The Tangled Web We Weave

He's really not helping himself much here. Makoto understands there's going to be some damage here and there when he does the sort of things that he does, but it doesn't make it any easier on her.

That makes way more sense.

"I- I know... And I don't like asking you to..."

He'd really prefer not to worry her at all, but that simply wasn't in the cards. Not when every battle he has makes it onto the news, and when he can't afford to heal every bruise he gets without passing out from exhaustion.

"I do try to be careful. I just... I get a little cocky sometimes."

Sometimes?

'Shut up, man! I'm trying my best!'

It was good his superpowers not only came with a healing spell, but also with the endurance needed to take some of the beatings his enemies could dish out. Especially the real heavy hitters...

"Y'know... we could do what we did for that Lizard guy? Bring 'em into the Metaverse so you could help me out? I'm a lot more careful with someone watching my back."

This was true. Though it mainly came from him not wanting his recklessness to get his teammates hurt. He didn't care if he got hurt, but if they did, if she did... he'd do just about anything to make sure that didn't happen.

"I know you couldn't be there for every fight, and I wouldn't want you to be. But some extra help for the bigger fights... would be rather nice."

As much as he didn't want to put her in danger, he did kinda miss fighting alongside her in the Metaverse. Especially given how badass she could be in there, and how well they always seemed to work together. Sure, he worked well with the entire team, it was why he was the leader after all, but there was something about her that lit a fire in him in the heat of battle. Like as long as they were together, there was nothing they couldn't beat.

@webbedphantom

"We KNOW. You and her are not exactly subtle."

Though, their spat sarcasm is laced with respect. And, perhaps, just a little affection. Though she will deny it to the public.

He supposed that was only reasonable. He was terrible at hiding things like this, to the point his entire team figured out his crush on Makoto before he'd even told her.

... excluding Makoto, of course. They were about as clueless as each other when it came to seeing the feeling was mutual.

"I... didn't expect that, honestly. B-but it's good to know you approve."

"With that out of the way, I've been meaning to ask... we should probably... get to know each other better right? I mean, there was that whole interrogation and everything, so you know plenty about me. But I know so little about you... or that suit of yours."

He didn't... entirely approve of the symbiote. Any of them if he was honest, something about the whole thing rubbed him the wrong way. But... if Makoto trusted hers, as well as Sae's, then he'd... make the effort to try to trust them too.

Oh. Oh dear.

She didn't realize he and Makoto had broken up. Perhaps it had been a bit too long since she last patrolled. It seemed like she had missed out on quite a few major events in his life.

"Oh... I'm s-so sorry," she replied sympathetically. "I d-didn't know. I shouldn't have b-brought it up..."

There was an awkward pause for a moment. More people started to file into the lecture hall, taking their seats around them. Class would be starting soon, and Mikan felt awful for reminding Aaron about his heartbreak. She had to do something to fix it. She owed it to him.

"Well, I h-have no plans after this class. M-Maybe we could get a coffee and talk?" She suggested, giving him a small smile. "Or y-you could put cig--"

She cut herself off and shook her head. Old habits die hard, and she had almost suggested he hurt her to earn his forgiveness. But she wasn't like that anymore. She'd grown from that.

"S-Sorry... Habit..."

The professor arrived, and the drone of voices fell silent. Class had officially begun, and Mikan focused on the lesson. Though she nervously fidgeted the entire lecture, she desperately wanted to talk to Aaron more.

Maybe - if he wasn't having fun being a hero all on his own - she could take up the mantle of Mourning Dove once more? Not all the time, of course, but when she had some free time between classes, papers, work and social meetups.

She didn't have any plans tonight...

It was admittedly a bit unpleasant to be reminded of his breakup, but he had... well, he hadn't entirely moved on (he was still terrified of getting into a relationship with someone else after how things ended with Makoto), but he had at least accepted it. He knew he screwed up and that if he were to ever get with someone else, he'd need to be better... the key word there being if.

He smiled a bit from her offer, though it did falter a bit as she briefly fell into her old ways. It really showed how much she'd grown, and he was proud of her for it.

"Coffee would be nice." He said. "Been a while since I've had a nice break outside of classes. Just don't blame me if it gets cut short by... outside factors."

As class began, he paid as close attention as possible, as he never knew what random factoid the teacher would drop could potentially be the key to his research. Still, his mind couldn't help but wander on occasion.

Mikan had changed so much since they last spoke... yet he had been stuck in the same rut for almost a year now. Why couldn't he get over this? Why couldn't he just stop with the hero act and focus on his own life like everyone else had? It had already ruined one relationship, and if he kept it up, it'd likely ruin more. Sure being Phantom Spider was fun for a time, but now it was just... work.

Did the city even need him anymore? Surely he could afford to take some time off... if the guilt didn't kill him first. Why did he have to feel responsible for everything?

He did his best to push those thoughts aside and focus on taking notes until class was over. Once it was, he turned to face Mikan with a smile.

"....!"

"But... they might give you a refund?"

He was... not prepared for that question to say the least. Not like he worked at the Skytree to know for sure what they were planning on doing.

"L-Look I'm not... really the person to ask about this. I'm just... your friendly neighborhood superhero... y'know?"

One shot, then another, only one bullet was left in the cylinder.

She thought about jumping down and bolting for the next rusted train but the gap was too large without a running start and by the time she quickly turned around, one of the monsters had managed to crawl its way up.

She swallowed and aimed, prepared to fire her final bullet, but just then, Naoto thought she heard something zip by. She looked up and saw nothing, but heard a voice commanding a-

Another monster, for lack of a better word, swooped down, but this one was... benevolent—for the time being, she quickly decided.

Instinct told her to switch gears towards the front, so Naoto did and saw a costumed figure reaching towards her. She took a deep breath and ran towards him and his outstretched hand and grabbed it tightly. Her other hand quickly clamped down on her hat while still holding on to her revolver. It was clipped to her belt via its lanyard but Naoto was in no mood to test fate and let go of it just yet.

As she hung there, she was positive there was something she could have said, such as a thank you and other things, but she was too busy catching her breath and internalizing what could have been a fact if the costumed figure hadn’t arrived in time.

He held tight to her hand, pulling her up closer to his chest to avoid any of the shadows from grabbing at her ankles as they swung high into the air.

"We're not out of the woods yet!!" Arséne shouted as he continued slashing through the hoards, trying to keep all their attention on him. "You've still got to get her out of here!!"

"I know that, genius!!" He retorted, flipping around midair to get a more secure hold on her, wrapping an arm around her to hold her to his chest, before firing another webline towards swing them around back towards where he came from, albeit at a much higher altitude.

He quickly noted her silence, assuming she must be in shock from everything going on, which was not uncommon among those unfortunate enough to get stuck down here. So he did his best to try and calm her down.

"Hey, look at me. Everything's going to be alright. They can't get us up here."

Unfortunately, for both of them, he wasn't entirely right about that. For among the pack of shadows arriving to the scene were quite a few capable of flight. Namely... a flock of Anzu and Andras taking to the skies after them.

"Spider! Behind you!!"

"OH SHOCKING HELL!!"

He yanked hard on his line, narrowly avoiding a gust of razor-like wind before firing another to continue swinging as fast as he could.

"This is fine! This is fine! I've got this!!" He continued, trying and failing not to sound panicked. "Arséne! Slow them down!!"

His Persona leaped after them, firing webs of his own to try to get ahead of the swarm of shadows flying after them. He managed to swing up into the crowd, snaring about half of them with a massive web before disappearing.

That's all we have in us for now. If I stayed out any longer, you'd not have the stamina to swing us all out of here.

'You did great, partner! Now I've just gotta slow down the rest.'

He did have something that could help with this, but his hands were a bit preoccupied at the moment. If only-

"Hey lady... I know you're probably scared out of your mind right now, but I need a favor."

"It sure is... I just wish it wasn't so hot out. I've been cooler in literal furnaces."

Why do villains keep setting up their bases in old steel mills anyway? If he had a yen for every time that happened he'd have at least... three. Which isn't a lot, but... y'know-

While Fuuka started to settle into her space at the mass of computers and servers, Mitsuru quickly issued various orders to the other staff around the room. But when Futaba arrived, the redhead's attention immediately focused on the younger redhead.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sakura," Mitsuru greeted with a graceful smile. "Amamiya has told me some good things about you."

Before she could instruct Futaba and Fuuka on what she needed, though, her staff informed her of the intrusion. Instantly, she was on high alert, throwing up a hand signal toward the guards who escorted Futaba into the building. They nodded and ran off to defend the building.

"Miss Sakura, please make your acquaintance with Yamagishi Fuuka, a fellow hacker. I think you know what to do from here. Amamiya and I will head out with the guards and Aigis to defend from the intruders," Mitsuru explained before turning to Aaron.

A flash of motherly concern crossed her features as she looked over Aaron before she gave him a confident, determined glare. "Are you sure? Very well, let us head up to the roof."

She quickly turned toward the elevator again and gestured for Aaron to follow. "I'm sorry for asking you to jump into the fight again so soon, but I promise you'll get a much-needed rest after we've dealt with this."

The elevator doors shut behind them, and she pressed the button for the roof. The look of worry returned, her brows knitted as she looked him over. "Please don't overexert yourself out there. Let Aigis do most of the heavy hitting, okay?"

She pursed her lips and added, softer, "I couldn't handle the guilt if something worse happened to you."

"I'm sure. Whatever's coming our way, we'll have a better chance of facing it with me on the field. I am the supervillain expert here, and given we're in Tokyo, that's probably what we're dealing with."

He gave a quick glance at Futaba over his shoulder as he headed towards the elevator. His little sister had come so far since they began, going from just tech support to a full-on heavy hitter in her own right. He was still a little worried about her, that's just how he was, but he knew she could handle herself. But if he did his job right, she wouldn't have to.

Turning his attention back to Mitsuru, he pointed his thumb at himself, replying with a simple. "Hey, I asked for this. It's my choice to jump back into the fray, so whatever happens is on my head, not yours."

However her follow up response gave him pause. She wasn't just looking out for him as an employee or an asset in her fight against Konoe, she genuinely cared about him... something he still wasn't used to. So, accounting for that, he softened his tone, and told her simply.

"I won't promise I'll hang back, that'd... that'd just be a lie. But... I will promise to be careful."

As they approached the roof, a pit formed in his stomach. What if these were heavy hitters? Like Doc Ock, Mysterio, or Rhino? It was unlikely, but it was entirely possible all three were up there waiting for him. For a moment, he began to worry if he was really in the shape for this... but then the doors opened and he saw two figures flying above them staring down Aigis. He didn't spot the third, but these first two-

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! AH- AHHAHAHAHAAA!!!!!"

He doubled over laughing, unable to stop himself as the relief washed over him. To think he'd actually been worried!

Because in front of them wasn't a heavy hitter at all, but rather two of the three members of the mercenary group known as Pterodax, aka former KGB operatives who stole jetpacks, high tech armor, and laser guns from their old job. In other words... not a threat at all.

Granted, they were equipped with some new tech, but these losers were only a challenge when he was first starting out, and most of that was because they had a bomb.

"Oh my GOD, Pterodax!!" He quipped as he stepped out of the elevator. "Long time no see!! Where's your third guy, uh... Borris??"

"I'm Borris." One of them replied.

"Ah right. My bad, it's hard to tell you apart in those terribly generic outfits. What's with the new equipment? Accessorizing for your new boy band?"

"Pest Control." Said the other. "Think of it as insurance in case the speedy one fails."

"The speedy one?"

A blur rushed towards him from elsewhere on the rooftop. Even his third eye couldn't make it out, but he knew from experience who it was.

Turbo Jet. A thief with tech that allowed him to move faster than pretty much anything outside of Ryuji (Hard to compete with Electro's speed of lightning).

He was rapidly approaching the stairs with no time to stop him, so without hesitation he fired a webline towards the doorway, just barely managing to snag the speedster before being pulled along behind him down the stairwell.

"Rude! You didn't... even stop... to say hi!"

As he clung onto his line for dear life, he radioed in to the Shadow Ops communication line.