#I also am sad they killed her EEEEH? but again I get it but also a bit sad how adverse they seem to be to bringinh over noises

[friezagirl]

Eeeeh, here I am again. Now I'm talking about Jake in episode 3. There isn't much to say actually, I think. At first we see that Steven tries to verbally stop Marc, then he takes the body and Marc finds himself in a taxi, super confused, so then he goes back to chase the informants. Jake comes out because Steven was getting more and more troubled by the violence, worried and agitated, and Marc had stopped killing, and he was there, indecisive and impatient, listening to Steven, and then they were surrounded and hit in the head and later by a punch, so it's normal for Jake to jump forward to take control. Jake is kind of like Peter's spider sense, hahaha. The only thing that he left me confused is: why did they find themselves in a completely different place? I tried to imagine and I suppose those guys kept running away, maybe stealing cars, and maybe Jake followed suit to chase them. In fact, when Marc regains control he is on a precipice but there were cars around. Even if only old and run-down cars are shown, but I doubt that they got there on foot, maybe the cars that had used to take them there were further away from the shot, or boh, I doubt that Jake used his costume even if I so much wanted to see it, too bad. It reassured me that the little boy, despite being a criminal, had not been fatally injured, perhaps just a light beating. Great job Jake. XD No, I'm serious, at least they don't show him as a ruthless type, because he's also a reasonable man. Moving on to episode 4 I don't have much to say even in this one except that they just should have to open the sarcophagus. Only one thing they had to do, I hoped. Ah! It continues to be obvious to me that if all three hearts had been placed on the scale, all three would have gone into the Aaru field. Most likely they couldn't because then they would have stretched the plot too much, because, maybe Jake has memories, but we don't know which ones, we don't know if he shares the same with others and then Marc and Steven don't have Jake's memories, and maybe they should have review the memories of all three but we were already in episode 5 and they could not take such a risky step, risking to ruin everything. Which is understandable although I regret not knowing about Jake. :C Oh, another interesting thing, in episode 5 there is a scene of Marc in front of his house for his funeral, but it seems to me there has been a change of personality, I suppose. Still in my opinion but hell it's obvious, well, because there was a damn taxi there, huh? It cannot be a coincidence, it cannot and if it is I do not accept it. Then I realized I'm in London and the cabs are black there, damn it. (At least I think they're in London, but I don't think because Steven on the phone says they're driving the wrong way.) But that doesn't mean anything, maybe the bordeaux car is Jake's, likely, isn't it? The father went to the window, perhaps because he saw a car he parked. It would be plausible, huh. At first I thought that Marc had come in the burgundy car, but then he goes the other way on foot. But then I realized the cab is passing Steven, possibly because Jake came in the cab. In fact, then Marc and Steven are framed and the yellow car is no longer behind them, ergo, it was the taxi, ergo I'm not in London. (?)

But I still think it was Jake who brought them there, maybe Marc couldn't go and then it was Jake who entered. Maybe it was Jake standing drinking in front of the house? Because he has a different frown and dark look than Marc has, and then he drinks from a flask. Actually it could also be normal, Marc hated and loved his mother, he was sad about her death but he was also mad at her, so maybe Marc was drinking there to let off steam, but no, I can't believe Jake wasn't there, Jake has certainly suffered from Wendy's funeral too. In the same way as Marc, Jake certainly took control when the physical pain was too much for Marc, so he must have hated and loved his mother as well as Marc. Or maybe he just hated her, Jake, but he loves Steven and Marc so he brought them home for the funeral since Marc couldn't take it; and then when he leaves on foot it's because he makes a change of body with Marc for the control. I mean, I also put the photos above huh, the frown could be Marc's as it could be Jake's. Jake is part of the system, he grew up with them, he must have been in that scene, because it's an important moment for all three of them.

Maybe he didn't love Wendy, but maybe he thought Marc and Steven wanted to go and so yeah, for me it was Jake who brought them there, come on, and Marc was too upset with grief to notice. Why didn't they show us Jake, damn. T_T

Another idea I got is that I think Marc wanted to go to the funeral but he couldn't bear the weight of the pain and the anger, it was too much so it was overwhelmed Jake, who took a taxi and went to the funeral. The reason could be that Jake wanted to help Marc deal with the pain, to accept what had happened, I think, but then obviously he doesn't enter because Jake, towards his mother, has a stronger hatred than Marc's, so he takes the flask of whiskey and starts drinking, and then when he starts walking he spoke with a tone and a look that didn't seem to belong to Marc, saying something like "No, I won't. I won't give you that satisfaction.". And that made me think it was more Jake. Jake is the protector, he must have seen Marc and Steven grow up from afar, only intervening to help them, so he loves them, he cares about them, and the relationship that Jake must have with his mother, for me, must have been only one of hate and anger. I'll explain. Jake was probably the one who suffered when Marc could no longer stand the beatings, which perhaps over time had become more and more violent. Or rather, maybe it worked with Marc who took physical and mental pain even when he let Steven overtake him who in fact did not notice it because he dissociated himself when his mother beat him, but Marc no, it was there that he observed everything from a distance, so maybe when they both reached their maximum, their limit (Yes, because Steven didn't notice, but in the long run, during the beating he took with ease, there was a risk that he might open his eyes out of the blue, certainly Steven had a limit too, he could pretend up to a certain point, but then he had to run away from all that torture to catch his breath, and so Marc created Jake, or maybe Steven himself created him unconsciously), and so Jake ran to defend them, taking all the rest of the pain and giving his alters a well-deserved break. So, if Steven had an illusory and heavenly view of the world, and Marc had the harsh reality and guilt gripping him but he clung to Steven's lightheartedness for a living; Jake must have taken only his mother's hatred, then clung to Marc and Steven to stay lucid. The memories that Jake must have towards Wendy are only of her beating them, as opposed to Marc who also possesses his memories of her mother when, before her brother's death, she was loving and kind; so Jake just hates his mom. So when he's at the funeral, it's Jake who walks away and says those words, "I'm not going to give you that satisfaction", really I think and hope it's him saying it and not Marc, because it makes sense. Marc felt guilty, he kept blaming himself for everything, so at most he might not want to go into the house because he didn't feel worthy to say goodbye to his mother because he believed he was the one who reduced her like that, because Marc always has thought it was his fault and that he deserved that pain; but Jake instead felt the exact opposite, which is that their mother didn't deserve their last farewell after everything she had done to them, and so the sentence he says about her makes sense. And in fact Jake walks away, and then Marc comes in, collapsing in tears of pain, unlike Jake who was just frowning and angry. As always, they are only hypotheses of course, if you do not agree please tell me your thoughts. :3 Obviously I don't know much about DID, so if I said something wrong I apologize and you guys correct me, I'm learning.

[chisatowo]

I always forget english sekai exists and is always does me such intense psychic damage. What do you mean Rui's stamp where he is literally just sighing got translated as "seriously?" what the actual fuck

[ryouverua]

The Despairingly Hopeful Flashback Light

“It’s been days since I’ve had a chance to insult people so do me a favour and line up in a row so I can have a go at each of you in turn.”

“Just.... enough energy... to pick that low-hanging fruit...”

Have you even slept at all since this all began?!

She... she’s fully ready to do this? I know it’s not participating in the killing game, but this still not how I want you to use your talent! Not at all!

Just before I go onto the good stuff, I wanted to bring it back over to Himiko’s fluff text because it’s so bittersweet to have her thinking about Tenko in this situation.

It’s hard to say though, Himiko - I think she would have difficulty accepting the situation in general and would try and encourage you to at least enjoy the time you have left. Would she be mad at you though? Mad, no. Sad, absolutely.

That is... exceedingly odd. We’ve only ever found them before by searching - but then again, who would be searching for anything now?

Maybe, but didn’t he say he wasn’t going to interfere with us anymore? I suppose that could be a lie too, but I can’t imagine why he would do anything like this now.

Closure is better than nothing I suppose. Though I’d argue that was... sorta, kinda what Kokichi gave us, in a way?

That’s the, uh, attitude? 8′D

“They don’t call me the Ultimate Assassin for nothing, kid.”

omae wa mo shindeiru

Alright then... well, let’s see it. She’s right, honestly. What’s the worst that could happen at this point? They’re days away from committing mass suicide! 

FLASHBACK LIGHT! FLASHBACK LIGHT! FLASHBACK LIGHT!

Is it the colours? Are the colours why I love this animated sequence so much?

Wait, Hope’s Peak Academy?

WAIT A SECOND ALL THOSE WORDS LOOK SUPER FAMILIAR

So it officially is now??? I always thought it might be in a small way (I mean, come on, Monokuma is there), but literally everything???

Hope’s Peak Academy, you absolute bastard.

Man, we’re really just going over everything, aren’t we?

~The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History~, which was then renamed to being the second most awful because METEORS RAINED FROM THE SKY AND WIPED OUT EVERYTHING -

Here’s Junko -

The Ultimate Catalyst. >>

Aaaw crap though, if she’s being brought up now... they can’t possibly bring her back for a third time, right? Right???

Now the 78th class’s killing game, most significant to history because that was what led to Junko’s death, I imagine -

We really are getting the Cole’s notes version of events, aren’t we!

I guess they can’t outright talk about Danganronpa 2 here, huh? Fair enough, honestly! Might as well give people a chance to play it without spoiling it too badly!

You gonna expand on that champ? ...... No? Uh, okay?

NO SERIOUSLY WHAT DO YOU MEAN IT CAME TO A SUDDEN END THAT ANIME WAS CALLED ‘END OF HOPE’S PEAK’ NOT ‘END OF THE HOPE VS DESPAIR WAR’ 

Wait are you seriously telling me the cult is the Remnants? I... I don’t know if I’m super happy about that, but okay... I guess it makes sense for them to try and latch onto something like this when their side has lost so much ground. Does that mean there were still a bunch of them lingering, left over from when their fight came to a so-called abrupt end?

Wait, Makoto did this? Would he be in his 40s or 50s then? I was hoping this would take a good deal after the other events, so I guess that’s one way to do it!

though with that said you didn’t have to literally chuck meteors at the prequels and burn them to the ground that is some serious overkill

hope hope hope hope hope hope hope

.......

Oh right, before I forget -

hope.

Please don’t sound so happy about that Shuichi, I thought it was actually nice for you guys to be from different schools. 8′/ Though I guess the whole reason were were considered ‘Ultimates’ was because you were selected as a representative of your specialty to attend Hope’s Peak, but still.

Applied? Weren’t they scouted? I guess Makoto changed the rules or something? 8′D

????? Am I just completely remembering things wrong because I swear it was a scouting process and not an application process...

Oh, that I like at least! Wait, does that mean there were 16 classes going on at the same time for a single year of students??? The logistics must have been a nightmare.

because Makoto’s normal meter has been completely, utterly destroyed by his own old class

.....

.....

LMAO

THAT

THAT WORKS TOO

.........................

eyes Kaito

......... Are you, now? Exactly... what are the symptoms of the virus, exactly?

Oh hey, it’s a new ‘New World Order’! Long time no see!

I MEAN... LIKE.... THIS ANSWERS SOME QUESTIONS.... BUT RAISES MORE....

I know I said I thought we were missing information that would help gel some things together, and this would explain why Monokuma is overseeing this game again, but I still feel like there’s more. I mean, also because even now we’re still in Chapter 5, but that’s beside the point.

Damn it the ‘h’ word is out of the bag and it’s like the game is trying to make up for lost time. 8′D

Weirdly enough, having the cult be the Remnants of Despair makes me more suspicious of Kokichi’s claims of being the mastermind? Is that just me? 

FML HOW DARE YOU BE SO CUTE AT A CRUCIAL MOMENT LIKE THIS damn you’re so small

So timeline-wise are we far enough away from Junko’s life and death for her to have become both a historical figure as well as a symbol? Do I have that right?

Mm, I mean, if we hadn’t had that whole ‘sister’ reveal I could see ‘let me witness the beauty of humanity in the most extreme of circumstances’ Korekiyo Shinguuji being a good, if slightly obvious, choice just off the top of my head, and without any relation to the Remnants. 8′D 

That I can actually agree with! There’s way too much of a coincidence between how things are being held for it not to be related to them, at the very least.

HEY EXCUSE YOU WE HAD A PERFECTLY GOOD ‘TRUTH VS LIES’ THEME GOING ON DON’T GO SHOVING THIS HOPE-SHAPED PEG IN WHERE IT DOESN’T BELONG

Literally my biggest question!!!

That.... That just seems like such a handwave answer! I know one of Junko’s things was how bored she got, and sure, Kokichi talked about how boring a lot of things could be, but the game was literally how Junko got her kicks! She was quite happy to see it until the end, and I’m pretty sure if Kokichi was following her script he would do the same!

Eeeeh? But like... Junko’s plan was ruined by Naegi, Kirigiri et al., right? She didn’t just throw it all away the way Kokichi has. Doesn’t that seem weird to any of you guys at all??

T... The number of times the word ‘hope’ has been said in the last twenty + minutes is leaving me dizzy.

“WOULD YOU LIKE SOME HOPE WITH THAT HOPE??? AND WOULD YOU LIKE TO UPSIZE THAT HOPE? IT’LL COME WITH AN EXTRA SIDE OF HOPE!!!”

Normally I’d love to hear more about your inner voice but right now I’d love for you to put it on mute. 8′/

I love you two but I am debating the pros and cons of pushing you both down the stairs leading to Kaito’s lab r/n

say hope or despair one more time

Aaaaw Himiko! My tiny shining light in this sea of hope and despair talk!

I am glad she was revitalized though - it was pretty scary watching her talk about having Maki kill her!

NO SHUICHI NOT YOU TOO

K1-B0 HOW TF DID YOU MANAGE TO GET THEM BOTH IN ONE SENTENCE LIKE THAT!

Sweetcheeks I am judging you inner monologue right now? Do you hear me?! I am judging you right now!!!!

If he’s the mastermind, it was probably a reward for getting so far, right? “Here’s everything else you need to know about the world that I didn’t get a chance to tell you.”

But if he’s not the mastermind aka lying about it, it seems like this is a way to disrupt his new power? Would he have really done this? Would he be able to access the flashback lights as the new king of the school, if he isn’t the mastermind? I mean, it’s not out of the realm of possibility - he’s got control of the exisals, and that shouldn’t be possible if he isn’t controlling everything - but if he also has the ability to give out flashback lights, why would he do it now? Is this is attempt to make them more interesting again?

Hypothetically, yes... though that conclusion does seem to be based on Kokichi = Mastermind. I guess to say everything I blabbed earlier more concisely, does Flashback Light Access = Mastermind, or does Flashback Light Access = Control of the School?

you wizarding nerd he’s not going to pop up if he hears you say his name

Or... would he? If he’s the mastermind, he should have access to whatever method of surveillance being used this game. This seems like a good time to pop up now in that case - gotta quash the rebellion before it starts - but he hasn’t yet.

Yes!!! Rally around Kaito’s safety!!!

SAIMOTA HAS BEEN REVIVED, BABY!!!

He did say he wanted the remote for the hangar and that he would be keeping Kaito there! So Kokichi periodically leaves to get food and supplies? I guess with an exisal, there isn’t much any of the students can do to stop him. 8′D

TSUMUGI IS THIS REALLY THE TIME

“Look guys, if I see a ship, I call it.”

also I’m a bloody hypocrite re: my saimota comment earlier

“SHIT SHIT SHIT WHY AM I SUCH A TYPICAL TSUNDERE TSUMUGI I’LL KILL YOU -”

TSUN

OOOOKAY that’s uh tmi, anyway thank you for your contribution!!!

?!?! :O Oh shit, when in the world did you get that? Did Miu have extras in her lab?

Oooooooh oooooh how clever of you!!! Damn girl, you’re good!

A;LKDSJF HIMIKO

AND NOT THE KLEPTOMANIA PART?!?!

Alright - so despite Kaito not being there, they’re able to hammer out a pretty good battle plan. Sorry Kaito, looks like you’ve been relegated to the ‘damsel in distress’ position! That’s... sorta close to being a hero? Related? Or something? anyway if you don’t think Kaito being a damsel in distress makes me incredibly happy you don’t know me at all

So they’ll be charging the exisal hangar tomorrow (gotta charge those hammers!) with an electrobomb to disable Kokichi’s access to the exisals and hammers to disable the shutter lock and as a back-up. It’s a good plan, all things considered!

.... But..... why do I have a terrible feeling that someone is going to be dead when they get there? For that matter, I don’t know why I’m saying it in such vague terms - I’ll be shocked if someone isn’t dead either by the time they reach the hangar, or while they’re in there. I posited the idea that Maki’s lab could be an alternative spot, or even Shuichi’s lab, but with both Kaito and Kokichi in there I don’t think there’s any doubt left. I also feel like the ‘potential victim’ list has been cut to the two of them too.... D: 

MAKI THE WHOLE POINT IS THAT WE DON’T WANT ANY MORE DEAD BODIES

Is this not just so incredibly reminiscent of what happened with Kaede? It’s incredibly tempting, I understand that, but we can’t make the same mistake twice! I also feel like this will be another case of 'wrong target’ but that’s a separate issue

Well said, K1-b0!

FINALLY a chance to use the nerdmugi tag again! It’s been so long! I’ll let that use of the word ‘despair’ slide this time, but only because of that.

C-CAN WE NOT NEUTRALIZE HIM

RYOMA’S CHAINS OR TENNIS NET CORD

KOREKIYO’S CAGE

GONTA’S INSECT NET

MIU’S GENERAL BONDAGE DUNGEON THAT I’M 99% SURE EXISTS UNDER HER LAB

THERE MUST BE SOME OPTIONS

Despite being embarrassed about being rescued by the others, I bet Kaito would be so proud to know that Maki reached out to the others like this and is working together with them to rescue him! She’s spent so much time caught up in her own emotional walls she created around her heart, you know? And now, finally, she’s letting some people in!

Okay now Maki this may not be integral to the plan or anything but I do insist that if the impossible happens and nothing goes wrong, you carry Kaito outside of the hangar bridal-style. Okay? Okay.

It’s wishful thinking, all things considered... but we can hope.

but first, time to get a certain robot’s underwear.

[imagineyourstars]

Hello it's me again. I like to request a scenario about the transfer student and her 2-A classmates hanging out on their days off.

this !!! i wrote a lot more than i originally planned !!! (i wrote 4000 words lmao) i made sure to keep the pronouns gender-neutral too ! i tried to keep it friendly but there’s a bit of ship-tease too~

but aaaaaa i love friendship requests…. they heal my soul…. writing for groups can be a bit chaotic sometimes but it’s really fun !!! i hope you like it ♥ and thank you for blessing me with such great requests !! - mod mademoiselle

Today was going to be a good day, you just knew it.Maybe it was how your lips were always tugging into a small smile, or how youwere humming happily while you were getting breakfast ready. You definitelywere in a good mood, and the reason for it all just so happened to be sendingyou a hundred of text messages per second.

“Don’t be late, alright !” “You remember how to getthere I hope ?? If you don’t I can come and pick you up !!” “Today’s gonna beso much fun !!” Subaru wouldn’t stop sending more and more texts, to the pointwhere you just couldn’t keep up with the flow and answer him. Well, it’s notlike he would mind, not with how excited he already seemed to be. 

Today was theday when you and your classmates had agreed to see each other, and you’d beenlooking forward to it ! You’d been pretty busy this summer, and everyone elsealso had their own things to do, so you couldn’t really see the boys often.But you sure missed them, and it seemed like everyone missed you too !

You finished getting ready, checking one last time youwere looking okay and then left your place. You didn’t even take the time tocheck you didn’t forget anything, but it was more than alright ! You’d beenpreparing since yesterday evening, after all. You even found yourselfpratically running until the meeting point, the middle of the shoppingdistrict. Hokuto and Makoto were already there, and when the blond boyenthusiastically waved to you, you couldn’t help but do the same immediately.

“Good to see you. I hope you’re doing fine.” Hokutosent a small smile your way, which was his own way to show he was overjoyed atthe thought he finally got to see you after one long month apart. You noddedenergetically, making Makoto chuckle. The glasses boy’s cheeks were gettingmore than a little pink…

“I-I’ve been looking forward to today, you know”, heeventually managed to stammer out. Your smile immediately eased his stress,althought he got a bit redder too.

“Me too !” you answered. “I thought summer holidays would be restful,but… it’s kind of sad without you all.” Makoto nodded, while Hokuto lookedabsorbed in his contemplation of one of the store’s windows. He was hiding afaint smile, though…

“I never thought I would say that, but I did miss theidiots a bit—Oh.” You were about to turn around, curious to see what could havecaused Hokuto to stop talking immediately, but a pair of hands obscured yoursight.

“Guess who~ !” His chest was pressed close to yourback, and you could feel how loud his heartbeat was.

“Subaru !” You broke into a huge smile when he laughedbrightly, removing his hands and hugging you tightly.

“The one and only ! Did you miss me~ ? I’d feel prettydown if you say no, so just lie, okay ?” His blue eyes were bright andtwinkling, as usual, and the mere sight of them made you all jittery. Youreally, really missed them all…

“Ah, Subaru, not fair ! Don’t hog them all to yourself! Seriously, he just came in and he’s already acting like he owns the place,that’s exactly why we didn’t miss you !” Makoto looked happy to see his friend though, high-fiving him while Hokuto just shook his head.

“Idiot Duo, you’ll have more than enough time to catchup later. Don’t just ignore Adonis and Souma, say hello.” Huh ? When did theyeven get there ? You turned around and greeted the two boys with a smile. Adonisfaintly answered, and Souma nodded.

“Do not worry, Hokuto-dono, for we only just arrived.It is a pleasure to see you all.” Souma even bowed, and Subaru gave you a little wink.

“I found those two on my way, so we decided to walkthere together”, he explained happily. Makoto looked more than a bit curiousthough, head tilted to the side.

“Were you together, Adonis, Souma ? Did you perhapsmake plans without us ?! Aaah, how unfair ! I want to go out with my friendstoo !” Adonis, not getting the joke, merely shook his head in response.

“It’s not that. Souma and I have been spending a fewdays together. He showed me a lot of very beautiful places. I am thankful.”Wow, that sure sounded great. You kind of wanted Souma to show you around too !

“Oh, by the way, has anyone seen Natsume-kun ? We can’treally keep moving without him, right ?” Makoto asked, looking a bit confused.

“Is he even coming today ? He never answered my calls.”Hokuto sure didn’t look like he cared.

“I sent him looots of texts, so I think he knows !” Theboys kept chattering, exchanging suppositions and trying to agree on what todo. You barely listened to them, lost in your own thoughts. It didn’t seem likeNatsume to never answer and just ignore an invitation… but then again, it didseem like him to forget to check his phone… Wait, that boy, over there… ?

“Ah, he’s here ! Natsume-kuuun !” Subaru waved at himenthusiastically. Natsume barely even waved back, but did grin to you briefly.He was sipping on iced coffee and didn’t look like he’d hurried there at all.

“Hey, Sakasaki. You’re late. Didn’t you know about thetime of the meet-up ?” Hokuto asked, looking coldly at the newly-arrived boy,who just snickered in response.

“Time is only a social construct, Hidaka.” Well, hesaid that but his dark circles were cleverly hidden by a pair of sunglasses.

“Yeah, so basically he’s trying to say that he sleptin.” Subaru and you laughed at Makoto’s joke, who seemed more than pleased atthe attention. Even Adonis broke into a small smile, but Hokuto just sighed,shaking his head.

“Well, whatever. Let’s just move on, now that everyone’shere.” Hokuto, faithful to his position as the class’s representative, was nowattentively studying a list he seemed to have taken out of his backpack. Did he…prepare a schedule for the day ?

“Hokuto-dono, if I may… What are we to do today ?”Hokuto just blinked at Souma’s question, visibly unsure of the answer.

“Well… I was thinking something relaxing buteducational would be good. We could go to a museum or visit a shrine, if youwould like.” Subaru loudly whined, dejectedly shaking his head.

“Eeeeh… A museum… This isn’t fun at all, Hokke ! Can’twe just go play somewhere~ ?”

“Subaru-kun might be right, even though it’s the firsttime in his life ! I’d prefer to have fun too, but well, I’m not picky either !”Makoto seemed to be uneasy at the thought of siding with either of his friends,which made you laugh quietly. It’s just like him…

“I will follow you. I don’t mind either way.” Thanks,Adonis, that was helpful… You turned your head towards Souma, curious as towhat his opinion was, and he just so happened to be looking at you. Hehurriedly looked down, cheeks slightly tinted pink.

“I-I do not mind either. I do think the temple wouldbe refreshing, but I do not know what youngsters these days do for fun…” Helooked so flustered ! You couldn’t help but smile at the sight. Natsume justsnickered, still sipping on his coffee.

“Your leader skills are strong, Hokke-kun. Why don’twe just go and play ? You can visit shrines by yourself if you want.” Natsume’swords didn’t seem to make Hokuto happy, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, hestepped closer to you.  For just a split second you thought his face looked a bit gentler, as he sent you an inquisitivegaze.

“What about you ? What do you want to do ?” Of course,everyone turned your way with expectant faces, waiting for your answer to getgoing. Not wanting to offend anyone, you hesitantly replied.

“Well, since most of us seem to want to do somethingfun, um… Maybe the arcade sounds good ? What do you think ?” They kept quietfor a moment, but ultimately everyone nodded and you silently let out arelieved sigh.

“I knew you’d understand~ Summer’s for fun stuff,right ?”

“Little kitten, you have good tastes, after all.”

“I do not know much about this ‘arcade’ place, but please teach me about it !” Seems like everyone was more or less pleased with your choice, and thatincluded Hokuto, who smiled softly at you.

“Well, if it’s what you want… then okay. Let’s headthere, you guys.” A chorus of enthusiastic exclamations echoed as his answer.

The room of the game center Makoto picked was dark,but pretty big, and the music was just a bit too loud for you to hear hisexplanations properly.

“… and then this button here is for reloading. Simple,right ? Really, aside from shooting, there’s not much to do in this game, but it’sfun to play with friends !” You nodded confusedly, trying to recap it allin your head. He said it was simple, but the controls seemed ridiculouslycomplex for an arcade game… Makoto visibly caught on your confusion, as helaughed and hesitantly patted your shoulder.

“Don’t worry, it’s simple once you get the hang of it! Wanna play against me ?” Against ? You thought it was a co-op game ! But helooked so happy at the thought of showing you his favorite game…

“Um, yeah, sure ! But go easy on me, okay ? I’m just abeginner !” He smiled widely, inserting credits into the machine.

“Sure, don’t worry ! I won’t be too hard on you~”Before you even had time to answer, the game was starting, and you were doingyour best to remember all the controls. Aiming proved a bit trickier than youthought, but you were doing a pretty good job at killing all those zombies !Just as you were about to brag and tease Makoto, you noticed his score wasthree times as high as yours.

“How do you do that ?! I’m going as fast as humanlypossible, and you’re still better ?” He laughed at your comment, but didn’t avert his eyes fromhis screen. 

“I have years of practice under my belt, you know ?Just let me have a chance to show you my cool side !” Cool side or not, youdidn’t intend to lose to him ! You were getting more and more into it, andyelped when someone suddenly glomped you.

“Aah, be careful, the boss is about to come out !Here, lemme help !” Subaru’s hands joined yours around the gun’s handle,his fingers expertly pressing the buttons. And his aim was much better than yours too…but it was really hard to focus on the game when he was practically hugging youfrom behind… You hoped neither he or Makoto would notice you were blushing abit, but fortunately, they were too into the game to even look at you beforeit was over.

“Subaru, you lying cheat ! You promised you wouldn’tinterfere ! You’re the worst wingman ever !” Subaru just laughed brightly inresponse, handing you the gun back.

“I couldn’t help it, their score was just so bad, it’salmost like it was calling me to the rescue~” You puffed out your cheeks. Andhere you thought you did pretty good !

“Hey, it was my first time ! Don’t be too hard on me !”Fortunately, Hokuto came to your rescue, alarmed when he heard just how muchnoise the three of you were making.

“The Idiot Duo’s not bullying you, are they ?” heasked, looking genuinely worried about you.

“Please forgive us, Hokuto-sama, we didn’t know youwere their knight in shining armor today !”

“Yes, we’ve been fools, Hokuto-sama… !” Subaru andMakoto were now prostrated on the floor, prompting you to giggle. Hokuto justsighed, before gently taking your arm and taking you away.

“Do you want to stay with me ? I’m trying to figureout how the games work. That, and trying to hide from Sakasa—”

“Oh, you’re here, Hokke-kun. Still afraid to take up achallenge, I see. Well, should I make it into a victory by forfeit for me ?” Natsumeliterally came out from nowhere, a teasing smile on his lips. You didn’t reallyknow what that was all about, but you suspected Natsume was having a lot of funteasing Hokuto.

“What happened ? Oh, did Natsume challenge you to agame ?! No way, you should just give up, Hokke !” Subaru and Makoto had joinedyou, much to Hokuto’s annoyance.

“Hey, Subaru ! It’s not Hokke but ‘Hokuto-sama’, didyou forget already ? Jeez, this kid can’t do running gags at all…” Makoto’sjoke made you smile again, and he looked pretty pleased at that.

“Oh, isn’t it the ‘Idiot Duo’. Good timing. I’m prettybored, so I asked Hokke-kun to face me off in a game, but he’s been avoiding meever since.” Natsume’s grin was positively cat-like.

“Hey, Hokke, you should have told us ! We’d haverooted for you ! What game is it ?” Subaru asked enthusiastically. Hokuto justsighed in response, visibly troubled.

“It’s this one… um, Dance Dance Revolution, was it ? I don’tknow much about this sort of things, so of course I’d lose.” Makoto gaspedloudly at Hokuto’s words.

“Don’t say that, Hokuto ! Aren’t you a natural atdancing ? You should give it a try !” You even found yourself nodding at the glassesboy’s words, and Hokuto seemed to hesitate a bit when he noticed it.

Natsume didn’t miss even a second of it, and keptgoing relentlessly. “Then, if you want it to be more exciting, shall we putsomething at stake ? Let’s say there’s a prize to be won… and it’s littlekitten.” You just blinked. Was he implying…

“I’m not a prize !” He completely ignored yourinterruption, but his eyes had lightened up and you could clearly see he washaving a lot of fun.

“Since the prize is already decided, let’s just saythe winner gets to ki—”

“I’ll do it.” Hokuto was already stepping towards thearcade game, much to Natsume’s delight. You were left staring at them inconfusion, while Subaru and Makoto were getting fired up.

“A fated battle between men, to protect their prideand their love ! How moving !” Makoto even got a tissue out to wipe his eyes,just for the sake of his joke. That boy goes too far sometimes.

“I’ll call this ‘Encouter of Fate ! Newbie Grandpaversus Sadistic Creep’ !” While they were getting excited together, you idlylooked over the other games. Hokuto and Natsume looked very intent on havingthis little showdown, and you were looking for an excuse to mysteriously disappear.You didn’t doubt Natsume would win, and you didn’t intend to give up to him soeasily.

Your salvation came in the form of very disoriented Soumaand Adonis, who were hesitantly trying games. When Souma met your gaze, hisface visibly relaxed.

“Ah, we were looking for you. Adonisu-dono and Iwanted to try…” You didn’t catch the end of the sentence, as the music was abit too loud and Souma a bit too quiet.

“Sorry, I didn’t catch that ! What do you want to try? Maybe I can show you how it works !” Souma looked a bit embarrassed, but hedid step closer to you.

“We would like to try… the, um, the ‘purikura’, was it…?” Those photobooths ? Well, it was a bit surprising but who were you to judge?

“Oh, okay ! Can I try it with you too ?” Keeping asouvenir of today didn’t seem like a bad idea, and besides you wanted to be somewhere hidden when Natsume would start looking for you. Adonis shyly smiled at you.

“Of course. I want to make a lot of memories with myfriends.” And with that, the three of you were inside the booth, trying out thedifferent options. Adonis and Souma were curious about everything and seemed tobe having a lot of fun. You were completely forgetting about the others whenthe curtain suddenly opened, revealing a peering-face with bright blue eyes andorange hair.

“Aaah, you’re taking pictures without me !! How couldyou ! Make some room for me, Zaki-kun !”

“Subaru, you’re going to ruin the pho—” Too late. Youdidn’t have time to finish your sentence before Subaru’s photobomb wasdisplayed on the screen. You could only see his face and half of Adonis’nervous smile on the picture. Subaru’s face wasn’t even blurry, and hisecstatic wide smile was displayed in glorious HD.

“Save this picture ?” asked the automated voice, buteveryone kept silent. You exchanged a glance with Souma, then Adonis, andeventually everyone broke into laughter, including the photobombing culprithimself. Only once were you all calmed down did Adonis press the ‘Yes’ button.

“I like this picture”, he explained, shooting you asmall smile. You nodded. It was… very like Subaru. You were sure you were goingto keep it, actually. The curtain opened again, Makoto peeking insidethe booth. Two more pairs of legs were standing behind him, and you supposedNatsume and Hokuto were done with their little duel.

“Ooh, you’re taking photos ! Can we join ? Of course,we can also wait a bit !” he exclaimed loudly. Natsume just groaned, and you couldn’trestrain a smile at the sound.

“I’m not interested in pictures.” Makoto’s facemomentarily disappeared from the booth, as he turned it towards Natsume.

“Oh, come on ! Just a few souvenirs !” But Subaru wouldn’thave it and dragged Makoto inside, making him stumble on Adonis’ legs (whichwere taking most of the room inside the booth). Before Natsume could protest,Hokuto pushed him inside as well, and while the first few pictures were… challenging,to say the least, everyone ended up loosening up and relaxing. And the picturescame out nicely, too !

“Well, now that that’s taken care of, should we go andhave a bite somewhere ?” Hokuto suggested, looking at his watch.

“It’s already this late, huh ? Time flies when you’rehaving fun !” Makoto chirped, and Subaru vigorously nodded.

“As long as I can eat meat, I’m fine with anything.”Adonis’ meek voice was barely even audible in the noisy atmosphere of the gamecenter, but your smile in response made him break out into a shy attempt at a smileof his own.

“Then, let’s go and have fast-food ! Yahoo, I’m theone who gets to choose~” And with those words, Subaru dashed outside, causingNatsume to snicker.

“They do say fools are the happiest.”

“Oi, Akehoshi… Too late”, Hokuto sighed, massaging histemples. You gently patted his back, and he smiled faintly your way. His eyeswere so gentle whenever he was looking at you… “What do you want to eat ?” he quietly asked, so quietly you could barely hearhim.

“I’m fine with anything, really.” You smiled too, andhe looked deeply relieved.

“Then let’s just catch up with this idiot. He mightget lost, after all.”

Eating with everyone was definitely an experience.Souma was new to fast-food, but didn’t seem to dislike it. Natsume stole foodfrom the others whenever they were not looking, and Makoto seemed veryself-conscious at the thought he would be eating right in front of you. Subarudidn’t lack material for his jokes, his target of choice frequently alternating between Hokuto, whoinsisted to examine what was inside his food methodically before eating it, andAdonis, who ate easily twice as much as the others. You were pretty nervous atthe thought you might end up getting sauce everywhere but fortunately, you didn’tmess up. There must be a god, after all…

After that, everyone headed to karaoke. With Hokutoaround, it felt a bit more like a singing lesson to be honest, but Makoto andSubaru were experts at relaxing the mood. Souma didn’t know about karaoke andseemed to enjoy himself a lot ! Natsume just tried to disrupt everyone’sconcentration. You thought you’d be a bit awkward at the thought of having tosing with everyone, but it went really well ! Time flied, and before you knewit everyone was already saying their goodbyes.

“Thank you for teaching me so much. I will be forevergrateful to you all. Next time, please feel free to come at the Kanzaki familyestate. I shall show you many beautiful places and dishes.” Souma bowed deeply,prompting a little laugh out of you.

“No need for that, Souma ! I’m glad you had fun. Seeyou soon !” You waved, and there he went, soon followed by Adonis.

“Thanks for today. It was fun. Don’t forget to havedinner.” He left immediately after his elliptic goodbyes, apparently on thephone with one of his older sisters. From what you gathered, they were gettinghungry and were waiting for him. Oh well, you’d see him soon at school, afterall.

“Oh, it’s this late ?” Makoto winced when he noticedthe time, then shot you all an apologetic smile. “Sorry everyone, gotta hurryhome ! See you guys !”

“Aah, wait for me, Glasses ! Well then, see yaeveryone !” Subaru left running after Makoto, but not after giving you a littlewink. You waved at him, smiling happily, until you suddenly noticed you wereleft alone with Hokuto and Natsume. And here you’d forgotten about their littleduel and Natsume’s reward… You could practically feel Natsume’s grin as heslowly creeped up from behind you.

“Does that mean I can finally get my prize, little kitten? I’ve been ready since this morning.” Oh no he’s not. Your mind was reeling,trying to think of a witty comeback, but you didn’t need one in the end. Hokutostepped up, eyes shooting daggers at Natsume.

“I don’t think they really like that joke. I’ll bewalking them home. Goodbye, Sakasaki.” He dragged you away without any furtherexplanation, and you just followed him confusedly, before turning around towave at Natsume. You didn’t want him to be angry at you or anything, andfortunately it didn’t seem like he took it badly. He just waved back, a small, mysterious smile on his lips.

You were deep in your thoughts and didn’t notice whenHokuto suddenly stopped walking, a few minutes later. You just crashed into hisback, and as you were about to ask him if everything was alright, he turned toyou. His face looked a bit grim, and he was just as deep in thoughts as youwere.

“Sorry. Are you okay ?” You nodded, much tohis relief. “Good. I just… I’m sorry for this whole thing with Sakasaki. It waschildish, and certainly not very fun for you.” He sighed, albeit more deeplythan usual.

“No, don’t worry about that ! I didn’t mind, really.Well, to Natsume it’s just a game after all, right ?” You smiled, trying torelax the atmosphere, but Hokuto didn’t smile back. He was attentively studyingyour face, and eventually turned his eyes away.

“A game, huh. So that’s how you see it.” He kept quietfor a moment, then started walking again, with you following him as fast as youcould. His legs were much bigger than yours, after all… When he suddenly spokeagain, you weren’t expecting it and were a bit startled.

“You know, you won’t have to worry about Sakasakidoing anything to you. I… well, I’m the one who won.” Oh ? That was unexpected.You wanted to congratulate him, but he looked so serious that your words justdied in your throat. And when he shyly took your hand in his, you completelyforgot about them.

“Would you hate it if… if we walk home like that ?”You just shook your head in response, worried your voice would betray you if you talked. Heseemed relieved and squeezed your fingers just a bit tighter.

“Then, this will be my reward.”