A/N: Major Persona 3 spoilers for The Journey and The Answer. If you don't want to be spoiled, skip the club scene. If you don't want to risk scrolling through the scene and accidentally seeing a spoiler, input "GRAVY wrapped" into the word finder. Other than the club scene, the chapter is clear of spoilers.

Tuesday, 8/2

"Wake your ass up, Renny!" Ryuji yelled as Ren felt a pillow slam into his face. Ren rolled over to avoid more frontal damage.

"Dude… what time is it?" Ren grumbled, receiving a few more hits from the pillow, though on the back of his head.

"Time for breakfast. Haru said to get you up. Everyone's waiting!"

Aw shit… really, Ren? First day out here, and you're making everyone wait?

Ren rolled back over and sat up. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and looked up at Ryuji. "I'll be out in a minute."

"Gotcha," Ryuji said before taking his leave.

I thought he'd hit me more with the pillow.

Ren got out of the bed that he'd stayed in. Ryuji, Yusuke, and Ren's room had two beds and a pullout mattress, which was greatly appreciated. Ryuji was definitely not someone that Ren wanted to share a bed with. The runner had gotten the pullout mattress after losing a quick game of janken they had played after the previous night's dinner. GRAVY was too drained from driving to do anything more than fall asleep after eating.

Ren walked out of the room in his pajamas. If people were already waiting for him, they surely didn't mind if he wasn't dressed for the occasion.

I can't be the only one wearing sleep clothes, right? Shit, I'm surprised Ryuji was dressed when he woke me up. I thought he'd be sleeping longer than me.

He left the hallway that the rooms were in and came to the empty kitchen. There were no GRAVY members in sight, leaving Ren scratching his head until he heard someone knocking on the glass behind him. He spun to see Ryuji knocking on the window wall. Ren noticed a table of food and friends behind Ryuji out on the deck.

Breakfast overlooking the ocean. Nice.

Ren went to the closest door he saw and left the building for the deck. As he stepped out, a warm, misty breeze greeted him along with a view of the ocean. The Okumura family boat could also be seen on a dock that was a straight walk across the beach. Ren looked to his right and saw each member of GRAVY, already eating.

"Look who decided to finally wake up," Ann joked as she dug into her food.

"I didn't decide shit. That kid," Ren said as he scathingly pointed at Ryuji, "is the one who decided for me."

As Ryuji seated himself at the head of the table, he shrugged at Ren. "Sleep is for the weak."

"Weren't you the one complaining about not being able to sleep until noon earlier this year?" Makoto asked.

"That was when I was in Tokyo. Now, I'm in Iwatodai. I gotta seize the day and shit," Ryuji said as he took a gigantic bite of his breakfast. Ren sat himself down at the head of the table opposite Ryuji, and that prompted the runner to continue speaking. "Oh, Renny? Remember to thank Haru for the food."

The plate before Ren could only be described as magically delicious looking, so Ren decided to comply with Ryuji. "Thanks, Haru. I didn't know you could cook."

"I don't do it often," Haru said. "I only made breakfast today because Noguchi-san is still not feeling well. Her headaches have left her bedridden."

"Oh, that's just awful," Ann sympathized. "Maybe we could get her some medicine while we're in the city today?"

"The house is already stocked with everything she would need," Haru said.

"Some flowers instead, then?" Makoto suggested.

"Hell yeah! She made dinner for us last night. It's the least we could do." Ryuji's enthusiasm inspired the rest of the group enough to nod their heads in agreement. Flowers were now at the top of the shopping list, even if they were the only item on that list.

"So today's for the city, then?" Ren asked, assuming that the group had done the planning without him.

"Yep. We're just gonna walk around, see dope shit, and have a goooood time," Ryuji answered coolly.

"Sweet."

After they were done eating, the group moved out the door and on the road surprisingly quickly. Ren just had to put on some clothes and clean himself up for himself to be ready to go. Everyone else had been awake long enough to get themselves ready before Ren was even awake.

As the van got closer and closer to the city, Ren began to truly witness the spectacle of Iwatodai. While buildings weren't as large or as grandiose as those in Tokyo, they were remarkably clean for a large city. They also seemed nice on the exterior, but Ren couldn't comment on the quality of the interiors for obvious reasons.

The van drove through the uncrowded streets. There weren't nearly as many people as Ren would've thought for a city, but Ren preferred it that way. More people always meant more bullshit to deal with.

The van's first stop came at a Shinto shrine in the northern part of the city. Morgana purred as the car door opened and everyone, including the cat, hopped out.

"Naganaki shrine, the most famous one in the region," Haru informed the others.

"Thanks, tour-master Haru. What year was the shrine built?" Ryuji's shit-eating grin told Ren that the runner just wanted to tease Haru.

"The early twentieth century. It has long been one of…" Ren tuned Haru out as she impressively expounded a great deal about the shrine. Ren was pleased that Ryuji got what he asked for.

GRAVY entered the shrine, each of them bowing at the entrance before climbing the stairs. They performed the standard purification ritual at the water trough before approaching the main hall. There weren't too many people at the shrine that day, but GRAVY did have to wait behind a few people before they could make their offerings.

"Yo, Renny," Ryuji whispered. "You got a five yen coin on ya?"

"I got a few, yeah."

"Mind giving me one for an offering?"

"Only if you give the Inari statue a lapdance."

"Don't tempt me," Ryuji said with a chuckle. "Fine. I'll go harass Ann for the money." Ryuji walked off.

Ren stood at the offering box and tossed a coin in for good luck. He was alone, as it seemed that GRAVY had moved on to the omikuji cylinder once they had made their offerings. They took turns shaking the cylinder to receive their numbers before heading over to the cabinet which housed the actual fortunes. Ren got a number of his own and joined his friends as they were opening their fortunes.

"Great curse on my romantic life?! The eff?!" Ryuji was displeased, to say the least.

"Should've followed through on the bird plan, Ryuji," Ren joked as he got his own. "Well, whaddya know. A great blessing on my romantic life."

"That's bullsh- Ryuji, this is a shrine. Keep your cool," the runner said meditatively as his posture straightened and his breathing slowed. "Man, why do you get good fortunes?"

"Because I did the customary lapdance for the Inari shrine, duh," Ren said. He turned to one of his other friends. "Yusuke, what'd you get?"

"A great blessing upon my stocks," Yusuke said. "This is wonderful news."

"You trade stock?"

"No, but if the spirits foresee it, then I must begin my journey in the market."

The stock market is a scam. Best to keep away from that shit. Trading stock is just asking for people with more money to take yours.

"Suit yourself. Ann, what'd you get?" Ren asked as he turned to the model.

"Small blessing for a wish. Not surprised." Ann didn't seem to care in the slightest. "Just a vague thing that can apply to anything. Like, if we have something good for dessert tonight, then the omikuji is true."

"Good point. Makoto?"

"U-um…" Makoto's face was red and she wouldn't even meet Ren's eyes. He could've guessed what her fortune was before she even read it. "I received a great blessing on romantic relationships."

"Relationships, plural? Makoto, what aren't you telling me?"

"R-Ren, that's-"

"Just teasing. Cool fortune. Haru, how 'bout you?" Ren asked as he quickly moved on from teasing the student council president.

"A great blessing on a lost possession," she said while lost in thought. "I lost a pair of gardener's gloves a few months ago… maybe I'll find those?"

"Probably that. Maybe there's a toy from when you were a kid back at the mansion?" Ryuji tossed out. Haru nodded at the possibility.

The group concluded with their fortunes, most of them either satisfied or uncaring, though Ryuji was still a little ticked off at his romantic fortunes. The group split up, as they each went around to appreciate the more unique features of the shrine, such as a jungle gym that Ryuji eagerly darted off to with childlike excitement.

Ren and Yusuke walked towards a stone statue in one corner of the shrine. It was a Shiba-Inu dog. "For Koro-chan," Yusuke read off the metal plaque that was centered on the base of the shrine.

"Koro-chan's a cute dog," Ren said as he admired the statue.

"Perhaps he was a fluffy one, too."

"Aren't all dogs fluffy in their own way?"

"Unfluffy dogs are the scum of the earth. Like rats, they feast on flesh and degrade our environments with their waste." Yusuke was oddly bitter over such an insignificant thing as the fluffiness of dogs.

"What about cats?" Ren asked as he looked down at Morgana at his side. "Do unfluffy cats warrant the same thing?"

"Hairless cats are preferable, but I have no quarrel with unshaven cats."

Morgana hissed, but Yusuke didn't pay the cat any notice. "Good to know," Ren said, weirded out by Yusuke's convictions. The artist walked away, leaving Ren to stand alone before the statue. After a minute, he turned and walked over to the playground that was a part of the shrine.

Courtesy of the Kirijo Group, huh? Well, they are based here. It's a bit weird that they'd fund a playground.

Yusuke got on one of the swings and began passionately swinging back and forth as if he was a six-year-old being pushed by his mother. A young kid was using the second swing, while a little girl was waiting next to Yusuke's swing for him to finish up. Yusuke was oblivious that there was a person who would enjoy the swing much more than him.

Ren walked over, in between the two active swings, and stood in the middle. "Yusuke?" he said, getting the runner's attention. "Someone's waiting to use the swing."

Yusuke noticed the little girl, who was beginning to frown because she wasn't getting her way. "She must learn patience. I am enjoying this far too much to prematurely end it," he declared as he continued pumping his legs, taking the swing even higher.

"Yusuke, it's a kid. Just let her have the swing."

"Democracy dies when you give in to demands, Ren."

This is too trivial for him to be dropping some cheesy movie villain lines.

"It's a kid, and this is a swing set!"

"Mister, are you done yet?" the little girl asked.

"No, I am not. Wait your turn or else I will turn you into a square," Yusuke said dismissively as he continued to swing.

"You mean wait there or be square?" Ren asked. "Or whatever the fuck it is?" Yusuke didn't respond, too blissful in his theatrics to care what Ren had to say.

Yusuke indulging himself in swinging is not what I expected to happen in Iwatodai, but what do I know? Maybe he'll start fighting the little girl over who gets to use the jungle gym. That'd be something.

"Fine. I'm gonna go get my mommy!" the girl yelled, tears forming in her eyes before she ran off.

"Oh, great! Now look at what you did!" Ren said angrily at Yusuke. "Just get off now before you start any more drama."

"What's going on?" Ann asked as she walked over and stood just out of the way of Ryuji's swinging.

"Yusuke won't give up the swing to a little girl, who now just went to get her mom."

"Shit, Yusuke, it's just a swing," Ann said, not realizing that Ren had already made that point several times.

"Preposterous. It is a throne of glory. The chair of god. A way that a boy becomes a man!"

"It's rubber attached to chains that goes back and forth. Whoop-de-doo," Ann said, starting to sound fed-up. "Yusuke, come on. We don't need any trouble. Just give the girl the swing when she gets back."

Yusuke didn't say anything, and the swinging continued. Ren and Ann realized it was futile to ask the artist to get off, and Makoto seemed clueless on what to do. They went on in silence until Ren saw something in the corner of his eye:

A crying little girl and a slender, glasses-wearing middle-aged woman with long brown hair fast approaching the group.

Fuck. Pissed-off moms are never good because… oh! Oh, shit! I mean… this pissed-off mom could be cool...

Ren had gone from worrying over getting yelled at to fretting about how to speak to the mother in a matter of seconds. It must've been a coincidence that the discussion of milfs happened only a day before because the woman who now stood in front of Ren was a perfect example of a milf.

The woman crouched down to talk to her daughter at her side. "Hikari, go play in the sandbox. Mommy will be there in a few," the woman said as she used one of her hands to keep her pair of glasses from falling off the bridge of her nose. The woman sounded surprisingly calm for someone who was probably about to unleash hell on whoever had wronged her daughter. She stood back up and turned to Ren. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you the people using the swing instead of my daughter?"

"...Yep," Ren said ashamedly. He wasn't even in the wrong and he still felt embarrassed. Hell, Yusuke continued swinging next to the conversation taking place, only worsening the embarrassment for Ren.

"She told me that one of you called her a thick-headed whore."

Uh… did I? No, I think I kept my mouth shut. I'm eighty-four percent sure that I didn't refer to a however-year-old as a whore a few minutes ago. I don't think Ann did, and I can't remember Yusuke ever cursing. Well shit, that only leaves me. I guess I did call your daughter a whore, ma'am.

"W-well, my friend here-" Ren began, attempting to apologize for something he didn't even know if he did until the woman cut him off.

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't say anything," she said, confusing Ren even more. "She does this a lot when she doesn't get what she wants from strangers. She gets it from her father."

Some dad she's got, huh? Also, "she does this a lot" and you haven't done shit about it?! Hey, it's your kid, not mine.

"So… we're cool?" Ren asked, just in case the woman was fucking with him and was about to tear his arm off to beat him to death with it.

"Yep!" the woman said, beginning to turn around before she stopped. "I almost forgot! I'm really sorry about the misunderstanding! If it helps, I have a few extra VIP passes to this club at Paulownia Mall if you guys want them," she offered as she began digging through her purse before emerging with several of the passes.

"A club? Uh…" Ren turned to Ann, who just nodded at him to go for it.

No harm in taking the passes. We don't have to go to the club, but it would just suck to leave this woman hanging after she's trying to apologize.

"Sure. We'll take 'em," Ren said as the woman handed the passes to him. He pocketed them. "Hey, what'd you say your name was?"

"I didn't, but you can call me-"

"Well, who do we have here?" Ryuji's deepened voice interrupted as he slid in between Ren and the woman.

"I'm just a mom, apologizing for her daughter," she said, looking at Ryuji too interestedly for Ren to handle. He stepped out from behind Ryuji and went to the side of his friend.

"A mom, you say?" Ryuji deepened his voice even more.

"Gimme a break," Ann muttered before turning and walking away.

"Yeah, my little ray of light is right over there," the woman said as she pointed to her daughter. "And who are you?"

"Just a lonely man on the lookout for a lonely woman," Ryuji said casually.

Wow. Putting the moves on her, aren't you, Ryuji?

"That's funny," the woman said with a giggle. "You know, I'm a single mother…"

Oh, fuck me. I can't take any more of this. How the hell does that line work? ...I guess it worked with Ayumi Takata. I barely remember what happened that day, except that she was easy as hell. I should've given Ayumi's number to Ryuji for his birthday.

"Thanks for the tickets, uh…" Ren still didn't know her name. "Ma'am." He then promptly walked away so that he couldn't witness more of Ryuji's horseplay. He saw Haru sitting alone on a bench, contently gazing around the shrine, and decided to join her.

"Hello, Ren-kun," Haru said cheerfully. It seemed that Ren hadn't made a mistake in joining her. "Are you enjoying the shrine?"

"Yeah, it's beautiful here, but I think we dragged some of Tokyo here with us," Ren said as he pointed out Ryuji, who was still talking with the woman. "Ryuji's caught us up in some bullshit. Nothing bad, but- eh, it doesn't matter. We'll be gone in a few days. Anyway, I came over to tell you about these," Ren said as he flashed the VIP passes at Haru. "We somehow found our way into getting VIP tickets for a club at Paulownia Mall."

"Club Escapade?" Haru was hesitating on being excited over the opportunity. "I think some... unsavory types hang out there."

"We don't have to go, but this is VIP! And what else would we do at night? We'll be done looking around the city by then."

"Hm… we can discuss it with everyone in the van and see what they think," Haru decided. "Speaking of, we should probably get going."

"Agreed," Ren said as he watched Ryuji continue to flirt with the mother. "I've seen enough."

As the group ate lunch at Hagakure, a local ramen spot, they discussed going to the club.

"I think we should go," Ryuji said as he held his hands in the air and looked back and forth down the row between his friends. "That's just my humble opinion."

Ryuji only holds that opinion because that mom we met today is going to the club, too.

"I don't know… it's a club. We're underage. Plus, there's a police station in the mall that the club is located in," Makoto said.

"Actually, the club accepts minors," Haru corrected. "We would be fine."

"Then why wouldn't we go?!" Ryuji's question went unanswered as the other members ate their lunch and contemplated using the VIP passes.

Ren wanted to. It wasn't a weekly occurrence where one obtains VIP passes to a club in a major city. There weren't any real downsides to going either, so Ren figured that GRAVY should go.

"I… alright, I'll go," Makoto said. "But only if every one of us goes, too."

"I'm going," Ann said.

"Eff yeah, I'm goin'!"

"Add me to the list," Ren added.

"I'll come with," Haru said, leaving Yusuke as the last person to not agree to go.

"I suppose I will. The washed-out atmosphere, the social claustrophobia, the flashing lights; it'll be the perfect inspiration for some art."

"Great! It's decided!" Ryuji said as he slurped down some more ramen. When he was done with that bite, he spoke again. "So where to next?"

"Paulownia Mall. The club is closed right now, so don't get your hopes up," Haru said, setting down her eating utensils. "Everyone, please finish up. The train is arriving soon."

As Ren stepped into the circular mall, he couldn't help but feel like the entrance was anticlimactic. People weren't religiously hyping up the mall, but it had been mentioned enough that day that Ren had gotten his hopes up.

Besides a fountain in the center of the building, there wasn't much to look at. There were the stores, but those were a given for a shopping mall. Besides the fountain and the mall's shape, it was pretty generic.

Oh well. Maybe the stores are cool.

It didn't seem like it. The shops that occupied the mall were standard, besides the police station and the club, which would be closed for a few more hours.

"So… what do you guys wanna do?" Ren asked as GRAVY continued walking in.

"I plan on looking around the Power Records store. A movie night would be fun, right?" Haru asked, receiving positive responses. "Great. If anyone wants to help me look for a movie, feel free to follow." She walked off towards the tech store.

"Ah, karaoke. I will spend my time there," Yusuke said before leaving. Ann and Makoto followed him, with the former carrying Morgana in her arms.

Morgana probably thinks he's in with Ann or some shit. Actually, does he even like her in real life? It's only the hallucinated version of Morgana that's creepy towards Ann.

"Movies or karaoke… hm…" Ryuji pondered before looking up at Ren. "Definitely movies. We can't end up watching some egregious shit like Green's Anatomy."

That show is so bad that it has Ryuji saying "egregious." What an accomplishment.

"Movies it is. Shame we don't get to see Yusuke rap again," Ren said.

"Oh, I don't even think he'd rap. You heard what he was playing yesterday, right?"

"Yeah, he'd probably sing, but I'm sure Yusuke's falsetto goes hard, too."

"True," Ryuji said as he laughed. "C'mon, let's go help Haru out." The pair went into the store, spotting Haru in the back looking through the shelves of movies.

I'm guessing that we're getting a DVD because the TV at the house is outdated and doesn't do streaming. Kind of a bummer, but it's all good. We'll just have to go old school.

Ryuji continued walking to help Haru as Ren stopped to scan the shelves.

'Super Rad' is pretty damn funny. Not sure how some people in GRAVY would react to it, but that's always a good choice. 'Social Wetwork' is too… bleh? I dunno, just not a good movie for a group. 'Lady Words' has the same problems as 'Social Wetwork.' 'Booger Nights' is a straight-up no from me. Can't show that one to Makoto.

Ren continued looking for a decent movie to watch.

'9 Kilometer' is a great movie, I just can't take it seriously anymore. The guy it's about is just telling shitty dad jokes these days. 'Lord of the Bling' is cool, but we'd have to watch them all if we watch one, and none of us have time for that. Blah blah blah, don't know that one, that looks stupid… none of these are really that good. I wonder how the others are doing with karaoke right now.

Yusuke had gone up to the stage while Ann and Makoto held down their table. Makoto had heard the story of Yusuke's previous performance, but she wasn't exactly eager to see the new one. She had only gone to karaoke because she thought it'd be more fun than looking for movies.

After Yusuke was done talking to the person managing the speakers, a single, processed piano note came out of the speakers. Makoto had recognized Yusuke's strangeness ever since she met him, nothing prepared her for what she was about to witness.

Yusuke didn't even sing for the first few minutes. The hazy, minimalist music just continued on as Yusuke stood silently on the stage. Makoto didn't know the song, so she didn't know if Yusuke was doing a good job or not by not singing.

After three minutes of the music becoming increasingly climactic, it settled and Yusuke started singing. "Overhead the albatross hangs motionless upon the air," he let out in a much softer tone than Makoto expected.

That was just the beginning. The song continued, with Yusuke quickly finishing his singing verse and then progressing into another instrumental passage. Cascading, crashing guitars were erupting from the speakers, getting movement from a few of the non-GRAVY people in the karaoke club.

More and more time passed without Yusuke singing. He just bobbed his head to the beat, occasionally flicking an arm out in line with the music, but never singing. Makoto couldn't believe it when she checked her phone to see that nearly twenty minutes had passed since they entered the club.

Yusuke broke into another verse, just like the first one but with new lyrics, and a few cheers and whoops came from the crowd. Makoto was too confused, though Ann had a smile on her face and looked like she was enjoying herself.

That verse finished just as swiftly as the previous, and a new instrumental passage began. The sound was bursting from the speakers now, and Yusuke was no longer standing still. His body flowed with the music, weirdly jerking side to side, up and down in ways that made no sense to Makoto.

The climax of the song closed, and it was soon over. Makoto had witnessed something, maybe greatness, but she didn't even realize it was over. She had been sitting around waiting for too long to realize that Yusuke had just come down from the stage and was back at their table.

"Could either of you be troubled to impart some yen upon me for cuisine?"

Ann sighed. "Here ya go, Yusuke. For a job well done."

Ren stepped out of Power Records. Haru had found a movie and was purchasing it from the cashier, while Ryuji had left ten minutes prior so he could hang out in the arcade.

Go back in to talk with Haru, go to the arcade with Ryuji, or I can go see what Ann, Yusuke, and Makoto are up to… hm… what should I do? Maybe I- what the fuck is that?!

Ren peered ahead at the area next to the staircase that led to the karaoke bar. Blue light illuminated what looked like an empty hallway.

I don't remember the light being there when we came in.

Ren walked over next to the stairs, trying to see into the light, but he just couldn't. It was too dim to see through, so Ren walked in, only to find himself in a hallway. A door stood in front of him, except there was no wall surrounding it.

A door in the middle of the floor. Not something you see every day.

Blue light highlighted the door's edges, giving the impression that there was another side even though it was in the middle of the floor. Curious, Ren turned the knob and opened the door. There was a sea of empty blue before him. Ren was about to step forward into the blue when a voice yelled at him.

"Oh, no you don't, inmate! We've given you plenty of chances, and this is not one of them!" a tiny, yet forceful voice said before the door slammed shut.

Was that a fucking kid?! And what the fuck is this door?!

Ren reached out to the knob to open the door again, but it vanished into thin air in front of Ren. He couldn't believe his eyes.

No, nope, nay, this is too much shit for me to deal with. Ren, turn your ass around and get the fuck out of here!

Ren walked out of the pointless hallway into the center of the mall. Haru and Ryuji were standing next to the fountain, talking. Ren joined them, frequently glancing back to where the door had been to make sure some demon hadn't followed him out of the blue void.

"What's the matter, man? Ya look like you saw a ghost!" Ryuji said to complete the cliche.

That's exactly what this is. A cliche. This can't be real. It has to be a dream or some shit.

"I… yeah, I guess I did," Ren mumbled out. Haru was giving him a concerned look.

"Ren-kun, if you're not feeling well, we can leave ear-"

"No, I'm fine. I'm just gonna calm down…" Ren took a deep, slow breath. "I'll be alright. I wanna see the rest of the city."

"There isn't much more, Ren. It would be no big deal if we just went back now."

"Haru, just chill. I'm good. I can keep going."

That's a fucking lie. I'm freaking out now because some little bitch called me a… inmate. Wait a minute…

Ren flashed back to the start of the school year when one of his first nights in Tokyo had been spent in a blue dungeon with a rude little girl berating him alongside her sister and elderly Pinnochio.

Have I gone full circle? My time in Tokyo starts with that dream, and now that I've left Tokyo, I see that shit in real life? Maybe Tae's stuff is still in my system. That has to be it.

Ren recalled Tae's information on the medicine and went back to worrying.

Ren, you idiot. That lasts for forty-eight hours. It's been more than two days. You're either dreaming, or you really saw a magic door.

"Okay, Ren-kun. If you need anything, just tell me," Haru said, patting Ren's shoulder. Her voice gained new life when she spoke again. "Oh, there are the others!"

"Any better?" Makoto asked as she looked up from the stove.

"No. She says the headaches are worse than ever, and she couldn't even get up," Haru said as she set down a set of keys on the counter. She went over to the other side of the kitchen and resumed work on a salad that she was making as part of the dinner. "I gave her the flowers, but she didn't do much more than thank me." Makoto could tell that Haru was worried for the woman.

"The headaches will pass, Haru. She's taken some medication for it, right?"

"Of course. I just feel sorry for her… because of us, she had to come down to the house, prepare it for us, rearrange some of the rooms, and clean everything. In return, she gets migraines."

Makoto felt the same way. It was unfair for Noguchi to suffer after doing so much for GRAVY. Makoto hadn't known the woman for more than a day, but she still cared about the woman's health.

Not only was Noguchi stuck in the guest house, but Ren was stuck in his room. He had gone straight in after the group had gotten back from sightseeing, not coming out since. Ryuji had gone in a few times, not to check on Ren, just to charge his phone, but said nothing of how Ren was doing.

After they had left Paulownia Mall and taken the train back to Iwatodai Station to get in the van, Ren sustained his own silence. Something must've happened while Makoto was occupied with Yusuke's karaoke indulgence. Makoto would've checked on Ren herself, but preparing the evening's dinner had kept her busy. To see Ren, she would have to wait for him to come out or for dinner to be served.

"Did you notice if anything was… off with Ren at Paulownia?" Makoto asked Haru as she kept the food on the stove as the main focus of her attention.

"Sort of… when I had finished up at the store and met up with Ryuji when Ren walked over. To quote Ryuji, Ren looked like he saw a ghost."

So it was something at Paulownia… Makoto thought to herself.

"Do you know what he was doing before he came over to you?"

"Hm… he stepped out of the movie store early. When we saw him later, he was walking over from that area next to the stairs up to the karaoke bar," Haru elaborated. "Does that help?"

But it's just a dead-end next to those stares… maybe Ren actually saw a ghost. There's nothing else that could've happened, at least that I can think of, Makoto concluded, despite knowing that such a thing was impossible.

Dinner was almost done. Makoto just had to wait a little longer for what she was preparing to finish cooking and for Haru to say she was done with the salad, and then it would all be ready. The table on the deck wasn't set yet.

"Hey, Ryuji?" Makoto called over to the entertainment area. Ryuji had been sitting on the L-couch using his phone since Makoto and Haru had begun work on the food.

"Yeah?"

"Could you set the table and tell everyone that dinner's ready?"

"Ugh… why me?"

"Because you are the only one in the room that isn't busy cooking," Haru interjected.

"Fine… I'll be back," Ryuji said before he went out to the deck. Makoto trusted that Ryuji knew how to set a table, though she couldn't see if he was doing it well or not.

Within a few minutes, the food was done and Makoto turned off the stove. She began distributing the food between the plates on the counter, which she and Haru then carried out to the deck. Everyone else was already present, even Ren. Makoto and Haru set down each person's plate, one by one, before they both took their seats, with Makoto sitting next to Ren.

He didn't even look at her when she sat down. Makoto noted it as strange but didn't say anything.

"Before we start eatin' and shit, I think we should thank…" Ryuji began, playing it up as if he was going to applaud Makoto and Haru for food, "... me for setting the table."

"Thank you, Ryuji. Truly, no one could've done a worse job," Yusuke said. "You even forgot to get glasses of water."

"Ryuji…" Makoto had given him one job. It left her a little peeved that he couldn't even do that properly. "Go get the water."

"Yes ma'am!" Ryuji said before he shot up from his seat and went back into the house.

Ann laughed. "Never thought he'd be saying 'ma'am'."

"Mako-chan does that to people," Haru said with a giggle. "She's very assertive."

"Oh, I don't think-" Makoto got interrupted the moment she tried to defend herself.

"But sometimes you are very… shy?" Haru seemed unsure of her choice of words.

I didn't make dinner for everyone to tell me what I'm like. I'd prefer that they just stopped and began to eat, but they probably won't, Makoto thought. Maybe Ren will notice that I don't like it and jump in.

"I'm not sure 'shy' is the word," Yusuke said. "Perhaps passive?"

"I'll show you passive," Makoto muttered.

"Definitely feisty," Haru joked, getting a few laughs. Ryuji came back out with a few glasses of water. He set them down on the table before running back into the house for the rest of them.

Makoto glanced over at Ren to her left. He focused completely on his food, silently scooping bites into his mouth. Makoto couldn't even tell if he was listening to the conversation. Makoto felt frustrated by Ren's indifferent behavior, but she chose not to call him out on it. There were too many people around. She would need an opportunity later.

Just the two of them.

"That's enough," Ann said. "Her face is getting as red as the sunset." The blonde pointed behind her at the sun setting on the horizon. The ocean sparkled with orange light.

Beautiful, Makoto thought as she kept eating. The view had made her forget about Ann's comment.

Ren loved the food that GRAVY had for dinner, but he didn't have the energy to voice his thoughts. He considered his clearing of the plate as enough of a compliment. Maybe if he felt better later he would tell Makoto that it was great food. He would also have to ask her about the odd looks she kept giving him since they sat down for dinner, and throughout the car ride to Paulownia.

Ren and GRAVY had cleaned up after dinner, with a few of them taking showers and getting new outfits together. Apparently for them, going to Club Escapade was a big deal. Ren didn't see it that way, merely considering it as something to do, and something to take his mind off of that door. It kept Ren unsettled even hours after and miles away from the incident.

The same voice as earlier in the year… what does it mean?!

He had holed up in the guys' room, asking himself that question over and over as he used his Switch to distract himself. He had gotten an invitation from Futaba but declined it. He felt regretful over the invitation, so he replied with an excusatory message that did help his guilt a little.

GRAVY had taken the van through the city, across the bridge, and had parked it in the Paulownia parking lot. They entered the mall shortly after, greeted with a line through the mall entrance, presumably for Club Escapade.

Here's where the VIP passes come in handy, right?

GRAVY walked past the line, straight to the bouncer at the front. Ren held the VIP passes up. The bouncer promptly snatched the passes, then inspected them. There were exactly six passes. He kept the tickets in hand, raised the line stopping GRAVY from getting through, and nodded for them to go in.

GRAVY walked past the bouncer and some of the people in line complaining, finally entering Club Escapade.

Immediately, Ren's senses overloaded on dark colors, pounding dance rhythms, and the smell of sweat. Ren realized why that was a few seconds later when the temperature of the club set in. It was hot.

I'm not gonna be able to make it more than half an hour… god damn…

"Shit, it's hot!" Ryuji said as he came up behind Ren before adjusting his voice to a whisper. "You think the girls will-"

"Don't say it."

"You don't kn-"

"Yes, I do. Don't say it."

"Fine. Let's just go-" Ryuji paused when something caught his eye. "Hey, look! There's a sign for VIPs over there."

Ren saw where Ryuji was pointing, beginning to lead GRAVY over to the sign. He stopped when there was a tug on his regrettably long sleeve. He turned to see Ann. Her mouth was moving, but Ren could barely hear her over the pounding club beat.

"What?! Speak up!" Ren tried to talk over the music.

"I said, Haru, Yusuke, and I are gonna go dance!" she yelled, barely making it into Ren's ears.

"Oh! Okay! We'll be in the VIP area!" Ann nodded and headed away from the main group with her companions. Now, the only remaining GRAVY members who would be going to the VIP area would be Ryuji, Makoto, and Ren.

Surprising. Ryuji, I expected, but I thought Makoto would've gone with Ann and Haru.

Ren looked at the girl, trying to see if there was an ulterior motive. She made eye contact, but Ren couldn't glean anything. Makoto looked over to the VIP sign, reminding Ren of where they were headed. He nodded, and the trio was off.

At the VIP sign was the bottom of a staircase. Ren and the others climbed the stairs, finding only death, destruction, and horror at the top. At least the music was quieter up there.

Junpei, Kenji, and a few other adults were sitting around a short, circular table.

You gotta be fucking kidding me.

Even worse, there was a familiar face from earlier. "You made it!" the woman from the shrine said cheerfully as she got off the couch, ran up to Ryuji, and gave him a hug that was far too overbearing for the women to be considered sober.

Ren saw Junpei lazily glance over. As if the world had gone into slow motion, Junpei stood up and pointed at Ren. "He's here!" The group of adults also began pointing and cheering, clinking glasses of liquor together before downing more. Junpei stumbled over to Ren and put an arm around his shoulder. He walked him towards the table. "Guys, I want you to meet my son, Rental car!"

Rental car, huh? That's a good one. Also, what is this "son" bullshit?! Leave me alone. Not in the mood.

"I thought his name was Renji," Kenji slurred from his seated position.

"Shit, you're right!" Junpei said with amazement. "Meet my son-" Junpei let out a burp that lasted five seconds. If Ren was being honest with himself, he was a little amazed. "Renji!" More cheers from the adults.

"That's not my-"

"C'mon, Richard. You gotta meet the homies," Junpei said as he brought Ren closer to the adults. "Alright, you already know this guy, Kenji. Absolute legend. Next, we got Kazushi," Junpei said as he pointed at a man in a full tracksuit with dark brown hair. He sloppily extended a hand to Ren for a handshake. Ren did not accept. Kazushi didn't seem to mind.

Who the fuck wears a tracksuit to a club? Especially this one, shit, it's hot!

"Then there's Keisuke," Junpei said as he pointed to a skinny man in the corner. His rectangular glasses added to his scrawny demeanor.

"Good evening, Renji." Keisuke nodded a hello. Ren returned it, as Keisuke didn't seem half bad.

"There's Akihiko. Call him Aki to annoy him." Akihiko was a buff, silver-haired man who seemed to be the calmest one besides Keisuke.

"Hi." Junpei hadn't lied. Akihiko sounded very annoyed.

"And that ," Junpei said as he pointed at a man that took up two spots on the couch, "is the gourmet king!"

"Gourmet king!" the other adults cheered.

"An exquisite night to you, Renji Iori," the gourmet king said, swirling wine around in a glass.

Okay, he's pretentious. And Renji Iori?! Really?!

"We got some other friends who couldn't make it, but I'm sure they'd love to-" Junpei began but Ren stopped him in his tracks.

"Who? Why aren't they here? What are they doing?" Ren hoped that questions would overwhelm Junpei and make him fuck off, but it was quite the opposite. Junpei only talked more.

Eh, what should I have expected to happen? Oh well...

"Well, Yuka-tan hates my guts because I said that watching her last movie was like having a crowbar drag my intestines out my ass, Mitsuru isn't here because duh, Fuuka has a job this week, Ken isn't here because I fucking hate the guy, Aigis isn't here because some jackass told Ken to 'download more RAM into her' and now she's been scrapped for parts, and then the legend of all legends, the man to save us all, Makoto Yuki isn't here because he's a door… fuck." Junpei got sadder and sadder as he explained why his other friends couldn't make it. Ren regretted asking, even feeling pity for his guardian. "You and your friends got their VIP passes, I guess."

Junpei sat down next to Akihiko, who solemnly patted Junpei on the shoulder. His attempts to comfort Junpei didn't work. Junpei took a big swig from a bottle of hard liquor and sat up straight. His eyes went wide at something behind Ren.

"I almost forgot! There's-" he pointed behind Ren and burped again, "our last friend, Chihiro!" Ren turned to see something even worse than Junpei occupying the VIP AREA: Ryuji was vigorously making out with the woman from the shrine, who Junpei was now pointing at. She had him pinned up against the wall, rubbing her hands all over his shoulders, neck, and face. Ren could even see a few red scratch marks. "Oh yeah, Chihiro! Go after him!" Junpei yelled with a few of his friends cheering the interaction on.

As Chihiro continued to tonguefuck Ryuji's mouth, making Ren very uncomfortable, she waved Junpei off, telling him to shut up with just her hand.

I'm gonna be sick… actually, fuck it. Good for Ryuji. At least he's getting something out of this trip. I know he's not gonna shut up about this, so I gotta one-up him somehow… speaking of, where'd Makoto go?

Ren looked around the rest of the VIP platform, but Makoto was nowhere in sight. It was just Junpei, his friends, and Ryuji having the time of his life.

The bottom of the stairs that led up to the VIP lounge offered solace to Makoto. Ryuji's… antics had been unexpected, shocking, and definitely weren't something that Makoto wanted to stick around for. Her two choices were to stand next to Ryuji and his new friend, or to rigidly stand next to Ren and his not-friends.

Makoto chose neither. She left the VIP area in search of the other half of GRAVY. Arriving at the club floor, Makoto found a new obstacle in her path: the crowd on the neon-illuminated dance floor had formed what looked like a circle, making it more difficult for her to find her friends. To put it simply, Makoto was not having a great time at Club Escapade. She had only come because the rest of GRAVY was going and because she wanted to see if Ren would lighten up with a night out.

With Iori being glued to him, that probably won't happen, Makoto disappointedly thought. Before the trip, Makoto had planned on spending quite a bit of time only with Ren. So far, she couldn't follow through on that. The day had been taken up by touring the city, the evening taken up by Ren's moodiness, and the next day would be taken up by going out on the boat. The day after, maybe… but Makoto couldn't be sure. Plans for that day had not been mentioned yet.

Makoto reached the edge of the crowd. Being the Shujin student council president, she had experience in pushing through clusters of people. She narrowly scooted in between the moving bodies, taking her a few minutes to reach the center.

Oh. There they are. This isn't what I thought they meant by "dancing," but I can't say that it surprises me. Yusuke will always be Yusuke, Makoto thought as she found what the crowd had circled around.

Yusuke and another random dancer were in an intense face-off. The crowd was even more intensely watching the two, waiting for whoever was going to make the first move.

With the sudden change of the song in the background, the random dancer struck first. He began to hyperactively dance, overdoing it quite a bit in Makoto's opinion, but the crowd loved it. The dancer emphasized every move, every breath, every heartbeat. Makoto didn't know how the limber artist would compete, let alone move his body enough to consider it dancing.

The random dancer finished up. Yusuke let the dance beat breathe for a bit before he started nodding his head along to it. The head nods began to roll down Yusuke's body, making him shake his hips to the beat, also waving his arms like he was a caveman. The crowd oohed and aahed, but not anywhere near as much noise as Yusuke's competitor.

Yusuke's dance continued a smooth progression. The head bobbing turned into full-body shaking, which then became more complex when Yusuke added some fancy footwork. The shuffling of his feet got a few cheers, but Yusuke continued by making his dance more elaborate.

Even more iconic.

In time with the beat, Yusuke jumped into the air with a vertical that was far too much for someone so unathletic, clapped his hands, and landed on the floor with a perfect transition into doing the worm. The crowd erupted, screaming bloody murder on the dance floor, and Makoto couldn't help but cheer a little as well. She was more than dazzled by the display.

She wasn't the only one. For the briefest of seconds, she heard Ann cheer and saw the blonde's pigtails in the crowd, but they vanished when the crowd converged into the opening in the circle to mob Yusuke, forcing Makoto to withdraw without ever finding Ann or Haru.

At least I got to watch Yusuke dance. I think that made coming to this club worth it, Makoto thought with a smile. I should check on Ren to make sure he's alright. Maybe he saw Yusuke's dance and he's feeling more friendly.

Makoto took the VIP stairs back to the upstairs area. Immediately, she saw Ren squished in between Junpei and the largest man on the couch. Ren's bad night was plain to see for everyone around him, except Junpei and his friends.

Ever persistent in her cause to make others uncomfortable, Chihiro was still attempting to put her tongue down Ryuji's throat. Hey, he's happy. I'm sure he'll be talking about it non-stop as soon as we get home. Actually, not even. He'll be screaming about it as soon as we're in the van, Makoto thought.

Intent on rescuing Ren, Makoto approached the group.

"So the homie is dating the teacher, right? He-"

"Woah, Kenji or Makoto?" Ren asked for clarification.

"I wish," Kenji said. "But this was all Makoto's."

"Anyway," Junpei said snidely, upset over the interruption, "Makoto goes up to Toriumi-sensei after class, and goes, 'Hey, Isako. What's for dinner tonight?' He said it like it was nothing!"

"No no no, that's not how he would've said it," Kazushi cut in to correct. He lowered his voice into a gloomier tone. "'Afternoon, Isako. If you're not making anything good for dinner tonight, I'm gonna go be emo with this random man at the shrine.'"

With many laughs ensuing, other members of the group tried their best at making an impression of Junpei's friend Makoto. Each one became less and less funny until no one was laughing and left to sip their drinks with only the dance music playing in the background.

"I miss 'em so much, man," Junpei said with another sip of his drink. "That man was there for me every damn day!"

"We all miss him," Akihiko said. "But he's doing what needs to be done."

"True," Junpei said with a nod. "I just… I wish things went differently."

Ren had not come to the club for a somber mood; he had come to escape his own.

I also didn't come to see Junpei, but here we are. I have to say, I'm not even having that bad of a time. He's got some excellent stories.

Junpei's phone buzzed, making him set down his drink and check a message. "Well shit, Rihanna. Your probation officer says hi."

"Uh…" Ren didn't know what to say until he remembered that he had an important question to ask. "Junpei, what'd you tell the probation officer that you were doing this week?"

"Huh? Oh, told 'em that I'm taking you on some spiritual mountain journey. Cleanse the soul of bad chi, or something like that."

"Junpei, they track my location on my phone!"

"Relax, I already thought of that," Junpei said before he leaned in closer, putting his arm around Ren's shoulder, beginning to whisper into his ear. "I got friends in low places."

Uh… like criminals?

"What do you mean by that?" Ren asked with enough suspicion in his voice to alarm Junpei.

"Jeez, Rutabaga! I didn't mean some shady shit! I just meant that my friend is short. She's also covering your ass this week, so say thank you to Fuuka."

"Thank you, Fuuka."

"Good. Now we can get back to the important part of the night: drinking our liv-"

I hate to be an asshole, but...

"What are you doing about the journal entries? I'm not writing them, but the probation officer requires me to."

"Those? I've been writing them for you."

Fuck. Shouldn't have asked. How the hell have they not shipped me off to juvenile detention yet if Junpei is writing my journal entries?

"Dude…"

"Rita, chill. I make you look pretty damn cool, if I do say so myself," Junpei said before he got his phone back out. His voice got louder again as he began to address the group. "Ahem… June seventeenth. Today, at school, I met another girl. I asked her to bear my child, and she agreed. If I am counting correctly, that's four children that I'll father within the next year… hopefully, more."

Oh my god… if this is from June, that means that the officer already read it and said it was fine. That guy must either be the worst probation officer in Japan, or Junpei is tossing some money his way.

"This evening, at my part-time job on Shinjuku's finest corners, I pimped the hoe-est of hoes, and made the dough-est of dough."

I'm not even going to try and defend myself. There's no recovering from this. At least Makoto's not here right now, and at least Ryuji is, uh, busy.

Junpei's reading of the journal entry was over, and it ended with much fanfare. Junpei's friends loved it. The gourmet king noticed Ren's glum look and slapped him on his back. "You, my friend, are truly a man of culture. Perhaps you would be interested in joining my-"

"Nozomi, I swear to the bitch in blue, I told you to leave the cult shit at the door," Junpei lashed out over Ren, slapping the gourmet king's arm. "You complain about no women wanting to go out with you, but I hear you whispering to them about how you'll give them bedroom salvation!"

"It is eternal salvation and-"

"Eternal salvation, dalmatian, nation, blah blah blah," Junpei drunkenly blabbered. "It doesn't matter. No cult stuff when we're at the club."

"Oh, hey, Ren," Makoto said as she walked up. Seeing his opportunity to escape cult offers and probationary revelations, Ren jumped out from under the gourmet king's arm and away from the table. "How's your night been?"

"So much fun. I'm super tired," Ren said as he faked a yawn that he made sure Junpei could see. "I gotta hit the hay soon."

"Same. I think it's time for us to head out," Makoto said.

Thank you, Makoto. I owe you.

"See ya, Romulus!" Junpei said, with his other friends waving. "Lemme know when you're back in Tokyo and I'll take ya clubbing!"

Makoto and Ren left the VIP area, swiftly descending the stairs. Without speaking to each other, which wasn't even a possible thing to do because of the volume of the music, they both knew that they had to find their friends.

GRAVY wrapped up their business at Club Escapade rather swiftly and had gotten back to the house after. As both Makoto and Ren predicted, the car ride mostly consisted of Ryuji echoing his own cries of victory. The other members of GRAVY let him have his fun, but none of them were excited to do so.

Once home, GRAVY collectively decided to watch a movie to wind down. Ren had stayed silent during that process, but that's because he couldn't care less. A movie just meant that he didn't have to do much speaking to the others, and it would give him more time to think, if that was even a positive thing.

The movie Haru chose, 'The Thousand Year Old Virgin,' served its purpose. The tale of a forever lonely vampire, out on the prowl to quench his thirst for companionship, and blood, was funny enough. Ren even found himself laughing a few times. Did he join in the banter that GRAVY had during the movie (mostly led by Ryuji)? No. He didn't think that he could. Something was wrong with him, so how could he pretend everything was normal?

The vanishing door maintained its place in his thoughts. That brought back the memories of the beginning of the year, with his journey alongside Ryuji into Kamoshida's castle. Then all the weird hallucinations, the fortunes, the Prince… everything. Ren witnessed so much shit and was completely lost on why it was him that had to receive any of it.

Pressing through the feeling of banging his head against a brick wall, Ren glanced up at the massive TV screen. A scene of the thousand-year-old virgin himself accidentally chomping down on a poor girl's neck just as they were about to do the deed. Ren began to understand how the vampire had gone a thousand years as a virgin.

He just sucks the life out of anyone who gets close to him. Must be miserable.

Despite the depressing concept, the movie's tone was light and continued to keep GRAVY laughing. Ren found himself surprised that Haru had chosen a movie this raunchy, too, but admired her decision. Ann and Ryuji were laughing the most, Yusuke the least but still chuckling, with Ren and Makoto somewhere in between.

However, Ren hadn't heard Makoto laugh in a while. She had been on the other side of the massive L-couch, with three other GRAVY members between them, so he couldn't just sense his presence next to him. He sat up in the corner of the couch and looked across for the red-eyed girl.

Nowhere in sight… maybe she doesn't like vampires? Eh, I'm sure she's just tired. A long day and night will do that to you.

Ren went back to watching the movie and wallowing in his inability to figure any of his problems out. When a finger tapped his shoulder, he turned around.

Makoto. Wonder what she's doing here.

Ren kept his voice low to not disturb the watching experience of the rest of GRAVY. "What's up?"

Makoto didn't say a word, but she held up her left hand, the keys to the van dangling from it, and smiled.

Ohhhh… she wants to slash Haru's tires and key the car. Cool. I'm down.

Makoto silently nodded her head in the direction of the front door. Following the pattern of wordless communication, Ren looked over at Haru, mutedly asking whether the owner of the van was okay with whatever Makoto wanted to do.

Makoto nodded, leaving the decision with Ren.

Comfy couch, decent movie, company that I won't engage with or… uncomfy van, the darkness of night, and girl with eye coloring that shouldn't be possible. Hm…

Ren got up. He caught a few looks from GRAVY, but just pointed in the direction of the bathroom. Those who were looking at him nodded and went back to watching the movie. Ren went around the couch, joined Makoto and they walked out of the living room into the hallway that led to the entrance. Makoto did her best to open the door quietly, nearly succeeding, but the massive size made a fair amount of noise. If anyone back in the other room noticed, Ren and Makoto couldn't tell. They were already out the door.

"So what're we doing tonight?" Ren asked. It was already pretty late to be out. Makoto had already surprised him by even wanting to step off the doorstep. Doing anything more would be unprecedented daringness from her.

"Well…" Ren knew that tone. Makoto was flustered. The darkness made it difficult to see her red face, leaving Ren disappointed. "I thought we should spend some time together out in the city."

"Haru gave you the keys to do that?"

"Call her the sponsor of our night out."

"More like the sponsor of the trip."

"You're right," Makoto said as they made it to the van, which was parked thirty feet from the door. "Here, I'll drive."

"I didn't know you had your license."

"I got it as soon as I could. I don't exactly use it. Taking the subway is easier, cheaper, and healthier for the environment," Makoto said as Ren got in the passenger seat. To his pleasant surprise, the seats up front were far more comfortable than the one he had been stuck in all trip long.

"But here you are driving a big-ass van, probably burning a hole in the ozone layer."

"Ren…"

"Worth it, though, right?"

"We'll see."

The drive had been calming for Ren. Gazing out the window at the lights of Iwatodai and the ocean washed his muddled thoughts down the drain. He and Makoto occasionally spoke, but he didn't want to distract her from driving, and the view enraptured Ren into a content stillness. Even more impressive, Ren didn't get an awkward feeling when sitting in complete silence, bar the radio on a low volume, with Makoto. Whatever that meant, it made Ren excited.

The van slowly came to a stop as Makoto turned it into a parking spot. Ren pulled his head away from the window and looked at Makoto.

"Moonlight Bridge?"

"It's the most popular tourist location in Iwatodai," Makoto said with a shrug. She turned the car off and got out, with Ren following suit. Despite being nighttime, the summer heat persisted. Ren found himself lucky to be in shorts and a T-shirt, with Makoto wearing equally simple clothing.

Ah, Japan's heat. It's a love/hate relationship.

"Follow me," Makoto said as she started walking in the direction of the bridge. At this point, Ren had a somewhat decent guess for what they'd be doing. As he caught up to her, they reached the sidewalk that continued across the length of the bridge. Ren looked up to get the complete ground-view of the bridge that he hadn't been able to appreciate when they crossed the bridge in the van earlier.

Is this really just called 'Moonlight Bridge'? Just a tad bit lazy, isn't it? Er, wait… Haru said its real name is French or something. I can't remember. Whatever. Now that I have a view from the ground, it looks like the Rainbow Bridge in Odaiba.

"Beautiful view of the moon," Ren said genuinely. He realized how strange it must've sounded coming out of his mouth, but he didn't care. The moonlight reflecting off the ocean was unparalleled.

"Yeah…" Makoto said. She looked down at her feet as the two walked side by side.

The silence from the van returned, though it still wasn't awkward. Ren admired the view, and Makoto admired her own feet. Ren thought it was cute that she wasn't looking up, but he could tell that something was up. "So you pulled me away from the gut-wrenching story of a virgin vampire for a nice walk?" he asked, adding a little chuckle to make it sound nicer.

"Not exactly." Makoto continued her staring contest with the ground. "You were quiet all afternoon, Ren."

I knew it would come up eventually. I didn't think it'd be Makoto telling me that. Ann or Haru would be angry for not spending time with Makoto, and they'd give me an earful. Hey, at least it's Makoto. Good for her that she's able to ask.

"Um… sorry. Some stuff on my mind."

"You can tell me, Ren. This is what you did all that studying for, you know," Makoto said.

She has a point. All that work to be able to spend time with Makoto without pissing off Sae, only to be a quiet little bitch when my best opportunity comes up.

Ren looked at the moon again, taking in the view for a few more seconds before he brought back the thoughts from earlier, though for honesty's sake. "I feel like I'm going crazy. Tokyo just throws new shit at me every day. I thought Iwatodai would be an escape… it kinda was, but…" Vanishing doors were a surefire way to convince Makoto that Ren was crazy. Ren chose not to finish his sentence.

"You're not crazy. I'd be able to tell," Makoto said, tapping Ren's arm to pull his gaze away from the moon and towards her. He made eye contact with her. "I don't know what you're worried about, Ren, but I know that it'll be fine. Look how we've done so far," Makoto said as she gestured in front of them. "We're on a vacation in a house that costs at least a billion yen. We've made friends who care about us. We've looked out for each other. It's not like that will just end out of nowhere."

"You don't get it…" How could she? The prophetic hallucinations, Chihaya's fortunes, that blue room… Makoto's attempts to comfort Ren went by him because of how unaware she was. "There's some serious shit happening, I keep ending up in the middle, and-"

"Ren, I think we both know why that is," Makoto said with a smirk. Ren blankly looked at her. "It's because you put yourself in business that isn't yours. You try to help, even when you have no obligation to."

That's a strange way of saying "Ren, you have the biggest fucking mouth and ruin things to the point where you feel horrible for not fixing them."

"The impossible already happened to us, and we got through," Makoto continued. "It's alright if you don't want to tell me more about what's happening to you. I just want you to know that I care about you and want to help. And whatever happens, at least I'll be there with you," Makoto said as she closed the distance between the two and put her arm in Ren's. They were now shoulder to shoulder as they walked.

Heh… words don't get through, but physical contact does? Makes me feel like I'm a touch-starved thousand-year-old virgin.

They kept walking, with the other side of the bridge in sight. "So if I get wound up in something, you'll keep me grounded?" Ren asked.

"It might be hard to do with words," Makoto said shyly as she stopped walking. Ren stopped with her, shifting from her side so that he was standing directly in front of her. "I might need a little something extra for that."

"Like what?"

"U-um… I-" Makoto flushed, alerting Ren to what she was trying to communicate.

Oh, wait. I get it.

Ren wrapped his arms around Makoto's back, brought her close, and kissed her. Muffled surprise came from her for a millisecond, but she soon embraced him and the kiss itself. If just hugging Makoto had been a joy, kissing Makoto was a thousand times better.

And while the kiss was nice, there was a bonus to the situation.

Hah, eat shit, Ryuji. You made out with someone who could now be a felon while I kissed the student council president.

Ren half expected to wake up in Tae's clinic, angry and bitter from the best moment of his life being false, but he didn't. They continued their moment under the moonlight until Makoto pulled her head away. She didn't relinquish their embrace, staying in Ren's arms.

"That was… nice?" With the moonlight, Ren could now see the red of her face.

"You're telling me."

"Did you, um, did you like it?"

"Gonna have to give it an eleven out of ten."

"Oh… thanks." Ren had successfully flattered and flustered Makoto in the span of a few seconds. "Do you think the others are wondering where we are?"

"They can wait and wonder a little longer."

"Do you suppose they got lost hunting for tomorrow's breakfast?" Yusuke asked as he laid on his bed in the dark, with Ryuji on the pullout mattress.

"Wha- no, they're not gettin' food, dude! You know what they're doing?"

"What?"

"They effin'."

"Effin'?"

"Yep… I gotta give it to Ren. I lock lips with a milf, and he goes out and gets some. Talk about one-upping…"

"They are 'effin''... how beautiful. I must ask them if I may depict their moment together through my artistic gifts."

"Dammit, Yusuke…"

After they had wrapped up at the bridge, Makoto and Ren took the car around Iwatodai for a bit. The mood was light, with both of them smiling through the rest of their time together, and many jokes being told.

It was enough fun to make Ren let his guard down. What had ailed him earlier was now distant, thanks to Makoto.

As it was only getting later, they decided to call it a night. The lively mood continued up until they parked the van outside the home and got out. They walked to the door together, with Makoto getting a key out of her pocket that Haru had given her.

How nice of Haru. I wonder if Makoto will tell her what happened. Probably.

"Thanks for the night," Ren said smugly as Makoto got the door open.

"Mhm…" Makoto said, pocketing the key and relaxing her arms. She wouldn't look Ren in the eye, likely because of her shyness.

There's enough light coming from the open door… I guess now is a good time for this.

"One for the road?" Ren asked as he mustered the necessary courage for what he was about to do.

"What?" Makoto still didn't get it. Ren leaned in, pecked a kiss on Makoto's lips, and pulled back to marvel at the shade of red he had discovered. "B-b… wha…" Makoto sputtered, failing to find any words.

"Goodnight, Makoto," Ren said before he walked into the house, leaving Makoto outside the front door. The confidence of Ren's smirk would've put an eighties action hero as he nearly paraded himself through the house to the hall that housed the rooms. He made sure to be quiet.

Ren heard the front door close, so he knew that he hadn't inadvertently paralyzed Makoto with his saliva. He slowly opened the door to Ryuji, Yusuke, and his room, only for his endeavor to remain undiscovered to fail.

"Whatcha been up to, Renny?" Ryuji's voice called out from the darkness of the room. Ren could barely see, but he had the bed closest to the door. Not much blind venturing was necessary. Ren got on the bed, pulled the covers up over his body, and thought up a good response to Ryuji's question. It took long enough that Ryuji spoke again. "Renny? You there?"

"The score is tied, Ryuji. We're neck and neck."

"You don't mean… aw, fuck." Ren snickered at Ryuji's uncensored profanity. "I'll get the lead back soon enough. Just you see. Anyway, g'night."

"Goodnight, Ryuji."

Wednesday, 8/3

"Yusuke, hurry the fuck up, man," Ren said exhaustedly from the door to their room. He had been locked out after Yusuke decided that he wouldn't let the others see him until his outfit had been perfected.

Fuck. We're leaving soon and I don't even have swim trunks on. At this point, Yusuke would have to be dressed in a full nineteen-hundreds sailor outfit for me to not be fucking pissed at him.

"I must determine the ratio of skin to-"

"Open the door or determine my balls, Yusuke. I gotta change, and we gotta leave. Everyone's down at the dock."

The door swung open, with Ren narrowly dodging it. Yusuke stood in the doorway in a hoodie and jeans. Definitely not what Ren expected, especially after Yusuke had bitched about skin ratios and with the intense heat of summer in Japan.

Wow, quite the outfit, Yusuke. As Chihaya said, "The hoes will flock."

"Twenty minutes for that?"

"Your eyes betray you, Ren," Yusuke said before he walked past Ren into the living room. With no time to waste, Ren went into the room, locked the door, and threw on a clean T-shirt and swim trunks. He got out the door even faster than he went in, rushing through the living room and out the door to the deck. Ren swiftly descended the steps to the beach, skipping a few steps.

The rest of GRAVY was gathered on the dock, with a few of them already relaxing on the pontoon boat, which showcased a simplistic white and black design that Ren would've forgotten if it wasn't a fucking boat.

"Sorry for the wait!" Ren called over as he approached. A few smiles from the other group members came before they got themselves on the boat. The only person left on the dock was Haru.

"Ren-kun, could you help with untying the boat and pushing off?"

"No prob," Ren said as he tossed a few of the items he brought with him onto an unoccupied seat on the boat. He walked to the other side of the boat, still on the dock, and began unknotting the first rope he saw. He quickly finished with that and moved on to the next one. He glanced up, noticing Haru on the boat. He tossed the rope he had just untied onto the boat.

Haru's finished with her side of the boat. That means it's time to push off.

Ren stepped onto the boat, and got up on one of the seats, one knee down, and pushed the boat with his hand on one of the dock posts. While it felt like nothing was happening, the boat began to slowly move. Haru started the engine, letting the boat reverse. The post left Ren's grip as the GRAVY boat made it off of the dock. Haru switched the boat from reversing and then began turning until the coast was on the right side of the boat.

The boat smoothly accelerated, taking GRAVY away from the Okumura house and to whatever the open waters had for them.

This is what summer is supposed to be, huh? Hot as hell, the sun raining down cancer, content yet bored teenagers, and lots of water.

For some time now, Haru kept the boat anchored at the edge of a sandbar, a shallow area a decent distance up the coast from the Okumura home. While it was shallow enough for any of the GRAVY members to swim, none of them did, yet at least. Distractions around the boat kept them occupied.

Ren told himself that he was keeping Ryuji in check from perving on the girls when he was just as likely to be doing that very thing. The only difference between him and Ryuji was how loudly they'd be doing it, and how much they would regret it afterward. For now, both were doing nothing. No one had taken off the clothes that they wore over the swimwear. Ren kept himself busy by looking out over the ocean, occasionally checking on what the other members of GRAVY were doing.

Haru's feet were kicked up over the ledge of the boat with a book resting in her lap. Ren couldn't see the title or any of the book's contents. Yusuke took up one of the shaded seats, the one a few feet from Haru, and was sketching away at a notepad. He periodically looked at the sky, humming to himself when there were birds overhead. Ann and Makoto chatted next to each other in the booths at the back of the boat. Ren sincerely hoped that their topic of conversation wasn't about a specific lord of GRAVY-esque goodness.

"Man… I'm effin' bored…" Ryuji muttered lowly so that only Ren could hear.

Same, but we're on a boat! Just look at the water! It's so… wet… and watery.

"I thought comin' out on a boat meant that we'd get to see some bikini action!" The coarse whisper made Ren glance around the boat to check if anyone heard Ryuji's words. They hadn't.

"You can always peep on Yusuke in his jeans and hoodie."

"Hey, man. Don't diss Yusuke's outfit. That shit is fire," Ryuji objected, though with humor in his tone.

"Wasn't dissing. You're absolutely right. You know it took him thirty minutes to throw it together?"

"It takes me thirty minutes to shit. Everyone's different in their own ways."

"That's… an odd segue. Was your master plan to eliminate boredom from this boat by bringing up your shitting habits?"

"You know me so well," Ryuji replied with a grin. "But for real though, we should find something to do."

"There's water. We could dilute the pH."

"That's some lame shit, isn't it?"

Shouldn't have expected Ryuji to understand a pH joke. Bummer. I like that one, corny and lame as it is.

"Sure… what I meant is that we could get everyone to go in the water."

"Yeah, but how? We're both too lazy to initiate, and getting people off their suntanned asses is tough shit."

"True, but I think you can manage. You're the second in command of Shujin Academy's most notable club."

Ryuji sighed. "I might have something cookin'... we'll see." He stood up from his seat at the front of the boat and raised his voice. "Who wants to do a cannonball competition?!" Makoto and Ann met Ryuji with small, confused noises, while Yusuke couldn't be bothered to react. If it meant anything to Ryuji, Haru set down her book.

I'll help out. It'll encourage more people to join in.

"I'll join, Ryuji!" Ren said with strange sarcasm. He didn't know why he infused the sarcasm into it, but he supposed it was natural. Perhaps his brain had it hardwired in at this point. "Yusuke, if you join the cannonball competition, I'll buy you lunch when we get back to Tokyo," Ren added. Getting half of GRAVY would draw the others in through the need to not be left out.

Yusuke's eyes went wide without him even looking away from his notepad. "Lunch, you say?" He set down his pad and shot up. "Then I shall claim victory in this."

"With your pencil dive," Ryuji muttered with a chuckle. "Haru? You gonna join?" he asked the auburn-haired girl.

"Are there prizes?"

"Nah, we-" Ryuji began.

Dammit, Ryuji. You're my number two in command and you don't even understand proper incentivization principles! Get it together!

"Of course there will be prizes. We're not a bunch of savages," Ren said. "For one, the winner gets to decide what movie we watch tonight. Except I can veto your choice if you choose some movie that is like drinking gastric acid." People didn't seem too excited about the winning prize. That was fine with Ren. GRAVY would want to try harder to not lose rather than win after Ren announced what the loser had to do. "And the loser has to be captured by Yusuke in an artistic medium of his choice."

"Would the loser be willing to go nu-"

"You don't wanna finish that sentence, Yusuke."

"It is for art!"

"Art is perverted too, man. Keep that question to yourself," Ren said. "But anyway, who's down for the cannonball competition?"

"I'll compete!" Haru exclaimed, now excited about the positive and negative incentives.

Everyone looked at Haru and Makoto expectantly, eager for the last two holdouts to declare their intentions. The two girls looked at each other, then back up towards the front of the boat. "We're in," Ann said for the both of them.

"Alright! I'm gonna bust loose!" Ryuji yelled.

The fuck does that mean?

GRAVY spent several minutes devising the rules for the cannonball competition. Each person would get one do-over, if they so wished, but would only get one rated opportunity. Each member of GRAVY would be judging unless they were the one actively being judged. All cannonballs would be done from the back of the pontoon boat, where there was a small yet decent enough platform. More importantly, the drop-off of the sandbar was beneath the back of the boat. If GRAVY did their cannonballs from anywhere else, they'd hit the bottom three feet from the surface.

Ren had no part in any of the decision-making. Not because he was left out, feeling moody, or considered himself incompetent for that sort of thing, but because a question repeated itself continuously in his head.

When he says he's going to bust loose, what does he mean? Is that some Tokyo lingo that I don't know? Is he too fat for his swim trunks and they'll burst from containing his swole thighs? Is it some perverted shit? Who knows. I thought I'd be the one with all the cool, unknown phrases because of how much time I spent on the internet looking at that stuff, but I guess "busting loose" eludes me.

As the founder of the 'Annual GRAVY Cannonball Evaluation of Excellence,' Ryuji was up first. The other members took up various positions around the boat to give their scores on however Ryuji's cannonball went. Ryuji exaggerated the motion of throwing his shirt off as he stood on the platform at the back of the boat, dropping the shirt onto the floor a few feet from him. He looked backward to make sure everyone was ready before he turned back to the water. Ryuji leaped off the platform, curled his legs and arms inward, and hit the water with a decent splash.

A few seconds later, he surfaced to hear his scores.

"Six," Makoto said.

"Mm… five-point-one," Ann judged.

"Seven." Ren thought himself a little too generous with the score, but it didn't really matter. He felt scratching on his leg, looking down to see Morgana. The cat looked over at Ryuji, then tapped Ren's leg once. Ren believed he understood, but he wouldn't be sure until he attempted to communicate for the cat. "Morgana says that it was a one." Morgana contently purred, letting Ren know that he had done his job well.

"Wha- it's a cat!"

"And the cat says your cannonball is a one," Yusuke said. "As for I… your cannonball was a light four. It could've used more finesse, more grace… more you! When I saw your dive, I did not understand the plight of Ryuji Sakamoto! I want to decipher the history of your kin when I see a dive, Ryuji! I don't want-"

"I'd say a six," Haru thankfully cut in. Ren could tell that Haru was aware that Yusuke needed to shut his mouth. "I believe the average is just under a five, but we can round up."

"To a ten?" Ryuji asked from the water.

"To a five," Haru answered. "Who's next?"

"I'll go," Ren said as he took off his shirt. His chiseled abs pulled gasps from each and every member of GRAVY, Makoto included. Drool began to fill the boat, causing the vessel to sink beneath the waves. Eager to help the others, Ren floated on his back in the water and let the rest of GRAVY stand atop his massive chest, biceps, and legs.

Reality check.

Ren walked to the back of the boat to stand on the same platform that Ryuji did. The runner had moved a few feet towards the sandbar, letting him put his knees down on the sand but still be mostly in the water while having a solid view of the competition. "Let's see it, Renny!"

Ren didn't have any special tricks to apply to his cannonball. If he wanted a shot at winning, he would have to go for a massive splash, or one at least bigger than Ryuji's.

Shouldn't be that difficult.

Ren bent his legs and pushed as much force downwards as he could. He did the same motion that Ryuji did midair, hitting the satisfyingly cold water with a splash. Ren couldn't tell how big it was, but he didn't care anymore. The feeling of the water all around him was enough that he didn't need GRAVY scores to invalidate his cannonball abilities.

Ren lingered in the water a few more seconds, basking in the feeling as much as he could before he kicked his legs a few times and broke the surface.

"Six!" Ryuji hollered, motioning for Ren to join him over in the nearby shallow area. Ren swam over and took in more of his scores as he sat down in the shallows next to his friend.

"Six," Haru repeated.

"Six and a half," Ann said.

"A two for you, Ren. That was truly disgraceful to the Amamiya name," Yusuke said.

"Disgraceful to the Amamiya name" is my middle name, so that's a compliment.

"I am just joking, of course," Yusuke said after he got a few horrified looks from the other members of GRAVY, who were assuming Ren's family would be a touchy subject when it really wasn't. "The score remains, though. Your lack of emotional complexity-"

"I'd give it an eight," Makoto said solidly to interrupt Yusuke. "And… um… I think Morgana is giving it a… ten?"

"Your cat is biased, man," Ryuji said as he knocked Ren's shoulder.

"No shit. I'm the one who buys food for him," Ren said before doing some quick mental math. "I think that it's six and a half?"

"That sounds about right," Makoto said. Everyone took her word for it. "I can go next unless anyone else wants to go." Nobody stepped in, so Makoto walked to the end of the boat. She took off her shirt and pants, leaving her in a white bikini top. Her bottoms, matching colors with the top, had white trim around them.

Nice.

"You mind standin' up for me, Renny?" Ryuji whispered with a chuckle, still looking at Makoto up on the boat.

What's that supposed to- oh… Ryuji, I have to admit that that's pretty damn good. Kudos to you.

"Hah, I'd be in big trouble if your mom was on that boat, Ryuji."

"Always with the mom jokes, man," Ryuji said, still laughing. "All's fair in friendly jokes though, right?"

No, definitely not, but I get your point.

Makoto took her turn on the platform, hopping off the boat with fairly good distance, yet barely managing to pull her form together soon enough for a solid splash. Her cannonball ended with the weak noise of water splashing as she went underwater.

"Looks like your girlfriend ain't got shit on me, Renny," Ryuji said, nudging Ren.

"Not with cannonballs, but she could definitely kick your ass."

"Yours too!"

"Indeed, but who's ass do you think she'd be more motivated to kick? Mine or yours?"

"Probably yours after you hurt her feelings or some shit."

Woah… I didn't expect him to pull that card, but he's right. Ryuji and Makoto aren't together enough for her to really have a reason to get angry with him besides general Ryuji-ness. With me, I could potentially hurt her in our relationship. Then I'd have two angry Niijimas after me, one of which is a prosecutor who could alter the course of my probation, along with GRAVY likely splitting. That's called a schism, right? Ooh, that makes GRAVY sound important. I'm going to call it a schism if the club ever disbands.

Makoto surfaced from the water to receive her scores. She flung her wet hair back over her head, giving the rare view of Makoto without her bangs. She didn't disappoint, not that there was ever a chance of that.

"Seven," Haru said.

"Seven?! That's-" Haru's higher scoring of Makoto had more than struck a nerve with Ryuji.

"Okay, Ryuji gave it a seven," Ann cut him off with a smirk. "I'd give it a six and a half."

"A four," Yusuke said. "Because I am quite fond of you, Makoto, I will not provide harsh criticism as I have for the others."

"Appreciated," Makoto said as she rolled her eyes and swam over to the shallow area.

"Ten," Ren said. Everyone in the club looked at him knowingly, so he just shrugged it off. "I'm biased."

"Morgana gives it a nine," Ann said as she looked downwards. "Er, wait… it's a nine, right?" she asked the cat. "Ren, he's just rubbing up against my leg! Is that a score or…?"

"Threaten him with water and he'll stop," Ren said. He saw Ann crouch down, but couldn't hear if she berated the cat or not. "I think Makoto averaged out to roughly seven."

"I'll go next!" Haru said as she took off the clothes she had worn over her spotted green one-piece suit. She stepped out to the platform, then delicately jumped off. To call it underwhelming would be an understatement. Haru's cannonball lacked any finesse, splash size, or an interesting trick to compensate for the lack of the other two.

Does that mean I'll give her a bad score? No. She let us stay at her mansion in another city and took us around on her boat.

"Eight!" Ren said.

"C'mon, man! You biased for her, too?" Still upset, Ryuji gave Ren a little push in the water. Ren retaliated with light splashing onto Ryuji's face. "My eyes!"

"What's that, Ryuji? You're giving Haru a ten?"

"Eff, it stings!"

"Ten it is," Ann said. "I'll go with an eight, too."

"Three." Apparently, sentimental debt was not a thing for an artist of Yusuke's talents. "You need more practice."

With how much shit Yusuke is giving, he has to do some batshit insane cannonball to make up for it. If he doesn't… I think I know what scores he'll be getting.

"Seven," Makoto said of her friend's dive.

"Morgana says ten!" Ann called over. Suddenly, her head jerked downward. "Hey, you little brat! Stop touching my foot!" Ren could see the top half of Ann moving around, but he couldn't see below that. All he heard was some angry meowing and Ann stomping around.

"Ann, please don't kick Morgana," Ren called up to the boat.

Morgana would probably like being kicked by Ann, to be honest.

"I wasn't gonna kick him," Ann said as she continued to move around on the boat. "I was just shooing him away." A few seconds more of movement, then she stopped and looked at the members of GRAVY who were in the water. "Is it my turn?"

"Hell yeah!" Ryuji answered, pumping his fist. Ren smacked his friend's shoulder to get him to shut up.

Not caring about Ryuji, or anyone else's gaze, Ann stripped down to her bikini.

Uh… she's my friend. Yep. Friend. Ann the friend.

All that Ann's bathing suit proved that she was a model for a reason. She stepped up to the platform, took a deep breath, and leaped off. Decent distance, a decent splash, and solid form made Ann's cannonball pretty average in the grand scheme of GRAVY cannonballs, but her scores would probably reflect higher.

Ann emerged from the water, flipping her flowing blonde hair back. Ren didn't need to look to his right to know that Ryuji was too busy ogling to even consider scoring the dive.

"Morgana gave it an 11," Yusuke announced from the boat. "In fact, he scored it before you jumped. I must say it's a five."

"Seven," Ren said. A decent, inoffensive score that anyone would be happy with.

Makoto repeated the same score as Ren. "Seven."

"Eight," Haru said.

"Bwah… bw-" With just the presence of an attractive blonde in a bikini, Ryuji reduced himself into a stereotypical anime pervert.

"Bweight, he says! Ryuji gives it an eight!" Ren said for his friend.

"So… that's like…" Ann did her best to do the math herself. Ren remembered how Ann told him her exam scores were carried by her English scores. Rather than let her embarrass herself, he did the math for her.

"Seven and two-thirds," Ren finished. "Pretty good, but we have one more contestant. The one we've all been waiting for, Yusuke Kitagawa!" For whatever reason, Ren found himself playing up the final cannonball. Perhaps his natural instincts as Lord of GRAVY-esque Goodness were kicking in.

"And the curtain falls upon this competition," Yusuke said as stripped his sweatshirt and jeans off in one fell swoop. Ren didn't know how the artist did it, whether by ripping his clothes or preparing for this very moment, but it was impressive nonetheless.

Even more impressive was Yusuke's courage.

A speedo. Wow, Yusuke. You are braver than I.

Instead of going to the platform as everyone else did before, Yusuke stepped up onto the chairs of the boat before stepping up even higher onto the railing of the boat. He held the metal bar that supported the Bimini top of the boat, vaguely reminding Ren of a pirate.

Pirates in speedos would get so many bitches, I'm sure.

With his advantage of a higher jumping point than the rest of GRAVY, Yusuke ascended higher than anyone before while still going a considerable distance through the air with his body turned sideways. He had enough airtime that he added a few spins to the motion, before smoothly landing in the water with a clean diving motion.

You know… that kind of looked like the jump that Emperor Shmaplapap does in the third Earth Harmony movie.

Yusuke emerged from the water, obviously expecting fanfare. Instead, he received low scores.

"Dude, it's a cannonball competition, not a diving thing," Ryuji said. "Zero."

"Gotta agree with Ryuji on this one," Ann said. "Zero."

"I believe it had some redeeming qualities." Haru tried to uplift Yusuke, who began to get distraught over the negativity. "I think it's a six."

"Five," Ren said with a shrug.

"Um… eight." Everyone looked at Makoto questionably. "What? Even if it's not a cannonball, it's still more impressive than anything that any of us did."

She's right, but do the others want Yusuke to win? No, probably not.

"Hey, look at Morgana!" Ryuji yelled as he pointed up at the boat. The cat had its front paws up on the ledge and was peering over at GRAVY. When he had their attention, he held up a singular paw, giving his score. "A one! Hah, good job, Yusuke."

"How undignifying…" Yusuke said as he swam over to the others. Once the artist was close enough, Ren patted him on the back.

"At least you have the coolest swimsuit."

GRAVY spent a few more hours on the boat, eating lunch in the afternoon. They stayed out long enough that the sun began to go down on the horizon. Haru parked the boat in the middle of the ocean, though with the coast nearby, and let GRAVY witness the awe-inspiring spectacle.

The wind had picked up, resulting in every member of GRAVY putting clothes back on over their swimsuits, which had seen little use more than the cannonball competition. They had hung out in the water at the sand bar, Ryuji occasionally getting into a splashing match with another person, but they quickly grew bored and got back on the boat.

The boat sat perpendicular to the horizon, giving everyone a fabulous view so long as they looked over the boat's left side. At the front were Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana. In the mid-section with the two chairs, one for the driver of the boat, were Yusuke in Haru. In the back, only Ren and Makoto remained. Others were with them in the back before Haru stopped the boat to watch the sunset, though they mysteriously moved away from the pair.

I wonder why.

Ren knew exactly why, and he planned on not disappointing them. At least, he thought he wouldn't be disappointed.

What do they expect from me? Just to get romantic with Makoto, or should I bust out the engagement ring that's been passed through the Amamiya family for eight generations? It's really hard to tell. Maybe they just want to pat her on the head and say nothing. I'm sure Makoto would love that.

They did share the same seat on the same side of the boat, so Ren found it only natural to scoot a little closer to her. "Have fun today?"

"Hm, yeah," Makoto said as she yawned.

"Tired?"

"Long night and an early morning."

"I thought you went to bed after we got back last night."

"I may have done a little, um, talking before bed."

Ren looked over at Haru to his right, who was already looking at him and Makoto. She giggled, then turned away. Ren shook his head, though with a smile, then put his arm around Makoto. Making the entire trip worth it, Makoto leaned into him.

Reminds me of when she slept over and fell asleep next to me… good times. Not really, but I don't have to remember that Kaneshiro part. I'd rather just forget everything from that time that isn't a happy memory.

At that instant, Ren was neglecting everything other than the present moment. He and Makoto were the only two people on Earth and the sunset was exclusive to them.

What luck.

"Did you tell… you know," Makoto asked as she nodded over to Ryuji before going back to resting her head on Ren's shoulder.

"Not directly, but he's got a fair guess. They all do. It's not hard to come to the conclusion."

"I guess…"

"You alright with that? With the others knowing?"

"Hm… yeah. I am. They're our friends."

"Damn good ones, at that," Ren said with a chuckle.

She snuggled up closer to him, making Ren savor the moment. A few minutes were spent in comfortable silence until Makoto spoke up again. "We're dating, right?"

"Hm? Yeah, I think so. We've been on dates, we'll go on more, therefore it's dating," Ren logically explained.

"No, I mean… um… am I your girlfriend?"

Ren took his gaze away from the sunset and looked at Makoto. "Are you?" His eyes were only inches from hers.

Shit. I'm too close to see how red her face is. I'll just have to settle for the eyes.

Surprising Ren, Makoto didn't flush or stutter. She just gave him a life-changing smile. "I think I am."

"Cool. Always wanted one of those."

Makoto laughed and leaned into Ren even more. The pair watched the orange explosion of color descend over the reflective water.

"I hope this never ends, Ren."

Ren didn't know it yet, but he would be wishing that the sun hung low in the sky forever and that GRAVY never went back to that mansion.

A/N: Fuck me. That was so much work. I've been working on this nightly for nearly two weeks, and I still ended up cutting ideas. The boat trip would have been at least 3000 words longer if I wrote every idea I had. All of them weren't very fleshed out, so it's not too bad that I cut them. Most are getting saved for later anyway.

I know that I said the chapter would be out Thursday. I finished it at 11pm, so I just figured I'd wait an hour to post it at midnight.

In 48, Haru said that the boat was a sailboat. I went and changed it to a pontoon boat. More believable that she knows how to drive it, and it fits the scene better.

I have no clue how long the next chapter will be. I'm thinking it will be 7000-10000 words, but I'm awful with predicting stuff like that. It will be out when it's finished. I'll have a word count in the chapter summary after I start work on the chapter.

Thanks for reading. Have an incredible day.