It was nearly time to close up shop for the night and Sojiro was ready to call it a night. He had to keep himself busy so as to not nod off in the middle of the day. Glancing down at the counter, he saw the framed photo of himself, Futaba, and Ren from 2 years ago when they went to the fishing pond together over the summer. He let out a deep sigh as he recalled the day in detail.

It'd been hot as all hell that day and after an hour, Futaba had been begging to go home. And while he had tried to use it as an opportunity to teach the young girl patience, Ren had a different idea. Disappearing briefly before returning with two ice cream cones in hand, he had succeeded where Sojiro had failed at silencing her complaints.

Only a few minutes later, Futaba's fishing line went taut, causing the girl to panic before reeling the fish in, dropping her half-eaten ice cream into the pond as she did so. Not exactly the most athletic girl her age, Futaba struggled to pull in the fish, nearly falling into the pond herself. It was only when Ren came to her aid, followed shortly by Sojiro himself, that the young girl was able to pull in the beast on the other end. When it finally surfaced, the fish on the line turned out to be none other than the famous Lake Guardian, a prized fish that few had been able to catch in the past.

When they finally got the behemoth of a fish out of the water, the fishing pond's manager ran up to congratulate them, offering to take a photo to post on the pond's bulletin board. Futaba hastily agreed on the condition that they got to bring home a copy as well. With her attitude toward fishing performing a complete 180 over the course of a few minutes, the once incredibly shy girl stood in the center of the photo, smiling brightly as she held up the middle of the guardian.

"Say cheese!" The manager said before snapping a photo of the trio. "What a happy family! This is definitely going on the front of the website."

"A happy family huh?" Sojiro wiped a solitary tear from his eye as he set the picture frame back down. How long had it been since he'd last seen either of them in person? A month? Two months? Either way it'd been far too long for his liking. Futaba was away at her internship with Madicce and Ren was with that team of his out in the countryside, going off on missions and saving the world and whatnot. Futaba was a member of that team too, but unlike Ren she was more of an 'on-call' member, so she was able to pursue goals outside of the organization.

Sojiro had seen the reports of random outbreaks across the country, events similar to Christmas Eve 4 years ago but on a smaller scale, and the shadowy organization that continued to put a stop to it each time. He didn't pretend to know what it was, (God knows, Futaba had tried to explain it to him so many times) but he knew it was important, more concerningly however, he knew it was dangerous.

As he pulled on his jacket to head home for the night, he reflected on just how different his life was now from how he'd imagined it would be. At a young age, he'd thought the bachelor life was what he wanted for the rest of his life, with the possibility of settling down in his 50s and having a son he could pass his techniques down to. That was before he met Wakaba, the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and Futaba, the girl who would go on to become his daughter. After tragedy struck, taking Wakaba's life and then struck again, in the form of Futaba's abusive uncle, she finally ended up in the care of Sojiro who she would eventually come to call her dad. And a few years later still, another child would arrive at his doorstep and turn his world upside-down once again.

Now here he was, single, approaching his mid-fifties, with two children, neither of which were his biologically, and a rundown cafe in an alley, and he couldn't imagine himself happier. Well, maybe they could stand to visit more often. It was funny, back in the old days when Ren brought his friends over to conduct their Phantom Thieves business, Sojiro had longed for the quiet days he would spend behind the counter. Now that they'd all grown up and moved on, he finally had those days back, but they felt empty now. He missed those brats dammit! How hard was it to drop by and say hello every now and then!?

His thoughts were interrupted as the bell to the entrance rang. "Hey." A familiar voice sounded. Sojiro turned to the source with wide eyes, unsure if what he was seeing was real. Standing before him was the boy he'd come to call his son, though he couldn't really call him a boy anymore. He'd grown into a fine young man, kind, stoic, and wise beyond his years.

"R-Ren?" He asked, shocked by the sight. "Is that really you?"

"Uh...last I checked, yeah." He replied, confused by the question. "You doing alright Sojiro?"

"Yeah just...tired is all." The old man nodded before turning to Ren with an angry look in his eyes. "Would it kill you to call ahead of time?"

"What and ruin the surprise?" Ren chuckled as he took a seat at the counter. "But in all seriousness I didn't know I'd be coming by until a few hours ago. There was a small outbreak over in Akihabara, nothing I couldn't handle on my own. And while I was in town I figured I'd stop by and say hi."

"You mean stop by and steal some of the food and coffee that I paid for." Sojiro crossed his arms and smirked.

"I mean...as long as you're offering…" Ren shrugged, looking away.

Sojiro chuckled in response. "Go clean yourself up, you smell like you crawled out of a sewer."

"You have no idea." Ren replied as he began to ascend the stairs to his room in the attic. Thankfully, everything was just as he left it last time he was there. Grabbing a towel and some spare clothes he left behind for just such an occasion, he exited the cafe and walked next door to the Yongen bathhouse.

Sojiro had just finished making his surrogate son a plate when the 20 year old entered the cafe dressed in a black shirt and olive sweatpants and sporting a head of wet hair. It had been 4 years and he still had that same moptop as when they'd first met, though by this point he'd long since ditched the fake pair of glasses he once wore.

"So," The elderly barista began as he set the plate of curry and coffee mug on the table. "Feel better?"

"Much." Ren nodded. "I needed that bath more than you'd believe. God I missed this place."

"Really?" Sojiro raised an eyebrow. "I figured you were too busy living it up in that mansion with those friends of yours to ever stop by."

Upon hearing this, Ren nearly choked on his curry from laughing so hard. "Oh my god, Sojiro are you jealous!?"

"What!? O-Of course not!" He protested. "I just don't want my s-er...I don't want you becoming some spoiled brat who leeches off of others. More than you already are that is."

"Oh Sojiro, you have no idea. They make us earn our keep over 'boss', if you could call her that, runs a pretty tight ship. On the few days we aren't off on missions, we have training and run drills constantly. Morgana's lucky he's a cat, he gets out of everything."

"Oh yeah, I just noticed he's not with you. What's he up to?"

"Being a spoiled brat, leeching off of others, the usual." Ren shrugged.

The two continued to chat for another hour before finally deciding to call it a night. Ren was offered his room upstairs for the night before he had to leave tomorrow morning which he graciously accepted, far too tired for the drive back home tonight. By the time he reached the top of the stairs, he was nearly asleep already. When his head hit the pillow of his bed, Ren was already unconscious.

Morning came 8 hours later and the legendary Joker of the Phantom Thieves couldn't seem to pull himself out of bed. It was as if a weight had been placed on his chest and was physically keeping him from getting up.

"Geez Mona," Ren whined, still half asleep. "You've been eating way too much sushi. How are you this-" He tossed the comforter aside. However, instead of finding his cat lying on top of him he instead got a faceful of bright orange hair. "...heavy."

Upon hearing his voice, the figure on top of Ren began to stir, turning to face the source of the sound. Futaba blinked several times before rubbing the gunk out of her eyes and pulling her glasses down from her forehead. After getting a clear look at Ren, then the position the two of them were in with her resting against his chest, then looking back at Ren, a look of realization slowly dawned on the younger girl's face. Futaba let out a brief yelp before falling onto the floor and scuttling to the other end of the room.

"R-Ren!? What's going on!? Am I having that dream again!?" She asked in quick succession.

"What?" Ren looked at her, confused. "Futaba? I thought you were in Osaka! What are you doing here?"

"I got homesick and wanted to visit Sojiro! But why-what are you-WHY ARE YOU IN MY BED!?"

"What are you talking about? This is my room!" Ren protested.

Finally, the line of surprised questions came to a halt as Futaba glanced at the room around her, seeing the familiar objects around her that confirmed that she was, in fact, currently in the Leblanc attic.

"O-Oh...m-my bad." She stated simply, pushing her glasses back up onto her face.

Futaba was 19 years old now and had grown somewhat since her Phantom Thief days. She was still the shortest of the team, but by a much smaller margin now as she approached Haru's height. Her bright orange hair now sported several colorful streaks running through it and had grown so long to the point that she needed to keep it in a large messy bun in the back to avoid sitting on it. Her wardrobe was more or less the same as always, consisting of oversized green parkas, white tank tops, and black short-shorts with high socks. At a passing glance, one might mistake her for the eccentric artist type like Yusuke, not realizing that she was actually a certified genius and one of the world's greatest computer scientists. She was also a complete nervous wreck.

"So…" Futaba began awkwardly, seemingly more interested in the floor than Ren. "Wh-What brings you back to town?"

"Shadow Ops business." He replied, standing up and walking over to her. "I got here late yesterday and decided to spend the night. I actually need to head out in a bit." He knelt down, offering her his hand. "C'mon, I'll fix you some breakfast before I go."

"What? Noooo!" Futaba whined, turning to face him, accepting the hand as she stood up. "You can't go yet! You just got here!"

"I know, I know. But I've got a job to do. If I don't go, people could get hurt." He reasoned as the two of them entered the cafe, seeing that it was thankfully empty.

Futaba let out a long sigh as she took a seat at one of the booths. "I know."

"You've got a job to do too, don't you?" Ren asked, placing on his apron as he got behind the counter. "How are things over at Madicce? Are you making friends?"

The former Medjed scoffed. "Please, officially I'm an intern, unofficially I should be running that place. I can code circles around everyone else there. Personally, I think the higher-ups there are scared of me, that's why they won't let me work on anything important. It's totally unfair."

"Futaba, you've been an intern there for 6 months. Were you expecting them to make you the CEO? Besides, that wasn't what I asked. I wanted to know if you were making friends."

"..."

"Futaba?" Ren turned away from the curry pot to see the girl frowning.

"What do I need friends there for anyways!? I've already got you and the others! My friends list is at capacity!" She argued, slamming her hand against the table. A few loose strands of hair fell from her bun into her face.

"Futaba…" He walked out from behind the counter and approached the girl, leaning against the table. "You can't just be satisfied with having a handful of friends." As he spoke, he began tying back the younger girl's bun properly, fixing her outrageous bedhead. "There's a whole world of interesting people out there. People that I'm sure, if you let them, want to be your friend. You're an amazing girl with a whole lot to offer and I'm sure that others see that in you too, Just...try to play nice with them, okay?"

"aaaaaaa…" A small, nervous noise escaped from Futaba's mouth as she tried to form a word, any word. Her cheeks were blazing red and her eyes were locked on the wall as a million thoughts bounded through her mind.

Over 4 years now. It had been more than 4 years since Futaba had first met Ren Amamiya, the legendary Joker of the Phantom Thieves. Her leader, her confidant, her best friend, and the man she'd been madly in love with since she was 15. He'd been the one to rescue her from despair after the death of her mother, he'd been the one to introduce her to the world outside of her room, he'd been her key item through every scary decision she'd made since they met.

And he had no idea of any of that.

For 4 years she'd kept her feelings top secret. The thought of telling him just too terrifying! What if he rejected her!? What if it ruined their friendship!? She wasn't sure she'd be able to function as a working adult anymore if that happened. She thought that maybe over time the feelings would go away, that she would start seeing him as just a friend again, but she didn't. He just kept showing up in her thoughts and in her dreams, the only place where the two of them could be together.

"Shit!" Futaba was snapped out of her thoughts by Ren as he checked his phone.

"What is it?"

"There's been another outbreak in Asakusa. I gotta go." He said tossing his apron aside as he ran upstairs to grab his things.

"I-I can help! Let me go too!" She called after him.

"No, it's alright, the others are already en route, I'll meet up with them before heading back to the compound." Ren responded, coming down the steps with a backpack slung over his shoulder. "Plus you've already got enough on your plate as it is. Speaking of which," He turned toward the pot boiling on the stove. "That'll be ready in a few minutes, be sure not to let it burn." He made his way to the door, about to leave.

"Ren!" Futaba called out, causing him to pause in the doorway.

Turning around he walked back toward the girl as she looked down, trying to think of an excuse for him to stay. Before she could say anything else however, she felt the palm of Ren's hand rest on top of her head. Looking up, she saw his soft grey eyes staring back into hers and a supportive smile on his face.

"I'm sorry. I know it isn't fair, but I promise I'll be back soon. We'll get to hang out properly then, alright?"

"You better." She replied, wrapping her arms around him tightly. "I miss you...alot."

"Me too." He said, releasing her from the hug. "But for now I've gotta go." He walked back toward the door, the bell ringing as he left. As the door shut, Futaba let out a deep breath she didn't realize she'd been holding in.

"Didn't realize I had it this bad."

[Shadow Operative Profile: 030]

Futaba Sakura

Codename: Oracle

Status: Standby

Species: Human

Age: 19

Sex: F

Persona: Al Azif, formerly Prometheus, formerly Necronomicon

Description: Former member of the Phantom Thieves, Futaba Sakura is one of a select few Persona users with navigational skills. While possessing very little combative capabilities, Futaba's navigation powers are second only to Fuuka Yamagishi, the primary navigator of the Shadow Ops. Futaba's hacking abilities however, are second to none and she has made drastic improvements to the organization's cyber security.

Notes: During her first week at the compound, Futaba was written up 7 times for hacking into the personal accounts of several staff members. Following this, her internet access was restricted indefinitely. Three days later, after 4 times the initial amount of complaints were filed to H.R., the head of security had the following to say: "Just let that little gremlin have whatever she wants, oh God, I just can't deal with this anymore." Following these incidents, it was unanimously decided that Futaba would be granted unrestricted internet access while on the premises.