A/N: On a side note my mother gave me those headphones for Christmas last year. They're warm and very useful, especially when it gets super cold xD I'm glad you guys seem to like them; heads up, not advertising or anything because I don't get paid for this nonsense, but they're like fifteen bucks at Khols. I think they came in black and brown as well. DISCALIMER: I DO NOT OWN ATLUS OR ANY CHARACTERS OR THIS TOTALLY AWESOME SONG FROM A VERY POTTER SEQUEL.


This must be how it feels
to have a home

-AVPS

"And then Yukari and I went shopping…" As the girl trailed on with her story, which seemed to be taking forever to tell, Hidetoshi could not help but smile sadly. It was their last day of junior year, and this would be the last time he would walk into school with her until next year. Sure there was graduation day tomorrow; but he just had sort of an odd feeling that they would not be able to do this again. However, Minako seemed upbeat as always, and was positively absorbed in her own tale. It was wonderful, really, like when he first met her. Ever since early February she had been especially perky; of course maybe that was just due to the lack of such emotions in December and January. Hell, January had been the worst; often he would find her afterschool, just staring at the wall and attempting to fight back tears. Whatever was bothering her she refused to talk about; but, luckily, it all seemed to have cleared up. In fact, if he even mentioned that strange time the sangria haired girl simply acted as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. Oh well, maybe that was just her way of coping with the stress.

Once, in mid-March, he brought up the subject of her nightly travels. It had been a while since he last pestered her on the subject, though his struggle with the concept of her being out at all hours constantly plagued his mind. There was no good reason for a high school girl to be out so late; not even if she had Junpei with her. Not that Hidetoshi lacked faith in the boy's ability to protect her or anything… oh wait, that was exactly it. Never-the-less, when he confronted her on the subject, Minako seemed just as confused, if not more so, than he did and flat out denied ever leaving the dorm past midnight. Well that was just great, he waited too long and now he would never know the answer to that mystery; damn it all, how positively infuriating. Still, he was not about to complain seeing as how she never came to school with unexplained cuts or bruises these days. Also, she seemed very well rested; and her health was the most important thing after all. So he figured that he could be content with not knowing so long as she remained safe. That was really all he could hope to ask for.

"But Fuuka is getting better, I swear. The cake she made us the other night was actually pretty good." He had noticed a while ago that her friend Aigis just sort of disappeared from the stories; but he still saw her in school, so perhaps they had a falling out? Part of him wanted to inquire further as to this matter, considering they seemed so close not too long ago. But that was prying just for the sake of knowing; if they really did have a fight then it would only stir up bad memories within the scarlet eyed girl. How painful it had to be to lose a friend; not that he knew first-hand or anything, but he could imagine that it must be quite hard. How could you ever attempt to forget someone who had such a profound impact on your life? Anyways, the class president, Mitsuru, had also seemed to have fallen off the girl's wavelength. Sure they still talked at Student Council sometimes, but the bond that they seemed to have had in the spring of last year was gone. This was probably due to mutual distancing though, considering the redhead would be going off to college soon. "Hide-chan? Are you even listening?"

Raising his eyes from the ground to meet a puzzled expression he merely nodded. "Of course I was. You went shopping with Yukari, Fuuka became a wonderful chef, and they all lived happily ever after." His sarcasm landed him a quick punch in the forearm. Oh, right, like it was his fault that he had more important thoughts than what the teal haired girl was baking; speaking of teal hair, did she dye it that color? Clearly it was not a natural shade. But she seemed like such a quiet girl; surely she was not doing to rebel. So then, why such a bright color, which clearly was going to stand out in a crowd, as opposed to black or brown? Ah well, he would never understand some people; but hey, you couldn't win 'em all. "Oi, Minako-kun." He began as they approached the doorway where, unfortunately, they would have to split up. "Meet me in the foyer. I have something I want to discuss with you." She looked a bit perplexed but readily agreed; to be honest, part of him was hoping she would refuse. Not that he had given her any reason to, but what he was planning on telling her was more than a tad embarrassing.

He had always wanted to own a large corporation someday, details such as what the business would do were minor; but, since he had been thinking more lately that had all changed. The coal haired boy had merely wanted that sort of structure so that he could create a sort of family environment within it and could not be less interested with the actual business itself. He did not care whether they were suppliers, distributors, manufacturers, did shipping, tax returns, whatever; it was just the front for wanting to lead by example. And, as of late, he had discovered an easier and less time consuming way to go about that. Whereas it would take years, maybe even decades, to get to that high of a position in an already existing corporation this new idea could be put into action as soon as he graduated from college. Sure it was not working with adults, but he was going to be starting at the roots. It was far easier to change a system from the bottom up than from the top down. How peculiar, he had spent all his life with this dream and was now changing it on a whim. It just went to show that thinking was a dangerous pastime.

So this was to be the last time he would ever sit in this desk, right? Many a decision had been made here; granted, they were not always the best, but never-the-less they had helped shape who he was today. For example, he now knew to check twice; yup before just assuming that the eraser in a boy's hand is a lighter, significant life lesson right there. Actually he had learned the importance of rest and how nothing was ever exactly as it seemed. The little crown in the margin of his notebook had been sketched, traced, erased, and inked so many times that it was about to fall out of the page, so he let it. The empty hole was much more fitting anyways. A true leader should not want the crown, not want the recognition; rather, they should strive to make a difference in the hearts and minds of others. Glory was nothing compared to knowing you brought around a change for the better. At the end of the day he would know that he did the right thing; and, as he had learned over the course of the past year, that was what was really important.

"Hey man, we're almost seniors… can you believe it?" Was it lunchtime already? Glancing up at the clock he noted that it was, indeed, time for Keisuke to annoy him. Where had the first two periods gone; it was incredible how fast time flew by when you were dreading the end of the day. But he had a point, they were almost seniors. In fact, being the most elite group of upperclassmen was so close he could almost touch it. "Yup, next year we're going to rule the school." That was for sure; though he was not quite sure exactly what sort of privileges came with being a senior. Probably just a bigger workload, come to think of it, but there was no use in crushing his friend's spirit. A loud and exaggerate sigh escaped the brunette's pursed lips; had he come to the same realization about the additional homework? "Too bad only you got the fairytale love story." Nope, just more idiotic ramblings; why did he put up with this? Glaring daggers at the boy he merely shook his head slowly, pent-up aggression building to the point where Hidetoshi would not have been surprised if, one of these days, he did actually strangle his best friend. "Kidding, why are you always so serious?"

"It's better than being a fool." The coal haired boy snapped, then proceeded to wave off the remark. There was no point in fighting now; it was their last real day together as juniors, so he would let the comment slide. "So…any ideas about where you might apply to?" True they still had a year ahead of them before college but sending in applications it was a pressing matter. Keisuke had always been the type to wait until the last minute before doing projects, and then just throw something together the night before; but, hopefully, he could understand the seriousness in this task. Without a good essay it would be nearly impossible to get into a good school; and then how would he ever hope of becoming a doctor? "I'm thinking something local." He admitted a bit sheepishly. Normally this was the time teenagers decided that they wanted to break free from their former lives and try someplace new. But not him, the desire to travel simply was not there; besides, he was content with the way things were around here, and his long-term goal would work better if he stayed closer to Port Island anyway. "I've never been the type for adventure."

Taking a bite of his sandwich the boy seemed to ponder this idea. Please say let him say that he had put at least some effort into contemplating what he was going to do with his life for the next four to five years. "I'm thinking exactly the opposite, Hide-chan." Oh really? He was itching to undertake a journey into the unknown? Pffft, Hidetoshi would give it two weeks before he changed his mind and decided to go someplace nearby where he could just commute. At least the disciplinarian knew that he wanted to stay in a dorm, but the nearsighted boy would probably have more fun staying home and skipping class. It was not that he was a troublemaker, mind you, or that he couldn't be bothered with class; it was just that he was terribly indecisive. "I want to get out and try new things, see the world a bit before I'm stuck in a hospital all day staring at the same whitewash walls for hours upon hours." The boy clicked his tongue thoughtfully, as if chewing over his options. Surely he knew that, if he did study abroad, there would be a very slim chance of him ever coming home; he'd wait and see how long this idea lasted. "I'm considering America, or England; that way I can speak the language."

At this Hidetoshi nearly choked on his tea. "Speak the language?" He exclaimed, though it was a bit louder than he intended due to his pipes trying to grasp some air as well. "You've been failing that class since they started teaching it to us in seventh grade." The idea was completely ludicrous. What was he going to do if he went to an English speaking nation; all he knew were very basic communication skills. Sure he would be able to introduce himself, state the colors, and count to ten, but where would that possibly come in handy in a school environment? He was going off to college, a place where they would expect him to read multiple books and write lengthy papers; did he expect to live with a translator in his hand? If he wanted to explore why not stick to somewhere in Asia where, at least, there was the chance of running into someone else who spoke the same language? Besides, what was so grand about America, didn't they all speak slowly with that strange accent or something? And England; goodness, if Keisuke came back saying things like 'bloody 'ell' he would have to disown the boy.

"I know enough." His friend muttered, swiping a piece of sushi out of the coal haired boy's bento. "So where's the little lady?" He inquired after inspecting the classroom for any sign of red. "Not spending your second to last lunch break of junior year with her?" No, why would he do that? They normally ended their week by having lunch together, but this was not a Saturday so it would break the schedule. Besides, they still had an entire year of lunches ahead of them, what would be the harm of missing today's? "What a pity, hope you don't regret it later on." He raised a questioning brow at the boy, who had gone back to eating Hidetoshi's lunch. What did he mean by that? What was there to possibly regret about not having the last lunch of junior year with someone? Maybe next year he would have those feelings if they skipped out on having their last lunch of senior year together, but junior year really was nothing special. When it came right down to it he doubted he would even recall these days in years to come; it honestly was not that important of a time.

But where was the girl today? She had mentioned it earlier, somewhere in the jumble of a story she had been trying to explain on their way into school, but he could not exactly recall. Perhaps he did need to start listening to her more. Rubbing the bridge of his nose the boy searched his memory for some hint as to what she was doing. "Oh, that's right." He piped up after a moment, drawing forth a confused look from Keisuke. "I think she said that she was hanging out with Yukari and Junpei; those three seem to be nearly inseparable as of late." It was true, they were always together; in the halls, on the way to and from school, hanging out after class, it was not a stretch to say that the disciplinarian was a tad jealous. However, as long as he still got to spend time with her it was fine; besides, it would be selfish to try to keep such a person all to himself. "But I'm seeing her later today, so you can relax." Right, he was going to have to talk to her about his new idea. Ugh, he had almost forgotten too; maybe he should just send her a text calling it off right now, before he embarrassed himself permanently.

"What are you guys going to do about college?" Pardon, what exactly was he implying here? They were not a couple; there were no ties that said they should look into similar places. But still, it would be nice to be able to see her after high school ended. Oh well, even if they did not go to exactly the same place he could probably still visit her from time to time. "Is she looking to study abroad?" Unless, of course, she selected that option. To be quite honest he had absolutely no idea of what the girl intended to do with her life after their time at Gekkoukan ended. She was so bright, one of the top in their class, so she had to be planning to go to college. However, what if she did decide to go to school in another country, or someplace that he could not follow, it was a terrible idea. Though there was no use in worrying himself with it now. There was still so much time before they had to decide whether or not to part ways. So he could relax for a bit; besides, part of him also felt like, if she really wanted to go abroad, it would not be hard to convince him to accompany her.

Nonchalantly taking a sip of his drink the coal haired boy merely shrugged. "Who knows? First we have to make it through senior year, remember?" His friend always had been one for jumping the gun on those types of matters. "Besides, it's not like we're technically going out; she can do whatever she wants." But, even if they were, would that stop her from moving halfway around the world in order to continue her education? There were far too many kids looking into that nonsense; what, pray tell, was so alluring about going to school in another country where the language and customs were so very different from their own? Not only did it seem like a waste of time but, if the person planned on coming back home afterward, all it would do was give them a new viewpoint that, within a year of returning, would be lost again. However, maybe it was not so terrible; perhaps he was only slightly bitter due to the fact that, if she did go, she would meet foreign boys…and girls were into that sort of thing, right? They once had an exchange student from France or something and all the female students broke into a fit of uncontrollable giggles and squeals whenever he spoke in class, it was disgusting.

"Yeah well when you two end up going to the same college, get an apartment together, get married, have kids, and live happily ever after just know two things." Keisuke really lacked a filter, didn't he? As his friend held up two fingers the egotistical boy contemplated the consequences of just getting up and leaving. Unfortunately that would only prompt the boy to either follow him and continue to nag, or yell whatever he was going to say across the classroom. Neither option sounded that good, so he decided to merely tune out the stupid remarks that were to follow. "One, I totally called it." Averting his eyes the boy tried to make it clear that he was not paying attention, but that did not stop the curly haired brunette. "And two, it's all thanks to me." As indifferent as Hidetoshi wanted to be to his friend's words there was some truth in them; it would be all thanks to Keisuke. However that was not going to happen, really now, life did not work that way. What were the odds of a high school couple staying together through college, not too high, and they weren't even a couple. The odds continued to decrease as they moved past college; and how many people really married their high school sweetheart? Not that they were that terrible word, he was merely thinking in term of hypothetical situations.

Giving his friend a sharp jab on the arm he signaled that the topic of conversation was something he really did not want to discuss. "Oh just shut up and eat your lunch." This, of course, meant 'just try not to speak too much about topics I don't like and fine; you may continue to eat my food'. However that was dreadfully long, and made the entire situation seem far less serious. Though, maybe that was alright; maybe, just this once, he could make time to relax and joke with his friend. After all, it was basically their last day of junior year; wasn't this the time to have fun? "Maybe next year we'll be in the same class… that would be nice." The coal haired boy said thoughtfully. Having Minako in the same class as him would be a wonderful motivation to work even harder. He could not let the scarlet eyed girl get ahead of him, and a bit of healthy rivalry never hurt anyone. Besides, she could also keep him in line; make sure that he did not get too out of hand when sleep deprived. It would work out best for everyone, really it would.

"I know, right!" The curly haired boy agreed eagerly, head bobbing up and down with enthusiasm. "We could pass notes and share stories during class; just like old times." Oh goodness, did he have to bring up their time in middle school? Truthfully it was more than a tad embarrassing; the way they bought into gossip and kept tabs on who had a crush on whom. Sure most everyone went through such a phase, but he despised reminiscing about that period. Thankfully not many people recalled him ever acting like that, a blessing of going to a private high school. Most of the locals who went to public elementary and middle school stayed in that system to finish their education; but, luckily, his and Keisuke's parents had wanted a more monitored learning environment for their children. A finger snapped in front of his face and Hidetoshi instantly jolted to attention. "I have to stop joking around you, it's such a waste." Pardon? He had a wonderful sense of humor when the situation called for it; or, at least, that's what Minako and his mother said. "But yeah, it would be nice. We haven't been in the same class since freshmen year."

Deciding it would be best not to shatter his friend's idea that he had, in fact, meant that the two of them should be in the same class. Hidetoshi switched the subject. "Hey, Keisuke, what made you want to be my friend?" Sure it sounded a bit foolish once he said it out loud, but the boy was genuinely interested in the glasses wearing boy's reasoning. He was a bland person and, although Keisuke was a tad annoying, he could definitely have found a better person to pal around with. Heck, he could even have found a group of friends if he wanted; so why be satisfied with one less than extraordinary person? Actually, scratch that, the coal haired boy was extraordinary; it was just the rest of the world that was not ready for his supreme level of excellence. Yes, that sounded about right. But still, his friend probably could have chosen better way back when. "God knows I was never nice to you; I'm still not." All he did was put him down, disagree, or scold him for being so immature. Wouldn't it make more sense for the brunette to find someone more similar with whom he could laugh about simple things and eat cookies? The only time they laughed was when one of them made a sly remark about a fellow student or something; together they could be quite awful.

The question did not seem to take the boy by surprise however; perhaps he had been expecting this for a while now? A small smirk made its way onto Keisuke's lips and Hidetoshi instantly regretted the decision to inquire as to his friend's motives. "You just don't get it, do you?" If he said something along the lines of 'this has all been a joke and/or social experiment' he was going to need a new pair of glasses. Not to mention that the dark eyed boy would officially know for sure that his best friend was a sociopath; something he had always secretly considered. He laughed at the most inappropriate conversation, went from being extremely awkward to calm in a matter of seconds, and had a sarcastic sense of humor to match his own. It really was a possibility; okay, so it was more of a loosely based theory, but that wasn't really important. "You're a hard person to get to know, I'll give you that; but you're worth it I suppose." Worth it? As terribly cliché and lifetime movie as it sounded there was something pleasant in the phrase that caused the stern faced boy to crack a smile. "This is too serious a topic, come on. It's our second to last day of junior year, let's enjoy it."

"You're right. We should make the most of it." He agreed with a small nod. But it was strange, wasn't he supposed to feel happy or excited on such a joyous occasion? Inside he was certainly on edge about something; perhaps it had to do with what he was going to tell Minako? No, that couldn't be it. As much as he feared being embarrassed he doubted that she would hold anything against him. So what if she thought it was a terrible idea, he figured she would support him no matter what. So, then, what was this nauseous feeling in the pit of his stomach? Surely it had something to do with the sangria haired girl for, whenever he thought about her, the pain came on twice as strong. For some unknown reason he would suddenly feel an overwhelming need to be by her side, but it always passed after a minute or two; however, in the past week, the feels had been coming more and more frequently and lasted for a longer period each time. It was as though something dreadful was going to happen; but that was positively ridiculous, they both were doing well in their classes and what other worries were there for a high school student?

After lunch ended, and Keisuke made his long-winded speech about the bonds of friendship or something that Hideotshi had not interest in listening to, the day returned to normal. You could hardly tell that it was their second to last day! That was sarcastic of course; his classmates were all speaking out of turn, chewing gum, filing their nails, carving their names into their desks, or ripping pages out of their textbooks to use as airplanes. It was ridiculous; this was a school not a zoo. However, when in Rome… with much disdain for what he was doing the authoritative boy pushed his seat back a bit, placed his feet up on the desk, and cracked open the copy of The Merchant of Venice he had brought exactly for situations like this. It was perfect, a short read that gave him pleasure each time he flipped through the old pages. It seemed like each time he explored this particular piece of literature he caught a pun or reference that had previously eluded him; how many books could that be said for? Beside him some girls screamed loudly about the newest vampire book; that craze was something he would never be able to understand, even Minako could not explain to him just what it was about the rat like man with a unibrow that made girls fall in love….at least, it WAS Bram Stoker's Dracula that they were talking about, right?

In front of him the long haired girl leaned in to whisper to her friend; nothing surprising there, those two were always gossiping. He tried his best to just ignore them though; they never spoke about anything really important anyways. "Hey, remember this past winter when all those people had that apathy syndrome?" This perked his interest however and, for once, he wished they would speak a bit louder. No one had brought up that dark time in quite a while, but he still had so many questions about it. Everything was left unanswered as well; one day it seemed like the world was coming to an end and, the next, everyone was perfectly content with life again, it made no sense. The city returned to normal and no one ever questioned why, or how, that change had come about. It was beyond annoying that he seemed to be the only one who had a problem with the quick revert back to the way it had been over a year ago. There was a gigantic amount of time where people seemed to be spiraling downward into a pit of despair, why was he the only one who couldn't believe that they could just comeback from that in a single day?

At one point he thought that, perhaps, Minako was suffering from it, or at least something similar. She refused to speak to him about anything more than topics you would discuss with a total stranger, merely moved her food around at lunch, broke all the plans they made, and constantly looked as though she was about to cry. The transformation back to her usual self took a tad longer than the others, but soon she could not even recall being depressed. As lost and confused as he was the boy figured it might have something to do with the injuries that she used to come in with and being seen out late at night. Nut what was she doing, and why wouldn't she tell him? A soft sigh escaped his lips as the bell to dismiss them rang; it was no use fretting over that now, she was fine and that was what was important. Gathering up his notebooks and pencils from the inside of his desk the coal haired boy felt almost sad to be parting with the place that he had made so many life altering decisions. But he would do the same thing next year; it wasn't as if this was the end of the world or something.

After grabbing his jacket from his locker, it seemed easier to just bring everything home now rather than waiting until after the ceremony tomorrow, the boy headed towards where he had asked her to meet him. It seemed this was it, their final talk as juniors. They had plans for after the speeches tomorrow, but then they would technically be seniors. The year really had flown by; if everything went this fast he was going to be an adult in the blink of an eye, marvelous. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a hint of red blurred together with a mass of pink and blue. There she was, waving good bye to Fuuka and Yukari as they headed for the door. Oh he really hoped she didn't want to go with them, then he would feel somewhat bad for ruining there, what did she call it, girl time. As she strolled over, a bright smile on her face, he could not help but wonder exactly what went through her mind. Sure she said she did not remember anything, but shad to, right? Deep down even the most repressed memories were still there; some things you could never forget, no matter how hard you tried.

Fiddling with the string around his neck the boy offered a small nod. "Hello, Minako-kun." She returned the welcome with one of her own and it appeared it was time to get the show on the road. "…I'm glad I caught you here." Of course he did, he asked her to come. Ugh, he seriously needed to think before he spoke. "There's something I wanted to tell you." Because she certainly couldn't have figured that part out by herself; god, what was he doing? "We'll still be able to talk to each other next year, but…" That wouldn't be the time for it; he needed to say it now. "I wanted to say this while we're still both on the Student Council." This brought a confused look from the girl. Oh, certainly she did not think he was insinuating that she would not receive a position next year. "…I'm going to quit the council." He clarified, averting his gaze a bit for fear of what he might see. "I'm just not going to apply next year." He did not want her to think that he was a quitter or something; but there were more important things he could be doing with his time. "That cigarette business gave me a lot to think about…"

It took all the bravery he could muster to glance back at the girl; was she disappointed in him, amused by the fact that he simply could not make a complete sentence today? Nope, by now she was staring at him like he had three heads, wonderful. Part of him wanted to say 'just kidding' and laugh the entire thing off. Sure she would be a tad confused at first but, knowing Minako, she would just smile and laugh with him. That was one his favorite things about the girl, she was always a real joy to be around. This was something that had to be said though; he had made up his mind so there was no going back now. Besides, it was not like he was proposing or anything; merely sharing with her some details of how he intended to spend his time in the not so distant future. "…This may sound odd, but do you think this country is headed in the right direction?" He inquired suddenly. It may not have been directly related to his previous statement, but he was going somewhere with this thought process. If she just gave him a chance to explain it would certainly all make sense.

The bright eyed girl bit her lip a bit, as if unsure whether or not he was looking for a specific answer. For once, however, he was not. She could give her honest opinion and he would listen; besides, he already had an idea of what she might say. People always saw the world quite differently than the Odagiri boy, but it was not their fault. He was just more intuitive and sensible than most, they could not be blamed for their ignorance as to what was right in front of them. Gesturing onward with his hand he urged the girl forward. All she had to do was answer the question with her viewpoint; it was not as though he was going to snap at her if she gave the wrong answer. "I think so." The voice was shaky at first but, after a moment of contemplating what it was she just said, the girl gave an affirmative nod. It was almost funny how he knew that was what she was going to say, even when he thought the opposite. But, perhaps, he secretly wanted her to say that; this way he would be allowed to explain his actions fully, and he always did like correcting poor, misguided, people.

"I see… Well, I feel differently." It wasn't harsh the way he said it; just light, almost breezy. With an almost carefree smile he merely shrugged. "You're an optimistic woman, so maybe society looks different through your eyes." What did the world look like through Minako's eyes? She was such a cheerful person all the time; but, surely, even she had to pick up on some of the evils of the world. It certainly was not all rainbows and sugarplums. "Around January, there was a sinister cult growing in popularity." But he didn't need to tell her about that, she had lived it. As much as she denied having ever been depressed he could vividly recall conversations where she only spoke of the cult and its effect on people. " 'A society without a future'… For many people out there, that's the reality." How many people would never make anything of themselves because of this twisted ideology? Belief in that Nyx character was an easy way out; a reason to not have to deal with the struggles of life. "I was thinking how we could change that… what it would take to change society." Nothing major such as holding a political position or anything, no, he would start small, where it really mattered. "I thought maybe one influential person could start a revolution."

At the word revolution her eyes flickered a bit, perhaps she thought that he was going to go back into his quest for power? "But starting a revolution just because you have the power to do it creates more problems…" He attempted to specify. The coal haired boy did not want to see his name in shining lights or anything, just knowing the world had changed for the better was enough; Minako had showed him that, even if he could not quite put his finger on exactly how she had done so. "That's what the Nyxist incident taught me. I realized how naïve I had been…" Nyxist, was that even a word? No, probably not. But, then again, neither was Nyx; well, it was a name, but certainly not a boy's. Everyone always referred to Nyx as though it was a he but, according to Greek mythology, wasn't Nyx a primordial goddess of the night? "Now, I think the best thing for society is more education." If people had a deeper insight to life than maybe they would be less likely to join up with an 'end of the world' campaign. "Things that each of us have to learn before going out into the world…" Pausing a bit, he cleared his throat loudly before continuing on. "That's what's needed most. So…"

With an uncomfortable smile he shrugged his shoulders and averted his gaze to stare at the ceiling tiles. They certainly could use a cleaning; now that he thought about it, had he ever seen anyone cleaning them? Surely it would seem irrational to clean the ceiling on a daily basis but, by now, it had grown to be more than a tad dingy. "I'm thinking of becoming a teacher." It came out smoothly, though his eyes never returned to her. "A society is dictated by its people. If we improve people's minds, society will be likewise improved." It was a simple enough concept to grasp, surely she would understand. The only one who it might take some explaining to would be Keisuke; and that could only be accomplished after he was done cracking up. However, all he heard now was silence. Actually, that was a lie, there was some screaming down the hall and students were laughing everywhere, it was the conclusion of their last day, they had the right to be excited. But, what he meant, was that Minako was silent; and there was no indication as to whether or not that was a good sign. "…Aren't you going to laugh at me? Say something like 'You? A teacher?' "

There was still no response. Perhaps she had left after the teacher comment; he was a bit hesitant to glance down. So, fingers tugging lightly on the hem of his sleeve, the boy decided to inwardly count to ten before looking back where the sangria haired girl had been. If she did not answer within that time frame there was a pretty good chance she had already one home. However it wouldn't really matter anyway; sure he had wanted her support in this decision, but he was going to go through with this idea regardless. Ten, nine, eight, seven; something brushed up against his opposite arm and, although it was entirely six seconds to early, he decided to peek at what was happening. So, keeping his chin high, the boy merely cast his eyes down for a second before quickly returning them to the ceiling. Beside him the girl was staring intently at the ceiling too, brow wrinkling in concentration and it was hard to suppress a small laugh. "These tiles need to be cleaned." At that he gave in and chuckled. It was like she always knew exactly what to say without saying it; how terribly unfair that she was blessed with so many desirable qualities.

So she was alright with the idea, good; if she had a problem with it he might have to question just how intelligent the girl really was. "I see… I'll do my best." A small hand slipped into his and he did not have to look at the girl to know she was smiling up at him. "…" The egotistical boy certainly was lucky, ha, it was ironic considering, at one point, he would have thought that she was the lucky one. "…I just wanted to thank you for that." It was taking some time, but he was slowly starting to become a better person. "It's all because of you. Thanks…" After some self-reflection, actually almost a year's worth, it was finally starting to dawn on him how terribly he had treated people due to his superiority complex. "And…" He had said it before, of course he could say it again. "…" Or not. Weren't these things supposed to get easier as time went by? "I'm not taking back the things I said. I don't regret them, either…" In fact telling Minako had been one of the most rewarding, yet stressful, accomplishments of his young life. "You haven't forgotten, have you? That I'm in love with you." The ceiling really did need to be scrubbed, or perhaps waxed, before the start of the new year. Imagine what incoming freshman would think if they walked into the building on the first day and saw this disgrace. "Tell me what you think when I become more worthy of you." He wasn't perfect now, but that was alright. He knew that, one day, he would become the sort of person that could make her proud. "I hope that day comes before you forget about me." The only problem was how long was this goal going to take to achieve? "…That's all. I'll see you later." To be honest he was far too embarrassed to stick around so, wriggling his hand out of her grasp, the boy headed towards the door.

"No leaving!" The voice echoed through the foyer and he whipped around in shock. Was she crazy? Why not just scream a tad louder, perhaps someone at the far end of second floor hadn't heard. Motioning for her to keep her voice down, they were still in a school, he walked swiftly back. A few people exiting the lobby had begun to stare, but his less than friendly glare quickly sent them hurrying out to the start of their vacation. Ugh, this girl was going to be the death of him. A small pout ruined the girl's mature exterior and he instantly regretted walking away; he was in for it now. She only pouted when she was upset about something… and that something usually was his fault and resulted in a headache due to her 'you should know why I'm upset' attitude. But it seemed as though he was going to be lucky today, for she had opened her mouth and seemed ready to rant, spectacular. It was much better than having to contemplate what he did wrong for the rest of the day. "You're worthy now, you always have been. Only you can't see that you are and it's so frustrating!"

Wrong, he wasn't worthy yet. There were still so many faults, so many goals he was yet to achieve. Besides, only he could decide when he was the man he wanted to be. No outside opinion would ever change the way he saw himself. That was just ridiculous; besides, wasn't she the girl saying not to judge people by their appearances? Well, maybe he appeared to be worthy, but, deep down, he wasn't. It was as simple as that. When the time came they would both realize it; he would be so much better than before. But, right now, he was not perfect yet, and anything less than that was completely unacceptable. So he refuses to make any further advancements towards the scarlet eyed girl, despite the protest clearly written on her face. "No. It's not the right time yet." Hidetoshi insisted, trying his best to mask the annoyance in his voice. She always had to go down this path; things were fine the way they were, why couldn't she just leave it that way? There was no need to rush things; they had an eternity to sort everything out. He wasn't going anywhere but, as of late, she had become increasingly desperate for things to move quicker.

As he reached a hand out to comfort the girl she quickly drew back. "You just don't really like me…" What was the matter with her? Didn't he just say that he loved her, emphasis on the word just? Girls were supposed to like that thing but goodness, it really seemed to have set her off on an emotional roller-coaster; something had to be up, she was usually more composed than this. Hell, she was always more composed than this. Under normal circumstances she would have been fine with him saying that he needed a bit longer to improve himself, rather than taking it as a blow off. Really now, who broke up with someone by telling that person that they loved them? This could not be interpreted, even under the influence of something, as an 'it's not you, it's me' situation. What had gone on during class, she was acting like a completely different person. The look on her face was positively pitiful as well, almost as though the world were ending. But the cult had been dispersed ages ago, and she had been fine since then, so what was this? Unless… repressed memories, he knew she couldn't keep them hidden forever.

"That's not it Minako and you know it's not so stop this." She was acting ridiculous and he was not going to stand for it. Honestly, how could she expect him to respect her if she acted like a head case when he told her his true feelings? Still, as the girl's eyes dropped down to her feet, he could not help but feel a bit guilty for scolding her. She was upset and, although he might very well have had nothing to do with the actual reason, she needed an outlet. It was selfish for him to want her to keep it all bottled up. Before she looked down he had caught something in her eyes that was almost nauseating. The fire and determination that had once been so profound was now masked by shock and fear. Whatever she remembered must have been, of course, why would she have tried so hard to forget it if it was no big deal? Not to mention that people tried to hold on to good memories so to want to completely erase it from her subconscious it must have been something terrible. Refusing to meet his gaze the girl moved to her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

With a small nod she pulled away and held out her hand, fingers curled into a fist minus the pinky. "Well…then you better not forget." A light sigh escaped his lips as he locked fingers in a childish pinky promise. If that was what she was relying on for stability then the girl was going to encounter some problems later in life. Thankfully his word was a much stronger bond, and he vowed never to forget her. What a terribly morbid though, the furthest they were ever going to be was a phone call or email away; it was not like in the old days where you would have to write letters back and forth and hope that nothing got lost in the mail. As they released he could swear that there were tears in her eyes but, before he could call her on it, the girl hurried out the front door and down the stairs. Oh hell no, she was definitely crying and god knows he wouldn't be able to get any rest tonight if he just let her leave like that. Rushing out the door he went to call for her just in time to see the clumsy girl miss the second to last step. So, scratch what he said before; she would be the death of him and herself.

Reaching out he grabbed the girl's forearm and steadied her. "I certainly hope this isn't going to become a habit of yours." It was meant as a joke but Minako didn't seem to enjoy it. "See? I can be funny." He added, trying to help her find the humor in it. Come on, he rarely attempted to be comical when it was not a social satire of sorts. Releasing the girl's arm he moved up to her face and pushed the sides of her cheek up into a grin. "Haha?" This drew the desired response for a characteristic bubbly laugh soon melted away the awkwardness between them. Whatever was bothering her she could tell him; no matter what it was, he would never even consider judging her. And, if it was truly horrible, maybe he could help, or contact someone who could. But, alas, she always wanted to deal with everything herself; she really did need a fairy godmother or something similar. Someone who could come to her in times of need, or through dreams, and help her out, let her know how important and special she really was. So she wouldn't listen to him but, perhaps, she would listen to some mystical form of guidance. That was the way fairy tales went, right? All you had to do was go a bit further into the woods and the way would be clear… maybe?

Pushing the boy lightly on the shoulder she offered up a cheerful smile. "Maybe I just like to see if you'll catch me." Oh as if, they both knew she was one of the clumsiest people in the entire school. How many times had she been carrying her books down the hallway only for them to mysteriously end up scattered all over the floor with papers flying everywhere? Not to mention that, although she had to do most of the cookie for Fuuka, the girl never allowed Minako near the actual supplies until the flour had been poured and all the eggs cracked. But all that managed to do was add to her charm; it made her more realistic, and easier to relate to, than some stoic character with a depressing disposition. Offering his arm out the girl instantly linked hers around it and they headed down the final steps together. Strange, he was getting that feeling again; just like when they entered this morning. They still had another day, not to mention an entire year, of doing this, so why was he worrying? Perhaps he was simply nervous at the thought of becoming a senior, how ironic seeing as how he always wanted to be older and seen as more mature.

Normally he only walked with her as far as the gate; from there she turned right to the train station and he would go left to the residential district. But, for some unknown reason, his arm refused to let go of the girl and he soon found himself standing at the station with her. A booming voice announced over the speakers that her train would be arriving within the next few moments and he took that as his cue to leave. He couldn't very well follow her back to the dorm to make sure she stayed out of harm's way. Besides, she only needed to call and he would gladly rush to her side. Trains were safe enough, millions of people rode them every day, he was just being paranoid. As the girl said her goodbyes he instinctively stuck out his pinky finger and, although unsure of what he was going to say next, the girl gladly linked it with her own. Really now, what if he made her promise to join a suicide cult or something, she had to hear all the details before agreeing to something. Oh god, now he was starting to take the pinky swear thing seriously, how foolish. "I'll always catch you."


A/N: Wow I finally updated? It must be a sign of the apocalypse. I've had this open for like two months and just never touched it, sorry. There really is no excuse for being so slow but, if there was, it might involve a computer's hard drive dying and a calculus teacher who can't speak English. Also had to throw in a billionaire, legally blonde, and into the woods reference… sorry, I just have a problem with musicals.

annako- Omigod EVERYONE ships her with either Shinji or Aki and it drives me crazy. It's like, I ADORED Shinji in p3, but not so much in p3p. It was like they were trying super hard to make sure every girl would want to fall in love with him rather than have the audience respect him for being a badass. Also no I would not mind at all so long as you link me! I'm terribly ungifted when it comes to any form of art so I'm wicked impressed by those who have a knack for it.

kryuzei- not to worry, I would never get discouraged. I write for my own personal enjoyment and understand that the pairing does not have that big of a fan base. Anyways I will finish this because I am determined to prove to my friend that I can actually finish something for once in my life, haha. Well I'll try to build up some drama, but I'm more a fan of humorous irony; so my apologizes if anything comes across fluffy as opposed to deep.

Fervour- ahhhhhh it fits perfectly with the last chapter! Why isn't it in English Dx I think my heart died a little at my inability to read whatever that isssssss.

StG- haha well the only interaction that I could remember the two had in P3P was on the class trip when Hidetoshi scolded him for eating all the cookies sooo I went with it lol

Next Chapter: So Alone! There were so many things he didn't understand; but this was not one of them. As the sun set on another spring day his smile faded with it.