April 19th, 2009
As it turned out, Minato had been right in his assumption. Mitsuru did not take long at all in getting revenge on him for his 'hostile takeover' of SEES the previous night.
He was rudely awakened by Akihiko at the crack of dawn, as he needed to (in her words), "be an effective member of the team as soon as possible." To compound the problem, he had gone to bed only a few hours beforehand, having tried to contact his grandfather to relay the information he had gathered on the Dark Hour and SEES throughout most of the night.
The torture that Akihiko called "training" was just the beginning of his troubles that day. After 5 hours of excruciating jogging, weight lifting, and sparring, he had been swept to the roof by Mitsuru, and had then been forced to spar with her.
Now, as proficient as he had been after his grandfather and his tutors had taught him fencing, he was sorely out of practice. After the incident 2 years ago, he'd never really taken the time to practice against another opponent. Mitsuru obviously had no such problem, and was, despite her age, perhaps the best fencer he'd ever seen. After the 3rd bout in a row where she had beaten him with 5 moves or less, she yanked off her protective mask, her eyes shining with fierce anger.
"How is it that you were able to face a Shadow twice as strong and with 10 times as many blades as me and live, yet you can't even make one attack without me defeating you?!"
Minato yanked his mask off as well, his own anger evident. "Well, for starters, I hadn't just run a marathon before being forced to fight for my life! I had been sleeping, an activity that I would very much like to go back to right now. I also hadn't just had the crap beat out of me by a world-class boxer literally minutes beforehand! Oh, and I also had help in that fight a week ago, in case you've forgotten." He scowled down at the practice mat they were standing on. "Plus, that Shadow and I weren't confined to a nylon training mat. We had this whole roof to fight on!"
She strode up to him, eyes glinting dangerously. "No excuses," She said, her tone deathly quiet. "There can be no excuses for why you cannot fight me and win. The Shadows are stronger, tougher and faster than we are. Our Personae are the only equalizing force that we have. Since you cannot control yours, you must learn to fight even when you think you cannot. I would think that would be obvious. But… if this is the attitude you will take when you face a Shadow, complaining about how unfair it is… then I have no use for you." With that, she turned away haughtily, sending a wave of renewed anger through his system.
She dares to even assume that you cannot win? She must learn her lesson.
"Alright," he said in an arrogant tone, "One more bout."
She glanced back at him."…What was that?"
"One more bout," He repeated as she turned to face him. "I win; you get off your goddamn Persona high horse, and get serious about training me. That means real rest, and schedules, and actual training, not this… torture."
Her mouth twitched into a half-smirk. "And if I win?"
He shrugged. "Then we do it your way. I go to Ikutsuki, give him back the toys, and tell him I've reconsidered his offer."
She didn't even hesitate. "Deal." Minato stared after her as she turned to reclaim her discarded mask.
Why do I feel that I just played right into her hand…?
He shook his head. It didn't matter. He wasn't going to lose, not this time. This was too important. He slipped his mask back onto his head and set up on his line. She nodded to him, signaling she was ready. They saluted each other, and set off.
She almost got him, right out of the gate.
She leapt across the practice mat like a hellcat, trying to catch him with a jumping thrust. He had barely been able to parry it in time, redirecting the blow away from him. He attempted to riposte, but she batted his blade away with an almost contemptuous parry. He probed a couple of times to test her defenses, and nearly had his blade knocked out of his hands with a complicated flourish.
She'd simply been toying with him before, it seemed.
Goddamn it…
He retreated, attempting to gain time to plan his next move. Mitsuru wasted no time going on the offensive however, assaulting him with a flurry of thrusts and slashes. He was quickly losing ground, and did not have the strength to try and feel out her defenses again, lest he lose outright. He needed to be daring, to do something she wouldn't expect. He smirked behind his mask as he thought back to a movie he had watched a long time ago.
I know something you don't...
Mitsuru didn't hate Minato, despite his arrogance. She was doing this for his own good, to protect him. She needed people who had Persona that couldn't possibly kill their user every time they were summoned. Shinjiro had proven how devastating an untamed Persona could be, and she would not see another person driven to that state again.
So she was forced to play this… role. She was impossibly harsh on him, goading him, angering him, trying to force him to quit. She could tell that he was a good fencer, but as exhausted as he was, he was easy to fight. A few more seconds and he'd be too tired to defend against another heavy thrust. This bout was hers.
At least, that's what she thought.
In her overconfidence, she overcommitted, pushing an attack too hard, leaving her momentarily exposed. He was able to riposte with a quick thrust, forcing her to give ground in order to avoid being hit. In that small window, he did something that even she had not anticipated.
He switched the sword from his right hand to his left.
He's ambidextrous?!
This was a problem. She was effectively fighting on the same hand as him, and it was psychologically difficult for her to plan against. While she had been able to beat him easily as a right-hander, she could barely parry some of his ripostes as a left-hander. This was a weakness in her defense that she had always meant to deal with, but…
She shook her head. Now was not the time to be dwelling on the past.
Focus on the present, and do your job as leader!
It felt like he was barely conscious. He had slipped into his own mind, Mitsuru firmly in his sights. All of his focus was on one thing and one thing alone; beating her. One hit was all he needed. Parry. Thrust. Parry. Riposte. All his anger, his frustration… it all fell away here. All that existed was the fight.
Her parries feel weaker when I attack from this side, and she leaves herself open on the other to compensate… where I can… There!
A gap in her defenses showed itself, but only for a moment. He quickly pressed the attack, ignoring his screaming muscles and aching joints. The gap grew wider and wider with each flurry of blows, until…
Now!
She gasped as the tip of his sabre pressed into her upper right shoulder. It was a non-killing blow, but a disabling one, and a pure hit.
He'd won.
He whipped his mask off, smug happiness written on his face as he held out his hand to shake. "So…That's the match, right?"
She didn't say a word. She ripped off her mask and stormed past him, throwing the door open and storming down the stairs.
He snorted derisively. "Making friends, wherever I go…" He took a deep breath. "Fine, if she wants to be that sore a loser, then more power to her…"
A few minutes later, he sat on the edge of the roof, looking out into the city below, pondering what just happened.
Now that he had calmed down a bit, he could see something was wrong. Mitsuru running off like that had been… uncharacteristic of her. He had only known her a few days, but he could see that she was not a person that backed down from adversity, let alone run from it.
Sure, he probably could have stood to be less of an ass, but she had been purposefully provoking it.
Still, running off like that… there had to be something else bothering her about him, and that in turn, bothered him. If he was going to be part of this team, he couldn't be at odds with the leader of the group like this. He sighed as he decided his next course of action.
Could have just gone back to bed and slept for the rest of the day, but no. A pretty girl runs away from you and you gotta be the chivalrous knight, coming in to listen to her feelings, and totally not calling her out for being a bitch to you. Woohoo.
He got up and walked down to the 3rd floor. He ended up running into Yukari along the way, who evidently was coming back from her morning out with friends. "Hey, Minato-kun," She greeted before looking him up and down. "What's with the get-up?"
He looked down at himself. He was still wearing the fencing equipment Mitsuru had lent him, and it did look kind of silly without reference. "Well, um… Uh…" He sighed. "…it's complicated. Listen, which room is Mitsuru-san's? I may have done something bad to upset her, and… well, I wanted to apologize."
She snorted in disbelief. "You did something bad to Mitsuru-senpai and she didn't execute you?" She whistled, impressed. "Must have been pretty bad if she just ran off. Well, her room is the first one on the left."
He smiled. "Thanks, Yukari-san."
She smiled brilliantly back at him. "Just Yukari. You saved my life, remember?"
Um…Is she flirting with me?
She laughed at the consternated expression on his face and walked over to her room. "Good luck with…whatever you're doing!" She offered before closing her door. Minato shook his head in amusement as he walked up to Mitsuru's door and knocked.
"Who is it?"
Minato mulled over his reply. He could've been sarcastic, and, to be fair, it was really tempting, but he decided that tact was more important in this instance. "It's me, Mitsuru-san," He said lightly. "I wanted to see if you were alright."
She answered with a curt, "I'm fine."
Obviously, she was not fine. "…May I come in, so I can see for myself?"
Ok, so he was really pushing his luck now.
An awkward moment passed before, all of a sudden, the door was yanked open and Mitsuru pushed out past him into the foyer. Her eyes were red with unshed tears, and her knuckles were white with tension.
She was pissed.
She whirled around, a death glare focused firmly on him. "There, satisfied?!"
He was taken aback with how vehement she was. This couldn't have been caused by just him… could it? He shook his head. "...No. Why are you so upset?"
She spun around and walked over to the chairs that were placed in the middle of the foyer, and sat down in one, glaring at him. "Well, it could be because I have been forced to train a person who can't control their Persona," She bit out angrily. "Or, perhaps it could be because that person is a potential danger to my team," She continued, voice growing in volume, "Or, it could be because that person is an arrogant fool who thinks that simply because he has experienced the Dark Hour for longer than us, he deserves to be a part of my team!"
Minato's eyes glinted dangerously as her words sunk in, and all concern vanished from his expression.
"Well," he bit out, "Forgive this arrogant fool for checking to see if the one person he thought could teach him to control that Persona was alright. It won't happen again."
She watched him storm down the stairs as guilt and regret washed over her. It wasn't his fault. It seemed that her default response to anything unexpected or embarrassing was anger. She had never been able to deal with embarrassment well, and he certainly hadn't deserved that kind of treatment from her.
If she was honest, she'd actually been rather impressed with him exploiting her weakness like that. It showed ingenuity and guts. Instead of congratulating him for it though, she'd run and hid and pouted like a child, simply because he'd beaten her at her own game. Then he'd shown up at her door, concerned about her even though she'd put him through hell. And what did she do? She blew up at him, simply because she was embarrassed and scared.
Well done, Mitsuru. You made him resent you because you couldn't keep your anger in check. Not only that, but you couldn't even try to convince him that this was all for his benefit. What kind of leader are you?
She stood up and trudged back into her room as the tears of frustration finally began to fall from her eyes.
He had been so irritated with what Mitsuru had said to him that he had gone to bed punching his pillow in anger. After he had finally fallen asleep, he started to dream.
Pharos grinned at him from between the bars at the foot of his bed. "Trouble sleeping?"
"Yeah," Minato replied with a groan, "If you can count crazy red-headed women as a cause."
Pharos tilted his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Minato barked out a short laugh. "Don't worry about it. Why are you here, Pharos?"
"Oh, I'm always with you now. That was part of the help I promised."
Minato laughed. "Oh, so I have an imaginary friend in my dreams now? That's gonna get awkward in some situations…"
"I'm not with you in every dream," Pharos said with a chuckle, "Just the ones concerning your future…and your past."
Minato's grin disappeared. "…My past? What do you mean? What do you know?"
Pharos frowned at the hostility rolling off of Minato. "Only what you do; Bits and pieces."
Blood. Gunfire. Mom and Dad in a pool of blood. An inhuman shriek.
Minato groaned as he held his head. "Goddamn that hurt…"
Pharos appeared to be catching his breath as well. "That is all I can see as well."
"That sucks. Thought you might be able to tell me something new," He said with a sigh. "So what now, do I just think about it real hard and it'll all come back to me?"
Pharos laughed. "Hardly. If it were that easy, you would have done it years ago." He turned away for a moment, looking over his shoulder as if he were being called. "Someone's there. Time to wake up."
He heard Yukari's voice through his door as he shook himself awake. "Hey, are you awake in there?" He glanced out the window. It was dark out, meaning he had slept through the rest of the day. What a perfect use of his Sunday.
Minato yawned loudly. "…I am now. What's up, Yukari?"
He could practically feel her shrug through the door. "I don't know. All Akihiko-senpai said was to meet him downstairs."
Minato considered her words. On the one hand, he needed the sleep, and he was still pissed at Mitsuru; seeing her could be… problematic. On the other hand, it could be really important, and he didn't want to give her any more reason to want him off the team. He sighed.
I really can't catch a break today, can I?
"Alright, I'll be right down." Yukari's entirely-too-chipper voice came back through. "Ok! See you down there!"
After taking a moment to steel himself, Minato stood up. Regret hit instantly as his muscles immediately seized up from the torture they had suffered all day. He gasped at the pain, and cursed under his breath.
"Gonna beat the crap out of that silver-haired bastard…"
He barely managed to stumble his way to the front door where Yukari and Akihiko were waiting. Mitsuru, luckily for him, was nowhere in sight.
Good, didn't want to have a fight this late anyways.
He waddled over to stand next to Yukari and asked, "What's up, Akihiko?"
Akihiko smirked at Minato's obviously pain-ridden state. "I told you to take the protein…" Before Minato could retort, however, he said, "There's someone I want you guys to meet." He reached over, opened the door and yelled out, "Come on, we don't have all night!"
A male voice responded. "Gimme a break! This stuff is pretty heavy!"
Yukari stiffened as Akihiko held the door open for the owner of the voice.
The voice turned out to belong to a teen with a half-goatee, a blue baseball cap, and a blue shirt. He wore the Gekkoukan uniform, and was pushing what looked like a mountain of bags into the dorm hallway. He managed to get the bag-mountain in the door and slumped in exhaustion after doing so. After noticing he had an audience, he straightened up and took a relaxed pose. "Heh-hey! What's up?"
Yukari exploded with all the force of a small bomb. "You?! You're moving in here?!"
Akihiko continued with the introduction as if Yukari had not just had a small meltdown. "This is Junpei Iori from class 2-F. He'll be staying here as of today."
"Isn't 2-F your class, too?" Minato whispered. Yukari nodded as she continued to stare at Junpei in disbelief.
"I bumped into him the other night," Akihiko explained. "He has the potential, but just awakened to it recently…"
At the word 'potential', Minato was reminded of his fight with Mitsuru and his face contorted in anger for a second.
Just because I can't control my Persona doesn't mean that I can't help…
Yukari scoffed angrily. "You have the potential? For real?!"
Junpei appeared to not take offense, however. "Eh, he found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins," He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't remember much, but man, that was embarrassing!" He smiled knowingly at them. "He said that's, ya know, completely normal…at the beginning. Like, being confused and not remembering anything…Did you guys know that?"
"No, actually," Minato said with a frown. He remembered every single thing that had happened in the Dark Hour as though it were yesterday. Why was it only him though? "It's never happened to me before."
Just what I need, another mystery added on top of everything else…
"C'mon, man," Junpei said with a scoff, "You gotta know these things. You're a Persona-user, after all, and you gotta stay on top of it if you wanna be useful."
Minato would have thought fate was kinder than she was, before he met Junpei Iori. Somehow, the baseball capped teen had managed to tread on every sore point of the past day in the span of 2 sentences. He would have thought Mitsuru had done this as a joke if he didn't know that she probably wouldn't have thought it was funny.
He grinded his teeth as he contemplated what he was going to do to the baseball capped buffoon.
Hmm, I could scare the crap out of him with my new sword. Ooh, or I could just kick the crap out of him right here. Wait, my muscles will try to kill me if I try that. Dammit! Well, I guess mind games will have to do.
Minato grinned disarmingly at Junpei. "Oh, I don't have a Persona."
Junpei gaped at him. "Then what are you doing here, man? What use are you?"
He would have laughed at how badly Junpei was digging himself into a hole if he wasn't so pissed. "Yeah," He said, his grin turning deadly, "I don't have a Persona, not really. That's cause the last time I tried to summon one, this Grim Reaper look-alike forced its way out of my body and killed every Shadow that threatened me, including the one that managed to injure Akihiko here."
Junpei just stared at the blue haired teen in disbelief as Akihiko grumbled at being reminded of his failure.
"But," Minato continued, "Seeing as how it's too powerful for me to control, I can't summon it anymore or it would probably kill me and everyone else in the room. So… technically, I don't really have a Persona. But I can fight Shadows. I just do it the old fashioned way; with steel and wit." He stuck out his hand. "Minato Arisato. Nice to meet you."
Junpei looked at Minato's hand for a moment before shaking it haphazardly. He floundered for a response for a few moments before resorting to just staring at him in disbelief and horror.
"Well," Minato said with a yawn, "Nice as it was to meet you, I have to get some sleep. I'll see you guys in the morning. Good night."
He trudged up the stairs as fast as his screaming muscles would allow. He could swear he heard Yukari's laughter as he collapsed on his bed again.
April 20th, 2009
Minato woke the next morning feeling surprisingly better than he had since his first day in Iwatodai, despite his sore muscles. He quickly washed up, and headed downstairs to head to school. He was surprised to see Mitsuru standing at the door, waiting. After sleeping on it, he had quickly gotten over his initial anger at her. After all, he had been just as rude to her and had probably deserved most of what she'd said. Still, that didn't mean he was just going to up and forgive her so easily.
So he walked over to her and said in a frigid tone, "Good morning, Kirijo-san. Waiting for me?"
It got the desired effect. She winced at his tone and use of her name, but she persevered. "I was. I wanted to apologize for my behavior the previous day."
He raised an eyebrow in surprise. He hadn't been expecting this. "Well, in that case, I would also like to apologize. I obviously did something to irritate you, and that set you off."
She shook her head in disagreement. "It's not something you did." She sighed. "Would you like to walk to school with me, so I can explain?"
He was shocked. She had treated him like crap the previous day, and now she wanted to walk to school with him? He nodded, dumbfounded. "Sure."
"Excellent." She smiled brilliantly at him, and Minato felt his gut turn. "Shall we go?"
They walked out of the dorm, side by side, as Mitsuru began. "You see, I set up all of that exhaustive training to try and get you to quit yesterday."
"I gathered that, but why?"
"Because I've seen what happens when a Persona gets out of control." She hung her head. "We had another member a few years ago," She said regretfully. "He lost control of his Persona and…" She swallowed in discomfort. "The experience broke him. He swore off ever using his Persona again, and ran away from us." She looked at Minato, concern evident. "I will not let it happen to another member of my team."
Minato blinked. He had not expected this.
She tried to get me to quit because she was concerned what might happen to me if I used my Persona? Well, that's… different.
He nodded to let her continue. She swallowed again, drawing a feeling of guilt from Minato. This was obviously hard for her, sharing this part of herself with someone who was a virtual stranger. "I did this because I am concerned that if I allow you to be a part of the team, you will be forced to use your Persona again. If that happens, it might kill someone. It could even kill you." Her eyes were filled with concern and worry. "I will not lose another friend."
He looked at her in surprise, then sighed.
You're a sucker, Minato. A pretty girl gives you the puppy dog eyes, and you just start eating out of the palm of her hand.
He could hardly blame her, looking from her perspective. He had been lying to her, kind of. That made him an unknown variable, and a potential danger to her team. He would probably have done the same, in her position, honestly.
Still, she needed to know that he wasn't going to give up.
"I… understand your concern," He said with a sigh. "Truly, I do. But I have the same right to explore this Dark Hour as the rest of you, Persona or not. However… if it will make you feel any safer, I will give you my Evoker." Her face twisted in surprise at his offer. "That way I won't be tempted to use it at all. In addition, I will remove myself from any missions you feel are too much."
He raised a finger. "In return however, I want you to really train me. If I am to be a part of this team, I need to pull my own weight, and without a Persona, that's going to be harder to accomplish. Like you said, they're stronger, faster, and tougher than we are." He smiled at her. "I need your help."
She nodded as she thought over his words. "It's not a perfect solution by any means, but we both get what we want, for now." She stuck out her hand. "Deal."
He shook, and he felt all animosity towards her fall away. She was just worried about her team, and his eventual place on it. He could hardly fault her for that, much less be angry about it. In fact, it was even admirable.
However…that doesn't mean she gets off scot-free…
Minato smirked. "So, uh…I'm your friend now?"
She blushed as she remembered her earlier words. "Uh…I…I-it was just a figure of speech!"
Minato gave a fake pout. "Aww, I was looking forward to spreading the word that I am Mitsuru-san's special friend…"
Her face contorted in anger, now colored a furious scarlet. "You what!?" She stammered. "I-I'll execute you if you do any such thing!"
He just laughed, causing her to blink in confusion. "You're pretty easy to tease, you know that?"
After a moment, Mitsuru shook her head and smiled. She'd been had, it seemed.
How surprisingly coy. I didn't know he had it in him.
They walked the rest of the way to the train station together, both at ease after they had reached an understanding of one another. They chatted amiably about the homework and classwork they had due for that day, until they both filed into the classroom and took their seats.
After class broke for lunch, Mitsuru turned to him and said, "I forgot to mention earlier, the Chairman has something important to share with us tonight. Head home straight after school, ok?"
Minato nodded. Mitsuru stood up and said, "I need to inform Takeba and Iori about this as well."
At the sound of Junpei's name, Minato's face lit up with equal parts amusement and anger. "Oh, can you tell Junpei that I said hello? It's very important to me." She nodded a confused look on her face.
Minato watched her turn to leave, and felt a twinge of some unknown emotion tear through him.
"When you get done, want to get some lunch together?" He said before he could stop himself.
What are you doing?!
She turned to him, surprise written on her face. "Unfortunately, I have something I have to do for Student Council…"
Inwardly, he sighed in relief.
"...But, I'll take a rain check, if you wouldn't mind."
He nodded in acknowledgement as his stomach fell. "Sure."
When she left the room, he slammed his head on his desk, drawing a few confused glances.
What in the hell was that, Minato? The two of you just had a huge row about how you bullied your way onto her team! Besides, you want another Haruya to happen? No mixing business and pleasure!
Despite this barrage of mental self-reproach, he couldn't help but feel strangely happy at her sort-of acceptance.
After school, Minato ran into Akihiko on his way out of the door. The silver haired teen was trailed by a pack of younger girls, all of whom were giggling and sending him longing looks. If he noticed this however, he didn't show it. He walked up to Minato and said, "So, how's the training going?"
Being reminded that his whole body was sore sent a wave of irritation through Minato. "Well, considering I can barely move my arms without them screaming in pain, it's going pretty well. You?"
Akihiko smirked. "Oh, you'll get used to that. Don't worry. As for me, I'm doing pretty well, even though my injuries are keeping me from practicing my hardest. Well, you heading back to the dorm? Want some company?"
"Sure, but are all of them coming to the meeting too?" He said with a smirk. "I'm not sure how many of them are Persona-users, though."
Akihiko glanced back at the giggling cadre of girls following close by, causing him to shuffle in discomfort. "Oh, them," He said, his tone lowering in embarrassment. "I-I don't really know any of them. They just follow me around and giggle constantly." He sighed. "It gives me a headache."
Minato smiled evilly, recognizing his chance for revenge. "Well, you know…" He said conspiratorially, "I could help you give them the slip."
Akihiko gave him a surprised look before smirking. "…Ok, what did you have in mind?" Inwardly, Minato chuckled.
Hook, line, and sinker…
"Well, first off, let's head into that alley."
They slipped into the alleyway to their right, which had several dumpsters lined on the walls. Perfect. Minato quickly grabbed Akihiko and shoved him towards one of the dumpsters. "Quick, get in there!"
Akihiko blanched. "But it's a-"
Minato glared at him, cutting him off. "Quickly, we don't have much time! In you go!"
With a groan of discomfort, Akihiko gingerly climbed into the mostly empty dumpster and crouched. "When they pass, I'll give you the all clear," Minato said as he shut the dumpster door. The girls rounded the corner a moment later, their faces twisting with confusion until they spotted him leaning on the dumpster. As they walked over to him, he snickered. This was going to be good.
The girl at the front asked, "Hey, where did Aki-kun go?"
Minato smirked and said, "Oh, he ran down the alleyway. Think he forgot something at school."
The girls shrieked in dismay. "Quickly, back to school! Maybe we can catch him and get him to walk us home!"
Minato smirked as he watched them bolt out of the alley. After a few moments, he heard Akihiko's voice come out of the dumpster. "They gone?"
"Not yet," Minato replied, attempting to hold in his laughter. He then quietly walked out of the alley and back towards the dorm, a big smirk on his face. Akihiko was not gonna be happy when he finally figured out that he hadn't asked what the all-clear actually was.
When Akihiko showed up at the dorm an hour later, he was bright red with anger. Minato was sitting on the couch next to Yukari, reading a textbook when he came in. Yukari got up to greet him as Minato snickered into his hand.
"Hello, Senpai. What kept…," She trailed off as the smell of garbage wafted over her. She quickly put her hand under her nose in disgust. "Oh, god, what is that smell?!"
Minato couldn't keep his laughter contained any longer, breaking out into a full belly laugh. "Y-you didn't hear the a-all-clear, Aki-kun?"
Akihiko glared daggers at the blue haired teen, then smirked with self-righteous fury. He would get his revenge. He stormed upstairs without another word, leaving Minato to his laughing fit.
Yukari turned and glared at Minato, who was wiping a tear from his eye as his laughter subsided. "What did you do to him?"
"Not much," Minato said, shrugging in indifference. "I helped him escape from some not-so-secret admirers."
She raised an eyebrow. "So why the smell?"
"Cause he hid in a dumpster."
Her face twisted in surprise, and then amusement. "This is for the workout he put you through yesterday, isn't it?"
He gasped in mock hurt. "Why, I would never resort to such base tactics to get revenge. You wound me, Yukari."
She smirked. "Yeah, I bet. Just like you wouldn't perpetuate a rumor about us dating, huh?"
"Ha! Exactly." He gestured toward the stairs. "C'mon. We better head up to the meeting."
Mitsuru heard hysterical laughter from downstairs and decided to investigate. She walked out of her room and down the stairs when she saw a livid Akihiko walking up. "What's going on?" She asked. A second later, the smell answered her question.
Akihiko grimaced as her face contorted in disgust. "Minato tricked me. I'm gonna get that blue-haired bastard back for this if it's the last thing I do…"
He had gotten revenge on them both for their behavior yesterday, it seemed. Mitsuru counted herself fortunate that she had only warranted some light-hearted teasing. She hid her laughter at Minato's antics behind a cough. "You should probably wash up, Akihiko. The meeting will start soon."
All anger disappeared from his face as he remembered the meeting, and the subject of said meeting. A smile broke out. "Hell, yes. I'll be up in a few." He quickly pushed past her to his room, the smell wafting after him. She grimaced and quickly headed for the fourth floor lounge, to wait for the rest of the team to show up, and, partially, to escape the smell.
Minato and Yukari walked into the lounge shortly after Mitsuru had. Mitsuru glanced at the two. They seemed to have become fast friends, joking and talking companionably with each other.
A twist of an unknown emotion shot through her stomach at the thought, and disappeared as quickly as it came. She shook her head as the feeling passed.
She smiled as she thought of his antics with Akihiko. The blue haired teen just continued to surprise her. He had somehow manipulated Akihiko into a compromising situation, despite only knowing him for a few days. That suggested a good tactical mind, with the planning and foresight necessary to use it, even if it had been for a practical joke.
Well, two can play at that game, and I hate to lose…
She said, "I noticed Akihiko when he was coming upstairs, Minato-san."
He froze at Mitsuru's use of his first name, to her amusement. He recovered quickly however, attempting to deflect with a charming smile. "Kinda silly, isn't he? Hiding in a dumpster just to escape some girls? How desperate can you be?" He laughed unconvincingly. To her credit, Yukari simply rolled her eyes at his performance.
Mitsuru smirked as the trap closed. "Well, I didn't know that. He neglected to mention that to me. Thank you for clearing that up." His jaw dropped, sending another wave of amusement through her. She let him stew for a few moments before saying in a light, amused tone, "Next time, try not to do something quite so vulgar. The smell was terrible."
Yukari let out a bark of laughter at Minato's stunned expression. "Well played, Senpai. Well played."
She grinned. "Thank you, Takeba," She said as she sat back in her seat, satisfied.
I'm not the only one who's easy to tease…
The sudden appearance of Ikutsuki and Akihiko broke Minato out of his dazed state, as he tensed and stared at the silver-haired teen. Akihiko walked around behind Minato, put his hand on Minato's shoulder and squeezed. "I'll get you back for this during your next training session."
Minato grinned. "Eh, it was worth it."
Junpei came in soon afterward and sat down with the rest of the group, causing Ikutsuki to clear his throat. "Good, everyone's here. I'd like your undivided attention, everyone. Now, for a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko have been the only Persona-users we had. That number has recently jumped to 5."
Akihiko coughed as he said under his breath, "4 and a half…"
Mitsuru glared at him, but there was no fire in her eyes. Ikutsuki continued. "Therefore, starting tonight, at 12:00 am, I would like to commence the exploration of Tartarus."
Minato tilted his head in confusion. "Tartarus?"
Yukari looked at him in surprise. "You haven't seen it, Minato-kun?"
He shook his head. Ikutsuki nodded knowingly. "That's no surprise, since it only appears during the Dark Hour."
Minato raised his eyebrow as Junpei said, "Only during the Dark Hour? What is it?"
"It's the perfect place for us to train," Akihiko said, voice dripping with anticipation. "Think of it as a Shadow nest."
Junpei shuddered. "Their nest, huh…"
"Ikutsuki-san, what about me?" Minato said concernedly. "I… don't really have access to my Persona yet, and…" He glanced at Mitsuru. "…I don't really think I'm ready for field operations just yet either."
Ikutsuki nodded, and then looked to Mitsuru. "What do you think?"
She nodded in agreement with Minato's assessment. "Arisato needs a bit more training before I think that he's ready to go into Tartarus. However, he is skilled enough that I feel comfortable with him staying with me at the entrance. So, Akihiko, you will be field leader for tonight's expedition. However," She added, glaring at him, "You are still injured, so you will only participate in combat if, and only if, absolutely necessary."
He glared right back at Mitsuru, disappointed he would not get to fight, but accepted her conditions. "Alright."
Junpei stood up, a cocky grin on his face. "Relax, guys. I've got your backs."
Somehow, this fact did not reassure Minato.
Ikutsuki smiled. "Alright, it's settled. Good luck, everyone, and be safe!"
They quickly filed out of the dorm and headed to the train station. Minato was confused. Where exactly was Tartarus? As the train rounded to corner to showcase Tatsumi Port Island, however, he had a sneaking suspicion he knew where they were heading.
No way. That would be too ironic for words.
As they walked up to the gate of Gekkoukan High School, Minato laughed. Junpei looked at him as though he were crazy, then turned to look at the school. "It's…here?!"
"Quiet," Akihiko said, shushing him. "It's almost the Dark Hour."
As if on cue, the world shifted to a sickly shade of green, and the lamps over the gate suddenly shut off. Things were still for a moment, then all of a sudden, the ground began to tremble as their school transformed. Massive structures forced their way out of the ground toward the sky, twisting and turning in an Escher style grace, eventually forming what looked to be a gigantic tower.
Akihiko opened the gate and gestured grandly at the gargantuan building. "Welcome to Tartarus."
Minato chuckled. "I heard that school was Hell, but I never imagined that someone or something would take it quite so literally."
For a moment, Junpei just gaped at the concrete monstrosity. When he came to, he yelled, "What happened to our school?!"
Mitsuru chuckled good-naturedly at Junpei's reaction. "Once the Dark Hour passes, the school returns to normal. There isn't a need to be so worried, Iori."
His face contorted with annoyance, but quickly switched to cockiness. "I wasn't worried! Just intrigued, was all."
Minato stared up at the tower. Had this had been here the whole time? A question wormed its way through his head. "Why?"
Mitsuru turned to him. "Why, what?"
He looked at her in confusion. "Why here, of all places?"
A flash of panic momentarily came across Mitsuru's face, but she settled back into her calm demeanor. "I don't know." She replied.
His eyes narrowed.
She lies! She has knowledge of what this place is and she refuses to share!
But, it doesn't make sense not to tell us…Unless she's involved. Or if not her, maybe her family...?
At that thought, he remembered something that Yukari had said in passing, something about the Kirijo Group owning the school. It would explain some of their investment in this crisis, but only by so much. There had to be something more...
But why? What could have happened here that is so bad that she can't or won't tell us?
He was tempted to call her out, but…something in her eyes made him pause. He shook his head. He'd just made peace with her. It wouldn't be wise to aggravate her again so soon. Instead, he could research the Kirijo Group and its history when he had the chance. Maybe that would provide some insight.
Yukari spoke up in the uncomfortable silence that had occurred. "Who cares? It's not like it would change our minds about fighting…"
Akihiko nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Maybe we can find out why inside. This is our first time actually exploring it."
Mitsuru shook her head. "You are still injured, Akihiko. We will only be progressing through the first floor tonight, to give our newer members a taste of what we must deal with."
"I know, I know…" He grumbled as he gestured for everyone to follow, leading them all into the towering monstrosity.
The lobby held a giant staircase that lead to a giant door, suspended in air. There was a green pad to the right of the exit, and a clock to their left. A motorcycle rested next to the stairs.
Junpei made noises of wonder as they stepped around the lobby. The room felt alien, yet strangely comforting. "Wow, it's just as cool and weird0 on the inside."
Mitsuru smirked at his childlike wonder. "This is only the entrance. The labyrinth is beyond that door." Minato swallowed nervously. A labyrinth?
Oh, great. The answers I want lie beyond a tower of my greatest weakness; mazes.
"Ok, guys, listen up," Akihiko said, turning to his younger teammates. "As you all know, we are only going to be exploring the first floor today, since we're so understaffed at the moment."
"Yeah, right," Junpei scoffed dismissively. "We have all we need right here, right, Yuka-tan?"
Minato snickered at the silly nickname he had given Yukari, as said girl glared at Junpei. "Listen, Stupei. It's just going to be me and you fighting in there today. Akihiko-senpai is only there to give us the right orders to fight off the Shadows. If you don't respect what these things can do, then we are dead. Do you understand?"
Junpei stared in shock at Yukari' vehemence. He quickly put his hands up in surrender. "I get it, Yuka-tan. You can count on me. I promise."
Yukari looked at his put-upon expression and sighed regretfully. "Alright then. I'm sorry I bit your head off, it's just… well…" Her eyes unfocused for a moment, before she shook her head. "…The last time I fought one of these things, it didn't go so well."
"I gotcha," He said, nodding in sympathy before turning and looking at Akihiko. "Ready when you are, Senpai."
Akihiko looked at Yukari, who nodded. "Ready."
He smiled in satisfaction, looked at Mitsuru and said, "Ok, we're heading in."
Mitsuru nodded back, walked over to the motorcycle, and pulled out a mobile transmitting station. "Alright. I'm set for support. Good luck, everyone."
The three teens scaled the staircase and stepped through the giant door. It fell closed behind them with a giant bang.
"You know..." Minato said lightly, "As irritated as I am that I can't go in and help them… I'm kind of glad that I don't." Mitsuru glanced at him in surprise. He gave her a sideways grin as he adjusted the new rapier on his hip. "I'm horrible with directions," he explained, "And I hate mazes."
She gave him a small smile at the admission of his flaw. "Luckily for us…" she replied, "I have that covered." She pulled her Evoker out of her holster with a flourish and put the barrel against her temple before pulling the trigger. "Persona!"
A being appeared behind Mitsuru as the sound of glass breaking passed throughout the lobby. It was a tall, womanish figure in an armored cuirass with a rapier in one hand, a dagger in the other, and a crown on its head. Minato stared intently at the being. It appeared to take many of its features from aspects of Mitsuru's personality.
Well, duh. Persona, Personality. Of course they would be related.
"So this is a real Persona, huh?" He said, awed by the figure's presence.
She frowned at his apparent disregard for his own Persona, but let it slide. "Yes, this is Penthesilea. Say hello." Penthesilea nodded to Minato wordlessly, then took its crown off, and put it on Mitsuru's head.
Minato smirked as the crown slipped onto Mitsuru's head. "So, now the queen has her crown."
Mitsuru smiled at his good-natured teasing, and said. "This is the main reason that I am out here and not in there. The layout of Tartarus changes every day. You need someone guiding you if you want to be able to make it out again, which is where I come in. Penthesilea can 'see' into Tartarus, even from out here. This terminal here allows me to funnel that ability, and communicate directly with the group. Speaking of which…" She put her hand on the console, and Minato felt a tug at the back of his mind.
"Hello, can everyone hear me?" He heard Mitsuru say twice. Once through his ears, once in his mind. That was impressive. An ability like Mitsuru's would definitely come in handy while searching a place like Tartarus. He frowned. His own Persona seemed only suited towards one thing, and that thought worried him more than anything.
Apparently the group was ready, as Mitsuru said, "Very well. Let the operation commence!"
Junpei could hardly believe what he was doing. A week ago, he had just been another loser. Now, he was a hero, fighting to protect his people! His Persona, Hermes, made taking out Shadows easy too. He and Yuka-tan had made short work of pretty much everything that they had come across, and Akihiko-senpai had approved of the way that they had dealt with everything so far.
During a long walk down a quiet hallway, his thoughts turned to Minato, the mysterious new guy who 'technically' didn't have a Persona, and who, despite his tough words last night, seemed to be ok taking a back seat to the rest of them. What was his deal, anyways? Did he really mean all those things he said last night about the Grim Reaper?
He shook his head. Why did he care anyway? The guy wasn't in here with them, so that made him useless in Junpei's eyes.
It's not that he's a bad guy, he's just not strong enough to handle this kind of stuff right now. It's kinda like how you don't send Robin to do Batman's job. Wait, now there's an idea!
He grinned as the image of Minato dressed up as a costumed sidekick came into his mind.
Heh, that would get the stick out of his ass...
He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear Mitsuru's warning. "Watch out! I sense a powerful Shadow!"
As if the Shadow were a stage performer waiting for its cue, it leapt down from a hidden perch in the ceiling. This one was massive! It was twice the size of anything else they had faced today! It had powerful crushing arms and hands the shape of maces, and looked heavily armored.
He shook his head clear of those negative thoughts.
That doesn't matter. We can take this thing!
He heard the call to retreat too late.
Mitsuru cursed under her breath. She had not been able to sense the Shadow until it was too late. This one, she had concluded after her analysis, was a tough one. It could easily have taken her and Akihiko both out at the same time, even in their prime. The others, inexperienced as they were, didn't have a chance. She quickly ordered a retreat, but got no response. She repeated the order, only for Akihiko's panicked voice to resonate in her head.
"Junpei's hit! He's injured!"
Mitsuru cursed again. She did not want to lose anyone, especially on their first foray into Tartarus.
"Can you retrieve him?" She asked, panic slipping into her voice.
"No, this thing's too fast! Yukari! Distract it!"
"Roger!"
"Polydeuces!"
A moment passed before Akihiko's worried voice came back through the line.
"Mitsuru, I don't know if we can beat this thing…"
Akihiko's admission scared her. If Akihiko didn't know if they could win… She steeled herself for what she had to do. "I'm coming in."
"Not a chance! If you enter, we have no guarantee we'll ever get out again!" She cursed for a third time. Akihiko was right. If she left to enter Tartarus, she would not be able to guide them out again. If she didn't, then they would die. She closed her eyes in frustration.
What do I do…?
Before she could think of anything else, however, she heard footsteps echo off the marble floor. She spun around to see the door to Tartarus slam shut once again.
Minato was gone.
Her eyes widened as she pieced together what had happened, quickly turning back to her terminal. She found him standing in the entrance hall of the labyrinth, as if he were waiting for her. She smirked.
I guess that it's a trial by fire for you, Arisato.
"Arisato, can you hear me?"
His calm voice came back through. "Yeah. Look, I know what you're gonna say, but let's save the lecture for after we get the rest of the team home, ok?" His tone left no room for argument.
She sent a wave of agreement over the line, and started to feed him directions. "Head down the corridor, then take the second right…"
He really hated mazes. That was something that he already knew. However, being trapped in one with a huge monster on the other end, really, really made him hate mazes. How Theseus had dealt with this crap in the legends escaped him. Luckily for him, he had his own personal guide through the twisting corridors of Tartarus. Mitsuru's calm and succinct directions were simple enough to make it so he only got turned around once. He ran around a corner to a long hallway, and heard sounds of fighting at the other end.
He drew his rapier and ran down the hallway as fast as he could. His muscles were screaming from abuse, but he ignored the pain. As he drew closer to the sounds of fighting, Mitsuru's voice lit up inside his head. "I've analyzed the enemy! It is weak to fire!"
"Ok, thanks for the heads up!" Minato replied, shaking his head. The tip was nice, but what good would it do him? He didn't have anything to set a fire with!
After a few tense moments of running, he finally reached where the fight was happening. The Shadow had already knocked Yukari unconscious, and was currently advancing on Junpei. Junpei didn't look like he was doing too well, as he was holding his side and breathing heavily. Still, he was on his feet, and that meant he was still combat-effective. Akihiko, on the other hand, had his Evoker out and was attempting to pull the trigger, but to no avail. His injuries seemed to have sapped his strength, preventing the Persona summoning.
Minato took all this information in, and formed a battle plan in a second.
Distraction.
"Hey! Tall, bright and ugly! Fresh meat!" The Shadow turned to him quizzically, as though it didn't quite understand what he was. It soon shook its confusion off and attempted to crush Minato under one of its huge legs. He rolled under it, slashing the underside of its body as he went past.
Unfortunately, the attack only did marginal damage, causing a small trickle of shadowy-gore to ooze out of the cut. The Shadow's head rotated on its body, and it started advancing on him and Junpei, who had stumbled to his side.
"Junpei?"
"Yeah?"
"You have enough in you for another shot with your Persona?"
"Yeah," He said with a nod, "But…what do I hit it with?"
They leapt away from each other as the Shadow attempted to crush them again. "I don't know!" Minato yelled, scrambling to his feet. "What do you have!?"
Junpei's eyes rolled up into the back of his head for a moment, as if he were consulting his Persona. "Bash and…Agi!" He yelled back.
Minato quickly rolled away from another crushing slam and slashed the Shadow along its leg. The Shadow buckled and fell to the ground, but only for a second. Minato exhaled in frustration. "What the hell is an Agi?!"
Junpei took advantage of the momentary weakness and ran in, slashing the Shadow's arm with his large katana, then backed off again as it attempted to flail at him. "It's fire, dude! Like honest to god fireballs!"
Minato laughed incredulously. There was no way. The one person here who had fire was the idiot who got them into the mess in the first place. "Alright," He yelled as he formed a plan in his head. "Hit it with your fire when I give the word! Got it?!"
"Got it!"
Minato ran at the Shadow at full tilt. The Shadow swung its flail-like fist down to where he would have been, had he not slid at the last second, his momentum carrying him straight under. He stood up from his slide, ran under the Shadow and slashed both of its legs as deeply as he could. The Shadow made an inhuman groan as it fell face first onto the ground.
"Now!" Minato yelled, backing off as far as possible from the Shadow.
Junpei yanked his Evoker out of its holster, put it against his head and pulled the trigger. "Hermes! Agi!" His winged Persona shimmered into existence and thrust its hand out, sending a fireball flying at the downed Shadow. Fire engulfed the Shadow, boiling away its armor and exposing its amorphous body. Minato quickly ran around to where the 'head' of the Shadow had been and stabbed his rapier viciously into it. It creaked and clanked as its remaining metallic parts lost their animating force, and the Shadow quickly melted into a messy black puddle of gore.
They'd done it.
Junpei walked over to Minato, newfound respect blazing within him. "Dude, that was freaking awesome. You looked so cool coming in here like that, and then when you-"
"Your recklessness nearly cost the whole team their lives, Junpei," Minato said, angrily.
Junpei recoiled in shock. "Wha-"
"This isn't a game," He continued, cutting off Junpei's protest. "There are some fights that you simply cannot win. You need to be able to recognize those instances, and be able to react accordingly. This one, if I hadn't come in, would have cost you your life, and the lives of the team." He glared at Junpei. "For your sake, don't ever make this mistake again." With that, he walked away, probably to check on Akihiko and Yukari.
Junpei was livid.
I come over here to congratulate him on a good job, and he yells at me? In front of everyone!? Who the hell made him king of the goddamn mountain?
The way Junpei saw it, this guy hadn't really done anything of use. If anything, he'd just stolen all the credit for the kill. After all, it was Junpei's Persona that had made the difference in the battle, not Mr. Stick-Up-His-Ass. He scoffed. It didn't matter. None of it did.
Minato had been able to wake Yukari after a few minutes of prodding and helped her up, slinging her arm over his shoulder. "Alright, Mitsuru-san. Where to?" They were quickly guided to a pad that Mitsuru was sure would teleport them back to the entrance.
When they stepped on the pad, a weird sense of vertigo shot through them, and all of a sudden, they were back in the lobby. Mitsuru came over to the group, worry in her eyes. "How is everyone doing?"
Yukari made a half-hearted smile, which was ruined when she winced from her injuries. Akihiko had a silly smile on his face from the adrenaline running through him, and he made a thumbs up. Junpei gingerly touched his side, but turned back to Mitsuru and said. "All good, Senpai." Minato smirked at her in a knowing way, and made a thumbs up as well.
She let out a sigh of relief. They all appeared as though they would be fine. She smiled at all of them and said, "I know it got rough at the end, but I'm impressed," She looked at Minato. "With all of you."
Minato nodded wordlessly in acknowledgement, then said, "Do we have any medical supplies on hand, Mitsuru-san? Yukari can probably wait, but I'd rather get started on treating her now."
She nodded, grabbed the emergency first aid kit out of the motorcycle's kit bag and handed it to him. He nodded in thanks, sat Yukari down on the steps and started treating her more serious injuries with a steady hand. She raised an eyebrow in surprise. He knew how to treat injuries?
Junpei scoffed and walked over to the exit, presumably to wait for the rest to gather up to leave. His attitude seemed off from earlier, she noticed. She walked over to Akihiko. "Is there anything I should know about?"
Akihiko snorted. "Our bluenette is not making many friends. He berated Junpei for rushing in and putting the rest of the team in danger."
She smiled for a moment at the 'bluenette' comment, but frowned at the report of Minato's behavior. "Why did he do that? That is a job for me to do as leader, and regardless, it's certainly not something you do in front of the rest of the team."
"I don't know," Akihiko said with a shrug. "He said something about it not being a game, knowing that there are fights you can't win, and knowing what to do when you see it."
A sound breakdown of what went wrong in the fight. The evidence that he was more than what he appeared to be just kept mounting up. "Hmm, there is definitely more to Arisato then we know," She said, voicing her thoughts. "The question is, why didn't the background check catch any of it?"
"I don't know," Akihiko said with a shrug. "Maybe this is something to talk with your father about?"
She shook her head. "No, it's all right. We don't need to bother him with this, and besides…" She looked over to the teen who was wrapping up Yukari's injuries. "...Somehow, I think that those are his secrets to tell."
She looked back to Akihiko, forcefully tearing her gaze away from the two teens. That strange feeling had come back, in force, and it made her uncomfortable. "Anything else of note I should know about the team?"
Akihiko looked back at Minato, then to the corner where Junpei was pouting. "Well, Minato was right about Junpei's actions. He acts recklessly, always the first one into combat. Yukari could barely keep up with him at times. He's a great fighter, though. Unorthodox, but powerful. Yukari seemed to handle herself alright, injuries excluded. She seems to have gotten over her fear of using her Persona, and made several excellent maneuvers during that last fight. Her injuries could have been much worse."
Mitsuru nodded in agreement. "I had a feeling Iori would be a handful. And Arisato? How did he do?"
Surprisingly, Akihiko smiled. "He came in to a screwed situation, and within a minute, made it out with the enemy defeated and everyone more or less intact. He drew up a battle plan on the fly using all of the available pieces he had, then executed and achieved victory with it. He never hesitated, and showed no fear during the entire fight." He shook his head, impressed. "With some slight training on how to deal with the Shadow's various elemental attacks, he could be a fantastic combat specialist, and I think that he's a prime candidate to take over as field leader."
Mitsuru raised a surprised eyebrow. Akihiko was rarely impressed by other's skill, but had nothing but praise for Minato's handling of the Shadow tonight.
Still…
"Iori looks like he's ready to punch the wall because of what Arisato said to him," She said with a critical tone. "Still think that he's the best candidate for leader?"
"Well," He said with a shrug. "I can think of one way to find out."
After a painful few minutes, Minato had finished patching up Yukari to the best of his abilities. She was already looking much better, having regained some of the color in her cheeks. She smiled at him. "Looks like no matter what I do, you are always saving me."
"It's one of my favorite hobbies, Makoto." He froze. He hadn't meant to say that. Where had that come from?
Yukari raised a confused eyebrow. "Makoto? Are you ok, Minato-kun? You didn't get hit on the head or anything, right?"
"I'm fine," He said with a nod. "Sorry about that. It's just… I guess that you remind me of my sister."
Yukari smiled slightly. "Oh really? What's she like?"
A hospital room, cold and clean. "Makoto's gone," they say. Mom and Dad kneel down and hug you as your heart breaks. "Makoto…"
"I don't… really know," He replied honestly. "She died before the accident; that much I know. All I have are the bits and pieces that show up in flashes of memory."
Yukari tilted her head in confusion. "Then how do you know I'm like her?"
Minato shook his head, similarly confused. "I honestly don't know. I was just treating you and… her name popped into my head." He dropped his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry."
Yukari shook her head. "It's alright. I don't mind."
A small, genuine smile formed on his face. "Thanks…for understanding."
"It's no problem." She said genially. The two of them sat there for a moment in silence before Yukari grimaced. "Hey, you know-"
She was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming towards them. The two of them turned to see Mitsuru looking right at Minato with a strange look in her eyes. "Arisato, can I speak with you privately?"
Yukari looked between them for a moment, then stood up and walked down the hall, a slight limp in her step. Minato watched her go with concern, and then turned back to the redheaded teen. "What's up, Mitsuru-san?"
She sat down next to him and linked her hands together in her lap. "Akihiko told me what you said to Iori in there."
Minato grimaced. He hadn't meant to be that harsh with Junpei, but had lost his temper when the guy walked up to him without a care in the world after he'd nearly gotten his team killed. "Look, I'm not sorry about what I said in there; it was a truth he needed to hear."
"I agree," She replied with a nod. "But… it was something that could have been done without compromising his rapport with the rest of the team."
Minato exhaled in frustration. He knew she was right, he just hated to admit it. Junpei was a part of the team, perhaps even more so than he was. To try and strip him of that, intentionally or not, was unfair. Besides, despite the fact that this was Junpei's first time out fighting Shadows, he had adapted remarkably well, and fought with courage.
Regardless of his own opinion, Junpei was needed.
"I'll apologize to him for calling him out in front of everyone," He said with a sigh. "He's a good fighter, even if he is reckless. We need him."
She smiled slightly and nodded. "That's all I ask, Arisato."
He nodded, and got up to go talk to Junpei.
Junpei was still pacing wildly next to the exit when Minato found him. He stopped pacing as he noticed Minato's approach and squared his shoulders, as if he expected Minato to attack at any second.
Minato sighed as he put his hands up in surrender. "Look, I didn't come here to fight you."
Junpei snorted derisively. "…If you're lookin' to call me reckless again, you can turn right back around. I don't wanna hear it."
Minato bristled, but managed to keep his anger in check. "I stand by what I said in there, Junpei. This isn't a game, and you can't treat it like such." He sighed. "Regardless, that's not why I'm here either."
"Then why are you here?" He said with a glare.
"I'm here to apologize."
Junpei's mouth fell open in shock. His shoulders relaxed as he released the tension in his body. "What?"
Minato nodded. "I wanted to apologize for calling you out in front of the rest of the team. You are as much a part of this team as the others, and we need to trust each other. Again, I meant what I said in there, but the way I said it was uncalled for."
Junpei appeared to mull this over for a minute, before giving Minato a begrudging smirk. "Alright, I accept your apology." He stuck his hand out to shake. Minato took it.
"Look," Minato said after a moment, "I think that we both got off on the wrong foot last night, so how's about we start over? I'm Minato Arisato."
Junpei's smirk became a smile. "Junpei Iori. Nice to meet ya. So," He said as he let go of Minato's hand, "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
"Well," Minato said with a sigh, "I think that story is better shared over food. Speaking of which, I'm hungry. You?"
Junpei laughed. "Dude, I can always eat."
Minato joined in. "Alright, nightcap when we get back to the dorm. Deal?"
"Deal."
Mitsuru had taken Minato's place supporting Yukari when he had gone to speak to Junpei, and was surprised to see the girl was smiling, even injured as she was. Mitsuru could not contain her curiosity anymore and asked, "What are you smiling about, Takeba?"
Yukari looked Mitsuru in the eyes and said, "I don't really know. All I know is that around him…I feel comfortable. Protected. You know?" She shook her head. "I dunno, I'm rambling. It's probably the drugs."
Mitsuru's gut twisted at Yukari's words, and she finally realized what the feeling was.
I'm jealous? But why?
The thoughts confused her, and were making her uncomfortable. She quickly banished them from her mind and locked them away in a deep part of her. Personal entanglements were not just dangerous, but inappropriate for someone of her stature.
Besides, there's no way he would be interested in someone who made his life hell for the past day or so… Even more so if he finds out the truth.
She looked up when she heard the laugh that had become so familiar over the past couple of days. Somehow, He and Junpei were laughing with each other, animosity forgotten. The scene brought a smile to her face, despite her previous thoughts.
Well, I guess Akihiko was right. I'll put him in charge of the next expedition. Of course, with Takeba's wounds the way they are, that could be for a while yet. Long enough for us to train him, hopefully.
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(Wow, I was not expecting I would get this chapter out this quickly. This thing practically wrote itself from my brain right onto the screen. Stuff's creepy. Anyways, I hope that you guys liked this chapter as much as I did writing it! Thank you to all who have reviewed so far, and thank you for the follows as well! Inject that stuff directly into my veins, that's how good it feels. As before, please review if you liked it, or if you have any concerns or criticism. I might be able to get the next chapter out in a couple of days, less if I get more of these nice reviews! Anyway, Cheers everyone, and I'll see you on the next chapter! – Dr. Ninja)
PS- this is still very much a Minato/Mitsuru story. There's something else going on with Yukari though...
Edit notes: Again, I hope that this keeps the characters consistent in tone, as well as clears up some minor plot holes I noticed.