Chapter Two:

Breaking Promises

7/9

Akihiko's POV

Steam rolls up and playfully swipes at my face as I stare into my bowl of ramen. "Problem?" Shinji asks through a mouth full of noodles. I sigh and look over at him questioningly. Had I been that obvious with my emotions again? Whether I was or not Shinji would be able to tell either way. That's just the way he is.

"I guess you could say that," is all I lead on before I take a bite of ramen. Oddly the noodles taste like sand, so I swallow quickly. Lately food holds little appeal to me. Sure I stomach protein shakes on a daily basis no matter what, but everything I try to ingest normally ends up tasting like garbage. Even ramen, something I have nearly every day, is becoming nothing but slop before me.

"Well, if that's all then don't come here and bother me." Shinji retorts back, bringing me into reality again. Once he has my attention his face shifts from a smirk to a grimace. "You don't look good though, Aki."

"Thanks," I say, shooting him a somewhat defiant glare.

"You eating right?" he asks, ignoring me; a just as indignant look on his face. "Those nasty protein shakes can only give you so much, you know?" Before I can respond my stomach lets out a ferocious snarl. "See? Even your body agrees with me."

"Shut up!" I elbow him roughly. "It's not that, okay?... Well it partially is, but not really..." For some reason I can't seem to find the right words. My ears burn just thinking about it. How weak I was, how I screwed everything up, how I made a scene in front of everyone and made everything worse... I mean, I've never been good with... well talking in general, but around Shinji it usually isn't this hard.

"Just say it, idiot," he says candidly.

I pound my fists on the counter in defeat, and attempt to recollect the course of events. "Well two days ago was the full moon... you remember what I told you right?" he nods, urging me to continue. "The special Shadow took up residence in some seedy motel so we had no choice but to scour it, except after awhile things got... strange..." Unable to continue I stare into my ramen, not looking at anything in particular.

"Like how exactly?" he prods impatiently. I groan, a strong urge to drown myself in my ramen overtaking me.

After another minute of battling between drowning myself and telling the rest of the story I decide on the latter. "The Shadow had the place rigged... It wanted to separate us... in pairs. I ended up with Minako..."

"The new girl, right?" he confirms, though I'm sure he already knows. I nod however, and take a bite of ramen despite how unappetizing it seems. Any excuse not to talk will suffice. I take a few more bites, but they don't go down completely. Shinji, starting to get irritated with my reluctance, narrows his eyes. "So the two of you were separated from the rest of the group... in one of those hotels?" he asks, just as a spark of recognition lights his face. "You're telling me you..."

Before he can finish the accusation a fire engulfs my entire body. Everything around me slurs and it feels as if I'd been punched in the jaw. He was about to say it! No, he can't!... If he does then that means it really happened... Maybe I really am that weak after all...

"Aki, calm down," Shinji demands through gritted teeth, gripping my arm. "You're making a scene." The spinning finally comes to a stop and the restaurant molds back to it's original shape. At some point during my mental tirade I had stood up and almost knocked over the condiments along with our bowls. Murmuring a quick apology I take a seat and run my fingers through my hair.

Both of us sit awkwardly for a minute before he decides to say something. "Should I take that as a yes then?" he asks nonchalantly, causing me to groan in response. Could you be any more blunt, Shinji?...

"Yeah..." I mumble, not really wanting to admit to it. "The bastards took over our minds somehow, and forced us." I pound my fist on the counter again. "Of course I would never do that so easily, but you should see her..." An image of Minako flashes across my mind. Whenever she sees me now she hunches over like she's in physical pain just from the sight of me... "She's terrified of me... And it's all my fault. If I had been strong enough to resist the Shadow's influence everything would've been fine."

Shinji sucks in a drawn breath. After a minute of speculation he finally speaks up. "Stop being such an idiot. It's not like it was your fault." My heart thuds painfully in my chest. You're just trying to make me feel better... Sighing I stand up and pull out my wallet. I put the usual amount of yen for a bowl of ramen on the counter.

"Knew you wouldn't understand," I say as I head for the exit.

"Whatever," he retorts apathetically. The sounds of slurping wish me goodbye.

-Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ-

Minako's POV

Water drizzles down my face as I lean back in the tub. The warm water saps all of the tiredness and exhaustion from my body. Over the past few days I haven't gotten much sleep. Between fighting off the Shadows both mentally and physically, along with all the drama that happened last night, I just haven't been able to relax enough to close my eyes.

My head reels as the blood rushes to my cheeks. Black and white dots dance around my vision, and a sudden urge to sleep overtakes me. I guess it's time to get out. Before I get up I pull the drain plug out with my toes. Just as I stand however I feel myself plunging forward. My knees hit the edge of the tub, but I'm able to catch myself with my hands before my face can hit the tile.

Slowly I stand up to survey the damage. "Ouch," I groan as I notice the bruises forming on my knees. Sighing I wrap a towel around my body and reluctantly look into the mirror. My auburn hair is almost dry, and my maroon eyes look tired and worn. Something else about me seems wrong, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I should probably just go to sleep early...

After I rearrange the bathroom back to the way I found it I reach for the door handle. Taking one last look to judge how I did I blindly head through the door. Instantly my head goes blank as I feel myself collide with something else. Whatever it is follows me into the wall next to us. Cringing I open my eyes and look up to see a person. "S-senpai?" I ask cautiously.

"Minako?" the shocked face of Akihiko asks back. The second he notices it's me he takes a step back and looks down. "I'm sorry..." he apologizes quickly.

"Uh... it's okay, Senpai," I reassure him as I readjust the towel around me. "Are you okay?" Taking a step towards him I notice that his face looks almost as drained as my own. I guess it has been a long past few days for the both of us...

"Oh... I'm good," he says cocking an eyebrow. "Strong, and healthy as always." He forces a smile, but it's easy to tell that he's lying. I don't really want to call him on it though.

"Always dependable," I agree with a grin. A dark look passes his eyes despite the happy expression. "Hey, Senpai?" I say without really thinking. "Do you think that we could talk?" Now that I think about it, this is the longest conversation that we've had since the incident.

I look up to see a deep blush spread across his cheeks. "As long as you ch-change first..." he insists, reminding me that I'm all but naked underneath the thin fabric wrapped around me. I remember offhandedly what happened the last time I had been in only a towel around him. A matching blush rises up to my face and I quickly head for the stairs.

Turning over my shoulder I suddenly remember something else. "Do you think we could talk somewhere private?" I ask, though I don't really have a place in mind. Both of our rooms are out of the question. Other than the bedrooms there aren't many other quiet places in the dorm though.

"Uh...yeah, we can," he answers, taking a minute to think about it. "How about on the roof?" I nod quickly and rush up the stairs to get dressed.

-Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ-

As I reach the top of the dorm staircase I notice that the lock to the roof has been lifted. I push through the door and am instantly overwhelmed. The vast sky painted with the colors of sunset are sprawled all around me. I'd never seen the sunset from so high up before. Standing in the middle of the tapestry before me is Akihiko. His silver hair gleaming in the light. This time of day really does compliment him.

What am I thinking?...

Shaking my head, I take a few steps towards him. "Hey, Senpai," I greet as I reach him. He looks up and his expression shifts from thoughtful to distraught. His eyebrows knit together and he attempts to say something, but stops, thinking better of it. "Senpai?..."

"Akihiko," he says stiffly. I look up at him, confused. "You can call me Akihiko, you know... you've done it before," he clarifies, a smirk pulling at the sides of his lips.

A grin works it's way onto my face. It makes me happy to know that he considers me such a close friend that I don't have to use honorifics. "Thank you... Akihiko."

"So," he says, rocking back on his heels. "What did you want to talk to me about exactly?"

Painful goosebumps overtake my entire body, and it feels as if my blood is burning. Bracing myself by wrapping my arms around my waist I take a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself. Before I say anything I look up in time to catch a pang of guilt lash out at Akihiko.

I hope he hasn't been blaming himself this whole time... I guess I haven't exactly made it the easiest for him...

"Well," I start, slowly and carefully. "Since the other night things have been weird between us... and I don't want that. It's not good for our group, and it not good for you... or me. So I think that we should do what you said two nights ago: just forget it ever happened." Reluctantly I glance at his face, his expression stoic and empty. "I promise I won't tell anyone as long as you won't."

Akihiko sighs deeply, his shoulders hunching as if a weight had been lifted from them. "Tell no one, right?" he asks as he looks up at the darkening sky. He swallows roughly then looks back at me. "Alright, I promise."

"Pinky promise?" I ask as I take a step closer to him, holding out my pinky. He nods as he crosses the rest of the distance then wraps his finger around mine.

"Pinky promise." We smile at each other, the juvenile act bringing on waves of childhood nostalgia. "So," he says as he lets go of my pinky. "Want to watch the rest of the sunset with me? It's my favorite time of the day."

I nod enthusiastically. I hope things will go back to normal now...

-Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ-