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The final bell had rung and a swarm of students jumped from their seats as they eagerly rushed out of the classroom for the day. Minato had his arms crossed, resting his head in between them as he managed to doze off again in class. He could hear all of their footsteps fading away, but for some reason, he kept feeling someone poke his shoulder.
“Hey... wake up, sleepyhead,” his poker said playfully.
Minato grumbled as they continued to poke him.
“Stop poking me,” he huffed, opening one eye to look at whoever was poking him.
Yukari just smiled playfully. “About time, Sleeping Beauty!”
Junpei had surprisingly not ditched the classroom yet, instead standing next to Yukari. He suddenly snickered, elbowing Yukari in the side.
“Well if Minato’s Sleeping Beauty, you could always kiss him awake next time,” he said with a cheeky smile.
Yukari turned to glare daggers at him, before she smacked him on his arm.
“Shut it, Stupei,” she spat out. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“Sheesh, it was just a joke, Yuka-tan…”Junpei grumbled. “And for your information, I was gonna visit Chidorita! Just wanted to see you wake up Minato.”
Minato yawned. “So am I entertainment to you now?”
Junpei frowned. “You’re still tired even after napping?”
But then he suddenly smirked.
“You know, if we hadn’t gone to Tartarus last night, I’d guess that you and Yuka-tan were up to late-night activities—”
“STUPEI!” Yukari shrieked out before she jabbed him hard in the ribs. “It’s not like that! And besides, you know that it’s against the dorm rules!”
“No need to get so defensive, Yuka-tan!” Junpei teased. “Besides, rules can be broken. ”
“Argh!” Yukari let out a growl. “Didn’t you say you were going to see ‘Chidorita’? What are you waiting for, then?!”
“Okay, okay, sheesh, you don’t have to be so aggressive!” Junpei huffed, before lowering his voice to a stage whisper. “Sheesh, Minato, how do you deal with that temper of hers?”
“I’m just not lacking tact, unlike you,” Minato said with a frown. “You’re the one riling her up on purpose.”
“Man whatever.” Junpei scoffed, turning away from the young couple and leaving the room.
“He can be so annoying sometimes…” Yukari sighed heavily before she suddenly yawned.
Minato frowned, pausing in gathering up his belongings. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed us so hard last night.”
On a normal expedition to Tartarus, he would’ve called it a night after a few floors, but the next full moon was approaching. And the fight during the last full moon had been tough enough already. And while Ken was good at revitalizing them, he still preferred to take Yukari with him. Even if it meant that... Junpei would give them grief over that. Still, he knew that his girlfriend was right. He had been pushing himself and the others too hard. It’s no wonder why he was always tired.
“Hey, I know you’re doing it to keep us safe, but sometimes you need to take a break, you know?” she said with a warm smile, before grabbing his hand. She rubbed her thumb over his hand. “Why don’t we go to the dorm and rest for a bit?”
“Yeah you’re right,” he nodded, before getting up and following her out as she held his hand.
When was the last time he had gone straight back to the dorm? If it wasn’t doing something with his clubs, it was hanging out with his friends. Sometimes it surprised Minato just how many people he had befriended since moving back to Port Island.
And he then actually got to befriend the girl in front of him. Their relationship wasn’t the best at first since she had literally pointed a gun at him… well, it was an Evoker, but he didn’t know the difference at the time.
Now that he looked back on it the memory was a funny one, he had been so apathetic back then. He even remembered Yukari berating him for not caring whether or not the Shadow got them. And even then, she had saved his life without thinking about it. At the time, he hadn’t understood. Especially when the Shadow had almost killed her for her efforts.
But for Yukari to have been as patient as she was with him… he would argue that he didn’t deserve her kindness. In a way, she taught him what it meant to care for those around him again. He had something to fight for now, even if he now pushed himself too hard from time to time.
“Are you daydreaming now that you can’t dream in your sleep?” Yukari’s amused voice snapped him out of his musings.
Minato just shook his head. “Not daydreaming... just thinking.”
“About?” she asked, tilting her head as she gave him a quizzical look.
“It’s nothing important,” he tried to wave off the questioning tone in her voice.
Yukari just raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t push the matter at least. Maybe it was because they had just about arrived at the train station. They showed the attendant their school passes as they approached the gates. Honestly, Minato was glad that the trains weren’t nearly as packed as Tokyo’s. He had lived there once a few years back and Minato wasn’t a fan of being packed in like sardines.
But the trains always had seats open. He and Yukari managed to snag a couple of seats near the front. It wasn’t long before the train set off.
“How’s archery club, Yukari?” he asked, curious.
He would occasionally visit Yukari when she was at the archery club. She really was a great shot. He remembered her letting him give it a try. He hadn’t realized that it was so difficult, even when Yukari tried to coach him. Personally, he’d prefer to stick to swordsmanship.
Yukari seemed surprised by his question. “Well, Akemi-senpai commented on how much I’ve been improving.”
Minato just chuckled. “Well, when you have to hit moving targets, shooting at something that just sits there should be a cinch.”
Yukari giggled. “Yeah. What about you? How’s kendo?”
It was nice to just talk with her. Minato realized that he hadn’t gotten to do that lately. He couldn’t help but feel a little guilty about that like he was neglecting his girlfriend. Though if she had her complaints she hadn’t voiced them, not that it made it any better, but he wondered how she felt about it.
He looked at her and couldn’t but notice the sun’s golden light illuminating her face. She was gazing out of the window, her eyes glowing with delight as she took in the breathtaking view of the ocean. He was taken aback by just how beautiful she looked. Sometimes he wondered how he lucked out with her. She noticed him staring and her cheeks flushed, turning a rosy pink.
“What are you looking at?” she asked.
“T-The ocean?” Minato stammered out.
Yukari narrowed her eyes at him, not pleased by his lame excuse. “Uh-huh. Wanna try again?”
Minato wasn’t one to blush often, but when he did, it was usually something really embarrassing. Minato hated how obvious it was too, with how pale his complexion was.
“...Well, I got nothing,” Minato thought with embarrassment.
“Sheesh... you’re just too embarrassing,” Yukari grumbled, still blushing.
“I just couldn’t help it,” Minato said sheepishly.
This just made Yukari’s cheeks turn a bright shade of red.
“Do you have to do it in public?” she complained.
“So you’d be okay with it if we were alone?” Minato thought to himself.
...Junpei was really rubbing off on him.
An awkward silence fell between the two teens. Minato struggled with what to say next, but Yukari looked even more embarrassed. She was even covering her blushing face with one hand.
Minato coughed. “D-Don’t laugh but... I just thought you looked so beautiful in that moment. I couldn’t help but stare.”
Somehow Yukari’s face got even redder as she slowly dropped her hand. “Where did you get that line from, a pick-up line book from Junpei?”
“Akihiko-senpai, actually,” he said lightly.
Okay, not really, but he still remembered the recording of Akihiko reading from the pick-up line book. Minato couldn’t help but wonder if Akihiko had someone in mind when he was ‘practicing’. Minato had noticed that his attention had been drawn to Mitsuru during Yakushima but... Minato couldn’t really blame him.
“Akihiko-senpai?!” Yukari sputtered, her mouth falling open. “W-Wait, and you decided to actually read it?! Seriously?”
“Uhh yeah? It seems to be working anyway,” Minato pointed out. “With how red your face is.”
“S-Shut up!” she retorted, smacking his arm.
Minato couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. She was really too cute. He liked that only he got to see this side of her, though. He still remembered how coy Yukari was when she commented to him that people seeing them together might make them think that they were now going out.
“You really get a kick out making me flustered, don’t you?” she said, her lips forming an adorable pout.
“Only sometimes,” he joked. “Most of the time you do it to yourself.”
Yukari playfully smacked his shoulder. Before she could even refute his point the subway announcer had announced their arrival to Iwatodai.
“Oh, that’s our stop,” Yukari said, blinking in surprise.
“It went by faster than usual,” Minato remarked.
His girlfriend nodded and took his hand as they exited the train. The walk to the dorms was a short one as they left the station. They climbed the stone steps of the dorms and let themselves in. No one seemed to be present in the lobby.
Not even Koromaru was around. Maybe someone was out walking him? Or maybe he was napping in someone’s room. He knew that Shinjiro-senpai and Ken both let him sleep in their rooms on occasion.
“What a day…” Yukari let out a relaxed sigh, before plopping down on the couch.
Minato quickly joined her. “So... what do you want to do? Watch something on TV?”
Yukari chuckled. “Sure, but there’s more kid’s stuff on right now. I remember catching Ken-kun watching Feathermen once. I thought he was going to die of embarrassment.”
Minato couldn’t help but laugh. “I haven’t watched much of it, but isn’t that show geared towards his age group?”
Yukari shook her head, a fond smile curling at her lips. “You know how Ken-kun is. He tries to look grown-up by drinking black coffee.”
“Oh yeah, I remember. He scrunched his face the last he had it but he kept claiming that he thought it was good. I think Shinjiro-senpai had to hide the coffee beans after that...”
“At least he wasn’t gullible enough to try it with hot sauce like you claimed you drank it with,” Yukari teased.
“He looked so serious about drinking black coffee!” Minato protested. “He was practically asking for it. Though I guess that wasn't the best joke to crack.”
“Yeah… it wasn't,” she chuckled, smiling at him. “But maybe we can just channel surf, see what’s on?”
Minato listened to her, picking up the remote and flipping through the various channels on the small box.
Yukari suddenly gasped as Minato suddenly flipped to some random cheesy romance flick.
“Oooh, I love this one!” she gushed, grabbing onto Minato's arm.
Minato squinted at the screen. “This is a Destiny movie, isn’t it?”
“Shush! Destiny makes great movies!”
He shot her an amused smile and shrugged slightly. “If you say so.”
But since Yukari wanted to watch it, he put down the remote. He then leaned back against the couch, smiling as Yukari curled close to him.
Even though the movie was entertaining at times, Minato found his attention drifting away. Romance was okay, but it wasn’t something he preferred to watch. It wasn’t long until his eyelids were starting to grow heavy...
Yukari felt warm.
She hadn’t felt this relaxed in a long time. And yet, Yukari could slowly feel her drowsiness fade. She slowly blinked her eyes open.
A soft mumbling suddenly reached her ears. Then she had realized what was going on. She had her head resting against the crook of Minato’s neck. Yukari suddenly felt herself blush furiously.
G-God, this was just so embarrassing!
She looked around nervously, looking from corner to corner and much to her surprise no one was present. Until she heard pots being moved around in the kitchen. She could see a shadow emerge from the corner of the small make-shift hall. She pretended to be fast asleep, dropping her head against Minato’s shoulder. But she watched Shinjiro-senpai through her eyelashes.
She heard Shinjiro-senpai click his tongue.
“They’re seriously still sleeping? Well none of my business, but what slackers... Or maybe they just need to eat healthier if they have no energy.” He put his hand on his chin, contemplating what he could cook up for dinner. “Tch. I wouldn’t put it past Arisato to eat crap like Aki’s beef bowls. Well, guess it’s up to me to make a real meal.”
Yukari had to will her face to remain neutral. Seriously, Shinjiro-senpai was not slick at all. Everyone knew about his soft spot for Koromaru. She had even caught him buying dog toys for Koromaru once. She also remembered coming back with Fuuka one time. Shinjiro-senpai had put a cooking magazine over his face, pretending to sleep. Even if Koromaru hadn't been a snitch... it was very obvious.
As if her thoughts had summoned him, Koromaru’s barks suddenly filled the lobby. But Shinjiro-senpai suddenly shushed him.
“Pipe down, Koro-chan. Arisato and Takeba are sleeping. And you know how Arisato is about his sleep. And Takeba is as grouchy as a hungry bear when she gets ticked off. Don’t think she’d like getting caught in this position.”
“Well, it’s not like you’re sunshine and rainbows, Senpai!” Yukari grumbled to herself.
Oooh, just wait until later. She’d get back at him for this. Hmph.
She then heard his footsteps fade away, giving Yukari a moment to relax. At least he had bought it... But suddenly she felt something warm and wet against her hand.
Koromaru then barked, telling her all she needed to know.
She then heard the front door open.
“Hello? Is anyone home?” Ken called out.
Koromaru then barked in greeting, his tail thumping against the couch for a moment before he jumped off.
“Hey there, Koro-chan,” Ken greeted, sounding happy to see the pooch. “Is anyone else home?”
Another bark.
“Oh, I didn’t see Minato-san and Yukari-san there. They must be tired.”
He casually walked past them and went into the kitchen, presumably to grab a snack.
Okay, at least it was Ken. It’d be terrible if it was Mitsuru or worse— Junpei. The older girl would’ve just lectured them but Junpei... His teasing would just get even worse and she didn’t even want to begin to imagine it.
But now she had to figure out how to wake up Minato before that happened.
And then the door opened once more.
“Hey, Mitsuru and I are back!” Akihiko abruptly called out. “Anyone home?”
Yukari wanted to facepalm. Ugh! Why did she have to jinx them?! And somehow Minato was still fast asleep.
Koromaru greeted them with a bark. Ken then walked out, greeting the two upperclassmen as well.
“Is anyone else home?” Mitsuru asked. “It seems quite deserted today.”
“Um, well, Shinjiro-san is in the kitchen. And Yukari-san and Minato-san are sleeping on the couch,” Ken answered.
“ Ken, why?!” Yukari lamented to herself.
What did she ever do to him?! She always thought that she was super nice to him!
Akihiko remarked, “Minato is already back? Color me surprised. He’s always running around, doing who knows what.”
“Akihiko!” Mitsuru’s voice turned to scolding. “That’s not the point here!”
“Huh? What’s wrong?” Ken asked.
Oh to be young and innocent... You could practically see the question marks floating around his head.
“They’re just sleeping, Mitsuru-san. They’re not even ‘making out’ on the couch like Junpei-san said we’re bound to see them do.”
Junpei said WHAT?! And why was he telling this to Ken of all people?! Ugh, she was going to get him for this!
Ken then paused.
“...What’s making out?” he asked.
“Iori said what?!” Mitsuru demanded a response from the little boy.
Ken just quivered as he got an icy glare from her.
Akihiko did his best to diffuse the situation. “Come on, Mitsuru, it’s just Junpei being Junpei. Besides, they’re not doing anything wrong , aren’t they like going out or something?”
She should be surprised that Akihiko was clueless about them going out but... she really wasn’t. After all, he was completely oblivious to his fangirls.
Still, she shook her head. Normally she would’ve woken up those two, but at this rate, she would only make herself look ridiculous.
They all gathered in the kitchen and Yukari finally felt herself relax after all that commotion. She slowly moved, before poking Minato awake.
“Hey, Minato!” she whispered. “Wake up!”
The blue-haired teen grumbled quietly, not wanting to wake up from his sleep. He purposefully turned away to avoid her further poking.
“Oh come on, Minato!” she raised her voice slightly. “The others already spotted us, we have to get up and go!”
Minato opened his eyes to look around, but his vision was still a bit blurry. He rubbed his eyes, letting out a loud yawn. His girlfriend immediately put a finger over his mouth. She really didn’t want the others to find them awake right now. It was bad enough that they were caught, but she was already too embarrassed to stick around any longer.
“Greetings,” Aigis suddenly stated.
Yukari turned around to meet her gaze to see Aigis descending the stairs. She had been at the dorm the whole time?! Or maybe Aigis had gotten here while they were sleeping... Either way, they were going to be in big trouble.
“ Isn’t this just great?” Yukari sighed to herself. “What did I do to deserve this?”
Thankfully, Akihiko and Mitsuru were too occupied with their... debate to notice what was going on. Not to mention that Ken was looking between the two of them like a tennis match. Sometimes it astounded her how unobservant the two upperclassmen could be. But then she caught her boyfriend mumbling out something.
“Wait... Is he... sleep talking?” Yukari thought in disbelief.
“Don’t slap me, Yukari...” Minato mumbled out. “I didn’t mean to stare. Why are we even in this fancy room?”
Yukari felt her cheeks flare up in embarrassment. Was Minato dreaming about that mission?!
“You can’t be serious, I can’t believe he remembers that of all things!” she groaned to herself.
“Do you still wish to escape? I can tell Akihiko-san and Mitsuru-san to look the other way,” Aigis asked, oblivious to Yukari’s embarrassment.
Yukari pressed her index finger on her forehead and let out another sigh. “Thanks, Aigis, but that won’t really help us here.”
Sometimes she had to wonder at Aigis’s thinking process. It was weird, since she was usually so logical. Then again she did have the right idea in mind, just not the best solution…
“Oh! Then perhaps I utilize my artillery and create a distraction that Akihiko-san, Mitsuru-san, and Ken-san must address?”
“What?! Aigis, no!” Yukari hissed. “That’s not necessary!”
She said that louder than she wanted to. She covered her mouth with her hands and looked around nervously, hoping that she hadn’t attracted the others' attention.
“So you’re finally awake, Takeba,” Mitsuru said sternly.
Oh crap.
Yukari shrunk under her gaze.
“Uh...”
Aigis just tilted her head. “I do not understand. What is so wrong about them slumbering? Humans need at least eight hours to function properly, yes? But with us visiting Tartarus last night, that was not viable. Minato-san and Yukari-san were just recuperating.”
“Aigis you’re a lifesaver!”
Koromaru then suddenly barked several times, catching Aigis’s attention for some reason.
“And Koromaru-san would like to report that Shinjiro-san also approves of them. He watched them with such a gentle gaze... almost motherly in a way.”
A loud noise of metal crashing against the floor could be heard at that moment.
“W-What?” It was at that moment that Minato finally woke up, blinking sleepily at Yukari.
“Wait, was that Shinji?” Akihiko asked.
But then Shinjiro suddenly came stomping out.
“That little snitch...” Shinjiro huffed out of frustration.
“So it’s true then?” Mitsuru gave Shinjiro an icy glare.
“I, uh...” Shinjiro swallowed hard. “I don’t have to tell you shit, Mitsuru.”
“Now you’ve done it, you idiot,” Akihiko sighed, shaking his head.
“Shut it, Aki,” Shinjiro snarled out.
“Shinjiro!” Mitsuru snapped. “This is inappropriate behavior!”
“I’m still confused...” Ken mumbled out.
“For hell’s sake, Mitsuru, they were just sleeping!” Shinjiro argued. “They’re tired, that’s it. Why do you think they came back early? I bet you good money that Takeba was the one who convinced him to do it and all she had to do was pout at him..”
“Hey, that’s not true!” Yukari objected.
Minato yawned. “She asked very nicely.”
“Not helping, Minato!” Yukari huffed out. “ Anyway! I apologize, Mitsuru-senpai, nothing happened, all we did was watch some TV and fell asleep that’s it. I swear ! I noticed that Minato was tired during school today so I convinced him that a little break would be good for him.”
“We can’t have our leader be tired, especially so close to the full moon,” Akihiko agreed.
Mitsuru let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand through her hair.
“I suppose... you’re right,” she grumbled out. “Still, there’s a reason why we don’t allow it. Although I expected Iori to break the rule first if I’m completely honest.”
“Is that what Junpei-san calls roasting?” Aigis pondered.
“Roasting?” Mitsuru repeated, looking baffled.
“It’s a term where you insult a certain person,” Aigis explained.
“That is not the intended definition!” Mitsuru argued. “That’s just ludicrous!”
“It’s slang!” Shinjiro cried. “Are you serious, Mitsuru?”
“To be fair, slang can be pretty weird,” Minato pointed out.
“But anyways!” Mitsuru coughed. “Arisato, Takeba, I believe you. However... this does not give you leave to sneak into each other’s room! If I catch even just a whiff of anything actually inappropriate... you will be begging for my usual punishment . Understood?”
At that, Akihiko paled considerably. “Y-You should listen to her.”
Shinjiro deadpanned, “Still a wuss about that, huh, Aki?”
“I feel so left out of the loop...” Ken mumbled out.
“Do not fret, Amada, you always behave so well. I know that you will never misbehave like certain people,” Mitsuru said with a rather odd tone.
“I apologized!” Akihiko shouted. “Several times!”
“You two...” Shinjiro grumbled out.
Ken opened his mouth but Shinjiro held up a hand.
“Trust me, Ken... you don’t wanna know.”
“But... it’s Akihiko-san,” Ken said. “What would he do?”
Akihiko and Mitsuru both looked rather embarrassed. Yukari had to wonder what had gone on to bring on this reaction. But at the same time, she could sympathize with them.
Minato then stood up. “We should really go freshen up, though,” he excused themselves.
Koromaru then barked.
“Yes, Koromaru-san says that Shinjiro-san has been preparing quite a delicious meal for everyone,” Aigis announced. “Quite a pity that Fuuka-san and Junpei-san aren’t here.”
Shinjiro choked at that. “Koro-c—I-I mean, Koromaru!”
He glowered at the pooch.
“Stop making up shit, a’right?”
Mitsuru sighed. “Shinjiro, don’t even try to deny it. We all know that you cooked for us all for the party we had a few days ago.”
“Shut up!”
“But concerning Junpei and Fuuka—we could always check up on them,” Akihiko pointed out, ignoring his best friend’s outburst. “Just give them a call.”
“B-But anyways, Minato’s right, we gotta freshen up!” Yukari said hastily.
She then grabbed Minato by the hand before dragging him up the stairs.
“God, I’ve never been so embarrassed...” Yukari moaned out.
“It could’ve ended worse,” Minato said.
“I swear you’re the worst sometimes…”
Yukari just pouted. She really questioned just how he could be so unfazed about everything.
“Only sometimes? ” Minato joked before rubbing the back of his head. “Okay, okay I’m sorry. I’m just glad Mitsuru-senpai didn’t do anything… Akihiko-senpai looked too pale for a second there.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. I’ve never seen him be so scared of her like that. Usually, he jokes with her a lot.”
Yukari then thought about what it could be and for one reason or another she thought it may have been similar to her situation with Minato. She immediately shook her head, casting the thought aside. That was more than enough embarrassment for one single day.
“This was nice though,” Minato commented.
“Getting caught by everyone was nice?” Yukari said in disbelief.
“Well... more the relaxing with you,” Minato amended. “We haven’t been spending as much time as we should be...”
Yukari blushed. “Well... I don’t want to be a clingy girlfriend, you know? And you have a few clubs and student council...”
“I still want to spend more time with you,” Minato said sincerely. “Maybe we can make this a weekly thing.”
Yukari smiled.
“I’d like that. We’ll just have to be more careful about it though.”
“We’ll rent a hotel room next time, then,” Minato teased.
Yukari rolled her eyes. “As long as it’s not the hotel we went to in July.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Come on, we really should freshen up. Shinjiro-senpai’s cooking is really the best and I don’t want Akihiko-senpai and Junpei to steal the best parts!”
He nodded and walked her to her room before heading back to his own. Today had been quite the eventful afternoon, but at least he got to spend it with her. And he couldn’t help but smile because of that.
