A/N: I had to think a bit for this chapter because of pacing problems and because of being busy overall. Still, I try to improve on structural and grammar mistakes with each chapter. Thanks to my beta for being patient with me. Hmm, the wheels are grinding a bit in this chapter and the subtext had me confused at times, which is a bit ironic. Regardless, I look forward to the next chapter where I can bring back some things I had cut out from the last chapter because the timing wasn't right. What else? Hunting for a job is awful ha. Anyhow, thanks for continuing to follow the story. I'll be reorganizing my notes a bit to make sure things are more coherent and to link some threads together next chapter if I'm not looking too far ahead. Just want to make sure I'm doing my due diligence in making sure the story gets better as we continue. Thank you!

Final Update: Chapter has been finalized with corrections from my beta.

Reader Reviews:

RomanceDagger: Thank you for being my lone reviewer the previous chapter! Otherwise, this would've been a blank section. Yes, Minato will get stronger over time. I just like having the wiggle room to develop his personality and thinking patterns over the course of the story.

Chapter 15: Feelings

April 25th, Saturday (Iwatodai Dorm, Evening)

Minato P.O.V.

All things considered, Minato wasn't hurting too badly as he walked through those familiar wooden doors of the lobby. Maybe he had toughened up a bit, without really being aware of it. Those thoughts quickly drifted away when an aroma of instant ramen met his nostrils, making his mouth water. His feet carried him towards the kitchen where he saw Yukari carrying a steaming bowl of ramen with a pair of wooden chopsticks in her right hand.

"Hi Minato," she said a bit too pleasantly, walking past him to the dining room and taking a seat.

"Hey Yukari," Minato replied, trying to repress the growl coming from his stomach.

"Hmm, have you been in a fight?" she asked in a disapproving tone, while turning to look at him. "Maybe I should tell Mitsuru-senpai."

"Yes. But, I didn't fight back. Well, maybe it's more like I couldn't." Minato didn't understand why Yukari acted this way towards him, but was more worried about the ramifications if Mitsuru found out.

"Hmph," Yukari sneered, while dragging her bowl away from him.

"What? I'm just a bit hungry. I didn't even eat anything for lunch today." Minato sulked, putting his elbows on the table, which made the table rock slightly.

"That's not it. Do I really need to spell it out for you?" She rolled her eyes and put her chopsticks down. "Didn't you notice how upset Hamuko was, when she came back to the dorm with me today?"

"Yeah, of course. I'm not completely clueless," Minato said defensively while still eyeing her ramen. "That's why I left the dorm, to give her some space. It's not like I said anything mean to her- though I did wonder why her face was so bloated."

Yukari seemed torn between amusement and exasperation, but mostly the former.

"That's because, she was crying, you dolt," she said. "You could've been a bit more sensitive."

"What am I supposed to say?" Minato replied. "Everyone barely knows each other. The only time all of us do anything together is when we go to Tartarus."

This seemed to really douse Yukari's accusations against him. It did bother Minato a bit that Hamuko had been crying and it was bad enough that she needed the support of Yukari. Still, Minato was more concerned with Yukari's ramen sat there half-eaten and cooling quickly to Minato's dismay.

"Um, could I have the rest of that, if you aren't going to eat it?" Minato pleaded, with a pitiful expression.

"What? You want to eat this even after I ate some of it?" Yukari asked incredulously. "Fine, I saw that you wanted it from the start, but ignored you because I wanted some answers. Just promise me that you'll be nicer to Hamuko for a while; she needs the support."

"Sure, whatever you say, Yukari," Minato said in between slurps. "Thanks for the food, Yukari."

Yukari blushed a bit and turned away muttering something incoherent under her breath. The two were abruptly interrupted by none other than Junpei who had apparently been hiding behind the sign-in counter.

"Aha! Minato, you sly dog! You just kissed, Yuka-tan, indirectly!" Junpei laughed uproariously at the situation, but didn't pay attention as Yukari approached him.

After that, Minato didn't see or hear from Junpei for the rest of the night because of whatever Yukari had done to him.

April 26th, Sunday (Iwatodai Dorm, Early Morning)

Minato P.O.V.

Minato rolled off his bed and turned the alarm off. He felt groggy since he usually slept in on Sundays, but had decided today would be an exception. After talking to Yukari the previous night he had formulated a plan to take out Hamuko out of the dormitory and go do something to take her mind off of whatever had troubled her. The sunlight gently reflected off his bedroom window showing the dew still clinging onto it. After washing his face and combing his hair haphazardly, Minato pulled on a light khaki sweater, grey jacket, black pants, and his usual shoes. He opened his bedroom door and locked it with his key. Hoping that no one else was awake yet, Minato stealthily moved to the third floor. Walking to the end of the hallway, he lightly knocked on the door. Minato's knocking had a slow, deliberate, rhythmic pattern to it. He heard some movement on the other side of the door and crammed his hands into his pockets out of habit, whenever he felt nervous.

Hamuko unlocked her door and stared at Minato with a mild level of annoyance. It was probably because she had still been asleep before he showed up. Minato could see that her room still had the curtains covering the windows and a general level of messiness to it.

"What do you want?" she said, yawning and trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

Her breath nearly caused Minato's eyes to melt, but he ignored it. "Let's go to Screen Shot," he answered.

"What's a Screen Shot?" she mumbled, looking at him bleary-eyed.

"The movie theater, you don't have to go if you don't want to, but you look like you could use a break, Hamuko," Minato answered. All of a sudden, the wooden door slammed shut. Minato felt surprised that he failed and stood rooted to the spot. It probably hadn't been the best choice of words because she looked a bit like a train wreck. Minato went through various word choices in his head that could've turned out better, but gave up after a while. Maybe next time, Minato thought. He had started to walk away from the door when it reopened and Hamuko's head bobbed left and right looking for something.

"Hey! I thought we were going together!" she yelled, at Minato.

"Not so loud!" Minato said, frantically waving his arms to try to get her to quiet down so that he wouldn't be busted by Mitsuru or Yukari for coming to the third floor.

Still, Minato liked how different Hamuko looked than her usual school uniform. Her hair was still the same, but the red scarf she wore really brought the color out from her eyes. Not to mention, the white sweater, plaid skirt, and burgundy boots really brought the ensemble together.

She must've sensed Minato looking her over because she said, "Are we going now? And could you stop leering at me? It's a bit disturbing."

"Sorry, it's just I think you look rather nice," Minato said, while averting his eyes. "I thought you had turned me down, when you slammed the door."

"I did, but I decided that I could use the fresh air," Hamuko replied, turning a little pink for some reason as they walked together in the sunlight. "Is the movie theater even open this early?"

"Err, no," Minato mumbled, realizing he had goofed up and came up and came up with another excuse. "I was hoping we could go get takoyaki first."

"Fine, you pay for us, since you asked me out," she replied with a singsong voice.

They strolled toward the strip mall, where many of the stores were just beginning to open up. There were a lot of people grunting and yawning, preparing for another day of business. One shop that stood out was the takoyaki shop with its bright, fluorescent signage with an octopus mascot that read "Octopia" that glittered with yellow lights. The shop stood in stark contrast with pretty much any other store in the strip mall and Hamuko's eyes seemed to brighten at the distinct appearance of the store as they approached it.

A familiar smell of fried tempura pervaded Minato's mind and he recalled the various times he had visited here with Maiko and Elizabeth. Minato bought two packs of takoyaki for Hamuko and one pack for himself and paid 1,200 yen. It came in a crude wrapper, but was scalding to the touch, indicating just how fresh the takoyaki was, he hoped. Minato carefully handed Hamuko her share with a couple of cheap paper napkins.

"Wow, it's pretty hot," Hamuko said in between mouthfuls. "I like it though! Even though it doesn't even have any octopus in it." Hamuko looked pretty happy as she chowed down on the takoyaki and eagerly unwrapped the second one like a child opening a present.

Minato smiled, content for a moment that Hamuko didn't seem so down.

"Hey, you have something on your mouth," Hamuko said while picking up a napkin and rubbing it on the edge of Minato's mouth.

Minato felt too embarrassed to say anything in response and let her wipe the residue off. "T-Thanks, Hamuko," he mumbled. "You didn't have to."

"Don't mention it," she replied as she stood up to throw away all the junk that had accumulated from their snack.

"Um, have you joined any clubs yet?" he asked when she sat back down.

"Yeah, I joined the tennis club, and I thought it was a lot of fun," she answered enthusiastically. "I mean, it was only two of us at the end, but that way I got a lot of training done. I still need to practice a lot on my forehand, but it's still really early in the year. Need to get some wicked topspin on it, so I can destroy the competition."

"Sounds good, I guess," Minato offered in response. He had never really paid attention to the tennis club before when he was on the track team.

"You need to elaborate more, Minato," Hamuko nagged him looking irascible. "A normal person would respond with what clubs they've joined. But no, you only respond with the bare minimum, if that."

Minato wasn't really bothered by Hamuko's nagging too much. Maybe he had come to expect it. "Well, I haven't joined any clubs and don't really plan on joining any."

"Seriously? Why are you so lazy?" she continued. "Even though we're transfer students, they're so many clubs you could try like swimming, track, kendo, all sorts of stuff."

"Those are all clubs where you have to use your arms, Hamuko," Minato reminded her.

"That's just an excuse," she retorted. "You aren't going to be like this forever."

"I suppose," Minato answered.

"There you go again with that lazy, defeatist attitude," she said. "You should be more like me."

"You mean I can cause stares from the entire male student body as well?"

"What?!" she replied scandalized.

"I'm just stating a fact," Minato intoned, amused by the reaction he got from Hamuko. "You may not notice it, but you attract a lot of attention."

"Should I tone it down then, Minato?" Hamuko asked with concern in her voice.

"No, I like you the way you are," he said nonchalantly. For a second, Minato didn't understand why Hamuko smiled so broadly. He had spoken out of turn and tried to ignore the smug look on her face.

"That's how you feel about me, huh?" Hamuko teased as they started moving towards the movie theater.

"Don't push it," Minato moaned.

(Screen Shot Movie Theater, Daytime)

Hamuko P.O.V.

The outside of the theater looked rather mundane with its boxy shape covered in an off-white color. Its outer walls were plastered with various movie titles that were currently shown; some horror, comedies, and other random genres. There was a line formed in front of the theater with a myriad collection of people waiting for the doors to open. Sundays were really the only day that students had any time off, so it wasn't a surprise to see some Gekkoukan students in the crowd. The line gave Hamuko time to see what she felt like watching at the theater and she saw that a laminated poster above the ticket booth blared in big, red letters about three heroic tales in a marathon.

"Let's watch the hero marathon!" she exclaimed to Minato who looked nonplussed about the choice. She wanted to watch something simple and not some mystery thriller where she would have to think too hard. Since today was her only day off there was no point in working her brain too much.

"You sure?" Minato replied. "We're going to be here for a long time if we stay for the whole thing."

"No doubt, Minato," she answered cheerfully. "You're stuck with me for the rest of the day."

He shrugged and pulled out his wallet to pay at the ticket counter. They entered together through the glass doors with Hamuko holding the door for him.

"That was very gallant of you," Minato told her in jest.

"You would've done the same for me," she replied. It was a bit of a reversal of stereotypical roles, but they both laughed it off as a couple of people around the teens stared at them in wonder.

Once inside, Minato asked Hamuko what food she wanted and of course, she picked the largest bucket of popcorn that was available with loads of extra butter. Also, she ordered Minato to get sodas, chicken tenders, and nachos. The two of them struggled to shuttle the caravan of food and took their seats when the opening credits were almost over. With each passing movie the mountain of food in between them got smaller, as Hamuko ate the food absent-mindedly, too entranced by the action in the movies. As she reached into the bottom of the popcorn bucket her hand met the top of Minato's hand, which recoiled and allowed Hamuko to end the last scoopful.

After hours of watching rather cheesy assortment of movies they began going back to the dorm. Hamuko felt that it had been a fun time hanging out with Minato, more so than she could have expected. With the sun streaking down the horizon it felt like a perfect ending to the daylight hours. Though, Hamuko wondered if this would be classified as a date. On one hand, Minato had spent all the money for the stuff they did, but it wasn't like they liked each other more than a certain extent. It had been rather out of character for Minato to be the one to initiate conversation, let alone ask her to do something with him. Maybe word had already gotten around the school about her past and this was Minato's attempt at cheering her up.

"I had a lot of fun today, Minato," she told him, and raising her fist into the air for emphasis. "It was awesome!"

His blue eyes glanced at her for a second and he merely nodded his head in affirmation.

He had that steely gaze on his face again and that made Hamuko anxious. A high school student really shouldn't have such an expression. It was really a weathered look of someone who had returned from a war front or experienced something truly traumatic.

"What're you thinking about, anyways?" she questioned, realizing that he had stopped pursing his lips and retained a calmer look.

"Nothing really. Just wondering about what I said earlier," he explained. "I'm just worried that you might be even more loud and obnoxious around me now."

"As if, silly," she replied, but she felt a bit sad deep down because he was still unwilling to open up besides trivial matters with her. If Minato were a social link, she had failed spectacularly so far because he hadn't been established as a link even after all the time they had spent together so far.

Hamuko let Minato go in first and noticed as he signed the sign-in sheet that both Junpei and Yukari were in the lounge. Yukari was going through the latest fashion magazine from what Hamuko could see and Junpei playing his usual allotment of gaming. They looked up as Minato and Hamuko entered.

"Hey, you two," Junpei said, pausing his game for a moment. "Where have you guys been all this time? I wake up for breakfast and two of my best buds aren't here!"

"Yeah, you guys worried us a bit," Yukari added, looking at Hamuko with her almond-shaped eyes. "We wouldn't have helped prepare breakfast for you two if we knew that you wouldn't be here."

"We were at the movies and watched the entire hero marathon!" Hamuko told them, unperturbed by the buzzing in her head from staring at a screen for too long. "Sorry, that we didn't say that we would be out all day. We didn't really plan on being out all day."

"Don't worry about it," Yukari reassured her. "I'm just glad that you seem happier than you were yesterday."

"Yeah, definitely! Thanks for watching out for me." Hamuko gave her a smile and quickly scribbled her name on the sheet, eager to talk with everyone.

"Man, why am I always out of the loop?" Junpei sighed as the screen on his game flashed game over. "I didn't know that Hamuko was down yesterday. Otherwise we could've gone around town with Yuka-tan and done all sorts of stuff!"

"What kind of stuff, Junpei?" Yukari asked him.

"Well, you know… like, shopping for clothes or something," he answered after thinking for a short moment with his brow furrowed.

"Why would you want to go shopping for clothes with Hamuko and Yukari?" Minato intervened with a suspicious tone.

"Dude, seriously?" Junpei muttered in conspiratorial tones.

"Stupei, stop," Yukari warned him. "I already know where this is headed."

"Alright, stop breathing fire down my neck, woman," Junpei said.

"Did you guys have dinner, yet?" Hamuko asked out loud, looking around to see if Mitsuru or Akihiko were around.

"Nope." Junpei stretched his legs out on the table and rifled through some ads that came in the mail the other day. "Let's order takeout again, dudes. I say we get pizza."

"Again?" Yukari complained, picking up some of the coupons Junpei had already discarded into a pile.

"We still have the leftovers from in the fridge from Thursday," Hamuko said. "Though, at this point they may be radioactive, since we have way too much stuff in there."

Everyone laughed at this and in the end they just ordered Chinese, greeting Akihiko and Mitsuru when they returned to the dorm later on.

April 27th, Monday (Gekkoukan High, Early Morning)

Hamuko P.O.V.

The principal gave a speech that sounded eerily similar to the one Mitsuru had given earlier in the month. This gaffe hadn't gone unnoticed by the student population as the whispers were rampant during the speech.

"What kind of example is he when he's plagiarizing what Mitsuru-senpai said, almost word for word?!"

"Guess he wants some of her thunder," another student said. "Not that I can blame him, ya know? He's basically a sitting duck, while Kirijo owns the school."

Hamuko giggled to herself a bit as she continued to hear similar sentiments about the principal ranging from benign to outright insulting. She didn't really feel one way or another about him. He seemed kind enough with his silly mustache, circular glasses, and portly stature. But he lacked any sense of authority, that much was for certain. After the assembly, Hamuko did hear slight rumblings in her direction, no doubt about what happened last week. Oddly enough, none of the gossip really seemed to bother her because the people she felt closest to didn't think any less of her and that was all that mattered. Furthermore, it seemed that the principal's debacle had driven the issue out of the minds of the student body.

Lunch break came and everyone in class went and joined their various cliques with idle chatter breaking up the monotony of the school day. Before the junior member of S.E.E.S. could decide what to get for lunch Mitsuru appeared and Hamuko knew she only appeared when there was something important to talk about. Mitsuru made an earnest request to have Hamuko and Minato join student council in the event of an emergency. She ignored Yukari and Junpei probably because Yukari had archery club and Junpei didn't believe in extracurricular activities. Hamuko obliged because she knew Mitsuru had a lot on her plate and could use all the help she could get. Besides, the type of students in student council were not the ones Hamuko usually around with and it would provide an experience out of her comfort zone.

On the other hand, Hamuko saw Minato decline Mitsuru's request for help without hesitation. This was even after Mitsuru had signed them up involuntarily, to which Minato told her to remove his name. It was a pretty bold move, or maybe a suicidal one, Hamuko thought at the time considering Mitsuru's tendencies. To her surprise, Mitsuru seemed a bit taken aback at his response, and even a twinge of sadness appeared on her senpai's face. Then it hit her, as Hamuko remembered how Mitsuru had come to her for some relationship advice. It had become kind of obvious that Mitsuru's imperious nature overrode everyone else but Minato. Still, Hamuko wondered how odd it was for Mitsuru to have problems talking to Minato. Hamuko simply ignored his stonewalling and he usually responded by looking stoned.

After Mitsuru left Hamuko gave Minato a disappointed look and said, "That wasn't very nice Minato. All she wanted was some help with student council."

"At least she asked him in the first place," Yukari replied scathingly, rolling her eyes a bit. "I mean, I probably couldn't attend with archery practice, but shouldn't she have asked all of us?"

"Suit yourself, Yuka-tan," Junpei added, looking relieved that Mitsuru had left. "Joining student council makes you a target and people will think you're a nerd."

"Yeah, well I think that would help your image in school, Junpei," Hamuko replied, eliciting a laugh from Yukari and Junpei to cringe in embarrassment.

"I have better things to do than student council," Minato said, interrupting.

"Like what?" Hamuko countered. "You aren't even in any clubs."

"You still haven't joined any clubs yet, Minato?" Yukari asked in surprise. "You're the smartest student in class, so I'm sure almost any club would want you to join."

Minato looked at the two girls and merely shook his head causing his bangs to sway back and forth on his head. "Leave me alone. Hamuko nagged me about clubs all day yesterday."

(Port Island Station, After School)

Minato P.O.V.

Minato had declined an offer from Yukari to walk home together because he had wanted to find Chidori again if possible. His response received yet another stink eye from Hamuko and disbelief from Junpei that he didn't want to go home together with Yukari. The incessant banter about clubs had really struck a chord with Minato, not because he wanted to go through the same stuff again, but because he wanted to just belong again in some shape or form. He couldn't stay stuck in this mindset forever and he appreciated his friends' effort to make him do something, instead of just idling the hours away.

Minato's footsteps clattered softly on the concrete as he descended the steps from the train hoping to spot a frilly white dressed girl. From a distance he saw who he was looking for and stealthily approached her and sat down a short distance from her. Chidori made no acknowledgement of his presence and he tried to keep calm. She had a sketchpad out and was in the process of drawing some flowers. Minato believed that mimicry was flattery, so he took out his notebook and tried to sketch. It turned out to be a disaster as he couldn't use his dominant hand to draw and looked like something a preschooler would draw.

"You again?" she finally said, not bothering to look up. "I was hoping you would just go away."

Minato knew this wasn't in complete seriousness or so he hoped. "Not like you own this place," he answered.

She didn't respond and merely continued with her work, but at least she didn't get mad at him.

"You're terrible at drawing," she said after a while, but her tone had a slight sense of sarcasm.

"Yeah, well, I'm not left-handed," Minato replied, wondering if Chidori always sounded like this. There was an odd feeling in her words and he couldn't really figure out what was going on. At least, at no time in the past, did he feel this level of connection with Chidori. He couldn't really put it into words.

"I see, what happened to you?" she asked, actually stopping to draw and looking at him for once.

Her red hair billowed slightly in the breeze and Minato felt temporarily tongue-tied. Partly because he had an epiphany in that women in his life seemed to have red hair, but refocused quickly. "I got hurt protecting someone," he said lightly tapping his fingers across his knee. "I didn't really think about it at the time."

Chidori's expression never really changed, it was impassive as usual, but the tone with which she responded continued to steer toward something that resembled concern.

"You would go that far for someone?" she continued, closing her sketchbook.

"Yeah, I guess so," he answered, a bit puzzled by where this was going.

She abruptly stood up and started walking away again. Minato wasn't even sure why she was leaving this time, but she stopped a couple of paces away.

"I believe you," she said. "You did the same for me after all. My name is Chidori."

"I'm Minato," he replied gamely.

With that, she disappeared into the crowd, leaving Minato a bit uncertain as to what was going to happen.

April 28th, Tuesday (Iwatodai Dormitory, Early Morning)

Mitsuru P.O.V.

Another beautiful day greeted Mitsuru as she awoke, which stood in stark contrast to her tepid mood these days. The first expedition to Tartarus had given her a lot to think about and increased the number of worries that filled her head. There was the issue with the junior members of S.E.E.S. questioning the location of Tartarus being right on top of their school. Most knowledge from ten years ago didn't exist anymore, but it was still uncomfortable to create a plausible story, nonetheless. When pushed for an answer, Mitsuru had merely sidestepped the obvious questions and didn't get any immediate pushback from anyone, but she noticed that there was tension simmering just below the surface. Everything that she had done since that day she had awoken to her powers was to protect her father.

Yet, why did it feel so wrong to withhold information from the others, especially Yukari? She had a right to know what happened more so than the others and the direct involvement of the Kirijo group in the accident that took the life of her father, but Mitsuru didn't want to break the sense of camaraderie that had begun to form in the group. She knew the truth of the situation would quickly cause the group to fall apart at the seams, and there was no way that she wanted to let that happen, no matter what the price. They all had roles to fill and it was her responsibility to make sure that everyone acted as she saw fit. After all, she had fought this battle the longest and they all looked toward her for guidance.

As she dressed for school with the clothes that the family stylist had chosen for her, Mitsuru's mind drifted toward another source of lament. She had personally requested assistance with student council from both Hamuko and Minato, but that was merely a sleight of hand, so that it would not appear that she exhibited favoritism toward either. Mitsuru's real ambition had been for Minato to join student council, so that they would be forced to rub elbows in the same club and get to know each other better. Her hope was that eventually she would learn about his past, as well as to confirm her own suspicions about what happened ten years ago. She had even gone as far as to register his name without his consent into the club to try to pressure him into joining, but it had all been for naught. The fact that Minato rejected her so openly had angered her a bit, but it was not a type of anger that she had ever felt before.

Was this what they called jealousy? If so, I have no idea of who or what I should be envious of, Mitsuru thought. These feelings were superfluous and not necessary to meet her goals.

With her schoolbag packed with her things Mitsuru decided that she would attempt to talk with Minato that very morning. She had waffled on what she would discuss with him on her ride to school and had decided that just starting a conversation was good enough for today. Over time, she would be able to extract the necessary information from him and get closer to him at the same time.

As she stepped out of her limousine, Mitsuru scanned the throng of students slowly marching toward the school gates and ignored the reverent greetings that she received, as she had her mind only on finding one student in particular. Eventually, she saw a student wearing blue headphones with terrible posture straggling toward the school, and waved in an obvious manner to gain his attention in case he didn't hear her.

"Good morning," she said, attempting to keep her tone as business-like as possible and gripping her bag tighter in anxiety. "Have you acclimated to our school, yet, Arisato-kun?"

"Morning, senpai, and yeah, sure have," Minato replied. "People are pretty easy-going and I don't find the studies too challenging."

"I see. Your ability to adapt to new situations and environments is rather impressive," she replied stoically. "Regardless, if you have any concerns feel free to voice them to me."

"Thanks, senpai. I'll make sure to keep that in mind," he said giving her a small smile, which made her happier than it should have.

She had done it and gave herself a mental high-five. Striking a casual conversation with Minato had been hard ever since the awkward exchange at the hospital. This was just one small step forward, but it felt like a giant milestone for her.