Author's Note: Hello again! Sorry for the gap in chapters but that's why I never committed to a release schedule with this one - finding the muse to write has been hit or miss the last several weeks but this chapter was overall a very enjoyable one to write! So I hope everyone enjoys it and while I won't promise a super fast upload time for the next one, I will promise that they'll keep coming! I have lots of ideas for these two and I've been inspired again by the trailers for Episode Aigis that have been making the rounds lately.

Anyway, thank you all as always for reading and I hope you enjoy the latest installment! More to come soon!


Chapter 6 – Supporters

The mood in the dorm was still quite tense across the following days. Fuuka noticed that Junpei was avoiding Minato as if he were infected with a terrible and highly contagious disease. Yukari, meanwhile, wouldn't necessarily avoid Kirijo-senpai, but she would cast suspicious looks across the room on occasion. The navigator couldn't help but feel partially responsible; she had been the one to dig up information on that incident from ten years ago after all, though Yukari still hadn't brought it up yet. She couldn't help but wonder what exactly that event meant to Yukari and why it seemed so important to her.

So, in an effort to distract herself, Fuuka decided to focus on her cooking again the next Sunday off. Last time, she had nearly poisoned Minato, so anything even marginally edible was a vast improvement over that. This time, however, she wouldn't be offering him any of that food until she was much more satisfied with it. The last thing she wanted was a repeat of a few weeks back. And besides, learning how to cook a decent meal and share it with everyone at the dorm was something she really wanted to be able to do, so she couldn't just give up here.

But it didn't take her long to realize she had a lot of work still left to do before she was even close to that point. Her most recent attempt at putting a halfway-respectable bento box together had been nothing short of disastrous and even her attempts at creating something incredibly simple weren't working. Every time she tried to make onigiri, the rice fell apart. Or she overdid it on the filling. Or didn't do enough. Or wrapped it poorly. Or chose the wrong flavors to compliment one another.

'Maybe I'm not really cut out for this after all. I'm probably just wasting my time trying to cook anyway. Everyone has their own skills and if this isn't mine, I'm just being stubborn by trying to force it…I'd probably be inconveniencing everyone by forcing them to try my awful cooking…'

It was with that in mind that Fuuka exited the kitchen around noon with a heavy sigh. Everyone had left the dorm in a hurry that morning, still trying to avoid spending any time with each other, which had given her the opportunity to practice without interruption. Now she wished for an interruption just to get her mind on anything other than her failures as a cook.

''Cook' is too strong a word…I can't even put a snack together…'

"Fuuka? You doing okay?"

She jumped as a familiar voice crashed through her thoughts and brought her downcast eyes up from the floor. Minato stood at the base of the stairs, wearing a curious look on his face as he patiently awaited her answer.

"O-oh, yes, I'm fine!"

A warm smile crossed his lips.

"Sorry to startle you like that."

Fuuka took a steadying breath and let her tense shoulders relax. Despite the suddenness of it, she didn't mind his company in any way.

"It's not your fault at all. I just didn't know anyone was still here. Were you upstairs studying?"

"I probably should've been," he admitted. With finals coming up, they were all trying to study more. "But I was unwinding with that game Junpei gave me a while back."

Fuuka felt herself smile at once.

"I don't think that's a bad idea at all. If you work too hard for too long, you'll just end up burning yourself out. I'm glad you're taking some time to unwind."

"I think it's a good idea, too. Which brings me back to – everything okay? You looked a little upset a minute ago."

"W-well…I guess I can tell you. I was trying to make onigiri for the last few hours and…nothing's going well at all. I was just starting to wonder if it was even worth it keep trying when I'm so bad at it…"

Minato crossed the room and sat down on one of the stools nearby before offering her a spot next to him. She sat down and hung her head, still frustrated.

"I know you want to cook for all of us as a way to show your appreciation, but maybe you're putting too much pressure on yourself. Nobody's good at something when they first start."

"You're right…I just wish I was able to do something. I feel like…I feel like I've never really been able to accomplish anything at all in my life…"

"Fuuka," Minato's gentle voice interrupted. "What are you talking about? You've saved all of our lives multiple times now. The first night we met, you put yourself in danger just to protect people you'd never even met before. You support us as a friend and our Tartarus guide. You help everyone in this dorm as a friend or at least an acquaintance. You've already accomplished more than a lot of people do in their entire lives, I'd say."

Fuuka's face grew hot at his words. That had been happening more and more lately, feeling embarrassed by the encouragement he gave her. And every time, she avoided eye contact so he hopefully wouldn't notice her reactions.

"I…when you say it like that…I really do want to believe you," she admitted at last, her voice soft. "I guess I just want to do more for everyone here. You've all given me so much. I've had so many new and amazing experiences already since I met you and the others and I just want to show my appreciation."

"I think that's a great goal to have," Minato encouraged her again. "And there's plenty you can already do that we can't. Yukari asked you to teach her how to use computers right?"

"T-that's true. But computers and technology…that's not really a feminine interest, you know? I feel like cooking is something a bit more expected of someone like me. That's why I don't usually tell people about my hobby…they'd probably think I'm strange for it…"

"Who cares what anyone else thinks about your hobbies?"

Fuuka felt her mouth fall open in surprise as she turned to face Minato. He was leaning casually against the bar counter behind them, as if what he'd said was the most effortless and natural thing in the world.

"Minato-kun…"

"Really," he continued. "As long as it's something that makes you happy, that's all that matters. And I think it's really impressive that you're as good with technology as you are. I know enough about computers to boot up that game I was playing earlier but if you asked me to do something even slightly more complicated than that, I'd have no idea what to do. You'd be the first person I came to and I'd be lucky if you were around and willing to help."

A stunned silence hung in the air as Fuuka collected herself.

"Thank you," she managed at long last, her smile growing wider by the second. "It's very reassuring to hear that from you. You know…I really do have a tendency to get very negative and beat myself up over a lot of different things."

"I think we all do to some extent."

"Maybe so. But I really do it around you a lot, don't I? I'm sorry if I come off like I'm fishing for compliments from you…"

"I've never once thought that's what you're doing."

"Thank you for reassuring me so often."

"Hey, everyone needs a little reassurance sometimes. I'm no different myself."

"Really?"

"Of course." He turned towards her with an amused grin. "I just fake it well since I'm the one everyone looks to as a leader."

Fuuka was so taken aback by his unguarded comment that she wasn't sure whether to laugh or feel sad. She was so caught up in her own world and problems that she hadn't even considered what the person supporting her might be feeling. And lately, Minato was always the person supporting her. Whether it had been in her cooking ventures, her Tartarus guidance, or just her daily life.

Ultimately, she settled on a gentle smile and met his gaze with as much determination as she could muster.

"You know, you support me a lot and I really do appreciate that. But…if you ever need a little support of your own…I'd be happy to be that person for you. I-if you'd like that, of course."

Minato looked a little surprised for just a moment but his wide eyes quickly settled back to their usual state, that calm smile resurfacing as if it were his natural expression. Perhaps it was when they were talking like this.

"Thanks, Fuuka. If I ever have something on my mind, you're the first person I'll come to."

"R…really?"

"Of course."

"Sorry, I don't know why that surprised me so much. Maybe it's because I've only been here a short time compared to everyone else, but I would have figured you'd be much closer with Yukari-chan in that regard than with someone like me."

"'Someone like you?' What do you mean?"

Fuuka's eyes widened. Had she said that? She hadn't really meant to.

"N-nothing. Just bad habits I'm trying to break slowly but surely. I didn't even know the words had come out of my mouth before you repeated them."

Minato locked eyes with her, some of that steely determination she was so used to seeing in Tartarus flickering within them.

"You don't have to worry about things like that. I don't compare you to anyone else on the team, not Yukari, not Junpei, not our senpai. We're all separate people and that's all there is to it."

Fuuka felt her heart flutter in her chest for a moment.

"Minato-kun…"

"Besides," he continued, his expression softening again, "I've had more fun hanging out with you these last few weeks than I've had since I got here."

Now her heart was fluttering and racing.

"You…you have?"

"Sure have," he reaffirmed, a small grin on his face. "Your Persona gave you a pretty good look at who I really am when we first met so I've never felt like I have to put on a mask around you. It's nice to just be my real self with someone."

"Now that you mention it…I suppose I do notice that you're more talkative when it's just the two of us together."

"That's definitely true. I'm pretty quiet in groups…excluding Tartarus, I guess. But even with the others in the dorm, I tend to only say so much. I guess I just don't feel like I have to do that with you."

Fuuka's face flushed, a rosy pink color dusting her cheeks.

"W-well I certainly hope I never forced you into feeling that way early on…"

"You didn't, don't worry. Even in that regard, I'm very glad for Lucia's abilities."

A silence fell over the pair for several moments after that. Fuuka felt like she was standing in the eye of a storm. Her thoughts and emotions were whirling around her in every direction, shocked by some of his admissions, overwhelmed by his kindness, reeling at how candidly he had revealed such things to her. But somehow, here next to him, all of that was okay. She felt a little bashful, sure, but…it wasn't a bad feeling.

"Hey, are you hungry?" Minato's calm voice interrupted her thoughts, parting that maelstrom surrounding her with ease.

Fuuka took stock of herself before laughing lightly.

"You know, now that you mention it, I am. I spent all morning trying to cook something edible but I never actually managed it in the end."

"I'm sure you will soon. You're persistent and dedicated; all you need is a little time, I bet."

"Thank you, Minato-kun. I'll keep trying to get it right!"

"That's the spirit," he encouraged, smiling again before rising to his feet. "Want to go out and grab something to eat?"

Fuuka all but leapt from her seat, hoping she hadn't seemed so overly excited that it put him off.

"I'd love to. Where were you thinking?"

"Hmm…we could try Wild Duck Burger if that sounds okay to you. Tomochika wouldn't shut up about the new special on their menu the other day. I wouldn't mind trying it."

"That sounds like fun to me," Fuuka agreed. "I've eaten there so rarely but it always feels like a foreign experience. I imagine it's similar to what getting hamburgers in America might be like."

Minato offered a light chuckle as they set off towards the front doors of the dorm together.

"I've never done that before but you're probably right. Maybe we can find out someday."

Fuuka froze for a moment, stopping in place completely.

"Find out? Like…travel to America ourselves?"

Minato's eyes widened just a bit and, for the first time since meeting him, she watched as the young man floundered a little.

"O-oh, no, not quite like that! I just…uh, meant that it might be fun if we all did that on a class trip or something. Some schools go to Hawaii, don't they? A-and we could have that experience there."

Fuuka wasn't sure if she fully believed that line of reasoning but resolved to accept it for now; she didn't want their lunch to be terribly awkward. So she put on the most relaxed smile she could manage and nodded.

"Ah, I see what you mean now; that would be fun! But…I think our school goes on trips to Kyoto."

"Oh. How…boring," Minato mumbled with a frown.

Fuuka giggled before falling back into step at his side, the two continuing to the front doors of the dorm.

"Well, we do have a long time until that trip happens. Maybe we can find ways to still make it memorable even though it's such a traditional destination."

Minato grinned again at last, his usual cool demeanor beginning to return.

"Knowing this group, it'll at least be interesting."

Fuuka laughed lightly again as Minato opened the doors to the bright world outside.

"I'm sure it will be."

As they set off into the warm afternoon, Fuuka couldn't help but dwell on the way Minato had stammered and stuttered before. It was the same way she behaved when she was embarrassed or trying to hide something. The real question was…what was he trying to hide exactly?

In the end, she decided to think about it later. After all, it was a lovely day and she had such wonderful company. It would be a shame to waste it when all of her previous dark thoughts had been overwhelmingly chased away by Minato's presence.

'I just don't know how he does it…but I'm very happy he does.'

8/18/24