" ... and that's pretty much the situation at the moment , senpai " Minako spoke on the phone in Paulownia mall in a low voice " so what do you think ? ... well ... yeah ... we're rushing it alright , but the final battle is upon us and we can't afford to be distracted by everyday troubles , right ? ... no , this has nothing to do with me wanting to see him do that , okay ? ...great ! Okay , we'll do our part of the plan for now , okay ? Alright , see you later "
Minako turned to see her brother glaring at her , and before she could say anything , he asked with frustration " are we seriously doing this again ?! No second thoughts about it whatsoever ?! "
" well ... I actually do have one ... how do you always manage to live your everyday life with one of your eyes covered with your hair bangs ? " Minako joked , but as she was met with Minato's even more angry expression , she laughed and placed her hand on his shoulder " don't worry , bro bro ! I promise you this won't be as embarrassing as last time , this time we're working for justice ! "
" lemme just say that I'm sacrificing a great deal of my self esteem for this "
" I always knew you were the best brother I could ask for , I don't think I could appreciate what you do to me any more than I already am " Minako tried to praise him just to make him feel a little better about the situation
" let's just get this over with "
The next morning , the members of SEES gathered in the lounge as usual for breakfast . There was one different thing in this usual and mundane gathering , and that was the twins . They looked somewhat tired , especially Minato , who was so out of it that when he descended down the stairs , he didn't seem to pay attention where he was going , and tripped on the stairs going down , causing him to continuously tumble down the stairs all the way to the lounge . Meanwhile , Minako followed him in descending , in a normal way without tripping . As Minato silently grumbled while trying to stand up , Junpei greeted Minako in the morning , saying " morning , Minatan ! Are you ready to expose the one behind those shady photos "
" gOoD mORnIn—cough ! Cough ! " Minako's voice was incredibly raspy and sharp , and she seemed to barely whisper it making it barely audible , mot to mention she seemed to be in pain just from trying to speak
" Minato ! Are you alright ? " Yukari rushed to Minato's side to check up on him
" I—cough ! ... aM fiNe—cough ! " Minato's condition didn't seem any better than his sister's
" what's wrong ? Are you sick ? "
" wait ! " Junpei realized " don't tell me you actually kept singing last night until your throats literally gave up ! "
" what ?! " Yukari exclaimed" why would you do that ?! "
" I dOn'T cArE ... " Minato painfully pulled those words out of his throat
" iT wAs—cough ! ... yOuR iDeA ... " Minako glared at him
" What're you saying , Minatan ? " Junpei pondered " wasn't you who suggested ... and I quote ... ' we're going to the karaoke hall , and we're singing until our throats give up ' ? "
" oH ... riIiIght—cough ! Cough ! Cough ! "
" enough ! You're not helping your condition improve by continuing to talk despite how painful it is ! " Yukari went to her school bag and gave each of the twins a notebook " for now , use this to communicate "
The weird shenanigans were far from over . The members of SEES began eating breakfast , and Mitsuru caught wind of the situation , and said she would contemplate a fitting punishment for the irresponsibility of the twins , to which the twins chose not to speak . As for Junpei , he had a mischievous plan in motion , he decided to ask Minato questions that he knew he would definitely refuse to oblige . For instance ...
" Minato , I have a question for you , but seeing as your throat is broken , if you approve , just stay silent ! Are you going to give me the password to your account for Eternal Punishment Online ? "
" yEs " Minato surprised them all by saying that , especially Minako who looked absolutely appalled
" ooh ! Sweet ! " Junpei rejoiced " I should benefit from this while I can ! ... let's see ... oh ! Who do you think is the strongest and most stylish Persona user in SEES ? "
" yOU ... " Minato whispered , his eyes remained fixated on his cup of black coffee .
" oh my God ! I can't ... ! " Junpei exploded in laughter
" cut it out , Stupie ! You're being childish ! " Yukari furiously yelled at him
" I know ! " an evil grin appeared on Junpei's face " Minato , are you in love with Yukatan ... or do you prefer Aigis ? "
" WHAT ?!!! " Yukari screamed
" wE aRE gETtiNG lATe " Minako interrupted , smiling as she pointed at the clock
" y—yeah " Yukari stuttered , her face was glowing red traffic light " enough of these childish antics ! "
" wAiT , sIS . Is tHAt jAm iN yOur—? " Minato stopped his sister just as the crowd was beginning to disperse , to which Minako responded by pulling him toward her , whispered a few words to him , before turning to her dorm mates and joining up with Yukari and Fuuka .
That was probably the weirdest morning the SEES had lived through ever since they were formed , and it seemed that the weirdness was still going . As the twins left the dorm , Minato walked straight into a telephone pole , and it seemed it was not intentional, as he rubbed his face and groaned , clearly in pain from the impact . Yukari wondered if the twins were alright , but they both assured her the only thing wrong with them that morning was their throat .
" so this is their plan ... huh ... " Mitsuru clutched her forehead and sighed " is this really going to work ? "
As the twins walked toward the school , Minako seemed to want to stay close to Minato , but as much as they tried , they ended up each grouping up with their own circle of friends . Minato found himself going with Junpei , Kenji and Kaz , while Minako went with Yukari and Fuuka . Kenji started his morning by telling dirty jokes , before painfully slowly and obviously explaining them , Junpei would laugh , share a joke as well , or if the joke was terrible he would cringe . As for Minato , he wasn't sure which was more cringy , the jokes or Kaz who began his morning by jogging , and was sweaty and smelly . He thought his morning could not possibly get any worse , and even though his tired throat saved him the effort to participate and gave him a good reason to feel grumpy , he could only think of how lucky his sister was . His sister wasn't exactly lucky ... for all the wrong reasons
" ugh ! I can't believe that Stupei ! " Yukari grumbled " I thought he would at least mature a little now that he has a love interest who DIED FOR HIM , but he somehow became EVEN MORE CHILDISH !!! "
" Um ... Yukari ... " Fuuka timidly and hesitantly asked " are you actually in ... do you ... have any feelings for ... our leader ? "
" wh—what ?! Why ... why would you think that ?!! " Yukari felt the blood rush to her head , and the blush filled her face like a pomegranate juice filling a glass
" w—well ... you don't have to answer me ... I just ... I mean ... " Fuuka blushed slightly
" wait ... you actually ... ?! "
" well ... I'll be lying if I said I don't admire our leader ... " Fuuka twiddled with her fingers timidly
" well ... I mean ... uh ... "
Suddenly , the two girls stopped and turned to Minako , who was slowing her pace hoping they would walk ahead and leave her behind . However , they aimed their eyes at her , with one question that was so obvious it was like their eyes were asking before they could say it .
" you don't have to tire your throat ! Just point at the girl he's in love with ! " Yukari exclaimed " don't worry , we won't tell him you told us about it ! We promise ! "
" um ... Minako ... " even Fuuka couldn't hide her curiosity " I wouldn't get upset if he didn't like me ... but can you tell me if he is in love with anyone ? "
" cough ! Cough ! " Minako's throat was too tired to say anything
" here ! "
Yukari gave her a small notepad and a pencil , giving her no escape of the question , and Minako obliged and began writing . The anticipation was nearly choking the girls , and they nearly snatched the notepad from Minako's hand , and their heart was at their throat when Minako folded the notepad to them after she finished . It was the moment of truth , the name of the girl Minato was in love with ... was .........
" We are getting LATE ! " said the words written in the notepad
" wh—what ?! "
" wE—cough ! Ugh ! " Minako impatiently scribbled in the notepad the words ' look at the watch !!! '
" oh no ! We only have ten minutes ! Did we actually miss the monorail ?! " Fuuka hurriedly rushed to the monorail station
" we'll talk about this later , Minako ! " Yukari said before chasing after Fuuka .
Suddenly , Minako sensed something was amiss , she sensed that she was being watched . However , the feeling quickly dispersed among the crowd of various employers and students , each going to their school or office . Minako seemed to remember something , then she shrugged and hastened her pace toward school .
——————————
After class , just as Minako was about to go for something to eat during lunch break , she felt something nudge her arm . She turned and saw Minato giving her a note that read ' so what's the plan ? ' . In response , Minako glared at her brother for a second before crunching the note , eating it , then writing in a paper scrap with a messy upper case and lower case distribution , which read ' i DoN't cARe ' , then throwing it at her brother . In response , her brother quickly held her arm , asking her to wait , as he took out another notepad and wrote quickly in it ' I'm sorry about what I did this morning ! ' , handing it to her , before quickly taking out another note and writing ' the black coffee made me feel grumpy and I wanted something to lift my mood '
" rEaLLy ? " Minako glared at her brother
" rEaLlY ... " Minato nodded apologetically
" yOu dO rEaLiZe wE ... cough ! ... neEDeD to sTaY iN cHaRaCTeR ... cough ! Cough ! ... aS ... muCh ... as pOsSiBLe ... "
" i uNdER—cough ! ... unDeReStImATeD ....cough ! Cough ! ... tHE cOfFEe ... tHeN tHeRE wAs ... cough ! ... tHE stUpId hAiRStYle ... hOW tHe ..."
" ugh ... fInE ... " Minako sat back on the chair and took out a notebook , telling Minato to come closer to her , and she began writing their plan .
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I really hope this part was hilarious for you to read as it was for me to write ... seriously , it's been a long time since I've had so much fun writing this . It's a little subtle , but once you realize what's going on , you'd find it as funny as I did . I'm pretty sure I made it obvious , but if you're confused , that's okay , as the next part will explain what is going on , in which case I advise you to reread this after reading the next part.
To be honest , this wasn't what I was going for when I started writing this part , but I decided to add just a quick breakfast scene with some jokes here and there , and before I knew it , the comedy train had already departed the station and there was no stopping it , so I went along with it .
I'm aware that some of you thought ... ahem ... something else would happen ... and this is probably not what you had in mind ... still , I hope you enjoyed this .
If you did enjoy this part , please consider voting for it , and remember to comment your opinion on Shinjiro's fate , and I'll see you in the next part . Stay safe