Futaba slammed her hands down on the table in front of Akira. "We're going to spend some quality time together!"

He looked up from his homework and stared at her wide-eyed. Normally she wasn't one for loud, public outbursts.

An elderly couple, the only clientele in Leblanc at the moment, gave her curious glances, but returned to their dishes soon enough. On the other side of the bar, Sojiro rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Futaba, could you please not disrupt my customers?"

"But this is a matter of life and death, Sojiro!" Futaba loudly proclaimed. She pointed at Akira. "He's been neglecting his duties as a big brother!"

"I've been what?" Akira asked.

"He's been what?" Sojiro parroted.

Futaba turned back to Akira. "When was the last time we hung out together? Just the two of us?"

He rubbed at his beard and thought back. "Um, let's see-"

"See! This is what I mean! You don't even remember!"
"Futaba, I don't remember every single exact day we hung out," Akira sighed. "There are a lot."

"When did you and Tae get together?"

"September 4th, but that's-"
"So you do remember exact days!"

Akira placed his head down and rubbed his temples with his fingertips. There had to be another reason Futaba was being this difficult.

He closed his notebooks and shoved them and his textbooks into his bag and threw it over his shoulder. "We'll be upstairs."

Sojiro nodded his thanks and turned back to the television.

As they got up there, Morgana jumped down from his perch and stretched. He yawned and then said, "You guys were really loud down there. Should I be worried?"

Akira shook his head. "Hopefully not. So, Futaba, what-"

"First, we'll go to Akihabara, there's a new graphics card out that I need to pick up and my key item is crucial to complete this task. I'd go myself, but those crowds are always way too big on launch days."

"Futaba, I-"

"After that, we'll go to the Godzilla Store! It just opened last week and you know I gotta get me some of those sweet, delicious pieces of plastic."

"That sounds great, but-"

"Finally, we'll have a giant monster movie marathon! I'm sure I can convince Sojiro to let us use his TV, he can join if he-"

"Futaba!"

She flinched back. Akira felt a pit in his stomach. He hadn't wanted to raise his voice, but he wasn't getting a word in otherwise.

He crossed his arms and gave her a level stare. "What's wrong?"

Futaba shifted her weight and avoided his eyes. "Is it wrong I want to spend time with my brother?"

"Of course not," Akira assured her. "But it's not like you to make a scene like that downstairs."

She shrugged.

Akira sighed before taking her by the shoulders and sitting her down on the bed. He pulled a chair in front on her and sat across from her.

"It's just…" She brought her legs up and held them. "You've been back for a few months and we haven't really done anything together."

"What do you mean? We've spent a lot of time together."

"Not with each other. Not one on one. It's always with the others. The last time it was just us was the start of Summer."

Morgana jumped up on the bed and sat next to her. "Futaba, he has his own life, you can't-"

"Mona, I'll talk for myself," Akira interrupted. He nodded back towards the stairs. "Thanks for trying to help, but I can take care of this."

Morgana looked up at Futaba then back at Akira. "You sure?"

He nodded. "Go. Maybe Sojiro can make you some curry."

Morgana stood up straight and held his nose in the air. "I can see you trying to bribe me out of your room with the prize of Boss's curry."

"Is it working?"

"That's not the point," he said in indignation. He rested his paw on Futaba's hand.

She returned the affection by grabbing his cheek and shaking it.

"Gyah!" Morgana quickly jumped down to the bed. "Fine, I'll go, I'll go!"

As he hopped down the stairs, Akira turned back to Futaba. "You were saying?"

"It just feels like you don't want to spend time with me."

"That's not true at all," he said. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I've just had a lot of things going on lately."

"I know, but whenever I ask you to hang, it's always either you're busy with school, working, or…"

Akira raised a brow. "Or?"

"...or spending time with Tae."

He bit his lip. That's… Hm. How does he navigate that?

"I know that's not fair," Futaba said. "She's your girlfriend, of course you want to be with her. She's amazing, who wouldn't want to?"

"But you feel like I'm ignoring you?" Akira asked.

"That's not it," she said. "It's like… there's never time for us to just hang out."

Akira rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. Maybe she had a point, he realized. Tae came first and foremost, he would never back down from that. But did he really need to work as much as he did? He was set on funds for a good while because of his time as a Phantom Thief.

Did he need to dedicate so much time to studying? It was his final year, and entrance exams were coming up, but he had been getting better and better grades since he came to Tokyo, and he wasn't doing anywhere near as much studying as he was now.

He moved over to sit down next to Futaba. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I guess I haven't been a good brother to you, huh?"

"It's like Mona said." She adjusted her glasses. "You have your own life. It's selfish of me."

Akira shrugged. "It's not wrong to want to be with someone you care about.""

He reached up and played with a bit of his hair. "Say, when were you thinking of doing this little day out?"

Futaba looked up. "Um… Tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" Akira repeated. He shook his head. "Sorry, no can do. I got a date."

"Oh…" Futaba said, deflating.

"We'll do it now instead."

She perked up and her eyes lit up. "Really?!"

Akira smiled down at her. "Really. Go home and change, I'll meet up with you there."

She jumped to her feet and pumped her fist. "We're gonna have the most awesome trip!"

As she rushed downstairs, Akira pulled out his phone and opened up his messages.

Akira: Hey, we're gonna have to postpone tonight's date. Futaba's feeling down in the dumps, I'm going to try and cheer her up.

Tae: Is she okay?

Akira: She will be. I promise I'll make it up to you tomorrow.

Tae: Will you now?

Tae: Alright, I'll allow it.

Tae: Consider yourself lucky that I think your dedication to your friends is very handsome.

Akira: I just consider myself lucky that the best woman in the world decided to be my girlfriend.

Tae: Oh, you sweet talker.

He put his phone away as Morgana hopped up the steps. "Futaba seemed happy. I'm assuming you got it all worked out."

"Yep," Akira replied, getting to his feet and shedding his school jacket. "I'll be out for the day. I had to move my day with Tae to tomorrow. Think you can head over and keep her company?"

"She does give really good ear scratches," Morgana mused. He stuck his chin into the air. "I will accept this most gracious task bestowed upon me."

"My many thanks," Akira said, putting his hands together and bowing. He turned back and got ready for his night out with Futaba.

Maybe he could pick up some stuff for himself. He has been thinking about adding to his shelf.