A terrified Makoto flees into the night

Ann clutched the warm panties in her hand, suddenly realizing the gravity of the situation. She had to find Makoto and fast.

"Makoto!" she called out, keeping her voice just loud enough to carry but not enough to alert the officer outside. "Makoto, wait! It was just me!"

Ann hurried down the hallway toward the stairwell, the Buchimaru panties still bunched in her fist. She rushed down the first set of stairs to the floor below. She strained to find any sign of her friend but was met with nothing but silence. The second floor was completely empty.

"She must have gone downstairs," Ann muttered, taking the steps two at a time.

Just as she reached the first floor, a flash of movement caught her eye, a pale figure darting across the entrance hall. Makoto, completely naked, was making a beeline for the front doors.

"Makoto, wait!" Ann yelled, breaking into a sprint, but it was too late. By the time Ann reached the entrance, Makoto had already burst through the doors and out into the night.

Ann rushed to the doorway, panting, just in time to see her friend race past the police officer, who was still leaning against the gate, engrossed in his phone. The officer didn't notice at first, then did a startled double-take as his brain processed what had just streaked past him. His phone clattered to the ground as he stood frozen for a moment, mouth agape.

"Was that...?" he stammered before finally snapping into action. "Hey! Stop right there!"

But Makoto was already halfway down the block, running with a speed Ann had only seen her use in the Metaverse. The officer finally gave chase, though he was clearly no match for Makoto's terror-fueled sprint.

Ann made it to the street just in time to see Makoto take a sharp turn, rushing off in the direction of the main road, disappearing from view. The officer was still pursuing, but he was already falling behind, his uniform and equipment weighing him down.

Ann took a step forward, ready to give chase herself, when her earrings suddenly glimmered once more. She stopped mid-stride, blinking in confusion.

"What was I...?" Ann's thoughts grew cloudy. She had a vague awareness that she was holding something in her hand, and without even offering it a moment’s glance, she shoved it into her purse.

She glanced down the street where the officer was still visible, trying to catch up to the streaker. Ann couldn’t help but giggle.

“Someone from Shujin streaking at night?” she said to herself. “That’s crazy.” She could just imagine how Makoto would react to that news when she told her later. Ann paused for a moment. She felt like she was forgetting something. Something important, but she couldn’t seem to remember what it was.

"Whatever," she shrugged. "If I can't remember it, then it can't be _that _important."