"It's not that I'm not allowed... its just. It feels inappropriate. Most people can't even see where I'm looking anyway. It would be horrible if they thought I was looking at them objectifiably..." Michael had a lot of insecurities from the idea of people misinterpreting him and feeling uncomfortable.

Michael knew Yoko was right and it kind of felt embarrassing to be someone their age and feel so nervous about the ideas of attraction and intimacy. He had always put the feelings of others first and foremost, making sure other's comforts were met before his or even at the expense of his. His feelings towards dating had evolved with those tenets in mind. He much more wanted to be someone's friend than romantically involved. Being a friend, he could actively contribute to their lives and happiness in ways that catered to their wants and needs. Being a boyfriend... he felt there wasn't anything for him to contribute that couldn't be accomplished better by someone more suitable. Maybe it was because he hadn't felt that kind of emotional and physical attraction to someone else that would make it click for him, but as he was, he just couldn't see it.

The idea of people flirting with him and him not even noticing was probably the most embarrassing part... it was a weird mixture of feelings from hearing that revelation, but none were directly feelings of desire. He more felt bad that he was so ignorant of people flirting that he hadn't even recognized it. It was one thing to not reciprocate feelings if you didn't share them, but to just ignore or be oblivious to someone's feelings just felt rude.

"I... I don't need you to find me a significant other... but maybe you can start pointing out when people are... flirting... with me?" Michael said, luckily too sore to feel the heat in his head from blushing. "I didn't know that people were showing interest in me... in that way. So I don't want them to think that I'm ignoring their feelings." Maybe if he at least knew of peoples attraction to him, he might feel more romantically inclined. As for now, he still had no one that pulled that kind of emotional response out of him, so it would be like asking which of his friends were 'hotter'. It wasn't something he ever thought about and felt weird to think about.



Notes & Tags: Yanai Yoko

TLDR: Michael comes to terms with he might not have felt any attraction to others because he was unaware of the attraction to him. So he agrees to have Yoko tell him if she knows when people are flirting with him so he can at the very least not be rude and ignore their feelings.

Michael's throat and mouth felt like they were on fire. He quickly looked for some actual water to drink, thinking maybe he could dilute the alcohol in his system before it took effect. He was a large guy... maybe it wouldn't do anything... Jun-senpai's walk away felt particularly disapproving. He hadn't meant to actually drink... He was under age still. He broke a law... It wasn't the end of the world, but what if someone needed him tonight, what if he didn't have a clear enough head to be there for someone that needed assistance. He knew Yoko was looking to drink if not drink to excess... she needed a sober friend to watch out for her. And here he had ingested 2 alcohols... What a terrible friend...

All he could do now was to just try to drink water to try flushing it out of his system, but he'd need to keep an eye on his friends while they drank too. So at least the suggested activity of karaoke was fairly easy for them to stay together and not do anything dangerous or reckless.

"Y-Yes... let's do some karaoke." Michael said with a bottle of water in hand. How long was alcohol meant to effect people? Did they realize they were drunk or did it just feel normal? After all many people made the stupid choice to drink and drive or make worse choices... did they think everything was just normal? Was Michael drunk already?! The panic-fueled internalization filled Michael, luckily masked by his literally obscuring face.

Michael loved music, he didn't think himself as much of a singer, but he LOVED music in all different kinds. His father had introduced him to several English and British artists but he also enjoyed more traditional and classical music from his mother's preference.





Notes & Tags:Samaritan ,Takanashi Misaki ,Masao Ando ,Ylva Riis ,Freja Helt ,Kei Hada ,Mafdet Khepri ,junsuina ,𝕐 + 𝕐 ,𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐲 ,Sumi Okita ,

TLDR: Michael worries about being drunk because he wants to be sober to help anyone that might need it, so he agrees they should do karaoke so they can all stay together while he flushes the alcohol out of his system with water before it takes effect.

Michael felt embarrassed again by Misaki's teasing nature, he was not use to that kind of jokes done at his expense. He knew it was just playful banter but Michael wasn't a romantic, or at least didn't feel wired that way. But he was grateful once again that if there was any flushing to his cheeks, his red balloon head covered that up.

With Misaki positioned on his back, Michael kept a good grip on her legs as his rubbery body might get difficult to hold onto as he made his move."You're good, just hold on tight." Michael said in response to her asking if she weighed too much, shivering with goosebumps from the closeness of her whisper.

Michael put all of his focus on the slippery slope ahead of them. As he began to bounce in place and building up momentum, he calculated out the distance for spaces that looked solid enough to spring off of. Once he had a path in mind, he checked for some back ups near his first few jumps, just in case.

"HERE WE GO!" Michael shouted out and like a bouncy ball, sprung up from the ground level and began ascending the slope side towards the flags.





Notes & Tags:Takanashi Misaki ,

TLDR: Michael doesn't handle flirtatious teasing well but shakes it off to bounce up a calculated path for the slope.

Michael chuckled, finally realizing what she was referring to. A girlfriend rather than a girlfriend. "I don't really have anyone in my life I like like that. I mean I have you and the other girls and you're all really important to me. I don't think of any of you romantically, but I haven't really thought of that about anyone."

Michael managed to lift his arm enough to rub the back of his head weakly. "I know it doesn't matter really what someone's gender is, I've felt attractions before, but it always felt... intrusive?" He wasn't too sure on the word to use. "Like I could appreciate someone's alluring qualities, but after a while it felt kind of like... you know when you're people watching and you feel yourself staring too long? I feel like that if I'm admiring anyone too long, like its rude, so I never really felt comfortable thinking romantically. And I doubt there are many people that would be leering after me anyway, people can't even see my eyes." Michael laughed, oblivious to anyone that had ever tried to flirt with him or longed after him.

"And its not like I'm lonely. I have all of you. I don't think I'm really missing out on much when it comes to things couples do." Michael laughed innocently. The big sweet cinnamon roll of a man didn't know the appeal of romantic and sensual contact.



Notes & Tags: Yanai Yoko

TLDR: Michael doesn't really know what could be gained from dating, he wanted to just make people happy and comfortable and never really thought that he would have anything to offer to that kind of relationship anyway

As soon as Michael saw that little thumbs up from his friend all pretense of him being strong and together dropped. He collapsed limply on the ground, his limbs sprawled out. He couldn't even lift his head. Every muscle in his body felt like it was cramping at once, even the bit of air he used to keep his head inflated roundly was weak. His head looked like a balloon from a week old birthday party, just barely puffed up enough to not outline his skull off-puttingly, and even that felt like a strain. Michael let out a low groan of pain as he could finally stop.

"Ow..." Michael whined through the cramps. "I can't move my arms..." He was far more sore than tired, but he was quite hungry after all that, not that he could move enough to feed himself. As opposed to the warmth Yoko was going to need for her recovery, Michael wanted to be put into a cold ice bath and just lie there until his body could feel anything other than tight muscle spasms.



Notes & Tags: Yanai Yoko

TLDR: Michael's body finally gives out on him and all he can do is feel the cramps through his whole muscular system

Michael nodded at Yoko's response, ready to get this finished. They were such a great team, covering each other's bases and weaknesses while complimenting their strengths. Michael knew they could likely use more coverage in different aspects, but she was more than his best friend, she was his partner and with her by his side, he felt they could accomplish anything.

Michael glanced back at the civilian on his back and said in a bright and comforting voice, "Don't worry about holding on too tight, I've got you!" Michael jumped out the window and landed on the ground with a cushioned bounce. Once he settled, he set the person down and told them to join the others. After talking with Yoko and feeling fired up by her confidence he was ready to go again.

After a brief stretch, Michael inflated himself again into a crash bag. He had to push himself, he had to go beyond his limits. Yoko and him were going to save everyone! Michael was ready as the first people began to jump out and land on him. After this floor was cleared, he was planning to charge into the building through the front door and start clearing people out that way, meeting with Yoko in the middle as they would clear out the lower floors by foot.



Notes & Tags: Yanai Yoko

TLDR: Michael felt reinvigorated by Yoko's projected confidence and went back down to catch more people as a crash pad. Once they cleared that floor, Michael planned to go through the front door to start clearing the ground floor as he would make his way to meet up with Yoko to clear the final floors with her by foot.

As they were leaving with Wendy's supplies and information, she offered to buy the ramen... well more she seemed to correlate relying on others as in a financial way. While Michael was glad to see she clearly had enough money to help her be able to get by easily enough, he was concerned that she could easily be taken advantage of. Especially with how unaware she seemed with the way things were. It was good that Yoko and him found her.

Yoko was already stating that Michael agreed to treat her to ramen. She was always so strong willed when it came to others, Michael knew that with her as a friend, no one would be able to take advantage of Wendy. "Yeah you can get it next time." Michael agreed happily.

Michael kept towards the back of the group, keeping close but making sure they didn't lose Wendy anywhere along the way as Yoko led the trio for the ramen shop. Yoko's cloud had entirely phased away as they arrived at the quiet shop. It was a bit of a hole in the wall sort of location, but that just meant that not many people came here and the ramen was insanely good. "Plain cheesy ramen for me and a Dr-Root-Dew-Up with no ice please."

Michael wasn't sure if Wendy would know what to order if she didn't even know what ramen was. So he quietly suggested to her, "If you have an particular meat you like, like beef, chicken or pork, I'd go with a regular one of those. Otherwise they do have a really good vegetable ramen. Just don't ask for any of the hot or spicy bowls if you don't handle spicy stuff all that well. And they have most standard soft drinks, but if you want anything stronger than water or soda you'll need to show them you're over 20."





Notes & Tags:Yanai Yoko ,Wendy ,

TLDR: Michael and Yoko escort Wendy to the Ramen shop. Michael gives Yoko his order before trying to help Wendy decide