Work Text:
"Here. A gift."
In Taki's first few months at Hanasakigawa, it's pretty common for her to look up and find Umiri casually placing something onto her desk. She doesn't understand why. The only reason she responds each time is to get it over with. Otherwise, she'd rather sink into lava than interact. "What for?"
"For falling flat on your face during Phys Ed. It suited you."
…She weakly holds the package in her hand. It's plastic. "What is it?"
"A game. I happened to notice a certain piece of merchandise sticking out of your bag."
"What's the catch?"
"There's no need to run your mouth; I'm just pawning it off."
"...Dumping your garbage."
"I don't have time to play it any more." Umiri picks up her bass and heads to the door. "Please refrain from telling me if you enjoy it; the less personality you have, the better."
Taki sighs. Good; she finally gets to be alone. Since she has nothing better to do though, she figures she may as well check what the game is. She unwraps the blank packaging, noticing the GameCube logo as she pulls out-
-Wh…
…Wha…!
Taki sits up. Her jaw drops. "You're kidding!"
---
"Your house's nicer than I thought, Ricky."
"Mm."
Anon has a peer around each room, noting how surprisingly clean the place is; she'd expect it to be messier. Although maybe that's just the vibe Ricky gives off; thinking about it, her sister's a big name at Tsukinomori, right? Anon decides not to observe the disconnect, figuring it's probably sensitive territory. Instead, she fixates on the achievement she's made today; "Still can't believe you invited me over. This is a first. Can't wait to introduce me to your parents, is that it?"
"Wh-" There we go; perfect! Ricky's cute when she's flustered. "-…What even made you think that?" She asks, sighing. "I told you they're at work right now."
"I can dream, can't I? I bet if they told me to take care of you, you'd squirm in embarrassment."
"Like you wouldn't freeze on the spot if they did."
"C'mon, loosen up a bit, Ricky," she sings, "we've been dating for a month now. No need to be shy, right? You can open up around me."
"What, so you can sink your teeth in?"
"You're not helping your case~."
"Shut up."
"Or what?"
Taki buries her stone-faced stare into Anon and responds; "I'll kiss you on the lips."
…Anon immediately ceases speech, her face burning.
"C'mon, let's go upstairs. I don't wanna study in the kitchen."
She feels faint. Did… did Ricky actually say that? No, nonono, she must've imagined it. Stand up straight, Anon, you're okay… there's nothing to be worked up about… "…Fine, fine. I've been waiting for this anyway!"
Anon takes the lead and meanders up the stairs, bringing her girlfriend with her. "Hey. I've been wondering this for a while, but," Taki gestures to her arm, firmly linked with Anon's, "do you have to do this constantly? I feel like I'm prone to being dragged around by you at any moment."
"What, and you don't like that?"
Taki chokes on thin air. "I-I?! …I hate you."
Anon smirks with petty spite, gleefully eating up the sight of her girlfriend's flushed face. "Hate you too."
She does humor Ricky and let go once they arrive though; as much as she loves digging into her girlfriend's skin, Ricky's the type who appreciates some leeway. Whereas Tomori is usually fine so long as she interacts at her own pace, Ricky wants to be completely on her own sometimes; which can drive Anon *crazy* in terms of wanting intimacy, but hey, it gives her more time to figure how she'll get back at Ricky next. Besides, Tomori technically takes texts anytime; she just responds when she feels like it. Anon's pretty lucky, all things considered… especially considering what she's put them through. She can roll with taking opportunities like these as they come.
And she will. Now, finally, after knowing her for ages, dating their girlfriend for over half a year, and even dating *her* for an entire month; Anon can FINALLY see Ricky's room! She's actually excited, 'cause this is a golden opportunity; when she said this was a first, she meant it. Mark her words, she's gonna learn as much about Ricky as she can today. It'd be nice if Ricky actually commented on anything herself, but god knows she's not gonna open up that easily; so Anon's gonna have to do the legwork and stick her nose around every corner. Let's head in; what's it like? It's…
…A bit dark. When Ricky turns the lights on though, it seems comfy. Might be quiet, way too quiet, but the sparse few items that aren't hidden soon spark Anon's curiosity; stuff like the funky-looking keyboard on her desk, those composition manuals, or the small square TV in the corner that looks like it's from another era. "I thought your room'd be way messier," she says, wandering around. "Did you clean up just for me?"
"No, I clean when anyone visits. You're not special."
"…Is that so." Anon immediately decides to take revenge; as Ricky gets out some textbooks, instead of following suit she combs through every part of the room. That's her wardrobe, those're drawers, they've got stationery, cool, cool… ooooh, what's in this cupboard? She reaches forward-
"H-Hey! Don't open that!"
But she's stopped faster than she can blink. "Huh? Why?" She turns to Ricky; maybe it's yuri manga? Hordes of big adorable panda toys? Hypothetical love letters to Tomori? She's giddy just thinking about it. "C'mon, what're you hiding? You can tell m-"
Taki immediately scrambles over and pulls back Anon's wrist, causing her to yelp (…and blush). "None of your business. Don't even breathe towards it, or I'm throwing you out the window."
Whoa. Anon's never been more curious about something in her entire life; if she's lucky, she might learn about a whole new side of Ricky. But playing it stealthy's proooobably the best option; Ricky seems pretty wound up about this, so she'd probably be mad if Anon overstepped. "If you say so, then… c'mon, let's get the boring stuff out of the way."
The two of them collectively sigh as they get to work. Fortunately, there's not much to cover today, since being in a band has kinda forced them to keep up with their studies. It's better that they push through this sooner rather than later; and at least they've got solidarity in being bored. Though every now and then, Anon glances up at Ricky, contemplating on whether 'cool' or 'pretty' or 'cute' is a better word to describe her with; it's the easiest excuse to stare at her girlfriend, and that always ticks Ricky off when she notices, which is exactly what Anon wants. "...Could you flirt with me later instead?"
Anon rolls her eyes; "When'd a stare count as flirting, Ricky? Got something on your mind?"
…Taki looks away without responding, grips the table with unholy force, and lets out a short, aggravated breath. The sight of it motivates Anon enough to slog through the rest of her work.
It's about 30 minutes after when Taki puts her pen down. "Done. Lemme know if you need help."
"Got like, 3 questions left. I'll live somehow."
"Be right back, then."
Anon's smirk sneaks in. Prime chance; doesn't matter if Ricky's doing something as quick as getting coffee, she'll just be quicker. Her eyes start gleaming as Taki walks towards the door-
-Before whirling back. "...What's with you all of a sudden?"
Q-quick, act normal! "I'm studying? Can't you see?"
Taki raises an eyebrow. Then she leaves and shuts the door. Anon waits a few seconds, knowing what's going to happen:
Whoosh!
The door is thrown open. Anon responds to the vigilant stare with her best 'do you mind?' face.
…Taki closes the door again.
…
…Yup, and down the stairs she goes. Poor, predictable Ricky.
It's now or never~. Anon clambers over to the cupboard with what's probably a bizarre amount of enthusiasm by her standards, and throws open the doors; only to be mildly rewarded. "Well, nothing I couldn't have figured myself. It's just a bunch of merch," she mumbles. "Panda plushies… I think there's some videogame characters… oh, that hyena thing's a Pokémon… and…
…Wait."
What. On. Earth.
Anon glows. Most of the shelves have a mixture of stuff… but there's one row wholly, and utterly, dedicated to *one particular character.* She gleefully fishes out a plushie from the mix; what IS this thing? It's some kind of human-shaped animal with red stripes that practically screams 'I'm a rebel'. God, and this is a collection that'd flabbergast Tomori too. How much did all this cost~? She knows Taki doesn't have a big allowance, so this expenditure is no joke. Her eyes gaze over the plastic plaque beneath one of the figurines; "Shadow… the Hedgehog? Wait, it's a hedgehog? …Oh my god, it has a gun?"
Her rapidly amplifying delight only soars further when she sees a game case to the left; oh, she has to boot this up right now. It's not for the PC, is it? GameCube, GameCube… Anon rushes through the shelf beneath the TV for one, and decides the thing that looks like a cube is probably it. She scouts the door; no noise, no footsteps. Ricky's definitely still downstairs. Anon gulps… opening the case…
"...Hey, where's the cartridge? Or uh, disk, even."
It's not here. Is this just for show? Maybe she lost it-
-Hold on. Those whirring noises. "Oh my god, the console's on, isn't it? That means…"
With more fervency than she's had for anything in her life, Anon's arm snatches the remote and wakes up the TV:
BOOM!!!!!!
…And the moment the screen greets her, her jaw drops with an *unholy* mixture of elation and exasperation.
'DO YOU SEE ALL OF ME
WALK INTO MY MYSTERY
STEP INSIDE AND HOLD ON FOR DEAR LIFE'
Anon's smile is so big it's hurting her cheeks. She's never been more madly in love with Ricky than she is now. This is… unreal. It's so exaggerated, it's so… jarring. In a good way, or a bad way, she has no idea; she's just overwhelmed. Why is she watching this hedgehog teleport and cause explosions with his mind? Why is he killing another hedgehog with a pistol?? Who came up with this??? How???? Why????? She has no words. She's about to bowl over laughing. This is just… oh god, it's so. Unabashed? Silly? Anon can't settle on a descriptor; she wants to compliment it, but she mentally can't bring herself to. She can barely even look at the screen without putting her head in her hands. She's relentlessly assailed by the instinctual urge to cringe, as if her brain is fundamentally opposed to the game… though somehow, eventually, she's able to suppress that reaction enough to actually… respect this. "God, this *is* the kinda thing Ricky'd be into, isn't it? Hehehehehe, I can imagine her grinning while playing it… I wanna see that grin! God, she's such a dork~... she's such a dork!"
…O-Okay, just one more thing! To sate her curiosity. Completely absorbed in cry-laughing delight, Anon scours for the controller and forces herself to nab it, managing to find herself past the start screen. How long's Ricky played this for? Anon *has* to know. She's too invested in her girlfriend's unexpected goofiness to stop here. She's never so direly needed a piece of information in her entire life.
But she… can't find it. Huh? Don't most console games have like, profiles, or save files that track playtime? She tries to navigate the menus without letting the gunshot sounds cause a giggling fit; "Where is it, where is it… maybe the option that says Library…" No dice; but she's soon thoroughly distracted as she realizes she's in a huge list with a gazillion entries. "Oh my god, these titles." 'Punishment, Thy Name is Ruin'... 'The Loner's Choice'... she nearly does a spit-take at 'Seduced by the Taste of Blood', thinking it couldn't possibly get any More; until she realizes it just keeps going. 'Requiem for a Fallen Angel'... 'Journey to Nihility'... 'Punisher of Love'- "how long is this list?!"
SLAM!
The door is thrown open.
…Anon squeaks. She slowly turns her head like a creaking bridge.
Her girlfriend's face is covered in shadow. Anon faintly gets the impression she's about to die, so she deploys the only response she has in this kind of situation; pretend nothing's wrong. "Hi… Ricky. Uh, I was just having a look around…"
No response. Taki's arms slump. Is she gonna rush her like a bull? Is… is she actually getting thrown out the window?! Yeesh. Okay, think, Anon; what've you got? You have, uh… a perfect face, a charming complexion… um. Blobs for arms, no skills in martial arts, and… oh, man, this is gonna be a massacre, isn't it? Why do two queens have to fight like this?
Wait; Ricky hasn't attacked yet. Anon looks up, wondering if she can strike the first blow; only to realize…
…Taki looks miserably quiet. "So you know."
Anon's chest sinks a bit.
She.
She may have. Messed up. Big time. Huh.
Her girlfriend turns away. "You can laugh if you want-"
"S-Sorry! Seriously!"
…Taki sounds confused as Anon keels over and closes her eyes. "Did you just say sorry?"
"Look, I… when you invited me over today, I was happy, okay? There, I admitted it! I just wanted to learn more about you. Figured I could discover things I'd never seen you talk about… given you don't talk about anything. And if a tree's cut down, but nobody hears it or whatever, I figured that's fine, right?" She tactfully neglects to mention she was also scouting new ways to make Ricky owe her. "I-I'm not mocking you or anything! Like, it checks out. Y'know, with how… intense you are sometimes." Oh, god. One more honest compliment, go on; "If anything, I think it's kinda cute. I get it! Well, I don't, but like… you know what I mean! I think more of you for it, not less. Argh, this sounds so corny…"
…
…
…
She opens an eye, expecting the worst. But when she looks up, Ricky is now…
…Less mad? Not as aggravated? Only somewhat indignated? At the very least, it doesn't seem like she's approaching with murderous intent. Whew. "You can turn the TV off if you want," Taki says.
"Huh? I mean, if you wanna play it now-"
"No. You'd die from embarrassment just by watching. I know how you are."
For a moment, Anon feels the deathly chill of being ashamed she can't bear a hedgehog with a gun. But she secedes nonetheless, flicking the remote and lying down on the floor. "I meant what I said, okay?"
Taki nods, sitting next to her. She seems more relaxed now, which is a huge relief. "I know. It's easy to tell when you're sincere."
"...Aw, that's surprisingly nice of you-"
"Because you can't lie to save your life."
Tch. Anon lets it slide just this once. She sits up and leans on her girlfriend's back. "How long've you had it for?"
Taki pauses for a moment before responding. Anon can feel the way her shoulders slack. "...The console's ancient. Got it for my 7th birthday. They gave my sister an instrument instead." She looks up. "Only got the game a while back, though. That substitute bassist dumped it on me. And between Crychic disbanding, and MyGO forming, I didn't have much to do. Awkward part-time. All-girls high-school. I… didn't feel like I had an identity. That's why I clung to this."
"I get it. When I got back to Japan, I distracted myself all the time while my school application processed." Anon looks down. She's kinda gotten ahead of herself; but if she's dug this deep into Ricky, she might as well reveal something about herself. Don't wanna owe her later, that's all. "I'd wither in bubble baths, or watch video after video… there was this one makeup artist called Nyamuchi. She had all these tutorials, and one of them was about getting a fresh look. Making a fresh start with it." She smiles. "It was exactly what I wanted to hear. So I ate it up it bit-by-bit. Each new upload."
"...Mm."
Anon and Taki opt for the only topic they have when they've gotten too mushy; extended silence. Anon wordlessly plays with her girlfriend's hair, lost in thought… she's happy this worked out. Though, maybe next time something like this happens, she should just ask instead of being sneaky. She probably won't look too weird doing that… and even though she won't admit it, she does feel bad about overstepping here. Okay, fine, she'll admit it; "Sorry for being me."
Taki glances at her. "Don’t say that. I'm fine with you knowing this. Just… don't tell anyone, okay?"
"I won't, I won't. Promise," she reassures. "...Not even Tomori-"
"Especially not Tomori."
Dang. Locked up like a cube. She hopes it spills out naturally at some point; Anon feels kinda weird, discovering something personal about Ricky before Tomori did. Tomori's the one who asked her out first. "If you say so. I bet she'd love this side of you, though."
"..."
Not even a response, huh? Save for that stressed breath. Strange for a videogame to be such sensitive territory, but Anon won't question it. Ah, well… there goes the possibility of finding a new weapon to use against Ricky. She doesn't regret this; she really did wanna learn more about her girlfriend. It's just a shame she's gotten so little leverage out of it-
-Wait a minute. Oh, that's a good idea…!
"What's with you? I don't like that look."
"Nothing, nothing~."
Anon quickly fishes through the small library of games Taki has, and does a bit of googling. Using this as a weapon is ruled out, sure; but as a gift…
...heh-heh-heh.
---
Taki feels… too vulnerable now. Too open. And yet, at the same time, she doesn't exactly hate it. It just feels strange.
Is she having another crisis? Probably. Lying on Tomori's side as they rest at the RiNG cafe should hypothetically calm her down, and it does; they never force a conversation, so her mind is mostly at peace. But there's always that lingering little piranha biting the side of her mental state. It's been about a week since… the incident. And she doesn't know how to feel about Anon, Anon of all people, finding out her secret. She almost wishes it was Tomori instead. Sure, it'd make her look lame, but… she's already looked lame in front of Tomori before. She practically spilt her heart out confessing to her, and Tomori pulled her in with open arms to do the exact same. Besides, Anon looks lame all the time anyway. Taki's starting to wonder if she's overthinking things; like, if it's Tomori… being more open wouldn't be that bad, would it? It's not like she's raring to rant about her mucky life, but this is just a game series she likes. It's not a big deal. She could talk about that, right?
…Wait, that's not the problem right now. The problem is, *Anon knows!* Urgh. Of all the possible people to know she thinks Shadow the Hedgehog is the coolest character on earth, of course it had to be the girlfriend who'd hold anything over her head without reservation. Well, she promised not to tell anyone, true; and Taki trusts that. But she's not entirely sure she's in the clear, because there was a gleeful smile on Anon's face towards the end of that hangout. Taki instinctually blushes (in anger) when she sees that smile now; it's the smile of a goddamn shark. Anon's tried plenty of tactics to embarrass her before, but this… this is more personal. It's a new kind of boundary being crossed, and Taki doesn't know how to feel about it. Like, what is she gonna make Taki do? What's she scheming? Taki feels her imminent doom, as if she's… s-slowly being wrapped right around Anon's finger. It's-
"Taki… are you okay? Your face is red."
"Wh-" Taki blinks, turning to the girlfriend that makes her treasure rocks instead of wanting to eat them. She shakes her head; "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just… annoyed, is all. Anon stuff."
"Oh." Tomori smiles at that, for some reason. "I'm excited. For the Star Dome date."
Taki flares up. "Y-Yeah. Me too."
Tomori's hand shyly reaches over to hers. Taki gladly takes it. The two of them look up, already getting treated to a lucky view of the stars in the city nighttime. Getting lost in the noise of passing cars, and peppy conversations, drifting through it all on their own terms. To be honest, she's been excited for the upcoming outing this entire week; lying on her back next to Tomori and letting this kind of view surround her would make her heart do somersaults, and she knows Tomori would enjoy it. She can only hope Anon's not gonna cause a ruckus and ruin it-
-Taki twitches. Argh, god, she remembered the incident. Why'd it have to be Anon…?! Okay, nevermind, it's fine; she made her promise. She's not telling anyone. Sure, Anon will find any excuse, *any* excuse, to get under Taki's skin, but she's not malicious (usually); just pushy. Taki'll believe her secret's safe, even if it's in the hands of the most annoying person she knows-
"Remembering something, Ricky?"
…Taki sighs and looks up. Speak of the devil. "Anon," Tomori says, her voice lighter than air. "Missed you."
Anon happily walks over and gives Tomori a peck on the cheek. "Missed you too."
Tomori flushes in response. She looks delighted… Taki hasn't been dating her for as long as Anon has, so she can't help but fixate on what Anon does to make Tomori feel warm. Sh-Should Taki be doing the same?
That thought is almost the last mistake she makes, because it shows on her face. Next thing she knows, Anon is grinning and grabbing her shoulders; she jolts at the touch. "Go on, don't be shy," Anon says to her, "you're not gaining anything from missing out on the cheek kiss society."
"Huh?! I-"
wait wait wait hang on she's being pushed towards Tomori HANG ON
Taki's heart beats a thousand miles per hour; isn't this too forward?! Whatever part of her brain's still functioning is desperately flagging the stop sign, fearing Tomori'll be weirded out-
-…Until she realizes Tomori is fiercely leaning forward. "Taki… do you want to kiss me?"
"I-"
…Damnit. She couldn't lie about this even if she tried. Stupid Anon.
Screw it. Taki gulps, feeling like she's about to collapse into a pile of tennis balls; "Y-Yeah. Can I?"
Tomori's eyes gleam. "Please."
"You heard her. Go on then." Anon's smirk is audible. "You know you wanna~."
…Taki shyly leans in. Her eyes close. Something she's doubted her capacity to do is now right in front of her, and she doesn't know how to handle it. But instead of giving her any space, Anon keeps pushing her forward. Taki wants to be frustrated; sh-she didn't ask to be enabled like this.
But eventually, the heat overrides her, and all she can think about is being honest with herself. She places the lightest of kisses on Tomori's cheek; and then instantly shoots back, blushing like crazy. I-Is she alive? Is this real? Taki opens her eyes; and the sight of Tomori's elated face makes her heart pound. She… she liked that? She doesn't mind? They've kissed a few times before, but Taki was worried casual intimacy would be too overbearing for Tomori. Now she just feels like an idiot. "See? Wasn't so hard, was it?" Anon whispers, leaning in. "You know… you could probably ask for more."
Taki desperately needs that soft, hypnotic lilt as far away from her ear as possible. She budges Anon off; "Sh-Shut up."
"Well, someone's ungrateful! And I was about to give you another gift too."
Tomori goes 'whoa'. But Taki's not convinced; "In all your wisdom, huh. What is it this time? And how much have you called dibs on?"
"Jeez, you're so presumptuous," Anon complains. "It's not to share; this is entirely for you, Ricky."
"...Huh?"
"You heard me. Though you'll only find out what it is," Anon taps her cheek, "once it's my turn~."
"...Huh???"
Unfortunately, she connects the dots. Oh no. Oh no. "C'mon, Ricky~. If you kiss one girlfriend, you have to kiss the other. That's the rule."
"Y-you… since when?!"
"Since now! Sounds great, right Tomori?"
Crap! If she gets Tomori's approval- "Yeah. I think Taki should kiss you as much as she wants."
No! God! Taki throws her head into her hands… normally, this is exactly the moment she'd refuse, so she could wipe that intoxicating smirk off Anon's face and mortify her. But *Tomori* is encouraging them; there's no way she can back down now. "You're playing dirty…" she mutters.
"Oh, come on. You know you want to."
Unfortunately, she's right. But that's the worst part! To anyone else, the trade of kissing your girlfriend for a gift is a win-win; to Taki right now, it's a nightmare. How the hell is she gonna get around this? She can't just give Anon what she wants!
Argh, fine! So be it. For the first time, she's deploying code red in public. Anon's had it coming. Bluntly, she pulls this idiot in and quickly kisses her on the lips:
"Aa-"
*There* we go.
"Y-You… I meant my cheek! My cheek!!!" Anon spouts, her face steaming, stumbling back, wobbling like jelly, pointing her finger accusingly. Taki eats up the sight, trying not to go ballistic from the sensation of kissing her girlfriends back-to-back. "Why'd you k… ki… t-target my lips?!"
Now it's Taki's turn to smirk. "Target?"
"Argh, k-kiss!" Anon barely manages. "You know what I meant! You can't just do that!"
"I'll do it again if you don't hand over the gift already."
"...O-Oh yeah? Prove it. There's no way you'd actually do it twice in public!"
Taki's smirk evaporates. No way… she recovered THAT quickly?! God, Taki can't stand this person; if she becomes immune to code red, she'll have no weaknesses! She'll be unbearable! Taki nearly scrunches her brow into oblivion trying to find a countermeasure, until… "So you're not going to give her the gift?" Tomori asks quietly.
Anon's bluster is struck down. "H-Huh?! W-Well, I mean… yeah, of course I was! I was just teasing. She gave me the kiss, so she can have it. Here you go, Ricky."
Thank god; Tomori's a lifesaver. Taki mouths a quick thank-you at her before turning back to Anon…
…and blinking in confusion. She's been given a flat box in blank packaging; a combination that gives her a bizarre sense of deja vu. "So? What is it?" She asks.
"Hehe. You really can't tell, Ricky~?"
Oh, she does not like that laugh. "J-Just hurry up and say it."
"Well, I could… but you made me promise not to."
A gavel slams onto Taki's head.
No way. "You didn't."
"I'll call this one 'The Loner's Choice'. Enjoy~."
Taki gulps as she holds the box in her hands. It's… shaped like a game case, and she recalls Anon searching under her shelf; th-there's… there's no way this is what she thinks it is, right? Right? There's no way Anon would buy a Sonic game, let alone a copy of the only GameCube game featuring Shadow the Hedgehog Taki doesn't have. Did she scavenge second-hand until she found one that was cheap enough? Come on, that's ridiculous… even she wouldn't go that far just for some hypothetical one-up over Taki!
"Gotta go. See you tomorrow!"
"Huh?! Wait-"
And just like that, Anon's gone. Taki looks down at the package, a bead of sweat dropping from her face; if this REALLY is what she thinks it is… then she has a newfound level of fear for that shark. This probably wasn't cheap; and Anon never gives things for free. She'll find a way to torment Taki over this, that's for sure.
But given the gift in question… maybe just this once, Taki'll humor her. "Are you going to open it?" Tomori asks.
She shakes her head. "I'll wait until I get home. I think I know what she bought, and… uh. It's a little embarrassing."
"...Oh."
Her chest aches as she picks up the disappointment in Tomori's tone. "What's up?"
"Um, if it's… okay with you… I want to hear about it!"
Taki blinks.
Tomori's gaze makes its way into her heart. "I feel like I… don't get to learn new things about you. I want to." She holds her hand again. "I want to know more about you."
"...Tomori…"
Taki looks away for a moment. She doesn't like talking about herself; she's a mess. The failure of a younger sister who got saddled with all the things boys are supposed to like growing up, and had to deal with the fallout once she realized the truth. The loner who's so reclusive at her school that her only friend there has to more-or-less hammer her walls down. The kind of girl who'd look at a hedgehog declaring 'this is who I am' against a crumbling city and see herself in it. She's… ugly. To herself, let alone to others.
But she knows Tomori and Anon never got any closer by hiding. And honestly, she's… not as scared anymore. Thanks to them. The more time she spends with them, the more she realizes she wants to let them in. So if they want to learn about her… maybe that's okay.
She opens the package and pulls out the case. Heh, go figure; 'Loner's Choice' is the least fitting title for this, Anon. "Sonic Heroes… oh, I know that one," Tomori says. "Do you… like Sonic games?"
Taki nods. "Yeah. I play them from time to time."
Tomori's eyes glimmer. "Tell me more."
"H-Huh? Well… argh, where do I start…"
Before she realizes, she's gone into a 15-minute spiel about the gradual shift in genre and tone from classic to modern Sonic, and her defense of the latter, and why she thinks it's cool, and…
…the look on Tomori's face makes her figure it's worth it.