He waits by the back staircase of the school, where they usually meet when they have plans. The anticipation is driving Akihiko tense because he's been thinking about this moment all week and now, he can't stop clenching his hands to rid them of the jolting numbness that slips in.

Funny how this spot used to be my personal escape route and now we share it.

He would normally use these stairs to sneakily slip out of sight of the throng of harpies that follow him after school, and now it's just a secluded, half-lit area where they both escape the world together to get a meal in privacy. There are only a few students hanging in the hallways, those unlucky enough to get roped into summer classes are all fleeing to the sunlight in a hurry, so he distinctly hears her skip hop footsteps approaching. Minako turns the corner, bag in hand, and smiles at him with a glowing glance.

"Hey senpai!"

Akihiko's feeling a bit bashful for some weird reason himself and his lips curl upward, but his eyes are probably gleaming quite a bit as he takes in her presence.

"Shall we get going?"

She nods and falls in step with him, skimming the air to his left so close he feels engulfed in a web of static. He's holding his schoolbag under his coat on the right shoulder like he often does and fumbling his other hand around, not quite daring to grasp hers and simply hovering a hair near it.

Why is this so hard? It's her being back from Inaba all over again.

It's almost as if missing each other's touch for a few days brings him backward to square one with shyness and hesitation unless it's Tartarus-related. Either Minako's impatient too or she understands his distress because she deftly puts her right hand to his exposed left forearm, sliding her fingers delicately inside his black glove until they're nested against him, clasping her thumb on top of it to map her warm palm to his pulse.

He closes his fingers over hers and strokes them gently, instantly relaxing a bit even though he's trembling slightly. She murmurs under her breath, side eying him briefly with an intense scorch of blazing rubies.

"Do you mind if we… go there on foot?"

I missed you too.

"I could use the walk, monorail's a bit stuffy nowadays."

And Akihiko lets the static bounce around his head and down his spine, dancing the pads of his fingers on top of hers while they take the longest path possible to the ramen shop, sharing their hands like it's a physical need they need to fulfill.

Minako's phone rings at one point during their stroll and she promptly shuts down the call in her pocket, not even looking at it. He licks his lips to hide the forming of a light smirk and keeps looking straight ahead as if nothing happened, just applying slightly more pressure on top of her fingers as a silent comment.

The second time he hears the ringtone, his chest shakes in amusement because Iori was so right that it would turn out this way, but she looks at him with narrowed eyes as she repeats the call refusal procedure, murmuring pleasantly.

"What? I'm busy right now, it's just… people."

And she smiles brightly at him as they walk because it's a compliment she intended in a way, but Akihiko knows a bit better than to take it at face value now; it means something a lot deeper.

You're stressed. The mask slipped, and I saw.

He can't find the proper words to convey his understanding of her statement, because as usual when it requires subtlety, he gets terrified he's going to fumble what he wants to really say. Instead, he stops walking suddenly, and since they're attached at the wrist, she does too and turns around, surprised.

"Wha…?"

They're on the tree-shaded sidewalk near a park and there's a few people around but he couldn't care less despite the rush that crawls up his neck. He just drops his schoolbag and his jacket from the hand that's not wrapped with hers to his feet like it's excess baggage.

His fingers on top of hers press harder, either to cement his will or prevent her from running, he couldn't really say because he can't grasp the proper label dancing in the oscillations of his mind. Akihiko simply raises his other glove to the side of her face and gently cups her cheek in his palm, running his thumb along the edge of her right brow softly.

There's a spark that wavers in the red when it meets his gaze, and while he's not as expressive as she can be with her eyes, he tries to inject what he wants to communicate in them. Not pity, nor that kind of blanket fake concern most people tend to show at someone who falters, just a tender acceptance of what she showed beneath the mask.

Because deep down, we're the same, and I get it. I really do.

He steps closer, crowding her a bit and Minako leans into him, resting the left side of her head on his shirt. It takes a while before she speaks in a low voice.

"I'm sorry."

He dips his nose to her ponytail, exhaling slowly.

"Never be sorry."

It takes a few minutes before she talks again, and he can feel her jaw moving in the flesh of his hand.

"We should probably go."

All he can do is whisper back.

"We don't have to."

"But I want to."

Akihiko traces the edge of her ear with shaking fingers, the spot where her cheek meets it and where he delicately kissed her the other morning. A lady with her shopping bags eyes them strangely as she walks on the sidewalk, and he doesn't react.

"Take all the time you want."

Minako looks more vivacious once they sit down at the ramen counter, not overtly so, but alert and focused. He orders for them both like he often does, and she takes her notepad out of her bag to place it between them, balanced upward.

"The good news is, we got a lot of time to prepare for the next operation and we won't need to cram Tartarus like before. Also, the news reports are looking good: Apathy syndrome cases are solving themselves right now, so less rush too."

He peruses her notes, and she keeps going.

"Because it's summer vacation, I was thinking all of us should take the time to spend quality moments with Koromaru. It's not going to be the same with him as with people, I don't think anyone except Aigis speaks dog and it will take some getting used to."

Language is not the only means of communicating, indeed.

He smiles slightly, thinking about their unusual new party member and how he came to be part of SEES. Her frantic effort to keep him alive, blood up to her elbows and ripping her sleeves to make bandages, calm under pressure.

"You really want to ensure Koromaru doesn't get hurt again, eh?"

Minako cups her chin in her palm, eyes a bit vacant but lips curved upward, just looking toward the sauce bottles in reminiscence. Her tone is soft and full of tenderness, probably because the dog is simply adorable.

"Yes, he deserves better than me missing the mark. That little guy is one of a kind really, and I don't want to take any risks. Also, I never had a pet and I'm not quite sure how that works despite hearing about it, not that he is my mine mind you, he belongs only to himself, and he got his own important mission to fulfill. I just want to ensure he gets to achieve his wishes without breaking him along the way."

The twinkle in her irises makes him wonder if there's a subtext somewhere in there, but she turns her glowing eyes his way and smirks joyfully. It's quite genuine, dispelling his momentary confusion and that thought bubble pops.

"Just trying to be a good leader, you know?"

Akihiko grins back with intent because it's contagious.

"You're always doing an excellent job; in case you were fishing for compliments. Having everyone bond with him is a good idea, it won't even feel like a chore too."

And he takes the steaming bowls the cook is handing them to place them on the counter, looping his little finger around hers when they start eating.

There's no hurry to wolf food down and they both take their time to enjoy the moment, but something keeps gnawing at him from earlier this week.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

She's munching on her egg and turns his way with an inquisitive glance, nodding because her mouth is full.

"Before summer school started, you and Minato had a…strange look when you met Koromaru. I figured you two had a bad day, but it came back later in the week, and I was wondering if there was something going on. Not that you need to tell me, but… I was worried."

Minako looks downward, munching slowly and it takes a bit before she murmurs, unsure.

"Maybe it's just our imagination, it's probably not important. Not when we're four targets away from the end; we're almost there."

He stares at her, all business, because it doesn't sound like a vagary if it had that perturbing effect on them.

"You're the most perceptive person I ever met, I trust you and whatever you think you felt or saw. Try me."

She flinches, a bit surprised at the vehemence in his voice and bites her lip before answering.

"The chairman had us run a lot of physicals that day with the Kirijo doctors. I know you guys get them too now and then, but it felt a bit excessive. I'm not a fan of hospitals to begin with, too many…"

Minako takes a breath and her eyes dart here and there.

"Deep down I get it, Min and I are wired a bit differently from the rest of you when it comes to our powers. Anyways, the chairman probably just wanted to ensure we have no complications or side effects, or perhaps it's because we pushed hard before the last operation, and he was worried about us."

She pauses, sips a noodle absently, focused on recalling the events.

"But he seemed happy at the fact that we joined SEES, and how we changed things for the better for the team, made it grow. He mentioned several times how our presence here got things moving in the right direction and I guess it sort of rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe I was just tired, I know Minato had weird dreams that day and it always leaves him a bit out of sorts in the morning too. Silly, right? Ikutsuki probably was just trying to pun a compliment and I misinterpreted."

But Akihiko frowns; the chairman can indeed be a bit excentric at times but there's something in the words she mentions that makes his brain spark and it's frustratingly out of reach.

"Let me think on it, there's something in what you said that bothers me too. I'll figure it out."

Minako applies a bit of force to her pinkie to grab his attention.

"Like I said, don't worry too much about this. Now, I think we should start slow tonight with Aigis and Koro-chan, get used to how he ticks and what he can do. What do you say?"