Eli let out a long, heavy sigh, her sharp blue eyes cutting through the rising tide of dramatic tension on the platform. She leaned casually against her rolling suitcase, crossing her arms as she looked at Nico and the others.
"Alright, stop the dramatic act, everyone," Eli said, her voice dropping into a thoroughly grounded, practical tone. "We already know exactly what is going in Agung's mind right now, don't we?"
Maki paused, a slight blush rising on her cheeks, while Kotori blinked innocently.
"Let's not forget," Eli continued, a wry, knowing smirk finally tugging at the corner of her lips. "We are the ones who actually found him completely confused, sitting on the steps of the Kanda Shrine when he first got dragged thirteen years into the future. The poor guy looked like his brain had been turned into scrambled eggs by that bratty operator."
Nozomi let out a soft, melodic chuckle, tapping her chin. "Ah, that's true. He looked like a lost puppy trying to figure out why the world had suddenly grown up without him. He was completely out of his depth."
"Exactly," Eli said, her posture softening from a commanding leader to a deeply affectionate, if mildly exasperated, wife. "He's sitting on that Shinkansen right now, panicking out of his mind because he thinks he's a 'deadbeat' who intentionally abandoned fourteen women and a fleet of toddlers for three years. He's probably running his 'infinite stamina' math over and over again, terrified of what we're going to do to him when we catch him."
"Serves him right for trying to act like a brooding, solitary anti-hero on that rooftop," Maki muttered, though she couldn't hide the fondness in her voice. "He thinks he's carrying the weight of the world, but he's really just a confused idiot who needs to be brought home."
"He's trying so hard to be the responsible one," Kotori cooed, smiling warmly as she adjusted Yuki's hair ribbon. "It's actually kind of sweet. He really thinks he has to fix everything by himself."
Umi shook her head, though the strict, unyielding tension in her shoulders finally melted away, replaced by the deep, enduring love she had carried for seven years. "He forgets that he didn't marry a gallery of helpless victims. He married us. If he thinks he can just slip away to Numazu and Hong Kong to do penance in secret, he sorely underestimates the network we've built."
Just then, Kanata, Ai, Shioriko, and Mia finally burst onto the platform, breathless and laden with bags, just as the sleek white nose of the Shinkansen pulled up to the platform with a gentle, electronic hum.
"We're here!" Ai panted, giving a weak but relieved wave. "Did we miss the strategy meeting?"
"Not at all," Eli smiled, stepping forward to help guide the strollers toward the train doors. "The strategy is simple: we board this train, we head to Numazu, we pick up the Aqours faction, and then we go collect Lanzhu from the airport. By the time Agung wakes up from his nap, he's going to realize that his little solo redemption tour has just been thoroughly hijacked by his family."