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Hawaii. A popular archipelago that’s well known around the world as a tropical paradise. It usually has tourists around the world visiting the islands all year round and in these particular three days, Shujin Academy decided to host its yearly second-year class trip at the capital of Hawaii which was Honolulu.
Time seemed to fly quickly for Akira and his group of friends as their final day in Hawaii had already started. Students set out to make their last day a good one. Akira was currently in the hotel lobby with Mishima and Ryuji. The two seemed to be bickering about their non-eventful trip while Akira’s attention was focused on his phone.
AK: So are you ready for the date today?
Akira sent the message, awaiting Ann’s response.
“What the eff man? Is this how we’re going to spend our once in a lifetime trip to Hawaii?”
“Well, It’s not like it has to be once in a lifetime……”
Ryuji gave Akira a frown that showed his displeasure to the cheeky remark.
“You know what I mean!!! We won’t be coming here again for a long time, maybe even the only time in our life!!! We’ve got to do it right, Akira!!”
Akira rolled his eyes at his friend’s usual visionary ideas. With an amused smile on his face, he looked at the other guy in their trio.
“What do you think Ryuji’s blabbering on about, Mishima?” As Mishima was about to reply to Akira….
“What’re you talking about?!! My ideas are always great!!! Listen, we can’t be here in Hawaii and not hit on any girls. Am I right??” Ryuji suddenly seemed to be picturing something in his mind as he stood on the edge of his seat.
“There was this American chick with the sweetest ass I’d ever seen!! Like, fuck!! If we weren’t hangin out with Makoto and Ann, then I might’ve gone for it, you know?” Ryuji did some hand motions as if envisioning the booty he’d seen that day. Ryuji gave Mishima an encouraging look since he seemed hesitant.
“C’ mon Mishima! We can’t be on the sidelines for much longer or else it’ll be back to boring old Japan…..and I’m thinking now’s that good chance to let loose in a foreign country. What happens in Hawaii, stays in Hawaii.”
That last line seemed to be what Mishima wanted to hear. If his failure was going to stay in Hawaii, then he might as well let loose and have fun with it. It would be an experience so to say. After convincing Mishima, Ryuji turned to Akira who still had that calm smile on his face. Sadly, that wasn’t an indication Akira would go along with his plan, so he needed to confirm it.
“So? You goin or what?”
*BRIIING*
A cellphone notification went off. Ryuji and Mishima looked at Akira’s phone in his hand. As Ryuji was about to ask who it was, he held himself back as he remembered their important business back in Japan. Ryuji looked towards Mishima.
“C’ mon, let’s leave him alone right now. I’m expecting you to be there for us, man. We’ll meet on the beach, alright?”
Ryuji brought Mishima along behind him as he left Akira with that warning. Unfortunately, Ryuji would never end up seeing Akira later that day……or at least, he wouldn’t recognize Akira.
Ann started walking to Akira’s room as she received the message to meet up in his room before they went to the beach. While on the way, there were countless thoughts going through her mind, but they all related to the same thing. How could they have a date on the beach without being spotted by anyone that knew them? While Ann was known as the beautiful foreigner who was involved with Kamoshida and Akira is widely regarded as the criminal transfer student, it was impossible for them to go on the beach for a romantic date without being spotted. Besides their friends, students from Shujin were all over the place, so no doubt they would be recognized and rumors would start to follow. Ann began to wonder if they would ever be able to normally date each other in the open without having to hide it from their friends.
Ann eventually arrived at Akira’s room and walked right in as he did mention he left the door unlocked. Ann called out into the room.
“Akira? I’m here.”
“Ah! Ann. I’m in the restroom right now, mind giving me a few seconds?”
“Sure. I’ll wait right here.”
Ann sat down on Akira’s neatly bed. She remembered sleeping here last night and the memory made Ann’s cheeks blush with slight embarrassment.
“I wish it was just the two of us that night….. I wanted to spend time with him alone yet Mishima and Ryuji had to mess things up…” Not that Ann could get it anyway since Mishima was rooming with Akira.
As Ann sighed in regret over the lost night, she heard the sound of a door opening. As Ann turned to see her usual boyfriend, what she saw made her jaw drop. It wasn’t her usual boyfriend she was seeing.
“A-Akira?”
“For now…..Call me Romeo.”
Akira was currently dressed in a brown wig with huge black sunglasses that covered his eyes, making him almost unrecognizable. He held his black sunglasses up with a cheeky grin on his face. If it weren’t for how well she’d gotten acquainted with Akira, Ann might’ve passed by him unknowingly if they were to meet on the beach. Akira tipped his sunglasses down to where Ann could see those grey eyes, staring her body down. Ann blushed but she smiled as she noticed.
“Aren’t your eyes wandering too much? You’ve seen me in this before.”
Akira kept on smiling as if he didn’t just get caught eyeing his girlfriend.
“You just look cute in it that I couldn’t help myself.”
Ann rolled her eyes at the usual compliment, but she never got tired of it.
“Like I haven’t heard of that one before.”
Before Ann could say more, she was suddenly pulled into an intimate embrace by Akira. He locked fingers with her and held their arms up as if they were about to dance.
“Stunning, beautiful, sexy, gorgeous, kind, sweetest as sweet can be, I could say a million things that could describe you, but to me, you’re just perfect. You’re cute.”
Before Ann could respond to the flamboyant compliment, Akira pushed her onto his bed. Akira was currently right on top of Ann as her body was sprawled out on the bed. Ann couldn’t keep up with everything going on right now. She felt she couldn’t get a word in at all. Akira leaned onto Ann more, to where their bodies were almost pressing against each other.
“I can show you right now how much I love you.”
Akira softly whispered right next to Ann’s ear so closely that she could feel his hot breath. The ambiguous words and sensation made Ann’s face burn up instantly and turn crimson as she suddenly struggled to get him off.
“WAIT, WAIT!!! I-I’M NOT READY FOR-
“PFFTTHAHAHA!!!” Akira started laughing at Ann’s timid and shy reaction. As Ann recovered herself, Akira eventually stopped laughing and looked at Ann with a pleased smile.
“How was that for a compliment?”
Ann envisioned the forward and direct style Akira showed her just a few moments before.
“It-It was too much……”
Ann muttered while she wondered what would have happened if Akira actually was serious. Akira lightly laughed as he got off the bed. He gave a glance at his girlfriend’s amazing figure. Being in a swimsuit only really showed those curves he saw in the metaverse.
“You know, if you tease me enough, I might not hold back like this time…. especially when you’re dressed like that.”
The smug warning made Ann think she should consider her words carefully around this boyfriend of hers. It seemed there was a roguish side to match the gentlemen he usually was, but….it’s not like that would be a bad thing. As she saw Akira in his unusual appearance, Ann finally remembered her first question.
“What’s up with the wig and sunglasses?”
Hearing Ann ask made Akira remember his original goal today as well. He looked at Ann’s swimsuit which made her blush as she was thinking another repeat of earlier was about to happen.
“Do you happen to have another swimsuit? If you wear that, I’d feel someone would recognize you even with these.”
Akira pulled some items out of his bag and tossed them to Ann to which she caught them swiftly. Ann took a good look at them before becoming even more confused. Still, Akira didn’t allow her to ask anything else before giving her another odd detail about their date today.
“Also…for our date today, Your name’s Juliet. Alright?”
*Waikiki Beach*
The beaches in Hawaii were always busy during the summer as many beachgoers were doing their own thing. Some came to enjoy the beach itself, some came to get a tan, some came to spend time with their families, and others tried their luck in the romance department of life. The goal of two certain people was to enjoy their time together in the tropical paradise without the worry of their relationship being discovered. Akira looked at all the people on the beach and sighed, amazed by the quantity and diversity he saw. He was currently in his odd disguise.
“Guess this is one of the perks of going out of your home country. Seeing so many different things.”
“You get used to it.”
A blacked hair beauty had her arms locked with Akira’s. She wore big red sunglasses as she sported a light red bikini compared to the blue flowery patterned bikini she wore earlier. Ann’s figure couldn’t be hidden much and if this were back in Japan, her friends might have noticed something off about her even with her current appearance, but here in Hawaii, there were many girls that had attractive bodies like Ann’s, so she didn’t stick out much. Her big red sunglasses looked in Akira’s general direction.
“Are we seriously doing this? I mean disguising ourselves…. Is this is even going to work out?”
“It’s the only way we can go on an actual date without worrying about being spotted by anyone from Shujin…or our friends.”
Ann felt it made sense, but their romantic date had now turned to some secret undercover mission of sorts. As Ann started to wonder if this would be the Hawaii date she’d been dreaming of, Akira made his move to convince her this was a good thing.
“We can do things like this…”
Akira suddenly dipped Ann down a bit which made her panicky and wrapped her arms around his neck while he delivered the final blow. He gave her a passionate kiss which made some onlookers around them whistle in awe. After a couple of seconds, Akira reluctantly separated himself from those sweet lips as she looked at him with slight shock.
“What are you doing?!! What if someone…..Ohhhh….”
The realization came to Ann. Akira was grinning as he knew Ann finally realized the merits in this.
“We can do stuff like this without restraint.”
After adjusting herself, Ann touched her lips.
“You could’ve given me a warning or something.”
Akira shrugged his shoulders. It was his first time listening to the impulse desire in the back of his mind, and it felt good.
“I always wanted to try kissing you out of nowhere….but I guess I’ll tell you next time.” Akira made sure his sunglasses properly covered his eyes. After ensuring they were fine, Akira held his hand outward for Ann to grab it.
“Let’s start this date then, my Juliet.”
Ann did the same thing as well as she adjusted her sunglasses and made sure her wig was on correctly. Ann grabbed Akira’s hand which told Akira he could pull in this dark-haired angel right close to him. Ann giggled as she spun around until she was currently leaning up against Akira’s chest.
“Romeo, Oh Romeo. Why did you have to pick these cheesy names?”
Ann laughed at her lame reciting of the famous line. As Akira saw Ann didn’t hate the names and was finally having fun, he felt relieved since it would seem they can fully enjoy this date, even with the odd circumstances.
“I mean…We're keepin our relationship a secret, so I thought we were kinda like them in a way. We can’t show our real relationship in the open…but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to… Eventually, I want us to have a normal date without the same old worries.”
The sun was shining down on Akira as he looked up at the bright Hawaiian sun, feeling today would be a nice day. As she listened to Akira’s reason, Ann felt a bit guilty for doubting Akira’s idea since he only wanted them to have a good time. She shouldn’t be such a worrywart when Akira had put time and effort into this. Ann lightly shook her head to get these worrisome thoughts out of her head and get into the tropical spirit.
“Alright, Aki-" Ann slightly paused and coughed at her usual calling of Akira. "Ro-Romeo! Let’s go have some fun!”
Ann held his hand as she was ready to go wherever he wanted to take her. Akira smiled, and they just stood there in the sun. After a couple of minutes, Ann wondered when Akira would take her off to start on their “unforgettable Hawaiian date”. After a couple more moments of nothing, Ann finally realized something. As Ann gave a glance at her boyfriend, he turned his head away as if he knew what she was thinking. A bit of sweat started coming from his head.
“Yo-You don’t have anything planned….do you?”
So much for a romantic evening planned by her boyfriend.
Revealing it made Akira shake a bit as he was finally found out. He scratched his chin as he laughed, feeling a bit ashamed at the moment.
“I-I wanted to figure out what we should do…but I got overwhelmed with all the info online that I thought we could just wing it….. but….”
Akira looked around and all he saw were signs in a language he couldn’t read. He laughed at his own recklessness, Ann probably thought he looked so lame right now considering how he sounded confident earlier.
“Uwahhh... How lame.”
and lame Akira was. Ann lightly giggled at his embarrassment. Regardless if he was the cool confident leader of the Phantom Thieves or this unprepared boyfriend of hers, she still loved him the same.
Ann started pulling on his hand as she started taking him to a place she’d heard of.
“If you keep this up, you won’t be able to live up to your name, Romeo.”
Ann held her hand to her mouth as she laughed with an amused smile. Using his own fake name as a sassy remark. Akira couldn’t say anything back since she was right, but the feeling of being on the losing end didn’t feel right with Akira. He was always the one making Ann flustered or embarrassed, but now he was on that end.
Akira looked at Ann with a new purpose. To bring back things to how they used to be. Ann couldn’t see the look Akira had in his eyes since they were covered by his sunglasses, but she could tell he wasn’t happy with her teasing and she found that very adorable. She gave him a cheeky smirk as if saying to bring it on, only it looked even more condescending to Akira since he couldn’t see Ann’s eyes as well. As the two had a personal battle brewing, Akira suddenly thought to ask something.
“So where you taking us?”
“Oh! There’s this garlic shrimp stand on the other side of the beach that I want to try out.”
“On the other side?”
Akira took a look on the path they were taking but saw no sign of a restaurant like that. Ann noticed his curious search and shook her head at it.
“It’s a stall so it’s on the side of the trail. You can’t spot it from this far away.”
“Ah! Okay. How long before we get there?”
“Maybe half an hour…maybe longer if we take our time.”
Ann said as something on the beach drew her attention away for a second. Akira looked forward on their path and came up with a personal goal for himself.
“I’ll get back at Ann before we get to the stand. I’ll show her the guy who always makes her heart race.”
As Akira was just about to attempt something, somebody caught his attention, or more like some people. Akira quickly shook Ann’s arm to get her attention back. Ann turned back to look at him, confused by the sudden shaking.
“What’s got you so-
“Ryuji and Mishisma…up ahead.”
Ann looked forward and did indeed see the goofballs heading in their direction. Ryuji was speaking with Mishima about something. Ann looked back at Akira.
“We should just act normal right? Walk past them and act like we don’t know them.” That was what their disguise were for. Right?
Just as Akira was about to say yes, an idea suddenly came to him.
“Yeah, That’s the plan…but we need to make it more convincing.”
“Convincing?”
Akira remembered seeing some couples on the beach do this out in the open when he was walking with everyone on the second day. It seemed here, people weren’t as reserved as they would be in Japan. Akira held Ann’s hand as he dragged Ann to an empty bench nearby. As Akira sat himself and Ann down, Ann looked at him as she wondered what was next. They could just stay sitting down and Ryuji and Mishima would pass by them, but it wouldn’t make sense for Akira to make a big deal out of it if they did.
“So what’s next?”
“Just follow my lead.”
Ann nodded and assumed Akira would say something to start off a conversation, but he did something Ann wasn’t expecting. All of a sudden, Akira planted his lips on hers as he started making out with her. Because she didn’t understand the reasoning, Ann started to push Akira away.
“Wh-Whatareyoudoing?” Ann said quickly and quietly as Ryuji and Mishima were getting closer to them.
“You said you’d follow my lead?!”
“I didn’t know your leading me around would be making out!”
“Ann….” Ann turned around to see Ryuji and Mishima getting even closer. Sure, they could play it off by just sitting around but to make it even more convincing they were different people was….
Ann wrapped her arms around Akira’s neck and looked at him, an irritated but hopeless look. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
Akira simply smiled and continued with what they left off before. Akira planted his lips on the crimson lips Ann had as she returned the kiss in kind. Ann thought it would be a simple make out session, but she seemed to have forgotten Akira was wanting to repay Ann for her previous comments.
Suddenly Ann started feeling Akira’s tongue dance around hers. At that moment, Ann knew Akira either wanted to make this really convincing or he was just getting really into it. His enthusiasm started spreading to Ann and soon she just decided to let loose and started making out with Akira in return. Her tongue started showing more enthusiasm as they both danced in each other’s mouths. There was a rush of excitement and slight worry as Ann knew Ryuji and Mishima were walking right past them, even glancing in their direction. Ann’s heart was beating faster as she noticed them looking in their direction.
“Holy Shit. That’s the 5th couple making out we’ve passed by. Shit dude, this girl's got some nice tits too.”
The offhand comment made Ann slightly shudder, but Akira made sure she didn’t give them away as he leaned into her more as he started rubbing Ann’s back in a sensual manner. Ann made a note in the back of her mind to give Ryuji a stern punishment after this was all over as she lost herself once again in their make-out session. She even started rubbing Akira’s back too as she felt more excitement in the sensation of his robust back.
Mishima panicked as he heard Ryuji. “Sakamoto-kun!! Be quiet!! What if he overhears us and beats our asses?!”
Ryuji shrugged off the comment. He wasn’t so worried like Mishima is.
“Look, no matter how you look at it, they’re totally foreigners, they probably don’t know Japanese, so we’re good. I mean shit dude, they’re making out in public here like there’s no tomorrow.”
Ryuji gave one more glance at the couple, not knowing it was his two best friends in disguise. Still for some odd reason, Ryuji felt there was something about them, but eventually gave up on it as he didn’t want to linger around too long or else Mishima’s worry might come true.
“C’ mon Mishima! We gotta look for Akira. Bastard isn’t answering his phone and I feel he’s already getting ahead of us and feeling some girl’s ass or tits.”
As Akira heard Ryuji say that, the impulse desire in the back of his mind told him to do exactly that, but Ann seemed to read his intention and grabbed his arm to prevent him from doing so. They couldn’t read the other’s expression because their shades were covering their eyes, but they knew each other well enough to know the other’s intention. As Ann saw Ryuji and Mishima walking further and further away, she finally pulled herself away from Akira’s lips, albeit with some reluctance. Their faces still close together, they both gasped for some air while a thin line of spit still connecting the two of them indicating it was quite the passionate kiss. Ann quickly removed the spit and looked at Akira, she crossed her arms as she waited for his explanation. Akira laughed in a nonchalant manner.
“Felt good didn’t it?”
Ann rolled her eyes at that simple and worry-free remark and yet it somehow made him more loveable. Ann sighed in relief, as she leaned in on Akira’s shoulders. Ann never knew a kiss could keep her on edge so much and yet be very exciting at the same time.
“That was a close call.” Ann described their close encounter.
“But it made it much more better, right? My heart’s never gone that fast before….” Akira glanced at Ann’s cherry red lips. He felt a slight urge to plant another heavy kiss on them. “Then again…we’ve never kissed like that before right?” Akira pointed out.
Akira’s analysis of their recent kiss made Ann blush slightly. She then noticed Akira eyeing her lips which made her plant the tips of her fingers on his lips to prevent the restless boy from pouncing on her.
“Nope! Since you had so much fun with that one, only I can initiate the next one…..got it!!”
As Akira was about to whine about it, a stern look from Ann was all that it took to get Akira to agree. “You also promised to warn me ahead of time too and you didn’t, so this can be your punishment.”
Ann did say to warn her if Akira tried to kiss her again, so Akira relented after hearing the legitimate reason. Ann stood up from the bench and wanted to reach out for Akira’s hand until she froze in shock. After a couple moments, she quickly grabbed Akira’s hand and started briskly walking in their original direction.
“Juliet? What’s got you in a hurry?”
Akira didn’t know the reason as to why they were in a sudden hurry. Ann glanced behind her and confirmed what she was looking at earlier. Ann looked at Akira with a nervous frown.
“Makoto’s right behind us.”
“What!?” They just got rid of two pursuers and now they had another one!
As Akira was about to try and see if Makoto was behind them, Ann stopped him.
“I know I saw her! It’s no mistake. She even has the same swimsuit on.” Ann didn’t want Akira giving them away if he looked back as well. It might look suspicious to Makoto. Knowing Makoto, Ann felt she would notice something about them.
Akira decided to trust Ann’s judgment and not look back, but that only made him even more worried. Makoto was much sharper than Ryuji and Mishima who only had girls on the mind when they glanced at Akira and Ann. Makoto might notice something about their disguises if she were to get a good close look at them, so Akira agreed with Ann’s quick thinking to move away from the bench, but now they were at a stalemate. Makoto was behind them and they couldn’t allow her any chance to notice something.
“We can’t let Makoto find out about us, Romeo.”
Ann quietly whispered. Akira noticed Ann was looking especially nervous when she said that.
“I…I um…. Makoto invited me to go hang out and I…rejected her to go with you, but I told her some made up excuse…so if she finds out, not only will we be found out…. Makoto might feel hurt I lied to her…”
Akira was now involved in this dilemma. Drama was the one reason they even hid this relationship from their friends. As they both tried to figure out a way out of this, Ann spotted a fruit smoothie stand in the distance. A certain advertisement gave her an idea. Ann started to rush Akira, pulling him along as she moved towards the stand.
“Where we going?”
“Follow my lead now, Romeo.”
Akira didn’t know what Ann had planned but now seemed to be his turn to follow Ann’s lead. Akira went along to Ann’s whims as it seemed she had a plan to deal with Makoto.
'''''''''''''
Makoto was walking along the walkway alongside the beach. She didn’t know what to do at Hawaii and was hoping to spend it alongside someone, but Ann apparently had other business to attend to and Akira didn’t answer her texts, so she assumed he was busy as well. Yusuke said he was trying to spend his last day getting inspiration for his next piece and Makoto didn’t want to bother him. The only other person was Ryuji and…. Makoto looked back at the way she came and recalled when she happened to chance upon Ryuji and Mishima. A small tidbit she managed to hear told her all she needed to know. No way.
“…and that only leaves me with myself….I guess I can just enjoy the scenery by myself….”
As Makoto walked forward, she noticed a fruit smoothie stand and suddenly felt slightly parched. After deciding to get a drink, Makoto sat down next to a couple who seemed to be waiting for a drink as well.
“I wonder which one I should get?” As Makoto looked at all the options on the menu, she didn’t notice the couple next her was internally freaking out. Of all the places Makoto could have gone, she came right next to them.
Akira looked to Ann, darting his eyes back and forth between her and Makoto who sat right next to her in frantic fashion. His meaning was obvious.
“OH GOD SHE’S RIGHT NEXT TO ME!!!!”
Even without looking at Akira’s nervous gestures, Ann also noticed Makoto sitting right next to Akira and suddenly cursed herself for thinking this would work. Now they’re close to getting discovered once again. As Ann was wondering what to do, their drink had finally arrived. Akira didn’t actually know what Ann ordered for them as she went to the front of the stand to ask, so seeing the drink before him, he finally knew what Ann wanted to do.
Akira glanced at a certain advertisement on the stand. A lovers special was going on right now with a couple themed drink. At least, that's what it looked like. It had a mixture of berries blended together that seemed to be shared by two people with a small Hawaiian umbrella to give it that tropical feel. Akira looked at Ann and saw that, even behind her big shades, Akira could still see her cheeks turn slightly red.
“Ar-Are you ready?”
Akira didn’t need to say anything and already went for his straw. He would follow her lead no matter what. Ann slowly followed up and they both started to enjoy the drink. Sadly, the moment was lessened due to the fact their sunglasses blocked their eyes, or else they would definitely lose each other in their eyes.
While the two lovers were engrossed in their smoothie, they actually had a spectator as Makoto noticed the couple right next to her. She was drawn to the drink thinking she should order it as well, but soon realized she couldn’t order anything as the menu was in English.
“Great….I can’t even enjoy a drink….”
Ann overheard Makoto and looked towards Akira who noticed as well. It seemed Makoto couldn’t order, and Ann felt a bit guilty for bailing on Makoto in the first place. Akira gave a reassuring nod, but there was also another message behind it.
“Don’t get caught.” Ann knew this was risky, but seeing her friend in a pickle, well Ann had to help her. Ann let him know she’d be fine and suddenly coughed as if to prepare herself. For some reason, Akira found the cough disturbing.
“Excuse me darling, but it seems you need assistance?”
Hearing an overly flamboyant voice, Akira suddenly remembered how bad of an actor this girl was. Although Ann did attempt to change her voice and tone. For Akira, who knew the real voice, it was anything but good. Still, this is where their disguises came to play. Makoto didn’t know yet that it was Ann and Akira, so she took the fake voice to be genuine. Makoto looked at Ann as a feeling of relief took over. Someone she could speak to.
“Ah…Y-Yes…I was wondering what kind of drink you have there. It looks delicious.”
Ann paused for a second before giggling to herself. The response made Makoto question if it was something she said. She didn’t believe it was very funny. Ann looked at Makoto, amused at what she was about to tell her.
“This drink is called “Nā mea aloha inu” which translates to “lovers drink”. It’s a special for couples. Are you expecting someone to arrive and share it with you?”
Hearing the drinks name made Makoto blush slightly as she felt embarrassed for thinking about ordering it. Makoto didn’t notice the advertisement that depicted the obvious reason for the drink. Akira decided to step in with his own fake identity. If he let Ann do it alone, who knows if she would mess something up or not.
“Now, Now, Juliet. Stop teasing the girl.”
Makoto looked at the other person who spoke her language. She was in luck. Akira spoke in a much deeper tone so Makoto took that to be his real voice as well. Ann internally laughed at Akira’s fake voice. He sounded like he was trying way too hard. Akira looked at Makoto and told her his original option before Ann ordered for them. Makoto thought the drink sounded great and requested for them to order for her. Makoto also offered to pay them for their help to which they refused. They weren’t going to charge their friend while they were deceiving her. As the order was given, Makoto thanked them.
“Thank you so much! Juliet-san…and…um…What is your name?”
“Romeo.”
Hearing the boy’s name, Makoto chuckled as she recalled a famous tale.
“Romeo and Juliet….It’s quite fateful for you two to meet with such names.”
Akira and Ann both smiled at the comment. It was the reason Akira chose the names. Ann giggled, pleased at the way Makoto expressed them
“Yes, Yes. My Romeo here is a special person to me. Not just because of his name though…”
Ann smiled at Akira which made Akira smile back. Makoto looked at the two and, for some reason, it reminded her of two specific people. They were different people and Makoto knew they weren’t in a relationship like these two, but looking at Juliet and Romeo right now, Makoto thought Akira and Ann could be the same as well. Ann and Akira got along as well and Makoto even assumed something was going on when she first approached the Phantom Thieves. Of course, they dismissed it when she joined the team later on. Makoto giggled at the thought of those two being together.
“Oh? What’s got you laughing, Niijima-san?” Ann asked.
Makoto wasn’t one to gossip much, but for some reason, she felt she could chat with these two for a long time. “Oh, nothing…it’s just you two remind me of two good friends of mine. They’re nice people just like you two, but they’re not in a relationship.”
Hearing Makoto made Ann and Akira shudder, they were getting awfully close to tipping Makoto off. Makoto finally got her drink and looked at the two next to her as they finished their drink already. It looks like they were thinking about leaving.
“Well, Niijima-san, we’ll be on our way. It was nice meeting you.”
“Likewise. I’m sorry for bothering you two on your date.”
“No, No. It was fine. It was nice to meet someone new. If we’re fated to meet again we will, if not, well…It’s been a pleasure, Niijima-san.”
Akira and Ann started walking away. Makoto watched their backs as they disappeared down the sidewalk. As soon as they were almost out of her sight, a sudden thought came to Makoto.
“Huh?......Did I ever tell them my name?”
They said her name so casually that Makoto assumed she said it, but thinking back on it now, that obviously wasn’t the case. As she drank her fruit smoothie, Makoto started going deep into thought.
‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’
Ann and Akira were more down the sidewalk as they walked further and further from the fruit smoothie stand Makoto was at. As soon as they were far enough, they were both finally at ease. Akira looked at Ann and tipped his sunglasses down.
“Really darling? Did you have to sound like this?”
Akira said in his best impersonation of Ann’s early acting. He laughed about it afterward while Ann simply smiled and tipped her own sunglasses.
“Oh? As if you didn’t sound like some bodybuilder?”
Ann returned fire as she did her own impersonation of Akira’s fake identity which was just a whole bunch of deep grunts and muffled words in her own deeper tone. Akira didn’t deny it and still laughed alongside Ann.
“Yeah, today’s the day I learned that I’m as much of a bad actor as you are.”
They both found enjoyment in their terrible acting skills. The day was like a roller-coaster for the two of them between getting almost caught twice, but like a rollercoaster, they could look back and say they had fun all together. Ann saw the shrimp stand she was talking about earlier and hurried Akira except he stood his ground, looking at Ann expectantly.
“Juliet…..I want a reward!”
Akira said in a pleading voice. Ann paused before rolling her eyes at her little baby.
“Romeo, Oh Romeo. Why do you have to be such a baby today?”
Still, she obliged and kissed Akira on the lips knowing it’d be what he wanted, but unlike before it was a simple one. Akira was all smiles afterward.
“Because, my dear Juliet, it always works, and babies get smothered with love. I want all the love you have.”
Ann flicked his forehead. “Like I don’t give you enough already. C’mon! I heard the shrimp are really good.”
Akira obliged his glutton of a girlfriend and went with her. The rest of the day was spent together without any worries like the first part of the day. After spending the day together, gazing at the Hawaiian sunset, and having a meaningful conversation about their relationship, they went back to their rooms and finished their final day in Hawaii.
After their plane trip back to Tokyo, Ann started telling Akira that apparently meeting Makoto as Juliet and Romeo was the highlight of her trip as that was all she talked about on the plane ride back. Ann felt happy she could make it up to Makoto somehow, but Akira viewed the conversations differently and thought Ann didn’t pick up on the signs Makoto was giving her. At least that was what he inferred from them. Also, Ryuji and Mishima didn’t find the one night stand they were looking for and expressed their frustration against Akira who didn’t assist them in their endeavor. Yusuke was Yusuke and was grateful for the opportunity to visit a foreign country and expand his horizons.
Overall, the trip to Hawaii was a needed one as the Phantom Thieves would soon be unknowingly thrust into a nefarious plot by an unknown conspiracy. The calm before the storm.