Happy 4am all! Some Femc feels for you. I got persona 3 portable and played through the female game first out of curiosity and also 'hey since that's the part that's exclusive to psp'. After completing it a while back I have basically still not gotten over Minako who I absolutely ADORE. Seriously if you have the time, the female campaign is well worth playing – she's a darling.

Mostly told through Yukari's eyes because she's great and awkward. I'd love to see more from this fandom ficwise! Especially involving homos but, eh, I'm biased. Tell me what you think at the end if you like, but more importantly, enjoy!

And she's smiling that obscenely charming smile again. Equal parts kind and wicked, it was worryingly endearing, albeit just a tad striking. She has such a shining aura – overpowering, actually – and Yukari can't help but stare at her outright. She winces a bit, realising with a sinking feeling that she's been gawking at this girl for the past few minutes. I mean they're friends and all but… Well, Minako doesn't seem to mind, smiling mildly as she is.

Yukari stares at her just a bit longer and Minako abruptly wiggles her eyebrows. Yukari has to blink a few times because the dark haired girl was wiggling them independently of each other and it was actually a little unnerving. Yukari started to frown at her and Minako copied, frowning with abandon. Oh right, so we're having a straight face staring contest, she realised.

Wow, that's a lot of red.

Her eyes are really pretty.

Yukari blinked as the thought entered her mind unbidden.

Minako grinned at her, her tongue between her teeth.

Oh.

She crossed her legs under her desk to stem off a mild rush of heat that she didn't quite want to acknowledge and slanted her head towards the front of the classroom with a panicked expression.

Ms. Toriumi was skulking about the front desk complaining blandly about the state of society and its growing – and apparently undesirable – awareness. "Ignorance is bliss!" She was saying, swinging a mug of tea around in a suspiciously wild manner. "Stop with the thinking, ah…" She stared at it in utter lament for a second before continuing with her tyranny.

The other day, Minako had mentioned something about Toriumi teaching other staff members how to play mah-jong. Somewhere down the line money had gotten involved and Toriumi had been in an alarmingly fantastic mood for the last semester. However, Mrs .Terauchi seemed to level up dramatically and gave her – from what Yukari could understand – a thorough bollocking. Minako said it was all with that same perpetual smile on her face, too. Something about needing a pretty tile and witnessing Toriumi's final moments. Right.

She looked at the clock on the wall.

Its plastic winked 3.30 at her. Yukari's eye twitched. Another half hour to go.

"Well, that was something." Minako was stretching as they left the classroom. She seemed to triple in height whenever she did that – something about being disturbingly flexible (did she wink when she told her that? Whatever).

"I think it's the coffee." Yukari deadpanned, taking care to avoid looking at Arisato's briefly exposed stomach.

"Oh, yeah?" Minako peered at her out of one eye, arms still extended. "Eh, well," she grabbed her bag from where it was on the floor and slung it over her shoulder haphazardly, "she's lucky she's cute." She giggled and bumped Yukari's shoulder, taking off.

"Yeah…" Yukari was looking at the floor.

Minako grinned at her. "You like a bit of Toriumi-sama, Yuka-chin?"

"Yeah… What? Ah-hey?! Didn't you say she was cute in the first place? More importantly, where are your headphones?"

Yukari was blushing, dammit. Arisato never forgot her headphones but it was something easy to say that moved away from the subject of 'Toriuma-sama'.

"Mmmn, you liiike them?" Minako was a few steps ahead of her, smiling brightly. Actually those headphones were different, nice save. Huh, Yukari frowned, Minako 's… totally broke…

"Yeah…" The light haired girl closed the distance and clasped one of the earpieces, ignoring the hand that came so easily to hold her hip as she did so. "You got these…?" She tried not to process the warmth.

Minako gave her a little squeeze. "Last… no, wait, yesterday. Yes." Her hand wormed its way under Yukari's winter jumper and she pinched her hip. Yukari squeaked and glared at the offending molester.

"Cooking club goes on 'til late though?" This was kind of bugging her, actually.

"Fuuka gave 'em to me. Isn't she sweet?"

Yukari blinked at the apparent affection radiating from Arisato at the mention of their dorm mate's name. Oh. "…As cinnamon." Eh?

Minako raised her eyebrows. Her hooded eyes regarded Yukari with evident sarcasm. "Wow… how long have you been waiting to say that? Be honest. You are awful at lying."

Arisato's hand was gone. She was already putting one of the earpieces on, leaving the other to hang around her neck.

She was staring.

Her skin was flawless.

Yukari felt hot.

"Tch, not going to tell me?" Minako shoulder bumped her again, playful. "Super spy Yukari remembers the first rule about spy club," she skipped off, calling back, "don't talk about spy club!"

"You've been hanging around Junpei too much."

"Lolpei, you mean."

"What the hell? Lolpei?"

"Fits doesn't it?"

"It doesn't even make any sense. Are you okay?"

"Do you ever go on the internet, Yukari?"

They eventually arrived at their dorm. They both wanted to go by the mall and Minako borderline demanded that they should have a post Chagall chug session arcade stop. It was fun but Minako always insisted they spend all of their money.

Yukari sat on a chair near the stairs, brandishing a magazine and grumbling obscenities.

Yukari greeted everyone on the way in, friendly but not really in the mood to engage. Minako however spotted Fuuka and Junpei chatting – animatedly, in Junpei's case, Fuuka on the other hand looked a tad overwhelmed – over the coffee table and made her way over to them. She promptly draped her arms over Fuuka and rested her chin on her head. The blue haired girl jumped at first but quickly settled to Arisato's presence.

"Hello my babies." Minako greeted amicably. Her chin was planted on Fuuka's head so when she spoke instead of her chin dropping her head bobbed instead. Yukari hid a smile.

"S'up dude?" Junpei grinned at her, showing all of his teeth. He had a playstation portable clasped between his long fingers and Fuuka was holding a tiny card of some description.

"Hello, Minako-chan." Fuuka greeted kindly, patting her arm.

"So…"

"Fuuka totally has like, a buttload of roms man; I told you she could hook us up!"

From her place next to the coffee machine, Mitsuru frowned. She and Yukari shared a joint look of long suffering at the phrase 'buttload'.

"Hey-?!" Minako seemed totally over it, "she mentioned it at cooking club, which you would have remembered, if you weren't so fixated on my hot buns."

She gave Fuuka a little squeeze.

"Hot cross buns. Yeesh, you're lucky you're cute Mina." Yukari could faintly hear Minako insist 'hot buns' after he finished his sentence.

"Oh! Would you have preferred a rice ball, Junpei?" Fuuka asked innocently, doe-like.

Minako smiled with a patience that spoke volumes. Somewhere in the background Koromaru whimpered.

"N-no thanks Fuuka, those were some…hot… buns."

Arisato levelled a shit-eating grin at him. Fuuka couldn't see.

"Ah… Well if you change your mind, you're always welcome."

"Ah, aha, thanks." Junpei coughed. He opened a slot on the psp and gestured to them with it. "Hey did you know, Fuuka here is a…" he gently took the card from Fuuka's much smaller hand and slotted it into the machine, "champion tetris player? She has an online following and everything!"

"N-not so loud, Junpei…"

Yukari turned away from them at that point. Minako slipped her arms from Fuuka and flopped unceremoniously onto the couch she was sat on, putting her legs companionably on the paler girl's lap. She was laughing easily, and prodding Junpei on the forehead for whatever reason.

There was a girl in the magazine that looked a lot like Arisato. She had a yellow scarf on and her hair was slicked back. A little smaller though, could probably fit inside the girl.

Yukari felt a little pissed off for some reason. Her brain took that out of context and now she didn't want to think about anything going inside Minako. Apart from… what? What the hell.

Mitsuru brought her a coffee. "How are you doing?" Her voice was a little too sexy for five in the afternoon, Yukari trembled.

"Uh, well, thanks." She took it gratefully and had a sip. Two sugars. Cheers, Kirijo. "How about you senpai?"

Mitsuru leaned against the long table and paused thoughtfully. She was looking at the others goofing off and smiling softly. She finished observing them and levelled her weighty gaze to Yukari again. "Good, myself."

Yukari nodded. She would have probably touched her companion amicably had they been anyone other than Mitsuru but something about the woman made her feel like she should probably pay some sort of toll before resting a hand on her. She vowed to get over that within the next couple weeks. "Have you been getting enough sleep, senpai? You look kinda tired."

Mitsuru waved a hand gently. "It's nothing." Well, alright then. "Say, Yukari… do you fancy going to Inaba for a bit? If you have the time, there's an inn I want to try." Well, alright then.

The junior smiled. "Sure." It would be nice if… "Is anyone else…?"

"Minako has already been." Ah. " Yamagishi, Iori, Akihiko and myself have not. Perhaps we could make a day of it? Oh, my apologies Koromaru-san. You as well." Mitsuru looked at her and the corners of her lips lifted quite sweetly. "I've been told the mind needs equal parts rest and recreation, after all."

Yukari thought she'd heard about that place before. Right.

She looked at Minako, who happened to be glancing in her direction just then. Minako just smiled charmingly at her, the tip of her tongue between her teeth again.

Figures.

"Ah! I love a bit of Inaba, me."

Yukari looked at her. It was a cold-ass morning and they were stood outside the dorm in their coats, shivering. Well, she was, Minako – half woman half volcano – was fine as always. With that damnable orange sweater and give 'em hell attitude it was like the girl could endure any sodding weather. They'd gone outside in an effort to wake up a little more but it was probably a waste since Yukari just wanted to leap into bed again. Arisato had her hands in her pockets, standing straight backed with one leg out in front of her, resting on the heel. Her toes pointed up. Her pose was similar to that magazine model and Yukari felt ill.

"Did you know," a little puff of steam actually came out of her nose, what the hell was up with the weather? "I'm being… devious, Yukari-san."

San?

Yukari rolled her eyes. "This doesn't come as a surprise to me whatsoever."

Minako grinned toothily at her.

They moved closer together. For warmth.

"Yukari-san."

What now?

"You have really kind eyes."

Thanks?

Yukari gave her a level look. Minako's manic grin had softened.

"Thanks. Your eyes are gorgeous." She found herself saying, not really thinking.

Arisato's expression turned sly. "Gorgeous? Heh."

Yukari looked at her irritably. "I take it back. They look like sores. Who has red eyes anyway?"

"Fuuka has like, blue hair!" Minako shot back with mock indignation. "You're so mean, Yukari-san."

"I'm not mean, Minako-san, you're just a nuisance."

"Do you like me, Yukari?"

Yukari's eyes widened. Her slender brows furrowed and she glared at a streetlight nearby. There were butterflies in her chest that were beating her ribcage apart.

Her cheeks were pink. "Hell, no."

They leaned closer together anyway, with Yukari's rumbling perpetuating the quiet as they stood side by side. Minako slipped her hand into Yukari's pocket and left it there. They did not hold. However they moved inside the space and over each other, skin on skin, tender wombing in the warm.

"Good evening." Akihiko stepped out of the dorm, dressed in a thin white vest and tracksuit bottoms. Minako whistled appreciatively and he went pink. Yukari pinched the palm of her hand.

"Good evening, senpai." Minako said, smiling. "Are you going to do your Rocky routine?"

Akihiko smiled wrly. "Something like that." He flexed his arms and the muscles rippled.

"Soaring up Naganaki shrine to the tune of eye of the tiger… Hey how has no one commented on this before?"

In spite of her better judgement, Yukari mulled it over. "Huh, that's a thought. Who would be the badguy?"

"Personally I think it would be you, Yukari. You're kind of evil." Yukari pinched the shit out of her hand.

"You, are so, annoying-" she punctuated each word with a sharp nip of her fingers. "Please excuse her senpai; I think she was dropped on her head at birth."

Akihiko thought about it. "I don't think Yukari would be the badguy, she's too nice." He crossed his arms. "And I could never hit a girl…"

Yukari stared at him. Jeez, senpai. He was too serious for his own good. Akihiko hadn't commented on their hands, but Minako was pretty touchy-feely in general – Yukari usually hated touchy-feely people, they just sort of invaded her personal bubble and there was something inherently appalling about them – so it probably didn't seem odd to him.

Worryingly, it didn't feel odd for her. This was getting out of hand. She glanced quickly at her pocket. Ah…

Minako chose that moment to encompass her hand and give it a squeeze. Yukari shot her a look but she wasn't sure what she was trying to say with it. Akihiko was still pondering the whole Rocky palava and Minako's prompts weren't helping – so she was free to look at her in earnest.

The gentle, feminine slope of Minako's outline cut a svelte shadow across Akihiko's blunt frame and she felt a pang in her chest.

"Are you gay?" Junpei asked out of the blue. It was a Sunday and they were lounging about on one of the sofas with Minako at one end and him at the other, their backs resting against the arm rests. They were both playing on portable games consoles and butting each other with their feet occasionally.

Minako didn't answer for a moment. She was frowning and hitting the 'x' button with abandon. Her eyes, alert initially, became hooded with abrupt boredom. It seemed she was focusing on the game though, not at Junpei's probing. Junpei carried on playing. He didn't mean anything by the question; he was just asking.

Yukari tried to pretend she wasn't paying attention but it was really hard. Her other distraction besides the fashion magazine in her hand was Mitsuru. The woman in question was sauntering this way and that, filled with some sort of new sexual energy and looking at her was becoming an awkward exercise. Fuuka was out with Natsuki and Akihiko was bonding with Koromaru in a way that only wolf brothers could. Sighh.

"Hmm…" Minako murmured, head canted up and peering down at the screen. After a few moments a look of mild triumph appeared on her face. "Oh," She vocalised, looking up. "I love everyone!" She declared, kicking him in jubilation. Minako fully extended her legs and Junpei got bunched up on his side of the couch.

"Ow, hey-you're taking up all the room!"

"Haha!"

Yukari looked away then. The latest styles and trends weren't grabbing her interest as she'd hoped and this tidbit of news from Minako elated and disappointed her in equal and crushing amounts.

Mitsuru was flicking through – or would it be to? – a brochure advertising something called the Amagi Inn. Since this Inaba thing had filtered into the dorm Mitsuru had taken a keen interest in it. She had been spending quite some time on her phone and Mitsuru never blushed at executives or CEOs so whoever this person was they were getting her gold plated Kirijo panties in a twist, and that meant they were kind of a big deal.

But,

That was so typically Minako to answer and evade a question all at once; especially when it was so relevant to Yukari's latest pattern of thinking. Sod's law seemed to deeply cripple all aspects of Yukari's life. If she'd taken up studying the intricacies of the spoken Japanese word she would bet all the yen on earth that Minako would start speaking rapid fire Cantonese.

"How about… Fuuka?"

"What? No, she's like a little sister."

"Eh, eh, eh."

"Haha you're gross dude, what's wrong with you." Shove.

"Ah it's not about me! It's about you Juniper-san." All these nicknames.

"Man! You know I'm spoken and accounted for, Chidori would have my head on a plate."

"Fuuka-hama-gishi, one hit K.O!"

They started giggling to themselves. Mitsuru was still off in la-la land and it was only two in the afternoon.

"Yukiko… Hama-gi!"

"Yukiko… Maragi!"

They looked at Mitsuru and died laughing. To her credit Mitsuru just looked mildly appalled.

"You two should realise by now…"

Oh, yikes.

"…She would be more of an Amagi… Dyne." She seemed to be trying to keep a straight face as she circled something in the brochure and noted something down. She looked like she was doing important things but Yukari doubted it somehow. "…Yukiko Amagidyne. Credit where credit is due, please."

Minako laughed pleasantly while Junpei chuckled. The former asked Yukari, "Yukari-chan, how do I beat this boss? Fuuka's not here to tell me what's what, Mitsuru is preening and Junpei is an appalling strategist!"

Mitsuru, still looking at her notes, mouthed incredulously. 'Preening?'

Ignoring the 'hey!' from Junpei that followed, Yukari replied without looking at her, feigning utter disinterest. "Garu." She waved her hand dismissively.

Arisato looked pleased. "Hey, it's the cute one that knows that, don't you know?" She pulled her legs off of Junpei and sat up properly.

"Green wind though, kind of suspect." Junpei said quietly.

It was Minako's favourite character and she gave him a look of contempt. "That's horrible, go away." She gave him a light shove and pinched one of the wispier beard hairs on his chin. He let out a strangled laugh and she got up.

Yukari vaguely knew the game they were on about; some of the boys in their class wouldn't shut up about it. Apparently she looked a lot like one of the characters, or something. She frowned.

She felt rather than saw Minako coming. Warmth pressed into her back, the suggestive weight of a pair of breasts was a promising whisper against her body. Yukari tilted her head up and Minako was there, peering at her.

"Wanna go to Chagall's?" The Arisato girl was smiling at her.

Yukari frowned even as her heart warmed. "You don't have any money." She said flatly. "Besides, I'm busy." She turned a page as if to prove a point.

Minako raised her eyebrows delicately and she got a funny feeling in her stomach. What?

"Oh, why'd you turn the page? That last one was interesting."

Yukari wasn't entirely sure where this was going. "That's what people do when they read magazines… they read them." She answered carefully.

"Really?" Minako sounded very incredulous. "That's funny; you were looking at that article for…" She glanced at the clock, "forty five minutes." She leaned in, invading Yukari's personal space. It was an article about some celebrity scandal; the kind Yukari had a knee-jerk flight reaction to. They both knew it. "It must have been pretty damn interesting."

Yukari worked to keep the steel on her face but Arisato's perfume and closeness was overwhelming.

"Unless…" Minako's eyes grew lidded and she murmured suggestively, "you were looking at something else."

She phrased it like a statement and Yukari fought the impulse to stutter.

Minako stood straight and smiled at her with a hint of victory. "So, Chagall's at 6?"

They were in Chagall's. The atmosphere was quiet and warm, and the café was noticeably absent of customers. Minako had peeked in earlier and before Yukari could say anything she declared, "look! I rented the place out, Yukari-chan."

The pair of them sat opposed in a semi-circular booth by the window. Minako's feet were tangled up with Yukari's and the latter gave her shin a tap irritably. The dark haired girl kept rubbing her foot ever so slightly against her leg and her shoe was a little scratchy against her tights.

That's what she said, anyway; what she felt was an entirely different matter. Minako gave her a dry expression and took off her shoes, continuing with the motion and playing with a napkin.

Yukari groaned internally even as her heart did a victorious skip. She is fucking me about.

"Besides, your feet smell." She declared blandly.

Minako stared dumbly at her. "Now you shut up; I have two showers a day thank you very much, and my feet are a pinnacle of cleanliness and prosperity." She gave her toes a wiggle for emphasis and it tickled.

"Two showers?" Yukari replied, cupping her coffee thoughtfully.

"Two." Minako confirmed with a smile. "I'm the cleanest, Yukari."

The girl in question just gave Minako an incredulous look and sipped her coffee. They had an exam of all bloody things in two weeks and she needed to sleep early but Minako and caffeine weren't helping.

Minako started folding the napkin she was fidgeting with. It looked dumb but it was probably going to turn out mind-blowingly intricate; Minako had a penchant for hiding how utterly smart she was.

In fact just a few weeks prior Arisato had been complaining about Mitsuru being too damn smart for her to talk to but apparently she'd passed the Kirijo challenge – supposedly this involved quite a lot of algebra – and now the Mitsuru liked her almost as much as she liked rapiers. Which, incidentally, was a lot.

It actually irritated Yukari, just a bit.

"Oh hey, how's Mitsuru?" Minako asked suddenly. Her hands were doing all kinds of shit now so Yukari just stopped paying attention.

"I don't know?" She pouted. "Isn't Mitsuru your friend now?"

Minako smirked but didn't look at her. It was this kind of thing that drove Yukari up the wall and into China.

"Well," Minako began, doing a series of pointed folds as she spoke, "in between painting our toe nails and discussing all the cute boys at school there simply isn't enough time to talk about our feelings." The napkin was starting to take some sort of form. "And there are soooo many cute boys, Yukari-chan."

She wanted to punch her. "Oh well excuse me if I'm not sorry." Yukari slumped forward in her seat, resting her chin on her arms, which were folded on the table. "I don't know. She seems… happier than usual." She waved a hand irreverently. "Something about someone she's texting, I think."

Minako started smiling as she continued her quiet ministrations, listening.

"But whenever I ask her about it she just giggles and goes stupid." Yukari huffed. "She giggles at me; I don't know what to think anymore."

Minako was chuckling.

"What are you laughing about? It's kind of weird…" She took a decisive gulp of her coffee.

Her companion shook her head amicably. "Nothing it's just, you know, you're pretty funny."

Yukari stared passively at her, waiting for the barb that was sure to come.

There was a period of silence and Minako looked at her from under her fringe with a pleasant smile on her face. "What?"

Yukari gave her a deadpan expression.

"Eh? No that's it, I got nothing." The dark haired girl laughed, doing a rolling motion with her napkin. "Sometimes I do actually just say nice stuff about you, you know."

Something warm wriggled in Yukari's chest and she didn't know what to make of it. She wanted to smile but if she did and Minako kept smiling back at her like that she didn't know where this would end up.

Her mind chose that moment to unhelpfully supply her with images of her flat on Minako's bed and the latter craned above her, looking fiercely superior and warm all at once.

COFFEE.

She slammed some back, wishing it was alcohol.

"Ta-daaa!"

Yukari blinked.

Minako presented her a little rose made from that paper napkin. The stem was just a tightly rolled slip with a slight torn edge at the bottom but the petals of the rose were intricately folded and creased to perfection. She'd taken the time to stain the bud with a little drop of coffee. Yukari recalled seeing her dip her finger in during her apparent fantasizing but wrote it off as a Minakoism.

"This is…?"

"Mine." Minako deadpanned, snatching it away. Yukari looked dumbstruck for a second until Minako giggled and advanced towards her, sliding across the padded seats.

Yukari saw her easily make her way over in a single shift but for some reason still felt surprised at the rush of warmth she felt at the pleasant contact. Minako sidled up next to her and patted her leg amiably.

"Crap, your skin is really hot Yukari, are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine. What?" Yukari gave her an arch expression at the closeness but otherwise did not move away.

"Yeah, alright." Minako rolled her eyes with a smile. She angled her body towards her companion and tucked the little coffee rose into one Yukari's pockets.

"That's…" She stared at the offending object, trying to process it and failing. "Nice?"

Her companion smiled patiently but there was humour in her eyes.

Yukari shifted in discomfort; Minako was really close now and whenever this happened her brain decreased function by around 80%. It was troubling and her presence was just so overpowering and safe and at the same time so completely worrisome that it was all she could do to remain stern lest she crack and-

Minako calmly rested a hand on Yukari's knee. The latter gave her a look of obvious shock but Arisato simply didn't pay attention, sipping contentedly on her large mug of white coffee and looking out of the window pleasantly. The gentle beginnings of rain had started ghosting over the roads. A wall mounted lamp on the exterior of the building gleamed gold and its light dispersed into a thousand shining dots from the smatterings of moisture on the windows. Chagall's staff were in the process of putting on some calming music as part of their rainy day special.

Yukari made an awkward noise and Minako chuckled, still not looking at her. Her warm hand had started to delicately rub circles on the flustered girl's knee, occasionally tracing soothing trails with the points of her nails.

If she didn't do something about this soon she'd end up flipping the table. Minako pressed her side against her and a sweet, subtle scent filtered into her nostrils.

It was like Minako knew that if she looked at her, Yukari would chicken out.

Why does she have to know everything?

Yukari pouted.

"Idiot." She said at last, putting her hand on top of Minako's.

"The first to say 'idiot' is the idiot, huh?"

"You're such a jerk."

They were walking home in the rain, hands clasped tightly together. Minako was smiling something fierce and Yukari looked like she wanted to run.

The flaxen haired girl traced her thumb over the back of Minako's hand on a whim, receiving a squeeze in response. Oh, whew, okay. Alright.

They didn't bring an umbrella but Minako did some sort of insane negotiating with some of Chagall's staff. Apparently people forgot umbrellas there all the time, to the point that some of them had been there for months. Minako got a glint in her eye and asked – terribly sweetly – if she could procure one of them because 'the rain messes up (her) hair and then (she) won't look cute at all!'

Following a torrent of 'oh you're still cute Minako-chan~' and a hurried pencilling of a – very fake – phone number the pair had sashayed out of the café with a umbrella that Yukari swore she saw on Tanaka's amazing commodities that one time.

Minako didn't seem to give a shit past that point however, giving their joined hands a little swing.

"Ah… They really fell for it…" Yukari pressed closer. Minako was holding the umbrella with her far hand because her other hand was otherwise occupied so Yukari had to come up close whether she liked it or not.

"Absolutely." It was a cute umbrella featuring a Jack Frost print. "I helped out one of the girls in there one time, something about Jack Frost dolls? She's kind of an enthusiast." A car drove past and Minako shifted a little to shoulder most of the spray. "Elizabeth something. Really nice person."

Yukari rolled her eyes. "Of course. What was that number anyway? It looked convincing."

Minako looked down to hide a smirk. "It's Junpei's. I considered leaving Akihiko's but I think that would turn out less funny and more… sad?" She let out a breathless laugh, steam coming out of her mouth. "Probably have a lot more punching, too."

Yukari hid a smile but Minako saw it anyway.

"Nearly there."

Yukari made a sound of affirmation.

"Yeah, I think we nearly are."

Later that evening found Yukari in her room viciously attempting to study. She could hear the – admittedly pleasant albeit kind of disturbing – sound of Mitsuru's tinkling laughter in her room and what sounded like a mobile phone constantly ringing and cursing coming from the floor below. The building was old and the floors were thin; nothing was kept secret here.

Fuuka was apparently tinkering on something; there was a low bass thrum pulsing through the wall. She'd always listen to some sort of techno or dub while she was hard at work on and it was more than a little odd but kind of fitting. Yukari hung out with her occasionally but avoided any time past 11pm – Fuuka after dark tended to be a disturbing sight to behold.

Mitsuru let out a giggle and Yukari could swear that her voice turned sultry. She heard the sound of a door locking and that little click told Yukari more than she ever wanted to know. Christ.

She let out a disturbed noise and stood up, grabbing her notes and a textbook. With a huff she opened her door and made her way to the lounge.

Minako was there in the kitchen area, in the process of stirring a cup of tea and reading some notes. She had a small book in one hand and was mouthing the words mutedly to herself as she went about her quiet work. Yukari let out a smile.

Yukari made her way over to one of the sofas and spread her work out on the coffee table. She reclined peaceably, leaning her back on where the arm rest met the sofa and looking at Minako with a strange expression.

The latter was still stirring away, murmuring to herself. After some time she extracted the spoon from the brown substance, gave it a shake, and deposited it neatly in the sink. She blindly fumbled in one of the cupboards, pulling out a biscuit.

She's…

Yukari moved her legs onto the sofa, tucking her feet under her to keep them warm. Her body was canted towards Minako and she felt strangely hot.

The girl in question picked up her tea, the biscuit balancing precariously on top of the mug and turned so her side was facing Yukari. She was dressed simply in a pair of cotton short shorts and an oversized, plain white t-shirt that hung flatteringly over her slight frame. The gentle slopes and suggestions of her bones and body cut an attractive shape to Yukari's ever more confused eyes and a bead of heat slowly sloped its way into her abdomen. Minako's hair was in her trademark updo with the exception of a few locks of hair escaping from the style and making haphazard shapes across her face and neck. She'd probably been lying down.

"'Winter mornings are pleasant'…?" Minako murmured quietly. "…Isn't this just trivia?" She sounded incredulous.

She's really…

Minako made an irritated sound and padded out of the kitchen area. She looked up from her book finally and her redder than red eyes met Yukari's, smouldering.

She's really something.

"Oh." Minako blinked, frowning with one eyebrow. "I didn't realise you came down here? Were you…" She blanched, making a face at her textbook. "You know what, nevermind. I talk to myself."

Yukari didn't say anything. She was wearing a pair of shorts similar to Minako's – they'd bought them on the same day, actually – and a knitted jumper and felt very aware of how bare her legs were. She leaned back; keeping herself propped up on the arm rest, and crossed her legs with deliberate slowness.

She didn't really know what she was trying to do, only that Minako had been flustering her for quite some bloody time now and it was making her feel… funny.

Minako seemed to sense something different going on and took the time to stop. She stared at the exposed skin of Yukari's thighs and the latter felt the blood rush to her face.

She had such pale, pretty skin, and dark eyelashes that framed bright, explosive eyes. Those same eyes were roving slowly over her body and Yukari shifted from the heat of them, staring pointedly back at her.

Minako opened her mouth and closed it again. Yukari realised with a hint of victory, she doesn't know what to do, does she?

She blinked slowly at her. "What's up, Minako?"

'What's up, huh…' The girl whispered quietly to herself. Yukari regarded her with a bland expression but there was a superior tilt to her head and something animal in her eyes.

"Nothing." Minako ventured, setting her things down on the coffee table. She stared at her with a queer expression that persisted as she sat down on the same sofa, close to her feet. Minako looked like she was trying to sound her out – which she did often, with everyone, to (normally) outstanding results.

Yukari poked her with her foot. "Why so serious, leader?"

It was mostly a joke that they called her that; she was the most adventurous out of the bunch and often coordinated outings and social dos.

Minako looked lingeringly at her for a moment. "I'm always serious."

Yukari rolled her eyes and uncrossed her legs. Minako's eyes darted quickly to the newly exposed areas and back before she could seemingly help it and she actually looked bashful for a second.

"Always? Forgive me if I call bull." Her face was stern as usual but there was a flirtatious lilt to her voice that was unmistakable.

Minako kept staring at her funny. Evidently they weren't getting anywhere and something was pulsing incessantly in Yukari that made her feel suddenly impatient.

For God's sake.

Yukari put her book down on the floor.

Minako raised her eyebrows. "Not keen on studying anymore, Yukari-chan?"

"Something like that." Yukari folded her legs underneath her and sat up, body postured towards her companion who continued to regard her almost warily.

Minako looked at her calculatingly, like she wanted to do something but didn't know quite what.

"Oh, screw it."

Yukari surged forward and pressed her lips against Minako's. After a brief moment of shock the latter wrapped her arms around her and pulled her in close, crushing their lips together. Yukari let out a sound of surprise and Arisato muffled it with her lips, slanting their open mouths together. The sudden hot feeling of Minako's tongue gently probing her mouth made her moan lowly, and the Arisato girl grasped at her hair.

Yukari moved forward and Minako pulled, until the former was bodily on top of the latter. Minako ran her hands across Yukari's back and Yukari slipped her hands under Minako's shirt and they were kissing and kissing.

It was two in the morning and the pair hadn't moved from the sofa. Yukari was lying on top of Minako and they had their arms around each other, kissing slowly. It was a bizarre situation but all Yukari could really say about it at this point was that she was quite content and those gods be damned questions had stopped spiralling around her head long enough that she could viably get some action.

Yukari sucked delicately at Minako's bottom lip and in response the girl sighed, parting her lips. Slowly Yukari cupped her face in her hands and explored Minako's hot mouth. Suddenly the latter giggled and Yukari withdrew enough to give her a bemused-come-irritated expression.

Minako smiled brightly at her with hooded eyes, hooking her legs around Yukari's hips and giggling at the resulting yelp.

"You're a bit of a dark horse, Yukari-chin."

Yukari frowned at her in the midst of the fiery blush staining her cheeks. "Yeah? You're just a horse, Minako."

Minako laughed brightly.

Yukari pouted at her and kissed the underside of her jaw despite her annoyance.

"Nay, Yukari." The girl in questioned rolled her eyes though she knew her companion wouldn't be able to see. "I am the best."

"And so modest." Came a muffled retort from the crook of Minako's neck.

Minako stroked Yukari's hair, her other arm wrapped lovingly around the girl's back. "Well, you think so, right Yukari?"

There was a groan from below. Minako smiled peacefully at the ceiling.

"So what if I do..."

Minako made a sound of surprise as Yukari sat up, straddling her.

"You are." Yukari leaned down to kiss her deeply before straightening.

"Pardon?" Minako was left a little pink. Yukari took her time getting off of her and gathering her books.

The flaxen haired girl balanced her things in her arms and walked at an easy pace towards the stairs. She paused at the threshold, looking back at Minako with an unreadable expression. "The best, I mean."

Minako looked at her with a fond, confused expression. Yukari felt her heart pulse just a little painfully.

Mentally gathering herself, she tilted her head pointedly towards the stairs, giving them a sideways glance before looking back at Minako. The dark haired girl raised her eyebrows in apparent wonder.

Yukari smiled at her like she had a secret and started up the stairs.

Minako abandoned her tea.