Ren Amamiya, also known as Joker, leader of the Phantom Thieves, woke at an ordinary time just like anyone else. Unlike anyone else though, his sleeping schedule was enforced by a talking cat.
Morgana batted at a few dangling locks of his hair before getting tired of waiting and moving on to batting his nose instead. "Oi! Wake up already! Ren!"
Ren's arms came up and closed around Morgana, squishing the not-cat against his chest.
"Mrow!" Morgana let out a squeaky meow as Ren's sudden hug caught him by surprise. He retaliated by drumming on Ren's face with both front paws. "I'm serious! Get up before you start to miss classes!"
Ren opened a storm-gray eye and looked the not-cat in the face. "My classes don't start for three hours, Mona, and you know it."
"How do you know if you haven't even looked at the time yet?" Mona demanded.
"I don't need to. You always wake me up within fifteen minutes of seven o' clock."
"Do I really?"
"Yes, you do."
"Well, either way, can you let go of me now?"
"If you get your paws off my face."
Ren released his arms and Morgana jumped off his chest and ran over to the desk, where he hopped on top of Ren's computer and sat there as Ren roused himself. Sojiro had offered Ren the attic of Leblanc as a free living space while he was going to college, but Ren had opted instead to rent a cheap apartment nearby. It was only a short walk from Leblanc and it had more than one room, even if it cost him money every month to use. At least he was making a fair amount from his part-time jobs and Metaverse expenses had been essentially cut out of the equation since he didn't need to pay for Persona fusions and any weapons and items the group needed were either sufficiently stockpiled or cheap enough that he didn't need to worry about them.
His room was nothing fancy, just a bed, a desk, a dresser, a TV, and a closet, but he didn't really need much else. The space was his and no one else's, and now even four months after he'd moved in, it still felt like an accomplishment just having the space and being able to pay for it.
Ren heated up some of the curry he'd made last night in the microwave and scarfed it down for breakfast, followed by a cup of coffee. Morgana sated his own hunger on a combination of cat food and tuna, the former of which he had begrudgingly accepted as a staple of his diet.
College was...fine. Not too different from high school, save for the Professors caring less about whatever their students were doing in most classes. Ren was getting high marks in everything as usual. Morgana still accompanied him to classes and hid in his bag of course, but sometimes, the feline would get bored and decide to go for a walk around campus, especially on the roofs. Today was the last day of lectures before the final exams week. It was really more of a formality than anything else; the professors would make sure everything in the final had been covered before releasing the students.
Ren made sure Morgana was snugly nestled in the depths of his bag before setting out as usual. "Think we'll find any Shadows still hanging about?" the not-cat asked.
"You never know," Ren replied grimly. For the most part, Shadows weren't especially common, but there was always a chance of one appearing, and that chance was far greater at night. The Shadows weren't hurt by sunlight, but they still didn't like it, so most of them retreated for dark alleys and sewers when daylight rolled around.
Ren left his apartment building and ducked into a nearby dark alley. Once he was sure no one was around, he let Morgana out of his bag and both of them switched into their Phantom Thief outfits. From there, Joker and Mona began their routine double morning patrol. The two would split up on the roofs of Yongen and move to several key locations where alleyways crossed, reporting any lingering Shadows they came across before slaughtering them where they stood.
Ren looked down at an intersection of two alleyways. No Shadows. He touched his earpiece. "Point 7-B's clear."
"Point 4-C, two lesser Shadows," Mona's voice replied. Those were the ones that looked like the guards in Palaces or Jails.
Joker landed on another rooftop corner and looked down. His brow knit behind his mask. A trio of thuglike youths were battering away at a particularly tall shadow that had crept up on them in the alleyway.
"One Greater at Point 7-C. I'll finish this off, then we should get going."
"Roger that, Joker," Mona replied.
The three teens down in the alley had the Shadow outnumbered three to one, and while their coordinated assault with bats and pocket knives would certainly have been effective against a human opponent, the Greater Shadow seemed to barely register each hit, shrugging them off with impunity before lashing out with the baton in its hand. One of the teens ducked the lashing weapon, but another was caught in the chest and knocked sprawling. The Shadow advanced, raising its baton once again, but before the teens could cry out or raise their weapons again, a bloodred glove siezed the Shadow's mask.
"Show me your true form!"
Joker yanked the Shadow's mask off its face and jumped clear as the disoriented creature arched its back with a loud cry. The three teens looked on in wide-eyed shock as the black-coated figure of Joker landed between the Shadow and them as it dissolved and reformed into a golden lion.
"A Shiisaa," Joker commented. "Resistant to physical attacks. No wonder your bats weren't doing shit. Raoul!" The low utterance of that last word was accompanied by a flash of blue as the evolved version of his Arsène Persona flared into being just above and behind him. The Shadow roared and raised its hackles as though to pounce, but Raoul was quicker. One red-sleeved arm flashed out, casting a burst of darkness at the beast, obliterating it with an eldritch cry.
Joker's mask reformed and he turned to the three teens. "You okay?" he asked quietly.
"You-you're not here to steal our hearts are you?" stammered one of them, a spiky-haired punk with streaks dyed blue.
Joker smirked. "You haven't done anything that would warrant me doing that, have you?" he asked, adjusting his gloves a little. All three emphatically shook their heads with terrified expressions, but Joker only laughed. "Then I have no reason to do anything of the sort." Joker's expression turned serious. "If you're going to be messing around in dark alleys, make sure they're clear of Shadows first. Most low-level Greater Shadows aren't resistant to physical attacks, but try to avoid them in case you run into one you can't handle, okay?" All three of them nodded numbly. "Good." Joker leapt at the wall and pushed off, wall-jumping off the sides of the alley until he was back on the rooftops.
Back in the alley, one of the teens he'd saved slumped to the ground. "God, did we just get saved by the leader of the Phantom Thieves?"
"I think we did, man. Heh, my little sister's so gonna be jealous."
The one that took a hit from the Shadow sat up with a groan. "Think I almost busted a few ribs. I think we should call it a day, dudes."
As was usually the case on Fridays, Ren met Makoto after his Japanese lecture for lunch. She was waiting on a bench outside the lecture hall when he got out, reading her notebook. Ren sidled up to her.
"Hey, Mako. What'cha studying?"
Makoto flinched as she suddenly realized he was there, and her head snapped around, but her guarded expression melted instantly when she realized it was Ren who had snuck up on her. "Hey, Ren," she greeted him back, slipping her notes shut. "Just a few notes from my Calculus class. Are we having lunch at Café Leblanc as usual?"
"You know me so well."
Makoto stood and the two started walking for the campus exit. "I'm just glad that our schedules align even for one day a week to allow us to have lunch there together."
"Agreed. So, what do you say, my Queen?" Ren's voice slipped into a quiet, affectionate hum paired with a hint of teasing. "A quiet meal at our favorite café, a walk through town together, maybe even a slight chance we might have to slay some Shadows on the way?"
Makoto gave a slight huff of laughter before giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Sounds lovely. Just so long as we're not late getting back to classes."
"You're right. Can't be seen together too much. Might make someone jealous."
"Would this someone be jealous that you're with me or the other way around?"
"Probably that you're with me. What guy wouldn't want a gorgeous, clever, badass girl like you by their side?"
Makoto's smile widened and she clasped his hand in her own. "Always the smooth talker, aren't you?"
"I'm a wild card, Queen."
The train ride to Yongen was fairly crowded. No surprises there, it was lunch time after all, but once Ren and Makoto were in the backstreets of Yongen, they were all by themselves again. At least until they ran into a pair of lesser Shadows vaguely shaped like masked police officers.
One of the Shadows let out a gurgling cry and charged, swinging its baton at Makoto. She didn't even look at the Shadow as she grabbed it by the arm and tossed it into its companion, knocking both of them sprawling. When they started to get up, Ren channeled Raoul's powers into his right hand and snapped his fingers. A bullet of black and red shot through the two Shadows and evaporated them.
"A little anticlimactic considering normal humans tend to have trouble fighting off even one of those," Ren commented.
"Probably because they're still about as strong as a human," Makoto mused.
Ren let out a sigh. "I won't deny that I was excited to be a Phantom Thief again after I realized our Persona powers had returned, regardless of all the danger that came with the Shadows. But going around while the city is trying to recover, having to peer around corners and check alleyways routinely for Shadows...I don't know whether I should call it depressing or annoying."
Makoto rolled her eyes as they turned the corner into the alleyway leading to Leblanc. "Listen to you, the big, bad leader of the Phantom Thieves referring to an invasion of monsters from another dimension as nothing more than a mere annoyance."
"Well, at the moment it is!" he insisted, opening the café door. "At this rate, I'm going to start losing sleep over this whole Shadow crisis!"
Leblanc was mostly empty, as usual. An old couple occupied one of the booths, while another customer sat at one of the seats at the front counter, enjoying a steaming cup of coffee. He looked up as he heard Ren's comment.
"I've been losing sleep over the Shadows myself lately." The man shuddered and traced a finger around the rim of his mug. "I've been lucky so far; never got close enough to one to look it in the eyes. A coworker of mine though was hurt pretty bad in the first outbreak."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Makoto said somberly.
The man waved away her apology. "Don't mind it, it's not your fault. And he's fine now, anyway. One of them Shadows damn near tore his side to bits, but one spell from one of the Phantom Thieves later, and he was good as new." He chuckled at the memory. "Sure as hell needed a new shirt though."
Ren and Makoto exchanged matching smiles. "Do you know which of the Phantom Thieves it was that saved him?" Ren asked.
The man looked up at them. "Fans, are you?" he asked, noticing Ren's grin and the eagerness in Makoto's eyes.
Ren's grin grew a bit embarrassed. "I mean, who isn't these days? Pretty much the only ones who aren't are the cynics who think they somehow caused the Shadow outbreak."
"Good point there, lad," the man replied, directing a well-worn finger at Ren. "I didn't really believe they existed until they took down Kaneshiro, but once they started saving people from celebrities changing their hearts through EMMA, that was the moment for me when I was absolutely certain that they were on the side of the people." He let out a sigh before continuing. "Now, the Phantom Thief who saved Norinaga...can't remember her hair color or what her voice sounded like, but she wore a red catsuit with a matching mask. Called herself Panther, I believe."
Ren's grin widened as he turned to Makoto out of feigned excitement. "Wow, Mako, isn't Panther the one who shoots fireballs?"
"Yeah!" Makoto agreed, also feigning excitement before putting a finger to her temple in thought. "And if I remember correctly, Skull is the one who does lightning, Fox freezes things, Queen blows things up, and Noir...is psychokinetic? I think?"
Just then Sojiro came from the back. "Are you kids gonna order, or are you going to stand there talking about the city's heroes all day?"
"Oh, hey Boss!" Makoto greeted the old man. "We'll just have our usual, please!"
"Coming right up," Sojiro told them. "Sit wherever you want." He winked at them and went back to the kitchen.
The two walked over to the booth at the back. "Mako, I think Sojiro's onto us," Ren whispered in Makoto's ear.
"You dummy!" Makoto pushed him playfully into his seat. "He's known about us since last year's Valentine's Day."
Ren laughed. "I know, dumb joke. I'm surprised we've managed to keep it a secret from the rest of the gang, though."
"I'm not so sure about that," Makoto replied, thinking back. "Futaba probably has cameras hooked up throughout Leblanc, so she's almost definitely noticed our little Friday dates by now. And knowing her, she probably wouldn't be able to keep a secret for long."
"In that case, do you think they're waiting for the opportune moment to jump in on us kissing or something and embarrass us?"
"I wouldn't put it past Futaba to try and be sneaky that way."
Futaba was watching the Leblanc camera feed on her phone while she ate lunch back at Shujin. She scowled as Ren so casually laid out his (very correct) guess at what her plans were. "What's the point of being sneaky if the people you're trying to be sneaky around know you're there anyway?"
"In that case," Ren was saying quietly, "should we do something to them when they try?"
Makoto looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean?"
Ren leaned forward to whisper in her ear. Makoto immediately started blushing furiously. "In front of all of them!?" she whined.
"Hey, they all know now anyway, or at least Futaba does," Ren argued. "And if you're into it enough anyway, we won't even have to acknowledge them until they're as embarrassed as we are."
Makoto huffed. "That doesn't make it that much better, but fine."
Watchers of the Renkoto Romance Group Chat
Futaba: Bad news girls. They've figured out we know about them.
Ann: Crap!
Haru: Are you sure?
Futaba: They were discussing how they've been trying to keep it private
Futaba: but then they remembered I bugged Leblanc
Sumire: so they don't know for sure?
Futaba: No, but they're assuming at least I know
Futaba: and that I told someone and that at least some of the group has been spying
Ann: Well, game's up I guess
Haru: should we confront them now?
Futaba: ye, guess so.
Ann: what would be the best time to embarrass them?
Sumire: we could do it before the meeting this afternoon
Futaba: Not gonna work, guys.
Haru: Why not?
Futaba: They're coming up with a plan in case we try to embarrass them
Ann: what?
Futaba: Don't know what it is, they were whispering
Sumire: So do we just make them spill?
Haru: I'm not sure why we even need to confront them about this at all anymore…
Futaba: BECAUSE IT'S FUN!
Futaba: AND WE WANT TO SEE THEM ACTING ALL CUTE AND EMBARRASSED!
Ann: You've really turned into a quintessential little sister, you know that?
Ren's afternoon classes passed in a flash. That happens when you're eagerly anticipating an afternoon meeting with your gang of...well, basically superheroes at this point. The entire time he was moving between classes though, he was hearing endless gossip about said gang.
"Joker is soooo cool! That air of mystery about him…!"
"Man those chicks in the Phantom Thieves are hot!"
"Don't even bother dude. Even if they weren't superheroes, they'd still be way outta your league."
"It's so weird that no one can remember what their features are even when the masks disappear."
"What was it they called their powers? Personas?"
"Do you really believe that anyone can get one?"
"Did you hear about those Diet members that turned into monsters?"
"Yeah, the Phantom Thieves got two of them!"
"I wish I could've been there, that fight must've been epic!"
Ren grinned at this last exchange. Said Diet members had been possessed by their Shadows and decided to start attacking their subordinates, at which point Futaba had caught wind of what was going on and sent frantic messages to Skull and Panther, who were on patrol at the time. The monster Diet members were barely as powerful as mid-level Mementos mini-bosses, and were quickly overcome by the fully-powered Phantom Thieves, after which their Shadow forms dissipated, leaving behind two unconscious politicians who were sent to a police hospital soon after.
From later interrogations, it was revealed that both of them had seen Shadow versions of themselves in a moment of high stress while they were plotting a way to maintain the status of Shido's remaining conspirators. The lure of their Shadows' power overcame them, and they were possessed. This information was quickly processed by the police and corroborated by the Phantom Thieves through Wolf, and the news that night had broadcasted the entire story, stating that accepting one's personal Shadow could allow one to gain a Persona, while allowing one's personal Shadow to be corrupted by twisted desires and allowed to possess their body would turn the subject into a Corporeal Shadow.
Tonight, Zenkichi, Detective Shirogane, and Chief Sanada would all be interviewed by Sumire's father, Shinichi Yoshizawa, on Shadows, Personas, and the Metaverse during the Phantom Thieves' meeting, and there was no way in hell Ren was going to miss it.
Café Leblanc was empty when Ren arrived save for Sojiro, who was wiping down the counters. He looked up as Ren walked in and gave the young adult a soft smile.
"Hey. What would you like for dinner?"
"Whatever the newest thing on the menu is."
"Sure. Makoto's already upstairs. I'll be joining you when everyone's here and I'm done making all the food."
"Sure thing, Boss," Ren tells him, heading for the stairs.
Makoto was sitting at the table, typing on her laptop. Working on a college assignment of some sort no doubt. Ren dropped his bag on the table and sat down next to her while Morgana exited the bag and jumped onto the desk, mumbling something about checking on their stash of tools and crafting supplies.
"Hey, Ren." Makoto looked up from her work and gave her boyfriend a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Got through the day okay?"
"No trouble at all, study partner," Ren kissed her back. "Didn't even run into a single Shadow on the way here. I guess everyone's doing a good job of keeping them in check."
"And getting quite a lot of attention as well, it would seem."
"Yeah, there's a lot of talk about the Phantom Thieves going around."
"But then again, it's probably going to stay that way for a while, so we should probably get used to it."
"Good point."
"Do you need any help with studying?"
"Nah, I've got this semester's exams in the bag. Besides, we're having a meeting in a few minutes."
"Okay then. I'm still open in case you need me though."
"What're you talking about? I always need you." This last statement Ren murmured seductively in her ear.
Makoto flinched away, blushing furiously. "Ren!"
Ren laughed. "Come on, Makoto. You know it's true."
Makoto gave a huff of amusement and turned her body to face him. "Two years of us being together, and I'm still getting flustered when you flirt with me like that. I should really be getting used to it by now."
"But you're cute when you're flustered," Ren whined. He was still grinning from ear to ear despite his protest.
Makoto huffed again. "Shut up and kiss me again, you dork."
So Ren did. His and Makoto's lips slipped together and locked in place like two halves of a whole. Their arms locked around each other and they relaxed into each others' embrace. No preambles, no hesitation, just love. An uncomfortable Morgana stubbornly stuck his head deeper into one of the material stockpiles and pretended the two of them weren't making out right in front of him.
They kept kissing like that for a few minutes until the other girls of the Phantom Thieves silently climbed the stairs and noticed them openly kissing each other. The young couple pretended not to notice for about half a minute before Ren murmured to Makoto just loud enough for the others to hear, "I think we have an audience, Queen."
Makoto kissed him again. "Let them watch for a while. How long have they been spying on us together, anyway?"
"Bold for someone who was all flustered about this at lunch."
"More than enough time for me to get over it. Just kiss me." Makoto moved in for another.
"Oh, no you don't!" Futaba yelled, grabbing Ren and yanking him away from her. "You've been torturing Morgana for long enough with your little lovey-dovey antics!"
"Finally someone takes my side!" Morgana yowled from the desk. Deeming the air around the two finally safe to breathe, he jumped onto the table, still griping. "I'd given up on ever convincing them to stop flaunting their relationship in my face! It's maddening, I tell you!"
Ren couldn't help but smile, especially after the still-clueless Yusuke and Ryuji got there, wondered what all the commotion was, and promptly had their minds blown when they realized that Ren and Makoto had been seeing each other behind everyone's backs for the last two years. (Well, mostly Ryuji. He was the one who dropped his soft drink and screamed, "WHAAAAAAAT!?") And then Sojiro came up and scolded everyone about all the noise.
Even discounting his relationship with his second-in-command, the Phantom Thieves were truly his family.