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A loud, long tired huff left Ryuji's mouth as he slowly staggered up the stairs towards his apartment. His back ached, his muscles were begging for mercy, he hadn't had a chance to eat since lunchtime and he was fairly certain that he had overdone it with his injured leg.
It had been a really long day… He understood that the sports festival was coming up, but did that really mean that he had to be involved in every step of the preparations? There were other PE teachers, y'know… Still though, it was nice watching the students work hard to prepare for the sports festival.
A tired smile spread across the man's face as he finally reached his floor, his wedding ring clicking against the railing as Ryuji grabbed ahold and pulled his exhausted body along the hallway.
He began rummaging around in his bag for his keys as he grew closer and closer to his front door. What exactly should he do first? Have a bath or make some dinner? He honestly didn't know if he could be bothered to do either of those… But he really needed to wash all this sweat off himself and he was starving right now… Were there any microwave meals left in the freezer?
He sighed again as he unlocked the door and kicked his shoes off. He was so tired that it didn't even occur to him until after he'd locked the front door behind him that the living room light was on.
"What the hell…?" He muttered to himself as he shuffled into his apartment. He didn't forget to turn the light off and left it on all day while he was gone, did he?
Venturing further into the apartment, Ryuji realised he could hear the TV too. Now hold on… He knew he could be forgetful sometimes, but even this was too much. Just what the hell was going on here? And what smelled so good?
As he entered the living room, he scanned his eyes around his surroundings. The TV was indeed on, playing an anime he hadn't had the chance to check out yet. Both the living room and kitchen lights were on and in the kitchen was someone he hadn't expected to see.
Seemingly having heard him entering, the woman with long dark hair standing in front of the stove turned around and greeted him with a smile.
"Welcome home."
Ryuji stared at her with a stunned expression, questioning if he was seeing this right. Was he hallucinating? Sure, he missed his wife an insane amount while she away but surely that couldn't mean that he had starting hallucinating her being back, right?! Was he that tired that he had started seeing things?!
Noticing his silence, the lady quizzically tilted her head. "Ryuji? You okay?"
Just heading her voice let him know that this was real. Ryuji dropped his bag and rushed into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around her. "You're home, Hifumi?! I thought you weren't due back for another week!"
Hifumi giggled and happily hugged him back. "Some of the competitors got sick so they've postponed the finals and we all got to come home for a while. I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you."
"You sure as hell surprised me! I thought I'd gone insane!" Ryuji gasped, snuggling his face into his wife's shoulder. He suddenly remembered his current state and threw himself away from her. "Oh! Sorry… I'm all sweaty… Probably shoulda waited until I'd washed up to hug you, huh?"
Hifumi laughed at his dejected apology. There were times where Ryuji's mannerisms really reminded her of a puppy… This was one of those times.
"It's fine, don't worry about it. I had a feeling you'd be back soon so I ran you a bath. Dinner should be finished by the time you're done." She informed him, quickly giving the food boiling in the pot in front of her a quick stir.
Ryuji gave her a thankful smile. He really needed something simple like this after the day he'd had. "Thanks so much… By the way, what is for dinner? Smells great."
"Oh, it's nothing special. Just some katsu curry."
"Oh hell yeah, sounds delicious!"
Hifumi couldn't help but be endeared by Ryuji's enthusiasm over such a simple dish. As she watched him walk over to the bathroom, she noticed his slight limp.
"Do you need me to find your knee compress while you're in the bath?"
"Oh yeah, please! You're a lifesaver!" Ryuji replied.
"Did something happen to your leg?"
"No, I just overused it… It's been way too busy lately…"
"Oh, right, the school's sports festival… Tell me all about it over dinner, won't you?"
"Sure thing! I wanna hear all about your tournament too! And what you did up in Hokkaido!"
"Of course! But first, you should go have your bath…. You… um… kinda smell…" Hifumi awkwardly mumbled, not wanting to offend her husband.
Ryuji wasn't offended in the slightest as he grabbed himself a comfy change of clothes. "I toldja I was sweaty… I won't be too long. And thanks again for running it for me!"
Hifumi smiled lightly as she turned her attention back to their dinner. "No problem!"
"-I mean, it sucks for them but I'm pretty glad it happened 'cause I got to see you earlier than expected." Ryuji remarked after Hifumi recounted how multiple competitors had fallen ill suddenly.
"I know how you feel. But I can't help but feel a little guilty for feeling that way…" Hifumi agreed with a conflicted smile.
"Yeah… But at least they can still compete! Some tournaments would just disqualify someone for being unable to turn up and just add the next person on the leaderboard into the lineup. The fact that they're rescheduling the final few matches is honestly pretty damn admirable to me." Ryuji rebutted, shooting down Hifumi's negative thoughts before they could fully form.
"That's true…"
"Right? So what did you do in your spare time? You gotta have looked around Sapporo, right?" Ryuji switched topics from the tournament itself to Hifumi's trip for the tournament.
Hifumi's eyes sparkled. "Oh, I did, don't worry! It's a lovely city! The hot springs were a godsend after those long matches… and the food… Oh! I tried that ramen you recommended!"
"And?"
"And you were absolutely right! It's delicious!"
Ryuji grinned cheerfully. "I toldja! Heh, I really should try to visit Sapporo again… We didn't really get to fully appreciate it last time…"
"How long were you guys there when you had that road trip?" Asked Hifumi with a curious tilt of her head.
"Only a few days… And we were busy taking care of all that metaverse crap going on at the time so it's not like we had too much free time…" Ryuji sighed before shoveling another spoonful of rice into his mouth.
Hifumi gave him an understanding nod. She'd known about the Phantom Thieves' identities for quite a while now. After all, once she figured out Ren was the leader, it was pretty easy to figure out that the group of friends he always hung around with were the other members.
"What did you do while you were there?" She asked.
Ryuji looked up at the ceiling as he sifted through his memories to remember. "Uhhh… We mostly just tried loads of the local food… We went to the hot springs a few times because they were so good after infiltrations… Oh, and uh, I went on that huge ferris wheel."
That surprised Hifumi. "Really? The ferris wheel? With who?"
Ryuji's shoulders drooped as he recalled the excursion. "With the guys and Sophia… It was really awkward… And this was back before we'd started dating and I was desperate for a girlfriend so it felt ten times worse… And then when I told the guys that if they got a girlfriend they'd have to tell me, Ren hit me with 'oh, uh, sorry…'"
"Really? Who was he dating?"
"No one! He was just being an asshole!"
Hifumi placed her hand over her mouth as she giggled at that reveal. That certainly did sound like Ren's typical brand of trickery.
"Well, if we do ever visit Sapporo again, we'll have to ride that ferris wheel together." She stated, her wedding ring glinting under the ceiling light as she tucked her hair behind her ear.
Ryuji stared at her with wide eyes for a seconds, his cheeks turning a shy pink. "Y-Yeah, that sounds really nice."
Hifumi always loved seeing Ryuji get all flustered; it was such an adorable sight.
"So, how are the preparations for the sports festival going?" She changed the subject, wanting to hear about what Ryuji had been up to while she was gone.
"It's a lot of work but it's going pretty well. I'm tempted to beg the other PE teachers for help though because the rest of the staff keeps dumping everything on me…"
"Yeah, if you need help, I'd definitely bring it up to them… Not to mention, if I were them, I'd be a little offended that I was being ignored for the festival dedicated to my specialty." Hifumi encouraged Ryuji to share his concerns; after all she didn't want him to overwork himself, especially not with his leg.
"Right?! Like, track and field ain't the only event in the festival! Ask for their opinions too!"
"And how are your students doing?"
"They're all doing really well! They've all been assigned to their events for the festival and they're all training hard. I've been giving them any advice I can but it's kinda hard giving everyone attention 'cause I don't wanna get accused of favoritism..."
Hifumi smiled knowingly, all too familiar with that awkward expression of Ryuji's at this point. "But something tells me that you do have a favourite…"
Ryuji flinched and averted his gaze over to the TV.
Hifumi smirked. She hit the nail on the head. "So who is it?"
Ryuji pouted bashfully as he looked back over at her. "… Hiiro-kun… I dunno, just… I relate to the poor kid."
"Did something happen?"
"Ah… Bad home life… Dad died when he was young, mum was abusive… He got taken from her and moved in with his grandparents but obvious the stuff with his mum's stuck with him…"
Hifumi's brow furrowed after hearing that. She could never understand why people would do those kinds of things…
Ryuji scratched the back of his head and continued. "I dunno… Just seeing how angry he is at everything around him and how he uses track to clear his head… I get it. He's a good kid, he just needs some help and… I guess I wanna help him however I can."
The sincerity in Ryuji's voice made warmth spread through Hifumi's chest. She smiled and reached across the table, giving Ryuji's hand a comforting squeeze.
"I'm sure he appreciates your guidance."
Ryuji scoffed in amusement. "Yeah, I dunno about that. The kid's always got some smartass comeback."
"Were you much different as a teenager?"
"I-" Ryuji's eyebrows knitted together as a thoughtful pout enveloped his face. "Alright, fine, you gotta point…"
Hifumi chuckled, picking up her drink. "So you're rooting for this Hiiro-kun to win?"
"I mean, I can't go around saying that… but yeah." Ryuji admitted with a sheepish mumble.
As the two continued eating, Ryuji's eyes suddenly widened. "Oh yeah! Something I learned recently!"
"Mm-hm?"
"The school's chess club is practically your fan club!"
"… I'm sorry?"
"I walked past them in the library and they were watching the livestream of one of your matches. And they were going on and on and on about how you were obviously gonna win and how your strategies were always so brilliant and how they couldn't wait for General Hifumi's appearance. They seriously love you!"
"G-General Hifumi…?" Hifumi awkwardly repeated. She was unaware that her focused state had been given a nickname by her fans.
"You don't like it?"
"I'm… not… sure?" Was Hifumi's honest answer. On one hand, it was a little embarrassing… On the other hand, it did sound pretty damn cool.
Ryuji chuckled lightly. "You shoulda seen the looks on their faces when I asked how your match was going!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah, they didn't think I could've possible known a shogi player's name. They prolly just thought I was just all muscle, no brain or somethin'. They were asking me how the hell I knew that and everything."
"Did you tell them we're married?"
"Sure did!"
"And how did they react?"
"They didn't believe me until I showed them pictures. And then they were dumbfounded about how I could have possibly ended up with you. Felt a lil insultin', not gonna lie…"
"I'm sure they didn't mean it that way."
"Yeah, I know. I mean, they were mostly confused about how we met 'cause I mean, yeah, you probably wouldn't think we have much in common…"
"That's true… It is quite weird to think about how we probably wouldn't have met if it weren't for Ren…"
"Right? But honestly, thank god he introduced us 'cause I remember just instantly clicking once I realised we liked the same kindsa manga."
"Same here! Honestly, I just appreciated how you didn't see me as odd when I got into the zone… But after spending more time with you, I came to really enjoy your company."
"Same!" Ryuji's cheery grin fell into a softer expression as he glanced down at their matching rings. "And now look at us, huh?"
Hifumi returned that sweet smile. "Life really can be interesting, can't it?"
Ryuji bashfully looked away, not used to getting all sappy and slightly existential. Glancing at the TV, he was reminded of something else.
"Oh! Right, I meant to tell you earlier but: while you were gone, I made sure to pick up the new volumes of those three manga series you really enjoy. I put them in your bedside drawer since I know you like to read them before putting them onto your manga shelf."
Hifumi's eyes widened. "You got them for me?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"
"You didn't have to do that, I could've caught up once I came back."
"But there's no guarantee that the volumes would still be in stock once you got back so I figured might as well get them while they're brand new."
"Thanks, Honey… That was so sweet of you." Hifumi murmured with a grateful smile. She hadn't even considered asking him to do that for her, so that fact he'd done it without even thinking about it was really touching.
"No problem. Oh! And y'know that company that makes those co-op games? They released a new one while you were gone so I downloaded it! I've been waiting for to come back so we could play!"
"That company that-… Oh! Those split screen ones! Really?! I didn't know there was a new one!"
"Yup! Apparently it's really good, everyone's raving about it!"
"Should we play it after we've finished eating?"
"I mean I'm down but are you sure? You only just got back today… You don't wanna rest up?"
Hifumi shook her head, her silky swishing from side to side with each movement. "I'm fine. I got back at around noon and had a pretty long nap."
Ryuji grinned, eager to finally play this game with Hifumi. He always looked forward to playing these games with her and getting way too into them.
"Okay, cool! Once we're done, I'll set everything up. Oh, and I bought some of those mochi treats you love so much so if you wanna snack on them while we play, help yourself!"
"Sounds like a plan!"