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Ann corners him one day after school, drags him to her house, slams the door behind her.
“Ryuji. You have ruined my life.”
There is nothing but pure rage in her eyes.
“What?”
She takes a deep breath.
“I have a crush. On Makoto.”
“How is that my fault??”
“Her persona is a motorcycle, Ryuji! I’ve been flirting a little bit, things seem to be going great, but I look at Johanna and all i can think is that she is supposed to represent Makoto! I have a crush on a bike!”
Ryuji, despite having a healthy fear for his life, begins to laugh.
"You-You're just like me! This whole time you were putting me down and now you're just like me!"
She throws herself down on her couch in dramatic despair, muffles a scream in a throw pillow.
"I'm not just like you!"
"You are!! We're the same! This is karma, Ann! For kinkshaming me!"
"You deserve to be kinkshamed! Makoto is a human girl!"
"Who just happens to have a motorcycle persona."
“I just can’t stop thinking about it! I’m not attracted to the motorcycle at all but knowing about your crush has made it so i can’t stop second-guessing myself!”
Ryuji sits awkwardly in a chair beside her.
“I-I’m sorry?”
She flips around to face him, her anger fading into concern.
“It’s getting in the way of my love life! I’ve thought Makoto was cute for a while, but when did it actually become a full-fledged crush - before or after seeing Johanna? What if we start dating and I realize my attraction to her is because she’s basically a motorcycle gijinka? What if-”
“Does it matter?”
Ann stops, looks his way, bewildered.
“What?”
“I said, does it matter? You like Makoto, right? So why does it matter where this attraction spawned from? If you like her, you like her. If you’re attracted to her for her looks, or for her motorcycle, you’re still attracted to her. The end result of wanting to date her is the same. You don’t have to know everything about yourself right now, just follow your heart.”
Ann sits back up, lays a hand on his shoulder.
“Thank you Ryuji. That was really inspiring.”
Ryuji smiles. It turns to a wince as her hand begins to clutch his shoulder tighter.
“That was also incredibly hypocritical of you! You don’t have to know everything about yourself yet? Where has that attitude been the last six months? You’ve been constantly pestering me about your Morgana crisis and now you tell me not to worry? You're to blame for this! Shut up and let me panic!!”