Persona having a calendar system makes it kind of confusing to make a timeline full of flashbacks ORZ

Also, advance apologies if this chapter breaks (?) the atmosphere/momentum of the previous one, but... yeah. The dates are so close apart ^^"

Just think of the previous two chapters are prologues to this whole arc, this one included... and the next, I guess?

NOTES:

7/07/09 ~ Lover's Full Moon

7/10/09 ~ Who is Minako? (Chapter 23)

7/11/09 ~ Chapter 25, yes, this one (flashback, second part only)

7/14/09 to 7/15/09 ~ Brother's Tail (Chapter 24)

7/20/09 ~ Chapter 25 (yes, this chapter)

Chapter 25: Junpei Revelations

7/20/09-Monday

"Awesome, there it is! Ya-ku-shi-maaaa!"

The boy with cap enthusiastically screamed his lungs out as their ferry sailed through the waters. It took quite a number of hours before any sight of land appeared before their eyes- their destination. Still, not a single drop of his enthusiasm rubbed off on his companions. Admittedly, part of his excitement was forced; and why wouldn't he? The atmosphere was simply suffocating for him. He wasn't used to such awkward moments, so he tried hard to lift up the mood, but to no avail. The quiet atmosphere that hung around his companions was simply difficult to break.

At one corner of the ship was a bored looking blue haired boy with headphones strapped on, behind him were his seniors: Akihiko, who was lifting some weights, and Mitsuru who was quietly sitting on a chair, uncharacteristically looking quite down. Of course, the main reason for that was Yukari, who stood ways away from her; the brunette's gaze was seemingly directed at nothing in particular, though she was obviously avoiding her senior's. Finally, there's Fuuka who probably was the only one whom he could confide with as she was the closest to his current situation- stuck in the middle of an awkward air.

What a way to start their vacation!- Junpei wanted to shout and scream joyfully- NOT!

With that, he cried out internally instead, "Mi-chaaann... I wish you were heeeere..."

7/11/09-Saturday (9 Days Earlier)

"Man, time sure is moving too fast... it'll be our exam again soon." Junpei sighed exasperatedly.

Minato blinked, as if he suddenly snapped back to himself, "ah, right. It's almost summer. Do you think I'd get to see Minako in a swimsuit?"

"Dude, what part of what I said made you go there?!"

The other boy was unsure how to feel. He felt that getting irritated or scolding his friend over it would just tire him out. Really, it's been almost four months since they've known each other, and whenever he felt like he knew the guy, Minato would then suddenly do or say something way out of his expectations. At that point, he had already decided to throw away all expectations on his friend and roll with it, but just as he had thought, thinking and doing were two completely different things. Dealing with someone who lives at their own pace, and their own world was something he couldn't really grasp.

"Hey, maybe we can go to a festival and I'll see her in yukata? That's even better, right?" his expression was stiff, but there was definitely a spark in his eyes.

Once more, Junpei sighed, "that fixation of yours really scares me sometimes..."

"Hm? Really? Do you think it's scaring her too?"

The capped boy was quite taken aback that his comment actually reached his friend's ears this time. Under normal circumstances, Junpei's comments would be ignored, and met with silence. He was used to it, so suddenly being taken seriously was...

He was about to give his reply when they noticed the whole group- S.E.E.S.- were all gathered around at the lounge. They were on their way home after all, and it seemed that he and Minato were too engrossed with their chat that they barely noticed that they had returned.

"We were waiting for the two of you. Come on, let's head for the 4th floor."

The red-haired senior called out to them as she stood up. All the others followed after her.

That day, their club was meant to meet up to talk about the most recent Full Moon Event- the one at the love hotel. It was also on that day that the atmosphere of their group turned a bit sour- it was then that the truth behind the origin of the Dark Hour was revealed, after all.

Yukari pried it out from Ikutsuki and Mitsuru; that the Dark Hour was caused by an experiment years ago by the Kirijo Group. While it was quite grating to hear that what they were essentially doing was cleaning up the mess created by the corporate giant, there really was nothing to gain from sulking or complaining about it; doing nothing on the other hand would create more victims, so they might as well do it. More importantly, Ikutsuki had revealed to them that destroying those Full Moon Shadows would end the Dark Hour. The discovery was a breakthrough- now they had a clear goal in mind.

Yukari didn't take it too well though, and she started to avoid Mitsuru then. He wasn't sure why Yukari seemed to be taking it too personally, but he was too scared to ask; that, or maybe part of him didn't care much enough to ask.

A couple of days later, the group met up again and decided on a vacation to the beach- Yakushima. The plan sparked excitement in everyone, even the ever expressionless Minato was excited over the idea. He even jumped in to ask the chairman if his sister could come. For even just a moment at least, the heavy air had become lighter, so Junpei shrugged off everything and immediately went into vacation mode in his mind.

... But then, the second blow happened.

For some reason, Minako did not want to go with them and insisted on staying home... which reduced her brother to his current state.

Back to 7/20/09-Monday

Minato's sulking had become a common thing in the dorm, so he didn't really worry about that (it was still annoying though), but what was worrying was Yukari and Mitsuru's state. Mitsuru was fine on her own, but whenever Yukari came around, things would go awkward. Fuuka, who often spent her time with Yukari and Minako was at a loss as well; with Yukari's demeanor and Minako's absence, the girl had returned to her silence. Akihiko was fine though, and perhaps too dense to even feel the tension, but Junpei wanted to avoid the senior as much as possible if he would rather not have an exhausting training camp. He came to Yakushima for vacation, and not for even more training. Junpei knew the senior enough that he just knew he'll be heading that way if he chose to hang out with him.

"Hey man, stop poking that. You'll make it angry..."

With nothing to do, he ended up watching the blue haired boy poke on the innocent crustacean crawling on the sandy beach. It's been about half an hour, probably? The girls sure took their time changing, and frankly, he's quite excited. It was one of the few things that he hoped will save the gloomy excuse for a vacation.

"Mhm."

Minato just threw away the stick and nodded.

His lack of response didn't surprise Junpei, though it didn't stop him from feeling frustrated, "dude, we're on vacation so can't you at least lighten up?"

No response.

"I'm sure Mii-chan will be upset if you ended up not having fun just cause she decided not to come."

The comment got a reaction from the boy. His brows twitched, and then moments later, he looked up to Junpei's direction, "I guess you're right... I did promise her good pictures". Minato said as he lifted up the expensive looking camera hanging around his neck.

He blinked. Did he hear that right? Did Minato- MINATO of all people agree with him? Junpei couldn't help but leave his mouth agape. Honestly, he said those out of jest just to lighten up the mood or something of the sort. All the response he expected from the boy was an insult or a tease.

By that time, the young man with the camera had stood up from crouching down and dusted off the sand on his blue swimming trunks. His expression seemed to have lightened a bit, and his eyes were set on a particular direction, "hey, they're back".

Junpei turned around, and all the thoughts he had about his friend immediately got flushed out of his mind. He's a simple guy like that. Right then and there, the only thing he intended to put his sights on were the girls right in front of him.

"Oooh! What a bold design Yuka-tan~ quite unexpected." he was grinning from ear to ear, "takes a lotta confidence to pull that off! Hey man, what do you think?" his attention suddenly shifted to Minato.

"H-hey! That's uncalled for, Stupei!" Yukari's cheeks went red as the blue-haired boy in question eyed her.

"I'm not sure why you're asking me" he answered nonchalantly (as always), "I guess it fits her?".

"H-huh...?! Um..."

The brunette's cheeks went even redder, and was suddenly rendered speechless. Junpei couldn't help but smirk as he watched her fidget with the sand with her feet. Knowing Minato though, he meant that it 'fits' her, as in: 'it wasn't too big or too small for her'. He'd rather keep quiet on that though, lest he was a masochist. He did want to tease her a bit more when another figure caught his attention.

"Is that umbrella taken?"

The soft spoken girl, Fuuka, was the one to arrive this time. She normally dressed modestly, so it was difficult to discern her figure. Now that he had seen it- "wow, Fuuka... You should wear a swimsuit more often! Right?", once more, his question of approval was directed to Minato.

"Huh?" the girl couldn't help but just yelp in reply. Just like Yukari, her cheeks had become a bright tint of red.

"..." he didn't immediately reply, and instead, looked away and scratched the back of his head as if contemplating with what to reply, "it's okay...? It fits".

"Aw c'mon man! Don't you have a better reaction?" Junpei suddenly hooked his arm around the boy's shoulder, which surprised him.

"Why are you even asking me?" he asked irritably, "I don't know anything about swimsuits".

"Hey, you're a man" the other boy still had his arm locked around his friend, "it should come naturally! It's your natural instinct!"

Just then, the final contestant entered- "...Hm? Is something wrong?".

And cue in Junpei's jaw's dropping at the sight of their senior. Before he can even drop a single compliment, the other two girls got to her first. Admittedly, he felt a tad bit jealous there.

And yet, he couldn't help but feel happy. The terrible mood from the dorm, and the yacht was now a thing of the past. Now, everyone was smiling.

Junpei's work was done. He wanted to pat himself at the back.

*click* *click*

Two flashes. All eyes were on the source.

"Ah, I forgot to turn off the flash. Sorry, just continue" as usual, his voice had that distinct flatness which made him sound sarcastic.

He didn't sound sorry at all.

"Hey, what was that about?!"

Yukari's face burned bright red.

All the other girls' face were bright red.

Akihiko, who was at the back had that oblivious look on his face. He at least had enough common sense not to butt in the situation.

"So now you're showing interest?" Junpei's shoulders slumped. He then leaned close to the other boy's ear, "gimme copies when we get back, okay?"

"H-hey, what are you two perverts talking about?!" the brunette stomped toward the boys, "you'd better get rid of those pictures! Or- or else!"

However, Minato simply frowned, "No. I promised Minako good pictures."

His expression didn't show any hint of changing. At all. Junpei wasn't surprised with his reply. Yukari had a defeated look, as if saying 'I should have known...', Fuuka on the other hand, simply chuckled. She must have found his reply amusing. There was also Mitsuru who simply nodded. She had a strange expression though, as if she was looking at a strange, unknown being.

"Oh right, Minako" Akihiko finally spoke up as he stepped forward, "it's nice of you to think about your sister. Make sure you take lots of my specially developed 'beach training regime'! I'm sure she'll be able to make use of that if even she ever visits the beach!"

Junpei frowned- she'd have no use for that!- was what he wanted to scream out, but decided to keep it to himself. Looks like he was right about his senior planning to train even on vacation.

He noted himself to stay away from the boxer for a while.

7/20/09-Monday

He had thought that he had seen enough eye candy back at the beach. Cute girls in swimsuits made him happy enough; REAL LIFE maids made the vacation the best he'd had. The beach house they will be staying at was magnificent enough; it was five? No, ten times bigger than his whole house, and to think that that was just the Kirijo's vacation home really made him realize how different some people's world was.

And then there's Minato whom you could say lived in a whole different world altogether. Everyone was awed by the place (except Mitsuru, of course, and Akihiko who apparently had been there before), but that boy? He didn't seem to care. At all. Heck, he just complained about wanting to get some rest already, and then muttered to himself something about water beds? Reading him was really such a chore that Junpei decided he'd just play with him and go with the flow.

Now that he had thought of it, he wondered why he even bothered to continue being friends with Minato. He was weird, unsociable and a total weirdo. He even gives spine chilling threats for crying out loud!- The first time they met, even. It was almost like he had closed off himself from everyone except his sister.

Pointing out all of those made Junpei sigh.

He suddenly wasn't even sure if the other party even thought of him as a friend. That was a rather sad thought. Sure they had a rough relationship, but they also had fun times. Like the one back at the beach earlier.

Or was he even having fun back then? Minato only watched everyone and took pictures in the end. He didn't sound the least bit enthusiastic when Junpei tried to liven him up by trying to get him to comment on the girls as well.

"Do you even enjoy hanging out with us?"

Junpei froze. That was meant to stay in his head, now Minato was staring at him.

Only the two of them were in the room, currently unpacking their things. They were paired up as roommates at Mitsuru's beach mansion (as Junpei inwardly calls it). He wondered why they even need to room with each other when the place was so big?

That aside, Junpei sweatdropped over his little slip. A few seconds have passed and an awkward silence still filled the room.

"Weeeell... where did that come from?" he tried to laugh it off as a joke, "just continue with whatever your doing. I was just talking to myself."

Junpei turned his back on the boy and pretended to work on actually unpacking his things. That was a good save- was what he thought.

Or so he thought.

"Oh sorry... did it... seem like that?" Minato's voice was suddenly heard from behind him, "I guess I'm still not used to this..."

"Huh? Whaddaya mean?" Junpei's ears immediately perked, "used to what?"

Sure the reply was late, and he actually preferred that he not reply, but the tone of Minato's voice was different from usual. Quiet and almost withdrawn, yet it had a hint of sincerity; none of the usual blandness and disinterest.

"F...ds..." Minato mumbled something almost inaudible.

"What?" he raised a brow, unable to hear the other boy's words.

"Friends..." he looked away, "I'm not used to having friends..."

Junpei wasn't sure how to reply. Normally, he'd tease him about it and brush it off as some sort of joke, but he knew that the boy was being serious. That was the problem- the boy was serious. Not that Minato was never serious, but he never expressed his feelings like that. At least, never when he was around.

He couldn't help but grin from ear to ear.

Without warning, Junpei wrapped an arm around his companion's shoulders, "aw, you didn't have to be shy with that! You can always be honest with your ol' pal, Junpei!"

"Don't push it." Minato frowned, complete with the spine chilling expression he knew so well.

Junpei immediately let go and moved away ten steps back, "sorry...!".

"Just kidding." the blue-haired boy added nonchalantly, complete with an ever-so blank expression.

"Don't do that!" he cried, "your sense of humor is really... messed up." Not to mention, his ability to break the mood was top notch.

Oh wait, he was the one who broke the mood first.

"Oh, I have a phone call." Minato suddenly turned around to pick up his phone.

"There you are, ignoring me again..." Junpei jokingly sighed, "what's new?"

"It's fun to mess with you that way."

"..." so that was how it was.

The short exchange suddenly made him realize what had been bugging him about Minato.

He changed.

Back in April, all he ever had his eyes on was his sister. He never paid any attention to anyone else. Heck, even his reason for joining SEES was still Minako. Recently though, he noticed that Minato had started paying attention to other people. He had also started showing more and more expressions.

Maybe his impression of Minato had been wrong all along? Maybe he was just... shy?

Junpei snorted. Minato? Shy? Now that was funny. No way, he's a weirdo and that's all there was to him.

... Yet, it didn't feel wrong? Minato and 'shy' didn't seem to mix well in his head, but the boy being timid felt right as well...? The revelation in Junpei's head was simply overwhelming. It felt so wrong, yet it seemed to be the correct conclusion. He had never been the smart one, or the one to think much about things, but just the thought that he'd been trying his hardest to analyze his friend must mean that he really wanted to know him better?

But why though?

"Hey, you better not hit on girls on the beach."

Minato suddenly spoke. It seemed that he already finished his call.

"Whaaaat?" he frowned, "where'd that come from?"

"Minako said so" he stated as a matter-of-factly, "she told me we'd better not try picking up girls at the beach."

"Aw, c'mon! I'm pretty sure she's just joking!"

"... She was?"

Again, Junpei didn't expect that Minato would actually take him seriously and question his sister's intentions. "Er, uh... yeah! I'm pretty sure she was just making a joke. A joke!". Intention or not, his beach experience cannot be foiled any more than it already has!

Minato kept quiet for a moment, as if he was contemplating.

"No, I don't think she was joking. And just in case she really wasn't, you better not try anyway, or else you owe me some ramen".

"Eh?! Then what if you never do end up catching me picking up some babes? Do I get anything?"

"No. You probably will do it either way, so I win either way, and therefore, you owe me ramen."

"You're just trying to cheat me out of free food!" he just wanted to cry out. As much as he wanted to disagree, Minato was right- he *probably* will be doing it either way.

"Yeah. And it's fun cheating you of free things." Minato said it in a very nonchalant manner.

Junpei wanted to cry, but he could do nothing but nod. Looks like he learned and understood one more thing about this boy: teasing others was his idea of fun.

Oh well, at least that's a promise of a hangout together. What's a bowl of ramen between friends?

We're suddenly in Yakushima? We're finally in Yakushima! And sorry, there won't be any Operation Babe Hunt because if I do put it in... it'll be pretty much the same?

Have a Junpei chapter anyway, but I think it's more of a Minato progress report by Junpei? I'm personally quite fond of this chapter, though honestly, this wasn't how I imagined this to go.

Huh? What? What about the continuation of the previous chapter?

...

Psh, don't worry, we'll get there when we'll get there ahaha... ha.

But yes, I don't know if it was noticeable, but Minato's been making more expressions lately. At the earlier portion of the story, he was very... expressionless? Except when he was in front of Minako, but even then, he rarely made any expressions. I guess he started becoming softer after being friends with Hidetoshi and Chihiro. Of course, being friends with Junpei who never gave up on him, Yukari who... never really cared much for his weirdness, and uh... Fuuka who actually puts up with him helped? Let's go with that.

Aaaaand welp, here's the next chapter as I've promised! Next one will be the last weekly update I promised, so after chapter 26, there won't be a new chapter the week after. I'm not sure when I could release 27, but I have started working on it. Yeah.

Oh, and let's have a next chapter preview just cause I feel like it~

Coming up next:

~Chapter 26: Memories by the Sea~

"We had a mutual understanding."

"I've been a coward all my life."

"It's the death of me."

OhtaSuzuke- Oh don't worry, that will be explained/touched upon in due time. Actually, it should be in this arc (and I'm actually excited to get there) but as I've said, this is one of the longest arcs so that *might* take a while (although I've actually started a bit on it =w=). As for his reasons... well actually, what he may seem to feel is not what it seems? Let's just go with that XD

crymblade- make that four. Including this one, I'll be releasing another next week. That will be the last though, since I'm not sure when I'll ever finish chapter 27.