hamuko clenched her fist.

"Hmph," Minato grunted and went up the stairs, holding his wounded stomach. Hamuko watched his retreating figure with a small scowl.

"Dammit," Hamuko couldn't believe it. She could feel something different from him, the magnetic feel around him was gone but Hamuko certainly didn't forget all the moments and memories they shared so why him….

"Hamuko, what on earth happened to him?" Yukari asked with wide eyes.

"Something," Hamuko replied curtly. "Tch, just what we needed…. More problems."

"Shinji," Akihiko punched the table again. "Damn this all."

"Calm down, senpai," Junpei sighed. "…" he stopped moments later. He had no idea what to say further. Shinjiro gave his life to save them and while he loved his life, he couldn't handle a team member dying.

Ken quietly made his way up. Nobody stopped him.

Mitsuru ran her hand down her face. Things took the turn for the worst.

Hamuko had half to mind to talk to Minato again but decided against it for the time being. "He'll remember," she took a deep breath, thinking back to all the memories they shared and they were warm as always. "He sure will…"

…

Sho paced around the room, repeatedly clenching and relaxing his fists. "Just what the hell happened…" the redhead always grinned at the thought of putting the blue haired bastard in his place and he did so a few hours ago. He beat Minato from pillar to post, even with his fists and yet…

"It didn't do shit," Sho growled, stomping hard on the ground. That wasn't Minato. "Where did that demented bastard go!?"

He thought back to the previous battles. Minato was always in his face, walking him down and pressuring him without a breather. A small opening and Minato would explode into a volley of furious attacks.

This time however, Minato stayed on the defensive and even resisted rushing him down.

"Grr," Sho considered the entire battle a waste. There was no thrill or danger. "Just what crawled up his ass…" he wondered. The only thing that did seem different about his mentality was his unusual hatred of the red haired girl. Usually, Minato would yell and curse at him for even mentioning and then go onto long, corny speeches about he'll protect her with his life but this time, Minato would brush her off and even insult her.

It took a while but Sho finally connected the dots together. "What…" his eyes widened. "No, that can't be it…" he growled.

"Bonds and friendship have nothing to do with his fighting capacity," Sho repeated over and over again. "Nothing! absolutely nothing!"

"Nope, I say nope to that," Sho nodded and took a deep breath to calm himself. Minato was weak and he was strong, that was it! His bond with the girl had nothing to do with his fighting.

The red haired male gritted his teeth; there was still this feeling in his heart that Hamuko certainly had a big place in Minato's motivation.

"Dammit," Sho hissed in irritation. The whole thing about bonds always got to him. He didn't know how that worked. He couldn't wrap his head around the concept. How the hell did it work!?

"Greetings," the cold voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Takaya and the rest of his team stepped into the apartment. "How was it?"

Sho didn't respond. There was a high chance that Takaya was going to run over and fight Minato and Sho didn't want that right now. He needed to make sure. Currently, Takaya would maul Minato without problem.

"H-Hard as always," Sho lied and bit his lip. He couldn't believe that he was lying for that demonic asshole. "He's a damn beast as always."

Takaya sighed. "Regrettable. His friends managed to run away although we did finish one of them so I suppose that's good news."

"Oh?" Sho replied passively, not caring who it was.

"Also, I heard that you needed to talk with me about something?"

Sho paused. "…" there was still some things he wanted to make sure. "I'll tell you when the time is right."

"As you wish," Takaya smiled, turning back to his comrade. "Jin, how long till you've unlocked the data?"

Jin booted up his laptop. "A while. That bastard surely put a lot of passwords to that file. Must be something mighty important."

Takaya sighed again. "Very well."

Sho walked out of the apartment, still thinking over the battle. "Did I just lie for him…?"

"I can't believe it," he said aloud. "Minato, you piece of shit, you owe me for this!"

"…. Give me the worthy battle and I'll consider this debt paid…"

On the other side, Minato was having troubles with the exactly same thing. "What the hell happened out there…" he wondered, clutching the wound on his gut. "He beat my ass…"

"We were equal at all times but now…" he growled. "That son of a bitch ran through me!" did he improve overnight or something or was Sho on steroids!?

Minato had a hard time pulling the trigger on Sho, even when he had the redhead on the defensive. He just didn't have the power to do that. His reflexes weren't what they used to be.

"Ugh, what the fuck…" Minato cleaned the blood with a hanky and growled again. Minato had fought countless times before arriving to Iwatodai but ever since he came back, he arrived on a whole new level of fighting. He was stronger, quicker, more determined, but why?

It all happened with the first battle on the rooftop. "No, nothing to do with that bitch…" he shook his head. "Absolutely nothing!" he shook his head furiously to convince himself of the fact.

"Nothing to do with Hamuko, the heck does she have to do with this!?" he asked himself. "Yeah, yeah, that's it. Nothing. She's a weakling. Nothing but a weakling who I had to protect!"

"For some insane reason…" Minato muttered to himself.

Pharos appeared beside his bed and shook his head. "Listen to yourself."

"I'm listening loud and clear," Minato spat. "She's a weakling!"

Pharos hissed in return, clearly not liking Minato's insults. "You're weak without her."

"Bullshit," Minato roared in reply. "Get the hell away before I end up spanking you!"

Pharos' eyes turned pitch blank momentarily. "I'll give you a short time," his voice shifted and Minato gulped. "Make everything right or else..."

Minato squinted his eyes as the boy disappeared. "Well, fuck you too, stalker kid!"

…

Hamuko look at herself in the mirror and bit her lip. "I'll be ugly as hell when this year ends…" she muttered, taking a hanky and cleaning the blood off her face. "Ow…" she touched the bullet wound and winced, that one was deep and she was thankful it only grazed her.

Hamuko pressed the wound and the blood started gushing out but held in the pain and pulled the cloth away. The blood stopped running but there was a massive scar still visible. "…" Takaya already gave three scars on her back last time and now this…

The redhead walked off towards her bed and bit her lip. She was busted up but then her thoughts drifted to Minato who was beat up more badly than she was. "Minato," she couldn't help but wonder how he was doing, how much pain he was in.

Hamuko held off patching herself up and grabbed the first aid kit before running out. She didn't how pissy Minato was, he was in pain and Hamuko couldn't stand around doing nothing.

She didn't bother knocking and barged into his room to find it empty. "Holy hell!" she cried, looking out the window. "Where the hell did he go?" she ran down the steps to the lounge to see only Fuuka and Aigis present.

"Guys, Minato is gone. He isn't in his room!" Hamuko panted. "We've got to search for him! He might be in trouble!"

"Um…" Fuuka stammered.

"He's already injured!" Hamuko continued yelling. "Search for him, hurry!"

"Minato-kun just went to the hospital," the teal haired girl said with a small smile. "So did the rest…."

Hamuko stopped and blushed. "Hahaha, thank God," she breathed out. "How are you, Aigis?"

"I have sustained a little damage but nothing major," Aigis widened her eyes in worry. "What about you, Hamuko-san?"

"I just got a little scar, that's it," she laughed nervously. "I'll be fine. The rest need help, not me."

"Right, um," Fuuka tried to speak but Hamuko cut her off.

"Thanks for lying for Minato," the redhead sighed, rubbing her hands. "I thank you on his behalf."

"Y-You knew?"

"Yes I did," Hamuko gave a bitter laugh. "I know him too well…"

"It's alright," Fuuka said. "Anything to avoid a conflict…"

"Yeah," Hamuko leaned back on the couch and closed her eyes.

"If I may ask, what happened between you two?" Fuuka asked slowly. "N-Not prying but what happened… He pushed you, Hamuko-chan."

"He'll be alright," Hamuko forced a smile, again thinking back to the memories. "I just know it…"

"I hope so," Fuuka nodded.

…

Minato was irritated by the constant sniffs and growls coming from Akihiko and Ken. "Grrr…" they were heading to the hospital in Mitsuru's limo and the two couldn't stop crying and it was driving Minato sick, he was already pissed with Hamuko and his wounds and now this…

"Shut the hell up you pathetic cry-babies!" Minato growled.

Akihiko hissed in response. "Just shut up for a damn minute!"

"After you," Minato yelled and then pointed at Ken. "The hell are you so broken up, brat? Didn't you want to kill him yourself?"

"…" Ken remained quiet.

"Fucking lunatics in the dorm," Minato snapped. "Do you morons have even a brain cell!?"

"Tch, be quiet," Mitsuru warned but Minato ignored it and kept going.

"He's dead, be happy you little shit!" Minato yelled at the child again. "You wanted it and you got it! Your stupid ass had a hand in him getting killed so shut your pitiful crying and be happy!"

Akihiko nearly lunged at Minato. "Shut up before I make you!"

"You're a weak-ass bitch too," Minato spat. "If he was alive, he would have slapped the shit outta you."

Akihiko fell silent upon hearing that.

"Hmph," Minato grunted in annoyance again. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he went on a rant this long. "Stupid, worthless, pathetic, you peasants make me fucking sick!"

Finally, the limo arrived at the destination and Minato kicked the door off and stepped outside. "Whiny little…" and he took out all his anger on the door, kicking it a few times before ripping it away from the car and throwing it away. "Idiots…" he stomped off towards the building.

Mitsuru's eye twitched. Minato actually ripped it off and left it lying. Eventually, she sighed. "Come on, you better hurry…"

…

"Not much longer," the doctor said after checking Minato's vital signs.

"How much, still?" Minato asked as he blew up his fringe.

"A couple of days," the doctor replied. "Keep taking those pills. They will help with the pain but your death is…. Inevitable…"

"Look at all the shits I give," Minato spat and walked out of the room. His gut wound was patched up and after a few pills, his body felt normal but he still had to wait for the rest of the 'team' to get healed up.

Minato kept walking around the hospital, looking to kill time. He did spot a couple of good looking girls hanging around and that made him think. "Hm… I haven't done that in a long while now…"

After falling for Hamuko, Minato pretty much gave up on sleeping with random girls but now, he didn't really care. "I should…" he thought but relented. "No, no fun with broken ribs. Tomorrow, maybe.."

Minato staggered his way around the hospital, eventually hearing a few sniffs and sobs he heard all too well. "Akihiko weeping again, eh?" he sighed. "Goddamn, he's disgracing himself and the dead guy…"

Minato followed the sounds and saw a nurse heading out of the room. Rubbing his chin, the blue haired demon stepped inside the room to see the silver haired male sobbing to himself, holding his head.

The blue haired teen smirked and coughed a few times. "I see your arm is healed up somewhat…" he pointed at Akihiko's arm wrapped up in a sling.

"…" Akihiko remained silent and moved his head to the side, wanting nothing to do with the blue haired asshole.

"Too bad they can't heal a sore vagina," Minato mocked, earning the boxer's ire.

"G-Give me a goddamn break!" Akihiko hissed, levelling his junior with a glare.

"Hahahah, pathetic!" Minato mocked him again. "Give you a break? You don't deserve a break. Who are you again? What were to Shinjiro?"

Akihiko didn't answer, making Minato's blood boil. He stomped over to the wounded boxer and grabbed a rough grip around his collar. "Answer me, prick!"

"Let me go or I'll kill you," Akihiko said slowly, trying to free himself from Minato's grip.

"You can't do shit," Minato spat. "If Strega comes in and kills Ken, you won't do a damn thing and deep down, you know that."

"Grrr," Akihiko growled.

"And you what that is?" Minato asked, pulling him closer. "That's spitting right on Shinjiro's memory!"

Akihiko widened his eyes and Minato shoved him away.

"Goddamn, I didn't even like him and you, you call yourself his brother and yet here, broken and fed up from life," Minato hissed.

Akihiko locked his gaze on the somewhat pissed off junior.

"And yet, you're spitting on everything he did," Minato spat. "Come to terms with him. He's dead but why? He got himself killed so your and that little shit can keep living!"

Akihiko widened his eyes, Minato's words hitting him deep.

"He died like a warrior and I respect that," Minato said. "I don't respect you curling up like a bitch when you know you've got work to do!"

"I…" Akihiko trailed off, wiping his tears.

"Grab a hold of your damn self," Minato said, crossing his arms. "If he was here, he would have slapped the shit outta you and you know I'm not lying…"

Akihiko stood up and nodded slowly. "He would have beaten my ass…"

"Rightfully so," Minato nodded back. "Grow the hell up. He died and instead of doing what he wants you to do, you're crying and just waiting for death to come and end your life…" Minato stared hard at the boxer. "A life that wouldn't exist if it wasn't for him…"

"H-Hey…" Akihiko choked out.

"Respect the dead," Minato said slowly. "Especially their wishes and that wasn't a nobody either. He considered you a damn brother. Stop crying and be a warrior like he was…"

"T-Thanks," Akihiko breathed out. "Thanks a lot, Minato…" Akihiko felt something stirring inside the sea of his soul. Minato could feel it; something inside the boxer had changed.

"Eh, I'll reply when you stop being a bitch," Minato spat. "If I see you moping around, I'll make you understand with my fists. Ignorance and stupidity makes me sick!"

"Rightfully so," Akihiko nodded with a smile. "Kick my ass if I do that again…"

"Well, looks like that vagina healed up too," Minato sneered but Akihiko ended up snickering as well.

"I have a new training regime that I was working on before, want to hear it?" Akihiko offered.

Minato sized him from head to toe. "Sure…"

Eventually, after getting patched up, they all returned to the dorm with Akihiko looking more at peace at what happened. Ken quickly ran into his room and locked himself in.

Hamuko bit her lip and stared at Minato who gave her a bored look and walked forward. "Dammit, Minato, remember…"

Minato didn't stop and just went up the steps.

Junpei looked back at Hamuko who stood up and slowly made her way over to the steps. She could feel the hatred rolling off Minato but she needed a talk with him….

Hamuko followed him and called out to him. "Minato…"

The blue haired devil cringed and turned around, giving the redhead a really frosty glare. "The hell do you want!?"

"Calm down," Hamuko gave him a wide smile. "Is there something bothering you? You can always talk to me about it…."

"Yeah and it's you," Minato growled. "Leave me the hell alone, dammit."

"Minato," Hamuko placed a hand on her shoulder, only for Minato to hiss and slap it away but that did little to deter Hamuko. "Calm down, please…"

Minato looked deep into her red eyes and normally, he would blush and stutter but this time, his face reddened because all the memories of Hamuko bossing him around came rushing back.

"You treated me a like a bitch…" Minato said through clenched teeth.

Hamuko blinked. "Bitch?" she shook her head. "No, Minato, remember what we share-"

"Shut up," Minato warned. "Just keep quiet for a few seconds!"

"Minato, look at me!"

"I want nothing to do with you!" Minato panted, he couldn't believe he was yelling at Hamuko but right now, it was easy because the obsession and attraction was gone. She was nothing more a normal girl to him now.

"I'm not letting you go!" Hamuko hissed. "Remember dammit! Don't tell me you forgot everything we shared over the last year!"

"Shut up before I make you!" Minato warned, clenching his fist.

"You loved me, dammit!" Hamuko yelled at him, her temper finally exploding.

Minato raised his fist and was seconds away from knocking Hamuko unconscious but a certain brunette quickly came in between the two angry teenagers, trying to calm the situation down.

"Chill guys," Yukari urged with a smile, slowly pulling Hamuko backwards who was standing wide eyed. Minato was actually going to hit her….

Minato backed away and grabbed his head, Pharos was repeatedly yelling into his head, calling him a bastard and other derogatory words. "Ugh… Bitch, you're nothing!" he snapped at the redhead who was rooted to the spot. "Absolutely nothing!"

"…." Hamuko blinked again. That was Minato, that wasn't the boy she had bonded with over the year.

Minato slammed the door shut and took his frustration out on the wall, punching and kicking it repeatedly. "Stupid…"

Yukari was panting, that was too intense. "W-What just happened…"

Hamuko stared blankly at the door. "Yeah, it's gone…"

"What…"

Hamuko ignored her question and stepped up the stairs, giving another bitter laugh. "Hahaha, so he was in love with the damn thing inside me…."

"…. Never the real me,"

"Fuck it all," Hamuko got inside her room and took out all her frustration on the wall, punching and kicking it repeatedly. "Dammit, Minato…." she breathed out.

Before I go on, a message from my co-authors.

Raidou : Thank you guys for the continued support, y'all are great. If you keep it up, we keep it up, and so the ball keeps rolling. Critics and opinions below, but you already knew that, Raidou here, I approve this message. *thumbs up*

Steven : Glad to see the support still coming. We're actually not that far of from the ending so keep showing the support, we appreciate it. Steven here and I also approve this message. *thumbs up*

Usual thanks to them as usual. Also, I'd like to be clear, this isn't the end of the pairing, hell, I'm not wasting the 60 plus fucking chapters of build up and fluff even if I wanted to. What just happened was a big event and I've harped on and on about death acting like a magnet and so, a big event requires a transition. So yeah, don't fret. Those two aren't normal, especially Minato, he has a long way to go, despite this chapter being 60 chapters long.

Again, the next few chapters will be brutal and I'll prolly try to break the record for my most brutal battle ever with the final battle of this arc. :P Have fun reading that.

Like those two said, wondeful seeing the support. Keep it going, thanks a lot! See you guys! Nightly here and I TOO approve this message. *thumbs up*