Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Persona series.
I had this idea in mind for a while, but for all of the Phantom Thieves. Might as well use it here, right?
Please enjoy this next part of the Okujima Week 2019 Challenge!
Okujima Week 2019 Challenge:
Driving Lessons:
Metaverse
-Makoto-
The student council president knew that she was the only member of the Phantom Thieves who could drive. Akira could if needed, of course, but all in all, she was the only member with real-life experience.
So, it was inevitable that one day, someone in her group of friends would ask her for lessons. The skill wasn't strictly needed in a crowded city, where subways were the main method of transportation, but it was nice to have it as an option.
When her energetic girlfriend had approached her and asked her for a lesson, Makoto had obliged. Surely, Haru would be one of the easier friends to teach, seeing as she could keep calm and wasn't easily frustrated. Other than Akira, she was probably the best for this type of situation.
After a brief discussion, the two decided to take a test drive in Morgana, since there were a lot of open spaces in Mementos, and they didn't have to worry about getting fatally wounded in case of an accident. Sure, Haru had crashed Morgana when the rest of the Phantom Thieves had been chasing them, but that was most likely due to the novelty of the situation, as well as the fact that everyone was flustered. It wasn't likely for that to happen again.
How wrong she had been.
"Noir! Ease on the – wait, WAIT!" Makoto screamed, pumping the invisible break that was all-too familiar with those who taught others how to drive.
"What's that, Queen? Should I slow down?" Haru shouted to be heard above the roar of the engine, which was almost deafening.
"Yes!" Came the instant reply.
Makoto sighed as the engine quieted, and Morgana began to go at a much more reasonable speed. It wasn't too long before the entire vehicle stopped completely.
"Geez, Noir! Take it easy! All this speeding is making my paws sore!" Morgana's voice emanated from the bus, his annoyance obvious.
"Sorry, Mona-chan! I was just having such a great time. It's exhilarating to travel so quickly! I can see why Queen likes it." The masked girl turned towards her companion, smiling brightly at her.
The student council president smiled back weakly. "True, but that's mostly when I'm on Johanna. Or if we're in a life-or-death situation in a Palace." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear nervously. "We can go a little bit slower here, though."
Haru sighed. "That's too bad. But you're the boss, Queen!" She brightened, eager to continue the training.
Morgana snickered. "Isn't it kinda funny that Noir has been pupils under both you and me?"
Makoto nodded. "I suppose that's true, but she's taught the both of us plenty as well."
"Mhm. Though I think some of the lessons we've gone over might be a little too advanced for Mona-chan's ears." Haru looked over at Makoto with a twinkle in her eye, obviously implying some of the other… activities the two had engaged in.
The other girl coughed, reddening slightly. "P-perhaps."
"Huh? Like what? I'm plenty advanced enough to understand!" Clearly, Morgana had not understood the double-entendre.
"M-Mona. U-um…" Makoto trailed off, not sure how to change the topic. She knew that Morgana was persistent with many things, especially if they had to do with measuring his maturity or intelligence.
"Sorry, Mona-chan! It's for girls only." She winked at Makoto, whose blush deepened.
Morgana gave a confused meow. "What do you mean?"
Makoto decided to say something. "We'll… tell you when you're older?" She gave a questioning look at Haru, who giggled.
"I'm plenty old enough –! Oh!" Morgana suddenly grew quiet. After a minute, he replied softly, "Nevermind."
As Haru continued to giggle and Makoto continued to blush a deeper shade of red at being found out, Morgana shouted, "Is that why you two wanted to be alone for this? I-I'm not comfortable being here if that's what you two are gonna do!"
At this, Makoto squeaked and buried her face into her hands, too embarrassed to say anything. Luckily, Haru had her back.
"Nothing of the sort, Mona-chan! We figured that it would be easier to train one-on-one, without judgement from the others." Makoto felt Haru stroke the top of her head gently with her gloved hand, which soothed her somewhat. "I promise you, there are no ulterior motives for being here. I was just teasing the both of you."
"If you're sure…" Morgana trailed off, unconvinced.
"A-anyway!" Makoto snapped her head up, her face back to its usual shade. She saw that Haru was still looking at her with mirth. "Enough of this! I'm not leaving here until I'm confident that Noir can drive without killing any pedestrians."
"So it's okay if she just maims or seriously injures them?" Morgana quipped.
Makoto barked out a laugh at her girlfriend's scandalized face, relishing in this small form of payback. "Well, it's not ideal, but that is where the bar is currently set, yes."
"You two are both cruel!" Haru pouted, pulling her hat down slightly to shield her eyes.
"You did start this, Noir." Makoto smirked, grabbing a hold of the hand Haru had used. She waited until the other girl had looked up at her before raising her hand to her lips. "But I apologize for upsetting you." She kissed Haru's knuckles, squeezing her hand slightly.
"You two are so sickeningly-sweet that I'm gonna hurl!" Morgana chimed in, making gagging noises.
"Interesting." Makoto gave Haru's hand one last squeeze before letting go. "You sound much the same when speaking with Panther. Perhaps we could give you some of the more intermediate lessons to help?"
There was a silence as the cat seriously considered Makoto's offer.
"N-no thanks!" Morgana finally exclaimed. "Lady Ann would never fall for such cheesy lines and awkward gestures. I'm gonna woo her in the coolest and most gentlemanly way possible!"
"Cheesy lines?" Haru looked at the other girl.
"Awkward gestures?" Makoto looked back.
Morgana laughed. "You two really aren't as cool as you think you are."
Makoto snorted. "I think we're getting a little off topic here. Let's focus back on driving." She turned towards Haru. "Ready, Noir?"
The gardener beamed back at her. "Ready!"
Morgana moaned. "Man! And my paws were just starting to feel better, too."
Makoto rubbed the dashboard. "Don't worry, Mona. This time will be a lot better, you'll see." She looked at Noir. "Now this time, ease on the gas. You almost never actually have to push the pedal all the way to the floor."
"Understood." Haru placed her hands on the wheel and gently pushed on the gas. The bus started to move.
"Perfect!" Makoto leaned back in her seat, feeling confident that her girlfriend had this. "Okay, once you've got a feel for that speed, press a little more and we'll go faster. It's bad for a vehicle's engine to go from a dead-stop to as fast as possible in seconds. It's much better to go gradually, for the passengers as well."
"Mhm." Makoto watched as Haru became extremely focused on the road in front of her. Luckily, they had chosen one of the upper floors in Mementos, so most of the Shadows that they would encounter would simply screech and run away in fear, thus providing a relatively open path.
Eventually, Morgana was going at a generally fast pace, but nothing like they had been at before. Makoto looked ahead and saw that a curve in the road was approaching.
"Noir. See that curve coming up?"
Makoto had noticed that Haru had fallen into one of the traps that many novice drivers succumbed to. The other girl's gaze had been strictly focused on the road right in front of her, and she hadn't looked ahead for quite some time. The student council president knew she probably hadn't noticed.
Haru looked over at her girlfriend with a start. "No, I hadn't." Her eyes went back to the road. "Thanks for letting me know, Queen!"
Makoto smiled.
However, her smile quickly turned into a concerned frown as she realized that Haru was not slowing down as she approached.
"N-Noir –!"
"Whoa!"
The entire vehicle shuddered as Haru wildly turned the wheel to the right. Luckily, they didn't have a full-on collision with the wall, but at the speed they were going, it had been impossible to avoid it completely. Morgana growled as his side scrapped against the structure, which caused some sparks to fly out.
"Oh! Sorry, Mona-chan!" Haru stopped the bus again, petting the dashboard in front of her sheepishly.
"What did I do to deserve this treatment?" Morgana moaned dramatically.
"This might take longer than I thought…"
"Oh you two! No need to be so dramatic." Haru giggled as she returned to her driving position.
"You're really getting a kick out of torturing us like this, aren't you?" Morgana sighed.
"Don't worry, Mona. I'll patch you right up." Makoto unbuckled herself from her seat and exited, grabbing some of the medicine they had brought with them. She walked around to the side where the impact had occurred, and saw that it looked rather raw.
"This will only take a minute." She uncapped the container and took some of the gel in her hand. Raising it to the damaged surface, she began to rub the substance into the wound, which began to heal.
"Ahhh. Thanks, Queen!" Morgana purred, the gentle sound combining with the regular thrumming of an idle engine.
The student council president looked up at the sound of Haru's giggle. She saw that the other girl was currently leaning out the open window, her arms crossed and head resting on them. "You're a lifesaver!"
Makoto chuckled. "I appreciate the compliments, but I'm only doing my job as the Phantom Thieves' strategic advisor. Someone has to look out for the others, after all."
After a few more applications of the medicine, Makoto capped the container and inspected her work. It seemed much more healed than when it was hurriedly splattered onto a wound in the heat of battle, so she was satisfied.
As she turned to walk back towards the passenger's side, Makoto swore she had heard something. It had been faint, but one could never be too careful in Mementos. She paused. And then she heard it again.
The sound of rattling chains.
All at once, Makoto's face drained of color, and she dropped the medicine that she had been holding. It wasn't going to do them any good now.
"Man, Queen! You sure are clumsy." Morgana laughed, and Haru joined him. So, it seemed that the two of them had no idea of the gravity of the situation.
"Noir!" Makoto banged on the driver's door, ignoring the yelps of protest from the cat. "Let me drive immediately!
Haru's eyes widened in surprise. "Q-Queen? I know I'm not that good, but what's gotten into you all of a –?"
"Listen!" Makoto silenced her girlfriend by holding a finger up to her own lips. There were a few moments where no one said anything, and the only sound was that of Morgana's engine.
Then, the sound of rattling chains repeated.
Judging by the look of fear that crossed Haru's face, Makoto confirmed that she had heard it too. "Is that…?"
"The Reaper!" Both girls looked at Morgana, whose engine suddenly roared to life. "Get in, Queen! The three of us are no match for it!"
"Right!" She opened up the driver's door. "Noir, switch with me. We'll need someone to hold it off while I get us out of here."
The student council president watched as Haru nodded her head. Leaping gracefully out of the bus, she unsheathed her grenade launcher from her hip as she sprinted over towards the other side.
Makoto jumped in, slamming the door shut and preparing the vehicle to move. Once Haru situated herself next to her, Makoto slammed her foot on the gas, doing what she had just warned Haru previously against doing.
Morgana began to speed forward.
"I've got him, Queen!" Makoto glanced to her right to see that Haru had half of her body leaning outside the passenger window, her grenade launcher trained on what was behind them. There was a loud "boom", and Haru jerked back slightly due to the recoil.
There was a screech behind them, and Makoto realized smugly that her girlfriend had hit her mark. "Nice going, Noir!"
Makoto had barely finished her sentence before another loud "boom" resonated, along with another high-pitched wail.
"Ah! It's such a thrill to hear them squeal in pain!" Makoto gave a sideways look at Haru, and saw that her eyes were shining in excitement. She knew that her girlfriend had a more… sadistic side, but it was still a bit nerve-wracking to see it manifest.
Although, she would be lying if she said that it wasn't a little bit of a turn-on to see her girlfriend so passionate.
Heart beating faster, Makoto focused back on the road in front of her. "Alright. We're coming up on another curve. We should be able to lose it here. Get ready, Noir!" Her knuckles white under her gloves, Makoto gripped the wheel tightly as she turned, feeling Morgana lift up onto two wheels.
"Ha!" Another "boom", followed by a screech, and then, the bus had completed its turn. Luckily, the three of them had arrived at a safe location, so Makoto quickly pulled over and stopped the bus, leaning heavily on the wheel as she attempted to get her breath back.
"You two okay?" Morgana panted.
Makoto nodded. "Yes. Thanks for getting us out of there, Mona."
She looked over at Haru, and saw that her eyes were still gleaming. She was looking behind her, though when Makoto followed her gaze, there was nothing there.
Reaching out a hand, Makoto asked, "Um… Noir?"
The gardener suddenly turned towards her, grenade launcher and all, and exclaimed, "How fun! That was so intense, Queen! When can we do it again?"
"Whoa! Gun away from my face, please!" Makoto shoved the implement away, not fond of having a weapon explode in her general vicinity.
"Whoops! Sorry about that!" Haru holstered her weapon. Looking back at Makoto, she murmured, "I really did enjoy that, though." Her eyes focused in on her girlfriend's as she leaned forward slightly.
"Noir…" Makoto found that she was moving towards the other girl as well. Before too long, her eyes closed as the two of their lips met in a gentle bump.
"Nuh-uh! You two promised me, remember? No extracurricular activities in the Phantom Thieves bus!" Makoto jumped back in shock, shaking her head slightly at the trance that Haru had seemed to put her under.
The student council president looked over at Haru to see what her reaction had been. She was smiling at Makoto, her eyes shining in a more normal (and less sadistic) light. Giggling, she said, "You're right, Mona-chan. But when Queen starts barking out orders, I can't help myself!"
"Wha –?"
"And, if we're being honest, once Noir starts destroying everything in her path…" Makoto gulped. "She… really takes my breath away."
There was a moment of silence as the two continued to look at each other. Makoto found herself slowly copying Haru's content grin.
"Well," Morgana quipped, "I think I've learned entirely too much about both of your… preferences. And Noir has learned almost nothing about driving."
"So, all in all, a pretty successful afternoon, wouldn't you say?" Haru winked at the other girl, who chuckled.
"You two…" Morgana sighed as the two girls laughed.
Hope you enjoyed! Since both girls are somewhat… I dunno exactly how to describe it? Intense? It was entertaining to see how they can both be extreme, but still be attracted to the other one's ferocity.
And if you are working on getting your driver's license, don't worry! At least you won't have the Reaper chasing after you on your driving test!
See you tomorrow!
