6/21 – Tuesday
After School
Cafe Leblanc, Attic

Makoto hadn't taken a sip from her can of soda in roughly fifteen minutes, just holding the condensating aluminum in her lap with both hands. She stared vaguely at the rest of the Thieves from her spot on Ren's bed, looking like she was lost for words completely. "Time travel?!" she finally spluttered.

"In a manner of speaking," Morgana replied, stretching out his entire body out across the floor. Ren leaned down in his chair to pet the feline's head.

"It's sorta out of our control," Ryuji added. "We're just rolling with the punches here."

"That doesn't really make it better." Makoto sighed, and ran a hand across her buzzed hair. "And you have no idea what this Oxymoron wants from the Thieves?"

All eyes went to Ren. "Not really," he replied. "Mitsuru has a theory that she wants our help to access something at the core of Mementos, and we've been assuming that as well. That being said, we can't know for certain."

Makoto's brow furrowed. "But...you mentioned she has shortcuts to deeper areas in Mementos. If she can do that, why go through all this trouble?"

Ren shrugged. "No idea. We know we've got until the end of this year before she turns back time again, but she hasn't exactly been clear about why she's–"

"The Thieves have successfully taken the heart of Japan many times before, more than I can count. But you are never able to hold onto that heart. You have fought and won, but it has never been enough."

"Ren?" Ann's concerned voice.

Ren shook his head. "Sorry, sorry. I think..." He hesitated. "I actually think it might not be Mementos, really. That might be a means to an end."

Makoto raised an eyebrow. "Are you basing this off anything in particular?"

"Just a hunch," Ren replied.

"If it's one of Ren's hunches," Yusuke broke out into a wide smile, "then I feel more confident already."

"Hm," Makoto replied. "You did say you've been receiving premonitions. Would this be one of them?"

"Maybe." Ren shifted in his chair. "I can't say for sure. But I think the shortcuts in Mementos do point to that." He twisted a lock of hair between two fingers. "If what she seeks is at the core of Mementos, even if it's something that only the Thieves can get – for whatever reason – then I don't see why she hasn't simply opened up those pathways for us. For whatever reason, she seems to want us to go about this as if she wasn't here. The parcels so far have been helpful, but it's like her main goal is just to keep us on track."

The room was quiet as the Thieves took that in.

"I think I'm too dumb for all this time travel shit," Ryuji admitted, "so I'll leave the figuring out you guys."

"Ditto," Ann echoed.

Makoto shook her head. "This has nothing to do with intelligence," she chastised. "For whatever reason, this Oxymoron seems eager to keep you all in the dark. I think Ren, or Anachronism, was right that she probably seeks to control your actions."

"Your actions too," Morgana corrected. "You're a Phantom Thief now. One of us."

"Of course," Makoto replied, smiling softly. "I'll do my best to remember that." She raised the can, chugged down its contents, wiped off her mouth and then crushed it cleanly between both hands. "Alright. Regardless, Kaneshiro's heart still needs to be changed. We should focus on that, for the time being."

"Hey, which one of us is the leader?" Ren quipped, smirking.

"Am I wrong?" Makoto shot back with a smirk of her own. "Unless you can recall any new insight that might point us in the right direction, that seems like the only prudent course of action."

Ren threw up his hands in a mock surrender. "Sure, sure. I'll make sure to let you know if I hallucinate any more juicy info."

Ryuji snickered and stood up. "Alright, knock it off you two. Let's get going already, we've got a route to infiltrate."

Ren, Ann and Yusuke similarly stood, but Makoto seemed lost in thought, staying seated on Ren's bed. As the others headed towards the staircase, he walked over and sat down on the bed next to her. "What's up?"

She glanced at him, smiled, and then returned to staring at the crushed can in her hands. "I believe," she said, finally, "that I asked you what you were hiding, a few weeks ago."

"Uh," he said.

"And you mentioned," she continued, "among other things, that someone with a god-complex was trying to control you, and that you were having premonitions."

"Um," he replied.

"And furthermore," she said, smirking now, "that you were in love with your best friend." Makoto glanced towards Ren. "So, out of sheer curiosity, who exactly would you say your best friend is, Ren?"

He stared back at her. "Can I invoke my right to an attorney?" he asked.

She burst out laughing. "Oh, can it Amamiya." Makoto reached over and smacked him on the shoulder, then stood up. "I'm just teasing, I promise. Your love life is none of my concern. I don't believe it's anyone's business, beyond yours and, I would guess, Ryuji's."

And at that, Ren felt his cheeks flushed. "Anyone tell you that you can be a real asshole?" he grumbled, smiling despite himself.

"Oh, only my friends." She offered a hand to him. "And with any luck, they'll have plenty of opportunities to return fire. Turnabout is fair play, after all."

Ren took her hand and let her pull him up to standing. "I'll keep that in mind."


6/21 – Tuesday
After School
Kaneshiro's Palace

Makoto shifted back and forth in place in the waiting room, adjusting her metal-knuckled gloves and the popped collar of her jacket. "How long did it take you all to get used to your outfits?" she asked.

"Dude," Skull replied, "have you seen me?" He gestured to himself. "This shit fits like a glove."

"Are you uncomfortable at all?" Fox asked. "I can bring some sewing supplies with me next time, and we can make some adjustments."

"I didn't know you could sew," Mona said, impressed.

"I am a man of many talents," Fox replied with a grin.

"Not particularly," Makoto replied. "Though I think the bright red cape is a little ostentatious." She twisted back and forth, and the cape fluttered in the stagnant air as if from a breeze.

"I think you look really cool!" Panther chirped, grinning from ear to ear. If Ren wasn't mistaken, despite the relatively lukewarm air, her cheeks were noticeably flushed.

Makoto smiled back. "Thank you, Panther." Then she started. "Oh. Now that I'm a Phantom Thief, I should go by a nickname as well, shouldn't I?"

Ren nodded. "Any ideas?"

"Fist of the Phantom Star!" Skull cut in, immediately.

Makoto snickered. "I can and will smack you upside the head."

He sighed, looking legitimately dejected. "Worth a try."

"Slick?" Panther offered.

Makoto seemed to consider it, then shook her head.

"You are the student council president," Mona mumbled, scratching his chin. "Something like 'Prez' could be fitting."

"I'd rather something distinct from my day-to-day life," she replied.

"You do have a rather commanding aura," Fox added. "If distinct, perhaps not a President, but 'Captain'?"

"Maybe," she said, nodding slowly.

"What about King then?" Ren said.

Makoto smirked, looking like she might shoot it down, but then she paused. "I think," she said, slowly, "if it wouldn't be too excessive of me to say so, that sounds like a name I'd enjoy very much."

"I can totally see it," Panther said, grinning.

Mona crossed his arms and smiled. "Welcome to the team, King!"

She hesitated again. "Actually, sorry, on second thought...I think I would prefer to go by Queen." Makoto brushed her gloved fingers against her mask, closing her eyes for a moment. "To do Johanna's name justice, if nothing else."

Ren wasn't exactly sure what she meant by that, but he nodded nonetheless. "Glad to have you, Queen."

"Glad to be had." Queen smiled, and opened her eyes. Her posture seemed to relax, just a little. "So then, how should we proceed, Joker?"

"We could try busting down the door we got taken through last time," Skull offered.

"It's doubtful we'd be able to," Fox noted, and motioned to the door to Salvation on the far wall. It had been repaired after Makoto's – or, Queen's – destructive escape. In fact, it had been replaced completely. No longer white and gold, but a hunk of what looked like absurdly sturdy steel, covered in rivets and barred twice over with two heavy beams. "Not to mention, storming in through the front entrance would bring every Shadow in the Palace running."

"That's not the Phantom Thieves' style," Mona added. "We'll find a side path, like we always do."

"In that case," Queen said, and pointed to the nearby wooden door that yet another Cognition was being escorted through. "That seems like the best way forward. Assuming, of course, that we don't wish to simple wait here to be processed."

Ren chuckled. "Waiting isn't exactly our style either." He adjusted his crimson gloves. "Phantom Thieves, let's get to work."


Queen stared at the codebook she was holding, lips moving silently as she solved some equation in her head, then she glanced up towards Skull – poised in front of a keypad lock. "Zero-four-five-one."

Skull typed out the code. Bing. The keypad lit up green, and the black metal door slid open. "Badass! Alright, another one down."

Queen sighed, and pocketed the book. "These obstacles are getting far more tedious," she grumbled. "I think my eyes are starting to blur over."

"Getting tired of navigating?" Ren asked, as the Thieves slipped through the door and into a large open warehouse, filled with shelves holding jars of either dull crimson or sickly yellow fluid. "We can switch out, if you'd rather just punch some Shadows."

Queen hesitated, then nodded. "I appreciate that, thank you. As long as it wouldn't be a hassle."

"It wouldn't," Ren replied. "I'm getting a little winded from using Arsene so much, I've gotta switch off the front lines anyway."

"Understood," she replied. And she quickened her pace to join Skull and Fox at the front, as Ren delayed slightly to be closer to the rearguard of Panther and Mona.

"Heya," he said. "Holding up?"

"Hi Joker," Panther replied with a chuckle. "Yep, no problems here. You guys have done a hell of a job, I've barely needed to call Carmen so far."

Mona's fur ruffled. "Shadow, up ahead!"

The Thieves scattered to either side of the nearest doorway. Ren peeked around the corner to see a Shadow standing at the end of a fifteen-foot-long hallway, arms crossed. It was inhumanly buff, with two crimson horns poking out from behind its plain white mask. "Another guard."

"We must be going the right way then!" Mona mewled, bouncing up and down with excited fervor.

Queen glanced at Ren from the other side of the doorway. "I don't think I've asked before," she whispered, "but do the Phantom Thieves have any sort of playbook we can utilize?"

Ren stared back at her. "A what?" he responded.

"A playbook." She gestured fruitlessly, trying to get across some additional meaning. "Any sort of...I don't know, advanced planning you have for these sorts of situations. A rehearsed strategy of any sort?"

He blinked. "What?" he repeated.

Queen's face fell from hopeful to dour. "So when you said you were improvising everything, you meant everything?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Skull replied from beside her.

Queen scrunched up her entire face and took a deep breath. Then she let it out, and relaxed, though her expression was still a little irritated. "That's going to be difficult to get used to."

"Sorry," Panther whispered, sounding rather sheepish.

A playbook. Rehearsed strategies. Queen's words and their associated implications were starting to sink into Ren's head, and each time he mulled over the idea, it sounded more and more like something entirely obvious. Of course the Thieves were well-versed in improvisation, that was a necessity, but having at least a few strategies in his back pocket to cut down on planning time...

"Queen," he said, maybe a little louder than he should have, "I think you're onto something there." And he found himself breaking into an excited grin. "Everyone group up. I want to try something new."


Ren wasn't used to future-proofing his schemes, but something about that process filled him with unmatched focus. He stared down at his open notebook – the Phantom Thieves' new playbook – and his eyes traced the hastily scribbled plan: Two-by-Two Marathon.

Shadow guards were territorial by nature. It was their job to be as dangerous a wall as possible, to stop potential threats from getting past them, but they weren't the best equipped at pursuit. The relatively narrow hallway ensured that a long-ranged battle would be challenging, the Thieves had no ability to flank with such limited space. Cover was a potential option, but taking wild pot-shots at a resilient threat would waste both time and energy. Arsene was another option, but Ren didn't feel that confident pitting his own stamina against the resilience of one of Kaneshiro's guards.

So, hit and run became the most appealing choice by far.

Ren crouched atop one of the nearby shelves, as steady as he could manage, Fox by his side, staring down at the other four Thieves. Just in case anything went wrong, he and Fox could pull the others out of danger.

"Ready?" he asked Fox.

The young man was still adjusting himself atop the shelf, perched like a gargoyle, one hand in his jacket. "I believe so," he mumbled back.

Ren glanced towards Queen and gave her a thumbs-up. Queen nodded, and seemed to take a deep breath. Then, she stepped around the corner, and Panther copied her motion from the other side of the doorway.

"Hey ugly!" Queen shouted. The Shadow Guard started, and stared at her. Queen's mask shattered, and Johanna manifested underneath her, her hands immediately finding the handlebars and revving the bike. Panther quickly mounted the Persona as well, arms around Queen's waist, looking at once uncomfortable and ecstatic. "Out of the way."

The Shadow almost appeared to consider the command. And then, it burst, dark ooze spreading outwards and then coalescing into an imposing form, a crimson demon holding a massive iron polearm, a black horn on both temples and a single white fin on the very top of its head. Some sort of Oni, if Ren had to guess. "Lost souls!" it bellowed, and swung the polearm above its head. "Begone from this place! You are not welcome in our Master's Salvation!"

Queen revved Johanna's engine again. "I'll pass," she replied. Both she and Panther tensed, as if she was planning to accelerate straight for the Oni. The Shadow tensed as well, bracing for their approach. But rather than lift the brakes, Queen clenched her hands down on the handlebars. "Freila!" Warbling pale light gathered in front of the motorized Persona, almost singing as it grew and intensified.

Panther raised one hand to her mask. "Carmen, help her out!" Blue fire, and then the orb of light in front of Johanna flared, bubbling with energy, singing a harmonious ballad, some furious hum like the inside of a sun. And then, it shot towards the Oni.

Even from a few feet away, Ren could smell the explosion, it sent a shudder through his bones and drove the overpowering stench of flame into his nostrils. He forced himself to stay focused, to watch as Johanna vanished, Panther and Queen sprinting in opposite directions back to their original sides of the doorway, replaced in an instant with Skull and Mona.

As soon as the flames faded, before the Oni had any change of retaliating, Skull raised one hand to his mask, clutching a skill card in his other. "Get out of our way!" he yelled, the intensity in his voice sending a shiver down Ren's spine. "Electrify him, Captain Kidd!" Sparks arced from metal wall to ceiling and floor, turning from yellow to pale white to deep blue as they spiraled around and around with intensifying force. The spiral connected with the Oni, and the Shadow stiffened as an immesurable voltage surged through it, dropping its polearm with a jittery spasm.

"Our turn!" Mona raised a skill card above his head, crushing it between both paws. "We'll cut them down! Phanta Rhei!" The air around the Shadow distorted, twisting and convoluting. It started to shudder, more and more, until the air was vibrating with force enough to scream. A glimmer of something, like an invisible saw slicing through air, and then it sliced through the shadow, a deep cut immediately shooting across the Oni's chest. Ichor burst from it like blood, and it clutched the cut with a shocked expression.

One last blow, that was all it would need. Queen and Panther were waiting, anxious and indecisive, for the other pair to retreat, but both Skull and Mona looked far too winded to do so with any speed. And the Shadow was looking like it might regain its footing at any time.

Ren didn't even think. He jumped off the shelf. "Queen, Panther!" he yelled, his knees sending a painful protest at his stumbled landing. "Extraction!"

Thankfully, they caught the drift immediately. Queen reached out and grabbed Skull by his collar, Panther scooping up Mona, and they pulled both boys out of the way, just as Ren sprinted through the door.

"Joker?!" Skull's strained, surprised, voice.

Ren couldn't stop. Head down, he yanked the silver dagger from its sheath and clutched it with both hands.

"Joker!" came Fox's voice from behind him. A faint sound, like glass shattering, and Ren's vision was momentarily tinged green. It was as if time slowed, just a little, but Ren was no less quick. Ten feet. Five. And then adrenaline shoved a shout into his throat, and he slammed his entire body weight into the Oni – knife first.

The Shadow, stunned, stared down at him, at the long blade embedded in its gut. "Ow," it said, in a deep and distorted voice. And then, it burst, popping like a monstrous balloon filled with black dust.

Ren stumbled backward, steadying himself. His stomach was a little tender, he'd probably bruised it by stopping all his momentum against his blade's hilt. "Ow," he mumbled. And then he was nearly bowled over by a rambling Skull.

"Holy shit dude that was so cool but what the absolute fuck!?" Skull hugged Ren so tight he could barely breathe. "Don't scare me like that! I thought you were going to get electrocuted or crushed by a big demon or some shit!"

"Sorry for worrying you," Ren wheezed, patting Skull's back as gently as he could while still trying to get across that the boy should release him. "I didn't want you and Mona to get hurt. It's all good."

Skull took a deep breath, then broke the hug, his hands on Ren's shoulders. "Please don't do stupid shit like that," he said, clear and firm, his eyes locking with Ren's. "I don't wanna lose you." And then, he broke eye contact. "Uh. We'd be kinda fucked without our leader, yeah? So be more careful, maybe." He shrugged.

Ren's nose prickled with oncoming tears that he quickly swallowed. "Ryuji," he said, quietly. "Trust me a little. I promised I'd fight by your side, and I can't do that if I'm..." Dead. "If I get hurt." He chuckled. "I know I'm kind of a dumbass. But I'll do whatever I can to make sure all the Thieves are safe. Myself included."

Skull nodded slowly, and gently lifted his hands from Ren's shoulder. "Yeah. Yeah, okay. Sorry. I dunno, just...got kinda scared there."

Ren reached up and pressed one hand against Skull's. "I've pulled some pretty stupid stunts before," he admitted, "but I'll do better. I've gotta, I can't keep relying on you guys to pull me out of my own bad ideas."

Skull looked like he was going to reply, but he was cut off by a firm clap across his back from Queen. "Alright you two," she said, smiling despite the firmness in her voice. "Hug and make up later. We've got places to be."

Ren squeezed Skull's hand one last time, then let it go. "Right," he said, and forced himself to face forward. "Let's keep moving."


6/21 – Tuesday
Evening
Cafe Leblanc

Ren would have collapsed into bed as soon as he made it up the stairs, if not for the feline currently glaring at him from atop his bed. "Parcel?" he mumbled.

"Parcel," Morgana insisted.

"Okay," Ren said, almost more a breath than a word. He lowered himself to his knees and then stretched his arm under his bed, pulling out that day's parcel and then plopping down next to Morgana. Too tired for further ceremony, he broke the seal and fished out the contents. He stared down at an odd bundle of cotton, some a long relatively-thin strand that almost looked like a roll of tape, his addled brain too exhausted to make sense of it. "It's some sort of...thing."

"That looks like it's got velcro on part of it," Morgana said, staring at the roll, his tail swishing back and forth. "And that design on it reminds me of the one Yusuke painted on his sheath."

Ren extended a length of the cotton and squinted at it. It was mostly white, but covered with spiraling black and red lines and odd triangular blue shapes. "New Thief," he muttered, "I'll show this to Makoto before we steal Kaneshiro's heart. Maybe this belongs to her."

"Maybe," Morgana said. And he yawned. "Goodnight Ren." With that, he curled up into a fuzzy black ball and closed his eyes.

Ren chuckled. "Goodnight sleepyhead."


6/22 – Wednesday
Noon
Shujin Academy

The lunch room was emptier than usual. Only a handful of students sitting at the dozen-or-so tables, and most were alone or with a single friend. It had been a pretty quiet day so far; no idea why. But considering the Thieves were all dealing with their own exhaustion from the infiltration the day before, it wasn't at all unwelcome. Ann had called in sick to catch up on sleep, Ryuji had decided to find somewhere to nap, and Makoto was busy with council work. And of course, Yusuke was at another school entirely. So, without any of the other Thieves beyond Morgana to keep him company, Ren found himself wandering to look for a friendly face.

"Oh!" Kasumi Yoshizawa, sitting at one of the round tables, a large bento box wrapped in orange and white polkadot cloth in front of her, perked up immediately when she noticed Ren. "Ren, Ren! Over here!" She waved to him.

He chuckled and walked over, plopping down into the chair next to him. "I looked right at you," he teased, "I wasn't about to walk away without saying hi."

She scrunched up her face at him, a playfully exaggerated frown, and then burst into a hiccup of giggles.

"It's nice to see you so happy," he added. He slipped the bag off his shoulder and gently placed it on the chair next to him. "Good day so far?"

She nodded. "I had a really intense practice last night. My arms and legs are all achey!" As if to prove her point, she raised both her arms and wiggled them slowly in midair.

"Oh," Ren said, raising an eyebrow. "You've got a lot of energy though."

Kasumi seemed to think that over. "Well," she replied, "even when I'm really sore from practice, I'm doing something that I love, so I don't really feel that tired after." She smiled at him. "Do you feel the same way about doing your park-k-our?"

He almost winced at his own lie. "I guess so," he replied. And after a moment of thinking about it, "yeah, I think I do, actually."

"Yay," she chirped. And she turned to her bento, unwrapping it and pulling the top off. At first impression, it was a frankly unreasonable amount of food. Ren was tempted to comment, but he thought better of it. It'd be rude to do so, at the very least. Kasumi snapped her chopsticks in two, and reached over to begin eating, then paused. She glanced towards Ren. "Are you going to eat too?"

"Not right now," he said, shrugging. "I'm not really that hungry, and I forgot to pack myself anything, so–" And he trailed off at the sight of her immediate, intense frown.

"That's dumb!" she said, maybe a little louder than she needed to. Ren just stared at her, not sure what to say. "You've got a really act-t-tive hobby," she said, her words spilling out over each other in rapid succession, emotional and passionate, "so you need lots and lots and lots of carb-bohydrates and a good amount of salt right before you go do your exercise, and then you've gotta drink a ton of water with electrolytes the whole time you're working so your body has all the fuel you need. And then after, your muscles are all going to be repairing themselves and getting strong, so you need to eat a dinner with a lot of protein, and then the whole day after you need extra carbs and protein and salt and water than you usually would have. And," she concluded, staring at him fiercely, "you can't skip lunch!"

"You–" Ren began.

"Or breakfast!" she added, her voice breaking.

He waited to make sure she had nothing more to add. "You know a whole lot about this," he said, "that's really impressive."

She grinned. "Oh, thank you. It's–" then she shook her head. "No no, don't change the subject! You need to eat!"

"She's right you know," came Morgana's teasing mewl from his back.

He raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll grab something from one of the vending machines."

Kasumi let out a little huff of air through her nose, and turned to her bento. She pulled the top tray out, and started rearranging the dishes, moving food from one to another with careful focus. "I'll give you some of mine," she said. "I always have a little left over a-nyway, so it's okay."

"Oh," Ren said. "That's very kind of you, thank you."

She nodded and smiled, still focused on her sorting. "Do you like tuna rolls?"

"Yes!" Morgana exclaimed, his bag practically jumping off the chair. "Yes you do! And you wanna give some of it to me!"

Ren swallowed his laughter, and nodded. "Sure. I'm a fan." He reached over to pluck one of the rolls from Kasumi's bento.

She made a sound halfway between a squeak and a yelp, and slapped his hand away. Then her hands shot to her mouth. "I'm s-" she stuttered, "I'm s-s-s-"

"It's alright," he said, massing the back of his hand; a little sore, but the worst she'd done is startle him. His heart was staccato, but at the sight of her panic, he couldn't dare to indulge his own. "That wasn't okay on my part, I shouldn't have invaded your space like that. I'm sorry."

Kasumi stared at him, lowering first her hands and then her head. "It's dumb," she mumbled, "I'm just being dumb. You're not bad, I just have a dumb thing about people to-uching my food."

"Not dumb," Ren corrected. "It was rude, and I should have asked. I messed up. It's not your fault for getting upset."

She was quiet, for a little bit. "Hrmm," she said, almost a whine. "I don't know. Still feels dumb." Kasumi went back to sorting her bento, arranging and re-arranging the trays. "It's not a normal thing, being so upset about that. Other people don't get bothered, so I shouldn't be."

Ren didn't know exactly how to answer that, for a little while. "Everyone's different," he said, finally. "If you judged everyone on how well they did gymnastics, there'd be a whole lot of abnormal people walking around." He smiled. "But, you know that clumsy people can't help being clumsy. Just because they can't ever do, uh, a pirouette, that doesn't mean they need to force themselves to try."

Kasumi was quiet for a few seconds, and then she burst out laughing. "Pir-ouette," she said, between snickers, "is a ballet move."

Ren shrugged, grinning. "Yeah, see! We're different! We've got different stuff we're good at, and different stuff we struggle with."

"You're silly," she said, still smiling very wide. "But, thank you." She picked up a small plastic tray from her bento with a half-dozen small tuna rolls on it, and slid it across the table. "Here. Eat up, please."

"Thank you for the food," he said. He picked up a roll and popped it in his mouth.

She scrunched up her face. "No soy sauce?"

He shook his head. "It's plenty tasty as is," he replied. As soon as she turned her attention back to her own food, Ren palmed one of the rolls off the tray and leaned over to slip it into his bag. From the gleeful meow, he could tell it was well-appreciated.


6/22 – Wednesday
After School
Shujin Academy, Maruki's Office

"What's on your mind, Ren?" Maruki asked. "Anything happen since the last time we met?"

He shrugged. "I made a new friend," he replied.

Maruki nodded.

"And she's pretty cool. She seems to get along really well with everyone else. Uh, and I sort of–"

"I don't wanna lose you." Evening, the streetlights illuminating his sun's face, the Trickster's eyes blurring over, his forehead against his, clutching his hand tight. "Not ever, not ever again. Don't ever fucking scare me like that, don't you dare–"

"I'm worried I might be a bad friend," Ren admitted. He shook his head, clearing the half-memory, trying to focus on the leather of the couch underneath him. "I keep doing really stupid shit, making my friends worry about me. Getting in trouble so no one else has to, carrying too much all by myself; that sort of thing. And yesterday, I almost got hurt, and the guy I'm..." He couldn't say it out loud. "My best friend got really upset. I think I really scared him. And I don't want to do that to my friends, not anymore."

Maruki nodded slowly. "From what you've mentioned about your friends," he said, "you really care about them. It seems to me like you have a tendency to want to protect the people you love, to make sure that none of them get hurt if you can prevent it. But I think you've noticed the little paradox with that." He smiled. "If you get hurt so no one else does, your friends will worry about you. They might get scared, or upset, or even angry. Those are all very natural reactions to fear." He seemed to correct himself. "And I do truly hope that you won't experience any of that, that you and your friends understand each other enough to work that out."

"I think we do," Ren replied. "I mean, he got pretty upset when it happened, but we talked it out after and I think we were fine for the rest of the day."

"That's good," Maruki said with a smile. Ren expected him to continue, but he didn't, just stared at Ren and sipped from his juice box.

"Do you think," Ren said, slowly, "that I'm a bad friend for doing that?"

"No," Maruki said, firmly. "A bad friend wouldn't talk it through with his friends afterwards when he noticed they were upset with his behavior, and he certainly wouldn't linger on how to change his behavior for his friends."

"Okay," Ren said. "I guess...I'm not sure what to do. Because I don't wanna stop doing everything I can to keep my friends safe, but I don't want to upset them or scare them either."

Maruki hummed a little thoughtful note. "I don't see why it has to be one or the other."

Ren stared at him.

He chuckled. "Just because you want to treat your friends well, or protect them as you said, that doesn't mean you have to or should put yourself at risk." He leaned back against his couch, letting out a long breath. "If one of your friends came to you, and asked you to help them do something important, would you help them?"

Ren nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"So," Maruki replied, with a little smile, "could you ask your friends to help you protect them?"

Ren opened his mouth to say no, and then stopped. Why couldn't he ask them? "I guess," he said, "I'm worried about hurting them that way too. Like, asking them to carry too much."

"But if sharing the load is asking too much of them," Maruki said, "then why do you expect yourself to be able to carry it all on your own?"

Oh. Ren didn't have a response to that. He just leaned back and stared at the ceiling, drumming his fingers on the leather. "Huh." He hadn't thought about it that way. "Yeah. That's...that's pretty dumb to expect that of me, huh?"

Maruki chuckled. "We are all our own worst critics, Ren. You're no exception."


6/22 – Wednesday
Evening
Cafe Leblanc

Ren pushed open the door to Leblanc, his head spinning from the instructions Takemi had rattled off at him for his three new medications. "I'm home," he said.

Sojiro was in the back of the cafe, Ren could see the edges of the man's apron poking out around the corner; he was probably making curry again.

"Oh," the cafe's singular customer said, a familiar but surprised voice from a young man sitting at the counter, with short brown hair and a tan suit–

Ren dropped every thought in his head. The only thing he could think to say was "what."

Goro Akechi chuckled awkwardly, folding up the newspaper he had been reading. "Well," he began, slowly, taking a sip of coffee between words. "What a pleasure to see you again, Second-Year."

"Likewise, I guess," Ren responded. Before Sojiro could tell him to stop standing in the doorway, he sat down at the closest booth, putting his bag down on the table. "Did you find out where I live just to..." He gestured at nothing.

"There aren't many late night coffee establishments in the area," Akechi said, with exaggerated innocence. "A night owl like myself requires fuel, now and then." An annoyingly loud sip. "I found myself craving a cup, and one of my colleagues recommended this place." He turned towards the other end of the cafe. "Sae Niijima sends her regards, by the way."

"Of course she does," Sojiro replied with a hearty chuckle. "You can tell her I still don't deliver, so she can stop asking."

"Niijima," Ren said. Makoto had mentioned over to the phone to Kaneshiro that she was the younger sister of– "Isn't she a prosecutor?"

"Naturally," Akechi said, giving Ren a sharp glance for his troubles. A sort of 'how do you know that?' look. "We work together to ensure that the criminals I help catch are properly charged." He took another sip, smirking over his cup at Ren. "If I'm not mistaken, her younger sister is the head of the student council at Shujin. Quite a prestigious family, wouldn't you say?"

Ren shrugged.

Akechi hummed a little note of contemplation. "I believe last time we met," he said, "you mentioned that you're staying with a family friend who is adept at making coffee. It wouldn't happen to be Mister Sakura here, would it?"

Ren stared at Akechi. What game was he playing here? "You've got me, detective," he replied, deadpan. "I would have gotten away with it too, if you weren't so damn clever and good at your job."

Akechi burst into what seemed like genuine laughter. False praise did the trick? Or did was his ego actually as overblown as he kept acting it was? "It seems serendipity has truly dealt you a miserable hand, hasn't it?"

"A miserable hand?" Ren raised an eyebrow. "What, cause I'm living with a great barista, or because I keep running into you?"

He could hear a little sound from Sojiro's general direction that might have been a laugh, but whatever it was it sounded happy.

That steady TV smile twitched. "Simply that I keep finding opportunities to read you like an open book," Akechi said, with a sickly sweetness.

Ren flipped him the bird without breaking eye contact. "Read this."

"Hey now," Sojiro grumbled, walking back over to the counter, rubbing the back of his neck. "You kids wanna bicker, take it outside. I won't have you getting scaring off potential customers."

Akechi seemed like he might fire back, but he didn't. He simply raised his coffee cup to his lips and downed it without breaking eye contact with Ren. Then he placed it gingerly on the saucer, and stood up, picking up his briefcase. "Thank you very much for the coffee," he said, facing the door as he adjusted his tie. And he paused. "Amamiya. I have no intention to intrude. If I've offended you, I apologize."

...huh. Was that genuine? Was it supposed to be? Ren struggled to find a response. "It's Sojiro's cafe," he said, finally. "If you want to buy his coffee, I won't tell you not to." Ren reached up to fiddle with the hair in front of his eyes. "Maybe next time just text me if you're in the area. It would be nice not getting jumpscared by a literal suit."

Akechi chuckled, looking toward Ren again. "Perhaps I'll take you up on that sometime." A glint in his eye too cold to be glee. "You wouldn't happen to be a fan of chess, would you? I've been looking for someone to play against."

Ren shrugged. "I'm rusty, but I'm game." Chess sounded...he wanted to say 'nice,' but closer to...fitting.

"I've got a chess board somewhere around the house," Sojiro added, scratching his head. "I could bring it over sometime."

"Thank you very much, Mister Sakura. And Second-Year, I look forward to our game." Akechi gave a curt nod towards each of them, and then headed out to the door.

"You didn't mention you were friends with a TV Detective," Sojiro said, as soon as the door swung shut again. TV Detective. It was hard not to laugh at the thought of Akechi's face if he was close enough to hear that.

"I met him on that field trip," Ren said.

Sojiro nodded, then blinked. "He's the guy who hates your guts?"

Ren chuckled dryly. "Yep, that's him."

"Huh." Sojro rolled a hum across his mouth as he glanced toward the door. "I wouldn't have guessed that. Bickering aside, it felt to me like the kid liked you."

"It's complicated, I guess." Eager to change the subject, he continued, "you didn't tell me you were friends with a prosecutor."

Sojiro let out a long sigh. "That's complicated too," he mumbled, scratching his chin with his thumb. "She helped me out of a tough situation before. We've had some nasty arguments since then though, I'm surprised she even talks about me."

There was definitely more there, but Ren's curiosity would have to wait till another time. The smell of familiar spices had made itself clear. "Unrelated, but are you making curry right now?"

Sojiro nodded, a smile creeping onto his face. "I am indeed. Are you hungry at all, Ren?"

"I am indeed," he replied, grinning back.