Logs: A Talk with Minato

 Mikage-cho W - St. Hermelin???
      St. Hermelin, on the surface, is identical in Mikage-cho. This notion would be discarded somewhere along
the way of witnessing people not being quite what they were! Between the feared Dean Harding becoming a caring
individual and a popular educator turning into a mute - among other things - it's not long until any sense of
familiarity goes to the wayside.          
      The school appears as it was in the 2008 school year. The old gymnasium hasn't been expanded as it was
early in 2009, and there's no hole in the wall. Most of the classrooms do not even see use, the school
population notably smaller. The library has undergone the most peculiar change - a foreboding black doorway
sits near the back, the whole room coated in butterfly markings. Nobody is sure as to its purpose, or even
how to open it. A loud heartbeat can be heard if you stand close to it.          
      People here live in fear of a girl in black, whose influence sometimes rearranges the school into a
twisted set of corridors and dead-ends full of demons. Even a trip to the bathroom, in the best of times,
can spell disaster.

Minato Arisato did not have a good night up until about the time he got stabbed six times in the chest.

This sounds really bad, but it's actually pretty much true.

After reconnecting with his long lost twin sister, which also sounds really bad in a /fanfic-y/ sort of way, they headed off to St. Hermelin, one of the only safe places in the area. Raiding a convenience store on the way there got some basic supplies; finding a grocery stand that was open and reinforced like a bunker got some fresher stuff, but Minato doesn't want to know from where.

It is a spooky room in the school that they have claimed, secure and quiet. Minato promised to make the legendary Vegetable Soup of the Gods--or rather, he was told he did, when he woke up from a coma-like slumber--and so he has. There's a good deal of it left. He's sitting with his back to the wall, pot and portable heat source scrounged up elsewhere in the school on a teacher's desk nearby, with gym mats stacked for relative comfort under him.

He's here with her, and for now, he's content, even in this hellhole... even if he hasn't been too chatty, quiet as always, but willing to listen and answer. He's smiling. He's been smiling for most of the day. It's a nice change.

It's funny how that works out, huh? Regardless of the /fanfic-iness/ of the situation, these things do occasionally happen. Even moreso when you've got multiple locales of hot supernatural activity interacting and weaving in with each other, almost as if they were part of one huge crossover!

Minako was happy to hear that Minato would cook for her, and was content to watch him do said cooking while helping out in the background--cleaning up, handing him spices and so on, getting the dishes out. The eating has earned Minato a lot of delighted squeals and praises on what a good cook he is. Minako's already on her second bowl, though only just. She's been smiling this whole time too, though in fairness, she usually is. But she's even happier than usual, and the fact that Minato is happy too just reflects and rebounds off of her. One and one does not always necessarily equal two.

"It just feels *so* nice right now," she remarks, leaning against the wall next to Minato. "Almost like everything before yesterday was just a dream, and now I'm really awake." Minako gives her brother a curious look. "Was it like that for you, too?"

Fanfics are pretty much the worst. Crossovers are close. I mean, who would throw all those supernatural forces together all at once, anyway? That would make some kind of ridiculous chaos. It couldn't possibly get any interest, either; nothing could be coherent and everything would be up in the air or hidden for some kind of "meta-plot."

Uh, that is...

(*cough*)

Minato is willing to cook for anyone who asks nicely, but really, it's his sister. Come on. She could have insisted she wasn't hungry and she didn't want any, and he would have probably insisted, since that would be a pretty terrible lie after the excitement the other night. Minato has had a bowl and has a second nearby, but it's cooled. Good thing it's okay lukewarm.

"Yeah, sort of," Minato replies. He relaxes next to Minako, looking upwards at the ceiling and then turning his head to her. He's still smiling. She's been beaming practically since they met, after they made sure he wasn't going to die. He's not, but he's kind of bandaged up. The smile is a good look on her. "Kind of like... the sun finally came out."

And fanfiction is for porn. Just, fanfiction is for porn. Why you think that fics were born? Porn, *porn*, /porn/.

Perhaps it's because Minako sensed that Minato would have cooked for her no matter what that she agreed, even with him being as injured as he was. It's come to dawn on her that an assault like that really *is* something that can get shrugged off in a few days' time (though she still wants him to take it easy!), and cooking is harmless enough. ...and she *is* pretty darn hungry. Just doing something so normal as preparing a meal with her twin is... really soothing.

Minako's smile splits into a grin as she beams just a little more. The sun, huh? "I guess we're just like the sun and the moon, then~" she chirps.

She slurps some more of her soup, heedless of any feminine manners that ought to be observed--what, you really think she *cares*?--before setting aside her bowl. She's sobered now as she looks back to Minato; that warmth hasn't gone away, but she *is* looking at him with more concern.

"Big brother, I wanted to ask... What happened ten years ago... How did you survive? I thought for sure, on that bridge..." Clouds kite over the sun of her expression. "...well, I don't remember all that well, but still..."

Aigis has been wandering the school for some time. It's kind of inefficient to get around the place, and she has to be careful in her examinations to track down Minato. Eventually she is told about a spooky room and, naturally, she assumes Minato is there because he tends to end up in spooky places. A sensor scan shows something unusual--Minato, and a woman?

She doesn't knock. Minato might be in danger. It might be someone from Inaba trying to feed him. There's a lot of terrible possibilities here. She throws the door open, Minato's snorkel held tightly in her fist, and--

--stares. o_o

--there's Minato.

And there's...HER.

Well, as long as it's /good/ porn...

er, uh, wait, what?

Minato laughs a little. "Maybe," he agrees. Sun and the moon. Maybe there's something to that. She's certainly a lot brighter and more cheerful (and energetic, but that's not saying much) than he is. She must have had a different kind of upbringing, but she's still kind of like he remembers. Who says twins have to be similar in behavior, too?

Minato's expression clouds like hers did. His smile finally turns to a frown, and his eyes trail off her face, down to the floor. "Ten years ago... I think... we--"

BAM. The door swings open. Minato looks up, startled suddenly. He recognizes the silhouette of his snorkel immediately, and then Aigis a half-second after. He actually sees the snorkel in his room regularly, you see. "--Aigis?!" he blurts, obviously surprised, jaw dropped.

WHAT

o/`

As far as behavior goes, they *are* pretty unalike. Minako still has that refreshing enthusiasm as she had when she was a child, but wasn't she more of a coward back then? Always hiding behind her big brother and relying on his help, sticking close no matter what. Well, they *were* still just kids back then... They were only seven when they were separated. Who knows if she'd have stayed a scaredycat if they'd stayed together. At least she seems to have grown up into her own with or without him.

Before any discussions can actually occur on what happened on that day, ten years ago, a strang woman bursts into the room gripping a snorkel in one hand. Enough bizarre stuff has happened to Minako that surely it doesn't seem strange that all she does is sort of blink at her and smile. She's opened her mouth to give her a greeting when Minato greets her, though, gaping at her, at which point Minako goes back to confused, looking between the two of them for a moment.

"A friend of yours, big brother?" she surmises. ...that girl's staring at her. Why? She looks...

...vaguely familiar...

Aigis stares ahead, she almost looks broken, as if she Blue Screened or something. Her eyes shut once, and then open again.

She nods to herself, "Running scan." She focuses on Minako for a moment. Scanning. Scanning. And then she nods again. She turns back to Minato and walks up to him. In her hands is his snorkel gear. Despite Shiori's thoughts, there is absolutely nothing magical about this snorkel gear except that it belongs to Minato Arisato.

"You left this behind." She says, quietly. "Please be more careful. If anything happened to you--"

She trails off. She doesn't have the Memory Log to know what exactly she would do. She tilts her head towards Minako, suddenly, after. She approaches Minako, looks her up, looks her down.

AND THEN SUDDENLY WITHOUT WARNING A O_OHUG!? AHHH!!! AHHH!!! AHHHH!!!!

Minato isn't sure if she would turn out the same, or if she would be this courageous otherwise. He feels kind of sad that he missed that, though. He would have liked to be there with her when she grew up. It would have been nice to have someone else to count on as sort of an anchor in this crazy world. The fact that Aigis is here, in /this/ crazy world within another much less crazy world that is on the brink of using the Nuclear Option, is absolutely puzzling. He wishes she were here when this all started. It would have been so much less... less... /bizarre/, maybe.

Like the O_OHUG WITHOUT WARNING. Minato, holding his snorkel, stares at Aigis and Minako. He nods at his sister, slowly, once. He looks like he has no idea what prompted the hug.

"?" Minako tilts her head at Aigis, then stares over at Minato, then back at Aigis. "Are you okay?" Scan? What? The talk of the snorkel is also sort of odd, though it's less /weird/ to Minako and more like she's not quite getting why it seems to be important to Minato. Is there a pool around here somewhere? She doesn't *think* there is. And the ocean's not that closeby either--

And then suddenly Minako is getting hugged with nuclear arms. She looks taken aback, but only briefly; when she recovers, she smiles and hugs Aigis back. "Hi!" she greets her. "I'm Minato's younger sister, Minako. You're... Aigis-chan, right?" She thinks that's what Minato said! ...At least she's taking this in stride? "It's nice meeting you! Um... We haven't met before, have we?"

O_Ohugs can strike at any time. o_ohugs, even moreso. They're dangerous implements that robots use to express their innermost feelings of destroying all humanity by firmly by reassuringly encasing them in arms.

"I'm sorry." She says, using a contraction, eyes closing. "I am so sorry."

She lets go eventually, stepping back. That was weird. She shakes her head though and says, "No, we have not. It is nice to meet you, Minako-San. As Minato-San has indicated, I am his comrade and friend. It is an imperative directive that I do not leave his side."

She frowns, as if something had just occured to her and she's not sure how to deal with this newfound knowledge. "It is the same for you. I must be by your side."

What.

Whaaaaat.

Aigis is pretty troubled by this herself, even though she has just apparently realized this. Her schedule has just become impossible thanks to this relevation!!

"I may have to leave some clubs." She says quietly.

Minako asks an awkward question. Aigis uses a contraction.

Minato gets the feeling of 'oh, shit' rising. He isn't sure why. Maybe there's something up about that. /Has/ Aigis met Minako before? Have they all...? Minato suddenly shakes his head, dismissing the thought. No, he thinks, it's a time to be happy. Aigis is here, which means they're that much safer, and Minako is here, which is... which is /incredible/. He still hasn't gotten over that. Wow, he thinks, I still have a sister. He's thought this again and again.

Wow.

Minato looks up at Aigis and looks a little confused. He tilts his head slightly, and then turns to Minako, about to say something. He looks back at Aigis instead. "She has a Persona," he says, figuring it's better to know now than find out later. Maybe that way Aigis doesn't have to be cryptic and he doesn't have to be secretive. He'd hate that. She's /family/.

Sorry? Why would Aigis be sorry? Minako is just more confused here, though she responds by patting Aigis on the back reassuringly if not quite knowing what the hell she's reassuring. She also doesn't quite get why Aigis is telling her, rather robot-like (imperative directive? Seriously, who talks like that?), that she has to protect Minato as well as her.

"Uh. Okay!" she says enthusiastically. When in doubt, just go with it. "I'm going to transfer out of St. Hermelin over to Gekkoukan once we're all out of here anyway. Do you go there too, Aigis-chan?"

She grins, though, at the news that Aigis is also a Persona-User. "Oh! That makes sense. Me too, Aigis-chan~ I just got mine yesterday!" She all but glows with pride, and slips her hand back into Minato's. "I saved my big brother~"

ELSEWHERE, YEARS AGO

The world is in danger. It is a time when sacrifices may have to be made. A bridge, leading to Port Island, Death attempts its escape. In the crossfire, a man and a woman are killed. A girl is thrown overboard. Analytical datum indicated that chances of survival are a million to one. Another child is nearby. Save the world, or harm this child be using him as the seal? The choice is difficult even for a machine but ultimately, the world wins out. And her own memories are sealed along with it. But one thing escapes the abyss. For her crime, she must always protect them and care for them. Always.

NOW, HERE

"Yes," Aigis says, sounding relieved that Minako is transfering. She might not have to leave all her clubs after all. If she's anything like Minato and joins a ridiculous number, she'd probably be in a club with her ANYWAY. "I enjoy my time at Gekkoukan very much." She smiles as she hears--Minako saved him. Even knowing that it wasn't her, it doesn't matter. He's safe. That's what matters to her.

"Thank you." She dips her head. "You have done all of us at SEES a big favor. We would have missed him greatly. And, if you wish to stay with us--you will make many friends. They are all kind people, there." Well not ALL but most, she isn't going to dwell on specifics like that. The significant majority. She doesn't go on about her identity as a super robot right now, because it hasn't occured to her to.

"You were here all this time...?" She looks around the school. "...Then perhaps... Yes, I should inform you. We intend to take down the barrier as soon as possible. We have sent a team, including a representative from the JSDF. Enoha-San, Shion-San--they both came as well."

Minato isn't sure how to approach the subject of Aigis being a super fighting robot. Maybe he'll let them cross that bridge when they come to it... another time. Right now, watching them make friends is good enough. It's a good start if nothing else. He likes Aigis; he loves his sister unconditionally. It's win-win.

"She did," Minato admits, smiling. He looks proud of her. Look at his little sister, the thermonuclear Persona user! Of course, she has some work to do on that front; he's not sure if she can fight at all (not that he's all that good himself), and he's not sure how well she'll hold up in the Dark Hour, and he's not sure if... well, if he wants to let her run into trouble like that.

The troubles of being the protective older brother.

"They did? We do?" He blinks. "That's... great." Minato smiles again. This day is getting better and better.

Minako /might well do that/, Aigis. Or she might stick with a chosen few, but hey, she's also crazy, she might go for all of them and just juggle them, never knowing when they all might fall down and splatter on her. That's the fun of it! And you get to meet WAY more people that way.

"Well, how could I *not* save him?" The brunette smiles back at Aigis anyway, though, shaking a hand. She looks *extra*-proud when Minato looks proud of her too. "SEES is that... special club, right? Where you got the guns from," she adds, looking back over at Minato. The one she kind of shot herself in the head with. Looking back, it was probably kind of stupid thing to do, but even now she thinks of it in a rather blase manner, which is sort of disturbing when you think about it.

Alas, Minako doesn't. Which is the whole problem.

"I've met some of them already, I think," she goes on, grinning at Minato. "If they're friends of Minato-oniichan's, then they're definitely friends of mine too! I'm looking forward to meeting everybody~" As for Aigis being a robot... would you believe her if she said that wouldn't surprise her either? Minako doesn't know, there's just something about her that seems... robotty. Maybe it's the stilted, flat dialogue, or the glassy eyes. Her smile is really nice, though.

But news that the barrier is coming down soon is good! Minako never doubted that it'd happen, even if she never had any idea how it would happen, either, or who any of those people are that Aigis mentioned. "That *is* great! We'll be out of here in no time!"

You could found a building on the solidity of her faith.

Aigis doesn't seem to be worried about Minako's abilities. She protected Minato so she obviously is a badass. And also, subconciously, survived falling off a bridge at the age of seven? Yeah, uh. You know. That's pretty amazing. She must have a high VIT. However, this does not mean Aigis will not break into her room at night. In many ways this is a blessing. If they set a guard on Minato, she can stalk Minako. And vice versa. She may very well be unstoppable now, her last weakness in keeping watch over them eliminated. /Forever/.

"Yes." She says. "The representative is named Misaki Izuna. She is very focused on her duties. I am impressed with her professionalism." Which isn't all that easy. She looks to Minako and adds, smiling (aside from her original shock, she really does seem to like Minako). She's eager to please. Like a god robot. Surprisingly, though, she agrees. "Yes. The reinforcements should be enough. I am very confident from what I have heard and seen so far."

Minato is sure they are starting an endless cycle of pride here. He can't stop, though. When you get saved by a sibling with mystical thermonuclear blasts, you can be proud, too. Of course, the people there helped, too, but he has eyes of fraternal <3 for Minako, so basically he's going to attribute their success against Creepy Little Girl to her.

Minato doesn't think there is anything wrong with not really worrying about it, which is kind of his problem too. Maybe they /are/ related. Or maybe AIGIS DID SOMETHING, HUH AIGIS.

"Misaki Izuna," Minato murmurs. Okay, he's down with actual support from the actual authorities, even if it's not a ton of support. He squeezes Minako's hand and smiles at her. "We'll get out of here soon. Then you can meet everyone." Even the problem people, who Minato will nver really say are a problem.

Except Wataru.

Minako *is* pretty awesome. And, apparently, pretty lucky! She doesn't remember the details of what happened very well, but she remembers hearing afterwards that someone pulled her out of the water and gave her mouth-to-mouth, then brought her to a hospital... The hospital tried to ID her parents, but no one ever came for her, and they had no choice but to send her to an orphanage. They were very kind. Minako remembers that. Her memories are hazy--it *was* a long time ago--but she remembers that. Perhaps THAT IS AIGIS' FAULT TOO.

"Excellent! Then everything's set!" Minako cheers, grinning. "Oh, right--Aigis-chan, do you want some soup? Big brother cooked! <3"

The name Misaki Izuna doesn't mean anything to Minako, but she nods anyway. If she runs into her, she'll definitely have to say hi! After all, she's done a lot of work to help everyone, hasn't she? And Minako definitely approves of that. She approves of her brother's suggestion, too, and returns both the smile and the hand-squeeze. "I'd like that! I can't wait~ Oh."

The mood whiplashes as the smile runs away from her face. "Minato... we didn't get a chance to talk about earlier. Um..." She looks over at Aigis. "Sorry, Aigis-chan--Minato-oniichan and I were just about to talk about, well, when we were separated when you came in."

Did Aigis split Thanatos into two somehow? It's theoretically possible, you know, but she doesn't remember anyway so you can't ask her! Neener neener! Then again falling off a bridge can probably also cause foggy memory. It's not a pleasant experience, falling off of bridges.

"Ah." Aigis says, looking down at the soup. Is this the soup that he made with Shiro Koda, who has mysteriously vanished forever sob sob? She doesn't typically eat, but she doesn'tw ant to be rude to Minako.

Worry, worry. This won't cause her to explode will it?

"Ah--sure." She says eventually, "Thank you for offering."

She doesn't comment as to their seperation. It's not like she was there.

"--I need to check up on Thora-chan as well," Aigis says. "I will take one for her too--" They're safe and seem to be sound for the moment, so secondary objectives are now starting to be made prominent.

Minato nods. Aigis takes soup and departs, apparently on a mission from Robo-God. Now that she knows where they are, Minato doubts she'll have any trouble finding them again. She has their supernatural scents, and she will track them if she needs to.

/Forever/.

The mood whiplash almost physically injures Minato. That can be dangerous. He watches Aigis leave, waits a few moments, and lets out a soft sigh. They had to broach this subject eventually. It's inevitable. She has so many questions, and of course, he should have the answers, especially to this one. But... There is always a 'but,' isn't there?

"I don't really know," Minato replies. "I... it's... fuzzy."

"Okay. See you later, Aigis-chan!" Minako says, waving to the robot girl as she leaves, taking two servings of veggie soup with her. Still plenty, right? Maybe they can have some more tomorrow.

Almost? Well, it's good that it's only almost... Minako doesn't want to hurt her brother, but--well, when you encounter a family member who you thought was dead, you want to know how. Why. After you've gotten over the joy that they're not as dead as previously rumored, that is! (A good thing that Minako's never lived in Sumaru, or that would have been bad.)

Her face falls a little too, though. "Yeah... I--don't really remember that well, either. I remember what the doctors said afterwards... I fell in the river, and someone fished me out and gave me CPR. They brought me to the hospital just in case, and they tried to get in touch with Mom and Dad, but..."

They never showed up. They never *would* show up again, either. Minato would be able to fill that particular blank in on his own. After a long pause, Minako regards her brother. "...What did you end up doing afterwards?"

If there was suddenly a Minato alive or a Minato dead or a Minako alive or a Minako dead in Sumaru, well... that would be a problem. Minato knows people in Sumaru. Them finding his corpse or the corpse of someone positively identified as his sister, who was supposed to already be dead (even if she clearly isn't), would be a huge blow to either of them in some manner or another.

Generally it would be a Bad Thing.

Minato looks towards the floor, thinking. He examines it while he considers. "...but they..." Minato's voice fades to quiet again. They know what happened. He just shakes his head. He doesn't want to think about that. That night is something he wishes he could forget. Something he wishes never happened.

"I... floated around," he says, vaguely. "Different places and different people. It was..." He shrugs, somewhat sadly, shoulders falling and ending up drooping.

A very bad thing indeed. They should consider themselves lucky that either of them were able to survive that night at all, let alone the many nights that have followed since. These are things they probably won't be able to forget, though... even while they can't remember it clearly, either. To Minako, it's like watching a badly patched movie reel where the picture's warped and the sound doesn't work properly. She watches her brother, then laces her fingers together behind her back and looks to the floor.

"I ended up in an orphanage for a while," she murmurs. "When nobody came for me, that's all the doctors and the police could really do. It wasn't so bad, though. Everyone was nice." She smiles, looking back up at him. "I guess it was the same as you, kind of. I made friends, but people floated in and out of my life. It's hard for me to remember specific people."

Odd, given her personality, but perhaps Minato can relate. "I ended up here because I did really well in middle school, so I managed to get a scholarship for St. Hermelin," she continues, before brightening. "I'll have to figure out how you transfer those! Is the tuition a lot more at Gekkoukan?"

Minato does consider himself lucky. He's been pretty lucky throughout life when it comes to the important things that fate seems to decide is important rather than what he decides is. He's never really fit in with the people he was supposed to stay with, never really liked where he went... and found his way back to Port Island anyway.

"..." Minato just nods. He remembers something about an orphanage, and then people who were supposed to take care of him, and then... more and more as time went on, going in and out of his life. Was he cursed? Maybe there's something more than what he knows. Maybe he's just /supposed/ to be on Port Island. But now he's /supposed/ to be there... with /her/. It makes all the difference.

"I don't think so," Minato replies. Really, he got invited because SEES had somehow gotten wind of him. Tuition isn't what he's particularly concerned about these days. "You can probably transfer without much trouble." He smiles, a little. That idea is a good one. It'd be nice to be closer to her.

Minako's liked the people and places she's gone well enough! But... never well enough for them to stick in her heart, perhaps. It may be a reason why she's so blase about most things. She only *really* started screaming when it was her brother who nearly died, after all... It's quite possible to be charming and friendly but never truly make anything more than superficial, surface relationships that end once you no longer see each other regularly. People you never talk to after you change schools or move homes. There are people with whom those bonds never break no matter how far apart you are, but... well, Minako's *true* story has only just recently begun. That's a matter for the future--and while she's never given much thought to either the future or the past before, the future certainly looks bright now.

If she's supposed to be on Port Island too, then that's fine with her, so long as she can be with Minato.

She smiles back at him, then steps forward and gently tugs him by the arm back over to the mat. "I'm really looking forward to it. What clubs are you in, big brother? I'll join all of them! Oh!" She brightens. "Are there any people I should look out for in particular? Who do you like best?"

Minato wasn't a huge fan. Sure, it was new experiences, things he hadn't seen before, interests he never considered, and really, the source of his wide and varied education... but he never felt a connection to the people he met. He went through the motions, figured out what people wanted to see and hear, and took it to heart. He wanted to feel welcome, to feel like he belonged. Sometimes he sort of did, but never long enough.

Not one to protest relaxing, Minato has a seat on the mat again. He looks over at Minako, and suddenly finds himself at a loss for reasonable words. "Um... all of them," he says, shrugging like it was nothing. He looks at her for a second and adds, "People asked, and I didn't want to disappoint them..." He trails off, smiling slightly. "Oh, uh, well, there's..."

ALERT! ALERT!

LOADED QUESTION!

ABORT THE PLAN!

ABORT! ABORT!

"...too many to name," he finishes, nodding. "You met Aigis, and you should meet Mitsuru and Junpei and... everyone." Of /course/ Minato doesn't know who to point out beyond the few. He's friends with theoretically everyone. There are just too many names!!

And yet, how can you feel welcomed, or like you belong, if you don't open your heart to the people you meet and places you come across? If you always live like you're holding back, aren't you just protecting yourself from getting hurt? A person can only reach out their hand so far. Making them grab your hand... well, that can work too, but it can also go poorly. Perhaps Minako will be able to teach her brother this, while learning it for herself, too.

"All of them, huh...? All right!" Minako pumps a fist in front of her chest, staring with determination off into the distance as a star sparkles at the corner of one eye. "Then I'll join them all, too!" Not realizing that Minato backpedaled like hell at her innocently loaded question (rather like a child playing with a gun, hah), she nods. "Okay! Then I'll just have to meet everybody. <3"

She sighs a bit then, but it's a contented one, and the brunette leans her head on her brother's shoulder. "...we'll be together from now on, won't we, big brother? The two of us..."

Opening one's heart is asking for pain. When he was moving for so long, and knew he would soon disappear again, why would he risk it? Maybe now that he's back in Port Island, a place he hasn't been able to call home for a long time... maybe now that he's found himself really surrounded by friends instead of people who always seemed so strange...

Minako may be able to help him with this. Who knows? He certainly doesn't.

Minato avoids the loaded question like he would a gun to the hea--er, a sword to the gu--um, a bat to the ass, yeah, that works. He blinks, once, and smiles fondly. He's not sure how /he/ got into that mess, nevermind letting her do it. He leans back, letting her rest her head on him. Just the two of...

"Two of you." A voice in the room that wasn't there a moment ago, from a boy that has seemed to materialize nearby. He wears stripes, black and white, watching them with eyes that seem almost luminescent. He seems unmoved by the display of affection, save the smallest of smiles. It's a knowing sort of expression.

Minato looks visibly startled to see him. He glances at his sister, and tries to calm himself down. She couldn't...

Minato, you know that now that you've said that, encountering a bat-strike to the ass is just inevitable. As for how he let her get involved, well... it kind of involved a demon girl trying to kill him and all his friends. It's unfortunate that it had to end up that way, but surviving sometimes comes at the cost of one's innocence. Minako, at least, seems to be bearing up pretty well so far. Even a Heroic BSOD clears up eventually. If Minato had died, though... well, let's not think about that.

"Huh?" The brunette lifts her head from her brother's shoulders when she hears a voice, locks her red eyes immediately on the young boy nearby. She blinks over at Minato, who looks just as startled, which makes her assume he's just as clueless to see him too. Thus, the auburn-haired girl gets to her feet and walks over to the boy, then kneels down next to him, smiling.

"Hi there," she says. "Are you lost?"

Minato has had a couple of close calls to Heroic BSOD. Right now he's running largely on hope and exhilaration. They can get /out/ of here. They can get out of here /together/. It's... it's amazing, to him, and probably to her. He can't get over it.

But he can be distracted from it. The appearance of the boy is something that Minato figured would happen again, but not when or why. He hasn't found rhyme or reason for it quite yet. Sometimes there are cryptic warnings, sometimes there are just strange words. He suspects the boy isn't sure either.

"No," says the boy, "I'm right where I need to be." He looks up at Minako, smiling still for a moment more. It fades almost entirely, only a slight impression of upturned lips remaining on his features. There's something about him...

"But you are. You shouldn't be here, now that you have found your brother." He turns to Minato. "And neither should you."

Minato frowns, looking at him questioningly. The boy looks back to Minako, curious.

It *is* amazing, and wonderful, and and and... It's just the best! But there are times when Minako can be distracted from this too--the arrival of others, for example, especially a mysterious little boy like this. One would think that she'd be shyer of kids like this considering the *last* time she ran into a strange child who seemed out of place, but they're in the school. It's probably okay.

"You are? But you look like you're only in elementary school," Minako observes, puzzled. There *is* something about him... She's not sure if he makes her uneasy or reassured. Maybe it's something in the eyes, in that slight smile, in his presence... It feels--/familiar/. It's difficult to describe. It feels like an answer she should know, but can't quite grasp.

"What do you mean?" she continues--about being here, about them not being here. Which 'here' does he mean? Catching Minato's eye, she stares back, then shrugs. If he doesn't know, how could she?

Minato just assumes his sister is a trouble magnet like he is. Of course, the fact that she can see the child is a wonder in and of itself. He's figured that, since the kid doesn't show up on dorm security footage, he's either losing his mind or there's something else going on. Since she can see him, it might not be the former.

The boy, the familiar boy, keeps watching her. "I'm not," he says simply. Not what? Not in elementary school? "I should be here, with him. With you. As for you... isn't it obvious?"

"You belong on Port Island," he explains. "With him. But..." He tilts his head to the side a little. "You two have the same power, only... different. The wild card that holds all possibility. I wonder how that will change things?"

Minato remains silent. He isn't sure what to do here. Minako seems to have it handled, but...

When you're as cute as Minako is, of *course* you're a trouble magnet. People can't get enough of that cuteness, so they're always coming for you, and that just means trouble naturally comes too as a result. It's just science!

"Huh?" Minako blinks at Pharos uncomprehendingly. "Well... of course *that's* obvious. I'm not going to leave here and then just stay in Lunarvale when my big brother's in Port Island."

Handled? Well... For a given value of 'handled.' Minako's just as clueless as Minato. Wild card? He needs to be with the two of them? What's he even talking about? This is sort of like Aigis from earlier (and it occurs to Minako that the two of them have similar eyes--they're both a really limpid blue), except even stranger, because even Minato doesn't seem to get what's going on here.

"Who are you?" Minako thus asks, reaching out to attempt to touch the boy. She doesn't really think about it; it's something she just does on a whim.

Minako is basically adorables, and that will probably cause Minato more headaches than he knows, what with the inevitable Junpei Aggro and the magnetic boy attractor that she seems to be, but that is /hardly/ the point and really is not what science is all about. Maybe. Sort of. We think?

aggghhhh

Minako, at some point, blinks. It's inevitable. Her eyelids will shut for the fraction of a second necessary to moisten her eyes.

Her hand touches air. The boy is a few inches to the side, apparently without moving. Her hand may feel oddly cold from the proximity--or maybe from touching him.

"I'm not sure yet. He's helping me with that." The boy stares at her for a moment longer. "My name is Pharos."

"Would you like to be friends?"

Minako is *totally* adorables! <3 Given her propensity for flirting with every boy, too, that'll cause headaches enough--and that's not even getting into the fact that she doesn't know a thing about anything deeper than flirting and maybe dating a little. She's never been on a date, actually, believe it or not. She has no idea what you would even do on one.

Nor does she know how the boy just *moved* like that. The air is cold but she doesn't move, and she stares wide-eyed as the child who is no longer where he was a second ago, even if it's not too far. It's far enough.

All the same, she smiles at him. Even if he doesn't know who he is, that's okay. "Yes!" she agrees. "It's really nice meeting you, Pharos! Do you already know my name?" She looks back over at Minato curiously. "How long have you known him, big brother?"

Minato doesn't want to consider what will happen when people at school find out he has a twin sister.

/That/ will be... something.

Minato hardly seems fazed by the shift in position, but he may have had more experience. Or maybe he blinked, too, and hasn't noticed. He looks over at Minako and looks thoughtful. "Uh... since I moved to Port Island," he decides. Then, he adds, "...sort of. He's..." Minato shrugs helplessly. He's kind of clueless about Pharos.

"Your name is Minako. It is a nice name, I believe." He watches them both for a moment more.

"The time to leave this place approaches," he says suddenly, practically out of nowhere. "You must be ready for the trials that you will face. It will not be easy, but you both have the power to change everything. I am curious to see how you will use it."

That will be /quite a lot/ of somethings.

Since he moved to Port Island... It all goes back to there, doesn't it? Minako's typically sunny expression darkens as she thinks back to those days. It really does make her guts clench a little, thinking back on it... Fortunately, there's Pharos here to concentrate on. Looks like Minato's just as clueless about who he is as Pharos himself is.

"Oh, thank you," she replies, smiling at the boy. "Pharos is a cute name too! Though, how do you know what you're called if you don't know who you are? Did you just make it up?"

A blink. Then Minako nods firmly, standing up, determination etched onto her face. "I will be." She turns towards her twin, smiling again gently. "*We* will be. I don't know what these 'trials' or this 'everything' is, but as long as we're together... everything will be fine. Right?"

Port Island is the center of all this. Something happened there, some time ago, and it's echoes are felt even to this day. If there was some clue as to /what/ happened, maybe they could put everything together, but right now it's all rumors and hearsay, if that. Minato has wanted to know the 'why' of all of this for some time. He just can't figure it out. It's infuriating.

Pharos may have the answer, but he claims to not know either. Is he telling the truth? What do they know about him, anyway...?

"He thought I needed a name. I chose one. Or... perhaps I remembered one. I haven't remembered much, so I am not certain what I have forgotten." He seems to mull this over rather seriously.

He looks back up at Minako, looking her straight in the eye. He smiles. "I hope so. I like having friends already. It's... comforting. But I think that is enough for now."

"I look forward to our next meeting."

They both blink again, in the span of a second, at about the same time. The boy is gone. Minato exhales the breath he wasn't sure he was holding.

"Everything will be fine," he says. "We're almost out of here. We'll all get out. Together."