5/22 – Sunday
Daytime
Cafe Leblanc
Ryuji
headin over to leblanc today yea? we should invite yusuke too obv
gotta figure out next infiltration
ren? you with me buddy?
renrennnnnnn
Ren stared at his phone and tried his hardest to parse the words on the screen. Something about exhaustion tended to turn him illiterate, he supposed. He put on his glasses and scanned Ryuji's text once more.
Ren
Sorry I just woke up
I'll check with boss
Ryuji
no worries bro! we kinda figured that lol
ann dragged me and yusuke to shibuya mall tho rip
we gotta drop some stuff off at her place so well be like
an hour tops?
Ren
Take your time
Ryuji
yeah obv!
you doin alright btw?
still bruised to shit?
Ren patted his chest. It was still a little tender across his whole left side, especially directly over his heart, as if it Madarame had struck him instead of Arsene. Though, Arsene was supposed to be his Persona, his other self. Despite how inaccurate that assessment was feeling recently.
Ren
I'm good
Kinda sore still but feeling a lot better
Thank you
Ryuji
dude thats good to hear
had me worried there lol
and no worries my good man
anyway ill see you soon
ciao ciao
Ren
Ciao
"You missed a parcel," Morgana said, sitting on the middle of the attic floor and licking the back of his paw.
"Oh," Ren mumbled. He pushed the covers off and swung his feet off the bed. "I...totally forgot again, huh?" What if it had been helpful? What if it could have allowed him to beat Madarame? He grit his teeth at the thought. "Damnit."
Morgana giggled. "Hey, no worries." He motioned to Ren's desk. "I was bored last night so I opened it for you."
Ren blinked. "Thank you." He glanced towards the desk, squinting what appeared to be a small picture frame and a sheet of thick sketch paper. "Anything good?"
"Not much," the feline replied. "Well, actually, you might think it's good. Not that useful though." He shrugged with his whole body. "Take a look for yourself."
He picked up the paper first. The sketch depicted two angles of some sort of katana, its sheath covered in an intricate design, dark spirals and snowflakes across its surface. "Huh," Ren said. "I guess this is for Yusuke, but I don't know why we only got a picture of a new sword instead of, like, the actual sword."
"A whole katana might have been too difficult to fit in a parcel." Morgana scratched at his ear. "Or, maybe going and finding that sword will help us in another way?"
"Maybe." Ren turned his attention to the picture frame and his breath caught. He picked it up and stared into his own eyes. They were unmistakably his, those two grey pearls in a mask like porcelain. Frizzy black hair. A cocky grin that looked alien on his lips. "Why...would she send me a framed photo of my own face?"
"Beats me," Morgana mumbled.
Ren was about to put the frame down when he noticed the background. A white-tile wall, tinted slightly red. It looked almost like the subway... "That's Mementos."
Morgana started. "What?"
"Someone took this picture inside of the Metaverse." He tilted the frame as if it would let him see beyond the limits of the photograph. "That shouldn't be possible." He'd tried using his camera app in Kamoshida's Palace, and it always crashed as soon as he opened it. Unless Mementos was different somehow, and he doubted it was, then this had to be some sort of elaborate set? Ren stared at the mask in the photo, at that icon of his rebellion. No, it wasn't a fake. That was the real thing–
"Let me see!" A sudden weight on Ren's shoulders. He jumped, letting out an involuntary yelp, his grip slipping as both hands shot to his chest. Crack. Morgana instantly jumped back off of Ren, making little concerned mewls. "Ah, Ren! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm–"
"It's okay," he said. Deep breath, steadying himself on his desk. "I'm okay. I'm okay." His heart still beat hard against his ribs, but he wasn't in danger. Just Mona, just an accident. He was safe. Ren glanced over his shoulder at Morgana, who was staring down at the mattress with a guilty posture. "Hey. I'm alright." He forced himself to smile. "It wasn't your fault. You got excited, nothing to apologize for."
Morgana shifted on the mattress, tail between his legs. "I made you drop the photo though."
Oh, right. Ren turned his attention to the frame, which seemed to have been damaged slightly from the fall. Thankfully, he couldn't see any broken glass on the floor. He leaned down, picked it up, and turned it over. Joker gazed back out at him, that smirk unobscured. The glass wasn't cracked in the slightest. "It looks fine. Guess just the frame..." That didn't make any sense. The wooden frame was splintering on one side, it didn't make sense that the glass wouldn't be the same. He placed his fingers against the glass...and felt only the bare photograph. "Oh. There's no glass." Well, Ren felt rather stupid now.
"Huh?" Morgana's guilt faded away, replaced with a newfound curiosity. His tail flicked back and forth across the bed.
Wait, why wouldn't there be glass in the frame? Maybe to prevent it from being damaged if Ren dropped the parcel? Perhaps, but...maybe there was another reason. Ren sat down against his bed, gently extracting the photograph from its frame. Out of curiosity, he flipped the photo over and his heart stopped.
"What is it?" Morgana asked.
On the reverse side was another photograph. It had also been taken in Mementos, perhaps simply a zoomed-out version of the photo on front side. But it wasn't just him standing there.
Joker was in center-frame, surrounded by familiar and unfamiliar faces, all in the garb of Phantom Thieves. Ryuji, his Skull, was on his left, grinning up a storm, his arm on Joker's shoulder. Next to him was Yusuke in his fox mask, standing sort of stiffly, giving the camera a tight-lipped smile. Then, on the far side...was someone he didn't recognize.
They had incredibly short brown hair and a metal mask, with some sort of red-tinted glass or plastic sheet across its eyes. Their outfit was primarily black and blue, looking sort of like a full-body biker jacket. It was accentuated by little metal spikes on their shoulders and knees, and some sort of red tattered cape around their neck. They weren't particularly smiling, but their posture seemed comfortable, casual, they were enjoying being there even if they didn't show it outwardly.
Ren turned his attention towards the other side of the frame, towards the young woman with a surprised expression who was almost falling onto Joker, grabbing his right arm for balance. Round, blushed cheeks, fluffy brown hair poking out of a wide-brimmed purple hat, and a plain black mask. A little red cloth, like a mini-ascot, pinned to her collar. A pink top with a loose black vest, poofy shorts and long black leggings. She was...he didn't recognize her, obviously, but something about her seemed sort of comforting.
Next to her, seemingly bumping into young woman on purpose, was a younger girl with a mischievous smile on her face. Her long red hair was tied in two ponytails, and Ren could see a smattering of freckles across her pale face, despite the large red-goggled mask hiding her eyes. Her outfit was a dark bodysuit, with little neon green lines like veins across its surface, the fingers of her suit that same bright green. She was wearing long black cargo pants as well, with many baggy pockets and zippers.
Then, on the very left side of the frame, was Ann and Morgana. Panther laughing, happy, holding Mona in her arms – raising him up so he'd make it in shot. He looked rather uncomfortable, but still gave a big smile for the camera.
"Is that..." Morgana's voice was quiet, shocked. "Are those all Phantom Thieves?"
"Yusuke just joined the team," Ren said, his own voice sounding completely odd to him. "I guess we're supposed to meet more potential allies over the next few months." There was the new years deadline to consider, it almost definitely couldn't have been taken after that. "Sometime between now and the end of December, according to this, there'll be four new Thieves."
"Four?" Morgana let out a little quiet hum from Ren's shoulder. "There's only three people there I don't recognize."
Ren was about to answer, but...no, there were only three new faces. Why did he say four? Then, he realized. "And someone's holding the camera."
Ren had tucked the picture away in his desk, but it still haunted him. He couldn't describe what feeling it gave him beyond nervousness, this strange impatient feeling that he was forgetting something yet again. He wanted to remember. He wanted very badly to remember.
"Ren?" Sojiro's voice from behind Ren caused him to jump. "You've been washing that same plate for five minutes."
"Right, right." Ren carefully shoved the plate into the dry rack and picked up the next dirty dish, scrubbing it fervently. He noticed Morgana watching him from the stairs, his tail flicking back and forth, probably out of boredom. "Sorry. Tired."
"No kidding." Sojiro laughed. "You looked exhausted last night. You were hanging out with your friends, right?"
Ren tried to remember the lie he'd told over text, and that thought sent a pang through his already sore chest. "Yeah. We were at the arcade, it got kinda hectic."
"Then you got food at that family diner in Shibuya?"
Ren was about to respond, but his words froze on his tongue. He hadn't told Sojiro where he'd been eating, only that he'd gotten dinner out. He slowly turned around, expecting to see his guardian furious or disappointed or triumphant in catching him, but Sojiro was just smiling that same knowing smile. "Uh. How'd you...?"
"Found a receipt in the bathroom trash this morning," he said. His expression changed for a moment, to something that seemed to Ren like concern. "That place can get kind of expensive. Your friends made you foot the bill, didn't they?"
Ren shook his head. "They offered to pay for themselves but I said I'd cover them. Besides, I've got–" Money to spare that he could not in any capacity tell Sojiro about. "Uh. The rush hour thing the other day? When I was out all night? They gave me a big bonus, so. I thought I could treat everyone after exams."
Sojiro was quiet for a moment. "Ren, could you put down the dishes for a second? Come sit at the counter, please." Then, he added, like an afterthought: "I'm not mad. Just want to check in with you. See how everything's going."
Ren tried very hard to believe him as he rinsed off a plate and tucked it in the rack. He turned off the water and walked over to sit in front of Sojiro.
"You can take off the apron," the man laughed.
"Kay," Ren said, and pulled it off, standing up to go hang it in its place.
"No no no, just sit." Sojiro reached over the counter and took the apron from Ren. "Take it easy, kid."
Ren sat down. "Uh. What's up?"
Sojiro hung up the apron and then turned back to Ren, stroking his beard. "You said you just had exams?"
Ren nodded. "Yeah. That's, uh, what we were celebrating. I guess."
"Ah, celebrating implies you all did a good job then," Sojiro said in a teasing voice. He chuckled. "I'm just messing with you, sorry. How did you do?"
Ren felt a little spark of irritation at the man's prodding. "Ninety-seven percent, actually," he said, before he had a chance to consider fibbing the score down to something more reasonable, more believable.
Sojiro's eyebrows practically shot off his forehead. He blinked at Ren, seemingly struggling to find a response.
"Um," Ren said. He stared at the countertop. "I could take a picture on Monday. I know you probably don't believe me–"
"Ren," Sojiro cut him off. "That's incredible. That's amazing, oh my god." He laughed, and ran a hand through his slightly-greying black hair. "I believe you, kid. Goddamn, that's impressive." He laughed again, sounding almost dazed.
Ren didn't expect that. Ren didn't expect any of that. He just stared at the cafe owner, lost for words completely.
"No kidding you were out celebrating all night," Sojiro continued. "And here I was, planning a big speech about how I know how hard you've been working, and that hustle means more to me than an exam score. Guess I've got egg on my face now, huh?"
Wait, what? "It does?" Ren asked.
Sojiro cleared his throat, attempting to compose himself. "It does. Still does, acing the exam aside." He pulled his barstool over and sat down himself, putting his arms on the counter, facing the boy. "You've only been here a month and a half, and you've already made two friends who – from what you've told me – treat you very well. That's hard enough on its own, not even considering the fact you've been working part time at night and helping me around the cafe so often. Plus, you're going to school on time every single day, you're not causing trouble, and I even got a phone call from your very polite school therapist to make sure you're doing alright."
Ren blanched. Maruki'd called Sojiro? Shit. Shit. "Uh. Sorry to worry you?"
Sojiro gave him an odd look. "About therapy? Kid, with how badly you've been treated by grown ups in your life, I'm...I feel proud that you're even going to therapy."
Proud. Sojiro was...proud of him. Ren felt like his heart might explode if he didn't start sobbing first.
The man let out a soft sigh. "You've been working your ass off, Ren. I don't know what you've got to prove, and who you're trying to prove it to, but...I see that. And I see you."
Ren didn't know what to say. "Proud," he said. Then he smacked himself in the face. "I'm dumb, sorry, I don't–"
Sojiro cut him off with a loud laugh. "Guess I melted your brain with all that praise, huh?" He cracked his neck and gestured awkwardly towards the front door. "Uh. Well this was meant to be a consolation prize or something, a little bonus for all your hard work, but I guess you can consider it a reward for acing your exam too."
Ren didn't see what he was talking about at first. Then, he noticed the large brown box tucked next to the door. "Can I..."
Sojiro rolled his eyes, still smiling. "Yes, you can go open it. I got it for you after all, wouldn't make much sense to just leave it there."
Ren hopped off the barstool, curious beyond description. After a quick glance to make sure no costumers were about to enter and hit him with the door, he stepped into the little alcove and pulled at the tape on the big brown box. It didn't take long for him to undo the bindings and pull the box open. Inside was a single object, some sort of odd cube of dark plastic and metal. It took him a long few seconds to realize it was a television; one of those old CRTs, he'd seen pictures but never one in person.
"I know it's kind of a piece of junk," Sojiro said apologetically. "I was looking for something a little nicer, but all the televisions I could find were overpriced. I figured, uh, even though it's not the best, it still might be nice to have something like that in your room." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I know you can watch all sorts of videos on your phone nowadays, but, I thought you could have a movie night with your friends?"
"It's awesome," Ren said. Something about it was...kind of endearing to him. It was obviously junk, but it felt sort of irreplaceable too. It had personality, he supposed. Beyond that, it was a gift. A very kind gift. "This rocks. Thank you so much Sojiro, holy shit."
"Don't mention it, kid." Sojiro stroked his beard. "And, uh, it's got a built in VCR player too. I think they sell tapes at that video store in Shibuya, but I've also got a few lying around the house. I'll bring them over tomorrow–"
The cafe door swung open, nearly smacking Ren in the face. He couldn't help but yelp.
"Hey boss," Ann said, her voice a little strained for some reason. "Did...was that Ren who just yelled?"
Sojiro merely chuckled and pointed towards Ren, who was breathing hard behind the now open door.
Ann peeked around the door, starting when she saw him. "Oh shit, did I hit you with the door? Sorry, uh–"
"I'm 'kay," Ren squeaked out. "Sorry, you just startled me. I'm good." To prove it, he flashed a thumbs up.
"What a wonderful cafe!" Yusuke's voice wandered in from outside. "This aesthetic is so charming. Quaint, even! A lovely tapestry of–"
"Stop gawking and stop fucking pushing," Ryuji grumbled back, his voice cracking and strained. "Ann please, inside now."
"Right!" she chirped, quickly scooting farther into Leblanc. Ren could see now that Ryuji's arm was draped around her shoulder, she was physically supporting the jock, who looked on the verge of collapsing.
"Oh shit." Ren stumbled to his feet, nearly running right into Yusuke, who'd wandered into the cafe as well, in some sort of aesthetic-induced trance. He scooted past the oblivious artist as gracefully as he could, still nearly shoving the young man over. "Ryuji, are you okay? What happened?"
Ryuji glanced over his shoulder at Ren, a big, pained-looking smile on his face. "My leg fuckin hurts, bro!" he said, in a cheerful voice Ren instantly recognized as agonized delirium.
"I'm sorry," Ann said. "I forgot, I dragged you around all day, and–"
"Takamaki," Ryuji said, "my girldude. No sorries here. This is a sorryless space." He grit his teeth. "Now. Up the stairs."
"What!?" she spluttered back. "Absolutely not! You can't even stand on your own right now, I'm not gonna drag you up to the attic like this."
"Come onnnnn," he whined, "how are we supposed to pla–"
Ann quickly cut him off by elbowing him in the gut. "Sojiro," she whispered.
"–play twenty questions!" he quickly corrected. "Down here. Attic time is now time."
Ann let out a long, frustrated sigh. Then, she practically shoved Ryuji onto one of the booth seats. He let out a little stifled yell, and she winced. "Sorry, sorry." Ren rushed to Ryuji's side as Ann composed herself and sat down at the counter. "But you're not going anywhere. You've gotta rest, dumbass. We'll pl...play twenty questions some other time."
"I hope not," Yusuke said, standing in the middle of Leblanc, looking a little like a lost child. "I'm not very good at twenty questions."
Ren turned his attention to his aching friend. "Is it bad?" he asked in a near whisper, both hands on the table, crouching down next to Ryuji.
"Nah," Ryuji said, and forced a smile. "Nothin ya boy can't handle." He shifted on the booth, and his face contorted, grabbing onto Ren's hand. "Ow. Ow ow ow. Fuck. Yeah. Hurts bad."
Despite how tight Ryuji was squeezing his hand, Ren refused to let it go. He squeezed it back, holding him tightly there. Some sort of crappy anchor, or something. He felt Ryuji relax a little, and that was good enough for him.
Sojiro cleared his throat. "Well," he said, in an odd exaggerated tone. "There haven't been any customers at all today. What a shame. Guess I'll just have to close early." He picked his hat up off the register and winked at Ren. "Looks like you've got the place to yourself. Lucky you."
"Oh," Yusuke said, sounding rather disappointed. "I rather wanted to try your coffee, Mister Boss. I've heard great things."
"Just boss," Sojiro laughed. "Or Sojiro, if you prefer. And Ren knows how to brew coffee just fine. He'll get you a cup." He pulled off his apron, hanging it up on the wall and then donning his hat. "Ren, catch." Sojiro pulled something small and shiny out of his pocket and tossed it to Ren.
Ren was thankfully able to catch it one-handed, and opened his hand to stare down at a small silver key ring with two keys. "Is this–"
"Spare keys to the place," Sojiro said. "You've earned em. I'll start locking up when I leave, so make sure you bring them with you whenever you go out. Especially if you're out late. Don't want to get woken up at half past one or something cause you got yourself locked out of the cafe."
"Boss, thank you so much," Ann said.
"You're welcome, little miss," he said with a chuckle. "You...take care of Ren, you hear? He's a good kid," Sojiro smiled towards Ren, "but he can get into his own head a little too much. And you've got a good sense for that sort of thing, I think."
Ren felt like he should respond, but had no earthly idea what to say. So he just held onto Ryuji's hand even tighter.
Ann chuckled and half-blushed at the praise, rubbing the back of her neck. "I, uh, I try. Someone's gotta stop these idiots from getting into trouble, might as well be me."
"Hey, I resent that." Ryuji grumbled back. "My trouble is only my fault, like, half the time."
Sojiro burst out laughing. "Good to hear. Sounds like you kids are gonna be just fine." He gently moved Yusuke out of the way, and walked to the door. "Have a good day, you all. Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge, it's not much but I'm going shopping tomorrow anyway. And clean up after yourself, I don't want to clean up a huge mess early in the morning."
"I promise," Ren said.
"We'll leave it spotless," Yusuke added.
"Thanks again boss!" Ryuji called after him.
And the door chimed. Through the glass, Sojiro flipped the sign over. The click of the lock. Then, it was just the Thieves.
"Nice save, Ryuji," Ann teased. "Twenty questions the best you could come up with?"
"Screw you I'm in pain," Ryuji wheezed back.
"Can I help at all?" Yusuke offered.
"Uh," Ren said. "I've got some painkillers in my bag upstairs, you could–"
And Morgana hopped up onto the table, letting a small orange bottle of pills fall from his mouth. "No need to thank me," he said, though his prideful posture dictated otherwise.
"Thanks cat," Ryuji grumbled, grabbing the bottle and struggling to pop the cap off one-handed.
Ren was about to let go of Ryuji's other hand when Yusuke walked over, gently plucking the bottle from the jock and unscrewing the cap. He placed it back in the blond's grip. "There. Helpful."
"Very," Ryuji said, relief creeping into his tone.
"Could you get some water too?" Ren asked.
"Nah, dude, check it out." Ryuji grinned, and popped one of the pills in his mouth. He took a deep breath in through his nose, then swallowed hard. "Tadah! Dry swallow." He opened his mouth wide to prove it, sticking out his tongue.
Ann's face curled up. "Why are you proud of that?"
"Oh!" Yusuke clapped once. "Very impressive, Ryuji."
Ren just laughed.
Ann rolled her eyes, still grinning. "Guys are so gross."
"You know it!" Ryuji laughed. He let out a long, relieved sigh. "That feels so much better, holy shit."
"I'm glad," Ren said, quietly. Probably too quiet for the jock to hear, but Ryuji did squeeze his hand a little tighter then.
"So," Yusuke said. He sat down at one of the other booths. "Let us move onto buisness. How shall the Phantom Thieves proceed now?"
Ren, still crouching next to Ryuji's table, glanced towards Ann. He moved his open hand to the side, where Yusuke couldn't see, and drew an "O" in the air. Ann bit her lip, seeming to think over the unspoken question. Then, she nodded. Ren looked to Morgana next, mouthing "Oxymoron."
The not-a-cat also took a moment to ponder. "I think so," he said. "He's a Phantom Thief, there's no reason to keep it from him."
"Keep...what from me?" Yusuke asked, confused.
"Yeah, keep what...?" Ryuji trailed off as he realized what his friends were implying. "Oh! Right, that!" He laughed. "Oh boy, buckle in, Yusuke. You're in for a hell of a trip."
Yusuke sat silently at the booth, chin in his hands, brow furrowed. Most likely, just trying to process the entirety of what he'd been told.
Ren's legs had started to cramp after a while, so he'd sat down in the booth across from Ryuji, still holding onto the jock's hand. For whatever reason, he really didn't want to let go. "Is there anything you're particularly confused about?"
"Not really," Yusuke mumbled. "It's just a lot to take in."
"Tell me about it," Ryuji said. "I still don't think I get everything, really."
"I mean," Ann said, "correct me if I'm wrong, Ren, but you and Morgana don't really understand the whole situation yet either, right?"
Ren nodded. "Yeah. I mean, Oxymoron's not giving us anything more than weird vague clues. Anachronism's been a little more helpful, but..." He realized the three others were all staring at him with confused expressions. "Right. Uh. Didn't bring it up earlier, but...I think Oxymoron, like...got my future self to agree to help her."
Ryuji's jaw dropped. "Wait wait, what!? For real!?"
"Why?" Ann asked, similarly shocked. "Does that mean you trusted her?"
Ren's gaze shot towards the floor. Shame, maybe. Something of the ilk. "I don't know. Maybe she threatened me, maybe I just...didn't have anything left to lose."
The implication sent a silence through the cafe.
"He called himself 'Anachronism,' at first," Ren continued. "But, he signed his last letter 'Ren Amamiya.' He said...Oxymoron was trying to keep me, keep us, in the dark. So we'd do what she said. But he wanted me to make my own decisions, I guess. To find out the truth."
"Shit," Ryuji said. "That sure does sound like you."
Ann laughed, and Ren looked up at her. "Yeah. Yeah, it does." She was smiling. Why was she smiling? Why did she look as if she hadn't been betrayed? "That's...actually really nice to know. If we've got future-Ren looking out for us, I think we'll be okay."
Yusuke nodded. "That sounds alright to me, as well."
Ren couldn't find his tongue. He couldn't find the words to express his gratitude. So, he just squeezed Ryuji's hand and tried not to cry.
The patter of Morgana's little paws on the stairs. He hopped from staircase to table to table, finally sitting in a huff in front of Yusuke and letting the sketch paper drop from his mouth. "That's the last time I go and get anything from your room," he grumbled. "I'm the original Phantom Thief, you don't get to treat me like an errand-boy."
"Sorry," Ren said. "And, thank you Morgana. You're the best."
"Yep!" Ann added. "Mona's the best!"
Morgana straightened up, doing a prideful little hum to himself. "Well, I am pretty great, aren't I?"
"This..." Yusuke said, picking up the paper. "This image is heavenly. The attention to detail...I think I might start crying, this is beyond beautiful."
Ann leaned over to peek at the design, and let out an impressed whistle.
"It's all yours," Ren laughed. "I don't know how it'll help, if at all, but it's definitely meant for you."
The young man stared at the design as if he'd been given a sheet of solid gold. "Thank you," he whispered.
Ren took a deep breath in and out. "So. What does everyone's day look like tomorrow?" He smiled. "We've got an infiltration to finish, after all."
5/23 – Monday
After School
Madarame's Palace
"Take a breather," Ren said, ushering everyone into the Safe Room and closing the door. It'd been a few hours since they entered the Palace, and he was honestly surprised at how smoothly the infiltration had gone so far. None of the Thieves seemed more than a little winded.
"Pretty sharp moves out there, Fox," Mona said. He sat on the table and licked at the back of his paw. "You sure you haven't done this sort of thing before?"
Yusuke – no, Fox, Ren still had to get used to the codename – pulled a small piece of paper out of his pocket and stared at it intently, saying nothing.
"Fox?" Panther said, waving at him from across the table. "Earth to Fox. Your teammates are trying to tell you how cool you are."
Fox started. "Yes, yes, sorry. I got distracted, my apologizes."
"Whatcha got there?" Skull glanced over Fox's shoulder. "Is that the sketch thing Joker and Mona gave you?"
He nodded. "It is. I've been..." He trailed off, words failing as he was lost once more in his own thoughts.
"I haven't seen anything like that in the Palace so far," Ren said. He sat down next to Panther. "But I'll keep my eyes out. Maybe there's a chest somewhere–"
Fox pulled a brush out of his coat and Ren's words fell back into his throat. He extracted a small vial with some sort of black fluid – paint? – from his pocket as well, placing it on the table. Then, he unclipped his katana's sheath from his belt and dipped his brush into the vial.
"Dude," Skull said. "You're painting? Now?"
Fox did not reply. His eyes flew from katana to paper, and he painted across the blade's sheath with the energy of a man possessed. Ren couldn't help but watch silently, entranced by the young man's unabashed passion. He'd seen Yusuke paint before, of course, but...never like this. Never with such care, such energy. None of the other Thieves spoke either, all eyes locked on Fox's work.
After what felt at once like an instant and an eternity, Fox balanced the brush atop the paint vial. He wiped sweat from his brow and grinned down at the fruits of his labor, the katana's sheath now covered completely in a frankly perfect replica of the gifted design.
"Nice work," Panther said.
Mona scratched at his own ear, shifting impatiently. "Very impressive Fox, but I'm not really sure what the point of that was."
Fox glanced up at the feline with a confused expression. "The point?"
Skull sighed loudly. "Whelp. Looks like we just watched that for twenty minutes for nothing."
"Ah." Fox looked rather embarrassed. "I apologize for wasting your time, I..." His voice caught, and he cleared his throat.
Ren stared at the design, at the sheathed katana covered in spirals and snowflakes. Beyond simply its aesthetic qualities, there was something about it that caught his eye. Yusuke painted it with only black paint, hadn't he? So...why could he see what looked like streaks of red across its surface? Why did the snowflakes seem far lighter than the spirals? "Fox. Could you unsheathe your katana for me?"
A curious look, but Fox nodded. "Of course." He picked up the sword, pulling it partially from its sheath and then freezing. "Holy shit." The word sounded so bizarre on Yusuke's eloquent tongue, but Ren shared his sentiment.
The blade was no longer polished steel. It was far closer to a single carved piece of ice, pale blue-white and translucent, letting off faint mist simply from touching the air.
"Yooo!" Skull no doubt saw the katana as well. "Dude, what happened to your sword?"
Fox shook his head. "I don't know. I simply..."
"It's the sheath," Mona said, eyes locked on the katana even as he spoke. "Our weapons here draw strength from shared cognition. That design must have had some sort of cognitive power. It changed our perception of the sword, so the sword itself changed."
"Magnificent," Fox said, near-breathlessly. He looked almost reticent to sheathe the blade. "Joker," he added, "I feel that I would very much like to test this new strength. Shall we depart at once?"
His excitement, soft-spoken though it was, felt contagious. If Ren had been tired before, he certainly wasn't now. He grinned. "Sounds good to me."
█████
Afternoon
Mementos
The boy in the black mask sat on the edge of the subway platform, feet dangling off the side. The others had gone on ahead, but he had decided to take his own pace. And far be it from the Trickster to leave him alone.
"We could still take another photo, you know." The Trickster sat next to him. "And we could have asked someone else to hold the camera–"
"Don't patronize me," the boy snapped. "It was my own decision not to show myself."
The Trickster was quiet for a moment. "Why did you decide that?"
The boy in the black mask didn't answer him, for a little while. "You're going to be sending that photo back, aren't you?" he said, finally. "If we lose. You'll be sending it back."
Back. The Trickster nodded. "Yes. If we lose."
The boy laughed, bitter and dry. "I should have said 'when,' but it doesn't matter." He stared down at the few-foot drop to the tracks below. "Back then, when you didn't know me yet. When all you knew was..." He grit his teeth. "When all you knew was the blood on my hands. Would you ever believe you could stand by my side? Would you believe anything from someone so obedient to that man?"
The Trickster didn't reply.
"I thought so," the boy continued. "Maybe, maybe I could believe that you would accept that. But the others?" He laughed again, sounding almost like a sob. "Your friends would have abandoned you before they would have accepted me."
"You don't know that," the Trickster protested.
"Oh, don't I?" He adjusted his gloves, the red-tipped fingers like claws gleaming in the dim light. "I see how they look at me, still. Your father, your sister. Your partners. They only accept me because of you, and even now they'd rather it if I was gone." He pulled his legs in towards his chest. "I don't know why you care. I don't know why you try. It'd be easier..." The boy trailed off.
The Trickster took a deep breath. "I've talked with them, you know. The Thieves don't move forward without unanimous decision. And not a single one of us disagreed with you joining the team again. Yeah, there's a bit of upset feelings towards you. Of course there is. You tried to kill me, after all."
"Twice," the boy in the black mask mumbled.
"Twice," he confirmed. "But no one's forcing themselves to be around you. And..." The Trickster placed one hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're my friend too."
The boy looked up at the Trickster, tears running down his left cheek. "You're an idiot," he said, his voice quiet, forced into steadiness. "And I'm going to end up dragging you down with me."
"Or," the Trickster retorted, "you'll be just what we need to push through this."
The boy in the black mask laughed. For an instant, the Trickster could see his eyes through the red-tinted lenses. One brown. The other completely white. "You're lucky," the boy said. "I'm already dead to the world; I've got nothing left to lose."
Credit to natade-art on Tumblr for inspiring the slight redesign for the "metal-masked Thief."
