Archive of Our Own

It’s the end of May. 

The weather has been picking up as of lately. While the Apathy Syndrome wanes, it feels like the world is going through its own emotional ‘cycle’- presented in the form of rain. Granted, with exams around the corner, anyone could say that they’d be feeling dreary anyways.

Makoto is… kind of within that camp of people. To a degree. Mostly in the way of overall sluggishness, although the moment he’d step foot out of the Iwatodai Dorms you wouldn’t even realize it. Sure, he’s still got his usual slouch and other mannerisms to him, but he seems… Well, exactly the same as he always does. Just a little bit more studious- the library turns into a second home, and the evenings are spent mostly running out into town to either pick up on medicine and supplies, working as a waiter at the cafe to fund said supplies, or studying in the dorm. So many tasks on his shoulders, and yet it just looks like he’s handling it all fine- A marvel to his peers, maybe even seen as admirable from how he can still appear so focused. At least, externally, anyhow. 

But, something’s got to give eventually. And after surviving strenuous studying sessions (and a couple more runs throughout Tartarus’s many layers- still just as dangerous as they were thrilling leading up to the actual exam week), the rest of SEES were met with one day where the first thing Makoto did after school was head back to his room, and… stay there. For a while. Normally, he’d be a lot more productive in the day- doing what, exactly? Nobody ever really knew for sure, but he always kept himself on busy feet quite often, but…
Not this time. He stayed up there. Even the following day, that was all he could manage to do. And for the next one. And the one after that. And… almost the next one- although it was the weekend (or at least, Sunday proper) so it was a little more deserved than the nights prior, but still. Such a long stretch of barely any communication like this was bound to have some intervention eventually. Especially with the actual exam week nearing around the corner.

“Uh… Yuuki-kun? Are you awake?” Yukari’s voice is slightly muffled from behind the door, as well as some gentle knocking that pauses after three beats. 

“Give him a break, Yuka-tan, we’ve been working hard all week!” Junpei is soon to join her; the sound’s just a smidge closer but only because he was leaning against the wall. “A little sleepin’ in ain't gonna hurt anybody! But man, it has been a while since we’ve… talked to him, actually.” 

“See? That’s exactly what Kirijo-senpai said! It’s been way too long! Usually he’d be busy– You know, maybe student council or the track team or something, right?” 

“Y’think we could ask Kirijo-senpai if he’s been to any of those council meetings lately, then? Or, like, maybe he really is just—”

“What are you two doing?”

A new voice from down the hall ends up startling the both of them. Junpei nearly laughs at the surprised shriek Yukari let out (mostly in trying to ignore his own) before she elbows him in the gut. Footsteps end up following from the sound, but the speaker seems to make himself more clear with an amused chuckle.
“Well, I suppose I should’ve expected it’d be the both of you trying to check in on him. That’s nice of you, considering he is still our leader. And it’s been days since you’ve last stepped foot into Tartarus.”

“Hey, it was my idea, first of all–” Yukari is quick to say as she side-steps in front of Junpei, much to his sputtering as he tries to get his words in for himself. “-to check up on him, I mean. It’s only been a few days since that incident. I get it, if he was just shaken up about it because I was, too, but it’s really been way too long—” 

“Maybe he’s not as cracked out for it as we thought he’d be,” Junpei offers offhandedly. “I mean, hey, you’re almost gettin’ there to recover Sanada-senpai, so with you back on the board, and then me graciously stepping in to fulfill the leader spo— OW!!!”

Another punch to the stomach, although a lot more obviously forceful this time.

“Alright, knock it off, Takeba.” Akihiko sighed. “We don’t need another one of you out of the ring, either. I know I’ll be back sooner or later, but fighting amongst yourselves isn’t going to solve anything.” His head motions towards Makoto’s door; there’s still silence on the other side of it. 
Loose mumbles of condolences and small “sorry”’s are muttered, though obviously they aren’t aimed at the person actually needing them in this case. In the pause, though, Akihiko lets his gaze wander more closely in looking at the door, his brow furrowing slightly before turning attention back to the other two. 

“Say, Sanada-senpai, what are you doing down here?” Yukari asks after a beat once she mustered back enough courage to look him in the eye again. 

“Oh, I was planning on checking up on him too. But I suppose you guys beat me to the punch on that.” he replies with a chuckle, crossing his arms as he takes another glance towards the door. “While I know Mitsuru wouldn’t be too happy if I was going all out with my workouts like I usually do… I was gonna offer to let him join me for a light jog. Least I can offer at the moment. And besides, it’s not like we can leave him to wallow in there for any longer without intervention.” 
His gaze moves back to them, giving a slight tilt of his head. “Unless you two already made some plans for what to do to get him out of there already?”

“Uh, well-” Yukari glances quickly at Junpei for a moment; both of them didn’t really seem to have any plans on what they’d do after getting this far— or even if they knew Makoto was still awake at all. “I mean- I-I already had plans for today, I need to go shopping for myself- Hey, Junpei, you probably could, uh… Hang out with him today, right?”

“Huh? Why’re you pinning this on me now?!” 

“I don’t know, maybe YOU convincing him to get out of his room could be a real test to see just how much better of a leader you think you’d make? It’s not like you got anything better to do, I bet.” 

“That’s not too bad of an idea, actually…” Akihiko hums, putting a hand to his chin.

“Sanada-senpai, please don’t entertain him about this!” Yukari begs quickly, now realizing her words after the fact as it looks like the other boy’s eyes were lighting up in tandem. 

“Not to worry, then, ladies and gents. Leave it up to Junpei Iori to get our leader here out of the blues and back on his feet in no time!” 

“And… how soon exactly is ‘no time’ to you?”

“Uh- Y-You’ll see! I’ll get him out of here and we’ll go do something, uh– Enriching!” Junpei states, still trying to hold himself up proudly despite the slight stumbling over his words. 
“Did you just learn what the word ‘enriching’ meant yesterday?” 

“That’s enough,” Akihiko butts in, waving his hand towards the two dismissively. “We can leave this up to Iori. Consider it a test of character from me, if you will.” 

“And me, too!” Yukari chimes, turning to look at Junpei with a harsh expression. “Like senpai said, we don’t need to lose another member while we’re at it! So just- I don’t know, do something relaxing or low stakes. Who knows what’s going on in his mind.” 

“That’s… true.” Junpei sighs, turning to look back at Makoto’s door. 

Maybe that’s a partial reason as to why he was chosen as leader. Whatever emotions could be going on were always masked from a look of indifference. That’s not to say Makoto had no personality- The guy could be extremely blunt or extremely charismatic (by accident) depending on the situation, and he’s had his fair share of moments of telling off Junpei in particular ways different from the rest of the team. Did it always seem like he had things under control…?

“Well! Good luck, Junpei!” Yukari’s voice calls, and now with the fading footsteps of both her and Akihiko walking down the hall and towards the stairs. 

“Take it easy on him, will you? But if you can actually get him out, I think it’d be the perfect opportunity to head down to Tartarus. It's always worthwhile to get stronger.” 

“Not to worry, folks, I’ll get him outta here in no-time! Just wait and see!” Junpei calls back, a wide grin plastered across his face. But the further the other two seem to grow, the more it… fades a little bit. Now an expression of slight uncertainty as he glances back to Makoto’s door. “Just gotta… get ‘im to get on outta here—?!”
The door creaks to disrupt his out-loud thinking, slowly opening up to see… 

Well. It’s Makoto. He looks… um. Well he looks a little disheveled in the way you’d describe a scruffed cat. Still in his pajamas, with his hair more messily covering over his face as he looks up at Junpei with a dreary gaze. 

“Oh-! Hey, dude! There you are!” And that smile cranks back up in brightness again, with Junpei now leaning against the door frame as Makoto opens the door up a little more. “Geez, you slept like a rock- What’re ya up to today, by the way? Because you better clear up your schedule for tonight’s main event: A Day with YOUR Best Friend, Junpei!”

He strikes a pose with the tagline presented, much to a lack of almost any reaction that ended up coming from Makoto. He was just… Standing there. But Junpei eventually lets up after the awkward silence that follows lasts a little too long. 

“But, yeah, I mean… Everybody’s kinda worried about you, dude.”

“...I know.”

“Wh- Wait, so you weren’t- But we thought you were sleeping—?”

“I was.” 
Another pause. It’s a touch shorter. 
“I mean, you were all talking. In front of my door.” 

“W-Well, I mean, yeah, but—”

“Did you really think I didn’t hear you all that whole time?”

“...”

Makoto lets out a sigh, but not from any signs of malice or exhaustion. Maybe a little exasperated, but there’s a slight shift in his eyes as he ruffles some of his hair back. 
“...I appreciate it. But you don’t have to–”

“Ah! Nuh-uh!” Junpei points a finger at him. “No more lazing around today for you, tough guy! Don’t want ya to miss the main event this weekend!” 

“Which is…?”

“Game Parade’s got a new game comin’ out– Remember that one fighting game we played last time? Well, they just got the updated version of it, clean box and all! Heard they even were havin’ a waitlist for people to try it out, but, you can just thank your ol’ pal Junpei for coverin’ that for ya!” 

“...”
He has some doubts on if that really meant Junpei could’ve paid for this ‘event’ for the both of them. Not that Makoto would’ve been upset if he had to dish out some yen, though- He’s been smart, so he’s certainly got enough money for himself. But, if anything, the lack of any verbal response seems to get a rise out of his friend– with him snapping back to reality as Junpei speaks up again.

“But like– Y’know, there’s a buncha other games down there we can check out, too. Or, y’know, we could skip Game Parade altogether- Maybe grab a bite to eat? You certainly haven’t had breakfast yet, or lunch, probably… So! How about it? Consider it my treat!”

It looks like Junpei wants to hang out with me today…
There is no real reason for him to want to decline this, right? Besides a kind of… overbearing feeling that clouds in the back of his mind. Like a soreness that didn’t quite leave. But there’s something there in the smile that Junpei has as he was looking down at him; bright, but not too glaring like the sun. 

“...Sure.” It’s a solemn response, but Makoto means it in earnest.

“Yes!” Junpei pumps his fist into the air with vigor, grin still beaming across his face at his little victory here. “I’ll see ya down there in 10- that oughta be enough time for you to get back to bein’ yourself, yeah?”

Makoto nods. “Yeah. That’ll be fine.” 

And the door slowly creaks closed— Although, before he was fully gone behind it, there’s a ghost of a smile that seems to have graced his features. It’s a strange feeling that’s left behind from it, Junpei giving a slight grin before he shakes his head and rushes down to the stairs to wait in the lobby. 

As said, and with surprising accuracy, Makoto eventually did come down the stairs himself, fully dressed (even if his hair is still a little messy) and relatively looking like he was ready to go. Junpei was briefly distracted boasting to Yukari about how he’d managed to actually succeed, and so he didn’t realize when he came down until he was right behind him.

“AHA— There’s our leader!” Junpei cheers, trying to play off how he got briefly startled. Regardless, he turns to face Makoto with a spin on his heels. “So, you ready to get goin’? Adventure awaits!” 

No verbal response, but Makoto just gives a nod at the very least. Man, it’s still hard to try to parse exactly what’s going on in his mind… 

“Alright! Well then, we’ll be back after an extravagant day–” He starts for the door, but pauses, noticing Makoto not moving. So, he shuffles back to quickly loop an arm around the other boy’s shoulders. “AND be back with time to spare, and shadows to beat!”

“Yeah, sure…” Yukari sighs, but her harsh expression seems to soften up a little bit as she turns to face Makoto. “Go out there and keep Junpei in check, okay?” 

Again, there is no direct response, which seems to make her smile strain a little until Makoto gives a nod to her, the only difference here being a small grin growing more prominent at the corners of his lips. It’s enough to soothe her mind for the most part as she lets out a small sigh, watching as Junpei dragged him out the door to the dorm.

“Game Parade, here we come!” Junpei proudly announces as he takes the lead down the street, with Makoto following along behind him at a pace slower by a step. It’s not unnoticed, though, as he eventually slows himself down to match more evenly in walking beside Makoto. Maybe an action taken a bit subconsciously, maybe not. 

“We’re a little off from the hotspot hours of the place, but don’t you fret a thing about us bein’ able to make it- Just leave it to me!”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .*:☆ﾟ. ───

The day ended up being a lot more enjoyable than expected. Sure, Makoto being Makoto like this and, well. Junpei being Junpei certainly kept things… interesting. But, despite this, it was still a relatively ‘good’ time, all things considered. Not too much you can write home about when you’re busy trying out what combos you can do against each other to new graphics on a big arcade game’s screen.

There was a moment of slowness taken when they had to swap over from machines, much to the chagrin of Junpei. Back over to a less crowded but older model of that fighting game he originally wanted to be down here for. Really, it was only Junpei playing, but to save face he started talking to try to keep the energy up to a degree.

“Y’know, I don’t know how you do it,” starts off a simple remark that he starts adding onto. “Being the leader and all that. Since, I mean, everybody’s already been talkin’ about it– You’re a natural at it!” His voice has to raise a little higher to combat over the with the game’s sounds, but also in effort to try to ensure that Makoto was actually listening as he was staring into the game screen. 
“But, like, I know sometimes things can get a little… rough and stuff when it starts to feel a little repetitive, or like it’s too much. And I’m not just tellin’ you this to try to say ‘Hey, why don’t we swap places for leader for a day?’, even if I personally think it’s a pretty sound idea–” He snickers slightly before getting back on track. “But what I mean is, y’know, we’re all still a team, right? So if one of us is down, then…” 

His own focus starts to slip on the game, hands growing slack over the controls.
“We’re all here to help lift each other back up. And I don’t know for sure what’s got ya down this time around, but- Just know that me and Yuka-tan, Sanada-senpai and Kirijo-senpai are still gonna have your back, okay?” 

Junpei tries to soften the seriousness underlying his words with another chuckle tailing the end of his thought, nervous in sound as he glances away from the game to look at his friend. To his surprise, though, he finds himself taken aback a bit to see Makoto looking right up at him, focus having been long gone from the game. It was always a little.. Uncanny sometimes. Makoto’s got blue eyes, but not really in the ‘piercing so they stare into your soul’ kind of way- although they still also do that. It was more like… you’re the one who’s staring back into him, a reflection that left nothing but void half of the time in those irises. But, this time, he’s looking back into blues- he swears, it’s slightly more saturated than usual, must be a trick of the light- and pupils dilated a little wider than normal. 
Maybe all of that was stuff that he needed to hear? To be reminded of that his place, even under his position, was still something that they all carried to some capacity? Keeping the world safe from threats that laid beyond a normal person’s comprehension? 
…And why did he think so much about the way his friend’s eyes looked for a second.

It’s a weird kind of stunned silence that follows, overlaying the muffled noises of the game as it keeps running. Now forgotten, it continues on running until it eventually runs itself back to the loading screen, blaring all the advertisements necessary of “INSERT MORE TOKENS TO KEEP PLAYING” and interrupting whatever moment ended up happening there. 

Sincerity is what they call it.
But it can only last for so long until you start to fear it.

“Welp! There goes our run…” Junpei is quick to break up the silence, turning back to the game as he scratches the back of his neck. “But I’m gettin’ kinda tired out from Game Parade by now… Hey, you hungry by any chance? ‘Cause I know I am!” 

Turning away from the machine, he reaches out and gently nudges Makoto’s arm with his elbow. “C’mon, let’s go grab somethin’ to eat before we head back. It’s not too late just yet.” 

There’s a little give from Makoto, with him slowly turning away from the game machine as well to follow Junpei out. And there it is again; a ghost of a grin, this time showing a tad more prominently as he looked up at Junpei. Even if it’s not much in the grander scheme of it all, in the moment it was an achievement bigger to surpass even what his original goals were for today. He’d accomplished something, and that was making his friend smile. 
…Something in him feels like he wants to make sure he can make Makoto do that more often when they get back. 

The new mission was to pick up a quick meal on the way back, nothing too fancy, just a quick stop for ramen before making their way out through the strip mall. Only a slight interruption to what was a casual night came the rain, but it’s not like that would be too much to worry about– only stronger push to get themselves back home before the downpours could really settle in. 

“Come on, man! We can’t be out here gettin’ drenched before they decide to leave for Tartarus without us!” Junpei calls out, already close to breaking into a sprint despite the rain making the pavement a little more slippery to traverse. He can’t seem to get himself to fully commit to just running, though, eventually coming to a stop to catch his breath for a couple seconds as Makoto catches up with him. 
“Alright, alright…. Home sweet home, just another block down.” He huffs, tilting his hat up against the rain. “We’re almost there, so let’s keep– Hey?”

Makoto didn’t end up catching up with them all of the way from where he was standing. He wasn’t far by any means, only a few feet away. But his eyes weren’t looking ahead of them. Instead, he had turned slightly to be looking across the street, and the road that was sandwiched in between them. 
No action taken. Just… staring out at the road. For a little too long. 

“Uh, dude? We’ve gotta get going–” Junpei calls out, having to do a double-take as he glances behind himself and then back at the road. There wasn’t anything interesting out to warrant any looking around. It’s dark, it’s raining, there’s a car coming up and his friend is starting to drift closer to— Wait.

“HEY!!”

A leap of faith.
Junpei makes a mad dash towards Makoto, grabbing ahold of his arm and yanking him out of the way of the street and further back onto the sidewalk, A mere few minutes before the car rushes past and completely kicks up a puddle to douse the two in more water against the rain. 

It takes a minute for him to get his breathing to regulate again, having been close to hyperventilating before he turns his eyes off the street and back on Makoto. He isn’t surprised that there’s nothing he can tell from his face again. How could they still be so flippant after all of that? Even as he thinks harder on the fact that Makoto would’ve actually let himself get hit willingly if—

“What the hell, man?! Don’t you know you could’ve- I-It would’ve– Why- Why didn’t you move—” The words scramble up in his head as he puts both hands on the other boy’s shoulders and starts shaking him, but not for long as eventually he stills. 
“...Dude.. We don’t know what’s going on in your mind, but- A-And I’m probably not the best person to tell ya this, but…”

There were going to be more words from there, but he ends up trailing off as he actually gets a good look of Makoto. Geez, the rain just makes him look a little bit worse- at least it tamed some of his hair to now be flat against his face. But it left only one eye that was looking back up at him. 
And, hey, he’s seen the way this guy works, he’s almost partially certain that there was nothing that could actually set Makoto off- in fear, in anger. Everything was always met with the same indifference, but there was a weird sense of attentiveness to it all at the same time as well. He should’ve expected to not see him being so emotive, potentially forever. And yet, there’s… something there in that eye that’s looking back up at him. The emotion is hard to pin down, and maybe he was overthinking it from having one wide eye staring into him. That’s the only thing he could seem to focus on in the moment before processing something else: from holding his shoulders still, he was… shaking a little. 

Maybe it was just shock. Maybe it was the cold from the rain as it continued to pour down. Maybe it was something else entirely. They didn’t need an answer that soon.

“..Okay, let’s just- Forget that happened, and get back to— !?”

Another interruption of Junpei’s thoughts, but this time not from himself. 
Makoto ended up having a surge of action, enough to cause the other to slightly stumble backwards as he lunged forwards for… a hug? 

…
Huh. He didn’t really think Makoto was a hugger. Even with all of the rain that’s basically got them drenched right now, and it looks like it had no plans on stopping anytime soon. He also didn’t entirely know what to do in this situation, either. Being hugged by a girl and comforting her would’ve been so much easier- at least, in his head, that’s what he’s thinking. Not like there’s anything different about this in particular- and not necessarily in a way of like, because Makoto’s a guy. It’s more like tripping and stumbling into an awkward opening of his friend, considering what he’d almost seen happen. It’s not different because of that circumstance, but… man. It’s a conflicting mix of thoughts that brew up in his head.
It takes a slightly embarrassing amount of time for Junpei to actually hug him back. The streets were empty by now- not like anyone was gonna see. But even if he tried to make it something quick, there was still a buffer of a minute or two to extend the hug before they both let go. 

…It’s also kind of funny, too. How he remembers now that something similar happened when they were back on the subway cabins with that one massive shadow— How calmly Makoto ended up pulling him out of the way of an oncoming attack. This was by far not like that moment in the slightest, but… you can see a coincidence where you want to. 

“Guess I finally returned the favor a bit, huh?” Junpei chuckles softly, mostly to himself as his mind starts thinking a little harder about that day. “K-Kind of, anyway…”

Another pause of silence falls among the rain. It sounds like it started to lessen, though. Junpei was going to take it upon himself to break up the silence again. As much as a heartwarming-kind of moment that was, he also does not want to stay in the rain for much longer. But Makoto ends up beating him to the punch.

“...Sorry.”
A mumble he could barely hear. “About that. About today.”

“What? You don’t have anythin’ to apologize for, come on!” Junpei replies quickly, slapping a hand over Makoto’s back (and instantly regretting it because wet clothes feel bad.) 
“Remember what I said back there earlier? We’re here for each other, dude! And I know you got our backs whenever we’re in Tartarus and all, but that means that we got yours when we’re out here. Got it?”

It’s a little harder to smile in the moment from the rain still dropping down over his face, but for whatever reason it comes a lot more naturally to him than the usual showmanship grins he’d been putting on this whole time. 
Whatever that means, it ends up making a small smile show across Makoto’s face. 

Two for two today, huh? 
“Alright! Now c’mon, we gotta head back before the Dark Hour starts.”

Junpei waits a minute to see if he gets another response- at most, it’s just a nod, but it’s enough in the moment for him to set off down the sidewalk, now with Makoto matching his pace more evenly as the two make a run for it back to the dorms. 

And it looks like everyone else was waiting for them by the time they entered. 

“Look! There they are!” Yukari’s voice travels over as she glances up from the couch, her expression quickly shifting as she stands up and drops the book she was reading. 
“Where the hell have you two been? You’re soaked!”

“Well, you know what they say, Yuka-tan, time flies when you’re having fun- And we sure did! Didn’t we?” Junpei announces as he takes his hat off, shaking some water off of it as he glances back to Makoto. 

“Yeah, actually.” 
It’s always hard to tell what his tone was, honestly. But at least it seemed like some of the bluntness usually carried in it lifted a little; and he was still smiling a bit, too. 

Yukari’s judgemental gaze towards Junpei now softens a little, with her glancing between the two of them one more time before she lets out a sigh. “Well… I’m glad you’re both alright. Even despite the rain…” 
The sound of footsteps from upstairs sounds as both third-years now make their entrances; both looking distressed in their own rights, but on Mitsuru it’s surprisingly a little more obvious. Akihiko was just as worried, too, though upon noticing the both of them he seems to assess the situation enough to run back upstairs and let her do the talking to them.

“Where in the world have you two been? Being out this late in the rain is going to get you both sick.” She exclaims, tone bordering on sternness but still holding onto that concern as she pinches her nose bridge. 

“S-Sorry, senpai, didn’t realize it was that late by the time we were headin’ back.” Junpei laughs a bit nervously, one hand moving up to scratch the back of his neck. 

Eventually Akihiko does come back down, carrying two towels. Yukari ends up getting up to take one from him, rushing over towards Makoto to voluntarily start drying up his hair as Akihiko just hands one over to Junpei. 

“The rain’s been pretty consistent, though I gotta say—”

“Uh- There was a car that drove by into a huge puddle! I, valiantly, tried to warn our leader about it but, uh- It didn’t matter, I guess, ‘cause it still got us both.” 
Junpei was perhaps a little quick on the draw to explain, even interrupting Akihiko’s questioning before he could even get a single question out. 

“...Huh. Well, that answers that, I guess.” Yukari sighs as she just opts to put the towel around Makoto’s shoulders. “You should probably change before you guys catch a cold or something.”

“Aw, c’mon! What’s a little water gonna do to us?” Junpei retorts as he dries off his face. “I just got him up and movin’ again- Maybe once the rain stops, we can head down to Tartarus!”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible tonight.” Mitsuru sighs. “The rain is forecasted to continue until the next morning. And, as I stated before, the cold chill from the water could still let you both fall ill. Both your grades, nor the world need you to catch something like pneumonia at a time like this.” 
“Aw, c’mooon! We could go down there just for a little bit? Hey, Yuka-tan, you got an umbrella or somethin’, right?” Junpei pleads, looking around between everyone in the room. 

Akihiko was going to speak, but Mitsuru ended up nudging him back to stop him. “What I said is final. We cannot enter Tartarus tonight, but perhaps…” A pause. 
She gives a cautious glance over to Makoto. “...Next week, if conditions are sufficient then?”

There’s a beat of silence before a response comes along, and even then it’s slightly hesitant as he gives a slow nod of his head. “Sure. If that’s what everyone would like.” 

She sighs again. It seems like some concern hasn’t fully left her as she glances over at Yukari for a moment, but she was willing to let this slide, perhaps. “Alright. Just let me know when the time comes, and we can begin another operation.” 

“Woohoo! Alright!” Junpei whoops, and then sneezes immediately after which seems to take some energy out of him. “Maybe that is a good call, there… Man, I’m cold.” 

“Then go get changed already!” Yukari chides. “Don’t just stand there, you two!” She moves behind both of the boys to give them a little shove forwards, making them stumble as she more or less starts ushering them over to the stairs. 

“Okay, okay! Chill out! We were gonna be on our way up sooner or later!” 

It doesn’t take long for the two of them to immediately start bickering with each other, with it lasting the entire time of the trio going up the stairs. 

“Can’t you trust your old pal Junpei that nothing went wrong while we were out? Well, er- Not counting the rain, of course. It’s not like I can control the weather or anything like that.”

“Fine, fine! I’m not doubting you that much, okay?” Yukari huffs. “But there is just reasonable space up in the air for me to actually doubt you sometimes.” 
On that note, she ends up glancing over to Makoto’s way. “At least he actually looks like he had– Oh! Yuuki-kun, wait!”
Turns out in the space it took for the two to be talking to each other in the first floor lobby, Makoto had begun shuffling his way back to his room down the hall. He halts as Yukari calls out, though, with both her and Junpei rushing over to catch up with him. 

“Hey, I know you’re probably tired and all, but I just wanted to say something before you head to bed.” Yukari starts, glancing behind her back at Junpei for a moment. “I was just thinking… If you aren’t doing anything after school after exams are over and if you’re feeling up for it, do you maybe want to go somewhere? We can all head out together.”

 “Ah, yeah! It’s been a minute since we’ve all hung out besides takin’ care of shadows, huh?” Junpei hums, head tilting slightly to the side in thought. “Man, makes me wish we really could head down to Tartarus. Or like, y’know, get everyone to come around and just hang out in the dorm!”

“Yeah, maybe after some more studying so Kirijo-senpai doesn’t try to go after us because exams start tomorrow…” Yukari sighs. 

“Aw, what?! Why’d you have to remind us of that now??” Junpei shouts, spinning around to face her with an aghast expression. 

“Don’t look at me like that! YOU committed to hanging out, so—”

“Oh, there you all are.”
Mitsuru’s voice sounds from the stairs as she makes a slow ascent up them, although not too high up as she pauses before reaching the actual floor. “And I see you two still haven’t changed yet…” She adds with a sigh. “Takeba, go head back downstairs so we can start our study session. It’ll give them some time to recoup before they come down to join us- Which you are going to come down for, right Iori?”

“Yes ma’am!” Junpei answers a little too quickly as his posture straightens abruptly. 

Mitsuru still gives a slight judgemental eye to him a little, but his response gets another sigh (this time of relief) out of her as she turns back to the stairs. “Good. Now then, let’s head back down there now, Takeba. I don’t want you distracting them for much longer or else it could interfere with our studying time.”

“R-Right! Of course, senpai!” Yukari gives a brisk nod of her head and starts for the stairs after her, only pausing briefly to call out to the other two from over her shoulder. “Don’t take too long, got it? It’s a last-minute cram session, but it’s better than nothing.” 

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll be down!” Junpei calls after her as the other two move back downstairs, now only leaving him and Makoto on the floor. 

“Heh, guess all the work still doesn’t stop, huh?” He chuckles, glancing over towards Makoto as he switches to hold the towel he had over just one shoulder. “I only wish it could last a little longer for us to just relax…” He sighs, a little touch dramatically. “If only we did actually get sick… then we’d be lucky throughout the week and be safe from those exams, eh?”

“But you’d still have to make them up.” Makoto notes monotonely. 

“Damnit! You’re right– I don’t wanna have to do them after everybody else does them! Then there’s no time to lose!” Junpei was almost going to turn and rush down the hall down to his room, but his steps ended up taking a hard stop for a moment. 

“Oh, and, uh…” He trails off a little bit, head turning to look over his shoulder and back towards Makoto. His smile turns a little more awkward for a moment, mostly in terms of trying to think of something to say. 
“Just… remember what I said earlier, okay? I know I’m not really the best at, uh.. Y’know, heart to heart stuff, but- Think about it or something, when you’re feelin’ low again.” 

There’s a long pause from that note again, only leaving a window of awkward silence as Makoto looks back at him. Maybe it was just from the rain, but man he really was just kind of looking like a kind of scruffed-up cat. It feels like there’s a shift in his eyes for a moment- slightly brighter, although not lasting for too long as he just gives a simple nod of his head before turning to move further down the hall.

Junpei sighs. He’s not entirely sure how this works- Yukari always seemed to know a little better on how to navigate those kinds of conversations more than him. But, hey, there’s a few wins he can take for today- That’s something to look forward to as he continues on his way back to his own room.
  
“...Thanks, by the way.” Makoto’s voice calls out all of a sudden. 

“Huh?”
Junpei pauses again, now turning a little more directly towards where Makoto was standing at the far end of the hall. 

“For not telling the full story.”

“Well, I mean, it’s not like I was lyin’ about anything, y’know,” Junpei chuckles, but the sound fades a little as he glances off to the side. “Just didn’t want to get everyone worryin’ about you more.”

Another pause falls there, though unlike last time it feels a bit more… at peace, in a weird way. Dust having been settled in score, even if it feels like there could be something more in the future. 

“Like I said, you can count on me to keep you covered.” Junpei flashes a grin, shooting a finger gun Makoto’s way before turning and heading further down the hall. 
“I’ll see you down there, dude! Don't take too long or else Kirijo-senpai’s gonna have both our heads if we mess up these exams!” 

It takes a little longer for Makoto to head down for himself, but he gives a slightly stronger grin back at Junpei as he walks off, taking another minute or two to linger there in the hallway before turning back around and heading down to his own room to get changed. That slowness to him hasn’t fully left yet, nor the lingering sense of melancholy wrapped around his mind, but… Today, it feels slightly better. And that’s about enough he could ask for right now.