Friendship Schemes Arc

***Read at your own risk.***

*Note that the arc title and following sub-headings are fan-made and used to better organize the story.*

The **Friendship Schemes Arc** is the twelfth story arc in *SPY x FAMILY*.

Anya continues to do her best to strike up a friendship with Damian for the sake of the mission. On the other hand, Yor begins a peculiar friendship with a certain woman that could give Loid enough advantage to continue with Operation Strix.

## Summary

### Teacher and Student

After classes end at Eden Academy, the bus is announced to arrive extremely late, and Anya finds herself waiting at the bus stop with nothing to do. Henry Henderson encounters her and asks her to help him carry school supplies to his office, promising to reward her with tea cakes. Henry checks to see how Anya is after receiving a Tonitrus bolt from Donna Schlag for not having a handkerchief. Henry attempts to teach Anya the lesson of being the reason behind the punishment, but Anya fails to understand what he is saying.

Henry then learns about Anya's goal of becoming an Imperial Scholar and asks for her reason why. Hiding Loid's mission, Anya responds with shallow answers, upsetting Henry. The housemaster shows Anya a hallway filled with portraits of all the Imperial Scholars at Eden Academy, telling her not to disrespect the title of Imperial Scholars and Stella Stars since those students worked hard to earn them. Anya realizes she must work hard one day at a time, just like with Loid's mission. She asks Henderson if she can become an Imperial Scholar, which he says he cannot answer as every student must decide for themselves, and there is no need to rush.

They arrive at Henry's office, and as promised, he gives Anya the tea cakes. Afterward, Henry attempts to help Anya review her studies, but she leaves after eating. Anya arrives home and greets her worn-out parents. Reading their minds, she realizes how hard they work. With newfound resolve, Anya asks Loid to study with her. The sudden motivation makes Loid assume she got another Tonitrus, and he faints.

### Meeting Melinda Desmond

Before Yor heads out to go shopping, she asks Anya if there is anything she wants. Anya asks for the tea cakes Henry Henderson gave her, but she cannot remember the name. Yor promises to find them, along with an "amazing cake" that Damian supposedly owes Anya. Outside their home, Yor attempts to ask the neighborhood ladies where to find the best bakeries in the city but out of fear that it would make her suspicious, runs away before she can ask. Yor gets discouraged at being unable to act normal but motivates herself to keep working for the sake of her job. She decides to go to a department store, believing they would have the best cakes.

At the store, Yor encounters a woman holding a large number of boxes who falls down the stairs. Yor swiftly catches both the woman and the boxes, and amazed by her skills, the woman asks Yor to join her for something, offering her the cakes in the boxes as a token of her gratitude. At the woman's insistence, Yor is taken to a sports hall and dressed in a gym uniform as the woman, Melinda, reveals that she brought her in as a ringer for her women's volleyball team.

The ladies are part of an organization called the Lady Patriots Society, where they partake in all sorts of community activities, including this all-mothers volleyball game. Yor agrees to help Melinda's team after hearing that playing volleyball is normal. However, due to Yor's lack of experience playing with a team, she tries playing by herself and breaks several game rules. Melinda teaches Yor to relax and enjoy herself, and the team enjoys playing the rest of the game together.

After the game, the mothers go out to have tea and cakes together. Melinda hopes Yor will come over again to join them for other activities, which Yor promises to do. Yor then learns that some of the mothers have children attending Eden Academy and reveals that her daughter also attends there. Melinda realizes who Yor is and formally introduces herself as Melinda Desmond.

### Plan C

Yor returns home and tells Loid about how she Melinda. She is surprised to learn that Melinda is actually the wife of the country's former prime minister, Donovan Desmond, and proceeds to tell Loid about their encounter:

Upon learning that Melinda is Damian's mother, Yor frantically apologizes for Anya's actions toward Damian at orientation, but, to her surprise, Melinda brushes it off. The mothers explain to Yor that the Desmond family has a 'hands-off' parenting philosophy concerning their sons. They also say Yor is lucky to be invited to a get-together by Melinda, as most of them were already friends with her before she became First Lady. While Yor does not fully understand the title, Melinda explains that she thought they could become friends without preconceptions about her political position. She hopes Yor will, if possible, come over again and become friends.

Melinda wraps up the conversation and gives Yor a ride home. In the car, Melinda mentions Damian, having overheard from the household staff that he is enjoying his time at Eden Academy, and suggests that he may have been getting along with Anya lately. Yor agrees, and Melinda mutters that she hopes they can get along while making a strange face.

In the present, Loid becomes suspicious of the encounter due to Melinda's connection, or rather lack thereof, with the rest of the Desmond family, but Anya helps clear his doubts. Yor then asks Loid for permission to continue attending the Lady Patriots Society's meeting. After some contemplation, Loid allows her to go, saying it can help with their cover and give Yor the friends she needs. At the same time, Loid intends to see if Melinda is also planning anything and use her and Yor's friendship to get closer to Donovan. With this, Loid creates Plan C: The Mommy-Friends Scheme. Reading his mind, Anya is shocked and sees this as a battle of friendship schemes. Fearing she will get abandoned, Anya runs off to study and tries to think of ways to become better friends with Damian.

In the end, Anya is unable to think of anything. At school, she asks Becky for advice, and Becky teaches her a romance cliché to use on Damian. However, Anya's attempt fails in the worst way possible, only making Damian angry at her.

### The Good Doctor

Later, Anya tries to impress Damian and her classmates by revealing that their mothers have become friends. Damian asks if Melinda said anything about him and is disappointed when she says no.

At Berlint General Hospital, Twilight continues to reinforce his cover as "Loid Forger," showered with praise and adoration by the patients and staff but also garnering the spite of its director Gerald Gorey due to his rising popularity and closeness with Fiona. In order to gain access to patients connected to Melinda, Loid must get through Gerald first. Loid puts up with Gerald's schemes as he attempts to make Loid a pariah in the hospital, but it only results in Loid receiving more affection.

As a last resort, Gerald calls the SSS and reports Loid as a spy. Two agents arrive to arrest Loid, but they are revealed to be Franky and Fiona in disguise, having intercepted Gerald's call, and they join Loid in his ruse to gain the upper hand. The three expose Gerald's accusation and his own misdeeds, and the faux Secret Police agents pretend to take him away. Loid then makes an impassioned speech to convince them not to arrest Gerald, moving the director and making him indebted to Loid.

### Loid vs. Yuri: The Ultimate Housekeeping Duel

Yor injures her hands during an assassin job and decides to rest them the next day. While rest does not come, Yuri does, eager to hang out with Yor on his day off work. Seeing her injuries, Yuri gets upset with Loid and orders him to cook in her stead. While preparing the food, Yor compliments Loid, and Yuri, wanting her praise, takes over the cooking. After Yor picks Loid's cooking over his, Yuri begins to get competitive with Loid, initiating bouts to see who is the better housekeeper. Loid beats him every time, wanting his brother-in-law to go home already.

When Yor mentions that they have run out of some household essentials, Yuri holds one last bout to see who can buy the best stuff the fastest and for the least money. As they begin, Yuri hurries over to a shady informant to find the items, using his authority as an SSS agent. After buying everything, a confident Yuri returns home, only to see that Loid had already beaten him to it. As Yuri begins to admit defeat, Yor notices that he got a snack from their childhood and thanks him for finding it after so many years. Loid props up Yuri, saying he knows Yor better than him, and Yuri declares victory before leaving. Embarrassed by her brother's antics, Yor apologizes to Loid.

## Story Impact

* Melinda Desmond is introduced, revealed to be Donovan's wife and the mother of his two sons.

## Characters Introduced

Nola
Melinda Desmond
Gerald Gorey
Gullickson
## References

*SPY x FAMILY* Manga: Chapter 64.
*SPY x FAMILY* Manga: Chapter 65.
*SPY x FAMILY* Manga: Chapter 66.
*SPY x FAMILY* Manga: Chapter 67.
*SPY x FAMILY* Manga: Chapter 68.