Akihiko punches the calculator's buttons in quick succession, jotting down the results of the output in the third column of his notebook. Tapping his pencil on his chin, he goes through his scribbles and the references sprawled all over his desk, he's pretty sure he missed something he saw in passing about rest time.
Balancing meal plans is never an easy job, and it takes forever, especially since SEES activities are a bit hard to quantify. Nonetheless, he keeps drawing rough estimates, adds in the math for morning runs, and he thinks he got it figured out enough to make his adjustments.
Stretching to smooth the tension in his neck and upper back, he yawns. He's been sitting at his desk for a while, tapping his foot in passing to the beat in his earbuds to try and get through the task, but Akihiko needs a break before he wraps this up.
His post-shower protein shake is long gone, so he removes his buds, fishes for change in his desk drawer for the vending machine and heads out. Not really paying attention as he exits the door, he almost trips on the package on the floor and catches himself with the doorframe.
I wasn't expecting any delivery.
Curious, he takes the somewhat heavy little box wrapped in white paper inside and opens it. It's filled with pieces of cloth to prevent its content from moving around and unfolding it reveals a pair of exquisitely crafted metal knuckles, made to slot with matching reinforced black halfgloves. The steel has a blueish ethereal sheen and just touching them makes his fingers tingle when he tries one on. They're perfectly sized too, it's a bit uncanny how well they fit.
Kurosawa doesn't get weaponry like this.
He checks the package box again for any clue then rummages in the leftover linen it contains, trying to elucidate this enigma, eventually finding a small note at the bottom.
Brought you back a souvenir!
Akihiko chuckles in astonishment, he'd recognize that handwriting in red ink anywhere. Looking at the clock that reads past ten, he reverently takes the gift out of the box to admire it on his desk, unsure if it's too late or not. He never heard a commotion downstairs when she came back and didn't really know when to expect her to be in really, but he decides to tempt fate and leave his room, closing the door behind him.
There is dimmed lighting projecting out of her half-closed door, so at least she's not asleep yet. Akihiko hesitates; this feels like a breach of privacy, he never actually went to her room before. Taking a breath, he knocks on the wood lightly and gets no reply, fidgeting in sudden anxiety.
Perhaps she's downstairs instead and just left it open, but he can hear something faint, like she's humming softly. Is she listening to music and couldn't hear him? Curiosity gets the better of him and he looks though the ajar panel, his eyes instantly burning with the sight of her like she's been gone for months.
Minako is laying on her stomach on her bed, weight on her forearms as she jots down something in a book of some sort. She's holding her undone hair with the other hand to keep it out of the way as she nods to music. Her bare legs are kicking in the air absently and Akihiko's ears are ringing when his eyes skim over how little her frilly white skirt is hiding in that position. He's rooted in place, there's something very alluring in her relaxed exuberance, he has to clench his fists to shake himself of his slack-mouthed stare.
I should… probably come back later.
"No Junpei, no video games tonight I'm too tired, maybe tomorrow?"
She's talking without looking but frowns and eventually turns around, letting go of the cascade of copper strands to tug on her earphones. Her eyes light up instantly when she spots him, twinkling red stars full of warmth, but her smile is shy and she's blushing furiously for some reason. They both start talking at the same time over each other.
"Hey, sorry…"
"Oh, hey…
She laughs in embarrassment and turns her eyes away, taking a deep breath.
"Sorry, come in… just let me wrap this up for a sec."
She's usually not this timid.
Akihiko takes a few steps in tentatively, a bit confused, and looks at what she's writing in. It's a planner, covered in her flowery scratchings in multiple colors. He can see some dates circled in bright red, like the next full moon operation, but it's already filling up fast and he frowns.
"Are you planning your time that much?"
"I have my hands in so many pies and I need to give availabilities for my part-time job. There, I think I covered everything I know about so far…"
She's about to close her pen by clicking the button on top when he speaks up.
"Do you have anything the evening of the 16th?"
"Uh, let me check… No, nothing yet, why?"
He's looking sideways at her desk, uncomfortable, her bare legs take too much space in the scenery and it's making it hard to concentrate on anything else. The surface is covered in curios and packaged confections, probably from her trip to Inaba, and he stares at a small bunny sculpture still half-wrapped to keep his thoughts in check.
Come on get a grip, she wears skirts all the time.
"I was wondering if you wanted to… I mean, there's the summer festival at the shrine that day and I was thinking… maybe we could go together."
Before he's even done talking, he hears her planner close shut and turns around. Minako is sitting cross-legged, hands next to her knees and the book on her lap.
"It's a good thing you asked in advance, Rio and Yuko wanted to meet there as a group and I was hoping for a… reason to say no."
There's something mischievous dancing in her eyes, and the insinuation that she might have been hoping for him to ask her to the event is cranking the static inside, but Akihiko tries to power through. He's still so bad at this and he sits next to her without thinking to avoid fidgeting.
"I'm… really glad I did then. Speaking of gratitude, I… got your delivery earlier."
She glows up, curious.
"So…? Do they fit?"
"They're amazing actually, I've never seen anything like it before, where did you find them?"
Minako's looking sideways with calculated nonchalance like it's no big deal, shrugging.
"Oh, just had some time to go shopping and I couldn't pass the chance when I saw them. I mean, I wasn't planning on getting you a postcard, that didn't seem very appropriate for you."
Akihiko chuckles and swallows, brushing her fingertips with his own nervously.
"Thank you. It's an amazing gift and I'll put it to good use."
She beams at him and runs a thumb of her own across his knuckles.
"You're welcome, you deserve it, a good leader looks out for her star player, right?"
He bites his tongue, pretty sure of his assumptions now: she's downplaying it hard.
"I also know you went through lot of trouble to get these..."
He keeps staring at her, silent, until she cracks. Suddenly she can't sustain his gaze and blushes, grumbling.
"Guess there's no fooling you… Do you remember the supplier Kurosawa mentioned that he couldn't get much stock from? Well, he lives in Inaba, a very well-known blacksmith too, so I seized the opportunity."
She's totally glossing over some details, and he knows it; Minako's too bashful and he doesn't even know why he's pushing but his curiosity needs a resolution. She looks back at him, sees he's still staring expectantly without moving and sighs dramatically.
"I swear, you… It was very calculated, I admit it, okay? I brought some of the strange metals we found in Tartarus with me, thinking he could perhaps use them. They're special, and I paid him with some samples to craft something custom for me. Well, for you…"
She slowly takes his hand in between her own and delicately skims her nails on both sides from his wrist to his fingertips, murmuring.
"I have a very good memory…"
Oh my god…
There are two different storms unleashed in Akihiko's mind, fighting for dominance in answering, and he's not sure which one to listen to. One of them leads down a path with no coming back and it terrifies him to no end, while the other has a bit more discipline so he picks that one, because he must.
Don't let the rope snap. Don't let the rope snap. Don't let the rope snap.
So very carefully, trembling with control, he takes her into his arms and hugs her tight, burying his face in her hair like his sanity depends on it. In answer, she simply melts into him, humming with contentment. It takes him a while to find his thoughts amid the inner chaos but he eventually does.
"Thank you... I don't know how I could…"
She chuckles in his shirt affectionately like she knows the rest of the words.
"Well, you can... always… stay."
And she's putting some weight behind her words by coaxing him to lie down with a push of her cheek on his chest. He can't very well refuse after what he just said, so he lets her have her way and she doesn't follow. She just stays above him looking down, biting her lips in uncertainty under a copper curtain, her hooded gaze glowing like smoldering flames.
"You really don't have to, I'm being pushy…"
She's absolutely cheating, there's no way he can refuse anything if she's looking at him like that.
"But I want to."
Minako's eyes light up with something he can't name, and he holds his breath, his mind choking in fog.
"Wait for me."
She scampers off to close and lock the door in silence, then shuts the light and slides back against him slowly like she belongs there. He's very thankful for the darkness because he's not so sure how his face looks right now, grinding his jaw shut, his body humming with tension as he cradles her to him.
She yields herself to sleep eventually, sighing softly, but it takes him a long time to relax and doze off despite the warmth. Eventually, a door whines and shuts nearby and he wakes up with a start during the Dark Hour.
And then it dawns on Akihiko that he's laying in her bed, with her sprawled all over him with those long, naked legs and things could go very wrong if anybody found out about this.
What the hell am I doing?
Minako mumbles something incoherent, snakes an arm to his face languidly and rubs her thumb against his lips gently.
"Shhhhh..."
Her fingers flutter up and brush over his lashes delicately, beckoning him to close his eyes. And so, he does, leaning into her palm, kissing it absently.