The seven persona-users of Gekkoukan High School silently ate dinner. Ken glanced at his classmates and wondered why no one said a word. He didn't know why Teddie and Ryoji were so quiet when just hours ago, the two were thrilled to tell the Minako about the upcoming election for student council president. He didn't know why Shinjiro or Labrys didn't say anything about how the two doltishly, almost volunteered themselves to run as president – how Teddie provoked Ryoji to almost made one of the biggest mistake of their life. He didn't know why Aigis kept glancing at the girl seated beside him. And he didn't know why Minako was completely unreachable after Fuuka, Rise and Yukari left.
"Is there anything wrong?" he asked, confusion evident in his tone. He noticed the girl beside him flinch when he broke the silence. Ken failed to realize that he was looking at the girl until her own ruby eyes met his. "How was your day today, Minako-san?" was what first came to is mouth when he caught himself staring. He slowly tried to look away as naturally as he could by reaching for his glass of water.
"It was okay," Minako answered with little enthusiasm. "I went out to eat lunch at Hagakure. After that I went for a short walk to the shrine. I went back to take Koro-chan for a walk. After an hour,we went home because we were cold, and then we fell asleep here..." She looked up the ceiling, as if it would help her remember anything that she forgotten to say. Should I tell them about Junpei? She shook her head and dismissed the idea. "That's about it, I guess. What about you guys?" And thus, the tale of the idiocy of the two blockheads was finally narrated by Labrys and Shinjiro.
"It all started when we entered the classroom," Labrys began rather dramatically. "The girls who swarmed Ken, Ryoji and Teddie increased tenfold. Ken, being the only smart one of the three, made a very reasonable excuse and left to the faculty room. The two, who were left, made it their mission to entertain the love-struck girls and to be better than the other."
"It was Teddie who started it!" Ryoji exclaimed, but they ignored him.
"Their battle continued for a few minutes. Then homeroom started. It was finally the time where the stupidity of our two heroes-" Labrys' shoulders shook slightly and a smirk threatened to surface on her lips "-finally reached its peak... I can't do this anymore. It's your turn Shinjiro-kun."
"So... uh... Wait, do I have to copy you?"
"If ya wanna."
"So the two heroes... yeah."
"That sucks, Shinji." Minako tried to keep her face straight to annoy her friend. It worked.
"Hell, I'm tellin' this my way." Shinjiro placed his chopsticks down. "So during homeroom, Ms. Toriumi asked if someone wants to run as student council prez. Then Teddie provoked Ryoji, said that he would lose because many girls love him more. Ryoji lost his cool and said that blondy won't beat him because he's not only popular with girls, he also has many 'male friends.' " Shinjiro paused to snicker.
"Come on, Shinji. Not you, too." Ryoji sighed in exasperation.
"You really did say that you have many 'boyfriends,' " Teddie reiterated. "And what's wrong with that? You should be flattered that even boys flock around you. Though they're not as many as those who do on me, of course."
The raven-haired boy glared at the blond boy. "I said 'male friends'; I didn't say 'boyfriends'. Are you really that dumb that you don't know the difference between the two? And I can't live with that-" he pointed at the still snickering Shinjiro, "-making fun of me all the time."
"You know, Ryo, you-"
"Don't call me that!"
"-could have said buddies instead of 'boyfriends'. People might think that you're building a harem."
"You're the one building a harem!"
"No I'm not. I'm just beary generous with my love and beauty. I'm sure even Gakky loves my bear fur, he's just acting like a big tsun-tsun to hide his true feelings. Oh, being too beautiful truly is my greatest sin."
Ryoji gave the blond a smug smile. You just gave me an ally.
"What did you say?" Shinjiro whispered threateningly. He glared at the bear then to the chuckling boy. The two quickly left to hide, the latter wondering why the pony-tailed boy was running after him, too .
"I say he'll find Teddie first," Labrys predicted.
"I believe that Ryoji-san will be the first," Aigis said. A few minutes later, the two excused themselves, saying that they have somewhere to be. Minako thought that they were probably going to Mitsuru.
"It's your turn to wash the dishes, right?" Ken asked. Minako turned to him and nodded. "I'll help you then."
"Thanks." They gathered the plates and brought them to the sink. Minako was relieve that Shinjiro, Ryoji and Teddie already finished their meal - she would've felt bad to see food go to waste.
Minako looked at the boy who was once shorter that her. "Are you going to run for president again?"
"I'm still thinking about it."
"Why? I think you'd do great."
Ken smiled. "I don't know if I can still handle it... There's so many things I have to think about, like going to college and fighting shadows."
"We're always here if you need help, you know?"
The boy looked at her thoughtfully before resuming to what he was doing. "I'll remember that," he said. They were enveloped with silence again, but this time Ken didn't mind. Though he felt that the girl was hiding something from them, he didn't pry. He knew that he'll know in time.
"Makoto-kun was the greatest person I ever knew." Yukari's words kept repeating in Minako's mind. "He may seem reserved, but he cares so much for his friends."
She tried to stop thinking about what the archer said. She didn't know why, but something about what she said didn't sit well with her. Something about those words felt like a knife stabbing her heart. What is this feeling? She placed a hand over her chest as if the act would make her feel better. "What's happening to me?"
A familiar tune suddenly blared from her phone. She groaned and reached for her phone. She made a mental note to adjust the volume. "What is it Junpei?"
"Is this a wrong time?" he asked when he heard her irritated voice.
Minako sighed inwardly and said, "No, not really." She quickly got up and made her way to the rooftop. "Why'd you call?"
"Just making sure you're still here," he replied lightly with a hint of truth and fear.
The crimson-eyed girl chuckled and said jokingly, "You're being paranoid."
Junpei laughed. "I was just kidding. I just wanted to catch up with my buddy."
"We were together whole afternoon and you barely said a word," Minako said flatly.
"Because I didn't know what to say!" Junpei retorted defensively.
It was Minako's turn to laugh again. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"Hmm... Ah!" The male's lips curved upward with a tinge of mischief and nosiness. "How about your relationship with Ryoji and Shinjiro-senpai?"
"Uh... okay? ...What about it?" Minako asked, perplexed. This earned her a frustrated sigh from her caller.
"Never mind." Junpei paused. "Are you sure you don't want to tell everyone the I remember?"
"Yeah. I want to know how you remembered first before I do something about it."
Junpei scratched his head, "I'm not really sure. I just woke up and BOOM I remember you."
"Woke up, huh?" A slight flicker of realization sparked in the wild card's eye, but it quickly turned to uncertainty.
"Yup. I was dead tired after running around that tower so I decided to take a quick nap when you gave me that break."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah man."
Minako groaned and sat down on the floor. "This is hopeless."
"Don't worry, dude," Junpei said positively. "I'm sure we'll solve this."
"Thanks Junpei."
"I have to go now," he told her. "I need to take care of some stuff I need for tomorrow. Feel free to call me anytime though, alright?"
"Alright."
" 'kay bye."
Minako lowered her phone-holding hand to her lap and looked up the dark sky. She tried to look for the star that always listened to her every wish from when she was a child and up until now. But the city lights were out-shined her wishing star. She hoped that the lights would all die for just a second. Just long enough for her to make her wish, her wish that what she was thinking was right.
Tower...
"We," Aigis began, "along with Fuuka-san and the everyone in the Investigation Group,except for Yukiko-san, will be the fighting the Emperor and the Empress."
Ryoji swallowed his food and then said, "Okay." He returned to his breakfast, mumbling occasionally about how much his back hurts because of Shinjiro's kick.
"By the way," Teddie wiped his mouth and then continued, "I remember the Priestess shadow coming back to life when we fought it. Do you guys think it'll happen again?"
"As long as I'm in the tower," Minako said, "the shadows will surely disappear after you beat them."
"Why?" Labrys asked. She suddenly felt suspicious of the girl.
"I don't really know," Minako answered. "There was this one time when Ryoji and Shinji went to the tower without me. The shadows kept on reviving until I came. After that, we tried a little experiment and found out that without me, in the tower, the shadows in it won't die."
"I see. Do you mind if I report this to Mitsuru-san?"
"Be my guest..."
Labrys was taken aback by the girl's sudden lack of enthusiasm. The crimson-eyed android made eye-contact to everyone and gestured to the dazed girl.
Aigis was the only one who got what she meant. "Are you not feeling well, Minako-san?" she asked.
The wild card looked up and said, "I'm just not a morning person."
"The events from the other day must have disturbed your sleeping pattern," Aigis concluded. "Do not worry, I will try and search for ways so that the morning will be pleasant to you once again."
The brunette gave her a small smile, "Thank you, Aigis."
"We will all miss you, Mira-chan," the teacher said to the girl.
Mira hugged her teacher and said, "I'll miss you too, sensei. I'll miss everyone too!" The girl suddenly began to cry silently. Her classmates, most of which were her friends, surrounded her and gave her a hug. They all cried over as they said their farewell to the girl.
At the corner of the room, two kids watched the scene sadly.
"Hey, Mako-chan?"
"What is it, Minako-chan?"
"What if one day you leave and you don't remember me anymore?"
The boy looked at his friend incredulously before breaking into a smile. "That's impossible," he said.
"Why?" the girl asked, tilting her head.
"Because you're my best friend."
"That's not really making me feel better..."
"Just trust me, okay?"
Minako stared at his friend. She finally smiled and said, "okay."
I'm back! Thank you for those who favorite/followed this story. And to those who commented. I'm sorry that I can't respond. I'm still feeling kinda drained (and my hand hurts). Also, I'm sorry for this boring chapter.