Ren had to admit, even though the uneasy atmosphere surrounding what might happen with Goro Akechi lingered, he was having a decent amount of fun. The team were originally quite worried, especially with the threat of police hiding amongst the festival goers. Makoto was particularly tense and Ren wanted nothing more to take her hand into his own and squeeze it reassuringly. The main issue was they had yet to announce their relationship to everyone. The day had started off rather interesting with the Maid Takoyaki debacle, including Akechi being destroyed by the "Special One". Ren could have sworn he saw a critical message appear above the Detective Prince as he lurched over in pain. Still, it brought a slight smile to his face.
With the panel still on for tomorrow, the Phantom Thieves had decided to make the most of the day, trying their best to seem as normal as possible. They lost Yusuke quite quickly to the small exhibit that Shujin's art students had set up. He wasn't going to budge any time soon so they just left him there. Haru and Ann went off arm in arm, eager to try out whatever dessert stalls they would come across. Ryuji had managed to get roped into checking some rather dubious displays with Mishima, something that Ren was glad he didn't get forced into. After all, he was with both Makoto and Futaba. There's no way he would check out things like that with his girlfriend around and Sojiro would have an aneurysm if Ren allowed Futaba anywhere near something like that. Why was something like that even at a school festival? Heck, even Morgana managed to sneak away, muttering something about doing reconnaissance around the school and making sure Lady Ann wasn't exposed to anything obscene like that.
And so here Ren was, being dragged alongside Makoto by Futaba who stormed through the festival. It was rather cute, to be honest. The short girl had seemingly forgotten her fears for the time being, most likely soothed by the fact that she was with Ren and Makoto, who other than Sojiro were the two people she relied on the most. In fact, Ren couldn't help but think of the situation in a particular way. He envisioned himself maybe 20 years down the line at another festival or maybe the amusement park. A little girl or boy with the waviness of his hair and the bright red eyes of Makoto's holding both their hands, dragging them along to every single stall and ride. The kid would whine when Makoto would say no to something before turning to Ren and begging him to change Mama's mind. Wait a second, why was he even thinking this? They haven't even been dating for that long!
"Ren?" Makoto's voice called, breaking the stumped boy from his little daydream.
"Wh-what's up?"
She looked at him, slightly confused at his awkward response before waving it off.
"Ann and Haru were asking if we want to go meet up with them in a little bit. Apparently they found an interesting activity and want us to join them." she answered.
"What kind of activity?"
She shoved her phone back into her handbag as she adjusted it onto her shoulder.
"I have no clue. They didn't say though Ann in particular seemed to be quite excited about it."
"Guess we should go then." he said before noticing the missing redhead "Hey where's Futaba?"
"Oh Yusuke-kun came by and said he came across an exhibit about video games and concept art. Asked Futaba if she wanted to go look at it with him." Makoto replied.
Ren raised an eyebrow at this. Though it was a friend and a close one at that, the idea of someone he considered his younger sister being alone with a boy was a little unsettling. Still, that did leave him with a bit of time alone with Makoto even if they couldn't enjoy things as a couple. Truth be told, when he first heard about the Culture Festival, Ren had built up this little fantasy of him and Makoto on a festival date going around together, holding hands, feeding each other festival food and other cute things. He was honestly a little big hungry, the takoyaki from earlier not really filling him.
"Hey, want to grab something to eat before we meet up with them?" he asked.
She smiled at him.
"Sure. I think I saw a stand selling taiyaki earlier."
As the two walked through the school hallways together, a thought struck Makoto.
"Hey," she began in a hushed voice "Since it's just us two now, would this be considered a date?"
Ren wanted nothing more than to hold Makoto's hand and confirm that he would in fact see this as a date. He settled for a mere "sure" which still brought a smile to her face. As they reached the taiyaki stand, they noticed that a large number of people had just left it. The server greeted them with a slight bow.
"Can we have two red bean taiyaki please?" Makoto asked.
"Oh I'm terribly sorry. We've just served the bulk of our stock and only have one left. My co-worker is still out getting more ingredients but he might be a while." the server responded.
Ren couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. Though he did his best to stifle his sarcastic amusement, the fact that this stand and the takoyaki stand had barely anything for them was ridiculous. Still, Makoto tried her best not to let it dampen her mood.
"I guess we'll just have to share then." she told him with a smile.
As the server handed Makoto the fish bread Ren quickly slipped a handful of 100 yen coins onto the counter much to Makoto's annoyance. She had always been slow to get money from her wallet which Ren took full advantage of.
"Hey! I said last time when you paid for our food that I'd get the next one!" she grumbled.
He chuckled and flashed her his trademark Joker grin before taking a bite of the taiyaki in her hands.
"Mmm, I forgot how good this is." he commented in delight.
Makoto took a bite herself as almost squealed in delight. She noticed her boyfriend looking at her with a raised eyebrow, a knowing smirk on his face before he snickered at her little outburst.
"It's um… yes quite delicious. Thank goodness it's still relatively fresh." she commented, trying to avoid his teasing gaze.
"You're adorable, you know that?" Ren said.
"R-Ren!" Makoto squeaked before switching to a whispered voice "We're in pu-public!"
He began to lead her away from the stall, back towards the more secluded walkways of Shujin Academy.
"Aw come on! You are though!" Ren beamed causing Makoto to blush.
"T-thank you, Ren." she said before looking around to see if anyone was near them.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing it's just, well…" Makoto began "I just wish we could be more public about our relationship. I know we should probably tell our friends but you know…"
"You don't want it to be awkward?"
"Well that too. I just want to be able to show everyone how much I adore you."
Makoto's statement caused Ren's cheeks to flare red. She was never the type to say things like that. Even when they had romantic moments it would usually consist of her becoming the bright red Tomato Niijima and Ren being proud of himself for making his girlfriend blush. Now he just had to turn the tables around before he became overly flustered.
"Oh I um, next time the opportunity presents itself, I'll blurt out my feelings for you for everyone to hear." he stated.
She groaned. Of course he couldn't let her have the last laugh.
"R-Ren!" she whined as she took another bite of the taiyaki, using the food as a means to distracted herself.
"Alright I'm sorry." he laughed "Come on, we should probably meet up with Ann and Haru. Where are they?"
"They said it was at Class 3-D." Makoto responded.
"Let's go then."
It wasn't often that Haru Okumura "loitered", especially at school. When not in class most of her time was spend tending to her rooftop gardens though lately she had been hanging out with Ann and Makoto. It was nice to have friends though, especially those that didn't feel intimidated by her prestigious heritage. While she did want to enjoy the festival with her new group of friends, a lot of them had scattered and Ann had strung her along to try all the dessert stalls. Not that Haru didn't enjoy it, in fact she had immense fun with Ann as both girls shared a penchant for sweets. Things weren't awkward at all between the two as Haru had become fast friends with all the Phantom girls. In fact, Haru and Ann had taken particularly to having "girl talk", something that Haru couldn't really do with Makoto or Futaba. Though there was a particular topic of interest that Haru had picked up on, much to the delight of her blonde friend. The seemingly blooming romance between Ren Amamiya and Makoto Niijima.
After having integrated herself with the Phantom Thieves, Haru indeed noticed certain things occurring between the two leaders. The longing stares they'd share, especially when they thought no one else was looking, how they'd separate from the others without knowing. And while Ren could be protective of the whole group he seemed to take like a moth to a flame when it came to Makoto. The student council president definitely had a reserved spot in Joker's heart. When she had asked Ann if the two were in a relationship Ann had answered that she truly didn't know as the two seemed unlikely to act on their feelings despite seeing them act somewhat lovey dovey. Or at least, that's what the girls assumed which lead them to their current situation. They were currently waiting for their friends to arrive, Ann groaning how bored she was as she browsed through her phone.
"Yo!" a brash voice called out.
Both girls turned to find Ryuji walking up to them. He was looking rather ragged.
"You ditch Mishima?" Ann asked.
"Yeah just now." the boy replied.
"How was your err… activity, Ryuji-kun?" Haru asked.
A shiver went up Ryuji's spine.
"To be honest, it kinda felt like it was some sort of Black Market." he said "I felt a little out of place."
"What do you mean by that?" the fluffy haired girl questioned.
"Well uh… they were kinda dealing these magazines and other pictures on the down low… it felt really shifty."
"What? Like porn?" Ann bluntly asked.
"Shh not so loud, Ann!" Ryuji yelled, becoming quite ironic in that he was being loud too "I mean, Mishima's not a bad guy but he's into some weird stuff."
"Huh, I figured you were into that sort of thing." Ann teased.
"Not the stuff Mishima's into! I prefer them to actually be 3D, y'know!" Ryuji roared.
It was then he knew. He fucked up. Haru began to giggle, trying her best to contain her amusement at Ann's successful attempt to rouse Ryuji. The unfortunate victim of their teasing groaned as he tried to change the subject.
"So why'd you call us here anyways? What's this shit you want us to do?" he asked.
Ann pointed to the sign above the classroom they were standing in front of. Ryuji read it before a playful grin graced his face.
"You asked Ren and Makoto to come here, right?"
"Of course!" Ann huffed "It's time we push those two together."
Little did they know that the two souls heading their way were already romantically linked.
As the couple turned the corner they noticed their friends waiting around in front of the classroom. It was rather barren, not unlike the maid takoyaki from earlier. What caught Makoto's attention though were the decorations. Cardboard hearts of various sizes hung on the wall, with pink curtains draping the entrance. Above the door was a large sign that made Makoto's eyes pop out in surprise as soon as she read it.
GROUP DATE CAFÉ.
She looked at Ann and Haru who had massive grins on their faces while Ryuji simply shrugged, especially at Ren who had a similar look of confusion.
"What is this?" he asked.
"I thought it'd be fun for us to try out!" Ann said, the grin never leaving her face.
"Wasn't Futaba-chan with you two?" Haru asked, noticing the lack of orange hair beside them.
"Yusuke-kun found something she might like so they went off to see it." Makoto answered.
The student council president eyed the door with great apprehension. Before Ren had come along she had never even gone on a single date before. How was a group date supposed to work? The idea terrified her not to mention how awkward things would become considering Ren and herself were actually in a relationship.
"Shall we go in, Mako-chan?" Haru asked as their friends moved to enter with Ryuji unintentionally swinging the door violently open.
"Hey, be careful!" a voice from inside yelled.
It was a voice that was pretty familiar to Makoto. She flinched as the familiar voice squealed at her entrance. She forgot that this certain person belonged to this class.
"Ohoho Makoto! I didn't expect you of all people to come here!" Eiko Takao said, her voice practically dripping in excitement.
"H-hi there, Eiko." Makoto greeted rather awkwardly.
"Ohoho you brought friends! And Glasses-kun is here too!" Eiko beamed.
The group looked around, noticing that the room was rather empty save for Eiko Takao sitting on a desk in the middle, one leg over the other.
"There's no one else here?" Ann asked.
Eiko merely shrugged.
"Two groups came by earlier. One was a bunch of guys thinking there'd be girls and let me tell you, that was suuuuuuper awkward. The other was a group of girls dragging some poor third year guy trying to get him to choose between them."
"That must have been quite the uncomfortable scene." Haru commented.
"Maybe for them but it was funny as shit for me." Eiko laughed.
She popped herself off her perch on the table and sauntered over to Makoto and Ren, giving both a massive smirk.
"So… you two aren't dating according to Makoto-chan but… here you are." she teased, putting extra emphasis on the last three words.
The two in question gulped as even their friends joined Eiko.
"We should get this started then!" Ann said moving to sit over to a table.
"Wait there's only 2 guys." Ryuji pointed out.
Makoto suddenly found herself dragged down beside Ann as Haru nudged Ren over to the guy's side.
"I don't mind being male for this exercise." the Okumura Heiress said, smiling brightly at Ryuji before turning towards Eiko "Would you like to join us, Eiko-chan?"
Instantly she sat down beside Makoto, almost way too eagerly for the president's liking. Ryuji merely blinked at them. Exercise? He looked confused for a moment before shrugging as he sat down beside Haru.
"So…" Ann began before pausing to think.
She probably had to word any questions right otherwise they might end up scaring Ren or Makoto off. There was definitely a connection between the two. She'd caught them in that one position once after all but never brought it up. Now they just had the flames of attraction let it bloom into something wonderful! As she moved to ask a question the non-Phantom Thief with them suddenly spoke.
"So, what kind of girls are you into?"
Everyone's eyes widened at the girl's boldness. That was way too blunt!
"E-Eiko!" Makoto stuttered.
"What?" she asked, giving Makoto a rather sly smirk.
"N-never m-mind…" Makoto mumbled.
She peered over to Ren who seemed to be avoiding anyone's eyes. His gaze was fixed on the table in front of them. Makoto couldn't help but notice the light tinge of pink dusting his cheeks. Was he going too answer truthfully or lie about it?
"So, so?" Eiko bounced excitedly "Spill the beans, Glasses-kun!"
"My name is Ren." Glasses-kun responded "Ren Amamiya."
"Well Mr. Amamiya. Do tell what kind of girl you like."
"Why don't we start over that side?" he asked, motioning to Ryuji.
Eiko's eyes narrowed but she relented. He would still have to spill later.
"Fine. What's your name, blondie?" she asked.
"Huh me? Uh Ryuji Sakamoto." said blonde responded.
"Well Ryuji-kun. What kind of girl do ya like?" Eiko repeated the question.
"Uh… pretty ones, I guess?"
"Pfft what a boring response!" Eiko groaned.
Ann, Haru and Makoto all looked at each other and sighed. Eiko Takao had completely taken over the group.
"Well, what about you Okumura-san?" said girl asked.
Haru jumped in her seat a little.
"Oh just Haru is fine but um…" she pondered for a moment, trying to think of what to say in character "I like girls that enjoy violence!"
Eiko looked at the girl with confused eyes. The soft spoken heiress was… kind of scary?
"Haru…" Makoto said.
"Oh! Was that too much?" Haru asked.
"Err its fine Haru-san…" Eiko said before she turned to Ren, gaining a playful smirk as she did "Your turn, Renny."
'Renny?' everyone wondered.
Ren sighed. He might as well get this over with. Everyone was probably going to find out anyways.
"Fine…"
He took a breath before speaking. He could lie or at least speak in riddles. Though, would Makoto be upset if he described someone that wasn't her? The idea caused a knot to build in his stomach. No, he didn't want that. Makoto was a woman who deserved to be shown off to the world.
"I-I like an intelligent girl."
Everyone's ears perked up at that save for the Student Council President who seemed to be shrinking into her seat. Ann, Haru and Eiko were beaming.
'He admitted it!' they all mentally screamed.
Ryuji merely blinked.
'Uh that was pretty obvious, right?'
All the girls around him had sparkles in their eyes save for Makoto who transformed into Ren's favourite alter ego: Tomato Niijima! Trying to take the attention away from his girlfriend's bright red face, he quickly asked a question.
"Do you have any hobbies, Takao-senpai?"
"Why ya callin me Takao-senpai? It's Eiko!" she angrily huffed.
"R-right, sorry Eiko."
"Well since you asked!" she began, instantly changing her mood much to the surprise of the others present "I like to go shopping, watch dramas, make myself look cute and… OH! I like Buchimaru-kun too but… you already knew that, hey?"
She added that last line with a rather cheeky grin on her face that certainly wasn't missed by everyone present. Except for Ryuji, he was staring off into space again.
"Oh you share a lot my own hobbies, Eiko-senpai!" Ann beamed.
"Ohoho maybe we can go on a shopping spree someday, Ann-chan!"
"Ohoho I'd like that!"
Ryuji merely looked at them then at Ren and Makoto who were rather quiet. Haru meanwhile felt an overwhelming urge to say "Ohoho" as well yet restrained herself.
'This shit's weird…' Ryuji thought.
"What about you, Mako-chan?" Haru asked.
"Eeh?!" Makoto squeaked.
Haru merely smiled at her.
"What are your hobbies?"
"Umm…" she began "I guess… studying, practicing my aikido… um watching Yakuza movies… and…"
"And?" Ann asked.
"W-well lately I've be-been playing v-video g-games." Makoto finished.
"Video games, eh?" Ryuji wondered with interest piqued "What ones?"
"Oh well, besides Gun About…" Makoto started to respond but was flustered for some reason "There's Boundarylands and um Demon 3… oh! And Don't Diet Together."
"I see, huh." Ryuji replied, stroking his chin as if he were thinking.
Eiko turned to Ann and whispered into her ear.
"Do you have any idea what those things are?" she asked the junior student.
"No clue." Ann bluntly responded.
"What is it, Ryuji-kun?" Haru asked.
"Well it's just," he spoke "Pretty sure those are all Co-Op games."
He looked at Ren who seemed to be oddly flustered.
"O-oh yea th-that's true." the leader said.
"Co-Op?" Haru asked "What is Co-Op, Ryuji-kun?"
"It stands for Cooperative. Basically it's a game that you have to play with another person." the blonde answered.
"Th-that's not true!" Makoto stuttered "Y-you can play alone too! It's just…"
"More fun with Ren?" Ann butted in.
"Yeah." Makoto nodded before realizing what she just said.
She put her hand over her mouth, audibly gasping at her mistake. Slowly she glanced around her to see the faces of everyone present looking at her with wide grins save for the one sitting directly across her. She doesn't think she's ever seen Ren that red before but she can't say she hated it. She just wished it wasn't at the expense of her. She swore she heard Eiko mutter a "this is fun" under her breath. She was about to speak out when Eiko proudly announced it was time for the next question. It seemed Ann had similar notions of eagerness.
"For the boys!" Eiko shouted "If you were to have one meal cooked by your girlfriend, what would it be?"
Everyone looked at the girl with slightly confused faces. That was a… rather specific question. The boys and Haru all pondered for a moment before one of them spoke up. To everyone's surprise it was the blonde sitting on the far end that answered first.
"I'd love a mean steak." Ryuji answered.
To no one's surprise that was his answer. Heck even Eiko who only met Ryuji Sakamoto today expected that response. Sensing he was being judged, Ryuji quickly pushed the attention towards the person sitting beside him.
"What about you, Haru?" he asked.
"Hm I would certainly enjoy some Jambon Persille from my significant other." she replied.
The less educated ones of the group sitting merely blinked. Only Makoto and Ren knew what that was, with the latter only because Haru had mentioned it before during their roof top garden conversations.
"R-right…" Ann said breaking the odd silence "What about you, Ren?"
"Donuts." he simply stated.
"Donuts?" Eiko asked "Wait! Didn't you say you could make really yummy donuts, Makoto?"
Said girl flushed red as she meekly nodded. Ren couldn't help but smirk a little. His girlfriend would probably get mad for bringing it up but the opportunity was there for the taking. He remembered the one time he tasted donuts she had made at the start of the school year and was amazed at how delicious they were. If only she'd do it again. He would love that.
"W-well um…" Makoto began to speak but couldn't find the words.
Damn that Amamiya for always saying things to make her blush! Though she can't say she completely hates it. She adored the boy so much. She gave it a bit of thought. Maybe she'd have time later to make donuts. That is, if he really wanted it. Their eyes met for a moment causing her to turn away and blush. Damn it! She wouldn't be this flustered if their friends weren't around trying to tease them. She thought for a moment if it would be a good idea to be more open about their relationship. She knew that their friends certainly got a kick out of teasing them, not that she could blame them. It did seem like quite fun to rib on her and Ren. The main reason why they kept it on the down low was so people wouldn't spread unnecessary rumours about them. Also if word went back to Sae that Makoto had a boyfriend with a criminal record it would probably end badly. Though recently Sae had been so wrapped up in the Phantom Thieves investigation that she was barely home and when she was, she spoke to Makoto like once or twice. Maybe they could be more open about it. All she wanted to do was show everyone how much she cared about him. Maybe she could start now. As she was about to proclaim to Ren that she would fulfil his wishes of Makoto donuts the group changed to the next question.
"Alright, for the girls!" the brash voice of Ryuji Sakamoto bellowed "What's your ideal characteristic in a guy?"
"Ehhh characteristic?" Ann chuckled "That's a big word for you?"
"Just answer the damn question!" Ryuji yelled.
"Fine." Ann huffed before she began to think "I guess I'd like a guy with um… strong muscles?"
"What a generic response." Ren snorted causing Ryuji to snicker.
"Hey come on! It's realistic!" Ann complained before turning to Eiko "What about you, Eiko-senpai?"
Eiko sighed before muttering a single word.
"Honesty."
There was an undertone of sadness that Ren and Makoto immediately picked up on. After all, the last guy to show her "love" and attention was that lying scumbag Tsukasa. Makoto could feel the rage coming back as a vein began to throb in her temple. She felt so much anger to that poor excuse of a man. Why did her friend have to go through something like that? Though in the end it helped Ren and herself get together, she felt so bad for Eiko. At least it seemed the girl was getting over it albeit slowly.
"Eiko…" she murmured as she faced her friend.
Eiko shook her head and simply smiled.
"It's your turn, Makoto." she merely said.
Makoto couldn't help but smile back. Eiko was a lot stronger than people gave her credit for. But then she realized she was put in the spotlight and promptly turned red. Should she describe Ren? Maybe she could say one word that described him without it being too obvious. She began to think about his character. He was strong willed and courageous. Hm maybe too obvious. Something to describe his intellect. Or maybe his smirk. No that's even more obvious. At least for the Phantom Thieves. Maybe something like reliable or dependable? That certainly described him to a fault that even Eiko would have to agree. Wait she was trying to make this not as obvious but still describe him. What should she say?
'Oh no!' she began to panic 'What do I say?'
"So? What is it, Mako-chan?" Haru asked.
Without thinking Makoto spoke the only thing on her mind.
"Ren Amamiya."
Her eyes opened wide as she realized what she said, slapping her hand as quickly as she could over her mouth. Did she really just say that? That wasn't a characteristic at all! Her eyes met Ren's who was in a similar disbelief. Heck everyone else was the same. Ryuji looked like he was about to fall out of his seat whilst Haru seemed like she had trouble staying still. In the corner of her eye she could see Eiko's shoulders beginning to bounce. Within a few seconds she began to howl in laughter. Ann began to join her, a large grin gracing her lips as she looked at Makoto. Oh man, they had gotten her bad and without even trying. As Eiko's laughter began to die down Haru spoke up.
"Something you wish to tell us, Mako-chan?" she asked.
Makoto audibly swallowed the saliva that had been building in her mouth. In front of her she could see Ren looking down at his feet, his face bright red as Ryuji began to nudge his elbow into her boyfriend's ribcage.
"Ehm…" Makoto began to say but words wouldn't come out.
"Beep boop!"
The sound of her mobile phone notification went off. She pulled it out of her handbag to look at the message she had received. It was from Futaba.
Futaba: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH THAT WAS GREAT! :DDDDD
Makoto groaned as she exited the message. Damn that girl for always listening. She was about to shove her phone back into her bag when it went off again.
Futaba: Inari says LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL well not like that but u know, imagine it the way Inari does it.
That's it! She threw her phone in her bag and zipped it up with such force that she swore she almost tore the zipper off. She exhaled the angry breath she had kept in before seeing everyone's smiling faces.
"So… care to elaborate, Makoto?" Ann teased.
"Err uhh…" Makoto's voice wobbled.
She didn't know what to say. Should she reveal the nature of her relationship with Ren? Would he be okay with such a thing? Maybe only telling only the people here would be okay. She could see everyone's eyes studying her every move and expression. All of them, heck even Ryuji had the most curious of smiles. She was about to speak when Ren beat her to it.
"We're dating." he stated.
Everyone present turned their attention to Ren. He merely smiled before looking directly into Makoto's crimson gaze.
"Makoto and I have been dating for over a month."
The room went dead silent, so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. That soon changed when who else but Ryuji Sakamoto screeched.
"FORREAAAALL?!"
It was then that the proverbial dam broke. Within seconds the Ann, Haru and Eiko each began to squeal with joy. On both sides of her Eiko and Ann began to hug and squeeze her in delight. Haru who had been sitting on the other side settled to leaning onto the table and giving her friend a massive grin. As she was being shaken around Makoto could see Ryuji clapping his best friend on the back, shouting messages of pride. It took a few minutes for Makoto to calm the excited girls who seemed to hang off her flustered self. Though she hated that she had to use the promise of giving them all the details later. She was not at all looking forward to recounting the events that led to her relationship with Ren. It seemed her boyfriend was in a similar situation as Ryuji was pestering him to spill the beans. That all stopped when Ann checked her phone and shrieked something about her being late.
"Ahh I forgot I had a shoot in half an hour! I'm gonna be late!" she whined.
"How far is it, Ann?" Ryuji asked.
"Only at Dome Town but… it's almost rush hour so I'm gonna end up being late."
"My family car is parked outside. I could give you a lift if you want, Ann-chan." Haru offered.
The blonde eagerly accepted as the two rushed out the door, shouting apologies at those that remained. With that the room became quite awkward as all four present were unsure on what to do. Ren and Makoto were particularly unable to speak. Though it seemed their friends were quite supportive it still wasn't any fun being teased like that. She hoped it wouldn't last too long. She did intend to stay with Ren for as long as she could. If she had any say in it, it would be for the rest of her life. It would be a pain if she had to be subjected to that for the entire time.
The beeping of Ren's phone vibrated through silence of the room. He checked it and looked up at Makoto.
"Hey, Boss wants me to bring Futaba back. You wanna come with?" he asked.
She nodded. There was still time til she needed to be home. She turned towards Eiko who smiled at her friend.
"Go ahead. I still have to clean up here."
"Ain't anyone else gonna show up?" Ryuji asked.
Eiko shook her head.
"I doubt it. Heck, not even the people that were supposed to help run this stayed." She whined.
Makoto couldn't help but feel bad for the girl who had begun putting things away. Maybe she should stay to help out? Ren would definitely understand and it would be like him to help out too. As she was about to offer she was cut off by the most unlikely of people.
"I don't need to be home for a while so I can help clean up, if ya want." Ryuji offered.
"Ohoho? That would be great uh…" Eiko responded before thinking for a moment "Blondie-kun?"
Ryuji sighed. How could she forget already?
"It's Ryuji Sakamoto!"
"R-right!" Eiko awkwardly laughed "Well, if that's the case, can you move those tables over there back to their original position?"
"Sure, you guys go on ahead!" Ryuji waved.
The couple smiled and nodded before making their way out. They stood in the empty hallway for a moment. Makoto turned towards her boyfriend.
"Some activity that was, huh?" she exhaled.
"Yeah." he smiled "I guess they all know now."
"I just hope they won't tease us too much." Makoto said.
"Oh they will." Ren dryly retorted "But hey, we'll get through it."
"Mmm…" Makoto mumbled.
"What's wrong?" her man asked.
"N-nothing." Makoto stuttered.
Ren walked closer to her before reaching up and flicking her on the forehead. She flinched in slight pain and began to rub the sore spot.
"H-hey! What was that for?" she cried.
He merely laughed at her before kissing the spot on her forehead that he had flicked. The action made her blush intensely.
"Sorry, you're just too cute."
She pouted at his playfulness but couldn't keep it up for long. He always made her feel at ease. He quickly circled his arms around and brought her smaller frame into his, hugging her tight. She quickly looked around to see if anyone was watching. Lucky for them the hallway was completely deserted. As Ren broke the hug Makoto looked up into his eyes before closing the distance and pecking him softly on the lips. She pulled away causing him to look rather flustered.
"Uh…" he droned, unsure what to say.
She grinned at him before beginning to walk away. She always enjoyed getting one up on him. With their friends finding out she hoped they could be more open about their relationship. Not that she wanted to be the PDA type of girlfriend or anything. It would just be nice if they didn't have to hide it so much. She absolutely adored him and just wanted to show people that. He deserved all the love in the world after all. She turned back to him and smiled. His eyes met hers and he smiled back.
"Hey Makoto." he spoke.
"Yes, Ren?"
"Next opportunity I get, I'm going to blurt out all my feelings for you."
He just had to go and say something like that! Her face instantly flushed red because of her playful boyfriend. Damn that guy for never letting her have the last laugh. But she couldn't help but laugh along with him. She just loved him that much.
A much less serious entry for the second to last day. To be honest when it came to this one I wasn't all that sure what to do as I wanted to do something that wasn't "typical" towards the prompt. I remembered this scene from Persona 4 (especially the anime) and wanted to emulate the humour in that. Hopefully you guys found it entertaining.
Please forgive me for the light teasing torture ShuMako receives hehe.
As always, leave some comments on your thoughts!
Twitters
MadmanJrs
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