"Yeah. The ones I took of you in the kitchen earlier today. He said that no one can say I have bad taste."

Snort.

"And then he got mad at me for not bragging because usually I'd brag and it was because what I wanted to brag about wasn't how hot you were and it would be insensitive for me to brag about how cool you are instead but he insisted so I did."

"...oh?"

Hook, line, and sinker.

"The fact that the thing you wanted most in the world was to get rid of malaria is the coolest. I didn't even think to make a wish like that and it was just, you immediately thought about it. You're so smart, like all the time, and you take things seriously, and you can do some magic sorcery while writing on a notebook that makes you manage to care more about things which is completely insanely superpowered and I'm glad I wasn't able to do that because I would've made a different wish if I were and then we'd all be dead but that's pure luck not skill. You're good at knowing what you want and getting it and you don't waste time in doing that. You're the kind of person who gets happy, like really happy for real, to be given the chance to help other people and be a superhero, like you're not doing it performatively you're just like that. Every opinion you have you thought through and you have a good, solid reason to have it. You're really interesting to talk to, and when you talk about stuff you like your eyes shine and it makes me want to kiss you.

"I didn't tell him about the wish stuff but I glomarised it."

Eeeeee~

"And for some insane reason you like me," well maybe he doesn't but Yutaka will try to just leave that there and maybe it'll slide, "so I definitely get bragging rights. It's, like, kind of crazy, but I'm not complaining."

Smooch. "What's not to like?"

!!!!!!!! Haru agreed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (nausea) Yutaka is not going to push his luck, here, obviously he likes Haru a lot more than Haru likes him (nausea) but he wants to hear Haru say he (nausea) likes him some more!!!!!!!!!!!

"I-I dunno, I've been told I'm kinda stupid." Shut uuuuuuup (nausea) stop saying words. "I'm gonna hide now," (nausea) he says, then proceeds to hide in Haru's neck.

"You don't seem stupid to me? I guess I haven't known you all that long but like, usually it's not too hard to tell."

"I'm not gonna argue," (nausea) "that would definitely be stupid."

"That might depend on the nature of your argument."

"I don't wanna convince you that I'm stupid, that'd be, like, the opposite of productive for the overarching goal of getting Haru to like me."

"But self-knowledge is an important virtue! If you know that you have some kind of blind spot you can compensate for it better."

"Oh I have some blind spots alright. It's from staring at my golden sun too much." He pulls his face away so he can look at Haru when he says this. "I somehow can't seem to stop."

Haru smiles, and kisses him.

Yutaka decides to try to talk to at least one other magical per day until he's covered Tokyo itself and most of the Greater Tokyo Area. He's got his work cut out for him, but it makes him feel good and productive, moreso even than killing witches. Killing witches is cool and all but it feels like just using this tool that was given him to do some stuff that doesn't really feel like real life (it doesn't help that the witches themselves are surreal as fuck), but talking to people, trying to convince them to work together and help, that feels like him. It feels like he's the one doing the work, with his own skills that he's worked on and earned.

Not that he has much to show for it yet, though. The magicals he talks to on the weekend are just as lukewarm and wary as the kids from Friday (and not even that much older). Still, he's getting the idea out there, sowing the seeds of cooperation, and hopefully they'll be enough.

Haru's happy to mostly leave the talking to him. He is not a Charisma build. But he goes along as backup in case it gets ugly.

Yamanaka breezes back into town and sets up a meeting with the Shibuya girls!

"Suwan-san, Iwasaki-san, these are Egawa Yui and Hanyu Momoe."

Yui and Momoe are holding hands, so they have something in common with Haru and Yutaka.

—ooh! Yutaka will also hold Haru's hand, then. Queer solidarity!

"Good evening Egawa-san, Hanyu-san. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You didn't mention they were guys," Egawa says, addressing Yamanaka.

"It didn't seem really important? You can go through me if you'd rather, I guess."

—what. Uh. "That works for us too, if it's preferable." He is going to be mostly looking at Junko as he speaks but he won't do so in a way that necessarily one hundred percent closes off the possibility that he could be including them in what he says. "If it is at all relevant, Swan and I are gay."

Egawa makes a so-so gesture, frowning suspiciously at him. "Maybe, maybe not."

"...anyway the reason I wanted to talk is that Iwasaki-san is a time traveler, he wished himself back to the end of February a few weeks from now and there's a giant witch coming to wreck Tokyo and kill everybody."