Boom? [Mae]

"Yeah, there are worse things, obviousy. No matter where you go or who you are, there's probably someone somewhere who has it worse." Mae shrugged. There were enough people living on earth to safely assume something like that would be correct. "That sounds really depressing when you word it like that." Ayane sighed deeply. "Not that it makes it less true, sadly." That was just what the world was... At least now. Maybe the angels could change that? Would that really be a desirable future? Maybe... Depends on who you asked.


Mae chuckled lightly at Ayane's response. Just curious, eh? Well, Ayane was a pretty nosy girl, after all. But she knew where to draw the line, luckily. "Sharaku is a busy man. I don't blame him for not having time on his hands to worry much about this kind of stuff." Mae winked at Sharaku. "Yeah... Busy. Right..." It was true though. He was kind of busy trying to save the world, like the rest of the persona users. Not that Ayane knew that. "Yeah, it is..." Mae would reply ambiguously, leaving Ayane staring at the two in confusion.

"A year eh?" That was a rather long time... About twice as long as Mae had spent here on Azores. 4 months of which she had spent as a Persona User. Nothing remarkable by any means, but it was nice for Mae to look back, and see just how far She and Qilin had come since they first met. "It feels like more than just six months have passed... But that may just be my brain being a bit wonky." Mae smiled warmly. "Hehe, I do what I can." It felt nice knowing that people apprechiated what she did. Hopefully she wouldn't need them to do the same for her, but the knowledge that her friends were there for her when she found herself in a bind was a comforting thought. "I guess so..." Looking at her Shadow she met in Alternate Zela Academy was proof of that... Although, all that the shadow ever wanted was to be free... Someone else forced her hand, so was it really the shadow being mean? Maybe...

"Oh, we're not?" Ayane asked in a suprised tone. "Hehe, I'm sure you would look great in a dress. But I think we'll skip the heels. That's a bit too much." Heck, Mae wasn't wearing heels now. She found them un-necessarily uncomfortable. And Mae assumed Sharaku wouldn't exactly apprechiate that kind of footwear. Besides, was there really any point in wearing Heels to begin with when you were as tall as Sharaku?

"I-I'll be fine... R-Really!" Mae said somewhat panicked, looking up at him. "I-I'm just really nervous, that's all." Hopefully she would get over it... Mae just needed to get used to this... Charles had been a bit... different from Sharaku. Charles was a robot while the other was... human. // Am... I falling for him?! // Whether this was good or bad remained to be seen... Mae had yet to deal with the whole Charles situation. Oh, why did everything have to be so hard? Just when her relationship with Charles was a bit on shaky legs... this had to happen on top of that. Although, it was her own choice. Dancing with Sharaku that is. "I... need your advice on something." Mae said eventually, after collecting her thoughts and calming down somewhat. The blush had yet to vanish completely, but it was not nearly as vivid as earlier.

"Well, I dunno. Is there? Because how bad something is can be very different from person to person." Yep, it was all up to interpretation. One bad thing for one person could be something good in another one's eyes. "Well, I guess dying is unversally seen as a bad thing... I guess that's the worst?" She did have a point. "Hehe, you're right about that! I prefer to have an optimistic view on things whenever I can." Mae smiled sheepishly. Sharaku was probably more of a realist than Mae was, but at least he wasn't a pessimist. Always looking on things in a bad light could not be a good thing for your own well-being. At least not emotionally.

"Well, you do have two cute girls to talk to here. I guess that's something?" Ayane chuckled mischeviously, with a wide grin on her face. Was she just teasing? "Oh geez..." Mae resisted the urge to whap Ayane on the back of her head. "Teeheehee..." Ayane looked expectantly at Sharaku, as if waiting to see if she would get the response she wanted or not. "I wouldn't say no to more free time... But alas, I have a pet, an apartment and friends to take care of, alongside other things..." Like cooking food and doing her laundry etc. When Mae was not hanging out with friends, Charles or fighting Shadows, most of her days was dedicated to chores. In a way, she felt a bit like a house-wife. Except that A: She wasn't married and B: She didn't have any kids to take care of, and C: she only needed to cook for herself, as Charles couldn't eat food. But oh well... At least she had things... kind of.

"Your own fault? How?" Ayane asked. To be honest, that part did confuse Mae as well. What exactly did he mean by that? "I guess I could use something like that... but heels are so uncomfortable. Call me whatever you want, I don't wanna wear something that physically hurts." Unless it was a REALLY special occasion, she would probably not wear anything like that anytime soon. That did not however mean that she didn't own a pair or two. She was just not wearing em.

"Well... it's about someone I know... Last time I met this guy, we kind of split off in a bad way, and... I want to give him a second chance... How do you think I should approach him? I made a mistake back then, telling him something I should probably not have told him... I think he's blaming everything that went bad for him on me... I... *Sniffle* I Just don't wanna lose him. S-Sharaku... Help... W-What should I do?" Mae was so lost... How did she honestly repair what she had caused... Even if Mae and Charles ended up just being friends after all this, that was fine... As long as he didn't hate her... That's what really mattered to her.

Ayane would blink slowly before speaking up again. "Then what about those people ar-Alright, this is getting sad, let's change topic before the mood is ruined." Mae nodded. "Ditto. Couldn't have said it better myself." Things were getting rather gloomy, and that was the last Mae needed. Fortunately, Ayane and Sharaku averted the crisis before it struck. "Hehe, that's very true." As long as you were Optimistic within reason it was okay. Even Mae had her limits. But she would try to put on a brave face if things got rough, if not for herself, then for the others. If she could inspire others to act in an otherwise hopeless situation, that would be all worth it.

"W-What?!" The two girls exclaimed in unison, with their cheeks reddening a bit. That he actually went there... Mae couldn't resist it anymore. She gave Ayane a good bonk on the back of her head. "OW!" Mae took a deep breath. "I can't believe you just asked that!" She could keep on going scolding Ayane for a good long while, but considering Sharaku was with them, she regained her composure rather quickly, but she was still a little flushed. "E-Erm..." Her friend, on the other hand, seemed to have a little bit of trouble with that... Ayane would just sit there, looking at Sharaku in complete shock as to what he had said. And Mae had a sneaking suspicion that her friend wasn't completely against the idea... But Mae sure was.

"Well, I guess... In a sense. But I rarely get to dedicate some time to myself. But eh. I vastly prefer to hang out with friends over being alone. But sometimes, Solitude is nice too..." Like reading that manga which Hikaru had been so kind to get Mae dragged into. Sargeant Frog... She was 8 volumes in by now. A Pretty good read, if she had to be honest. But if it rested between the Manga and her friends, reading would lose everytime, no contest.

"Hehe. So you brought it on your own before?" It was Sharaku who brought up the whole dress deal to begin with. But sheesh, that would be one, big dress for him. "Eh, I guess it's just me being me then." If someone asked her really nicely, though, she might put on heels for one day... Luckily for her, no-one had actually asked that of her yet.

Sharaku's words might not have seemed like much at first, but to Mae, it was more than enough, if only to cheer her up a bit. "I'm not sure if this is a good place to tell you everything... Maybe some other time." Mae said, with a gentle smile on her face. "From the bottom of my heart, Sharaku... Thank you... It really means alot hearing you say that." He really was a solid friend to have... She would have to seek him out as soon as she could tomorrow after this. Maybe he could help her out of this situation she found herself in? Her mood certainly brightened up after that.

"O-Oh..." Ayane squirmed a bit in her seat. Mae on the other hand looked at her friend. "You brought this on yourself, you know." Sometimes, people were better off not asking questions. This was a pretty good example of that. Sharaku seemed to enjoy himself though, so it wasn't all bad. He couldn't actually be serious about that... Could he? It seemed highly unlikely to Mae that Sharaku would actually go and do such a thing, regardless of how attractive the two girls might be. But then again, he was unpredictable. Whether that was a good or a bad thing was anyone's guess. "And what do you mean by 'win'?" Mae asked, somewhat perplexed. Had there been some sort of competition or something? Ayane seemed to get what he was talking about. She was definetely operating on an entirely different wavelength at times. "Well, I can't out-do that." Ayane chuckled awkwardly, while the rosiness faded slowly from the two girl's cheeks.

"I suppose so... It's just that I have a hard time saying no sometimes..." Mae really didn't like hurting people's feelings. She would feel so guilty about it afterwards. And just to avoid that, she said yes almost every time someone asked to hang out, even if she didn't want to... It was kind of pathetic in a way, but that's how she is. And it wasn't going to change anytime soon, unless something major happened to her that would change her point of view. "I just end up feeling guily about it later on, even though I know they won't take any offense to it..."

"Hehe, it almost sounds like you would want to test it out, when you say it like that." What warped kind of cognition did this girl have? Was she truly insane? Mae honestly wondered what was going on inside that brain of hers. But that's one of the things that made Ayane so fun to hang out with. She was unpredictable, just like Sharaku, in a sense. Although, Ayane was a bit more... extreme in most cases. Like that one time She leapt forward to have Blaez catch her... One day, Ayane would end up getting herself hurt if she didn't think before acting rashly. "Hehe. My hair already does a good enough job of that, Sharaku." Mae chuckled lightly. Indeed, Pink wasn't exactly a common color. Although, her hair was slightly bleached to get that creamy color to it. Otherwise, her hair was normally a bright shade of Red. The reason why she had done so was because of her step-mother. She had the same color for the most part, if not a shade darker than Mae's, but hers was actually colored, and not bleached, like Mae's.

"You know of any good place we could meet up? I need to get this stuff off my chest soon..." Whatever worked out in the end. If He was busy tomorrow, then that was okay. "I... I'd like to meet up tomorrow, if that's okay? We can discuss it then..." Mae flinched somewhat when Sharaku decided to poke her forehead. "Huh? What was that for?" She would attempt to poke him back at first, but... Well, in the current position she was in, it was rather difficult to reach. Not to mention the height difference didn't exactly do her any favors. "Well... I'm just really grateful, that's all. I... N-Nevermind." Mae shook her head, causing her hair to whip around. No need to bring that up just yet... It felt a bit early... Besides, she needed to see what Charles had to say for himself first...

"Ah, so that's why..." Mae couldn't help but chuckle a little bit at that. Both of them trying to outdo eachother, like it was some sort of contest. "Pfft. I'll get you next time, gramps." Ayane said in a joking manner. //Gramps? Really, Ayane? // Mae shook her head with a wry smile on her face. She was perhaps a bit salty for losing to Sharaku, but that's what you get...

"Yeah... It's a balancing act on a high level... A balance act which I almost always fail." Mae said with a deep sigh. Why was it so difficult to decline for her? "Yeah... I know, and it bothers me... More that I'm basically incapable of declining an offer to hang out, than anything else. But I don't wanna feel guilty afterwards either... It's quite the conundrum, isn't it?" She would have to solve this issue on her own. One day maybe she would be able to... But when that day would actually come, no-one knows...

"Aww... no fun. Hehe, I'm just kidding. It's fine if you don't wanna tell me." Ayane smiled at Sharaku. She did respect his personal boundaries. You just had to be clear where they were, and Ayane wouldn't cross them. At least, Mae knew this from experience. 14 years of experience... so she knew this matter inside out at this point. "Oh? So I'm the first? Although, this isn't dyed. It's bleached actually... If only slightly. My real hair-color is actually slightly darker, leaning towards a pinkish shade of red. If that makes sense." Mae was pretty happy about her hair. It was a common compliment people gave her back in Japan, along with her singing voice, of course. So naturally, Mae cared for her pink donning quite a bit. It was the one feature of her looks that she actually went out of her way to make it look perfect every morning. "Yeah... You do stick out quite a bit yourself." Ayane said. She quickly realized how he might take that, so she quickly added "Not saying it's a bad thing! Ehehe..." She would smile sheepishly at Sharaku.

"Does the park in San Malarus work for you?" Mae asked, looking up at him. "It's quite peaceful over there, and... really beautiful, if I do say so myself." Honestly, she had mixed opinions about that place... While it was a very tranquil and in general good looking area, Bad things have happened to Mae there on multiple occasions... Both Traeh getting her Persona, and the whole Charles incident. But it felt like a good place to go to... After all, they were going to discuss something rather serious... "I guess so... If something does indeed happen... Please be careful, okay?" Mae knew that he wasn't as reckless as say Hyde or Jack, but still, it never hurt being concerned... "I-I'm not saying you can't..." Mae said nervously. "Bend Down?" Mae smiled cheerfully. "Ahaha, you don't have to." At least she was smiling again. That was a step in the right direction. "M-Milady?!" Mae's cheeks would bloss up again, and she fell silent. He was most likely just messing with her, but still, she felt a bit warm inside hearing him call her 'milady'. Mae reacts to the smallest of things when she's nervous...

Oh, and they were at it again. Mae chuckled lightly as Ayane retaliated. "Oh I will, old timer." She chuckled lightly. They could be at this forever... But eventually Ayane would probably give up. That was just a matter of time really. "You really don't wanna give in just yet, do you?" The pinkette grinned at her friend. "Of course not! Maybe..."

"You think so? I think having close friends that you can rely on is a reward enough in and of itself. But if someone went ahead and gave me something, I would not complain." She would accept it with a smile. "Hm? Never thought about that before... Huh. Sounds like a good compromise no? As long as I don't delay the meet-up again after that." Doing that every once in a while sounded like a fair compromise... Why not give it a shot? Sharaku was just full of great ideas, wasn't he? "Hehe... It sounds so simple. Hopefully it ends up working out for you, Mae." Indeed. What harm could testing it out do?

"Hehe. Well, I don't wish to step on anyone's toes needlessly." Ayane smiled widely at him. She had always been pretty good at reading people. I guess that comes with her nosy demeanor, knowing when to stop poking her nose in other people's buissness was a rather good trait of hers. "Yeah. I much prefer this color over red though. I tried it out when I started High-school, and I've stuck with it since then. People generally have very mixed opinions on it, most of em good, but... not everyone approves of it. But those who don't like it can go somewhere else, because I'm not changing back anytime soon. I like my hair." Hopefully it didn't bother any of her friends though... That would be... a bit troublesome. But she was probably worrying over nothing. After all, had any of them had any issues with it, they would've voiced them by now. "Hehe, not that there's any problem with Black. Sure, it's a bit generic, but it does complement your eyes and skin-tone rather well..." D-Did she seriously just say that out loud?! Mae caught herself in the act, coughing awkwardly with a light blush on her face. "Ehm..." Ayane had been quiet for most of the exchange, listening to the two talk with a wide grin on her face. She knew... There was no hiding from Ayane. Gosh darn it.

"Alright! Sounds good, then!" Mae smiled at him, as her worries was somewhat eased. Maybe, just maybe things would work out in the end. "Hehe... A-Alright... I'll be careful too..." She said shyly. "E-Either works f-fine..." Oh geez... Why was she getting tripped up over something like this?

Eventually, the music slowly died down, and the two finished their dance. "That was fun... I was a bit worried it wouldn't work out too well. But looks like I was worried over nothing." What a memorable evening this turned out to be. Things were getting a bit complicated, however... Would it go anywhere? Or would Mae stick with Charles? She didn't know yet. Both of them had their pros and cons... She would eventually need to pick between them, as she honestly could not see either of them agreeing on Sharing Mae... "You two looked pretty good out there together!" Ayane approached the two after saying good bye to her dance partner. "E-Eh?! T-Thanks, I guess..." Mae fidgeted slightly, avoiding Ayane's gaze, with rosy cheeks. At least they had fun. Which was kind of the purpose of it in the first place...

"Pfft... It is getting rather pointless though. As fun as this is, I doubt Mae's here just to hear us jokingly bicker with eachother, no?" Ayane said, laughing heartily. "Honestly, I'm a little lost in this." Indeed she was. Not that Mae minded it. Watching them go at eachother like that was amusing, but only to a certain extent. Would probably be for the best if they stopped, like Ayane suggested, or they would be at it all night.

"Oh? Geez... I totally misjudged what you just said. My bad!" Mae smiled apologetically at him. Why did she think like that to begin with? Maybe she was just tired? "That's true... Hopefully none of my friends are that demanding of me." That... would make things a bit more troublesome. None of her friends seemed to be like that though. At least from what she had seen of them.

"I get that alot. But I do have respect people's personal boundaries. If they say no, I'll stay away from it." Ayane leaned on the counter with her right arm, looking at Sharaku. "Yeah, true... Neon Green is a bit too much for me, but I'm not gonna go hate on people who like it. Everyone's different." Mae said with a bright smile. Acceptance was something she had in abundance. After all, you should not judge a book by it's cover. It's what's on the inside that truly matters in the end, no? "Soo... What do you think of her hair then, Sharaku?" Ayane wasn't even being subtle about it... Oh Geez. Mae fell silent, looking down on her hands timidly. "Um... A-Ayane..." Honestly, Mae did want to hear his opinion... But she would never have asked that on her own... But Ayane did that for her. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen... "I-I think it fits..."

"I hope you had fun too..." Mae said timidly, fidgeting where she stood, looking at Sharaku. "Hehe... I know I shouldn't worry. I just can't help it..." She would then turn to Ayane who approached them "O-Oh, hey Ayane. You had fun, I take it?" The girl responded with a quick nod and a wide grin before turning her attention to Sharaku. "Maaaybe..." Ayane answered ambiguously, looking up at the ceiling with her hands behind her back, trying to look as innocent as possible. "I dunno... We should probably start heading home soon..." Although Mae wouldn't mind to spend some more time with Sharaku... It was up to him really. "What about you?" Ayane asked, returning her gaze back to the man in front of her.