Disclaimer: I own nothing
He had to endure for a whole month, but it was finally time to return to Tokyo. There was only one problem he had to face now. His own parents. Two weeks prior, he informed them that he would be going back to Tokyo a few days in order to visit old friends, and reminisce. While they were more than happy for their son to visit his friends, they insisted on coming with him so that they could both properly thank his caretaker, Sojiro, as well as use the opportunity to see the big city.
So there he sat in his bed, talking to Mona. "I don't like this." He said.
"You're going to have to tell them eventually, Joker." The cat meowed.
"I know, but I don't want to risk them overhearing us when we're talking about the Metaverse, or maybe walk into Leblanc when we're explaining it to my other friends. And it's too late to just tell them now."
"You have no one to blame but yourself. You should have told them as soon as you came back."
"And risk having them look at me like a criminal?"
"One of the first things they asked about was whether or not you ever saw the Phantom Thieves."
"What's your point?"
"They were in total support of us!" He exclaimed. "Your dad especially loved how we got to Shido."
"I know, it's just… I don't think they would feel the same if they found out I was one of them."
"You weren't 'one' of the Phantom Thieves! You were our leader!"
"That's even worse! If you'll recall, I ended up getting drugged and beaten senslessly because of that fact."
"I guess you're right…" Sighed Morgana. "Well, we can't do anything about it now. We're leaving tomorrow. Besides, I wouldn't worry about them learning about us from overhearing you guys talking to all your friends."
"Why not?" Ren asked.
"Because that idiot, Ryuji is more likely to let it slip."
Ren let out a hearty laugh. "Admit it, you miss him too." He said, gently petting the top of Morgana's head.
"What?!" The cat meowed violently. "Of course I don't miss him! He's so annoying!"
"Whatever you say, Mona."
"Anyways, it's getting late. Shouldn't we get some sleep? We need to make sure we're well rested for tomorrow." The cat said, hoping to end Ren's absurd accusations.
"I guess you're right. Goodnight, Morgana."
"Night, Joker."
With that, the two promptly turned in for the night.
The next morning, Ren woke up and walked downstairs to see his parents eating breakfast. "Perfect timing! I was about to wake you." His mother, Kimiko greeted.
"Good morning." He said, walking over and taking a seat at the table.
"Excited for today, Ren?" His father asked.
"Of course." He answered simply.
"I figured as much. After all, you were up talking awfully late last night."
Ren choked on his water as he took a sip. "What?" He managed to ask through fits of coughing.
"Come on, you can tell your old man!" He goaded. "It was a girl wasn't it?"
"Masato, stop teasing him." His mother said, chastising her husband.
"He was there for a whole year! And you saw how different he was when he came back! It's gotta be a girl!" His perverted father rationalized.
"That's not it!" Ren defended. "I was talking to Morgana!"
"To your cat?" His mother asked.
"Yeah…" He trailed off. "I do that every so often."
"Every so often?" His father asked. "I swear, not long after you came back, I thought I saw you holding a full conversation with him, and since then I feel like it's every other day."
"What?!" Ren asked, worried.
"Really?" Kimiko asked. "I haven't seen anything like that. Is it true, Ren?"
"I… Yeah... Probably…" He answered meekly.
"I swear, kids get weirder with every generation." Masato commented as he turned back to his newspaper.
"Why were you talking to him?"
"I was just a little anxious about today. I also knew he'd be excited to see Ann again."
"Ann? Who's Ann?" Said his father, slamming the paper down on the table. "I knew there was a girl! Is she cute?" The elder Amamiya was promptly slapped with a curled up magazine by his wife. "Sorry, my love…" He said shamefully as he sat back down.
Ren couldn't help but smile at his parent's antics. He grew to consider Tokyo his home, but seeing them again made him feel happy. "Ann is just a friend." He answered his father. "One of the first I made in Tokyo. And Morgana has a giant crush on her." He said, wondering what the cat would do if he were awake.
"He has a crush on her?" His mother asked skeptically.
"Trust me. He is absolutely smitten." He said with a content smirk.
"If you say so…" His mother said, returning to her meal.
After finishing breakfast, the family got ready for their trip, making sure they packed everything they'd need. Finally, they left, and boarded the train bound for Tokyo. As long as the ride was, the only difficult task for Ren was pretending he couldn't understand Mona whenever he started meowing. He ended up pulling out his phone and typing his responses out whenever the cat wanted to talk.
Arriving in Tokyo, Ren guided his family through the big city, often having to drag them along as they stopped to look at the sights. Finally reaching their hotel, they checked in and entered their room. Ren took a look at his phone and lamented the time. "School just got out."
"School?" His father asked.
"I have a meeting I need to attend to. I'll be back in an hour or so."
"A meeting?" His mother asked. "What are you, a businessman?"
Ren chuckled and turned to his mother. "Wouldn't you like to know." He said jokingly. 'If she only knew how much money I actually had." He thought to himself. "I'm meeting with some friends at Leblanc and then meeting with even more tomorrow night."
"You're going to Leblanc?" His father asked. "We'll come with you then. We need to thank Sakura-san for taking you in."
"No!" Ren yelled unexpectedly. Clearing his throat, he calmly spoke. "You can do that tomorrow. This meeting is important… And private. Besides, the train trip was long. The two of you should just relax for the rest of the day. I'll show you around the city tomorrow."
His parents didn't argue. They simply stared at their son and nodded as he exited their room. The two looked at each other with worry. "Has Ren seemed troubled to you lately?" His mother asked.
"He seemed a bit on edge during the train ride here. Maybe he and the friends he's meeting with had a fight before he came back home."
"I hope it's nothing…" She said hopefully.
Meanwhile, Ren made his way to Leblanc, Morgan hiding out in his bag like when they were still Phantom Thieves. "You still remember how to get there, right, Joker?"
"What kind of question is that? Of course I remember."
"Just checking. Come on! I want to see Lady Ann as soon as possible!" He said with a joyful expression.
Ren made his way onto the train and impatiently waited for his stop. As soon as the train came to a halt, he jumped out of his seat and raced to Leblanc, opening the door with a racing heart.
The bell to the Café rang above his head. Sojiro hadn't even moved from his seat. "Sorry, but we're closing early today. Come back tomorrow." He said as he read the newspaper.
Ren couldn't help but smirk. "Is that any way to talk to family?" He asked, setting down his bag and letting Morgana jump out.
Sojiro threw his paper to the ground and turned to face his previous ward. "Ren? I wasn't expecting you until after your friends got here!" He said, standing to give Ren a hug.
"That was originally the plan, but things changed. After I told my parents about me coming back to Tokyo, they insisted on coming with me. They also insisted on coming in a bit earlier so that they could enjoy the city a bit more." He explained. "Worked out for me though since I was hoping to say hi before we started our meeting."
"So your folks came with you, huh? Where are they?"
"I left them at the hotel, but I'll stop by tomorrow with them. They want to thank you for taking care of me."
Sojiro removed his glasses and wiped his eyes dry. "I should be thanking them for raising such a good kid. If it weren't for you, that bastard would still be extorting me, and Futaba would still be shutting herself in and away from the world."
"Crying over me? What have you done with the real Sojiro?" Ren asked sarcastically.
"Shut up, you idiot." The older man chastised. "I… just miss getting free help around the shop,that's all."
"It's good to see you too, Boss."
"Reeeeeen!" Came a sudden voice as the door to the Café swung open. Just as he turned around, Futaba, dressed in a full Shujin uniform, smashed into him, wrapping her arms around the Phantom Thief. Before he could reciprocate the greeting, two more bodies ran into him. Ryuji and Ann both tackled him to the ground in an overly enthusiastic hug.
"Can't… Breath…" He sputtered out.
"Nuh uh! You're not getting out of this, bro!" Ryuji declared.
"Yeah! We missed you!" Ann added.
"L-Lady Ann! What about me?!" Morgana cried.
The former thief stood up and turned to the talking cat. "Morgana!" She yelled, scooping the cat into her arms. "Of course I missed you."
"I'm in heaven…" He whispered to himself, enraptured as was nestled against Ann's breasts.
The door to the Café opened once more, revealing both Haru and Makoto who stopped in their tracks at the sight before them. Haru gave a warm smile whereas Makoto chuckled and shook her head. "It's like you never left." She said with a small tear forming in her eye.
Suddenly, a flush was heard from the bathroom. All eyes turned as the door opened revealing Yusuke, who stopped in his tracks as soon as he noticed he was being watched. "A-ah… You're here." He said, somewhat startled by their presence.
"How long have you been here?" Ren asked, genuinely befuddled.
"Ohh… An hour? Maybe two?"
Sojiro stood there with his mouth agape. "What? When did you even come in? It's been slow all day and I never saw you."
"Ah, well, that's because I came in from the window in Ren's room." He said, pointing upstairs.
"Why?" Ren hesitantly asked, still pinned to the ground by Futaba and Ryuji.
"I was hoping I'd find some food that you forgot to take with you, but all I found was a porcelain model of a bowl of ramen. After that, I decided to take a nap…" Yusuke's words trailed off, not out of embarrassment, but rather regret of not finding anything to eat.
Once Ren managed to pry Futaba and Ryuji off of him, and getting Yusuke a plate of curry, he sat them all down while he leaned against the counter. "I'm sure you're all wondering what brought me back here."
"Heck yeah we are!" Ryuji declared. "As soon as I got the message, I started packing! My physical therapist was so pissed when I said I was takin' a break! Said she was gonna kick my ass when I got back!" Ren smiled softly. He missed that laid back attitude Ryuji was known for.
"You think that's bad?" Ann chimed in. "My publisher went nuts when they found out I was coming back to Japan. They threatened to cut me loose. But I managed to talk them into it." She said with a self satisfied smile
"So, is something wrong?" Makoto asked.
"Sorry to interrupt, but I have a question." Sojiro said, his hand slightly raised. "I know that you guys are more than capable of handling yourselves, but… You're not making some sort of comeback, are you?" He asked hesitantly.
"Duuuuude!" Ryuji whispered. "Is that it?! Are the Phantom Thieves back in business?!"
"Of course not, you idiot!" Morgana scolded. "The metaverse is gone, remember?"
"Ahhh, man!" The runner moaned.
"If it's not that, then why are we here?" Ann questioned.
"As you all know, I made a few friends in my time here." He began. "All of them helped us in one way or another, and now, I've got to help them."
"What do you mean?" Yusuke asked.
"These friends, all of them know about me being the leader of the Phantom Thieves, though I don't actually know how…" He trailed off.
"For real?!" Ryuji cried. "They all know about you?!"
"What do you mean that you don't know how they know?" Ann added.
"All of them managed to figure out I was a member of the Phantom Thieves. None of that surprises me given that several of the hearts we changed helped them directly, but what I don't know is how they knew I was the leader. I never told any of them, but after I got caught by the police, all of them sent me discreet texts, asking if I was still alive. But that's not important right now."
"Right." Morgana said. "You see, some of Joker's friends contacted him last month, telling him about nightmares they were having about our fight with Yaldabaoth."
As the cat went on explaining, Sojiro narrowed his eyes. "God, if only i could understand that damned cat." He thought to himself.
"Wait a minute." Ryuji interrupted. "If these friends of yours are rememberin' what went down, does that mean everyone might start rememberin'."
"Not likely." Morgana responded. "We believe that the reason these people are having these nightmares is because of their bond with Ren. They knew he was a Phantom Thief, and vowed to support him. It's likely that the connection they all had to him allowed them to see everything that was happening before the general public was able to."
"Alright, so what's the plan, Joker?" Ann questioned.
"Tomorrow night, I'll bring all of these people here, and we'll explain exactly what happened. The Metaverse, Yaldabaoth, and even Maruki's reality."
"Do you really think that will help?" Asked Yusuke.
"We don't know for sure, but Boss and Makoto's sister both remember what happened that day. It's likely that being aware of the cognitive world has something to do with that." Morgana explained.
"Makes sense." Futaba chimed in. "They didn't understand what they were seeing, so their minds blocked it out. We tell them exactly what happened, and their cognition should change."
"Exactly." Ren affirmed. "With that being said, Futaba, Yusuke, I have something for both of you."
"What? You got them presents, but not the rest of us?!" Ryuji cried.
"Not quite." Ren said, handing the two calling cards. "Futaba, give these to Mishima and Miss Kawakami. I trust you can find them on your own."
"You got it, Joker!" The hacker replied.
Turning to the painter, Ren handed over a single calling card. "Yusuke, give this one to Hifumi Togo. Both of you, make sure they read it."
"So why are they doing this?" The runner asked.
"Because I'm not a student at Shujin anymore. I can't just go walking on campus. And I never went to Yusuke's school, so I definitely couldn't get in."
"No, I mean, why them specifically?"
"Because they're three of the people I was talking about."
"What?!" Ann cried. "Kawakami knew about you? How?"
Ren turned away, doing his best to hide a blush as he remembered his first meeting with 'Becky'. "It's a long story…"
"A better question is why you're sending them a calling card." Futaba chimed in.
Ren was silent while everyone stared at him. "I… thought it'd be funny." He managed to choke out.
Makoto sighed. "It's times like these that I can't believe you were our leader…"
"I think it's a brilliant idea!" Haru exclaimed. "It's the perfect way to let them know that you're back." She said, her smile partially hidden behind tented fingers.
"Oh yeah? Then how are you gonna do all of your other friends? We can't all just go around giving people calling cards." Ryuji pointed out.
"I was just planning on Mona sneaking around and giving cards to the one's that I can't sneak around."
"What am I, your slave?" The cat questioned.
"No, you're my bus." Ren deadpanned.
"Not anymore!"
Ren took a look at his phone and noticed that he should be getting back to his parents. "Alright, my folks will be worried if I don't come back soon. I'll see you all back here at eight o'clock tomorrow night." As Ren picked up his bag, allowing Morgana to hop inside, he looked back to all his friends. "It was really good to see you all by the way. I've missed you guys." He said with a warm smile.
"Aww, look at this big softie!" Ryuji mocked.
"You're one to talk, Ryuji." Ann chimed in. "You literally said you started packing to come back to Tokyo as soon as you heard from him."
"W-well, yeah… He's our leader! I just wanted to make sure everything was alright." He defended.
"So you admit you were worried." Ann said with a smug grin.
"I-uhh… Shut up!"
Ren smiled at the two as they bickered. He missed these sorts of shenanigans.
Taking a deep breath, he said one final goodbye to everyone before leaving and returning to his parents at their hotel. As he entered the room, he could feel his mother and father looking at him. "I'm home." He said as ordinarily as possible, despite his lingering concerns.
"How was your meeting?" His mother asked, somewhat hesitant.
"Good. Like I said earlier, we'll be meeting up again tomorrow night, but with a few more people joining us." He said with a relaxed smile.
"That's good…" She trailed off, not wanting to risk bringing up a potentially sore subject. "Well, what should we do for the rest of the day? The sun is still up, so why don't we grab some food?"
Ren scratched his head in thought. "There's a diner here in Shibuya that I used to visit a lot to study. Why not there?"
"Sounds good to me." His father said.
Ren led his parents through the bustling streets of Tokyo until reaching the diner. They took their seats and all enjoyed a hefty meal, discussing the tour Ren would be giving them tomorrow. Unbeknownst to the two of them, their son's tour would be leading them to where all of his confidantes were sure to be.
After dinner, they all returned to their room and spent the rest of the day there, not wanting to exhaust themselves the day before traveling all over the city.
Hey, everyone. Sorry if this chapter's ending seems kind of sudden. Don't know if you feel that way, but I do. I'm writing this at 4:30 in the morning so please forgive me. Anyway, some things before I go. Sumire will be appearing in the next chapter. I'll try to give an adequate explanation as to why she wasn't in this one once she appears. Also, in this fic, Ren didn't romance anyone, but I do plan on giving some subtle, comedic nods here and there. Okay, there's only one that I actually have planned at the moment, but I think it's enough. I'm sure I'll probably add some here and there as I write. That being said: Kawakami is Best Girl. Fight me. Fun fact: Until I wrote this chapter, I could have sworn Hifumi Togo's name was Hifumi Toga. I only found out I was wrong through my auto-correct and a sudden desire to make sure I wasn't being an idiot. Spoiler: I was being an idiot. You'd think after playing the game four or five times, I'd know her name. Am I dyslexic or just stupid? Hint: I'm too stupid to know the answer to that question. Anyways, I'll see you in the next chapter. (I also just realised that instead of Sumire, I had said Kasumi in this author's note. In my defense, I prefer the name Kasumi to Sumire.)