July 21st, 2009
Minato woke up to the smell of something fragrant and intoxicating. He inhaled deeply. It was lavender, and it made his head spin. He opened his eyes to see a shock of red hair splayed out on his chest. He momentarily shook his head in confusion until the memories of the previous night swept over him. His eyes widened as he realized that Mitsuru was using him for a pillow. His heart beat faster as a twinge of arousal shot through his body.
At that point, Mitsuru stirred, sitting up and yawning. She looked back at him, and her own eyes widened. He smiled at her. "Hey, fancy meeting you here."
She stared at him, then chuckled at his nonchalance. "Well, technically, this is my bed…"
He laughed. "So that's why I didn't recognize where I was when I woke up. My mistake. Must have gotten turned around on the way to my bed, landed here instead. Honest."
She gave him a mock glare. "I hope that this doesn't happen often. It would get rather awkward, I would imagine."
He shook his head. "Nope, it only happens to shockingly beautiful red heads who can freeze people with her glares."
She shrugged. "Can't be too many of those."
He smiled sweetly at her. "Only one I know of."
She grinned. "Flatterer."
She leaned in and melded her lips with his. Normally, she would be nervous about kissing him like this, but right now, she didn't care. She wanted to taste him, now. He wasn't much better, matching her hunger and intensity. What started off innocent, quickly grew. She increased the intensity of her kiss as a fire of desire lit in her belly. He pressed back with equal fervor, sitting up and grabbing her arms, pulling her closer.
Mitsuru moaned at the anticipation and arousal building in her body at his touch. It felt like her every nerve was on fire, and every point of contact that he made lit up her body and made her shiver.
Minato was lost in the intensity of the kiss, his mind blank, no thought in his mind but one: more. He was completely addicted to her taste, and he couldn't get enough. He moaned in response to the way she writhed in his arms.
They couldn't get close enough to each other. He wrapped his arms around her body, pulling her closer. She wrapped her arms around his neck, freeing room for him to mesh his body with hers. The intensity started to become unbearable, for both of them. They needed to be closer, touching skin to skin…
All of a sudden, a knock on the door broke them out of the arousal-induced fugue state, and they pulled away. Mitsuru cleared her throat, and shakily answered the summons. "Yes?"
One of the maids called through the door. "Breakfast is served, milady."
Mitsuru looked at Minato in alarm. They had slept too soundly, and missed their opportunity to sneak him back to his room. "U-um, very well. I'll be right out."
The maid's voice rang out in response. "Of course, milady."
Minato looked at his girlfriend, breathing heavily. Things could easily have gone much farther than had been intended, if they hadn't been interrupted. He cleared his throat. "U-um, not that I hated that wakeup strategy, but...I don't think that we are quite ready for that."
She nodded regretfully. "I agree. I apologize for my forwardness."
He smiled at her. "And I told you, you apologize too much. Did it look like I wasn't enjoying myself?"
She smiled shyly. "N-no…"
He grinned. "Then you have nothing to apologize for."
He rubbed the back of his head nervously as he continued. "That…is something that can be brought up another time, further down the line. You know, once we know each other better. Plus, I'm pretty sure you have to have been dating for like, months, before that even comes on to the table. It's only normal, right?"
She chuckled. "You already know some of my dark secrets, and I know some of yours. We already know more about each other than most married couples do. You've met my father, who is also your godfather, and he approves of you, which is a minor miracle in and of itself. All of this, happening in the few weeks after we practically assault each other in a love hotel. Speaking of which, I'm surprised we have been able to keep to ourselves that long.
She tilted her head in thought, then smiled. "Oh, and we both fight Shadows during a secret time of night, preventing the deaths of thousands."
She shook her head in amusement. "I don't think that normal comes anywhere near our relationship."
He nodded, accepting her point. "True. But that doesn't mean we should just rush things, you know?" He blushed and turned away. "…I want to do things right."
Her eyes widened in surprise. Most boys would be raring to jump into bed with her at this point, but not him. She smiled sweetly at him. "You are a strange one, sometimes, but…" She pulled his head around and kissed him lightly. "I think I like that about you."
He smiled brightly. "I'm glad. I'd hate to disappoint you."
She smiled sweetly. "You haven't so far…"
He cleared his throat. "Well, now I'm motivated to keep that high opinion, especially after I win our little bet."
Her eyes glinted challengingly. "Well, I won't hold my breath. But, if you do win, I will have to raise my standards quite a bit…"
He laughed. "Works for me. I like a challenge. Now, here's a question: How am I gonna get back to my room unnoticed?"
Mitsuru decided that she would check to make sure the others were in the dining room, before letting him leave her room. After doing so, she knocked on the bedroom door to let him have the all clear. He opened the door and smiled. "I'll see you down there. Make sure that Junpei doesn't eat everything before I get there."
She nodded, and kissed him lightly. "Alright. I'll see you down there."
He watched her leave, then crept to his room and opened the door. All things considered, he should have known better. There were any number of clues that told him that he wasn't alone in the room. One of the chairs being moved to the corner, for example. Or the fact that the bed, which had been missing the previous night, was now back. But Minato noticed none of these things. His eagerness to spend the day with his comrades and friends, as well as the excellent way he had awoken this morning, had blinded him to all of this. So when Naoto's voice sounded from the corner of the room as he was changing, he was decidedly less prepared than usual.
His scream of surprise was several octaves too high, he decided quickly. He whirled around to look at his cousin, who was snickering in the corner at his less than manly reaction. He glared at her. "What the hell are you doing in my room?"
Once she had calmed down, her look of amusement quickly turned to one of concerned anger. "Well, I came in around midnight last night, wondering how you were sleeping without a bed. Imagine my surprise when you weren't anywhere in here. I nearly called for help, thinking you had been kidnapped."
He felt his stomach drop as he realized what was happening. His face broke into a look of horror as she continued. "At that point, I went to find Grandfather, to see if he was with you. I found him and he didn't know where you were. So I went to Takeharu-san, to see if he knew where you were."
Minato closed his eyes. He was dead. More than dead. He was toast. Naoto continued. "He didn't know either, but he asked me why I was so concerned. I told him the whole story; that the maids and I had conspired to take your bed away as punishment for forgetting to call me. After all, I know how upset you get when you don't get a good night's rest."
Minato shook his head in disbelief. There was no way that his luck was that bad. Unfortunately, Naoto dispelled that illusion. "At that, his face turned an uncomfortable color of red, and he stated that he had a good idea where you were, and that you were safe. With that, he sent me off without another word."
Minato sank to the floor, strength leaving his muscles. With each word, Naoto dug a deeper hole for his stomach to fall into. "I thought that his reaction was rather strange, so I decided to wake up early, to see if you would come back. Lo and behold, I see you come out of Mitsuru-san's room, and not only that…" She leaned in for dramatic effect, anger blazing in her eyes. "I saw you kiss her. So that's why I am in your room, cousin."
Minato shook his head regretfully. This is not how he had planned to reveal his relationship to his cousin. In fact, he would rather have taken Junpei, or Yukari, rather than…this. "Naoto, I…"
She cut him off. "You know, I wasn't sure you had changed during your time away in Iwatodai. Now I know you have. Is that why you forgot to call? Too busy getting busy with her?"
A blaze of anger ignited immediately at the insult and the jealous tone. He stood up, staring straight at her, voice low. "That is extremely uncalled for, Naoto. I'm sorry I forgot to call, but that does not give you an excuse to insult her like that."
She stood up too, glaring right back. "Really? Why is that?"
He moved the table out of the way to stand right in front of her, anger blazing on his face. "Because you don't know a damn thing about her. Now stop acting like a petulant child."
She scoffed. "Insulting me isn't exactly endearing me toward you, cousin. Is it petulant to be concerned about your mental state, and her intentions? If so, then forgive me for being petulant."
He leaned in closer, staring right into her eyes. "If you want to talk about this like rational adults, and give me a chance to explain, then by all means, we can sit down and talk. But if you just want to sit there like a child, slinging shit around with no regard for who it's aimed at…" He pointed at the open door in a clear invitation to leave.
She quickly walked out of the room, and headed for her room. He heard the door slam, and he kicked the chair she had been sitting in. That had not gone as expected. He breathed in and out, attempting to calm himself. He quickly got dressed and headed for the dining room, despite the sick feeling that settled in his gut.
Breakfast had been an awkward affair. Takeharu had glared at him throughout the meal, but he could have cared less. Compared to the feeling that Naoto's reaction had given him, he felt as if Takeharu was the one he had to worry about the least. He would be angry, but he wouldn't be vindictive about it. He had at least known about the relationship beforehand, and would hopefully be more understanding of the circumstances surrounding the incident. Naoto, however, had always taken the things he had hidden from her personally, and this was one of the worst ways possible to find out about his relationship with Mitsuru.
He had eaten quickly, without joining in on the regular festive talking and joking that normally accompanied breakfast. While he ate, he internally debated about what he should do to fix things between him and Naoto, in order to convince her that he was serious about Mitsuru. He came to a decision. As much as he didn't like it, she deserved to know. He had hidden it from her for long enough. So, after he had finished eating, he had walked out of the dining room, and straight to Naoto's room.
He knocked on the door. He got no response. He knocked again. Same thing. He shook his head and sighed. "Naoto, come on. Open the door."
Her angry voice shot through the door like a bullet. "Why, so you can treat me like a child again for being concerned about you?"
He felt his anger build again, but he pushed it down. "I'm sorry about that, but you did insult my girlfriend for no reason. That kind of makes me a little tetchy."
She scoffed. "Well, what do you want, an apology?"
He shook his head. "No, I want to tell you what happened to me, 2 years ago."
She made no noise for several moments, then opened the door. Her eyes were red with tears, and her knuckles were turning white after being clenched for so long.
He frowned at her disheveled state, and stepped inside. He smiled sadly as he wiped the tearstreaks off her face. "Hey, I'm sorry."
She chuckled a bit. "Well, if you are ready to tell me this, then I suppose I can forgive you…"
He nodded as he sat in the chair against the wall. "Well, I'm never really ready to share this story, but it should give you an idea of just how much Mitsuru actually means to me, and why you don't have to be worried about her."
She slid into the chair in front of him as he began. "Well, you know that kidnapping case that Gramps was working on a few years ago…"
Mitsuru had been called into her father's office after breakfast. She had an idea what it was about, and the glare that he had on his face as he entered confirmed her suspicions. "I said that I approved of him, Mitsuru. That does not mean that you can just jump straight to…"
She held up her hand, cutting her father off. "That is not any of your business." The anger in her tone stunned him. She had never talked back to him like this before.
Mitsuru continued during her father's stunned silence. "If I want to invite him into my room to sleep, after our maids helped a guest break the rules of hospitality, then I should have every right to do so without suspicion of my motives, as both his girlfriend and his host."
Takeharu stared in surprise at his daughter. "Oh? …So he just slept, then?"
Mitsuru nodded, an exasperated look on her face. "Yes, of course. What else would we do?"
Takeharu reddened in embarrassment, and Mitsuru shook her head, blushing at the realization of what he had assumed. "Father, we've only been together a few weeks…"
He turned away. "I'm sorry, Mitsuru. I know I should trust you more than that, but…" He turned back, a regretful look in his eye. "I just don't want to see you hurt again."
She smiled and walked around the desk, to hug her father. He blinked in surprise as she wrapped her arms around him. "I'm as scared as you are, but I trust him, Father. He has the same reasons to be afraid of this as me, but he seems to want this. He wants to be with me, and…I want to be with him. "
He wrapped his arms around her, holding his little girl close. "Of course. I understand. Sometimes, it's easy to forget how much you've grown. I'm sorry for doubting your intentions, and not trusting you."
He pulled away, and stared her in the eyes. "That does not mean that I will approve of repeat performances. I will not be so understanding again."
She smirked and nodded. "Of course, father."
Takeharu smiled. "Good, now go and enjoy the rest of your vacation. I will make sure that Minato-kun is not put in that situation again, trust me." He dismissed her with a smile, and watched as she left, a slight look of disappointment on her face.
"…and then he told me to take a sabbatical. He'd get back to me when he had a lead for this project we'd be working on together. 2 years later, and here I am." Naoto stared at her cousin with a look of horror on her face as he finished his story. She quickly bolted out of the chair and launched herself into his arms. He groaned in surprise as she wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry for saying those things earlier. I had no idea. Grandpa never even mentioned it, and I knew that you would get angry if I looked into it again, and, I just…"
He patted her arm, interrupting her rambling. "It's alright. I'm over it. But if you want to earn my forgiveness? Talk to Mitsuru. Get to know her."
Naoto pulled away, and nodded. "Alright, I will. If she could pull you out of…that…then she deserves it." She looked down at the ground. "I'm really sorry for what I said earlier about her… and for telling her dad."
Minato laughed. "Look, Mitsuru and I just slept in the same bed last night, and that's all. If he can't trust his daughter that much, then…" He shook his head.
Naoto smiled. "Still, I doubt that he's going to be pleased. How long have you two been going out?"
Minato grimaced. "…a few weeks."
She stared at him, and barked out a laugh. "He's definitely not going to be pleased."
Minato shook his head. "No, but I'll fight for her if I have to."
She smiled. "I have no doubt. You're my cousin. We fight for what we care about." Naoto leaned in and hugged her cousin again. He smiled and hugged her back. She leaned in and whispered. "I missed you, Watson."
Minato pulled back. "I missed you too, Holmes."
She laughed and got up. "Do you think that there's any food left?"
Minato shrugged. "Depends on what kind of clip Junpei got on today. Maybe, maybe not."
Naoto laughed and stepped out of the room. Minato got up to follow her out, closing the door behind him. He headed for his own room, looking forward to reading some more of the book he had brought with him. Maybe now, I can actually take some time to relax today…
As Mitsuru walked out into the main hall, she saw the other girls gathered around Naoto. Naoto noticed her approach and smiled at her. Mitsuru raised her eyebrow in confusion. Minato's cousin had not interacted with her much on this trip, and was probably the reason why she had just had that chat with her father. To see such an obvious change in opinion, so quickly, was strange. Yukari and Fuuka both smiled at Mitsuru as she came to stand next to them. "Hey, Senpai! You wanna come on a walk with us? Naoto-chan invited us. Oh, but don't tell the guys. This is gonna be just us girls."
Mitsuru shook her head in confusion. "Why wouldn't we invite the boys?"
Yukari smirked. "Cause…we can."
Naoto chimed in. "I also just want to hear about the three of you. I have learned plenty about Junpei-san and Akihiko-san already, but not much about you three. This is just an excuse to get to know my cousin's female dorm mates a bit better."
Mitsuru thought about it. Naoto was part of Minato's family, and although she knew the basics, there wasn't much that Mitsuru knew about the girl. This would be the perfect opportunity to learn more about her as a person. After all, it was only fair. Minato knew a lot about her family in comparison.
She nodded in agreement. "Alright. We can walk up to the Jyomon-cedar tree. It's a lovely walk."
Naoto nodded. "Very well."
Fuuka and Yukari nodded their agreement as well. As they turned to leave, Fuuka ran to the small desk next to the phone on the wall, and wrote down where they were heading on a piece of paper. She then left it with one of the maids. "Just in case they need to find us." She said.
Yukari groaned. "You know, they're just going to follow us that way, Fuuka. Why bother with a note?"
Fuuka smiled. "I don't want them to worry about us."
Naoto smirked. "I don't think we will have to worry about that, Yukari-san."
Yukari looked at her in confusion. "Why?"
Naoto smiled and turned away. "Oh, no reason."
Yukari and Mitsuru looked at each other as they walked out the door and onto the path to the tree. That had been…suspicious. And if Naoto was anything like her cousin, that was worrying.
Minato was relaxing on the chair in his room, enjoying the time where he did not have to worry about Student Council, or school, or the Dark Hour, and he could just sit down and enjoy a good book.
Or at least, he was trying to relax, until a rapid staccato of knocks sounded at his door. He sighed as he got up and opened the door. It was Junpei. He was dressed in his swimsuit and omni-present baseball cap.
Looking at the state of Minato's dress, a t-shirt and shorts, Junpei sighed in exasperation. "Come on, boss, the hell are you doing? Spending all your time inside reading, when there is a beach to take advantage of? For shame, dude. For shame."
Minato shook his head in amusement. "What do you want, Junpei, apart from critiquing my use of vacation time?"
Junpei smiled. "The girls went for a walk to the Jyomon-ceder tree, so that gives us the perfect excuse to train!"
Minato raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Train? Train for what? We can't exactly use our Persona's here, you know."
Junpei shook his head. "No, man, I mean girl training! Akihiko-senpai seems to have some sort of a complex surrounding them…" Minato smirked at that. "…and you can't seem to charm your way into a girl's heart either." Minato felt his gaze harden, but he managed to restrain himself from exclaiming he had a girlfriend in annoyance. "So I, Junpei Iori, Cupid Extraordinaire, am here to train you both in the ways of romance and seduction. What do you say?"
Minato shook his head in amusement. It was like fate really hated him sometimes. He couldn't say no, because that would probably lead to really awkward questions that he wasn't sure he wanted to answer just yet. He didn't want to say yes, because,
A: Junpei was probably no better at romancing than Akihiko.
B: If the girls, especially Mitsuru, caught them, there would be hell to pay.
And C: He didn't want to. He really didn't want to.
Unfortunately, Minato's pensive silence was mistaken for nervousness, and so Junpei grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him out of his room. By the time that Minato realized what was happening, Akihiko had been similarly dragged out, and they had been brought into the main hall.
Akihiko shook himself out of Junpei's grip after his surprise wore off. "Junpei, what the hell, man? I was going to go endurance training!"
Junpei shook his head in exasperation. "Come on, Senpai! You have been training during every opportunity that you have gotten while you are here. You need to relax! Live a little."
Minato shook his head in amusement. It didn't look like he was getting out of this, so he might as well have a few laughs while he was at it. "So why am I here?"
Junpei smirked. "Training."
Akihiko shook his head in confusion. "What? Why does he need training? Am I falling down on the job or something?"
Junpei threw up his hands. "No, senpai, romance training! Minato's always so serious when it comes to talking to girls. He needs to learn to relax around them, flirt a little, you know. Stop being such a stiff all the time."
Minato narrowed his eyes. Now, he was annoyed. Well, Junpei, if you're so good at wooing women, you do it too. "Alright, Junpei, since you are such a Casanova, let's make this into a little competition. Whoever gets the most phone numbers at the end of the day, wins."
Junpei's eyes widened. "Whoa, that's a tall challenge there, boss. Sure you can handle it?"
Minato smirked challengingly. "Yeah, I'm sure. You in, Akihiko? Oh, wait, I forgot about your 'complex'. Never mind."
Akihiko scowled at the implied insult. "Oh, I'm in. And when I win, I'll be sure to tell the girls about your weak, pitiful attempt to pick up women you don't even know."
Minato grinned. Now if Junpei got caught, he wouldn't go down alone. Gotta think of the team, right, Leader? "Well, when you lose, I'll be sure to tell your fan-club all about how 'Aki-senpai' was goo-goo eyed over women several years older than him."
Akihiko glared at him. "You wouldn't dare…"
Junpei laughed. "Alright, now we have some enthusiasm! I declare 'Operation: Babe Hunt' underway!"
The three of them rushed out the door and onto the beach. Junpei ran down one side of the beach, and Akihiko ran down the other. Minato smiled as he stopped running. The two idiots fell for it. He had no intention of joining this competition. However, tricking them like that got them out of his hair for a few hours. He yawned as he sat down underneath the umbrella and closed his eyes. Yes, a nap seemed in order.
Fuuka and Yukari had pulled ahead of her and Naoto by several lengths, almost as if by design, Mitsuru noticed. Naoto had been mostly silent throughout the walk, despite her insistence that she wanted to learn more about them.
She was a quietly introspective girl, Mitsuru noticed, but that was to be expected, what with her 'job' and all. She also appeared to have a quiet temper, as she told them that the reason that she had been late to breakfast was because she and Minato had gotten into an argument beforehand. Mitsuru had an idea what the argument was about, and the walk's purpose had become evident to her as Yukari and Fuuka continued to pull away from them, too wrapped up in their own conversation to notice the others trailing behind.
Once the others had pulled far enough away, Naoto stopped and turned to her, and asked, rather bluntly, "Are you involved with my cousin, Mitsuru-san?"
Mitsuru sighed, as the reason for the walk came out. "...Yes, very much so. However, before this conversation goes any further, how did you find out?"
Naoto shook her head. "I saw him coming out of your room this morning, Mitsuru-san. I was rather confused, as you might imagine."
Mitsuru blushed. "Ah. Well, if it makes you feel any better…"
Naoto smiled. "It's alright. He explained it to me, in addition to explaining what had happened to him, 2 years ago."
Naoto shook her head incredulously. "He never told me before now, did you know that?"
Mitsuru shook her head. He didn't tell his cousin? Then…
Naoto smiled sadly as Mitsuru's face lit up in realization. "He told me that you were the first person that he had told the story to. Not me. Not grandfather. Not anyone else. You."
Naoto shook her head. "Do you understand what that means? How that makes me feel?"
Mitsuru closed her eyes in sadness. "Naoto-san, I…"
Naoto's voice cut her off. "It makes me glad."
Mitsuru opened her eyes, confusion evident. Naoto had a bright smile on her face. "It makes me so glad he met you. You see, he was a mess for so long. He wouldn't tell me why he was so broken, and neither would Grandpa. I was confused for the longest time. One day, I decided to start looking through my cousin's files for a clue, anything to help me find out what had happened to him.
She shook her head. "He caught me, however, and the amount of anger that he showed that day was…terrifying. He made me swear to not look it up, that it was none of my business. It tore me apart, knowing that he was hurting so much, and I had no idea why, or how to help him."
Naoto looked up at her, an unintelligible look on her face. "Then he goes away on a secret mission, and doesn't call me for months. The next time I see him, he's walking out of the room of a girl that he's only known for a small amount of time."
Mitsuru shook her head in sympathy as Naoto continued. "It hurt. A lot. I thought that you had seduced him, took advantage of his pain to get…whatever it was you wanted out of him. I confronted him about it, but his anger was…different than I expected. He wasn't angry that I insulted him. He was angry that I insulted you."
She shook her head. "I couldn't believe it. I thought that he was so blind, that he was being manipulated by you, and he couldn't see it. He called me a child for insulting you, and I stormed out."
Naoto shook her head as she retold the events of this morning. "And then, a little while later, he comes to my door, and says, 'I'm ready to tell you what happened to me.' I was shocked. I opened the door for him immediately. And what he told me was horrible. So horrible in fact, that I started to question how he could even feel anything without feeling that rage and sadness as well. And then when he starts talking about you, it all falls into place."
Naoto smiled. "You. It must have been you. You healed my cousin, when even I couldn't. Something that you did, made him share a pain with you that he couldn't even tell to the girl he grew up with. For that, I thank you. So much."
Mitsuru felt tears pricking her eyes as the magnitude of the events that had taken place a month ago sunk in. My god, the first time he ever shared that pain was with a stranger...
Naoto continued as Mitsuru collected herself. "However, grateful as I may be, I still love my cousin, Mitsuru-san. He's the only one who has ever seen the 'real me' before. He means the world to me."
Naoto looked into Mitsuru's eyes, cold anger burning in them. "So understand me when I say this: If you hurt him? In any way? I will not stop until I have burned you, and your family's company, to the ground."
Mitsuru nodded in acknowledgement. She had no doubt that Naoto was deadly serious. "Understood, Naoto-san."
Naoto smiled and nodded. "Good, I'm glad you understand." She appeared to finally notice that Yukari and Fuuka had walked out of sight, and exclaimed in surprise. "Oh, shall we catch up to the others? They seem to have gotten ahead of us."
Mitsuru smiled at the young bluenette. "Of course."
The two women walked side by side toward their companions, the air considerably lighter than it had been a minute ago.
Naoto coughed, grabbing Mitsuru's attention. "Um, Mitsuru-san, what kind of books do you like to read?"
Mitsuru smiled. Naoto was attempting to learn more about her, probably for her cousin's sake. Very well… "Well, I read a lot of different books for literature classes, but…"
Takeharu Kirijo was sweating, tensely waiting Kyohei Shirogane's move. His opponent was a clear master of his craft, and was nearly impossible to read. Victory had seemed so assured when he had started this game, but now? Now it seemed to be so far removed from the situation at hand, that he saw no clear path except defeat. Kyohei's hand moved to his rook. It slipped through a hole in Takeharu's defenses, and defeat was assured. "Checkmate."
Takeharu groaned. "No matter how many times we have played in the past few days, I have yet to win a game, Shirogane. You could give me a handicap, you know."
Kyohei smirked. "Well, I used to play this with my father. He was even better than me, and used to kick my ass every time. It's the only reason that I am this good. Anyway, think of this as karmic balance."
Takeharu made a move to retort, when his cell phone rang suddenly. He picked it up and answered as Kyohei reset the board. "Yes?"
It was Ikutsuki. He had spent most of his vacation at the lab that the Kirijo Group had hidden in the woods, looking for the reasons Takeharu's father had locked him out of the final stages of the experiment all those years ago.
It had always bothered Takeharu, but the recent events had forced him to think about it more. What had been so bad about the experiment that it had forced Eiichiro to destroy it, rather than risk its completion? Takeharu didn't know, and he hated being on the back foot, especially when his daughter was involved in cleaning up the mess.
Ikutsuki's voice seemed panicked. "Kirijo-san? We…have a problem."
Takeharu raised an eyebrow as he answered. "What kind of problem?"
Ikutsuki's voice came back a pitch higher than normal. "That equipment that we had here, the inoperable AS-W? It…escaped, sir."
Takeharu's eye widened in surprise. "Escaped? But you said that she was damaged beyond repair?"
Ikutsuki made a noise of acknowledgment. "Well, it appears I was wrong, sir. According to security footage, it has been fooling us for days now, leaving during the night, then coming back, to avoid suspicion. Now though? It just walked out in broad daylight."
Takeharu nodded. "Alright, what do we need to do? Is she dangerous?"
Ikutsuki chuckled. "Of course it's dangerous. The question is, what is its objective? For right now, I'd recommend that we wait and observe. She might have sensed something dangerous, and she might be the only warning we have."
Takeharu nodded again. "Very well. I'll warn the Team tonight, and we'll see if Miss Yamagishi can pick anything up as well."
Ikutsuki made a noise of affirmation. "Very well, sir. I'll let you get back to your vacation."
Takeharu smiled. "You know, Shuji, you could come and stay up here for a while. Meet up with your old mentor and all."
Ikutsuki chuckled. "You know that things between me and Shirogane-san weren't great before this whole debacle. I'd rather not bring up old wounds."
Takeharu nodded. "Alright, but the offer stands."
Ikutsuki laughed. "Ok, maybe I'll pop in tonight, see how the team is doing."
Takeharu nodded. "Ok. Thank you for the warning, Ikutsuki."
Ikutsuki made a noise of acknowledgement and hung up. Takeharu closed the phone and turned to the chessboard. Kyohei had made the first move. Takeharu smiled as he recognized the move. This time, this time for sure.
Junpei had not seen this coming when he had dragged his two friends out this afternoon. He had meant the 'romance training' thing as a joke, just using it as an excuse to get them to come to the beach with him without sounding like a whiny little kid. He hadn't meant to really do anything except ask them who was their type in their group, or who they might have had a crush on.
However, it had turned into a competition, and spiraled out of control from there. When he had been challenged, He thought, 'What the hell?' No one would find a dorky guy like him attractive, so he would just try once, for giggles.
Now, here he was, talking to a cute girl who actually seemed into him! She laughed at his silly jokes and bravado, and had called him cute several times. She flirted shamelessly, and twirled her hair around her finger, and made other indications that she liked him.
However, his own reactions to her were confusing. Her laugh didn't sound right. Her smile was unbearably crooked. Everything about her seemed wrong to him, and it confused the hell out of him. What the hell is wrong with you, man? This really hot chick is totally digging you, and you think that you can just be picky about all these things? What is wrong with you?
As he attempted to answer that question internally, a memory of Fuuka smiling at one of his jokes came to him. He felt the smile come across his face involuntarily, and he realized why this girl felt wrong.
She wasn't Fuuka. She was nothing like Fuuka.
He interrupted the girl's soliloquy and asked, "Sorry to interrupt, but what do you think of romance manga?"
The girl looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Uh, is this a trick question…?
He shook his head. "No? Well, I guess that…it's pretty immature and stupid. I mean, why read about romance, when you can go out and actually live it?"
Junpei smiled at her. "Thanks, that's all I needed to hear." He then turned and walked away from her without another word, causing her to splutter and flail in confusion. He knew he could never be in a relationship with a girl like her. She just liked what she saw and what she heard from him, and not a thing of what he said to her was true. That person wasn't him. That person was someone that he made up, to deal with the pain of being different.
Fuuka, on the other hand, had accepted who he really was, eccentricities and all. She liked the same things as him, and she seemed to like him, despite his strange behavior.
He smiled as he walked back toward the house. He didn't need to look for romance. He had already fallen for someone.
Minato was sleeping soundly until he heard the sound of footsteps in the sand approaching him. He opened his eyes and sat up. A tall blonde girl with big blue eyes, wearing a light blue sundress, was standing there. She stared at him from several feet away, eyes locked to him. He got up, standing in a defensive stance. Something about this girl bothered him. "Can I help you, miss?"
She didn't respond. He chuckled humorlessly, attempting to elicit a response. "Listen, I don't know what's up with you, but it's kind of rude to stare at people you don't know."
The girl finally responded. "You are Minato Arisato. Age 17, Son of Saburo Arisato, and Akane Shirogane. I know more about you than you think, Minato-kun."
He frowned. The girl had a robotic tone to her voice, and she knew an awful lot about him. This was not something he particularly enjoyed. He decided intimidation was in order, to regain the upper hand. "Listen, I don't know who you think you are, but if you are trying to scare me, you are gonna have to try harder than that."
The girl's eyes softened, and a small smile appeared on her face. Minato felt his anger dissipate at the smile. "I have finally found you. I am…glad." Minato's eyes widened at her words.
She suddenly turned looked over her shoulder, noticing something. "Evasive maneuvers initiated. I will contact you later, Minato-kun, when I have evaded my pursuers."
The girl then turned and ran down the opposite side of the beach from where she had come. Minato watched her leave, then shook his head in confusion. What the hell was that? How had she known his name, and all the other stuff too? What was her goal? He shook his head again. Obviously, the beach was not a good place to take a nap. Too many weirdos.
He turned around and headed back inside, determined to have at least a few minutes of peace and quiet during his 'vacation'.
Akihiko kept running down the beach, looking for another girl to talk to. The last one had shot him down, saying that his obsession with training was 'creepy'. He sighed. This was why he didn't like talking to girls. They expected guys to be a certain way, with a certain air of confidence and bravado. Akihiko only had confidence about two things: training, and fighting Shadows. No one else apart from his team even understood that. Still, he hated to lose, which is why he was continuing to suffer through this tortuous exercise.
This particular stretch of beach he was on seemed deserted, however. He slowed his pace, attempting to keep some energy in reserve for when he saw another girl to talk to. It wouldn't do to be out of breath and panting when he walked up to one.
However, a blur passed by him, startling him. A girl in a sports bra and jogging shorts was running past him, and at quite a clip too. He smirked as he watched her go. He wished he could train like that right now, instead of pushing himself to do something he hated. He watched her run for a second, then stopped to catch his breath. He looked down at the ground, as he contemplated where to go next.
"Hey, you giving up 'cause I'm a girl?"
The voice startled him, and his gaze shot up. The girl had run back, and she had a challenging smile on her face. She had short brown hair, tied up in a ponytail, and a cute face. She huffed as she waited for him to answer.
He looked around him, wondering if she was talking to someone else, but there was no one. He nervously answered her. "Are you talking to me?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I saw you running down here while I was training. You were moving at a pretty good clip too. I figured, 'Hey, why don't I test my speed against that guy! It'll be good practice for Nationals!' Then when I passed you, you stopped. So, you giving up cause I'm a girl, or what?"
Akihiko was taken aback. She had wanted to test her speed against his? He shook his head in response to her question. "Sorry, no. I was just contemplating where other girls might be. This stretch of beach is pretty deserted."
The girl gave him a strange look. "Why are you looking for girls? Are you some kind of pervert or something?"
He shook his head, a blush appearing on his cheeks. "Uh…no, it's part of a bet that I made with my dorm mates. Whoever comes up with the most phone numbers from girls, by the end of the day, is the winner." He smiled. "And I hate to lose."
The girl nodded in realization. "Ah, ok. I get it….So how many do you have?"
He shook his head sadly. "None. I hate talking to girls normally. The ones here don't do anything that I like or know about, so even simple conversation is hard, not to mention charming their phone numbers out of them."
She nodded. "Yeah, I get that. Most boys think that I'm weird for wanting to train so much. Makes dating kinda hard. But I keep telling them, 'Nationals aren't gonna win themselves!'"
He laughed. "Yeah! Even my dorm mates think that I'm weird sometimes, cause I train so much. I just wanna be able to win, no matter who I go up against."
The girl laughed, then stuck her hand out. "I get that. Ayumi Matsui. Track and Field."
Akihiko smiled and shook it. "Akihiko Sanada. Boxing."
Ayumi tilted her head towards the direction they had been running. "Wanna keep going? If you can reach the town before me, I'll give you my phone number. You know, for your friend's competition."
He smirked. She was speaking his language. "Alright, you're on."
She quickly took off running, and he sprinted to catch her. A small smile appeared on his face as he raced to catch up to her. This was more like it.
Mitsuru and Naoto had caught up to the other girls fairly quickly, and they had made it to the tree a few minutes after that. Naoto had resumed her silence after some small talk, having accomplished her objective that day, but Mitsuru felt sorry for the girl. She appeared to be even more introspective that Minato had said, appearing to prefer watching the conversations than being a participant.
Mitsuru smiled as a plan to break Naoto out of her shell came to her mind. "Naoto-san, you've lived with Minato-san for quite a while. What was he like growing up?"
Naoto's eyes widened in surprise, then she smiled. "He was a pain in the ass, if you'll excuse my terminology. We didn't like each other at first."
Mitsuru's eyes widened. "Why is that?"
Naoto smirked. "Because I could see through all his lies and deception. It made it really hard for him to get his way sometimes."
Yukari raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"
The girls turned to walk back to the house while Naoto continued her story. "Well, for example, when I first came to Grandpa's house, he tried to tell me that he had an invisible bird that could slice my head off if I pissed him off. So, what do you think I did?"
Mitsuru smiled. "Asked him to prove it."
Naoto smiled in response. "Yes. I repeated the question so many times that he locked himself in his room to stop me."
Yukari laughed. "So much for 'An invisible bird that can cut people's heads off'."
Naoto smirked. "Indeed."
Fuuka tilted her head. "What about some of the cases he worked on? Any of them stand out to you as memorable or funny?"
Naoto thought about it, then smiled. "There was the time when he was forced to be a punk for a year."
Fuuka and Mitsuru gasped. Yukari snickered. "No way?! Really?!"
Naoto smiled. "I have a picture. I'll have to bring it next time."
Yukari laughed heartily. "Oh, this is too good. Gimme more, I need more dirt on him. What else you got?"
The girls all started to chat amiably about embarrassing stories from Minato's past as they made their way back to the house. Mitsuru smiled inwardly as the young blue haired girl slowly started to open to the 3 older girls. She was brilliant, but lonely, it seemed. She obviously had never been able to connect with people her own age, due to her profession. Well, let's see what we can do about that, hmm?
Akihiko grasped the water bottle that Ayumi had handed to him and poured it into his mouth, drinking it greedily. He was strong, sure, but he was a boxer, not a runner. Ayumi had kicked his ass, beating him to town by a few minutes. She had smiled heartily as he stumbled towards her, then collapsed on the sand. "Well, guess you aren't getting that phone number, eh?"
Akihiko looked at her in confusion, then remembered why he had been chasing after her. The competition… He nodded. "Yeah, I guess not. Oh, well, it wasn't like I was gonna win in the first place. That run was a lot more fun, anyway."
Ayumi smiled. "I'm glad you liked it…getting your ass kicked by a girl and all."
Akihiko smirked challengingly. "Well, I'd like to see you go toe to toe with me in the ring. We'll see who's ass gets kicked then."
Ayumi laughed. "Alright, you're on. How hard can it be? Pick a time and place."
Akihiko smiled. "Well, unfortunately, I'm only gonna be here for a couple more days, so I'll have to take a rain check. I might come back next year though."
Ayumi shook her head. "That's a bit too long to wait. Well, where are you from? That way, I can look you up. You know, if I'm in the area?"
Akihiko raised an eyebrow. "I'm from Iwatodai. Why?"
Ayumi's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, the Nationals are being held in Iwatodai in a few weeks!"
Akihiko smiled. "Well, guess that means I'll see you in a few weeks, right?"
Ayumi nodded. "Alright, Akihiko. I'll give you a call when I get there, alright? Then we can have our bout, and settle this, once and for all."
Akihiko nodded, then tilted his head in confusion. "Wait, how will you call me? You don't have my number."
Ayumi took his phone out of his shirt pocket, entered in a few digits, then took her phone and did the same. "There. Now I can call you."
Akihiko smiled. "I thought that I wasn't getting your phone number."
Ayumi blushed a bit as she stuck her tongue out. "You weren't, originally. I'm just giving you a consolation prize, you know, for spending your day with me instead of winning that competition. Wouldn't want you to go back and get too embarrassed, right?"
Akihiko looked at the sun. It was setting, and he was a couple of miles away from the estate. He nodded in recognition. "Right, I should probably get back. Anyway, it was fun, Ayumi."
Ayumi nodded. "Yeah, it was, Akihiko. I'll see you in a few weeks."
Akihiko nodded as he started his run back towards the estate. "In a few weeks!" He waved back as he jogged down the beach towards the estate. He smiled brightly. Maybe it hadn't been such a bad afternoon, after all.
Junpei sat down in the lounge/theater room they had the meeting in last night. Now that he realized why he had been feeling so antsy all week, he was relieved. A weird mix of anticipation, excitement, and fear rolled around in his belly, and his mind was filled with one image: The face of a certain blue haired girl, smiling at him. He sighed in derision. Fuuka was a brilliant girl, and he was a C+ slacker kid who knew one thing well: Fighting. She would never fall for a guy like him.
He sighed again. A voice sounded out, startling him out of his thoughts. "So, the operation went that bad, huh?"
He looked up at Minato and shook his head. "No, I just…gave up."
Minato raised an eyebrow concernedly. Junpei never just gave up. Even when it came to something like studying, he still fought for a time. Something was wrong. "Junpei, are you feeling alright?"
Junpei looked at his friend. Minato had helped him sort out his feelings before. Maybe he could do it again. "Hey, do you remember when I told you about my dad? I have something else I wanna run by you, if that's ok."
Minato smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, ok. Same rules? No laughing, no matter what, that kind of thing?"
Junpei nodded. "Yeah."
Minato smiled and gestured for him to start. Junpei exhaled. "Well, you see…I think I've fallen for someone in our group."
Minato's eyes widened. "Let me guess…Fuuka?"
Junpei nodded, unsurprised that Minato had figured it out so quickly. His friend was pretty perceptive normally. "I was on the beach, talking to a girl that actually liked my stupid jokes and my stupid bravado. It was cool, but…everything seemed…off about her. Like…"
Minato smiled. "Like she wasn't good enough."
Junpei nodded. "Yeah. I mean, that sounds horrible, and, I mean, she wasn't that bad, but…Man, this is harder than I thought."
Minato nodded. "It's alright, take your time. I'm not going anywhere."
Junpei sighed. "So I'm sitting there, trying to figure out why I keep thinking these bad things about this hot girl in front of me, when all of a sudden…"
Minato smiled, recognizing the symptoms. "She popped into your head, and it all made sense."
Junpei nodded, tilting his head questioningly. "Yeah…how did you know?"
Minato smiled coyly, ignoring the question. "So, why Fuuka? What about her do you like?"
Junpei blushed, and rubbed the back of his neck. "W-well, she's really cute. She's super smart, too. She's getting more and more confident by the day, and it's really cool to see. She's best friends with the girl that used to bully her: That shows how strong she is. She understands my frustration with my dad, cause her parents are the same, more or less. She can kick my ass at video games any day, which is pretty cool. She likes…romance manga, same as me. She laughs at my jokes, and she's really nice to…everyone."
Junpei looked at him with a small smile on his face. "She's amazing."
Minato smiled. "Well, that's quite a list, man."
Junpei nodded, then put his face in his hands as he came to his problem. "Yeah, but I have no chance with her. She's so out of my league, it isn't funny. She's really smart, and I'm barely passing any of my classes…"
Minato frowned in annoyance, cutting him off. "Hey, what did I say to you, a month ago? I said that you were smart, deceptively so. So what if you have trouble studying? Some people have problems talking to people, like Akihiko does. Intelligence isn't measured by tests and studying. It's application of knowledge, and let me say, that I would take you in a fight over a grade-A student any day of the week."
Junpei stared at his friend in shock. "You…really mean that?"
Minato nodded. "Yeah."
Junpei shook his head disbelievingly. "Still, what would she want with a loser like me…?"
Minato exhaled in exasperation. Junpei was being stubborn, and it was pissing him off. He didn't want to call him stupid, for fear it would exacerbate the issue. How to tell him he's being dense without saying that…Hmm…
He smiled as he thought of a solution. It was risky, but it would prove his point wonderfully. "Hey, I'm gonna let you in on a secret, ok, Junpei? The thing is, you cannot tell a soul once I do. Not Yukari, not Fuuka, not anyone. Got it?"
Junpei raised an eyebrow in confusion, then nodded. "Yeah, ok."
Minato inhaled, then exhaled nervously. Lots of people had found out already, so what was one more? He sighed. "Well…Mitsuru…and I…have been going out for the past few weeks."
Junpei's eyes widened in surprise, then a grin broke out on his face. "Congrats, man!" A look of confusion came over his face again. "Uh…But what does that have to do with me?"
Minato shook his head, a small smirk on his lips. "Come on, Junpei. Think about it. Do you think that I thought for a second that Mitsuru was in my league when I first fell for her?"
Junpei thought about it, then shook his head. Minato nodded in agreement. "Hell, no. She's gorgeous, and smart, and rich. What do I have to offer to a girl like that? My rapier wit?"
Minato scoffed as he continued. "I'm not the best guy there is out there, not by a long shot. There's some bad shit in my past that I really don't like to talk about. I'm damaged goods, man. Then there's my little meltdown a couple of months ago. I mean, I said some really rude things to her after the Train op. Things that should have made her wary about trusting me, let alone liking me. So what chance do you think I had, knowing all that?"
Junpei shrugged. "Not much." Minato smiled as he shook his head. "My thoughts exactly. But you know what I found out?"
Junpei shook his head. Minato smiled. "It didn't matter. She likes me for who I am. Not for what I look like, or how smart I am, or any of that superficial crap. She likes me, for me, warts and all."
Junpei was taken aback, as Minato continued. "Anyway, from what you've told me, Fuuka has already done the hard part and accepted the parts of you that even you don't like. So here's the question, Junpei: What do you have to be afraid of, knowing that?"
Junpei shook his head petulantly. "She could say 'no'…"
Minato smiled wryly. "She could…But she could also say 'yes.'"
Junpei thought his words over. He had a point. He had to try, at least. He looked at Minato and smiled. "…Alright. After we get back, I'm gonna ask her out on a date."
Minato shook his head, smirking. "Don't tell me what you are going to do. Do it."
Junpei smirked. "Ok. I promise. Thanks for the help, boss."
Minato smiled brightly. "Hey, it's what I'm here for, man."
Junpei got up to head for his room, then looked at Minato. "Oh, and boss? Congratulations, again. On you and Mitsuru-senpai, I mean."
Minato nodded, then glared at him. "I don't have to explain what I'll do if you tell anyone, do I?"
Junpei shook his head, a serious expression on his face. "No. I understand what it means to tell me that, and I promise I won't betray your trust. Either of you."
Minato smiled. "Thanks, Junpei. I really appreciate it…Good luck."
Junpei smiled. "Thanks, boss."
Minato watched Junpei leave, his heart soaring with the feeling of lightness you only get from helping a friend in need. Junpei had a good heart, but had a hard time listening to it sometimes. Minato just hoped it would all work out for the two of them.
Minato walked out into the hall just in time to see the girls get back from their walk. Naoto had a large smile on her face, and the rest of the girls were laughing. He felt a shiver go down his spine. Something felt off here. As he walked forward to greet them, the girls all looked at him with bizarre expressions. Naoto smiled brightly. "Hello, Minato. How was your day?"
Minato smiled. "Pretty good. Spent most of it relaxing on the beach, then I came back and took a nap. What about you ladies? Have a good time on your walk?"
Yukari snickered as she attempted to answer. "Y-yes we did, Captain Mohawk."
Minato's eyes widened as he recognized the nickname. He stared at Naoto in horror. "You didn't…"
Naoto shrugged. "Think of this as my 'plan B', cousin."
Minato groaned in horror. "How much did you tell them?"
Naoto smirked. "Oh, not much. Just everything from 4 years ago."
Minato hung his head as he realized what that meant. "Great, cause I love being reminded of that time of my life. It wasn't traumatizing at all."
Mitsuru smiled in amusement. "Oh, I don't know, I think that you would look great in a leather jacket and biker leathers."
Minato shook his head, a horrified look on his face. "Nope. I'm done. That's it. I don't have to take this crap." He turned towards the door to the guest wing and walked away without a word, leaving the girls giggling at his embarrassment. Some days, it doesn't pay to get out of bed.
Dinner was a much more hectic and joyous affair than breakfast had been. Naoto appeared to be enjoying herself, finally. She had opened up to the other girls, and seemed to be happier after Minato's revelation, joking and conversing with little effort. Junpei had a stupid grin on his face throughout dinner, and actually ate at a decent pace for once. Akihiko had shown up late, apologizing for having run off. He had apparently run to the nearby town and back, having lost track of time. Takeharu and Kyohei were deep in the middle of a mental chess match, continuing their bout from earlier this evening. Fuuka and Yukari had ribbed Minato relentlessly throughout dinner, re-telling the tales that Naoto had shared during their trek with fervor and enthusiasm. Minato had spent most of the meal defending himself from the girl's relentless onslaught, but had eventually given up. He finished early and went out on the patio to view the night sky, looking for asylum from the constant teasing.
Minato turned around as the door opened behind him. It was Mitsuru. He sighed. "Look, if you are here to poke fun at me, you can head right back in. I've had enough of that for one evening."
Mitsuru smiled sympathetically at him. "Did you know that I used to be afraid of swimming in the ocean until very recently?"
He shook his head, smirking. "No. How recently are we talking?"
She shrugged playfully. "Between a year and three months. I'm not telling."
Minato smiled, his bad mood disappearing. Mitsuru bumped her shoulder against his. "See, we all have embarrassing things in our past."
He chuckled. "Yeah, but normal people don't end up being forced to be a punk for a year."
She laughed. "No, they choose to. Which one is worse?"
He nodded. "Alright, good point."
She smiled, then frowned slightly. "I'm sorry for all this. I was just trying to get Naoto-san to open up a little. It got out of control rather quickly though."
He shook his head. "Eh, it's alright. I can handle it. It's good to see her open up a bit, though. I was really afraid she wouldn't like you…guys."
She shook her head at his feigned subtlety. "It's alright. She told me what happened this morning. We…have an understanding now."
He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank god. I really didn't want to pick sides in that fight."
She smiled sweetly at him. "Well, it was easy to come to an agreement. We have something in common, after all."
Minato smirked. "Oh? What's that?"
Mitsuru linked her arm with his, then rested her head on his shoulder. "We both care about a blue haired idiot."
Minato laughed. "Is that your idea of sweet talk? It needs some work."
She pulled away and looked at him, amused. "Oh, really? Well, care to give me a better example?"
He smiled as he stared back into her eyes. He leaned in close. "Well, I think that talk is cheap sometimes." He closed the distance, kissing her deeply. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. Time seemed to stop as they became entranced with the taste and feel of their partner's lips on theirs. The affection and care that emitted from the both of them wrapped around them in a warm cocoon, insulating them from the cool air blowing off the ocean. Nothing could ruin this moment.
"Oh. My. God."
Yukari's voice snapped the two lovers out of their embrace and they quickly stepped away from each other, as if that would reverse time. The two of them blushed heavily as they looked at Yukari in horror. Yukari had a huge grin on her face at what she had stumbled on. "Um…how long has that been going on?"
Minato scowled. "What do you want, Yukari?"
Yukari shook her head. "Uh uh. I want answers. How long has that been happening for?"
Mitsuru tilted her head in discomfort as she answered. "…a few weeks."
Yukari laughed. "Well, congratulations. I'm happy for you both. I'm sorry for ruining that moment, but it just kind of…slipped out. Anyways, don't worry, my lips are sealed."
Minato shook his head. "Thanks, it saves me from having to threaten you. Anyway, now that incredibly awkward conversation is over, what do you need, Yukari?"
Yukari's grin disappeared. "Takeharu-san and Ikutsuki-san need to talk to us. They say it's important."
Minato and Mitsuru looked at each other worriedly, then followed Yukari to the lounge. The rest of the team was already there, with Evokers on their hips. When the 3 missing members entered the room and took their spots on the couches, Takeharu started. "I'm sorry for bothering you all during your well-earned vacation, but we have a situation. Ikutsuki?"
Ikutsuki cleared his throat. "I'm sorry I haven't seen much of you all during the vacation, all. Either way, we have a problem. A piece of tech that was commissioned right before the Incident 10 years ago, has gone missing."
Fuuka grimaced. "What kind of tech is it?"
Ikutsuki smirked. "It's an AS-W. An Anti-Shadow Weapon. A weapon designed specifically to contain and eliminate Shadows."
Minato shook his head. "How did it go missing, exactly? Did someone steal it?"
Ikutsuki shook his head. "No, it got up and left on its own, this morning. This is worrying, because the unit in question was damaged beyond repair, or so I thought. Apparently, it's been awake for a while now, and has been actively avoiding detection."
Minato shook his head in confusion. "How, exactly, can it be awake? What kind of platform or weapon are we talking about, here?"
Ikutsuki looked at Takeharu for guidance, and the senior Kirijo nodded. Ikutsuki sighed. "The weapon is actually a robot with a Persona, and therefore, a personality. A 'mechanical maiden', to be more precise. Her designation is Aigis, and she is the last of her kind."
Mitsuru's eyes widened. "I thought that those kinds of machines were just rumors?"
Ikutsuki shook his head. "No, Kouetsu actually built quite a few. She's armed to the teeth, and can fight the Shadows just as effectively as you all. If we can recapture her, she might be a valuable asset to SEES."
Minato nodded. "Alright, I can see why she would be a priority for us. Do you have a description of what it…or rather, she, looks like?"
Ikutsuki nodded and hit a button on a remote. A picture of Aigis appeared on the screen, and Minato's eyes widened. "Of all the dumb luck…"
Mitsuru looked at him. "Something wrong, Minato-san?"
Minato nodded. "I saw her earlier today."
Ikutsuki's eyes widened in surprise. "When? Where?"
Minato shook his head. "This afternoon, on the beach. I was taking a nap and, she walked up to me and just stared at me. I thought she was just a creepy girl at first, but now her behavior makes a little more sense."
Ikutsuki frowned. "What behavior?"
Minato frowned as he remembered the strange conversation he had with Aigis. "She mentioned something about 'finding' me, after spouting off a bunch of personal info about me. Then she got spooked and ran off."
Ikutsuki nodded. "Hmm…Interesting. Why would she be so interested in Minato-kun…?"
Yukari smiled. "I dunno. Kinda weird, isn't it?"
Mitsuru narrowed her eyes at Yukari, and the younger girl closed her mouth quickly. Luckily, Ikutsuki missed the implication. "Yes, indeed. Well, anyway, I need you all to prepare for combat. Whether Aigis is malfunctioning, or if she has detected a real threat, remains to be seen. Either way, combat is likely. I need Fuuka to stay up during the Dark Hour, and a few volunteers to stay on watch."
Akihiko and Junpei both raised their hands. "I'll stay." "I'm always down to stay up past bedtime!"
Ikutsuki nodded. "Thank you both. The rest of you, have a good night."
Yukari, Mitsuru, and Minato nodded and filed out of the lounge to their rooms. Minato bid both girls a good night, then stepped into his room. His head swam in confusion as he thought about his encounter with the Anti-Shadow Weapon, Aigis. She had known an awful lot about him, and the why of it continued to evade him. Why was she interested in him? Why had she abandoned all pretense of hiding today, just to see him? He shook his head. He could probably make more sense of this in the morning. The day's events had been tiring, and he could barely keep his eyes open. He changed into his bed clothes, and fell asleep almost as soon as he hit the pillow.
Minato woke up suddenly. He bolted up, a sense of danger crawling down his spine. He took in his surroundings quickly: It was the Dark Hour. His window was open, even though he hadn't left it open. And there was a liquid sounding movement above him.
Minato quickly dove out of his bed as the blade stabbed through the bed where his body had been a second ago. He rolled around when he hit the floor to see a Shadow on his ceiling. It was a fairly basic one, but Minato had no weapon, and didn't have time to summon his Persona.
The Shadow threw another blade right at his head as he stared at it, screeching at losing the element of surprise. He moved his head out of the way, then quickly rolled along the floor, dodging the flurry of blades that followed the first. He jumped up, and prepared to summon his Persona. However, he never got the chance.
The Anti-Shadow Weapon, Aigis, dove through his open window. She raised her hands, as a cocking sound was made. "You will not have him, monster!"
Aigis' fingers erupted in fire, the machineguns hidden inside her arms tearing the Shadow apart. She unloaded on it for a few seconds, the noise deafening any other sound in the room. Then, just as suddenly, the noise stopped. The Shadow twitched for a second, then fell apart, splattering his bed in shadowy gore. Minato stared incredulously. She had saved him.
Aigis' fingers clacked as her machineguns retracted. She smiled brightly at him, and asked, "Are you alright, Minato-kun?"
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(Dat cliffhanger though. Well, this ended up being a hell of a lot longer than it was in my head. I thought it would be a fairly short chapter when I started, and then it just kept going, and going, and going…Phew. Anyways, I hope you like the way that I have been developing the characters so far. I hope you like Naoto in particular. She's been particularly hard to write. Anyways, there was a lot of development in this chapter, huh? I hope you liked this chapter. Next time, we'll learn more about the relationship between Ikutsuki and Kyohei, and we'll have one last day of silliness with Aigis before we go back to Iwatodai. As always, please review or PM me if you have questions, concerns, criticisms, or if you just like the story! I'll appreciate it all! Hope to see you next chapter! –Dr. Ninja )