And so starts the final arc of this story. I think this will cross the 100 chapters mark and hopefully you guys stick around for the grand finale!
Enjoy, my violent, sadistic psycho buddies! o/
After so many weeks of just drifting in and out of consciousness, mostly due to the drugs and pills, Minato was finally able to sleep again without any sort of aid... And he wasn't sleeping alone.
A single bed was always too small for the two of them to sleep on but even then, Minato and Hamuko were sprawled about and snoring on the bed like the exhausted teenagers that they were. Minato was at the near edge of the bed, arm dangling on one side while Hamuko's head was on his stomach, one leg on the bed and the other at the edge of it. Despite the uncomfortable space and position, both of them sleeping soundly.
"Zzzz..."
"Zzzz..."
"Mm, Minato?"
"Huh..."
"Get off the bed,"
Minato tried to respond but he was too sleepy to do so. Hamuko shifted her position and smiled upon getting a more comfortable spot, right on Minato's shoulder. "Sleepy..." she yawned and went back to sweet dreams.
It was 2 AM, which meant there was plenty of time to sleep and wake up the next day, fresh and ready for school-
SMASH.
Hamuko jolted up straight and fell off the bed, landing face first to the ground. "Holy hell!" she cried, wearily standing up and turning around to make sure that Minato was safe and he was.
"Ugh," Minato rubbed his single eye and tried getting up. "What's going on?"
Hamuko sighed. Minato was alright but then... What was the sound? It came from the lounge, no doubt.
Minato sat up and winced.
"Wait here," Hamuko nearly tripped and bumbled her way towards the door with one eye closed. She looked back at the injured teenager and repeated. "Stay here or else no more sleeping on the same bed."
"Huh?" Minato blinked but before he could respond, Hamuko dashed out of the room to see what the racket was.
Hamuko ran into the lounge of the second floor and clasped her mouth shut to block the surprised gasp. "What the..." she said in disbelief, eyes fixed on the carnage what was before her. "No..." he couldn't be that dumb.
The vending machine was on the floor, ripped out of the electrical socket and standing on the machine was Sho, the newest members of the group and he was cursing the machine for being useless. "Piece of junk! Those Kirijo dorks are worthless!"
Hamuko rubbed her temple, she did not need this at 2 AM in the morning. "Sho..."
Sho finally caught her standing there and stomped the machine.
"Stop that!" she demanded.
"I heard these things give you drinks," Sho spat. "All I got was some annoying ass bleeping sounds, like two cats that were trying to have sex and throw up at the same time!"
Hamuko cringed upon imaging the scene. They had lost the psycho in Minato but apparently, they got another one in Sho who had atrocious jokes and even worse social skills.
"You don't do that," Hamuko said, walking over towards the machine.
Sho hopped off and kicked the side of the vending machine again. "I do whatever I want, to whatever I please! Get me something to drink, now!"
Hamuko calmed herself down. "Be nice to the new guy, Hamuko..." she said to herself and then stood next to Sho. "Pick it up..."
"What?" Sho yelled in her face.
"Pick that machine up-"
"Why the fuck-"
"Pick it up!" Hamuko finally ended up screaming at him.
Sho cursed under his breath and picked the machine up, putting it back against the wall. Hamuko crouched down and plugged it back into the socket. She stood up and faced Sho again.
"Money," she said, holding out her hand. Sho gave her an incredulous look.
"Wut money?" he asked.
Hamuko ran a hand down her face, trying to calm down again. She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled a few yen out. "You insert the money..." she did so. "Push the button..." the drink popped out and she gave it to Sho. "And get the drink, got it?"
"Hmm..." Sho sniffed the can and then looked at the label. "Meh..." he tossed it away and crossed his arms. "I don't like this one."
Hamuko was seconds away from exploding and lunging at the scarred male but someone else came into the lounge, someone who managed to calm both Hamuko and Sho down.
"Hey," Sho greeted Minato as he limped his way towards the two. "Your girlfriend sure is cranky tonight..."
"Must be werewolf time-"
"Hey, Sho!" Minato gave a forced smile, stopping him from completing that. "You want a drink, don't you?" he reached into his own pocket and handed him dozens of yens. "Drink as much as you like."
"See?" Sho turned towards Hamuko who was seething. "That's how you treat new-comers."
Minato wrapped an arm around Hamuko's waist, stopping her from advancing at Sho. "Calm down, calm down..." he really was in no condition to stop a fight between the two.
Hamuko sighed, pulling out more yens from her pocket. She gave the coins to Sho as well. "Just don't throw the damn machine down again, got that?"
Sho took a sip from the can and sighed in peace, almost like a child who was tasting a drink for the first time. "This is nice..." he said, feeling the flavors going down his throat.
"Heh," Minato smiled. He felt a little happy to see Sho like that. There was a small smile on his face, a kiddish one too. "Enjoy yourself-" he yawned and pulled Hamuko away.
Sho inserted another coin and crouched down. "Later, Minato..." he gave a curt wave as Minato dragged Hamuko back to his room, quietly closing the door shut.
"I swear," Hamuko hissed. "He doesn't even know how to get a drink!"
"He's had like very limited exposure to the outside world," Minato said. "He told me that before but did you see him smile?"
"Yeah, I did," Hamuko said. "That made it worthwhile. Next time he does something like this, I'm going to drown him in mad bull!"
"I heard that!" Sho's yell was followed by the door to his room slamming shut.
Minato chuckled. "That was funny..."
Hamuko yawned. "Can we go back to sleep now? Still have a couple of hours to go."
"Same bed?"
"Same bed," Hamuko said, climbing the bed. "At least for tonight."
Minato laid down, closing his eyes but yet another shout made him sit up.
"Goddamn rats!" Sho shouted. "All of you suck!"
Minato tried to make a run for the door and help Sho but Hamuko pulled him back and held him down.
"Fuck that!" she cursed. "Go to sleep."
"But-"
"Go to sleep!" she yelled at Minato, making him shrink back.
"Y-Yes, mam..."
Hamuko smashed her head against the frame and collapsed on top of Minato, drifting off to sleep.
Minato soon followed.
...
His sleep wasn't as peaceful this time. Minato woke up due to the pain but didn't move because Hamuko had her head on his stomach, the exact spot which was giving him hell.
"Ugh," Minato started to sweat, despite it being cold outside. The memory of Makoto brutalizing him rushed into his mind. He could recall every bit of the gnarly torture. Makoto had stabbed him hundreds of times on his stomach, arms and legs and the pain...
"Huh..." this was cruel, while his organs were okay, the pain was there, just like the time when he had performed the fusions. "
Hamuko finally moved towards his side and Minato panted. "Ouch..." he muttered. The pain was not going to leave him anytime soon, that was for sure.
Minato shifted on his bed and drifted to sleep once more.
Hamuko woke up next, yawning and smiling at the wonderful sleep. She looked to see Minato and there was a grimace on his face, like he was in pain. In pain even during his sleep.
"I was right," she muttered. "The torture he went through..."
"He'll never be the same again..."
"Tch," Hamuko got off the bed and opened the window to his room, allowing a litte bit of light inside. He still had to attend school that was for certain but with all those wounds and scars...
"Guess its time for a meeting," Hamuko said, gently shaking Minato awake.
Minato got up, trying hard to mask the pain but the redhead was able to catch it. "H-Hey."
"We have to talk with the rest," Hamuko said, helping him stand. "Fetch Sho on the way too."
Minato nodded.
...
Mitsuru was the first one up and she made sure to wake the others up too, for a meeting slash get together early morning, before school.
"Man..." Junpei yawned obnoxiously, infuriating the nearby brunette.
"Stop that!"
Junpei went closer to her and yawned right next to her face.
"Idiot!" Yukari spat, stomping on his foot.
"Here they come..." Akihiko said, sipping on a protien shake. Sho, Minato and Hamuko were moving down the stairs, with Minato in between the two persona users who were constantly bickering.
"I expected this," Fuuka sighed. It was odd to say but it was almost like Hamuko got a rival for Minato.
"Can't imagine what comes next," Yukari rolled her eyes.
Minato slipped on a step and plummeted from the very top, drawing out horrified gasps from the rests.
"Minato!" Hamuko yelled.
"Shit!" Junpei made a mad dash to save his leader but...
"Huh?" Minato gulped, his face was alinged with the ground but he was still, saved from another bruise by Sho who had caught him before he could even fall.
"Phew," Mitsuru sighed. Maybe it was a good idea to have Sho around.
Hamuko grabbed his arm and guided him the rest of the way down.
Minato bit his lip. The pain caused him to loose his step, thank God for Sho or else his head was going to get cracked open again. "Thanks, Sho."
Sho grunted in response.
Minato came down to the lounge and faced his team mates. "Hey, guys..." truthfully, he was still a little ashamed to face them after all that he had done.
"Glad to have you back," Mitsuru smiled and then looked at the redheaded male. "You too."
Sho grunted again.
"I don't know how to start," Minato said, rubbing his neck. "I'm sorry for the... uh, times I've insulted or mocked you."
"All in the past, bro," Junpei said, swinging an arm around his shoulder. "I have to admit, we were kind of like assholes to you too."
"All is well if it ends well," Mitsuru said. "Have a seat..."
Minato took one next to Junpei.
Mitsuru then turned to Sho who was looking around. "You too."
Sho sighed and sat next to Minato, something that Hamuko was about to do.
"Y-You..."
"Calm down," Yukari said.
Hamuko stomped her way and sat on the single couch.
"I guess I should start," Minato said sheepishly. "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused you... it was much more than I was worth."
"It was weird, I was able to hear you guys but the voices in my head kept yelling at me, telling me I didn't deserve forgiveness," Minato recalled. "I tried getting up so many times but something... just didn't allow me, my grief didn't allow me."
"Understandable," Mitsuru said lowly. "You normally don't shed tears like that."
"Yeah," Minato said. "I love Hamuko, I really do but this time, she didn't save me alone..." he turned to his team mates and bowed his head. "If it wasn't for you guys... I would have died. Thank you."
"I don't know who I was before..." Minato continued. "I can recall everything I did but... there was this supernatural force that had killed every last bit of my humanity, all the remorse and pity."
"You don't need to talk about it anymore," Hamuko ordered. "Just forget it ever happened... We all need to forget that so we can move forward."
"Agreed," Mitsuru nodded.
"And you," Minato turned towards Mitsuru. "I fulfilled my promise that I made, I ended up avenging your father, beat the hell out of Takaya for what he did to you guys."
Mitsuru smiled. "I appreciate that. I expect nothing less from our leader."
"And I appreciate you taking care of me," Minato said. "I'm back now and I will handle the team from now on, you should relax and focus on the group now, you've wasted way too much time on me."
"I know you'd beat the fuck out of Takaya," Sho interjected. "Hell, I killed him too but his stupid ability brought him back."
"He was only able to fight Minato-kun because of the delusion," Fuuka said. "He was scared of you all along."
"I have a feeling those things he kept taking ended up using his stock too, he must have died a couple of times before," Minato mused and then turned to Sho. "Thanks for saving me back at the sea."
"Eh.."
"Yeah," Hamuko spoke up. "Thank you for saving Minato, if you weren't there..."
"I did what I had to do," Sho said. "You said it yourself, you cling onto life because of her..." he pointed at Hamuko who blushed and looked away.
"I clinge onto life because of you," Sho admitted. "I didn't like what I saw, that bastard standing over like you that, I needed to see you winning, for my sanity."
"Hahaha," Minato smiled. "Glad I made you think that way, you are still going to join us, right?"
Sho shrugged. "Okay, but only because of you, nobody else!"
"Who are you?" Mitsuru said. "We never had a chance to talk. Where are you from, who exactly are you?"
"Uh..." Sho scratched the back of his neck. "Brace yourself, fools."
"Yes...?"
"I am, uh..." Sho looked around. "Well, I'm..." there was an uncharacteristic stutter in his speech, it was almost like Sho was ashamed to talk further.
"Spit it out, son!" Hamuko spat.
"Ikutsuki was my father!" Sho blurted out and bowed his head low, awaiting the explosion of emotions from the other teenagers.
"What the hell!?"
"Kill it with fire!"
"He had a son!?"
Minato blinked. "No wonder you like to throw around bad puns..." but holy hell... Sho was the son of Ikutsuki, the man who Minato had killed back in the summer. Oh God, this conversation was getting awkward.
Mitsuru was mature enough not to lash out at him because of his bloodline. "... Are you serious?"
"Well, not really, I mean, he adopted me but I did spend most of my life with him," Sho said. "Really, he kept me around because I was a lot tougher than the rest... his test subjects..."
"Test subjects?" Mitsuru inhaled sharply. "Oh God, you mean like those in Strega?"
"Yup," Sho faced her with a sharp glare. "Those Kirijo bastards gathered kids from the streets and went mad scientist on them so they could explore the damn tower."
"I-I..." Mitsuru was at a lost for words.
"So he took me as his son because I had great potential," Sho continued. "He tried to give me a persona through a plume but instead of a persona, I got someone else beside me..."
"You mean Minzauki, huh?" Minato asked. He was a little confused at first and chalked that up to Sho being insane but the cold and callous fighter living inside Sho was real, Minazuki was very real.
"Yes, him," Sho confirmed. "Really, I was okay with living in the old home but Takaya came along, looking for the plumes and promised me fighting and entertainment."
"Then you came along, kicked my ass and I grew obsessed with you," Sho sighed. "All lead up to this. You turned me into this, otherwise I would have never saved someone who looked as weak and pathetic as you did."
"I lost Minazuki, I can't sense him anymore..." Sho said sadly. "I have no place to stay or anything else to do, you made me like this dammit, you better do something about it!"
Minato took a while to digest the information. "I see, Minazuki is gone..." he said slowly. It was obvious the two were very close. "This might sound cheesy but you know, I'm right here... and so are the rest. You can stay here as long as you want, and..." he pulled Sho close, flinging an arm around his neck. "I know of a place, a place full of monsters where you can fight all you want, where you can put those swords to good use."
"Tartarus, huh?" Sho exhaled. "Alright fine, I'll join, sounds like an adventure!"
"I apologize on the behalf on the group," Mitsuru added. "I promise, whatever you need will be provided and Minato is correct, stay here as long as you like."
"Um..." Fuuka timidly spoke up. "I can sense a persona within you, uh, Sho-kun..."
"So that's what it was," Sho said. "Tsukiyomi, only Minazuki could summon him before but ever since last night, I can feel him within my head... Guess this has something to do with the, uh... b-b-bond between you and me?"
Hamuko widened her eyes. Oh hell no...
"Congrats," Minato said, taking the evoker that Junpei passed to him. "Welcome to SEES..." he said, holding out the gun for Sho to accept.
"Yeah," Sho said, taking the evoker with a small grin. "Thanks, Minato."
"Time for school now," Junpei announced, standing up. "Yo Minato, you gonna join us?"
"He can't go like that..." Akihiko said, pointing at his bloodied face and clothes. "Especially with that eye... Maybe you should rest for a while."
"No," Minato shook his head. "I don't want to wait anymore, I need to get busy, need to get back into the flow, sitting here will do nothing."
"I'll help you get ready, you obviously can't go like this..." Hamuko said. She then turned to Sho who was playing with the evoker. "Say, you want to join the school too?"
"Education is for morons," Sho spat. "I don't need to study."
"Alright, what is one plus one then?" Hamuko asked.
"Battle and lots of blood," Sho nodded sagely. "Write it down on your notepad."
Hamuko face-palmed. "Fine, whatever!" she dragged Minato towards the steps and then looked back. "Stay the heck away from Minato!" she warned and then pushed him up, bullying him towards his room.
Sho blinked. "I ain't obsessed with him like you are!" he shouted but luckily, it didn't reach her or maybe it did and Minato dragged her away before she could do something
"I'll show you how to use the TV, maybe you can watch Spartacus... you'll enjoy that," Junpei mused. "And besides, you won't be alone, Ken will be there to keep you company!"
Ken gulped, swallowing the lump in his throat.
Sho nodded, looking around the group of teens before he left behind Junpei.
"We got another muscle in the team," Akihiko chuckled. "I think his social skills are even worse than mine but... I think Minato can handle him."
Meanwhile, Mitsuru was thinking about something else. Minato had tried his best to mask his pain away but he wasn't going to fool her. The damage he suffered was giving him hell... Could he really handle the team on his own now? He was mentally okay but physically...
"Good thing," Mitsuru said. If anything, Sho was going to end up being a bodyguard to Minato.
...
A few months ago, Hamuko would have blushed but now she was comfortable enough around Minato to see him shirtless and not loose it. "Minato..." she sighed, observing the wounds and scars on his body. It was marred with several ghastly gashes and bruises, all thanks to that son of a bitch. "Turn around..."
Minato did so, with a little difficulty and Hamuko winced. More wounds on his back. Damn and she only had three scars. She turned him around again and glanced at his neck to observe a number of welts and fingerprints, a sign that Makoto had choked the life out of his throat far too many times. His neck was also cut open with shallow wounds and swipes. Minato looked terrible. "Can he really fight...?" she wondered.
"I'm not taking off my pants," Minato said, looking away.
"You don't need to," Hamuko said, pinning his bangs to the side to reveal his wounded eye. Guilt came rushing back and Hamuko fumbled over her words. "I-I'm sorry, Minato..."
"Hey," Minato sighed.
"I cost you a lot, because of my weakness," Hamuko hung her head. "Your eye..."
"Don't beat yourself over it, I can see out of the other one just fine," Minato patted her shoulder.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" Hamuko bit her lip.
"Yeah it does," Minato sighed and leaned back. "But I'll be honest, I can endure this than the grief from before."
"..."
"It was really something else, Hamuko," he couldn't talk much before the others but Hamuko was different. "It was like someone was squeezing my heart all the time, I was hurting pretty bad but I was so disgusted with myself... that I wanted to punish myself further."
"Stop thinking like that," Hamuko said. "That wasn't you, I said it before, you're the kindest person I know, I'm alive right now just because of you."
Minato chuckled. "Funny, I remembered that night at my lowest," he said. "So you remembered me all these years?"
"I could never forget you," Hamuko replied. "I tried searching for you for a few years but I think you went out of the country to live with your uncle. When I saw the profile for the new student and saw your face, I recognized you instantly, couldn't forget your face."
"Awww," Minato laughed. "To think we met all those years before..."
"I thought you would remember but you didn't," Hamuko sighed. "You can't count the number of times I cried the whole when I thought of you..."
"I don't know what you went through Minato but I can understand a little, those few seconds I spent at the bridge, in his embrace gave me nightmares for years," the redhead admitted. "While you, you took the whole thing, I don't even want to imagine what you went through."
"Yeah, I took that... thing and lost everyone around me," Minato said. He hummed and looked up. "It was like I was a mental patient, I was alive but never in control of my emotions..."
"Enough of that," Hamuko urged. "Time to think ahead." she went towards his closet and pulled some clothes out.
"What was that thing...?" Minato asked, looking out the window.
Hamuko stopped. "I don't know..."
"Whatever it was..." Minato sucked in a deep breath. That thing turned his life into a living hell, forced so much blood on his hands, he was never going to forget, or forgive. "I'm going to get it..."
Hamuko forced the shirt on his body. "Stop thinking like that!" she hissed, pulling down the heavy jacket next. She ran out of his room to fetch some things from her own room, a few accessories that would hide the wounds and scars.
"Here!" she came back and cheered. "Let me help you put these on!"
..
...
...
"There!" Hamuko pulled back, looking over Minato who bandaged up and fully clothed with two layers of shirts and his heavy jacket. Hamuko had put on gloves to hide the scars on his hand and her own scarf to hide the welts on his neck. "You look cute."
Minato stood up, the warmth provided some comfort to his wounds but he felt a little too sheltered and heavy.
"Oh wait!" Hamuko said, pulling out an eye patch from her pocket. She pulled it on Minato's wounded eye. "All done!"
Minato looked himself in the mirror. The scars on his face were still visible and nothing was going to take care of them. "Good enough, let's go."
...
"Be careful Sho," Minato said and then turned to Ken who was shivering on the couch. "You too, Ken."
"S-Senpai!" Ken cried out, deathly afraid of Sho.
"He'll be fine," Sho assured, giving a wave to Minato only. "Later." he slammed the door shut and Ken fell to the floor moments later.
Sho turned around to frown at Ken who ended up fainting, right next to Koromaru who licked his cheek and whined lowly.
"Funny!" Sho cackled.
...
Minato stepped foot into the campus and took a deep breath, this was almost like his first day in school, as far as he was concerned, this was a new beginning.
"Come on dude," Junpei said, walking beside him. He was joined by the juniors and Akihiko who left with them, just in case.
Minato walked slowly, feeling a little ashamed and awkward because of the heavy clothing and his eye patch. He kept his gaze on the floor and kept walking forward, trying not to pay attention to the hundreds of eyes on him. Everyone was staring at him, at only him because he kinda stood out from the rest. "Um..." those stares were not exactly normal either.
Minato tried not to pay attention to the gossips around him but he couldn't help it.
"Is that Minato?" a nearby girl said out loud.
"Yeah, blue hair and gray eyes,"
"Geez, he looks so ugly now,"
Minato kept walking. "Don't listen..."
"Look at those hideous scars on his face," the girl spat. "Hard to even look at him without puking, nasty."
"He looks so weak now," a male student said. "Aww look, seems like he might cry any second now, pathetic."
"We should like beat him up during lunch break," his friend suggested. "Payback, that's what!"
Hamuko bit her lip. "Do not explode..."
"Don't listen to them, Minato," Yukari patted his back. "You're just as charming."
"What the heck happened to him?" the gossips continued. "He looks half-dead."
"Grrr," Hamuko clenched her fist, gripping his hand tighter. She was still holding onto his gloved hand, not giving a shit about her reputation nor the rumors.
"Is Hamuko going to dump him now?"
"I'd do it if I was her, he looks ugly now," the girl said again. "And besides, he's a piece of shit, his looks were the only worthwhile thing that he had going-"
Hamuko lost it. She faced the girls and yelled on the top of her lungs. "Shut the fuck up!" her shout was loud enough that everyone near by turned to look at her and a select few started shivering, especially the gossipers. Hamuko had never snapped like that before, even during conflict and conformations, she just used to smile, always trying her best to avoid a fight here she was now, yelling out loud and cursing like the others had never seen. That was almost Minato like.
"What the hell do you know, huh?" Hamuko spat. "Better keep your mouth shut about Minato."
"It's alright," Minato said, pulling her back. "Let it go..."
"Bitches," Hamuko cursed the females.
"Just go away," Yukari said, waving them off and the noisy group quickly scurried away due to the two popular girls glaring at them.
"Creeps," Junpei scowled. "Come on Minato, ignore them."
"Yeah," Akihiko sending, sending a sharp glare to the bunch of boys who were planning on beating Minato during lunch break. All of them paled upon the glare of the boxing champion of the school who clearly told them not to touch Minato. "Tell me if they try anything funny."
Minato sighed, a little calmed down now. He may have lost his fan club and the respect around school but he still had his friends.
"Meh, the new guy is hotter anyway..." Minato heard that last bit before he went inside the building.
"We're here," Junpei declared, sliding the door open for Minato. "After you, leader."
"If you need help then do ask," Akihiko said, patting the junior on his shoulder. "See you later." he walked off towards his own class.
Minato took a step inside his homeroom and looked around. "Damn, been a while..."
Toriumi noticed him and smiled at the blunet. "Minato-kun," she said, catching his attention. "Oh geez, what happened to you?"
"Uh," Minato looked at Junpei.
Junpei turned towards Yukari.
Yukari gulped and faced Hamuko.
"Uh, he got mauled by a bear..."
"I got mauled by a bear," Minato repeated with a nod.
Toriumi frowned. She wasn't buying the excuse but this was Minato so she decided to let it slide. "Take it easy then, I will have someone photocopy the notes and homework."
"Thank you," Minato said. He also heard a number of squeals coming from the outside.
"Get the fuck away!"
"Stupid bitches!"
Minato blinked. That sounded familiar. Whoever was yelling that was beyond angry, so angry that he could feel the rage. "Geez..."
"Huh?" Junpei turned around. "Who is that?"
"He's coming!" the girls in the class fawned. "Do I look cute enough!? Will he ask me out today!?"
The door behind Minato slid open and everyone, sans the blunet turned around to face the new transfer student.
"Oh..." Hamuko murmured. Oh wonder the girls were squealing.
"Oh, Ryoji-kun," Toriumi greeted the new student who stood at the doorway with a frown on his face and a massive chip on his shoulder.
"Ryoji?" Junpei blinked. He had heard about him from Kenji. The new mysterious student who quickly become the biggest asshole on the campus. Looking at him now, Junpei could see why, he was ridiculously good looking and had a certain charisma around him, despite the look on his face screaming : Stay ten miles away.
"This is Minato. Remember the student I was telling you about?" Toriumi said.
Minato still had his back turned Ryoji, infuriating the black haired youth.
"Turn around, dammit!" Ryoji ordered. "Let me see the hype about you."
Minato slowly turned around to greet the new transfer student. "Hey..." he rotated on the spot and smiled slightly at the other male.
Ryoji reeled back slightly as a foreign feeling tore into his heart the moment he made eye-contact with Minato. He blinked rapidly to clear his foggy vision calm and his pounding heart. He shakily went over Minato's look, wincing and flinching upon noticing the tiny scars that peeked out of his clothing.
"Oh, Ryoji-kun!" Hamuko greeted him. "This is Minato, my boyfriend. I told you about him, didn't I?"
"Minato, huh?" as much as Ryoji wanted to say that he looked beyond pathetic, he couldn't form the words in his throat. Instead, he held out his hand first.
"Nice to meet you," Minato said, accepting the handshake.
Ryoji winced again. His hand was cold despite the fact he was wearing gloves and even with the gloves, he could feel the veins on his wounds throbbing against his own hand. "N-Nice to meet you too, Minato." another cold feeling traveled down his frame, surprising the black haired male. It was... guilt? Why the hell?
The nearby students gawked. Ryoji actually greeted someone else politely, he even offered his hand first.
Minato gazed hard at the new student. He looked familiar, it was like he was staring into an old mirror. Ryoji was angry and hot-blooded, just like he was before. He had a number of demons inside of him, evident by the amount of hate and blood lust raging inside of his vacant eyes.
Vacant. Dead. Empty. Just like his, a few months ago. Minato withdrew his hand after a few more seconds and continued. "Welcome to the school."
"Yeah new guy, welcome to the school!" Junpei repeated, patting his shoulder.
Ryoji widened his eyes and looked at the capped teen with a frosty glare. "Hands off." his voice was cold enough to make Junpei and the others flinch. Junpei withdrew his hand and Ryoji stalked off towards his seat, the single one at the end of the room.
"Damn, he's cold," Junpei muttered.
"You met him before?" Minato asked Hamuko who nodded.
"I"ll tell you later," Hamuko said. "Homeroom is just about to start."
Ryoji watched as Hamuko and Minato sat down together, flustering the teen who sat alone in the far end. He tried to keep his mouth but the words just blurted out because he couldn't handle sitting alone, especially after Minato had joined the class. He stood up and faced Toriumi. "I want to change my seat." he ordered more than requested.
"W-Where?" Toriumi asked. This was new, since Ryoji was so anti-social.
Ryoji pointed at Minato. "With him."
"Hey-" Hamuko tried to speak up, there was no way she was going to leave him but Minato pinched her shoulder, hushing her down.
"Calm down," Minato said. "It'll be fine..."
"Well," Toriumi looked towards Minato who chuckled.
"I'm fine with it but Hamuko isn't going away," Minato said. "Come on Ryoji, put the seat next to mine."
"Three seats? This is like breaking the rules!" a nearby student cried.
"Shut the fuck up!" Ryoji spat. "Don't make me break the rule for murder in the school." he spat coldly and the lad shrinked back.
Ryoji placed his chair next to Minato's and sat down. He then leaned back and placed his feet on the table, just like Minato used to.
"I can remove them if you're uncomfortable," Ryoji said.
"Nah, it's alright," Minato said.
Ryoji frowned and pulled his close. "Is she..." he pointed at Hamuko. "Really..."
"Yeah, she's my girlfriend," Minato said sheepishly, now that he was ugly, it was a little awkward to tell the rest about their relationship.
"Thank God I didn't end up banging her..."
"What was that?" Minato blinked, unable to hear properly.
"N-Nothing," Ryoji buried his head down, ashamed to even think of the consequences. He thanked the stars for stopping him for doing something... so horrible. "Again, it's nice to meet you, Minato."
"Same here, Ryoji," Minato nodded at him. He could tell this was the beginning of a beautiful friendshi-
"Hey!" Hamuko scowled next to him, pulling his face away from Ryoji. "I'm here too!"
Minato was a little surprised by the whole homeroom. Ryoji wanted to sit beside him but why? He didn't have a problem with it but it was a little sudden. He glanced at the boy next to him again and nodded to himself. He probably needed an older brother to look after him, Minato could tell he had a lot of baggage on his shoulders.
"Brother..." Minato looked down. "Pharos..." he missed the little brat dearly, part of the reason he was so heart-broken was because Pharos had left him. He bit back the tears and tried concentrating on the lecture. If only he could see Pharos again...
...
"Please pay attention to me!"
Ryoji held out his middle finger, sending his fan club scurrying away. He usually left the school after the bell rang and just yesterday, he was thinking about quitting the school because everyone disgusted him but now...
"I'm going to visit Chidori,"
"See you later, man,"
That voice. Ryoji was standing at the gates just waiting for Minato who came out with Junpei and Hamuko.
Junpei ran past him with a cheer and Minato noticed him standing there.
"Hey, Ryoji," Minato called out. "You heading home now?"
Ryoji nodded.
"I'm a little busy today but tomorrow, I'll give you a tour of the city, you just moved here, didn't you?"
Ryoji nodded again. "I'd like that."
"It's a promise then," Minato said. The two shook hands and Ryoji smiled for the first time in the school grounds, catching the attention of the nearby girls.
"Oh my God!"
"He looks like a God!"
"Marry me!"
Ryoji paid no attention to them for once and bid farewell to Minato before walking off towards his... home. He quickly stalked off and Minato sighed. "He reminds me of someone..."
"Wow, someone is still popular," Hamuko teased. "He's like a little kid looking up to his hero when he's beside you. On the first day!"
"That's pushing it," Minato chuckled. "But he needs a friend and I can help with that."
"Let's get going," Hamuko yawned. "I need to sleep some more." he started walking forward and Minato followed.
"Ugh," he stopped moving and nearly fell down when his leg gave up on him due to the pain surging again.
"Minato?" Hamuko said worriedly.
"I'm fine," Minato forcefully placed more weight on his injured leg and started walking again. "Come on."
The two left the school and headed for the dorm. Hamuko was a little concerned about leaving Ken alone so she pushed Minato to get there faster.
Minato pushed the door open and Hamuko jumped in. She looked around wildly and spotted Sho lounging on the single couch and Ken sitting on the large sofa, cut up and bruised at various points. He was trying to patch up his wounds and Hamuko lost it.
"Shooooooo!" Hamuko erupted with rage. "You goddamn psycho!"
"Oh hey," Sho greeted Minato who stood dumbstruck.
"I'm going to-" Hamuko pulled out her sword from under the couch.
"Fuck yeah!" Sho grinned, hopping to his feet and pulling out his singe blade. "Come at me!"
"No, no, no!" Ken got between them. "I'm okay with this! Sho-san helped me and I asked for this!"
"Ken, look at yourself!" Hamuko scolded. "Look at those wounds!"
"I'm okay," Ken assured. "He taught me how to fight properly with a spear. He helped me a lot."
Hamuko lowered her sword and sighed bitterly. She pushed Sho off and walked up the steps. Minato stood beside Sho and rubbed his temple, he could see a fierce rivarly developing between Sho and Hamuko. "And I'm in the middle of it... Just my luck."
"Oh well," Minato exhaled and then smiled. "First day of school went good..." his expression grew dark when he removed the scarf. The pain was going to be a problem...
"Can I..." Minato wondered but then shook his head, trying to convince himself. "No, I can and I will!"
...
Minato changed into his normal clothes and fell back on his bed, wincing slightly at the impact. "Haah, haah..." he breathed out and then calmed down.
"Just a few days ago..." he muttered. "I was dead on this bed..." while he tried his best to act normal around his team mates, there was this one question that was driving him insane and making him miserable.
Why him?
"Why me?" Minato scowled through his building tears. Why did he have to suffer like that, for so many years, all alone? It wasn't even like he was a bad person, he was just unfortunate and cursed to be the wrong guy at the wrong place, at the wrong time.
All that heart-ache and pain, it was all due to the damn thing that had grabbed a hold of his life and throat since the very beginning. He had lost everything now that he thought about it.
He had no childhood.
He had no family.
He had nothing growing up. He had no one.
Even confessing his love to Hamuko turned out to be painful torture because Minato was no longer human. Now that he was free from the influence, he began to think back to old times. He had pushed everyone away, his family and his old friends, even people who needed his help, all because he was robbed of his humanity, all because of that stupid thing!
"It's like I'm being given a new life, again," Minato wondered and then shook his head. "No..." he refused to associate himself with his old self. The cold and callous murderer who thirsted for blood lust and carnage. He wanted no part of him, no memories, no thoughts, anything that reminded him of his old self, Minato was going to burn it down. He wanted to keep his old self in his own shadows, the shadows of his past, that was where that murderer belonged.
"As far as I'm concerned, I was dead for 10 years. I died on the bridge..." he sat up on his bed. "I was just revived yesterday..."
"I hate myself..." he said, shaking his fist. "I disgusted myself..."
Minato took another deep breath. "But I'll try to get better... I'll try to like myself..."
"I need some goddamn happiness too..." Minato pulled out his signature knife out of the drawer and glared at it. Minato had taken countless lives,no, it was not Minato, it was HIM. HE had taken countless lives with this damn weapon, not Minato. The blunet threw the knife out of the window with a hiss of disgust. He then left his room, slamming the door shut. "I deserve at least some of it..."
He went down and saw a couple of his friends chatting with each other over food.
Hamuko caught him standing near the steps and smiled. She hugged her knees and rested her head on them, creating space for him on the single couch.
Minato smiled softly. "And so begins my life..."
I wrote this on notepad (the crappy program) because my laptop fucked up so I apologize if the writing is a little sloppy. I'm still sick so it was kinda hard to write, big thanks to my boys. This had to be a little slow since the last few chapters were pretty fast and intense. Minato lost his fan club but who needs them when you got real friends?
Also, HAHAHAHA, and so begins his life huh? Poor guy has no idea what's left for him... ouch, I actually feel a little, just a bit bad for him but the show must go on!
Usual stuff, review if you want to see more updates and shit. I can see this ending in 2017 for sure, just keep up the feedback because that's the fuel. Cheers!