2025-10-10: Past Tense Worried
- Log: Past Tense Worried
- Cast: Tsubasa Seki, Ichika Kawase
- Where: Hirasaka Ward, Sumaru
- OOC Date: October 10, 2025
- IC Date: Tue, July 24, 2012
- Summary: After Tsubasa's ordeal, they and Ichika finally get a chance to meet up again. Lance, too!
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Ichika gets a call, as the sun's going down.
It starts like this --
"Uh... hey, Boss? S-sorry, I know it's exams an' shit, jus' --"
Then presumably there's an outpouring of relief to actually hear from them before they can explain that the pigs finally let them go and they're home now and it's cool.
... and somewhere in there, they fit in an awkward desire to see her, even though she's got to be exhausted from those exams.
Their shoebox is much as they left it, aside from the characteristic hints that someone searched the place while they were out. No Lance, yet; calling Ichika was evidently the first thing they did, after they got back from their impromptu outing with Akechi.
Tsubasa is... at least in their own clothes again, having changed into what passes for their pyjamas; binder off, at present, because of course they can't sleep with it, and after their trip into Mementos (on top of this entire week) they're not confident they're not going to collapse into bed as soon as Ichika leaves. They have on a new blond wig, courtesy Myunghon, which somehow survived all the excitement... and there's a tub full of dressings on the conspiracy table, presumably meant for continued care of all the dressings on their person covering up their (recent) burns.
And they haven't bothered putting concealer on, given all of everything, so they're piebald again.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Tsubasa!?"
Yes. The relief. That happens. And that awkward desire will obviously be met, even if Ichika is, admittedly, somewhat tired from exams. That doesn't matter right now. This does!
So, Ichika goes to collect Lance, and perhaps she'll be forgiven for taking a little while because of it.
Because...
Knock knock knock. Ichika is dressed in ordinary enough clothes--green cargo pants, skull tanktop--and her hair is down. And she's in her usual makeup. And--
"Hey, guess who's about as happy to see you?" she'll say when she arrives, and there is DOG.
Yes, DOG.
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
Tsubasa feels horrible, making Ichika worry so much, but... it's actually nice, hearing their name yobisute like that, even if it's obviously under extreme circumstances.
They will of course forgive a great many things from Ichika, and being a little late is one of them; they would figure, if nothing else, she'd probably be in the middle of revising material. Instead of that, though, the reason is --
BORK!!!
As soon as Tsubasa opens the door, they're just about bowled over by a dog barrelling in past Ichika. "Wh-- Lance, hey!!!" Tsubasa exclaims, crouching down so she doesn't knock them down. "Hey, girl! C'mon, it's cool, I'm right here, hey!!" Lance is a blur of motion and happy barks and she even forgets the golden rule and licks their face and they have to go, "Lannnnce!! C'mon, you know not to do that!"
So of course Lance gets first hugs, because Lance thought Tsubasa was gone FOREVER.
Once Tsubasa manages to get Ichika inside, though (there's a dogjam...), they straighten up, and scoop Ichika up into a hug too. She doesn't even have to ask this time!!
"I missed you," Tsubasa says, quietly, and doesn't add the way they weren't sure they'd ever see her again.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It's definitely extreme circumstances, but it still happens. For now though--
Bork. Ichika smiles, watching the two of them. Facelicking!! Ichika laughs, but does come inside eventually after the dogjam. But then there is HUG and--
'I missed you too," Ichika answers Tsubasa, and sighs, standing there holding onto her friend for a while. Eventually she speaks again.
"...Sergeant Suou didn't tell me much, but I got the impression he was working on it. And I've been looking around for stuff..."
"Anyway I mean..."
"I missed you," she settles on. "It's not right, that they tried to pin it on you."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"When Sergeant Suou and Akechi-san got a look at me, they convinced 'em to send me to hospital," Tsubasa says, finally letting Ichika go to step into the kitchen. "Had to get a bunch of antibiotics 'cuz a me burns an' shit... least I didn't need no grafts this time. Wouldn't let me have visitors or nothin', tho'... had this guard watchin' me the whole time, as if I'd feel up to pullin' a runner."
Tsubasa sighs, shaking their head. "... Akechi-san said my father was probably leanin' on 'em to keep me locked down that long. That, or the pigs just hated my vibes... kinda hard to say. But he gave his own, like, testimony or whatever 'bout how it couldna been me, kept insistin' I was innocent... I guess in the end they weren't willin' to speak against their golden goose, so they let me go. Dunno if I'd be that lucky if he hadn't gone to bat for me, though," they add, with visible discomfort.
They pause for a beat, though, and ask: "You want some coffee or somethin'?" Because of course they've invited her in, they should at least give her something!!
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Akechi-san too?" Ichika wonders. But, antibiotics, burns... No grafts. "Ugh," Ichika says. "That sucks. ...I mean, at least they treated you, I guess." She guesses. But that's a pretty low bar, her tone suggests. Akechi, though...
"Mmm. Could be." It reminds her of what they said to her. "Oh. So he got you out..."
She nods. "He wanted to help me out, too," she says. "But... I dunno."
"Glad he could come through for you, though."
"Uh, sure. I'll take a little coffee. Thanks."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah..." Tsubasa sighs. "The pigs that brought me in were rough as hell, tho'. Bashed in the door at like, two in the morning, pretty much literally dragged me outta the bolthole, they were grillin' me for hours... fuck, I dunno how I'm gonna face Yeo-sama when I brought the pigs down on their safehouse. They musta seen me goin' to talk to Auntie Taeyun or somethin'..."
They do have some more faded bruising than they did when Ichika saw them last. It's fine.
"... he's a real one," Tsubasa insists, in a rare glowing endorsement. "I didn't entirely trust him to start with, too close to the cops, but... it woulda been easier for him to just let me rot. He really wasn't puttin' up with the injustice, though... he really helped me out. I owe him one, y'know?"
(Tsubasa's pretty restrained with the affection and appreciation talk, so by their standards that is a glowing endorsement.)
They make up some more coffee, though -- they washed the mugs while they were waiting for Ichika -- and brings her a mug, before they go off to sit on the stairs. (And get accosted by a dog again. Lance has not stopped wiggling this whole time.) Luckily, they can hold their coffee one-handed while petting a dog.
"You were fightin' out here too, tho', right?" Tsubasa fills in her trailing sentence from before, looking over to her. (Of course Ichika gets the chair. She's the Boss!!) "Musta been rough... sorry to put that on ya right before finals an' shit." As if Tsubasa wanted to be framed for their own attempted assassination. "I, uh... I was worried, too. A--about you."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"...That's fucked," Ichika says, and looks a little uncomfortable at the matter of how they dragged them out. "It's..." She shakes her head. "I'm not sure you could've helped it." But she doesn't elaborate on that yet--she just sees the bruises, and resolves to bring it up in a minute.
"He wants to help me with Eiji," Ichika explains. "But I dunno if 'find evidence and give it to the cops' is enough for me at this point. Maybe I should talk to him again sometime, anyway. ...Since he was so good to you."
Coffee! Ichika accepts the mug, and listens to Tsubasa. Ichika moves to sit in the chair. "Not your fault," Ichika says. "...In fact, you getting caught might be my fault. I went over in the Dark Hour, but by the time I left... They said they were following me, showed me a picture of me in the area." The cops showed her? Ichika may have revealed something there.
"...I'm cool," Ichika says. "I appreciate the worry. I'm sorry I couldn't get to you. I..."
"Remember that reporter I told you about? I'm trying to gather up some evidence about the Joker Killer. Take it to her, do something with it, so the cops can't pretend he's not real anymore."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Prolly not," Tsubasa sighs, though they don't know the half of it.
Still... Akechi wants to help with Eiji, huh. "If that ain't enough --" they start, and then clam up, realising with some horror that they were going to go straight to killing Eiji's Shadow.
... are they really that bad a guy?
"N-never mind," they shake their head, and they at least sound pale. "Jus'... worth givin' him a chance. He might have other ideas or somethin', somethin' what works better..."
Something other than killing him with no consequences, which is a thing they can do now, and why is it something they think of more when it's them doing the murdering instead of the Joker Killer doing the dirty work? Is this a bloodthirst thing or something?!
(It can't be because someone just introduced the concept to them with the framing of making sure they don't accidentally cause a Mental Shutdown.)
Still -- she says it's her fault, and Tsubasa opens their mouth to refute her, but of course she's still talking. "W-wait," they say, instead. "You mean the cops picked you up? An' they were followin' ya? Shit..."
They caught that!!
"... ain't your fault neither," Tsubasa shakes their head. "But... thanks, Boss. I can always count on you." They smile, if briefly. "So you're followin' the case, huh... it's a good idea. If you need backup..." They just kind of trail off, because of course they're offering, that goes without saying.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Tsubasa clams up, and Ichika tilts her head, still holding her coffee. They do sound pale. "Huh?" she asks. Then, "...Guess that's true, might be. It'd be nice if he knew about this stuff," she sighs. "Then I could really figure something out... The problem isn't going to the police," she clarifies. "That's good. I just... Do I really want someone to do it for me...?"
(Surely!)
"Well, yeah," Ichika answers, and her shoulders slump. But Tsubasa doesn't blame her, apparently. She doesn't smile back immediately. "I do what I can," she says. "...Thought about trying to bust in in the Dark Hour or something... But I didn't know where you were anyway, so..."
And of course, then they'd be on the run. Forever. But she thought about it!
Still, "I'll tell you," she says. "Just might. But this is the normal way of looking--find evidence and stuff. If he wants to make a fight of it... Definitely, we'll handle it together."
She pauses. "But yeah, the cops picked me up, all right. Right at school, too. They let me stew a lot. Worked on me for a few hours."
"...There's some more to that," she says, "But I want to tell you after you get some rest. So we can figure something out about it."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"There's shit you could do on your own," Tsubasa points out. "With, uh... y'know, the fuck's Shadow. He's warped as shit, so he's gotta have one. Jus'... I wouldn't kill it. That's probably permanent, right?" Be hedgier, Tsubasa, you haven't yet achieved the dodginess high score. For one, how do they know all this?!
"I did think 'bout pullin' a runner in the Dark Hour," Tsubasa says, their shoulders sinking. "But Yeo-sama talked to me 'bout what goin' on the run would really look like... how I'd have to straight-up leave Sumaru... and I realised that prolly meant leavin' Tokyo, too. Maybe I should've... but I didn't wanna leave you," they admit, glancing away.
Which might explain why they'd immediately tell Ichika everything they know about how to help with her situation even though it's definitely way too suspicious.
Still... she says she's looking in the normal way. "Jus' be careful," Tsubasa frowns. "Killers always go after people what get on their trail. Like, in the movies an' shit. An' since this whole thing is movie shit now, like..." They don't want Ichika to get burned!!
Their scowl deepens, too, when she talks about the cops. "Bastards," they spit. "Ugh... wish I could argue with you, Boss, but I really am beat. This whole week sucked balls." Tsubasa takes a long drag of coffee, as if that could magically cure them of their weariness, even though their weariness is at least partially magical. "... but I'll be on it as soon as I'm up again. Yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Huh," Ichika says. "I mean, I heard that," she says. "That you shouldn't kill those. And... he's definitely got one. I've met him."
That's helpful, right?
"Yeo-san did, huh...? Are they the one who told you all this stuff, too? Since... You know a lot about Shadows and stuff for somebody who's been stuck with the cops for a while and just got their Persona."
She pauses. "...Yeah. I'm glad you didn't do that. You got out anyway, so..."
But, "True. I'll be careful. And that reporter has a Persona too, so she'll be OK."
Bastards indeed. "It's cool," Ichika says. "I'm just glad you're back. I was really worried..."
"Sure. Right when you're up again. And maybe after I finish finals."
"...Think they're gonna let you make 'em up?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Oh," Tsubasa says, "shit."
Yeah, that's about the proper response to that.
But Ichika thinks Myunghon told them about Shadows, and Tsubasa's eyes widen with alarm. "N-no, I never told them 'bout it!" They insist, nervously. "I -- uh --" WHY IS THE POWER OF PERSONA SO SECRETIVE, "I found this app on my phone? Like, this Meta-Nav thing?" They say (ask), digging their phone out of their pocket and holding it up. "Went in there an', uh, found a guy, this tengu-masked dude, the one what was tryin' to stop the Joker Killer back there? He told me 'bout it. L-like, how if you drag a guy out of his coffin he dies, an' if you kill a guy's Shadow he dies, an' all the warped Shadows are in Mementos which is like a Palace or whatever for humanity 'cept then you got ones for specific guys who suck even more than that an' how a Shadow's like an unfettered you so if I met my father there he'd probably just try an' kill me again an' if you bring in realistic-lookin' models they become real weapons even if it's guns an' shit an' takin' the loot in that place ain't stealin' so it don't hurt no one an',"
Tsubasa takes a breath.
"Okay you're not buyin' any of that huh."
Look, they tried to sell her a bridge. So Tsubasa takes a breath, and tries again: "So like, all that shit I just said is true, an' I really did meet that masked guy in there, but there's some shit around it that I like -- can't tell ya, y'know? Ain't like I wanna keep secrets or nothin', jus'... I'd be a real dick if I didn't," they settle on, looking down at their coffee. "You just gonna have to trust me on this one."
Tsubasa manages to calm down from that just about in time to realise, with dawning horror: "... oh, yeah. I'm pretty fucked for finals, ey. Guess it's fine... I should prolly take some time to get right 'fore I get back into shit anyway." They're talking about skipping out on their finals. Talk about a foreshortened sense of future!
Still, Ichika asks, so they take a breath and release it in a long sigh. "Can... ask 'em if they'll give 'em to me later, I guess. Dunno who I'd ask or nothin' though... prolly too much of a pain in the ass. Bet they'd just blame me, too..."
But they shake their head, and swallow down how sure they are they'll be let down by another system. "Sorry, Boss," they sigh, looking over to her. "I know you were super worried... can't be reassurin' hearin' shit like that. I'll... do what I can, yeah?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Yeah," Ichika says. "Shit."
Tsubasa--didn't tell them. SECRETS. "Oh, you've got it too," Ichika says. "Guess that tracks. Supposedly people like us do, but not most Persona-users." A term! "...Hmm. I remember that guy..."
"Didn't know that about the coffin." Did about the Shadows. "...Didn't know that about Mementos exactly either."
"...Didn't know about the models either."
She doesn't say whether she's buying it. But.
"OK," she says. "if that's how you feel..." She thinks about it. She thinks about some shit she's hidden, too. Then, "OK. I trust you."
Whether or not that's a good idea.
"Yeah... We're down in them already."
"...Mm. Maybe... My dad could argue about it to the school. Mom was really worried, when she saw you on the news, heard you'd been picked up and all. She doesn't believe any of that stuff they said. We can figure out who to ask. This shit's important."
"It's not your fault," she says. "...But I appreciate it. I don't want you to give up, you know? And like..."
"I think I actually got some of the answers right on mine? So there's that."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Thanks, Boss," Tsubasa says, with clear relief. It's really hard on them, having things they can't tell her when they've always been able to tell her everything, but...
But Akechi trusted them. They can't just turn around and spite him.
"It's... it's a good thing I didn't tell Yeo-sama or Big Sis or nothin', tho'," Tsubasa says, in what explanation they can offer. "Since... 'pparently the more people you tell 'bout your secret Persona identity shit, the weaker that protection gets. Like, no one would know who I am, 'cuz I ain't told hardly no one, but... if I told a lot more people... folks'd jus' figure me out at a glance, I guess. So... guess I'm goin' by Phoenix when I'm in that costume, yeah? Like how you're the Ogre."
It's the natural choice. Now they're both mythological creatures!!
Still... Ichika's family didn't like what happened to them, and Tsubasa looks surprised to hear that. "W-wait, they didn't? They were? Huh," they blink, looking down at their coffee, a touch baffled. Softly, they add: "... your family's real nice, huh."
And... Tsubasa tries to smile for her, again. "Aight," they say, "I'll... give it a shot. Maybe your dad can do somethin'... an'... you prolly did better than you think, y'know?" They venture, cautiously. "Even with all this shit draggin' ya down... you been studyin'. That matters."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika hasn't mentioned Myunghon's secrets, or the various Persona-users she knows (except one), so it's not like she doesn't have secrets of her own. It is a little jarring, but... She does trust Tsubasa.
"Huh. I kind of had an instinct it was a bad idea to tell everybody, but I didn't know why." She considers. "Phoenix. That's cool."
Yaaay.
"They didn't," Ichika says, and then looks at Tsubasa seriously, softly. "...Mom met you, remember? And besides, they know the police don't always care about people. So it's not just being nice. ...They've seen it happen. And..."
She shakes her head. "Dad volunteers some of his time for like... People like me." And they're not all girls and women, either; she knows that.
But Tsubasa tries to smile. "Thanks," she says. "I appreciate it. And yeah! Well... I mean, I dunno. I'm at 'maybe I'm not at the total bottom' right now, so that's an improvement, right?"
"...Yeah. I still don't think i have like, university prospects... but I wanna try a little."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Yeah," Tsubasa rubs at the back of their neck, "I guess that guy's been doin' it for a while, so he knew a lot of shit... prolly lucky I ran into him, I didn't even know how bein' in those spots exhausts ya just by bein' there." Maybe he saved them!! Tsubasa doesn't clarify, though.
But Phoenix is cool.
Still... Ichika's folks have met them, despite, perhaps, Tsubasa's doubt that any family would want anything to do with someone like them. And they know... they would know. "... yeah," Tsubasa says, biting at their bottom lip. "Sorry, I shouldn't be doubtin' yer folks... they really are nice. Jus'... don't seem like... nice is for me," they admit, quietly.
"... but I'd appreciate it." Even if they don't feel like they deserve it.
They shake their head, though, smiling a little easier when they're thinking about her. "It's good, Boss," they insist. "You're lookin' forward. You deserve to get to do that. An' even if you don't get to university or nothin', yer like... practicin' givin' a shit 'bout it all. Like... it ain't for nothin'?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"There's this like, site, online, too," Ichika says. "The Dark Side of Sumaru? It's got some stuff like this, if you go digging. I'm not good at it, though. I don't really know computers that well."
Pause. "But yeah, it's definitely lucky you did. I ran into somebody at Mementos, myself. ...Cool guy. Told me a few things."
But Ichika is sure about that. "It's fine," Ichika says. "I'm just saying... it's not just, like, platitudes, or feeling sorry or something. They've seen shit like this happen, to me. ...Daddy gets pretty angry about it, too." She's just rich girl enough still to call him that. "Nice is totally for you. You deserve some good."
She smiles back though. "You think?" Ichika asks. "Well, I'm working on it. I... I want to give a shit."
"I've been thinking a lot, you know? And I realized..."
"...Well, breaking up with Mahiro-kun. I realized that I want all the stuff he wants, but I'm not ready for it yet. But like, I don't wanna just... sit around and wait until I am, either. I want to do stuff."
"And maybe that's important, too. Doing stuff."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"The Dark Side of Sumaru, huh... hope that's not run by creeps like Revenge Request," Tsubasa scowls, because of course the first site they heard about was the murder site. Maybe it's you, Tsubasa. Maybe you're the reason all these dire-ass things gather around you.
They rub at their arm, looking down at Lance with her head all thonked against their knee. "Think so...? ... thanks, Boss."
But Ichika wants to give a shit, and Tsubasa listens... only for surprise to splash over their stupid little face. "Wait, wait, you guys broke up?! Holy shit, dude, are you okay?!" HOLD THE PHONE THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING NOW!
"I mean, yeah, you don't gotta just sit around and be some guy's damsel, but like -- shit, dude, you had so much shit goin' on too," Tsubasa exclaims, feeling the weight of all Ichika's worries for a moment. "So... you wanna get involved, yeah? Start some shit?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Don't think so," Ichika says. "Weirdos, maybe, but it's not like, murder people, just learn shit." It's totally not Tsubasa!!
But Lance... Ichika smiles at Lance. "She's so happy to be back with you," Ichika says. She means what she says, though. So it's nice. And--surprise!
"Oh, fuck, I did that while you were--"
Ichika realizes that Tsubasa didn't know! "Yeah," she says. "It was uh--it was on me. I decided that after I'd figured shit out... I'd just be leading him on if we went on like we were. I kinda already was..." She sighs. "But I'm fine. I miss him, but he's not being shitty about it. ...The school, though, the school's being shitty about it."
A lot going on! "Yeah, that's it. Besides, there's kinda... somebody else," she says.
"Yeah, I do. I wanna like... do stuff that matters to people. Not like I haven't been already, but... more, you know?"
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"Guess that's cool..." Tsubasa says, but suspiciously.
They'll check it out later anyway, though.
Tsubasa scratches Lance behind the ears, and says, "Musta been hard for her... I seriously owe Yeo-sama for lookin' out for her, even 'sides all the other shit."
But Ichika realises that Tsubasa was going through their little hell brigade while that was happening, and Tsubasa assures her: "It's cool! It's cool."
Still... he's cool about it. "Good," Tsubasa says. "We'd kick his ass if he gave you shit." The whole gang, of course. But the school... "Don't worry," Tsubasa says, thumping their chest. "We'll just kick everyone's ass."
The fact that they performed that gesture with an arm which has a dressing plastered over it might suggest that Tsubasa shouldn't be jumping anyone just yet.
There's someone else, though. Tsubasa feels something tightening around their heart, momentarily, but they decide not to examine that at all. "Oh, yeah? That, uh... Suzuki-kun, or someone else?" It's a good guess! Hyousuke is another boy Ichika's started hanging out with recently!!
"Stuff that matters..." Tsubasa reflects, rubbing at the back of their neck. "Uh, well... 'pparently distorted assholes hang out in Mementos. If you found those guys an' figured out who they were talkin' 'bout hurtin', you could find 'em in the real world an' help 'em out... or somethin' like that?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"I learned some stuff, anyway."
"Yeah," Ichika says. "Yeo-san's really great."
Little hell. Just a little. "OK, OK."
But, "Yeah. And I don't really want to fight him..." For many reasons, not least of which is that fighting someone she's slept with would remind her of Eiji in a bad way. It's fine, though. "Heh. No ass-kicking yet. I've doled out a few, but the others'll find something new to talk about soon enough. Just the usual stuff, you know?"
But, Tsubasa may feel something, but Ichika doesn't notice. "Oh, no," Ichika says, "Hyousuke-kun's just a friend. I thought at first that he might be asking me out, but he just... really likes food."
"No, it's... Ah, I'll tell you after you get some rest, OK?"
Hmmm. In Mementos... "Go Shadow hunting, huh? I dunno. Might be hard to get out without fighting them..."
"But it's worth a thought, anyway. ...Thanks, Tsubasa-kun."
"But..."
"I should probably let you get some rest or something. I'm just..."
"I'm just real glad you're OK."
<Pose Tracker> Tsubasa Seki has posed.
"You're the Boss," Tsubasa sighs, "but if anyone steps outta line, just lemme know where to be, yeah?"
It's hard to know what they're even feeling; and even harder as they immediately shove it into a little box and shove that box into the ocean where it belongs. So instead, they tilt their head. "... really likes food, huh. Fair 'nuff. An'... sure." They hate to admit it, but they're seriously not at their best right now... the Boss does know best about how many bombshells to drop on them at once.
"I can back ya up now!" Tsubasa boasts, only to pause. "Uh... or maybe give me a week to get up to speed... but then I can back ya up, man!" Tsubasa might be far too optimistic about how much time it's going to take for them to grind enough levels to not be exhausted the minute they walk into Mementos. It's fine.
Right now, at least, they're beat just walking in there... and the Boss seems like she can tell. (Or maybe it's all the other horrors, Tsubasa.) "Hey, man," they say, clearing their hands so they can stand up and give Ichika another hug. "I'm glad to be back. Really did miss you, Boss... an' hey," they grasp her shoulders, as they pull back to look at her.
"You're gonna kick that exam's ass tomorrow."
Not everything is a fight, Tsubasa...
... but at least they clearly believe in her.