Everyone's in a hurry this morning to get out of the door, struggling with the return of the school routine. Fatigue is evident in some bleary eyes, but hers are sharp and revivified as she strolls in the kitchen frantically, assembling lunch boxes for her and Minato like everything's on fire.
They haven't gone on a run this morning, he insisted yesterday they both rest instead, but Akihiko still wants to grab a protein shake in the fridge by force of habit and they're fighting for space in the tiny kitchen.
The only reason her fingers barely brush his wrist is because she's trying to grab a drink on the same shelf. He almost fumbles his bottle on the floor because the open door made it dewy and he lost his grip.
Everyone in the dorm except Mitsuru is cramming on the same monorail car since they left as a group. She took an earlier departure because of school council and Akihiko's just here to escort the juniors. There are barely any seats available and they let Takeba and Fuuka take them, so they can avoid without being bumped into.
Iori, Minato and himself fan around Minako like a deployable armor, anything to save her from the morning rush. She has her earphones on, nodding her head to the music, crammed loosely between all their tall frames. It's only because some rambunctious teenagers are trying to squeeze in the same car that he is lifting his arm to shield her back, his fingertips kissing the fabric on her shoulder blade in passing.
They pass each other in the hallway during lunch. Minako is carrying some forms for school council in one hand, moving like a comet. It just happens she slows down when she's at his level and tugs downward on his red vest because he's taller than her and she wants to whisper him something. The troves of groupies are looking at her with murderous intent at her bravado.
"Ramen sounds good."
Her breath is warm on his neck.
"Okay."
They just keep going their separate ways, not even looking at each other.
He's lefthanded and she's not, so she sits on his right at Hagakure at the counter, just so they don't fumble each others' chopsticks with elbow jabs. Instead, their free hands are on the wood panel, so close as to leech heat from each other. There's an open notebook propped up between them, balanced on the sauce bottles, jammed with notes and checklists that Akihiko is perusing with great attention.
She's really been thinking about this.
"So you want some of us to run Dark Hour patrols while others go to Tartarus?"
She nods, her mouth full. Swallowing slowly, she jabs her chopsticks at the calendar she drew, all small blocks filled with colored characters in code.
"It's still summer, I figured patrols would not be as intense as staircasing and we don't need a full team for that, two people can do it. Perhaps we can even save ourselves some search and rescue into Tartarus if we intercept them in the streets."
He nods, finding civilians into Tartarus tended to become more frequent as the moon approached maturity and finding them was sometimes tricky.
"Makes sense. Let's also assume not everyone will want to go out every day, so who's available will vary. Club training will also last a whole week, we can't sustain that and Tartarus each night."
"I can recuperate during training camp if someone handles equipment while I'm gone. Then one last trek before the full moon."
He's a natural at recklessness too, but this is a bit much.
"That's not a rest opportunity. You'll be exhausted by the time the operation comes around."
And now Minako is glaring back at him with irritation.
"I said I can do it. We need to push hard and I can handle all the rotations."
She' so stubborn.
His school bag is on the floor at his feet but hers is half open next to her, from when she took out her notebook. It's the only reason he leans around her to steal one of her pencils, the side of his head grazing her hair in passing.
Akihiko takes the notebook, flips the page to a blank one and quickly redraws the schedule, periodically checking her notes to mirror some of the existing data. Done, he sets the updated diagram down her way; he's shifted a few things around and added some scribbles but mostly, his name is everywhere hers is slotted.
"Are you nuts!?"
She's looking at his edits with a baffled look, Akihiko would frontline almost all the time if they went with this.
You're not doing this alone.
"If you want to push hard, you'll have to push me too. I can take it."
She scowls at his comment, still holding the notebook, unsure. He's still holding her pencil so he bends toward her bag to put it back, brushing his chin on her shoulder and whispering.
"Just trust me."