Sup. o/ Back with this again, this time with a scene from Blood Lust. In fact, it's a couple of scenes. I don't remember from which chapter it was, but it was entertaining enough for me to tamper with it for a bit.
Ah, just a reminder. Always remember to check chapter 1 to find the full resume of the things we post in this fic, and in which chapter to find them. It'll be updated as we post more chapters.
Hope you enjoy it, on with it.
"Calm the hell down! Dude, calm down, you're safe!"
"He's not listening," Akihiko grunted. Junpei's plead fell on deaf ears. "Minato, calm down!"
Despite his friends' efforts, the blunet kept kicking and screaming. Broken and weary from the last dreadful twenty four hours, he sobbed and yelled every waking moment since he regained consciousness. As he struggled against Sanada's and Iori's grip, his violent thrashing and rising adrenaline quickened the flow of blood, which spilled endlessly on the sheets of his bed. Healing was also increasingly difficult, since he just wouldn't stay still!
Mitsuru, also broken by the day before, was the only one who couldn't raise her voice to match Minato's screams. But still, she yelled for him to calm down more than thrice, even though she knew she wasn't reaching. Perhaps she also needed to tell herself to calm down, and screaming at the top of her lungs, even if they were weak at that moment, could help her situation a bit.
Turns out, it didn't. Her own screams made her even more frustrated, as her voice reached its frayed ends. Her tone wasn't the same anymore, and it took her a moment to pull back from her self inflicted agony. She eventually stopped yelling and watched the situation unfold, selfish as her decision may have seemed to be.
She needed to accept that she was at her weakest and act accordingly. Pride would only hurt more people.
"Dammit," Yukari couldn't contain herself and grabbed Arisato's shoulders, powering Junpei aside. She tried to shake him back to his senses, but his eyes were still lifeless when she gazed at them from above, despite his high activity. "Minato, answer me!"
"He's gone," Akihiko said. "That damn shadow isn't here anymore! Snap out of it!"
Minato started shouting even louder upon hearing those words, much to the boxer's surprise. Another wild thrash sent him backwards and ended up slapping Yukari, sending her down on her behind. At that, the blunet finally sat up on his bed, looking around wildly with tears streaming down his face.
"Minato!" Hamuko finally found her voice again and tackled him back to the bed before he could do anything stupid. No way in hell she was allowing him to get out of that mattress.
"Don't let him get away!" Yukari shouted, rubbing her red cheek as Hamuko tried to wrestle the weary blunet back to the bed. He still struggled under her, but had grown so weak, even with a broken body she was able to hold him down.
"Gack," the redhead pulled away and widened her eyes at the amount of blood on her uniform, giving Junpei the opening he needed to go back to restraining Minato to the bed.
Mitsuru eventually broke her silence and crouched down near Yukari. "Could you please go get some bandages?" She asked calmly, but still, her voice cracked. The brunette took a moment to register the order, but eventually got up and set out to do as she was told.
Junpei yelled at Arisato again as he blunet struggled and thrashed beneath him. Iori was hit far too many times, but endured the blows his already damaged body.
"Hamuko-chan!" Fuuka called towards the redhead who was still staring blankly at the blood she was doused in. The never-ending screams and wails were doing a number on her mind. She couldn't stop shaking. Everything blurred in front of her for a moment and she felt her mind going numb.
What was happening...?
"Wake up!" Fuuka grabbed her by the shoulders, as Minato finally pushed Junpei away and sat up again.
He stopped to look at the bandages on his hands and arms for a brief while, as if on a contemplative daze...
Before he began to bite and rip away at the bandages and wounds on his hands and fingers, gnawing on the flesh and aggravating the lacerations that he received just minutes ago.
That pulled even Akihiko's breaks.
"No, you won't!" The boxer grabbed the blunet's wrists and wrestled them away from his mouth, but Minato pulled his head back and said his first barely coherent words since he woke up.
"Leave me alone!" He screeched with a cracked and raspy voice, before smashing his head with all the force he could muster into Akihiko's open chest, knocking him down to the ground with a scream and a thud.
"Akihiko-senpai!" Junpei yelled and went to his aid, as Sanada supported himself on an elbow and felt for his ribs. That had hit in a wrong, wrong way and hurt more than it should have...
His eyes still aimed at the blunet, however, who thrashed around again, brutally smashing the back of his head against the frame of his bed.
And then again, occasioning a sickening sound that made Hamuko freeze just when she was about to move. As much as she wanted to help him, numbness flooded into her limbs and brain every time her eyes even passed over him.
Minato, free again, resumed his self mutilation, clawing, biting his previous wounds, smashing his head against the bed and ripping away his own hair like a man possessed.
Until he froze and turned towards the window.
After a breath, he got up and bolted towards the frame, looking to jump out of it.
"No!" Fuuka yelled and followed the blunet, quickly as she could. She managed to catch him by the ankle, but could barely keep him from advancing. She couldn't hold it much longer.
Yukari came back just in time to witness the scene, and dropped everything she had in her hands to help Yamagishi bring Minato back into the room. Junpei also sprung into motion and helped the two girls by grabbing a hold of the same leg as Fuuka. They gave one big tug and managed to get Arisato to release the window pane, making him fall face first on the ground. It looked painful, but was better than having him throw himself out of the window.
The two girls grabbed a hold of his arms and Mitsuru came back moments later, holding a few pills in her palms. "Hold him down!"
Hamuko soon joined the three and kept him glued to the wall. She glanced at his eyes and her grip slipped away.
Minato yelled out loud directly in her face, gazing into her soul with his vacant eyes.
That was enough to shake her very core, her grip worsening by every passing second. She couldn't hold onto him much longer. Groaning, she fell backwards, almost literally crawling away from the broken teenager.
"Tch, Hamuko," Junpei snapped. "The Hell are you doing!?" He couldn't believe it. She hadn't done a damn thing to help her boyfriend. She wasn't even standing, just sitting on the ground like a lost child while the rest struggled with Minato.
Mitsuru turned two stern red eyes to Hamuko before shoving a pill down Arisato's throat. It was an experience less than pleasant, but that was the only way.
Fuuka gave Junpei a glass of water which the latter forced the blunet to swallow, in an effort to make him gulp down the pills.
Minato knocked the glass away and spat away the pills before coughing madly. The three restrainers allowed him room, as his hands suffered under their grip to help his situation.
But the first thing he did was to scratch wildly at his throat, trying to rip it open.
That sent the room into a bigger uproar than it already was. No one could find an alternative other than holding his arms again.
"Akihiko!" Mitsuru called the still downed boxer through her sore throat. "Knock him out." She demanded, already lowering her head.
"But..." Sanada began.
"Don't you dare!" Hamuko found her voice.
Kirijo simply turned towards her with a frostbiting glare, before turning back towards the silver haired fighter and nodding.
After looking back at the older redhead, he exhaled. "Really…" He clenched his fists and painfully sprung up, before approaching the blunet.
"Hold him still... I don't wanna miss." Akihiko told the three in charge of the suicidal young man. Another mad thrash made the three persona users strengthen their hold, which allowed Minato to look dead into Sanada's eyes.
The lifeless gaze made the boxer chew on his bottom lip, but nevertheless he aimed his strike to his temple.
One last scream from the blunet brought forth droplets of blood to the ground, and some fell near his feet.
"Sorry…" Akihiko whispered before closing his eyes smashing his left fist into the soft stop of Minato's temple, finally knocking the fool out.
The boxer panted and stood back to his full height, only to wince after the pain on his chest bit again. Something may have cracked there, he felt... He put a hand over the aching place.
He then turned towards the cowering younger redhead and lowered his shoulders. He could partly understand her situation, but... that was hardly the time to hide away. He couldn't be mad, but he had little to say to her. Sighing, he eventually averted his eyes and sought for some kind of seat or support.
Yukari exhaled and collapsed to the ground right after, extremely drained. Fuuka eventually came and sat by her side on the ground, threatening to break into tears, to which Takeba responded with a hug. The teal haired girl then began sobbing copiously on her friend's shoulder, who did little but tighten the grip around her and hold her own tears. They couldn't do much but be there for each other, at that moment.
Mitsuru leaned against a wall and looked around the room, weary as each and every one there, if not more. Her eyes then met Akihiko's.
After a brief moment, he approached and put a hand on her shoulder.
He didn't need to say anything. Those were possibly the darkest times in their history as SEES. As many challenges they had faced before, the next trial always seemed to hurt the most. There never seemed to be a bright future beyond all the fighting they've done, it all seemed like a losing game.
In her eyes, he could see that she was doubting the validity of this whole struggle. She was asking him why.
Just a squeeze on her shoulder was his answer, and she understood it. After nodding, she lowered her head and allowed him to get her out of that room.
Junpei removed his cap and lifted Minato up before carrying him over to the bed, placing him and gently as he could on the mattress.
Hamuko got up on shaky legs and wobbled her way towards the exit, not stopping to look at her friends. She needed a place to cool off and stay the hell away from Minato. Pushing the door aside, she made her way down to her room.
Yukari raised her head and witnessed the retreating girl. "She's not right at all…" She muttered.
"You're right," Junpei sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "But man… we're all broken. I can't really blame her."
"Hm..." Yukari broke away from Fuuka to grab the first-aid kit that was still on the floor and made her way over to Minato, patching out the grotesque looking wounds.
His school uniform was burned and cut at various places, not to mention it smelt like blood and vomit. "He needs a change of clothes too…" She acknowledged.
"... Junpei, can you do it?" Takeba asked averting her eyes, half expecting the capped teen to refuse.
But to her surprise, Junpei nodded.
"Sure. You can keep patching his wounds." He said, taking fresh clothes out of Minato's closet. He was going to undress a guy and then change his clothes, but he was past caring at this point. Arisato was a friend in dire need of help. He had half a mind to ask Hamuko but he knew she'd refuse.
Yukari kept tending to him and Iori removed his jacket and shirt, putting on a clean t-shirt. The two teens winced at the wounds but kept working, doing their best not to mind smell and blood.
Fuuka eventually stood up and made her way up the stairs, but, much to her dismay, Hamuko had locked herself up in her room and wasn't responding. Yamagishi hung her head low and walked over to her own room, collapsing onto the bed.
Mitsuru placed her head against the pillow and shut her eyes, hoping for a few minutes of sleep.
Akihiko's lights went out as soon as his head touched the pillow, despite the pain.
Junpei and Yukari ended up passing out at the side of Minato's bed.
"It'll be alright," Ken said, patting the whimpering canine. The two were forced to listen to the screams coming from upstairs. He couldn't believe that Minato of all people was screaming like that. He could feel the despair behind the vibrations. Hell, even Ken himself didn't scream as helplessly after the death of his mother.
"Minato-senpai…" The boy rubbed his eyes, still petting Koromaru's head, trying to calm the canine and himself down.
...
...
Sho steadied himself on the tree and looked ahead. Thankfully the window was open and he could get a clear view…. And it was far from what he wanted to see.
Minato was motionless in his bed, eyes glazed over, like he was drugged beyond his mind. A butt load of pills and shot injections were on the side table next to him.
Yukari was sitting next to him, staring at him intently.
"What the fuck happened to him!?" Sho clenched his fist. What the heck happened to the relentless warrior!? What happened to the guy who had kicked his ass!?
The redhead edged closer, getting a better view. Minato's head was cracked open at various places and he was heavily bandaged but despite that, the blood wasn't stopping. He could also see the broken frame of his bed.
"…. He did that to himself?" Sho blinked. Really? He abused himself? But why?
"Minato…" Sho couldn't believe the despair bubbling in his chest. It pained him to see someone so great like that, someone he respected a ton beaten like that. "What happened to you, man…"
His mind went back to the darkened dude he saw at the gates. He was able to witness it all. Minato coming out and then losing his shit and then getting dragged away by the shadowy looking thing, he was able to escape with Jin before he smashed the annoying nerd into the ground and left him for dead.
"That insolent bastard!" Sho cursed, swearing to put the shadow through hell for what he did to Minato. How the heck was he able to fight in such a condition!?
"…. Get well soon," Sho jumped down from the tree and disappeared into the darkness of the night.
"Damn, I should have killed Jin…." he was a little concerned about the nerd attacking the defenseless teen but… "Eh, his friends won't let him…. Right." he nodded. Bonds and all.
...
...
Hamuko was curled up against the door of her own room, still caked in Minato's blood. It nauseated her, but the lethargy kept her from even getting up to change her clothes. Her legs weren't there anymore; all those screams bore a hole in her mind.
He had yelled out in pain before but this was something else. Earlier, his yells always carried vengeance, like he wanted to get up and dismantle the son of a bitch for hurting him, but this time… loud as the screams were, they seemed... powerless. Like they were the only thing he could do, in the face of an unavoidable suffering.
That was probably right, huh...?
She hated herself for just sitting there, gaping in horror as the blunet thrashed around. She fully understood the lashing out she got from her team mates but if only they knew. They knew shit compared to her.
Finally gaining a bit of energy back, she tried to stand up, only to collapse on her elbows, before rolling on her back and running both hands down her own face with an exasperated sigh.
"... you destroyed him...!" She wanted the demon out of his system but she never, ever wanted something like that happen to him. He was left a shell of his former self... no... he now was his former self... the very person he was before that monster became trapped in him, and now he couldn't live with the things he's done. She doubted he could ever be a normal human being again.
The redhead glanced at her hands and cursed her own weakness. "What am I supposed to do!?" It wasn't her fault, the circumstances were like this. Who wouldn't be rooted to the ground by that?
Had they no feelings...?!
Hamuko cursed aloud, hoping that her shout reach the idiots downstairs.
They had no freaking idea! Only she did.
Only she knew how much it hurt...
Eventually, she crawled under the sheets of her bed and slipped into slumber, with the weight of a sob still in her chest.
"Let him go!" Hamuko screamed at the very top of her lungs. She was sure her shout had reached the entire world.
But still, no one listened.
Especially not the blackened version of Minato, who still stared at her with cold, dead eyes.
And her own soul was frozen below zero by the gaze. Still, she had to get him.
"Forgive me...!" She heard inside of her head. It was Arisato's voice. So helpless... So...
Weak.
The yell made her heart skip a beat and she couldn't help but cringe, but she was resolute the moment just after.
It was at his weakest that he needed her the most.
The wind around her hand shattered as she willed a spear into her grip, she charged at the monster before her, aiming to eradicate it from existence.
"No..." She heard, but that didn't stop her from dealing a horizontal slash, looking to cut the figure in half...
... Which it effortlessly did.
But it still remained intact, like she had just cut through an image.
She took a step back, awestruck. But soon, she found a new course of action.
"Hades!" She called forth.
"No..." She heard, once again.
"Aquadyne!" She belted out, ordering the underworld God to raise a huge geyser from beneath the motionless creature, which dissipated into mist, corrupting the erupting waters from foam white to black.
As the waters subsided, the creature was back in its place, still staring holes into her soul.
Unsure of what to do, the girl stared back at the monster with her mouth ajar. She was completely at a loss.
Until the monster pointed a hand towards her.
Hamuko braced herself, but...
All the hand did was turn white.
Rather... all it did was turn human.
"Hamuko..." The black figure called to her, and after it did, she could see its face undergoing the same change.
From its chin up until its hairline, his face had assumed its natural colors.
Minato's colors.
As its hair turned blue, the redhead couldn't contain herself. Her weapon immediately disappeared and she broke off in a run towards the boy.
Upon reaching him, she locked him into the tightest embrace she could. She did not want to let go.
"I'm sorry... I forgive you." She whispered in his ear, as a tear made its way down her cheek.
A moment of silence followed as Minato remained motionless in her arms.
She then heard a sound. It was the same shattering sound her spear made when it came into existence.
"I don't." She heard him say, and before she could reply, she felt he stabbed himself with the blade he had summoned.
Which passed through her, as well.
She felt his and her pain at the same time, and it made her scream wildly. No way she could endure it. She even tried to remove the blade from her, but it seemed the sword had united the two of them in their agony.
No effort was strong enough, and no scream was loud enough. There was just no venting the pain. She couldn't escape.
And it was her own scream that woke her up. Drenched in sweat, she looked frantically from side to side, hyperventilating.
When her one, deeper breath managed to calm her down, she lowered her head and rubbed her eyes.
That was just a dream...
When her breathing fully stabilized, she assessed her situation and decided to go take a shower.
...
...
"How is he…?" Ken dared ask as Akihiko came down the steps.
"Not good... but he might be better now, I'm not sure." The boxer replied, frustrated and tired beyond belief as he slammed himself into the couch and buried his face in his palms. "Dammit, we just can't catch a break..."
Yukari rubbed her right arm, making her own way to the lounge. "... Morning."
"Hey." Was the general answer she got.
"How is he?" Akihiko asked, looking up from his palms.
"He's asleep. I don't know when he might wake up or if he'll be calmer when he wakes up, but... Junpei's still there. We took turns during the night bu he decided to stay awake." She replied, turning around a chair from the dining table before taking a seat, facing the people in the lounge.
It was strange but she had forgotten about her own problems. The nightmares of her father causing the Dark Hour were no longer there, Minato's condition was the only thing in her mind. It was paining her just as much as her previous demons.
"I can't believe that's really him," Ken sighed. "I've never heard anyone cry and scream like that."
"We need to keep him in check." Akihiko said. "We can't let him mutilate himself any further-"
"Mutilate!" Ken gasped, eyes widening upon the word. "W-What are you talking about!?"
Fuuka stepped down the stairs with a disc in hand. She silently took her place near Yukari and witnessed the conversation unfold.
"He was hurting himself quite badly..." The boxer answer, turning towards the child. "We had to knock him out and drug him just to make him stop."
Ken grimaced, looking down to the ground.
Mutilating himself? Minato...?
That couldn't be...
"... Fuuka, how're you?" Yukari asked.
"I'm fin-... I'm not hurt." Yamagishi answered, clearly downtrodden. "I was woken up by Hamuko's screams in the middle of the night. I knocked on her door, but I think she was in the shower."
Akihiko sighed. "She's really torn, isn't she?"
"I know that but…. Minato needs her right now." Yukari said, biting her lip. "I know, she's broken up but she's the one who can heal him. Remember the time when Minato attacked us and nothing reached him? Hamuko brought him to his senses with just a few words. She needs to be there...!"
"She can heal his wounds, but this isn't as easy as last time." Sanada replied sternly. "This is something that scarred his mind badly, far worse than a normal breakdown... as normal as mental breakdowns can be, I guess." He finished, looking to the side. He didn't claim to understand how a mind worked, but he sure as Hell wished he could claim to understand what Minato was going through.
"Minato needs to come to his senses, though. Otherwise, I don't see a way he can live…" Takeba said with a grimace on her face. "And if Hamuko can't bring him back... I honestly don't know who can."
Silence.
...
...
Hamuko finally stepped out of the bathroom, and was nearly finished dressing when she heard a knock on her door.
The female fool made the last adjustments to her shirt before turning the knob and pulling the door open to find Mitsuru, was clad in a business suit, probably ready for a meeting.
"Hamuko…" Kirijo began, but she already rolled her eyes.
"I don't want to hear anything," Hamuko replied, supporting herself on the door frame.
Mitsuru's brow raised just as much as her chin lowered, her gaze passing across her minor annoyance. She caught that, and immediately regained her composure, straightening herself back up. "I'll be straight to the point, then." She took a deep breath. She was doing her best, but her voice still wouldn't keep it together. Lashing out wasn't going to work and she wanted to avoid the cracks in the team. "You need to be with him…"
"…"
"You are the only one who can help him, like you always have." The older redhead continued, the pain in her throat shining through. "He needs you right now, as I'm sure you understand."
Hamuko nodded dumbly and before Mitsuru could speak further, the younger readhead was already racing down the staircase, much to Kirijo's ire. Was she running away? Minato never ran away. He kept standing in front of her and took the problem head on.
"Tch…" she opened up her cell-phone and called her driver. Hopefully, nothing bad was going to happen.
Before leaving, Mitsuru called the entire team for a brief meeting. Yukari made sure Minato was asleep before she left him and gathered up with the team on the lounge.
"I won't be back until night," Mitsuru said. "Can you stay awake till then?"
"No problem," Akihiko said, sitting up right. His wounds were finally healing up and the few hours of rest did help a lot with the fatigue.
"Me too," Junpei said. "Take care of your business."
"Hamuko, what about you?" Mitsuru eyed the unfocused female fidgeting on the couch.
"Well, y-yeah," Hamuko nodded slowly, clearly distraught. She couldn't look straight at the current leader of SEES, as if she had to look out for something.
"Why are you so afraid?" Fuuka asked
"That damn shadow might come at any moment, don't you remember his words?"
"I expect you to fight when he does get here," Kirijo stated. "Stop shaking. I told you that Minato needs you, he will die if you just-"
"Shut up!" Hamuko pulled on her bangs, glaring harshly at the heiress. "Just shut up for a moment!"
Mitsuru paused for a second and looked at her with a mix of doubt and disdain. "Do you just not get the gravity of the situation?" Her own question fueled her annoyance. Just how exactly could she not get that she needed to be there for Minato? This display of irrationality and immaturity had gone far enough! She let let herself frown and raised her voice again, losing her composure. "We all need to cooperate here, and you're our only hope of getting him to calm down! Cease this childish tantrum at once!" Her voice cracked at several moments during her rant.
"Stop depending on me, Goddammit!" Hamuko snapped back, standing up from her chair. "You don't know shit about what I'm going through, or what's going on, either! And yet you just wanna put all the responsibility in my shoulders! God, I can't believe how selfish you are!"
Mitsuru was about to retaliate, a migraine jamming her brain's gears and making her give in to the impulse of getting some sense into that girl's head...
But Yukari promptly got up and put her hands on Mitsuru's shoulders, getting in front of her in an attempt of shielding her eyes from Hamuko. "Calm down," she said. "You can't say too much to her-"
"I know, I apologize," Mitsuru rubber her arm and lowered her head, thinking back to Hamuko's breakdown a couple of months ago. She wanted to avoid another scene like that, but it was getting increasingly difficult to hold her feelings in. She feared the consequences greatly, and she also began fearing that she wouldn't be able to restrain herself. "Takeba, you have seen Minato rush to her aid no matter the amount of pain he was in…."
"I know," the brunette said. "Hamuko is my best friend…. But she isn't Minato. She's nowhere near as mentally or physically strong…"
Mitsuru sat back on the chair and sobbed once, as Hamuko clenched her fists bloodless white.
What the fuck was Yukari trying to say...? That she was weak?! She glared holes into Takeba's back as the brunette continued to reassure Mitsuru.
'Best friend' her ass...!
Yukari smiled slightly, getting closer and patting the senior on her back. "Take care, alright, senpai?" she said soothingly, much to the redhead's surprise.
"T-Takeba?" Mitsuru muttered.
"When this clears up," Yukari hummed. "When Minato comes back and destroys that shadow, I need to have a talk with yo-"
"Hamuko!" "Hamu-tan!" She heard Akihiko and Junpei yell say from behind her, as well as some growling.
The redhead was ready to leap on her from behind.
"You backstabbing bitch!" She snarled through gritted teeth. "How can you just turn your back on me and call me weak...!"
"…" Yukari eyed her, before turning back to Mitsuru, who was trying hard not to retaliate. "Senpai, go wait for your ride at the lounge. We'll try to calm her down over here."
Kirijo averted her eyes, but nodded and got up to leave the room.
"That's right! Shut up and get the Hell outta my sight!" Hamuko yelled to Mitsuru, still in Akihiko's and Junpei's grip.
"Just go! We'll deal with her." Takeba finished, allowing the leader to finally leaving the room. "Hamuko, you gotta stop this, right now!"
"What the Hell do you know?! You literally just turned your back on me and called me weak!" That made the redhead so furious, her freaking soul was on fire. She could see Yukari burning, at that moment, that betrayal infuriated her beyond violence.
And the two fuckers restraining her weren't doing her much good either. "Get off me so I can bury this bitch alive!"
"H-Hamuko-chan, please..."
"Shut the Hell up!" She turned her head halfway around so she could spot the weeping Fuuka out of the corner of her eye. She didn't have time for that.
"Dammit, Hamu-tan, we're all friends! We can't be fighting like this!" Junpei blared near Hamko's ear, granted his position.
"I'm not friends with that two faced whore!"
"Enough is enough, Hamuko! Stop this right now!" Akihiko tried his luck, as well.
"I'll stop once I get my hands on that little..."
"Enough!"
Slap!
...
Akihiko let go of the redhead, only to take a step back and slap her in the face.
He couldn't contain himself.
Silence followed as everyone looked at him and the gaping Hamuko, as the two stared at each other with mixed emotions. Mostly regret, on Akihiko's side.
Time seemed to have stopped, as only the redhead's heavy breathing could be heard as she cupped her cheek in disbelief.
It seemed as if everything had crumbled before her eyes, at that point.
Junpei was darting his eyes back and forth between the two, trying to think of something to say. No words heeded his call, however. Hell if he noticed his mouth was halfway open, too.
"... I hate you..." Hamuko muttered, tears flowing from her eyes.
Akihiko finally sprung back into motion and extended a hand toward the girl... "...I'm sorry..."
Which she immediately slapped away. "I hate you all!" She screamed with a surely unhealthily raspy voice, scurrying out of the room bypassing even Yukari, who stood there and watched her go.
Sanada also followed her with his eyes. When she disappeared from his field of vision, he crashed onto the sofa behind him and bit at his knuckle, staring blankly at the ground.
It'd been a while since he had felt so guilty.
"Akihiko-san..." Yukari and Junpei said almost in unison, but the only latter approached him, aiming to put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm fine." The boxer replied automatically. "Just let me think for a while."
The still cowering Fuuka finally found strength on her legs and approached the rest of the team. "C-come on, guys... let's go see if Minato's okay..." She said, trying to divert the attention from the heavy atmosphere...
And accidentally casting people into a heavier atmosphere.
But still, it was very much necessary, as Junpei and Yukari agreed to tag along with a nod.
...
...
After checking on him and renewing the dose of tranquilizers (yes, they had to use tranquilizers to keep Minato down), the three went back to their beds, leaving the blunet in his room.
So the day went on, with everyone taking turns looking out for the unconscious teen. Hamuko had locked herself in her room, and some banging noises could be heard from time to time. Akihiko took a good hour to come down from the third floor, but joined the rest of the group on the look out for Minato, along with shopping for more medical supplies during the afternoon.
After Mitsuru arrived in the evening, she took her turn looking after him even though she was tired, but did so without complaint. Yukari thought about talking to her then, but decided to leave it for a time when the dark rings around her eyes weren't so evident.
The late night shifts then began with Akihiko, and he bid everyone good night before going to Minato's bedroom.
Hamuko still hadn't shown up at all.
...
...
Dark Hour struck at midnight, as always.
As Akihiko watched the hands of the clock stop turning, he sighed to himself, eventually looking towards Minato's face from where he sat on the ground.
Then he averted his eyes, lowering his gaze back to the ground.
The sound of that slap echoed in his mind again, and made him close his eyes shut, grimacing and clenching his fist at the memory.
He... really shouldn't have done that. He cracked under the pressure, and that was literally what he taught himself not to do for years. Don't crack.
One job: don't crack...
He supposed he wasn't the only one giving up to the pressure, but he was really the one supposed to be above all of this.
Him and Mitsuru.
And yet, the two of them gave in, at some point or the other. His pride was hurt in a way he didn't think it'd ever be.
But who was he to talk about pride, right then?
The sound of water hitting ceramic woke him up from his daze. It was silent enough that only his breathing was audible, until then.
He opened the door to inspect the sink in the small bathroom. Blood was coming from the faucet, but that was normal during the Dark Hour.
What bothered him was how it began leaking all of a sudden. He was sure it was-
"Minato..."
Akihiko was immediately ready and on guard upon hearing the strange, hollow voice.
When his eyes met the mirror in front of him, a darkened face all too familiar stared at him with a blank expression.
He only had time to widen his eyes in surprise as a hand emerged from the mirror and grabbed him by the throat, choking him breathless before throwing him back with great force.
He stumbled and fell into the bath tub behind him, hitting his back on the cold hard ceramic which reminded him of the headbutt he took to the chest on the day before.
With clenched teeth, he watched as the blackened reflection literally poured from the mirror framed into the sink, overflowing and falling to the ground, forming a puddle of blackness.
Two solid yellow orbs emerged from the dark like eyes from behind the eyelids, and the black tar rose into a pillar which began to take shape...
Minato's shape.
Akihiko shook his head once and did his best to stand up, immediately raising a guard and rushing to punch the Shadow square in the face.
The monster literally opened its mouth wide enough to swallow Akihiko's fist, catching it between its sharp teeth and drawing out a scream from the boxer.
After that, the monster took a hold of Sanada's hand and threw him with great force out of the bathroom, sending him crashing on the room's wardrobe, which made him scream even louder.
The pain on his side was killing him, but he had to make an effort to stand up and-
The Shadow then emerged from the bathroom, stomping on his chest and pinning him, taking all the air in his lungs before stomping on his face once, breaking his nose, then twice, knocking him out.
It then proceeded to take Minato on its shoulders and stepped its way towards the window...
When the door was kicked open.
"Akihiko!" "Akihiko-senpai!" "Sanada-san!" "Akihiko-san!" Were the simultaneous yells of SEES when they laid eyes on the scene.
"You!" Hamuko screamed from behind the line of persona users, but it was too late.
The monster turned around and leaped out of the closed window, shattering it.
Yo! So, this is my take on this scene of Blood Lust. The idea came to be when I read that and was like "Hey, the team could use a few more cracks. Right now it's every one against Hamuko, wouldn't it be nice if everyone had different views on the matter?" and I started from there. Everything else is a by product, and I tried to make scenes a bit more tense than they already are. Hopefully, it brings somewhat of a fresh air and individuality for each character in the scene. I still think that Fuuka is a bit behind in this whole mess, but hey. I don't think her character can be that imposing. And the scenes needed to be a bit more dynamic and fast, so I didn't really find the space to display her doubts and stuff.
I changed the ending and the order of some events, as well as adding new events and changing the direction of the plot, really. :PPP Because this is only a one shot and I could do pretty much whatever I wanted. Hope this was of your liking. It would be very nice to hear what you think of this new direction, and how do you think things would have turned out if the story followed these events.
Anyway, that was that. Critics and comments in the review box below, I'm Raidou the 16th and I approve this message. *thumbs up* I don't know when I'll write something again, or IF I'll write something again, so... see ya 'round, and thanks for the attention. o/