Chapter Text
“That was a tough shadow; you guys must be exhausted! Please come back!”
Fuuka’s voice reached the team currently trying to catch their breath. She was right. That shadow really had taken a lot out of them.
”Yeah okay, we're heading back now.”
Shinjiro softly grunted as he stood up straight. ”C’mon guys”
The three other party members gave their own signs of confirmation as their leader pulled out a traesto gem, sending back to the entrance of Tartarus.
Akihiko was pacing when they arrived, and Shinjito was willing to bet he had been since they arrived at Tartarus in the first place. The second Akihiko opened his mouth, Shinjiro let out an annoyed sigh, knowing what was coming.
“You should’ve let me come with, that fight would’ve been over much quicker.”
They went over this every time they went to Tartarus.
“You need to heal first otherwise you’re just gonna get yourself killed. I only let you come with to keep you from whining about being left at the dorm.”
The boxer opened his mouth to protest but was swiftly cut off by Mitsuru.
“Aragaki is right, letting you accompany us would only result in you getting injured further. Besides, Iori and Takeba may not be as strong as you but they’re just as capable.”
Akihiko grumbled in defeat.
---
Back at the dorm, Shinjiro lay awake in his room, moonlight illuminating the room softly. The state of SEES has been a growing concern lately. They couldn’t keep going on like this. There were only six of them, including Fuuka. They had faced a huge shadow last full moon and just hardly defeated it. And all of the shadows in Tartarus just kept getting stronger the further they progressed. Mitsuru was strong and always willing to fight. Junpei was always ready to fight but reckless. Yukari could fight, but Shinjiro could sense she was hesitant. And Akihiko, of course, he was almost all brawn no brain, but had gotten injured during the full moon and would probably be recovering for at least a month.
Shinjiro was their leader. He should be doing something about this, but what? He can’t just call off all Tartarus missions. That’d defeat the very purpose of SEES. But what else could he do? Shadows just keep getting stronger, and now the constant looming threat of another one of those huge shadows hung over their heads. It’s his job to keep them safe, but that’s easier said than done. He made a mental note to ask the chairman about any new possible candidates. For now he had to sleep; tomorrow was a school day, and Mitsuru would chew him out if he set a bad example by letting his grades slip.
----
“What’s so important about this girl anyways? She’s already said no, so why do you all keep asking? We have enough people. We don’t need someone who doesn’t even want to join.”
The members of SEES were currently all gathered in the control room, as Ikutsuki had agreed that a meeting concerning the future of SEES was necessary.
Shinjiro mulled over Junpei’s words before shaking his head.
“That’s the thing, we don’t have enough people. With Aki out of commission for a while it’s only the four of us, with the shadows' power increasing we’ll end up only being able to go to Tartarus once a week at best. And that isn’t including if another big shadow shows up again.”
The chairman nodded as the room grew silent once again. Everyone knew their leader was right.
“There is one other possible candidate, but that still needs to be worked out. For now, she seems to be our best bet. We have everything set up for her to transfer dorms, she just needs to agree. Could you try talking to her one last time?”
No one said anything, as everyone could feel the frustration radiating off of Junpei. Finally, he scoffed, lifting himself from the couch he was sitting on and leaving the room.
Shinjiro sighed running a hand over his face. He wasn’t really sure what Junpei was so upset about. It’d be up to him to have a talk with him about it though.
“I’ll talk to her on Monday...if she shows up to school, that is.”
Ikutsuki nodded, a smile finding its way to his face.
“I’ll tell you more about this possible candidate once I have more to tell you. And you should all try and relax for the next week. You all seem to be wearing a bit thin.”
----
Hopefully, Mitsuru won’t kill him for cutting class. In his defence, he had a good reason: he had seen the girl arrive at school, but when he passed her class she was nowhere to be seen. If Shinjiro took away anything from his rough patch of skipping, it was that the roof was the go-to place. He pushed the door open, and instantly his eyes landed on a brunette girl sitting on one of the stone benches. Her expression was hard to place. She didn’t exactly look sad, but she didn’t look fully there either. More like indifferent to her surroundings.
Feeling a bit awkward he sat on the end of the bench she was on, not wanting to be too close and come off as creepy. Upon closer inspection, he noticed she had a pair of headphones on, her daze still distant. It was strange. Whenever he saw people talking to her, she seemed so cheery. He felt like he was seeing a completely different person.
Without a word, the girl pressed a button on the music player around her neck and removed her headphones, letting them fall against her shirt, dangling from her neck as well. In an instant, it seemed like her whole personality changed. A small, mischievous smile formed on her lips as she turned to Shinjiro.
“Are you here to try and convince me to join your group as well?”
Shinjiro cleared his throat awkwardly. Sure, he was the leader, but that didn’t mean he was good at talking to people.
“Not exactly. I have a different offer, actually..”
This seemed to pique her interest, genuine curiosity lacing her expression.
“Oh?”
“I actually came to ask if you’d be willing to move into my dorm temporarily.”
As that mischievous smile curled more, Shinjiro felt like she was the embodiment of one of those emoticons.
“You want me to move into your dorm?”
Her tone was laced with something Shinjiro couldn’t place. It sounded like she was… Teasing? Him? As soon as he figured out her implications an embarrassed blush formed on his cheeks.
“It’s... It's a co-ed dorm.”
“I figured as much since Yukari mentioned the dorm when talking to me. I just wanted to mess with you.”
Shinjiro coughed and averted his gaze.
“Anyways... With your permission, we’d like to move you into the dorm for a month maybe? We won’t make you join us in anything.”
“Is this your way of trying to indirectly convince me to join?”
The response she got was a grunt in confirmation.
“And after a month if I still don’t feel like joining I just move back into my current dorm?”
She seemed to be weighing her options before suddenly speaking up, catching Shinjiro off guard.
“Okay. I’ll move in.”
Shinjiro had been in the process of standing up, expecting to be asked for time to consider it. He looked at her a bit shocked, then smiled softly.
“Alright, Miss Arisato, our chairman will take care of the transfer process, and then you’ll be moved into our dorm.”
“Call me Minako.”
She stood up and straightened her skirt. Putting on her headphones and resuming her music, she walked to the door and disappeared back inside. Shinjiro could've sworn he saw the whole charismatic facade drop as she walked away. At least now they were one step closer to having a new member joining SEES.