Maki never considered herself the type to go out and socialize. In fact, she rather thought that her demeanor held the opposite effect. It tended to chase people away when they heard her blunt way of speaking. Still, Kaede was never like this. Ever since they began talking more in Spirale, Maki had come to learn more about the pianist. Even if she thought some of her actions in the killing game were foolish, the blonde didn’t have bad intentions. She never really did acknowledge this to the girl, did she? Thus, when the two met up at the boardwalk, she figured she could at least address it.

he is left blinking in confusion, trying to make sense of the image before him. somehow, the deity was staring back at his own body and not at kaede. and come to notice, somehow the weight and height of multiple places, he felt smaller and daintier. the wrongness of it all held him rooted as he looks down at himself ( ? ), seeing kaede’s clothes and that her arms were his arms, her hands his. briefly, he raises them to touch warm cheeks in a slow pouring shock,  “ ... what ? ”

but, it was short-lived. 

the thought of his soul being trapped in another had slammed down hard and he flinches away from the seemingly foreign touch. just moments ago, they were in their respective bodies and now, they were not. how did this happen --- was that kaede standing, or was there a stranger parading in his skin ? a protective anger surged from within, twisting thin brows into a furrow.

with a demand that would most likely be futile in this strangeness, kurowli speaks through gritted teeth,  “ kaede, if that is you ... give back my body. NOW. ”

    Miu was always very confident in herself. She enjoyed waking up each morning to her beautiful face, adjusting her goggles, and starting off her day by crafting some genius inventions. This day, however, was different. Before she realized it, the inventor knew something was off as her eyes opened from slumber. Her bedroom was way more exciting than this one. Upon standing up, she went to the bathroom and looked at herself in the large vanity mirror. “Oh, shit.” Those were the words she uttered to herself as she noticed she was, indeed, in the body of Kaede Akamatsu.

    Running a finger through the pianist’s hair, she knew she had to find where her body was. Logically, the best place to look for that were to be where she lived. As she exited Kaede’s place, she closed the door and walked down the hall to be greeted by, well.. Herself. Or, well, Kaede. In Miu’s opinion, Kaede should consider herself lucky. How many opportunities would she get to be the gorgeous girl genius?

    As much as self-protection was important, Makoto just as much wanted to protect others. There were plenty of people roaming the streets who didn’t have a means of standing against the weird creatures and static surrounding them. It left an un-settling taste in the mouth. Even if her persona lacked some physical capabilities at the moment, that needn’t matter. The president herself was equipped with her brass knuckles and fists. That was enough to wipe out an enemy. Besides, her time as a Phantom Thief certainly helped excel her skills when it came to strategics, hiding, and all out attacks.

    When she saw a familiar blonde girl standing inside a vacant store by herself, Makoto’s initial reaction was to check the surroundings. It was a good hiding spot, but something felt off. She stood still for a moment, red hues scanning the area. As she did so, the brunette spotted a nearby ‘shadow’ crawling in their direction. Before reaching out to the other girl, Makoto yelled, “I’ll be right back. Don’t move, okay?” With that, Makoto hopped back onto Johanna (her motorcycle persona) and drove towards the enemy. She quickly jumped off the bike once it was in arms reach, smashing it down in a matter of moments.

Of course, someone with a title like the Ultimate Pianist would definitely be able to pull off a great piano concert. Rantaro had been looking forward to the musical numbers at the party from the moment they had been announced, the amnesiac making sure to step out from wherever he was to listen in on Kaede’s playing and Rise’s accompanying singing when the festivities started. From there, it was just going through with the rush of the party and making sure that everyone who needed make up help was getting it. When Kaede stopped by though, Rantaro made sure to step aside and greet his classmate with gusto. 

Shuichi held his hand in front of his face, curling his fingers over his mouth. A nervous habit, a gesture he usually made when he was overthinking things. He muttered to himself inaudibly as he went over the plan he had already made in his head. Before he could get through it, he suddenly felt Kaede’s presence behind him and whipped his head around. 

“O-oh you’re here! I’m glad you wanted to go to the festival with me Akamatsu-san. Hm? Scared, no I’m not scared, I just don’t do well with crowds, or loud noises. But otherwise I’m fine.” 

Shuichi took a deep breath to collect himself. The only reason he was so nervous was because he wanted to show Kaede a good time. When they met outside the game, she still carried so many feelings of regret for what happened. He wanted her to forget it all. They were outside the game. They could go back to acting like normal teenagers like they promised they would. 

It was a bit difficult for Sayo to get around now, she wasn’t able to blend into any crowds if desired. In the waters she was among other mermaids, however when she was on land there were so many different types of species walking around. She didn’t wish to only remain within the water, not much would be accomplished that way. That’s why she decided to approach a girl who looked relatively normal in comparison to others. 

    When Maki got a text message from Kaede inviting her to the ice rink together, her initially reaction was to send a simple ‘no’ and move on. However, if Maki were to do that, she knew Kaede would likely keep asking her until she agreed. Kaede was annoying like that. The assassin knew she had good intentions, though. It was for this reason that Maki agreed to meet her at the arena.

    Once she arrived, she noticed the pianist was already there. Walking over to the blonde, she lightly pouted her lips: “Why did you want to ice skate with me? I can’t do any tricks or whatever.” In fact, she had never been properly ice skating like this. Maki imagined she could do fine keeping her balance, but nonetheless, she was nowhere in the realm of professional ice skater.