Chapter 61

Ryo curled his hands into fists and squeezed in a vain attempt to keep the rest of himself calm. It wasn't working. Nothing had been working since they'd talked to Kayura. He might not have Ami or Touma levels of intelligence, but he could take a wild guess at what that third dimension crammed between Earth and the Youjakai might be.

Honestly, it wasn't really news. They'd known whatever had targeted them in the Underworld was still breathing down their necks. The difference was that it had eaten the core of existence in the Senshis' Universe and was looking to finish the meal by coming after the Senshi.

It was giving him palpitations.

Sure, Rajura and Anubis had made noise about something coming after the armors, but Ryo figured that was more just that whatever it was had caught a whiff of the power the armors possessed and wanted them too. It wasn't rocket science, and the Troopers knew how to deal with things coming after the armors. It was pretty much all they'd done since they'd inherited them, so he wasn't particularly worried about that.

Right now he just wanted to know when they were going to get to the part where they got to hit things until they didn't get up again.

Because the Senshi were all walking around with giant targets on their backs and it was driving him nuts.

Gentle fingers cupped his closed hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"Ryo. Deep breaths. We're all fine right now. We're going to figure this out, ok?"

Minako's voice was sweet, pitched to calm. He hated to admit that it had the desired effect, even as he felt guilty that she was trying to calm him. It should be reversed. Especially since he knew she was frightened. He tried not to remember the way she'd first looked – how scared and unsure she'd been when she'd first gotten here – and failed.

The memories of discovering that the Senshi had been in peril – of the rescue, the devastation – kept circling in his mind over and over. All he could think was that it couldn't happen again, even as he wrestled with the fact that the Senshi were still connected to this monster, and no one wanted to talk about the elephant in the room in all this planning and plotting.

The Senshi could theoretically die or disappear at any time, and the Troopers would be helpless to stop it.

He twitched, curling his fist more tightly in an effort not to just grab Minako's hand and hang on for dear life.

Minako reached over, gently patting his hand again. "Are you ok Ryo? You seem…distracted," she said diplomatically. He turned an incredulous stare at the blonde, and she giggled at his expression before turning back toward the line as they waited to order.

He seemed distracted?

Why wasn't she distracted?

"There's a lot on my mind," he snarked, hunching his shoulders and trying to keep himself under control. It wasn't Minako's fault everything was such a mess, and it was his job to keep her safe and make her feel better. Sniping at her because he was frustrated wasn't going to do that.

"Ryo. We'll figure this out, ok? Take a few deep breaths and try and relax your muscles. Anything hits us right now and I'm afraid you'll shatter like glass," she teased him.

She had a point.

He needed to be limber. Ready. Ryo took a deep breath and forced his muscles to relax. He reached up, surrounding his yoroi orb in his grip, its presence comforting.

Centered, he sighed, tucking his hand in his pocket. The whole point of being out here was to keep Minako safe. He couldn't do a good job of that if he was distracted by his own dumb thoughts.

Outside of the fact that she was his friend and he cared about her, if anything happened to Venus, Ryo didn't want to think about the vengeance Seiji might extract. Korin had always been…attentive of Minako, but the last week or so he'd been…more protective than usual.

That didn't really take rocket science to figure out either. Clearly, Venus and Korin had ironed out whatever rough patches had lain between them, and now that Minako seemed receptive of both his attention and protection, Seiji hadn't really been holding his intensity back.

Maybe he should ask Korin for pointers.

He'd totally blown the conversation with Ami, but somehow, when Touma had bluntly pointed out that he should tell Ami how he felt in front of Ami, it had made him completely tongue tied.

She was cute. She was sweet and shy and so kind.

And she was also oblivious.

Well. He assumed she was oblivious since she seemed to ignore emotions he'd thought were pretty obvious. He hadn't exactly held himself back.

She hadn't exactly acted like a girl who'd received a declaration of undying love either.

Probably because she hadn't gotten one. Exactly.

Ryo groaned and scrubbed his hands over his face. He almost preferred worrying about epic evils instead of how he was gonna talk to Ami.

"You know…I'd tell you to spell it out for her, but that probably won't help. Did you know Ami's allergic to love letters?" Minako said conversationally. He turned, blinking down at her.

"What?" he asked, wondering how in the hell someone could be allergic to love letters. "Are you a mind reader?"

She giggled. "Nope. You're just easy to read, sorry. Besides, it's pretty obvious you have a thing for Ami. It's super cute. Especially since she's Pretending Everything is Normal, which is how I know something is up with her," the blonde grinned at him. "She might be telling herself she's too focused on her research, but I guarantee you at least half her brain is thinking about you," she continued, leaning into her personal space and wearing a cat-like expression.

Ryo leaned away from the predatory move, trying not to let himself blush. How in the hell could she be so forward about this stuff? He scowled at her.

"There's no way she's thinking about me that much. She hardly gives me the time of day. She's too busy trying to figure stuff out," he protested. Minako fluttered her lashes at him, clasping her hands in an overly romantic gesture.

"Are you suuuuurrrreeeee?" she crooned at him. Ryo felt his scowl deepen.

"Yes!" he snapped.

She dropped the mushy gesture and cocked a hip outward, putting a hand on it and flapping her other hand at him, giving him a wry puckering of her lips.

"Puh-leeeze Sanada, don't give me that. The girl has a 300 IQ. She has plenty of space upstairs to think about you and stopping unstoppable evil," she snorted. "Besides. Avoiding you? That is classic Ami trying to pretend she's oblivious when she's secretly obsessing." The blonde leaned into his space again. "Coming right out and saying how you feel will put a stop to that ya know," she drawled.

Ryo pulled back from her again, trying to keep her out of his personal space. "Umm, you're creeping me out a little right now. Plus, It sounds like that will make her uncomfortable?" he said lamely. Minako sighed and rolled her eyes, her expression suggesting he was hopeless.

"Ryo. Ami is uncomfortable now. Do you know anything about smart people? The longer you keep giving her these weird declarations that suggest you love her without actually saying you love her? The worse her imagination is going to make it," she intoned, leveling him with a no-nonsense stare.

Ryo felt his frustration mount. "Well that makes it sound like I should just back off completely and keep my feelings to myself!" he argued, waving his hands in front of him. Minako face-palmed.

"And Seiji thinks I'm dense," she muttered into her hand. Ryo turned his head, fixing her with a sharp look.

"What was that?" he asked. She pulled her face from her hand, smiling up at him innocently.

"What?" she countered, batting her eye lashes at him. "Anyways, it's like this," she continued, gesturing, her face softening from amusement into something more serious. "Ami is really, really smart. And one of the things she's good at is thinking about possibilities. It's what makes her such a good strategist. She's not just thinking about what's going on now, but could happen later. She's thinking about all the things in this moment and then trying to calculate how they'll impact us based on a bunch of what-ifs, right?" She turned then, her expression earnest, and Ryo nodded, fairly confident he understood that part.

"Okay. So…one of the things that a mind like Ami's is bad at predicting is her own worth. Do you understand?" she asked him, smiling sweetly. Ryo sighed, rubbing his face and feeling confused again. What did this have to do with Ami being smart?

"No," he growled. She giggled, but when he looked up, the smile on her face was affectionate.

"Ryo. Ami likes you. But she's afraid to assume that you like her. She thinks of herself as boring old Ami. And when you say things that might sound romantic, it makes her hopeful. But she's scared to just assume, because your actual feelings are unknown. If you tell her exactly what's on your mind, she can't pretend that you're just a really intense friend. Now do you get it?" she explained patiently.

He sighed, tucking his hands in his pockets as they shuffled forward another step in line.

"What if she doesn't like me?" he muttered, looking at the grass.

"She does," Minako insisted. "She wouldn't avoid you deliberately if she didn't. You are a scary equation she's too afraid to solve, Ryo. Because you might like her, which is exciting, but you could also reject her. And she doesn't want to think about that, because she imagines it would be really easy for you to do," she said quietly.

Ryo studied her sharply, taking in her expression. He got the feeling she might just be speaking from personal experience.

"Okay fine. How do I tell her and not give her a heart attack?" he asked. Minako smiled, but the expression carried an edge of embarrassment for some reason.

"She can't react any worse than I did," she muttered under her breath. Ryo blinked.

"Uhh. What?" he asked, unable to help his curiosity now. "Did…did something happen with you and Seiji?"

Rei had simply mentioned cryptically that the two of them had gone swimming on the night they'd met with Kayura. Which had seemed really weird at the time because it wasn't like either of them to be late for something so important because they'd gone…swimming.

"Nothing. Nothing happened, we're fine, stop trying to change the subject," she said quickly. "The point is, you can't prevent Ami-chan from having a heart attack, because she's Ami. But once she gets past that? I promise, she'll be super happy."

Ryo tucked his hands in his pockets, trying not to feel hopeful. Minako might be wrong. It wasn't like Ami had given him any idea she had feelings.

"How do you know that?" he sulked. She sighed rolling her eyes.

"We have all been best friends since middle school Ryo. I mean, she's probably closer with Mako-chan, but we've all been up in each other's business since at least fourteen. We're pretty much family at this point. Probably closer than. Trust me. I. Know. Ami," she reassured him.

Ryo felt a pang hit him. It had been obvious that they were close. Hearing it loud made him feel a little…nostalgic. "That's nice," he said sincerely. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Are you going to tell me you don't know Shuu's favorite pair of socks?" she asked. Ryo made a face.

"He has a favorite pair of socks?" he asked. Minako stared at him as if he were dense.

"Uh, have you not noticed that he wears the same exact style and color of sock like ninety percent of the time?" she asked. It was Ryo's turn to stare.

"Are you some kind of stalker? I thought you liked Seiji?" he wondered out loud. "Also, I'm pretty sure he wears the same socks as the rest of us. Standard white guys' socks. Also, why would I care about what kind of socks he wears?" he asked, gesturing expressively. Women were a complete enigma to him at this point. Minako rolled her eyes.

"Fine, maybe that was a bad example. What about Touma? I'm sure you know his favorite food," she pressed. Ryo sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Anything with sugar in it," he muttered.

"See?" she encouraged. Ryo frowned. Suddenly it felt important to him to make her understand.

"Yeah. We know that stuff. We're good friends. You kinda have to be if you're going to be on a battle field, five against an evil demon overlord, four nasty warlords, and entire armies of darkness. But it's different for us. We're not all…up in each other's business," he said.

She was quiet beside him and he turned to take her in. The look on her face was thoughtful.

"A bit disconnected?" she asked him, understanding in her smile. Ryo shrugged, feeling self-conscious. Minako patted him on the shoulder then. "Unfortunately for you my friend, you brought a bunch of Senshi into your space. You should probably be prepared to see a lot more of each other," she said matter-of-factly. "I mean, don't get me wrong, we had our own lives, but if one of those girls sneezes loudly enough, we all know it. Especially Usagi," she said with a shrug, tucking her hands in her pockets.

"What is that like?" he said out loud before he realized what he was doing. He put a hand over his mouth, but Minako laughed.

"It's irritating," she grinned, and he chuckled. Her face softened then. "Mostly though, it's…nice. My family and some of my other friends…I couldn't tell them about this part of me that was…well, most of me. It's easy to trust someone with just about anything – every crisis, every heartbreak, every joy – when they know all of you, and you know they'll be there, no matter what – if they're angry or sad or you get in a fight. They're still there. And that won't change. And not to sound…morbid… but you know, if one of us goes down, generally, we're all going down. So it's not like I'll ever be alone," she finished quietly.

Ryo swallowed, looking at the grass between his sneakers. "That actually sounds…really nice," he murmured, remembering the darkness and isolation that had swamped him when they struggled with Suzunagi.

"Good, because whether you like that or not, that's where you're headed," she snorted, slapping him on the back so hard it jostled him and laughing. Ryo grumbled, rubbing the back of his shoulder and then sighed.

"What makes you think that?" he muttered. She beamed at him.

"That's just how we work!" she said cheerfully. He favored her with a wry smile.

"You sure that's not just how you work? I mean, you know a weird amount of information about Shuu's socks…" he trailed off. She flushed and he laughed.

"It was just an example!" she snapped.

"Uh huh. Maybe I should just ask Seiji what he thinks about that," he grinned. She gasped.

"You would not!" she barked. "He probably already thinks I'm weird enough!" Ryo blinked at her.

"Why would he think that? Did you talk to him about his socks?" he teased. She went red and crossed her arms, turning her nose in the air away from him.

"For your information," she snapped, "I fell off a dock." He gasped.

"Is that what happened on Saturday?!" he wondered. "Rei is right – you're a complete spaz!" he laughed. She punched him in the arm in response and he nearly fell over.

"Hey, take it easy!" he protested, rubbing the spot.

"Serves you right for being rude," she sniffed, staring ahead in line and ignoring him.

They lapsed into silence, but it was a warm, comfortable silence that fueled him with contentment. He could get used to the idea of someone like Minako wanting to know everything about him – even if it was a little weird. Then he started wondering what else he could pry out of her about Ami.

They finally approached the window and ordered. Ryo paid for their meal, and they stood off to the side, waiting, making small talk. He scanned the park, looking for a good place to sit, finding one just as their order was called.

They wandered over to a spot on an isolated bench where a small white cat had curled up in a patch of sun. Minako made a noise he couldn't interpret and sat beside it. He figured she was just excited to see something so adorable and dug around in their lunch bag, pulling out her bottle of tea and finding her order. He looked up to hand them to her, but she was still petting the sleeping cat, not saying anything.

She was weirdly still, holding herself stiffly in a way he didn't understand. Had he really made her mad earlier?

"…Err…Minako?" he tried.

And regretted it.

When she stopped petting the cat and looked up, tears were coursing silently down her face.

Shit!

Why was she crying?! What'd happened?! He nearly dropped her lunch in his haste to move closer, but willed himself calm enough to carefully set it aside before scooting down the bench and into her personal space.

"What is it?" he yelled, wondering what had set her off. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier, I was just teasing, I didn't mean it!" he protested.

"It's not that," she said with a watery laugh. "I'm sorry," she sniffed. "I just….I miss Artemis so much!" She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking. Ryo cringed, trying to figure out what to do. The name Artemis sounded familiar, but he had no idea who that person was. It was a weird name, so Ryo wasn't even really clear if Artemis was a boy or a girl.

Cautiously, he reached up, patting her on the back, not sure how to deal with the situation.

"I'm sorry, Minako. Were they a friend?" he tried asking, feeling awful for her. She nodded into her hands and then shook her head.

He was even more confused now. Was this person a friend or not?

He continued to pat her back with awkward, stilted motions for a bit, until she finally calmed, pulling her face from her hands and dashing her fingers under her eyes. She gave him a watery laugh.

"Sorry. I'm kind of a mess these days," she confessed, sounding guilty. "I'm all over the place lately." Ryo frowned, and forgetting about the awkwardness he'd been feeling, reached out to wrap an arm around her shoulders, bringing her in and squeezing gently.

"Don't apologize Mina-chan. It's ok to feel sad. I'm sorry that you lost so much. And I know things are scary now, but we're not going to let anything happen – to you or anyone else, ok?" he said softly, trying to reassure her. Minako huffed another watery laugh, leaning against him.

"You're a good guy, Ryo," she said warmly. "Letting a girl cry all over your shoulder."

Ryo let her rest against him, feeling calm for the first time in a while as he looked out at the city-scape. Comforting her made him feel better too he realized.

Gradually, she sat up, her stomach growling. Ryo chuckled, and retrieved their food, sitting close to her again as they began to eat. He devoured his meal in moments and contemplated going back for seconds, eying the stand.

All this worry was kicking up his appetite. Was this what Touma felt like all the time?

He frowned when he noticed Minako playing with hers, not really eating it. Gently, he put a hand over her own, surprised at how small and delicate hers were compared to his. His one hand nearly covered both of her own completely.

It was humbling. The Senshi all seemed so tiny and fragile to him – even Mako-chan – but they were still so strong.

"What is it, Mina-chan?" he asked quietly. She blinked, moving her blank stare from the sidewalk to take in his face. She flushed when she noticed him looking at her intently.

"Sorry. I'm just thinking," she said with a sigh, tugging absently at her bangs. Ryo waited for more information, but when she remained silent, he frowned.

"About what?" he tried, wanting to encourage her to talk if she needed to. She sighed, her face suddenly melancholy. Ryo tried to read her, but couldn't figure it out. She came across like an open book, but she wasn't, not really.

"…Is this about Seiji? I thought he fixed it." he growled, feeling annoyed. "I can go straighten him out," he volunteered. She laughed then, and the sound made him feel better.

"Poor Seiji," she giggled. Her expression softened into something incredibly tender then. "Seiji is wonderful too," she murmured. Ryo let his shoulders droop in relief. He hadn't really wanted to have a talk with Korin, but he would have.

"Sorry. I'm just feeling a little lost I guess." She shot him an embarrassed look, pulling a ball off one of her skewers and popping the Takoyaki into her mouth. Ryo wondered what on earth she had to feel embarrassed about. She was a strong, capable woman who, in his eyes, was both pretty and talented. She always seemed so put together, and rarely did he see her as self-conscious.

He was a little angry with whatever had made her feel that way.

"Lost about what?" he asked, feeling clueless and hoping she'd give him an idea of what was going on.

She shrugged up her shoulders, swallowing her bite. "I mean. Ami's at her final interview today with Touma. She's so smart she didn't even really have to try. Mako-chan's working on her bakeshop. Rei's already impressing everyone at that shrine. And Usagi just fits right in at Shuu's family's place. And then there's me," she trailed off.

Now Ryo felt lost.

"Uh, ok." he said, feeling clueless. She looked even sadder then. Shit.

He was going to make a rule. There needed to be a rule with the Troopers. These guys needed to tell him if their girls were sad or upset about something so he didn't end up blindsided in the middle of a park eating Takoyaki on a Thursday afternoon.

Wasn't being worried sick over a monstrous dimension-destroying entity enough for the day? Why did Seiji have to be across town and in the middle of teaching class?!

He was contemplating dragging them both that way anyways and giving Minako over to Rei, who would surely know how to help her friend better than Ryo could when Minako sighed again.

"Sorry. I'm just being stupid. I'll figure it out." She flashed him a bright smile that didn't reach her eyes and tried to pretend that she'd moved on, taking another bite of lunch.

Crap. His face needed to learn to use its inside voice.

He needed to figure out how to make his friends understand that it didn't matter if he was confused or lost or impatient, he was always here for them, and they should absolutely expect him to be a good friend when they needed him.

"Don't do that," he growled. When she shot him a confused look, he reached out, putting a hand one of her own. "Don't just push it aside because I'm dense and I don't get it. Talk to me if you need to. I'm here."

She smiled at him.

"I like you a lot Ryo," she said, shooting him a grin. He flushed, not sure what to say to something like that, but she pressed on, oblivious to his reaction at her remark. "And it's really not a big deal. Not right now anyways. I guess I'm just feeling lost about….what to do with myself here," she added.

Ryo frowned, trying to think of a helpful response.

"Weren't you a model or something?" he asked. She looked even more upset then. Crap. Maybe he should just stop making suggestions.

"I was. I sang too. But it took a long time and a lot of work to get where I used to be. And frankly, I was already getting to the point where it was getting old. I always wanted to be an idol, but I can't be an idol and a Senshi. It just…doesn't work out. I thought about leaving once, to be a professional volleyball player, but of course, I could never," she said with a shrug.

"I don't exactly have skills I can carry over here. I mean. Ami can always be a doctor, wherever she is. Mako-chan can always be a chef. Rei and Usagi maybe are less obvious, but they can make it work. And then there's me. I'm not particularly good at much aside from singing and playing sports," she said glumly.

Ryo scowled, feeling the tide of his temper rising. "You're plenty talented. I'm sure there are a lot of things you can do. Don't be so down on yourself. What do you want to do?" he muttered, trying to be encouraging. She smiled softly at him.

"Thanks Ryo. You're a good friend," she rasped turning back to her food.

"I guess I don't really know. Being an Icon was my dream. But I never took it seriously because I never really expected to have it fulfilled. I think I always knew that it would never work out. I wasn't ever going to stop being a Senshi, so I never really took a career seriously," she confessed quietly. "Now that I'm looking at trying to build one, I don't know what to do with myself."

Hell.

This was not his forte. He wasn't exactly in a position to give advice on a fulfilling career. He wasn't really thrilled with his current job – it had just been something that fit while he'd been trying to figure his life out.

But that didn't mean he couldn't try to help Minako. He took a deep breath, thinking carefully about what to say. And then didn't get a chance to say it.

"Mina-chan, you have a lot to offer. All you have to do is think about what things might interest you," an unfamiliar male voice said.

Ryo froze, the hair on his neck rising. His body tensed, battle ready. That was a voice he didn't recognize. And whoever it was knew Minako, and he got ready to pummel someone.

He looked around.

No one was there. Absolutely no one.

He looked back at Minako.

"Artemis, it's not that easy. I actually have to have talent. I can't just walk in anywhere! No one will give me a job!" she snorted gesturing.

Ryo just stared at her.

What?!

"You have plenty of talent. You just have to think about things differently," the strange male voice asserted. Ryo looked again, in vain.

There was no one here, dammit. How could he protect her if he couldn't see the enemy?!

Then he noticed the white cat. It had sat up and was staring intently at Minako. There was a bald spot on its head in the shape of a crescent moon. And it was just…staring at her. The hair on the back of Ryo's neck stood straight up again.

Weird.

And then, as he watched, the cat put its paw on her lap, opened its mouth…

And spoke.

"Mina-chan, it's important that you think about yourself. After everything that's happened, it's important to remember your dreams. You deserve to be happy," it said.

Every muscle in Ryo's body turned to stone.

"Awww, Arty. I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me," she said, sniffing.

She was talking to a cat. Did she know she was talking to a cat?

A cat.

A cat.

And then, Minako went completely still.

Finally, Ryo thought. She'd realized that she was talking to a cat, and they were going to sort out what the hell was happening.

Had someone put something extra in their lunch? Was he high?

Minako turned, slowly, almost as if she were afraid of what she might see. Ryo tensed then, and put a comforting hand on one of her own, squeezing to let her know that he was ready to pull her clear and go to battle.

She was trembling.

Ryo made an angry noise, low in his throat and tensed.

"…A-Arte-mi-s?" Minako whispered. There was a terrible hope in her voice, and Ryo felt confusion swamp him again.

Did she know this talking cat?

The cat nodded.

"It's me, Mina-chan. I'm sorry it took so long. But I guess we can both be glad that I'm a cat and not a person, or you'd still be waiting," it replied.

Minako burst into tears, snatching the cat up and squeezing it so hard its little eyes bulged.

"ARTEMIS! OH MY GOD ARTEMIS!" she shrieked, rocking them both side to side. The cat made little squelching noises and started to look a bit blue. Ryo carefully tapped Minako on the shoulder, trying to get her attention. She blinked at him, and he gestured, uncertain, at the cat. She turned her face down to Artemis and flushed, embarrassed, easing her grip. Tears still shimmered on her lashes, but her expression was full of so much joy it made Ryo feel elated.

He didn't know what was happening right now, but apparently whatever it was, it was good.

She held the cat out, away from her body, and looked it over, her eyes tearing up again. She hiccupped, her lower lip trembling.

"I can't believe you're here," she whispered. Her face crumbled. "Oh my god Artemis, I am so, so sorry." She pulled the cat close again, but stared at the ground. In the tiniest voice Ryo had ever heard her use, she said "…was it awful?"

Ryo was not ready for a question like that. He willed the cat to lie, or dodge it.

Then he took a moment to think about the fact that he was willing a talking cat to spare Minako's feelings.

Why was everything related to the Senshi so damn weird?

The cat put a paw against her collar bone gently. "Mina-chan. The only thing I could think about was you girls. I was so worried. And Minako?" it said, looking up at her face tenderly. "I am so glad that you're here and you're safe. I missed you." It smiled at her warmly, and Minako burst into tears again, squeezing it.

"Artemis, cut it out! My mascara's going to run!" she wailed. "And then my pretty face won't be so pretty anymore!"

"Minako," the cat said, sounding serious. "You have so much more to offer the world than your looks. You can do anything you want to. You just have to change how you're thinking about this. But before go into that, I need to talk to you about the monster trying to get into this dimension."

As abrupt conversation changes went, that one had been pretty dramatic. Minako and Ryo froze, and he felt the tension drop around them like a lake full of ice water.

"What do you know about it?" he asked, unable to help his defensiveness.

Both Minako and the cat turned to stare at him with wide eyes.

Had they forgotten he was here?

Then Minako beamed at him and held the cat out to him. "Ryo, please meet Artemis. My cat and mentor," she chirped happily. Ryo took a second to process that his mentor had been an immortal ancient dead guy, or possibly his spirit, and Minako's mentor was, apparently, a talking cat.

Between the two of them he still felt hers was weirder.

"Uh. Pleased to meet you?" he tried, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. The cat nodded at him.

"I'm happy to make your acquaintance. We need to meet up with the others as soon as possible. We have a lot to talk about," it said to both of them.

Minako and Ryo set about picking up after themselves, Ryo shoving Mianko's remaining Takoyaki into his mouth when she waved them away. He scooped up their drinks, discarded their trash, and then scurried off with them toward Nasuti's.

He debated with himself about warning Seiji, but decided against it.

Nah.

Let him be surprised.

Ryo was definitely getting pictures.