POV - Yukari
Minato is the strangest boy she ever met, and she doesn't quite know what to make of it.
Setup/Aftermath for the events of Like a Moth To The Flame Chapter 17 - Let Them Eat Cake. Early Yukari/Minato ramblings
Yukari forgot her fashion magazine at the dorm and now she's bored out of her mind, letting her gaze wander to the window. There's a while to go until she gets back home, too, but she represses the sigh. The sea sparkles through her reflection, echoing the shade of the spring sky, shades of azure blending in the haze of humidity. It's her favorite part of the ride; that picture of calm that stretches across the horizon until her eyes ache, stripes of blue on blue blinding in the sunlight.
And that's when the thought comes, unprompted, color-driven, as the monorail glides farther away from Gekkoukan.
Minato Arisato is definitely the strangest boy I ever met.
Not that she hangs around boys that much to compare, her club is girls only. Sure, some of them are nice to look at, she can appreciate a good look and crisp getup as much as anyone, but most of the guys her age are silly and loud. Boisterous, immature, annoying, stupid . And that makes Minato stand out; it shines a light on those elfin features hidden by indigo bangs and that silent, measured walk of his.
Obsessed with girls and skirt chasing, her male classmates remind her too much of the way her mom talks about her boyfriends. It's all that woman does; think about boys. Well, men , still childishly obsessed about the content of their pants from the sound of it. Her entire existence seems to gravitate around her lovers and it leaves no room for Yukari.
I'm an afterthought, now. A leftover from dad. Excess baggage.
It stings . And the worst is when she has to listen to her own mother , who's not that old but certainly no teenager, talk about her conquests like a girl desperate to score.
I miss the old, unbroken her. The dotting mom who filled my room with flowers.
Yukari doesn't lack companionship, there's the archery club, and so many students she grew up with over the years, and yet… she's lonely . Since she lost her dad, she lost her bearings, and it woke up a snippy mean streak in her. Just watching her juniors leave practice in a hurry to avoid getting yelled at by their family is enough to anger her.
I wish they'd stop bitching! I'd do anything to get that back!
Maybe that explains how she orbits around the twins since they transferred here, Dark Hour business notwithstanding. Their situation isn't quite the same, but it creates a weird unspoken kinship that resonates with her, a safe space where she wants to belong. Their loss must weigh on them in some way, but they never talk about it, they're a closed circle and perhaps they've always been like this. Or it could be how their tragedy changed them, forcing them to face each other holding hands against the world, but she has nothing to base this on. All she knows is that she sure did.
Their circumstances don't seem to drag Minako down like it does her, she's so sparkly and energetic you'd swear all she can do is smile. It was a little jarring at first, how vividly friendly she was the second she moved in. Minako treated her like a close friend when they barely knew each other, and Yukari didn't know what to make of her assumptions. It would have been presumptuous coming from anyone else, but now that she sees how everyone latches on to her for dear life, perhaps Minako simply skips the steps that lead to the end result.
Minato couldn't be more different from his sister if he tried. He's the shadow to her light, content to stay two paces behind, passive. There's a veil of detachment about him, as if caring about anything is too much bother, and if he has any emotions they're very hard to read.
Her nails stroke her cellphone strap absently, eyes roaming in the monorail car until they fall on the headphones he always wears. He's been standing there, motionless, ever since the ride departed.
He's always so calm, nothing fazes him.
Not even the first years kicking a crumpled can a few feet from him, howling like preschoolers at whatever stupid game they invented. His shadowed face remains angled toward the sea, and it's just as well. It's difficult to sustain Minato's gaze when it settles on you. He's so expressionless, he barely even talks , but that lone blue gray eye pierces right through the soul. It's enough to rattle Yukari when she wants to avoid showing fear or anxiety, knowing he sees through the deception as if she stands naked.
Why am I thinking about him? Why do I care?
The rest of the school sure does, the twins are all the rage ever since they transferred to Gekkoukan. Minako is everywhere , involved in so many clubs it makes her dizzy, but her brother just exists and gets the same treatment. He was the subject on everyone's lips when they walked in together on his first day, and the gossip about them was deafening for weeks . Silly rumors based on nothing, really. She wasn't going to ignore a fellow student who just moved in, that'd be cruel and she's not like that!
We share the same dorm, the same classroom, and it's enough to spark the grapevine.
Still, Minato is weird. He doesn't act at all like the other boys, he never preens for her attention or anybody else's, he just… endures life in nonchalant silence. But when he fights, he's a cobra, a quiet natural disaster that obliterates everything in his path with calculated violence and it fills her with awe.
At least it counterbalances Junpei's antics; he's nothing if not obnoxiously exhausting, in and out of Tartarus. Yukari still can't believe she has to live in the same building as him, and deal with all his juvenile nagging. She knew him for years, and he hasn't grown up one bit.
Of course, the perverted slacker gets to have a Persona, too. Figures.
The station comes into view and most people cram close to the doors to exit in a hurry, but Yukari waits for the rush to pass before getting up from her seat. Minato just blinks, slowly enough that she can admire how long and thick his lashes are. He has very pretty eyes too. Well, eye , that mop of blue is always in the way and her fingers itch to just push it aside so she can see both of them.
Why am I so ridiculous?
They never even discussed coming back home together, it just happened. Minako and Junpei ran off to the mall, no doubt to have one of their dance contests at the arcade, leaving the two of them alone at the school monorail station the same way they now step on the quickly emptying train deck at Iwatodai.
The walk to the dorm is silent and slow, until they get near the strip mall. Minato suddenly stops walking and stares at the store fronts, and she can't help asking.
"What's wrong?"
His hair billows in the wind for a few breaths before he speaks.
"I need an expert opinion, got a minute?"
She has some homework to tackle tonight, but his request is so soft and flattering that Yukari feels like humoring him.
"Sure!"
His steps are methodical as he climbs the stairs, hands in his pockets, until he stands at one of the entrances.
"Oh, are you curious about that cake shop?"
It's one of those trendy bakeries that serve large portions of cake to share with a special someone, but it's pricey and mostly favored by older girls for some self-indulging.
Is he a fan of confections like Minako?
"Would you say this place is better than the café at the mall?"
Blinking, Yukari ponders his question, unsure of the points he wants to consider and his actual intent.
"Well… Chagall has those special coffee blends and nice desserts, but it's always crammed full of students and it's hard to get a booth. This place is more chic. High-end."
A lone bluish eye turns to the cake displays, narrowing in thought.
"No privacy, then. What about here?"
That statement is bewildering because Minato simply does not care what people think of him, or at least he never displayed a concern for rumors. Why this would be a concern to him now eludes her, unless…
Is he trying to ask me on a date?
Yukari feels a little faint of heart at the idea, and she can't explain why. She has been vocal about her disdain for gossip though, and if the last weeks taught her anything, it's that the twins collectively observe and hear everything .
And given how you see right through me…
"Any girl would love to be invited here. Not many guys bother, perhaps because of the price and the more mature clientele. All in all it's pretty discreet though."
Her words seem to light up a spark in Minato's gaze and his lips twitch. It's definitely not the smile Yukari expected, and now she's thoroughly confused. Why such a predatory, mocking smirk, is he enjoying a joke she didn't get? Uncomfortable, she asks a question a bit obliquely, perhaps he's just… shy ? She can work with that.
Wait, what am I saying?
"Don't you want to…. take a look inside?"
He stays fixated on the shop's displays through the window, taking inventory of the desserts or just blanking out. He does that a lot, especially in Tartarus.
"I'm good."
I just don't get you, you never act the way I expect!
Unsure what to even think, Yukari fidgets with her bag, distracted by the ringing of her heartbeat in her ears. She clearly read all this wrong, and whatever Minato's reasons are for scouting this place out, it has nothing to do with her and it's irritating .
"Well… I'll catch up with you at the dorm, then."
Not waiting for an answer, she leaves in a huff, power walking downstairs by herself.
He's just… so weird.
It's now Monday, and Minako stepped out of the school gates so fast, Yukari never got a chance to ask her to go to the mall together. It takes some back and forth texting, but they manage to set up a shopping rendez-vous at Paulownia a little later that night.
She needs a new batch of cosmetics, there's a sale on shoes and for some reason she's feeling particularly moody today. Not wanting to check out stores by herself while she waits, Yukari steps into Chagall to pass the time, fiddling with her cellphone as she orders. The coffee shop is packed full of fellow students sharing the same shopping spree spirit, whispered conversations filling the space.
Are they going to start rumors about this, too?
She takes a whole booth for herself, her coffee and a strawberry shortcake, just because she feels like it and maybe her mom will try to call her again. She didn't bother answering the first time, peeved at the number on display. The guilt of going through the whole dessert makes her wonder how many Tartarus floors they'll have to clear out to make up for it, but it improves her disposition and she resents Minako's lack of availability a bit less. Her friend is a distraction that lifts her heart and she really misses her bubbliness right now.
It's already dark outside when said girl meets her near the mall fountain, skipping her way with a beaming grin.
"I think I'm in looooove!"
There's an exuberance to her proclamation that puts a smile on Yukari's face, until the meaning of her words hit.
" Please tell me you're not dreaming about Junpei. I think I'd throw up."
How she can brush off his stupidity and lewd innuendos without letting it to her is a mystery she will never elucidate. Iori is in a lameness class of his own, and dead last on the roster of that one, too.
"What? No! Don't be silly! I'm talking about the most delicious slice of cake I ever tasted. It was to die for! That bakery at the strip mall is now on my short list of repeat visits, let me tell you!"
Oh thank god!
"Not too much fondant, white chocolate, rich whipped cream, combined with a very airy vanilla sponge that melts in your mouth! It would have gone down better if the sugar was offset with more tart, but I was all out of raspberries to test that theory."
Of course she gets the full culinary description, Arisato is an amazing baker and tends to analyze the content of any plate to apply it to her improvised confections. Just thinking about her words makes Yukari's stomach grumble for a bite of that dream, even if she just indulged.
Ugh! There's only so many weeks to diet before summer! Don't tempt me!
They've been checking out sandals for a bit when the memory of Minato asking her opinion about the cake shop comes back to the forefront, and she frowns as it all starts to make sense.
That was all for his sister…
Yukari gets it, they're close. Twins . They're everything to each other, and Minato dotes on his other half all the time. They study together, share headphones, even nap in the same bed as if they complete a two-piece puzzle when they're embracing.
Why am I annoyed by that? This is so stupid.
At least it's flattering that her brother wanted her opinion, if her tastes are good enough to please his favorite person it's still something . Yukari's lips curl wistfully as she admires her sandaled foot in the store's mirror. It must be nice to have a close relationship with someone like Minato, always trying to anchor and care for you, going out of his way to surprise you with a thoughtful delicacy. There's blue bangs on her mind and she absently ponders their outing.
"Did Minato like that cake as much as you did? It sounds like an experience ."
It's good to know what he likes. Just in case. Not that Yukari thinks they'll ever share a plate with two forks in that shop or anything.
Minako has a quizzical expression when she meets her gaze, scoffing a reply.
" Min and cake ? He's really not a fan."
Uh. Then…?
She could have stumbled upon the bakery and gone by herself, of course. But Minako is a social butterfly who enjoys company, food is an activity she always shares, if only to talk. If Minato didn't accompany her there… who did? Yukari never even gets the chance to ask, ruby eyes keep staring her way until she shakes off the daydreaming, and there's a curious smile floating on her friend's lips.
" Why are we talking about my brother? You wouldn't happen to-"
Yukari doesn't like that insinuation, not one bit, and barks back a little too loud.
"What!? No! I just assumed you went together, that's all!"
Her cheeks warm up and she quickly starts shuffling the different shoes she tried on to distract herself from her embarrassment. Minako smiles warmly, but thankfully doesn't push further than a comment in passing, offhandedly dropped as she makes her way to the cash register.
"Min is a seafood enthusiast. Wakatsu has a nice platter made for sharing, and it's a great spot to study. Just saying."
All the possibilities surrounding Minako's accompanied visit to the bakery evaporate from Yukari's mind, replaced by a pressure building in her ribs. Minato is a great student, a genius really, top of the class. Maybe… that wouldn't be such a bad idea.