The twins found themselves in the shrine once again . It was the only place that seemed free of all the chaos happening in the city , there were no patients suffering from Apathy syndrome , no cultists telling people to accept their miserable end , no posters and graffitis . It was the only place where the twins could sit , close their eyes , and pretend that the world was completely fine . The two of them sat on one of the wooden seats by the playground in front of the shrine , their hands clasped together and their eyes staring at the moonless sky . They were halfway through what little time they had left . Only fifteen days remained . Even the quiet shrine couldn't hide the truth from them , the truth that their time was running out , and they were still too hesitant to sacrifice themselves , too scared to even talk about it .
" oh ... you're here ... "
A familiar voice called them , it was Akinari , the man they had met in the shrine nearly two weeks ago . Minako eagerly welcomed him , while Minato passively allowed him to sit . The pale man had a notebook and an old fountain pen in his hand . Apparently , he had been coming to the shrine regularly to write a story , just as the twins had suggested . In fact , he sat down next to them and began writing , and while Minako was curious to see what he was writing , Minato nudged her to remind her that he may not want to yet .
" hey ... I have a question ... " the Akinari stopped writing " how do you feel ... about a pink alligator ... ? "
" a ... a pink ... pfft—! " Minako nearly exploded in laughter
" I see ... so it was a bad idea after all ... "
" what ?! No ! I didn't think it was a part of your story ! " Minako exclaimed , but as she sensed Minato behind her quietly facepalming , she nervously stammered " I was just taken aback by the idea of a pink alligator , that's all ! If it's used well in the story , I'm sure even a pink alligator ... no ... especially the pink alligator would be great ! "
" so what's the story ? " Minato changed the subject
" well ... if the absurdity if the image is what surprised you , then I think I'm on the right track " Akinari said " it's about a pink alligator who can't hide herself to hunt for preys , so she is shunned by her kin and ridiculed by her preys . One day , she befriends a bird who can't fly , so he uses her body as place to jump from and attempt flying "
" and what happens next ?! " Minako eagerly asked
" I ... I don't know ... I don't want to think of the ending " Akinari looked at the horizon with thoughtful eyes " I wanted to write an upbeat story to cheer me up ... and maybe help me find the meaning of life . Maybe when I find the answer to that question ... cough ! ... I'll put it in the end ... cough ! Cough ! Cough ! "
Akinari's condition worsened , and he started coughing violently . The twins were anxious for his sake , as Minato placed his hand on his shoulder and told him to breath slowly , before turning to his sister and yelling at her to call an ambulance .
" whenever I write ... cough ! .... My story ... I can see you ... in my mind ... " Akinari smiled weakly " it's like ... like ... you're telling me ... not to ... give up just ... just yet ... "
" yeah ?! Well , I'm telling you straight to your face that you mustn't give up ! " Minato yelled at him " who's going to give that pink alligator the happy ending she deserves ?! Who's gonna help her discover the meaning of life ?! "
" yeah ... you're right ... " Akinari muttered , before he lost consciousness
" what ... Akinari ! Answer me !!! "
Three days have already passed , the members of SEES talked less and less to each other , as most of them were trying to make peace with their life , friends and loved ones . Honestly , the twins preferred it that way , for keeping up the appearance that nothing was wrong was difficult to say the least .
Minato stared from the window of the class at the sky before him , as yet another twilight passed by . Junpei had went to visit his father in the hospital , while Yukari went with Fuuka . Minato sighed as he stared at the world outside , he wanted to do something to occupy his mind just so he could forget about Nyx , but everything he would do would only sadden him more and more . It would have been less painful if they had anything to do in Tartarus , but they had already reached as far as they could . He wondered if , at some point , he would wish for the end to come already . It took him a while to resurface back from sinking in his own thoughts , and when he did that he saw Aigis standing by his side watching the world before her .
" it is amusing , isn't it ? " Aigis said with a bitter smile " I only understood that I wanted to live ... when the world is ending . I want to live , but I see death around me wherever I look "
" Ai ... listen ... " Minato said comfortingly " when we defeat Nyx , you will have a world brimming with life for you to explore "
" that is not the point , Minato-san ... what am I supposed to do in a world you don't exist in ... "
" I ... I don't know ... " Minato couldn't respond " I want to see it , too ... a world without Nyx , without the Dark Hour ... "
" I apologize ... you already have plenty to worry about ... "
" what are you two doing ? " Minako interrupted the grim conversation with her cheerful tone " school is already over , or do you have something to do after school ? "
" Minako-san , answer me " Aigis glared at her sorrowfully " is your power fatal to use , too ?! "
" I ... huh ?! What ?! " Minako was shocked , her eyes darted between Aigis and Minato as if she was silently asking her brother
" she heard us talk in the monorail ... and before that the rooftop " Minato sighed " don't worry , she didn't tell anyone "
" I see ... " Minako needed a second to rebuild her smile again , but after that she looked at Aigis confidently " nobody needs any special powers , Ai-san ! We're kicking Nyx's butt back to whatever pit it crawled from with our strength , together as a team ! Just as we did with every other adversary that stood before us ! "
" I understand " Aigis seemed more content to hear Minako say that
" anyway , what're you doing after school , sis ? "
" oh , there's this new ice rink that opened in Paulownia mall recently , and I was thinking of going there with Shin-chan ! "
" what ... " Minato raised an eyebrow " okay .... Firstly , did you tell ' Shin-chan ' about that ? "
" hm ? Oh ... come to think of it , I don't think I did , why ? "
" because I saw that guy leave the school a minute ago ... "
" what ?!! Oh no , I have to catch him !!! " Minako immediately ran , tripped on a few desks before storming out of the class
" Ah ! Wait ! " Minato tried chasing her , but by then she was already out of sight " she left before I could remind her that she doesn't know how to skate on ice ... what a dork ... "
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" are you kidding me ... ? "
The weather was already cold in the winter , and yet the ice rink was still lively with many people skating in it , including , children , families , college students and couples on a date . However , one couple was different , and that was Shinjiro and Minako . Shinjiro could only stare silently at Minako as she slipped and slid left and right , with absolutely no control over her momentum .
" take a deep breath ... deep breath ... okay , I think I got it ... " Minako stuttered , but her assumption was proven wrong when she slipped and fell back on her back , and continued to slid slowly while lying on her back until bumping her foot into Shinjiro's foot , and seeing him glare her from above " ahaha ... well , I've learned a lot about how to skate already ! I'm sure by the end of the day I'll at least be able to stand ! "
" you looked like a cat who suddenly found itself lost in the Antarctic pole " Shinjiro sighed " why the hell did you bring me here if you don't know how to skate ? "
" I'm ... I'm willing to ... learn ... now ... " Minako struggled to stand up , before giving up and raising her hand " a little help , please ... I can't stand ... "
" haha ! That girl doesn't know how to skate ! She looks like ... like ... " children we're starting to make fun of Minako , but when they noticed Shinjiro furiously and silently glaring at them , they hesitated a second before yelling " mama ! That angry man is scaring me !!! " and escaping
" unbelievable ... " Shinjiro sighed , as he helped Minako back on her feet " see ? You're making a joke out of yourself ! People are watching ! "
" well ... woah ! I ... ooh ! " Minako struggled to stand still as her feet slipped " why don't you ... aah ! ... why don't you ... teach me already ?! "
" because you said nothing about your laughable skating skills until we were in the middle of the rink !!! "
" oh ... okay ... " Minako laughed gullibly " well ... can you teach me now ? "
To teach her , Shinjiro decided to go about it the same way one might teach a toddler how to walk . He held her hands , and began skating backward , telling her to slide slowly . He was strict in his tone , and stern in his command , but as the two of them skated around the rink , he could see a content smile on Minako's face . Shinjiro lost himself in that smile , and soon enough his back bumped into the border of the rink , halting his skating. Minako was unprepared for that sudden stop , and bumped into Shinjiro's embrace , but she didn't step back .
" you're ... so warm ... Shin-chan ... " she muttered
" you moron ! Not in public like this , get back ! " Shinjiro looked at the people around him , they were at first staring at an clumsy girl learning how to skate , now the scene before them was more of an affectionate couple having a bonding moment . Shinjiro felt the blood rushing to his head and his face turned red , and he tried to push Minako back " c'mon , this is embarrassing ... ! "
" please ... just for a few moments ... " Minako buried her face in Shinjiro's coat , and it was admittedly difficult to tell for sure , but it seemed from her voice that she was crying
" I see ... " Shinjiro hugged her back
After that , the two of them silently agreed to step out of the rink . By the time they had left the rink , Minako had calmed down , and she was cheerfully talking about how much fun she had in the ice rink . Before Shinjiro could ask her what she wanted to do next , she took him to a clothes store , saying that his red coat was looking worn out . Even though Shinjiro preferred his old coat , Minako promised him that she'd find him something he liked more . After some time they stepped out of the store , with a bag that had Shinjiro's new coat .
" well ? Do you want to wear it now ? " Minako presented the bag to him " it looks identical to the one you have , except this one is more alive !"
" sure ... let's do that ... " Shinjiro took the coat from her hand and began wearing it , but he stopped as he noticed a box in it . He took it out and saw that it was a box filled with heart-shaped chocolate " hm ? What's this ? "
" early valentine chocolate , what do you think ? "
" but today isn't valentine ... "
" yeah ... that won't be until February ... "
" we're going to defeat Nyx , Minako ! " Shinjiro said sternly " we talked about this before ! "
" I know ! I know ! I just ... " Minako sighed " I felt more comfortable giving it to you now ... just ... consider it for all the valentine days that you missed out on , okay ? "
" then you'd better do something more special on valentine day this year " Shinjiro said firmly , as he wanted to strengthen Minako's will to live
" I know ! I know ! I'll invite you to my room on that day , but we just gotta make sure that Minato isn't in the dorm then ! "
" okay ... wait ! What ?! " Shinjiro realized what Minako meant " you don't mean ... ! "
" I'm kidding , silly ! You should've seen your face ! " Minako laughed teasingly " but I still want valentine this year to be the best , so let's defeat Nyx so we can hopefully live long enough until then ! "
" I ... I see ... "
" anyway , it's getting late , let's go back to the dorm "
When Shinjiro stepped with Minako outside , they were met with the extremely cold weather . As they stood in the bus stop and waited fir the bus back fo the dorm , Shinjiro noticed Minako shivering in her place from the cold . Hesitantly , he hugged her with his coat , just as he did back in the autumn . Minako sighed in satisfaction , as she felt Shinjiro's heat warming her shivering body .
" Shin-chan ... remember what you said about how the promises we made gave you the resolution to live ? " she mumbled " after we defeat Nyx ... let's come to this ice rink , with everyone "
" yes , that would be great "
" but to that ... I have to practice ... I can't embarrass myself then as I did today ! "
" don't worry , I'll teach you "
" hehe ... I can't wait ... "
Only two weeks remain before the promised day ...
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