The Mystery of Ren Amamiya - Lightning99

Stream 3:

Ryuji Sakamoto

'Sup! I'm Ryuji Sakamoto, but you can just call me Ryuji,' Ryuji said to the wrong camera with his wide, toothy grin, throwing a hand up in greeting. Ann pointed him towards the correct camera and decided not to comment on how he was crouched on his chair rather than sat on it, knees reaching as high as his collar bone, arms draped in front of him.

Ann waited a moment. Ryuji looked at her.

'Is that it?' Ann asked.

'Huh? I told em who I am. What more d'ya want me to say?' Ryuji asked.

Ann slapped a palm to her face, groaning.

'Tell them a bit more about yourself! What kind of person you are, what you like, that sort of thing.'

'Oh, right!' Ryuji said, clicking his fingers. 'Well, I'm a cool guy, I like to eat ramen and play video games, and I've known Ann since we were in middle school.'

Ann rubbed between her eyes, huffing a breath through her nose. She lifted both hands and pushed them towards Ryuji, showing him off like a new car on a game show.

'Ryuji here, aside from being a ramen addict, my childhood friend, and a colossal idiot–'

'Hey!'

'–is an aspiring professional sprinter,' Ann said.

'Oh yeah, that too. I didn't think you meant that. I don't usually go around telling people.'

'You humble boy, Ryuji.'

'Aww, shut it. I get enough of that crap from Morgana.'

The chat, Ann noticed, was one continuous wall of laughing faces, and they weren't even five minutes into the stream. She wasn't surprised: she had expected that much as soon as Ryuji had confirmed earlier in the week that he was free to join her. Ann could only guess whether they thought he was funny or they were laughing at him.

'Tell us about it. Well, tell them about it,' Ann said, pointing at the screen.

'Right, yeah, ok,' Ryuji said, kicking his legs from under him, arms flying to the sides, and dropping to sit in his chair. He rolled it to the desk and hunched forward, elbows on his knees, staring at the correct camera this time. Ann spent a moment trying to figure out what was going through his head.

'Well, yeah, I wanna be a professional sprinter. I graduated from an athletics programme last year, and now I'm entering running competitions all over the country with some teammates. I don't really talk to 'em loads outside of runnin', I mean, we go for ramen sometimes, but when we're on the track, we're pretty good friends, know what I mean? It's basically a lot of running all the time, not something you would enjoy if you don't have a passion for it. Lucky for me, runnin' has always been a huge part of my life.'

SilverDuck12: I wish I could run. I look like a T-Rex when I run.

Ann, who was observing the chat the whole time, huffed a laugh and pointed out the comment to Ryuji. He grinned but didn't laugh.

'There was a time I did, too. But when you go through the proper training, you get the right posture and movements and that sorta thing. It's like with anything else. If you practise, you'll improve.'

'You just need to have the patience,' Ann said.

'Yeah, exactly! And I won't let you make fun of me, Ann, so I'll say it first. I don't have much patience. If someone like me can do it, anyone can.'

Ann looked away. 'I wasn't going to say anything.'

'Sure, you weren't,' Ryuji said, smirking. Then he shook his head. 'There's something else I need to make clear too. Even someone like me, whose been trainin' for ages, don't have perfect posture. Part of it is to do with nobody bein' perfect. The other part is that I-I injured my leg a while back, and it still affects my runnin' technique now, sometimes.'

AnnFann101: You injured your leg?

Ryuji frowned. He looked at Ann. 'AnnFann? Inflating your ego much?'

'I didn't tell her to make that her name!' Ann exclaimed, flailing her arms in front of her. 'Just answer the question.'

'Alright, alright. Geez,' Ryuji said, turning back to the camera. 'Yeah, I injured my leg. Well, injured probably isn't the right word, but anyway. I was angry. At the time, I never thought I'd run again, and I kinda took it out on the world. But then I met my best friend, and he helped me get over it, helped me get back into runnin'. Now I'm taking it as far as I can. We'll see what happens.'

'Thank you for telling us all that, Ryuji,' Ann said. 'He's really fast, by the way. So those of you that commented saying you could beat him in a race had better be ready to back it up. He really will take you up on the offer.'

'Hell, yeah, I will!'

Ann didn't doubt him for a moment, and, it seemed, neither did anybody else because those that had typed precisely what Ann warned them about quickly commented again, vetoing their challenges. That gave both Ann and Ryuji a good chuckle while they pursued the chat for their next question.

FrozenFire: My friend who plays football is injured, and she's so annoying about it. What's it like being injured? And what do I do?

'It sucks,' Ryuji said. When Ann looked at him quizzically, he repeated the question to her. 'It really sucks. Is football her life?'

FrozenFire: Pretty much, yeah.

'If that's the case, dude, cut her some slack,' Ryuji said. He rested his once bad leg horizontally atop his other knee, leaning over it. 'When something is a big part of your life, and you can't do it, it's like you've lost a part of yourself. It's the worst, man, and Ann can vouch for that.'

'I can,' Ann said, nodding. 'Ryuji just said that because of his injury, he was angry and took it out on the world, and he's not wrong. He became even more of a delinquent than he was before.'

'I wasn't a delinquent before.'

'Hmm.'

'I wasn't!'

'That's debatable.'

Ryuji dropped his head, groaning. 'The point is, your friend needs support, not rejection, and not just someone to listen. That friend I mentioned, the guy who helped reignite my passion for running? He didn't just listen to me. He offered to train with me. He spent time with me and helped me sort out my shit. I probably did annoy him at some point, but he stuck with me through it all. So, dude, give her the support she needs.'

Ann, who had simply been watching Ryuji for the past minute, smiled and looked at the chat.

FrozenFire: That's actually eye-opening. Thank you.

'Keep your head up. Be the friend she needs,' Ann said, and they continued looking through the chat for questions once again.

'Ooh, good question,' Ann said a minute or two later, scrolling a little way back in the chat. 'JackBros123 asks, 'Are you hoping to make it into the Olympics?''

'I've definitely thought about it,' Ryuji said, 'but nah.'

JackBros123: Huh? Why not?

ShinMegTen: Isn't the Olympics an athlete's ultimate goal?

After reading Shin's comment, Ryuji, for what Ann assumed was the first time in his life, spent a moment thinking about what he wanted to say.

'Don't hurt yourself,' Ann said.

'Shut it,' Ryuji said, grunting. 'I guess… It would be cool to be involved in the Olympics, to show everyone what I can do, who I am, but I've seen what that kinda accomplishment can do to a person. I've seen how it can change 'em.'

Ann and Ryuji shared an understanding glance.

'Now, if I were to win a medal, an achievement like that, I wouldn't become corrupt. I'm confident enough about who I am to say that as a fact. And even if I did become bad, my friends, including Ann here, would whoop my ass for it until I turned back into myself.' When the chat started pasting amused faces into the chat again, Ryuji laughed awkwardly, adding, 'I'm not kidding.'

'He's really not,' Ann added, flashing a smirk at Ryuji.

'Alright, alright, don't go all Makoto on me. Save that look for the shadows,' Ryuji said, rolling his chair a few inches away.

'Ryujiiii,' Ann said, sighing.

'What? They got no idea what I'm talkin' about!'

'I suppose it's better than you screaming about it in the centre of Shibuya station.'

'Anyway,' Ryuji said, jumping to his feet and leaning toward the camera. 'Even though I know I wouldn't change, I realised that I don't want that kinda fame. Not anymore. I'd be satisfied with a few running chicks knowing my name 'cause I won a smaller competition.'

Ann sighed again, yanking him back into his seat.

'You never change,' Ann said.

'What're you talkin' about? I've changed loads.'

'In some ways. Not so much in others.'

'Yeah? Well, you can't get over your stupid sweet obsession.'

'Please don't be childish.'

'No, no, I'm not taking that shit. I have changed. I–'

Ann just ignored him, letting the rest of his rant fade into the background. One particular comment among the artificial hysterics made her smile:

Pink_Wool: I love this guy.

'Ryuji may be an idiot,' Ann said, receiving a loud 'Hey!' 'but he's a great friend. This kind of banter is pretty much our thing.

'Hm, yeah, see, that's better,' Ryuji said, sliding his chair, finally settling down.

Ann scanned the chat for a little while longer. They answered a few quick, small questions, Ryuji took too much pride in a few comments of admiration from guys and girls alike, and then Ann sat back in her chair, letting her mind wander to the past for a moment:

DragonSlayer: You said you're childhood friends, but how long have you been friends?

'I can't remember how long it's been, but after Shiho, Ryuji is probably my oldest friend here in Japan,' Ann said. 'Although it feels like he's always been in my life. Honestly, it feels that way with all of my closest friends.'

'I second that,' Ryuji said. 'You and all the others are pretty much part of my family now. I mean, we spend all the holidays together and meet at least once or twice a month. Remember new year's two years ago?'

'Of course. It was at your house.'

'Yeah. A fireworks show, then back to mine for food. Man, my mum loved that.'

'She's lovely,' Ann said.

'She really loved it. Not just having everyone there, but seeing me with friends, seein' me so happy. Man, sometimes I think I don't deserve her.'

'Don't say that,' Ann said, patting his shoulder. Ryuji returned the smile she gave him, but a moment later, his face contorted into the ugliest, most disturbing mass of human face Ann had ever seen.

When Ann looked to see why he had made such a face, she probably made a similar one. Somebody who had subscribed to her had included a message along with it. The message was now displayed in bold at the top of the screen:

JackBros123:

You guys have such great banter. Are you dating?

'Eww, no!' Ann shouted rather loudly, and at the same time, Ryuji shouted, 'Eff that!'

'You may not have been here last week, but Shiho already revealed I'm dating someone else!' Ann shouted, and then she froze, for she only realised what she said after it left her lips.

First, Ryuji snorted, then he started laughing, and then the chat erupted into a jumble of words and emojis more chaotic than Ann had seen yet. It was a mix of laughing emojis and 'lmao's, probably referencing their quick, heated dismissals of JackBros' comment, and some crying faces and a few distraught comments, probably due to her latter statement. Futaba – or Alibaba in chat – prompted most of the chaos, using her abilities as moderator to spam more comments and emojis than anyone else could. Ann reminded herself that not everybody had been there when Shiho revealed such information, so such a conclusion was probably inevitable.

'I can't believe how disgusted we both sounded,' Ann said when, finally, the hysterics calmed down.

'Yeah, well, it ain't happening, just like when you made a similar comment way back when. Besides, if I liked you, Ren would kick my ass.'

'No, he wouldn't.'

'No, he wouldn't. He'd probably try to console me and talk things out, but you get what I mean.'

The chat started slowing down then, allowing Ann to see a specific comment appear amidst them that had her rocking in her chair and gasping out laughs:

Ren_Amamiya: I'm coming for your ass, Ryuji.

'Aww, man, Ren, don't say that shit,' Ryuji said, but Ren had already said it, and the chat didn't stop. Soon, several similarly outrageous comments somehow slipped through Futaba's radar, and any control Ann felt she had over her chat and her emotions vanished.

'Alright, alright, shut it before I say something back you may be embarrassed by,' Ryuji said, and though Ann knew he wouldn't share anything too personal, they had known each other for a long time.

'Ok, I'm sorry,' Ann said, though her final few laughs didn't make her sound the slightest bit sincere.

'Huh?' Ryuji asked, leaning closer to the chat. ''Is Ren the nicest person you could ever meet?' Where did that question come from?'

Ann read the question.

'Oh, when Shiho was on here last week, we talked about how nice Ren is. Some people in chat didn't believe me,' Ann said.

'For real? They think you're lying?'

'Not lying per-say. They just don't think he's the nicest person in the world, which is a reasonable assumption since they don't know him.'

'Hell yeah, dude. Ren's the nicest guy you could ever meet. He's a bro.'

Ann waited for the chat to catch up for a moment.

'Someone's asking why you think that, Ryuji.'

'Cause he'll have your back even if you're walking through hell, man. Ann knows it, I know it, we all know it. He's been there himself, too, yet he's still there, holdin' us all up when we need it. He's the guy that got me back into running.' Ryuji shook his head. 'For real, though, that was one helluva time. Still feels like last week sometimes.'

'I know what you mean,' Ann said. 'We're still active and helping people quite often, but our debut year was something else. I've been reminiscing on it a lot lately.'

'You know, as bad as the situation became, I wish something more serious would pop up again. Helping the little people is all well and good, but we've not had a big fight in a while.'

'Didn't you suggest earlier that you don't care about the fame?'

'It ain't that. I wanna let loose.'

'The last big fight was only last year. You haven't forgotten that have you?'

'That was really a year ago?' Ryuji asked. 'That's weird. Year one feels like yesterday, and yesterday feels like ages ago.'

'Only you could say something like that and make it make sense.'

AnnFann101: Uhh, is this some sort of game you guys play? I think we're missing some information here.

Ann read the comment aloud. She and Ryuji looked at one another. They grinned, and, in unison, they said:

'Something like that.'

Hellooo! Thank you all for the recent reviews and the reception of the first two chapters. It's nice to see people's thoughts! And yes, that was a reference to the Mementos Missions Manga, nice spot! :D

I hope you enjoyed! :)