Well, the votes are in… *dramatic drum roll* …The brother role won! By a landslide, I might add. Heh heh…you guys like the allure of the taboo, eh? *Wiggles eyebrows* So, here it is: Minato's grand entrance. This chapter should be pretty interesting. Appearances by the rest of the S.E.E.S. gang, a discreetly jealous Shinji, and some liberties I took to fill in the holes left open about the MC's past. So basically my interpretation of some things that helped to shape Minako/Minato into who they are. Enjoy!

Ch.4: Brother Knows Best

When he'd walked out of class one day to find her standing there waiting, his gut told him he was about to get roped into something. Again.

One nervous half-smile pretty much confirmed his suspicions even before she opened her mouth. "Hi senpai," she greeted sheepishly, and he swore she was practically radiating relief when she laid eyes on him. "I uh, I'm sorry to show up on short notice…but do you wanna walk back with me? I need to make a stop and could really use some help."

Shinjiro, though reluctant, quickly grunted his assent. "Sure."

It wasn't hard to see that the persistent stares she was getting from his nosey classmates was making her uncomfortable. She gave him a look that spoke volumes of her gratitude, and when he turned to make his exit from the senior hall, crowds parting instantly at his approach, she was right on his heels.

They didn't speak until they were almost a block from the school and Shinjiro stopped abruptly. Minako, who had been nervously fiddling with the cord of her headphones, crashed into his back before scrambling away and yelping an apology. Shinjiro withheld the urge to roll his eyes.

"So what is it? You gonna tell me what you want or stare at your feet all day?" Her eyes quickly snapped up to meet his and the corner of her mouth twitched. One of her nervous ticks.

"A-actually I've got a pretty big favor I need to ask you senpai…" she began. "You know how when I caught you watching the cooking channel you made me swear not to tell anybody?"

Shinjiro eyed her levelly. "Arisato…are you trying to blackmail me?"

Minako's red eyes turned innocent and she frantically shook her head. "Wha? No! Of course not…I just figured since I didn't tell, you could maybe help me do some shopping?"

Shinjiro snorted derisively. "That's definitely blackmailing." Minako's shoulders slumped, already anticipating rejection. "What kinda shopping we talkin' about here? I mean, if you need help with clothes or something I really think you'd be better off asking Takeba or Mitsuru—"

"It's for a dinner I'm making tonight." She interjected, "A really special one. I just figured…since you were watching the cooking channel, maybe you like to cook too. And maybe you could help me get the perfect ingredients." Minako felt her face heating as Shinjiro eyed her carefully. "It's not that I don't know my way around a kitchen, it's just, I've never made this particular meal before…" she admitted, blushing softly. It was quiet between them as Shinjiro processed her words.

Whatever the reason behind this sudden decision to make dinner at the dorm, she was adamant. There was an almost distant look in her eyes he hadn't seen before. It occurred to him that there were likely still many sides of Minako he hadn't seen yet.

"Alright," Shinji said slowly, drawing her attention back to him. Minako's eyes instantly brightened and she opened her mouth to thank him before he interrupted, "I'll help you go get this stuff, but you mind telling me why this dinner has to be so special?"

The soft lips he'd been watching snapped close like a spring trap. The girl's sanguine eyes creased as she rubbed at the back of her neck. "Well, can we do the shopping first? I promise I'll tell you everything before we get back to the dorm."

By now, whether he wanted to admit it or not, Shinjiro was plenty curious. She was acting strange. Dodgy. But whatever, he respected privacy.

"Let's get goin'." he told her. "I'm guessing you want this thing done by the time everybody gets home?"

The girl nodded vigorously. Her senpai had an impressive ability to read people. "Yeah! Race you to the monorail!" she whooped, suddenly speeding off down the sidewalk as if she didn't have a care in the world.

Shinjiro watched, eyes blown wide. "Agh…" he scowled briefly, tugging his beanie down over his eyes in annoyance. How could she be so mellow and mature, and so childlike at the same time? A small smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. Maybe that was just part of Minako Arisato's charm.

~.XoXoXoXo.~

"Hmm…" Minako surveyed the things in the basket for what had to be the dozenth time since they came in the store. Shinjiro cast her a side glance, hands stuffed in his pocket as he watched her hold up two cans of broth. She really wasn't kidding when she said things had to be perfect, down to the very last block of tofu.

"So you've really never made a hot pot before?" he asked. "I always kinda thought that was just a staple of Japanese cuisine. You're bound to try makin' one at least once as a cook, right?"

Minako looked startled, as if she'd forgotten he was there. She blushed, avoiding his eyes as she set one of the cans into the cart. "W-well, it's weird right? I've made stuff way more complicated than hot pots before, but somehow this is the first time making something so simple. It's kind of embarrassing admitting that though. So I wanted to hold off on telling you." she giggled awkwardly.

Shinjiro shrugged, mercifully deciding to ignore her awkwardness. "Everybody starts somewhere. Nothin' to be ashamed of…"

The look of gratitude she gave him was almost unnerving. What was the big deal? She was acting…weird. Not that he knew a whole lot about what made her tick, but he just got that feeling that there was something more to all this. It wasn't his place to ask, though. Even if the curiosity was starting to worm its way into his head as he watched her move on to collect several other stock ingredients.

"Now we just need to get some fresh seafood right?" Minako glanced over her shoulder back at him. Shinjiro usually went shopping for what he needed by himself when he did cook. It was sort of embarrassing, trailing behind a girl while she muttered to herself and inspected canned items. Almost like…they were a couple.

'The hell?' Shinjiro banished the thought as quickly as it had come. He noticed Minako was still waiting for a response, eyebrows drawn together curiously, and offered a minute nod of acquiescence.

"Yeah…the seafood depends on what veggies you were gonna use though. Scallops are good with mushrooms. But with a stronger taste like mustard greens, you probably wanna get something like shrimp to balance it out. Fresh fish has a strong enough odor by itself, especially cod, so a blander vegetable would be fine. Mustard greens with cod might give it too strong an aroma. Oh, and chopped scallops are good with onions…" he trailed off as he realized that he was rambling off directions. Hopefully she didn't notice the pink on his cheeks; he wasn't used to giving cooking advice.

"Senpai," Minako breathed, eyes sparkling. "I had no idea…if I'd known you were so good at cooking, I would have asked you for help a lot sooner!" Shinjiro was no less flustered when she suddenly took hold of his arm and gave him a child-like stare of adoration.

"It ain't that big a deal…" he grumbled tersely, wishing she would just let go and stop looking at him liked a damned puppy. She was so close, the smell of warm peaches was invading his senses and it was hard to ignore the heat radiating off her slight form.

"Well, it's a plenty big deal to me. You don't always let others see it but you're a truly kind person. It's really no wonder Akihiko-senpai thinks of you so highly."

Shinjiro couldn't help but roll his eyes this time, freeing his arm from her grip with one firm tug. "Aki is a reckless fool. I've just gotten used to always having his back is all."

Minako gave him a knowing look. "That's not all it is though, is it? He's got your back too— otherwise he wouldn't have pushed so hard for you to come back to the dorm. I think…he was really worried about you. And he seems so much happier now that you're fighting with us. You guys are almost like brothers."

Shinjiro made a point of looking over her head to hide the smirk on his face. "Is that so?" he asked mockingly.

"Mm-hm," Minako took up her place pushing the basket again, and this time Shinjiro found himself walking to her side instead of behind her. She was no longer frantically pulling things off the shelf and thrusting them into his face to inspect. It was just a leisurely shopping trip. At the same time, it had evolved into something more.

"Shinjiro-senpai, I really appreciate you coming with me like this," he heard her say quietly.

"Don't mention—"

"And I feel like I owe you an explanation to what this is all about…"

Shinjiro's mouth closed. Despite his attempts to brush his curiosity aside, he couldn't bring himself to tell her he didn't care to know. "I…o-only the Chairman and Mitsuru-senpai know…but um, I'm expecting a visitor tonight. M-my brother, actually." Shinjiro stared at the top of her head in unguarded surprise.

"Your…brother?"

She nodded without looking at him. "He's coming back to Iwatodai. He was studying overseas when I moved here, but now he's gonna be going to Gekkoukan with us. Mitsuru-senpai said she'd even talk to the Chairman about him staying at the dorm with us!"

"Huh. So this whole dinner thing is for him." Minako didn't seem to notice the tightness in his nonchalant tone. Inside, he was wondering why the thought of Minako trying to so hard for another man—her damned brother, for God's sake!—should make him feel the prick of irritation that it did.

"Yes," she clarified, carefully placing some fresh scallops into the basket. He hadn't even noticed they were standing in the seafood section. That's how out of it he was.

Somehow he had always pegged her as being alone, in the same way he and Aki were. No family or home. He doubted anyone would guess it just by looking at her, and probably not even by talking to her. Minako was always so genuinely sunny it was hard to believe she had ever known sadness at all.

But Shinjiro was an expert at studying masks, seeing the chips in someone's armor. It was easy to tell that whatever pain she felt, she shouldered alone, dealt with alone. He had been there. He could see the occasionally empty look that glazed her eyes when no one was looking.

He saw the way she would sometimes clutch at her ever-present headphones like a lifeline. The haunted look that had come and passed the one time he'd been with her and a child had walked by with his parents, happily being swung by his hands in between them.

Minako's eyes took a wide sweep of the area, surveying for any eavesdroppers nearby before she focused back on him. "He protected me, back at the orphanage. I was bullied a lot, b-because of my eyes. I cried all the time because I missed my parents," a humorless smile appeared. "No one wanted to be my friend. Then he came and I wasn't alone anymore. He'd sneak into my room and hold me until I fell asleep. He shared his snacks with me when the bullies took mine. He even saved me from getting punished once when one of the older boys blamed me for going into our caretaker's room and breaking Fuwara-san's bracelet."

Shinjiro was surprised she had suddenly decided to share all this with him. But as she continued and a certain light returned to her eyes, he found himself listening silently. "When a couple came that actually wanted to adopt me, I screamed and cried. They couldn't pull me away from him, so they winded up adopting both of us." Shinjiro processed this with a soft grunt.

"Our adoptive parents were always good to us. Then, Shimizu-chan got sick out of the blue…she died when I was about twelve. Kanbe-kun did his best to raise us, but I think he never really stopped grieving. They were so in love…then there was an accident, right before we were supposed to start high school…Kanbe-kun," she swallowed, "Kanbe-kun was killed on the job. A steel beam fell on him. I was scared we'd get separated. But a nice neighbor took us in and let us stay with her for a while. Neither one of us wanted to be a burden though," she sighed. "Minato decided he wanted to go study overseas, in Korea. And I decided I wanted to move back to my hometown for the rest of high school." she finished calmly.

The mask was back. It was impressive the way she could efficiently tuck all of her emotions away when needed. He had wondered briefly if she would start tearing up in front of him. She was a strong one, though. He kept having to remind himself that this small, bubbly girl was the leader of S.E.E.S. and fought monsters on a regular basis.

There was so much he didn't really know about Minako. The girl was more of an enigma than anyone probably realized. Shinjiro realized with a certain sense of satisfaction that he was probably the only one at the dorm to know all of that about her past. He had no clue why she'd choose to tell him of all people though.

This brother character was another mystery tied to many revolving around Minako Arisato. Shinjiro couldn't get much of a read on what kind of person he was, besides that he obviously loved his sister from what she'd told him. 'Guess I'll just have to wait til he comes to see for myself.' Again, he wondered why he felt so cautious. Was that the word? Maybe protective was a more accurate adjective.

"Huh. Another junior then?" Shinjiro sighed. It wasn't that he had anything against his underclassmen. They were a very diverse, lively bunch. But it was just him, Mitsuru and Aki as far as seniors went, so they were grossly outnumbered. Made him feel kind of old. Especially with Ken around too.

Minako pushed the basket toward checkout, but her eyes were thoughtful. "I'm not sure, actually. Minato's always sorta been the 'smart one'. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets put in the advanced classes."

This had him a little more alert. If this guy was sharp, he might figure out about their little rendezvous into Tartarus… Shinjiro doubted a brother would passively allow his sister to be put in harm's way. Not that Minako wasn't more than capable of taking care of any Shadow, with the help of the team. But a big brother probably wouldn't care. If they saw it as their job to protect their sister, they were gonna do that at any costs. Even if their sister didn't particularly need it.

"Uh, you don't think he might get wise to the fact that our dorm isn't exactly normal?" Not only did guys and girls live together (granted on separate floors), he was bound to notice something was amiss. All it would take was one slip up. Junpei and his big mouth came to mind.

Minako turned to him with big, imploring eyes. "What do you mean senpai? Nii-san knows."

Shinjiro gave her an incredulous look. "He…he knows?"

She nodded calmly. Too calmly considering the gravity of what she just said. "Wha—Arisato, normal people can't know about what we do, why would you—"

"I didn't tell him!" Minako gasped, wide-eyed. "I'd never do something like that without talking to everyone about it!" she held her hands up, waving them frantically.

"Then how could he…"

To Shinjiro's utter frustration, the strange girl shrugged. "It's hard to explain. But somehow, nii-san always just… knows. It doesn't matter how far apart we are. The last time I talked to him, he…he told me to be safe, and not to do anything stupid til he got here."

The tense feeling building in his shoulders slackened as Shinji stared at her blankly. "So? He could've meant anything." Minako looked curious as he gave her a skeptical once-over. "In case you haven't noticed, you're…well, you."

It took a minute to sink in, but Minako huffed indignantly, glaring at him with those bright doe eyes. "Hey!"

"Don't get me wrong…when it comes to fighting those bastards, you're a natural." He nodded sagely. Minako blushed. Somehow, a compliment from Shinjiro made her feel…special. Probably because he didn't just hand them out to anyone. The giddy feeling ebbed with his next words. "But when it comes to everyday situations, you can be a little…spacey." That was an understatement, but in the interest of not revealing just how much seeing her interact with various males, oblivious to their intentions, affected him, Shinjiro decided to go for a roundabout compliment to hide it. Miako gaped, not believing what he'd implied. Shinjiro couldn't help but crack a grin. her mouth was opened comically wide with an accusatory, embarrassed stare aimed in his direction. "Let's go make this big dinner of yours." He chuckled, walking ahead again.

"H-hey," she shouted, following behind, "Take that 'spacey' comment back! I resent that, senpai!"

Shinji chuckled, ignoring her.

"Alright, now put in the scallops!" he instructed.

"Roger!" she chirped.

They had been busy at work to prepare the perfect hot pot since shortly after they'd arrived back at the dorm. As it turned out, everyone picked today to be lazy and come home early, so they had to contend with their curious dorm mates, something Shinjiro hadn't counted on. Every so often, the smell wafted out into the common area, and someone would stick their head in the door, so Shinjiro's job, on top of supervising Minako, was shooing them away.

After doing his part in escorting Minako back from the store, she insisted he stay on standby to make sure she successfully fixed her first ever hot pot correctly. Honestly, he wasn't so sure that was the real reason. If she picked up recipes like she had a knack for picking up everything else she tried, he doubted there was a need to worry about her burning the place down. It likely had something more to do with nerves.

She hid it well, but along with the anticipation clearly written on her face was apprehension. She was nervous about her brother coming. He didn't blame her…From what he gathered, they hadn't seen each other in going on two years, and she had recently been hiding a huge secret. Although according to Minako, her brother had figured it out, but Shinjiro found that next to impossible if she truly had been keeping her lips zipped.

The doorbell rang and the red-eyed girl almost dropped the ladle with a piercing squeal so sharp, Shinji cursed in pain. "He's here! He's here! He's here! He's here!" she chanted manically, shooting straight for the door. Their dorm mates, who had all been crowding into the lobby, popped their heads around the door way in alarm. Minako was on autopilot, running past like she didn't see them.

Junpei blinked. "Uh, s-shouldn't somebody go see what she's yellin' about?" he stammered.

Yukari rolled her eyes, "Good idea, you go, Junpei." She smiled tightly, shoving him from behind.

"H-hey, cut it out, Yuka-tan!" he protested.

"Um," Ken cut in nervously. "I don't think there's any point now, you guys. Ikutsuki-san's at the door. And it looks like he brought someone with him." Everyone turned around, where they could just make out Minako talking to Ikutsuki in front of the open door.

Shinjiro sighed as the group of idiots inched forward, doing a terrible job at being discreet, not that Minako was paying them much attention at the moment. She stepped back to allow the newcomers in, and sure enough, the Chairman entered the dormitory, followed by an unfamiliar boy, around their age, with navy-colored hair that fell almost completely over his right eye.

He was lean, and easily had about six inches on Minako's small form. She wrapped him in a full body hug that reminded him of the way baby pandas clung to their mothers on TV.

"Alright everyone, come meet your new dorm mate." The chairman beckoned. If he had been a different person, Shinjiro would have openly laughed that the chuckleheads looked genuinely surprised they'd been caught snooping.

"What?!" Yukari and Junpei gaped.

"Uh, y-you mean, uh is that even okay?" Junpei eyed the navy-haired boy skeptically. "Wait, who are you?"

"Junpei, that's rude!" Yukari scolded, stealing glances at the boy while she smacked Junpei's arm. He was pretty attractive, Yukari realized, blushing.

Mitsuru stepped forward, arms crossed calmly over her chest. "This is Minato Arisato, our newest transfer."

"Arisato?" Akihiko asked, staring from Minako to Minato. "Wait, you knew about this Mitsuru?"

The Kirijo heiress smirked calmly. "Of course."

"I'm Minako's brother." Everyone turned to the boy, who had finally spoken. He regarded them all coolly, sizing them up.

Junpei blinked rapidly, "Seriously?!"

Fuuka smiled shyly, extending her hand. "It's nice to meet you Minato-kun. My name is Fuuka Yamagishi, I hope you feel comfortable here."

The quiet boy shook her hand unblinkingly. "Yeah, same here. Thanks for taking care of Minako."

"Well that was unexpected..." Ken mumbled. Koromaru barked, running over to sniff the newcomer as he stepped fully into the room.

Minako looked at her friends sheepishly. "Um, sorry guys, I asked the Chairman and Mitsuru-senpai to keep it a secret. I wanted it to be a surprise," Her friends gave her blank stares, with the exception of Mitsuru and Shinjiro. "So...surprise!" she smiled, throwing her arms out wide.

"Yeah, you definitely got us this time." Akihiko grumbled. Shinjiro detected the slightest bit of annoyance seeping into his tone, but disregarded it.

Minako looked at them bashfully, poking her index fingers together. "Well um, now that the secret's out...who's hungry?!" At the mention of food, everyone's questions temporarily haulted.

"Oh yeah, you and Shinjiro-senpai were cookin' up a special dinner, right?!" Junpei's eyes practically sparkled. "Can we really eat it now?"

"Sure," Minako chirped, happy for the distraction. "Last one there gets the mystery ingredient!" she ran off, expecting everyone to follow. The other members of S.E.E.S. were a little more reserved than usual, casting wary glances at the teenager who calmly lugged his suitcases into the lobby and removed his shoes before following after his sister. Mitsuru lingered to speak to the Chairman, "Well, will you be staying for dinner Mr. Chairman?"

Ikutsuki gave a soft smile, shaking his head. "I'm afraid not, Mitsuru. I've already got a few prior engagements. I just wanted to make sure Minato-kun arrived safely. Now that he's here, please take care of him."

Mitsuru nodded, deciding to walk the chairman to the door. "Does that mean, he's...well, one of us?"

The chairman smiled cryptically. "Anything's possible,"

Dinner became gradually less tense after Minako began babbling about how excited she was for them to finally meet her brother. It didn't take long for everyone to figure out Minato was the complete opposite of his sociable younger sister. She did most of the talking for him. Sometimes she'd turned to him with a grin and say, "Isn't that right, Mina-niisan?" Minato would then nod solemnly, gracing his sister with a fleeting upward curve of his lips and then go right back to tucking into his food.

When someone asked him a direct question, he answered in the most polite but stoic manner possible. No one really knew what to make of the revelation that he would now be living at the dorm, or the drastic differences in personalities between the siblings. Everyone did notice, however, that for a boy of his lean stature, he had no trouble eating his weight in food.

Junpei whistled as everyone at the table just paused to watch Minato eat voraciously. Occasionally he'd get something on his face and Minako would make him pause to wipe it away before allowing him to continue. "Daaang, for a skinny guy, you can sure pack it away, can't you?"

Minato stopped to give Junpei a blank stare, a scallop hanging from his chopsticks. "Huh? Everyone always says that, but I just really like Minako's cooking." He swallowed the scallop and began reaching for more from the hotpot to fill his quickly emptying bowl.

Minako laughed loudly, "Niisan used to say it was my fault he always goes overboard with the food. But really, he's just a glutton in disguise." she sighed. "He's always been this way."

Yukari looked impressed. "Really? Wow, but that must mean you really exercise to keep it all off, huh? I know if I ate as much as I wanted all the time I prolly would look like a blowfish..." Seeming to realize what she'd just said, the brunette smacked a hand to her mouth in horror, stammering for an apology.

"I-I mean...gosh! That was so rude! Sorry, Minato-kun!"

Minato seemed unfazed, shrugging. "It's alright. Yeah, I do kendo and run track, if that's what you mean."

Junpei chuckled, "Another jock, huh? Yeah, Akihiko-senpai's our resident muscle head." Junpei looked at the senior with an evil grin, who was quietly hunched over his own food, eating tersely. "Uh-oh Akihiko-san, looks like you got some competition for the ladies." he wiggled his eyebrows and Akihiko scowled, not really in the mood for Junpei's clowning antics. The junior continued obliviously, "Man, you've got that whole mysterious vibe goin' for ya too, Minato-san. You musta got all the senoritas at your old school lining up for a date, right?"

Minato gulped down his food, head tilted in vague curiosity. "Dates? To be honest I never paid girls much attention." Junpei's mouth fell open, causing an unchewed piece of shrimp to fall out. Yukari glared at him in disgust, scooting further down the table.

"W-what, man are you serious?" Junpei looked like he'd just been slapped. "No dates? At all?"

"It may be hard for you to fathom, Iori, but some students prefer to focus more on their studies than pursuing romantic trysts." Mitsuru said, giving Minato an approving nod.

Junpei continued to look like he was having a denial. "Yeah, but that's just...but...how could you look like him and not-" A sudden thought seemed to dawn on him, and he gave Minato a wide-eyed stare. "Wait a minute, dude, y-you're not..." he leaned in conspiratorily. "Y-ya know? Hitting for the other team...?"

All commotion at the table froze, the girls taking on very flustered appearances. Minako could barely swallow, and Fuuka looked ready to faint.

Shinjiro smacked his forehead. "Time and place, moron..."

Aigis, who had been silently staring Minato down in deep concentration the whole meal finally turned to Junpei. "I do not understand..." she began monotonously. "Is Junpei-san implying that Minato-san somehow has ulterior motives, or is this analogy meant to be taken literally?"

No one really knew how to respond to the robot girl at first. Finally, Yukari cleared her throat, plastering on a weak smile as she turned to Aigis."Don't worry about it, Aigis. Junpei's just bein' an idiot. Not something you need to concern yourself with...at all."

Aigis seemed to process this, nodding. "Understood. Information deemed irrelevant. Quest for answer terminated."

There was an air of awkwardness after that, cleared when Minato replied. "It's not that. Girls just never seemed all that important." he looked at Minako, who had began stuffing food into her cheeks in earnest to avoid blurting something embarrassing. "And I guess you could say, I already had a girl to take care of me." Minako looked up, blushing heavily as everyone's eyes drifted to her.

"That's so sweet." Fuuka sighed dreamily, "You must have been very close growing up."

Yukari grinned in agreement, "Yeah, I don't think I'd mind having a big brother to spoil me a little."

Minako attempted to wave off her embarrassment, "Sometimes niisan's not as cool as he looks though. Trust me,"

"Really?" Ken asked, "Minato-san seems very mature to me."

Minako gave her brother a devilish look, and his eye twitched. "Well, there was the time I got the chicken pox and he took care of me. He even cooked me soup in this adorable pink apron I got him." Minato's face lowered so his hair covered his mortified expression. "Of course he got the chicken box a little while later, and then it was my turn." she winked. "You should've seen what a baby he was, whining and wanting me to tuck him and spoon feed him his medicine."

"Minako..." the boy hissed lowly.

Shinjiro's eyebrow raised in question and from the corner of his eye he saw Aki studying the duo. So he was right. Total sister-complex. He wasn't sure if he could blame the guy; Minako would make a damn cute kid sister...

Shinji's train of thought once again came screeching to a halt. This girl was making him soft.

"Does that make you Minako-san's protector?" Aigis suddenly asked. "Or is she yours? Is your priority also to be by her side at all times?" Minako flinched, hoping her smart brother didn't catch on to Aigis' odd mannerisms and speech pattern.

Minato chuckled quietly, undaunted. "It's a little bit of both. We look out for each other. That's what siblings are for." Shinjiro hid a frown as he watched Akihiko stiffen, and Mitsuru gave the silver-haired boy a look of motherly concern. "Sometimes she's a handful and clingy." Minako stuck her tongue out. "And sometimes I guess I come across as an aloof ass," he shrugged, "but yeah, I guess as her brother she's always been my responsibility."

Junpei groaned. "Damn! I'm never gonna catch a break as long as you and Akihiko-san are around. Akihiko-san's a boxing champ, and you're this smooth-talking pretty boy..." He then proceeded to sulkily swallow some noodles, Yukari regarding him with a scoff.

Aigis looked down at her food contemplatively. "I see...you and Minako-san are a team."

Minato nodded, "Something like that."

Not gonna lie; I struggled with this chapter. I had everything mapped out, but making it all fit smoothly was the real problem. So many things I wanted to do…so many different ways I could've done it. everyone was excited for Minato's entrance, so I really wanted to get it perfectly. And yes, yes I did purposely hint at some possible unrequited YukarixMinato in the future. Why? Cuz I'm just evil I guess (sorry, not this time Yuka-chan!). Anyway, if you did like this, please review for more. Sorry if there wasn't enough brother/sister feels in this one...I'm working on it.

P.S. For the person that asked, no, I don't think I'm going to do a chapter with MinakoxTanaka…for many reasons. I just don't feel comfortable with it, even in the realm of fiction. I know, I know. I added an incest-ship…but somehow the innocent main character with a much older man that could be her dad just gives me the creeps. Sorry… I see him more as a cunning uncle I think.

Someone else asked me how I planned to do Minato's personality and interactions/dialogue, since he's portrayed as being pretty stoic in the game. Well, I took a blend of that original aloofness and mixed it with some personality traits I read of his portrayal online, from the Japanese-exclusive Persona comic mini-series, where he is apparently portrayed as a combination of relaxed, a glutton/good cook and someone who falls asleep basically anywhere and at random. I think that last one is both interesting and weird though. Heh. Of course I never saw the Persona movie or read the comics, so I'm just molding those broad traits into what I imagine. Hope that's ok.

But, aside from that, plenty more ships to come. Minato will be around from now on in all his endearing stoicness. Shinjiro still doesn't approve with Minako befriending all these weird guys (Hah!), and may get more openly possessive. Akihiko is adorably clumsy with his feelings and other guys will turn up! Yay! I think I'll most likely do Bebe, Theo, Ken, Ryoji, Junpei (MAYBE on this one, I don't think there's much chemistry) aand a surprise addition ;) in no particular order. This isn't really following the game timeline, as you probably guessed. Otherwise I'd have to kill Shinji off at some point (well, put him in a coma) and I can't bear that. :/