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Hmm... so they were going to have to do this, huh?

...

Yeah, no he wasn't gonna do this, at least not yet anyways. The thief was staying put, not as willing to march on to his impending doom as his other peers, but he [i]was[/i] going to do his best to delay the inevitable. Resting the side of his head on his hand, he went about surveying the Ultimates before turning his gaze over to Momoe. She looked to have the same thought as him, because when he’d finally found her, her head was in the process of turning toward him as well. The two were staring each-other down and Aurel saw a faint smile on her lips, despite the distance between the both of them.

Aurels gaze lingered a few seconds too long on her before realizing the smuggler had caught him staring, with the main tip being that smile. That damn smile. Blinking, he turned his head back down to staring at the masses, his eyes alternating between them and Momoe for the next minute, though that wasn’t going to last too long.

Following that, he rose up from his seat and slowly began to trudge downwards towards the bear, sighing as he did so. As much as he would like to wait, better to get this over with than let these feelings fester.

“Pretty interesting, right?”

Momoe’s voice resounded from behind Aurel. She must’ve followed him as soon as she saw him make a move, because when he slightly nudged his head to glance in the direction of her voice, she was only a couple of steps removed from him. “Don’t worry though; I don’t really [i]want[/i] to be stuck with you either. I just want to get this over with,” she said as she continued her stride towards Monokuma, her expression having softened but still showing amusement.

He gave a shallow nod in response to the girl before slowly turning his head back forward, pressing onward towards the bear. [color=92278f]"At least we have that much in common,"[/color] he murmured flatly, sighing as he ruffled his messy hair.

He remained silent the rest of the way down, pondering on the circumstance as the crowd slowly abated as they received their handcuffs. Before he knew it, it was him and Momoe's turn to receive their handcuffs. Well, it was now or never as the thief snatched their pair of handcuffs from the bear and briefly inspected it.

Despite having seconds thoughts, there was really no more time to contemplate it as he gingerly attached the cuff to one of his wrists before rubbing the area around it. With a grunt, he slightly angled his head in Momoe’s direction, extending the his cuffed hand towards her before offhandedly remarking, [color=92278f]"Hopefully this is the closest either of us will ever come to being arrested."[/color]

The cuff was grabbed roughly, soon followed by a click as Momoe came to stand right next to Aurel. She showed off her own cuffed wrist, then made sure he couldn’t look away from her eyes. The smuggler didn’t look very pleased.

“Real cute. If you’ve got the guts to crack jokes like that, at least look me in the eye while you’re doing so.” She turned her face from Aurel to Monokuma, then back to the thief. “Let’s get off the stage,” she said. “I’m tired of this bear’s face.”

[color=92278f]"You and me both."[/color] Hopping off the stage, he walked alongside the smuggler in the general direction of the enclosure - or, at least he thought he did. It wasn't a few seconds and the arm that was affixed to the cuff was flung horizontally into the air, with the same being said for Momoe. Blinking, he looked over to Momoe. [color=92278f]"... where are you going?"[/color] he asked. She took a step back and turned to face him.

“What? I said we’re getting out of here. Don’t tell me you’re intent on sticking around?” Aurel only gave a brief nod of his head, indicating that, yes, he [i]was[/i] going to stick around.

[color=92278f]"Flare's thought process [i]is[/i] logical, plus there's one thing I want to test out with these cuffs,"[/color] he said, confirming his reason for lingering around the area. The thief eyed the girl for a brief second before nonchalantly tugging at their bindings. As much as he would hope Momoe would follow along, he expected her to act contrary to this plan. His suspicions were confirmed when the chain returned to him with no resistance, reeling back into the device around his wrist.

“Good. Gives me a reason to test out the release function,” Momoe flatly retorted. She lowered the arm she’d used to push the button on her cuff and turned her back to him. Momoe then cocked her head back over her shoulder. “You can find me at the labs when you’re done, hotshot.”

So much for using their time optimally.

[color=92278f]"... was hoping you wouldn't do that,"[/color] he sighed, feeling the freedom of being able to move his wrist again after like... what, thirty seconds? The only thing he could really do was frown back at the girl while grasping onto the cuff. Momoe just grinned.

“Sure, and I’d been hoping you were just gonna follow along, but neither of that happened, did it?” she snidely remarked. The smuggler aimed her head back in front of her and began to step away from the boy.

The thief could only just roll his eyes before plopping down onto the seat, rubbing the side of his temples. His mouth was slightly agape, though it did dawdle between closing and opening for a second, like a nutcracker. [color=92278f]"If that's the case, then..."[/color]

He murmured before looking up, glaring at the back of Momoe's head before giving what he considered to give a suitable response. [color=92278f]"... then if you need me, I'll be here."[/color]

Momoe didn’t look back at Aurel, but she still lazily gave a thumbs up to the boy behind her. “Sure. You’ll be here,” she half-heartedly replied, pocketing her hands and exiting the area.