Chapter 4

Yukari wasn't the type to get jealous.

Sure, she'd had those kinds of thoughts before. Words couldn't even describeher feelings after seeing this one girl fit into her (at that time) favorite pink dress so much better than she could. She'd also stared longingly at a nice pair of red pumps, soon bought by a well-to-do family, that were just a little bit too expensive for her (at least according to her "Mom," she thought with no little spite, who probably spent the cash with another "certain someone"). Hell, she'd even considered bumping a highly skilled member of the archery club to a lesser division, just to preserve her own position.

Fortunately for her morals, she'd never acted on those feelings. And since she was considered one of the most popular and attractive girls in school, she was usually the one people were jealous of,not the other way around (although, secretly, Yukari didn't understand why on earth she got all the attention. Gekkokaun was fit to burst with seriously attractive people).

So yeah, Yukari wasn't usually the type to get jealous.

But holy hell, did she want a sister like Hamuko.

She didn't consider herself poetic at all, but even Yukari had to admit that Hamuko really did light up the room when she stepped in. And it wasn't just her huge smile: practically everything she did was perky in its own way. On anyoneelse it would've just been annoying, but for Hamuko it was simply charming.

In fact, Yukari would've been seriously pissed at Minato for neglecting such an amazing sister if she hadn't seen the small, contented (and, if she was being completely honest with herself, totally adorable) smiles on his face when he thought no one was watching him look at his sister. Given his personality and how he carried himself, she was pretty sure even he didn't know he was doing it most of the time. She was glad he did, though. It reminded her that he was… well, a human with emotions.

Of course, she mused as Hamuko dragged her brother over to where she and Junpei were sitting, that doesn't change the fact that he's absolutely frigid to everyone else. Honestly, how could two people who grew up together and looked almost identical develop two entirely different personalities? It really boggled her mind.

She was abruptly cut off from her thoughts when Hamuko plopped down next to her with a friendly grin, which the girl in pink promptly returned. "What'd you think of the lectures?" The new girl asked while pulling out a lunch box.

"Both were boring and pointless," Yukari replied dryly. "Although I'm pretty sure that even learning about Utsubo Kubota will be more helpful to us than whatever the principal talked about."

Hamuko gasped in faux shock. "'Whatever he talked about?' You mean you weren't paying attention to the principal's speech?! Yukari, I expected better out of you!" Wagging a finger in a scolding manner, Hamuko adopted a superior look by raising her chin while staring down her nose at her peer. "What if we ever need to know about… jobs worth doing well?"

The last phrase was uttered in perfect monotone, and Yukari giggled at the other girl's antics. "I guess I'll just have to survive without his help."

"Without the help of Principal-sama? (Snrk) Good luck with that."

Even Hamuko herself couldn't say that without a snort, and Yukari couldn't help but laugh at the new title for their bulky Principal.

As their laughter subsided, Hamuko offered her companion half of the sandwich she'd prepared early that morning. Yukari shook her head at the suggestion, but that wasn't going to deter the auburn haired-girl.

"Nuh-uh, Yukari-chan, you didn't pack a lunch, and you've gotta eat something. Don't tell me you're on a diet… Are you?"

Hesitating for a moment, Yukari responded, "…Well, it's not really a diet, more like a…"

Glancing back over at Hamuko, who had adopted an 'Oh, really?' expression, Yukari faltered. This prompted the other girl to move the sandwich-half closer to the dieter's mouth. "Come oooon, diets are actually so bad for you. You'll be just as beautiful after eating as before! …At least, that's what I tell Mina when he doesn't eat."

Slightly blushing at one implication of Hamuko's advice, Yukari didn't miss the other and chuckled. "You tell Minato-kun to eat by saying he'll be just as beautiful afterwards? And that works? He must listen to everything you say."

Sighing and smiling in a somewhat resigned manner, Hamuko slightly dropped her sandwich-holding hand and looked over Yukari's shoulder at something. Yukari herself turned around and followed Hamuko's gaze to find Minato, being interrogated (unsuccessfully) by Junpei about what had happened last night. "Well, sort of. He usually listens to my advice about what he should do, but he can never really leave me alone when I ask. He's got a Superman complex unlike any other, I swear."

Disbelieving, Yukari raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, still avoiding the sandwich. "Seriously? Minato-kun?"

Hamuko chuckled at the skeptical look on her friend's face. "I don't actually think he has a complex, y' know."

"Well, duh. But he still seems like the type of guy who'd be more likely to watch something bad happen than actually get involved to stop it."

Yukari's new classmate laughed again. "Yeah, most people think that. I mean, he's not a knight in shining armor or anything, he's more like a wall, but either way he refuses to stop looking out for me. Think about last night (Junpei immediately perked up here, prompting the girls to quickly scoot away and speak in hushed voices): Mina didn't even hesitate to barge in through the door when he heard your yell. And who knows what he was planning to do when he saw your… Er, y' know."

Ignoring Junpei's strangled "What?!" from behind them, Yukari shied away from the other girl's look and rubbed the back of her head. "Uh, yeah… Sorry about that whole thing, it's… kinda complicated…"

In typical Hamuko fashion, she waved off her friend's apology. "I figured, and it's totally fine. Mina and I have actually been in more dangerous situations than that anyways, so no worries!"

"Wait, really?!" Yukari didn't need to feign surprise there. Even though she'd felt guilty about skimming the twins' files the previous night, she had no idea about the events of their lives besides their parents' tragic deaths. Sadly, before she could enquire further, the bell signaling the end of lunch rang. Yukari jumped in surprise and looked away from her friend at the clock, but something suddenly fell into her lap while she was preoccupied. Unsurprisingly, it was the sandwich.

Yukari glared at the out of place food item, and then at her new friend who was getting up with a huge smirk. The girl in pink tried to say something like "Not eating this," but Hamuko beat her to the punch.

"You've gotta eat it! Trust me, I know every trick in the book when it comes to avoid eating your food. And since we're living together… You should probably get used to eating your meals anyways!" Hamuko then danced off to class, but stopped about halfway and called out to Yukari, "And don't just stare at me, get eating or you'll be late for class! Bon appétit!"

Yukari watched Hamuko go, before an all-too-familiar chuckle from behind made her turn around. Junpei and Minato were watching the scene, both smiling to various degrees. The baseball enthusiast stood slightly ahead of his new acquaintance, adjusting his baseball cap as he grinned down at his childhood friend. "Well, Yuka-tan, I think you'd better listen t' your Mother… It didn't seem like she was bluffin' to me!"

Huffing as she prepared to throw the sandwich at Junpei, both for telling her to eat and associating Hamuko with her "mother," she froze when she heard "NUH-UH!" come from the doorway to their classroom. Looking over, she saw (somewhat incredulously) her new friend, once again wagging her finger admonishingly at Yukari.

"I told you I knew all the tricks! Eat it, Yukari-chan!"

Yukari looked begrudgingly down at her new whole-wheat arch-nemesis, while Junpei just laughed and followed Hamuko into room 2-F. The brunette was about to give up, throwing the sandwich away and facing Hamuko's wrath later, when a quiet baritone sounded from behind her. "I'd just eat it now."

Turning with a slight start, she found the slightly taller Arisato twin looking at her. "Trust me, it's much easier if you just let her have her way."

Yukari blinked, then sighed. "I suppose you'd know…" She hesitantly raised the sandwich to her face, but lowered it again with a questioning look at the boy. "Wait, does Hamuko-chan really get you to eat by telling you you'll be 'just as beautiful afterwards?'"

Minato looked at her with the faintest traces of amusement and replied, "Actually, I've never had trouble eating."

Yukari froze for a moment, and then looked up sharply at the grey-eyed boy. "You don't? So… she lied to me? But… wait, you said that…" She was legitimately stunned at her new classmates' blatant disregard for honesty, and was about to reevaluate her opinion of the Arisatos before the taller one interrupted her thoughts.

"I just said that it's easier if you let her have her way," Minato reminded her. "And I'd guess she lied to you to make you feel less uncomfortable about her 'beautiful' comment. She often speaks without thinking." He briefly closed his eyes here, before looking down at her seriously. "We're both quite stubborn about our beliefs. One of them is that starving yourself, for any reason, is wrong. We're not above a white lie to get someone to eat."

Pausing at the seriousness of his tone (and at the fact she'd suddenly heard him speak more than one sentence at a time), Yukari glanced up at the boy. "You're not above lying to get people to eat something? Isn't that a little… extreme?"

Minato closed his eyes again and exhaled through his nose. "It depends on who you ask. Where Hamu and I grew up, finding food was a bigger problem than lying."

Yukari's eyes widened and she sharply inhaled at the implications of Minato's words. "I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

As seemed to be an Arisato tradition, Minato waved off Yukari's stammered apology. "It's fine. Just don't think any less of Hamu because she's trying to feed you."

Without another word, the navy-haired boy walked off. In the same moment, Yukari finally understood what Hamuko had meant about Minato's over-protectiveness. Had he really just waited around to clear up any confusion Yukari might've had about Hamuko's intentions? And, for that matter, was he really trying to help out with Hamuko's friendships? (Because he should really be worrying more about his friendships rather than his sister's…)

Shaking her head and deciding to indulge her energetic friend, she took a hesitant bite out of the sandwich while standing up, only to freeze (again) as she registered the taste.

"This sandwich is incredible!" she muttered to herself, staring down at the deceptively delicious artifact in her hand. Honestly, it wasn't surprising that Minato had no trouble eating if this was the type of food the Arisatos were used to.

Finishing off Hamuko's masterpiece just as the late bell rang, Yukari scurried into class to avoid Ms. Toriumi's wrath. Sitting down next to Hamuko, who looked at her smugly after noting her lack of sandwich (and the crumbs on her face, although Hamuko neglected to mention this), Yukari thought about what Minato had implied about their childhood, and what Hamuko had implied about Minato's complex. Despite all she knew about the Arisatos after reading their files, she realized that she still had no idea what to expect from them. They truly were something of an enigma.

Although, after all these new revelations, Yukari guessed that even they had to be running out of surprises. The keyword being, as she would later find out, guessed.

Hamuko stumbled into the lounge with a loud groan, followed by a half-amused, half-exasperated Yukari. Totally oblivious to the world around her, she clutched her stomach in mortal pain, slowly zigzagging her way to the stairs. It had seemed like such a good idea to force Yukari to eat at the ramen joint she had seen earlier, but she hadn't taken into account Yukari's stomach. Which was, approximately, the size of a marble. Or maybe smaller. So, faced with wasting food, how could Hamuko say no to finishing Yukari's partially eaten serving?

Ugh. (Urp.) Now she knew better. Three-quarters of an extra bowl too late.

Caught up in melodrama, she didn't notice the intelligent-looking blond man with a cream-colored overcoat sitting on the lounge's couch, looking up from his book on utilitarian philosophy with an amused smile. "A little too much to eat?"

"Yeah," came the girl's immediate response. "I swear, Yukari-chan couldn't eat one serving to save her life! And she's so skinny, it's actually getting to that point."

Then she blinked, momentarily forgetting about her aching stomach, while Yukari glanced self-consciously at her belly. "Er… Wait, have we met?"

The man chuckled, adjusting his coat as he sat up. "No, not yet. My name is Ikutsuki Shuji, I'm the Board Chairman for Gekkoukan. I wanted to make sure you and your brother didn't have any questions regarding your living accommodations. Ah, speaking of which, do you know where he is?"

"Oh, he's not back yet? Nah, I dunno where he is, he does what he wants," Hamuko replied as she plopped down on the couch next to Ikutsuki. "But! I do know that he'd have no questions!"

A chuckle. "Alright then, what about you?"

Oh, I dunno, maybe… what's up with those guns?

Contrary to popular belief, Hamuko wasn't totally ditsy. Sure, she was naturally bright and cheery, but enough time in the orphanage with her brother had made her very suspicious of potential threats. Girls with guns classified as threats in her book, and even though Yukari seemed relatively harmless, she doubted her friend would appreciate any mention of the guns now.

(And yeah, despite her suspicions, she did consider Yukari a friend. Unlike her brother, she'd never stopped her suspicious nature from interfering too much with her relationships. That was silly.)

She didn't voice those thoughts. Instead, she paused, tilting her head and placing a thoughtful finger on her chin. "Hmm… Well, I dunno if I have any either. Although," she said as she glanced at the Chairman, "Why are you here? Er, if you don't mind me asking. I dunno if you do rounds of all the dorms or something…"

Ikutsuki smiled and shook his head. "No, no, I don't mind at all! Mitsuru's father asks me to help her run the dorm, since she has schoolwork to attend to as well as her responsibilities here. So, I come by here every so often just to check up on things."

"Wow, that's really sweet of you!" Hamuko beamed at him. "But how do you know Mitsuru's father?"

"Ah, I've known him for a long time. At my real job, I'm a research scientist for the Kirijo group, so he's been my boss for years. And even before that, I worked for his father. I actually moved here to work for the Kirijo group, and my typical workplace is actually at the hospital a few blocks away." He paused, and then smiled. "I suppose you could say I'm partial to this partof town!"

Hamuko grinned. "Or, that you a-dore this dorm!"

There was a brief silence, broken by a light slap when Yukari face-palmed behind them, before the two punners started giggling hysterically.

Hamuko managed to collect herself first. "That was (heh!) a good one, Ikutsuki-san!"

"I should say the same to you! Most people don't understand my jokes, I'm glad to have found a kindred spirit!"

Hamuko's grin grew wider. "I know, me too! Together, we'll be… un-pun-trollable!"

Yukari groaned behind them as they broke into hysterics again.

When their laughter subsided, Hamuko stood up. "Well, I don't wanna hold you up any longer, Ikutsuki-san, but it's been great meeting you!"

"Likewise," the man said with a genuine smile. "I do hope that we'll be able to talk again soon!"

"Definitely!" Hamuko chirped back with a grin. "I'll come up with the best puns you've ever heard!"

"I'm looking forward to it. Have a nice evening!"

Waving goodbye to her new (Partner in Puns? Pun-ccomplice?) friend, she and Yukari headed up the stairs. After they reached the first floor, Yukari remarked dryly, "You and the Chairman sure get along well."

Hamuko stuck her tongue out. "Jealous?"

Yukari snorted. "As if! Just remind me to be out of earshot next time you guys talk."

"Oh, please, you love our puns, you just don't want to show it!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night…"

Hamuko pouted, and Yukari laughed at her expression as they reached the girls' floor. After saying goodbye, the two girls went to their respective rooms.

The auburn-haired girl immediately flopped down on her mattress and tugged her bow loose. It had been a great day... but also a totally exhausting one. Who knew how many new people she'd met? And she even got Mina to meet people. Mina, meeting people! Hopefully she'd get him to take the next big step tomorrow and start talking to them.

She frowned. Where was he, anyways? She hadn't been lying when she said he liked to do his own thing, but that usually meant listening to music in his room. Walking around the city by himself was unusual, especially for Minato. Maybe he was buying new music? Or… did he… make a friend?!

That last thought brought an amused smile to the girl's face. Nah, that was highly unlikely. This was Mina. But, then again, she'd always believed in miracles.

Sighing and rubbing her eyes, she glanced at her backpack before looking at the clock (11:00 pm) and deciding to go to bed. Studying could wait; it was late, and she could feel that tomorrow was going to be a big day!

AN: …So, how about that 2nd paragraph? I think it's abundantly clear that I'm not exactly into the fashion scene.

Also, for those wondering: A Superman complex (according to Wikipedia) is "an unhealthy sense of responsibility, or the belief that everyone else lacks the capacity to successfully perform one or more tasks."

Shoutouts to: Wellhaithar, 7shi, Wolfbite Raider, KafeiDetour, and gerson for following; Wolfbite Raider, KafeiDetour, and gerson for faving; and of course Wolfbite Raider and gerson for reviewing.

gerson reminded me of something important to tell you all. I tried to make it clear in the synopsis, but if you didn't know: this is NOT a fic with a powerful Minato. If anything, it's the total opposite: it's about him struggling to cope with the fact that he doesn't have much power now, especially since he's used to being the leader of S.E.E.S., and since he's experienced the universe arcana.

Anyways, thanks for reading! I apologize if something doesn't make too much sense here or if there are more mistakes than normal; it's finals week, so I didn't have much time to proofread this chapter. But as always, please drop a review or send a PM if you see anything to correct.

Next week… the first action sequence! And good luck to anyone taking finals!