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              “ We’re best friends I can just tell when you’re not studying. ” he perks up upon hearing of a new game “ what game ! i’m grabbing my stuff now but tell me ! ”

   hook, line, and sinker ... he couldn’t help but grin to himself, grabbing at the opportunity to end the homework conversation.  

              “ Really? So if we showed Makoto - chan she’d believe it? ” he’s chastizing but in reality this is part of Ryuji’s charm. To go so far as to mess up his own bag to prove it. Though he seems to forget that not only does Tadashi Masaru know him, but he also can tell when something looks too covered up.

              “ You did nice work on the bag mess though that might get one of our senseis. ”

   he’d clench his teeth at the mention, fists balled at his side before hastily crossing his chest. he’d leave his bag on the ground beside his feet,    no point in looking to it anymore — especially once he saw that he wasn’t making any progress in fooling tadashi.   

          ‘ exactly, ‘ she says, hands perched upon hips as she takes on a near-heroic pose. well … as heroic as she can get with a dog mask on her face. ‘ or, at least —- try to. i don’t know. ‘

     she deflates as soon as she puffs herself up, squared shoulders slumping, hands coming to rub over her eyes in frustration only to be stopped by the mask obscuring her features. ruby can’t help but trace its outline, stopping at the pointed tip of an ear near the top. it’s at that point she really begins to look herself over, turning this way & that way to view her transformation, & suddenly she gasps. ‘ when did i get a cape ?! that’s awesome, ‘ she whispers, circling herself to try & grasp the edge of it.

          ‘ what ? fix it ourselves ? ‘ she stops dead in her tracks like a pup caught with its tail in its mouth, eyes widened & staring at him as if he’d just suggested an assassination attempt. the cape drops from her hands & sways back to its previous position. ‘ but —- shouldn’t we makes sure the others are safe ? sure, beating torchwick is important, but … but what if they get stuck in here ?! ‘

     worry begins to overtake her, but only for the short moment it takes for ruby’s outburst to end & ryuji’s question to begin. it sparks a bit of excitement in her, as well as her childlike sense of curiosity. ‘ call myself ? you mean i get a code name ?! oh, that’s so cool !! ahh ! i-is there, like … a naming guide to follow ? i don’t even know where to start ! i’ve been trying to prepare for this kind of thing my whole life yet i have nothing to show for it ! ‘

   with the tension since having eased a bit so does his posture. his muscles relax, stance nearly as tense as before ... and it’s slight, but he’s able to feel a relieved sigh pass his lips. the situation was never as grim as he’d initially believe ( in his day to day life, ryuji could tend to jump to the worst possible outcome ... typically resulting in bursts of frustration ) ; the worst of it now being the point that he and ruby had found themselves separated from the rest of their group.       —— and his thought process snaps, attention pulled to ruby’s excitement ; a proud grin tugging at his own lips as he shifts to stand tall, and hands placing themselves at his hip.  

‘ heh ... pretty cool, huh ?!     we all got these cool outfits here— ’ and the excitement is short lived. ruby’s fixation with her new outfit quickly turning to react to his remark of them having to carry onward on their own. ‘ if we find them, great ! but we can’t waste our time lookin’ for ‘em ... we don’t have all the time in the world, ya know ! ’ his words would come off harsher than he’d intend ... somewhat of a know it all attitude lacing itself between his words.  

‘ besides ... they can take care of themselves !     don’t forget, they got joker with ‘em. if we don’t figure this mess out, they will. ’ he’d attempt and apply ice to the situation, skull himself fully confident in not only their abilities, but his friends as well.  

‘ but before we get moving ...      i’ll help ya pick out a code name ! ’ 

   with arms shifting to cross against his chest would ryuji find a frown plastered upon his face. he hadn’t originally planned to attend classes that day ( an innocent game of hooky ... ), his loud mouth however causing some of their friend group to catch wind of vulgar boy’s plan.  

and it was nice to meet ya, i’m comin to see ya. walking the streets after midnight -- feel my blood stream, halloween daydream.       whoa, its a long, long way down.     fix my heart, leave me on the floor ; hurts like hell. 

and the suns not coming yet.