Author's Note: Hello again everyone! Thank you all for the kind comments/reviews/etc, I'm really glad people are enjoying these little snippets of Fuuka/Minato! This chapter is a touch on the shorter side because I got carried away and wrote something way longer than I've been writing for this project (lol, what else is new?). So I split it up since really the two sections weren't related anyway. But expect Chapter 8 very soon since it's already written - just need to edit it a bit.

But for now, I hope you enjoy another little moment between our two stars, this one brought to you on Fuuka Friday! Thanks for reading and I'll see you again soon!


Chapter 7 – Morning Routine

Things had never felt worse within the walls of Iwatodai Dorm.

Two nights ago, Yukari had confronted Kirijo-senpai about the incident from ten years ago, the same incident Fuuka herself had been asked to look into. The thick tension in the Command Room could have been cut with a knife. Ikustuki-san had attempted to diffuse the situation, but Yukari wasn't satisfied with the answers she had been given that night, electing instead to let it go for the moment but to stew in her anger and cast withering glares across the room towards their senpai every once in a while.

Fuuka felt her own share of guilt for the way things were right now. She had been the one to dig up that information in the first place. And upon finding that out, Kirijo-senpai, even though she should have been angry, only asked if Fuuka would assist her in the same manner, going so far as to offer her personal credentials to allow the girl to access the Kirijo database and promising that she would not be held accountable for anything that happened from here. Fuuka was reeling from the request but agreed, starting to dig into the mysteries of Port Island further.

She was only coming up with the same information she'd already found, though. It wasn't a particularly frustrating venture for her; in fact, challenging herself to dig around the extremely complex network of information that was the Kirijo Group's database was quite the enjoyable experience. But she was a bit disappointed in herself that she was so far unable to help Kirijo-senpai in the way she had been hoping to. It seemed the questions lingering from ten years ago still needed a lot of effort put into them in order to find even the beginnings of some answers.

Meanwhile, Junpei was still frustrated with Minato but the sharpness of his anger had dulled some in the face of their upcoming finals. He was now just passive aggressively avoiding everyone rather than antagonizing or seeking conflict. Perhaps that meant he was finally starting to settle down, but Minato and Yukari still gave him plenty of space to get his head on straight, leading Fuuka to follow suit.

Still, the initial sense of community Fuuka had been presented with upon her arrival was all but gone lately. Every morning, the members of SEES departed separately from the dorm, at least for the most part. Occasionally, Kirijo-senpai and Sanada-senpai would be seen leaving together, speaking in hushed tones about things the younger members couldn't manage to overhear. Yukari and Junpei left by themselves every morning, the former at least smiling and waving at Fuuka before continuing on her way.

That was how Fuuka had started commuting to school with Minato on a near daily basis, mostly as a consequence of the way everyone around them was behaving…although she would have been lying to say she wasn't very much enjoying those morning commutes. They would walk casually from the dorm to Iwatodai Station, ride the Anehazuru passenger train to Tatsumi Port Island, stroll from Port Island Station to Gekkoukan Academy, and all the while find new things to talk about.

"So even though I keep it mostly to myself, I still very much enjoy tinkering with computers and other technology," Fuuka was explaining one morning as they left for Iwatodai Station. "I've even tried to build my own bits of tech here and there, but I'm still working on that aspect of it; I still need some practice to implement things the way I want to."

"Wow, that's impressive," Minato told her with a smile. "I can't imagine doing something like that. Even the garden on the rooftop is daunting enough as it is and that's so simple by comparison."

"That's right, Ikutsuki-san put planters on the roof a little while ago, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did. I've kind of taken it upon myself to grow some things for us. I figured it'd be a nice way to treat everyone sometimes."

Fuuka lit up at the idea.

"I think that's very kind of you. If…you don't mind, perhaps I could help you sometime? I've always been rather interested in gardening. I've even done research about it so I think I might be able to help a bit using the things I've learned."

Minato just gave her that calm smile she'd come to appreciate so much.

"I'd like that a lot. Maybe we can try our hand at planting something after finals next week? It'll give us more time to relax and enjoy the process."

"That sounds lovely. And it gives us something to look forward to after exams are over, too."

"I do like the sound of that."

A comfortable silence fell over them as they continued walking. The morning was warm though not entirely miserable yet, a precursor to the sweltering summer heat that was to come. As Fuuka took in the sights and sounds of the Iwatodai Strip Mall, Minato suddenly pointed out the bookstore next to Wild Duck Burger, Bookworms.

"Remember the persimmon tree I told you about? The owners of that little bookstore are actually the people trying to save it – Kitamura Bunkichi-san and Mitsuko-san. They're a very sweet couple. Lots of fun to hang out with sometimes, honestly."

Fuuka glanced at the bookstore door and grimaced a bit. It wasn't subtle enough that Minato didn't notice.

"Everything okay?"

Fuuka sighed a bit before turning and meeting his gaze, their feet coming to a hesitant stop.

"I…don't really like being inside bookstores these days, honestly. I've had some…bad experiences, specifically in that one…"

Minato frowned.

"I'm sorry you have. If I can do anything to help, please just let me know."

Fuuka smiled at last.

"Thank you. It's okay, though; everything is alright now. See, a few months ago, I was in there browsing for some books about cooking and gardening…and a few tech guides and manuals too. But since I'm so short, I couldn't reach one of the books I wanted and was stretching upwards to get it. I managed it but I accidentally knocked a few books down and one fell into my bag by mistake.

"I noticed it right away and was going to put it back, but a few girls from my class took a picture of me and threatened to post it online. It was the same group that locked me in the gym back in June. This was back before Natsuki-chan and I became friends so that group was still bullying me…"

Minato's voice snapped her out of the daze she had briefly fallen into.

"Nobody that actually knows you would ever believe any lie those girls tried to make up about you. Not then and certainly not now."

His voice was steady and unwavering, a confidence in it that she usually only heard within the walls of Tartarus. When she met his gaze, she found his slate blue eyes hardened with anger despite the warm words he had spoken to her.

"Minato-kun…"

"Seriously. I'm glad you and Moriyama are friends now, but those other girls didn't do nearly enough to be forgiven by you and or anyone else for that matter. And the Shadows attacking them doesn't count; they needed to get on their hands and knees and beg your forgiveness for what they put you through. They still should."

Fuuka felt her mouth fall open just a bit. Minato rarely spoke with such passion but this was clearly something he felt strongly about.

"Thank you, Minato-kun," she began, drawing his gaze again. "That's very kind of you to say. It's okay, though. Because of them, I got to meet everyone at the dorm. I got to meet…you. And everything that's happened since has made me feel strangely grateful for everything that happened back in April and May, even the worst of it."

Minato's hard gaze softened at last.

"You're pretty amazing, you know that?"

Fuuka couldn't hope to hide the instantaneous blush that exploded to life on her cheeks.

"O-oh, n-no…that's…that's not true…" she managed, averting her eyes.

"Sorry," Minato murmured, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Y-you…don't have to worry. It's okay."

The two took a few moments to collect themselves before Minato carefully began speaking again.

"I just meant to say…it's pretty impressive that you can look back on those cowards bullying you like that and think of it as something you're thankful for. And the fact that you've forgiven and even gotten close with Moriyama is just another testament to how strong you are."

"Do you…really think so? I've never thought it was all that impressive, honestly."

"I do. Don't sell yourself short, Fuuka; even most of us in the dorm wouldn't forgive people like that with the grace you have."

Fuuka couldn't help but smile, despite the heat still obviously radiating in her cheeks.

"Thank you, Minato-kun. It…makes me happy that you think that. It makes me think that I can continue bettering myself and keep moving forward in life instead of backwards."

"I'm sure you can. I'm sure you will."

A calm silence descended over them for a moment before someone accidentally bumped into Minato, apologizing before continuing on his way. This was effective in snapping the pair out of their own little world long enough to remember where they were and what they were supposed to be doing.

"We should…probably get to school, huh?" Minato proposed.

Fuuka could only manage a nod this time.

But as she fell into step beside Minato once again, Fuuka couldn't hide the smile that played across her lips. In fact, she thought it might just stay there for the rest of the day.

8/23/24