Chapter Text
The morning Tokyo breeze in Shibuya Square sends chills down Ryuji and Ann's spines as they await for their partners to arrive at the designated meeting spot. Ryuji folds his arms, tapping his foot while Ann continually peeks at her cellphone for the time and any sort of messages to pop up.
"Man, what's taking them so long?" Ryuji asks.
"Probably got stuck in a large crowd," Ann replies. "Tokyo's a busy city, especially on Christmas Eve."
"I know that..." Ryuji sighs. "You think we got here too early?"
Ann smiles. "You can never be too early, you know?"
"Well, yeah! But you can totally be too late!"
"Just wait, it's not like them to let us down."
"Yeah, I get it... I'm just tired of waiting in the cold..." Ryuji sits on the ground, sighing. "At least it beats waiting in the heat. I think I'd die out here if that happened..."
"Sorry we're late!" a feminine voice rings out.
Ryuji and Ann peers out into the distance and sees Akira and Makoto running towards them. When they approached them, they both pant.
"Hey! You guys made it!" Ann exclaims.
"What took ya guys so long?" Ryuji asks.
"Uh..." Makoto sighs. "Sis wanted to help me put on make-up for today's date, so she took her time with it..."
"For real!?" Ryuji's eyes widen. "Then why was Akira late?"
"Uh..." Akira chuckles nervously. "About that..." Akira's bag shuffles and out pop's Morgana's head.
"Thought you could leave without me, huh?" Morgana says.
"What!? You brought him along too!?" Ryuji stands up.
"Got a problem with that?"
"Uh, yeah! This is supposed to be our da-" Ryuji cuts himself off. "I-I mean... T-This is supposed to be our uh... h-hang out day! Yeah! No cats allowed!"
"What was that!?"
"H-Hey, calm down you two..." Akira interjects. "Morgana is here because he wanted to make sure our date went off without a hitch."
"Dude, don't call it that out loud..." Ryuji sighs while slouching.
Makoto giggles. "So Ann, are you ready for our date?"
Ann nods. "You bet!"
"You two sure have no shame in calling it that, do you?" Ryuji asks.
"Why should we be ashamed of our love for one another?" Makoto asks in return.
"It's not that! It's just... You know! Other people could be watching!"
"We don't really care if others are watching," Ann replies. "Our date, our business, not theirs."
"You should listen to lady Ann," Morgana says. "If you truly love someone, you wouldn't care what others think."
"Don't give me any lip, cat!" Ryuji exclaims.
Ryuji and Morgana begin bickering as Akira watches on while shaking his head and sighing. Meanwhile, Makoto and Ann give each other a look and a nod before walking off together hand-in-hand.
Akira thinks to himself, this is going to be a memorable Christmas Eve date, whether it's for the right reasons or the wrong reasons. Not that it matters to him, as all he cares about is spending time with the one he chooses.
"Say, how about we all get to the arcade?" Akira speaks up. "They're doing a discount today, aren't they?"
"The arcade?" Ryuji asks. "Man, we can do the arcade any day. How about we go somewhere different, like someplace we don't usually hang out at?"
"Oh! If you ask me, Destinyland is the perfect place to go!" Morgana says. "You two don't go there often, it's lots of fun, and you won't stand out because of all the families and friends that are stopping by today!"
"Huh... You know, that's not a bad idea. Good going, Morgana!" Ryuji pats Morgana's head.
"Heh heh, leave it to me to come up with the perfect date spots!"
"Shall we get going?" Akira asks the two of them.
Both of them nod as they walk back to the station.
Meawhile, as the boys enter the train station, they pass by three people, an auburn-haired girl with her hair down, a blue-haired woman in a formal outfit, and a blonde boy whose sparkles make him stand out among the crowd.
* * * * *
"Woo-hoo! We made it to Tokyo!!" Teddie exclaims while twirling around.
Rise giggles. "Teddie sure is excited to meet his date, huh?"
"Indeed," Naoto nods. She turns to Rise. "Aren't you concerned that people will recognize you?"
"It shouldn't be much of a problem if I have these on," Rise adjusts her sunglasses with one hand. "Good thing Teddie knows how to make a good pair, huh?"
Naoto chuckles softly. "Teddie-san is an irreplaceable friend."
"Okay, now where is she?" Teddie scans the area for the girl that he told Rise and Naoto about. "Do you ladies happen to spy a beautiful girl with luscious hair and a drop-dead gorgeous outfit?" he asks the girls.
"Well, there's one right next to me," Rise says, turning to Naoto.
Naoto blushes. "O, oh... Um, I don't believe that's what Teddie-san meant by that..."
"I know, I was only teasing you." Rise giggles.
"R-Right... I-I knew that..."
"Oh! Is that her over there?" Teddie gazes ahead to see an auburn-haired girl with a high ponytail tied. "Hey Mina-chaaaaaaan!! Over here!!" he yells and waves at her.
The girl takes notices and runs over to the trio. She approaches them with a soft smile.
"Hi Teddie-kun! Good to see you!" she greets him with a hug.
Teddie embraces her back and gives her a peck on the cheek, causing her to blush. Rise and Naoto's eyes widen and blink.
"No way..." Rise says to herself. "That's Teddie's date?"
The girl lets go of Teddie and waves her hand at Rise and Naoto. "Hi! You must be Teddie-kun's friends, right?" she asks. "I'm Minako Arisato. Pleased to meet you!"
"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Arisato-san," Naoto responds.
"Yeah, same here," Rise adds. She couldn't believe it. Although it's surprising enough that Teddie managed to find a date today, but a girl that's stunning and beautiful as Minako? While Rise can't help but feel happy that Teddie found someone that he can call his "special someone" as he says, she has a lot of questions about how Teddie met her in the first place, let alone scored a date with her.
Maybe when they go back to Inaba the next day, she can ask him all about this girl. For now, Rise continues smiling.
Minako looks at Teddie. "You ready to head to Destinyland, Teddie-kun?" she asks.
"You betcha!" Teddie nods. "Let us depart to our destiny, dear queen!"
Minako giggles. "Lead the way, my king!"
Teddie grabs Minako's hand and tugs her into the station. Rise and Naoto watch on as the two leave their line of sight.
"Jeez, Teddie sure found himself a beauty, huh?" Rise asks Naoto.
Naoto glances at Rise and smiles. "Teddie-san isn't the only one that found a beauty," she says.
"Oooh, Naoto-kun! Getting better at flattery, are we?" Rise blushes.
"I suppose I'm adapting well," Naoto's cheeks flush with red.
"Yup, you sure are!" Rise nods. She holds Naoto's hand tight. "Come on, let's go shopping already! Shibuya is full of the best clothing brands in Tokyo and I have to see you in call kinds of clothes!"
"A-Ah! Yes, let us depart now," Naoto replies. Rise guides Naoto out of the station square and into the shopping district.
* * * * *
And thus began the Christmas Eve dates of four couples spending their time with their loved ones...