Wednesday, 8/17
"Futaba, meet Ann and Yusuke," Ren began as he stood between the two unintroduced parties. "Ann and Yusuke, meet Futaba." Ren gestured towards the short girl with his right hand while looking at the other members of GRAVY who stood just at the entrance of Leblanc. Futaba sat at the counter, enjoying an early dinner.
Ann waved, Yusuke bowed. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance in the flesh, Sakura-chan," Yusuke said as Ann gave him a weird look prompted by his bowing.
"'Sup," Futaba said through a mouthful of curry. Ren noted social etiquette as the first thing that he'd teach Futaba when he got the chance. "And call me Futaba. Don't make things weird, Inari."
"Why 'Inari'?" Yusuke came up from his bow, now perplexed by his unexplained nickname. Rather than socialize, he silently pondered the question. His dead eyes signaled that he'd completely drifted from the conversation.
Futaba shrugged. "Because." She finished off her plate of curry, then pushed it towards Sojiro. "Thanks! We're gonna head back up to your place, 'kay?"
"Sure, Futaba. I'll hold down the shop," Sojiro said, glancing at Ren.
Well, if you want me to stay and help Sojiro, you should ask rather than expect me to volunteer, which I will not be doing.
"I've got it!" Yusuke proclaimed just as Futaba opened the door to her room. "You referred to me as 'Inari' because you believe yourself to be a rabbit!"
Futaba stopped walking through her doorway and turned around on a swivel. She looked up at Yusuke, the height difference making itself very obvious.
Yusuke's got a full foot on her. I wonder who would win in a basketball one-on-one. Sure, Yusuke is way taller, but they're both unathletic. Yusuke's very limber and stiff, so Futaba could be a little quicker than him, but I doubt that she has the energy to run around him. I think the game would probably end in a mutual forfeit.
"Uh… Yusuke?" Ann asked.
Seeing the need to elaborate, Yusuke explained himself. "You believe me to be a predator, a fox, while you are prey, a rabbit. This is the reason behind your assassination of my character, your purgery of my identity!" he declared, pointing an accusatory finger at Futaba.
Wow. Not what I expected to happen today.
"Whatever, Inari," Futaba said with a shrug. "You'll get used to it."
"B-but-" A stutter from Yusuke shocked Ren, though the others didn't care in the slightest.
"Yeah, 'Inari'," Ann chimed in before repeating after Futaba. "You'll get used to it."
Futaba and Ann went into the room, leaving Ren and Yusuke alone on the outside.
"Such defeat… sorrow's befallen us, my friend," Yusuke said as he extended a hand to Ren's shoulder. "The horn of failure blares…"
"It's just a nickname, dude. Would you prefer if she called you something like… 'ass muncher'?"
"Ass muncher does have a nice ring to it…"
"No it doesn't, just join the others in the room," Ren said with a groan after he realized his mistake.
Of course he liked the suggestion. It's Yusuke!
Yusuke took Ren's advice and entered Futaba's room. Ren took a few seconds alone to remember all the times he'd forced himself to talk to the door in front of him, and now he would be walking through it. The stupid thing had been the most obvious form of stagnation in Ren's life, and now he'd overcome it.
Well, I didn't overcome it; Maruki did. I'm just riding his coattails, not that I'm complaining. Futaba actually seems like a mostly normal girl now. Sure, she's super underweight, has poor manners, talks weirdly, and has awful taste in shoes, but she's still mostly normal.
Just like Futaba herself, Ren didn't know what to expect when seeing her room for the first time.
For a shut-in, it's surprisingly clean in here. Maybe there's not a lot of overlap between hoarders and shut-ins.
Walls lined with anime and manga posters, dark blinds with stars, and quite an expensive-looking gaming setup immediately stood out to Ren. He took note of the many action figures Futaba scattered across most of her available surface space in her room. The only characters he recognized were from Featherman.
I'm surprised Sojiro dropped so much money on Futaba's room… actually, now that I think about it, how did Sojiro pay for this house? Leblanc is an atrociously unsuccessful coffee shop, and we barely have customers.
As Ren continued looking around the room, he noticed something tucked into the back corner.
"Woah! Is that one of those… er, shit. It's on the tip of my tongue," Ren said as he pointed at the object. The others turned to look and Futaba walked over to the item.
"Oh, this?" she said as she held it up next to her head. "I dunno what it's called. Just a cool mask!" she said as she put the mask, which looked like a large doll, over her head. "Check me out!"
That looks utterly ridiculous yet badass. I want one.
As the group looked on, Ren heard Yusuke shuffling. He looked over to find the artist now sitting down, pencil and sketchpad in hand, drawing up the mask he just witnessed.
"Wow, Futaba," Ann said. Ren could tell that Ann feigned her amusement. He didn't blame her. Some people just didn't like doll masks.
"Straighten your posture, Sakura-chan. I must capture your disguise as rays of light bounce off it at the ideal angle." Yusuke didn't even look at Futaba while critiquing her posture, too focused on sketching.
"Jeez, Inari," Futaba said as she took off the mask. "Why don't you talk normally?"
"Pardon?"
"See? That's what I mean. It's the twenty-first century. Nobody says pardon. Say something like…" Futaba trailed off, losing herself in ideas for how Yusuke could fix his speech.
"'Baba Booey.'" Ren suggested, not entirely sure why. It was the first thing that came to mind.
"Huh? Wait, not th-" Futaba tried to protest, but Yusuke took the idea to heart much too quickly.
"I see… when I am having trouble understanding something, I must declare myself to be in a state of… Baba Booey!" Yusuke hucked his sketchpad in the air. It hit Futaba's ceiling before anticlimactically plopping down onto Futaba's desk.
Everyone had the same puzzled look of bafflement as they stared at Yusuke. First to speak, Futaba summed up the mood of the group in just one word. "Okay…" She moved on. "So, what's on our agenda today?"
Ren didn't know the answer, but he was actually excited to find out. Futaba seemed to get along with the others well enough, and Ann and Yusuke hadn't left yet. By Ren's standards, he'd already achieved a decisive victory.
Futaba moved over to her computer, taking a seat in her gaming chair. The computer monitor lit up at the first motion of her mouse. Ann and Ren moved over to either side of Futaba, watching as she opened an internet browser. Yusuke, still sitting on the ground, could be heard sketching away at his paper.
For the next few minutes, small exchanges of banter and small talk occurred as Futaba simply led Ann and Ren through a tour of her side of the internet. A varying mix of memes, gaming videos, electronic music, and bookmarks with suspicious names were highlights.
"Ooh, I know what you guys will really like!" Futaba said as she opened a new tab and began tapping away at her keyboard. Just as she pressed the enter button, Yusuke reminded the group of his presence.
"I've done it…" he said wondrously from behind the trio. Ann, Ren, and Futaba turned around to face Yusuke. Now standing up, he held his sketchpad towards them. Ren looked at a perfect pencil recreation of Futaba's doll mask, complete with some new additions, with the most noticeable of them being a handlebar mustache on the mask's upper lip.
"Sakura-chan, I-"
"Enough with the Sakura-chan, 'kay?" Futaba reminded, though with a playful tone. To Ren, it seemed like Futaba quite liked Yusuke's rendition of the mask.
"Futaba, I present my proposed renovations of your mask," Yusuke said as he held the sketchpad closer to Futaba's face. "I would like to immediately start work on remaking the mask as a work of art!"
"Like… you mean you're gonna draw on the mask?" Futaba asked.
"Yes, of course."
"Hell no. You know how much that thing is worth?"
I could probably order a decent-looking one off the internet for three-thousand yen.
"More than you know!" Futaba said as a matter-of-fact answer to her own question. "Please don't deface my mask."
"I… do you…" Perplexed, Yusuke dropped his sketchpad. "Baba Booey," he said in confused defeat.
Well, at least he can take advice.
"There there, Inari. I got another use for your art!" Futaba said as she opened the webpage she'd been pulling up before Yusuke interrupted. With everyone's attention on her computer screen, Futaba announced her master plan. "Inari, we're gonna start an NFT project!"
"Okay, sorry, could you explain it again?" Ann asked. The group spent the past twenty minutes merely defining NFTs. "I still don't think I get it."
"Blondie, I'm gonna say it one more time," Futaba said, hammering in her new nickname for Ann. "An NFT is a non-fungible token. It's data stored on a blockchain that can be tied to some art, an audio file, or other things. Oh, and it's also the future of society."
"I get that, but… I don't get it?" Ann said. "Like, what does any of that mean?"
"You're hopeless," Futaba said amusedly. "But I only need Inari's help for the project, so we're all good!"
"That's cool and all, but I also don't know what an NFT is," Ren said.
Futaba groaned. "Do they really not teach this stuff in school?"
Maybe if it was Kawakami teaching me about NFTs then I would actually understand what they are.
Friday, 8/19
Ren woke up to a stifling hot summer day that was already halfway done. Sleeping in until noon had become Ren's favorite hobby over the past few weeks.
Another day, another empty horizon. Let's see… what could I do? Hanging out with Kasumi, even if she needs friends, is off-limits because I guess she likes me. Ryuji's probably doing some weird shit, maybe he still has that rash. I'd rather not ask. Anyway, I could… uh… well, I never brought the signed papers over to Makoto. Might as well spend my afternoon doing that.
Ren got himself out of bed. He sent a text over to Makoto to know he was coming.
Ren Amamiya:
-Got the paperwork for Hawaii. Could I stop by in 20?
Makoto Niijima:
-Yes, that works.
With confirmation, Ren got to work on his morning (now noon) routine. He left his bedroom for the bathroom and started a hot shower for himself.
With papers rolled in his right hand, Ren knocked on Makoto's apartment door with his left. A few short seconds later, Makoto graced him with the opening of the door and a warm greeting, literally and figuratively. Ren could immediately tell that his girlfriend left the air conditioning off.
It's ninety-two out there. Sure, being stingy is fine, but this is taking it a bit far? Eh, what do I know? My AC is paid for by Junpei. To be honest, I don't even know how much it costs. Maybe Makoto's right to leave it off.
"Nice to see you," Makoto said as she welcomed Ren into the apartment. As he walked into the apartment, he handed the rolled papers to Makoto.
"That's for Hawaii."
"I figured," Makoto said as she unrolled them and gave them a quick once-over. Assumedly satisfied, she set the papers down on her dining table. "Is that all you're here for?"
She's the one doing the teasing now? Fine… I'll play along.
"Well, I dunno. Is there anything else here for me?"
"That depends…" Makoto gestured towards the TV which had been left on. Quite the disappointment to Ren, Makoto quickly dropped the enticing act. "I was watching this show, if you'd like to join…?"
"I'd love to." He and Makoto both walked over to her couch, taking spots close enough together that they were basically linked at their sides. Ren instinctively put his arm around her. "So what's this show?" he asked as Makoto pressed play.
"It's about an Italian-American mafia boss who has serious mental issues, so he begins visits with a therapist," Makoto explained. Ren didn't really care, he just wanted to hear her voice. "It's called 'The Contraltos'."
"Is it violent?"
"Quite."
"Great. Fictionalized violence, Makoto Niijima, and ninety-two-degree weather," Ren said. "A perfect Friday."
Makoto laughed before shushing Ren. "Shhh. Here's where-"
"Wait, how do you know what's gonna happen?"
"Erm… I've seen the show a few times."
"How many times?"
"...Six." Makoto quickly changed the subject from her potential obsession with a fictional family to the events on screen. "But here's where the nephew has to carry out a hit so he can become a captain!"
She's a bit too excited about murder, but I like the show if Makoto likes the show.
Sae wiggled the key in the lock. The thing never performed its function properly, only working whenever Sae got the most frustration from it. When she gave it the most aggressive nudge yet, the lock turned. Sae left her long week at the office behind her as she stepped back into her apartment for the first time in a few nights.
At least Anzai-sama could tell I was exhausted and let me off early. I need a decent nap, Sae thought. She auto-piloted herself through the apartment, the noise of the TV in the back of her thoughts. She left her bag on the table. Sae continued walking towards her room but stopped when Makoto called over to her.
"Hey, sis. How's your day been?" Makoto said from the couch. Sae didn't even look over, as conversations like these were standard enough that she could go through them automatically. She just wanted to get to her bed and sleep more than anything else, even speaking with her sister.
"Same as usual," she said gruffly. "I'm tired, so I'm gonna nap for a bit. Wake me up if I'm not up by three, okay?" Sae requested.
"Sure, no problem, but aren't you going to say hi to Ren?"
Am I going to say hi to who?! Sae didn't think she heard her sister correctly until she actually looked over at the couch for the first time. Next to Makoto, who'd turned around to speak to her sister, was Ren, who sat uncomfortably close to Makoto while also turning his head to see Sae.
"Wanna watch this show with us?" Ren asked with a familiar shit-eating grin across his face.
Little shit. He knows I'm going to decline, and asks anyway, Sae thought. While her thoughts towards Ren did hold words of resentment, the bitterness she once had towards Ren declined. Makoto liked him, really really liked him, and he'd proven himself as mostly decent. I bet his teachers hate him, Sae thought anyway.
"Thank you, Ren, but I'm alright," Sae said. "But it's good to see that you're wearing my couch down. Don't ruin it."
"I'm the cleanest man alive. You have no need to worry," Ren said with that god-awful smirk on his face, though Sae did have to admit he carried too much charm behind it. "My mere presence is enough to make a couch cleaner once I sit upon it."
Sae actually chuckled at that. "I'm sure," she said before going to her bedroom door. She stopped just to remind Makoto of her nap. "Remember, wake me up if I oversleep."
"I will," Makoto said with a nod.
Sae smiled at her, then went into her room. She closed the door behind her and nearly immediately flopped onto her back on her bed.
"Damn kids…"
As Ren closed the door behind him, Makoto took a moment to herself on the couch to consider what she could do. Her annual binge of 'The Contraltos' had been progressing at a rapid pace as summer reached its most boring point. Because she'd been watching so much, Makoto desperately wanted something else to do. She looked around the apartment.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted Ren's Hawaii paperwork on the table. She got up from the couch and walked over to the glass table, reaching down and grabbing the papers. Compared to the light skim she did of the papers earlier, Makoto now gave them a more thorough reading.
The main thing she noticed was something she never even thought about: Ren's birthday. It says he turns seventeen on September twenty-fourth... and he never told anyone? Why? Wouldn't he want me and the rest of GRAVY to know? Makoto asked herself, perplexed at Ren's negligence. Now that she thought about it, none of the members of GRAVY had been vocal about their birthdays. Well, I can worry about those when we get there. For now, I should focus on what I'll do for Ren on his birthday...
As she did for almost every trivial issue she found with Ren, Makoto opened an internet browser on her phone. She inputted a quick search for 'boyfriend birthday ideas'.
Video games... maybe, but that's pretty simple and I don't even know what games Ren enjoys. A drone? That's way out of my price range. A mini-fridge? Ren wouldn't use it. Makoto kept shooting down ideas as she continued to scroll down a list that a website provided for her. At one suggestion she stopped. Wait... is that...? Oh... oh my. Ren would definitely like that.
With that idea planted in her head, Makoto felt delightfully queasy enough about Ren's birthday that she set her phone aside and immediately resumed her binge of 'The Contraltos'. She had more than a little trouble focusing on the show.
Monday, 8/22
"Alright, so what's this chick's deal a-?" Ryuji coughed hard in the middle of his sentence as he and Ren strode up to Leblanc. Makoto walked in front of them, as Yongen's narrow pathways couldn't fit the three standing side by side.
"She's a former shut-in. Not really sure why it's former now, but that doesn't matter." Ren quit his rambling and got to the point. "I'm friends with her, and I think she'd be a good fit for our group. Because she's still a little shy from all her past, er, stuff, we're giving her a bit of time to warm up to us. That's what today is: you and Makoto get your introductions in order, and we hang out with Futaba for a bit. Easy, right?"
"Is she cute?"
"Well, she's fifteen, and, if we round up, you're nearly in your final year of high school."
"Oh… forget I asked."
"Ryuji, aren't you already in a relationship?" Makoto asked, turning back to look at Ren and Ryuji. Ren shook his head at Makoto to answer her, but she just adapted her question. "Of sorts, I mean," Makoto added, broadening her original question.
"It's complicated." Ryuji clearly took some pride in being able to talk like he had a girlfriend, though he still gave Makoto a serious answer. "I don't know. We just play shogi, then she leaves me sitting in a church. It's weird, ya know?"
"Have you tried being… um, more of a gentleman?" Makoto suggested. The trio turned into the narrow walkway that Leblanc called home. They stopped outside the door so that they could finish their conversation so that Futaba wouldn't have to deal with Ryuji's problems.
"Or maybe he should try baking something for her," Ren added, only partly joking. "Everyone loves a nice cake."
"Ooh… I like that one!" Ren's idea left Ryuji more enthused than Makoto's much more logical suggestion.
"You think baking a cake, when you aren't particularly great at baking, would serve your purpose more than just being kinder to her?" Makoto asked.
"Nice guys finish last 'cause the mean guys have baked-" Ryuji coughed, "goods with them," he finished with a shrug. "Look at Renny," he said as he held his finger just inches from Ren's face. "He eats nothing but the Shujin bread and he's dating the student council president."
"A study I read showed that eighty-four percent of people who eat products with a lot of carbohydrates get more girls," Ren said. He pulled that statistic out of his ass. Makoto wouldn't believe him, Ryuji probably would, and the only thing Ren got out of it was some semblance of amusement.
"See? What'd I tell ya?" Ryuji figured his point had been made so he turned away from Makoto. "Alright! Let's meet this chick! She better be cute, Ren!"
"Fifteen."
"Shit! Bad memory, my bad."
"Maybe if your intentions with every girl you meet are to date, then you would make some progress." Ren could tell Ryuji actually considered Makoto's criticism because he didn't respond with a vulgar comeback.
"Hm… maybe," Ryuji said, dismissing the subject altogether.
Or maybe Ryuji just doesn't want to start arguing with Makoto because I'm here.
Ren maneuvered past Ryuji and entered Leblanc. The ringing bell of the door prompted Futaba to hop down from her stool and for Sojiro to look up at his protege.
"Hey, Ren. Hey, Ryuji. Hey, Makoto," Futaba said in rapid succession as her words blurred together. "Want some curry?"
Ren eyed the steaming pot that Sojiro had been working on. A larger portion than usual suggested that Sojiro planned on feeding more people than usual, so rejecting the offer would mean that a lot of food would go to waste.
"Sure, I could eat," Ren said.
"Hell yeah!" Ryuji declared. Quicker than anyone else, he got himself comfortable in one of the booths.
"Makoto?" Ren said quietly, asking if she wanted some food as well.
"I'll have a small plate, please," she said loudly so that Sojiro could hear her. The boss nodded and continued stirring the pot.
Ren and Makoto joined Ryuji at the booth. As they were sitting down, Ren realized that Futaba also had to join them at the booth.
Futaba doesn't know Makoto yet, so she might be a little hesitant to sit next to her. She knows Ryuji, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't like him, so that's out of the question. That means that Ryuji and Makoto have to sit together. I'm sure that'll go great.
Makoto had already sat on the side of the booth across from Ryuji, meaning that Ren had to make things awkward. "Makoto, could you, uh," he paused as he nodded his head to the other side of the booth. He prayed that Futaba didn't notice his action. Surprisingly, Makoto didn't ask questions. She got up and moved around to the other side of the booth, letting Ren slide in. A few seconds later, Futaba joined the group and sat next to Ren.
Before Ryuji and Futaba could even say their first words to Futaba, she jumped at a new opportunity to humiliate her nemesis. "Woah! Ryuji, what's that on your arm?!" Futaba leaned over the table, rudely reaching for Ryuji's left forearm. He jerked it back and put it under the table.
"Nothin', don't worry about it!"
He said that just a bit too defensively. I would leave it alone if he just kept quiet, but now I have to know what's on his arm.
"Lemme see your arm, Ryuji," Ren said. Ryuji shook his head, but he still raised one of his arms. In fact, he raised the arm that Futaba didn't want to look at.
"No, you dummy, the other one," Futaba reminded.
Ryuji sighed. "Dammit, man…" he held his left arm up and extended it over the table. Across the length of his forearm, pink and red spots dotted his skin. The nasty-looking rash went all the way up his arm and may have been bigger, but Ryuji's yellow T-shirt hid the rest of it.
"Dude…" Futaba's reaction summed up the reaction of the others. "Why the hell haven't you gotten that checked out?"
Ryuji pulled his arm back into hiding but stayed on the subject. "I… I dunno. It's just a rash, right? Probably just something I touched in Iwatodai, or something…" Ryuji's lack of confidence in his self-diagnosis didn't help his case for not seeing a doctor.
You know what? I think it's time for my good deed of the day.
"Look, Ryuji. We're in Yongen, and I know a doctor who operates out here. She can give you a diagnosis."
"No. No doctors. Out of the question," Ryuji said as he shook his head passionately.
"Relax… she's a friend. She's chill and won't judge you on however you got your rash," Ren added for comfort, though it didn't seem to help.
"No. The answer is no. Don't even ask m-" Ryuji continued trying to insist, but Futaba interrupted.
"Ren, you forgot to tell him the most important part," Futaba said, getting the whole table's attention. She turned to Ryuji and looked him dead in the eyes. "Ryuji, it's that hot goth doctor you met one time when Ren got the concussion."
How the fuck does she know all this stuff? Has she just been listening to everything Ryuji does through his phone? That's scary as hell and very creepy, but I admire her dedication.
Silence came down upon the table until Makoto interrupted it with her take. "If Ryuji doesn't want to see a doctor, then that's his decision, but I think that he-"
"Take me to her!" Ryuji cut in.
That was easy. Good idea, Futaba.
"Ryuji, try not to flinch when she gives you the shot be-"
"Shot?!" Ever since his early years, Ryuji hated needles with an unfathomable passion. The thought of something pointy entering his body and injecting him with something disgusted him, as well as gave him the chills. Now, as Ren just told him, he would have to get a shot just because he had a rash. Well, he had more than one rash, but that didn't mean anything, right?
"Just kidding. I don't know if you have to get a shot. Just don't fuck around, because Tae will not be happy, and you do not want to deal with her when she's upset," Ren advised. Ryuji looked over at the doctor, Tae Takemi, waiting next to the door to the other room. Clear boredom had written itself across her face, likely because Ryuji had gotten more apprehensive about a trip to the doctor since Makoto and Ren brought him over to the clinic. Ren leaned in towards Ryuji and lowered his voice to a whisper, probably so Makoto couldn't hear him. "I'll give you the doctor's number if you cooperate."
Ryuji looked over at Tae again. Thighs! As a simple man, Ryuji knew what he wanted. He nodded at Ren.
"Great. When you're done here, just come over to Sojiro's house. We'll just be hanging out with Futaba."
"Got it," Ryuji said as he walked away from Ren and Makoto. He joined Tae at the door, who finally perked up now that her wait ended. "Wish me luck."
"I hope you don't have tuberculosis," Ren said.
"Same," Makoto added.
That's nice to know, but what the eff is a tuberculosis? Ryuji thought to himself before following Tae into the examination room. She gestured towards the table for Ryuji to sit on, and he did so. His hands rested together between his legs, dangling off the edge of the table.
Tae looked at her clipboard, which already had a page of notes, then back up to Ryuji. "I'm not going to ask what's wrong because they already told me when they brought you here. You have several rashes?"
"Yeah, something like that."
Tae approached Ryuji. "Take your shirt off, please," she said firmly.
"Well, at least-"
"'At least buy me a drink first', yeah, I know. I've heard it all before. Believe me, your friend brings a little too much of that kind of attitude here," Tae said. "But maybe I will buy you a drink after, if you behave…" she teased, only to take it back when she saw Ryuji's jaw drop. "I'm kidding."
Ryuji took off his yellow T-shirt and dropped it to his left side on the table. Tae approached from his right and began looking at both arms. While he didn't have a rash down his right forearm, one on his shoulder began forming several days prior.
Tae lightly brushed the rash with a single finger. "Does this hurt?" she asked as she continued doing it.
"No."
"Okay, good," she said as she pulled her finger away and picked her clipboard up. She jotted a few notes then set the clipboard down again. Instead of inspecting Ryuji's rashes further, Tae went over to her swivel chair and took a seat. She pulled it over to the examination table so that she could be directly in front of Ryuji. "Sakamoto-kun, do you have a girlfriend?"
"Pfft, plenty," Ryuji said. He did want to impress the hot doctor, and he considered making himself seem valuable as the only viable option to do so.
"Ok, no girlfriend," Tae said as she grabbed her clipboard from the table and wrote another note. "When's the last time you kissed someone?"
Wha- how does she know that I get no bitches?! Ryuji couldn't believe that his acting really was that poor.
"Um… a few weeks ago."
"Hm…" Tae turned her swivel chair away from Ryuji and scooted it over to her desk. "You're going to need blood work done," she said.
"Fuck!" Ryuji yelled, startling Tae enough to break through her cold demeanor and make her flinch. She spun around as if to tell Ryuji to shut up, but he spoke first. "Why the hell do I need blood work?!"
"Well, to be blunt, you may have mononucleosis."
"The eff is that?"
"It's a disease transmitted through saliva, most commonly through kissing. Whoever you kissed may have given you the disease," Tae said as she began navigating through pages on her computer.
"Wait… that means…" The wonderfully vivid memory of Chihiro devoting herself to locking lips with Ryuji flashed into his mind. "That bitch! She gave me mono!"
"Now now, don't be too angry at her about it. Most teenagers don't-"
"She wasn't a teen! She's was a fucking single mom and gave me mono!"
"Oh… then you have the most interesting story that I don't want to hear," Tae quipped. "But do remember, until I do some blood work for you, it isn't confirmed to be mononucleosis."
"This is effin bullshit, man…" Ryuji's rage transformed into despondence. Just when he thought his luck had been great, it turned out to be shit.
He recalled the fortune from the shrine in Iwatodai. A great curse on my romantic life… eff. I thought I had beat fate when I got with Chihiro, but I'm definitely the one who lost. Also, how the hell do you get mono as a single mom?! Ryuji asked himself.
"Lucky for you, besides some minor symptoms, the disease isn't too contagious. As long as you're not going around spitting in other people's mouths, you'll be fine," Tae explained.
"But other people can still spit in my mouth, right?"
"Um…" Tae's confidence and authority that she'd exerted had been broken by Ryuji's disgusting question.
"Sorry. Bad question."
"No kidding…" Tae said as she averted her eyes from Ryuji. "Right. Put your shirt back on while I go get my equipment. It's needle time."
"Shit."
"I'm surprised you know how to use all this," Makoto said, wonder in her tone as she inspected the array of technology in Futaba's room. Her eyes passed over the action figures, instead favoring the massive desktop computer and dual-monitor display. Other than those two, Makoto struggled to name the majority of the objects that called Futaba's desk home.
"You don't know half of it," Futaba said as she casually slid into her chair and began clicking her mouse. She opened up an application on the computer. To Makoto, it didn't seem to do anything except display black boxes. "Check this out."
"That's a very nice shade of black on your monitor," Ren joked.
"Ha ha. Funny," Futaba remarked. Her fingers motored ahead, typing through several on-screen prompts until the boxes lit up with unfamiliar images. Extravagant, luxurious pictures of rooms in a house filled the places where the black boxes used to be. "Whaddya think?"
"What am I supposed to think?" Ren asked.
I have to agree with Ren. I'm confused, Makoto thought as she kept looking over Futaba's shoulder at the screen. She'd never seen any of the images before, nor had-
"Wait for it…" Futaba rested on her words of anticipation until the moment came. In one of the images, a familiar face walked across the room then disappeared from view.
Oh my god. These are security camera feeds from Haru's house! Makoto realized. The shocking violation of privacy would've scared her if she wasn't busy being amazed by Futaba's technical know-how. As the terror that a civilian could access such things set in, Makoto also realized that this was her first time seeing Haru in literal weeks.
The heiress popped into another video feed in what looked like a kitchen. She opened the fridge and took some food out. Ren, Makoto, and Futaba watched as Haru worked her way around the kitchen, preparing herself a simple plate of food before she sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen and ate.
"Do you spend your time only watching Haru, or do you check up on all of us?" Ren asked.
"Well, only Haru has security cams in her house, but the Kosei dorms have a few in the hallways. Wanna see what Inari is doing?"
"No, I think we're fine," Ren answered. "How long have you been… stalking Haru?"
"Don't call it stalking. Call it… reality TV," Futaba joked before she enlarged the feed into fullscreen. "And I've been watching Haru's show for about a week now because she hasn't been in contact with you guys. I figured I should make sure she's alright."
"Is she?" Makoto asked. From the video, the answer was yes, but Makoto hadn't been keeping up with all of Haru's activities as much as Futaba assumedly had.
"Eh. It's up for debate. She goes to the garden at Shujin most of the time, or just hangs out in her room," Futaba explained before deviating from the answer Makoto wanted. "Ooh, and she's been binging this new show about-"
"Yeah, yeah. So she's alright?" Ren interrupted.
"Seems like it. She doesn't really talk with her dad, though."
"I wonder why."
"Hah, true…" Futaba trailed off. Her brightness and enthusiasm faded as the subject transitioned into more seriousness. "Is she gonna go with us to the beach? Would she even want to go?"
"I hope so," Makoto said. "We need to reach out to her, first."
"Definitely. We sh-"
A knock on the door stopped Ren from finishing his sentence. The three all looked over at the door. "Yeah?" Futaba asked, assuming that Sojiro had been the one who knocked.
"I'm back!" Ryuji said from the other side, opening the door without confirmation, not that he really needed it. He walked over to the group, though he did look around the room first. Clearly, he derived some amazement for Futaba's array of gadgets and collectables, but he had more important things to tell them.
"What'd Tae have to say?" Ren asked.
"Your boy's got mono."
"The fuck is mono?" Futaba asked before spinning back around in her chair and finding the answer for herself. She read her internet search aloud. "'Infectious mononucleosis is often called the kissing disease. It's spread through saliva."
"So no more spitting in strangers' mouths, Ryuji," Ren immediately joked.
"Funny," Ryuji sarcastically responded. "And I had to get something worse than a shot!" Ryuji proclaimed as he held his left arm out for the others to see. A 'Goodbye Puppy' band-aid covered where Ryuji got his shot. "I had to get a blood test! I have work later! My coworkers are gonna see this!"
Tae was probably joking with him when she gave him that band-aid. I'm sure he put up a fight so that he wouldn't get blood drawn, Makoto thought.
"Aren't you working at a golf camp for kids? No golfers care about 'Goodbye Doggy' band-aids, dude," Futaba said with a laugh. "And, Ryuji, it's just a blood test for mono. It could be worse."
"Futaba's right. You could have HIV."
"Shit, you're right!" Ryuji said. "That'd be an effin' bummer."
Makoto found some amusement in how Ryuji said that, but didn't show it on her face. You're right, Ryuji. Getting HIV is a bit of a bummer , she humorously thought to herself, even though she knew it wasn't exactly a laughing matter.
"You'll be fine. Mono isn't contagious unless, ya know, you're swapping spit or sharing drinks with people. You'll still be able to hang out with us and go back to school when it's time," Futaba said.
"Eff! School's in a week!"
"Yeah… you forgot?" Makoto asked.
"Of course I forgot! I have bigger fish to fry!"
"Such as…?"
"Hifumi Togo. I've spent all my time on her!"
That's definitely not true, but I'm sure Ryuji truly believes that it is true, Makoto thought.
"You spend all your time on her and she won't even date you." Futaba's joke clearly cut Ryuji to the bone, as he looked away from the rest of them. "Shit, sorry, Ryuji. I was just joking."
I'm surprised Futaba is apologizing. To me, it seemed like she wouldn't regret saying anything, Makoto thought to herself as Ryuji recovered and made eye contact with the group again.
"It's not my fault," Ryuji defended. "I think… but she just leaves every time anyway!"
"Okay, I'll tell you what: I think I have an idea that might help you out," Futaba said.
"Tell me!"
"Well…" Futaba then launched into her far too detailed plan just to help Ryuji get a girlfriend. When she finished, the room sat in silence and awaited Ryuji's response.
When it finally came, Ryuji yelled, "Futaba, you are a genius!"
Wednesday, 8/24
"The hare has outrun the turtle," Ryuji said lowly, though loud enough that the fancy earpiece he had in his ear could still pick him up. "I repeat: the turtle has outrun the hare. Er, shit, I mean the hare has-"
"The fuck are you talking about?" Ren replied through the earpiece.
"You know… I figured we'd make it more like a serious operation, or something cool," Ryuji reasoned. He peeked through the bathroom door of the church at Hifumi in the front row to make sure she didn't grow too impatient and leave before he made his entrance.
"Well don't. We have a plan, just execute it," Ren said harshly. The static from the poor connection seeped into his words, but Ryuji could understand enough.
And what a plan it is. Ren and Futaba are my intel guys and I'm a secret agent! This is sick! Ryuji couldn't believe that Futaba had gear he'd only seen in movies, but he certainly didn't complain. Because of her gadgets, he now had a chance at keeping Hifumi's attention more than the length of just one poorly played shogi match.
"Fine. Tango moving up." Ryuji ran his hand through his hair to give it a bit more naturalness to it then stepped out of the bathroom. He walked over to Hifumi's pew and sat opposite of her on his side of the shogi board. "'Sup, Hifumi. How's your week going?"
"It's fine," Hifumi said before moving on without caring that Ryuji wanted to talk to her. She immediately moved a piece forward on the board, beginning the match. "Make your move, please."
Time to let Futaba and Ren do their thing… Ryuji thought as he waited for the "intel" to come through the earpiece, which was small enough to hide from Hifumi so long as Ryuji didn't turn his head too much.
"Okay… where'd she move the piece?" Ren asked as he leaned over Futaba's shoulder to look at her computer screens. On one monitor, the security feed in the church gave them a view of Ryuji and Hifumi's match while the other monitor displayed an online shogi game.
"Lemme just give this a good ol' enhancement…" Futaba mumbled before the security feed zoomed in with surprising image clarity. "She moved the lance in the ninth column forward by two places." Futaba refocused herself on the other monitor. She replicated Hifumi's move in the digital shogi match, then relayed the AI opponent's move to Ren.
Ren nodded then spoke into the microphone Futaba set up for him. "Move your pawn in the fourth column up by one."
Both Futaba and Ren watched on the security feed as Ryuji followed Ren's instructions and made the move. A smirk emerged onto both their faces as Hifumi reached to move one of her own pieces, but stopped. She hesitated and looked up at Ryuji.
"What? Something on my face?" Ryuji muttered, his voice playing through Futaba's computer speakers.
He's going to ruin it with something he says, isn't he? Actually, Ren, you should have a little faith in your best friend.
As instructed, Ryuji moved what he hoped would be the final piece. Now that he had some support to bolster his shogi skills, the match had gone on for a whole hour. Hifumi's phone rang out multiple times, but she silenced it each instance. I guess she really doesn't want to lose, but I got some bad news for her, Ryuji thought as he looked over the board. Even with his limited knowledge of the game, he knew he had a victory. Well, and he knew because Ren told him he won, but that didn't matter.
"Checkmate," Ryuji said with utmost satisfaction. Hifumi squinted down at the board, her right eye twitching, obviously going through the five stages of grief all at once.
"You… win."
"Damn right."
"H-how?"
"I've been studying your moves, Hifumi. I know every move you'll make before you make it."
Hifumi stopped looking at the board then looked up at Ryuji, making eye contact for what may have been the first time since they'd started these shogi matches. "Then you have my congratulations. Thank you for the match," she said as she went to stand up.
Not giving her the chance to leave this time, Ryuji thought before taking action. He stood up just as quickly as her, not moving in the aisle so she couldn't get out unless she began stepping over the pews.
"Look," he began. "We've been playing shogi for a few weeks, but you don't talk to me, and you leave literally right after you win." Ryuji knew what he was about to say went against the vague outline that Ren gave him on what to say, but he wanted to be direct and honest with Hifumi. "If you don't like me, fine, but at least gimme a chance and tell me why the hell you don't wanna interact with me!"
Taken aback by the honesty, Hifumi's wide eyes scared Ryuji that he might've effed this one up. After a few seconds of silence and repeated attempts at eye contact from Ryuji, she spoke. "I have nothing against you…" She paused. Ryuji could tell she wanted to find the right words, so he gave her the time. "My mother is very strict about how I spend my time. This church is my only escape from her, albeit a very limited one."
Ren chimed in over the earpiece. "Tell her that you want to take her out to dinner for a nice orangutan steak," he said with complete seriousness through the static.
The eff is an orangutan steak? I kinda wanna try it now… Ryuji, focus! he reminded himself before progressing what felt like the most important conversation of his life.
"What if we did something besides shogi?" Ryuji suggested. "We could go to dinner or something. I know a few places that you'd like."
He, in fact, did not know any places that Hifumi would like.
"Dinner?" Hifumi looked down at the ground. "Like a date?"
"Yeah, like a date. I wanna take you on one," Ryuji said. His confidence grew enough that he said that with a straight face while looking Hifumi directly in the eye.
"Um…" Hifumi's excruciating pause almost made Ryuji shit himself, but it ended just before. "Okay. It depends on if I can get a free evening in my schedule, and if..." Ryuji stopped paying attention in his moment of success, and because Ren began shouting celebration through the earpiece.
"That's my fucking boy!" Ren yelled through the earpiece, loud enough that it drowned in static. "Let's fucking go!"
In Ryuji's moment of glory, he reflected on what he'd accomplished. I'm going on a date! And it's with someone my age who doesn't have mono! That's effing awesome! Wait, I have mono! Shit! Ryuji, overconfident from his success, didn't realize the grave mistake he was about to make until after he spoke.
"I know it's a date n' all, but we can't do any kissing," he said unironically. "I got mono."
"Ryuji, noooo-" Ren's yell cut off with a click as the static of the earpiece went silent. With the concerned and disgusted look on Hifumi's face, Ryuji regretted his words.
"What?!"
"I mean, it's just mono, but-"
"Oh my god…" With Ryuji stumbling over his words, Hifumi took the opportunity to push past him and walk towards the door of the church.
Ryuji wasted his last chance at redemption with a lame, instinctual joke. "D-don't say the lord's name in vain in ch-church!" he called after her just as she walked out the door. Left alone in the church, Ryuji summed his failure up with a single obscenity. "Fuck!" he yelled in the church.
"Young man, if you cannot behave yourself, I will have to ask you to-" the priest said furiously from the corner. Ryuji looked over at the man, made eye contact, and shook his head.
"Whatever, man," Ryuji said to the priest before he turned and moved out of the pew. He trudged out of the church and looked around the crowded street for any sign of Hifumi.
With victory slipping through his grasp, Ryuji sighed and kept his head down as he gave up on the only normal girl who'd given him a chance.
"I mean, there's just no way he said," Futaba remarked as she watched the now empty security feed. "No one is that much of a dumbass and blows it at the last possible second."
"He's just a hopeless romantic," Ren cracked.
"More of a stupid romantic, but I do feel a little bit bad for him. He got so close…"
"And yet he is still so far. Oh well. Ryuji's been in this situation before. He'll pick himself up and be alright. If not, then he'll find a new girl to ogle."
"Speaking of finding new things, you owe me a new headset," Futaba said as she pointed at the cheap headset she'd given Ren to talk to Ryuji. "You broke the mic."
"This is, like, twenty-five-hundred yen."
"And that's a debt that must be fulfilled, Amamiya-san," Futaba said, her voice imitating that of a shrewd and serious businessman.
"Fine. Send me the link to it and I'll order one."
"Way ahead of you," as she dramatically pressed a button on her keyboard, pinging Ren's phone with a notification.
"Also, speaking of things we need to buy…" Ren set the headset down on the side of Futaba's desk. "You got everything you need for the beach? I think the plan is to go on Monday, the twenty-ninth."
"Nope! I don't own a swimsuit!"
Figures. I'll just ask Makoto and Ann to take Futaba to buy something.
"Well, you can't go without that. How about Makoto and Ann take you shopping?"
"Ugh… shopping."
"Not the boring kind of shopping. More like a get in, buy what you need, and get out kind of shopping, ya know? Quick and painless."
"Makoto and Ann…?" Futaba's hesitation told Ren what she wanted. "I don't know…"
Futaba expectantly looked up at Ren from her chair. He knew she wanted him to offer to take her, but he didn't particularly want to go.
I try not to spend my time in women's swimwear stores.
With Futaba's unmoving stubbornness, Ren gave in. "How about I also come along?"
Futaba's businessman voice returned. "You've got a deal, Amamiya-san!" she said.
"Great. I'll talk to Makoto about it and let you know what the plan is."
Thursday, 8/25
The Renji Fanclub
Makoto Niijima:
-For our beach day, which is on Monday, Futaba still needs a swimsuit. I was thinking that we could take her shopping.
Makoto Niijima:
-What do you guys think?
Ann Takamaki:
-Of course! I'm definitely down for that.
Makoto Niijima:
-Great!
Makoto Niijima:
-Haru?
Haru Okumura:
-I don't know.
Ann Takamaki:
-Come on. We miss you, and it'll be fun!
Ann Takamaki:
-And you'll like Futaba! She's really nice.
Makoto Niijima:
-Please, Haru. It'd be good for you to spend some time with us.
Haru Okumura:
-I'll go. Where are we meeting and when?
Makoto Niijima:
-You remember that cafe on Takeshita street? We're meeting there tomorrow at noon.
Ann Takamaki:
-Great! I'm excited.
Haru Okumura:
-So am I.
Makoto Niijima:
-Oh, and I almost forgot.
Makoto Niijima:
-Ren's coming, too.
Ann Takamaki:
-Ren needs a bikini?
Makoto Niijima:
-I'm sure he'd love one, but it's actually just to make sure Futaba is comfortable in a crowded place.
Ann Takamaki:
-Gotcha.
Friday, 8/26
"Wooooaaaah!" Futaba's wide eyes understated her amazement at the interior of the clothing store. "This is huge!"
She excitedly ran over to the first rack of clothes that she saw, combing through them for whatever interested her.
Futaba's into clothes? I'm surprised. She kinda dresses like a ten-year-old. God, those shoes are ugly. Still, at least she doesn't care what other people think. Good for her.
"I believe the swimwear is on the second floor," Haru said from the back of the group. Ren still had a little trouble remembering that she was actually there, but he was happy to see her again. For better or worse, there hadn't been much of a typical reunion. The group just greeted each other as usual when they met up before getting on their way to the department store that Ann picked out.
I should talk to Haru in private, though, just to check up on her. I haven't seen her in weeks, it'd be weird if I didn't talk to her alone.
The group walked over to the escalator, boarding it single-file and waiting for it to carry them to the second floor. Ren, directly in the middle of the group, was a step up from Futaba, giving him an extra foot over the already short girl.
"Ren!" she whispered harshly from behind him. He turned around and lowered his head, assuming she had something private to tell him. Maybe her anxiety and fears of public places already kicked in and they had to leave. "I have something to tell you!" she said quietly, though with too much excitement and force to be considered a whisper anymore. Still, Makoto and Ann, who were behind Futaba on the escalator, didn't notice.
"What?"
"I brought you along for a reason!"
"Okay, and what reason is that?"
"I'm wingman-ing for you so that you can see your girlfriend trying on swimsuits!" Futaba said, laughing at the end of it.
"Oh… well, thanks." Not sure how to react, if at all, Ren just turned away from Futaba and continued waiting for the escalator to ascend.
I mean, I already get to see Makoto in a swimsuit when we're at the beach, so does it really matter? I do appreciate the thought from Futaba, though. That's some incredible generosity from her, even if she didn't do the same for Ryuji, who actually needs it at this point. He's had a rough week. Mono and rejection don't usually go hand in hand, but Ryuji has the worst luck.
The group stepped off the escalator onto the second floor, which had been seasonally decorated. Landscape portraits of beaches, surfers, and various beach sports made up the majority of the walls. Otherwise, signs for discounts, sales, and promotional advertisements could be found in any direction.
Forgot how much I hate shopping, but it is what it is. Maybe I can find a nice speedo for myself that I can rock in Hawaii…
"Now that we're here, I say we should split into two groups," Makoto began. "We'll be able to look through more swimsuits that Futaba might like."
"I'm down with that," Futaba said.
"I can probably find something for Futaba on my own," Ann said.
"Then how about Makoto and I take Futaba-chan, and Ren goes with you?" Haru suggested.
"That works." With that, the group of five split in two and went their opposite directions. Ren didn't have the slightest clue about what Futaba would want or look good in, so he just followed Ann to provide moral support.
"So…" Ren awkwardly began to avoid the familiar silence that he always hated. "How's your week been?"
He and Ann continued walking, now in a more specialized section for swimsuits. They perused the racks of clothes, though nothing special caught Ren's eyes. He'd yet to find the speedo of his dreams. "Boring, to be honest. I didn't book any modeling jobs for the last few weeks of summer because I'm feeling a bit lazy."
"Same."
"And I haven't really done much since I met Futaba with you and Yusuke," Ann said. "Speaking of, did Ryuji meet Futaba? I can't imagine that going well."
"You'd be surprised."
She'd definitely be surprised. Not surprised that things went well, but what came of Futaba meeting Ryuji. Even just thinking about it is kind of insane. We set up a secret-agent level operation just because Ryuji likes some girl who's good at shogi.
"They mostly got along, but that's actually not the most interesting thing that happened that day," Ren said.
Ann's interest had been piqued. "Oh?" she said as she looked through a rack of yellow one-pieces.
"This isn't really my business to tell you, but I think you should know anyway: turns out Ryuji got mono from that woman in Iwatodai. He's been sick all week and is getting these nasty-ass rashes…"
"Ew… how the hell did he get mono from a single mom?"
"That's what I was wondering!" Ren said. "But he played more shogi with that one girl, and things went downhill pretty quickly. It's safe to say that he can't salvage anything with her."
"Oh, poor Ryuji…"
"I know. He's a hopeless romantic." With not much for either of them to say, silence settled between them
"Well, I wouldn't say he's hopeless…"
"Hm?"
"You know… he's definitely not hopeless."
Oh, I see how it is.
"What do you mean by that?" Ren playfully asked. "What're you saying, Ann?"
"I'm not saying anything except the fact that he's not hopeless," Ann defended, growing redder as Ren saw through her remarks.
"Uh-huh."
"I'm just saying he's not hopeless because I think he can get a girlfriend!" Ann said as she looked Ren in the eye, stopping her shopping to subtly beg Ren to believe her so that he wouldn't tell Ryuji.
"That is, indeed, exactly what you're saying."
"Ren…"
"There are definitely no undertones or desires in your words, and you definitely don't mean that-"
"Okay, no more. I can't deal with you."
"Would you rather deal with Ryuji? It sounds like you would."
"I'm not talking to you," she pouted, looking away from Ren and tapping her foot.
"Fine. I'm gonna go try on bikinis and leave you to it," Ren said, turning to leave the section, but stopped in his tracks. He spun back around to face Ann, her face still red from giving away what should be her secret. "Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me. If Ryuji doesn't get to the same conclusion as you on his own, he's not worth it, Ann."
Ann just plainly looked at Ren in silence.
Oh yeah, I almost forgot: she's not talking to me.
With that awkward dismissal of advice, Ren finally left Ann to do her own shopping. He wandered through the slightly crowded store, hoping to find something of interest. Maybe he could find Makoto and hang out with her.
Alas, it was not to be. After a few minutes of just aimless walking and exploring, Ren found himself with nothing but an endless supply of flip-flops.
Footwear sections never disappoint in stores. I could spend hours just admiring the intricacies of sandals. Truly fascinating…
The boredom was that bad.
"There you are," Makoto said as Ann walked over. "What happened to Ren?"
"Your boyfriend's trying on bikinis, or something along the lines of that."
"Sounds like him," Makoto quipped. She gestured her hand to the changing room door that she and Haru had spent their time waiting in front of. "We're just waiting on Futaba to try on one of the swimsuits we picked for her."
"Ooh, what'd you guys get for her?" Ann asked, clearly interested in the matter of fashion.
"Well," Haru began as she pointed behind her to one of the racks of one-pieces. "I found a pink one-piece that I thought would be perfect on Futaba-chan."
"Futaba and I both thought the yellow two-piece bikinis over there were nice, so she grabbed one of those, but I don't know how it's going in there…" Makoto said as she stepped closer to the door. "She's been in there for five minutes now." Makoto rapped her knuckle on the door to the changing room. "Futaba? Everything alright?"
"Yeah, mostly. I just-" Futaba grunted, interrupting herself. "How the fuck do I tie this thing!? It keeps falling down!" Futaba's emphasized obscenity drew a few dirty looks from other shoppers.
"I dunno…" Ann said, trying to give advice but failing miserably. "You kinda just… tie it."
I know that Ann just gave Futaba bad advice, but she's right. I don't wear any of my swimsuits that much, but when I do, I just… tie them. There's really not much to it. I'm sure Futaba is just nervous and is overthinking it, Makoto thought.
"What, like, I have to 'git gud'? Ann, I didn't know you were into Dark Ring! What's your favorite boss fight? I think that the wolf fight was sick, but I prefer-"
"Futaba, what the hell is a dark ring?!" Ann interrupted.
"I believe it's a slang term for anus," Haru answered.
"Haha, really?! Cool!" Futaba yelled with a laugh from the other side of the door. "It's actually just a game franchise, but now I'm a little grossed out that you know that, Haru. I'm just gonna tie the ever-living shit out of this bikini and mind my own business…"
Makoto heard nothing but the sound of feet shuffling and fabric against fabric from the other side of the door.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," Haru said, now apologetic when she shouldn't have been.
I'm really surprised she's so quick to apologize. It's because she hasn't seen us in weeks, right? I'm sure she must feel out of place. I feel bad. We should've eased her into things more than just bringing her directly to meet Futaba… oh well. Haru's strong. Soon enough, she'll be back in the group like normal, and it'll be like nothing ever changed. Well, Futaba might end up in GRAVY, though not officially. She'd have to attend Kosei, Seven Sisters, or Shujin for that to be possible, Makoto thought instead of hurrying to comfort her friend as Ann did.
"Oh, you're fine, Haru," Ann said. "Don't apologize. None of us know what Dark Ring is, so who cares? It's not that big of a deal."
"You are right," Haru said, still unsure of herself. A distinct lack of eye contact had permeated throughout all conversations involving the heiress that day. Makoto hoped it would go away as Haru again grew accustomed to her friends, but it still remained.
The group settled back into the wait for Futaba to tie her bikini, with the occasional awkward silence included. I wonder where Ren is, Makoto thought during one of those silences.
"Back in the stone age, or sometime around then, flip-flops were invented. Cavemen would use them to hunt dinosaurs because the open design gave them the speed they needed to escape from velociraptors," Ren casually explained to an elderly woman who'd stopped by the flip-flop section. Seeing an opportunity to pull himself out of the boredom he placed himself in, Ren had taken up the grueling task of educating this woman on a great deal of fictional flip-flop trivia.
"Wow… that's so fascinating," the elderly woman hazily said as she watched Ren from a conveniently placed chair that people would normally use to try on shoes.
She's a little too interested in flip-flops. I'm surprised she didn't call out "Bullshit!" when I started talking about dinosaurs.
Ren carefully looked at the old woman. Her eyes were already trained on him, obviously looking him up and down as he turned to face her.
Not going to lie, she's giving me a bit of a creepy look… I'm just going to keep talking about flip-flops until she fucks off.
A little rattled, Ren turned back to the row of footwear in front of him. "And, uh… where was I?" he asked, hoping the woman had been paying enough attention before.
"Velociraptors."
"Oh, yeah. Anyway, ancient Roman gladiators used to beat each other to death using flip-flops. The most famous instance of this is captured in the film 'Short Ribs, or How I Fell In Love With Cow Tipping.' The main character of the movie, Romano the Roman, is tasked with assassinating the emperor, who is named Emporer, with a single sandal or else the world will be blown up by Martians."
"That's incredible," the woman said, her gaze still locked on Ren.
Okay, it's clear at this point that she doesn't care that I'm spewing bullshit and is just interested in me.
Again, Ren turned to the woman. "Sorry, I'm just trying to remember why you're so interested in flip-flops…"
"Flip-flops? Oh no, boy. I'm interested in you."
Come one, come all as I take guesses on what the annoying old person will say next. Hm… there's a strong case for "For a large sum of money, would you join my husband and me?" That'd be funny, but I'd definitely say no. Definitely… anyway, another reasonable one would be "I want to talk about death and how I am death and blah blah blah." Old people like death, why wouldn't this old woman?
"For a large sum of money, would you j-"
Ooh, I got it right!
"I'm gonna stop you right there. The answer is yes," Ren immediately said.
"Truly?"
"No." Ren immediately turned to walk away, but he figured he should be polite due to the woman's age. "Nice meeting you, but this is goodbye." With that, he walked away.
Just as Makoto finally heard the door to the changing room click, indicating that Futaba had finished putting on her swimsuit, Ren walked up to the group. "How's it going?" he asked just as Futaba emerged from the changing room in a yellow bikini with ruffle trimming and red spots on it.
Her feet pressed closely together, and her eyes darted around to make sure that no one watched, but it was in vain. Haru, Ann, Makoto, and Ren all spectated as Futaba's nerves took over. She let out a yelp of surprise and jumped back into the changing room.
"Not very well, I see," Ren joked before walking up to the changing room door. "Futaba, it's alright. You're with friends."
"Wh-what if you guys don't like it?!" Futaba's frantic nerves even got to Ren, worrying him that Futaba had gone through a regression of some sort while he'd been gone.
"Futaba, you looked great!" Ann said, with her opinion probably being the only one that actually mattered, considering what she did in her free time.
"Really?"
"You looked very cute, Futaba-chan," Haru added.
Futaba didn't respond, but the door did creek open. Ren watched as Futaba slowly crept around the opening doorway, again revealing herself to the group.
"Yep. That's the one," Ann said, very happy with Futaba's choice of swimsuit.
Now, Futaba smiled back at the others, and her eyes didn't panic in fear. She confidently wore the bathing suit with her friends around her, showing that she was truly ready for the beach.
Great. That's over and done with. Next on the agenda: beach trip.
"You know, I kinda want a new suit for myself because of how good Futaba looks..." Ann said, hinting at Ren's worst fear.
Don't you dare say it.
"I think you're right," Makoto added as she looked at Makoto more closely. "Should we do some shopping for ourselves?"
"Hm... definitely," Haru concluded.
"Fuck," Futaba muttered under her breath, though nobody picked up on her disinterest except for Ren because they were all caught up in the idea of new clothes.
"That settles it! Let's go find some new swimsuits!" Ann declared.
Ann, you spiderfucker. I hate you. Well, I don't actually hate you, I just really hate shopping, and- eh, you get the point. Go fuck yourself, but not actually because we're friends.
Ren readied himself for agony and torture as the girls giddily began moving away from the changing room to shop.
Sunday, 8/28
Ren Amamiya:
-Do we really have to go now?
Futaba Sakura:
-Yes, or else I will sell your personal data to advertisers.
Futaba Sakura:
-Don't forget that you agreed to take me!
Ren Amamiya:
-Fine. I'll meet you at Leblanc in half an hour and then we'll take the subway if you're cool with it.
Futaba Sakura:
-It won't be worse than waiting for Ann to try out the seventeen bikinis she picked out yesterday.
Ren Amamiya:
-Good point.
Akihabara, as always, was pure excitement. Crowds of people, constant noise, constant movement, and things that Ren actually found interesting in every direction, bar the maid cafe.
I've got a girlfriend now. Maid cafes are below someone of my stature.
Ren, with Futaba following, did their best to avoid the crowds, though they did bump a few people. Ren could hear Futaba doing everything in her power not to freak out, and he would've commended her for it if it wouldn't stress her out more. Ren took the first opportunity to lead her out of the crowd and into the first video game store they found.
Inside the store, the crowd from the street thinned, but numerous people still crowded the space. Ren and Futaba began casually browsing the aisles for games, unknowingly drifting away from the crowds.
At one point, they came to a full section dedicated to one of Ren's personal favorite franchises, 'First Reality'. It seemed that the same could be said for Futaba, as she excitedly went from game to game, explaining her opinion on it to Ren.
"So this one sold like ten million copies and has a bunch of fanboys, but you know what it is?" Futaba said, letting herself pause for dramatic emphasis. "Trash!"
Trash? I dunno if I agree. I know that Eight has a lot of problems with its story and characters, but the music's pretty good, right?
"I know what you're thinking: 'but the music is fire, so how can the game be trash?' Well, there are a lot of answers to that," Futaba said. "For one, the junction system is just flat-out stupid and it's too easy to break the game. Second, literally half the main cast sucks. The villain sucks. The big twist of the story sucks."
Growing a little tired of the negativity, Ren encouraged Futaba to change the subject. "If you don't like Eight, then what's your favorite?"
"That's a complicated answer…" Futaba began. "Nine or that one tactical RPG they made are objectively the best in the series, but I think Seven is my personal favorite. It just has this atmosphere that no other game in the series has, and it also has the series' most iconic moments, like when Blephiroth ki-" A flurry of shouts, gasps, and yells cut into the middle of Futaba's monologue. Upset at being interrupted, Futaba looked past Ren and her eyes widened. "The hell's going on?"
Ren turned around to see what Futaba reacted to. He found a giant crowd forming around one of the numerous televisions within the store that were set up so people could test games before they bought them. However, instead of the crowd just over-enthusiastically testing a game, they were watching something.
Fuck, not another news report… these never end well.
Instinctively, Ren began to move towards the crowd, but a hand on his arm spun him back around to face Futaba's pleading eyes. "Ren… the crowd's really big…" With her nerves ramping up and Ren's need to see what was on the screen conflicting, Ren made a compromise.
"Alright, don't worry. We can stay over here," he said as he pulled out his phone. While he wanted to watch the news report on a normal screen, that wouldn't be worth making Futaba uncomfortable and pissing off Sojiro. He opened his phone to the website of the news station, where they regularly streamed their broadcasts. The noise of the crowd overpowered whatever output Ren's phone speakers could produce. Futaba leaned in next to him so she could see the phone as well just as he turned on subtitles.
Ren read along as the familiar newswoman announced a very troubling story.
"This morning, at approximately ten-forty-two, The Prince struck again. Rather than living up to the public spectacle he's become known for, he's struck in private not just once, but twice at the same time. Tadao Asano, manager of a convenience store in Shibuya, was found dead from an apparent heart attack with a calling card tucked in his shirt pocket. Around the same time, Masayuki Morioka, a hospital janitor, was found dead in his apartment under similar circumstances, also with a calling card tucked in his pocket. While the details of the calling cards are yet to be shared by the police, who collected the cards as evidence, we can assume that they share the accusatory goal that The Prince's other cards have demonstrated."
"Holy shit… he did it again," Futaba said breathily in disbelief. She stepped away from Ren and looked over at the crowd, who grew more numerous and rowdy with every revelation that came from the newswoman.
"While we do lack information on the specifics of today's crimes, we can trace the events of today back to the online forum dedicated to The Prince that we previously covered. Both Morioka and Asano had their names left under a suggestion tab that is assumedly used for The Prince to find targets. As of today, these are the first two instances of the forum being used for such a purpose."
Ren quickly turned his phone off and put it back in his pocket. Futaba gave Ren a confused and worried look, but Ren didn't even notice. He looked over at the crowd, which had gathered practically everyone in the store.
The website works. That means that literally anyone and everyone could be a target of The Prince. My name could be left there… or I could leave someone's name there.
"Futaba, pick a game out. It's time for us to leave."
A/N: Apologies for this chapter taking so long. While finals did kill any momentum I had coming off the last chapter for a whole week, that doesn't excuse how long this took. I'll admit that I did get very lazy while writing this chapter. However, that laziness led to a lot of brainstorming, which is always a good thing.
I might have to change Ren's birthday in the future for pacing purposes, but probably not. We'll see.
Thanks for being patient and reading. Hope you all have a great day.