Someone came after Kouetsu Kirijo ... and was leading the research in Tartarus? Who is he ? Where is he now ? What happened to ....
" strike ! " the teacher exclaimed as Minato received a hit that crashed his train of thoughts " Focus , Arisato ! How are you going to participate in the tournament if you can't keep up during practice ?! "
" I'm ... I'm on it ! " Minato groaned and clutched his weapon , he needed to focus on his practice at the moment and prevent the Dark Hour from intervening on his life .
After the practice was over , Minato made his way back to the dorm .
As Minato approached the dorm , he met Junpei at the entrance and they both talked about the new Eternal Punishment Online . However , as they entered the dorm , they noticed Ken anxiously changing the channels in the TV before looking at them with nervous eyes .
" what ? " Minato glared at him
" n—nothing ! I ... I was watching the news ... "
" the news ? " Minato looked at the TV which told the news about the rise of Apathy Syndrome
" how much time we have until the next full moon ... " Junpei started
" three days " Minato said
" you're kidding! A sh—! "
" I'm not , the last full moon phase happened in Lunarvale hospital and we had to fight Matador , remember ? He instakilled you two seconds into the fight "
" instakilled ?" Ken wondered what Minato meant
" yeah , the first boss of Eternal Punishment Online "
" uh ... yeah ... but that's ... "
" anyway , I'm tired . I'll be in my room " Minato passed by Junpei and sternly whispered to him " moron ! Don't spout anything about the Dark Hour in front of a kid !!! "
" r—right ... "
" what are you two talking about ? " Ken noticed them whispering
" none of your legos , kid ! " Minato sternly responded
" for the last time , I'm not a kid ! "
" then who's watching Phoenix Ranger Featherman R ?! I hear you watching it in the lounge whenever I go down for a cup of coffee !"
" that's ... that's not ... "
" watch it all you want but do it in your room , smarty ! And don't pretend to be a grownup when you still watch kiddy shows ! "
" man ! You sure love to bully with him ! " Junpei laughed
" I'm not , I'm totally serious ! " Minato said while giving Ken a contemptuous glare
" what's your problem , anyway ?! " Ken stood in front of him " what do you have against me... ?! "
" let's get one thing straight , kid ! " Minato yelled at Ken while furiously glaring at him " I don't like you ... no , that's putting it lightly . Truth is , I can't stand the sight of you , you're making me sick ! Why ? I don't care , just that your pathetic appearance is nauseating !!! I don't plan to hurt you or anything , but if you try to approach me you'll just hate me and yourself because I have absolutely no sympathy for the likes of you , so do me and yourself a favor and keep a safe distance of 10 meters between you and me , get it ?! "
Neither Ken nor Junpei could respond to Minato's words , and Minato had nothing else to say as he turned around and went for his room . Junpei tried to be the voice of reason , something that he wasn't used to , but Minato just brushed him off with a tired " leave me alone , I don't care ! " . When Junpei turned around he saw Ken holding back his tears , and tried nervously to comfort him , but Ken pushed him aside and hurriedly climbed to his room .
As Minato changed into his indoor clothes , he heard a knocking on the door . When he opened it he saw Yukari at the door with a worried look on her face .
" I'm sorry to bother you ... uh ... it's ... it's about Ken ... "
" yes ... ? " Minato said , thinking Yukari will make him apologize to him , but she wasn't around when it happened
" I'm worried that he may get involved into this , the chairman said he has the potential and I don't want to imagine him in Tartarus "
" Tartarus is not a place for kids " Minato nodded " especially the next block , who knows what awaits us in there ? Don't worry , the chairman wouldn't go as far as to recruit a child , he may train him to fight shadows when he grows up but for now he won't be fighting real battles "
" I ... I hope so ... "
" anyway , I'm not welcoming him in SEES even if the chairman agrees . As long as I'm the leader , no kids are entering Tartarus "
" thank you , Minato . I'm glad you think like that "
" more importantly , do you have something to do today ? " Minato asked bluntly
" eh ? Me ? Wh—why do you ask ? " Yukari blushed
" what ? " Minato , in turn , blushed as he realized what his question meant" it's not ... like that ... I ... I asked Junpei , Fuuka and our upperclassmen , too . I was thinking of ... "
Minato stopped and looked through the hallway of the second floor to make sure Ken wasn't around before continuing " the shadows are getting stronger , and the fourth block specifically seems dangerous . I think we should train in lower floors while we can "
" oh ... I see ... " Yukari sighed with disappointment in her face
" sorry ... " Minato unconsciously mumbled
" it's ... it's fine , really ! I'm actually glad that you're taking this leadership position seriously. Anyway , I don't think I can join tonight , the archery tournament is tomorrow and I want to be in top shape when I participate . What about you , Minato ? "
" the kendo tournament is still a few days away , but I think I'll get to practice in more intense situations if I fight in Tartarus . I still think you should sit this one out if you have a tournament tomorrow "
" thanks "
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Finally , the long awaited day of the competition finally came . Minato was clad in armor , and in his hand he clutched the wooden sword of the sport . For the longest time he didn't picture himself carrying anyone's hopes into victory , but he thought he shouldn't think too much about it , as he was responsible for lives during the Dark Hour as opposed to just mere hopes . He was still determined to give it his all , as he wanted any chance he could get to increase his strength . And indeed he was vicious during the tournament , he was aggressively attacking as if he had no fear at all , leaving his opponents shocked and dazed .
" you're doing great , Minato ! " his teammates cheered him
" yeah ! If Yuko was here she would definitely see that we're not just a bunch of slackers ! " Another declared
" Arisato " the teacher approached them " don't let your victories get to you , as your next opponent is Mamoru Hayase . He hasn't lost a single match for three years "
Minato nodded , what the teacher told him made him even more eager to fight that person , and he didn't have to wait for long . As he was called back into the ring to fight the last round . Just as the previous rounds , Minato charged at Mamoru with his full strength , he attacked him from every which way , and Mamoru was barely fast enough to block Minato's attacks . Even when blocked , Minato's hits were too strong and too fast that the spectators thought he would knock Mamoru on the ground at any second . In the previous matches , Minato was mostly fast enough to finish his opponents before the viewers could tell what his plan exactly was , but as Mamoru was able to keep up they saw that Minato's fighting seemed extreme and merciless , as if he was furious at his opponent .
Mamoru slowly but surely began to catch up to Minato's pace and fight back , and he even managed to strike Minato more than once . The battle was incredibly heated and few could tell who was in the lead . Finally the match ended , Mamoru could barely catch his breath as he removed the mask and wiped the sweat off his forehead , meanwhile Minato was drinking a bottle of water to calm himself , he seemed less tired than Mamoru in there .
However , when the results were announced , it turned out that Mamoru had won the fight . Minato's teammates were very upset by that , as they thought that Minato had the lead for the whole match , but Minato agreed to the results and admitted his defeat despite their protests .
" you were great back there ! " Mamoru exclaimed " you were so aggressive and relentless that I'd say you were fighting with the intention of killing , it was awesome ! And even after the match was over you don't seem tired at all ! "
" yeah ... I've been going through some serious practice " Minato said , thinking about the Dark Hour that boosted his stamina and the shadows that trained his fighting " you still won in the end , and that's what counts ... congratulations "
" yeah ... there's a problem with your fighting , though ... you leave way too many openings for the opponent to fight back . Mostly you were fast enough to finish the match , but when I was skilled enough to extend the match you were left at a vulnerable position . Can you imagine how it would be like if we were fighting with actual swords ? You would have left me way too many chances to strike you down . Not being afraid is a good thing , but being careless is bad "
" ... that's true ... "
" anyway , I'd love to hang out with someone like you , I feel like you'll make me grow stronger . If you want , we can meet in front of Paulownia mall whenever you have time "
" sure ... I'd like that ... "
——————————————
As Minato made his way back to the dorm , his cellphone rang . It was his sister , she was on the way back from Inaba and she called to check on how he did in the tournament .
" I've got some bad news " Minato sighed
" oh ... you lost ... " Minako responded , before Kazushi's voice came screaming from the phone .
" HOW CAN YOU LOSE ?!! YOU WERE THE CHOSEN—!!! "
"—back my phone ! " Minako's voice came back " sheesh ! Anyway , don't let it get to you , you hear me ? "
" sorry ... " Minato interrupted
" I told you not to be—"
" I met someone in the tournament , the one who defeated me . He said that I'm too offensive I don't care what happens to me so long as I attack , and that leaves me wide open for the opponent to attack me "
" I see ... you think it's the same during the ... "
" you're in public , moron ! "
" right , sorry ... you get the idea "
" yes ... I must've caused you scares all the time because of my recklessness "
" Don't sweat it ... when I come back we'll talk about it more and .... opps , my phone is dying ... "
" you forgot to charge it ? Honestly , you'd better with no phone "
" details ... see you at the dor—"
The call dropped , it seemed that Minako's phone died then . Minato sighed , as he wondered how careless for him to be lectured by a girl who can't even remember to charge her phone and had overslept on the day of her trip . Nevertheless , he took on this path to protect her , so he knew he must learn to perfect his fighting . His eyes looked at the moon , it was getting bigger and bigger . A new shadow will fight them this month , with another trick up its sleeve . Even though there seemed to be ten days or so before that happens , Minato made his way for the mall to stock up .
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Minato is cruel to Ken ... yeah , there's a reason for that , too .
More importantly , in the last part Minako and her friends talked about love , and I think we all figured out who Minako's crush is . I'm sorry , but I'm a sucker for that ship , and whenever those two are together , wether in game or in fan art , I just find myself lost in the picture as I stare at them . I'm sorry for anyone who saw that their ship isn't here , I really am , but Minako's ship is set in stone and can't be changed . There will be more intimate and friendly moments with other ships to make up for it , though , so that's a good thing ... right ? ........... Please tell me it's a good thing ...
Anyway , Minato's crush isn't like Minako's . For the longest time it was implied like her , but it was never set in stone and completely decided . So to make up for it , I'll let you choose who of the girls in SEES will be in a relationship with a door . You can choose between Fuuka , Yukari and Aigis . I'm sure I didn't leave anyone out of this choice , not at all ! *silently ignoring Mitsuru*
I'm kidding , she's also in this . So you have Yukari , Fuuka , Mitsuru and Aigis .
This will be open for debate until the end of this year ... be sure to comment which one you'd like , but know that if I don't get as many results as needed I'm gonna go with my original choice . I'm looking for at least five comments , and will also this on my account on Wattpad . Feel free to respond to the announcement or comment here .
What am I getting myself into ?! I hope this isn't too daunting ...
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The debate is closed , read the part about the results to find out who won