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New Muse

Friday—July 18, 2021

"Ya know, our vacation's ending," Ryuji said with a fretful note in his tone, letting his shoulders sink. "Our asses have to go back to school soon. I almost forgot what it's like!"

"That's ridiculous," Ann said with a roll of her eyes.

Yusuke listened to his friends go back and forth as they usually did with a fond hum, averting his attention back to the pages of his sketchbook; it felt, admittedly, empty and insipid if he tried drawing something different….something other than Futaba. It was something he did out of habit—they would talk for hours on end over video call and he would find himself mindlessly sketching her features or whatever position she was in while they talked about this or that. It was a way to keep his fingers occupied when they wanted nothing more than to reach out to her.

"In like two months from now, we'll be slavin' away over textbooks," Ryuji whined pitifully and threw his arm over his face theatrically. "Shit, I was gettin' used to the idea of no homework or exams."

"We start at the end of August," Ann deadpanned.

Yusuke put his chin in his hand as he tapped his pencil against the metal bindings of his book with his other hand, trying to figure out what else he could draw that would be a meaningful way to spend his time. He suddenly looked over at their Leader and hummed softly to himself as an idea popped into mind.

"Ren, a word?"

He looked in the rearview mirror and lifted an eyebrow in response.

"Later, of course," Yusuke said and looked back down before dragging his gaze to Ryuji to force a change of subject. "What do you want to do for the celebration of your birthday tonight, Skull?"

"Oh, shit," Ryuji said as his eyes widened, adopting a look of serious concentration. "Same thing? Dinner?"

Yusuke tilted his head to the side at the thought, not expecting that answer; based off Ryuji's past preferences, he would have expected they would all have to try and sneak into a strip club or some other risque and promiscuous place that would otherwise be impossible to get into without the use of fake identification.

"Will you be able to join us?" Yusuke asked the two, who were in the front seat.

Both boys nodded.

"My work will remain rather unoccupied until later," Goro said and cracked his knuckles on his leg, looking out the side window for Ren, who was craning his neck to look out the windows for Shadows. "You're safe."

As they all rounded the corner and down the seemingly endless hallway of the Mementos airport, the atmosphere changed at the mention of a birthday celebration.

"Sorry we're missing it," Makoto said earnestly and shook her head. "But you'll get our gift in the mail soon."

"Aw, guys," Ryuji said and turned a bit red before nudging the brunette with his knee. "Are you and Noir livin' together or something? You're always including her when you talk about yourself."

Makoto and Haru both blushed, but Makoto was unabashed as she responded.

"Yes, we find it easier to afford a flat together than alone."

"Makes sense," Ryuji said in oblivion.

"H-have any of you seen Oracle recently?" Yusuke said without meaning to. He ducked his head behind the sketchbook before he realized that would appear more suspicious and lifted his gaze to meet the others'. "I know she talks on occasion about visits."

"We just went out this past weekend," Makoto said with a nod, smiling a bit at Yusuke. "She is doing wonderfully—really excelling in school. She seems to have made a new friend, too. He might even like her!"

"Oh?" Yusuke said, hating the way his voice sounded too forced to be polite. He hummed audibly and stared hard at Ren's shoulders, the only place he could look. "I'm pleased to hear she thrives."

He could feel Ann's hand brush his knee and he gritted his teeth with a suppressed hiss of irritation. He did not want sympathy; he did not have a reason to require anyone's sympathy.

"Right," Makoto said, realizing she must have said something wrong. She ran a hand through her hair a bit awkwardly. "I…."

"And for yourself, Queen? Have you met new people or are you still hoping to draw the joker from the deck of cards?"

The bus lurched painfully and even Morgana let out a groan at the sudden jerk.

"Easy on my wheels!"

"Sorry…." Ren whispered.

Yusuke could not help his pettiness and would come to regret it later (he knew he would), but he was angry at Makoto for bringing up such a topic so carelessly when she knew—

Yusuke closed his eyes in guilt and let his anger ebb away. She didn't know, so how could he be angry at her? But, the damage had been done.

"Pardon?" Goro said from the front seat, voice overly polite—much like the tone Yusuke used himself. However, the Detective Prince was not looking at Makoto, but at Ren.

"Wow," their Leader said, eyeing Yusuke from the rearview mirror, eyes flashing. "That's not awkward at all, Fox."

"It is nothing to be ashamed of," Makoto muttered a bit darkly, chin tilted upward in slight defiance.

"No, I'm not saying—"

"Saying what precisely?" Goro asked in that same too-happy tone.

"It was a date, right?" Haru asked pleasantly, but Yusuke could swear he heard a hint of bitterness somewhere deep down.

"If you can call it that," Ren said earnestly and waved a hand before drumming his fingers on the wheel.

"It was meant to be a date although we were happier going as friends than anything," Makoto agreed, turning to Haru to answer her question. "It was awkward."

Ren's eyebrows flicked up but he kept silent. Yusuke knew the others did not see his reaction if they were not looking.

"We are perfectly happy as friends, don't you see?" Makoto continued, letting out a nervous laugh. "Besides, I—oh…."

"It's fine," Ren said a bit shortly, irritation edging its way into his tone. Those fingers that were tapping a beat now gripped the wheel a bit tighter. "I'm sure they've guessed it by now."

"What?" Sumire asked curiously, unable to help but look too invested in this conversation.

"No, really, I don't feel comfortable talking about this," Makoto said firmly but her tone was ruined by her sheepish expression. "Honestly, there—"

"She rejected me," Ren deadpanned, eyes trained on the road ahead.

The rest of the group fell silent. Yusuke felt terrible for bringing it up in the first place and it came in a place of anger, but he knew it was still no excuse for tainting the levity. He hung his head shamefully and closed his sketchbook, unable to look at his work when he was so culpable.

However, he was not the only one looking displeased. Goro sat unusually stiff in the front seat, never taking his eyes off the hands twisting in his lap. What a strange reaction….

"Joker?" Sophia's voice rang out from his phone.

"He's busy," Goro said as he made a grab for Ren's phone off the dash, clearing his throat as he tried to lighten his tone. "Are we almost there?"

"Up ahead is a Wowohohowohowo-space," she said in that same, cheery voice. However, it grew a bit solemn when she saw the expressions everyone wore. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Ren interjected before anyone could say anything; he slowed Morgana to a stop in front of the dancing lights and unlocked all the doors. "Let's get going. Are we ready?"

Everyone clambered out of the van, allowing Morgana to transform back into his realistic, feline self; he licked his paws and grumbled under his breath about the permanent tire damage from the poor driving.

"You're fine," Ren said fondly and picked up the cat, placing him on his shoulder with a warm smile. "Thanks though. I think I'm narrowing it down."

"At least we're mapping out this new Mementos," Morgana huffed and curled up on Ren's shoulder, claws digging into the tailcoat's fabric to hold himself in place. "Let's head back. I could go for some sushi."

Ren activated the MetaNav, which brightened the dancing light; he gestured to Makoto and Haru first, stepping to the side to let them through. The two bid everyone a farewell, giving out quick hugs, but neither one offered one to Ren, who was only happy about that. Makoto gave him a gracious dip of her head instead and jumped into the light, disappearing on the spot. Haru gave him a friendly wave and leaped in after Makoto.

"Let's go," Ann said softly to Ryuji, taking his hand and going in for a running start. Together, the two blondes disappeared shortly after.

"Wait," Yusuke said before he would let Ren go. "I want to apologize for my disgrace earlier."

"It's fine," Ren said with a bit of a chuckle, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he nodded reassuringly. "I'm not bothered by that—it's the way she talks about it that annoys me."

"That is all well and beautiful," Goro snorted and rolled his eyes, gesturing impatiently to the warp light. "Are you ready to go?"

"Ever the patient one," Yusuke said with a nod of acknowledgement. He turned to Ren and looked at him carefully. "A word with you later, if I can."

Ren winked and leaped into the light, disappearing from sight. Yusuke turned to Goro and gave him a scrutinizing look before jumping in after their Leader, Goro on his heels.

He came to a wobbly landing, banging his knees painfully on the barstools in the kitchen. Yusuke let out a sharp inhalation as the pain resonated throughout his legs and finally settled somewhere just below his kneecaps. He braced himself on the nearest thing, ready to hoist himself up when….

"Here."

Yusuke looked up at the owner of said extended hand and found himself looking at two very distinct gray eyes. He accepted the hand and straightened up, wincing as he bent his legs at the knees, grumbling about the pain.

"Thank you."

"You wanted to talk?" Ren inquired.

"Now?" Yusuke asked in surprise, thinking he would at least have some time to prepare.

"When's a better time?" Ren asked with a shrug of his shoulders, those hands going back into the pockets of his pants. "We're busy tonight."

"Can we speak in private?"

Ren gave him a bit of a questioning look, but he nodded nonetheless. Yusuke was grateful his friend was not so inclined to interrogate him in front of everyone else.

"In that case, let's go over tonight's plans," Ren said and turned to the group, fixing his glasses and taking a step towards the group to get their attention.

Yusuke stood beside Goro, who had his arms folded and a sullen look on his face.

"Whatever happened to you?" the artist asked softly.

"Just tired," Goro said earnestly and looked at his watch. "I hardly have enough time to call my own before tonight's plans."

"What do you need to do?" Yusuke asked, now curious to know what the other wanted to do in his free time.

"Rest."

Yusuke couldn't help but chuckle. "And you cannot do this….why?"

"A request to watch a gymnast's routine," Goro said flatly, although the anger seemed more feigned than anything.

"It won't take long," Sumire said as she eavesdropped, nudging him gently with an arm. "You'll have time to rest before we go to dinner."

"What time are you thinking, Lady Ann?" Morgana asked from his spot on the couch, padding around on the cushions until he settled down nicely.

"I just made reservations for 20:00. Is that too late for anyone?" Ann asked worriedly, carding her fingers through those blonde locks.

"It's fine," Ren said kindly even if he felt as exhausted as he looked. "It's the weekend after all. We can rest tomorrow."

"Or are you gonna make us go back to the Mementos?" Ryuji quipped.

"I won't," the ravenette said with a chuckle. He turned to Yusuke and gave him a nod in a silent question.

"Ready," Yusuke said to the other.

The two bid their friends farewell until later, ignoring the quizzical looks they received.

Yusuke led his bespectacled friend upstairs and into his room, softly shutting the door behind him. Ren stood in the middle of it, looking around as if inspecting his room for the first time despite having been in it on many occasions prior to this one. Yusuke gave him a moment to look around, taking that time to decide how he was going to proceed.

"I wanted to show you," he said and held out his sketchbook, paging through the blank paper. "I cannot find the motivation I seek. I need a new muse."

"W-oh! Art," Ren said as he pieced together the context. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at the rest of the work hung up on canvases around Yusuke's room. "What sort of muse do you need?"

"One that implies intimacy," Yusuke replied honestly though he expected Ren's reaction.

"Sorry?"

"What?"

"What did you say?"

"One that implies intimacy," he repeated.

Ren took a deep breath and nodded. "I thought that's what you said…..er…..what do you have in mind?"

"Body art," Yusuke said as he began filing through his paintbrushes, not expecting to have things unprepared. Still, he could feel his creativity spark as ideas filled his head.

"Oh," Ren said, sounding a bit relieved, chuckling nervously. "Right. Okay—er—yeah. I guess."

"Wonderful," Yusuke said with a nod of his head, gesturing to the floor where he had set up a small tarp from earlier work. "I ask that you make yourself comfortable there while I prepare my things."

"Yusuke—"

"Yes?"

"What do you have in mind?" Ren asked.

"Let's commence this way…."

Yusuke had to put away his embarrassment while the other teen had to stow away his shyness; this was, after all, for the sake of his art. Ren took a deep breath and pulled his shirt over his head to expose his back. Yusuke narrowed his eyes as they mentally calculated the space available and the scale of his artwork.

"Ah," he said, grabbing his brush and dipping it in his black set of paints.

Yusuke hummed softly as his fingers ran over the skin of his friend's shoulders, getting a feel for his new canvas. He could feel Ren shiver underneath his touch, goosebumps forming at the feather-light contact, craning his neck to try and look over his shoulder.

"I see," the artist murmured to himself as he began his intricate design, having found a spark of inspiration from memory.

His art began small but detailed, spanning only across a tiny portion of his skin, but he began to work his way out. The swirls got larger….bolder and he began exploring different patterns to accent the main design. His eyes moved as fast as his brush, but not faster than his mind. Yusuke held Ren's bicep to steady the movements that his friend was making involuntarily.

"Sorry," the shorter said and stilled.

"Do not apologize," Yusuke said with affirmation. He peered closer at his work and smiled in approval. "If you are comfortable, I would like to try and expand."

Ren twisted awkwardly to look at him. "Meaning?"

"On the front," Yusuke clarified and gestured where he had in mind on himself.

Ren rolled his eyes in fond exasperation, deciding there was no point in denying it now. He got up on his knees and lifted his shirt to reveal a lined torso and a defined abdomen. Yusuke sought out the best place to begin with his eyes before he settled on a spot.

"If you could stay still…."

Yusuke reached a hand around to his lower back to steady him and his brush began to create its masterpiece. Ren's hand flew to his hand to muffle a gasp. The artist, however, was occupied making the perfect circle and filling it in. But, Ren jerked in a way that nearly had him smearing his work.

"Please stay still," Yusuke reminded him, ears finally catching onto the stifled chuckles. "Ren?"

He was covering face so Yusuke took those hands and pried them away, blinking in surprise when he saw Ren laughing.

"Sorry," the ravenette said and cleared his throat. "It tickles."

Yusuke's eyes widened comically before he broke out in his own laughter. "Aha! I see. Still, try not to move."

Yusuke went back to work, digits pausing every so often to touch the skin and feel his canvas beneath his own fingertips. The rhythmic up and down movement of his breathing fell into a predictable pattern that Yusuke learned to work not just around but with. His paintbrush went free, swirling and dancing across his stomach. Fortunately, Ren was doing his very best to rein in his laughter and limit his movements, which Yusuke appreciated. He had no desire to redo this work.

When he was finished dotting his swirl, Yusuke moved up from the navel to his chest where he finished up the last touches. He finally pulled back to take a look at his work and smiled in satisfaction. It was different from his usual work of Futaba and it was in a completely different environment and a different canvas. Yusuke was quite proud of himself as he stared at Ren's painted torso.

"Et voila!"

"It's brilliant," Ren said as he inspected it from the mirror, turning this way and that.

"Wondrous. We have twelve minutes to get ready...by the way."

Ren jolted and cursed. "Really?"

Now that the paint was dry and the pictures were taken, Yusuke was content to call it a night. While he knew he could have done better and done more, he was okay with the work he had completed.

He rummaged through his things in hopes of finding an appropriate outfit.

.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.

Goro covered a yawn behind his hand as he stepped out of his room and down the hallway. When he stepped into the kitchen and turned, he saw Ren emerging from behind his own door, picking off a piece of lint from the sleeve of his blazer. Goro stopped and stared, unable to help it. Every time he saw Ren I something different, he had to take those extra moments to stare (whether he wanted to or not). He cleared his throat and pulled out his phone to give off the appearance of occupation.

"Ann's with him now. They'll be heading over in a half hour," Ren announced, pausing in his statement and breaking out into a smile.

"What?" Goro asked with an attempt to sound nonchalant—annoyed even.

"You look nice," Ren stated plainly but Goro felt his heart jump. The ravenette's lips turned into a downward frown. "Although I gave you that compliment on your birthday, so I'll have to come up with something new to say."

Goro blushed furiously and clicked his tongue, trying to regain some of his lost composure. "Do you know where we are going?"

"It's not far from here," Ren said and pulled up the navigation app on his phone. "A fifteen minute walk about."

"Morgana, are you ready?" Goro called out, eyes searching for the feline.

Morgana came padding from around the corner and jumped into Ren's open bag, allowing him to zip it closed. The Detective grabbed his keys and wallet and made his way out the door, falling into step with the other.

"Where are we going?" Goro asked again, realizing he still did not get the name of the restaurant. "Why does no one tell me these things?"

"We did, you just don't listen," Ren replied bluntly and held out his phone for him to see. "Bond 45 NY. It's Italian."

"Italian cuisine?" Goro asked softly and felt his eyebrows rise on their own accord. "A peculiar choice for him, but I am curious."

"He was talking about it earlier," Ren apprised and felt the bag rustle as Morgana stuck his head out. "You can eat human food without getting sick, right?"

"I just look like a cat. I'm not really one," Morgana huffed, but nodded nonetheless. "Of course I can."

Goro pushed the sleeves of his button-down to his elbows, regretting wearing something so suffocating when it was this warm. He slowed his pace as the humidity slowly sapped him of what little energy he had left. Ren, too, fell back and pulled a hand out of his pocket to give his arm a nudge with it.

The rest of the walk was a bit of a blur as neither of them said much of anything other than the occasional comment here and there. Goro watched him from the corner of his eye every now and then, but he was sure Ren was doing the same; he tried to look unbothered by the scrutiny, but the slightest flex of his fingers or the smallest change in his posture gave him away.

"What is it?" Ren asked curiously.

He paused for a moment, debating on whether now was an appropriate time to talk about what was on his mind….he sighed. "Nothing."

Ren must have seen straight through his lie, but he did not press the subject. Instead, he grunted in response and fell back into the lines of silence, eyes cast to the screen of his phone.

"What have I done, Akechi?"

Goro looked up in surprise, ready to refute, but he saw Ren's smile and instantly knew this was an attempt to get a reaction out of him. He let out a huff of annoyance and shook his head.

"Why do you make it about yourself?"

"Because you would be talking to me otherwise," Ren stated factually and accurately.

Goro snorted and looked away, letting the noises of the city fill his ears. Of course he was bothered by the conversation in Mementos earlier, but was he really going to bring it up now? Now was simply not the time and doing so would only agitate them both. Furthermore, it was a conversation he was not even sure he wanted to have.

"What would you like to talk about?" Goro sneered instead, running a hand through his hair. "If you have a plethora of things you'd like to discuss, we still have seven minutes to go."

"We can make those seven minutes count," Ren said a bit too suggestively for him to ignore.

Goro snapped his head up and looked at him calculatingly, lips parted slightly as whatever quip he was going to come up with died in his throat. He watched Ren smirk for a fraction of a second before his face turned back its neutral-look once more.

"You are—"

"Incorrigible," Ren finished with a wave of his hand, his tone suggesting boredom.

"I was going to say unreadable," Goro bit out.

Ren's eyebrows shot upward but they returned as his face broke into a loping smile, one that made Goro stare a little too long again. The bespectacled friend snorted and pushed his glasses into place.

"I'm not," he said plainly, hands back in his pockets. "You know me."

"Do I?" Goro said with a humorless laugh. "Trickster?"

"You do," Ren said with conviction. "Maybe not everything about me, but you do know me."

Goro hummed, feeling a sense of triumph, but he couldn't bring himself to celebrate because deep down, he felt like he barely knew the teen adjacent to him and despite everything they had been through, it felt like they hardly knew one another.

No, he knew that was not the case.

Goro was transparent with Ren—he knew everything about him because everything had been revealed, but….it still was not a mutual exposure. That is what angered him the most.

The restaurant felt ages away but when they finally spotted Sumire, Yusuke, and Sophia waiting outside, Goro was glad for the additional company so he would not have to spend another minute alone with the Leader.

"How far away are they?" Ren asked as he approached the others, hand coming up to rub his nose.

"Any minute," Sumire said while checking her phone. "Ann said could see the sign."

Ren led the others inside and managed to stumble through a conversation in English with little mistakes. The group of Phantom Thieves were just finding their seats when Ryuji and Ann came up from behind, breathing a bit heavily, but present all the same.

"Dude, when Ann said this is where we'll be eatin', I was freaking out," Ryuji said and ran a hand through his short hair, beaming at them all. "Thanks, guys! Shit, you're all amazing."

"What did you do today?" Sophia asked Ann and Ryuji.

"Took him shopping for new clothes," Ann said and waved a hand at the troublemaker with a smile. "His wardrobe needed an upgrade."

Ryuji rolled his eyes in feigned indignation, but he still wore a smile—a softer one than usual as he watched Ann talk enthusiastically.

Goro flicked his eyebrows up at that.

As they all sat down, it would have looked like they were a troubleless group of friends enjoying a dinner together—like they had no responsibilities to shoulder. It was different from what they were usually used to working with.

Ann had pre-ordered the Tour of Italy, which were samples of different pastas on the menu. Everything was so delicious, Goro could not decide what his favorite was and by the time they were winding down to their last course, he was beginning to feel even more lethargic than he was before.

Ren grumbled from his right and put his chin in his hand. "So full."

Goro chuckled despite himself. "You eat with your eyes."

"I got it from him," Ren muttered and jutted his chin to Ryuji, who was leaning back in his chair with a hand on his stomach. "He is terrible with self-restraint."

"So are you evidently," Goro said, but he leaned back in his own chair and folded his arms over his chest, feeling heavy. "It was a nice dinner."

"This was all Ann tonight," Ren said and slung an arm over the back of his chair, knee bouncing. He looked over at his friend with a curious but unreadable expression. "She knows how to make things count."

"Yes…" Goro said slowly and trailed off before picking it back up. "Though it appears you may have some competition."

Ren snorted and looked at him from the corner of his eye; when he realized Goro was a bit more serious than he realized, Ren turned his head to face him.

"There are some things I don't know how to respond to. That was one of them."

Goro blew air through his nose, eyes in the midst of throwing him an astounded look when they stopped short at the hem of Ren's shirt. As the other teen stretched to grab his glass, his shirt rode up to reveal a hint of skin that was painted with black.

He instantly froze but it was hidden as soon as it was revealed; Goro didn't get a good look, but he was determined to confront him about it later….

It was nearing 23:00 by the time they had made their way back to the townhouse—Goro was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to lay in bed and drift off, but he was now fired up and ready to battle the hundred scenarios of this confrontation in his head.

When Yusuke and Ryuji retired for the night and Ren was making his way to his own room, Goro stepped forward and cleared his throat pointedly.

"Hm?"

Ren stopped at his bedroom, hand still on the handle.

"You asked me what was bothering me," Goro said and crossed his arms over his chest. "I feel inclined to tell you."

"While we run about in Mementos, I have begun to think…." Goro said slowly, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "We may not know where to find him in there, but we know where to find him in this world."

"How?" Ren snorted, wringing his hands. "I'm dry."

"I spoke to Futaba for you," Goro said with a wave of his hand, allowing himself to appear haughty. "She traced an IP address of his and found a location. We can go and look around this weekend."

"And we're supposed to go to him?" Ren said with a dark laugh, shaking his head. "I can't put you—"

"How much do you want to risk?" Goro said and narrowed his eyes challengingly, letting out a harsh sigh. "This is your way of finding out what happened to Gahr. Furthermore, there was no guarantee his Shadow would tell you anything."

"What's the address?" Ren asked after a long pause, rubbing his mouth.

"I promised Sakura I would accompany you—"

"You asked me how much I want to risk," Ren snapped and curled his hands into fists.

Goro could not believe this stubborn boy. "I'm not looking for someone to protect me."

"A hero."

Goro faltered just for a moment, but it was just enough of a hesitation to give the other time to advance. Ren shoved him backward, but Goro landed on the bed behind him. With practiced ease, he grabbed the ravenette's arm and swept a leg out from underneath him; Ren landed on the bed beside him with a disgruntled gasp, unable to fight off Goro's weight on top of him.

"Don't you dare," the Detective muttered under his breath, using his knee to dig it painfully into Ren's chest. "I go or you don't go at all. That is my condition."

Ren swallowed painfully but winced as the weight on his sternum. "Get off."

"Comply and I will," Goro said with a hint of smugness.

His friend groaned uncomfortably but nodded. "Fine."

Once Goro was satisfied with the answer, he released the smaller teen, throwing him a triumphant look. Ren clenched his jaw but he let a small smile form slowly.

"I ate way too much," he said and put a hand on his stomach. "Otherwise I would have had you."

"Sure," Goro said sarcastically. "I'll play along. And for the record…."

He trailed off and touched the hem of Ren's shirt, pushing it up to reveal the intricate design on his stomach.

"That tattoo is cliche."

Ren let out a laugh. "You better not let Yusuke hear you say that."

"WHAT?"

The ages are off a bit for the sake of this timeline.

Bond 45 NY is a real restaurant in Times Square. It is quite good. It was one of my first American restaurants.