Wednesday, 9/28
"Okay, so, here's the plan. The four of you guys will take the booth closest to the door, I'll take the one next to it so you and Makoto can face me," Yuriko said. She, Ren, and Makoto stood outside the café on central street. People hurried past them, not giving them a second look.
Ren hated the fact that Yuriko planned the double date out. "Why?" Even stranger, he didn't understand why Makoto would include Yuriko.
"Because I can't bear to look at Eiko. Why else?"
"No, I mean why are we making such a big deal out of this? It would be easier to just… do the double date and be done with it."
"Because Makoto can't risk alienating Eiko and because I need to feel included, duh."
Well, if we can't risk alienating Eiko, you probably shouldn't be here acting like you're a secret agent, Yuriko.
Ren's presence at the diner was a favor to Makoto. He realized that his questions ultimately didn't matter because this wasn't his thing to care about, except that him being there helped Makoto. Ren decided that any questions he had from then on would be kept to himself.
"Fair enough," Ren conceded to Yuriko. She nodded thanks with a satisfied smirk.
Makoto got the trio moving. "Let's get our tables. Eiko just texted that they'll be here in five." With the other two in agreement, they walked up the stairs and into the familiar café. Ren admitted to himself that the food of the café was quite lacking, but it made up for that with convenience and for having a decent atmosphere to it.
Eiko, oh, Eiko. Please don't be annoying.
Ren and Makoto soon got their desired booth while Yuriko took the adjacent one. Ren slid into the booth first, then Makoto followed. They were faced with an empty opposing side of their table, but they had a clear view of Yuriko. She gave them a thumbs up, then held up the cafe's menu to cover her face.
Any minute, Tokyo's ultimate power couple would walk through the door. Ren actually had nightmares over what kind of guy would date Eiko. He also had a decent guess, considering her situation, but the least he could do was give them the benefit of the doubt.
"Hey, Ren?" Makoto said lowly from his right.
"What's up?"
"Please don't try anything risky. All I want is for this to be over and done with as smoothly as possible."
"Makoto, by the end of the date, I'll prove that I'm the best fake-boyfriend you'll ever have," Ren said, a smirk writing itself on his face without him even needing to think about it. He turned his head to make eye contact with Makoto. "That's a promise."
Ren looked ahead to Yuriko. Her eyes peered over the menu, momentarily widening. That was all Ren needed to know that the two biggest threats to his sanity just walked through the café door. Yuriko shifted the menu up to cover her face, Ren tapped the table to notify his fake-girlfriend, and Makoto stiffened. Ren heard her exhale to calm herself.
The voice of hell itself came from the side of the booth. "Oh my god! Hey, Makoto!" Immediately, Ren wanted to give up and walk out of the diner. He refused to do it, obviously, but he was praying that Eiko and her boyfriend ate quickly.
Makoto looked up at Eiko with far less enthusiasm. Ren did not blame her. "Er… hi, Eiko." Ren and Makoto looked to Eiko's left, seeing the exact kind of person they expected to be dating Eiko. He wore a white suit—only the bottom two buttons were done—and white pants to match. A purple dress shirt provided the foundation for his suit, the top buttons not done to expose just enough of his chest to attract anyone vapid enough to care.
Anyone who wears a shirt like that is a self-proclaimed lady's man.
To top it all off, the man had tucked a blue flower in his suit pocket. The man's outfit made it clear that he and Ren would not be getting along if Ren acted normally. Unfortunately, more than a few lies would have to be told for Ren to make it through the date. He just hoped the man wasn't smart enough to point them out.
"This is my boyfriend, Tsukasa!" Eiko said, holding her hands up to emphasize him like he was the greatest thing in the world. "Tsukasa, this is Makoto and that's Ren!" She pointed at Ren, smiling in the process. Ren didn't expect Eiko to be friendly with him, given their history together and what occurred with Dai, but she seemed to not care in the slightest.
You know what? I've been hating on Eiko for a while, it's only natural, but good for her for being able to forgive and forget better than I can. Sure, she's working at a club and probably getting exploited, but is she happier than me? Seems like it.
Tsukasa extended a hand, each finger with a unique ring to it. A joke about a certain franchise nearly burst from Ren's mouth, but he held back enough to smile with no teeth and shake Tsukasa's hand. "Pleasure to meet ya," Tsukasa said. His voice sounded like the definition of smooth. Not smooth like Yusuke, but smooth like fish in a barrel; slippery, almost oily.
Okay, I take everything that I just thought about Eiko back. She's still very, very dumb because this guy is obviously someone with bad intentions. He wants to take advantage of everyone he meets. Well, it's up to Eiko, not me. Ignorance is bliss, right?
Once Ren withdrew his hand, Tsukasa leaned over the table, putting his head only a foot from Makoto's. "And who might you be?"
Eiko began to explain, though with very little annoyance at her boyfriend's obliviousness. "I just said that she's Mak-"
"Shh, Eiko. I'm trying to talk to someone." Tsukasa held a finger in Eiko's face as he looked Makoto in the eye. "I'm Tsukasa."
Makoto, more uncomfortable than Mishima around a woman, pushed herself back in her seat. "I know. She said that."
Tsukasa smirked and backed off. He and Eiko slid into the booth, matching Makoto and Ren's position. Tsukasa sat across from Ren while Eiko did the same for Makoto. "Anyone ordered yet?" Eiko asked, grabbing a menu and opening it. She turned to Tsukasa, excitedly telling him about her order. "I'm probably gonna get chicken tenders. How about you?"
Chicken tenders… the bane of my existence. Yeah, they're good, but only picky eaters and children order them. I'll be damned before I take someone who orders chicken tenders at a restaurant seriously.
Apparently, Ren wasn't the only one questioning Eiko's choice of food. Out of the corner of his eye, Ren saw Yuriko drop her menu and fall into the booth, surely to hide her laughter. She left only a loud thump in her tracks.
Tsukasa turned around and looked at the booth. "Didya guys hear that?"
"I'm actually deaf in my left ear, so I guess I missed it," Ren said.
"You're deaf, Ren?" Eiko said, very fascinated by the sudden discovery. "That's so cool. I've always wanted a deaf friend."
Makoto swiftly tried to correct Eiko to prevent her from encouraging the rumor mill. "Ren's only hard of hearing in one ear, not deaf. He just likes to exaggerate sometimes." She put her hand under the table and squeezed his knee.
Tsukasa shook his head and looked down at his menu. "I think I'll get whatever my schmucker-muffin is having."
This is a grown-ass man that's dating a teenager and ordering chicken tenders. Truly, my worst enemy. Oh, and don't even get me started on "Schmucker-muffin." Ugh.
Ren figured he could one-up Tsukasa's shitty pet name. "And what are you getting, catatonic-kitty?" Ren asked Makoto. It didn't make sense, but would Eiko or Tsukasa know what 'catatonic' meant? No.
"I'm getting the-?" Makoto failed to realize Ren's pet name for her until midway through her sentence. "Excuse me?"
Tsukasa laughed. "Catatonic-kitty is good. I might have to steal that."
"Oh, then you're gonna love what Makoto calls me." Ren turned to Makoto, tapping her on the shoulder to encourage her to share. "Go on, tell them."
"Um… sometimes I call Ren my…" Makoto slowly shook her head, showing the hardship that she went through just to come up with a stupid name for Ren. Ren figured she might complain later for putting her on the spot, but her cheeks growing redder was more than worth it. "Gilgamesh."
Eiko loved it, fawning over the match made in heaven that was Catatonic-kitty and Gilgamesh. "Aw, that's so cute!"
"Tell me about it," Makoto said, struggling to sell her enthusiasm for the nickname. No longer did she want to discuss pet names or anything of the sort, so she swiftly changed the topic. "So, Eiko… how did you and Tsukasa meet?"
"You won't believe how romantic he was." Eiko gave Tsukasa a starry-eyed glance before returning the grace of eye contact to Makoto. "A few of the girls and I were doing karaoke in Shinjuku when he came up to us saying, 'Oh my god, you're, like, so hot. I need to date you!' So I said, 'Oh my god, yes! I, like, love you.'"
"That's basically how Makoto and I got started, right?" Ren asked, getting a nod from Makoto instead of apprehension. It became clear that she'd adjusted to Ren's game plan of fucking with Tsukasa and Eiko with how apparent their lack of sense was. "I was like, 'God. You're crazy, wild, and hot! We must date!'"
"He's always been very blunt," Makoto added.
Eiko took that as an opportunity to put her boyfriend on a pedestal. "Tsukasa is one of those stoic types, you know? He keeps to himself because he's always thinking on such a high level. If he was telling us what was on his mind…" Eiko shook her head, smiling at the thought. "We'd be waaaaay behind."
Makoto inquired further about Tsukasa's superiority. "What do you do for a living, Tsukasa?"
"I'm an entrepreneur."
An actual entrepreneur would tell you what businesses they're in. This guy's just a wannabe who gets off on taking advantage of people.
"Tsu-Tsu is always taking me to these fancy, high-class restaurants. He does very well for himself."
Tsu-Tsu? Kill me. Matter of fact, does Tsukasa have any self-respect?
"Are you a natural-born hustler, Ren?" Tsukasa, who Ren would forever think of as Tsu-Tsu to take the piss out of him, asked.
"Oh, most definitely. When I was eight, I made a hundred thousand yen selling candy to the other kids at school."
"But what are you doing these days? Must be tough to hustle in high school."
"That's what you think. I'm actually privately practicing my hustling for now while I finish high school because I have a foreign university I wanna go to."
"I got a few connections across the water. Maybe I could help y-"
"You know people at the University of Schlagenheim?"
Schlagenheim was purely fictional. Ren heard the word after Yusuke gave him some music recommendations. Tsukasa, always trying to look cool, answered positively. "Oh... yeah. Of course." Ren held in a laugh as he delved further into the fuckery.
"Well, that's great! I'm planning on majoring in… god, what was it?" Ren turned to Makoto, putting pressure on her to complete the bullshit.
"Gardening."
"Yeah. Gardening. Schlagenheim has a great gardening program. They actually just produced the world's first hundred-meter beanstalk."
"No shit, huh?" Neither Tsukasa nor Eiko knew a traditional children's story. Albeit a foreign children's story, most people Ren knew were aware of Jack and the Beanstalk. "What about you, Mako-chan?"
Makoto started her answer off with complete confidence. "I'm going to study..." As she trailed off, Ren looked over. Her eyes darted back and forth, scanning over the table as she gave into Ren's tactic of fucking around.
I guess she's as bored as I am. Cool. At least we'll lie together.
"I'm going to take a gap decade, then I plan on studying traditional cavalry tactics at the National University of Mongolia."
Tsukasa's lying ability left a lot to be desired. "Cavalry tactics, huh? That's really interesting." His feigned enthusiasm was enough to get Yuriko to leave her booth. As she walked to the bathroom, she held a hand over her mouth to cover the laughing. Ren wished he could join her because holding himself together in the face of Tsukasa's ignorance got more and more difficult as the date continued. "So, Makoto, are you a model in your free time?"
"Excuse me?"
"I mean, look at you. She's gorgeous, isn't she, Ren?"
Ren answered cautiously. "Yeah. She is..." Not because he disagreed, but because he witnessed Tsukasa clarifying his true intentions for every woman he met.
"And, ya know, if you're interested in some modeling work, I can find some work for you." Tsukasa had one hand over Eiko's shoulder as he hit on another girl. She innocently twirled her hair, smiling through everything. Ren couldn't tell if she didn't want to confront Tsukasa or if
"That's quite alright. Thank you, but I'm going all in on calvary tactics."
Beautifully handled. Well done, Makoto.
All four members of the group stood up from the table. Their plates, mostly cleaned of food, sat on the table as they were left behind. One by one, the group exited down the stairs and to Shibuya. Ren didn't have a read on what Yuriko was doing, as she remained in the bathroom. In the middle of dinner, Ren had taken his own trip to the men's room and thought he heard faint laughter from the women's room.
Once all of them arrived at the crowded street, they stopped. "That was so much fun!" Eiko said, jumping up and down just to show how much she loved the evening.
Was it, Eiko? Was it?
"We should totally do it again!"
Ren glanced at Makoto. They shared eye contact, her silently telling him to let her do the talking from that point onward. "Maybe. I have a lot of studying to do for entrance exams, and Ren is busy with club activities, but I'm confident that-"
"Blah blah blah, let's just make a group chat and figure it out later." Eiko pulled out her phone and started tapping away. Ren felt out of place standing on the sidewalk, people rushing past him as he looked around for something to do. Tsukasa looked to be in a similar situation; arms crossed, eyes dodging around, slightly annoyed. "There! Tsu-Tsu, I made a chat with Makoto and she can add Ren."
Tsukasa didn't give a single solitary fuck. "Sounds great, babe." He just wanted to leave, presumably to spend time alone with his Schmucker-muffin.
Eiko scared the shit out of Ren by pulling Makoto into an unforeseen hug. Makoto was just as surprised, only she had to go along with it.
Ew. She's been contaminated with Eiko-cooties. I'm not optimistic about Makoto's upcoming midterms.
"Thanks for coming, Makoto. I had a lot of fun!" Eiko let go of Makoto and then started walking away without hesitation. Ren didn't know how Tsukasa put up with the break-neck pace that Eiko lived with.
With Eiko walking away, only three remained. One of those three attempted to pretend that Ren wasn't there and leaned toward Makoto. Tsukasa put a hand on her shoulder as he put his lips next to her ear. "I've got a spot open in my life for you, babe. You got my number."
Makoto backed away, shocked that Tsukasa had the gall to do something like that before Ren's eyes. "I'm sorry, I have a boyfriend. Please step aw-"
Tsukasa closed the distance. "Who, him? Look at him. He doesn't give a shit about you. Look at how he's dressed compared to me. All my girls look better under my arm. You can be one of them, you know." Ren heard enough. Obviously, he was protective of Makoto, but she was capable of telling someone to fuck off without him. Only, it seemed that Tsukasa didn't understand the refusal.
"Hey, man. She wants you to step away." Ren pushed Tsukasa by his shoulder, taking a step in between his girlfriend and the sleazy entrepreneur.
"She can speak for herself, and I know that she'd rather speak for me." Tsukasa went to step around Ren, but Ren pushed him again.
Ren gestured around him to the people that walked past. "Stop acting like an asshole before you embarrass yourself."
"Tsu-Tsu!" Eiko called from twenty feet away. Ren had to get Tsukasa to stop before she realized something was up, or else the date was for nothing and Makoto would lose her connection with Eiko.
Makoto tried to intervene, stepping in between Tsukasa and Ren. "Ren, it's not worth-" Tsukasa shoved her to the side. His problem with Ren's disrespect out-dueled his affection for Makoto.
"Me? Acting like an asshole? Look at how I'm dressed!"
"I'd piss on your suit before I give it respect."
Dammit, Ren. You've done it again.
Tsukasa half-turned, giving Ren his shoulder. He looked down at the ground, chuckling at the insult. "Just fuck off already," Ren added, thinking he had Tsukasa on the ropes.
"I guess I gotta prove myself to Mako-chan the old-fashioned way, huh?" In an instant, the grown man that ate chicken tenders turned and threw his fist into Ren's face. Ren fell back into Makoto, who stumbled out of the way from the momentum. Ren dropped to the ground, his face exploding in pain. "Yeah, that's what I thought. You don't have shit on me." Ren heard Tsukasa's lips purse, then something wet landed on his chest, moisture passing through his shirt; he'd been spat on. "Now, Makoto, if you wanna meet u-"
Makoto launched a full roundhouse kick into the side of Tsukasa's face, dropping him even faster than Ren fell. The small crowd that formed over the commotion gasped at the unexpected continuation of the violence. A random man off the street was already trying to pull Ren up while Makoto asserted herself as the coolest person ever.
"Go fuck yourself, Tsukasa." Immediately, Makoto spun to check on Ren and her demeanor softened. "Ren…" She and the man pulled Ren into a sitting position to inspect the damage. She rubbed her thumb around his eye, sending a stinging soreness through the left side of his face. "Oh, that's gonna be a bruise. Come on, we've got to get you b-"
"Makoto! You just killed my boyfriend!" Eiko burst through the edge of the crowd and dropped to her knees at Tsukasa's side. "Nooooooooo!" she wailed, letting everything out. "You bitch!"
Makoto didn't give Eiko any attention, only focused on helping Ren up. "You can walk, right?"
"Carry me over your shoulder, please."
Makoto smirked. "I'm glad he didn't punch the sense of humor out of you." She wiped some of the dust from the street off Ren's shirt.
As he slowly stood up, Ren thanked the kind man for the help and looked down at Tsukasa. Unconsciousness, he remained on the ground with Eiko bawling at his side. Ren felt no pity for either of them. Tsukasa was too delusional to receive sympathy and Eiko was too stupid to think of anyone other than herself. Ren assumed she dated Tsukasa for the reasons he mentioned over dinner; he had money, took her to fancy dinners, and was a pre-teen girl's concept of a bad boy.
In a coincidence to end all coincidences, Yuriko came down the steps from the cafe. "The fuck did I miss?"
"Yuriko, could you make sure Eiko gets home?" Makoto asked, holding Ren steady. He felt some dizziness, but not enough that he believed that he needed help. Still, he would never turn down Makoto holding him.
Yuriko nearly collapsed to her own knees in the purest moment of depression she'd ever known. "What?! Why me?" she complained.
"Because you said you wanted to help tonight."
"Fiiiiine." Yuriko crouched down to Eiko's side, putting a hand on the hysterical girl's shoulder. "Eiko? It's time for you to-"
"No! I won't leave him!"
"Hey, check out my new phone case." Yuriko shoved her phone in front of Eiko's face. Ren could barely see, but he could make out a bedazzled pink case for a large phone.
Yuriko changed her tune quickly enough to make Ren consider laughing. "Nooo! I ca- oh! My! God! That's adorable!"
"I know, right?" Yuriko stood up, holding the phone out for Eiko to get a good look at it. "I'll let you have it if you follow me." Without hesitation, Eiko stood up and started walking towards Yuriko, reaching out for the ugly phone case. Yuriko slowly stepped backward, the crowd parting for her as she led Yuriko in the direction of Shibuya Station.
If there is a God, not that god that Akechi's fucking around with but theGod, then Eiko is the cheapest metaphor for consumerism turning our brains to mush. He's gotta try harder than that if he wants to be subtle.
Tsukasa stirred. Everyone in the crowd looked down at him, moaning and putting a hand to the side of his head. "Where the hell…" Ren would not be sticking around to find out just how quickly Tsukasa could regain his bearings. He started walking, and Makoto followed due to her physical attachment to him.
Makoto and Ren stumbled through the door to his apartment. His eye hurt more with every step, reddening even more to form a sickening ring on his face. Ren grumbled a few times over the pain, but his major worry would be that everyone at Shujin would collectively lose their shit over the delinquent coming to school with a black eye. Maybe he could find some amusement in the whispers, as always.
They can't be that bad. You're used to whispers, Ren. Plus, rumors about getting punched are much better than rumors about you being a serial killer.
"Sit down right now," Makoto ordered, guiding Ren to his couch. Just as he was about to follow her command, she stopped him. "Actually, go to your room. You shouldn't have to get up for the rest of the night."
"Did you just give me a bedtime?"
Makoto took Ren's personal well-being more seriously than he did. "I wasn't asking."
"Yes, Makoto." Makoto went to the kitchen while Ren went to his bedroom, finding the ever-lazy Morgana already asleep on his bed. "Scoot over, man," he mumbled, climbing into bed. His eye pressed against the pillow, bringing even more searing pain. It felt like the flesh in between his facial bones and the pillow was being squeezed for all it had; like the side of his face would pop from any more pressure.
You're gonna look like a real fucking loser tomorrow, Ren. For what?
Ren rolled over, facing the wall. Morgana scooted against Ren's legs for warmth.
You shouldn't think like that. Yeah, you were an asshole, but you stepped up for Makoto. She can handle her own problems, sure, but you can't let anyone talk to her that way.
Ren heard his door open, but he didn't dare move his head and risk more pain. Tsukasa's punch did little to shake Ren on a mental level. However, physically, Ren felt like dying. Pulsing stemmed from the side of his face, his heart pounding from beneath his eye. Nothing he ever felt had been more insufferable.
The volleyball team knocking his head around hurt, but he had been knocked out immediately. The only physical pain he got from that incident came from the headaches caused by his minor concussion.
"I managed to put together a makeshift ice pack," Makoto stammered. Her voice told Ren that her confidence in said ice pack was very, very low. "It's just a bag of ice wrapped in a rag." As she pressed it to the side of his face, she apologized. "Sorry." The sting of soreness came along with the cold moisture of the rag, but Ren didn't complain.
"No, it's fine. Thanks." Ren took hold of the ice pack from Makoto, putting slightly more pressure on his face. It brought more aching pain, though the stinging resided. "You didn't have to come here, you know. I could've-"
Ren felt the weight of the bed shift as Makoto sat down. Her hand rubbed his head, playing with his hair. "Of course I had to, Ren. You stood up for me."
"In the most impulsive way possible. Should've just walked away."
"Maybe, but you stood up for me as if you weren't just my fake-boyfriend."
Being fake-boyfriend-zoned after getting punched is a tough pill to swallow.
Ren didn't respond. He defended Makoto because of his attachment to her and because he wanted to fight for her. She treated him well and she shouldn't have to put up with shitty people like Tsukasa, so Ren owed her that at the bare minimum. As much of a dumb move as it was, Ren did feel like Makoto's boyfriend for a moment. He had even forgotten all the distance they tried to put between themselves over the past month for a moment.
"Why do you think that is?" Ren asked, still looking at the wall. The darkness of the room, along with the makeshift ice pack clouded obscured any emotion from Makoto and he planned on taking advantage of that. Without the embarrassment of Makoto looking him in the eye, he could be fully honest.
"I-I don't-"
"Makoto, my feelings towards you haven't changed at all. Remember when you stayed the night in August—what we told each other?"
"Of course."
"Well, I do too, and I haven't changed a bit. I still love you, Makoto. That's why I couldn't hold myself together while that jackass talked to you like that. It's selfish, I know, but-"
"I don't think it's selfish." Makoto's hand moved down to Ren's shoulder, pulling him towards her. He shifted onto his back, moving the ice pack down his face so he could see a vague outline of Makoto through the darkness of his room. Light from the living room peered through the open door. "You did it for me. You sat through that entire dinner, albeit in a way that I didn't expect, but you didn't complain. Not once. You know why that is?" Ren stayed silent, letting Makoto spell out the answer for him. "Because you care about me, deeply. I can see that. It's become clearer and clearer over this past month."
Ren wanted to speak, but Makoto's hand snaking up his shoulder to his cheek kept his mouth closed. Morgana shifted against Ren's leg, purring at the warmth. "And now I'm able to realize that it's always been that way. Even when you…" Makoto breathed deeply, struggling with her next words. "Even when you've done things that I've questioned, they have been because you care for me."
I'm assuming she means leaving Yoshiro's name on the Prince's forum. Another impulsive, rash decision made by pure, unfiltered adrenaline.
"And now that I realize that, it's validating. I chose to continue spending my time with you, against all my doubts, and I've been proven right." Makoto leaned close, so close that not even the darkness shaded the glinting light in her eyes that hovered above Ren's own. He felt her breath with every word. "I'm not rewarding you for being impulsive, I'm rewarding myself for trusting you."
A kiss, and one that delivered upon everything that Ren wanted, plus more. It recalled the stir of feelings that drove him around with Makoto that evening in Iwatodai, or the night after the beach, or when they were high beyond oblivion in Hawaii simply enjoying something as simple as sitting next to each other. The kiss served as a summary of all things great about their time together.
"I thought I was just your fake-boyfriend."
Makoto smiled, beaming down at him with excitement. "I give up. No more stalling, no more trying to separate, nothing. I think what you told me in Hawaii, that we were moving too fast, got to me. I became insecure about feeling so strongly for someone but…" Another kiss brought more intimacy. Makoto even brought a leg over Ren, straddling him. She cupped his right cheek, leaving the left one alone for obvious reasons. "I know that you feel the same way now. So… screw fake-boyfriends, fake-girlfriends, and whatever rude texts Eiko is sending me. I want to be with you."
They grew so enraptured in their own bubble that Morgana easily snuck away, saving himself from the surefire trauma that would take place in Ren's room. Ren noticed the cat's warmth slip from the edge and felt a pang of regret. The poor cat would spend the night on the couch but would be very well compensated. Ren and Morgana had a very strange relationship between owner and pet, though Morgana still got more benefits than any other cat. Part of the reason Ren had only enough money for bread was for the sushi he ordered on RoofRunner for Morgana.
Ren, stop thinking about motherfucking RoofRunner. I know it's the ultimate convenience and food delivery is the future, but there is a girl on top of you who is very eager to take her clothes off.
"But enough about me," Makoto said, breathing more heavily in between kisses. They grew more passionate and desperate. Makoto knew she was talking too much but did so out of necessity and respect. She was that kind of person. "Is this i-it? Er, are you ready?" Makoto smacked her hand on her forehead, frustrated with her own awkwardness. She didn't let it ruin the moment. Both laughed at it and moved on.
"I've said it once and I'll say it again." Ren smirked. Makoto flattened his grin with another kiss, but he managed to pull back to get his one-hundred-percent necessary one-liner off. "Miss President, you are the worst breakup-er of all time, but you are my bad breakup-her."
Makoto laughed. Her head fell into Ren, not for a kiss, but to laugh into his shoulder. "I thought you were going to say something cool!"
"I try my best."
"Well, if anything, it's shown that we're a bit too talkative." Makoto sat up, grabbing the bottom of her shirt. "Actions speak louder than words."
And I'm the corny one?
Thursday, 9/29
Makoto shut Ren's apartment door behind her. She stepped into the hallway with clothes far more wrinkled than they were the night before, and hair that failed to cooperate at its usual level. Makoto's usual bangs were parted down the middle to form a triangle on her forehead. Atop her head, strands of hair rose in the most desolate places.
Despite her disheveled appearance, Makoto felt fantastic. The best sleep of all time, along with new revelations about herself, Ren, and life in general were afoot. She felt a million times wiser than she had been twenty-four hours prior to shit hitting the fan.
Makoto had a hard time wrapping her head around the idea of herself as an adult, but if there was any time that she grasped it, it was walking down the hall away from Ren's apartment. Not because she'd become more of an adult; because she understood life better. Her previous naive thoughts on sex placed it on the highest possible pedestal, when, in reality, it was something so far removed from the importance Makoto gave it.
Obviously, it was rewarding, but was it worth worrying about? Not even close. Makoto's closeness to adulthood came into play when she woke up that morning feeling grown because she realized that she just did what everyone else did. Makoto's soul didn't disconnect from her body, ascend into a new ethereal form, and speak with a higher power, but it felt strong emotions, just like every human did.
Makoto stepped into the empty elevator. That early in the morning, most residents were still sleeping. Not Makoto, though. She'd woken herself and Ren early, mainly because of her perfected circadian rhythm and wanting to get back to her apartment to get herself together for school. She would've stayed at Ren's, had breakfast, and enjoyed the morning a bit more, but Ren was perpetually comatose until the minute he deemed himself late.
She had managed to wake him up. With not much more than a few grunts and mumbles, surely with sarcasm that Makoto couldn't detect, Ren had embraced her to keep her from her morning routine. Alas, Makoto was too busy to stick around. She had given Ren a kiss goodbye, left his room, then waved goodbye to Morgana on her way out.
The elevator doors parted to show Makoto the floor. She took a left, continuing her reflective trek from Ren's apartment. It was such a short distance, yet so much crossed her mind. Only positive thoughts, of course. At that moment, Makoto found it physically impossible to feel anything worse than elation.
Ren proved her right. She believed in him, that his feelings for her weren't some twisted attachment. His actions involving Yoshiro shook her, so much so that she reconsidered every word she received from Ren prior. Posting Yoshiro's name, without the full context of the fear, distress, and pain Ren was in, portrayed Ren to be sick with a hero complex. Makoto had imagined him twisting scenarios around himself, forcing himself into those awful emotions just so he could effortlessly come out the other side by putting Yoshiro's name on the Prince's site.
But, of course, Makoto doubted herself. Paranoia deriving from Ren overcame her rationality before, she just forgot. Back in May, when she walked out on Ren after the discovery of the alcohol, she gave in to her worries. That same month, he told her the truth about his reason for coming to Tokyo. Following her temporary break-up with Ren, Makoto recalled that story.
It was the same story it always was. Ren saw the woman being harassed by the drunk man, and he couldn't help himself. He saw Makoto staring down death in the eye, and he couldn't help himself. He saw a man in an inconsiderately ugly suit talking down to Makoto, and he couldn't help himself. Ren instinctually sought to keep his reality straightened out simply because he cared about other people, Makoto especially.
Makoto could only laugh at all her thoughts as she stopped in front of her door. In the most unexpected way, sex and Ren's feelings revealed themselves to be far less complex than Makoto thought.
Even more unexpectedly, Makoto was greeted when she opened the door. "Good morning, Makoto," Sae said from the dining table. A store-bought egg sandwich sat half-eaten atop its plate in front of her. Makoto caught her sister eating breakfast before work.
Of all days for her to be home, Makoto thought as her face reddened. She finished her journey into her apartment's confronting embrace. All the self-reflection she accomplished over the past few minutes was tossed from the plane in favor of a far more vital thing: a step-by-step manual on how to save herself from Sae's wrath.
That is, if even necessary. It couldn't be that obvious what Makoto had gotten up to, ri-
"Look at you," Sae mused with nothing to her voice, her eyes flicking up and down Makoto. "Fun night?"
Makoto weakly grinned. "I guess. I slept over at-"
"Makoto?" Sae interrupted.
"Yes?"
"I can tell."
"What do you-"
"I'm your older sister. Of course I can tell."
"I don't know what to say."
"Relax. You're an adult and an intelligent one, too. I trust you to make your own decisions," Sae said, looking up at Makoto from the dining table. She took pleasure in making her younger sister uncomfortable, teasing her with the possibility of being upset. "I just have one problem."
Makoto stayed silent. She had a guess or two. Is it because I didn't tell her I wasn't coming home? Or does she hate Ren? Or is- Makoto's thoughts cut off by Sae letting her off the hook.
"You forgot to have him over for dinner first."
"So now that we're here, are ya finally gonna tell me how you got that?" Ryuji pointed at Ren's face as he sat down at an abandoned desk. He took his lunch out of his bag and quickly got to work, Ren doing the same in time.
Ren's black eye made for quite the spectacle during school that day. More glances and whispers than usual came in his direction, most of them the same. Even Kawakami gave Ren several extra looks to make sure she wasn't seeing things. At least most students had the respect to not hound him over it or take pictures. Among the many things Ren hated, unwilling photos ranked highly.
Nonetheless, Ren rocked the black eye like it would be his last one ever. In response to Ryuji, Ren kept it simple and shrugged. "Accidents happen."
"What? You tripped, fell, and landed on a fist-shaped object. Is that it?"
Ryuji's assumption wasn't far from the truth, but it was a much more distant truth than he thought. When Ren was a stupid little kid, not tall enough for his head to clear a lunch table, he ran into one of those same tables. Left with a black eye, his parents went to the school demanding to know who punched their son all while he told them the truth. Perhaps Ren's tendency to spew sarcastic falsehoods derived from not being believed enough as a child.
"Whaddya want me to say?" Ren shrugged again. He didn't like giving out details of his relationship unless he needed help with said relationship, and, based on the previous night, Ren seemed very far from needing help. "I got punched and that's the end of the story."
"No shit, but who the hell would punch you?"
"I have an enemy or two."
Ryuji counted off enemies on his finger. "Kamoshida's going through hell in a courtroom, Kaneshiro's dead, Takata's dead, the rest of the volleyball team is in therapy, and Tony the concierge is still in Hawaii." Ryuji closed his fist as his list came to an end. "No one left to punch you."
"I guess you'll never know then. Unless you're an ace detective, that is."
"Eh, sounds like a lot of work. I can settle for not knowing about your eye, but what's got you in such a vaguely pleasant mood?"
"Time is a flat circle, Ryuji. I simply-"
"Gimme a break, not more eulogies."
"First: I don't think you know what that word means. Second: yes, there will be more monologues, or soliloquies, or whatever big word you meant to say." Ren delved into the utter depths of bullshit to provide Ryuji with the most convoluted, nonsensical answer that still made a fraction of sense. "I've seen tall, hulking pieces of metal smear a skyline, cruel men take advantage of those they are paid to protect, and misrepresented adolescents struggling to find a purpose. Many things add together, most do not, yet I continue on. It is for that reason that I am sitting here, at this once sacred desk, telling you these things. All of this proves that time is a flat circle because here I am, repeating myself to you."
"What the eff are y-"
"Time is a flat circle."
"Yeah, I get that, but I asked why you were in a good mood, man! Not that hard to answer."
I don't know if I should tell Ryuji or not. It's me and Makoto's business, and Ryuji's got a history of having a big mouth. He would definitely drop a bunch of jokes about it, or mention it to Makoto. So, I'll stick to not telling him because it's just not something that he needs to know.
"I had a good Wednesday evening. That's it."
"You're not gonna tell me?"
"Can't. Personal affairs."
"Holy shit!" Ryuji stood up at his desk, eyes wide and fingers closing the distance to Ren's face so they could accuse him. "You're having an affair!"
Poor choice of words. Shame on you. You're better than that, Ren.
"Hey, Ryuji?" Ryuji stayed standing, trying to assert his accusation. Ren's non-reaction confused him, yet he continued to hover over Ren. "Two."
"Two?"
"Two balls in your mouth." Ren did a juvenile kick out of the joke, but he recognized its stupidity. It wasn't to create laughs or to satirize Ren's feelings on the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. "Too easy." Its intended purpose was to redirect Ryuji's easily ruined focus on Ren's supposed affair.
"Aw, eff man. This means war, ya know," Ryuji said, sitting down and proving the viability of Ren's tactic. "I don't have shit right now, but I'll get you eventually."
Ren went back to his food with a look of satisfaction. As lame of a joke as it was, something about its simplicity and stupidity made him love it. "I'm sure you will."
"You know what time it is?" Ren didn't say anything out of fear for Ryuji getting him back. He wouldn't fall into Ryuji's hands so easily, so his lips remained pursed while expectantly waiting for Ryuji to speak. "Nah, I'm not effin with you. You got the time?"
Ren checked his phone. "Little bit after noon."
"Shit, man. Sorry to do this to you, but you're gonna have to skedaddle soon."
"I'm more offended by the use of 'skedaddle' than you kicking me off the roof." Ren didn't have a problem with Ryuji needing to be alone, he just preferred to get an explanation. If Ryuji claimed silence as Ren had during the questions from earlier, that was fine. "But why? You did invite me up here."
"Yeah, my bad. I forgot that Ann's meeting me up here for lunch in a few minutes."
You know, you never actually talked to Ryuji about his new girlfriend outside of that phone call. Give him congrats, then go back into Shujin. Maybe Kawakami is down to hang out for a bit.
"Hey, I never got to say congrats about that. Good for you guys. Especially you, overcoming fate and the curse on your love life."
"What can I say? I'm a different breed."
"That's certainly true," Ren said, mewling over whether to ask Ryuji more or not. He'd refused Ryuji's questions about his evening, but he would be flipping the scenario by asking about Ryuji's new relationship. Ren decided that it was fair to ask, though Ryuji didn't have to answer. "What shifted things for you guys? Ann was, uh, eyeing you for a while, you know."
"Tell me about it. She gave me an earful about that. I happily listened, of course, 'cause I'm a great boyfriend, but man… women complain a lot."
Strong disagree, but Ryuji's entitled to his opinion, even if it's biased because he never had much success with women.
"I think she was just excited that she could finally let all of it out after getting what she wanted. She probably bottled everything up for a few months. If anything, I'd encourage her to vent to make sure there isn't anything lingering."
"Aw man, that's some veteran advice. You do that with Makoto?"
"Sure."
"I gotta get a few notes from you, man. Thanks for the advice!"
"Anytime."
The door to the roof opened. Ryuji leaned over to see past Ren, while the latter turned around in his seat. Ann emerged from Shujin, carrying her bag at her side. "Oh, hey Ren. You're joining Ryuji and me for lunch?" Surprisingly, she didn't react to Ren's black eye. She must've grown adjusted to it in class that morning and decided not to ask.
"I was just leaving, actually," Ren said, standing up from his desk. He wondered if he and Makoto ever made someone feel how he felt with Ryuji and Ann on the roof. "I told Haru I would spend lunch with her sometime this week."
"Suit yourself." Ann took Ren's spot and took out her own lunch. Ren heard her excitedly begin to chatter with Ryuji, telling him all the stories of classroom 2-D and the rest of her day.
It's good that Ryuji is listening. I'm surprised, because that seems like the last thing he would want to do, even with a girlfriend, so that shows some growth. Maybe getting over Hifumi really did something for him.
Ren walked through the door and back into Shujin, off to find Haru. Makoto, as much as Ren wanted to, didn't spend many of her lunches with him. She preferred the company of Yuriko or the semi-occasional student council member, though usually only to discuss important matters. The times she did invite Ren to lunch were spent helping each other study.
Haru, on the other hand, didn't care enough about her grades to spend her lunches studying. She also was someone Ren didn't see nearly enough of, so spending even just a little time with her would be enjoyable.
He took the stairs down, eager to see what the rest of his break had for him.
Friday, 9/30
"I'm surprised you still go to these meetings," Ren said as he kept up with Makoto. Following the end of school, he'd waited outside her class for her. He wanted to spend the afternoon with her before work at Leblanc, but she had other plans.
"I am the president of the student council for a reason. It's my responsibility to run things." Makoto answered constantly. Her walk slowed as they approached the student council room.
"Yeah… but what do you guys do?"
Makoto took Ren's question as him showing curiosity towards her academic hobby, smiling at his interest. "What do you mean?" They stopped, Makoto's back to the door and Ren in front of her.
"How do you contribute to Shujin Academy's unfathomable greatness?"
"We mark up documents." Makoto kissed his cheek, turned around, and opened the door. "I'll text you later about coming over."
Probably should've said that with the door closed…
As Ren hoped that no one was in the student council room to hear Makoto's words and start a rumor, he hesitated to walk away. That left him in the frame of the door long enough for, "Oh my god! It's him!"
Shit.
Ren started to walk away, already late for the task, but that couldn't save him. One member of the student council, a girl Ren recognized as a third-year student, stepped out of the student council room. "No, you don't. Why don't you join for a second?"
Slowly, Ren turned around to face the girl. Her black hair was tied behind her head in a ponytail while her outfit disrespected the standard Shujin uniform. Her collared white T-shirt had its Shujin Emblem crossed out with marker, while her skirt was short enough to inspire any number of news segments on how promiscuous the youth had become.
Cool outfit, but it's only a matter of time until she gets dress-coded. Teachers probably don't care about the skirt. However, crossing out the Shujin emblem? That's unforgivable. Kobayakawa would probably cry.
The girl's eyes focused on Ren's own bruised eye, but she didn't say anything. She likely already heard enough about it from her all the rumors going around. "Eh, I kinda have work and I got no business interrupting your guys' paperwork," Ren said.
"Oh, it's fun! Come on," the girl replied, beckoning Ren towards the door. Ren wished he could hear Makoto's opinion on what he should do, but she remained in the student council room and out of view. "Matter of fact, as Vice President of the Shujin Academy student council, I command you to join the student council today."
"Wow…"
Ren's disbelief offended and confused the girl at the same time. "What?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head.
"My spine's tingling from how much authority you have."
"President picked a clever one, huh?" Noriko shook her head, laughing off Ren's sarcastic jab. "Fine. Don't join us on my 'authority.' Join us as a friend."
"But I'm not fr-"
"And don't say you're not friends with us!"
I'm not getting away from this, am I?
Ren sighed. It couldn't be that bad? The student council, besides this strangely confrontational girl and Makoto, would be a bunch of pushovers—teacher's pets whose lives revolved around having a false sense of power over the Shujin peers. None of that applied to Makoto, of course. Ren willingly became a hypocrite to dislike the student council while believing that none of his criticism could be directed toward Makoto.
"Fine."
Satisfied, the girl smiled at Ren and backed into the doorway. She pushed it open even more, holding it out so that Ren could enter. As he passed her, Ren refused eye contact while feeling her bearing down on him, so deeply interested for whatever reason. Ren was so busy rejecting the offer to join the council for the afternoon that he failed to consider why the girl wanted him to sit in on the meeting.
Inside, the rest of the council already sat at the familiar table. Ren thought back to Makoto and his early study sessions, back when he was so far up his own ass that he couldn't hold back the sarcasm for just a second. Some changes went on since then, though Ren barely noticed them in the moments they occurred.
"Ren?" Makoto looked up from the table, clearly surprised. Based on the expression that bordered on a smile, Ren figured he wasn't unwelcome. "What are you…?"
"I brought him in. Thought we could use a new perspective," the still unintroduced third-year said. She walked around him, taking her place at the table.
Without an extra chair in sight, Ren remained standing over the table. All eyes in the room went towards him, each conveyed with different emotions. Makoto was confused but slowly warming up to the idea. The girl who invited Ren seemed deviously invested in his presence at the meeting. A girl with short hair and glasses averted her eyes whenever Ren looked at her. She had a second-year patch, but Ren didn't recognize her. The lone boy on the council had a face of the rising sun flag—so red that Ren thought the boy would explode if anyone so much as breathed on him. A first-year patch topped off his completely standard uniform.
"I'm sorry… who are you?" So much pressure laid beneath the first-year's voice, like he'd been holding his breath since birth. Ren wanted to insist on the first-year exhaling but he seemed too furious at something to even listen. "The student council is far too busy to tolerate disruptions."
"Too busy with what?" the third-year retorted, crossing her arms and glaring at the first-year. Immediately, with one look at the cold glare, Ren could tell that the third-year couldn't stand the first-year.
Makoto supported the third-year's argument. "We actually don't have a lot on the agenda today, so-"
The first-year glanced at Makoto. He finally breathed, his anger deflating alongside his puffed-up cheeks. It only lasted as long as he looked at Makoto. Once he brought his eyes back to Ren, the bitterness returned. "Well, I still don't know who he is, so unless he provides his name and a reason to-"
Oh. I think I know why he doesn't like me.
The only reason for the first-year pressing Ren was to give him a hard time and to keep him out of the meeting for one reason: that was the first-year's only time with Makoto. Ren saw it in the look Makoto got from the first-year; there was a crush afoot in the student council. "I'm Ren Amamiya," he said flatly.
While the first-year looked away, the third-year took the opportunity to introduce everyone. "I'm Noriko, the VP. That's Michiko, our secretary," Noriko said as she pointed to the second-year with glasses. Her pointing finger shifted to the first-year, now scrounging through his bag for something and not giving socializing the time of day. "That's Eiji, th-"
"That's Tanaka-san to you," Eiji interrupted. "And I'm the treasurer."
Noriko took very well to Eiji's disrespect. "Oh, so all of us except for Makoto have to use the honorific?"
Again, Eiji reddened. His face swelled with embarrassed rage that spurred only pity in Ren. As the student council continued to air out dirty laundry in front of him, Ren gained more of an understanding of their group dynamic.
Okay, so Makoto is the only functioning person on the council. Michiko... maybe, but she doesn't seem to talk a whole lot. Eiji has a frustrating crush on Makoto and all of his efforts have amounted to nothing. Noriko, being the most sociable person on the council and the least committed to helping get shit done, gets off on fucking around with Eiji. To put it simply, I'm here because Noriko is playing a joke on Eiji. She wants to rub it in his face that Makoto has a boyfriend.
Ren's opinion of Noriko soured with the realization of her subtly mean-spirited actions. Before that revelation, he likened her to Yuriko—a very talkative person with a persistent sense of humor that went beyond the average teenager. Now, he saw her as the mean girl overlord that definitely had a load of friends thinking the same way as her.
Still, his opinion of Eiji remained low. His rudeness started the moment Ren walked in the door and he wore his emotions on his sleeve. Plus, only being a first-year didn't help his case. As much as Ren wanted to fight the urge to give in to the seniority complex that older students had over younger students, he was only human.
As silence forced Ren into an awkward situation, Makoto took action. "Alright, why don't we move on?" The rhetorical question was met with nods from the two girls on the council. Eiji, again, was busy pouting and looking through his bag. "First on the agenda, we need to go over the schedule for midterms. After that, we'll be-"
"You're Makoto's boyfriend, right?" Noriko asked out of the blue. She glanced at Eiji, making sure he looked up from his bag. Once he did, Noriko went back to staring Ren in the eye.
"Uh…" Ren looked down at Makoto. Her lack of a reaction, and her silence, meant that Ren was free to answer as he pleased. Or, alternatively, she trusted him to make the right choice of words. Unfortunately, Ren had no clue how to answer.
Eh, you know what? I really can't be questioning our relationship status with how things are going now. Fuck hesitating, even if it hurts Eiji's feelings. This'll be a character development moment for him in the long run, I hope.
"Yep." Ren checked Makoto for a reaction, again getting nothing except that she seemed pleased.
Noriko and Ren both looked to Eiji. He kept his face down, eyes in his bag. Ren almost thought he saw steam coming from Eiji's ears. "So then, like, is Makoto always so focused and serious?" Noriko asked, continuing to look at Eiji to try and get the reaction she wanted. "Also, how'd you get that black eye? Is Makoto into th- actually, I won't go there."
She really fucking hates him, jeez. There are people I dislike, but this is a villain origin story. I need to leave.
Makoto, unphased by Noriko's increasingly nosy questions, tried to assert her authority. She cleared her throat loudly to get everyone's attention."Taira-san, I think that's enough. Ren, you're free to g-"
A muffled scream came from Eiji's direction, followed by the scraping of every chair in the room as the rest of the council scooted away in shock. Eiji screamed into his bag, condensing his feelings into a short moment in time and letting it all out. The bag mostly muffled it, thankfully, but the shock of seeing a supposed Shujin role model unleash his unreasonable feelings without consideration for others got to everyone in the room.
A silence followed the scream. The only noise came from Eiji's heavy, defeated breaths. "Uh… should I leave?" Ren asked, no one in the room giving his question the attention it deserved. They all looked to Eiji for his next move.
Eiji shot up, slamming one hand on the table. The other flipped his bag over his shoulder. "That's it! I can't do it! I can't tolerate you ruining her. I'm gonna be a whistleblower!" Eiji couldn't even give Ren eye contact in his moment of challenging Ren. He walked out of the room unceremoniously and with nowhere near enough gravity to justify his lame moment. What he thought was a protest of an unrighteous relationship was a pitiful condemnation of two people enjoying their time together.
"Why don't you go whistleblow some bi-" Noriko couldn't finish her insult as Eiji slammed the door. "Shit, he left. I had a good one, too…" She sounded genuinely depressed that she didn't get one final opportunity to lay into Eiji.
Sociopath shit. I can recognize that now. I was terrible to Mishima because I thought he deserved it at the time. While my opinion of him has changed, I now consider how I acted toward him before Hawaii pretty fucked up. Maybe it was all the pent-up anger I had over everything, but… agh, that's no excuse. If Mishima ever comes back from Hawaii, I'll apologize. That being said, Noriko's like me a few months ago. I don't know what she's so angry at, or what Eiji's done that she dislikes, but fuck her. This is something she should be kicked off the council for, maybe even disciplined by Kobayakawa
Michiko broke the awkward silence. "What do you think he was talking about? Whistleblowing? This is a student council, not an actual government."
"I think…" Makoto rested both hands on the table, looking at her fingers. Ren watched as her eyes darted back and forth, hiding the raceway of thoughts that she surely had. Makoto wasn't simply answering the question, she was making a decision that would affect the whole council. "I think I'm going to postpone this afternoon's meeting. I'll consider what to do about Tanaka-san."
"Please kick him off the cou-"
"Tanaka-san won't get more than a stern warning," Makoto interrupted, her voice firmer than before. She bore down on a shocked Noriko from across the table. In the middle, Michiko looked in between the two to get the full scale of the chastising. "You, on the other hand, are in for a performance evaluation and possible disciplinary action."
"Wha-what did I do?!"
Makoto scoffed. "If you genuinely don't know, I'll be going over the entire situation during your performance evaluation." Makoto stood up, getting her own school bag and putting it over her shoulder. "Dismissed. I'll text you guys details when I've made up my mind."
"You-" Noriko stopped herself from saying anything more. Instead of throwing a hissy fit as any well-adjusted screenage sociopath would, she stormed out of the door in a rare act of maturity.
A last-second instance of her poking her head through the door ruined that. "Oh, and Ren? You could do so much better." Demonstrating how childish she truly was, Noriko didn't stick around for the aftermath of her insult. She couldn't take what she gave out.
Alright, so… Ren, you gotta hear me out on this one. Obviously, it's wrong to hit women, or anyone for that matter, but you did punch Tsukasa for being rude to Makoto. By that logic, you should be chasing Noriko down the hall right about now. I mean, it's almost sexist to not pun- okay, what the fuck am I going on about? Makoto's the one with the power here. She can kick Noriko off the council, probably even get her expelled if she wants.
Michiko's voice rose from her corner of the room. "Niijima-senpai?" Ren and Makoto turned to look at Michiko, the girl obviously distressed by the apparent implosion of the council within the span of five minutes. "Is my position safe?"
"Every meeting, I wish that the entire council were clones of you. We'd be infinitely more productive."
A prompt laugh from Michiko soon faded when her eyes darkened at the reality of the situation. "Thank you, senpai." She paused, trying to think of the best way to support the president. "Reach out if you need help with keeping Noriko or Tanaka-san in line. If you want my opinion, Tanaka-san's always rubbed me the wrong way and Noriko's never been particularly nice. If they're the pillars of Shujin…"
Then, *gasp*! Shujin sucks?! No way! There's no way that a school that employed Suguru Kamoshida could be bad!
Michiko ended her rambling with a shake of her head. "As I said, you can text me." She started her walk to the door but stopped right at the end of it. "Nice meeting you, Amamiya-san. I hope things get less chaotic for you one day."
Ren weakly smiled as she walked out the door. Once alone, Ren turned to his girlfriend to unravel the clusterfuck he walked into. Or, worse, started. "Is it always like that?"
Makoto looked tired. She didn't want to deal with two people clearly unfit for student council activities, yet she did it all year long. Ren wanted to get the night off work to just hang out with Makoto and comfort her, but he'd already taken one day off that week. Another would be blasphemy against the coffee gods.
"If you're referring to Noriko and Eiji's dynamic, yes, it is. I think her bringing you in only amplified it. I'm sorry you wer-"
Ren didn't want Makoto to apologize to him. "It's fine. I'm just a little surprised that the council's gone on this long with those two."
"They never got along, but it never interfered with our work until now."
"Well…" Ren didn't know what to say. Sure, they were supposed to leave, but something intangible lingered in the student council room. "Ready to go?"
Makoto nodded, her lips pursed to hide however she felt from Ren. He turned, walking towards the door, only to be stopped by the sudden sound of her voice. "Ren?" Spinning around, Ren saw Makoto looking down. "Was Noriko telling the truth?"
About me being able to do better? Hell no. She only thinks that because she didn't talk to me for more than five minutes. No girl beside Makoto would put up with me, to be honest. Also, really, Makoto? Does that need to be asked? You're the best person I've met in Tokyo. And whoever the people Noriko thinks are better than Makoto probably spend five hours a day on Shujinstagram while obsessing over their social lives. No disrespect to those people. If that's what makes them happy, that's fine by me, but I couldn't put up with someone like that.
"Fuck no. She's jealous of you and pissed off, so what better way to get under your skin than with a comment like that? She literally brought me in here just so she could make Eiji feel bad. She's that kind of person." Ren, unsatisfied that his only way to comfort Makoto came from discrediting Noriko, stepped closer to Makoto. "And I don't think there's anyone better than you. You're the only girl at this school I can imagine myself with because you're the only one whose presence is comforting. Looking at you is like a warm hug."
Good thing you're not interested in poetry, because you suck ass, Ren. At least it's honest.
Makoto softly smiled. "Thanks." Ren took her hand, clutching it as he pulled her towards the door. Together, they left the student council room. The original plan of spending the afternoon with Makoto would have to be thrown out the window, as work neared for Ren. However, the least he could do was take Makoto home.
They walked through Shujin's mostly empty halls. A few students lingered, all of them up to club business, but most of that was conducted behind closed classroom doors. Ren tried to remember the last time there was an official GRAVY meeting.
I guess it doesn't really matter if we meet as a club, right? GRAVY's more just our group of friends than it is a club. Shit, I haven't really helped with the garden lately. I know Haru likes to use it as alone time, but I'm sure she'd appreciate more help.
As they reached the first floor, the hall leading to the exit was completely empty. Side by side, Ren and Makoto looked for any signs of life. They received nothing. "Kinda creepy," Ren said. "You'd think there'd be at least a few teachers still here."
"Yeah…" Makoto looked behind them just to find the same result. "I'm trying to think of what clubs meet in this hall. There's the manga club, the city planning club, th-"
"Hold up. There's a city planning club?"
"It's quite popular, actually."
"Huh. Who woulda thought?"
"As I was saying, the shoegaze club meets in classroom 1-C, and then there's the-"
The next door in front of the couple swung open. A horde of Shujin students, all of them holding flashing phones in their outstretched hands, quickly surrounded Ren and Makoto. "Smile for the camera!" one yelled. The flash of the phones blinked on and off rapidly as they took enough photos to fill the whole yearbook with candids of Ren and Makoto. "Make sure you get a close-up on his eye!"
One girl ran up to Ren, shoving her phone a few inches from his left eye. The blink of the flash made Ren spin away, but that didn't deter the girl. She went around him, crouched, and took the photo from a different angle.
"Newspaper club, disperse!" As quickly as they came, the circle of newspaper club members ran back into their classroom. Ren and Makoto hadn't moved since the door opened, struggling to process exactly what happened. The door slammed closed and Ren heard the lock click.
"Then there's the newspaper club," Makoto finished.
"We have a newspaper?"
"We don't. They're too lazy to make a physical newspaper, so they run a Shujinstagram page instead."
"And that's where all those photos are going to end up?"
"Most likely."
"Fuck."
"I wouldn't worry about it. It's like Shujin's form of tabloids; they exclusively post things that are going to feed the rumor mill. It won't be anything that you haven't already heard."
"Yeah, I'm just worried about you being the focus of their attention this time."
"Don't worry about me. I can handle it." Makoto gestured towards the exit, only fifteen meters away. The afternoon sun shone through the front door to give the hall a bit of an orange glow. Without needing to speak, they continued together on their exit from Shujin.
A/N: Another chapter that got away from me while writing it. All the scenes came out longer than expected, especially the last one. I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out, so it's worth it.
October is going to be the month with the least Ren perspectives, I think. Ryuji, Ann, and Yusuke get more shit to do. Newspaper club is going to have a bit of importance to the plot. Culture Festival is coming up, but Akechi won't be the guest. Finally, the month will be capped off with Halloween taking up a full chapter. Should be fun.
Barely over two years of TKOSA. Pretty cool. It feels like it hasn't been that long.
Anyway, I hope everyone had a good few weeks. I'll try to keep the next chapter short so I can post it ASAP, but no promises. I'm taking another trip this week, so that might delay things. Hopefully not. Thanks for reading, hope everyone has a great July.