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“Guess it’s official now, Rindo. We’re finally friends.” Shoka said, while looking up from her phone and smiling shyly.
For what’s probably the first time since she’s known him, he put his phone away, looked her straight in the eye and replies “Yeah! Friends.” all while smiling from ear-to-ear.
She grins. “I’ve missed that dorky face of yours, Rin-rin. Glad you’re doing okay.” which immediately caused him to look away because it was making him red in the face.
“Y-yeah! Great to see you again too, Shoka. How’ve you been?” asks Rindo.
He figured that’d be the best thing to ask, but more importantly he’s wondering where she’s been. Couldn’t have been easy to survive for a month on her own, right?
“I’ve been okay. Ran into a familiar face when i got warped out of the game who was as zetta annoying as always, but we both figured it’d be time to head home. All the events were impossible to explain, but Dad was just happy to see us again.”
His brow furrows as he taps the side of his face with his phone, all while drifting off into thoughts. “Wait.. zetta annoying? She’s not referring to who i think she is, is she?”
She catches on to his confused look and quickly tries to change the topic. “U-uh, bad habit i picked up from EleStra. My bad.” Not her best attempt at shaking him off, but it seems like it worked well enough.
“Nagi’s really got everyone caught up in that game, huh?” Rindo replied, brimming with curiosity.
Shoka pouts. “Oh she’ll get you too, buddy! There’s no escaping her with how she determined she is, trust me.”
He grinned. “Good thing i’m extraordinarily dense, then.”
“No kidding -- You’ve been ghosting me for a month, you jerk!” she replied, while shoving him playfully.
“All right all right, i’m sorry! I thought that’d be the last place I’d find you, so i never gave it much thought.” he stammered, while slowly trying to scuttle backwards in an attempt to retain some personal space, much to her enjoyment.
She’s thoroughly surprised at his response, however. “How unlike you, Rindo! You’ve really changed.”
“H-huh? Really?” said Rindo, unsure whether to be proud or confused.
“Yeah! Normally you’d be double-checking everything. It’s rare to see you be so decisive.” She said with a smile.
“Shame it kinda backfired this time, though..” he said with a clear tone of regret.
“Okay, but that’s just how it goes sometimes.” Shoka pointed out, hoping to cheer him up. “We still found one another, so it all worked out well in the end right?”
His expression brightened up. “Yeah.. you’re right! Nothing to worry about now that the Game’s finally over.”
Nothing except making an embarrassment of himself here, he thought.
She smiled. “That’s the spirit, Rin-rin! Now then, what’s the plan for today, Fearless Leader?” The ex-Reaper said while nudging him.
“Still the Leader, huh..?” He sighed. “Well i was thinking of catching some monsters around the city and grabbing a bite afterwards. Sound good?”
“Sure! Where do you wanna grab a bite, though?” She replied, as if to goad him into action.
Rindo crossed his arms. “Hmm.. i’ll let you decide.”
She shrugged. “Some things never change, huh..”
As they’re walking around, Shoka gets curious about something he’s been holding on to.
“So what’s with the Mr. Mew doll you’ve been carrying around, anyway? He wasn’t supposed to replace me, was he?” She said bashfully, all while poking the innocent doll.
He starts to blush. “N-no! I swear! I just.. Shiki was always carrying Mr. Mew around so Neku could find her. So i figured I’d follow her advice in hopes of standing out more. If there’s anything that would catch your eye, it’d be Gatto Nero’s mascot. Didn’t expect that I’d just bump into you, though.”
“Aww, that’s cute. I’m glad you were still looking out for me all this time.”
He grins sheepishly. “Of course! That’s what friends are for, right?” Which is enough to make her start blushing too.
“Yeah.. yeah, i guess they are.”
Rindo quickly reached for his phone to scan the area for FanGO critters. “Oh hey, Cait Sith at Center Street! Wanna run over and catch it?”
The speed with which she’s reaching for her phone tells him everything he needs to know. “Duh! Do you even need to ask?” She replied, while heading over there immediately.
“..I guess not.” He said, all while trying to keep up with her.
“Got it!” said Shoka, excitedly. “Thanks, Rindo! That’s my first one on this account, I’ve missed it so much.”
He gave her a thumbs up. “Glad to help! We’ve got a lot of catching up to do before we can take over the enemy’s towers again.”
“Yeah.. still can’t believe you picked Team Chocobo. Why would anyone go for Team Chocobo when their other choices are Ifrit or Shiva?” She replied, while staring at him in disbelief.
“Well uh.. Fret was watching me stare at my phone for 30 minutes, sighed deeply and took the reins. That’s generally how my life choices went back then.” He starts tugging at his mask in embarrassment.
Shoka sighs. “You are.. unbelievable.”
“Y-yeah. I get that a lot.” stammers the nervously laughing Leader.
There’s something he doesn’t get though. “Fret’s Chocobo obsession aside, why’d you join Team Chocobo then?”
“I liked the idea of going solo! Imagine having a tower set up with an entire team and then coming back to it only to see a single member of Team Chocobo take it over. Now that’s a power move.” Shoka proclaimed, proudly with her hands on her hips.
Rindo chuckled. “Ever the solitary one, huh.”
“Yeah well, until you showed up. Now we’ve been friends for nearly 3 years and I’ve come to realize how fun life can be. How dare you.” said the ex-Reaper sarcastically, causing him to look at her with the most deadpan expression. “So sorry for ruining your moment.”
“Fine, fine. Apology accepted.” She said, all while acting as melodramatic as she possibly can – enough to make both of them burst into laughter.
Afterwards, they decided to walk around a bit more towards Tipsy Tose Hall and they managed to catch and battle a surprising amount of monsters in the meantime. Slowly but surely, her FanGO account is catching up to speed again.
The crowd in Tipsy Tose got really busy however, so he made sure to hold her close while crossing. “Can’t afford to lose sight of you again, now could i?” said Rindo with a smile.
She blushes. “Y-yeah.. thanks.” He quickly rushed over to a more remote area as he can tell she’s getting flustered.
“Sorry.. was that a bit too forward? I’m no good with crowds either.” said the “Fearless” Leader, while scratching the nape of his neck in embarrassment.
She waves her hands frantically as if to say it was anything but. “N-no! I’m just.. still getting used to the whole.. being alive thing. It makes Shibuya a bit overwhelming at times.”
“Agh, right. I’m so sorry. I’ll be more careful next time. How about we head to Spain Hill and catch a breather?” said Rindo, in an attempt to smooth things over.
She smiles. “Sounds great, thanks.”
While walking over there, Rindo suddenly remembered their competition’s even more fierce than she probably imagined. “Oh yeah, Beat and Rhyme are playing FanGO too by the way. Found out about that a few weeks ago.”
“No way, really? That’s so cute. Did she rope him into it, you think?” She replied, while wondering how that happened.
He starts to ponder it himself. “Probably? It would definitely explain why he was so fond of yelling Booyaka all the time.”
“Hahaha, yeah.. him and Selphie would be like two peas in a pod, huh.” Shoka affirms.
Rindo chuckled at the mental image of those two in vicinity of each other. “No kidding..”
She decides to get back to the matter at hand to figure out what Rindo’s tactic for dealing with their new foes is. “Still though, that’s definitely a rough duo to come across. Beat charging in with Rhyme’s tactics? Yikes.”
“Yeah.. from what I can tell Beat’s the same as ever though. Seems to mostly charge into any tower that Rhyme gets kicked out of as revenge. Ever the big brother.”
Suddenly an all too familiar sound of a skateboard's wheels ringed in their ears as Shoka points in it’s general direction. “Speak of the Reaper! Look who it is.”
“Yo Rindo! Kitty Girl! Is you two on a date, yo?” said Beat, brazenly as ever.
They both shout in unison. “A d-date!?” causing them to frantically look at each other only to quickly turn away from each other.
Shoka holds on to one of her hoodie's sleeves and pouts, and Rindo starts nervously tugging at his mask.
“Too early to ask that? Aight, my bad. Was just on my way to pick some stuff up for Rhyme, so I’ll leave you two to it. Peace!” said the party crasher, already skating off at the speed of light.
Rindo starts to stammer. “Ehehe, well that sure was—”
“Classic Worms-for-Brains? Ugh.” Shoka replies, clearly annoyed.
Rindo softly pats her on the back. “Don’t let it get to ya. I’m sure he meant well.”
“Well, yeah, but.. fine. You’re right. Shouldn’t let it get in the way of our fun.”
“Besides, I.. wouldn’t mind seeing this as a date.” he whispered in a soft-spoken voice, all while trying to drown out the sound by putting his mask on.
“Hm? Cat got your tongue?” Shoka replied smugly, knowing damn well what he tried to say.
Rindo smirked, finally feeling confident. “Is that, like, an offer?”
“Oh, you are the worst.” She replied, while doing her best to stifle her laugh. “But fine! You’d better impress me if this is your idea of a date though. It's your treat, Rin-rin.”
Rindo thought for a moment about a place they’d both appreciate. “Hmm.. how about Justice Burger?”
She sighed. “..I do love me some Justice Burger.” She might like to tease him, but honestly, any time with him’s a good time.
“Justice Burger it is!” He replied proudly, while holding a hand out for her.
As awkward as it might've kicked off, judging by how happily they’re walking hand-in-hand - it’s safe to say they wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s a wonderful world so long as they’re by each other’s side, and nothing's gonna take that away from them anymore.