closed;

[clinomaniac]

WHO: Akihiko and Minato
WHERE: A restaurant to get dinner and talk. Yeah!
WHEN: Saturday.
WHAT: Minato needs to tell Akihiko Things. Mostly spoilers about their own life.
WARNINGS: Spoilers...? If you don't know the P3 story yet. Talks of death.

Telling a man who was already dead about stuff that had to do with death was one thing. Telling a man who was going to survive that he was going to have to deal with more loss on top of the ones he's already suffered? Not so great. It sucks being the bearer of bad news. But it's probably better than making him find out somehow, long after. It's bound to come up eventually, right?

But Minato's steps are heavier than usual when he walks to the promised restaurant after his shift. His body aches from the labor he isn't used to and he's exhausted, but his heart feels heavier with the burden of having to hurt his teammate. He's glad for the wall to lean back against when he finds himself arriving early. He can just wait here. Akihiko will see him when he gets here -- maybe he should've brought his MP3 player to listen to.

This is going to be a long night.

Comments

[ktfod]

His brows furrow at that. Win- right.

Even AKihiko knows winning isn't everything. Likes it, lives for it but- At a cost that big...

"Yeah." Quiet for the most part though, facing away.

[clinomaniac]

"Thank you."

That it. That's all. That's all he can say.

[ktfod]

A hitch, moving to look at him now, brows furrowed.

"For what?" Almost said angrily. At himself of course, because what the hell did he do to be thanked...

[clinomaniac]

Akihiko, you're already greying. You need to chill out or you'll just bald.

"Would everything be too cliché an answer?" He wonders if Akihiko can hear the little laughter in his voice. "I didn't get to say it, back home."

[ktfod]

He'll never chill out, he'll run screaming and kicking into old age and be just as much of a spit fire then as he is now. Just wait, you'll be watching him from heaven chasing kids out of his lawn and screaming bloody murder. The fire, she never goes down.

"Everything- but-" His brows furrow, feeling a push in his eyes again. "I didn't- hell, what did I even manage to do? Let Shinji- ...Let either of you die?" Hearing him laugh almost hurts more. Hearing him okay with it- laughing and thanking him. And here he fought for- for nothing. He was getting stronger and it did nothing.

"Don't thank me. I haven't done anything." Hands clenching. "If I can though- if there's anything I'll be able to do- to- to change it, I can bet I'll do it..." As futile as it is. He doesn't fucking care. he'll- he'll change it. He has to... For everyone, for- for himself.

[clinomaniac]

"You were my friend, senpai." Aah, he never really explained to them, did he? He never told them about himself. They knew about his parents and about what happened on the Moonlight Bridge (at least, they did eventually) but not about this.

"I didn't have any when we first met. Never really did. I used to think... aah, I wouldn't have cared, I think, if the Shadow killed me at the dorm that night. I fought it because Yukari was in danger."

You've heard him say it plenty of times, haven't you, Aki? It doesn't matter. I don't care. He laughs a little.

"But I was able to change thanks to you and everyone else."

[ktfod]

"Minato--" Glancing to him now, his hands going loose. Yeah he's heard it. Doesn't care- said it so much his apathy started to become a running gag but then- they all-

grew. And became something different because of eachother. Didn't have anyone, no, he sure as hell did now- did- and even with he and Shinjiro taking off ahead of him, Akihiko knew he still had the others, sure. The thought of it is reassuring, and he still cares about them, even if Shinjiro and Minato were near the top of his list now, though he'd protect all of them when needed to.

"Not- were, I'll always be your friend..." Casting his gaze down again, his hands slowly tightening once more. Sure he will, it still doesn't make it better. What happened, not only the deaths but that everything they did was just...

"Tch-" A pained look, moving to press a hand to his head, closing his eyes. "Don't forget it here then, all right? Not 'were', are."

[clinomaniac]

"Ah..." He has to take pause at that. Not were, but are, huh? Don't forget it here. He blinks a few times, and he stares almost in wonder.

They all made fun of Akihiko from time to time. His obsession with protein, his obsessive training, his horrible knowledge of how to deal with women. He looked and acted so cool but he was actually so dorky and it was a side of Akihiko that only they knew, because none of the fangirls would see it. But there was a reason more than the fact that he was physically older that made them call him 'senpai', and it was this. There was a reason why Amada looked up to this man, and a reason why Minato secretly considered him the actual father-like member of the group.

He smiles. And almost laughs. But there's no sound that comes out at first before he drops his head into his hand... and scrubs at his eyes. His hand comes back wet. That's funny. His voice catches in his throat when he tries to respond, and what comes out is an embarrassingly high pitched, "All right."

Oh man. That's pathetic. He needs to answer better. He was leader, he can't sound dumb. But there's more water in his eyes and he has to actually sniffle before he can say any more.

"I won't forget. I... thank you, senpai."

The truth was that he didn't want to die at all. He wanted to live on, and celebrate graduation and saving the world and he wanted the parties and he wanted to graduate, next year, too. If he had a fucked up past, he wanted to make up for it with the future. He didn't regret his choice -- no, he didn't at all, because sometimes the future is for someone else, and he wanted the people he loved to live -- but he really, really wanted to be with them.

So to be promised permanence, even if it's just in their memories and hearts, and have the privilege to hear it... he doesn't know how to handle that. What the hell.