Makoto was walking down the road with no real destination in mind. She had been taking more of these aimless walks lately trying to clear her mind, when the troubling thoughts started up. Viewing the city and distracting herself at cafes, movie theaters, and stores. But she couldn't get the images out of her head.
The Medjed threat was over, Futaba had woken up and helped them in the nick of time. That was good, a cause for celebration. What troubled Makoto was something more complicated. Something that had stirred up emotions that had completely surprised her.
During the final battle with Futaba's distorted image of her mother, it happened.
"Aim the tip at it!" Futaba shouted.
Makoto was aiming the ballista Futaba had conjured, what they had used to shoot down her fake mother. But after the initial shot, her mother had gotten even faster and more maneuverable. It was taking evasive action, essentially.
"It's going too fast! It keeps changing directions too quickly when I think I have it!" Makoto said.
The shadow flew in close, drawing a variety of attacks from everyone present, then quickly dove to the side launching a blast of wind that physically impacted everyone. A ranged attack that was surprisingly strong.
"What do we do, Joker!?" said Mona, his persona casting a healing wave to everyone.
Makoto looked at him, their leader. The one who always seemed to have the answer. He was calm. When they entered a palace and donned their Phantom Thief looks, they all changed a bit. Acting different, different parts of them emphasized in the distorted reality.
Not much different, but enough to notice. Outside Joker was Ren, a kindhearted boy with a strong core of justice tempered by his own hardships. He was reliable, witty, and empathetic. In the Palace, he was still all of that. But his persona changed to that of a master thief. He adapted to this distorted world easier than the others. Everyone looked to him, because he seemed to be the one that could take any situation and pull through as if it was no big deal.
After a moment of silence he responded, "...she's frustrated."
"What?" Skull said.
"She's a predator, that's the role she has in this palace. An angry one, that blames Futaba. She probably would love nothing more than to come in and personally claw us to bits. But she can't. Not after we grounded her and unloaded on her. That experience has forced her to be cautious. And she hates it, taking these small potshots at us that we can heal from easily."
"So we wait for her to get impatient?" Panther said.
"No, predators are patient as a matter of rule. But it's easier to predict her because of that frustration. All we have to do is trick her, like always. Like phantom thieves, we'll pull the wool over her eyes and let her get close. Here's what we'll do..."
Once again, a flawless plan that would get past our targets defenses. He was amazing.
The deadly sphinx, Wakaba, came in for another 'pot shot'. It came in quickly, a dive that seemed physically impossible to stop. But we weren't in the real world. It easily, like a small bird, canceled the dive. Like it was as light as feather, it changed direction twice, thrice, four times. Swooping around the palace it bombarded them with wind attacks while changing direction in impossible maneuvers. Each one causing the roof of the pyramid to crack and throw up debris and dust.
Suddenly it launched. From the cloud of dust, a huge arrowhead shot out. It was low, too low. It took a pathetic, drooping arc before landing in the sands below.
Wakaba divedin once again as soon as it saw that the ballista shot missed. Before the Phantom Thieves could load the next shot, it would end them. It drew it's wings back, flying even faster than before.
Blasts of all elements flew out of the debris cloud, hitting Wakaba. They hurt, but not much. And they couldn't ground her like the ballista. It was over.
But they blocked her view. Just enough that she couldn't avoid it. The true ballista shot, which flew straight, right into her chest.
She fell for it. Taking a ballista shot, and throwing it with their persona's while hidden by the dust, making the sphinx believe they had shot it from the ballista. But the ballista was still loaded. And while everyone else blinded Wakaba, Makoto had aimed and shot it perfectly.
Yes, perfectly. But the plan wasn't as flawless as they hoped. Because after being shot, the sphinx kept flying in the same direction it was already going. Straight for them.
Even while dying, it would have its blood.
The impact was massive, and everything that happened afterwards was chaos. Everyone flew through the air as the roof of the pyramid was shattered.
It was terrifying, until Makoto was suddenly grabbed. She was confused for a split second before remembering they had just found a new friend. One that could fly.
"I've got you everyone!" Futaba shouted.
Makoto looked around to see everyone had been grabbed by the mechanical tentacles of Futaba's persona.
She was relieved...until she realized they were still falling.
"Can't hold everyone while still floating! I'm slowing us down! Get ready for a crash landing!"
It definitely hurt less than what would've happened if she wasn't there, but it wasn't pleasant at all.
Her leather body suit protected her from scrapes that hitting the sand this hard would cause, and the sands looseness also helped reduce the impact. She still hit it hard enough to bounce and roll three times before sliding to a stop.
She stayed still for long seconds while huffing for breath. She heard pained sounds around, her friends. And then...
"Ren! Ren!" Panther yelled.
Anne.
Ren.
Makoto got up quickly and regretted it. The sharp pain that followed was excruciating, but she pushed through. She had to see what was happening.
If he was...Makoto couldn't even finish the thought without noticing some wetness at here eyes. The pain had made her tear up. Probably.
She shakily crawled over to where she heard Anne before, over a nearby small dune.
She made it in time to see Anne use her persona. A green glow enveloped Ren. The brief moment Makoto saw of his injuries before they were erased gripped her own heart and threatened to take it out of her chest.
A few seconds later, he was fine.
"Thank god..." Makoto silently whispered.
No one heard her. Her tears flowed down her cheeks, for happier reasons than before.
And so were Anne's.
"Are you...are you ok? Please say you're ok? Please..."
His gloved hand reached up and gripped her shoulder.
"...Anne. It's alright...thank you." He said. Calm and collected, even after that.
"You could've...you almost..." Anne said. She couldn't finish a sentence without her face scrunching up. Holding back more tears.
"Not the smartest plan huh?"
"You...idiot..."
Anne's face became a hush on the second word. She then wordlessly brought her face down.
And kissed him.
Makoto couldn't believe it. Her heart was gripped again, in a way she never expected or predicted.
"Oh, shit, that hurts!" Skull yelled over another nearby dune.
"Thank you very much for the healing Morgana. That was a close one." Fox said in the same general location.
Makoto had looked over in their direction when she heard their voices. When she turned her head back to the two in front of her, she met their eyes.
Ren and Anne were looking at her, surprised. She was sure she had the same look on her own face.
Then Futaba appeared above them.
"They're over here! They look fine, though Makoto looks a bit worn out."
"Oh, crap, sorry! Let me!" Anne said and rushed over to heal her.
Skull, Fox, and Mona made their way through the sand to meet them.
"That was rough, but we made out in one piece." Skull said.
"Yeah, we probably should've thought that through a bit more. Hehe." Mona said.
Ren scratched the back of his head while cringing.
"Not to worry. We've succeeded in our goal. As they say, 'all is well that ends well'. " Fox said.
After that they had made their way out of the palace. Futaba had used up all of her strength and slept for a long while. And here we were. No pressing matters, no problems. Everything had reached an amiable conclusion.
But even now, Makoto couldn't shake the image out her head. Anne and Ren, in the sand. That heartfelt moment. In that moment, Makoto couldn't help but think things.
Mostly things like, "had they done that before."
She felt a pang of emotion every time she imagined that those two had secretly come together so intimately without her ever realizing. Only after that had she realized how deep her own feelings for Ren were, but the event meant it was too late.
She had only just realized she was in a race as everyone else crossed the finishing line.
She had never felt like this before, and it was frustrating.
Makoto didn't hold anything against the two of course. Anne and Ren were some of her first true friends. She felt close to both of them, and the rest of the group. They all wanted the best for each other. The fact that she really wanted both of them to be happy made her more frustrated at her own frustration.
She wished she could just let it go and support them, but her heart had other plans for her. Makoto let out a sigh, one of many throughout the last week or so.
"Makoto!" she heard behind her.
Surprised, Makoto blinked and turned around. And then she was surprised even more to see who it was.
"Hey, Makoto. Wait up a bit." Anne said.
Anne strolled over to Makoto, a slight small on her face.
"Hi, Anne. I was taking a walk. I didn't expect to run into you."
"I'm glad I found you. Umm, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about..."
Makoto's eyebrows raised slightly.
She can't mean...
Makoto noticed a slight hint of pink on Anne's face. Anne took a bit, looking around, seemingly distracted, before biting her lip. Then she looked straight at Makoto with a serious expression on her face.
"What happened in Futaba's palace after we fell off the roof...The...Kiss."
Makoto's mouth opened and closed, with not a a sound coming out. Thinking of and abandoning possible responses. She eventually decided on what to say.
"Anne...I don't really know how to put this. I'm...glad."
"Glad?"
"Yes. I was surprised at first, but thinking about it, it makes sense. I'm happy that both of you found the person you care for most. I hope you make each other happy, you both deserve it. I'll...I'll be cheering you on." Makoto said with a smile.
The negative feelings in Makoto were pushed aside. She truly wished the best for both of them. She hated the jealousy she felt, and was determined to let it die in a remote corner of her mind. Makoto knew that in time she would get over it.
She loved Ren, she decided. And Anne was one of her best friends. Makoto would support them fully.
"Makoto...we...we're not going out. If that's what you're thinking." Anne said warily.
"What? Really?"
Wait, what?
"Umm, so...I got really emotional seeing Ren like that, and, like, I've basically had these feelings for a while without realizing, and, and well...I got caught up in my relief and...kissed him. I think I was just as surprised as him. And you."
Anne became increasingly redder as she spoke, looking away out of embarrassment. Makoto was at a loss for words. Anne was just like her, her feelings solidified in that moment.
Which meant they weren't going out. Makoto could still...the thought died quickly. She still couldn't. Anne had been through so much. She deserved to be happy. To be loved.
And other than that, how could Makoto compete with her. Makoto resigned herself once more.
"I see. Then...I commend how bold you are, haha. I don't know if I could do the same. If you ask him out formally, there's no way he'll say no, Anne." Makoto said with a giggle.
Anne's eyebrows knit together slightly. She bit her lip again.
"Makoto. Umm...do you like Ren too?"
Anne's words shocked Makoto to her very heart. Her mouth gaped as she stared at Anne.
Anne, you're amazing. I really could never compete with you.
"That's...No. No, Anne. Don't worry about me. I don't see Ren like that. He's...he's all yours, haha." Makoto replied.
The last part was meant as a joke to lighten the mood. But it sounded unnatural even to herself.
"Makoto...I, umm...don't believe you."
She flinched at the easy dismissal of her excuse.
"Makoto, it's fine if you do. Really, please tell me. I would feel awful if you felt you had to lie to me about something like that. We're close enough to talk about our feelings and secrets." Anne pressed.
Makoto could feel her heart beating in her chest. She had been ruminating on her feelings all these days and trying to bury them away so she wouldn't hurt herself or her friends.
But Anne was right. They were comrades. They had shared life and death moments in the palaces. If she couldn't trust her precious friends, who else could she?
She felt a new emotion in her heart, shame. Her lips pressed together. The words wouldn't leave her mouth, so several seconds later she forced her head to nod. Makoto didn't look up to see Anne's reaction. All she could do was look at her feet.
This allowed Anne to sneak up and hit her with a surprise attack, a hug.
Makoto's hands moved but she didn't know what to do with them. So they just stayed raised, fingers twitching, for a few seconds before lowering again.
"I'm sorry." Anne whispered.
Her hug tightened. Makoto felt tears start to well up in her eyes, and she hugged her back.
"Don't be." She said. A whimper escaped her mouth. "It's no ones fault, after all."
"You're right. But I can still be sorry that you have to feel that way. I can't imagine what's it been like these last few days, you must've been heart broken. I...don't want you to feel like that Makoto. Not one bit."
Makoto's hands gripped Anne's shirt.
"Haven't you learned anything being with us? Sometimes you can't go it alone. We should've talked earlier." Anne continued.
Makoto nodded her head, which was pressed into Anne's shoulder.
After a minute they broke the hug, a funny smile on Makoto's red and tear stained face.
"Let's...let's get some ice cream and talk it through all the way, ok?" Anne asked.
Makoto could only nod.