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The group left the Velvet Room, having just come back from the Group Date Cafe after defeating the guardian.Minato glanced over at Akihiko, who was chatting animatedly with Shinjiro and Yosuke. Akihiko, who was chosen as his destined partner. Minato had hoped that maybe that would be his chance to confess, which turned out to be as dumb an idea as he initially thought. Akihiko continuously denied everything that was happening, and it was hard to keep a blank face. Still, he pulled through, and now he had all the time he needed to mull over everything.He was quick to split off from the group, quickly finding a place outside in the shade of the school to hide from them. All he really needed was alone time."Hey, leader, you doing alright?" Minato nearly jumped as a voice spoke up from his left. He was quick to identify the owner of the voice as Yu."Yeah. Just thinking.""Is it about that whole 'destined partner' thing?" Minato grimaced in response to the question."You're perceptive, aren't you...""I'm guessing I hit the nail on the head with that one?" Yu took a seat next to Minato on the ground."Yeah, you really did." Minato pulled his knees to his chest, looking off to the side."...You wanna talk about it?" Minato looked at Yu for a brief moment before looking off into the distance again. Yu simply took that as a no."Hey, what're you guys doing over here?" Again, Minato nearly jumped out of his skin as another voice came from the left."Oh, Yosuke. We're not doing much of anything at the moment." Yu replied with a light laugh. Minato remained silent. Yosuke, who sat down next to Yu, seemed to pick up on Minato's behavior."Leader, is something up?""Everything's fine, okay?!" Minato yelled, seemingly frustrated. Quickly, he stood up and started making his way to the closest door he could find."Hey, wait!""I'm going to hide in some random classroom contemplating everything. Don't bother me." Minato yelled before finding a door and heading into the building, making it a point to close the door as loud as he could. He just hoped no one else would bother him now.He bumped into Kanji and Junpei as he wandered about the school. He didn't have time to get away as Junpei grabbed his wrist. "Dude, what's up? You've been actin' weird ever since we found you after... you and Akihiko..." Junpei seemed to manage to put the pieces together. He mouthed a small "oh" as Kanji watched in confusion."What the hell're you talkin' about?" Kanji voiced his confusion. Quickly, Junpei managed to spot an empty classroom and dragged Minato into the room, leaving Kanji to stand in the hallway in confusion."I have a feeling I know what happened." Junpei watched his leader hide his face, taking advantage of his bangs to hide most of his face from Junpei."I should've expected it, to be honest. I didn't even actually tell him, and he still shot me down in a heartbeat. Not to mention how he constantly talked about not being interested in love and all that. I should've known this was a lost cause..." Minato wanted so badly to just hide in a corner and waste away."Hey, it's not all bad, right? I mean sure, your longtime crush indirectly broke your heart and, sure, you'll probably never get...over...okay, I take it back, it is pretty bad." Junpei pulled the rim of his hat down slightly as he heard Minato sniffle."I hope the next labyrinth's gimmick is forgetting whatever you want so I can forget about that whole thing." Minato had slipped away into the corner of the dark room, curled in a ball and undoubtedly crying.Junpei had a feeling he was only making things worse. "Do you want me to leave or..?" The faint nodding of Minato's head gave him an answer, and Junpei left as he was requested, acting as if nothing had happened.-----When he decided to press on through the next labyrinth, Akihiko was nowhere near him. Not because the senior was actively avoiding him, but because Minato himself was the one doing the avoiding. Every time Akihiko approached Minato in an attempt to ask what was wrong, he'd be ignored entirely. Junpei and Yukari, who knew about Minato's feelings for the senior, exchanged concerned glances as their leader all but ignored Akihiko's mere presence.After going through two floors with this nonsense, Mitsuru stepped in."Arisato, you've been acting strangely ever since we left the Group Date Cafe, and I demand an explanation." She stated in a firm tone."It's none of your business, Mitsuru. I'm just tired of all this." Minato replied with a firm gaze."I would believe that if you were less obvious in your avoidance of Akihiko. Now explain yourself!""It's nothing, okay?!" Minato snapped. Everyone was staring now and he felt like he was on the verge of completely losing his cool."Minato Arisato, as your senior, I order you to explain yourself!" Mitsuru yelled. The tension in the air was almost palpable. Minato took deep breaths before looking up at Mitsuru with a cold gaze. He quickly looked to Yu, who felt a chill run down his spine from the blue haired boy's icy stare."Yu, you're in charge now." was all he said before bolting away from the group, ignoring the other's calling his name and yelling for him to come back. He didn't stop running.He wanted to run all the way back to entrance of the labyrinth, but something hit him. He dropped the notebook with the map when he took off so suddenly. He was completely lost. He'd been running around aimlessly and he could barely remember where he'd come from. A different emotion overtook his anger. Fear. Fear brought about by the fact he was lost with no clue where he was along with people who had no clue where he was and were thus unable to help him."Guys? Hello? Mitsuru, I'm sorry I got angry! Can anyone hear me?" Minato yelled as he wandered the labyrinth. He was able to fight the Shadows he came across, but with his power of the wild card changed, he couldn't be as efficient as he wished and thus battles would drag on. Soon, he was limping down the corridors, using his sword to support his tired body. His muscles ached and his body was shaking as he trudged along through the labyrinth. He had nothing to heal himself with, no Dia spells on either persona, all items left with the others since Yu was in charge of them. He seemed to have lost contact with both Rise and Fuuka as well. Neither navis ever contacted him. He could just sit somewhere and wait for the others to find him, but they might not find him for a long time.He could see Shadows charging at him and tensed. He couldn't fight them. His body was shaking and sore from fighting so many Shadows and summoning his Personas so much had sapped his energy. He only had a small bit left.The battle began. Immediately they exploited his weakness to electricity and he doubled over in pain, gasping from the sudden shock knocking the air out of him. He still had a bit of energy to summon his Persona, he remembered. He pulled the Evoker from its holster and pressed the cold metal to his temple. "O-Orph...eus..." He pulled the trigger, feeling the last bit of energy he had leave him as he cast a Maragi spell, dealing good damage to the Shadows.His vision began to darken and blur, to the point where it was impossible to make out his sword and Evoker, both of which had fallen from his hands, from the floor beneath them. His body felt cold, and another Zio spell made his consciousness fade completely.-----"I think I heard something from over here..." Yu stated as he led the group near a corner. He peered around it and, for a brief moment, was relieved to see their leader before concern took over and he rushed to the other. "Leader!" He heard the others following behind him, one set of footsteps much closer than the others. Once he was next to the blue haired boy, he carefully held him in his arms to inspect his injuries. Akihiko, who had been close behind him, knelt down as well.Minato had more cuts and scrapes than Yu could count, but the most noticable was one on his side, where blood had soaked into his shirt and dyed the spot a dark crimson, almost black. His skin was cold, but he was still breathing, if only slightly. He must've been struck with Zio more than a few times to have been hurt so badly."Leader! Wake up! Leader!" Yu yelled. The boy showed no signs of waking. The others had gathered around him."I can heal him with Diarama. Should I do that?" Yukari asked, hand hovering over her Evoker in its holster on her thigh."Yes, do it." The girl summoned Io and the others watched Minato's injuries heal, the smaller ones disappearing completely. Minato groaned and gasped, cracking an eye open. "What happened..?" He asked, the question not really directed at anyone. His gaze shifted from the ceiling above him to Yu. "Oh, you found me...""That we did, Leader. You gave us quite the scare there.""Ah. I'm sorry..." Minato's eyes fluttered shut again and his head fell against Yu's arm. He was out like a light."Is he alright?" Akihiko asked, his expression showing he was deeply concerned."He's just unconscious, don't worry. I think we should head back for now." Yu stated, lifting Minato and heading back the way they came. "Wait." Akihiko spoke again, standing up. Yu turned around to face him."I should carry him. You're the vice-leader, you'll be in charge during any battles. It would be easier for you to prepare for a fight if you're not the one carrying him." Akihiko quickly explained. Yu looked from him to Minato, still unconscious in his arms, before nodding. "Alright. Be careful with him." Yu carefully handed Minato over to Akihiko, who shifted their leader in his arms until he had a good grip on him. "Alright, let's go."-----Minato woke up to numbness, bright lights, and loud voices. "Dude, you seriously haven't figured it out?" He heard Junpei's voice filter into his ears."Junpei, I really don't think it's our place to tell him." Yukari said."Tell me what? What are you even talking about?" Akihiko asked. "Oh no, don't you fucking dare, Junpei." Minato thought. He couldn't do anything to stop him. His entire body felt sore."Minato lo-" Junpei's voice was suddenly muffled, most likely by Yukari. "I'll have to remember to thank her later.""Shut it, Stupei! I just said it's not our place to tell!" She yelled. He could only picture the pure confusion on their senior's face right now."Hey, he asked what's up with Minato, I was just answering him!" Junpei replied. Yukari probably stopped covering the boy's mouth."Are you stupid or something?! God, you're lucky Minato isn't awake right now or he'd have probably tackled you to the ground." She groaned. "Well, we should get going. We'll see you later." Yukari and Junpei left, by the sounds of it. The door slide shut and the room was quiet."Oh, it would appear that my guest has awoken." Minato would've jumped if he was able to. Elizabeth's head popped into his view."Hello, Elizabeth..." He groaned. He forgot she was even in there."You were in rough shape when your friends brought you here. I've healed your injuries as best as I can, but that one on your side was quite deep, so I had to treat it the old fashioned way on top of the healing spells.""Thank you. How's everyone else?""Everyone's just fine, don't worry." Akihiko came up next to the bed. Minato was too tired to try avoiding him again. "We all made it out fine. Mitsuru's still pretty angry, though." Minato grimaced at that. He knew he couldn't run from her wrath forever. He was honestly scared about what kind of punishment she might've had planned for him. "But she was asking a good question. Why were you avoiding me? Did I do something?" Akihiko asked. He had a right to know, Minato thought. He did do something to upset him, but it was never intentional. Akihiko wasn't that kind of person.Minato was slient. He didn't have the courage to tell him. That, and Elizabeth was in the same room, clearly within earshot, and he knew how she got with this kind of stuff. "I'll tell you later. It's... something I'd rather keep private." Minato finally answered, very subtly glancing at Elizabeth, staring at her guest with her arms proped on the table, not at all hiding the fact she was listening in. Akihiko picked up on it and nodded. "I see. I'll see you later, then. Get some rest, Leader." Akihiko then left, and Elizabeth was quick to start conversation."Wasn't that boy the one that was chosen as your destined partner in the Group Date Cafe?" Elizabeth asked, her knowing look showing it was a rhetorical question."Okay, how the hell do you know that?" Minato asked, somewhat frustrated."Your friends brought it up earlier. Do you perhaps love him?" Minato felt his face burn, though from embarrassment or anger was a hard thing to figure out. "None of your business.""I see. Well then, you are free to leave if you wish. Though I would advise against going into the labyrinths until you feel better." Elizabeth was always quick to change topics, it seemed. Minato was grateful for that. "Thank you. I'll see you later, Elizabeth." He shuffled out of the bed, his muscles still aching from how much he exerted himself. He walked out of the nurse's office with a strange limp, but Elizabeth never commented on it. He was just fine, his muscles were just incredibly sore.He wandered around, passing the others as he did, each of them asking if he was alright and telling him to take it easy for a while."How you feeling, Leader?" Yu askes as Minato passed him. He stopped and turned to face him, stretching out a bit. "I'm just fine. My body still aches from all the fighting and walking I did. It almost feels like I ran a mile." He replied, rolling his shoulder."I can only imagine. Is it okay for you to be walking, though? You were hurt pretty bad.""Elizabeth said it was fine, so I guess so." Minato shrugged."I see. Well, do you wanna come hang out with me and the others? We were gonna play some of the games set up around here."Minato shook his head. "No, but thanks for the offer. I was actually wondering where Akihiko went." Yu nodded. "I see. I remember seeing him over by the Velvet Room not too long ago. Maybe try there?""Thank you. If you see Mitsuru, please tell her I'm sorry about running off like that. That was so stupid and childish of me and I-""Hey, no worries. I'll make sure to tell her. And, I hope whatever's going on with you and Akihiko gets settled so things go back to normal. Good luck." Minato smiled softly. Yu seemed to always know what to say. "Thank you so much. I'll be on my way now."He waved at the other as they parted ways, and Minato made his way to the Velvet Room, where Akihiko was waiting. "Hey, is it really okay for you to be walking around? You were hurt so badly that I-we thought you..." Akihiko trailed off as Minato came to a stop in front of him, his eyes falling to the bloodstain on Minato's shirt. The cloth was ripped where the cut had been, but the cut itself was hidden under bandages. "I'm just fine, don't worry. Elizabeth's no medical expert, but I doubt she'd let me leave if there was something seriously wrong.""I see. So, you wanna talk about what's been going on? I feel I should know.""You're right, you have the right to know. Though, do you mind if we talk somewhere more private?" Akihiko looked at Minato with a bit of confusion before he obliged. "Of course. Lead the way."Minato lead him to an unused classroom, the one he'd ran into when he wanted nothing more than to simply be alone.Once he confirmed no one was nearby, he slid the door shut and faced his senior. "Before I start, I just wanted to tell you that I'm so sorry about all of this, especially my behavior. I'm just... I don't know." It was now that Minato's throat began to tighten, as if telling him he shouldn't go through with this, that he should back out right now. But, wouldn't that make Akihiko upset? Wasn't it too late to back out."Hey, no worries. I'm not angry about it or anything. I'm just worried. You've been acting strange lately. I just wanted to know why." Akihiko replied, putting a hand on the other's shoulder. Minato took a deep breath before he started. "You remember what happened in the Group Date Cafe? Actually, that's probably a dumb question, of course you remember, I mean how could you forget when-""Relax. You're getting tense." Minato paused as Akihiko spoke up. His hand was still on his shoulder, and he must've felt his body instinctively tense up. "Sorry, I just-""You don't have to keep apologizing, okay? It's alright.""Right, I'm-" Minato quickly stopped himself, shoving his apology back down his throat before he continued. "You see, I actually... kinda... um... I think-no wait, I know that-um, I... I have a crush on you." He sucked in a breath, expecting Akihiko to start yelling or leaving or anything, but nothing happened. Minato thought he felt the room grow just a bit colder. Akihiko's hand left Minato's shoulder, hovering over it. Minato spared a glance up at Akihiko, the senior's face full of surprise. "I... see.""I know, it's stupid, especially when you yourself said you aren't interested in love, but-""Woah, slow down there. How long have you, um, had a crush on me?" Akihiko's cheeks gained a faint dusting of pink when he asked that question."For a while now. I think ever since you first entered Tartarus with us. There was just... something about you that made me fall for you. It might be because you're such a caring person, or that seeing you somehow makes me feel happier, or something else equally sappy, but I just... I really do love you." Minato's face felt like fire, and his throat felt like it just tangled itself into millions of knots, but it was fine. He finally said it. Said what'd been on his mind for ages."Minato... I... I don't really know what to say." Akihiko replied after a couple seconds."You're probably not interested, if your reaction to that whole destined partner crap is anything to go by. It's okay. Please don't feel like you have to date me now to spare my feelings or anything. I'll understand if you say no." Even as he spoke, Minato was already making his way to the door. "Hey, hold on a minute!" Akihiko quickly grabbed Minato's wrist, causing the other to look back at him, eyes wide."After taking some time to think about it and stuff, I... I don't think it'd be too bad, I guess? I-I mean, you're an amazing person, and I'm actually kind of amazed you have a crush on me and all that, y'know?" Akihiko gave a nervous smile."So, does this mean you..?""I guess, what I'm saying is... I love you."Minato felt his eyes sting and it was like a dam broke, tears spilling out endlessly. "Woah, what's this all about?! What's wrong?!" Akihiko asked, hands hovering by either side of Minato's face, unsure of what to do."I'm sorry, I'm just... so happy..!" He quickly clung onto Akihiko, crying into his shoulder. Akihiko took a few seconds to process what happened before his arms went around the other boy. He rested his head on his shoulder, a hand coming up to comb through Minato's hair. They stayed like that for a while, until Minato's tears dried and he pulled away from the hug."So... now what?" Akihiko asked."I'm not really sure..." Minato replied. His face was red, and he kept his gaze low""...Sparring match outside?" Minato looked up at Akihiko at the suggestion and started laughing after a few seconds. He didn't see the boxer's face turn a dark red from embarrassment. "W-What? What's so funny?""That's such a you thing to say! We're having this whole tender moment and then you just-!" Minato's words turned back into laughter, and Akihiko playfully punched his shoulder."Okay, maybe I don't love you then if you're gonna laugh at my random suggestions!" Akihiko responded jokingly, his face still burning red as he started to walk away."No, wait, come back, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Minato wheezed. He was trying so hard to stop laughing now. Akihiko sighed, rolling his eyes with a small smile on his face."Alright, I'm coming back." Akihiko turned around, walking back to the junior. Without warning, he pulled the boy into another hug and kissed his cheek. Minato's face turned a deep crimson and Akihiko's couldn't possibly get any darker than it was now."Can you do that again but this time on my mouth please and thank you." Minato blurted out, face quickly approaching the same shade as Akihiko's."I-I mean, if you really want me to?" Akihiko was extremely nervous, but a bit excited too. Minato nodded enthusiastically, though it seemed he was equally as nervous as his senior.Akihiko hesitated, so incredibly embarrassed. Slowly, he moved closer, their faces just inches apart. He froze. They were so close now and he was so nervous and embarrassed that his mind seemed to cease function. Minato opened his eyes, a soft sigh escaping him when he noticed that the senior all but froze in place. He, somewhat shyly, closed the small distance between them suddenly. Akihiko made a small, surprised sound as Minato pulled him closer, eliminating any distance they may have had.They kissed for what felt like ages before parting breathlessly, foreheads resting against each other. Pale blue eyes met grey as they both panted. "I've wanted to do that for so long. And now we're dating, so I can do it whenever I want and you can't stop me.""I really can't, I guess.""When we get back, can I kiss you in front of your fangirls?""Why?""To establish dominance."Akihiko laughed as he shook his head. "Again, I really can't stop you." He replied."Good. Now, I think we've been in here long enough. Let's go have that sparring match you suggested.""Really? You laugh at it and now you wanna do it?""I never said no. Now c'mon!""Alright, I'm coming, relax."