That summer class schedule is a grueling, long, and tiresome affair the more he looks at it. Mitsuru clearly wasn't kidding when she mentioned the word intensive; there won't be time to do anything except attend and study at night for the mock tests.
Looking at the gloves Minako gifted him that sit on top of his desk like a trophy, it hits him. No Tartarus and no early dawn runs because the course program starts too early in the morning. They'll both be stuck at a desk until the festival.
At least that's something to look forward to because I'll go insane for sure.
Akihiko doesn't know how he can spend another long stretch of time without any outlet for his jitteriness on top of that first issue, because he knows it will only make things worse. He survived that month-long convalescence by cheating, sneaking in a lot of little things in his schedule out of sight, but now he won't have that freedom.
Iori had it right, this sucks, a lot.
And knowing Mitsuru, she's going to watch all participants like a hawk to ensure that her efforts are not going straight into the gutter, meaning they'll have to study intensively and show the fruits of their labor to meet her lofty expectations. All of them. He looks at the calendar for a few minutes and takes out his cellphone to text Minako.
Please tell me we can plan a Tartarus run for the 15th.
It takes less than a minute to get a reply.
Are you me? Stop reading my mind!
He laughs at her message, clearly, Akihiko won't be the only one fishing for a violent outlet that day. And it just so happens that it ends a little earlier than the others, with no studying required at night because it's the last of the lot, so he types again.
Any room for a leadership summit over some ramen before? My treat.
He waits, keeping his phone open while he takes inventory of the exact classes on his schedule and when he gets lunch breaks, just to find openings to perhaps slide something that doesn't involve a book or pencil in there.
Absolutely :D XX
Mitsuru seems to think that if she doesn't personally escort the juniors to destination, one of them will run off, probably Iori. She usually takes her rides by herself to catch up on Kirijo business reading materials without all the noise and bickering, but now they're all walked to the execution block as a group like it's her duty and everyone's a bit uncomfortable.
So early in the morning, and since it's during summer vacation, there's barely any passengers to mingle in and steal any moment of subtle privacy like they often do. Akihiko is stuck stealing glances at Minako from where he stands during the never-ending ride, while she sits next to Minato to share earphones and rest on her twin's arm.
They both still have that look from the command room. I should ask about this when I can.
She's looking vaguely at Yukari and Fuuka discussing, biting her lip absently. She pokes her finger at her brother's cheek before whispering something to him and he looks at her in silence, single exposed eye gleaming with a slight crinkle on the lids, glancing at Mitsuru nearby. Junpei's in the seat next to him, head in his hands in dejection and half-asleep still.
This is going to be an amazing week, I'm sure.
Classes are intense but at least they are touching new material here and there so it's not as boring as Akihiko expected. His written French could use some work, judging from the new curriculum, but math is just more of the same and he excels at it. Japanese history has assigned literature to peruse and analyze; excepts from the Kojiki that will take him a few evenings to read.
Not even enough time to train in my room, this is going to take forever to go through.
Like he expected, every night is a noisy group affair at the table; there are books everywhere and drinks threatening to fall in notebooks. Mitsuru's subtle jabs at handling studying where she sees it happen seems to have had the expected effect because everyone is downstairs, to the discomfort of Ken who often flees to his room. Akihiko exchanges a few glances here and there with Minako but there's never any opportunity to hang out and it's starting to get to him.
She's right there, but so is everyone.
The frustration gets worse as the week goes by and it shows, he can't even stand himself or his jitters and tends to retreat away from the table as to not make a stressed fool of himself in front of the juniors. It's hard to read and take notes on his assignments with Iori being so loud too.
But then a new element makes its apparition on Wednesday night: phone calls. It's always when they all sit down to study, but eventually between 7 and 9 pm, someone will call Minako and she has to steps out on the porch of the dorm for a little while to talk.
Akihiko thinks nothing of it, reading his history book from one of the sofas where he can fidget in peace with his lack of exercise, until it happens a few times back-to-back on Thursday night. She initially sends the calls to voicemail straight up to continue her composition but steps out after a while to call them back, grumbling in annoyance at the caller list. Junpei looks at Ken, who for once is watching TV instead of hiding upstairs and wiggles his eyebrows when the door closes on her. His tone has an amused conspiratory vibe to it.
"Remember what I told you a few weeks back Ken? It has begun."
The kid ponders, looking at the door Minako just closed, and his eyes eventually light up with a mix of recognition and disappointment.
"Senpai, do you think they are all trying to score a date with her? I didn't even get to ask her yet."
Ears somewhat red and eyes narrowed, Akihiko slides his book higher and up to his nose to hide his victorious grin. Maybe that makes him a bad person, but he enjoys the proxy disappointment of all her callers if this is what Iori thinks it is.
Screw the line, I got there first, deal with it.
Iori laughs with affection, glancing Ken's way, but his eyes are full of mischief.
"You won't know unless you try but don't get your hopes up. You know what, maybe I'll get a bet going, for fun and giggles. Might be fun to try and guess who's the lucky guy. Who's in?"
Yukari rolls her eyes and pokes him in the ribs with a pointy elbow, but all he can see is the lone bluish eye that glances at him, slight amusement shining within.
He knows, of course he does. He always knows.
"You got better things to do Stupei, like fixing those math calculations. I mean, what the hell are those scribbles about? It's barely coherent!"
The teen glares back at her and they instantly start bickering while Minato and Fuuka exchange a discouraged glance. It's on again.
Minako eventually enters the dorm back, rolling her eyes and clapping her phone shut. Akihiko barely looks her way sneakily, but she can see his smile behind the pages from where she stands and she bites her lip while glancing at him, blushing slightly.
That's exactly what's happening, and we are definitely still on. Good.
She takes a breath and walks toward the table with narrowed eyes, fixing a deathly glare on Junpei.
"You. Was it your amazing idea to give my phone number to Kenji of all people?"
"Uh, well, I… I mean…"
And the chaos rises another level until Mitsuru has to step in with stern eyes to calm them all.