#||Goblin Mode Activated|| (fatexbound: Futaba)

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

"Could've sworn you were there when she was over for the New Year's Eve party. Maybe you just don't remember because you were so distracted by Yusuke's scarf." Seriously, what the hell was that thing?, Ren questioned internally. Then again, it wasn't as bad as that one outfit Sumire was almost convinced to buy. "Yeah, I know. She's pretty cool, huh?" He couldn't help but admire Sumire himself for all she was able to do. "I'm happy that you two are watching out for each other."

Futaba's enthusiasm about going to school was strange, but good to hear. A few years ago, the notion of leaving her room at all must've been completely alien to her. "Well, it all depends on who you have. Maybe you'll get lucky and get Kawakami. Huh." He hadn't even really paid attention to how far they had walked, so he was surprised they were almost at their destination. "I've got some coffee on me, if you want some. Might warm you up."

@wildxcardrebel

"Yeah, she is a gymnast and all. But man, I didn't know athletes ate that much! I could barely keep up with her speed! Or her sick moves! I was totally blown away!" Her eyes shone brightly with her admiration clearly showing. Not that she hadn't seen her perform those moves before, of course. She knew just how incredibly flexible she was.

When her adoptive brother approved of her going there, a wave of relief washed over her. "Awesome! I knew you'd say yes! I hope my teachers won't mind me answering questions quickly. I know I tend to interrupt a lot, so... I hope I make some new friends too." She could see they were getting closer. "Oh, we're almost there! Finally... it's kinda chilly today."

[wildxcardrebel]

"Are you really going in there alone?" (Futaba)

AKIRA (1988) : Sentence Starters

@fatexbound

Ren adjusted his hair and clothes, making sure he had everything in order. Upon hearing her question, he turned to face the hacker.

"It's too dangerous for you to go in. Why they chose to meet me here, I have no idea, but if they have info we need, it's all I can do." The thief remarked. "I can take care of myself a lot more than I could a few years ago. Keep the tap on my phone turned on. If shit hits the fan, you call the others and tell them to find me at the old warehouse district, got it?"

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

That did the trick, Ren thought to himself as he saw the upswing in Futaba's mood just from mentioning it. Talking about her passions tended to get her in a better state of mind. The older of the pair listened to her intently, familiar with both series. After all, Sailor Moon was a cornerstone of pop culture in Japan, right up there with shows like Featherman.

"Hmm, me? Well, there's that adaptation of Uzumaki that just started airing. And now the new anime for Ranma½ too. I also started this show called House of Ninjas about the last remaining ninja clan in the modern day. It's pretty interesting."

@wildxcardrebel

Her face lit up when he mentioned anime, and all of her worries washed away. "Yeah! There's PreCure and Sailor Moon, of course! They're full of beautiful, magical girls who save the world from villains! It's the best! Although I'm more into the latter because it's more developed." She beamed, following him with a hop to her step. Just talking about it cheered her up.

"What about you? Do you watch anything good on TV?" Come to think of it, she never really asked that before. "Maybe a favorite TV show? I know you're still busy with senior year. School is just too easy for me."

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

The former Medjed's reaction caused his smile to grow. After all the time they spent together, he knew that praise was a surefire way to get her mind off of things. He peered over at her phone, looking at the map it was giving them. "Ten minute walk, turn right, and it'll be on the right..." He repeated, committing the directions to memory. "Got it. Let's get going then."

With that, the older of the pair began to lead them forward. "Any new anime that you're looking forward to watching this season?" He asked, trying to prevent the next ten minutes from being silent. Sure, there was a lot of background noise, but that could be overwhelming for her.

@wildxcardrebel

"Ehehe... thanks, bro." Even now, she could get easily flustered at such genuine compliments and praise coming from the people she cared about the most. Ren took the second spot, right after Sojiro on her list. It was enough to distract her a little from the bustling city of Tokyo waiting for her, like starting a big boss fight unprepared.

"R-right! Um, lemme see..." Once again, her phone showed them the directions. "It's a ten-minute walk from here, then we turn right... and we should see the shop on our right." She explained, holding his hand tightly out of fear again, taking a deep breath. "Let's... finish this quest! I'm ready!"

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

The wild card hated to pull her out of her focus, but he'd rather not end up 30 minutes away from home Leblanc. Once the hacker was up on her feet, he led her out the doors and onto the exit platform. "You did great." Her foster brother nodded with a gentle smile. His face faltered a bit when he saw her shift away from her excitement into a more subdued state. It was clear she was feeling a bit self conscious.

"Lead the way, navigator." He told her, hoping to cheer her up by playing along with her antics.

@wildxcardrebel

Grinning to herself, deep in a rabbit hole of video game memes that only she could understand, she stopped upon feeling her hand being squeezed by the wild card. "Oh!" She quickly typed a 'see ya, folks' before standing up close to him, just like before. She had no time to take off her headphones, but that's fine. They were a comfort item to her anyway, so she kept them on until they got off the train.

Breathing a sigh of relief and some fresh air, Futaba let them hang around her neck and walked with Ren, smiling at him. "Phew, mission complete! I did good, didn't I? Not a peep or a lot of shaking. Final stop: the cake shop! Onwards!" She pointed to the horizon for a second before realizing that people would stare, and stopped, glancing away. "Ah, let's just... go. Dang it, I wish people were more likeable..." She mumbled.

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

To say he was proud of her progress would be an understatement. She went from a girl who never left her room to frequently making trips to Leblanc and even a bit into other parts of Tokyo. He knew just how difficult all of this was for her, but she was able to do it, in spite of her anxieties and fears. Changing her heart helped her heal, but it was the hard work that she put in to allowed her to challenge her boundaries. Of course, he wasn't the only one there for her. The rest of the Thieves were just as supportive, and there was Sojiro, obviously. That man loved her like she was his flesh and blood from the day he met her.

He stayed silent as he looked at his own phone, reading the group chat as well. He explained the whole situation to them and reactions were mostly laughter, though it felt like Makoto was probably exasperated by the childish antics of the pair. And then there was poor Yusuke, lamenting the loss of the cake, but he perked back up when it was revealed they were going to buy one to replace it. This was them: the people who mattered most to him. His family.

Soon, the train reached their stop. Gently taking Futaba's hand and squeezing it to let her know that they needed to leave, he stood up and waited for her to do the same.

@wildxcardrebel

She hummed along to her tunes, paying close attention to the beat and the instruments in the tracks. Those particular songs did wonders for when she truly needed to focus on a project or a hacking mission and Lo-fi was used to calm herself down. But now, she could conquer the entire world with Ren by her side, she realized. He cared about her from the very start during her shut-in days and she had made incredible progress since then.

She was proud of herself. Words she could never think of even saying until now. The journey of healing was long and arduous, but she made it. Feeling better than before, her fingers tapped on the screen as she chatted with the rest of the group in private, and eventually went into other chatrooms to send them some memes to pass the time and quietly snicker at those herself, and the ones being sent back to her.

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

Ren knew, of course. But he also knew that the music might keep her distracted while the train made its way to their stop. Given her anxieties, this would work out for the best. Plus, he needed to be able to hear the train's PA system to make sure they got the right exit. He glanced at the younger girl out of the corner of his eye and he couldn't help the gentle smile that appeared on his face.

Ever since he could remember, he wanted to have siblings. It was a bond like no other, but sadly, it never happened. In the end, it was probably for the best. He couldn't imagine his mother having to raise him and more on her lonesome whilst his father became the stereotypical salaryman after his career as a journalist had its wings clipped. Still, he yearned for something like that, and he found here it in Tokyo. Shinya, Kaoru... he saw both of them as younger brothers.

But Futaba? She was something special. And the time he has spent with her and Sojiro was exactly the kind of life he had envisioned as a boy. And he couldn't have been happier with it.

@wildxcardrebel

"You can just borrow them, y'know... but oh well! Your loss." Putting them on, she fished out her precious phone and scrolled through her many playlists to find a few good tunes from old JRPGs. Once she did, she tapped on play, and leaned back to relax. The volume was high, but not too much so that she couldn't hear him or her surroundings. It's better than listening to the same old boring adult chatter.

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

"I guess you could call it that." The older teen remarked, a bead of sweat falling down the back of his head. It was a bit of exaggeration, even for him. But it was a relief that they weren't being packed in the train like an overstuffed bento box.

"Hmm?" Normally, he wouldn't be against it but there was a slight issue. "I don't think wearing the same headphones would be comfortable." Or even plausible, given that they were only designed to fit a single person.

@wildxcardrebel

"A-ha! Finally! The Gods are smiling upon us!" Just like finding a checkpoint, she wasted no time sitting down and getting comfortable against Ren's arm, although her anxiety and fear had decreased now that she stopped staring at everyone else. Her only focus was getting through the train ride without any incidents.

"Ah... so much better. Hm, I could listen to some OSTs right now... you wanna listen to something too?" She wasn't against lending him her headphones.

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

That seemed to ease her anxiety a little bit. Good. The fact he was a calming presence for the younger girl was something he did not take for granted. Once the train arrived, he did his best to maneuver them through the swathes of people inside the car.

Nodding at her words, he scanned the interior for a pair of seats. After a moment, he spotted a set and led her over to them. "We're lucky it's a down period. Most people are at work right now."

@wildxcardrebel

"O-okay..." Trembling, the firm squeeze was reassuring indeed, calming her nerves a little. Ren was with her. She could wait for a few minutes until the train arrived, and as soon as she was counting the time in her head, a sudden screech caught her off guard. Blinking, the train was right in front of them with its doors open. People came out and others started coming in. When it was their turn, Futaba did her best to move inside and looked around.

"Not as crowded as I feared... thank heavens. Let's find some empty seats." She tugged on his sleeve pleadingly.

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

If only she knew. The sound of chainsaws still haunted his dreams.

Hearing the hacker's concerns, Ren gave her hand yet another reassuring squeeze. He understood just how overwhelming this was for her, and he would do whatever he could to help her through it. "Just focus on me, alright? I won't let anything happen to you. That's a promise." The older teen declared. When he made a promise, he'd keep it, no matter what.

@wildxcardrebel

Damn. He had a good point there that she couldn't deny. "Y-yeah, but... But still! No dissing my babies! Or else you'll have to go to Mementos without me to beat up a secret super boss worse than the Reaper!" She shot back in an equally affectionate and joking manner. That's just how some of their arguments went and ended up in a tie or one of them winning. It didn't matter all that much.

Not as much as getting through the subway station, and squeezing him back while avoiding everyone who came towards her... almost like an enemy, a random encounter in an RPG. "W-why is everyone walking so fast?! Someone almost bumped into me! The horror...!" Thankfully, they made it after walking down a long set of stairs. "Okay, we're here... now we wait for the train. In a sea of people... ngh... I hope no one talks to me..."

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

The older teen rose an eyebrow at that. "You're talking to the guy who has read books about all of our Personas, most of which are fictional characters, dummy." He retorted. It was clear that the insult was being used affectionately, but he still had to get a point across. He knew just how much she leaned on him because of her condition, even now. While he was going to be there for her, he hoped that someday, she'd find a way to keep going when he wasn't around.

He couldn't help but notice the shift in her expression out of the corner of his eye, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze as they entered the subway station.

"Quit it, you just don't know the joy of caring for fictional characters!" Rather, being obsessed with them, but she won't mention that. She was more interested in gaming anyway. Life didn't have achievements to keep her motivated, and it was hard to get out of bed some days, but with Ren, nothing could be better than spending the day with him.

With their hands secured, her frown turned into a smile in an instant as they walked through the streets of Yongen-Jaya and into the horribly crowded ones of Shibuya. They just had to get to the subway in one piece, which she was sure she could do.

[wildxcardrebel]

"Nerd? You're one to talk." The barista remarked. "Last I checked, I wasn't rushing home to make sure I didn't miss an episode of an anime." His hand clasped around hers, making sure that they didn't get separated.

Oh jeez, she wanted one of those really fancy cakes, huh? He normally wouldn't buy one but he had no choice here. It was his fault the cake got destroyed, after all. "Yeah, yeah, I got it." He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

@wildxcardrebel

"Since right now. Don't overthink it, nerd." She could tell that she was starting to rub off on him, judging by his response and the absurd amount of games they played together. Futaba loved that about him. Taking his hand, she stepped outside to face the sun and the real world after a week of staying in.

"There's a nice shop called Patisserie Asako Iwayanagi in Todoroki Station. 'Course it has all sorts of cakes! I think Ann goes there too for their parfaits, but I'm not sure. Anyway, we're going there, got it?" With a stern look, she took out her phone to put in the directions and showed it to Ren.

"Got it? It's easy, right?"

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

Her frizzy haired foster brother glared before reaching forward and flicking her on the forehead.

"Since when do gremlins have minions? I thought they were the minions. Well, that's more goblins, but they're pretty close..." The Fool opened the door and took a step outside, holding it for Futaba. It was less chivalry and more a matter of convenience than anything, really. "Where should we go then?"

@wildxcardrebel

The Hermit stuck out her tongue at him in a playful manner. What's more important now was making up for their food war, and cleaning everything up before Sojiro got wind of this mess. Otherwise, they'd never hear the end of it.

She gave him a smile of her own and a nod. "Yeah, I know. Let's do this." She already had everything in her pocket, so, she walked over to the front door to leave her comfort zone, turning to the taller boy. "Lead the way, my minion! Our cake awaits, mwehehehe!"

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

"Like you're one to talk." If there was any one of the Thieves to pick on Yusuke, it was Futaba. Maybe it was because she found someone who was as eccentric as she was. Not to say that the others didn't have their own quirks, but Yusuke's were the most obvious. "Let's do it, then." Ren said with a nod.

Noticing her change in demeanor, her surrogate brother placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. "I've got you, don't worry."

@wildxcardrebel

"Wow, dissing poor Inari while he isn't here. Rude." An obvious tease she couldn't resist making. Yusuke's financial troubles were worrying, but it's not a problem for either of them. She had her allowance and payment from her clients while Ren had his own source of income. She helped herself to a glass of water to quench her thirst first before anything. "Well, time to make like a tree and get started on our quest: Cake hunting!" She declared with a finger pointed to the ceiling.

"You'll just... have to be my guide. To the nearest store..." She gulped nervously, turning on her heel to leave Leblanc.

[wildxcardrebel]

@fatexbound

Ren removed his own glasses and began to wipe his face off.

"You're the one who started it, 'Taba." Looking at the bashed up baked good, he sighed. "I mean, we could always just buy one, y'know? I'm not Yusuke, I have money." As great a friend Yusuke was, his financial management skills have always been abysmal.

@wildxcardrebel

Only a yelp was let out, and her victory was short-lived. She had let her guard down, thinking that she defeated her 'opponent'. With the cake smooshed in her face, she groaned in defeat and leaned her head against the counter to let it drop there instead of the floor. Her poor glasses must be been cleaned thoroughly too at a later time.

"Uuugh, I have been slain... throw me to the dogs." Wiping her face, she took off her lenses and stared at the destroyed dessert. "...Welp. So much for that. Thanks a lot, Ren. Now what? I don't wanna remake it from scratch!"

[wildxcardrebel]

Desperate times called for desperate measures. He didn't like it anymore than she did, but he believed it was the only option. He turned to her, about to respond, when he was blasted in the face with whipped cream.

He stood there a moment, face covered in the delicious dessert topping as he let it settle in. Well, there was only one response to that. He picked up the cake and smooshed it in Futaba's face.

The moment she sensed that her finger was wet, she recoiled and cringed, shouting, "Ewww, gross...! How could you resort to such a cheap trick?!" She pulled away, still disgusted, and thought of another way to pay him back. Although there wasn't much one could do with delicious whipped cream... potentially wasted for the sake of their little game.

But then... a new ally appeared in her line of sight-- the infamous can that contained said cream! With the other's mouth full, she quickly went to grab it with an outstretched hand, and with a grin, let it spray his whole face. "Hah! Victory is mine!!!!" She declared, arms in the air.