Part 2: Lukewarm Leaders' Get Together

*yawn* Rubbing my eyelids and looking out the window, I noticed it was a frosty morning - the ice on the edges of the glass combined with the overall chilliness in my room told me so. With the little energy I had so far, I practically slid off my bed and muddled through my wake up routine. Hope Mom and Dad are doing okay…Putting my woes aside, I'd poured out a bowl of chocolate hoops and flicked the TV over to the weather forecast. Low temperatures set to last throughout the day. Shiho's concerns about Ren yesterday were somewhat hard to ignore for me: it concerned his old life which in all honesty, no one really knew much of. He'd told us about his record but absolutely nothing about his life beforehand. Was I being intrusive? Probably. But at this point in time, I knew enough about him that this would keep coming up. As the deputy of our operations, I agreed to keep on top of everyone's mental well being, ours included. I hit Ren up but the way he just answered so unenthusiastically, I'm glad he wasn't there or else I'd knock him into the next world and back!

"Urrrrgh…" An addendum: considering their date went well yesterday, I had no idea what he was so miserable for. Did he want to push for more out of Shiho last night?

"Well, morning to you too." I joyfully replied, some positivity needed in this conversation after all.

"What's up, Ann?"

"I could ask you the same thing. Why do you sound so shattered?"

"A stinking case of Niijima fever is why." Huh? Which is he even referring to?

"President Niijima-san or Prosecutor Niijima-san?"

"Both. One killed my alone time and the other cold called me 1AM!" he barked. Woah…he's really pissy. Ugh…I'm soooo not looking forward to asking him to see me.

"As much as I'm really sorry to hear that, I'm sorrier for what I'm going to ask of you today. I want to have a meeting - just us two." I apologised before making my request.

"A leader's meeting?"

"We're overdue one." I pushed. We were meant to be doing this weekly but Ren wasn't one to put aside time for me. I had an inkling he was going to do everything he could to worm his way out of our continued business and shove us all away.

"Ugh…do we really have to?"

"Well, I'm demanding it. New information has come to my attention which requires me to be let in on the know, leader."

"...Shiho."

"She spoke to me last night."

"Good grief…it can't be helped, Joker." Mona pitched in the background.

"You get to hang out with a model all to yourself. I don't suppose that's a bad thing, is it?"

"Should you really be saying stuff like that to your bestie's boyfriend?" Wow…not even a slight chuckle.

"Gosh…take a joke and deal with it, leader."

"What time we saying?"

"Tell you what. Seeing as you missed out on sleep, I'll let you have some extra hours. How's 3pm sound?"

"3pm it is. See you then. Oh, right…where do you want to go?" And with that, it brings us to 3pm at Shibuya station. The forecast sold a big fat lie: instead of miserable continuous rain, the weather was just slightly chilly from around 12pm so I still needed to wear the same clothing.

"Hey, Ren. How are you today?" I waved to my leader who came out of the station. He did not reciprocate the action and there was no joy in his voice whatsoever. He'd applied foundation under his eyes to mask his tiredness - whether he wanted to or not, it was written in the contract we'd stated that I'd need to be informed of things concerning all of the team.

"Still pissed, thanks." he replied.

"Sorry I didn't wear this on our last date."

"Bet you are." He snidely muttered. Well, sorry! Don't treat me like I'm the one who pissed you off…I couldn't put something such as morale aside and having informed Futaba that I wanted a leader's meeting, she happily obliged with my request not to listen in today. Ren chose to go all edgelord with his black ensemble of a leather jacket, black polo with white edges, black jeans and black desert boots. I wore the outfit I modelled for him in, of course. Today's choice for our meeting was a dessert shop I'd always wanted to try nearby Shibuya. The reviews for this place were just amaze and seeing some of my other friends enjoy it so much…I just couldn't pass this chance. Besides, if my leader is going to be grumpy all day, I will need something to neuter my bad mood so that I don't go and neuter him.

"This place is so sugary, I'm already feeling ill."

"Please try and cheer up. I guess I couldn't think of anywhere else?" I shrugged hoping he'd buy it. Thankfully, he didn't care enough to dissect my response.

"Okay." He led the way and began inspecting the store. I followed suit, looking at the pretty handcrafted cakes of wondrous flavours and colours that somehow fit perfectly in glasses like a new dress. There were some plates with soft cookies and Woah, there! Is that really a cake?! I fell in love at first sight with the masterpiece that was the Cacahouete Eruption. Reading the description, it happened to be a devil's cake with five cake layers but it was deep blue and shaped like a volcano! It was stacked to the brim with diced strawberries and raspberry grains that appeared to fade from blue to red as well as light blue white chocolate flakes randomly scattered. The layout of the toppings was one thing but what really blew me away was the icing that made it look like super hot flames were spouting right this moment. No way is this icing?! It's so intricate! Each time I looked over at it, I thought it was live.

"You really want that cake, don't you?" Ren commented.

"I just can't even, Ren! It's one of those cakes you don't want to eat just because of how stunning it looks. Seriously, it looks like it's erupting right now!" I exclaimed.

"Huh…it really is exquisite. You a cake lover?"

"Not just cakes. I love sweet things in general…chocolates, candies, milkshakes…you name it!" I replied. He used a sweet gaze on me again...

"You know...you're able to express your feelings without saying anything. It's honestly a top notch skill." I had to say it to him.

"I don't think so." he answered.

"It is. For us models, definitely. When we've got to do our poses, we've got to not only strike the moves but also really sell the mood of the outfits we wear and match the theme we have going." I emphasised. He nodded gently.

"I like this soft side of you, I guess." You guess? His undecided response aside, I could finally relax knowing that he'd loosened up now. We made our way over to a table for two and perused the menu for the desserts upon desserts upon desserts available for us to eat.

"What you feel like sinking your teeth into, Ren?" I started.

"Hmm…the strawberry and white chocolate warm cookie dough has caught my eye. Comes with two scoops of either salted caramel ice cream or vanilla...on second thought, I think I'll have something else." OMIGOD…Reeeeen! You're seriously passing up a dream combo?!

"Come on…you deserve a cheat day, Ren." I encouraged.

"I'm already on a rocky road with my doctor. I'd rather not add a dentist to that list too."

"This place may not sell that item again. It's better that you try it and not miss out." Feeding him that weak lie, it was enough for him to be bent to my will.

"...Fuck it then. What about you?" Uh…crap. I can't decide!

"Ehehe…I don't really know what to go for. Sorry." I replied hesitantly.

"Please…take all the time you need."

"Thanks for your consideration, Ren." Doing just that, I'd made my choice to go for fudge brownies that had a gooey chocolate centre with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and extra fudge sauce on the side. I did my absolute best not to drool in the store despite the mouth-watering scents hitting my nose constantly. It felt like forever and a half for the food to come but when it did, a wide grin made its way onto my face.

"Let's give this a try." Ren started. He spooned out part of the cookie dough and I could see the oozing warm strawberry sauce bursting out of the seams, slowly pouring into the hot plate. The small bits of what was white chocolate chunks crumbled into the puddle of sauce…I should've ordered this dish! He'd then taken a bit of the vanilla ice cream onto his spoon and took the first bite. Ooh…looks like someone's a big fan!

"This is a sugar overload…but it's really tasty. You should try some if-"

"Gladly!" I jumped in and used my spoon to take some of his dish. I know…it was really rude to just do that and not even touch mine. I took a bite and…and…SUBLIME! The strawberry sauce with the outer crisp dough with soft insides was simply orgasmic and not too hot on my tongue. Vanilla and white chocolate were always a winner together but in tandem with the cookie, it was absolute bliss!

"Let me try some of your dish." he asked. I slid it over to him. He'd used his spoon to try the brownie and poured some fudge on top. He didn't bother with the ice cream and as he'd tried this, he seemed satisfied with it. I seriously should've ordered that cookie dough…

"You're enamoured with the cookie dough? Let's go half and half then."

"REALLY?!" Oof…too loud, me! I silently berated myself for bringing unneeded attention and Ren being as cool as a cucumber reassured me.

"Really." This time, there were no cute face jokes or teases thankfully. Having split the dishes half and half, we both got to delve into the best of both worlds. We did need some tea to wash them down though. I figured now was a good time to leave and head elsewhere - I couldn't afford to pig out and eat much more cakes and my willpower to resist buying more grew weaker by the second.

"Should we get out of here?" Ren pitched.

"Yeah. Let's go to my place." I offered.

"Is that okay?" Is he nervous because he's now dating my bestie? How cute.

"Ren. I've already trusted you enough to come into my house and I know you don't judge a book by its cover. Besides, it'll be a lot more roomy *yawn*." Crap…I'm getting sleepy. I got up from my seat first and he followed after. We'd then both made our way back to my place not really running into any issues. Unlocking the front door, we took off our shoes and placed some slippers on.

"...Sorry that there's a lot of boxes. It's just old things I want to donate and give a second home to." I found myself explaining for no reason.

"I did the same thing with loads of books up in my room." he replied. He sat on the sofa and I'd sat right by him on the left edge. What's going on behind those eyes of yours?

"Are we gonna order food later?" he questioned.

"Sure." And with that, our meeting could kick off.

"The Niijimas placed you in a bad mood how?" I asked the first thing on my mind.

"Met up with the prosecutor, she collapsed, Makoto socked me, I got cold called-"

"Slow down, Ren! Too fast!" I admonished. I can't keep up with this, Ren! The way he ratted it off, he wasn't in the mood to relive it but I needed to know.

"Okay…I'll try to take my time explaining." He actually did…and the story became absurd. The prosecutor was the reason the date got cut short…I understood that from Shiho but her collapsing afterwards? And then the ambulance coming and Niijima-senpai punching Ren…it was all too wild for words.

"Did you tell her during the meeting with Kobayakawa that you convinced her sister to pursue the case?" He grinned.

"And ruin everything we did?" You definitely deserved that sock to the face.

"Then the receptionist framed it like I was the one who called the ambulance and stuff. Makoto cold called me at 1AM." Seriously? That's what gets you so annoyed? I found myself playing with his hair for a while. He didn't mind in the slightest and sighed.

"Just imagine being cold called by your student council president just for a thank you call. Utter waste of time." Ren uttered. How about you imagine finding out a student uses you and your sister?

"Well, she must have felt really guilty. Niijima-senpai's usually calm and collected, even when things get quite tough. Something like her sister potentially ending up dead was bound to almost wreck her." I analysed.

"..." That didn't do anything…I was stuck thinking how I could cheer him up.

"Anything upcoming?"

"I've not had any word from Kobayakawa for Shujin affairs. I also have no clue when the questioning can be expected." he answered. So it's kind of quiet then…

"It's a bit dull that we've not got ourselves things to do. Funny how I never would've thought this way back when we started. How do you feel about it?"

"You never know. Things might just get exciting again soon." Ordering the food, we'd flicked on the TV idly watching random things. Our family paid for several packages so there was never anything that we couldn't find. Eventually, the takeout came and after we'd enjoyed our meal together, I threw Ren a curveball.

"Why don't you leave some of your problems with me? I know just how tough it gets having to balance a lot on your plate - use me all you like, leader." I proposed.

"Use you, huh…" Pawn pieces are meant to be used after all. It stinks that you've not considered us equals but then again, we've set up the team in that way.

"What do you have on your plate that's just for you to do right now?"

"Haha…" he chuckled, scratching his forehead like a helicopter dad or something. It dawned on me that he always gave us tasks to complete but we'd never really thought about what he has to keep up with. It was all good asking him to rely on us but if what he does remains alien, it'd be wasted breath. After he laid the people out to me in full, I could try and put myself forward.

"So…Iwai, our weapon handler?"

"He won't deal with any of you unless I'm there to keep you in check. Ryuji was a disaster, hate it or love it, and that's probably set the expectations for the rest of you." Ren responded.

"Okay, cross him off. What about Takemi-san? It's buying medicine and other stuff, right? I could easily do that."

"I lent my body to science to be her guinea pig."

"Is it a written contract, Ren?" I asked cautiously.

"No." he replied instantly. Well, where was the harm in me taking it over?

"So, you could hand that over to me!"

"About that…it'd be in bad faith to call it quits now. I don't want a permanent ban for welching out of yet another deal."

"Ugh…you're not going to give me that either. I know…Okumura-senpai! I can try and extend an olive branch seeing as we'll start our new club - I familiarise myself with her crew and that could make life easier. I am good with people…" With the idea that the club would operate as an armoury for our Metaverse efforts, the front was wishy washy at best and we'd need to learn how to make the club look legit i.e. find someone with club experience. Okumura-senpai was highly mature and would surely be able to provide that valuable information having been a member for at least a year.

"Okay. It'll be on you to convince Haru." he stated approvingly.

"Well…she knows you trust me enough. At least, I hope she does…" I scratched my head as I pondered what I knew about Shujin's princess…she came from a highly wealthy family and happened to be an aspiring businesswoman in the makings. And then the doubts started piling up. Doesn't really care for gyaru types. What exactly does she like in her pastime? What would I even talk to her about? I know next to nothing about her gardening ability and I'm her junior too. I don't exist to her because she can't find any interest in me…The more I thought on it though…she was too out of my league.

"You okay?" Please don't look at me like that…it's too soft a gaze.

"I'm fine. I think I'll pass on Okumura-senpai." I answered calmly.

"Oh? I'd think you two would get along quite nicely - you're both highly organised and effective with time management." That doesn't help, Ren. She'd surely have notions about some model trying to be all buddy buddy with her.

"..." I couldn't think of anything to say.

"How about you take some of my calls with Sae?" Ren provided.

"What, like your assistant? Mr. Amamiya cannot come to the phone right now. If your message is urgent, please leave it with me and I will pass it on. Something like that?" I sarcastically asked, using my best call centre accent and English to throw him off. That severely backfired as he'd flashed me the biggest villainous grin ever.

"Fast tracking that immediately!" What fantasies are running in your head?

"...I don't like your enthusiasm one bit. Tone it down this instant!" I reprimanded.

"Okay, okay…we'll place that on reserve." he assured. Let's just hope he'd honour it or I'd bring about a very frightening fantasy his way.

"Listen...thanks for inviting me out. Sorry I gave you the cold shoulder." he reacted.

"It would be nice for you to have some optimism once in a while. Knowing that I've cheered you up though, it's no problem Ren. Now…I don't know whether you'll want to talk about this or not but I want to know a little more about who you really are. And I'm not talking about your record."

"..." He remained silent, clearly uneasy about that subject. Don't you get it? It isn't fair that we're letting you into our lives and sharing our embarrassing, jubilant and sorrowful moments and putting the effort into being friends with you.

"It surely isn't something to be embarrassed about?" I hinted, hoping he'd pick up on my true feelings to the matter. I don't want to only consider you a work acquaintance or just another classmate, leader.

"I'm sorry, Ann. I really am…it's just, I'm not ready to face them." The answer I got from Ren was unsure at best and only served to confuse me more.

"Your family?"

"No. My old friends. How I'm going to react when I see their faces or hear their voices…I have no clue. Hell, even the numbers I have stored here could be wrong." he informed me. So he does care…he's just scared to confront his past. I smiled warmly.

"I guess you've got your own battles, haven't you?"

"I guess I do, Ann." He'd had a sorry look on his face when saying that. I figured he could do with a dose of honesty so that he could see how it was done.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, you've got me thinking about what I want to tell Shiho." Kamoshida confessing our relationship in front of everyone meant a few of the friends I lost to him came back into my life…that guilt would stay with him for the rest of his wretched existence.

"About Kamoshida?"

"Exactly. She might tell me that I shouldn't feel sorry for myself but I won't be able to get over my own stigma unless I tell her. No…it's more accurate to say my stubborn pride won't let me act like it's okay not to." I answered. It was best we broach that topic somewhere safe. Where we couldn't destroy anything if we blew up on each other…

"That's going to be a bitter pill to swallow, Ann."

"At first, it will be. But I know over time, if I ever look back, I won't regret my choice."

"..."

"I think you can do the same too. If you want our help, that's also fine." I reassured.

"...I think I'll take it. Only thing: I don't really have a time-frame for it." he answered.

"Well, you can leave that to us. And don't worry: you won't know it's happening until we want you to know. Thanks for trusting me with your answer."

"You are my deputy for a reason, I suppose." Jeez…you've really got to be more positive. It seemed leaving Ren to catch up on sleep would be the best course of action.

"And your friend first." I shot back. At this point, Ren decided to head back and hopefully get enough rest ready for another day at Shujin. We'd walked down to the station together seeing as I had nothing better to do.

"Oh, right! One more thing, Ren." I added.

"What's up?"

"...You going to see the new doctor?" Seeing as his relationship with Takemi-san happened to be so rocky, maybe a fresh pair of eyes would be worthwhile to changing his perspective.

"...Yeah. Kawakami's definitely gonna be on my ass if I don't show. Neck and all." he answered, clearly not feeling it.

"Well…I suppose you just try. See you later!" And with that, I saw him off. I made my way home and nothing much really happened for me. I wonder when Mom and Dad will get home…