7/25 Monday
The gang was reunited at Ren´s room after school
-¨Man, that school meeting had me bored to tears¨ Ryuji said and yawn
-¨Huh? Did you have to go to school too, Yusuke? ¨ Ann asked
-¨I´m doing laundry, so these are the only clothes I had to wear¨
-¨You really should buy a couple more outfits¨
-¨Come now, we didn´t gather here to make small talk, didn´t we? ¨ Makoto said ¨Let´s get to Alibaba´s case¨
-¨It looks like Futaba was listening in on Leblanc¨ Morgana said
-¨Why would she want to listen in to a café¨ Ann asked
-¨I have no idea¨
-¨In any case, her hacking skills will be absolutely necessary if we wish to stand up to Medjed¨ Makoto said ¨Going by what she has told us, we may even be able to identify who they are¨
-¨We´ll have to trust in her skills for now then¨ Yusuke said
-¨We just gotta steal her treasure, right? ¨ Ryuji said
-¨If we heal Futaba´s heart, it would not only help Boss, but she can assist us with Medjed¨ Makoto said
-¨I agree¨ Yusuke said
-¨Hold on a second¨ Morgana said ¨Our investigation of her Palace may not go lie anything we´ve done up to this point¨
-¨Why is that? ¨ Ryuji asked
-¨Having an individual ask you to steal their heart is an extremely irregular case. There´s no telling what the Palace ruler´s disposition will be like. Or the distortion that´ll be there. We may run into some unforeseen situations. Do you still want to go in? ¨
-¨Yeah, let´s do it¨ Ren said
-¨All right. Let´s just make sure we´re cautious¨
-¨Well, let´s get crackin on those keywords, huh? ¨ Ryuji said
-¨The ones we have at the moment are ¨Futaba Sakura¨ and ¨Sojiro Sakura´s house¨
-¨We got the ¨who¨ and the ¨where¨, so all that´s left is the ¨what¨, right? ¨
-¨Let us try going to their house first¨ Yusuke said
-¨Boss is busy running the café, isn´t he? We should make sure he doesn´t suspect anything¨ Ann said
They left the café
-¨What is it that you wanted to talk about Ann? ¨ Makoto asked
-¨Hmmm… Hey Yusuke, Ryuji, Ren, go on ahead, we will catch up with you¨
-¨Is there a problem? ¨ Yusuke asked
-¨Not really, we just want to have a girl talk¨
-¨This isn´t the time for that! ¨ Ryuji complained
-¨It would only be for a short while¨ Makoto said
-¨All right, but don´t take too long¨ Ren said and the guys went on
-¨So, what is it? ¨
Ann got a grin on her face ¨What´s between you and Ren? ¨
Makoto was surprised to hear that question ¨What do you mean? ¨
-¨Well, this may be only me but you guys are acting weird around each other¨
-¨No, we are not¨
-¨The other day you got completely angry just when Ryuji mentioned that girl and Ren was also red when you were around¨
-¨I did not get angry! And for your information, he told me that it wasn´t his girlfriend or anything, so case close ¨ she smiled proudly
-¨Oh, so you ask him about that? Interesting¨
Makoto realized what she said and got flustered
-¨Besides you two seem to be spending quite a lot of time together, or at least, that´s what people say at school¨
-¨He is just helping me with an investigation regarding a student, nothing else¨
-¨Suuuuure but, what about last night? You two seem way too funny, you clenching his leg, and him with your shoulders¨
-¨It was only an accident¨ she was more than embarrassed at this conversation
-¨Even the boss thought you were dating, do you like him? ¨
-¨Well, of course I like him, he is my friend and our leader¨
-¨That´s not what I meant¨
-¨Then what do you mean? ¨
-¨If you like ¨like¨ him¨ she made quotes when saying that
-¨Huh?...¨
-¨Hey you two, hurry up! ¨ Ryuji yelled
-¨We are coming! ¨ Ann yelled ¨Let´s go¨
-¨Ann wait¨ Makoto said ¨Why are you asking me this? ¨
She shrugged ¨I don´t know, guess it was curiosity, I thought you guys were something but if you say that you are not, then fine, although, you two would do a great match¨ she kept walking and Makoto stood there with her thoughts
-¨Match?... Wait, does she mean?¨
-¨Makoto, is everything ok? ¨ Ren asked
-¨Huh? Oh yeah, sorry, I´m going¨
She began to move but deep down she kept thinking on what Ann said and her own situation whenever Ren was around, what could all mean?
They were all standing together in front of Futaba´s house
-¨Now, the last keyword…¨ Makoto wondered
-¨She is a shut-in, so we just gotta figure out ¨what¨ she thinks her house is¨ Ryuji said ¨If she can´t get out, maybe a prison? ¨
No
-¨Perhaps a labyrinth with an unknown exit? ¨ Makoto said
No
-¨Maybe an oasis? ¨ Ann said
No
-¨Nothing so far¨ Yusuke said ¨In that case, how about hell? ¨
No
-¨We don´t have nearly enough clues¨ Ann said
-¨If only we could ask her directly¨ Yusuke said
-¨We can. C´mon, let´s go see Futaba¨ Ryuji said
-¨But what will we say to get in? ¨ Makoto asked
-¨We´re sneakin in¨
-¨You have to be joking. Won´t the door be locked this time? ¨
-¨I´ll take care of that¨ Morgana said ¨Oh, and I figured out where Futaba´s room was when I snuck in last night¨
-¨What if we run into Boss though? There´s no way we´ll avoid his questions his time¨
-¨He´s at work now, so I think we should be fine¨ Ann said
-¨Getting cold feet, Makoto? ¨ Ryuji mocked ¨Don´t worry, it´ll be nothing. We´ve gone through loads of shit like this already¨
She looked at Ren and sighed ¨This is our only choice, right? I suppose Futaba did get in contact with Ren. Perhaps she will be willing to speak with him. Very well, let´s do this¨
-¨That´s the spirit, besides, you can always clench to Ren´s leg if necessary, same with him and your shoulders¨ he said mocking
Both got slightly red at that memory
-¨Seriously Ryuji? ¨ Yusuke asked with disappointment
-¨Hey, you were the one who wished to have his sketchbook¨
Everybody looked at Yusuke
-¨Why? ¨ Ren asked
-¨It was for artistic purpose, the demonstration of fear combined with the warm of friends helping each other, perfect¨ he framed the two of them ¨Would you be willing to do that again? This time I am prepared¨
-¨Do you still want to eat curry at Leblanc? ¨ Ren countered
Yusuke got quiet ¨You are evil my friend¨
-¨Ha! This is too hilarious, would totally see that picture Yusuke¨ Ryuji said
-¨Ann¨ Makoto said
-¨I´m on it¨
She got close to Ryuji
-¨What? ¨ he asked
And she slapped him in the head
-¨Ouch! What was that for? ¨
-¨So that you behave yourself¨ she smirked at him
-¨Ugh, whatever, let´s go¨
They all entered Futaba´s house and went to her room, Makoto knocked her door
-¨Futaba-chan? You´re in there, right? ¨
No answer
-¨Futaba-chan. Are you there? ¨ Makoto asked again a bit worry ¨I´m sorry for being startled and screaming yesterday. It was so dark that I got scared¨
Again, silence
-¨No reaction whatsoever¨ Yusuke said
-¨This is gonna be hard¨ Ryuji said
-¨You´re listening right, Alibaba? ¨ Makoto asked
Ren´s phone ringed
-¨Is it Alibaba? ¨ she asked
Alibaba: Why are you here?
-¨Why´s she only reacting to that name? ¨ Morgana asked
-¨You´re Futaba Sakura, aren´t you? ¨ Makoto asked
More silence
-¨Does she not like us saying her name? ¨ Ann asked
-¨We don´t have time to dally around. We need her keyword before dealing with Alibaba´s identity¨ Morgana said
-¨We want to learn more about you. If we don´t do so, we can´t steal your heart¨ Makoto said ¨The reason we came here is because we need the keyword to enter your Palace. That´s why we want to talk with Futaba Sakura herself, and not Alibaba¨ she looked down to the floor for a moment ¨You don´t have to show yourself. Just answer some questions for us. Chat messages are fine¨
Ren´s phone ringed again
Alibaba: Ok
-¨We are counting on you, Ren. Try and get a keyword out of her¨ Makoto said with a little smile
Alibaba: What do you want to hear?
Ren: How´s living in this house?
Alibaba: It´s painful
Ren: Why don´t you go out?
Alibaba: I can´t leave this place. I´m going to die here
-¨Wha-Die…? ¨ Ann asked shocked
Alibaba: Is this going to continue?
Ren: Why do you think that?
Alibaba: Why? This place is my tomb
-¨Tomb? ¨ Makoto asked confused
-¨You think that´s it? ¨ Ryuji asked
They tried it and
-¨Input accepted. Searching for route to destination¨ the nav. voice said
-¨We got it! ¨ said Morgana
-¨Well then, let´s hurry up and go¨ Ryuji said and grabbed Akira´s phone ¨Aaaaand clicky¨
Everybody got alarmed
-¨You idiot, don´t activate it here! ¨ Morgana yelled
But it was too late, the area surrounding them changed, now there was only sand
-¨It´s a desert¨ Yusuke said
-¨Wait, what the… Our clothes are still the same? ¨ Ryuji said
-¨Futaba herself is asking us to steal her heart. It´d be odd if she saw us a threat¨ Morgana said ¨But more importantly, I told you to be cautious! Why´d you activate it like that!?¨
-¨Is that why we ended up in a desert? Where´s the tomb? It´s so damn hot here¨
-¨She must really want to keep people away from her¨ Makoto pointed out
-¨Let´s hurry up and get going. Where´s the Palace? ¨ Ryuji asked´
-¨Is it that way? ¨ Morgana said
They all saw something shiny in the horizon
-¨Isn´t that kinda far? ¨ Ann asked
-¨Are we gonna walked? ¨ Ryuji asked worry
-¨Of course not! ¨ Morgana shook his head ¨My paws will get burned! ¨
He turned into a car
-¨I´ll make sure to put the AC on full blast! ¨
They drive for a while, the heat really hitting them, the boys were behind sleeping
-¨It´s stuffy¨ Ann said, breathing heavily
-¨Yes, I know¨ Makoto said a bit annoyed ¨But it´s still beats opening the window to the hot desert air¨
Ann rest her back on the seat, the sweat made their shirt glue to their skin and revealing what was underneath it
-¨Huh? ¨ Ann said and turned her head and saw that Ryuji and Yusuke were watching at her, Ryuji´s mouth wide open while Yusuke was deeply focussed
-¨Huh?¨ Ren was waking up ¨What are you guys? ¨
-¨Take this¨ Ann pulled the break and the car began to shake, sending the boys behind except for Ren who went over the seat and landed on the instrument board
-¨Ngh¨ he groaned in pain
-¨Ren, Oh my god, sorry! ¨ Ann said ashamed
-¨Are you all right? ¨ Makoto asked
-¨Y-Yeah¨ he used his hands to raise himself from the board ¨But why on earth did you? ¨
He caught sight that Makoto´s bra was visible under her shirt, he quickly sit before being caught but couldn´t help but get red
-¨Is that it? ¨ Yusuke said pointing to something
¨There we go¨ Makoto said
There was a big pyramid surrounded by a village, similar to the ones of ancient Egypt
-¨It´s so hot¨ Ann said
-¨The AC ain´t working at all! The hell was that lukewarm air about!? ¨ Ryuji asked pissed
-¨That was the best I could do, so quit your yapping! ¨ Morgana yelled
-¨Stop, both of you¨ Ren said
-¨He started it! ¨ Ryuji and Morgana yelled
-¨And I am ending it¨
-¨To think her Palace would be a pyramid¨ Makoto said
-¨Hey, a pyramid´s a tomb, right? ¨ Ryuji said
They entered the pyramid
-¨Whoa, it´s so nice inside! Is this place air conditioned or something!?¨ Ryuji asked
-¨It may be because Futaba´s room in reality has AC pumping through it. Either way, this is a relief¨ Makoto said
-¨Huh, our clothes still haven´t changed even now. This has never happened to us before¨ Ann said
-¨It is refreshing that she doesn´t see us as a threat … but we are completely surrounded by walls¨ Yusuke said
-¨I guess this is a tomb… It´s probably not made to be easy to get into. Anyway, let´s explore¨ Morgana said
They climb up the stairs in order to go to the Treasure, but in the way, they found a girl with orange hair wearing robes
-¨Hey, is this? ¨ Ryuji said
-¨That´s Futaba´s Shadow. It isn´t the real her¨ Morgana said
-¨Oh yeah, you´ve seen your face. True. This one´s kinda dressed like a queen¨
-¨So you´re Futaba Sakura¨ Makoto said surprised
Shadow Futaba remained quiet
-¨Hey, where´s the Treasure? ¨ Ryuji asked
She remained quiet
-¨Don´t be like that! ¨ Ann yelled a bit angry, she got close to the Shadow ¨I´m sorry, Futaba-chan. It´s OK, there´s no need to be scared. So, can you tell us where your most treasured possession is? ¨
She remained quiet
-¨This is going nowhere¨ Yusuke said
They were about to leave, but
-¨Those who plumber my tomb. Why have you come? ¨ Shadow Futaba said
-¨She talked, but…¨ Ann said
-¨What are you saying? You want us to steal it? ¨ Ryuji asked
-¨If you believe you can steal it, then try as you might¨
-¨That´s rather defiant sounding¨ Morgana said
-¨Perhaps this is that ¨tsundere¨ thing where someone is harsh and sweet depending on the mood¨ Yusuke said
-¨I highly doubt it¨ Ren said
-¨Considering the state that my Palace is in… There´s no way you can steal it¨ she said
They all heard voices in the air, saying things like murderer, and the Shadow Futaba bend on her knees, she then began to levitate
-¨That´s right. I did it¨
-¨What? ¨ Ryuji asked
-¨I am the one who killed my mother¨
The pyramid began to shake for a few seconds
-¨What was that?!¨ Ann asked alarmed
-¨My mother exists here¨ Futaba began to disappear ¨I will remain here. I will do so until I die¨ she was gone and the gang was now in their thieves outfits
-¨She see us as a threat now… What´s going on? ¨ Yusuke asked
The pyramid shook again
-¨What now?!¨ Ann asked
A boulder appeared and began to roll
-¨Oh crap! Bad, bad, bad! Ruuuun! ¨ Morgana yelled and they began to run as fast as they could, until
-¨Ack! ¨ Makoto trip and fell
-¨Queen! ¨ Ren quickly grabbed her hand and help her to keep moving
They managed to dodge the boulder by miracle
-¨We´re safe… that was close¨ Makoto said still catching her breath ¨Thank you Joker¨
-¨No problem¨
-¨Now what!?¨ Ann asked
-¨Even if we wanted to ask Futaba what´s going on, it seems the door is shut. What should we do? ¨ Yusuke asked
-¨I think our best option is retreating for now¨ Morgana said ¨This won´t be as simply as we expected. Why don´t we prepare a little more, then come back? ¨
-¨Good idea¨ Ren said
-¨Ok¨ Makoto said ¨Then let´s retreat for now and return to the Palace another day¨
The other began to head for the exit
-¨Let´s go¨ Ren said
-¨Right¨ Makoto said
They began to walk, but stopped when they realized they were still holding hands
-¨Oh, sorry¨ Ren let go of her hand, slightly red
-¨It´s fine¨ Makoto said slightly red as well
They returned to the real world and had establish Leblanc as the base for their operations
7/26 Tuesday
Ren got a call from Makoto, she wanted to talk to him regarding Eiko, so they met at the courtyard of Shujin Academy
-¨What´s wrong? ¨ Ren asked
-¨Apparently, Eiko has started to date a host from a club near her work. I guess he, um… hit on her one day after her shift, and that was that. Since then, he´s the only thing she´ll talk about. She even sent me a picture of their date at Destinyland¨
-¨He sounds suspicious¨
-¨You think so as well? ¨ she put her hand on her chin ¨For now, it seems he hasn´t forced her to spend any money at his club, but I´m still nervous. Beyond that, he calls her his ¨princess¨ and constantly tells her how special she is. It makes me sick to my stomach. But Eiko refuses to listen to me. She said the idea that all hosts are bad people is outdated. She even said she was shocked to be getting advice from someone who would ¨totally flunk a test about love¨ she got angry and glared at Ren ¨Tests about love aren´t a thing though… and even if they were, I most certainly wouldn´t flunk them! ¨
-¨Ok, I believe you¨ he raised his hands
-¨S-sorry about that¨ she was embarrassed
-¨I don´t want to see her reaction if she ever fails an exam¨ he thought
-¨I´m probably just being biased towards him. I mean, I don´t have any proof that he´s untrustworthy. But that´s why I want to meet him and find out for myself what kind of person he really is¨
-¨Good thinking, but how? ¨
-¨Well, if it´s not too much to ask, I´d like you to accompany me on this excursion as well¨
-¨Sure¨
She got flustered ¨This time, umm… you´ll have to play the role of my boyfriend¨
Ren thought for a second that he heard wrong
-¨I got this¨ he showed her a smile
Makoto smiled too ¨It´s honestly OK? You´re so reliable, Ren. I think if I have a boyfriend, Eiko might be more inclined to listen to me… To tell you the truth… I actually already made plans with her and her boyfriend for a double date. Sorry, but it´s just going to be at a diner. Nothing particularly fancy, I promise¨
-¨It´s all right¨
-¨Thank you! You´re a tremendous help. I´m so glad you agreed to this. I don´t know who else I´d have asked if you had said no¨
-¨No problem¨
-¨That being said¨ she looked away ¨I think it would be better if we practice first¨
-¨How? ¨
-¨Well, we could start by holding hands together, let´s just walk for a few blocks¨ she turned red ¨Only if you want though, I am not forcing you or anything¨
-¨Makoto¨ Ren put a hand on her shoulder ¨Take it easy, I said I would help you¨
-¨Thank you very much¨
They leave the school and stand in an alley
-¨Ok, let´s start¨
With hesitation, she gently put her hand on his and he closed it a bit
-¨How is it so far? ¨ Ren asked
-¨G-Good, now, let´s walk a bit¨
They walked through Shibuya, simply looking at their surroundings
-¨S-So? ¨ she asked
-¨I think we are doing a good job¨ he said ¨We just have to keep until it feels natural¨ Ren said ¨Where do you want to go? ¨
-¨Well, we could go to Leblanc¨
-¨All right¨
And they went to the restaurant, talking about different things like a normal couple would
-¨Here we are¨ Ren said
-¨Good, I believe it all went well¨ she got worry ¨I didn´t sweat or anything, right? ¨
-¨No, did I? ¨
-¨No, you were fine¨
-¨Test passed¨ he smirk at her
-¨Very funny¨ she rolled her eyes ¨I´ll be going now, let´s meet up in order to go to Futaba´s Palace¨
-¨Sure, I´ll let you know when¨
-¨See you¨ and she began to walk home
Once each was in their own, they looked at their hand, the ones they used to hold each other hand, all the tenderness, the feeling of joy and more inside them, they were only pretending, then why ? Could it be that there´s was more?
-¨Was… Was Ann right? ¨ Makoto asked herself ¨Do I feel something more intense for Ren? ¨
-¨Do I feel something more intense for Makoto? ¨ Ren asked himself
She shook her head, she couldn´t think about something like that, she had other things to worry about, then why she couldn´t stop thinking about him?
As for Ren, if he did felt something for her, how does she fill for him? He shook his head, they were only pretending, nothing more, nothing less, at least that is what he told to himself, but why he couldn´t stop thinking about her?
And that´s the end for now, Ann has become the shipper of Ren and Makoto (She won´t be the only one that ships them, that much I can tell you), what would happen now? What exactly are they feeling for the other? Will they help Futaba? Stay tune to find out
And look, is the 10 chapter, hooray, let´s go for ten more people, thank you for your support until now
As usual, thank you all for reading, leave any reviews or send a PM and I would gladly answer
See you next time
Peace