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"So, this is Shirakawa Boulevard, huh? Guess it lives up to its love hotel reputations."
Wonder gazed at the building ahead, butterflies forming in his stomach as he gazed upon the giant sign on its front, illuminated by the green hue of the Dark Hour. His team had been asked by SEES to assist them in defeating another set of special Shadows, but interestingly enough they weren't in Tartarus for once. Instead, the new Shadows had been detected outside of it by Wind and Fuuka, and Mitsuru had asked them to assist in the investigation after the previous duel with the Emperor and Empress got a little out of hand. He was just thinking about how much worse could this get when Soy's musings snapped him back to reality.
"Champ... de... floors? How d'you say that?"
"You mean Champ de Fleur? It means Field of Flowers. You can slap anything French on a love hotel to make it seem more romantic, most couples probably wouldn't care."
Wonder turned to look at Chord, the newest member of the Phantom Thieves, who happened to speak up. It didn't surprise him, as he knew that she was quite proficient in foreign languages, but he'd have sooner expected Wind to set Soy straight. He didn't mind, though. Chord's voice was like music to his ears, and simply hearing her talk always lifted his spirits. Why that was, he never figured out.
"Um, I don't think I'm fully comfortable going in there. Can I sit this one out? Love hotels are absolutely not my thing."
That one would come from Closer, who squirmed a little at the thought of entering the building, and Wonder couldn't help but silently agree. He was never good at all that romance and love stuff, yet he was supposed to enter a hotel meant for that just to kill some rogue Shadows? Not looking forward to it. Still, judging by their previous adversaries, it was clear that these couldn't be left alone to roam, or chaos would ensue.
His worries were thankfully shut down by Makoto Yuki, the silent leader of SEES, who attempted to put everyone's minds at ease.
"It's just your average hotel, only a little more exotic. Nothing interesting about it otherwise."
Mitsuru, Yukari and Akihiko all nodded in assent, but it was done surprisingly mechanically. Cattle, the resident mascot and Metaverse master, decided to dig into it a little more, unconvinced by their poor attempt.
"Is there something you're not telling us, comrades? You seemed quite stiff when agreeing with Makoto's description of this place."
"N-no, nothing at all happened here! We just defeated the Shadows and left as quickly as possible!"
Yukari blushed, seemingly reminded of something embarrassing. Her quick dismissal of Cattle's question obviously convinced no one, but it was let go when Makoto took the reins of the conversation once again.
"Enough of that. Wonder, take three of your teammates with you and let's go. The Dark Hour only lasts for so long."
Wonder nodded and turned back to his teammates, all present in front of him except for Wind, who as the navigator would stay back and provide support from atop of her Persona Chiyome.
Closer, Soy, Cattle and Chord. Those were his options. He was certain that he was taking Closer and Soy, as their synergy in battle had been really effective as of late, and Mandrin could provide healing in a pinch. That left only Chord and Cattle, a very difficult decision for him as both were excellent teammates. After a good minute of thinking, however, he decided to take Chord with him. Cattle had a variety of healing skills and was a master of infiltration, sure, but Chord's supportive skills were unparalleled. Her Catchy Hook had the special property of energising one of their teammates, letting them pop Highlights with boosted output. But even that aside, there was something... indescribable that pulled Wonder towards Chord. He always chalked it down to appreciating her supportive prowess, though. After telling Lufel to stay on standby for now and reconvening with Yuki's squad, they received identical transmissions from their respective navigators.
"I can detect one of the Shadow on the third floor of the hotel, in a very large room, most likely a VIP suite. Head there and take it out while we work on finding the other one."
Wind's transmission, however, had an additional message from Cattle.
"Be careful, Wonder. I am sensing extremely strong desires from this area. I don't doubt that you'll handle this swimmingly, but mind you don't let yourself get overwhelmed by them."
Wonder looked at Makoto and exchanged knowing looks as both received their messages. He did not, however, inform the SEES leader of Cattle's warning. How damn strong are these Shadows if they're exhibiting desires strong enough to overwhelm even Phantom Thieves, those with (as Lufel liked to put it) strong desires for life? The Full Moon Shadows they had encountered so far were dangerous, yes, but not to such an extent. Wonder decided to put that thought aside for now and rushed in with his teammates and the SEES squad. They went up the stairs all the way to the third floor and came across a large door with pillars on each side of the entrance and curtains hanging from the sides. He could hear Soy grumble something barely intelligible behind him.
"That was an easy find, huh? I hope the Shadow is just as much of a pushover so we can leave this freaky place..."
Wonder nodded and was about to break in when he got stopped by Makoto.
"Wait, Wonder. I have an idea. I'm getting transmissions from Fuuka saying that she detects the other Shadow on a lower floor. So, here's what we'll do: you go handle this Shadow, while we look for the other one. Sound good? Good. If you get in trouble, send a message to Fuuka and we'll be right over. See you at the entrance."
Wonder didn't even have a chance to blink before Makoto and the other SEES members went off to the lower floors in search of the second Shadow. Next thing he knew, Closer and Soy were discussing their current predicament.
"I suppose it would be faster if we split up, but wouldn't it be easier if we had stayed together? There's no way the other Shadow is that elusive, right?"
"I just want it over with as much as you do, Closer. Let's just go already so I can go visit Pop's place for a bowl."
Only Chord didn't seem to be too bothered by Yuki's team splitting off. In fact, she seemed completely lost in thought.
"Everything alright, Chord? You seem a little spaced out..."
Chord's head immediately turned to the sound of Wonder's voice, who could see her face turning slightly red, and she responded by shaking her head, avoiding his gaze. Wonder decided not to probe further and opened the door to the Shadow's room.
Inside was the Hierophant, an admittedly obese looking Shadow in bishop's clothing sitting on a throne with a female figure caressing its head. Surprisingly, however, when Wonder had summoned Janosik to cast his first Tatra Shot and knock it down... it vanished into black motes instantly?
"THAT'S supposed to be one of the dangerous rogue Shadows???" Closer inquired in confusion as the motes dissipated.
The moment Closer finished her sentence, Wind immediately sent another transmission to them.
"Wonder? Everyone? *kshhh* It's the *kshhh* second Shadow! It's *kshhh* moved to the same *kshhh* room *kshhh* as-"
Suddenly, everyone in the room was hit with a massive headache, and Wind's voice got more distant and unintelligible. The only thing Wonder could see before his vision faded to black was the sight of his teammates on the ground. He tried to reach out to them, but he blacked out before he could act.
When Wonder finally regained consciousness, he found himself sitting on a heart-shaped bed in what he assumed to be one of the rooms in the hotel. His mind was, however, completely blank, and he hadn't the foggiest idea as to what was going on. The one thing he did notice, however, was that his Phantom Thief outfit had reverted to his regular Kokatsu Academy uniform. Had the Dark Hour ended while he was unconscious? Where were his friends? ...on the other hand, maybe he had nothing to worry about. They could handle themselves without him. His thoughts were interrupted by the realisation that the shower was turned on in the bathroom, while he found himself in what seemed to be the suite's bedroom. However, he couldn't bring himself to think clearly at that moment for some reason, and didn't put two and two together. He looked to his left and saw a neatly folded pile of clothes with some black headphones lying on top of them, which suspiciously looked like the same ones that were worn by...
Ayaka Sakai...
Nagisa could never understand what sort of magnet kept pulling him towards her. It could be that he admired her passion for the musical arts and drive to sing and play the guitar in the middle of Shibuya, something not many could have the courage to do. It could also be that he still felt guilty for accidentally dragging her into Akashi's Palace a while back, where she had awakened to Calliope after an unfortunate encounter with Shadow Akashi. He had already apologised profusely many times for that, but she always waved it off with a shy smile, similar to the usual one she put on after finishing one of her songs, yet it felt more... personal, like it was only meant for him.
That smile would become the bane of his existence. Ever since, Nagisa would come whenever he could to watch Ayaka play in Shibuya Square, occasionally joining in with his bass if asked to. Whenever they played together, the little shows they put on would attract quite a crowd, and she was always grateful for his assistance. Nagisa, however, despite music being a well enjoyed hobby for him, only cared that he was there with her. It was no different in the Metaverse too, he almost always took her along for missions into Mementos or past Palaces unless the situation required for her to stay behind with Wind. Her work as Chord was utterly captivating to Wonder. Every strum of her electric guitar, every spell cast or Catchy Hook played was always so passionate, so electrifying. Her voice was so heavenly that at times he wanted to do nothing but just talk so he could hear her more and more, watch her pale pink lips move and produce that divine melody.
Maybe it was her looks that were the hook to reel him in, and he had swallowed it like a greedy fish. She had verdant green eyes, sparkling like dew-covered leaves in the morning sun and shoulder length brown hair that was always taken care of very well. The rest of her body he admittedly never paid too much attention to: he wasn't one to look and judge like that... Before Nagisa could form another coherent thought, he heard the dripping of the shower water cease and the rustling of a towel. He could not have prepared his eyes for what he saw next. Out of the bathroom came Ayaka, seemingly also having reverted from her Phantom Thief attire, wearing nothing but a towel, her hair still slightly wet from being freshly washed. The gentleman within Nagisa, however, would force him to look straight into her eyes, which even despite his clouded mind he could notice were darkened with desire, and a faint pink ring had formed around her pupils, a foreign stain in the beautiful green eyes he had found himself oh so lost in more than once.
His thoughts, however, were disjointed enough to not give a damn. She was beautiful and right there in front of him, that's what mattered...
"Waiting for me all this time and you still haven't taken anything off? Come on, Nagisa, what's a girl to do when her man just sits there, huh?" Ayaka purred, with an unusually sultry tone, while helping him take off his school jacket and the gray hoodie he always wore underneath. He did not resist, for he couldn't fully comprehend what was going on, but he knew that he wasn't complaining. Before long, he was fully topless, with Ayaka's hands moving to his cheeks.
"Much better... we can finally let the show begin."
Without warning, she pushed him down onto the bed, got on top of him and pressed her lips onto his, sealing them into an electrifying kiss full of passion. Somehow, this was enough to retrieve some clarity of mind to Nagisa, who was suddenly quite aware of his situation. He flailed a little out of surprise, but Ayaka's persistence won him over, and he let himself give in. He reciprocated, the divine taste of her lips searing itself completely into his mind, a sensation he would never be able to forget. After what seemed to be an eternity, Ayaka finally severed the kiss, a thin line of saliva connecting the two, both out of breath.
"Ayaka, I-I..." Nagisa began, but she just put a finger to his lips and rested her head on his chest, sending shivers of joy down his spine.
"First time, huh? I could tell by how surprised you were when I went for it," she mused, a chuckle rising from her vocal chords. Nagisa could only blush in response, thoughts becoming more clearer. He had problems processing what had just happened
"Y-yeah, that was my first kiss," he stammered out, "you seem pretty experienced, though. There's no way this was your first time too, right?"
He looked into her eyes, noticing that the faint pink ring around her pupils had slightly faded. What that meant, he had absolutely no clue, but he wanted this to last forever. His thoughts were interrupted by Ayaka's gentle laugh, melodic as ever.
"Nah, that was my first time too. Happened to pick up a few tricks by simply people watching. You'd be surprised how many different couples I've seen smooching on the sidelines of Shibuya."
"Right... but that still doesn't expl-"
Nagisa's words were interrupted by another searing kiss from Ayaka, who had him pinned to the bed again, making him drop the topic. Right now, all he could care about was her. Her short, flowing hair, soft as silk and still slightly damp after her shower. Her freshly bathed scent, a gentle yet intoxicating smell, completely overtaking his senses. Her lips, a pale pink, tender yet exhilarating to the touch. Her chest was pressed against his, and he could feel their heartbeats synchronising. And to top it all off, her little moans whenever her tongue darted towards his in an attempt to take even more control. Every second that they spent lip-locked was a second Nagisa knew he'd never be able to experience the same way ever again.
Their faces practically melted into one another, each shifting slightly to accommodate the other when the need arose. After what seemed to be another eternity, Ayaka pulled away from Nagisa, a sly yet simultaneously shy smile on her face, leaving him wanting for more. Her verdant eyes were still darkened with desire, but the pink around her pupils had disappeared completely. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around Nagisa and rolled over, leaving him on top. They both flushed a deep red, now in quite an intimate position. Despite only switching places, the tension between them had somehow increased.
"Hope that was good enough for you, hehe. Now, time for you to take center stage. The audience is demanding an encore..."
Nagisa didn't need to be told twice. He dived in to restart their passionate kiss, this time with him taking the reins. Granted, he was a lot less skilled than Ayaka, but he pulled through regardless, their tongues doing their little dance of intimacy all over again. Ayaka's hands roamed all over Nagisa's body, attempting to pull him in closer and closer. If heaven was anything like this, then Nagisa could ascend right now. Everything felt simply right for him, like this was meant to be. To the others, she was Chord, the Phantom Thief with a cool electric guitar and peppy enthusiasm, but only he got to experience the girl beneath the mask; Ayaka Sakai, Shibuya's guitar girl. It seemed like nothing could stop them... until they both started hearing a distant voice from above, causing them to pull away from each other, leaving only a thin strand of saliva connecting them.
"Wonder? Wonder! Finally got through to you! I lost your and Chord's signals after I detected the second Shadow, but I can contact you now."
Nagisa almost choked on his own saliva once he realised that Wind was speaking to them. In fact, he had completely forgotten about why they were all there in the first place. He put two fingers to his ear in order to respond to the navigator.
"Yeah, uhhhhh... all's good here, we got a little..." he looks at Ayaka, whose face went deep red as she averted his gaze, "...caught up in some trouble, yeah. All's good now, though, we'll be here in a second. Has Yuki's squad found the other Shadow?"
"Fuuka tells me they've got it on its last legs, so the operation should be complete any minute now. Do you want me to send someone over for you two?"
"N-no, no need, thanks. Good to hear that the operation went smoothly."
Nagisa ends the conversation and turns to Ayaka, who is still lying on the bed, face red as a tomato and more importantly... still wearing only a towel. He feels his face burning up at the realisation and looks away, only to realise that he's wearing absolutely nothing above his waistline.
"We should probably get dressed before Wind sends someone for us, would be really bad if someone found us like this..."
Ayaka nods.
"R-right. So, we must've both been under the Shadow's influence, huh?"
"Seems like it, but I think I snapped out of it a little earlier than you did. When did you feel your thoughts clear?"
"Hmm... just before we switched positions, I think."
Nagisa's eyes widened slightly.
"That would explain the pink rings around your pupils. The Shadow must have been overloading our desires, clouding our minds and causing our Phantom Thief outfits to revert. What sort of hellish monsters are SEES taking on on this island..." Nagisa's eyes widened even more when he came to another realisation.
"Wait... so if you say the influence wore off just before we swapped places, does that mean..."
Ayaka's face somehow gets even redder and she just puts a finger to his lips while looking down.
"Perhaps I simply enjoyed it enough to keep it going. It was, after all, the first kiss for both of us, right?"
Nagisa nodded, completely overwhelmed by the revelation, but not complaining at all.
"You think we have time for one more before they start getting worried?"
Ayaka gave him a gentle smile, her eyes twinkling with mischief as she looked at the boy she had just been lip locked with for who knows how long.
"Sure, why not, just let me get dressed first. You might want to put your shirt back on too."
Oh. Right. Wonder had completely forgotten the state they were in. He quickly nodded, grabbed his stuff and started putting it on while Ayaka went to the bathroom to change back into her clothes. As they reassembled their everyday clothes, a flash of blue fire returning their Phantom Thief outfits back to them, so when Ayaka exited the bathroom, Wonder was greeted by a familiar starry mask.
"Seems like the outfits are working again. It's the first time I've ever seen a malfunction like this, myself. Maybe Lufel would know something more..."
Chord said nothing, only guided his head with her hand to look at her.
"Perhaps, but I don't think it matters..."
______________________________
Everyone else was gathered outside by now, having defeated the Lovers Shadow and, surprisingly, the Hierophant Shadow, which had actually survived the encounter in the VIP suite. Fuuka and Wind concluded that the first battle with it must have been a undetectable ruse by both of the Shadows, and Wonder's team had walked right into the trap. Soy and Closer managed to break out of the trap awfully fast, mainly due to Wind's quick interference, but it seemed like Wonder and Chord had more troubles with escaping the clutches of the Lovers. Yuki's team, meanwhile, had encountered a similar trap with the Lovers Shadow itself, but Mitsuru's quick wits saved them from suffering the same fate as the Phantom Thieves. Fuuka was talking with Akihiko and Yukari about the course of the battles, while Mitsuru was convening with Wind and Cattle (who was in a state of slight shock after finding out that his leading protege hadn't returned yet) about the state of Wonder and Chord's whereabouts.
Closer and Soy were... awfully quiet. They didn't exchange a single word after exiting the hotel. Something had obviously happened in the short while they were entranced before Wind had disabled the Shadow's influence, but it seemed like neither was willing to talk about it.
Lastly, Makoto Yuki... he took matters into his own hands and went back in to look for Wonder and Chord by himself. He had gotten the floor number from Wind, now he just needed to check behind which door he could find the duo. He went from suite to suite, pressing an ear to the doors to see if he couldn't hear anything, but every door had returned nothing but silence... except one. He could hear some gentle rustling of the sheets and what seemed to be moans coming from behind the door. He took a deep breath, hoping that it was just one of those dancer duo Shadows the middle blocks of Tartarus liked to throw his way, and slowly opened the door.
Unfortunately for him, he did not come across a Shadow he could just smite with Orpheus's flames. What did greet his eyes, however, was the sight of the two dishevelled Phantom Thieves, both of their lips clearly swollen and having trouble catching their breaths. Wonder even happened to have a hickey on his neck, which admittedly was not a sight Makoto had expected to see. If anything, he'd have sooner expected to see Chord with one. It didn't stop him from teasing the duo a little, though.
"Well, well, well, look who got entranced by the Shadows."
He chuckled, seemingly enjoying the sight. He was trying to hold back his laughter as he saw Wonder and Chord's faces redden.
"I hope you enjoyed your time under the influence of the Lovers Arcana. Thankfully, you won't have to ever relive that again. Trust me, I'd know."
Upon seeing Wonder and Chord's inquisitive looks, he rubbed his neck and, with a rare smile replacing his usual apathetic expression, he hastily added:
"When this had happened before, it was me and Yukari in this exact room. She wouldn't let me live it down for days, even though nothing actually happened between us that night."
Makoto rubs his cheek and winces slightly at the thought.
"Still remember that slap like it was yesterday... anyways, we need to get you two out of here. The operation's done, thankfully. The Shadow you had found in the VIP suite was only a decoy, my team found a decoy of the other Shadow on our floor too. We had to take them down both at once. Not my easiest battle, for sure, but miles easier than dealing with the Emperor and Empress at the same time."
Wonder and Chord looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief, but Makoto wasn't as ready to write everything off as done and dusted.
"The two of you look like a wreck, though. Chord, your hat's laying under the bed, I can see it from here. As for you, Wonder, make sure you find a way to hide that hickey once you get back to Tokyo, yeah? The outfit can't cover it up for forever."
After they had finally gotten out of the hotel (and immediately bombarded with questions from Cattle, who was still having trouble believing Wonder took so long to escape), the two teams headed their separate ways, each returning to their own base of operations. As the Phantom Thieves disappeared in the distance, Yukari turned towards Makoto, a slightly worried look on her face.
"Hey, did those two... get trapped in the same suite that we did, all the way back then?"
Makoto turned to Yukari, completely deadpan.
"Yep, but unlike us, they actually did something."
"Nothing too over the top, I hope..."
"Nah, just making out. Gotta say, I wish I could see the reaction of Wonder's classmates when they see that he's got a hickey on his neck."
Over on the Phantom Thieves side, everything was completely quiet. Cattle had transformed into the Cattlemobile, with Wind taking the wheel this time. Closer and Soy were still surprisingly unresponsive, a stark contrast to their usual behaviour. Wonder and Chord, however? Fast asleep, with Chord's head resting against Wonder's shoulder. Not a word was uttered until they had reached the entrance to Mementos and returned to the real world, upon which Motoha and Shun immediately bid everyone farewell and went their separate ways. Riko, however, decided she'd pry a little into the situation.
"So... may I ask what happened in that hotel? I couldn't contact you two for a solid half an hour. I was lucky I managed to get those two out early, because I don't think Motoha could have been any more dazed by Shun's abs."
Nagisa looked at Riko, then at Ayaka, who was still a little sleepy from the ride back. He simply shook his head and pointed to the hickey on his neck.
"Could I just tell you tomorrow? I really don't have the energy for this right now, and neither does she."
Ayaka stifled a yawn and nodded in assent, her eyes drooping. Riko could do nothing but agree to let them go for the night, but only if Nagisa promised to tell her the full story tomorrow. With that out of the way, she also waved goodbye and went off to call her personal driver to take her home. Nagisa looks back to Ayaka, whose drowsiness was wearing off, and he decided to drop the question that had been sitting on his mind for a good few minutes.
"Hey, listen... how'd you feel about me taking you out on a date somewhere, sometime?"
Ayaka looks straight into his eyes, a smile forming on her still swollen lips, her eyes sparkling with contentment.
"After tonight? I'd have been surprised if you hadn't asked."