The rain had finally stopped, leaving the Tokyo air thick and warm, heavy with humidity. Café Leblanc was calm, its windows slightly fogged from the heat outside brushing against the café’s stubborn old air conditioner. The usual clatter of dishes was absent—Sojiro had gone out to run errands, muttering something about needing more curry spices and an "actual break for once." The front sign had been flipped to CLOSED.

Upstairs, the attic light was on.

Most of your summer so far had been slow. With no Phantom Thief requests in weeks, everyone had drifted into their own rhythms—Makoto buried herself in prep books, Ryuji vanished into his summer training, Ann had taken off on a modeling trip, and Yusuke had found himself occupied with “artistic epiphanies.” Even Morgana seemed content to nap in windowsills more than nag.

Which left you alone.

Or so you thought.

When you went up the steps into Leblanc's attic where you lived at the moment, your eyes instinctively flicked toward your couch—and sure enough, a familiar mess of long orange hair dangled over the couch upstairs. A pair of boots kicked idly in the air, and somewhere, the rapid tapping of a controller echoed faintly beneath the murmur of background music as her eyes were locked on your tv.

Futaba was stretched out on your couch, lying upside down, her head hanging off the edge and oversized glasses nearly sliding off her face. She noticed you the second you stepped into view.

“Oho! Look who finally returns from their mysterious soda run,” She grinned, tilting her head without lifting it. “Took you long enough. I almost beat this whole Monster Hunter boss alone. And it was one of the hard ones too.”

She flopped upright with all the grace of a startled cat, brushing hair out of her face. Her green jacket slid off one shoulder as she sat cross-legged, game controller still in hand.

“So... you bored too or what?”