[ THEY'RE ALWAYS GONNA' HAVE A BAD TIME, but at least Nonon has enough mercy to abstain from pulling the rug out from under his feet when he's been emotionally curbstomped to the ground. Call it a perk of the times. But she really has no chill when it comes to melodrama, and he winces when she speaks up, mouth wrenched into a decidedly petulant frown. ]

Ah, y-yeah, I'll make sure to ask Rin about it. I guess I've got no choice now when you put it like that.

[ Scrubbing at the nape of his neck, Makoto finally relents to the dark, sempiternal void in his soul and scrounges up his gratitude for key love advice. ]

Thanks, Nonon-chan. I know I get a little ... weird about things like this, sometimes, but it really means a lot to me.

[ It'll sure come in handy when he stumbles upon Rin post-village explosion, but they don't know that yet, either way. ]