"Thanks again for taking the time to help me with this Ren. I've been looking forward to this concert for weeks and I'd hate for it to get ruined by the paparazzi spotting me." Rise smiled as she adjusted her cap to better hide her face.
"No problem. This isn't my first time doing the fake boyfriend routine." Ren assured the idol before checking his phone. "Looks like we've got an hour to kill before it starts. Wanna walk around Shibuya until then?" He asked, turning to her.
"Sure!" Rise nodded. "Y'know, it's funny; I have an apartment not far from here, but I've never actually gotten to just...walk around."
The two Shadow Operatives were currently in Tokyo on an important mission, though thankfully one that didn't involve the Metaverse or any malevolent gods. Rather, Ren had been asked by Rise to accompany her to a small public concert being held that night in Shibuya. The concert's main performer was a dedicated Risette fan who'd been writing letters to her idol for years and Rise, wanting to show her support to the girl, wanted to attend the concert in person. However, this ran the risk of the paparazzi spotting Rise and the night becoming about her instead, hence the disguise and Ren being her 'boyfriend' for the evening.
"Girls are just less likely to be approached by strangers if there's a guy with them." Rise had explained when asking Ren earlier that day.
"So," Ren began as the two of them strolled through the city streets, the cold night air blowing through their hair. "Where to first? Wanna grab a bite to eat?"
"Sounds great. Do you know a place nearby?"
"Yeah there's one just over-"
"Hey!" A voice interrupted from their left.
Rise immediately moved behind Ren, pulling up a face mask to hide herself. As Ren turned to the source of the voice, he saw a teenage boy with dark hair approaching him with a smile and a wave. Confused, Ren waved back, returning an awkward smile as sweat ran down his forehead.
'Damn. Did she get recognized that fast?
"Oh my god, I can't believe it's you!"
"There's been a mistake," Rise began. "I'm not-"
"Ren!"
"Huh?" The pair said in unison, exchanging a glance.
"Remember me? It's been awhile."
Ren studied the boy for a moment before realization flashed in his eyes. "Wait...Shinya!?"
"Yeah! How's it going man?" Shinya held out his hand to his old friend.
"Wow, I barely recognized you without the hat! You've gotten taller since I saw you last." Ren smiled, shaking Shinya's hand. "How old are you now? Fourteen?"
"Just turned fifteen." The professional gamer grinned. "I'm in my freshman year over at Shujin."
"Damn, time really flies doesn't it?" A soft cough from behind Ren pulled him back from his reminiscing. "Oh right, Shinya this is Rise. Rise, Shinya. The two of us used to hangout at the arcade after school."
"Nice to meet you Shinya." The popstar pulled down her mask, giving the boy a smile.
"H-Hi. N-N-Nice to you-I mean nice to meet you too!" The young boy responded, suddenly red in the face. Leaning forward to Ren, he whispered. "Dude, your girlfriend is really hot."
Ren chuckled, not bothering to correct the young boy.
"Shinya!" A woman's voice called from a distance.
"Sorry, that's my mom. Gotta head out. Later!" He said as he ran back toward the woman.
"Well, he seemed like a nice boy. How did you two meet?" Rise asked as she watched the boy leave.
"Y'know, it's a pretty funny story. There was this super annoying Shadow who was immune to attacks," As the pair entered the Beef Bowl Shop nearby, Ren recounted the story of how he came to meet his ten year old 'sensei.'
"Pfft!" Rise nearly spit out her water from laughing. "That seriously worked? And you learned it from an arcade game?"
"Swear to god. That Shadow was just as surprised as I was." Ren nodded as the two shared another laugh just before placing their order. "So," He began, setting down his menu. "What's new with you? Any new projects coming up for one of Japan's most in demand celebrities?"
"Not for a while." She replied, twirling a lock of her copper hair. "I explicitly told my agent that I wanted to focus my attention elsewhere for the time being. I still get emails regarding movie offers, but I'm more invested in our Shadow Ops work than any big budget movie."
"I'm glad to hear it. As much as we need you out in the field, you shouldn't feel obligated to stay on the team. A couple friends of mine fell into that trap when we first joined."
Rise watched the former Phantom Thief absentmindedly stir the ice in his glass, his usually stormy grey eyes were now glassy and unfocused. Ren was a stoic guy with one hell of a poker face, but every now and then he let his true feelings slip. As invincible as he seemed sometimes, Ren Amamiya was still human and experienced loneliness from time to time. And while he was good friends with the other Shadow Ops, the Phantom Thieves were a family and Ren had to watch as they all moved on without him.
Rise decided to change the subject. "So what's new with you? From what I heard around the compound, you've been busy lately, with the women of our team in particular. Hopefully not breaking too many hearts."
Ren chuckled before shaking his head. "Nothing like that, just trying to help out where I can. Though more often than not I end up being the one who needs help."
"I don't think that's true at all." Rise contested. "You're a reliable teammate, a great guy, and I only ever hear good things about you from the others. In fact…" She leaned toward Ren, lowering her voice. "I think that a few of them might be interested in you as more than just a teammate."
"Really?" Ren raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued. "And who might you be referring to exactly?"
"If I told you it wouldn't be any fun now, would it?" She teased with a wink.
"Yeah." Ren furrowed his brow, clearly unsatisfied with that answer. "No fun at all."
Before the conversation could continue, two steaming beef bowls were placed in front of the pair. As the two dug in, the master Phantom Thief and three-time savior of the world let out a high-pitched yelp as a gloved hand grabbed his shoulder.
*COUGH* *COUGH* *COUGH* Ren suddenly began choking on his food.
"Ren!" Rise's eyes widened with worry. "Oh my god are you okay!?"
"Oh my god, I'm-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you." An older, slightly rotund man in a suit apologized profusely as Ren got his breathing under control.
"S'Alright." *cough* "Oof, wrong pipe." He grabbed his water, taking a large drink from the glass. "Sorry about…" He paused as he took a glance at the man. "Yoshida?"
"Are you alright Amamiya? My goodness, this wasn't how I planned for this to go at all."
"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad to see you again." Ren stood up and embraced the older man. Yoshida had been a father figure (one of several) to him during his first year in Tokyo and taught him almost everything he knew about being a leader. "I heard about what you did for me when I was locked up, I never got the chance to thank you for it."
"I...Of course." Yoshida responded, stunned by the display. As it ended, he turned to the young woman seated next to Ren. "I apologize, it was rude of me to interrupt your date the way I did. You seem like a lovely young woman, I'll get out of your hair now."
"It;s no bother at all, you don't need to-" Rise began, but the man shook his head.
"No no please, I've taken up enough of your time. Enjoy the rest of your night." As he turned to leave, Yoshida patted Ren on the shoulder. "She seems nice, quite pretty as well. You've landed yourself quite a catch."
"We aren't actually…" He turned back to Rise for a moment. "...Thanks."
"We'll talk again soon." The politician smiled. "It was good seeing you again Ren, you've become a fine man." With that, he walked away with a wave goodbye.
As Ren sat back at the table, Rise couldn't help but giggle.
"What? Please tell me I didn't have hot sauce on my face that whole time." He asked, grabbing a napkin.
"No it's just…I never realized how much you got around. Everyone in Tokyo seems to know you, hell there's a photo of you on the wall here that says 'Employee of the Month: September 2016.'"
"I mean...I guess I'm just a social guy."
"I'll say. And to think I was worried about getting recognized, you should be the one wearing a disguise."
"Oh? And why's that?" Ren gave one of his famous smirks. "Trying to keep me all to yourself? I am yours for the night after all."
Rise opened her mouth to retort, only to pause. Her brown eyes widened as her cheeks flushed pink. "Wh-What? No! I um...I just don't want to risk drawing uh attention...Obviously." She turned to look away. "Geez, c-can we get the check already? I mean come on, right?"
A few minutes later, the check was paid and the two exited the building. Autumn was coming to a close soon and the weather was beginning to reflect that fact as the pair's breath became visible in the air. A strong wind blew against their faces, causing Rise to shudder from the cold.
Noticing this, Ren removed his scarf, a gift from the end of his summer road trip, and placed it on Rise's shoulders. The girl once again flushed red with embarrassment, but quickly wrapped the gift around herself to hide it, murmuring a soft thanks as she did so.
The pair walked in silence for several minutes before Ren finally worked up the courage to ask a question, one that had been on his mind since he'd first been approached by the girl.
"Rise, can I ask you something? If you don't want to answer that's perfectly fine, I'm just curious."
"Hmm? Sure, what's up?" She responded, glancing at him curiously.
There was a pregnant pause before Ren spoke again. "Why did you ask me to come along with you tonight? I mean, I get why you didn't want to come alone but...Why me? I know for a fact that Narukami wasn't busy tonight and you've known him way longer than me. Shouldn't he have been your first choice?" As he said this, Ren suddenly realized how that question could be interpreted, so he clarified. "N-Not that I'm not enjoying myself! I really am having a great time with you, I just…" He trailed off, scratching the back of his neck.
Luckily Rise seemed to understand what he was trying to say, she grabbed his hand reassuringly and smiled at him.
"I'm having a great time too. I'm really glad you agreed to come with me tonight. As for your question..." She began, a sad look coming over her eyes as they turned to look at the ground. "I...I never made my feelings for Yu a secret. He was the first guy to treat me like a normal human being after I first became famous and that...drew me to him, I guess. But he didn't reciprocate those feelings, he only ever saw me as a friend. Even then, I still kept trying to make him see me in a different light."
"Rise…" Ren reached out to comfort her, feeling the older girl squeeze his hand.
"But *sniff* H-He's engaged now. And Ai doesn't like how close I am with her fiance, so now there's just this-this wall between Senpai and I, and I just…" This time it was Rise's turn to trail off, her voice cracking more and more as she spoke. She took a moment to collect herself, wiping a single tear from her eye. When she was finally ready she turned back to Ren with a forced smile and decided to change the subject.
"Besides, *sniff* you aren't so bad." She gave him a playful punch to the shoulder. "I bet there are plenty of girls who'd kill to spend a night on the town with you. Speaking of," Rise turned to her right before leaning in toward Ren. "That woman over there has been staring at you for like, five minutes now. Do you know her?"
"Hmm?" Ren turned where Rise had looked, spotting the woman for himself. "How about that. C'mon, I'll introduce you." He smiled, pulling her along with him.
As they approached, the woman pretended to be preoccupied with her phone as though she hadn't been staring only moments ago. She was older than them, most likely in her early to mid-thirties. Her curly, shoulder length brown hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail behind her and her face was youthful and pretty. Rise couldn't help but wonder who this woman was to Ren.
"Well hello there 'Becky.'" He said with a grin.
"Gah!" The woman recoiled at hearing the name, nearly dropping her phone. As she fumbled to regain her composure, Ren couldn't help but laugh at her expense. "D-Don't call me that!" She said before smacking him on the arm. An act of close familiarity, one that Rise couldn't help but note.
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist!" Ren smiled. "It's good to see you again, Kawakami."
"I would say the same, but I'm not so sure anymore." She pouted, crossing her arms before looking over at Rise. "Ahem, aren't you going to introduce me?"
"Right right," Ren turned to the girl beside him. "This is-"
"Rise Kujikawa. It's a pleasure to meet you." Rise introduced herself.
"Wait Rise Kuji-Oh my god! You're-!" Kawakami's eyes widened in surprise.
"Shhh!" The two younger adults shushed her, trying to keep Rise's identity secret. Thankfully, the street they were on wasn't very busy and everyone else was too busy to look their way, no doubt on their way to the concert.
"We're trying to keep a low profile. Rise's here to support a friend."
"Wow! I can't believe it!" Kawakami whispered excitedly. "You're Risette! I am totally starstruck!"
"Oh, are your kids fans?" Rise asked.
"K-Kids?"
"Why don't we change the subject?" Ren suggested. "Are you on your way to the concert too?"
"Oh no, I was actually just on my way home from a tutoring session. It went on later than I expected, I guess I lost track of time." She gave a playful smile. "Thankfully none of my current students are giving me as much trouble as you did."
"Ohhh! So that's how you knew each other." Rise smiled. "You were his teacher."
"Y-Yep! That's how we know each other! Just a teacher and her student." Kawakami replied, her face tinged red. "And while I'm surprised to see Risette in person, I can't say I'm surprised that Ren here ended up snagging himself a celebrity girlfriend. I don't know if you know this but he was quite the heartbreaker in his time at Shujin."
"Really?" Rise turned to Ren with a smug grin.
"She's exaggerating." Ren explained. "I had friends who were girls. And we aren't actually…" He looked over at Rise for a moment. "Dating, we're just friends. We know each other through work."
"Oh wow, what do you do now?"
"Security." Ren answered.
"Networking." Rise answered simultaneously.
Kawakami gave them a skeptical look, not buying their obvious lie. The pair looked at each other before facepalming.
"Okay so remember my uh…'part time job' that I used to do?" Ren asked, knowing Kawakami would pick up what he was saying. "She's a part of it."
"Oh god. That's you isn't it? The ones stopping those Shadow things. Dammit Ren, you said you were done risking your life."
"I know…" He replied sheepishly. "But there aren't many people who can do what we do. And if we don't…"
"The world could end, I know. I remember that Christmas five years ago." Kawakami stated. "Just...be careful, okay? Don't let that pretty face get ruined."
"Of course I won't." Ren smirked.
"I meant Risette." Kawakami deadpanned. "She's a national treasure y'know."
"Aww." Rise smiled, turning to Ren. "I like her."
"Well, you kids better go catch your concert. It's bedtime for us old people." Kawakami joked as she prepared to leave.
"It was great to meet you!" Rise waved as both parties parted ways.
"Good seeing you again...Becky."
"That was strike two mister!" Kawakami pointed back at Ren.
As the two walked off in the opposite direction, the teacher turned back to look at her student one more time, letting out a sad sigh. While her former star student was going off on dates with famous idols, she had a date with a glass of wine and her showerhead. She'd considered getting a cat to help keep her company, but then she would officially be an old cat lady so she was putting it off until she was at least forty.
"Heh, at least I still have his virginity." She smirked to herself before walking off into the night.
[Shadow Operative File: 016]
Rise Kujikawa
Codename: Idol
Status: Active
Species: Human
Age: 24
Sex: F
Persona: Kouzeon, formerly Kanzeon, formerly Himiko
Description: Celebrity idol and popular moviestar, Rise Kujikawa is easily the most recognizable face to the public among the Shadow Operatives, this is why keeping her identity secret is of great importance to the team. Rise is the only known Persona user whose Persona is capable of both navigation and combat as it is able to shift between forms on the fly. It is for this reason that Rise is the team's field navigator while Fuuka Yamagishi navigates from within the compound.
Notes: Staff have made repeated requests to have memorabilia signed by Rise for their friends and family, however in accordance with NDA's signed by the staff members, none of these items are allowed to leave the compound. This has had an adverse result as now there is a supply closet in the building filled to the brim with signed Risette memorabilia which has to be monitored to prevent theft. The estimated worth of the closet's content is 55 million yen.