Chapter 96
[127]
“How do you ‘accidentally’ have sex!?” Ann yelled angrily. “And on the ceiling!?”
Makoto, Ann, Futaba, Haru, and Takemi were sitting together in Leblanc, discussing Makoto and Ren’s...incident yesterday in Yusuke’s apartment. Needless to say, the other women of the group were shocked, unable to believe that the two teens would do something so risque.
“I don’t know!” Makoto replied, frantically trying to explain herself. “One minute we were just sitting together, waiting for Yusuke to come back and the next we couldn’t stop ourselves! It was like we were different people!”
“Well,” Ann crossed her arms and slumped back in her seat. “Congratulations, I guess. You win. Ren’s all yours.” Her lower lip began to quiver and a tear formed in the corner of her eye.
“Ann…” Makoto looked at her friend’s heartbroken expression, feeling immense guilt in her gut.
“Here you go.” Haru set down Ann’s plate of curry in front of her before turning to Makoto. “And here you-oops!” The girl made a show of dropping the brunette’s plate on the floor, letting the contents spill out. “My bad.” She said, her smile never leaving her face. Getting up from his spot on the counter, Ren’s cat began to lick up the mess. “Maurice will clean that up. I’ll go make you another one.”
Giving the fluffy haired girl a look of confusion, Makoto turned back to Ann. “Look, I wasn’t trying to steal him away! I didn’t ‘win’ anything! What happened between Ren and I was...weird. It wasn’t love, it was primal and involuntary.” The girls widened their eyes and stared at her. “N-Not involuntary in that sense!” She clarified. “We were both very involved. Uh, I mean...it was like a reflex! Like we had to do it!”
“I don’t need to hear the details!” Ann covered her ears.
“Speak for yourself!” Futaba replied, eating a bag of chips as she listened intently. “This sounds hot!”
“Futaba!” Ann scolded the girl.
Meanwhile, the boys of the group were nearby at the batting cages, having their own discussion about yesterday’s events. While normally they and the others would be in school today, the events at the dance caused it to shut down indefinitely.
“So? How was it?” Ryuji asked curiously, watching while Ren took his turn at bat. “With Makoto I mean. I don’t mean to pry, but superhero sex sounds like it’s on another level.”
“Don’t pretend you even know what regular sex is like Sakamato.” Morgana chimed in.
“Shuddup!” Ryuji defended. “Like you’re one to talk!”
“It was...intense.” Ren admitted. “I honestly can’t say who initiated it, I think we were both just compelled to.”
“And you wouldn’t stop for even a moment for me to sketch the two of you.” Yusuke added, disgruntled. “It could’ve been a masterpiece!”
“Uh...How long did you watch us for exactly?” Ren asked, turning to the artist.
“Why, until it was over of course.” Yusuke said as if it were obvious. “I must say, you both were quite admirable! One could almost feel the power behind each thrust and-”
“DUDE!” Ryuji stopped him. “I wanted details but not like that! Do you seriously have no concept of boundaries!?”
“Well to be fair, they were in my home and I had only left for a moment.”
“Yeah...Sorry about that.” Ren rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly before getting hit in the back by a baseball.
As Ryuji got up to take his turn at bat, he spotted the smug grin on Morgana’s face.
“What’s got you feelin’ all cocky?” He asked the younger boy.
“Well, since Makoto’s with Ren now, Lady Ann is on the market again. Not to mention heartbroken, so when I come swooping in to save her from her sadness, she’ll have to go out with me!”
“You’re never gonna stop barking up that tree, are you?” Ryuji shook his head in pity.
“And Makoto and I aren’t ‘together’ now.” Ren added. “We both agreed that what happened was a strange circumstance that we would look into before progressing our relationship.”
Back with the girls, Makoto was still trying to explain her actions to the others.
“Sounds to me like you were in heat.” Takemi replied, absentmindedly stirring her coffee.
“Huh?” Everyone turned to her.
Realizing that they didn’t understand, Takemi elaborated. “In nature, animals of the opposite sex feel a strong compulsion to breed every now and then. When that happens they release pheromones that put others of their species ‘in the mood’ so to speak. The two of you were alone, disrobed, in a small room together, it seems only natural that would happen. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case between you two, you are the first ‘Spider-Woman’ after all.”
“See!” Makoto pointed to the doctor. “I was right! Can’t say I’m crazy about that name though.” She added.
“So?” Ann folded her arms. “Even if neither of you meant to, you still did it. And that just proves that eventually, you two will do it again!”
“Ann, I had no idea this was going to happen as a result of that serum, you didn’t either. But honestly, it doesn’t feel right to leave things like this between us. You’re my friend! And as strong as my feelings for Ren are...I think it’s only fair that you get your shot too.”
“Huh?” Ann’s composure broke for a moment. “W-What are you talking about?”
“Whoever Ren chooses, I think it should be done fairly. So…” The student council president tapped her fingers together nervously. “I guess, if we each took him out on a date, then he could decide who it is he feels stronger about.”
“Wait, for real!? Y-You’re serious?” Ann was shocked.
“Yes. And whoever he chooses…” She hesitated, biting her lip for a moment. “I’m willing to accept the result.”
As Makoto finished speaking, Haru set another plate of curry in front of her, thankfully not dropping this one. Eyeing the food for a moment, she looked up at the girl strangely.
“Um, Haru?” Makoto asked. “D-Did I do something to offend you?”
“Whatever do you mean?” The girl in question asked with a smile, one that was clearly only skin deep.
“Well it’s just…” She looked down at the plate in front of her. “There was the plate from earlier and now...you seem to have served me curry with cat fur in it.”
“Oh did I?” Haru’s expression was unphased. “My mistake.”
“She’s mad at you cuz she’s crushing on Ren too.” Futaba chimed in, munching on more chips.
“What!?” Makoto and Ann turned to the girl in question who gasped in surprise, shocked to hear her secret was out.
“Y-You too Haru!?” Makoto asked.
“...Yes.” She murmured, staring at the floor. “I-I like him too. H-He helped me out a lot with...everything that’s been going on. He’s so kind and gentle. And before I knew it, I’d fallen for him as well. I’m sorry…”
“Haru…” Makoto stood up, hugging the other girl. “I’m the one who should be sorry, I...I didn’t even think of you. I thought it was just Ann and I who harbored feelings for Ren.”
From their seats, Takemi and Futaba subtly coughed and looked away. In her office at the police station, Naoto Shirogane let out a sudden sneeze. In a tiny apartment across the city, Sadayo Kawakami did the same. And somewhere across the country, Sumire Yoshizawa sneezed in the middle of her gymnastics routine, causing her to fall mid-vault.
“I-It’s fine. Sorry I was so passive aggressive, I just don’t really know what to do about these pent up feelings.” Haru apologized, looking ashamed of herself.
“Well, sounds to me like this just became a three-way competition.” Takemi smiled, crossing her legs as she took a sip of coffee.
“Heh, nice.” Futaba chuckled.
“What?” Haru looked surprised. “N-No, I couldn’t possibly-”
“Hey,” Ann got up from her seat and joined in the hug. “You’re our friend too. It’s only fair that we give you your chance.”
“Y-You guys…” Haru began to tear up and reciprocated the hug.
“Whaddup girls?” Ryuji asked as he and the guys entered the cafe. “Whoa, what’s goin’ on?”
“Ren!” Ann addressed the boy in question.
“Huh?” Ren was confused, afraid that he was in trouble.
“You. Me. Date. Tonight. Got it?” She asked, placing her hands on her hips. From behind the group of boys, Morgana fell to his knees and cried out.
“NOOOOO!”