Yusuke enjoyed people watching in the underground mall. Each person in the crowd was having their own little adventure, like in one of those slice-of-life anime. Some he could see were in the middle of a serious dilemma, like the man in the jewelry store. Perhaps he was purchasing a gift for the anniversary with his significant other. There were some in moments of passion, like the couple rushing off to catch their train. The young lady was pulling her companion by the arm, causing him to blush. Such a beautiful scene, Yusuke thought. Perhaps he should try his hand at painting a scene such as this, with dozens of tales playing out at once.

"Damn, she's hot," Ryuji said, interrupting Yusuke's inner thoughts, "And look at that skin. Must be a foreigner."

"Are you going to suggest she might need to learn Japanese?" Mishima asked with a sigh.

Yusuke looked up at the woman Ryuji was referring to. She was German, judging by the looks of her, and several years older than they were. Yusuke also couldn't help but note she possessed a feature far to common in women Ryuji was interested in: large breasts. Did he have to be so predictable?

"Do you honestly think of anything else?" Yusuke asked bluntly.

"Come on, man," Ryuji said, "I just feel like having some fun and you know Mishima is a terrible wingman."

"Hey! I'm standing right here!"

"There are plenty of fun things we can do besides gawk at women, Ryuji."

"Come on. You seriously haven't seen any ladies that tickle your fancy?"

"The only woman who ever brought a passionate reaction out of me was Takamaki-san. And that wasn't romantic in nature."

"You sure about that, Yusuke? You sure wanted to paint her nude."

"Wait...WHAT!?" Mishima said, a look of shock on his face.

Yusuke tried to hide how nervous this made him and answered, "That was...when I was following Matarame's orders. I wasn't in the right mind, nor was that desire romantic in nature. Though, I don't think Takamaki-san would appreciate you talking about it so flippantly."

"Don't give me that," Ryuji said with a smile, "You got it bad for Ann. Not that I can blame you. She is hot as shit. Back me up here, Mishima."

"I would, but apparently I am a terrible wingman."

Ryuji gave a loud groan and Yusuke a sly smile.

"You can make all the baseless claims you want. True, I do admire Takamaki-san's beauty and she is a very kind person, but I most certainly have no romantic feelings for her."

"Wow. She's cute," Ryuji said.

"Well, yes. That is another way to describe Takamaki-san."

"No, not Ann. Her."

Yusuke sighed. Ryuji hadn't even been listening. Yusuke looked at the girl Ryuji pointed out by the bookstore. She was the same age as them with black hair that went down to her waist. Her dark green eyes were looking carefully at the manga, slowly seeking the perfect volume to purchase. Unlike many of the other girls Ryuji "checked out", she had a great sense of fassion. She wore a dress with a pattern of blue and orange, both of the exact right shade to prevent clashing. But her best choice was the red hair decoration that framed her face nicely and helped bring out her eyes.

"Oh," Yusuke said in realization, "That's Hifumi Togo."

"The famous shogi player?"

"Well...more infamous now..."

"Right," Ryuji said, rubbing the back of his neck, "But that was all her mother's fault. Anyway, why don't you introduce us?"

"I don't actually know her. She just goes to the same school as I. Besides, she is quite out of your league."

"What did you just say?"

"Do you require clarification? Your grades are abysmal, you are incredibly vulgar, you bleached your hair that awful color, you act without thinking, and you won't rejoin the track team. I honestly don't know why you'd refuse. Running is something you're rather good at and being on that team could help you in more ways than you could know."

"So the truth comes out. Did you always think that way about me?"

"Don't be angry at me. I am only speaking the truth."

"Can you believe this guy, Mishima?"

"Well," Mishima said, taking a step back, "He's not exactly...wrong..."

"Oh, you too? Well I may not be some fancy artist, bigshot model, police officer in training, or...whatever Mishima is, but I sure as Hell am no nobody."

"I believe the proper grammar is—"

"Shut it, you pretentious asshole! I'll show you."

As Ryuji stomped off, Mishima said, "Do...do think that was a good idea."

"Ryuji has been like that far to long. As his friend, I cannot allow him to lead himself down a path of self-destruction. My harsh words were meant to push him into action."

"Uh...was that the action you had in mind?"

"Well, maybe he'll learn from that experience."

"Hey, Yuuki, who's your friend?" said an unfamiliar voice.

Yusuke turned and saw another girl his age with black hair. Hers was shorter than Hifumi's and tied in a ponytail. She was also with Ann Takamaki, her hair in long, blond pigtails.

"Oh yeah," Ann said, "You never met Yusuke. Shiho, this is Yusuke Kitagawa. Yusuke, this is Shiho Suzui."

"Ah, good to meet you," Yusuke said, taking an elegant bow.

"What are you two doing here?" Ann asked.

"Watching Ryuji strike out," Yusuke said, pointing to Ryuji and Hifumi.

"That's not a nice thing to say," the new girl said, "Oh, and they'd make a cute couple."

"Yeah, but I'm not sure Ryuji can be smooth enough to impress a girl," Ann added.

Ryuji, you idiot, he thought, How could you say stuff so stupid?

He took a deep breath and calmed down. Approaching Hifumi angry would do him no good, but he had to show Yusuke. That didn't mean he had to go forward without a plan. What did he know about this girl? She was a shogi player...her mother had rigged games in her favor without her knowledge...and that was it. Why hadn't Ryuji asked Akira more about her? That would be very helpful at the moment, as bringing up her mother or even shogi might bring back bad memories. Well, he'd have to think more carefully. She was looking at the manga. Maybe she didn't know what to get, or couldn't find the volume she was looking for and was in disbelief. That'd be a better place to start...probably...

"See anything you like?" he asked as politely as he could muster.

"No," she said, biting on her finger, "It isn't here."

"What isn't here?" Ryuji asked, looking at the spot she was staring at, "Wait, your a fan of—"

"Yes, I know," Hifumi said, "Very unlady-like for me to be a fan of a shonen manga."

"No. I wasn't judging you. It's a great manga. I'm a fan too. Was it volume 84 you wanted?"

Hifumi seemed taken aback by him not judging her, "Yeah. I feel behind and I really want it."

"You can borrow mine, if you want," Ryugi said.

"You don't even know me."

"Well, I know of you. Hifumi Togo, right? The sho...uh...Shi...Shiva of...Kosei High...School..."

"Excuse me, what?"

"I...uh...that was bad, wasn't it? Sorry. I was going to bring up that you're a famous shogi player, but I wasn't sure you'd want to be reminded. So...I tried to change it to something else...and...that happened."

"Oh...well, it's okay. All that happened is in the past."

"Yeah, I heard about the thing with your mom. It may sound weird, but I know how you feel. I get screwed by a selfish adult too."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...uh...you heard about Kamoshida?"

"Oh, he was the first target of the phantom thieves."

"Yeah, well...he...got the track team disbanded."

"How'd he manage that? Hard to imagine he'd have that kind of sway."

"Well...it's kind of a long story."

"I have time. There's a cafe not to far from here. We can talk there."

"Uh...sure...if you're cool with that."

"That's awful. How could he say such horrible things about your mother," Hifumi said, getting very angry about Kamoshida's actions.

"Yeah, I was pissed too. So I decked him."

"You hit a teacher? You were lucky not to be expelled."

"Kamoshida wouldn't be satisfied expelling me. He had to make sure I'd never run again. He broke my leg."

Hifumi gasped. She thought she saw a hint of a limp in Ryuji's gate, but she never would have guessed something so awful. And to such a sweet person. Sure, Ryuji's language was...colorful, but he was very straightforward in everything he said. He wasn't surprised that Hifumi was smart, but he was impressed. He wasn't brutal when talking to her, but he was honest. Plus...he was kind of cute. She made a point to thank Akira for helping bring this horrible man to justice. Must have made Ryuji feel a lot better.

"Yeah, then he got the team thrown out and everyone hated me. Bastard pissed me off so much."

"At least he paid for what he did thanks to the phantom thieves," Hifumi said.

"Yeah, that was pretty awesome," Ryuji said, "I know it's not exactly like what happened with your mom, but it makes me feel like I can't rejoin the track team. I'm the reason they got disbanded."

"Sounds like this Komashida would have found some way to get rid of the team, even if you didn't give him a convenient excuse. You'll never get anywhere if you give up like that."

"You're right. But...I don't know...maybe track isn't for me. Is...is it to late to look into other things?"

"I don't think so," Hifumi said, "I'd be...happy to talk it over with you."

"Wait...you'd like to talk with me?"

Hifumi, realizing the implications, turned red and said, "Yes."

"Alone?"

It wasn't just her cheeks now. Her whole face was red. Yes, she would love to be alone with Ryuji, but she didn't trust her mouth and just nodded.

"Again?"

She nodded again.

"I'd like that."

Hifumi let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. An alarm on her phone went off.

"Oh, I have to head home," she said, "Let's exchange numbers and we can talk later."

"Sure," he said, pulling out his own phone.

After they exchanged numbers, Hifumi asked, "By the way, is that your natural color?"

"Uh...no. It's actually brown."

"Well, I don't think you should bleach it. Brown hair would look more handsome."

She turned red again and quickly made her way out of there, not believing she said such a thing.

"I cannot believe it," Yusuke said, as Ryuji and Hifumi exchanged numbers, "I was certain he would fail."

When Ryuji and Hifumi went off to a cafe, Ann and Shiho became very interested. Although Mishima was against the "date peeping", he caved when he saw no resistance to the idea from Yusuke. They were now seated a ways away, where the dating teens hopefully couldn't see them.

"Aw, but they're so cute together," Shiho said, holding her chin in her hands with a massive smile on her face, "Did you see her blush? Maybe she said she likes him."

"I didn't know you were into this sort of thing," Mishima said.

"Of course," Shiho said, "Young romance is adorable. A boy and girl go to the movies, swearing they are just friends. As the boy reaches for his popcorn, his hand brushes against the girl's and—"

"We get the idea, Shiho-san," Mishima said, "If you're so into romance, why don't you have a boyfriend?"

All the color drained from Shiho's face, her smile dropping into the worst frown.

"Don't...have...boyfriend..."

"That was, obviously, the worst thing you could have said," Yusuke said, "Fret not, Suzui-san. For your beauty is quite striking. Without doubt, there is a soul mate for you out there, seeking the day he shall have the honor to gaze upon your figure and face."

"You...you mean it?" Shiho said, perking up.

"I said "without doubt", did I not?"

"And that was, obviously, the best thing you could have said," Ann added, "Very smooth, Yusuke. Whoever you end up with will be a lucky girl."

"Well...I don't think...that...uh...thank you, Takamaki-san."

"Are you saying you'd be interested, Kitagawa-kun?" Shiho asked, stars in her eyes.

"Um...I'm not saying...I...well..."

Yusuke was saved by a text message. Ann and Mishima got it too. It was from Ryuji.

Skull: Just had a great date. Got a phone number too. Who's awesome? This guy!

Yusuke was a bit annoyed at Ryuji's bragging, but his mood improved after seeing Akira post a reply.

Joker: Good for you. Is he cute?

Ann laughed so hard, she feel out of the booth.