Movies? Absolutely delightful, when shared with friends with common interests.

The second you stepped into the well-attended venue, a fresh aroma of buttered popcorn made its way towards the entrance, as it filled the air with its salted scent. The mess of murmurs and bustling people in line complimented the crackling popcorn machine nicely-- the movie theater was certainly packed, even for a weekend.

You couldn't help but to wonder how many patrons in the lobby were dedicated to the Sonic Ninja sequel, and how many were devoted to other films. Curiously, you averted your gaze to the cardboard cut-outs and framed posters of future features, although the only promotion you recognized was for Sonic Ninja, as you weren't too familiar with the names of the other franchises premiering that week.

You were one hell of a Sonic Ninja geek.

The extended red rope enclosed the sides of the line up, as you stood in queue with the trio. Thankfully, there were several registers open for the hectic activity, as customers reluctantly handed over bills for overpriced snacks. You weren't much of a fan of excessively denting your allowance, though it was too late to bring the food yourself.

"Everything seems pretty tasty, from candies, chocolate, and other sweets to salty delights! It's really a shame that they don't sell pudding here, though..." Kaede sighed at the lack of her favorite dessert item, though lightened up at the variety of goods.

Nagisa quietly chuckled, subsequently voicing his solution. "I don't think you have to worry too much about that, Kayano-san. We can always buy pudding elsewhere, after the movie..."

You nodded in agreement, liking the idea of prolonged activity with the squad. "R-Right! We can stop by the convenience store, and--"

"--grab a copy of Movie Plaza while we're at it~" Karma interrupted, chiming into the idle conversation as he finished your sentence. Whether it be by complete chance or calculated choice, oddly, he stole the words right from the tip of your tongue.

Movie Plaza was quite a popular magazine, known for its teasers for upcoming films. Naturally, Sonic Ninja must have been featured in its newest issue, so originally, you planned to read more about the superhero franchise during your spare time.

Your eyes widened slightly at his accurate prediction, as your jaw gaped at his spot-on statement. It took a moment before you could gently utter your question, as you were genuinely curious. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess. Nagisa and I, being avid Sonic Ninja fans, frequent the magazine with every release. I wouldn't be surprised if others did the same." Karma shrugged, while the corners of his lips tugged into another grin because of his correct hypothesis.

After a group decision, each person within the quartet ordered a bag of medium popcorn and a soft drink, while Kaede pitched in extra for a large bag of gummy candies and chocolates to be distributed among you and the others when the movie progressed. Promptly exchanging thanks with the cashier, you followed the red carpet trail towards the designated viewing area, after validating your ticket.

Karma had taken lead and paced through one of the two back doors of the movie room, while bright neon exit signs illuminated above. Overall, the vicinity was showered in a cloak of darkness; the lights were dimmed and barely discernible, although the stairs were focused on enough to avoid mishaps of stumbling. The gigantic screen situated in the front-center of the cavernous space displayed several advertisements, as the projector near the back beamed rays of light.

The soles of your shoes stepped against the sticky surface of the ground while you trailed after to the assigned seats; you figured that it must have been residue from spilled sodas. Fortunately, the place seemed to be cleaned up relatively well apart from that, from the lack of leftover garbage littering around the comfortable, cushioned flippy seats.

The locality was undeniably packed with patrons, though the room sported a spacious feeling nonetheless. You made it to your seat just in time, with moments to spare. Everything seemed quite normal, except...

A certain octopus was in attendance, seated right by the edge of the front row, while your quartet of seats lined right beside his.

Unmistakably, it was Koro-sensei with a peculiar disguise, and a dozen of snacks. A short, dark brown wig sat atop his head, with bangs parted to reveal his forehead. Rather than his abnormally regular complexion of bright yellow, his skin had altered into a peachier shade, while a fake nose was stuck on to his face, as if it'd make the disguise any more believable. Most of his tentacles were hidden within his teaching robe, while the ones that were present were concealed with white gloves. The collations were presumably brought from home, as you noticed that they lacked the cinema trademark. You did recall that Koro-sensei once mentioned something about the low pay of teaching as a joke, though he did seem like the type to save at every opportunity. It totally wasn't suspicious at all.

From left to right, the seating was as followed: Koro-sensei, you, Karma, Nagisa, and Kaede. After the bags of popcorn were put down into laps, and cups of soft drinks were set aside into respective cup-holders, the others seemed to have realized too, as voices were raised to hushed whispers over the vocals of the ads.

"K-Koro-sensei?! What are you doing here?!" You instantly remarked first, frantic from surprise.

"The tickets were from the octopus, were they not? Though, I hadn't expected for him to show up dressed like that..." Karma teased with a soft chuckle, relaxing as he leaned back in his seat. "Where has your pride gone?"

Koro-sensei's profile transformed orange with a red circle, nodding with his signature grin. "Of course, Sonic Ninja is an entertaining franchise; I wholeheartedly agree with that. So for what purpose would I have to be here apart from enjoying the show and spending time with my precious students? What a wonderful field trip this would make!"

He rambled for a moment, before Karma's last question sunk in. "How dare you, Karma-kun! This is a great disguise, oh, just look at how much time and effort I've taken to perfect this attire, and--"

Karma grinned a little more, his index finger shifting to his lips to scornfully shush him in a deriding tone. "Shh~ If I were you, I'd keep it down. We're in a cinema, remember? And as a teacher, and responsible adult, you'd want to be respectful of the other patrons, right? Koro-sensei, you wouldn't want to attract even more attention than you already are, would you?"

You glanced around to the rows behind you from Karma's rhetorical inquiries, and it was true that several pairs of eyes were glued to your quintet in particular, as the low murmurs of chattering gradually dispersed.

Koro-sensei remained silent after that, as did everybody else. The enduring colloquies left had also calmed as the lights fully faded to black, attracting the audience's attention to the front. The soft groaning of film strip was heard amidst the silence, while the large Sonic Ninja logo stretched across the screen, accompanied by alluring acoustics, realistic surround sound, and thankfully, subtitles. The soundproof walls of the venue enhanced the experience, since none of the noises from neighboring movies could be perceived.

Hours later, the ending credits finally rolled, as the room was lit up once more. People made their way out of the theater, chit-chatting about their thoughts and opinions on the latest installment of the series while leaving empty drinks and popcorn bags behind. There were certainly plot twists and turns, such as the final, monstrous boss being the brother of the main heroine.

At first glance, everyone seemed content with the ending, except for the bipedal octopus, who was visibly bawling at the realization that the siblings had been separated in the movie.

"Wow! I have to admit, this was really good. I secretly watched the first movie online before coming, so that I'd understand the plot. I don't regret it!" Kaede cheered, striking her bubbly smile as always.

"I can't wait for the next installment..." Nagisa added, smiling just as brightly, satisfaction filling his features.

You quietly giggled, happy to see that your friends were just as hyped as you were. Genuinely, it was an enjoyable experience.

"Mm, I found that the ending was a bit cliché, but any work directed by Nazzoni is still a masterpiece." Karma commented afterwards, expressing his critique well. "Anyways, while we wait for the next movie, here's a little something I found~"

By the time he finished his sentence, his phone was already pulled out in front of him, a web page gladly displayed in front of the gathering. The large and bold title spread across the small smartphone screen, and you could have sworn that devilish horns materialized atop of Karma's head.

'Sonic Ninja! Cosplay Contest - Register Today!'