Futaba Sakura sat in her dimly lit bedroom, her knees tucked to her chest under one arm as she stared glassy eyed at her computer monitor, slowly scrolling through some random social media site she had just found. It was Tuesday, the second worst day of the week, and the auburn-haired girl had reached a level of boredom normally reserved for the clinically depressed. Work with the Phantom Thieves had slowed to a near standstill recently and Futaba's usual methods of self-entertainment just weren't cutting it. It didn't matter what she tried; video games, anime, coding, for some reason none of them could hold her attention this week. She was in a right old slump.
Futaba sighed and scrolled some more, the hum of her air conditioner filling the room with a lone drone as pictures of smiling people rolled down her screen. She feared that if the boredom continued, she would be forced to take drastic measures, like go outside or contact one of the Thieves to see if they wanted to hang out. The very thought put a knot in Futaba's stomach and she groaned, rubbing her eyes underneath her wide-rimmed glasses. Ren was the only person who could really make her feel comfortable outside, and he had already said he was busy for the day. There was Sojiro too, of course, but he was busy running the café.
As she scrolled further Futaba suddenly came upon a picture of a girl she recognized. It was Ann Takamaki, a fellow Phantom Thief and part time model who went to school with Ren. The picture was an advertisement for some random clothes store. Ann stood in a generic model pose with her head cocked, one hand on her hip, and a bright smile on her face. Futaba stopped scrolling and stared at the picture for a minute.
"What makes her so pretty?" Futaba mumbled, she had always been a bit envious of Ann's good looks but there wasn't much she and Ann shared in the way of physical appearance, which was disheartening. Ann was tall and curvy with golden curled hair while Futaba was short and on the flatter side, her hair straight and orange. Futaba knew it was possible she could grow more in the future, both in height and bust, but she wondered if there was anything she could do to improve herself now. Futaba studied the picture again and realized Ann was rather tan, her skin a light almond color. Holding up her hand, Futaba saw that she was extremely pale and wrinkled her nose.
"That's what you get for being a hermit." She said in a scolding tone. "But tans don't take that long to acquire right? Hmmm." Futaba leaned forward in her chair and began to type rapidly on her keyboard. There were several tanning salons in the area, but they all cost money to use and Futaba was broke. Getting a spray tan, it seemed, wasn't much cheaper, plus Futaba hated how fake they always looked. She closed out the window on her screen and huffed as she sat back in her chair, the social media feed returning to view.
"How else am I supposed to get a tan?" Futaba scrolled a bit more and the answer came in the form of a picture. Two girls stood in the shallows of a beach, the sun beaming overhead as they smiled at the camera, each holding a peace sign next to their face.
"Aha! The beach!" Yelled Futaba, jumping to her feet. The sudden rise sent sparkles into her vision and she wobbled in place for a moment. "Whoa boy, too fast." After taking a moment to steady herself, Futaba grabbed a small backpack from beside her desk and flung open her closet, rummaging inside in search of her one and only bikini. She hadn't worn it since the Phantom Thieves had all gone to the beach together, so it was pushed far in the back. A sudden realization dawned upon Futaba, causing her to stop in her tracks.
"The beach is outside." She thought, her stomach turning. "There's gonna be lots of people there, probably a whole crowd since it's been so warm recently… I can't go to the beach by myself!" Futaba withdrew from the closet, bikini in hand, and began to pace around the room. The bikini was yellow and frilled, with big red polka dots dotting both the top and bottom pieces, it flapped limply in her hand as Futaba made wild gestures while she talked to herself.
"No no no! No way! Not in a million years, I could barely stand it when I had the whole group with me, there's no way I could go alone!"
"But I'll never get any better at this whole 'out in public' thing if I don't at least try."
"It's crazy, a bajillion things could go wrong!"
"So how are you gonna get a tan without going outside?"
"…."
"The others would be really impressed if you managed to do this by yourself."
"…yeah but…but…"
"But nothing! You are Futaba Sakura! The Oracle! Nothing stands between you and your goals! You're gonna go outside, get on that train, get on that beach, and get your tan! Yeah!" Futaba stuffed the bikini into her bag and scoured her room, collecting her keys, phone, and enough change to pay for the train ride. With her newfound confidence Futaba rushed out the door, ran down the hall, and burst out onto the pathway leading up to her house.
Two things immediately became apparent. The first was that it was nearly nighttime, as the sun had already dipped behind the nearby buildings, giving way to a flurry of twinkling stars. The second was that Futaba was barefoot, the concrete scraping against her soft feet. A young man walking down the street turned at the sound of the door swinging open and locked eyes with the young girl. He glanced down and raised his eyebrows, then continued on his way, shaking his head as he chuckled. Futaba followed his eyes and let out a sound not unlike the squeak of a mouse as she realized a third thing. She wasn't wearing pants. Her loose, black tank top hung down from her shoulders, stopping just short enough to expose Futaba's bright pink panties and pale legs to the entire street. Futaba yanked down on the front of her shirt to cover her lower half and quickly stepped back inside, slamming the front door.
"Tomorrow." She mumbled to herself as she shakily walked back to her room. "I can try the beach tomorrow."
It took Futaba the better part of the morning to scrounge up the courage to step outside again after the previous night's incident. But shaken as she was, the young girl was determined to get to the beach and try to tan. If nothing else, the expedition would at least stave off her rampant boredom for the day. Leaving a note for Sojiro, Futaba set out on a familiar path to the subway station after checking about a dozen times to ensure she was wearing pants. Once there, it took only a moment to purchase a ticket as Futaba recited her well-practiced order to the lady at the kiosk. The entire trip lasted less than an hour, but it seemed even shorter to Futaba, as she tended to zone out while traveling.
The bright midmorning sun snapped the auburn-haired girl out of her trance-like walk as she emerged from the subway station, it shone overhead like a beacon, without a single cloud in the sky to challenge it. The roar of crashing waves floated over the shimmering sand as a flock of seagulls flew noisily overhead. Futaba shielded her eyes as she crossed the street, stumbling a bit as the pavement suddenly gave way to the encroaching dunes. There weren't near as many people at the beach as the last time she was there, but there was still enough of a crowd to make Futaba's stomach do a flip. Towels and coolers dotted the beachfront sporadically in front of a line of neatly set umbrellas and wooden lawn chairs. All across the sand people in their bathing suits laid out, made sandcastles, and tossed around toys of every shape and size.
Futaba lowered her head and made a beeline for the changing rooms, a small set of wooden shacks behind the chairs and umbrellas. She found a vacant stall and stepped inside, closing and latching the thin wooden door behind her with a small hook. The frailty of the door made Futaba uneasy, and she hated how there was a foot-tall gap between the bottom of the door and the sand. Nevertheless, she slid off her backpack and began to strip, eager to spend as little time as possible in an undressed state.
Unlacing her long, black boots, Futaba slid them off along with the socks underneath, the warm sand tickling the soles of her feet. Next came her shorts, falling in a clump as Futaba stepped out of them, exposing her pink and white checkered panties. She pulled her loose, white top over her head and dropped them on her shorts, her black undershirt followed quickly after, exposing Futaba's bare chest. She often went without a bra, as her breasts were small enough to be supported by a tight undershirt without looking indecent. Futaba paused for a moment, catching a glimpse of her thin frame in the smudged changing room mirror.
She turned, picking at the top line of her panties as she poked her hips out, but the pose did little to accentuate the slim curve of her behind. She faced the mirror, cupping her breasts while pressing them upward. They easily fit into Futaba's small hands, which annoyed her, and what little cleavage they produced when pushed together was laughable. Her pink nipples sat atop her breasts, the only color on a blanket of white skin. Futaba sighed as she dropped her hands and slid her thumbs underneath the waistband of her panties, sliding them off in one swift motion. She tucked a stray strand of her long, auburn hair behind her ear as she gathered her clothes and sat them next to her backpack. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door that made Futaba yelp in surprise, the flimsy wood rattling as a voice called out.
"Is anyone using this one?" Asked a masculine voice. Futaba shrunk away from the door, instinctively covering herself with her hands.
"I-I-It's occup-pied!" She managed to struggle out, her voice high and tight. The man grunted.
"Sorry." He said, his voice fading as he walked away. Futaba took a moment to steady her breathing and calm her thumping heart before she dug into her backpack and retrieved her bikini. She slid the swimwear on, ensuring everything was fastened correctly before stuffing her clothes into the bag and shouldering it once more.
"Okay." Futaba said to herself as she faced the door. "You can do this, you can do this, you can do this. It's completely normal to lay out on the beach, there's not even that many people, okay." Taking a deep breath, Futaba unlatched the small wooden door and stepped out onto the beach. The sand was significantly hotter under direct sunlight, so she walked quickly, keeping maximum distance between herself and the small pockets of people that dotted the area. Futaba made her way to the very end of the umbrella line, where the crowd was thinnest, and claimed a spot beneath the last umbrella with her bag. Her heart was racing as she sat on the edge of the wooden lawn chair beneath the shade, she felt a bit lightheaded, but wasn't sure if it was due to the heat or the excitement of being in such a public place by herself.
Digging in her bag, Futaba retrieved a small towel and laid it out just beyond the reach of the shade. She researched tanning techniques the night before and had come to the conclusion that since her skin was so pale, she would need to spend no more than five minutes at a time laying out in the sun. She would alternate between her front and backside while intermittently sitting beneath the shade so as not to acquire a sunburn. As she was setting a timer on her phone, Futaba felt a presence behind her, and a familiar voice called out.
"Hello there Futaba, what brings you to the beach today?"
"Gah!" She exclaimed in surprise, turning to see a tall young man with sideswept blue hair standing behind her. She adjusted her glasses to get a better look. "Inari!?"
Yusuke frowned and stuck a hand inside the pocket of his white hoodie, the other held a small stack of canvases at his side. A black backpack was slung over one of his shoulders. "You know I dislike that nickname."
"Wh-wh-why are you here?" Demanded Futaba, a bit more harshly than she intended. Yusuke was a member of the Phantom Thieves, and as Futaba recalled, wasn't very fond of the beach. He was a tall, lean boy, with skin nearly as pale as Futaba's and a long, conventionally attractive face with dark eyes. Yusuke pulled out his hand and indicated to the water.
"I am in need of inspiration for a new painting, the theme is 'natural beauty' so I thought that the ocean may serve as my muse, as it has for so many in the past." He pulled a paintbrush from the back pocket of his navy, white polka dotted shorts and pressed his thumb against the handle, holding it at arm's length as he peered towards the sea with one eye closed. "Something was drawing me here today; a call to action that I could not ignore, I felt it in my soul, so here I am. Did you hear the call as well?" He asked.
"I… I just came here to… tan." Replied Futaba slowly, her anxiety fading. She wasn't exactly sure why, but whenever Yusuke was around Futaba always felt more at ease in social situations. He was no Ren, that's for sure, Ren made Futaba feel safe and secure even in the direst of circumstances, but there was something about Yusuke's eccentric mannerisms that seemed to lessen the burden of social interaction. It's almost like because he was so odd, Futaba felt her own quirks didn't stand out so much.
"Ah, I see. Well I shall leave you to it then, why anyone would want to darken such wonderful porcelain skin is beyond my comprehension, but to each their own I suppose. Ta ta." Yusuke strode off toward the water, leaving Futaba to process his words.
"Porcelain… skin?" She mumbled to herself. "Was that a compliment or sarcasm?" Futaba watched as Yusuke reached the shoreline and held up his thumb again to examine the view. She chalked it up to Yusuke just being weird and went back to the task at hand. Setting a five-minute timer, Futaba laid out on her towel and wiggled a bit, allowing the sand to settle underneath her. Carefully, she undid the clasp on the back of her top and allowed the straps to fall off her shoulders, just like she had seen in her research the night before, her stomach fluttered, and she took a deep breath.
"Perfectly normal, perfectly normal." She whispered, placing her arms by her side as she laid her head down, flicking her hair off her back with a quick tilt.
…
…
…
Hot, it was so hot. Futaba could feel beads of sweat forming on her back and rolling off her sides. There was not a single place in the universe hotter than where Futaba was laying, she was sure of it. Never in her life had she imagined it was possible to feel so exhausted from simply laying down. How long had she been there? Hours? Her entire body was encased in flames, her mind hazy from the intensity of the heat. Futaba reached for her phone to check the time, convinced she had burnt her back to a crisp. The timer showed 2:05 and was counting down.
"Three minutes!?" Yelled Futaba, incredulous as she pushed herself into a seated position. "How do people do this!?" The young girl struggled to her feet, her head still fuzzy, and began to make her way to the water. She wasn't fond of the ocean, but any relief from the heat right now would be welcome, and simple shade wasn't going to cut it. Futaba looked ahead and saw Yusuke standing alone on the shore, in front of him was a canvas sat on a thin metal stand. The nearest group of people were more than twenty yards away, which was a relief. As she neared him Futaba pushed her glasses up on the rim of her nose and peered around his back.
"So what are you gonna paint?" She asked. Yusuke held a painter's palette in one hand, several globs of brightly colored paint sat in an ark on the small wooden thing. In the other he had a brush, poised and ready to accept whatever color was to be bestowed upon it. He stared out at the ocean and did not turn his head as he answered.
"I have yet to be struck with inspiration… but it is close." His eyes narrowed and his voice became a whisper. "I can feel it in my bones, the siren song of the ocean called me here today, it will not disappoint."
"Oookay." Replied Futaba with a raised eyebrow. She stepped past him and walked into the lapping waves, the cool water splashing over her feet. Holding her hands behind her back, Futaba turned as another wave came in, allowing it to crash over the back of her lower legs. The water felt great on her warmed skin, and she let out a contented sigh. When she looked up, Futaba saw that Yusuke had turned his attention on her, his head tilted slightly as though he was contemplating something.
"What?" Demanded Futaba. Yusuke held up his brush and placed his thumb on it as he did before, aiming one eye at the young girl before him. Futaba made as if to step forward but halted as Yusuke called out.
"Please don't move!" He said suddenly. "Your boldness has inspired me! Few are capable of doing what you have done, and even fewer are willing!"
Futaba turned her head and counted at least a dozen other people in the water along the shoreline. Sure, it wasn't easy for her to normally get in the water, but it was hardly a rare action to see at the beach. What was Yusuke on about? The water at her feet rolled back into the ocean, causing sand to pile up over her toes, Futaba lifted her feet one at a time and flicked the excess sand off, glancing down as she did. She did a double take, and her breath caught in her throat. Futaba's top was gone, and there she stood on the edge of the water, hands behind her back, her breasts on display for the whole beach to see.
"Oh my, uh, hmmm, wha- how… haaaaa…" Futaba's knees shook as she babbled nonsense, her mind short circuiting at the sheer horror of the situation. She felt her face begin to burn as tears welled up in her eyes, wanting desperately to run but unable to make her limbs obey. Her exposed breasts glistened in the sunlight, the small mounds rising and falling rapidly as Futaba began to take short breaths.
"It came off when I got up." She thought frantically. "H-how did I not notice? This is the absolute worst thing! How many people saw?!"
"Are you okay Futaba, you look rather flushed?" Yusuke's voice snapped the young girl out of her trance. She stumbled backward, clutching both arms over her chest as she waded into deeper water. Her top was too far to run too, Futaba needed cover now. As soon as the water hit her hips Futaba dropped down, leaving only her head exposed. "Very well." Said Yusuke in a dejected tone, seemingly oblivious to the embarrassment at hand. "You don't have to model if you don't wish." Futaba's entire body trembled as she crouched in the water, but it wasn't from the cold
"He saw me he saw me hesawmehesawme!" She screamed in her head. "How did this happen?! Nobody has ever seen me naked before! I wasn't ready, nobody was supposed to see me until I developed more! Gaaaah this is the absolute worst!" As Futaba's mind raced trying to come up with a plan to get her top back without being seen, the water around her began to recede. She tried crouching further to stay covered but realized in a panic that she could go no lower as the water pulled away, revealing her nakedness once more. She turned to go deeper into the ocean and discovered why the water had been pulled away. A massive wave towered over the huddled girl, its precipice curling downwards as it began to crash towards her.
There was no time to react, Futaba squealed as the wave overtook her, pummeling her body into the rough sand and mercilessly dragging her forwards. Futaba lost all sense of direction as she tumbled under the powerful current, water filled her nose and throat and the small girl feared for a moment that she might drown. But, after her third or fourth rotation, the wave spit Futaba out onto the sand, sputtering and soaked from head to toe. She landed on her back, with her head towards the ocean, and as she looked up Futaba saw that the world was fuzzy. She had lost her glasses. Fanning her arms out to either side she was flushed with relief as her fingers met the frame of her glasses. She slid them on her face and propped herself up on her elbows. The world cam back into focus, and the sight nearly stopped Futaba's heart.
Her breasts were still exposed and the cool water from the ocean had excited her nipples, the tiny pink protrusions standing a bit higher than usual. Further down Futaba saw that her bikini bottoms had slid from her hips and nearly come off completely, clinging limply to the ankle of her left foot. Her knees were about a foot apart, causing the lips between her legs to have opened ever so slightly, framed by a few tufts of curled, orange hair. Looking up, Futaba saw that she had landed directly in front of Yusuke, who was staring at her wide-eyed, a dash of pink coloring across his white face. The blue haired boy slowly raised his paintbrush once more, pressing his thumb against it as he peered at Futaba's body.
"Oh God… oh God… oh my God…" Thought Futaba, heat rushing to her face. "He can see me, he can see… everything! Cover yourself idiot! Move!" It took a few seconds for the command to reach her arms and legs, as the auburn-haired girl was paralyzed from the shock and embarrassment of the situation. Finally, Futaba reached forward, bringing her knees to her chest at the same time so she could reach her bottoms. For a moment, Yusuke got a full view of her shining behind and private area as she curled and stuck her right leg back into the yellow bikini. Her lower lips were exposed once more when Futaba raised her hips and arched her back to pull the bottoms back into their original position, her jiggling breasts pointing skyward. She scrambled to her feet and wrapped both arms around her chest, running past Yusuke with her head bowed.
He watched her as she ran, orange hair streaming backward over her pale back. She reached her spot under the umbrella and quickly put her top back on. In a moment she had gathered her things haphazardly in her arms and was gone, racing towards the changing rooms. Yusuke turned back to his canvas and dipped his brush into the blue paint on his palette.
"How sweetly the siren sings to me." He whispered, making the first stroke.
Futaba didn't leave her room for the next three days after her trip to the beach. She was convinced that she could never step foot outside her house again, as everyone in the entire world had now seen her naked, child-like body. The young girl sat in front of her computer screen, wrapped in a thick blanket, trying and failing to take her mind off what happened. No matter what she did, the events of that day played over and over in her mind like a movie, each time bringing a fresh wave of shame and humiliation. Her bikini sat in the bottom of her wastebasket, condemned to the trash heap as Futaba had sworn to never wear it again. Luckily, there had been no work called in for the Phantom Thieves, Futaba wasn't sure how she was going to face Yusuke without breaking down. As if on cue, her phone buzzed, rattling on the desk and causing her to jump. She picked it up and unlocked it, reading the text that had just come in. Her heart dropped; it was in the Phantom Thieves group message.
Ren: Everyone, gather at the café as soon as possible, we have some new leads on PT work.
Futaba set her phone back on the desk and groaned, pulling the blanket tighter around her, the phone rattling sporadically as the other members sent in replies. She had to go, she knew that, but how could she, after what had happened? What was she going to say to Yusuke? Would Yusuke try and tell the others what happened? Futaba's stomach lurched.
"Unless he told them about it already?" She thought, dread filling her chest. What if they all already knew? "No. No, Yusuke's not mean like that, he wouldn't go around slandering me to the others… but he is definitely the type of person to talk without thinking. He might've just dropped it into a conversation like it was nothing! Uuuuugh!" Futaba buried her head between her legs, wishing for death. The phone continued to buzz, and Futaba reluctantly reached out from her cocoon to respond. "Be there in a bit." She said aloud as she typed, hitting send with a shaky finger.
Thirty minutes later, Futaba was standing at the door of the café, the Saturday morning sunshine beaming down upon her. It had taken her a while to extract herself from the chair, and even longer to make herself presentable, but now she was here, and her heart felt like it may beat out of her chest. Taking a breath, Futaba pushed through the door as the bell overhead jingled a familiar tone.
"There you are!" Said Sojiro happily, the old man smiled at Futaba from behind the counter as he dried a coffee mug with a towel. "Good to see you out of that room! Your friends are all upstairs, go on they're waiting for ya."
"Th-thanks!" Replied Futaba, forcing a smile. Her legs felt like lead as she crossed the café and began to climb the stairs. The chatter of conversation from the upstairs room got louder as she climbed. It sounded like she was the last one to arrive. Scaling the final step, Futaba entered Ren's room and her suspicions were confirmed. Ryuji and Ann sat on the couch with Morgana settled between, Ren stood next Makoto at the table, and Haru was seated on the edge of Ren's bed next to Yusuke. The group's conversation came to a to a halt as Futaba entered, the weight of their gazes was crushing.
"Hey Futaba, come on we're about to start!" Said Ann cheerily.
"Y-yeah, totally." She replied weakly, walking up to the table. She cut a glance at Yusuke, who was looking at Ren in an expectant manner, he seemed completely unphased by the situation. For some reason, that didn't make Futaba feel better. Ren turned so he could better address the entire group and slid one hand into his pocket as he spoke, gesturing with the other.
"So, I know we've been pretty light on work recently, but I just got a whole slew of information from Mishima yesterday. Turns out he's been working overtime to find us some targets and now we have five of them ID'd and ready track. We need to head to Mementos as soon as possible to get started, does anybody have a conflict today?" Ren looked around the room and received a chorus of noes. "Excellent, make any last-minute preparations and meet at the usual spot in twenty minutes."
Yusuke coughed into his fist.
"I know, I know, I didn't forget." Laughed Ren. "Before we go, Yusuke want's everyone to take a look at his new painting."
"Uugh again?" Groaned Ryuji. "Nothing I have to say about your art is gonna matter!"
"It is important that my work be observed from eclectic perspectives." Replied Yusuke, producing a covered canvas from the top of the bed.
"Even a perspective as dull as Ryuji's?" Asked Morgan in a teasing voice.
"Shut up, you little pipsqueak!" He countered.
Yusuke sat his covered painting on the floor and leaned it against the bedframe. "I ask you all to give me your critic's, as I plan to submit this piece to an upcoming competition, I call it 'The Siren'." With a flourish Yusuke tore away the covering, and the group collectively craned to get a better look at the painting. Futaba's view was blocked by the movement, and she had to walk around to the side to be able to see.
"Wow that's uh, bold…" Commented Ryuji. "They let you enter something like that?"
"I think it's beautiful." Said Haru softly. "Why, it looks like it could be in a museum!"
"Yeah, like one of those Greek style paintings." Agreed Morgana.
"Her skin looks so soft." Marveled Ann. "Like silk!"
"I have to agree, but doesn't she look kinda… young?" Asked Makoto. As she finished her sentence Futaba stepped out from behind the group and the painting came into view. A lump formed in her throat as she immediately recognized the scene.
A young girl laid gently in the shallows of a seafoam green shoreline, her hair floating around her in a cascade of swirling orange locks, highlighting her pale white skin. The water was moving towards her feet, which were digging into the sand as though she were being pressed forwards. The girl was completely nude, her small white breasts glistening in the sun, capped by two soft pink tips. A stray splash of foam barely concealed the girl's private area, her hips turned so as to display one side of her round bottom. Her arms were raised with their palms facing upwards as the girl shielded her face from the viewer, a spot of blush shone on her cheeks between the cracks in her fingers.
"He painted me…" Thought Futaba, holding her hands behind her back to prevent them from trembling. The face was covered but she was sure it was her in the painting. Yusuke was undeniably a great artist, and he had captured Futaba's body with alarming accuracy, it was like looking in a mirror. Was it obvious to everyone else? No one had said anything yet, but she was certain one of them would point out the resemblance soon. They were all starring so intently at the painting, it was all she could do not to scream. "Why would he-"
"I was attempting to capture a state of natural beauty." Announced Yusuke as he examined the painting himself. "I believe the female body is a wonderful example of such beauty, and I tried to depict it in a nascent state, before the woes of time take their toll. Framed by the sparkling ocean, the lustrous waters are put to shame by the girl's pearlescent skin, which until now has been untouched even by the sun itself! Surely there is no better representation of my desired theme!" Yusuke raised a hand to his face and tapped his chin as he finished his proclamation. "But as I said, I appreciate everyone's input. What do you think, Ren?"
Ren's observant gaze ran the length of the portrait, his soft eyes tracing over every line and curve. The longer he stared, the more Futaba wished she would melt directly into the floor. She wanted to cry she was so embarrassed, but she had to hold it together. As long as no one realized the painting was of her everything would be okay.
"I like it." Ren said finally with a small nod. "I think you've done a fantastic job with this piece. The detail is incredible, and the intended message comes across clearly. The girl is quite beautiful."
Ren's words struck Futaba like a thunderbolt and for just a moment, her embarrassment was forgotten. Everyone had been praising the beauty of the painting, but for some reason it didn't register with Futaba that when they said the painting was beautiful, they indirectly meant that she was beautiful. That is, not until Ren said it.
"He thinks I'm b-beautiful?" Thought Futaba, her face filling with warmth.
"Alright, can we go now?" Asked Ryuji, rising from the couch. "I'm itchin' to lay into some Shadows."
"Yes yes." Replied Yusuke with a wave of his hand. "I am satisfied, thank you all for your time. I anticipate 'The Siren' will do well in the competition."
"Like hell it will." Thought Futaba, already formulating a plot to dispose of the painting. "I'll die before I let anyone else see that thing."
"Great, okay everyone, let's get a move on!" Said Ren. The group began to file out of the room one by one, Futaba hung towards the back, eager to stay out of everyone's line of sight, lest they suddenly make the connection. Ren was the last one to reach the stairs before Futaba, he paused as his hand hit the railing and looked back towards the painting, studying it for a moment as the rest of the group exited through the cafe. Futaba's stomach lurched as Ren turned and locked eyes with her.
"What did you think of the painting?" He asked. Futaba breathed a silent sigh of relief and fiddled with the hem of her shirt.
"Oh, uh, it was, it was good. Looked really p-pretty." She replied, the words catching on her tongue as she looked up at Ren.
"Yeah." He agreed, a grin playing on his lips. "You look good as a Siren." Ren winked at Futaba and quickly made his way down the stairs. The young girl stood still as a statue as he descended, the wide lenses of her glasses steaming over from the heat coming off her face, her mouth hung open in shock. "Twenty minutes!" Called Ren over his shoulder as he reached the bottom of the stairs. A small squeak was all Futaba could manage in response before she collapsed to the floor, her head spinning.