December 3 Saturday

Skull: She's probably about a minute from your location, good luck! I'll be rooting for ya.

The text from Ryuji read as Ren leaned against the wall of the alley he stood in. Ryuji was more than willing to prove he had Ren's back after a small plan was hatched between the both of them to help Ren with his sudden woman troubles. Ryuji had been keeping an eye on Makoto since school had let out so Ren could intercept her on her way home. The plan seemed to be working, but it all depended on the next minute going well. Could Ren find his strong-willed advisor before she escaped back home?

Looking down the street Makoto was supposed to come down, Ren patiently waited. Luckily just as Ryuji had told him she appeared. Ren couldn't help but smile to himself as she walked down the street. She just looked beautiful to him. She wore her typical school uniform and didn't seem to notice him at all as her nose was already stuck in one of her cram books. Her face wore this intense expression of concentration as her crimson eyes scanned over the text. Ren slipped out from his corner and moved to match step with her.

As soon as Ren interacted with what Makoto might consider personal space, Makoto's eyes shifted from the cram book to him then back again. Nothing else happened as she continued walking. Ren was pleased with the small victory that she wasn't actively shooing him away and so he just keep pace with her. Sliding his hands into his pockets, he always enjoyed the silence and just walking with his girlfriend was something he figured he would enjoy. It also bought him time to think about what he was going to say once words were spoken.

Suddenly the book in Makoto's hand gave a sudden thud as she seemed to close it with some force. Ren glanced at her as she put the book into her bag before her gaze found his. They held each other gazes for several seconds as Makoto seemed to be trying to read something about him from just his eyes. She didn't seem to find the answer she was looking for as she looked away and just let out a long sigh. Ren didn't know if that was his cue to try and make amends but before he could think about it too much Makoto spoke instead.

"So, you like to dance?" She asked.

"Yes." He responded simply.

Makoto just looked out clearly avoiding looking at him. "The more I think about it, the more I realize I don't know anything about you. You're a mystery wrapped in an enigma. You don't like letting people in do you?"

Ren looked at her and sighed. She wasn't wrong, he didn't reveal many things about himself. He let other people see him how they wanted to see him. It's not that he didn't want to open up to people, it was just hard to do. Still, whenever his friends had asked him about his past he had been honest. He didn't keep anything from them, he just didn't share anything not asked of him.

"More like no one asks to be let in. I don't see the need to explain myself to people, after all, I came here to Tokyo to keep my head down." Ren felt he needed to explain.

Makoto turned to him, there was a deep look burning in her eyes. One Ren knew he would do anything to not see her have to take again. "Will you let me in then?"

Ren gave her a small smile, one just for her. "Sure." Ren reached up pulling off his glasses holding them out of for his girlfriend. "I don't need these, I wear them to blend in and disguise myself. In a way, they are a mask I wear to keep others away from seeing the real me."

Makoto took his glasses from his hands. "I figured you didn't need them, just never bothered to ask I guess. Wait. These aren't your normal pair."

"No, I got them last night. Teddie makes glasses apparently and sent them for Yu to give them to me. He also crafted a pair for Akechi." Ren explained.

Makoto folded up his glasses and slipped them into her bag. "You can have those back once we are done talking."

"If you say so," Ren commented with an easy shrug.

He didn't need the glasses, but like a pacifier, to a small child, they had a certain comfort to them. He had been hiding behind them so long it felt almost unnatural to be Ren without them. Then again maybe he could do without them. He didn't need them and there was no use hiding behind them anymore. He hadn't been at school in over two weeks and while everyone he wore those glasses for either no longer mattered to him or they were someone he could let his guard down around.

"Alright, first question. What are your parents like?" Makoto asked, looking up to him expecting answers.

Ren focused his attention ahead, Makoto had hit a sore spot with just the first question. "Strict? Never around…" Ren frowned knowing that he didn't explain anything with those few short words. "They are ashamed of me I guess, they would rather ship me off here then deal with me. Probation killed my chance at staying at my old school because it was the top school in my area, but I was sure with my grades I could have gotten into any of the other schools in the area. They won't even call me. If I had died, I don't even know if they would care. They aren't very warm people."

"I'm sorry." Makoto looked down at the road starting to grasp Ren's pain.

"It's not all bad. My aunt lived only a few blocks away and with my parents' work, I spent a lot of time with her and her husband. They can't have kids so they have four dogs and I was always welcome at their house." Ren slipped his hands into his pockets as he thought of the good memories he had with his aunt. "My aunt tried to argue with my mom to let me just stay with her but my mom insisted I come here. She thought it would help my rehabilitation to be somewhere strange… 'Give me time away from people I cared about to think about my actions' were her exact words."

"That's horrible." Makoto snaked her arm around Ren's and slightly snuggled up against him as they walked. "What you're aunt and uncle like?"

"She is what I'd call bubbly. She works as a veterinarian at an animal hospital in my home town. She has a thing about strays and I guess she kind of saw me as one. Also, the reason why she has four dogs. All of them are special needs in some way. She also has a cat that stays at the animal hospital. She's probably the kindest person I know and I've always strived to be like her. My uncle is a dance teacher at a local studio. He's a quiet person, reserved one could say, except when he needs to say something. Then he has a sarcastic streak to him that makes my aunt laugh."

"Do you still talk to them?" Makoto inquired.

"Yes, now and then. My aunt likes to send me pictures of the dogs, mostly Hayate. Hayate was kind of unofficially my dog, I could never bring him home because of my parents. He lived with my aunt but the second I would come over he would become like my shadow. In exchange for all the dog pictures she sends me I send her pictures of Morgana."

Ren pulled his phone from his pocket and with one hand scrolled through it until he found a picture of Hayate. Hayate wasn't what anyone would call a handsome dog, he had kind of a droopy face. He was missing his right front leg. While he wasn't any specific breed but probably had some Akita in his lineage because he had the shape of an Akita just a different super short furred coat. Ren showed the picture to his girlfriend.

"I never pictured you as a dog person," Makoto commented as she looked at the picture.

"Must be because I own a talking cat. Granted I don't own Morgana, I'm more his roommate." Ren quipped before he slid his phone back into his pocket.

"That's true." Makoto hummed.

They once again fell into a comfortable silence. Despite Ren being comfortable answering any question Makoto had for him, he didn't mind the silent moments either. He had never been one to feel words always needed to be said, the empty conversation just bored him to death. This silence, however, was warm and comforting especially because his beautiful girlfriend was snuggled up to his good side. For a time they just walked until Makoto pulled away from him. Ren had never been to Makoto's place before but as Makoto pulled out her keys and stepped up to a large apartment building this had to the place. It made sense. It wasn't too far away from the courthouse, but still in a good location in Tokyo and close enough to Shujin Academy that Makoto could walk if she so desired. Ren stayed on the street as he watched her enter the apartment building. As much as he wanted to join her, he knew he would have to be invited in.

"You coming?" Makoto asked looking back at him.

Ren blinked. Was she really inviting him into her house? Her boyfriend. Did she understand the implications one could make from that? Sure he had invited many girls to his room but there was a coffee shop directly under it. Any sense of privacy was lost on the fact he could hear the mutter of conversation waft up from his stairwell.

"Are you sure?" Ren touchily asked.

"Yes, of course, come on." Makoto's voice sounded as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

So Ren just followed, curious about how this was going to play out.

Following her up to an apartment, Makoto slipped a key into a door and opened it heading in. Ren followed behind, stepping into the grey room of the Niijima sister's front room. He had to admit the place had an ambiance to it that reflected both sisters. It was clean and tidy, everything had its place. Makoto set her book bag down on the couch next to the door before venturing further in.

"Sis, I'm home. I brought someone." Makoto called.

So the elder Niijima was indeed in. Ren had to expect that, but his hormones didn't truly appreciate that. Then again he and Makoto had been dating for only like a week, maybe it was too soon to expect anything like that. Again his hormones didn't like that train of thought. There were times Ren hated being a young teenage boy. This was one of those times.

"What did I tell you about bringing home…" Sae appeared from a hallway and stopped as she saw Ren. Her gaze turned quickly sharp as she continued into the living room. "Amamiya." Did she have to say his name like he was her sworn enemy or something?

"Hello, Niijima-san." Ren bowed respectfully.

Sae turned to her sister and folded her arms. "You're dating him aren't you?" That tone was judgmental but his girlfriend didn't flinch at all under the pressure Sae Niijima brought to the table.

Makoto turned away from her heading deeper into the apartment "That's is none of your business."

"He is a wanted man Makoto, and he should be dead." Sae followed after her sister.

"All because of a corrupt government." Makoto countered. "At the head of it, Masayoshi Shido."

Ren remained where he stood just watching the verbal battle between the two sisters. He felt if he moved or did something besides standing there he might invoke the wraith of Sae. There was the sound of muffled conversation from beyond the hall for a while but Ren still didn't feel he could move from his spot.

"And I'm working every day to fix that Makoto." Sae's voice was raised before she let out a sigh and appeared in the hallway to look back at Ren. "How long have you been dating my sister?"

"I-I-I…" Ren didn't know how to answer under that threatening big sister scowl.

"Again none of your business Sis," Makoto called as she appeared from the hallway again next to her sister. She had changed out of her school uniform, into more casual clothes. A large sweater and some pajama pants.

"But it is my business. I'm your guardian." Sae looked towards her sister.

"If I said I was dating him what would you do?" Makoto asked leaning against the wall of their hallway and looking at her sister.

"You could do better." Sae quickly retorted.

Ouch… That hurt a lot.

Sae then eyed Ren up and down. "Granted he does have a charm about him and is handsome for a high school student without those glasses." Ren liked that at least Sae was able to point out some of his good features, but the way she said them made him feel like she wasn't being sincere about them.

"He is also scored highest for his grade last exams and has saved me more than once. He also isn't afraid to stand by me." Makoto added.

"So he's handsome and intelligent… Possibly loyal." Sae moved to collect her laptop off the table. "I guess your tastes aren't too far off." Sae collected a few other things scattered about the room before throwing the bag over her shoulder. "Amamiya, you do anything to ruin my sister's future in any way and I will END you." The tone of Sae's voice meant she wasn't joking around and Ren had to wonder what kind of connections a public prosecutor could bring again him. He didn't want to find out.

"Yes, Ma'am," Ren spoke as smoothly as he could.

"I got a case starting in an hour." Sae moved to the door and stopped in front of Ren. "END... Keep that in mind when you touch my sister." The elder Niijima kept her words low so only Ren heard them as she disappeared through the door.

Ren let out the breath he had been unknowingly holding. That was way more stressful than anything he had done as a Phantom Thief. Sae just had a way to make him feel he was on trial again and her threat carried enough weight that it had all but silenced his teenage hormones. Her shadow had nothing on the scariness of her actual person. Ren honestly felt like he had somehow escaped death once again.

"She's a lot more bark than bite." Makoto offered as she stepped up to him.

"I've seen her shadow. I know you're lying." Ren countered.

Makoto snickered. "In all honesty that went better than I expected."

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but what were you expecting? What would the worst-case scenario have been?" Ren cautiously inquired.

"My sister turning you into the police" Makoto answered maybe a bit too truthfully.

"I guess I'm lucky then?" Ren smirked to his girlfriend.

"Let's find out how lucky you are…"

She locked eyes with him and suddenly Ren realized just how much of an emotional roller-coaster this day was going to be.

Ren inserted his key into the lock of Leblanc Café and opened the door. The bell above the door dinged, announcing his arrival to a dark café. It was late and Sojiro had no doubt closed up shop hours ago. Shutting the door behind him, he swiftly locked it. Turning to head up to his second-floor room, a pair of bright orbs cut through the darkness staring directly at Ren.

"Evening Morgana," Ren called into the darkness.

The orbs blinked before they shifted into the darkness and seemed to disappear up the stairs. Ren followed after the feline, having long ago figured out how to navigate the café in the pitch darkness without disturbing anything. At the top of his stairs was his room and it was bathed in the off cast of light from the Yongen-Jaya. This gave Ren more than enough light to see as opposed to the darkness of the café below. Morgana sat on his bed watching him deposit his belongings on the table next to the stairs and then get dressed into pajamas. Sliding under his warm comforter, Morgana moved to sit on his chest before staring down at him. There was a tension about the cat that made Ren realize that there was something the cat wished to say. Giving the cat a passive look, Ren encouraged him to speak.

"Have fun with Makoto?" Morgana asked with a flick of his tail.

"How do you know I was with her?" Ren asked not remembering telling Morgana about his plans today.

"You smell of her even after you changed your clothes. She normally smells like a good old book mixed with something sweeter and that scent is all over you." Morgana informed his companion.

Ren was caught by his cat no less. "That's quite an astute sense of smell for a human in a cat body."

Morgana snorted. "I know all of your confidants by smell. I may be a human, but I do have all the senses of a cat."

"What do I smell like?" Ren asked curiously.

Morgana shifted on his chest, scratching his left ear with his back leg. "Like nothing most of the time. Maybe I'm just so used to your smell that I can't discern it among everything else since we're normally always together. Scents stick to you, however, so I can tell who you have been hanging out with just by being near you. Anyways you must be tired after your… Extra activities."

Morgana stretched in a purely feline away, body elongated with his paws spread out in front of him. Claws flashed in the still light from the city streets before he started to look for a place on the bed to settle down. Ren could tell he had something on his mind and while he was tired, he would never turn away a friend. Especially the cat he shared his life with. Propping himself up on his elbows he caught the cat's attention.

"I'm not that tired," Ren told his feline friend.

Morgana's ears flickered back as he tentatively moved back to his spot on Ren's chest, ever careful not to disturb his already sore side. He sat down curling his tail around his front paws. For a second he seemed to be thinking before his blue eyes found Ren's face. Even if there was a species barrier between the two of them, something reflected in Morgana's eyes that hinted at some trouble he seemed to be having.

"I wanted to apologize for voting you out of the mission. It was stupid of me to do because I kind of had a selfish desire to see how things would turn out if you weren't around." Morgana's ears fell flat against his head as he spoke. "I didn't realize how even I held you to higher standards or how even though we spend the most time with each other that I don't try to get to know you. That changes today! I'm here to support you just as much as everyone else." Morgana flicked his tail as he spoke as if emphasizing his point.

"It's fine, I've already forgiven everyone for that." Ren offered his cat a warm smile.

"Honestly. You're amazing. There's something special about you. You dodge everything the enemies throw at you like it's your destiny. At first, I just thought you were going to be a useful tool for me, but now this is where I belong." Morgana started and the weight of his words made it clear Morgana had been stewing about all this for some time.

"Are you sad about that?" Ren prodded trying to get deeper into the heart of the issue.

Morgana seemed brightened for a brief moment, shaking his fur and fluffing it out ever so slightly. "Well, maybe in regard to this attic place. But… This is where I want to be!" The cat turned from Ren casting his gaze out the window and into the street. "It's not like me to say all that embarrassing stuff. But still… I think it's fine."

Morgana stepped up to Ren and rubbed his head against Ren's shoulder, a warm purr echoing from deep in his throat. Ren settled back into his bed and brought up his hand to rub Morgana's cheek. The action only caused the purr to become louder as Morgana leaned against his palm. This had to be the first time Morgana truly acted like a cat around Ren. He had always been standoffish but never had he openly asked for affection like this.

"A new power burns within me… So this is what a true bond feels like." Morgana purred before he found a comfy place to rest in the crook of Ren's arm just slightly under the large comforter Ren used on his bed. "You should get some rest. We got a big day tomorrow kicking Shido's butt. But Ren…"

"Hmm?" Ren hummed as he felt his body start to grow heavy.

"Thank you for everything okay?" Morgana rested his chin on Ren's shoulder as he closed his eyes.

Ren reached up giving the cat one last scratch behind the ears before sleep overtook him.