- Ryuji & Ann -
The Makami dove right at Joker, extending its weird long paper body like a spear right through him. At least, that was probably what it was trying to do. Instead it got a face full of cloak. No. Make that a whole body of cloak.
Ryuji grinned.
Heh.
Serves it right.
What little Ryuji could see of the shadow was left writhing against the weight of Joker's duster. That'd keep it tangled up for a while.
A deep, self-satisfied laugh echoed in the sickly yellow halls of whatever the hell floor they were on.
"High Pixie!"
The call brought Ryuji's attention to his right. Joker stood, bare arm outstretched. The small fairy hovered right behind him, making the same pose. A pack of Inugami waved in the high winds that followed. They fell to the floor when the storm let up and vanished into black dust.
Joker spun back around, leaping towards the Makami just as it was shaking off his coat. It went down in a flurry of slashes. With no more shadows left, he smirked and hooked his blade back at his belt in a quick stroke. Like usual, he then re-adjusted his gloves. Though... something was off-
"Jeez he's showing off more than usual!" Ann crossed her arms, her weight shifting to one leg.
"For real."
"How's Queen supposed to learn from that?" Ann shook her head.
Ryuji looked over to Makoto, the newest member of the Thieves. She was standing a few meters away with the others. Even through her mask, he could see how wide her eyes were. Her jaw hung open too. And was her face getting all red? He turned back to Joker.
Oh.
That's it.
His biceps don't need to flex that much to adjust his gloves.
And wasn't he straining too much against that vest of his too? Gotta be tiring to flex all that at once.
Ryuji grinned again, turning to Ann. "Well whaddaya know?"
Ann brought a hand in front of her mouth and giggled.
- Yusuke -
A trickle of sweat ran down Yusuke's neck. He unzipped his costume further. He didn't want it getting in the way, but he needed some relief from the heat. It could be a while. The team was scouring a small town in the desert in search of a bandit.
A small breeze provided a brief respite. Yusuke's vision was soon subsumed by a flutter of black coattails.
Ah.
So the breeze was fake... brought on by the leap of their leader. Even in the overbearing heat, Joker moved with a special kind of energy.
Yusuke raised his hands, his fingers framing his friend. It wasn't that their leader was immune to the sun. No. He glistened with the same sweaty sheen as the rest of them. Under all the black it must've been worse, but he didn't let it change his demeanor. No panting. No loosening his collar. No getting distracted. Yusuke tried to commit it to mind so he could later evoke the contrast, the highlights, and everything else that contributed to the majestic presence Joker had. It would make a fine painting.
As they explored the village, Yusuke kept his attention on Joker, his mind filling with possibilities of how to represent such dynamism on a static canvas, how to faithfully represent not only what he observed, but what he experienced.
"Hey everybody!" Ryuji stopped in front of a merchant's stall. It was unmanned. He held up a corked jug. "I think this is fresh water."
The rest of the team gathered around. Makoto brought her hand to her chin. "It would be nice to conserve our own water... but can we trust it? Futaba has been-"
"Ryuji!" Ann exclaimed as her friend started drinking from one of the jugs. His throat bobbed as he continued to gulp down the found water.
"Aaaaah, that hits the spot!" Ryuji said, taking a deep breath. "Try some guys."
"Well," Yusuke crossed his arms. "I guess that settles that."
They partook of the shop's wares, each drinking their fill. Ryuji sat down under the shade of the stall, his legs bent at the knees. Ann stood next to him, fanning herself. Yusuke leaned against the building at the back. It was the break they hadn't known they needed. Wordlessly they seemed to have made the decision to take it.
Raising his hands, Yusuke set Joker in his frame once more. This time, his expression was not the intense focus of someone facing danger. Instead, their leader looked content. His face was relaxed. His lips hinted at a smile and his eyes were half open in a fond gaze. Yusuke widened his finger frame and brought his hands closer to his face as he followed Ren's line of sight. Makoto appeared in the corner, gripping her jug with both hands as she sipped the cool water.
Ah.
He'd have to remember this expression too.
- Futaba & Morgana -
Futaba watched the video feed go dark as Ren slipped his phone back in his pocket. A few keystrokes later the photo he had taken with the others was back up on her display. "Heh. At that angle he looks like an eroge protagonist."
"Lady Ann is beautiful as always," Morgana sighed. He lowered his head between his front paws. "Too bad we can't go."
"Ehhhhh," Futaba pulled her knees up to her chest, her feet resting on the edge of her seat. "With my app we see everything they do but no sand, no sunburn, and nooooo people! It's way better."
"All we see is the inside of his pocket," Morgana whined.
Futaba raised a single finger in the air. "That's cuz it's the boring stuff right now."
"I'm with him all the time," said Morgana. His tail started making slow thumps against the table. "He doesn't take pictures of everything."
"Hmm. Let's see," Futaba started tapping an arrow key, shifting through the photos on Ren's phone.
A group selfie right before they left the beach.
A shot of the sun setting over the ocean.
Makoto kneeling in the sand, working on their sand castle. Huh, she's smiling.
A lobster. ...Stupid Inari.
Ann, Makoto, and her on a banana boat.
Makoto laying stomach-down on their beach blanket, reading a book.
Ann, Makoto, and her in their swimsuits, while she still had the towel wrapped around her head. Tch.
A couple scenic shots taken out the train window.
Her Featherman figures after Inari messed with them.
Makoto rifling through the shelves of a musty bookstore or library or something.
A really, really big hamburger.
The victory screen for Star Forneus.
A flyer with the hours for the public baths in August.
Makoto sitting in the dark with both her fists clenched in front of her.
Some ridiculous thing that could only have been painted by Inari.
Ryuji, Makoto, and Morgana walking in their neighborhood at night. Makoto looks really embarrassed.
A selfie taken along a sushi bar, with everyone else sitting down the line.
That sushi bar selfie again, only this time with full plates.
A group selfie with Inari, Ann, and Makoto in yukata. They look soaked. Inari makes it work. ...Stupid Inari.
A close up on Makoto looking up. The lighting on her face is green. Fireworks?
Ann and Makoto in yukata, dry this time. They're hard to see through the crowd.
"Ahh... Lady Ann was so gorgeous in that yukata." Morgana sighed again.
"It's kinda more a picture of Makoto." The older girl was centered and less obscured. Futaba paused. She started tapping the opposing arrow key, going back through the pictures. "Huh. Aren't there a few too many pictures of Makoto?"
"There certainly aren't enough pictures of Lady Ann," Morgana's response was fast, as if he wasn't really paying attention. He stopped and then raised his head. "I guess now that you mention it..."
Futaba turned to Morgana. She raised her eyebrows and grinned.
- Haru -
She should have known something strange was going on. Really she should have verified the cart was in good condition before she checked it out—then she wouldn't have needed help from the oddly quiet second-year, then she wouldn't be getting the third degree from the student council president.
She answered brightly and politely as she was trained... well, as much as she could. She tried not to be bothered by the way the second-year stood, just in front of Niijima-san. She had been perfectly kind to them—did they expect her to do something rash or violent even? The president had quite the bodyguard.
What had Mona-chan wanted her to say to Niijima-san's biker counterpart? Something about being an oblivious, bossy... what was it?
"...Isn't there any way we can work together?" Niijima-san asked.
Haru turned them down. They wouldn't help Mona-chan, their own friend. They so easily ignored his feelings... though, the way the two of them looked at each other, it seemed that they had a lot of unsorted feelings. She didn't have time that. Father and Mona-chan were waiting.
- Ren & Makoto -
"Queen!" Ren reached out a gloved hand. The Sui-Ki had come out of nowhere. It must have been lurking in a nearby spur when they ambushed the group of Orobas.
Makoto spun, fists ready. She dashed towards the big purple oni. She looked ready to attack but was forced to dodge its barrage of ice. The first struck an instant too late to hit, her foot having just launched from that very spot. The second however hit her square in the chest. She froze in place, mid-run, her form covered in a layer of blue frost.
Ren continued to run towards both Makoto and the shadow. The monster had been lucky, taking out its biggest threat first. It had been a long time since the enemy had gotten the drop on them, even longer since anyone had been frozen. How much time did they have? He hated leaving her like this, but he had to take out the shadow first.
"Ara Mitama!"
The angry red demon manifested, gritting its teeth as it rained nuclear fire upon the Sui-ki. The oni hit the ground. Ren reached for his knife.
"I got this!" Ryuji leapt in feet first, holding a metal pipe in one hand.
"Take care of Queen!" Yusuke slid after the track star, unsheathing his katana.
"Milady!" Haru called.
At the appearance of the ornate persona, a sparkling rain fell upon Makoto. The frost that covered her began to subside. Ren ripped off his jacket, using it to catch her as her knees buckled. He needed to warm her up. Her breath left her mouth in a white puff, still cold from the attack.
They landed, crouching by the tracks as the rest of the team finished off the shadow. When she looked at him, cognizant of what was going on, Ren let go of the duster, the pads of his fingers resting on the ground by his sides, his sleeves creeping just over the edge of his gloves.
"Th-thanks," Makoto's cheeks were red, like she had come in from a snowy day. She drew the coat around her more tightly. There was something curiously satisfying about seeing her in it.
"My pleasure." Ren smiled, gazing at her through lidded eyes.
That usually stopped most girls in their tracks, but Makoto wasn't most girls. She seemed distracted. He couldn't say it didn't bother him. His expression fell neutral as her attention ran down his arm to his glove.
"Didn't you use to wear a vest?" she asked, looking up and bringing a loosely balled hand to her lips.
"It changed when we switched to winter uniforms," he explained.
"Oh..." Makoto's gazed shifted away again. Her flush increased. "I kind of liked it without sleeves."
Ren's eyes went wide. A split second later blue flames engulfed both of his arms. His sleeves disintegrated in the blaze. He hadn't actually meant to burn them off. It was just a passing thought. Realizing his cognition betrayed him, he stared at Makoto, lips parted. She mimicked his expression. He felt his cheeks becoming uncomfortably hot. The seconds ticked by even more uncomfortably.
"R-Ren..." Makoto eventually sputtered. It was odd for her to slip and use his real name in the Metaverse. He braced himself for her response. She bit her lip before speaking again. "Um... I've b-been meaning to ask for a while... W-Would you like to go out some time? ...N-not for pretend I mean."
Ren exhaled, a smile he couldn't contain growing across his face. Able to breath again, he mentally thanked whatever higher power caused this to happen. He allowed himself to enjoy the moment. Makoto was so cute when she was nervous, even more so wearing his coat. How could there be any other response? "I'd like that."