Prompt: Makoto's Playdate (Persona) (Patreon)

Summary: Ren thinks Makoto needs to make new friends, so he has set up a little playdate between Makoto and Hifumi. The two intelligent women meet, and a friendship is soon forged. Includes: Non-smut

---

Makoto wasn’t sure what her boyfriend was thinking when he set up this ‘play date,’ as he liked to call it. Ren insisted on calling it that, to her annoyance. There were probably more fitting words for it, but knowing Ren he simply wanted to include the word date to make her blush.

Just thinking about his toothy smirk and silver eyes made the brunette blush, and she sighed in annoyance as she waited outside the bookstore.

Makoto Niijima had been dating Ren for several weeks now, and their relationship was excellent. Honestly, it was better than Makoto could have imagined. She rarely fantasized about dating before meeting him, but that didn’t mean she never did. She was a normal, growing girl. Of course she imagined what her future boyfriend would be like. She just didn’t think she’d actually find the one for her considering how busy she was.

But Ren was perfect. He was nice, he was funny, he was strong enough to lean on, yet humble enough to ask for her help. They were perfect together, and once again the thought of him made her heart flutter.

Of course, no relationship was perfect. A problem Makoto had with her boyfriend was that Ren tended to know what Makoto needed, even if it wasn’t something she particularly wanted. 

That was why she was standing outside a bookstore, waiting to spend the afternoon with Hifumi Togo. 

“I think it will be really good for you if you try hanging out with someone outside the Phantom Thieves, hon.”

That was what her boyfriend told her when they were spending a Sunday morning together. Granted, he had said this while they were in his room and she was going through a list of targets they had in Mementos, while balancing their budget for future weapons, so maybe his concerns had some weight to them. 

“You said you wanted me to help you be more open to your peers. Well, we can’t do that while you’re focusing all your time on school or our ‘other’ activity. Most people our age don’t spend their mornings making lists of possible threats, or deciding between buying a fake shotgun or a whip.”

That was a fair observation, Makoto admitted, with red, flushed cheeks. 

“If you want, I could set something up between you and Hifumi Togo. A little playdate?” Then he smiled that damn, arrogant smile. Any attempt to reject the idea failed due to Ren’s logical argument, and that damn smile. 

So now Makoto was here. Outside a bookstore, waiting to meet the famed Shogi player a second time. They had met once before, but it was just a simple conversation, nothing of any real substance. 

Makoto didn’t mean to belittle her first meeting with the other woman. She seemed nice, and very intelligent, but the brunette simply worried about this meeting turning awkward, or even humiliating. They had spoken before, but all they talked about was strategy. Nothing personal, just business, she liked to imagine.

Perhaps this is a mistake, the scarlet-eyed woman thought. Perhaps I should call Ren and call this whole thing off. I’m sure-

“Um, Niijima?” Makoto’s eyes widened and she almost jumped where she stood. Hifumi was just a few feet in front of her, slowly waving her hand in greeting. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. You just seemed distant…”

Both girls were blushing, already embarrassed by their action, or inaction, as the case may be. 

“I’m sorry,” the brunette sighed. “I was just spacing out.”

“It’s quite alright. I’m sorry if I kept you waiting.” 

“N-no! Not at all.” Makoto waited for Hifumi to say something, but she didn’t. The other girl stared at her, clearly expecting Makoto to speak up, leaving the two in an awkward moment of silence that felt like an eternity. “Uh, shall we step inside? See if there are any books you might like?”

“T-that sounds nice,” Hifumi nodded, quickly turning around and walking inside, leaving Makoto to sigh, rubbing her forehead as she cursed herself. 

This is going to be a long afternoon...

---

Makoto was thankful that the two had a shared love of reading. Granted, their subjects of interest were a tad different, with Hifumi carefully studying guides for shogi players, while the scarlet-eyed girl read more academic books. 

I must be the only person in my social circle that reads textbooks for personal enjoyment, she groaned. Perhaps I need to step out of my comfort zone…

As Hifumi read her own book, Makoto stood by a small shelf filled with best selling books. Her finger combed over each hard cover as she curiously looked for something unique. She eventually found something different, though part of her wish she hadn’t. 

Makoto held the book in her hand, her fingers gliding over the smooth, obsidian cover. It was a horror book, one of myths and legendary monsters from Japanese folklore. Makoto felt her usual confidence dwindle as she turned the book to a random page. 

“Kuchisake-Onna.” Makoto’s eyes widened as she saw the ghostly apparition form before her eyes. 

The wraith resembled a woman, with wide, bloodshot eyes that hungered for blood and teeth that gleamed like blood-soaked silver. She almost seemed to burn her image into Makoto’s eyes as the brunette gasped. 

She trembled as she tried to put the book down, only to feel a hand was brushing against her shoulder. Makoto jumped, and her flight or fight response took over. She held the book in her hands like a weapon, and reeled it back, about to swing it at her would-be attacker.

Hifumi stared in shocked, arms raised, as if to show she wasn’t a threat. 

“Oh.” Makoto’s eyes burned a bright, bright red. “Hifumi, I-I am so sorry.”

“I-it’s alright.” It clearly was not. “Um, are you okay? You seem… tense?”

“Oh, it’s just-” Makoto felt shame, and she wished she had never even picked up the book. “I was reading the book, and it’s, well it’s a collection of horror stories. I guess I was just… scared?” The Phantom Thief wanted to dig a hole, lay in it, and hope someone would come around to bury her. 

“Ah.” Hifumi nodded her head, and her eyes glanced at the book in the brunette’s hand. “I understand that. I tend to let horror stories get to me. That’s why I don’t really read them… Do you enjoy horror stories?”

“Not really,” Makoto muttered back, scratching the back of her head. “Honestly, they tend to get to me…” Then something struck her mind, and she found herself smiling. They had found a similarity between the two. “Do you mind if I ask you something? What movies do you tend to enjoy?”

“Oh, I don’t really watch a lot of movies,” Hifumi confessed. “I usually watch biographies about shogi players, though that’s more because of my family than anything else…”

Makoto cursed herself for bringing up the bad memory. She knew all too well about Hifumi and her mother’s scandal. After all, she was part of the team that fought her Shadow. 

“I understand…”

“Oh, but one time I saw an action-thriller with my father.” Hifumi’s lips curled into a wide smile as she recalled the memory. “It was a very exciting movie about a bank robbery.”

“Really?” Makoto beamed at that, even as her cheeks continued to glow red. “My friends and I enjoy seeing movies together. If you’d like, you can come with us next week.”

Hifumi’s eyes widened at the invitation. It was the truth too. Makoto, Ann, Haru, Futaba, and Shiho often went to see movies together. Makoto would want to see an action movie, Ann would want to see a romance movie, while Haru and Futaba would often work together to see some terrifying horror movie, and all too often Shiho would join them. 

Those three were too powerful together… Makoto would need her own alliance to stop them. If Hifumi joined them, maybe they would actually get to watch Makoto’s movies, or even Ann’s romance movies…

“R-really? I would love to,” the shogi player grinned, as if the previous misunderstanding hadn’t just happened and Makoto hadn’t almost smacked Hifumi’s head with a book. “That sounds like fun.”

Makoto beamed at that, a wave of relief falling over her body. After an awkward stumble at the start, the young woman felt hope burn in her chest. Maybe today wouldn’t be so awkward. 

---

Hifumi had never been invited to, well, anything by girls her age. Her closest friend was Ren, and while they did hang out, it was different when it was another girl. 

When Ren suggested Hifumi spend time with his girlfriend, the young shogi player did not know how to respond. Makoto seemed nice, but they had only met once, and girls their age tended to be rather two face. 

Hifumi remembered plenty of times where the girls at her school acted nicely to her, only to turn around and make fun of her. It left Hifumi with some trust issues, but Makoto seemed genuine. Good, and kind, and friendly…

After the two talked about movies, they returned to shopping through the store. Eventually they picked up a couple of books, one for Hifumi, and one for Makoto, and walked out of the store.

“What do you want to do now?” Hifumi inquired, wondering if their time together was already over. While it had started awkwardly, she now found herself enjoying Makoto’s presence.

“Have you eaten yet?” the scarlet-eyed woman asked. Hifumi shook her head. “Then why don’t we get something to eat? We can enjoy it in the park nearby.”

“That sounds nice.” 

“I have a friend of mine introduce me to a nearby bakery. Should be just around the corner.” Hifumi nodded her head, and the two began to walk down the busy sidewalk. 

“This has been nice,” the young woman commented. “Thank you for… um, hanging out with me?” The words were casual, and normal for most girls, but they felt strange on Hifumi’s tongue. Her mother’s past insistence that Hifumi should be proper when talking to others rang in her ears, but she tried to disregard it.

“I should be the one thanking you,” Makoto replied. “I know I’m not the best company…”

“Nonsense,” Hifumi replied. “You are perfectly good company to me.” The emerald-eyed girl smiled, even as she remembered the cold truth of reality. “Honestly, I’m just glad to have someone to talk to. Ren-kun is nice, but I don’t want to come off as needy…”

“I understand what you mean. He always seems so eager to help, but that doesn’t make it any easier to open up to him sometimes. I find myself not wanting to trouble him, and I’m his girlfriend,” the ruby-eyed girl mumbled. 

Hifumi nodded her head, understanding Makoto exactly, but then a thought occurred to her. The woman knew Ren was a Phantom Thief. Did his girlfriend know? What if she was one of them? Perhaps Hifumi could play detective and find out...

“Company has been hard to find since my mother’s scandal was revealed. Though, I guess I’m partly to blame for it.”

“What? No, you’re innocent,” Makoto argued. “I read about it on several news stations, and spoke to Ren. I know you had nothing to do with your mother’s actions.”

“Thank you for saying that. I’m just glad things changed,” Hifumi smiled. “It’s strange, though. How sudden my mother’s heart changed.” She watched Makoto out of the corner of her eyes, and she saw the red-eyed girl tense. She looked away from Hifumi, finding herself distracted by the sky.

“R-really?”

“Yes. It reminds me of the Phantom Thieves everyone has been discussing.”

“Oh?” Makoto’s voice was high, and she tried to cough out her nervousness as she nodded. “How odd. W-what do you think of the Phantom Thieves?”

Hifumi smiled, her suspicions confirmed. Honestly, Makoto looked and acted much like Ren had when Hifumi accused him of being one of the famed thieves. “If they did change my mother’s heart, then I owe them my freedom, and my future. I wouldn’t be here today if not for them. They saved me, and I will always be in their debt.”

Makoto blinked, before a grin formed on her lips. “I doubt they do what they do for any reward. They probably just want to help people. Bring justice to the world.”

“Well, they certainly helped me.” And the two girls smiled at one another as they found the bakery Makoto had mentioned and stepped inside.

---

The two girls ate delicious, cream-filled pastries as they walked through the park. Their relationship had only improved as time went on. They laughed as they shared their stories of Ren, and traded personal, humorous tales. 

“I never knew Yusuke did that. I know he stepped into the church, but I didn’t think he would try to paint Ren as Christ.” Hifumi laughed, placing a hand on her mouth.

“I was worried they were going to be banned from the church after Ren told me that story,” Makoto admitted. The two girls giggled as the young woman looked at Hifumi. A question poked at her mind, and the brunette blinked. “Hifumi, may I ask you a question?”

“Of course. What is it?”

“I don’t go to school with Yusuke, obviously, so I was just wondering about your thoughts on him, and how he was doing at the school.”

“Oh.” Hifumi stopped, and she pondered the question. She quietly finished her pastry, and Makoto wondered if she just drove the conversation right off of a cliff. “I don’t really speak with him, honestly. I only really know about him thanks to the news. They mentioned him a couple of times during Madarame’s arrest…”

“They should have mentioned him more. They should have spoken to him,” Makoto sighed. Her blood boiled at the thought of the news barely even recognizing the victim, only caring that Madarame was being arrested. “They shouldn’t have just ignored him.”

“If I can be honest,” Hifumi’s tone was cautious, as if she was scared to speak her mind. Makoto motioned for her to go on, trying to keep her anger from contorting her face. “Yusuke seems to be alone a lot. I usually see him eating, and working alone.”

“Ah.” Makoto had heard it from the artist before. Very few, if any students, tended to talk to him. “Not very popular, I see…”

“I’m afraid not. I’ve even heard some students blame him for Madarame’s arrest.”

That lit a fire in Makoto’s chest, and she crushed the pastry in her head. Sugary, sweet cream spilled onto her hand as she sighed, tossing her food away. Hifumi handed her napkin and Makoto wiped her fingers clean with a small scowl on her face.

“I’m sorry,” the red-eyed woman apologized. “I just hate hearing that people are actually blaming him for being abused.”

“It’s something I can sympathize with, I assure you,” Hifumi sighed, and that sparked something in Makoto’s mind.

She knew it was difficult to ask, but if she never did, it would plague her mind for countless days. Besides, Makoto and Hifumi were close to friends now, weren’t they? Even if she said no, nothing between them would change.

Right?

“Hifumi, can I ask for a favor?” 

“Oh, of course. I’ll do my best to help. What is it?”

“Could you talk to Yusuke? Don’t let him know that I asked you to, and you don’t have to do anything in particular, but just… give him some company?” Hifumi blinked at the question, and Makoto groaned, rubbing her forehead. “I’m sorry, I must sound ridiculous, like I’m his mother or his big sister. Please, forget I said anything.”

“You really care about your friends, don’t you?” Hifumi smiled, patting Makoto’s shoulder. “Ren’s told me how motherly and kind you can be to those you’re close with. I find it inspiring.” She nodded her head. “I can try to speak with him next time I see him. I’ll at least ask about his current project.”

“Really? Thank you very much, Hifumi. I really appreciate it, and I know Yusuke will, too.” Makoto bowed her head quickly, an excited and relieved grin on her face. “I know he can be rather eccentric, but I assure you, he is splendid company.”

Hifumi nodded her head contently, before she noticed something behind Makoto. She tilted her head slightly to get a better view, before she grinned. The other girl noticed her smile and arched her brow as Hifumi suggested their next move.

“In return, though, I’d like you to do something for me.”

“Understandable… What did you have in mind?”

“A game.” Hifumi pointed behind Makoto, and she turned to find a small table along the path. There was a wooden board glued to the surface of the stone as two, smooth stools made of the same material stood on either end. “When we first met, we talked about strategy. I’d like to see if you learned anything since that day.”

Makoto felt a lump in her throat as her eyes widened. Ren had shared horror stories of the wars Hifumi waged. The young woman played to win. Thankfully, so did Makoto.

---

Makoto Niijima walked onto the wasteland, her scarf bellowing in the wind. She rolled her shoulders as she glared at the opposing queen, and her dark army of pawns. Hifumi Togo brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, before smirking confidently. 

“Let the battle begin,” she chuckled, riding atop her war elephant. She pointed at the lone warrior and called out to her soldiers, a legion of men and women made out of hazel-colored wood. “Attack!” 

“Henshin!” Makoto charged forward as her body was covered in armor, complete with two bright, bug-like eyes on her black outfit. The eyes glowed a bright red as she kicked and punched the pawns Hifumi controlled. 

The soldiers crumbled under her blows, but Hifumi was hardly perturbed. She let out a hearty laugh, before snapping her fingers.

“Activate: Trap! Frost Facade!” Makoto’s eyes widened as several of the pawns revealed they were holding bombs. The explosives went off, trapping Makoto’s lower half in ice.

“You used your soldiers as bait!?”

“Astute observation, Makoto! And your last! Finish her! Checkmate Ray!” The elephant she sat upon, which was as big as a truck, let out a mighty cry, before unleashing a rainbow-colored beam from its snout. 

The beam shot towards Makoto, who gasped in shock. “No!” The masked motorcycle rider shattered her icy prison and leaped out of the way of the attack. It missed her, and flew into the horizon where it destroyed a nearby mountain.

“Rider… Kick!” Makoto ran forward, before leaping into the air and firing herself like a rocket at the giant elephant. She moved like a meteor, leaving a small, dark blue aura behind it as he slammed into the beast and knocked it over.

“Whoa! Whoa!” Hifumi tried to hold onto the elephant’s sieat, but it fell to the ground, and she came down with it.

“It’s over, Hifumi! You’ve lost!” Makoto landed on the ground, landing in the classic three-point superhero landing. 

But the evil Hifumi simply laughed, raising a delicate hand for the classic ‘Ohohohoho!’ laugh. “Do you know what your attempts to defeat me are?”

Makoto ran at her enemy, throwing a punch as Hifumi did the same. Their knuckles slammed into each other, shattering the earth below them. Lava spewed out from below as Hifumi grinned.

“They’re useless! Useless! Useless! Useless!” Their fists flew at one another, moving so quickly that a viewer would see dozens of fists exchanged between the two. “Muda muda muda muda!”

“Ora ora ora ora!” Makoto replied, firing her own punches as quickly as she could. 

It was less about actually hitting Hifumi and more about creating an impenetrable defense against her attack, but one of Makoto’s punches slipped between Hifumi’s fists and it connected with the strategist’s cheeks, knocking her back and sending her crashing into the ground.  

“Gotcha!” the masked rider beamed. 

Hifumi touched her cheek, feeling the bloody gash Makoto had left behind. She stared at her bloodstained finger, a smile forming on her face. “Very impressive… I see now that I must use my ultimate technique to defeat you! Za Wardo!”

Makoto’s scarlet eyes widened as time froze around her. Her mind became a prisoner, and her body was the prison. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t even see. She merely felt total imprisonment… until time flowed once more, and Makoto’s breath finally left her body.

“What?”

She blinked and looked around her, trying to locate her enemy, only to find the wasteland empty, save for the destroyed, icy remains of Hifumi’s soldiers. That’s when Makoto realized the shadow she was under. She looked up to cloudless sky, and she saw Hifumi flying down at her, a large road roller in her hands.

“Final Excalibur Strike! Road Roller Edition!”

Makoto could only close her eyes, quietly accepting her fate was Hifumi’s attack obliterated the entire planet. 

---

At least, that’s how Hifumi liked to imagine the fight going in her head. She smiled in victory as she brought down her final piece, and struck the killing blow. Makoto pouted for a moment, disappointed in herself, before she sighed and held her hand out to Hifumi. Makoto refused to be a sore loser, and she smiled as she congratulated Hifumi.

“Well played.”

“That was a great game. Honestly, you did better than Ren did during his first,” the emerald-eyed woman laughed, shaking Makoto’s hand.

The two girls chuckled together, and began to put their pieces back where they belonged. As they did, Hifumi decided to speak her mind, a content smile on her face.

“This was fun. Not just the game, I mean, but this. Talking to you, spending time with you. You’re good company, Makoto.”

“Really?” The other girl blinked, before grinning proudly. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. Honestly, I was terrified of ruining today for you.”

“Well, rest assured, I thought today was wonderful.” Now came the most difficult part. Hifumi found herself poking at a piece in her hand as she uttered the question. “Perhaps you’d like to do this again? With me? Hanging out?”

She wanted to smack her mouth shut. She had to stop talking…

Despite embarrassing herself, Makoto smiled. Despite how foolish she acted, despite how she thought today would have gone, she and Hifumi became friends. 

“I’d love to.”