Sorry for the wait, lost the motivation for this but I'm back...! Well, sorta. :P Here you go. The usual warning up ahead.
"I can't sleep…" Minato gave up and stopped forcing himself to sleep. He sat up with his back against the frame and ran a hand down his own face, slightly wincing at the patched up wounds. "No use…"
The whole thing was a little familiar. A few months ago, he was in the exact same position, on his bed, in unbearable pain, unable to sleep in the middle of the night.
Unlike before, Minato didn't curse the fates and simply gave a tired sigh as a sign of defeat. Back then, he used to drown his mind in alcohol and shove countless pain pills down his throat to numb the pain but this time, he refused to do it. He was straight edge, dammit!
"What rotten luck…" Minato muttered. He had gotten his humanity but lost his health again. Come to think of it, Minato was only healthy while killing and destroying, what a sad and pathetic way to waste energy and time. "Boy…. They really don't like me…"
Dejected and somewhat frustrated upon remembering old times, Minato laid back on his bed and looked at the clock beside him.
"Quarter past three…" Minato slapped his forehead. "And I have to show Ryoji the city tomorrow…" he pulled on the blanket and prayed for a few hours of sleep and barely got a few minutes….
…
"Bro, are you okay?" Junpei asked, passing Minato a glass of juice.
Minato blinked the sleep away and thanked Junpei. "I'm fine…" he said, wincing at the liquid going down the wounds on his tongue and throat. He masked the pain and looked around for a certain senior.
"Where is Mitsuru-senpai?"
"She…. Left early, don't think she'll be able to attend school today," Akihiko answered. "The group is in turmoil…"
Minato scratched the back of his head. "I think my situation worsened it…. She wasted a lot of time on me instead of helping the group."
"Don't think like that, Minato-kun," Fuuka said. "She was helping a friend…"
"Doesn't change the fact that it hurt the group," Minato replied.
"Stop thinking like that!" Yukari yelled at him.
"Sorry…" Minato apologized and hung his head low, instead of lashing out like he usually did. The others noted the stark difference in Minato and while it felt nice to have him all sweet and decent, there was this void in his voice, like he was almost forcing himself.
Aigis noticed that and opened her mouth to speak. "Minato-san, you need to forg-"
Minato grew miserable after a few words and buried his head into his arms, like he was pleading for her to stop.
"I understand…" Aigis replied. "I apologize…"
"Thanks…" Minato said lowly.
A dark cloud of depression hovered over Minato who went silent for a few seconds, head still hidden under his arms. The rest decided to not talk and torment his further, eventually, he would get over it, at his own pace but it was still disheartening to watch him like that.
Minato was broken out of his misery by a couple of loud, aggressive shouts coming from the second floor. "Oh please…."
"Hey!"
"Ladies first!"
"I'll stab your back, again!"
"I'll kick your ass again! I dare you!"
Minato looked back and saw Hamuko and Sho shoving each other as they descended the steps in a rush, bumbling and staggering on the edge of the steps, much to the worry of the others.
"Dude…" Junpei patted his back. "I feel sorry for you…"
Minato appreciated the gesture and looked back. Hamuko managed to push Sho off and was the first one to step down. She turned the frown upside down and greeted everyone in the lounge.
"Morning everyone," Hamuo chirped. She then blew a kiss to Minato. "Morning darling-"
Sho brushed past her and quickly seized the chair next to Minato while Hamuko was busy greeting him.
"Greeting is for wusses," Sho said, grabbing the bacon and eggs.
"Why you!" Hamuko lost her smile and yelled at him. "Get your ass away from Minato!"
"Oh crap…" Akihiko excused himself and headed for the door. "See you later!"
"Aigis!" Fuuka cried, grabbing the android by her arm. "Can you help me… uh… do stuff?" she asked, fully aware that Aigis was glaring at Sho for coming between Minato and Hamuko.
Aigis didn't get the chance to respond as Fuuka dragged her upstairs, leaving Junpei and Yukari alone to defuse the volatile situation.
"Hey!" Hamuko went up to Sho and blared in his ear. "That's my chair!"
"I don't see your name on it," Sho replied.
"Minato!" Hamuko said, looking at the blunet who was blushing, partly due to the attention and partly due to embarrassment. "Don't just stand there, tell him!"
"Uh…" Minato found it difficult to dismiss Sho. He loved Hamuko and all but it was clear that Sho had joined the team for only him. Deep down, Minato also thought Sho joined just because Minato was so damaged and clearly in no shape to fight and protect himself… And of course Sho would never admit it out loud but Minato knew that was the case.
It mirrored his situation with Hamuko before, with Sho putting up with people who he did not like, just for the sake of someone else.
"Eh…" Minato looked at Hamuko and gave her an apologetic smile. "Here Sho, have some juice…" he said, passing him a glass.
"Calm down," Yukari and Junpei pleaded in unison.
Hamuko fumed but ended up standing beside him, hastily eating her breakfast while standing next to Minato's chair. "Okay!" she said, throwing the glass away in fury. "Enough breakfast for you."
Poo Minato was helping himself to another plate of bacon and eggs when Hamuko grabbed his collar and started dragging him away upstairs, despite Minato being fully dressed in his school uniform, plus the accessories.
"Hamuko…" Minato said, giving a sad look towards the table. "The food…."
"Shut up!" Hamuko pulled him forward and bullied him all the way to his room.
"Wow…" Sho said, leaning back on his chair. "And I thought Minato was the one with obsession…"
"She's giving me yandere vibes," Junpei said.
"What's a yandere?" Sho said. "Is it another word for bitch?"
Yukari slapped her forehead. "What he means…. Don't be surprised if you wake up and find yourself tied with chains with Hamuko standing next to you with a knife in her hand…"
"Thank you motivating me," Sho gave a smirk.
"Oh no…" Yukari shook her head. Crap, this backfired.
Sho got up and went up the steps. A few minutes later, for the first time, it was Junpei glaring at Yukari for causing a scene as Sho and Hamuko started bickering over Minato once again.
…
Minato shrugged off the rumors and gossips this time. He might have lost his fanclub and the respect that he had but at least he had his friends with him.
"Hey,"
Speaking off friends, Minato saw Ryoji pacing around the entrance, with a horde of drooling girls sneaking glances at him.
"Hey Ryoji," Minato smiled at the transfer student, holding out his hand which Ryoji accepted with a smile of his own.
"Good morning-" Minato was cut off by a number of jeers from the boys around him.
"Ugly!"
"Disgusting!"
"Look at your face. You don't deserve Hamuko!"
Ryoji stopped smiling and looked at Minato, and Hamuko who was standing behind him. "You go on ahead…" he gave a sharp glare to the males around him. "I need to get something off my chest…"
"Sure," Minato said but as he brushed past him, he whispered. "Thank you but don't hurt them…"
"Morning," Hamuko smiled at him. "Kick their asses!" she ordered and walked behind Minato.
"Oh crap," the boys cowered as Ryoji stared at them, in particular, the one guy who was the instigator in starting the shouts.
Ryoji nodded to himself and stalked off behind the two.
"Minato is ugly, huh…?" the black haired male gave a ruthless glare to the punk standing yards away, laughing and mocking Minato for his scars. "You'll see…"
…
Lunch break happened and Minato collapsed on top of his desk, out of energy and will way before the final bell. He rubbed his aching hand and glanced at his notes. Being a good and normal student meant taking notes and not sleeping through classes.
Hamuko was starting to feel bad as Minato snored beside her. It was partly her fault for dragging him away from the table so soon.
"Hey," she gently shook him awake.
Minato struggled but got up, turning his head to look at her.
"I'm sorry," Hamuko sighed.
"For what?" Minato asked.
"I'm sorry for dragging you away from breakfast," Hamuko looked away, her brow twitching. "I know you wanted to eat more but I ended up…"
"It's alright," Minato squeezed her hand. "Not your fault, I didn't sleep properly the night, that's why I'm so exhausted right now…"
Hamuko looked back at him. "Your wounds, huh?"
Minato furiously shook his head. "No, no, no, just wasn't sleepy…" he gave a nervous laugh but Hamuko wasn't buying it.
"You're either a terrible liar…" Hamuko chuckled. "Or I know you too well…"
"Third option, we'll go to Tartarus tonight," Minato said.
Hamuko reeled back in shock. "What!? No, hell no. Not when you can't keep your eyes open-"
"Don't," Minato gave another miserable sigh, looking her in the eye. "You know I followed and listened to your every command like a dog…."
"…"
"I'll still listen to whatever you say," Minato said. "You can keep everything, weapons, money, whatever but please, please don't deny me this…"
Hamuko bit her lip. "But you're injured…"
"I can still fight," Minato said. "I need to fight… or else…"
"I understand," Hamuko nodded, squeezing his hand. "We'll head to Tartarus just like you said, leader…"
"I need to make sure," Minato stood up. "So we will head there…"
"I still feel bad about dragging you away," Hamuko said lowly. "How about I make it up to you? How about a lunch date after school?" she offered with a grin.
"Sorry, I'd love to but…. I need to show Ryoji around school," Minato told her and like he expected, Hamuko lost her smile and stared fuming, smashing her fists against his desk.
"Hamuko…" Minato sighed. Goddamn, it was like he was staring into an old mirror. When did she get this aggressive and possessive?
"What about me!?" Hamuko shouted and luckily, the homeroom was almost empty but a few students did look in her direction which didn't bother her at all. "First Sho and now Ryoji!?"
"Hey, he's a new student," Minato defended himself. "And he looks like he could use a friend so I'm just helping him…"
"I could use a freaking boyfriend too!" Hamuko shouted back and this time, everyone ended up starting at her.
Minato slapped his forehead, not caring about the wounds up there. Oh God, this was like Yukari on the first day.
Hamuko blushed and averted her gaze, cursing herself for the emotional and stupid choice of words.
Minato ended up patting her on the head, just like she used to do before. "Deja-vu…"
"Sorry again," Hamuko said. "I-I'm just not used to you doing that…"
"Doing what?"
"Giving other people attention," Hamuko said lowly, still embraced. "It was all me a few months ago and now… you got Sho…. and Ryoji…. and Junpei….. and everyone else…"
"It is still about you," Minato smiled. "But remember, you wanted me to go out and make friends right? If I recall, that was like your fondest wish, right?"
Hamuko remembered it and buried her head into her arms. "I know…. Still kind of hard, guess I got too used to you only paying attention to me…"
Minato leaned closer and whispered in her ear. "Don't think for a second that someone can take your place…"
Hamuko whipped around to face him.
"No one can," Minato shook his head and stood up. "Just remember that… Absolutely no one, you are still at the top…" he said and turned on his heels, walking out of the classroom.
"Thanks, I needed that," Hamuko chuckled at his retreating form.
…
Minato looked around the place, avoiding the glare of his hate club. He spotted Akihiko talking to a bunch of new students and walked over to him. "Hey, senpai…"
Akihiko dismissed the others and greeted him back. "Do you need me to beat someone up?"
Minato sweat-dropped. "Nothing like that…"
"Well, I heard a couple of students planning to prank you or something. I warned them but I doubt they'll stop…"
"Meh," Minato shrugged. Most likely, they were still jealous. "Forget them, senpai."
"We're heading for Tartarus tonight," Minato ordered. Akihiko didn't lash out like Hamuko but he was definitely surprised. "I know Mitsuru-senpai isn't here but you are so I'm just letting you know."
"Are you sure?" Akihiko said, glancing at the bandages and heavy clothing. "I suggest you rest for a few more weeks."
"I'll be fine," Minato assured. "We just can't sit here doing nothing. We still need to end the Dark Hour and just resting won't solve that…"
Akihiko studied him carefully. It was obvious Minato was masking his pain every time he walked, he couldn't imagine the problems that he would face in fighting, after such a long time and with those injuries.
"Fine…" Akihiko said. "I'll let Fuuka know…"
"Thanks," Minato gave him thumbs up and departed.
Akihiko watched him leave and shook his head. "This will be a disaster…" he said, noticing the effort Minato was putting into walking and the flinching from the spasms of pain. "Dammit…" Makoto had ruined Minato and it was pretty sad to see…
…
Hamuko begrudgingly said goodbye to Minato, kissed his cheek and gave dirty look to Ryoji who frowned back at her. "Be careful around him…" she said, pointing at Ryoji and then walking away with Yukari who apologized to Ryoji for the scene before leaving the campus.
"Is she your mom?" Ryoji said. "Well, either that, or she's really obsessive and possessive…"
Minato gulped. If this was called possessive, what the hell was he a few months ago? Hell, he used to stalk Hamuko whenever she hung out with her friends; at least she wasn't doing that.
… Hopefully…
"We're really close," Minato responded. "I mean, we've known each other since childhood…"
"Childhood lovers?" Ryoji made a disgusted face but quickly hid it from Minato. "I see…"
"We better get going," Minato said, walking away. Ryoji quickly followed him. "Come on, there is a lot to see here and I wanna head back before the sun sets."
"Lead the way," Ryoji chuckled. "Expenses are on me."
Minato opened his mouth to protest.
"I insist," Ryoji said, cutting him off. "Or else, I'm heading back."
"Okay, okay," Minato scowled. "First stop, the mall.."
Minato expected at least some trouble, given how anti-social and temperamental Ryoji was in school, even a little poke was enough to set him off into towering rage but surprisingly, he was calm around Minato, or rather…. He controlled the anger and annoyance around him. Minato noticed the forced smile and poker faces and knew Ryoji was trying not to ruin the day.
"Damn…" Minato gave him another look. "He's so much like HIM…" him being Minato's old self, in fact, upon closer inspection, Ryoji even looked a little like him. Minato discarded the question and leaned back on the seat of the monorail.
He had given Ryoji a tour of the malls and now it was time for Port Island and the shrine. "I need to head back soon…"
Ryoji grew bored and whipped out his cell-phone, which to Minato's surprise was the exact same one that Minato had. "Wow, I got the same one…" he said, flashing the phone in his pocket.
Ryoji chuckled. He never really brought it like Minato did but he decided to not disclose the information to Minato in fear of the blunet disliking him.
"Why do I…?" Ryoji questioned the restriction when he was around Minato. He usually had no problem speaking with his stoned heart but around Minato, he controlled himself and chose his words carefully because he didn't want to isolate himself from Minato, due to some insane reason because Minato was nothing special, nothing like what he heard from the students before.
Ryoji sighed and ended up playing Angry Birds to pass the time.
"Wow, you like this game too?" Minato asked.
"Yeah," Ryoji said with a smirk. "I dunno why, I just like it… I hate cartoony things but I can deal with this… It's fun…"
Minato looked up at the roof. "You hate cartoony things, huh…?"
Someone else who liked Angry Birds was Pharos. The kid knew nothing about cell-phones or technology but he liked playing the game on Minato's cell-phone when he was still with him. Ryoji was handling the game, playing just like Pharos used to, giving Minato another painful jolt across his heart.
"Pharos…" Minato recalled Pharos, despite his psycho-tendencies and blood lust, playing the game with a childish look on his face, cursing and scowling whenever he failed to finish a level, even complaining and whining to Minato about the game being unfair.
"Shit…" Minato cursed. "I miss him…"
"Awww," Ryoji groaned as his last attempt ended up being a failure. "Can you believe it?! This game is unfair; I tried so hard to finish this!" he whined, pulling Minato by his sleeve.
Minato winced again. Goddamn, was this a game or something? He was doing the same thing as Pharos.
"You need to tone down the difficulty," Minato said, pulling the menu down and changing the level.
"You need to tone down the difficulty," Minato said, pulling the menu down and changing the level. "You can do it, Pharos."
"You can do that?" Ryoji blinked. "I never knew that!"
"You can do that?" Pharos blinked, hugging Minato. "Thank you brother!"
"…" Minato nodded at Ryoji and looked out the window. "Oh well…" the monorail stopped and the two got up.
"Let's watch a movie," Minato said. "I'll tell you how a cinema works."
"Sure," Ryoji got up and followed Minato out.
…
"Bright Star…" Minato said with a nervous smile, glancing at the movie which was on play. "Romance and drama…" he gulped.
"Sounds like a movie that I'd watch with Hamuko…" Minato said, pulling on his collar. Oh God, he didn't want to imagine how Hamuko would react if she ever found this out. "We should come back another time…"
Ryoji pulled on his wrist. "Come on Minato, you promised to show me around."
"Dude, this is a romantic movie!" Minato explained. "We are boys and inside, you'll see nothing but couples kissing each other during the movie."
Ryoji pointed at the far end of the description. "Tragic…" he said with a smirk. "I want to see how the two get separated…"
Minato blinked. That was unnerving. The smirk on his face was a little too psychotic, like he was looking forward to how tragic the movie was going to be.
"If Hamuko finds out, she'll… cut my allowance," Minato muttered to himself. She still had all the money, which he had gifted to her out of the goodness of his heart.
"Come on, about to start," Ryoji said, already purchasing two tickets for himself and Minato. "No refund…"
Minato sighed in defeat. "Alright, but not a word to Hamuko…"
Ryoji nodded.
Minato grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside the hall. "Oh…" he tried to look away from the intimate couples but dammit they were everywhere.
"Hahaha, gays!" a few jeered at Minato who was holding onto Ryoji's wrist.
Minato released the hold around Ryoji in an instant and rubbed his face. "Come on Ryoji…." he groaned, guiding him to their seats. The two sat down and Minato was grateful for once, the girls were starting to ogle Ryoji and not him, which was welcomed, also the guys calling them gay were paying for their words.
The movie started and Minato reiterated to Ryoji about not telling this to Hamuko. He also kept looking back at the entrance, hoping to God she wouldn't walk in with a friend or someone.
…
….
"Wow, that was boring," Minato said, stepping outside the cinema.
"I liked the ending, somewhat," Ryoji said.
Minato was about to question him about that. The ending was painful and tragic and Ryoji was probably the only one who liked the ending. He was pretty annoyed during the majority of the romantic movie.
"What's that?" Ryoji said, pointing at the back alley which led to a place Minato had visited so many times before.
"That's-" Minato stopped talking as Ryoji headed for the place without telling. "Wait!" he said, running behind him as fast as he could manage but even then, he was too slow as Ryoji ended up in the back of Port Island when it was nearly evening.
Ryoji took in the scent of drugs and nodded. "I see…" the stuff he heard about the place was true. He caught a couple of girls and boys laughing like hyenas while smoking and drinking. "Meh…"
Minato finally caught up to Ryoji. He cringed at the smell and the stares that he was getting. "Don't just walk away like that."
"Sorry, I wanted to see this," Ryoji apologized. "I heard a lot about this place…. But eh, nothing special."
"Good," Minato was starting to sweat bucket under the glares that he was getting. "We need to head back-"
"Hey!" and finally, trouble came in the form of a few punks that Minato interacted with before. "I know you."
Interacted as in, beaten the shit out of.
"That stupid disguise won't fool us," one of them spat. "It's Minato guys! That punk from Gekkoukan!"
"Oh no," Minato took a step back but Ryoji stood at the same place, frowning at the group of punks that were approaching Minato.
"I don't want any trouble," Minato said, trying to defuse the situation. "Let it go…"
"Like we will," the punk spat, grabbing Minato by the collar. To the surprise of Ryoji, Minato didn't push or shove him.
"You look pathetic!" another punk spat. "Look at your face, eww, makes me sick!"
"Let him go," Ryoji said, pulling the hand away from Minato. "Walk back before I do something you will regret."
"Aww, looks like you a boyfriend," the punk laughed out loud. "What about that red eyed bitch that you used to follow around?"
"Watch it," Minato warned. "Watch your tongue…"
"Fuck you!" the greasy haired male finally lost it and shoved Minato hard enough that the wounds on his chest opened up, staining his shirt with blood. He landed badly and ended up cracking his head on the pavement, opening another waterfall of blood from the bruises on his face and forehead.
"Shit," Minato cursed and shivered, knowing that he was in a pool of blood.
"Hahahaha, look at that!" the punks started laughing at the display. "Oh God, looks like someone had a period today!"
Minato sat up and winced at the hellish amount of pain surging through his frame. He hung his head low and tried to ignore the laughing and the jeering from the boys and girls around him.
Meanwhile, Ryoji was standing frozen solid at the same spot, his hand still in the same place despite the fact that the punk had pulled away. All of that happened so fast for him and the sight of Minato lying in a pool of his blood rattled him badly.
Ryoji breathed out violently, shivering at the sudden chill that seized him. Minato was still bleeding just a few feet away but it was him who was seeing red. He saw nothing but red and the mutilated corpses of the sons of bitches who had harmed him.
"I am going to kill you…" Ryoji said, leaning forward in an almost robotic way. He gave a low, dark chuckle, reaching out to reach the throat of the punk that had shoved Minato. He was frozen solid due to abnormal amount of dread that was rolling off Ryoji who was slow and labored but at the same time, he was terrifying and dreadful.
"Kill you…" Ryoji swore with another shit-eating grin, causing the group to take a step back, except the male who was in Ryoji's sight, still frozen from the fear.
Ryoji was broken away from his trance by Minato who had gotten up and had grabbed a hold of Ryoji. "Let it go…" he said, almost pleading which made Ryoji stop.
Minato shook his head and ended up dragging Ryoji away with one hand. The black haired teen gave one final glare at the group and listened to Minato, leaving the back alley.
The punk looked down and the rest laughed at him. He had soiled himself. "Fuck!"
…
Minato rested on the bench and nearly puked at the amount of blood on his school shirt. He took out a hanky and tried to stop the bleeding from his forehead but it wasn't enough.
"I'm sorry," Ryoji said. "I shouldn't have done that…." he bowed his head, genuinely depressed because of what had happened. He never cared to give a shit before but this was Minato…
"It's alright," Minato said with another groan of pain.
"Those wounds…" Ryoji said, pointing at his bloodied clothes. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I got them…" Minato said, still trying to stop the bleeding.
Ryoji removed his scarf and gave it Minato. "Use this…"
"That's expensive," Minato said. "Keep it; you might get a cold or something."
"No, take it," Ryoji insisted, tearing his scarf in half and putting half on Minato's bleeding forehead to stop the loss of blood. He gave the other half to Minato who took it and squeezed the wounds on his chest, somewhat stopping the bleeding.
"Thanks," Minato muttered, still shivering in disgust at the blood.
"I'm sorry," Ryoji sighed, his voice cracking. "This happened because of me…"
"Stop it man," Minato said. "You get hurt some days, nothing to apologize for."
"Doesn't change that it was still my fault for heading there and you followed me," Ryoji shook his head. "I'll make it to you somehow…"
"You don't have to," Minato said, standing up. "I appreciate you standing up for me though."
Speaking off that, Ryoji was still having questions about the anger that surged inside of him when he saw that punk shoved Minato. He didn't know why it happened but something told him that it wasn't the first time Minato was in a pool of his own blood and upon thinking that, he lost it.
"Why didn't you fight back?" Ryoji said. "I heard you were good at fighting."
Minato took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. "I grew up…"
Ryoji remained quiet.
Minato kept staring at him. "I can you get your fair share of scuffles, right?"
Ryoji nodded slowly.
"Remember this, fighting like that gives you nothing," Minato said, rolling his sleeve up and exposing the wounds on his arm that Makoto had brutalized relentlessly before. Ryoji visibly flinched at the mangled condition of Minato's arm but the blunet continued. "They'll only give you wounds that you won't be proud of…"
Ryoji stood up. "I'll drop you home…"
"Remember what I told you," Minato said, clutching his wounds and walking ahead. "Come on…"
Ryoji followed Minato, still thinking over his words.
…
"I'm not letting you go out again," Hamuko said, straightening his fringe down to hide the patched up wounds on his head. "Look at yourself…"
"I'm still alive," Minato said, wincing at the irritation. "Besides, it isn't that bad…"
Hamuko ripped his shirt open and forced him to look at the wounds that were still gushing out blood.
"Hahaha…" Minato lowered his head. "Okay it sucked…"
"Idiot," Hamuko said, bandaging and working on the wounds. "I'm going to take you a doctor, it'll hurt but we need to stich these up…"
"I can head there myself," Minato said weakly.
"No you won't…" Hamuko scolded. "Not after what happened today. Who was the bastard who pushed you?"
"The one I pushed and beat up back in the summer," Minato recalled. He was not really in the wrong because he was protecting Hamuko but he couldn't fault the guy for attacking him.
"Why didn't you attack him back?" Hamuko asked.
Minato looked ahead. "I've done that enough…. On people…" he said bitterly. "Enough of that now…"
"Don't talk like that," Hamuko forced him to look straight. "What Minato? Are you telling me you'll just stand there and let someone walk over you like that?"
Minato refused to answer.
"Tell me," Hamuko demanded. "If someone attacks you again, you'll just sit there and take it? Do you want me to die worrying about you!?"
"Drop it," Minato said.
"You—"
"Drop it,"
Hamuko wanted to lash out but she ended up restraining herself. He didn't reply directly but Hamuko got her answer. Dammit, she never expected this to happen. Minato willingly taking beatings made her heart wrench, she wanted him to become normal but this was way too much. This was dangerously passive, for his sake but again, he said nothing and kept working on his injuries.
She finished patching up the wounds and got up. "Are you still going for Tartatus?"
"Yeah, I told Akihiko," Minato stood up and tried to take a step forward, only to fall forward due to the pain but luckily, Hamuko caught him and rested him back on the bed.
"Careful," Hamuko smiled, patting his cheek. "Rest easy, alright? I'll see you soon."
Minato nodded and just when Hamuko headed out, Minato collapsed back to his bed and cried out in pain, still suffering the searing, burning pain across his entire body.
"Tch," Hamuko pushed herself off the door of his room. She heard that cry of pain perfectly. "Makoto…. You ruined him…"
…
Minato masked the pain and went over his friends, thinking of who to pick. Hamuko looked at him worriedly but didn't say anything.
"Do you really need to do this?" Yukari asked.
"I'm fine," Minato lied for the hundredth time that day. "Alright, it will be me…. Hamuko…. Sho… and Junpei.."
The selected members nodded.
"Alright, let's give this a shot," Sho said, pulling out his twin blades.
"The rest wait until someone can't fight anymore," Minato said, heading for the access point with the rest behind him.
"Be careful," Akihiko shouted at him.
Hamuko braced her heart for another painful squeeze. She could see what was coming; Minato was injured and nowhere near strong as he used to be. Walking took a lot out of him and fighting was completely different.
She cursed out Makoto one more time and focused her attention on keeping him safe.
Minato looked around the place and cursed the damn tower that used to call home before. "Alright, kill any shadows you come across, go!"
"Fuck yeah!" Sho shouted out loud and bolted to kill some.
Eventually, he came back and started walking behind Minato who lead the charge. For once, Hamuko and Sho shared a look and nodded at each other before looking back towards Minato who dragged himself forward with visible effort.
"This is going to hurt…" Minato bit his lip and ordered the team to attack.
Hamuko saw that coming from a mile away and so did the others but it didn't make it any less painful. Minato was stumbling and struggling even with the weaker shadows. He was slow and sloppy, lacking the killer instinct that he previously had.
He still knew how to use his sword but it was a lot different than before. Maybe his skill had deteriorated or maybe his body wasn't allowing his to move freely, whatever it was, the sight of Minato panting and struggling to battle back the shadows was a painful sight for everyone, especially Hamuko who recalled how strong Minato used to be before…
"Watch out!" Sho shouted, blocking the incoming charge of the shadow and saving Minato who reeled back, resting his back against the wall as Sho tore through the damn thing in a couple of seconds.
Sho looked at Minato and nodded to himself. "Guess I made the right choice…"
"Dammit," Junpei said as Minato panted and went up the floor.
"Damn that Makoto…" Hamuko stomped the ground. "He ruined Minato." she quickly headed up the steps, not wanting to leave Minato alone for a second.
The same thing continued for the next few floors, with Minato being protected by the other three. Junpei, Hamuko and Sho quickly dispatched the shadows just so Minato wouldn't exert himself. Minato called them out for that a few times but they kept working like that, leaving Minato at the sidelines.
"Makoto…" Minato clenched his fist, ignoring the pain and watching the trickle of blood that escaped his clenched fist.
A few floors later, Minato and his group ran into a gruesome scene which made everyone gasp at the brutality.
"What is that…?" Minato said, slowly walking forward to get a better look. The area was bathed with more blood than usual and it was a lot thicker than the usual blood dripping down the walls. However, the worst thing was the number of entrails and body part scattered around the area and to the horror of everyone, those parts didn't belong to shadows…
"Human?" Junpei nearly puked out, observing the torn wrists, legs and the large chunks of flesh missing from their rotting bodies.
"Someone was eating them….?" Minato said, widening his eyes. He could spot the chewed out meat around him. Shadows did attack humans but he never saw a case of them feasting on humans.
The Reaper only killed and besides, he didn't even have a freaking mouth.
"Someone was eating them…" Sho said, inspecting the dead body. "That thing even chewed the bones…"
"I don't think even shadows are that brutal," Hamuko clasped her mouth shut. "Who could have done this?"
"Minato-kun," Fuuka said. "I can see more of this in the upper floors…"
"What!?" Minato stood up.
"Whoever this thing is, it has killed the humans that wander into Tartarus…. The one we are supposed to save…"
"Damn," Junpei said. "Guys, we need to head back…"
"I'm going to find who did this," Minato said, walking ahead but he was stopped by Hamuko who pulled him back.
"Some other day, I'm about to puke," Hamuko said, dragging him away.
"Akihiko-senpai agrees, come back, we'll figure this out when Mitsuru-senpai comes back,"
Minato signed and agreed but he swore to find the thing that had killed so many people so ruthlessly and was sick enough to eat them later.
Back in the lobby, Akihiko looked disappointed but more concerned. He gave Minato a pat on his back for his bravery but told him to wait for Mitsuru to come back.
On the way back, Minato was feeling worthless. He knew he wasn't the fighter he once was and it only made him more disgusted, so he was nothing with that demon inside of him?
"Tch…" him fighting in such a bad condition was his attempt to prove a point that he was strong enough to fight without that damn thing that gave him power but also ruined his life.
Also, him fighting to end the Dark Hour was another attempt to atone for his sins that he had committed before. He had forgiven himself back in the final battle against Makoto but the blood was still on his hands and nothing changed that.
"Calm down," Hamuko came up beside him and squeezed his shoulder with a comforting smile. "Don't end up slipping again."
Minato looked at her and she looked a little tear-eyed.
"Guess I blew everything huh?" Minato laughed bitterly. "The strong Minato now reduced to a weakling who can't even beat a Maya."
"I'm tear-eyed because I'm happy you are safe," Hamuko replied.
Minato ended up chuckling. "You're something else…"
"Wait for Mitsuru, alright?" Hamuko said softly. "I know you want to fight Minato but please, don't hurt yourself more, wait for her. I'm sure we'll figure something out." she leaned up and kissed his cheek, not minding the bruise there.
"As you command," Minato said, stopping outside the dorm. He looked back and saw his friends standing behind him.
Minato turned on the knob and opened the door. He noticed a smell coming from the inside but he pushed it away and opened the door, only to recoil in horror and disgust when he saw something, or rather someone sprawled across the doorway, dead and mutilated badly.
Minato widened his eyes and Hamuko came up beside him only to shriek in horror when she saw the corpse of the teen still gushing out blood onto the floor in gallons.
"What the fuck!?" Junpei cried. "More of this!?"
"Who is this!?" Akihiko said. "Dammit, check his pulse."
"He is not breathing," Aigis said, checking his pulse and heart-beat.
Minato walked close and crouched down to take a closer look at his face.
"I know him…" Minato said slowly, slowly shaking his head.
"He was the one who pushed me today…" he completed the sentence and looked back at his friends who were silent.
"…" silence prevailed in the lounge. Nobody was sure what was going on but they knew trouble was headed their way.
And done. Minato has a guardian watching over him... again. :PP but not sure if he likes it this time. More expansion on Ryoji will come soon because he's pretty important. I can't expand on him as much as I did Minato but make no mistake, he's more psycho than Minato who for the record, has never eaten human flesh.
Again review if you can. Hopefully this breaks 1000 reviews by the end. My other story is ending in a few more chapters, safe to say, Blood Lust will be the last fic from me. Cheers and see you in a while because fucking exams.