As promised, I'm doing my best to pump out more fanfic ideas that I can think of! Now that the delay from the last episode is over there ain't nothing stopping me now! Except maybe for running out of ideas but that's not for a while and other stuff in life that's going on but anyway. I hope you all enjoy this episode!
As Bradley slept through the night, his subconscious was transported to his dream. The area was empty and gray and not a prison cell in the Velvet Room. He looked around to see nothing, but as he took a few steps forward, someone appeared in front of him. Whomever they were, they were floating. It only took Bradley a second to immediately recognize who it was due to the egyptian clothes and bandages. It was Futaba's former self as a shadow from her palace. Bradley was surprised and decided to talk to her.
"Futaba? What's wrong? Are your feelings distorted again?"
Futaba shook her head and responded. "No, this is how I appear in your dreams, I do not know why I appear normally, but I hope you'll figure out how to fix that."
"I think so, is something about to happen?"
"Yes, possibly. I'm glad you came, I trust you'll be able to take care of me during this situation."
"Of course, I'd never let anything bad happen to you," Bradley said as he approached closer to Futaba.
"You have always been wise and caring to me, almost as smart as me but not as good. Heh heh, if there's anything I'm good at, it's that you'll never match my hacking skills. Now, back on topic, the real me is going to tell you something important, you better pay attention. This is going to be good news or bad news depending on how you look at it, but I'm sure you'll find it somewhat entertaining."
"Does the you in real life know of this conversation?"
"No, but whether or not you reveal this dream to her is your decision. I know you'll make the right choice at the appropriate time."
Futaba looked up to the right, pausing for a few seconds then she looked back at Bradley as she spoke again.
"It is time, the night is almost over. fight well my Phantom Thief champion."
Shadow Futaba faded away as the dream ended, Bradley slowly woke up, rubbing one eye. He let out a yawn as he stretched his arms out. Once he felt more awake he got out of bed and changed into his clothes. After that he headed downstairs to approach Sojiro.
"Good morning Bradley, hope you slept well," Sojiro said, noticing Bradley.
"Good morning," Bradley replied.
"Could you handle the dishes for me? You do that and I'll make some curry for you."
"You sure? I don't mind making it myself."
"I don't mind kid. Futaba's coming over to see you, so I thought I'd make some for you as well. The rest of taking care of her will be on you but, don't forget I'll be relying on your help as well."
Bradley nodded. "Yes sir."
Bradley then walked over to the sink and began washing dishes. He thought for a few seconds then asked, "What day is it today?"
"Hm? Oh, it's Friday. So, you and Futaba lasted this long huh?" Sojiro sighed slightly as he continued. "You know, it's been a few months and I know I let Valentine's Day slide when she came over to spend time with you but, didn't I tell you not to get together with her?"
Bradley finished washing dishes as he shook his hand dry and turned to Sojiro to respond. "Yes I know what you said but Futaba is okay with that. I have no intention of doing anything bad to hurt her in any way."
"I know, you're not the kind of guy to hurt her in any kind of way. I'm just a little concerned about her is all…I wanna make sure she chooses the right guy. I just hope that for her sake that she made the right choice with you. Just don't let me down kid, don't let ANYTHING bad happen to her, if there's something bad that you can't handle, let me know okay? You can't always protect her."
Bradley thought about his response carefully. He knew that Sojiro meant well by what he said, as he just wanted to look out for Futaba. So once he had gathered his words he spoke up again. "I promise I'll be careful, I know I can count on you if anything goes wrong."
"Thanks Bradley, I appreciate it. All right, the regulars will be here any minute. Time to get to work."
Bradley and Sojiro spent the day working by serving people coffee and curry. At certain times, Bradley was tasked with a few miscellaneous tasks and handled them with ease. Later on, Bradley was washing the dishes when a news report caught his attention.
"The opening of the new burger joint GalaxyBurgers has been quite the success so far. After it's recent installation, customers have been flowing in at a steady rate."
"GalaxyBurgers?" Bradley questionably asked, pondering about this new place.
"Oh yeah, it's that new burger joint that opened up a week ago. It's doing well actually, though wasn't there another burger place like that?" Sojiro replied in response.
Bradley thought for a moment as he recalled times in the past where he had eaten burgers. They were not just any burgers though as they were the size of his head and it took him almost an hour to eat all of them. After he let the thoughts go, he went back to giving his answer to Sojiro.
"Big Bang Burger."
"Ah, so you know of the place, no doubt since it was pretty popular. It doesn't concern me though. I'm not into fast food though so it doesn't concern me."
Later on after the customers had finished their coffee and food at LeBlanc, Futaba and another girl entered the cafe. The girl was the same height as Futaba and had brown hair with slightly dark green eyes. Both Futaba and her were wearing Shujin uniforms.
"Yooooo! Sojiro! We're home!" Futaba exclaimed then continued by introducing her friend. "Sojiro, Bradley, this is Kana-Chan! Kana-Chan this is Sojiro, my father, and Bradley is...well…" Futaba blushed a little nervous as she continued her sentence. "He's my Boyfriend."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Bradley replied respectfully.
"Wow, so you're the one Futaba's been telling me about." Kana replied before looking directly at Bradley and examined him carefully. "Hmm...you don't look like a troublemaker...then again, Futaba did say you helped me, so I guess you're cool. You're very lucky Futaba."
Sojiro quickly interjected into the conversation. "All right, not to be rude but I don't want you two blocking my door. Come sit down and we'll make you some curry."
Futaba and Kana sat down at a seat by the counter as Sojiro started to work on the curry.
"Would you like girls like a drink?" Bradley asked.
Futaba and Kana looked at each other for a second then nodded in agreement. There was a pause before Futaba answered for both of them, "Orange juice please!"
"I think I have some left in the fridge," Sojiro replied cutting in.
Bradley walked over to the fridge and found half a bottle of orange juice left. He then grabbed a couple of tall glasses and placed one in front of Futaba and Kana and poured some juice into each glass. Once he had finished, both of the girls thanked him kindly.
"Could you help prepare the rice please?" Sojiro suddenly asked while he was still cooking.
Bradley looked at Sojiro and nodded in response. "Yes sir."
Bradley started to prepare a lot of rice in a pot to make sure there was enough for everyone and in case anyone wanted extra. Within ten minutes, the rice and the curry were ready. Bradley and Sojiro worked with flawless teamwork to prepare curry for everyone.
Bradley prepared a cup of coffee for himself and a cup for Sojiro and went to sit down next to Futaba. He placed down Sojiro's cup to his left in front of an empty seat.
"Ah, thanks kid," Sojiro said to Bradley as he glanced over to see the cup at the seat.
As Bradley sat next to Futaba, Sojiro eventually came by and sat next to Bradley. Once they were all seated and ready, they could finally dig in and enjoy the curry. Everyone had an enjoyable conversation about everything that's going on in their lives as well as Bradley and Futaba explaining their relationship to Kana-Chan.
Before any of them knew it, an hour had passed and they had all finished eating their curry and drinking their beverages. Bradley stretched for a moment before he got up and took all the plates and cutlery and started to wash the dishes.
After witnessing his kind acts, Kana spoke up. "I gotta say though Futaba, your boyfriend is quite the gentleman."
"I know, that's just the kind of guy he is and I love him," Futaba said while smiling.
"I try my best," Bradley said replying to Kana's compliment.
"And you do a great job at it," Kana added on. After a few seconds of thinking, she asked something else. "So, the request I put on the Phantom Thief website that was completed. It was completed by you? You're with the Phantom Thieves?"
"I'm the leader," Bradley replied with an affirmative tone.
"Woah, that's amazing! Well, thank you! You and Futaba are amazing, I'm really glad you helped out. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Bradley replied again.
After a while Bradley had finished the dishes and turned to Kana and Futaba. Futaba then spoke up after a moment.
"Finally you're done, let's continue this conversation upstairs."
"Go on ahead, you've done well, everything should be alright down here," Sojiro said, making sure Bradley had nothing to worry about.
Bradley, Futaba, and Kana headed upstairs and talked more about the Phantom Thieves and Futaba's involvement with them. "Wow, a tomb? In the middle of a desert?! That sounds crazy!" Kana exclaimed.
"Yeah, I wish we could show you but it's gone, as soon as someone's feelings aren't distorted anymore, the palace disappears."
"Couldn't you just take a picture?" Kana asks.
"No, the camera on my phone didn't work in the Metaverse," Bradley explained.
Kana thought for a second then spoke up again. "Well, I don't entirely believe you, but I don't think you're wrong. I just wish I could see this world for myself, sounds interesting."
Kana took a moment to glance at the time then was surprised as she continued. "Geez time flies fast!" She quickly put her phone away then said her goodbyes. "Cya Futaba! Bradley! I had lots of fun! Cya at school tomorrow!"
"Later Kana!" Futaba said as she waved.
"Safe travels!" Bradley added as he waved as well.
Kana left for the train station, leaving Bradley and Futaba alone. They both stared at a wall for a few seconds before Futaba slowly inched a bit closer to Bradley.
"Okay, here goes." Futaba slowly swung her head around, tilting it upwards towards Bradley as a small light shines through her glasses.
"Mmmm, well?" Futaba's eyes sparkled in the sunlight as Bradley blushed and remembered from Valentines Day then quickly tried to think of the perfect response.
"Your technique has improved, I'm a sucker for it," Bradley said as he smiled happily.
Futaba adjusted her view back to normal and pumped her fists in success. "Yes! I knew it would work on you after a while…a long while. But, we're finally together again, like you promised. Thank you."
"You're welcome, I love you," Bradley replied sweetly as he put his arm around Futaba.
"I-I… I love you too… I'm not nervous, I swear," Futaba said, stuttering over her sentence. She paused for a moment as she took in a deep breath. After she inhaled and exhaled a few times, she was ready to talk again. "No, I can't be nervous anymore! I'll just, relax…."
"Take it easy, I'm not forcing anything on you," Bradley replied softly, in attempt to comfort Futaba.
"I know, like I said, it's been a while so…yeah. Umm…. thanks for everything today, you're really cool. Coming here, making us coffee, being a gentleman for Kana-chan. Everything. You really are an amazing Boyfriend, I look forward to our date tomorrow." Futaba then looked at Bradley seriously and as she pointed at him, her finger gently touched his nose. "10 o'clock tomorrow! Don't be late! Okay! I won't forgive you if you don't show up!"
"Yes Ma'am," Bradley said as he replied sincerely to Futaba.
"Uhhh….yeah, but for now..." Futaba suddenly moved into Bradley's lap. "I just wanna enjoy this moment." Futaba smiled up at Bradley and blushed a slight red.
Bradley smiled back then leaned his head down, closing his eyes as he kissed her on the lips for a while. Futaba wrapped her arms around Bradley closing her eyes accepting the warm embrace of Bradley's lips. Feeling the comforting warm love of each other, they happily enjoyed the romantic afternoon they had together.
Bradley and Futaba had finished kissing and Futaba was the first to speak up. "Whoa...that was, amazing. I never felt such warm love like this before! Umm, is this weird? Ya know, me being in your lap?"
Bradley shook his head. "No, it's cute. I don't mind."
"Th-thank you, I'm glad I was born cute. Is that one of the reasons why you fell for someone like me?" Bradley nodded then Futaba continued to speak. "I thought so. I know there's other reasons why you love me but I'm glad to know that's one of them so yeah! I'm proud to be cute!"
Bradley chuckled at Futaba's enthusiasm then she continued talking. "Well, I'm out of ideas for plans, it's not that late yet but I have stuff to work on. Homework and all that, plus, I need to be prepared for tomorrow so you better be ready for me!"
"I'm ready for anything," Bradley said as he gave a short nod.
"I know, just making sure, good answer though. So umm, wanna walk me home?"
Bradley nodded again in response.
"Okay! Let's go!" Futaba then stood up and Bradley followed in suit. As they both held hands, they begin to leave LeBlanc and walk home. Futaba looked up at the night sky and noticed the stars as they walked.
"Man, it feels like we're inside a dome, but the stars are pretty. I don't know what's so captivating about the universe, but it's always so pretty to look at. Don't you think so Bradley?"
Bradley looked up, acknowledging the sight of the stars as Futaba did and replied to Futaba's question. "Yes, stars are amazing to look at."
"...Am… Am I a star?" Futaba asked as she looked up at Bradley.
He looked back at her and smiled as he replied, "Yes you are."
Futaba smiled brightly with excitement as she giggled. "Thanks."
Bradley and Futaba arrived at her house as she faced him. "Well, cya tomorrow boyfriend, I love you!"
"I love you too," Bradley replied then bent down for one last kiss on the lips before they parted ways. Bradley started to walk back to LeBlanc and Futaba raised her hand high, waving at Bradley. He waved back as he was walking then eventually arrived at LeBlanc and as he walked past Sojiro they exchanged looks as an awkward silence filled the room.
Then Sojiro suddenly said a simple, "Thank you" before leaving.
Though after a few steps he stopped to tell Bradley something. "Clean up for me please? Also lock the store, thanks." Sojiro left LeBlanc as Bradley did a little bit of sweeping around the place and made sure the Cafe was in order for the next day. Once he had finished up his tasks, he finally flipped the sign to "CLOSED."
Bradley walked upstairs and started getting ready for bed, the romantic date with Futaba was once again a memory he would cherish forever. Morgana walked up to Bradley and tried to get his attention. "Hey, I'm hungry, is there anything for me to eat?"
Bradley noticed Morgana calling to him.
"Hm? Oh, right, sorry," Bradley said as he got up and walked to his suitcase then got out a plate of sushi covered in glad wrap.
"Finally," Morgana said as he smiled. Bradley unwrapped the plate and set it on the table that Morgana usually sat on and he starts eating.
"Thanks, I get that you were busy, but make sure to tend to me okay?"
Bradley nodded slowly. "Yeah, I gotcha."
"Cool, so, a new adventure begins, I wonder what will happen. Maybe something exciting? I look forward to it, I'm kinda jealous, I wish lady Ann could have seen my romantic side. Who knows, I look forward to the day I turn back into a human. Anyway, you should get to sleep, you got a big day tomorrow, good night."
Bradley walked over to his bed as he changed into his PJ's and slowly drifted off to sleep.