Chapter 26: Memories by the Sea

7/20/09-Monday

The exchange they had earlier took a load off his chest. He'd never admit that to Junpei though. But after everything, they didn't really talk much afterward. It wasn't an awkward silence, but a quiet understanding, or at least that was what he would like to think. There was that, and they were also busy with their settling in.

They were almost finished with unpacking. In the first place, Minato didn't really bring much, so he finished in an instant. It was Junpei who brought a lot, so he offered a hand in unpacking, but as he took out his items, he kept wondering what were they for. Example, there were three sets of water pistols? What was he, a kid? And then there was that deflated beach ball. Why'd he brought that? Minato was pretty sure they had one in the beach house. He also brought a whole ton of clothes. He figured that such amount would last a month, and there were even a number of out of season ones.

In the end, he shrugged. It was Junpei, what else to expect?

Just then, the person in question broke the longstanding silence.

"Oh yeah, about the other day..." Junpei rubbed the back of his head, his words felt carefully chosen, as if he was treading a sensitive topic, "y'know, the one with Shinjiro-senpai. I hoped you didn't do anything after I left? Please tell me you went straight home afterward...?"

"Ah, that? Don't worry, I just ate out with Shinjiro-senpai and had a little talk." Minato didn't seem bothered by the topic at all, "we had a mutual understanding."

"That's good then... haha..." but then, he did a double-take, "wait- what?! W-what's that mean?!"

Minato cocked his head, confused by his friend's overreaction, "I don't think that warranted that much reaction? It means what it means? It was mutual."

His friend's mouth was agape, Minato really didn't understand why he was reacting as such. Before anyone of them could give another reply, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"I am sorry to disturb you, but Miss Kirijo's friends are being called to a meeting. I will be the one to show the way."

The voice was of a female's, most likely one of the maids.

"Alright, we'll be out in a few minutes." Minato replied, picking up his shirt.

Despite the nonchalant attitude he had always placed on everything he encountered, what he heard was difficult to swallow. Hearing that the Dark Hour was created from an experiment-gone-wrong was quite a shock back then; but hearing the full details was difficult to believe.

Time manipulation device? -That was something one would only hear from fiction. Then again, they were battling creatures supposedly born from people's hearts. Still, if a time machine were to be created, he himself admittedly would have wanted a piece of that. The possibility of changing the past was a wish he had always had because naturally, who wouldn't want that? Everyone probably had something in their past that they would want to change, right? Words they wanted to take back, actions they regret... to change the past would be a very coveted wish of many humans.

But that's all it was- a wish. To change the past would mean altering the present and the future, and doing so would destroy them as if they never existed. That, in itself, was a frightening thought as well.

All he could do was to listen intently. A small piece of hope sprouted in him at that time, but he made sure to crush it immediately.

The past cannot be changed. It must not be changed.

He was too deep in such thoughts, that before he realized it, the video was over.

Takeharu Kirijo, Mitusuru's father, had played a recording of a scientist from the experiment 10 years ago. The man from the recording explained why he sabotaged the research, and that they were supposed to go after all twelve Arcana Shadows. Well, that part, they already knew thanks to the Chairman. However, another information that Mr. Kirijo mentioned took him quite off guard- the name of the scientist, Eiichiro Takeba.

Takeba? Minato immediately looked over to Yukari's direction, and her face had a whole mix of different emotions. He was never really one to be good at telling what other people were thinking or what they were feeling, but he could tell that there was anger, sadness and guilt on the girl at the moment.

He knew those feelings very well.

"So that means... my dad caused it all...?" she almost choked on her own words, "The Dark Hour, Tartarus...the people who died in that incident... it was all his fault...?".

"Y-you okay?" Akihiko looked worried as he tried to reach out to her.

But Yukari stepped back, "so that's why you were hiding this...?" her words were directed at Mitsuru, "Because you felt sorry for me? Is that it!?".

"No, Takeba, I..."

Mitsuru tried to reply, but she probably couldn't find the right words. That didn't matter though, since the brunette ran off the next moment. The female senior could do nothing more but hang her head low.

"Um...shouldn't someone go after her?" it was Fuuka who managed to speak out first. She looked genuinely worried for her friend.

No one replied, but a moment later, the red-haired senior spoke up, "will you go...?"

Honestly, he didn't understand why he was the one she asked to go after her. To begin with, he was not exactly the most accommodating person. He was quiet, insensitive, and unsociable- or at least, that's how he saw himself.

Yes, yes, he was aware of himself, no one had the need to point it out.

That said, she could have asked Jun- no, he shook his head. Junpei might make things worse, or even awkward.

Mitsuru herself couldn't go either, for obvious reasons.

In that case, there's Fuuka. They're friends so she could go after... once more, he shook his head. After thinking a bit, while Fuuka may be a good choice, it might be hard for her to go. She has always been withdrawn and softspoken, so putting her in such a situation might be difficult for her.

Well then there's still Akihiko-senpai? He- no. Minato scratched his head, what was he thinking? There's no way his senpai, could handle such a situation. He may be popular in school, but he's actually even more unsociable than he was.

He sighed. It seemed that he really was the only choice, huh? If only Minako was around, she definitely could comfort Yukari.

No, even she couldn't have. Minako didn't know about the Dark Hour. She had nothing to do with the Dark Hour, and he'd rather have it stay as such. He would never want to put that kind of burden on her. If he could, he'll take all the burden for himself.

"Ah..." it didn't really take long before he finally located Yukari.

The girl was at the beach, all curled up.

"There you are" he started, "let's go back. Everyone's worried."

"But not you, huh? Figures..."

"...?" he cocked his head, unable to understand what she meant.

"Never mind..." she buried her face between her knees, "you'd never understand. I saw your face earlier you know... as usual, you were unfazed."

Minato couldn't reply. He wanted to tell her that she was wrong, that he was shocked by everything he learned, and that it gave him a lot to think about... and yet, it bothered him that she might be partly correct- he had no idea what kind of face he made.

There was silence.

"I believed in him for so long..."

Suddenly, she spoke again. Minato just stood behind her, hands in his pockets as he listened.

"This is too much... Have I told you? About how my dad died when I was little...?"

Minato pursed his lips, unsure if she did. Even if she did though, he probably hadn't had listened, and the thought alone made him feel a bit guilty. He never really cared about anyone or anything other than his sister, so before his arrival in Port Island, he didn't pay any attention to his surroundings. Now, it dawned to him- that wasn't the only reason why. He didn't try to care about her thoughts back then, nor her past, nor about anyone for that matter, because he had always felt that only his sister would accept him. After confiding with Junpei, he felt a weight being lifted off his chest.

Now... he felt that he wanted to listen.

Once more, he nodded. The boy did manage to piece it together- that her father, having been involved with the Dark Hour, must have had his death covered up with a false story. He could only imagine what kind of backlash the family he left behind received after that. Yukari went on and told him about her mother, and how she dated one man and then another, and because she couldn't stomach it anymore, Yukari moved out to live on her own.

The girl continued to speak, and Minato listened intently this time. Somehow, her story reminded him of his own. At the back of his mind, Minato thought that he'd tell her about him one day, just to be fair. Yes, just to be fair.

"I was scared, but I thought if I cooperated with the Kirijo Group, I might find out what really happened. That's why I agreed to fight using my Persona." Yukari continued, "But, it turns out... all of that was for nothing..."

The boy felt sadness in her voice. He knew she was holding back her tears. For someone who had always had trouble reading and understanding other people, it was strange how suddenly, he could feel what she did... as if they're connected. Perhaps, it was part of awakening to his Persona? No, it was more likely because he had decided to open up himself.

He tried to reach out to her, but hesitated, "that's not true. What you've done wasn't just nothing."

Well, he still wasn't good with his words though.

"Haha, you're just trying to make me feel better."

At least that made her smile, even a bit. He felt good to be able to do that.

But then, her smile twisted into a bitter one, "why does reality have to be so harsh? I tried to fight my fear, and this is what I get...maybe I'm just jealous of Mitsuru-senpai. I mean, why my father and not hers?" tears formed at the edge of her eyes, "Haha, I'm a horrible person, aren't I?"

"Don't say that" he clenched his fists, "you've been through a lot, so..." he wasn't sure what he was saying anymore, but he knew that they were his honest feelings toward the matter, "so you don't have to be harsh on yourself. You've-"

"Hmph. Well, you're just Mr. Perfect." suddenly, she cut into his words, "You've got the nerve to try and tell me how I feel?! You never really cared about anything, don't you? You think you know me!? You don't know anything!"

*SLAP*

He wasn't sure what came over him, but before he knew it, his hand just moved on his own. The nonchalant expression on his face suddenly twisted into a bitter smile.

"Mr. Perfect, huh? Is that your idea of a joke?" he made a self-depreciating laugh, "then if you think you're terrible, I must be worse...?" the words just kept coming out, "I was the one who messed up everything! It was all my fault that we lost everything, and yet... I still have the gall to stay by Minako's side despite what I've done to her...!"

Yukari seemed to have clammed up, having been caught off guard by his sudden outburst.

"I've been a coward all my life." his voice was filled with emotions, bitter emotions that he had kept locked up. Despite that, he didn't let it overcome him, his voice wavered a bit, as he tried to control all that was pent up inside. "All I've ever done was watch, and even now, instead of acting on it, I just try to avoid it. I'm pathetic." He knew his words would confuse her. He knew she wouldn't know what he was pertaining to, but at that point, they were for her as much as it was for him.

Minato didn't understand why her words riled him up like that, it just was not like him, but... they just did.

... Perhaps he saw himself in her somehow? Self-depreciating, isolated, and bitter.

"Of course. Of course I don't know." he continued to speak, "I don't know how it felt how your father died. I don't know how it felt when your mother jumped from one man to another because of it. What I do know is how it feels to lose your everything in one night, be hated so much to be forgotten. I know how it feels to be ridiculed everyday, blamed for something you wanted to believe you haven't done. I know how it feels to not have a place you can call home." He took a sharp breath, "the best I could do is sympathize."

His voice seemed to have calmed down.

"But it's different now. For both you and me." he held out his hand to her, "I- no," Minato shook his head, "We didn't have anyone to lean on. We didn't have a home, but now we do. You have us."

The girl blinked.

Perhaps she was surprised by the outburst, and then the sudden calmness that he showed her. It was as if he let out everything lodged in him in one burst.

A calm after the storm? The phrase was wrong, but whatever. It was as if he burned out all her feelings for her.

For a moment, Yukari simply stared at his hand. Finally, she smiled, wiping the tears at the edge of her eyes. She then accepted the hand he held out to her. Her face had a tint of bright red.

It looked as though there was so much she wanted to tell him at the moment, yet none would come out. Her lips were shut tight. The color of the bright red ocean behind him suddenly seemed beautiful under the sickly green colored sky.

It was such a strange, yet calming moment. Minato drew closer to her... and gave her hand a sudden tug, "I see Junpei on his way here. Let's ditch him."

7/21/09-Tuesday

It was early morning and the skies were bright, perfect for the forest walk they agreed upon. The things they learned that night was almost but a dream, though he knew full well that it was reality.

"Sorry about yesterday, did it hurt?"

And then, there was that.

His expression was pretty stiff, though she had probably figured by then that that was just how he was.

She simply shook her head and replied, "don't worry, I'm fine. It was nothing compared to Shadow attacks."

The atmosphere between them was very awkward, and it was only after a good night's sleep that he realized what he did and said. That was the barest he'd ever been to anyone, and honestly, he suddenly felt like vomiting.

"Still... 'You have us' huh? I never imagined to hear such cheesy lines from you" the girl chuckled, having tried to copy his voice.

He felt his cheeks grow warm, "you don't have to repeat it...".

"It's pretty refreshing to see a new side of you though."

"It's the death of me."

"I liked it."

"... Just stop."

Suddenly, silence again.

"Oh, so listen to this..." perhaps Fuuka felt the awkward air around them and tried to break it, so she decided to speak up, "Junpei was acting like such a pervert yesterday, and I didn't know how to react... it's probably a good thing we came out here by ourselves."

"Huh?" Yukari seemed to have been taken aback, as if she suddenly recalled that Mitsuru and Fuuka were also with them, "... Oh, yeah..."

Minato, on the other hand, turned his back on the two girls, while pretending to gaze at the trees.

The awkward silence didn't last any longer than that, however, when everyone's eyes and ears turned their attention to the last member of the group- "Uh, Mitsuru... We have a slight problem." - the voice wasn't hers though, but it came from her phone. It was Ikutsuki.

"Well, I'm at the lab here on the island..." the man continued over the phone, "and a machine that was considered inoperable suddenly left the facility on its own..."

"A machine...?" Yukari repeated.

"What kind of machine is it?" the second to speak was Fuuka, "I need detailed information to locate anything other than Shadows." the very first reaction for her was to act about it, which quite impressed Minato.

"It's a combat vehicle-" once more, Ikutsuki continued over Mitsuru's phone to answer Fuuka's inquiry, "an anti-Shadow weapon to be precise."

Since the girls went and said what's on his mind, the only boy of the group decided to stand by and listen in. He looked disinterested, though to say that he didn't care would be a lie. With all the recent revelations, the existence of an anti-Shadow weapon wouldn't have been very surprising. Still, with the existence of such thing- wouldn't that help them with their missions? Why was something so valuable never brought up, nor mentioned to them?

He could only come up with three conclusions:

one- it was very inefficient or costly that mass producing such weapons was not do-able. Considering that it was the Kirijo Group though, he figured resource was not an issue. Now, rarity of the resource would have been a different story.

Second- the weapons they developed were ineffective against Shadows. Simple as that.

Third- the most likely reason he thought out was malfunction. Perhaps something was wrong with the weapons? Like an anti-Shadow laser beam that explodes on the user? That kind of malfunction.

In any case, the Chairman was insistent on not destroying it. Minato understood, after all, developing something like that- an anti-Shadow combat vehicle, was it? Developing that would have cost a fortune. He never was one to care about money or anything, but he wasn't really keen on destroying something that probably cost more that what he'd ever make in his lifetime.

After the Chairman's call ended, the group decided to split up to cover more ground; Mitsuru was to grab some equipment from the beach house, Fuuka was going to try and use her Persona to scan the island, and Yukari surprisingly went with Mitsuru. Perhaps his little talk with her that night helped? As for him though...

"I'll go look for the others." Minato volunteered, "I'll contact you when I find everyone."

"Affirmative. Let's meet back here once everyone's gathered up." Mitsuru nodded.

With that, everyone dispersed.

The previous day, he recalled Junpei going on and on about picking up girls at the beach despite his warning. That meant free ramen for him, like he predicted. In any case, thanks to that, he figured that they'd be there at the beach- which they weren't. He didn't really think it through when he volunteered to find the two boys, but he also didn't really think they'd be hard to find.

After a while, Minato arrived near the docks. The area was devoid of other people- or so he thought.

It was there where he saw that girl.

The girl was wearing a blue dress, and had a short, blonde hair. He couldn't see her face, but for some reason, he felt something inside him stir the moment he saw her. It was almost as if his feet moved on their own as he walked closer to the girl, one step at a time.

It was really strange. A strange feeling of nostalgia, as if he had seen her before.

"Hey-" his mouth opened, as he tried to reach out to the girl.

The moment she turned around, he was rendered speechless. She was pretty, even he could tell- her face was almost doll like. He felt that it wasn't her appearance that made him freeze altogether, but rather, it was that weird feeling in his head that had been trying to break free. It was that feeling when you know the answer to a question that's at the tip of your tongue, yet can't get it out no matter how hard you try to rattle your head. A memory that's been suppressed.

"You are..." he snapped back to himself when the girl suddenly spoke, "Initiating evasive maneuver. Confirmation must be made at a secure location..."

And she suddenly ran off.

What was that about? Minato blinked.

Oh. Maybe it was one of those things Junpei told him about- about how he's so unaware of himself? About how he often scared off people with his stare or with his words.

Maybe he scared her off? He didn't say anything offensive though? Or at least he thought he didn't. He definitely didn't.

Maybe it was his face? He did stare at her long.

...

Right. He did the creepy thing again. It was good that Junpei wasn't around to tease him about it.

He could also be wrong altogether. The problem might not be him, the girl did speak in a weird manner. Her almost otherworldly face didn't look Japanese neither, so she might have been a foreigner? That was the more likely conclusion.

Minato nodded to himself in satisfaction- he wasn't the problem this time. The path to normalhood was within his reach.

And then he recalled- what he was supposed to be doing. It's been a while since he split up with the girls to look for the boys, so they might be back. With a sigh, he decided to head back to the place they decided to meet up.

Come to think of it, that was the same direction the girl ran toward.

He wasn't sure how he ended up in that situation; to have a girl say "My highest priority is to be with you!" - was the last thing he imagined to hear being said to him. Rather, those words were something he could imagine himself saying to Minako.

But it just happened. It just happened right there and then, in front of him, at the very moment.

"WHAT!? I can't believe this!"

And guess what? Junpei was there too. The whole party's there, except for Mitsuru. The girls, Yukari and Fuuka, and even Akihiko were present.

Why was it that when he wasn't looking for them that they appeared? At such a strange timing too.

"What's going on...!?" Akihiko, for some reason, cared? "He didn't even say anything to her!"

"Who's that?" Yukari, for some reason, looked flustered, "what are you doing...?!"

"Umm... " How else was he supposed to explain that he came there to meet up with them when the girl suddenly *ambushed* him out of nowhere, wrapped her arms around him, declared words of commitment, and finally found himself in his current situation? "I have no idea what's going on, I have no idea who this is, and I have no idea what I'm doing, or rather, what is being done to me" he stated everything as if they were all just a matter-of-fact.

Around that time, the mysterious girl had finally let go of him.

"T-then how about you?" this time, Yukari's question was directed at the blonde girl, "how do you know him? You do know him, right?"

"He is one of my priorities." She stated flatly.

Everyone's mouth went agape. Minato was unfazed, or better put, looked rather lost in the conversation.

"I'm sorry for having you wait," just as the whole predicament seemed to be heading to nowhere, Mitsuru finally arrived, "but I need you all to go back to the house and prepare for battle."

"That won't be necessary…" behind her, the Chairman spoke, "looks like we've found what we were looking for."

All eyes were on him.

"I'm relieved you found Aigis," Ikutsuki began, "let's all head back, I'll explain everything over there. Additionally, I have something important to discuss..." he paused, and looked over to the blue-haired boy's direction, "it's about you, Minato."

This was one of the chapters that got wiped by FF T_T

I think the original one I made flowed better, but yeah... I didn't have any backups for it ORZ

Little trivia: I actually finished the original version of this chapter somewhat at the same time with the Lover's arc. The Lover's Arc, Who is Minako and this were already done around two or three years ago? That was, until it all got deleted T_T

ANYWAY- Minato is becoming more open to everyone now, and... is cringing over himself for it. Poor boy.

Minato: "Yes, that was very cringe-worthy. Can we skip to the ending, make me the Seal already and get this over with? Just kill me off now, please. You're doing me a favor here."

Sorry Minato, but we're not halfway through the story yet? Or are we? Nah. Definitely not halfway. It'll be by the time we finish this arc though.

Minato: "... I should be getting paid for this."

Oh, and yes, this was sort of a Minato x Yukari chapter ain't it? I still haven't really decided on Minato's uh... fate in love, so this chapter doesn't mean he'd end up with Yukari. There'll be a Fuuka chapter... someday, but yeah, the poll for his ship is still up on my profile. Still wouldn't mean the one with most votes would be the final pairing though ^^"

This marks the last of my promised weekly update though, so no chapter next week. Or the next... haha... ha... but it shouldn't take a year? ;^;

No previews this time since... the chapter's not ready just yet ORZ.

BrickSheep- thanks! Shinjiro will be getting more appearance in this arc, so... look forward to it...? XD