Two Years Later... [Sharaku]

He sure was a little unwilling to let her go out of her way to make sure he was doing okay. And indeed, he appeared to be the same as Mae in that regard. Putting others in front of themselves. She wasn't paticularly new to this... Her relationship with Ayane had pretty much been the same, and they got along just fine. Then again, their friendship was now much more refined than Mae's relationship with Sharaku, so naturally, it was a little difficult to give in to the other. "Heh..." He really was looking out for her, which was quite flattering in it's own way, and it made the woman feel all warm and fuzzy inside. "In the end, it was my choice, no? I'll deal with the consequences of my own actions." Mae said with a light chuckle.

"To a degree, yes." Mae answered thoughtfully. "Blaez and Jack mostly. The others... I see occasionally, but those two I've met more often. Especially Jack." Oh, yes indeed. The very mention of Jack made the girl chuckle a little bit. He was indeed quite the... character. Loved by the kids at the orphanage, and whatnot. "Aside from those... Not much." She shrugged lightly. "What about you...?"

"He is for the most part... I guess he's toned down the super-hero act a little bit in favor of becoming a police officer, but he's still just as silly." Mae replied with a light chuckle. Jack really was an... interesting fellow. A nice guy, yes, but man, he could be silly at times. If it wasn't for the whole ranger thing, he'd make a good comedian, if nothing else. And him being a police officer... Mae wasn't sure if that was good or bad. He had at least done a good job thus far.

"Fair enough..." She did feel a little bit guilty over not seeing him for the last two years that had passed, but with everything new that was going on with her life, it was understandable, yet Mae never saw that as an excuse... "Look... Sharaku. I'm sorry I didn't contact you for two whole years... Sure, I've been busy with work and all that, but still..." Her expression and tone now carried a sense of guilt. "That's no excuse... I'll make it up to you somehow."

"From what I've heard, he's doing a decent job." Mae said with a light shrug. "I understand your concerns though. He can be a bit odd at times. I'm sure he keeps that odd personality to himself though when on duty." She certainly hoped so. It would be bad if he didn't take his job seriously enough when it matters.

"Alright." Mae said with a sigh of relief. "Well, that's about to change now. We should see eachother more often." A wide smile made it's way across the woman's face as they reached Penecia Station. Just like the rest of the island, it was almost completely devoid of people. In fact, Sharaku and Mae were the only ones there at this point, due to it being so late. Mae took a look at the timestables. "Hrm, let's see here." The woman let her finger slide down the list, looking for when the next tram would arrive. "02:12 AM..." That was roughly fifteen minutes from now. She would then pace her way over to a seat nearby, shuddering a bit. It was rather cold here, since it was just a small tram stop. She would of course make room for Sharaku on the bench as well, should he wish to sit down with her.

"As long as he does the right thing for the right reasons, he should be fine as a cop." The woman nodded. He had taken on a serious job, and thus he had to take the responsibilites that came with it as well. He was now a man of the people, after all... In the end, that's what he wanted to be, no? "Well, if you know him as well as I do, his career choice might not be as suprising as one might first think." It did suit him quite well, in all honesty. Plus, the kids adored him for his job, so at least he was a good role-model. She'd rather have them look up to Jack than some stuck-up jerk of a police officer.

"Great!" This made her happy, knowing that there wouldn't be another 2 year gap. Of course, she wouldn't overload him, as she very well knew that one could only handle so much. She'd keep it regular, if nothing else. Not daily, for sure... perhaps weekly? Sounded good to her. Besides, with work and such, Mae probably wouldn't have the time or energy to see him on a daily basis to begin with. She shuddered abit more, huffing a bit over her hands to try and keep them warm. "A little, yeah..." It wasn't much of an understatement, but she was clearly colder than a little, but not to the point where it would be visible, the occasional shudder aside.

"Hehe, indeed it is." Mae replied. It was a big step-up from what he used to do, but Mae was confident that her friend would succeed. As long as he didn't abuse his role as a police officer, then San Malarus had nothing to worry about. And considering how responsibly he had used the power of Persona two years ago, him suddenly abusing his newfound seat of power was basically not even worth discussing.

Despite how they had split up last time, things were going very smoothly, much to both parts suprise and joy. It was nice knowing that things wasn't as awkward between them as it could've been, for Mae knew exactly what kind of risk she was taking when she approached Sharaku at the bar earlier. And she was happy that she had taken that risk. Mae took the coat with a cold hand, and a grateful smile on her face as she put it on. She actually had to stand up to put it on properly, given the remarkable difference in size, but it kept her warm. She would then hide her hands inside the Coat's sleeves. "Thank you..." She said shyly. Even though it was a relatively small gesture, it meant a lot to the young woman... "You're such a gentleman~!" her voice being chipper, and slightly more energetic now that she had gotten somewhat warmer. "Why are you standing up? Come on, have a seat." Mae gestured towards the unoccupied space next to her on the bench... Did he perhaps find it awkward to sit with her now...?

Mae would normally have complained a little bit with him doing what he did, but this time around, she took it with a smile. Perhaps she just didn't really want to deny him that, since he did it out of the kindness of his heart. Felt a bit weird not to accept it, especially considering how cold she was. Of course, she planned on returning it once she was warm enough, or when the tram arrived. Whichever happened first. The next minute was spent in silence, while Mae thought of something to talk about. It would just be odd if they didn't talk at all on her way home after all.

"So... What have you been doing today?" Mae asked, somewhat curiously. Might as well start somewhere, and that one was as good as anything else she could think about. Mot too awkward, and it sort of made sense...? Maybe? The woman's eyes scanned the environment around them, until they finally stopped at Sharaku. Sometimes he was really tough to figure out... but at least now, Mae thought she at least had a decent grasp on who he truly was. That is... if he was being himself. Sometimes it was hard to tell, but compared to the man she had met two years ago at San Malarus Station, she felt much more confident in the notion that this was indeed what the real Sharaku was like.

"Ah, I see..." Mae replied with a nod. Well, she was lucky that he did decide to visit the Wave's Peak today. Things had been much different had he not been there. Mae probably would've be sleeping by now in her bed, blissfully unaware that Sharaku was still on the island.

Minutes passed in comfortable silence, until eventually the tram arrived. There wasn't anyone else on board aside from Mae, Sharaku and a couple in the back of the tram, obviously drunk, and too immersed in their make-out session to even notice that the tram had stopped. Once the doors closed behind Mae and Sharaku, she would take off the coat, and return it to Sharaku with a smile. "Here you go." Afterwards, she would sit down next to the window in the front end of the tram, as far away from the drunk couple in the back. "Ugh... the nerve of some people..." Mae said in an irritated tone as she glanced back towards the two other passengers. "I know there's not a lot of people around, but still, geez..."