"Good shot, Skull!" Makoto cheered, smiling as the shadow he'd taken down collapsed to the floor and disappeared, leaving behind some money and a canned coffee. Makoto rushed over to scoop up the loot and tossed her partner the canned coffee. "You're definitely getting a lot stronger!"

They'd been travelling the grotesque tunnels of Mementos for the better half of three hours now, hunting down shadows and working on their fighting skills. They'd racked up quite a lot of loot; from money to items and other little trinkets. Makoto had definitely perfected her use of brass knuckles, and Johanna had definitely gotten a few hundred kilometres on her.

@crossxskulled asked: ❛ Whoa, Hey, hey, hey hey, Deep breaths, Lot of deep breaths. ❜

Scream sentence starters - No Longer Accepting!

Fucking hell. She knew she should've asked Chiaki to come with her, or at least done a better job of convincing her best friend to help. Instead, Sonia had shown her sympathy when the Ultimate Gamer had hesitated to accompany her to the busy arcade not far from Shibuya. While she was often the one gawked and pointed at, if not approached for an uncomfortable question or a photo, it was Chiaki's turn for such behavior should she step foot into an arcade of any sort. And while Sonia was more than capable of handling, and deflecting, such attention politely, her friend was less so.

What Sonia wasn't capable of was winning at the UFO Catcher games. Or at least, the one she'd been focused on for the past two hours. While other patrons flocked to the latest offerings from otome games, an action series featuring ninjas, wide-eyed maids and anime idols, she'd planted herself in front of a single cabinet. It was full of plush dolls styled after various horror icons from East to West: Sadako, Michael Myers, Freddy Kreuger, Jason Voorhees, the Jigsaw Puppet, Chucky...and her target, the two different versions of Ghostface. One of them featured the popular fictional horror icon with a plain, grimacing mask, but Sonia was laser-focused on the limited edition version, complete with red patches sewn to mimic blood splatters. They weren't available in any of the anime shops, only the arcade, and thus she'd come armed with an arcade card and sheer determination.

And the latter was quickly running out, considering that, without a care for the rest of the patrons of the arcade, she'd let loose a string of swear words. In a variety of European languages, thank goodness, but the tone was enough for several heads to turn and stare at the loudmouthed foreigner, with a glare in her eyes and cheeks turned deep pink in focus. In stress. And now, in shock as she heard a voice behind her.

"Whoa, Hey, hey, hey, hey, Deep breaths, Lot of deep breaths."

He'd distracted her just enough that, in her attempt to snag the small loop attached to the doll's black hood, her grip had shifted and the claw had let go, dropping the soft, squeezable bloody icon right back into the pile. It was one of only a couple in a pile of dozens, and she'd tried for what appeared to be the easiest one to retrieve. Not that she couldn't afford it, but she didn't want to consider the amount of euros she'd spent on the venture thus far.

"But there is no time for deep breaths!" She protested, panicked as she gestured wildly towards the machine. That too earned her some suspicious looks: girls, especially foreign girls in private school uniforms, hardly ever spent that much time in an arcade. Much less making a scene over something as morbid as plush dolls of fictional serial killers. The crowd seemed puzzled, not just due to the fact a pretty blonde girl was choosing to spend her time in the arcade, but she didn't care for either the otome love interests or trinkets featuring the popular anime about groups of delinquent boys.

No, Sonia had far more important things to worry about. "The Ghostface doll with the blood on the mask is limited edition for the arcades only! You can't buy it online or at anime shops yet, and I must ensure one is in my collection to complete the set!" She nodded her head to the display poster, which showed every toy in the horror icon set. With appropriately-unsettling font and still images from all of the film series represented.

Ryuji’s reaction was instantly amusing. That look of bewilderment and confusion etched into the blonde’s mind, the way he was clearly trying to figure out whether he was in some sort of sleep deprived state, or overdosed on caffeine, or something to explain the sudden change in Futaba’s physique. This whole thing had amped up her gremlin levels naturally, so she batted him some more with her tail before letting out pure cat like sounds. Which sounded really like a cat. Strange.

“You’re not, Nya~ I’m just your ordinary catgirl and all. The ears are real and so is the tail. Please don’t tug on them. That’ll hurt.” Futaba responded, batting at him now with her hands. Her fingernails were a bit more sharp as well, something she hadn’t really realized quite yet as she was batting at his bare skin of his arm. “Maybe you can become a cat boy, or a fox boy! Who knows. The point is, I’m going to enjoy this while it lasts, hehehehe. Now, do you have any catnip?”

UNPROMPTED. ( always accepting ! )

Brows furrowed, followed by a glare shot fellow blond's way. “ Thanks for the advice, but I don't need it. ” Not that he was.. necessarily wrong. While her ankle boots weren't exactly the most warmth - providing shoes one could wear during these cold months, they were fashionable ! Plus, they just really looked good with her current outfit. And so far, she hadn't slipped just yet.

“ I make sure to be careful. ” Careful steps were taken, avoiding walking on any spot that seemed too .. icey and slippery. Because just like Ryuji did say ; these boots weren't the most suited for snow, nor ice, especially with the heels. She'd parcour along the path they took, perhaps exaggeratedly doing so this time because of Ryuji's former ( unneeded ) comment as if to prove that she was entirely fine.

Damn you out here like me with Ryuji

☠ - You ever one of those days where you know someone in the universe was out for you? They snuck in the normal days with airy breezes, only suddenly gain a static, prickly point. When a promising time out couldn’t quite reach that natural crescendo due to that factor of a chilling gaze attempting to freeze some poor bastard solid.. Or at least into a shuddering enough mess that their crops were spoiled and day was ruined. That happened to be Ryuji’s very situation while finding himself up one of the semi-familiar cafe spots. It always happened to be at exactly the right place during the breaks between his training.

When the bell for refreshments toll and the allowance for letting his body cool from being so red hot follows suit, it was time to briefly kick his feet up. He could feel a certain woman’s eyes attempt peel like a damn orange. That once carefree disposition dwindles purposely, pettily, those already sharp eyes narrowing further while stubbornly took another swig of his particular drink.

Chocolate milk. A true man’s champion level choice.

Within seconds those eyes of Ryuji Sakamoto found themselves tilting directly towards her. Just their auras alone had culminated into that side of the cafe to becoming a ‘devil’s’ location, one charged with tension, the kind that sliced at the body akin to knives if their wills didn’t make the cut. Right now the eyes of a Phantom Thief were in the process of rivaling this mysterious lady. No amount of sweetened drinks in the world could quite hell this kind of heat. Allowing his lips to briefly part from his treasure drink, he cants his body to the side, facing more of the air and more importantly to Nobara.

He sucked entirely at being discreet himself. (For the most part.)

”If I didn’t know any damn better. I think pissed in someone’s cereal this morning.” He’d immediately assume before allowing another flavorful burst of that damn delicious milk to be taken.

“Never caught a guy downing the real drinks in life before?”

      Tch. Now what was it that would make one Nobara Kugisaki gravitate her sights towards someone like him? Was it the bleached hair.. the tacky outfit.. has she seen those pants before? In truth, she had given no real thought to the matter, she simply did. She might have been just out of her mind, but she’s just.. randomly eyeing people. People watching, what it’s called. It doesn’t really matter however. Reasons shouldn’t be so important if it’s ought to be something unremarkable. 

      Or so she thought...

      When a static glowering comparable to her own was tossed to meet with it’s source, she winced. Ah, ⸺ she got caught. It was also then that she was able to have take a grasp on that heavy force between unmet strangers. She’d felt this one or twice before, -but it was also a feeling she has never bother to take hold of. Was it awkwardness... or something else entirely, — deplorably? It was as if she’s seemingly staring at something giving birth to a curse. But Nobara, she doesn’t waver under pressure. Catching her coffee’s straw between her teeth, she welcomed its presence indifferently.

      Chocolate Milk. A single brow lifts. Lame.

      She almost laughed. Impressed in a way that he isn’t even trying. But with tension rising, the sorceress had felt it. There was indeed something else entirely, — and it had piqued her deplorably. And so, she’d ignore the blond’s question for her own. In her domain, it was plain and simple. No bushes to beat around.

Unfortunately for this lightning bolt, these specific scenarios were quite common for the blue-scarfed investigator. Her day job hardly ever placed extra weight on her shoulders or pressured that underlying anxiety, unless a gaggle of ‘Karens’ reared their ugly heads straight into the shop. Special treatment were required for those kinds of monsters.

Outside of the bookstore, lots of her free time ticked away tapping keys across her laptop, juggling through identical manilla folders in her case logs, and research. Lots, and LOTS, of research, coupled with gathering physical evidence for said cases. Signing up to be a leader for a small, paranormal investigation group excited any little kid...until the mountain of paperwork flooded in.

Nnnnng...I should’ve cleared my desk off before he came over.

Sunken, tired eyes slowly shut wincing while Ryuji spoke his concerns. Getting chewed out by not just one, but two people today alone on her work ethnics. Vivi grew accustomed to Mystery’s barking rants and lectures, and topping it off would be this blonde boy’s callout.

....when was the last time I ate something? Must be why my head is pounding...

“It’s just...complicated.” The room grew a tad darker now that she shut the bright white light from her laptop. Damn, her eyes needed a bit of a rest too. One finger pushed those magenta specs back on her nose following with a hard pinch just on the bridge. “There’s a lot I have to do on my own, since I’m the one who’s in charge of my team. Paperwork hell is real...as much as I’d love simply performing an investigation, exorcising a demon or two, slugging around the frying pan and knocking some bad guys out, then calling it a day....er, night I should say.”

@crossxskulled​ said:  Focus. 'Focus' damn it! Why did the mere idea of just slinging her out for a day feels all different? Heart pounding even? After biting at his lip for a second, brash, forward, that's the way he decides to act! "So ahh, Sonia! Heard of Destinyland? Caught me some tickets n' all, y'knowww, I was thinkin' if the two of us could hit it up? Has these awesome as hell roller coasters if that's ya thing..?"

Unprompted IC Asks: Accepting from mutuals!

Something had been peculiar about their LINE discussions leading up to the one day a week both Ryuji and Sonia had free. He’d seemed far less energetic, at ease even, in their conversations, and no amount of cute animal stickers or even poggers faces seemed to get much of a rise out of him. Sonia hadn’t pressed the matter: for one, she’d participated in two meetings and a charity dinner that week that took up most of her time not spent with her studies or with her Hope’s Peak friends. And two, it wasn’t her place: goading someone to reveal the innerworkings of their mind (or other things) was never the foundation of a strong friendship.

So she’d been patient, agreeing to whatever day out he’d had planned, something normal students did (and likely did not involve private tours around historical buildings or all manners of industry, hoping the Novoselic Royal Family would be keen partners, if not investors). She’d met him outside the gates at Hope’s Peak at his insistence, picking her up in Towa City instead of Tokyo. That had turned some heads from her classmates and other classes alike, Sonia silently thanking the stars that some of her friends had managed to distract Kazuichi Souda long enough to keep him from dashing up to her, looking her twice over in her pale blue sundress and white sandals, and immediately assume she was going on a date.

Which she, as she assured herself emphatically, was not.

“Destinyland?” She asked with a tilt of the head. The parasol in her hands was held steady, keeping the harsh sunlight away from her exposed skin. “That is the popular amusement park in Tokyo, I believe. They have plenty of roller coasters as well as at least one haunted house! Yes, I would like to visit if you are so inclined. I imagine it would be quite fun!”