With nothing better to do next morning except wait for both sickness and weather to pass, Akihiko takes his time training intensively to clear his tormented mind, stopping once the hunger takes over his sanity. Minato's door is still closed shut, meaning the twins are probably resting late to recuperate.

Hopefully the attack in April didn't damage the structure enough that we get leaks.

The dorm's lighting is eerie in the hallway and staircase; the typhoon is pelting the building in heavy rain, and the dense cloud cover smudges the shadows into a blurred purplish blanket of penumbra.

It's like a cacophonic Dark Hour.

The lobby is mostly empty except for Koromaru, deeply asleep on the sofa, and Mitsuru who's on the phone in the reception area, talking in a low voice. Assuming the others are cocooned in their rooms in solidary pursuits, Akihiko steps in the kitchen to heat up a portioned meal. Sitting at the table to eat and sip his shake, his eyes drift to the scenery outside the windows, gales howling in misery as a musical backdrop.

This is going to be a long depressing weekend.

Munching on his last bits of chicken, he spots Mitsuru closing her cellphone with contrition. Her back looks rigid, meaning she didn't get the results she expected, and he wouldn't mind a bit of conversation to make her feel better, perhaps even shake off his own little tornado of worries with distraction.

"Did something happen?"

Her curls bob and wave when she turns around, looking sideways.

"I tried to get the Culture Festival rescheduled but it seems it won't happen, after all those efforts we put in, too…"

She spent a lot of time on this, and her emotions are well-masked, but she takes her school contributions seriously and the stiffness of her posture betrays her disappointment.

"It's not your fault, you know."

"I'm aware, there's no fighting Mother Nature… According to the news, this is the biggest typhoon on record, it's not going to dispel itself for a while too."

Mitsuru always uses her commitments as occasions to strive for excellence and council presidency is no exception, but that energy can be leveraged in other ways to her benefit, too. Injecting a little drollness in his voice, Akihiko changes the subject to redirect her relentlessness elsewhere.

"Miss President can always fall back on lecturing the resident delinquent about the importance of his education if she needs to keep busy."

You might have more luck than me, too. I just piss him off apparently.

His fellow senior smirks absently, finally pocketing her phone with a sigh.

"I did, numerous times, it's not from lack of trying I assure you. How silly is it, to come back to an extracurricular club when he won't even attend school? I even tried asking the twins for help, since he seems to listen to them more than anybody else…"

So, I'm not the only one who gets that vibe…

Her expression looks pained, and Mitsuru lowers her gaze.

"The only thing I got for my efforts was a lecture from Minato about how it's not my choice to impose this on Aragaki. To be fair, he's not wrong... I don't get to force you two to do anything. Not anymore, not after…"

The accident had nothing to do with you.

"You didn't force me to join, and I owe you for it. Some stern lecturing doesn't count as forcing, Shinji and I were a little smug and arrogant when we came in. Well, me more than him."

Scoffing softly at the memories, she crosses her arms and looks outside in silence.

"Aragaki filled up an extended leave form instead of the enrollment papers I prepared. I just can't understand why he came back if he…"

It wasn't for us, it never was. His focus is elsewhere.

"He'll come around. I'm sure he will, he just needs some time."

It's such a hypocritical statement, Akihiko doesn't even believe his own words, but maybe she needs to hear everything will be alright to get over her own unease. His knuckles are taunt on his closed fists, pretending it's all true might make it real, eventually.

"Perhaps…"

She sighs, and how much she missed Shinji in more ways than one is flagrant. Akihiko never quite knows how to tackle her moods, he's barely functional with his own feelings most of the time. Luckily, she keeps talking when he doesn't comment.

"In the meantime, we might as well handle studies and other affairs, we won't be going to Tartarus with this weather and the twins out of commission... Since I have enough to worry about right now, you're not going to do something recklessly irresponsible like run outside in the rain, right? We don't need you bedridden too."

"Come on Mitsuru, stop treating me like a preschooler…"

"I know you; I've seen you go for a jog in a blizzard before and you can never sit still for long. Especially when you have things on your mind. And there's a lot, isn't there…?"

Is this a case of you scratch my back, I scratch yours?

Mitsuru's eyes have an expectant spark and she's offering him a perch to talk, obviously worried about him. Perhaps he could let go of what's in the back of his brain because it's getting crowded; the suppressants, Shinji, Strega's intervention, that green-eyed shadow he doesn't know how to tame, his madness-inducing infatuation, and…

No. I'm strong enough to handle this on my own. I have to be.

He's given permission on a silver platter to vomit it all right there but the cage of control around his bottled turmoil won't let him verbalize any of it. They're comrades, friends even and he trusts her but all this, he can't talk about. It goes beyond the bond they share, and it's too private.

"I'll refrain from being reckless, if it makes you happy. Mais juste pour cette fois."

It's not a hard promise to keep, I'm not going anywhere until she's better.

Accepting his reassurance and his lack of sharing, it's nothing new coming from him, she smiles and shoulders on the mantle of Kirijo heiress she always wears once again.

"Magnifique. Well, I have a lot of paperwork to tackle, I'll be in the command room if anything comes up. Just… don't break your punching bag."

Really…? That only happened one time.

More relaxed, Mitsuru heads upstairs, leaving him to tackle his dishes in the somber quiet.

It's when he makes his way back up somewhat later that Akihiko hears a muffled conversation down the corridor of the boys' floor, and he stops in his tracks to listen attentively.

Maybe I should stop doing this.

"Please do not worry Yukari-san, I will continue monitoring his vitals and those of his sister."

The clipped delivery is quickly answered by an exasperated female voice.

"Aigis, you can't stay here the whole time!"

"I am synthetic and thus cannot fall ill. It is in his best interest."

She's back to lockpicking her way in Minato's room, again. I thought we put a stop to that. But what is Takeba doing in there?

"It's still highly inappropriate! You said their temperature was high, right? Why don't you go take stock of the medicine we have for fevers with Mitsuru and report on their condition... Once they wake up, we can give them something."

"Acknowledged."

Aigis makes her way toward the stairs purposefully and Akihiko accosts her once they cross each other.

"She's in the command room."

The robot maiden nods and goes up, while there's sounds of strained efforts coming from the ajar door at the back. He's about to go peek at what's happening when Yukari pops out of Minato's door frame, calling him over.

"Ah senpai, good timing! You're strong, do you mind giving me a hand?"

Burning with curiosity, he raises an eyebrow and joins her while she keeps talking, looking a tad frazzled when they enter the room.

"Aigis is so obsessed with him... it's creepy at times! I wanted to get Minako-chan to her own bed but she's like jelly and I can't even lift her."

The twins are laying on top of the blue covers face to face, holding each other with entwined fingers and deeply asleep, looking like a painting from ancient times. Their vivid hair colors are muted in the gray lighting and their skin is deathly pale except for a feverish flush to their cheeks.

She looks worse than yesterday...

He's tempted to ask Yukari why she is poking around Minato's room while he is unconscious, but he has some doubts already. His thought process must live in his eyes because she fills the silence with a flurry of words to justify herself, nervously blushing.

"It would be easier to take care of them if they slept separately, we can't get to Minato without crawling over his sister, and… And for someone so tiny she's heavier than she looks. Perhaps I should have asked Aigis to handle it before I sent her off or..."

The irrationality sleeping in the back of Akihiko's mind roars to furious life as he briefly imagines Takeba asking anyone else for help in the hallway, and he tenses all over in sudden despair at the mental picture.

Stop.

He breathes softly and padlocks the turmoil away forcefully before stepping forward, keeping his eyes on the too-still form that haunts his thoughts to distraction.

"No… I got this."

It feels so weird, kneeling to gently take Minako in his arms in front of an audience, she's all boneless and comatose. Her skin is always warm, but now she's scorching hot through her loungewear, and seeing her so absent from her shell makes his heart cartwheel sideways uncomfortably.

She should be awake, moving, eyes bright and laughing. Not..lifeless. Not her.

It's that particular unease that makes having a witness blend out of his perception entirely; suddenly she's all that matters. Akihiko is very delicate when he disengages her fingers from her twin's, one at a time. They sleep like otters; holding each other so they don't drift apart, and being the one to break their intimate chain of comfort feels like he's committing a sin of some kind.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to... take her from you.

He places her head against his collarbone, sliding a hand around her shoulders to support her neck and under her knees to lift her in his arms. It takes no effort to rise to his feet carefully, she's both a feather and a statue of lead but he's strong and Akihiko cradles her to his chest like his life depends on it. She takes a soft breath and sighs, nuzzling into the collar of his shirt the way she does in his bed, perhaps comforted because she somehow knows its him.

I'm here, I got you, don't worry.

Yukari has the strangest expression of wonder on her face when he turns around with their sleeping leader held close, and his face warms under her pointed scrutiny.

Please don't ask. Look elsewhere.

"Can you... go on ahead and open the doors, Takeba?"

Its barely a whisper, and she answers in kind.

"O-of course!"

He takes his merry time carrying Minako upstairs in her wake, his chin resting in her hair to keep her steady as he ascends the steps. There's nobody in the corridor, and it's just as well, because he'd rather not talk or explain himself right now, he's very busy.

Yukari steps into her friend's room and flips open her bed cover before moving out of his way, letting him gently melt their leader on the mattress. Sliding one arm off at a time, Akihiko lets her head go last, cupping her cheek as he slides her pillow under the copper locks. It takes a lot of willpower not to run his fingers through them and kiss her forehead, she's unwell and he hates it.

"You just rest up, okay? We'll take care of your brother for you."

He's not sure if Minako can hear him, but she mumbles unintelligibly and her fingers twitch, yet she doesn't wake.

I'd like nothing more than to stay, but...

Its painful to leave her when she seems so vulnerable, but Akihiko clenches his jaw and gets up nonetheless; it's not like he could reasonably remain in her room right now. Yukari looks subdued and keeps staring at him, so he slips on his best mask of affected nonchalance like all of this was absolutely nothing to write home about.

"I'll just... leave the rest to you. Let me know if you need anything."

She nods, and keeping his eyes on the scenery, he walks out in silence to slowly head back to his brother's room with his head full of cinder clouds. Akihiko feels like he left his consciousness back with her while he readjusts his junior's limbs and folds his cover over him in case he shivers.

"You two never do anything by half, including worrying us, you know that… right?"

But Minato doesn't answer and keeps breathing slowly in his coma-like slumber. Akihiko figures there isn't much he can do until they wake up and steps out, closing the door behind him.

The afternoon is dreary, time just oozes along, and the twins keep sleeping their chill away. Ken grabs food but mostly stays locked in his room; apparently, he has a lot of homework to tackle, and he wants no company from anyone. Akihiko briefly banters with Shinji downstairs, who's brooding and watching the rain like it's free entertainment, but he can't find it in himself to crack a meaningful conversation. It's not that he's resentful of his friend, especially now that he knows why he frustrates him sometimes, but he's too caught up in his own churning thoughts and Aragaki clearly wants to be left alone.

The heavy winds calm down a few hours later and Junpei, who spent the better part of the day gaming in solo, yawns loudly before poking his cap through Akihiko's open door. He grimaces in disgust when he spots the schoolbooks he's engrossed in to pass the time.

"Not training anymore senpai? Man, the dorm is so quiet it feels like Tartarus. Are the twins any better?"

Ruffling the back of his hair, he pushes his chair from his desk and turns around, stretching.

"You need recovery to get results after a workout, and exams are in a few weeks, might as well be productive. They're still sleeping it off, last time I checked."

"Aww… I was hoping to play some video games with them, it's not the same by myself. I'll go poke in Minato's room, see if there's an improvement."

Akihiko manages to wrap up his composition by the time Iori comes back to shrug in his doorframe.

"Meh, he's mumbling some weird ass nonsense but he's still out like a light. Good thing the typhoon is starting to pass though. My little Chidori-cakes asked me to visit her during break, y'know? I should probably check on her before visitor hours end, with the storm and all."

I should probably do the same. Well, ask around, more like.

Junpei leaves shortly after with much dramatic fanfare, begging for questions as to his plans from anyone he crosses on his way out. Akihiko ends up strolling upstairs like a ghost, but all the doors are closed and the whole floor is too silent for comfort. Figuring Yukari is perhaps in the lobby, he turns around and crosses paths with Yamagishi, who's coming up the steps with a little platter.

"Hey, did you see Takeba anywhere?"

Their navigator eyes him for a second and bites her cheek.

"No, she stepped out for a bite, with the archery club I believe. Did you want to talk to her because you're worried about Minako?"

"It's nothing, I'm sure she's... they're both fine. They just got a chill, right?"

Nice slip up there, dummy.

"Actually, why don't you bring this to her room and check her fever? She might be thirsty; she was talking in her sleep earlier and might wake up soon."

He's tempted but he hesitates, it's going to raise a lot of questions if Mitsuru spots him in there all by himself while she's comatose, decorum and all. Sensing his unease with her request, she whispers.

"My parents are supposed to call soon, and I really need to take it. My dad doesn't really do well with excuses. He's pretty…"

Akihiko remembers that one of her reasons to move in the dorm was to flee her controlling family's insane expectations, but her face looks so red and uncomfortable that he can't help wondering if she's lying to him right now. He doesn't know Fuuka well enough to judge, not that he's very good at reading people in the first place, but her asking him to handle it out of the blue when she knows the rules is jarring.

"Why me, Yamagishi?"

Her reply is soft and hesitant, secretive even.

"Because I've seen how you... I-I mean, you're very kind to her. If she knew how worried you are... she would want you to feel reassured, you know?"

Not waiting for an answer, she practically shoves what she's holding in his hands and runs off to her room, blushing furiously. He sighs, at least he got a good alibi if he gets caught.

Well, let's hope for the best, I guess.

Feeling like a trespasser, Akihiko gently cracks the last door of the wing open to look inside. Minako is still in her bed, eyes closed and just as pale as before, motionless. The memory of entering the council room yesterday in a similar way makes him hesitate, his chest tightening.

It's not the same, I'm not here because I crave some sort of emotional security.

Except it's a lie, he does want reassurance, but of her wellbeing. It can't be that bad to be worried about her health, surely, his blunder at school can wait until she gets better. Figuring he doesn't really have a choice at this point, and because he has manners, Akihiko whispers.

"Are you awake?"

To his surprise, Minako opens her eyes and stares at him, cracking a satisfied grin that fills him with relief.

"Finally, a good dream… I've missed you."

You don't sound fully conscious.

Her lips purse in a cute pout and she blinks owlishly when he doesn't apparently make his way in as fast as she expected.

"Why are you so far? You're always in the bed with me..."

Minako's eyes take on a wicked glint when she speaks and combined with the petulant childish whine in her voice, it creates a weird contrast that confuses him. Clearly, she's not fully awake if she's so candidly sharing her fantasies with him, and he's feeling a little tingly all over.

Don't get weird. She's just teasing you.

He slowly makes his way over and sits on the floor, placing Yamagishi's platter within her reach and trying his best to realign his thoughts within sane bounds. From up close, there's a glassiness to her gaze that makes Akihiko gently brush the back of his hand on her forehead in worry.

"You're burning up!"

She leans into his touch with a little throaty sound and smiles again, hazy rubies full of adoration.

"And you are so beautiful… it hurts to look at the sight of you."

Why are you…?

He can't help blushing furiously, the way she manages to bluntly speak her mind will never cease to amaze him, and apparently being sick makes her lose all her restraints.

What little red fire shows through her heavy lashes sparkles with amusement at his reaction.

"You're always so adorable, I never..."

The rest of her sentence is mumbled too low, and her eyelids droop with tiredness. Needing a distraction because he's getting less and less comfortable with her banter, he averts his eyes and checks on what he brought in. It's the primary reason for his visit after all and he should focus on her recovery, not her remarks.

Not that I don't like you sharing all this, but… it feels like I'm cheating somehow.

"Yamagishi wanted you to have something to drink and there's some pills for your fever. When you feel up for it, you should take this and rest."

Her eyes widen slightly, and her voice, still strained with exhaustion, sounds mischievous when she speaks.

"Rest is overrated. You have no idea how often I think of you when I can't sleep and..."

Please don't finish that sentence.

There's a part of him that really wants to run to the hills right now, and another that roots him in place to listen in rapt wonder and he can't quite make up his mind. He hasn't been sick since he was a little kid, so he's not sure how seriously he should take her delirium-induced statements and that makes it all so much worse. Akihiko keeps staring at her, dismayed beyond measure and biting his lip too hard, because this is not the time nor place and he should be focusing on apologizing for losing it yesterday first. He doesn't deserve to be the recipient of any of this until he does.

"I'm sorry."

Minako's words have some flavor of sadness that makes him jolt.

"H-huh? What're you apologizing for?"

That she would think she's at fault for his confusion breaks something inside him. Or was he being weird again?

"Please don't say you're sorry… You didn't do anything wrong; you never did. It's me who…"

He can't even look her in the eye, the sudden rush of guilt takes too much room, so Akihiko leans his head on her bed cover and stares at the floor, whispering.

"I don't even know how to explain it, really, but… I know I'm always tense around you and stressed most of the time, but especially these days… I've been acting strangely, and I'm sorry... When anything is even remotely about you, I can get very... irrational. I lose my mind, and sometimes all self-control, but it's not your fault."

I keep tripping over my words, and this came out all messy.

Just as he's about to speak again and apologize for his muddled apology, because even his thoughts want to excuse themselves and this certainly did not come out as he planned it, she drops her own matter-of-fact statement.

"You're feeling this way… because you're in love."

It takes him a few seconds to take the words in and his heartbeat goes into deafening overdrive.

What?

"L-Love...? This is love?"

Mortified at having spoken out loud, he closes his mouth shut, thoughts in chaos. When it comes to her, everything is always different, bewitching, terrifying, enticing. Her hands are finger painting his universe with trails of fire that both confuse and attract him, and it's never enough. His senses hang on her every word and gesture, her eyes are the only stars in his sky, and she knows his mind and moods better than he does. The way his soul sings in tandem with hers fills him with strength and sunders him defenseless all at once.

And yet, he's never been so nervous or incoherent around anyone before. He built a cage of glass around her and can't help tiptoeing around it, too scared he'll make her run in fright. As if a single word, a gesture, a faux pas, would make her fly away and he'd be left broken and devoid of her presence. She's entrenched through him so deep perhaps he'll rip apart if she unroots herself from his soul. Despite that terror, he can't help orbiting around her like a moth to the flame, warming his wings and begging her to burn him into ashes so he can be the sum of them both and he never wants this to stop.

If love is equal part dread and bliss then... I'm hopelessly in love with you, and I've been for a long time.

Akihiko can't believe he never found the proper label to explain what he's been feeling for months now; he was just too blind to connect the dots between all the different emotions she makes him feel instead of looking at the whole picture. How could he be such an oblivious fool? He read about this, he's smart...

He feels light-headed, his face is very hot from the blood rushing to it and Akihiko licks his lips nervously, trembling like a leaf because this revelation only solves half of the conundrum.

He really wants to ask how she feels, but his thoughts are all jumbled in terror and full of static. What if it's not the same way for her? They've been tentatively exploring what this is for a few weeks now, and she never said anything to him. Not in words, and he needs to hear them to be sure, desperately. How silly that a few joined letters have the power to make everything different, so real.

"I… Yes, but... How... do you know?"

Oh god why do I sound so pathetic right now?

But he knows why this is so hard to ask; she holds the sword of judgement, and a single breath can shatter his heart or exalt it. He's a passionate individual who never does anything by half; he goes in all the way right until the cliff's edge. It's in his training, his studies, how he fights, how he feels about her. Whatever comes out of her lips next will condemn him to a bottomless abyss of heartbroken despair or bathe him with the flames of her sun and he has no control over any of it. Powerlessness is not his cup of tea.

Her shaking fingers have no strength in them when they suddenly caress his cheek. They're just little candle flames that burn yet he leans into them hoping for salvation, turning his gaze to the rubies that he sees in every reflection. Her eyes are only halfway open but so vividly gleaming that he stops breathing, he doesn't recall ever feeling so raw and vulnerable as he does now.

"Because I love you."

And as the last word flutters to his ears, she closes the windows to her soul with a contented little sigh, falling back into feverish reverie the same way her hand lowers to her coverlet in exhaustion. Akihiko is left sitting there all by himself, eyes wide with shock and unable to process, and now she's unconscious.

He spends some time calming down, just brushing her cheek tenderly, hoping she wakes up, but she never does and just leans into his hand in her slumber.

What if she forgets all of this?

He certainly has holes from his medicated stunt from this summer still, he might never remember exactly what happened, or what he said. Perhaps that should fill him with some dread now that he thinks back on it, except she made him pancakes and he slept like a baby.

And then it dawns on him; it won't change anything if she doesn't remember, because he does. And now that she spelled for him what he truly feels…

I still need to apologize, but if you forgive me… I have a lot to tell you.