The Mystery of Ren Amamiya - Lightning99
Stream 6:
Sojiro Sakura and Morgana
'Oh, I haven't asked yet,' Sojiro Sakura, clad as ever in his pink shirt, pale shorts, and apron, said. 'How are things with you and Ren?'
Sojiro carefully placed two cups of coffee onto the desk's placemats, curling swirls of steam rising from each cup. He pulled the second chair closer, to about a few steps from Ann, and sat down, shoulders hunched and elbows resting on his knees.
'We're great, thank you for asking,' Ann said, readjusting the strings on her pink hoodie to align perfectly. She looked away from the monitor's reflection to smile at Sojiro, pulling her legs up to rest on the edge of her chair. She hugged them, and wearing shorts as she was, the fabric felt soft against her bare legs. She rested her cheek on her knees and took a deep breath of cool, late-Autumn air that drifted through the open window. 'I couldn't be happier.'
A satisfied grin claimed Sojiro's lips. 'He's treating you well, then? And you him?'
'Yep, he's great. And I can only hope I'm treating him well, too.'
'Oh, I'm sure you are. He never has any complaints whenever we talk. Only good things.'
'Oh? What good things?'
'Sorry. I can't say. A secret between men.'
Ann giggled. 'Yeah, everything is perfect. We even went out last weekend. Well, we've been out a lot recently. At the start of the month, he took me to the jazz club he likes. He planned it perfectly because the singer who did all the songs for Mishima's documentary, Lyn, was there. She sang No More What Ifs and lots of other songs. It was amazing! She even recognised Ren and came to chat with us for a little while! I don't know how he does it.
'Then, I took him to an Alice Hiiragi concert about two weeks ago. I'm not sure it was his type of music, but it was Alice, and I think he enjoyed the idea and seeing how my friendship with her has grown. Oh, he definitely liked the snacks she had there.
'And last week we went for a meal. I can't exactly remember the restaurant's name. It was small, but it was lovely. Ren wanted to stop by LeBlanc, but I convinced him to go elsewhere. I wanted to give you a bit of a break. Oh, and–'
Ann stopped talking when she saw Sojiro's smirk. She chuckled, pushing her hair in front of her face. 'Sorry. I'm rambling.'
Sojiro chuckled, too. 'No, no, that's alright. That's all good to hear. I'm glad you're both doing well.'
Ann dropped her hair in favour of hugging her knees even tighter.
'Are you worried about him?'
'Well, no. I mean, I–' Sojiro paused a moment, looking out the window. 'Yeah, I am. I can't help worrying about him sometimes. I know you're all older now, but–'
'I know.' Ann looked at her lap, her heart squeezing in her chest at the thought of one black-haired man, a squeezing she knew Sojiro was probably feeling at that moment, too.
When Ann looked back up, face and chest feeling warm, she said, 'I know I've asked before, but he's like a son to you, isn't he?'
'You're all like family to me at this point, but Ren… Yeah, he's about as close to me as Futaba is. Has been since that year we met, but even more so after he moved away from his parents. Not sure he's even in contact with them anymore. I know he's tried, but… It's sad. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only parent he has, y'know?' Sojiro sighed. 'Don't tell him any of this, mind you. I don't need to see that smirk of his.'
Ann giggled, an image of that smirk appearing in her mind. She played the rest of the scene in her head, too. He would fold his arms as he smirked, firing back with a comment like, 'you getting sentimental, old man?'. He'd allow a laugh to lighten the mood, then his smirk and arms would drop, and he would speak with such pure, serious affection that they'd both be tearing up at the end. Ann told Sojiro as much.
'Yes, I know, I know,' Sojiro said. He removed his glasses to wipe at his eyes, then returned them to the bridge of his nose. 'What a guy he is, getting an old man like me all emotional. Especially about another guy.'
'Not even Ryuji's allowed in your passenger seat yet, is he? Only Ren.'
Sojiro released a long 'Huuugh'. 'He told you about that, huh?'
Ann just giggled again. 'Ren really is amazing.'
'Guess I'm not the only one getting emotional, am I?'
Ann didn't even try to suppress the love-struck expression she knew was captured in her eyes and lips.
Sojiro nodded and slid his seat toward the desk. He sipped his coffee and leaned forwards again, elbows on his knees.
'Alright. How does this work, then?' he asked, gesturing to the equipment. He looked at her, and a glint of orange light flashed across his glasses. 'Futaba tried explaining it to me, but I couldn't get it.'
Ann smiled, throwing one of her hands up, index finger pointing at the ceiling. 'Let me explain!'
'Alright, alright,' Sojiro said, chuckling, pushing her hand away. 'Just tell me.'
'It's not quite as complicated as the Metaverse, so you should be ok,' Ann said, and she proceeded to explain all that she felt was necessary about her set-up and streaming. By the end, Sojiro's glasses were in one hand, and he was rubbing his eyes for an entirely different reason.
'You know what, I'm not getting any of this. What do you say we get started and see how it goes from there?'
'It's really not that hard, Boss,' Ann heard a familiar voice say. She looked around at the door, which was slightly ajar, but overestimated the individual's height. She cast her gaze lower, and it fell upon Morgana's sleek black fur, who, despite looking like a cat, looked far too cocky.
Sojiro grunted and said, 'I don't need to be reprimanded by a cat.'
Had most people made such an outrageous claim, Morgana would have countered the comment, for he still pretended to take offence to being called a cat. Instead, he marched across the room and perched himself on the beanbags behind them, for she, Sojiro, and Ren were the only exceptions to the cat rule. But if Ryuji said it enough times, Ann knew Morgana might develop a Palace despite having a Persona.
Sojiro continued watching Morgana. 'That still gets me every time,' he said.
'It's better than hearing him meow all the time, isn't it?'
'I don't know about that.'
'Hey!' Morgana shouted.
'At least I can understand the conversations you're having now. And seeing that world…'
'Yeah,' Ann said, and she trailed off. What else could she say?
Introducing Sojiro to the metaverse had been an interesting experience. It had been Futaba's idea, which she got after Ren jokingly suggested it when they had been awaiting a confession on TV. Fast-forward a few months, and, despite the risk – which wasn't really a risk due to their combined strength – Futaba dragged Sojiro to the centre of Shibuya. He spent about a minute in the Metaverse before claiming he was 'too old for this' and requesting to leave. To put it simply, he didn't want to return ever again.
'At least seeing it made me realise we aren't crazy, that such a world does exist.'
'Squashed that little part of you that still doubted it?' Ann asked.
'Yeah. Still confuses me as much as Morgana sometimes, though,' Sojiro said.
'I'd have thought you would be used to it now, Boss, given how back and forth we are to and from it. But I suppose it is a difficult concept to grasp sometimes. There is lots of corruption in the world, but even I don't fully understand why the Metaverse opened up again,' Morgana said. He crossed the room and bounded onto the desk. 'You don't think I'm strange, do you, Lady Ann?'
'Not at all,' Ann said, scratching beneath his chin, to which he purred like all beings that weren't cats did. She reached over to her mouse with her other hand and started the countdown for her stream. 'Would you like to stay through the stream, Morgana?'
'Can I?!' he asked, looking up at her with eyes so wide, sparkling, and joyous that she couldn't have retracted her statement even if she had wanted to. Ann imagined they wouldn't have to rely on Ren's debonair charm if he used those eyes during one of their Persona negotiations.
'Of course,' Ann said. 'I'm sure people would love to see you.'
'You're just saying that because I look like a cat…'
'Why would you think that?' Ann asked with a far-too-happy smile.
Morgana sighed, but he still curled up on the desk, close enough to the edge to be out of the camera and not fall off. And with that, Ann started another stream.
After the usual wave and greetings, she introduced her guests.
'I'm Sojiro Sakura. Am I looking at the right camera?' Ann nodded. 'I'm Sojiro Sakura. Ann asked me to come on here, so here I am. Glad to be here.'
'Everyone calls him Boss,' Ann added.
Alibaba: Sooooojiroooo!
'Alibaba?' Sojiro asked, holding his glasses as he squinted at the screen. 'Is that Futaba?'
'Yep, that's her,' Ann said. 'As some of you in chat are already guessing, yes, Sojiro and Futaba are father and daughter.'
'Not by blood, but she sure as hell is my daughter,' Sojiro said, and suddenly, he somehow looked more like a dad. But that fatherly look wasn't all there was to his expression. Somewhere behind his glasses, and even behind those, hidden somewhere in his eyes, there lingered something more. Ann couldn't quite decipher it, but she imagined that Sojiro was reminiscing on something personal.
Sojiro's passionate claim was met by the chat pasting as many emotional emojis – and one or two stickers of Yusuke crying over art – into the chat. Sojiro coughed a laugh, and Ann continued.
'As a special treat, Sojiro isn't our only guest this stream. Morgana, could you lift your head, please?' Ann asked.
'Of course, Lady Ann,' Morgana said. Rather than simply lifting his head into the shot, however, he stood on all fours, stretching and twisting his body as if he were parading down a runway. Ann rolled her eyes.
DynamiteKitten142: CAT!
Golden_Guy: She's soooo cute!
Endlave11: THAT'S the Morgana you've been talking about?! I thought they were a person! How the hell does a cat type in chat?!
'I'm not a cat!' Morgana shouted, growling. 'And I'm a boy! A-a man! I'm male!'
'Alright, calm down, Morgana,' Ann said. She scooped Morgana into her arms and set him down in her lap. The tension in his tiny limbs settled when she started stroking his back. 'Everyone, this here is Morgana. He is male and doesn't like being called a cat, so please don't call him that.'
Even though Ann said as much, most of the chat continued praising Morgana's cuteness, the sheen, and how soft his fur looked. Despite everything he said, he took the comments with a broad grin. As wide a grin as a cat face could show, anyway.
Sojiro grunted. 'Spotlight stolen by a damn cat,' he mumbled, causing Ann to giggle.
EnchantedOak: Is Morgana your cat, Ann?
'He's not my cat, Enchanted, no. He doesn't belong to anyone. He's a free spirit. One day he'll turn up at my place, and on another day, he'll spend the night with Haru, a friend I mentioned a few streams ago. Or someone else entirely. The person he spends the most time with is Ren, though, so I suppose you could call him Ren's if you had to give him an owner.'
'If anything, I own Ren,' Morgana said. Ann and Sojiro laughed; if he had been in his true form, Ann imagined him folding his arms, closing his eyes, and nodding that big head. 'He'd never sleep if it wasn't for me.'
It was a pity that all the chat heard was meowing.
TrueLord: Here we go again…
Akiharabaki: So, Ren has a cat, now?
Pink_Wool: I bet Ren would look hot holding a cat.
'Please don't do this again,' Ann said, clasping her hands together in a prayer sign.
'What are they doing?' Sojiro asked, nudging his glasses up to read the chat.
'Whenever Ren is mentioned, everyone starts going crazy. Some of them think he's perfect, some think he's a myth, and it just gets out of hand.'
'Ah, so this is what you warned me about. Jeez, that guy attracts attention wherever he goes. Those fake glasses don't do anything for him anymore.'
'I don't know,' Morgana said. 'I like the aesthetic.'
'Ditto,' Ann said, though not for the reason Morgana probably meant. The fact that he wore glasses in public meant that she was one of few who saw him without them. She felt a certain privilege, a strange superiority, and an even stronger sense of closeness to him because of it.
PhantomThiefRai: Fake glasses, huh?
420Gamer: How do you know Ren, Boss?
'The chat is asking how you know Ren, Boss,' Ann said.
'How do I know him? Well, I was telling Ann this earlier, but he's pretty much my son. Again, not by blood, and not legally like Futaba is, but he's as good as family.'
Ren_Amamiya: Sooooojiroooo!
'Is that…?' Sojiro asked, squinting at the screen. He sighed. 'Of course, it is. Get it outta your system, kid.'
'And how did you and Ren meet?' Ann prompted, reading from the chat once again.
'Now that's one helluva story. Am I alright to explain?' Sojiro asked. Ren sent a thumbs-up in response. 'Is that confirma–'
'He's saying it's fine,' Ann said.
'Alright. It all started when I agreed to take him in during his year-long probation.' Sojiro paused after opening, probably considering what to say next. Before he could continue, however, he grew distracted by the chat.
PhantomThiefRai: Hold on, WHAT?!
MidnightSword: He was on probation?!
Average_Akari: Ren's a criminal?!
AnnFann101: OK, NO! HE'S FAKE!
'That wasn't a good place to start,' Sojiro mumbled, rubbing his temples with his thumb and index finger. 'No, no, Ren isn't a criminal. I treated him like one at the time, but I was just being strict.'
Ren_Amamiya: That's what you call it?
Sojiro ignored him.
'Truth is, Ren was falsely arrested after he stepped in to stop some guy from assaulting a woman. He was sent to Tokyo on probation, and I decided to take him in. Best decision I ever made. Damn, kid changed my life.' Sojiro looked away from the camera.
Ann lay a hand gently on his shoulder. She hadn't meant for this stream to make him so emotional. Then again, that wasn't the first time this had happened. When Ann looked back at the chat, a certain iota of dread spawned in her stomach.
Featherman616: Holy crap… Ren's a hero!
'No, chat, please,' Ann said, waving her hands in front of the screen, but it was too late.
Maidchan81: He had to go through all of that?!
DarkSun: That's crazy… What a legend!
Sapphire-Eyes: How many people's lives has he changed?
Featherman616: Is this the definition of a modern-day hero?
And, once again, the chat was lost.
PhantomThiefRai: Ok, so. Collating all the info we have so far, I have a theory.
Golden_Guy: PhantomThiefRai Hit me with it.
PhantomThiefRai: Golden_Guy Alright, so! Ren is good at everything, right? Cooking, coffee making, helping people, and now we've learned he stopped an assault. As such, I imagine he knows martial arts, too. My guess is Karate.
Featherman616: PhantomThiefRai Naturally.
PhantomThiefRai: Golden_Guy I could go on, but you've been here every stream, right?
Golden_Guy: PhantomThiefRai Right.
PhantomThiefRai: Golden_Guy As I said before, how is he good at everything? Because he's been trained to be!
Golden_Guy: PhantomThiefRai Still on that, huh? Ok then, by who? His parents? Is he one of those genius kids who has rebelled against his family?
PhantomThiefRai: Golden_Guy Interesting theory. But I have a different proposal. You know how Ann mentioned that Ren arrived at their school at the same time the first Phantom Thieves incident happened?
Golden_Guy: PhantomThiefRai Yeah… Do I know where this is going?
PhantomThiefRai: Golden_Guy What if he already knew about the corruption there? What if, from a young age, he was trained by some organisation, maybe even the government or the military, to be great at everything? Then they sent him out into the world to make it a better place with all of these skills. That was why he appeared at the scene of the Phantom Thieves' first appearance at such a convenient time. He was sent there.
'You're not even close, Rai,' Ann said, shaking her head. 'Where did this even come from?!'
Featherman616: PhantomThiefRai Holy shit.
'This isn't a TV show, Featherman!'
AnnFann101: PhantomThiefRai You serious, Rai? As if.
MidnightSword: PhantomThiefRai I dunno, Rai. Your theory is out there. Plus, have you met our government? They wouldn't wanna make anything better.
'Finally, some sense!' Ann said, falling back into her chair – she hadn't even realised she had stood up. 'Besides, Ren completely hates the authorities. Well, most of it. Our friends Makoto, Sae, and Zenkichi work for them, but other than that, yeah.'
PhantomThiefRai: Ok, Ann, you've just made everything make sense!
Akiharabaki: PhantomThiefRai Enlighten us, oh wise one.
PhantomThiefRai: Right, chat, you listening? Everything I said it true. He was trained to be the perfect human being by the government. But they wanted to use him as a weapon, so he decided to leave them and help the world instead. That's why he hates the authorities and why he helped that woman! He's a hero! And and and! That's why he wears fake glasses! He doesn't want them to figure out his identity!
Golden_Guy: Oh damn! You might be right!
Akiharabaki: -_-
FrozenFire: If that's true, Ren's a beast!
AnnFann101: This is ridiculous…
'How are you even entertaining this idea?!' Ann asked, her voice reaching a high pitch it hadn't been since she was twelve.
Morgana, who had been reading the conversation intently, gave an amused huff. 'Wow, they really are crazy, aren't they?'
PhantomThiefRai: You say that, Ann, but Ren has been very quiet this entire time. What say you, Ren? Are we right?
At first, Ann didn't know why she held her breath after Rai typed that. And then, just before the message popped through, she realised exactly why.
Ren_Amamiya: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
PhantomThiefRai: OH SHIT! HE DIDN'T DENY IT!
'Reeeen!' Ann whined, dropping her forehead onto her desk. She kept it there, groaning until Morgana spoke up.
'This chat is very divided. SuperstitiousSceptic says that they still don't believe he's real,' he said.
'Yeah,' Ann said, sighing. She lifted her head, resting her chin on the desk. 'That's how people are. And with a name like that, I don't doubt they are. Besides, only crazy people would believe Rai's story.'
'There's an easy way to confirm that he is real, you know. And to deny all of your theories,' Sojiro said.
Ann sat up a little straighter, widening her eyes. 'Why have I never thought of that before?! You're right. Thank you, Boss!' Ann said. She turned on the chat and began attempting to coax them back from their Ren fanaticism – or scepticism, depending on which side they were on.
She eventually regained control. A few minutes later.
'Chat, if you still don't believe Ren is real, go to Café LeBlanc in Yongen-Jaya. You'll meet a black-haired man working behind the counter if you do that. That's Ren,' Ann said.
'Not just behind the counter. He pretty much owns the place now, to be honest,' Sojiro said.
Ann felt her heart drop when several 'For real?'s flew through the chat. Apparently, Ryuji had infected them, too. That phrase would never go away, it seemed.
TrueLord: I just looked it up. He's working at a coffee shop?
'It's not just a coffee shop,' Ann said. 'It's basically his second home, and it's like my second home, too, even more so than my parents' house. I think a lot of our friends would say the same.'
'It's home to me,' Morgana said.
'Same with me,' Sojiro said. 'I still technically own LeBlanc and work there, but Ren's the man in charge these days. That's where Ren and I met and where he lived during his probation. I've been there for longer than I'd like to admit, but it's outta the way. Nobody bothers you there.'
'Just go there. If not to meet Ren, to have the nicest cup of coffee you've ever had, and to taste a curry that you couldn't eat anywhere else.'
Alibaba: I second that.
Akiharabaki: Curry? And Coffee?
'Yes, I suppose it does sound strange to outsiders,' Morgana said.
'They'll get used to it. Ren did. He even had coffee and curry for breakfast.'
'I still think we need to re-evaluate your parenting skills,' Morgana said, looking at Sojiro.
'What's that supposed to mean?' Sojiro asked, folding his arms.
'A diet of coffee and curry? For Ren and Futaba?'
Sojiro squint-frowned. 'It has all the nutrients you need.'
'If you say so,' Morgana replied.
Whether in retaliation or just because he wanted to hold him, Sojiro took Morgana from Ann's lap and dropped him into his own.
Poké-Master: Why does it seem like Sojiro is having a conversation with Morgana?
DynamiteKitten142: Is he a cat whisperer? Is Ren a cat whisperer?
'Neither of them are cat whisperers. We're just good at reading Morgana's mood,' Ann said.
AnnFann101: Boss, since you've run a coffee shop for a long time, do you know a lot about coffee?
'You bet he does,' Ann said. 'It's incredible. It's much more complex than I had thought before I knew him.'
'It can be classed as an art,' Sojiro said.
Ann clicked her fingers. 'I have a great idea! Boss, care to give a lesson on the basics of coffee brewing?'
'Sure, why not.'
With that, he stopped stroking Morgana's fur for a while and delved into his explanation, detailing all of the basics and intricacies of brewing the perfect cup of coffee. Ann recognised a lot of it from what Ren told her whenever he decided to brew something in the evenings at home. Still, she focused more on her hidden agenda: the chat finally decided to focus on something that wasn't named Ren Amamiya.
Sojiro's lessons took up a good chunk of the stream time. He delved into much more detail than Ann had intended. She didn't know how many people listened the entire time, but there were a few, and everyone was praising Sojiro for his expertise by the end of it.
They spent the rest of the stream afterwards answering some miscellaneous questions. Eventually, Ann yawned and started bringing the stream to an end.
'Thank you for watching, everyone, and thank you, Sojiro and Morgana, for joining me today,' Ann said.
'It's been a pleasure,' Sojiro said.
'Anytime, Lady Ann,' Morgana said.
Alibaba: Sojiro! I hunger!
'What, at this time of night, Futaba?' Sojiro asked, exhaling long and slow. Even so, he added, 'Alright, alright, I'll be over soon.'
'See you next time, everyone!' Ann said, waving. The last comment she saw before switching off the stream was:
PhantomThiefRai: Since we've ended earlier than usual, I'm going to LeBlanc right now to end the debate about whether Ren exists or not. And to ask him if he's a secret agent trained by the authorities!
Ann laughed as she ended the stream, not solely because of Rai's enthusiasm. She envisioned how Ren would mess with him. She said her goodbyes to Sojiro – Morgana was staying with her and Ren for the night – and turned off her computer.
About an hour after the stream, a message came through on her phone. It was from Ren.
Thank you for making LeBlanc so busy, Ren typed with a smiley face.
Ann smiled and sent a love heart back.