Saturday, September 10: Evening

Royal Hawaiian Hotel

"So, let me get this straight, Mishima," Ryuji sighed. "We talked to how many ladies now?"

"Nineteen."

"And not a single one wanted to go out with us?!"

Mishima set down his soda, shifting his eyes to avoid a dissatisfied leer from Ryuji. "I mean, our English wasn't exactly great."

Ryuji pointed a fry at Mishima, slouching forward and frowning. "Remember what I said when the school trip got announced? That we would brush up on that shit months ago? Whatever happened to that?!"

Mishima rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey, man. At least Haru was nice."

"That was even worse!" Ryuji brushed Mishima aside. "She's Japanese and she still turned us down! If we can't even rizz up the girls from home, how are we're gonna—"

Ryuji paused mid-sentence as a sudden realization formed deep within his head.

"Wait a minute. Where's Ren-Ren?"

"Who knows?" Mishima shrugged his shoulders. "Ms. Kawakami might've needed some help or something."

"You think he flaked on us, Mishima?" Ryuji asked.

Mishima looked towards the beach, drumming his fingers on the table. "I don't know, man. Ren seems like a pretty trustworthy guy."

As the two close friends relished in collective frustration, Kasumi Yoshizawa casually strolled up to them. Her warm smile was immediately infectious, perking up both of the boys instantly. Mishima cheesily grinned in return, trying not to gawk at the pink swimsuit peeking out from under her sweatshirt.

"Hey there, Sakamoto-kun. What are you and Mishima-senpai up to?"

Ryuji waved his hands around. "Not much, just talking about life stuff right now. How 'bout you?"

"I just got back from working out. Gotta be in shape for the next gymnastics meet!" Kasumi leaned forward, folding her arms behind her back girlishly. "It was a lot of fun swimming and doing some laps on the beach! I got sand all over me, though."

"I recommend a spare towel the next time you work out," Mishima said.

"Great idea!" Kasumi flashed a smile. "I should've thought about that…"

Ryuji got to his feet, eyes narrowing slightly. "Say, Yoshizawa. You feel like doing something tonight? I could always give some running pointers over a nice dinner."

She giggled, backing away and shaking her head. "Not really."

"You sure?" Ryuji asked in earnest.

Kasumi averted her eyes. "I'm sorry, Sakamoto-kun. I'm not interested in going out with you, if that's what you had in mind."

Ryuji dipped his head, once again sitting down at Mishima's side. Kasumi studied the boy as he munched down on some fries, all the while doing her best to not look at Mishima's awkward expression.

"Hey, look," Ryuji said. "Sorry if I made things awkward, Yoshizawa."

Kasumi met the blond's pain-stricken eyes. "Don't worry, it's nothing personal. There's just someone I already have in that heart space already."

Ryuji closed his eyes, his frown deepening even further. "I'll be sure to give my bro a heads up you said hi, then."

Kasumi covered her mouth, eyes fixed ahead like a deer in headlights. She anxiously turned to her watch, struggling to hide her cheeks as they shifted color to match her garnet hair.

"Oh my gosh. I really lost track of time out there. I should be going. H-Have a great night, guys!"

"See you around," Ryuji said, eyeing Kasumi as she sprinted away toward the hotel.

Mishima sighed, leaning his elbows on the table. "Ren has it so easy. He gets all the ladies without even trying."

"Don't fucking remind me."

As Ryuji turned back to the ocean, he caught glimpse of some familiar faces walking in from the beach. Ren's unkempt hair barely stood out amidst the darkening sky in comparison to Makoto's familiar bangs. Ryuji waved vigorously in their direction, catching their attention as they drew closer to the hotel's entrance. A mischievous smirk ran across his face as Ren and Makoto approached as he quickly noticed something different about their collective demeanor.

"Hey, what's bonking, guys?"

Makoto looked away in embarrassment. "Oh, us? We were going out… I—I mean, Ren and I were out, um…"

"Makoto and I went on a date," Ren said, taking his girlfriend's hand firmly in his own.

Ryuji's mouth stuck wide open. He stood there in complete astonishment, blinking in disbelief.

"So… that means you two are boyfriend and girlfriend now, right?"

Ren said nothing in return, simply letting out a small chuckle. Ryuji threw his hands into the air, scowling in annoyance.

"What the hell, man?! You and Makoto are going steady and you didn't tell me? Your best friend?!"

Ren's trademark smirk spread across his face. "A real phantom thief doesn't kiss and tell."

"So, what's your secret? Mishima and I talked to a ton of girls, but none of them wanted a thing to do with us."

"There isn't really a secret, per se," Makoto explained. "Ren and I just happen to get along very well."

"Easy for you to say." Ryuji sighed, kicking some sand into the air. "How am I supposed to get along with someone when nobody is into me?"

Makoto brought a hand to her chin. "Actually… it turns out there is someone who's into you."

Ryuji's face lit up in surprise. "Wait, for real?!"

"For real," Ren said.

"Ren-Ren, who is it? Is it someone I know?"

Ann Takamaki set her hands on her knees, turning to Ren with a glint of frustration in her eyes.

"I know this might sound a bit blunt, but… is Ryuji always this stupid?"

"More or less."

Ann dipped her shoulders. "I swear. Trying to get through to that dork is like talking to a brick wall sometimes. No wonder his thief name is 'Skull'."

Ren gestured towards his blonde friend. "To be honest, you have to be pretty direct with Ryuji. He doesn't pick up on things the best."

"So, I just have to try harder to get through to him, and I'm set?"

Ren nodded in agreement, prompting Ann to return a modest smile.

"You think Ryuji's figured out that I like him yet?" she asked.

Ren adjusted his glasses. "Maybe, but he's too timid to admit it."

"I don't want to ask for too much, but could you try steering him in the right direction, Ren?" Ann brushed a hand through one of her pigtails. "Not that I have a problem with asking him out or anything. I just want to make sure him and I are on the same page."

"No problem."

Ann sighed in relief. "Thank you, Ren. You're a lifesaver."

"Truth be told, I'm surprised." A mischievous sneer spread across Ren's face. "You have the whip, so I figured you'd be the dominant one here."

Ann hurled a pillow at Ren in disgust, missing him by only the slightest of margins.

"Hey!"

"I knew I shouldn't have said that," Ren thought, steadily tucking himself under the covers.

"You have three guesses," Ren said.

"Uh, let's see, um… is it Futaba?"

"Nope."

"Is it the goth doctor in Yongen?"

"Nope."

"Hey, you sure you're not just busting my balls, dude? For all I know, Yusuke might be my secret admirer."

"He's eccentric," Makoto said. "He's not into you."

Ren's familiar smirk returned in earnest. "You want a hint?"

Ryuji folded his arms. "Give me anything, man! I'm stumped!"

"You should do something Morgana would hate."

"What? Call him a cat?"

"No." Ren covered his face with his hand. "Date Ann."

Ryuji's eyes widened in astonishment. "Hold the phone, Ann likes me?"

"She's been dropping tons of hints," Makoto sighed.

"Uh… you mean, like, that time she caught me looking at her tits in the Mona Car?"

"Not exactly." Makoto adjusted her headband. "More along the lines of what happened at the beach party."

Ryuji ran his hand through his blond hair. "You mean, how I was checking her out, and she smiled and gave me a hug?"

Ren nodded in agreement.

"Dude… that's awesome!" Ryuji shouted. "Ann is total perfection! Blonde hair, toned thighs, big boobs, you name it."

Ren flashed a smile in earnest. "All you have to do now is ask her out."

"It's a deal, Ren-Ren! The moment we get home, Operation First Date is on!"

"So, Ren," Mishima asked. "If you get Makoto, and Ryuji gets Ann, who do I get?"

"Kasumi," Ryuji said.

Makoto turned to her boyfriend curiously. "Who's Kasumi?"

Ryuji struggled to hold back a shit-eating grin. "Oh, nothing. Just a first-year who goes to school."

"I see."

Mishima slid a hand into his pocket. "Say, Makoto. What are you and Ren gonna do after your night out?"

Makoto clasped her hands together. "We were planning to hang out some more back in my room."

Ryuji sneered in anticipation. "Ooh, I wonder what's gonna be going on up there!"

"N-Not anything dirty," Makoto sputtered, a subtle blush rushing across her cheeks.

"Have fun, but not too much fun," Mishima teased.

Makoto furrowed her eyebrows, displaying the textbook Niijima glare straight at both of the boys as she followed Ren inside.

Makoto focused squarely on the television, taking in the narrator's resonant voice as he described the lush jungles orangutans called home. She'd instinctually chosen the program moments earlier, finding it served as perfect background noise while she waited for Ren to finish getting ready for bed. Hearing about the tropical weather of Southeast Asia soon turned Makoto's face a distinct shade of pink. She knew full well that Ren's embrace could outmatch a typical afternoon on Borneo any day.

A sharp burst of noise suddenly filled the air, shattering Makoto's concentration in an instant. The source of the sound immediately revealed itself: the cell phone Ren had left by her side. Makoto swiftly brought the screen to her ear, answering the call without a second thought.

"Senpai? Are you there?"

Makoto's voice tensed up, clearly caught off guard. "Um… hi."

"I'm sorry, who is this?" the caller asked. "You don't sound like Senpai."

"This is Makoto Niijima, the student council president. Ren's busy at the moment, but I could pass something along to him, if you wanted to—"

"Oh, gotcha! I'll just ask him tomorrow, Niijima-senpai. Anyway, sorry to bother you so late at night! Goodbye!"

The call ended abruptly.

"That was weird," Makoto whispered.

Ren returned from the bathroom, toothbrush in hand. "Who was that?"

Makoto averted her eyes. "As Skull would put it, it was, well… a fangirl of yours."

"Wait a minute… you're not talking about the Phan-Site, are you?"

Makoto shook her head from side-to-side, confirming Ren's greatest suspicions in an instant.

"God dammit."