You know, as I'm writing the top AN/s, I'm just left thinking, "damn, I hope I get this out sooner than the last one." Since this is the top AN/s which I write before writing the majority of the chapter, I have no idea.
Clevernameeh: I figured you'd like that. Calling him 'better' is a bit much though, considering he did basically just encourage SEES to not trust him… then again, I probably wouldn't trust me either. As for Ryoji, I figured it'd only be right if at least some part of him disliked Kotone considering their earlier… disagreements.
*hums to self*
Uh… what the hell?
I think she's so happy that's she's just ignoring everything around her.
FruitlessKitty74: Glad you think so.
Nightlyy: To be fair, Minato didn't paint himself in the best light by saying if he was lying and wanted to kill them, they'd already be dead. He's right, but that's still not the smartest thing to say.
Well, this is shit! Barely any reviews, so what're we supposed to talk about?!
Eh, I guess FF just slow lately. It is the beginning of the school year for most places in the States at least.
It's fucking boring! Ugh, why didn't you just make a fic with me in it again? At least I gave shit to talk about!
Oh, quit acting like you're some messiah of fics or something. You're only known for being the antagonist/tritagonist of one fic—the same one I cringe at every time I think about it.
I was more entertaining than that one dweeb you killed off a few chapters ago.
Congrats, you're entertaining than one of the fic's mistakes. Want a fucking medal?
YOU BITCH!
Come at me bro!
"Try not to lunge," Minato advised, taking an almost casual step to the side as his girlfriend did just what he advised not to do, not only missing him but also almost losing her footing as she stumbled past him.
Letting out a groan, Kotone turned around and readied herself with a sword in her hand. "Remind me why we're doing this again?"
"Because you can't always rely on one weapon," Minato answered, hands in his pockets and one earphone in. "If Makoto had been in his proper state of mind while fighting you, we wouldn't be talking."
"Says this after I saved his ass," Kotone muttered as she prepared to attack again. She had no idea how he managed to convince Mitsuru to allow him to use Shinjiro's old room as a personal dojo or something. Luckily, the room was pretty barren anyway, so they didn't have to remove a lot of furniture for this.
"Fine then," Minato reached out his left hand and summoned one of his own blades. "Now I'm right-handed so you should have no excuse. Just give me a little tap, and I'll make you an entire buffet."
"Ooh, you're going down," Kotone grinned now having more than enough motivation to send Minato falling flat on his ass. Not only was Minato using his off-hand, but he didn't even bother to raise it or even get into a proper stance. This fight was all hers…
Minato studied Kotone's stance and noticed a slight error, "spread your legs a bit more."
Kotone's face instantly became red when she registered what he just said, "w-w-what?"
"Your stance," Minato sighed, remembering why he was hesitant to be the one to train her but Junpei used his sword like a goddamn bat and Mitsuru... there were to many awkward feelings between him and her for him to ask. "Whatever, just attack already."
Following his orders, Kotone charged at the bluenette who remained almost completely idle and raised her sword above her head and—
Kotone's attack was stopped before it could begin when Minato grabbed her wrist with his free hand and brought his blade to her throat. "Another small tip," he whispered, "try to avoid raising it over your head too much."
Minato let her go and took a step back before placing his hands in his pockets again once the sword dissipated. Kotone groaned, "But I've seen you do that!"
"I can fight with dual swords while wearing a mask and a hood on, one of which is extremely impractical without a lot of practice and others are blinding," Minato retorted, "sorry Sweetheart, but you're not at my level."
"O-Oh," she said as her face went red again.
"What? I didn't say another accidental innuendo, did I?" Minato tilted his head.
"N-No," Kotone shook her head with her lips forming a sheepish smile, "J-just… I like it when you call me Sweetheart."
"Oh" and here it was again. He chose this, but it didn't make it much easier. Every sweet little moment like this was quickly accompanied by the images of when the two of them were forced to fight each other to the death. He loved her, but he also knew that this wasn't a life a monster like him deserved.
The thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly felt Kotone's arms wrap around him for another hug. She felt his body suddenly tense from surprise, before quickly relaxing and returning her embrace with his own. "Thanks for the lessons, Blue," she thanked before pulling back, "with the Dark Hour still around, I'm sure I'll need 'em."
"Sure thing," Minato nodded, not able to shake off the wistful sensation he felt whenever he was around her. It didn't matter how he felt, as long as she was happy.
Kotone left a peck on his cheek before taking a step back, "I gotta run now, but my door's always open…" her eyes widened for a moment, "I-I mean, I… I'm just going to go now." With a bright red face, she quickly left the room while humming some tune that Minato didn't recognize and shutting the door.
Minato sighed before sitting against the wall. She'd been around him twenty-four-seven ever since he got here, so now he finally had his chance to be alone. Reaching for his phone in his pocket, he dialed a number.
"Hello?" The voice on the other end greeted.
"You name's Rio, right?" Minato asked, wanting confirmation of the identity of the person he called.
"Who is this?!" that answered that.
"Oh, right, we haven't met yet," Minato shook his head. He had 'borrowed' the number from Kotone's phone a few days ago when she 'misplaced' it a few days ago, which would mean that he's probably hitting a solid seven or eight on the stalker meter, "I'm Kotone's… boyfriend." How did such a simple word become so hard to say?
"Oh really?" Of course, there was quite a bit skepticism to be had; made sense, especially after his rather poor attempt at an introduction.
"How do you want me to prove it?" Minato groaned, thinking it probably would've just been simpler to just go to her directly.
"All right, where was your first date then?"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait…" Minato learned forward, genuinely baffled for a moment, "she told you when and where our first date was!? Are you serious?! Oh god, what else did she tell you?!"
"Yup, you're Makoto-kun all right," Rio could be heard giggling on the other end causing Minato groan. He certainly was going to have to ask Kotone exactly what she's been saying to her other friends.
"Ugh, whatever, I just needed to ask for a favor," Minato cut to the chase, wanting to just get this over with as quickly as he could. "Look, just… keep her busy on Thursday, okay? Take to mall or shrine or whatever, just don't let her go back to her dorm for… let's say three to four hours."
"That's it? Why do you need me to—" Rio's voice suddenly stopped, perhaps suddenly remembering the importance of that date, "… take all the time you need."
"Thanks," Minato sighed in relief before handing up.
Step one: Set up a distraction – complete
Step two: Actually think of what to do – In-progress
…
…
"Fucking hell," Minato muttered, sitting on a bench in some part of the city that he didn't even care enough to know the name of. He's been thinking about it ever since the whole incident with Pharos, and he still has nothing.
He was able to get Yukari on board with the whole idea already (although lying that he already had something in mind was needed), Fuuka took it upon herself to handle buying/hiding gifts, Junpei wasn't given much of a choice after Yukari's 'persuasions' a.k.a threatening to beat him to a pulp, Akihiko would probably be best left out of the loop for now, Mitsuru didn't raise any objections, and Ken thought it was a nice thought. In other words, Step 1.5: get everyone on board — complete. Now if he could only finish step two…
Dammit, how hard could just this one simple thing be?! He's managed to get away with crimes ranging from petty theft to murder, yet he couldn't do this?
Then again, that wasn't really him, now was it? It was, yet wasn't. The line was just so blurred when it came to all three of his selves. How much was him, and how much was just them? Were they all just him in a way? Where do his sins and Makoto's diverge?
Moments like this, he began to miss the other self that also called itself Minato. Inheritor was such a strange one. He was the least affected by Death, the most willing to move on, and managed to adopt the younger Minato's mannerisms even better than the so-called 'real' Minato, 'Foundation' had. But he was gone now, and there was no running away from his past anymore.
Minato groaned, shaking his head before grabbing a fistful of his hair. Only reason he's even here to have these regrets and think of these things is because of her, so all he wants to do is make her happy however he can. So why is it, no matter how hard he tries, he just can't think of anything? Are displays of basic affection that foreign to him?
"You look like you're deep in thought." Minato looked up and saw Ryoji of people standing beside him.
"What're you doing here?" Minato asked.
"I could ask you the same thing," Ryoji countered, sitting on the free spot next to the blue-haired boy, "is that how your elders taught you to greet someone?"
"No. Did yours teach you how to dodge questions?"
Ryoji winced at that response, "Ouch, you're ice-cold."
"I get that a lot," Minato shrugged, "I guess you could say it was something that rubbed off on me."
"Maybe that person wasn't the best influence?"
"You're still dodging the first question." Minato turned and turned his empty stare into ice-cold daggers.
"All right, all right," Ryoji threw up his hands surrendering, "I just wanted to get familiar with the city and bumped into you along the way."
"And why don't I believe that?"
"Not everyone has an ulterior motive for everything they do, you know." Ryoji's insistence was enough to even give Kotone a run for her money. Still, for some reason Minato highly doubted that he was here by sheer coincidence.
"Whatever," Minato muttered. There wasn't any way to prove his suspicions true or false, so might as well role with it. "Anyway, yeah, I have been thinking a lot."
"About…?"
"It's Kotone," Minato murmured, unaware that Ryoji unconsciously began balling his hands into a fist, "I just… I want to do something for her."
"She means a lot to you," Ryoji said, his voice sounding flat almost tranquil, "doesn't she?"
"Yeah," Minato nodded. The redheaded girl had done so much for him in such a short amount of time they had known each other—forcing her way through the walls he had built up, staying with him despite his many efforts to push her away, being the first person he had ever cared about ever since he lost everything… she was more than a walking corpse like him deserved. "I just need to do something special for her, okay?"
"I see," Ryoji nodded. It became apparent how much that girl as well as this event that he was trying to plan meant to him. If it meant something to him, then, "Say no more!"
"Huh? What the—Aahh!" Next thing Minato knew, he was being dragged around by Ryoji who had taken ahold of his right arm.
"All right, so I'm going to need details," Ryoji ordered, continuing to hold onto Minato despite the boy's many attempts to free himself, "also, important thing to note: it's always the small and simple things that mean the most…"
And so began a long, long, long, long, long day for poor Minato.
…
…
…
"So get this," Kotone leaned forward in her seat, grinning at her ponytailed friend sitting across from her, "he's left in front of the entire school in nothing but his undies and you know what happens? Everyone slowly began clapping and just gave him a round of applause."
"Pft," Rio had to put a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter, lest she cause an even bigger scene in the restaurant they were currently in, "what then?! What then?!"
"All right, all right," Kotone cleared her throat and continued, "he went red, thanked everyone, and marched down the hallway to the nurse's office like he'd just aced exams."
"You're kidding!"
"Nope," Kotone shook her head, "and for the rest of the year, he was considered a living legend by the students and staff alike."
"Wow," Rio slumped back into her seat, "sounds like your last school was something."
"Certainly wasn't boring," Kotone giggled, grabbing one a French fry she had ordered earlier. "Not that it's too bad here though."
"Why did you come here?" Rio asked.
Kotone shrugged, "got a scholarship and I went for it… well, that and my dad thought it'd be good for me."
"Sounds like your dad really cares about you."
Kotone nodded, "Uh-huh. It was rough for him when Mom left us but he's been good to me." Suddenly, she let out a groan, "But his love-life since… my god, there are no words for that one."
"Ooh," Rio cringed at the thought, "how hopeless is he?"
"Hopeless is a compliment."
"Ouch," Rio was about to say something else but stopped to check her phone once it went off. "Uh-oh, looks like Kenji did something stupid again."
"What kind of stupid?" Kotone asked before her eyes widened for a minute, "Wait, do you mean that kind of stupid?!"
"God, he's hopeless," Rio shook her head, "speaking of which, why don't you go tend to your love-life? We don't need you ending up like your dad too."
"Good thinking," Kotone laughed as she waved her friend goodbye. Minato had pretty much forced her into going out with Rio earlier today saying that she needs to relax with her friends earlier. In a way, maybe that was also a good thing? She'd been afraid to leave him alone for too long in light of everything with Pharos, not to mention how the Stupei himself couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut. That being said, it was nice to relax and goof off with her friend for a while. Alas, it was time that she went back to the dorm.
Come to think of it, her link with Minato still wasn't at its max rank—wait, was it a link with Minato or Makoto? Was there even a difference in that regard? Shaking her head, she made a mental note to ask Igor about this someday.
…
…
"She's coming!" Fuuka warned everyone, running away from the windows.
"Okay, everyone get into position!" Minato whisper-yelled, silently running to the spot he had chosen… which was also conveniently being shared with the dorm's guest.
"Everyone ready?" Ryoji asked the others, taking care to keep his voice low.
"Shut up!" Yukari probably would've hit the boy on the back of his head had they not been forced to sit back and wait lest they ruin everything.
Just a few more moments and—
The doorknob finally turned and a familiar short girl stepped inside, "I'm ba—"
"Happy birthday!" Everyone shouted as loud at the top of their lungs, leaving Kotone completely stunned.
After a few moments of silence, Ryoji titled his head and spoke up, "Wait, wasn't it supposed to be 'surprise' and then happy birthday?"
"That… makes a lot sense actually," Minato actually found himself agreeing that he and the others had just screwed up.
"You're kidding me…" Yukari facepalmed.
"Did we really mess it up?" Fuuka asked just as embarrassed as the rest of them.
"D-D-Did…" everyone looked and saw Kotone blinking rapidly and speechless, "you… you guys remembered my birthday?"
"Actually, it was Ari—" Mitsuru paused when she remembered the presence of the dorm's guest, "this was Yuki's idea. "
Suddenly, all eyes were on Minato who was looking down in such a way that his hair hid even more of his face than usual, "Ryoji helped me plan it. As for me, I just… well, we didn't get to properly celebrate my birthday and… C-Can we move on please?"
Kotone shook her head and muttered, "God, you're such an idiot." Flashing him a large smile, she ran up to the bluenette and wrapped her arms around him, "I can't believe you remembered."
"You told me that one time we went studying," Minato answered, "or rather, that game of truth and truth."
Ryoji's eye began to twitch uncontrollably as he watched those two along with the members of SEES. Why? What was it about this girl that always seemed to get under his skin? And why is it that seeing her with him makes him want to lash out here in now—only managing to keep himself in check by sheer force of will.
"Can't believe you remembered," Kotone pulled back beaming out him, "you made cake, right? What kind is it?"
Minato shrugged, "I didn't know what kind you liked so I just did half chocolate and half vanilla."
"You're the best, Blue." Kotone complimented before running off to the kitchen where she was probably going to spend most of her day.
"I-I think I need to go," Ryoji said, putting his arms behind his back so that no one else saw him digging his nails into his arm in an effort to keep himself under control.
"Same," Minato chuckled, "personally, I hate parties. I think it'd probably be a bit better for everyone if I keep my time down here short."
"No, I mean I think I should leave," Ryoji took a step back; a cautionary step in case he decided to try and get closer, "hope the two of you… e-enjoy yourselves." Why were those last two words so hard to get out?
Minato nodded, not paying enough attention to Ryoji himself to notice the slightly fidgety movements he was making, "Well, thanks for the help. Couldn't have done it without you." He thanked, somewhat dismissively as he was distracted when Junpei decided to pull a little prank by shoving cake into Kotone's face and vice versa… and was quickly being joined by the other members too—even Mitsuru seemed to be getting on it.
If there was anything that was a step away from slicing whatever thin strands of thread that was keeping him together, it was that last sentence from Minato, "Take care." Excusing himself as quickly as possible, Ryoji fled the dorm like a convict would flee a prison. He couldn't explain what it was, but something… something about that girl made him want to lose it.
…
…
Minato yawned as he sat at his desk. He'd stayed down there for an hour or two before retreating upstairs into his room. He'd always hated parties, even before the accident. Although, he always ended up attending them thanks to the little she-devil he shared a birthdate with.
Of course, none of that mattered now, did it? She was gone, and there was no getting her back. He may have survived that day, but that didn't mean he necessarily lived through it either. Whoever that boy was ten years ago, he wasn't him now and he couldn't ever be him again.
"Hello~," a familiar voice chirped from the other side of the door.
"Coming!" Minato pushed in his seat and opened the door for the birthday girl, "congratulations for your seventeenth birthday."
"Thanks," Kotone smiled some more before stepping inside and closing the door behind her, "although, I would've preferred if you were down there to say it with all the others too."
"I was!"
"You didn't even stay for the presents!"
"Well, I…" Minato gave up, there was no winning this, "all right, I just really don't like parties."
"And yet," Kotone raised an eyebrow, "you coerced the others into doing this all for me?"
"What?! Hell no!" Minato acted defensively, "first off, the only coercing was done to Junpei and I didn't do any of that! Yukari was the one who—"
"You've been a bad boy, Minato," Kotone grinned, sliding her hand down behind her before a faint click was heard from the door behind her, "Looks like I'm going to have to teach you some manners."
Minato just remained completely still and blinked, "A-Are you… B-But… They could hear—"
Not even giving him time to finish his sentence, Kotone leapt onto him causing him to fall onto the bed with her straddling him.
"Now, now Minato," Kotone grinned, hovering over the blushing Minato, "I'm the birthday girl, remember? Whatever I say goes, now…" she lowered her head until her face was mere centimeters away from his as her hands began tearing at his shirt, "just shut up and make love to me."
…
…
Kotone let out one last lust-filled moan before collapsing on top of Minato, leaving the both of them panting heavily to get the air back in their lungs.
"T-T-That…" Kotone panted, reaching towards to sheets to covered the both of them and rested her head on him just like she'd done before, "that… I think I know what my favorite birthday present was."
"Pft," Minato couldn't help but try and suppress a laugh, "always knew you were a wanton."
Kotone sat up and glared daggers into him, "make that joke again, and next time I'll use my teeth."
"Sorry! Sorry! Bad joke!" Minato shuddered at the mere implication of such an occurrence.
"That's what I thought," Kotone smiled and rested her head again, "Mm, I missed this."
"Um… what part of this? The cuddling or the sex?" Minato found himself asking.
"Just, this," Kotone answered, "being here with you, feeling like there isn't a care in the world."
"Oh," Minato felt his heart sink, but he wouldn't dare let her know why, "I missed this too… although, last time we just went straight to sleep."
Kotone giggled, "You went out like a light," she remembered just how quickly he fell asleep the first time they made love together—the same day they finally became the couple they were now.
"Hey," her voice suddenly became very tranquil, "can I tell you a secret?"
"You know most of mine," Minato replied, "only fair if I know yours too."
"True," Kotone agreed before letting out a sigh, "my mom tried coming back to me."
"Huh?"
Kotone turned to face the ceiling, "One day, she just… came back to me. Dad and I had moved since, so I don't even know how she found me," she explained, "she tried saying she was sorry, that she regretted leaving me, and that she still loved me."
Kotone shook her head, "but I just couldn't. After all those years abandoned, I just couldn't do. I told her that I wanted nothing to do with her, and I couldn't help but enjoy the look on her face as I broke that bitch's heart for what she did to me and Dad. I left her alone in the street to cry her eyes out. She tried contacting me a few more times, but it was always the same until it just stopped. I never told anyone about it—not even Dad."
"Minato, we both know I'm selfish but," Kotone turned back to face the bluenette, "should I… have given her a chance? I never even knew why she left; I just hated that she abandoned me and him without a word."
"I can't really tell you," Minato admitted, the sinking he felt only got worse and worse, "just like with what happened to me: there's nothing you can do to change it. All you can do is make sure it doesn't repeat itself."
"Yeah," Kotone nodded, lifting herself and bringing her face closer to his, "Minato," she called out to him, cupping his face with her hands, "can I tell you another secret?"
Minato nodding, seeing the somber look in her eyes only made this worse… so much worse.
"It's… always been a dream of mine to have a family someday." Kotone said, tears beginning to build up at her oldest memories, "I… I-I always wanted to be the mother I never had and… and…"
"Hey, hey…" Minato reached out and pulled her back towards him. Despite her clearly fighting it, Minato still felt a few tears fall from her eyes onto his chest.
"I know it's selfish of me to just say it all to you like this. I know it's wrong that I'm not taking your feelings into account, but…" Kotone closed her eyes tightly, holding onto Minato like a lifeline, "that dream, is something I want to share with you. It's okay if you don't, but I wanted you to know…"
"I…"
"No more," Kotone shook her head. "It's still my birthday, remember? No more… not tonight."
Minato hesitated for a moment, listening to just how weak and tearful she'd gotten—even more so than the night she apologized to him for using him as a means of escape—before nodding.
"Minato," she whispered, "… I love you."
Minato reached out and combed through her hair slowly as she drifted off further and further to sleep, "I love you too."
Fun little fact: I actually have a full fledged lemon scene for this chapter. No, really, I do since I thought it'd make the whole mood whiplash at the end there hit a bit harder, but that was omitted in the final draft (and it will now sit in a file on my laptop unused).
Edit: omitted the last scene of the chapter in light of me beginning to edit/revise a lot of the chapters from here to 68.
