CHAPTER TWO: A Night Out
It was always you
Falling for me now
There's always time
Calling for me
I'm the light
Blinking at the end of the road
Blink back to let me know
ALWAYS (Panic! At the Disco)
Monday, September 7th, 2009
"Hey," Minako called out from the 2nd floor hallway, just as Shinjiro was walking towards the stairs. "Hey! Shinjiro-senpai!" Her feet flew under her in a flurry, and suddenly she was standing in front of Shinjiro, his eyes cold and piercing against her bright red eyes. She flinched and stepped back, blinking furiously as his eyes bore into hers.
Realizing he was scaring her, Shinjiro quickly averted his gaze and grumbled, "What do you want?" His voice was gruff, deep and emotionless.
Minako turned away too, biting her lip softly. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go out and eat or something…" The feel of an angry glare made her jump in shock again. "I mean, only if you want to! I'm not forcing you or anything!"
Shinji's face softened. "Sure. Why not?"
Her face quickly brightened up, and her grin widened. "Really? Well, let's get going! I'm starving." Minako grabbed onto Shinjiro's arm and clung tightly to it as he slowly walked through the main hallway. "I'm so hungry I could eat Eligor…" she mumbled to herself, her face melting in obvious starvation.
"Might as well hurry then," Shinjiro told her, glancing at his watch and replacing it into his chest pocket. He smiled to himself and nodded his head towards the door. "Let's?"
Minako smiled wide and dragged the older SEES member towards the door, but Mitsuru sped to the exit and crossed her arms. "Where do you two think you're going?"
"Eating!"
"None'ya business."
The former leader of SEES shook her head and looked at Minako with that infamous steely glare. "Minako, you're supposed to be the mature one, since you're leading us."
"Mature?" Shinjiro repeated, his steely-grey eyes piercing Mitsuru's in disbelief. "You call that…girl…mature?" Said girl turned to Shinjiro, obviously insulted, but he disregarded her look.
Mitsuru rolled her eyes. "Looks are deceiving."
Shinjiro sighed and yawned, tugging on the arm that Minako used to keep him locked. "Let's get going." Minako nodded fiercely and pushed past Mitsuru and out the door.
"Food!"
As soon as they were out the door, Akihiko walked up to Mitsuru and asked, "What's up with them?" He was nodding towards the pair that just left.
Mitsuru took a moment to reply. "I'm not sure, exactly, but I'm confident to say that Minako will be a good thing on both his conscience and heart."
Evening
Minako finally released Shinjiro's arm as soon as the Hagakure ramen shop on the Iwatodai Strip Mall was in sight. "You glad?" Shinjiro asked, scratching the back of his head as he walked nonchalantly towards the little shop.
"Yeah!"
The pair was silent on the way in. Minako breathed deeply from the smell of ramen and hopped up and down excitedly in place. "Sorry for bringing you here," Shinjiro murmured quietly as he sat down in one of the seats, his eyes looking only at the menu set in front of him. "I don't know that many places to go out to eat."
Minako sat down across from him, not even bothering to look at the menu. "I like this place." They ordered their noodles quickly, Minako getting the ultra-spicy ramen noodles with chicken katsu and Shinjiro ordering a ramen bowl with curry.
Shinjiro looked up at her and took a few moments to take in her features. Short auburn hair tied in a ponytail, crimson red eyes that were excited in every way, and a petite figure that was interestingly powerful... "…You're an odd one," he finally managed to say, hiding a smile. A quiet laugh filled the air, but it soon disappeared into the sounds of noodles cooking. "Let's eat," said Shinjiro as soon as the cook had readied their orders. He blew softly on his soup, eyeing the heat steaming from the bowl intensely. "Watch the soup, it's hot." He blew on it again with a soft phoooo noise. "Ow…" There was a pained expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" Minako asked, cocking her head to the side as she shoveled chopsticks of noodles into her mouth, not minding the heat or spiciness.
Shinjiro turned away. "…Forgot I had a cut in my mouth." He stuck his tongue out, and Minako noticed a small plump scar on the pink flesh. "It's 'cause Aki punched me." Taking his beanie off for a second to run his fingers through his hair, Shinjiro sighed softly. Minako noticed the messy and flat locks underneath that hat. "Sheesh, that guy's gotta learn how frickin' heavy a boxing champ punches…" Even though it sounded angry, Minako knew that inside, Shinjiro cared about the greyish-white haired senior.
"Were you two fighting, Senpai?" the younger girl asked with a pout.
He bit his lip and replaced his beanie on top of his head snugly. "Well…yeah," he finally replied. With a soft grin, he continued. "I gave him a little 'lecture' on how his fighting style's too reckless and this –" –he stuck his tongue out again—"is what I got in return." Minako stared unhappily, and shook her head unhappily. "Well, we get in fights all the time. Just get used to it."
Minako wasn't fazed. "Please try not to fight him," she whined, her blood red eyes staring straight into Shinjiro's soul.
"All right, all right, stop glaring at me like that," he gave in, wincing. Shinjiro turned away, the air in the shop becoming awkward. "But…man, you're actually younger than him…?" He tried to make his voice as nonchalant as possible. Minako looked at him, her face and eyes showing her confusion. Smiling to himself, he didn't elaborate on what he was thinking. "We're lucky that you're such a reliable leader," he told her teasingly, smiling gently.
Minako had the idea that he was saying much more than a simple tease, but she didn't ask about it as she felt a weird sensation run up her spine. A voice in her head spoke to her, but Minako paid no mind, as she decided that it was just useless information.
"...Oww," he groaned as he took a full bite of the hot noodles. Trying to put on a tough-guy act, which Minako saw through, he laughed and recalled a moment before leaving SEES. "That reminds me… I cut the inside of my mouth the first time he punched me, too." Minako smiled and continued eating, but not before patting his hand. "I couldn't eat for a while because of that."
Minako froze. "Couldn't eat?" she echoes with shock and disgust. "You couldn't eat? What do you mean? Why did he punch you?"
Shinjiro turned away in embarrassment. "…I forget. It was back when we were kids." He chuckled, almost nostalgically. After a few more bites, he sighed and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "This just ain't gonna work. I'll have to wait until it cools down."
Minako began laughing hysterically and Shinjiro joined in, until the quiet ramen shop was filled with joyful laughter.
(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)(X)
Back at the dorm, Shinjiro climbed the stairs slowly with Minako silently, not needing any words to express the joy they felt, both in their mind and their full stomachs. "Sleep well," he told her, showing a ghost of a smile. His towering figure helped him put his hand onto her head and pat it tenderly. "Thanks for tonight, by the way," he quickly said before she retreated into her room.
The current SEES leader laughed and smiled, taking his hand from her head and patting it as well. "You too. And it's no problem. I love food."
Shinjiro had to smile. "I do too, Minako, I do too."
She smiled kindly and him and nodded. "Good night, Senpai!" The door shut quietly before Shinjiro could say more, and he could've sworn that she was squealing in her bedroom.
The flight of stairs to his room was more enjoyable than it ever had been, Shinjiro thought as he took out his pocket watch to check the time.
[end of chapter two]
Hope you enjoyed this installment of One Month and I'm sorry for the delay. Please review if possible! Pleaaaseeee! I love reviews, whether their a simple 'I do/don't like it' or constructive criticism. It's all very helpful.
By the way, this story goes to the Moon SL if you hadn't noticed/hadn't read the other descriptions. Hope you enjoyed it and please wait up for the next installment of this story. =)
-Rai-chan