"Let's climb Yukari," Minato suggested.
"OH YEAH!" Junpei yelled, fistbumping the air with a wide-eyed grin on his face. It was only under the stern looks of his comrades that the grin faltered and Junpei scratched the back of his neck, giving a nervous chuckle. "I mean, yeah, that plan's as good as any, I suppose."
Shinjiro shoved Junpei from behind towards the towering form of Yukari. "You fall because you've got your eyes on something you shouldn't, I ain't catchin' you."
"What do you mean, Shinjiro-san?" Ken asked inquisitively.
The trenchcoat-clad teen turned away, averting his gaze from Ken. "...None of your business."
"Alright, enough fooling around," Akihiko said, taking charge of the situation lest they be forced to provide an awkward explanation to Junpei's recent drooling to the oblivious Ken. "Let's move. Shinji, Koromaru can't climb, so you'll have to hold onto him somehow."
"What?" Shinjiro seemed incredulous at the idea. "Why am I carrying the dog?"
"He likes you the most," Minato added, more invested in checking if he got blood under his fingernails than anything else occurring in this bizarre situation they had found themselves in.
Shinjiro opened his mouth to retaliate, but Koromaru had already pawwed his way up onto Shinjiro's shoulder, perching on it in an almost comical manner. The dog's claws dug deep into the coat material, which was so thick that Shinjiro didn't seem to notice the intrusion (or he was making an effort not to show it.) The man closed his mouth and grumbled angrily, a flash of red coloring his cheeks as Junpei and Ken snickered over the sight.
"Alright, so let's get-" Akihiko began, before noticing that Minato had already started walking over to the massive form of Yukari, reclining upon the mountainous couch. The rest of the boys followed suit, with Koromaru panting happily from his new favorite seat.
*
After the trek across the tiles to the couch, the shrunken operatives stared up at the towering form of Yukari. From their vantage point, all they could feasibly see was her ever-stretching legs (and, to Junpei's annoyance, not much else.) The long black socks had taken a few scratches and scuffs in the battle, but if anything, the newfound footholds would be to the team's advantage. Her brown loafers stood idle for the moment, as Yukari seemed too exhausted to move any of her limbs for the time being (although that didn't stop Junpei and Ken from giving the enormous shoes a wide birth.)
"Uh, so..." Akihiko moved a hand through his hair, trying to articulate his plan. It had only now occurred to him that he was about to crawl upon the surface of his friend's body like an insect. It was a demeaning notion, but it was the plan the leader had chosen, so he steeled himself for the highly-unusual challenge ahead of them. "I guess me, Shinji and Koromaru will take the right leg, and... Minato, Junpei and Ken can take the left?"
Minato seemed to be in agreement as he was already clambering up the leather surface of Yukari's left shoe.
"He's eager..." Shinjiro muttered.
"See you guys at the top!" Junpei shouted as he ran in pursuit of his leader, with Ken close behind. The three boys dug their hands into Yukari's sock and began their ascent. Minato lingered behind to help Ken, while Akihiko was pretty sure that he'd never seen Junpei move so fast.
Akihiko pinched the bridge of his nose. "Do they even realize just how dangerous this is...?"
For once, a devious smile crept on Shinjiro's lips. "What? You're gonna let Junpei beat you?"
Something alighted in Akihiko's eyes as his competitive spirit ignited. "H-Hell no! I bet you a ramen bowl we get there before they do!"
Shinjiro's wicked grin stretched further. "You're on."
Koromaru barked once more as Team Right Leg chased up the surface of Yukari's looming leg in hot pursuit, the shrunken boys gritting their teeth as they made their way up Mt. Yukari...
*
Yukari fanned herself with her hand as she reclined, her fingers still raw from the bowstring that had pressed against them oh-so-many times during the raid. She was an accomplished archer, but firing so many volleys had left a sweltering mark.
Maybe I should give my hands a rinse of cold water. Wait, scratch that, maybe what I need right now is a nice warm bath.
Yukari could feel herself practically melting into the couch with bliss at the notion (even if the couch in question was barely holding together from the damage it had sustained from the Shadows.)
If only the taps didn't pour blood instead of water during the Dark Hour...
In the back of her mind, Yukari couldn't stop worrying about the guys - Mitsuru hadn't been able to contact them on the radio, and Fuuka was far too drained to summon her Persona again for another scan after the extreme concentration she had needed to coordinate their recent defense. Nonetheless, it seemed like Aegis and Mitsuru-san were on the case, and the devastated lounge covered with blackened splotches indicated that, whatever had been in here, the guys had taken care of it.
Stupei better not have gotten himself hurt...
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