There's a slight drizzle marring the air the next morning, weighting down the smell of the sea and slicking the pavement to shine like mirrors. Akihiko dresses up and ties his shoes at dawn, really looking forward to his run, the weather never really matters to him when he needs to move.
Hood up and trying his best to be sneaky, he makes his way to the lobby in silence, dodging all the creaking spots in the wood panels since he knows them by heart. Minako's not in the welcome booth like she sometimes is, and she's not near the street lamp outside where she tends to hang out when she frets.
Hmm, is she running late? That's not like her.
If anything, she's usually here before him or exactly at the same time, like she at one point calculated exactly how much time he needs to prep once he gets up. Another unspoken synchrony they picked up on the way since they started this, and he can't help but smile at that thought.
Looking at his cellphone's screen, he hesitates. Perhaps she forgot to put her alarm back on after yesterday morning and is currently sleeping, or she's just late, but it's way too early to text her and inquire.
Akihiko waits fifteen minutes before he goes on to jog alone, hoping she's resting her fill.
She deserves it, she works too hard anyways. There's always tomorrow.
Almost an hour later, he ends up at the playground because he's distracted by echoes of her, still trying to patch together that medicated sleep he seems to have forgotten about. There's bits and pieces of memories that are hanging, so close yet so far away from his reach in the back of his mind and it's driving him up the wall.
It's like my own brain is trying to bait me.
Unwinding from the intense exertion, Akihiko looks at the horizontal bar of their space, ruffling the hair under his hood in remembrance of the time where she climbed up there to sit above him in victory.
Our space.
And he realizes it's true, there's an unspoken rule he made for himself if he runs alone; he doesn't come here, ever. Maybe he cheated that rule because her specter is living rent free in his mind particularly strongly this morning. It's for them, for those moments where the sun dips into the sea to quench itself and rises back again while he basks in wonder.
If she's not here, it's just a grey and lonely spot near the shrine where he used to hang out sometimes back in the day. It feels fitting that it's so close to a place of worship, it has the undertones of a quiet ritual now that they partake in, and he hopes it stays like this forever.
Just stay.
Akihiko frowns, he said that. Now he remembers; she came over to check on him, and he asked her to. And she was so tired, running on the fraying ends of a second wind, her face so pale in the moonlight she could have been a ghost.
You spoiled sleep for me forever the other night.
She pointedly mentioned this, standing here, her head against his knee, in the bubble of their private quiet. And that's probably why he offered, despite how nervous it makes him, sharing her space is like self-immolation and he doesn't mind the inferno if it makes her burn brighter. Because it makes him emerge anew too in a weird way, despite the pain of these moments' end.
That's a new kind of ritual now, resting together.
More like entwining and fainting into each other's warmth, but ever since they took a sip of that in the command room, it tainted everything with a scorching need to share those defenseless moments to truly feel at ease. He's wrapped in coppery little chains that twist around him despite his constant panic and he keeps coiling them tighter because deep down beneath the dread, he likes the connection and he desperately wants it; the share goes both ways.
There's a tactile memory feel in his hands and he recalls pressing them to her spine, holding her so close he could barely breathe, and how limp and relaxed that made her, as if his presence soothed a tension she couldn't admit she carries all the time.
It's my fault really, I gave her that invitation.
That first time, he beckoned her toward him and she accepted, melting into him with such complete abandon he couldn't think and it's so vivid once again he can still see her eyes melting under the Dark Hour in his mind.
And I'll do it again because I don't feel guilty. She wants this and I really do, too.
He smiles absently as he turns back toward the dorm in a contemplative walk, letting the sparks run wild in his head at the mere thought of her. It's absolutely terrifying, and it might take some time to overcome the fear, but if he's strong enough he can take on anything, including himself.
The rain clears early in the morning, and Minako's been gone all day with her twin. Back from some errands in the afternoon and after a quick stop for a fulfilling beef bowl to wrap up the day, Mitsuru accosts him in the lobby. Everybody's still out of the dorm, enjoying the remaining daylight.
"Akihiko, can you come to the command room with me? We received a… well, you'll see."
Curious, he follows her up, did the lab deliver something new for SEES he needs to know about? The heiress opens the door and to his surprise, there's a dog waiting for them, calmly sitting on the carpet.
"Is that…?"
She chuckles and approaches the creature, running a hand on the fur of its head and Koromaru lolls its tongue.
"Yes, he's all better now, completely healed and fully capable of assisting us."
You mean…
"I know he held his own back there but, are you sure?"
"Check the reports on the desk, it's all there."
Akihiko takes the folder in hand, skimming through the paperwork about his Persona and his capabilities, a bit stunned.
Extremely well trained and intelligent. Cerberus, the hound of hell, protector of the gates.
Crouching to pet the dog, he can't help but smile when Koromaru leans into his hand, eyes closed and happy, craving more by nudging his palm. He obliges with a grin; he never had a pet of any kind, and this one is simply marvelous.
"The girls are going to be ecstatic when they learn he's got a clean bill of health. I know they kept badgering you about news, but they will never see this one coming."
Mitsuru laughs softly, crossing her arms when she gets up, admiring their new team member with tender eyes.
"You two did good that night, if it wasn't for your quick intervention he wouldn't be here now."
He smirks, he thought about that stakeout a lot earlier, this feels a bit weird.
"I'm really glad we could save him, and she will be too."
She doesn't answer and Akihiko takes a while to take his attention away from the dog to turn around and look at her.
"What?"
She purses her lips and she has that speculative glint in her eyes. He scowls, that sounds like a precursor to double meaning conversations and he hates that because he never gets the subtext.
"Mitsuru, please do not use the nothing card."
"I was thinking about taking Aigis to the summer festival to have her interact more with regular people. She can't quite pass as human yet and it's sometimes hard to keep her at the dorm. She's obsessed with following Minato everywhere and eventually we won't be able to stop her."
He ponders, the robot maiden is indeed quite attached to the twin and they had to make a few adjustments so she would stop sneaking in his room at night.
"That sounds like a good idea."
"You can... tag along if you want. I know you stopped going to stuff like this since..."
Aragaki haunts this place like he lives here still.
"I'm good, I got plans anyways."
She arches an eyebrow in surprise and remains silent, the slightest of smiles on her face like she knows something.
"Very well. I am going to go wait downstairs for the juniors, can you keep Koromaru company?"
The dog puts his paw on his glove insistently, yipping and he scratches behind his ears with a wide smile.
"Of course!"
Exactly like Akihiko predicted, the team fawns over Koromaru and his miraculous recovery, asking questions about his special evoker and potential. But it's the dog's reaction to Minako that strikes him the most and drives home his loyalty.
She enters the room after everyone else, closely linked with her twin, somewhat withdrawn. Even Minato has the same detachment on his face until he reacts to the new member's presence.
Did something happen?
Koromaru runs to her immediately and showers her with affection full force, nudging her neck with his cold nose until she wraps her arms around him to ruffle his coat, giggling in unabashed happiness. The magnificent creature clearly remembers how she tirelessly worked to keep him alive that night and wants to show it.
She definitely deserved that.
Aigis cocks her head at the picture and speaks up.
"He said 'Thank you, I will return the favor and never forget what you did for me.'"
Minako squeals and looks Koromaru in the eyes.
"You're very welcome, handsome."
Junpei is fretting in excitement next to her.
"Dude, this is so cool, I never had a pet. Can we take him for a walk, right now? It's summer break after all!"
Mitsuru, standing court with indulgence, nods.
"Yes, it is. Enjoy your vacation while you can; summer classes start next week. I'll see to it that you graduate."
Junpei looks frazzled at that one and stutters.
"H-Hey… Good one there, senpai. You almost had me there."
And she raises an eyebrow, all business.
"Oh, it's no joke. We'll be taking intensive courses; I've already applied for all of us. I know how difficult it's been balancing school and our late-night excursions. You haven't had much time to study and I apologize for that. That's why the Chairman agrees that this is a good idea… I thought I told Takeba and Yamagishi."
That sounds like a calculated info dump.
Akihiko frowns, he doesn't hate school, but he already has good grades and could manage without cramming. Mitsuru's probably coming from a place of concern for her juniors, but she might not understand how it might be interpreted. And now Iori is panicking, raising his arms in the air, Minato chuckling his way like he's ridiculous.
He certainly would find this funny; he aces every exam.
"Are you serious!? This is the first I've heard of it!"
Fuuka shrinks behind Yukari like she did something bad, looking down.
"Umm, sorry… I forgot to mention it."
But Yukari taps her on the shoulder like she did nothing wrong.
"Hey, with his grades, he should be thanking her!"
Junpei grumbles under his breath, but Minako crams her face into her hands and sighs.
"I wish I were dead…"
She's doing this on purpose for Iori, and he doesn't even realize.
Minato taps her shoulder in mock concern, clearly unimpressed by her dramatics, but Fuuka gasps in shock at the outburst of their leader.
"W-Well, it's only for a few weeks, so let's make the most of it…"