Chapter 31: Mathematics and Models
Ω • Ω • Ω
5/25, Wednesday
DEADLINE: June 5th
DAYS UNTIL LEGAL ACTION: 11
Steal Madarame's heart.
•Ryuji•
"Are you sure you're ready?"
"Dude, it'll be fine!" He flinched at Akira's glare and held his hands up in surrender. "Listen, I promise! She won't get anythin' outta me!"
"She's better not." Akira crossed his arms and glared, which was honestly a bit scary even with his glasses. They stood on the roof after school had ended, Akira drilling into his head everything he needed to 'survive' the prez's interrogation session, as much as she was framing it as tutoring sessions, they all knew it was bullshit.
"Alright, once more, from the top. What do you do when she provokes you?"
"I ask her to focus on tutoring me like she's supposed to."
"What do you do when she questions you on anything to do with the Phantom Thieves?"
"Same thing."
"What do you do when she asks you about being friends with Ann and I?"
"I spin some crap about us all being outcasts and havin' to stick together."
"When she asks about your after-school activities?"
"Hangin' with you, with Ann, or goin' to the arcade."
"If she keeps asking the same questions, again and again?"
"I tell her somethin' like 'Listen Prez, this ain't gettin' my grades up, and you told Sensei you'd help me work on that. Ya want the teachers to be disappointed in ya if you keep slackin' off in here, not teachin' me?' then I start smirkin' at her or somethin'." He grinned at Akira, who just sighed.
"Well… I guess that's good enough. Not like we have time for a mock interrogation." his silver-eyed bro crossed his arms and glared at him through his glasses. "Don't screw it up, Ryu. Luckily, Niijima isn't an officer or prosecutor, just a student council president who let the power go to her head. You just try to keep bringing it back to an actual study session and letting her know that the teachers will look to her on why your grades aren't improving, and she'll eventually give up. All else fails, threaten to walk out, she definitely won't let you, she wouldn't do anything to risk the teachers or principal thinking she's unfit for her position."
"Right, yeah. But, uh, won't the teachers blame me if my grades are still low? They'll just think I'm still not tryin'."
"Yes, but I literally just explained how she won't risk being seen as worthless by the teachers. They're probably the only source of positive reinforcement she gets, considering how she acts around us," Akira scoffed.
"Well, I'm sure I can handle an hour with her. Unless she annoys me to death."
"Just pay attention to what she's saying, and actually think before you say anything."
"Aki, it'll be fine. I swear. I'm not going to let you or the others down. I promise." Akira stared at him for a second before sighing.
"Alright." He grinned and followed Akira downstairs, his friend stopping outside the student council room and nodding his head at the door.
"Good luck."
"It ain't like I'm goin' to my death! I got this!" Akira nodded and walked away. He turned to the door and huffed, before knocking.
"Come in."
He opened the door and his mood immediately dropped at the sight of the prez's innocent smile, sitting calmly at the table. "Yo, Prez. Ready to get this study session over and done with?"
"Of course, please, have a seat." Ryuji shuffled into the room, sitting across from her and tossing his bag onto the chair next to him. The Prez continued smiling as she locked her fingers together, setting them on top of the table. "I hope you didn't have any… plans for the rest of the day."
He nearly forgot what they had rehearsed with her eyes staring daggers at him, but he caught himself. "'Course I did, I ain't some loser who only focuses on their schoolwork and goes straight home." Prez's eye twitched and she sat up straighter in her chair.
"Is that so? What plans did you have then?"
"Jeez, why so pushy prez? I was just gonna go to the arcade with a couple friends. The hell d'you care about my social life for?"
"I'm sure you were. And these friends, would they be Starr-kun and Takamaki-chan?"
"Yeah, maybe."
"Such an interesting friend group."
"Uh, I think we're retreadin' old ground here, didn't you say the same crap back on the roof?" He rolled his eyes. "We here to talk about my life or my grades? Cuz if we ain't gonna do actual work, then can't you just tell the teachers you taught me some shit and let me go?" He grinned, getting into the rhythm of it.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Sakamoto-kun." Somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought about that one robot thing from that one space movie. "If your grades don't improve with my tutoring, then the teachers will look to me as well as you."
"Well, then why haven't we started yet?"
"I simply had a few questions, that's all. So, when Ka—"
"Then if you're done, let's get started!" He grabbed a bunch of books from his bag and dumped them on the table, cutting off the Prez. Honestly, he wasn't sure if he preferred having her try to pick his mind or having to slog through extra classes with her, but one was probably more likely to end with him accidentally spilling the beans about the Phantom Thieves, so he reluctantly opened a random book. "I guess first up'll be, uh… math."
"Sakamoto-san, it's rude to interrupt others when they're speaking."
"Ain't it also rude to waste other guys' time?" He groaned and slid down in his chair before standing up. "Man, eff this, if you're not even gonna bother tutoring me then I'm out."
"Excuse me?!" Prez shot up as well, glaring at him. "Where do you think you're going?!"
"I said I'm leavin'!" He glared back, wincing slightly at her sharp red eyes, but Kamoshita's monster baby form was scarier than her, and they'd kicked his ass in the end. "If we ain't even studyin', then there's no point for me to stay here! Teacher's already think I'm a dumbass anyway, what do they matter?"
"My reputation and responsibility as the student council President—"
"Doesn't mean jack to me, 'specially since you ain't even tryin' to tutor me like you said you would!" Niijima was visibly shaking with anger, and he wasn't sure if he should keep pushing or just let her say something. "I'll—"
"Fine! Sit down, and open your textbook," she growled, and he planted himself in his chair, eyes wide. "You WILL pay attention to what I'm teaching you, and if you dare fail the next exams I will personally lead the charge to have you expelled from our academy."
"Y-Yes ma'am!" He scrambled to open the book, sweat beading on his neck. Why did he think Kamoshita was scarier than her?! This girl's glare was worse than Akira's!
"What are you having the most trouble with?"
"Uh…" he could already feel his mind throbbing from the equations on the first page alone. "Ev…erything?"
Her eyes flicked up to him as she paused in the middle of writing something in a notebook. "Everything."
"…yes?"
Her eyes closed and she slowly leaned her head back, the pen in her hand snapping. "I see." He awkwardly sat there, watching the pen snap a second time… and then a third… before she forced herself to let go of it and it clattered off the table, onto the floor.
"…"
"Focus on your book," the Prez ground out. "We'll start from the beginning."
"Y-Yes Ma'am."
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Ann•
Central street was as crowded as ever, though Akira did manage to clear most of the way through the sea of humans, a mix of his height and his glasses failing to hide how scary his glare was whenever someone bumped into him because they weren't looking where they were going.
"Do you think Ryuji will be alright?"
"…Well, I hope he will be."
She fought back a smile, frowning at her dark-haired friend instead. "Don't you think you should have some more faith in him?"
"Listen, the guy's basically my best friend, but we both know he says the first thing that comes to his mind way too often. Now he's trapped in the same room as the girl who wants to oust us probably more than the police do."
"I think the level of his schoolwork will irritate her more. She'll probably be more focused on cramming as much knowledge as she can into his head once she finds out exactly how bad he's doing."
"He wouldn't be in this situation if he'd studied with us," Akira scoffed. "Of course, the only reason you're not with him is because of those study sessions, so you've got to be careful or you won't be able to talk either," he smirked.
She gasped and slapped his shoulder. "How rude! I can hold my own when it comes to exams!"
"Right, so that's why you came begging to have a study session with me."
"Excuse you, I was not begging! And I always do fine when it comes to English!"
"Hmm, the one subject you've got a leg up on. I'd hope you do fine when it comes to English, I'd be worried otherwise."
"Oh my god, shut up already!" Akira grinned as she swatted him more before her attention was stolen as they passed by the crêpe shop she loved to visit with Shiho. "Hey, I have some big news! The double cream from that famous crêpe shop is half off right now!"
"Yeah?" She saw Akira raise an eyebrow in amusement at her excitement, but she ignored that in favor of getting in line.
"Oh, but I probably can't take a crêpe into the hospital, huh…" She looked longingly at the store, her sight of the various snacks tempting her. "I… really want one though. Do you think maybe Shiho would want one too?"
"Give it up, Ann."
She pouted at his chuckle, adjusting her bag. "Fine. It might be half off, but I should try to control myself… Shiho might have rehab today too. They probably wouldn't even let her eat it."
"Already?" Akira's eyebrows rose and he turned to look at her fully.
She smiled remembering her conversation with Shiho, clasping her hands together. "I forgot to mention it? Yeah, Shiho started her physical rehab. She pushed it up ahead of schedule. I think it's because I told her about how I wanted to get stronger! She said she was gonna start working hard too! I… haven't actually seen any of her rehab sessions yet, though."
"Well, if she's started rehab early, maybe we should get some crêpes. Sneak her some snacks as a reward for her hard work," he spoke with a smirk.
"What, so she gets to have a crêpe but I don't?"
"Moderation, Ann, you're probably having a crêpe every day anyway."
"Wha-! Not every day!"
"Oh, so every other day?"
"Ugh, you're the worst, Akira!"
"Well, I was going to offer to pay for those crêpes, but if you're going to be so cruel to me, then I just don't see the point anymore."
Before she could respond her phone beeped, and she pulled it out after sticking her tongue out at Akira, before checking it. She raised her eyebrows when she saw it was from her agency, eyes, flicking over the words. "Wha—? Now?!"
"What's wrong? Is it an emergency?"
She bit her lip, Akira looking at her in concern. "Sorry, something just came up! That was from my agency. One of the models didn't show for a magazine shoot they're doing. They're looking to wrap soon, so I'm gonna head over now to fill in."
"I've not gone to a shoot before, Will there still be time to visit Shiho afterward?"
"Oh, definitely! I'm not gonna ignore her just for a shoot." She smiled at his concern for her friend, already beginning to walk in the direction of where the shoot would be taking place. "It's pretty close by, down by the movie theater actually. Wanna come with? Actually, let's just go! I'll race you there! Ready, go!"
"Ann, wait—!"
She raced down Central Street, hearing Akira's fading shout behind her. It wasn't a long run at all, lucky for her since Akira would have likely won if he'd had time to catch up. She grinned at him when he slowed to a stop beside her, a glare without any heat in it directed towards her. "Really?"
"What?"
"Tch." He clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. "Well, it's good that you're at least trying to get rid of all those calories the crêpes are giving you."
It took her a moment to realize what he had said. "Are you saying I'm fat?!"
"You're the one that said the 'f' word, not me." Akira innocently put his hands up in surrender.
"Watch your back, Joker. I won't forget this."
"Oh? Hmhm, I'll keep that in mind, Panther." His silver eyes glinted down at her as he wore the same smirk Joker wore, a deep chuckle rumbling from him, and for some reason she felt warmth bubble up in her chest and a tingle down her spine that she ignored with a laugh, making him follow with laughter of his own. That just made the warmth worse. Better?
She saw the twinkle in Akira's eyes go from amusement to curiosity as he looked at another model and the magazine staff. "So, first time at a shoot?"
"I believe I said that, yes," he chuckled. Yes, yes he did say that. Why did she ask that when he'd already said that? "Are they getting ready for the pre-shoot? Is that what it's called?"
Before she could answer, the model, a pretty, brown-haired girl walked over to them, eyes sparkling. She completely ignored Akira and instead focused on her, clasping her hands together.
"Ann-senpai! I'm sooo pumped to get to work with you today! After I saw you in last year's show, I just…" she sniffed, tears suddenly beading at the corners of her eyes. "Oh, I think I'm gonna cry…!"
Caught off guard, she wasn't entirely sure how to react. "U-Um, it really wasn't a big deal… that fashion show was tiny…"
"By the way, I'm Mika. And please, no honorifics. I might be older, but you have loads more experience, Ann-senpai."
"All right, M-Mika… haha, it feels a little weird saying it like that…"
"Got yourself a dedicated kouhai, huh?"
She elbowed Akira, cutting off any other comments he'd make with that damned smirk while smiling at Mika. "Oh, and you don't need to use 'senpai' with me. A-Anyway, uh… it's nice to meet you?"
Mika giggled, holding a hand in front of her face. "Likewise, Ann-chan. You're so nice." Ann blushed, while Mika took a step closer, tilting her head. "Hey, can you teach me how to be a better model? You know, your everyday routines, stretches…"
What did she mean by that? "Routines? You mean like… singing in the shower?"
Akira just blinked in the background.
"O-Oh, is that all you do…? Then, what kinda stuff do you eat? I've been looking all over the place to import some organic green almonds… plus, I'm getting suuuper tired of eating quinoa. Do I need to like, boil it in hard water or something?"
"Um, almonds? I only ever eat those when they're covered in chocolate… And hard water? Isn't it kinda tough to boil ice…?"
As she looked down in confusion, Akira was trying very hard to hold back laughter.
"…" Mika quietly stared at her, and she awkwardly stared back, unsure where the weird atmosphere had suddenly come from. "…Do you weigh yourself?"
"Oh, of course! Once a year for the health examinations at school!"
As Ann pumped her fist, Akira turned away to hide the grin spreading across his face. Mika likely would have been… upset at the sight of it.
"…So… you're gonna keep it all a secret from me, huh? I get it. I guess it's hard trusting someone you just met…"
Oh. OH! Beauty tips! And now Mika was thinking that she was trying to hide something from her! "Th-that's not it! I just don't really think about that stuff! It has nothing to do with not trusting you. It's more that modeling is like a hobby for me."
"What?" Mika narrowed her eyes into a glare, and in the back, Akira refocused on the conversation, sensing it turning serious. As Ann looked at her in confusion, Mika shook her head. "Ann-senpai, that's so horrible! What do you mean you don't care about modeling for these guys?!"
"…You said that, Ann-chan?"
Her eyes widened at the assistant's words, and she shook her head. "W-wait, I—"
"I love this magazine," Mika cried out, "Everyone tries so hard to make sure their product is the best…!"
"Mika-chan, just calm down," the Cameraman spoke, trying to soothe her. "Don't worry, we all know you're giving it your all here."
Mika bulldozed through the conversation before she could get a word in, Akira walking up to her side with narrowed eyes. "But… you guys work so much harder than me… and I'm still the one getting comforted…"
"H-Hold on!"
"Ann-chan, the truth is, we had both you and Mika-chan come down as substitutes for our missing model. We wanted both of you on the cover, but if you're not interested…"
"H-Hey, I didn't…!"
"Don't worry, I… I can do it alone. I read the concepts on the way over here…" She sniffed again before side-eyeing her, unable to hide a chuckle. "Heh."
"Wha- You faker!"
"Y-You're so mean Ann-chan! D-Do you really hate me that much?!"
"Keep it civil you two," the cameraman said, but his words were drowned out by her focus on Mika. Now that she was looking closer, those were clearly crocodile tears! "Anyway, you good to go, Mika-chan? Sorry about all this, Ann-chan. We won't be needing you today. We can reimburse your travel expenses though, and even throw in a little extra for your trouble."
"But…"
Akira was suddenly there, a warm and comforting hand on her shoulder and a smile on his face. But she could tell it was a fake one, the sparks in his eyes anything but kindness. "I'm sorry about Takamaki-san, everyone. You might not have heard, but… well, a friend of ours is in the hospital right now. Takamaki-san's not in the best headspace right now, but I insisted she come to the shoot when she told me about you looking for someone to fill in for the missing model." His smile wavered into a frown and he looked down, before bowing fully. "I figured it might cheer her up, but it looks like I've messed this all up. I deeply apologize."
"O-Oh, Ann-chan you should have told us!" The cameraman waved his hand nervously. "Listen, you just let us know when you're up to doing shoots again, I hope your friend gets better soon." Mika frowned at Akira, and he looked up to sneer at her. "Come on, Mika, we can do this shoot with just you."
As the other staff nodded and they walked away with Mika, who had begun to glare fully at Akira, she turned to him. "What was that?"
"What?" He turned to her, frowning.
"You shouldn't have used Shiho being in the hospital as an excuse for me screwing that up."
Akira stared at her and pushed his glasses up, before he sighed and looked away. "Sorry. It's just… it was the only thing I could think of besides going off on a rant and tearing her down like I did with Kamoshita or Niijima, and that would've done even worse things for your reputation, associating with someone who went off like that. I just couldn't stand hearing her slander you like that, and those workers falling for it."
Her eyes softened, and she shook her head. "Well… I guess I get it, but please, don't do it again."
"I promise. When I see Shiho I'll apologize, even if she doesn't know what the apology is for. And I'll find some other way to shut that girl up if we see her again and she starts insulting you." He smiled a bit lopsidedly, actual embarrassment shining through.
She smiled back, but she couldn't put her all into it… just like her modeling. "No, it's… it's alright. maybe deep down, I'm not actually that invested in modeling… She sees straight through that, and if she's striving to be the best, of course me being half-hearted would upset her…"
"Ann, that was less her being upset about you not loving modeling with all your heart, and more trying to put someone else down so they could be seen more favorably." He sighed and shrugged. "Or maybe you're right and that was it. I'm not an expert on the modeling world."
"Either way, I totally ruined the shoot…" Akira looked like he was searching for something to say in response to that, but she interrupted, suddenly thoughtful. "You know, wasn't Mika's fake crying pretty incredible? I totally couldn't tell until she broke character to laugh at me!"
"Well… it had grace, I can give it that," he spoke, amused at her sudden… admiration? of Mika.
"Oh, maybe that's what I'm missing! I-I dunno though, I think I'm pretty good at fake crying myself. I know the perfect technique."
"Really? Maybe you can teach me it. Might be nice to have something else in my repertoire."
She grinned at the thought of teaching Akira something instead of it being the other way around and pumped her fists. "Alright, then listen carefully, Akira! The key is… you don't actually cry!"
"…that's… that's why it's called fake crying, yes."
She giggled at his expression, some weird mixture of amusement and confusion. "Either way, I think I'll be able to use that ability to our advantage in the Metaverse! Imagine you're trying to negotiate with a Shadow, but it goes wrong like with Makami, and they get angry! If I cried at them, they might back off! I'll turn my failure today into positive energy going forward!"
"What an amazing way to turn today's encounter around to our advantage," Akira spoke with a shake of his head. "You're incredible, Ann."
"A-Aw, stop it!" She giggled and twisted back and forth, her arms swinging by her side and a bright smile on her face, all while her heightened motivation was met by the sound of crashing chains within Akira's mind.
RANK UP!
Lovers Arcana, Ann Takamaki: Rank 5
"A-Anyway, speaking of the Metaverse, I'm gonna try super hard in my work with the PT's too! But for now, we should get back on track and visit Shiho. You can apologize then! And afterwards, we visit the arcade and wait for Ryuji to call so… what again?"
"So that Niijima can hear the games in the background if she's listening in and see that we were really just going to the arcade today."
"You are really paranoid."
"I'm careful, actually."
"Riiight, that's what you call it."
"Because that's what it is."
"Your convoluted schemes are definitely more paranoid than careful."
"No, you and Ryuji are just so blasé that my standard amount of precautions seems paranoid."
"Like that whole scheme we set up for Nakanohara?"
"Exactly." They continued throwing verbal jabs at each other all the way to the hospital, where she burst into laughter at Akira's flabbergasted expression when Shiho teased him for using her as an excuse against Mika, and the whole time was intensely aware of the tight warmth that was in her chest.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Ryuji•
He wasn't sure how much time had passed, his brain feeling more like some mushy oatmeal his mom would make rather than… just existing or something.
It really hurt to think right now…
The prez nodded as she began putting away her supplies. "Well, there was some improvement towards the end. I dare say there's hope for you yet, Sakamoto-kun."
"Really?" That was a surprise. A genuine compliment definitely hadn't been expected… really something more along the lines of 'damn you, Ryuji Sakamoto, for fooling me for so long! I'll make you crack the next session!'
…Though he really couldn't see the prez actually saying anything like that, if he was honest, but his brain was still mushy, so he forgave it for its delusions. There there, it's all over now.
"Yes, really. Once you actually focus on the material and apply yourself, then it would seem you have some degree of brains."
He grimaced. "Well, that's rude, Prez. You callin' me dumb?"
She looked at him blandly. "I won't insult you by lying, Sakamoto-kun, you will never be the smartest in the room even after you've applied yourself."
"…and?"
She raised an eyebrow. "That's it. Were you expecting something more?"
"Well, I kinda thought you were… Y'know… setting up some kinda inspirational speech like the teach's used to do when I failed exams before they just completely gave up on me."
"I said I wouldn't lie to you," Prez answered with a shrug. She looked back to her bag, finishing putting away her stuff, and he swore she smirked. "But… at the very least you aren't as dumb as you think you are."
"Gee, thanks, Prez." He rolled his eyes, before barely hiding his laughter when he saw the Buchimaru pencil case she'd been trying to hide inside her bag.
He had to immediately look away when her eyes shot back to him in suspicion. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. Your comment. Your comment on my brains was funny."
"Right."
Those red eyes narrowed, and he coughed as he shoved his books into his bag messily, getting up as he cleared his throat. "Hmhm. But, ah… thanks for the tutoring, Prez." She blinked at him, and he scratched the back of his head as he grinned in embarrassment. "It, uh, well my brain's on fire, but I think it did help. Maybe I'll actually do well on the next tests!"
"You will be. If you don't—"
"Yeah, you'll toss me out on my ass."
"I'm glad you understand." He stood awkwardly, but it almost felt like there was a moment of understanding between them.
"…so, more math next Wednesday? Or another subject?"
She looked at him and slowly nodded. "We'll continue with math until you're at an… average level for your grade. Then we'll move on to another subject. I can… work out a schedule for us during our tutoring sessions. Soon. I still have my work as student council President to deal with," she murmured to herself.
"Great…" He clicked his tongue and shouldered his bag, slumping his way to the door. "See ya, Prez."
"…have a good day, Sakamoto-kun."
He looked back at her, seeing her pull out more books, ones having nothing to do with the tutoring he'd managed to trick her into, probably council stuff instead. Her forehead furrowed and she softly sighed.
He frowned and turned around, pulling the door open. They weren't friends. And he wasn't that much of an idiot, so he damn well knew she wasn't exactly just gonna give up on interrogating him and the others, but still.
As he walked out of Shujin his knee began aching, so he smacked a fist against it, conflicting thoughts running through his head. "Damn…"
Ω • Ω • Ω
5/26, Thursday
DEADLINE: June 5th
DAYS UNTIL LEGAL ACTION: 10
Steal Madarame's heart.
"Listen, I'm sorry, man!"
Akira looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Really. You're sorry."
"I am!"
"My perfect plan, which hinged upon that call at the end of it—" Ann coughed into her fist, and Akira twitched. "All fell apart because you couldn't handle some math and fried your brain."
He opened his mouth to respond, then shrugged. That about summed it up. "I guess, yeah."
"Ryu, I despise you."
"Well, at least we got to enjoy the arcade anyway," Ann spoke.
"I feel as though I am missing context to something," Yusuke hummed with a tilt of his head.
"Don't worry about it. Come on, it's time we entered Mementos." They found as isolated an area as they could in the square, and when they were sure no one was around, dropped into Mementos. They weren't dressed up yet, but when they began descending into the subway system there were brief flashes of blue flame as they reached the bottom and were deemed 'threats'.
Fox began looking around Mementos with wide eyes, Monamona began attempting to impress him with his transformation, and Panther tried to calm them both down. "Anyway…" Joker looked over, hands in his pockets. "Have you seen the Doc yet?"
"What, you gonna get on my case like the teachers?"
"Maybe."
"Well forget it, I already went."
"Yeah?"
"Yup."
"So how'd it go?"
"I think therapy's supposed to be confidential, ain't it?"
"Eh, I'm nosy."
He snorted at Joker, before shrugging and going over what happened during his visit.
Ω • Ω • Ω
5/24, Tuesday
It was pretty much before they went back to Madarame's, he just wanted a quick visit and to get it over with. He knocked on the door once before entering and saw the Doc sitting at his desk working on a laptop. "Yo."
"Sakamoto-Kun! Here for a counseling session?"
"Well… it's not like I wanted to or nothin'."
"Haha, sorry you were forced into this. But anyway— come in, come in!" He dumped himself into one of the chairs by the little coffee table as Maruki sat into the other, and they just kinda… sat there.
"Sooo… this is pretty awkward."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"I mean, I don't really go see teachers unless they wanna chew me out for doin' somethin' wrong."
"Oh, I'm not a teacher here. If anything, well, I'm here to be on the students' side."
He sighed, leaning back in his chair. Like he hadn't heard that 'I'm on your side, Sakamoto-kun!' Ugh. "Oh yeah? So, am I suppose'ta tell ya about Kamoshit— Kamoshida now?"
"Oh, no, no! This isn't some kind of interrogation. You're free to just kick back and talk about whatever you want."
"Liiiike… what?"
"Hmm, how about… is there anyone in your class that you like?"
"That's not exactly easy to talk about either— and it's not like there IS anybody." Although… that Senpai, Haru, was kinda cute, and really sweet too. And since it was for extra credit, he'd be spending more time with her in the future…
But he was definitely not bringing that up with Maruki.
"Uh— oh, sorry! I just meant, you're in the middle of your teenage years and all, right? High schoolers are just discovering romance and all, so…"
"That how it went for you?"
"Not… exactly." Another awkward silence appeared, and they both just sat there. Maybe the doc had just as many options back then as he did now. Ann had a rockin' bod but he would not mesh well with her personality. They made good friends, but dating? Eff that. Haru was sweet but an upperclassman and someone that he knew nothing about. Maybe after a few more weeks when he got to know her better? Only other girl 'interested' in him was Niijima, and he wanted to be nowhere near her.
Sure, his rep had gotten better when Kamoshita admitted to his whole breaking his leg thing and how it was on purpose, but he was still seen as a delinquent thanks to the whole limp, bleached hair, and his posture…
Man, now he was getting himself depressed.
"I'm sorry… I'm supposed to be hearing you out, but instead I'm just bringing down the room."
"Nah, definitely was me," he groaned.
"Oh, how about this instead— what do you do in your free time, Sakamoto-kun? On the weekend, after school?"
"Uh, hang out with my buds, mostly— though I just started doin' that recently. Before that, I was just pissed all the time, and even before that, I was only all about the track team."
"Ah… so, is your leg better now?"
"…so you know about that, too. Well, yeah, pretty much— so long as I don't strain it or nothin'."
"I see." Maruki stopped, then smiled. You really do enjoy running, don't you?"
"Guess so… I mean, after all that trainin' I did, it makes sense I'd like it. I'd be training constantly, getting sweet times at meets along with everyone else… Eventually, I was gonna get my hands on some running scholarships to make it easier on my mom… but that's all in the past now."
He breathed in and couldn't even fake a grin. "It's cool, though. I got way more important shit to do now."
"More important, huh?" The room dropped into silence again, but it wasn't as awkward. "Well, no matter what path you might have to take to get there, I hope your track dreams will still do you some good in the end."
"Heh… thanks."
"And you know what they say, right? If you wish hard enough, your dreams can come true!" Maruki laughed at that, while he just stared at the doctor.
"Uh, you tryin' to sell me some kinda line now?"
"Oh no, this is actually a genuine phenomenon, with a lot of research going into it even now. Look at it this way, Sakamoto-kun— what do you want most out of life, right now?"
"Uhh… I want something to drink, I guess."
"Oho!"
"…What?"
"I lucked into a coupon for a free can of apple juice at the convenience store this morning! And now, I'd like you to have it."
"…thanks?"
"See? Your wish came true!"
"…Yyyeah." He stared for a moment. "Anyone ever tell you that you're kinda… not normal?"
"You think so? Oh, could that be a compliment, coming from you?"
He couldn't help the smile that came to his face. "Uhhh, no?"
"O-Oh."
Ω • Ω • Ω
"Yeah, after that I got going. Dudes weird, huh?"
Joker snorted. "Can't deny that. He does mean well, though."
"I guess. Still, asking me if there's anyone I like in my class? Seriously?"
"I don't know, I think it's a good question." Akira grinned as Monamona yelled something at Fox. "Got your eyes on anyone? Or is anyone interested in the great Sakamoto-kun, who bravely faced down Kamoshita and got his knee busted because of it?"
"Shut up, asshole." They laughed, and he walked over to begin heckling Monamona. Unseen by the others, Joker's attention was grabbed by the Velvet Twins, standing by their ethereal door just to the left of the escalators.
"Inmate, we've got a little proposition for you… a kind of test! But it's not those Personas that we want you to deliver to us!"
What could that test possibly be…? Yeah, obviously what most people are thinking of. When it comes to games with new game+, when I write them I'll mix in the content that's only available in ng+, even if it's only a few things, because I don't want to miss out on the opportunity of several things that might only occur in said NG+.
Maybe I'll do a short story in the future of what the NG+ run of BBOD would be lol
Anyway, no POV of Joker today, instead it's all from Ryuji and Ann. Honestly, I wasn't sure about the tutoring scene. On one hand, she's still in her 'adults are right, listen to what they say,' phase and she was ordered to find out who the PT's are, so that's what she's gonna do! On the other hand, Ushimaru was told by her that she'd be tutoring Ryuji, so if he doesn't improve, she doesn't want to catch flak for failing to elevate his grades like she said she would and be seen as, say it with me… useless.
If she spends every session just grilling him and his grades never improve, then she fears that she'll be seen as the 'u' word. But she also needs that recommendation by Kobayakawa! Stuck between a rock and a hard place. So it's not Ryuji and Akira really tricking her here, so much as it is Joker telling Ryuji to straight up tell her "you kinda fucked yourself over here. Better start teachin' me!" Let me know what you guys think, if it works or not. I'd be happy to hear some constructive criticism on the scene, and for any future ones.
I always found Ann's admiration of Mika interesting, even saying that stuff like Mika playing dirty is just evidence of how hard she'll work to become a great model, and then using that as fuel to become a better model herself as Mika's rival. I really love her character, which is, of course, why they're paired together in this story. It's my favorite Joker ship, though I do enjoy the others, which yes, includes Ohya's.
Speaking of other ships, I have planted seeds besides Shuann. What they sprout into only I know, but feel free to guess. Other than that, let me know what you think of the chapter, or just leave a 'nice,' both are always great to read. See y'all next time!