Ann blushes deeply and smiles. 

"I mean, you're so excited about it. How could I resist?"

"Awwwww! Y'all are so cute."

"Thank you!", Shiho replies to Ann.

She takes a look at her phone, checking the website, then looks up grinning.

"Eeeee! Tickets are still available! We're gonna see Exist Trace!"

Ann grins from ear to ear and gets out her own phone. 

"I'll get them for you right now."

She navigates to the concert website and starts punching in information in her phone.

Shiho grabs Akira's hand and Ann's knee (she doesn't want to shake her hand while she's buying the tickets) and bounces up and down, blushing and excited.

Akira grins too, and wiggles in place a little, careful not to upset the bento box in her lap. 

"We're gonna see Exist Trace!"

Ryuji watches this cuteness with a blushy grin.

"Somehow seein' the girl I'm takin' on a date tomorrow so excited about going to a concert date with another girl we both got a crush on isn't makin' me jealous, just... warm an' fuzzy to see y'all so happy an' together. I guess that means this poly shit has a shot."

Akira grabs Ryuji's hand too. "You're super cool too and I'd love to watch Death Note with you sometime soon by the way I've heard it's really good —"

More blushing ensues, but also more grinning. "Yeah! We've definitely gotta watch it some time."

Laying it on a bit thick, aren't we? 

Ryuji's not your mom, he doesn't need to be constantly reassured that whatever he's doing is the best thing ever.

Akira takes a breath. She squeezes Ryuji's hand, just once, then carefully lets go. 

"I mean... Yeah. Sorry, I just —" She ducks her head. "It means a lot to me that you know I care about you."

Ann gives Akira a sidelong look, worry crinkling her brow for a moment, but doesn't say anything.

Ryuji tilts his head a bit in confusion.

"I mean, savin' my ass as many times as you did and askin' me out made that pretty clear?"

Shiho frowns. "Akira... are you okay?"

Akira exhales. 

"... I got scared for a second there," she admits. "I still do actually want to watch Death Note with Ryuji and all, but... My family would... if they made comments like "I'm so happy for you" it was always a criticism, you know? And I don't — I'm still not used to being around people who are actually good for me and really mean it when they say they're happy for me."

Shiho nods softly and squeezes Akira's hand. "Yeah, all Kamoshida's compliments were like that. But we really care about you, as, like, a person, not just status or using you or whatever. You'd never even met me, you'd only known Ann for a couple days, and already you and Joker were fighting to save us. You don't need to be perfect. Just be yourselves, the girls I'm really glad to get to know and already crushing on."

Ryuji reaches back out and squeezes Akira's hand, shaking his head. "I'm not a complicated dude. I like anime, games, workin' out, beatin' up bad guys, and makin' sure the people I care about are okay and happy. Went from three people to like... five this past week."

He looks her in the eye. "That's you two, in case you're bein' as dense as I usually am about this shit."

He shrugs. "I dunno how this shit works. I just know we're all fuckin' outcasts who've been through too much, and we gotta stick together."

Ann nods. 

"... I know that fear," she says. "Needing to be — nice, and convenient, and biddable. That's what Kamoshida wanted too. But..." 

She shakes her head. "It's better to fight. Better to be yourself."

Akira ducks her head and smiles, this time genuinely. 

"... thanks, everyone. I — I'll try my best."

And a few minutes after that, the bell rings, signalling the end of lunch.

"See y'all after school!"

Shiho smiles and waves.

"See y'all!"

Akira risks taking Ann's hand for the walk back to class.

She flushes for a moment, but then nods. 

They head back to class together.

When they get back to their classroom, Kawakami is waiting at the front of the room for everyone. Once they've all arrived, she gets their attention.

"Okay, this afternoon is getting disrupted. Coach Kamoshida just arrived during lunch and asked for an urgent assembly. Everybody follow me to the gym."