10/15 – Saturday
After School
Mementos

Kasumi
Are you all going to be okay without me there? :\
I promise I'm not doubting you! Just making sure.

Ann
I mean, if we aren't, then we're gonna have a hell of a time when you go full on honorary lmao.

Kasumi
D:

Ann
Sorry, that joke was in pretty poor taste huh?
We'll be fine! I promise.

Ryuji
yeah, i mean i'd be more worried about you
mementos is kinda cake for us at this point
akechi is
not that

Yusuke
What is the antithesis of cake?
Something savory and salty perhaps.

Kasumi
Maybe jerky? :o

Yusuke
Dry as well! Perfect!

Haru
I do think jerky is a perfect description for Akechi's unfortunate tendencies.
( ̄y▽  ̄)╭

Kasumi
Heehee. XD
That's definitely true!
I love him a lot but he is definitely jerky sometimes. :|

Futaba
Uh, we're all kinda forgetting the most important part, duh.
And that is: we'll miss you Kasumi!

Kasumi
Aww, thank you. I'll miss you too! :,)
We should hang out again sometime soon Futaba!
Cause I'll be seeing everyone else at school Monday.
I mean, if you want to! :)

Ann
Of course she does.

Makoto
She does.

Futaba
Yes? Of course I do omg.
Hey rude!

Ann
Oh as if you've ever said no to a cute girl in your life.
Face it, Taba. You're a gay pushover and we all love you for it.

Kasumi
Heehee! XD

Futaba
Ren help I'm being bullied by cute girls.

Ren
That sounds like a nonissue

Futaba
JUDAS!

Ren
Just a reminder, Kasumi
I'll have Anachronism's phone on me the whole time
So if you need me, or anyone, just give a call

Kasumi
Thank you! :D
I won't forget, I promise.
Good luck everybody!

Makoto
Same 2 u.
Don't let him give u a hard time.

Ann
Koto could always beat him up if he does!
Or Haru. Or me.

Haru
ผ(•̀_•́ผ)
I am always ready for violence!

Yusuke
We are indeed eternally blessed by an abundance of exceptionally powerful women.

Futaba
INARI
HEY
LISTEN
YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT LIKE ITS NOTHING

Yusuke
Hm?

Ryuji
lmao
pretty sure our navi's having a gay conniption

Futaba
I APPRECIATE THE REFERCE BUT FUCK YOU TOO

Ren
Hahaha
Okay, seriously
Good luck, Kasumi
Everyone else?
Mementos awaits


"Scan complete!" Oracle's voice rang out. "Looks like this Shadow's weak to Bless! Violet, it's your time to shine!" And a start in her voice. "Wait. Shoot, it's...sorry, never mind."

Ren couldn't help but wince sympathetically at his sister's verbal stumble. "It's alright. I'll take point, then. Thanks, Oracle."

"You're the best, Navi!" Skull chimed in.

A little giggle on the other end, just a tiny one, and then the coms cut out.

"Okay." Ren locked his attention on their slowly advancing foe. Yohei Kiratani, a self-proclaimed vigilante who'd assaulted multiple businessmen and homeless people around downtown Shibuya. He'd publicly vowed to eliminate "society's leeches," and further issued threats against his detractors on multiple forums, including the Phan-Site.

And his Shadow stood before them now. An armored demon, a Rakshasa, spinning two swords in a deady defense. Panther, Mona, Queen and Fox had taken up flanking positions, but none of them seemed eager to take a swing. No use endangering themselves unnecessarily. Better to keep on their toes, in case the spry Shadow decided to take a bite out of more isolated prey.

Ren glanced towards his boyfriend, who was braced to charge by his side. "Skull, how comfortable are you being bait?"

"Uh," the young man said, raising an eyebrow towards Ren. "I mean, you're gonna pull my ass out of danger if shit gets hairy, yeah?"

"Of course I will," Ren said. A little twist in his gut at the implication he'd leave him to fend for himself. "We just need a way to distract the guy. You won't be in any danger, I promise."

"Bull," Skull chuckled. "Danger's not the issue, Renren." He tapped his crimson pole on one shoulder, eyeing Kiratani's Shadow. "Hurt's the issue. And if you say I'm not gonna get it, then I'm not worried."

"You won't," Ren agreed. "I promise." And he turned his attention skyward. "Oracle, keep your attention on Skull please. You've still got that shield ready?"

"Yep!" Oracle said.

"Save it for him," Ren said. "Skull, if something goes wrong, you're our insurance. Get Kiratani's attention, and hit him hard. Everyone else, if Skull starts yelling, pull back, and get ready to counterattack. If you see a clean shot, take it; just stay out of his range."

"Gladly," Panther said, and he could hear the grin in her voice.

"I'm ready!" Mona added.

"Long range isn't my forte," Queen chimed in. "Nor Fox's. Maybe the two of us should act as bodyguards?"

Despite the danger, an honest smile caught the corner of Ren's lips. "Good thinking, Queen. Fox, you good with that?"

"Naturally," the young man replied. "An ice barricade should be a synch."

"Perfect." And that only left... "Noir. Would you care to take point with me?"

A wide, bright smile slowly spread across her face. "I would be honored," she said. Noir's voice was near melodic, those few words twinged with a softness that nearly numbed Ren's brain completely.

"Cool," he said. "Uh, I mean...yeah. Cool." Ren faced back forward, ignoring the indistinct snickering over the coms. "He resists physical attacks, but it looks like a ranged assault should be very effective. So, Milady more than the axe."

"What a shame," Noir said, with a dramatic little sigh. "Looks like I'll need to find another foe to temper my steel against." She returned her weapon to its sheath against her back. "Shall we be off, my love? Our foe awaits."

Ren was very tempted to simply allow gravity to collect its dues. The dirt floor could probably hide his flushed face very effectively. Instead, he forced breath into his lungs, locked his eyes on Kiratani's Shadow until sparkles formed at the corners of his vision. "Let's not keep him waiting any longer, then. Time to set the stage." And Ren grabbed the corner of his mask. "Horus!" He tore it free.

The warmth in his chest buzzed across his arms, up his spine, through his temple and into the air. A shimmering, impossible radiance, like a second sun rising behind him. Kiratani flinched backwards, one arm up to block the light from reaching him. And in that flare, he heard the familiar sound of a mask shattering just nearby. "Milady!" A mighty form, her metal frame shining beneath Horus's light.

A giddy grin wove its way across every cell. "Yohei Kiratani!" Ren raised a hand, bracing his thumb against his third finger. "Face the consequences for your sins." And he snapped his fingers. Horus spread his wings above him, that glare coalescing like a spotlight, a brilliant blade aimed right towards the Shadow. Kiratani let out a shuddering screech, flailing at the light itself.

"And accept your punishment." The crack of a skill card, perfectly in time to the ecstatic shiver that swam through Ren's ribs. "Psychic Force!"

A spiraling fractal caught the solar glare, twisting lines of iridescent energy spinning around Kiratani's Shadow, like a cage of raw magic. Glowing, pearlescent, as if she had torn the moon apart and spun it between her fingers. Their foe swung at his binding, to no avail. His sword caught between the bars of the cage; and it snapped, splintering, collapsing in on itself. Those lines aligned, spiralling up into place, assembling itself into a series of humming blades, each one placed point-first around the demon's torso.

Ren's gaze snapped towards Noir, his breath failing him. Her hair looked almost on fire, both Horus's glint and azure sparks caught between her locks. Noir held her hands apart, palms facing each other, a swirling heat shimmer suspended between them. "Fall," she said, simply. And she pressed her palms together.

The psychic swords slammed inwards, each collapsing into the same point with enough force to shred Kiratani's crimson armor. The Shadow screamed, a pained wail with enough shrill force to knock Horus from the sky, sending the avian deity flailing back into Ren's heart. His mask formed across his face again, and Milady began to fade with similar haste. Both brilliance and blade vanished, but the damage was done. Black dust leaked out from between the newfound gashes in the demon's armor.

"You..." the Shadow snarled, in a voice threaded through with distortion. "Fucking...kids." One sword left, he stumbled forward. "I'm trying to help. I'm...I'm the good guy!" Ren could hear the snarl beneath that mask. "What the fuck do you pampered little brats know about justice!?" Kiratani swung at nothing, a harmless slash that still sent a flinch into Ren's guard. "I'm doing what the Phantom Thieves won't! I'm taking out society's trash!"

"You're trash! You're a felon living in a fucking attic!"

"There's a good reason we don't attack random people," Ren snapped, bitterness rising into his throat like so much bile. "There's a reason why we only take actions unanimously, and a reason why we change hearts instead of just killing everyone we think is bad." His mask splintered and cracked across his face. Fury and control in a tug of war. "Because we know we can hurt people, and we want to avoid causing unnecessary harm."

"You've gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet," the Shadow snarled back.

"So take up cooking!" Ren fired back. "You can't have it both ways. You can't just assault whoever you don't like, and then expect the world to let you off the hook." He unsheathed Anachronism's knife, spinning it between his fingers. "We've only ever changed hearts, and people still want to kill us for it. Why do you think you're above consequence?" Ren's throat felt tight, strained. "You're not special, Kiratani. You're just an ordinary scumbag with a knife. And fine, maybe we're not the good guys here. But you sure as fuck aren't a hero."

A hand on his arm. "Joker–"

"Shut up!" Kiratani screamed. Shrill once more, a sharp pain digging its way into Ren's temple, sending him flinching backwards. And the Shadow charged. Too fast, Ren couldn't recover, he–

"Hey, freakshow!" The rumble of distant thunder. A flash of blue. And a roiling sphere of azure lightning crashed into the demon's side, throwing him into an unsteady stumble. Both Kiratani and Ren snapped their focus towards the voice. Towards Skull, maskless, Captain Kidd's cannon still smoking from the attack. Even from halfway across the room, Ren could see the ferocity in his warm brown eyes. Skull nodded sharply towards Kirtani's Shadow. "You want to fuck with a real hero?" He jabbed a thumb into his own chest. "Right here, you bastard! Come get some!"

Not a word. The demon snarled out an incomprehensible sound, and surged towards Skull quicker than Ren could blink, sword up, point forward.

"Arsene, riot!" The name leapt to his lips faster than thought. And he wasn't the only one.

"Milady!"

"Carmen!"

"Zorro!"

"Goemon!"

A spectrum flare of wind, of flame, of force, of dark. Each one collided with thunderous power, sending Kiratani to and fro, battering him from all sides. A storm of magic, swirling around his feet. It should have taken him down. It should have torn him apart. And the wall of frigid ice rising between him and Skull should have held him back. But the Shadow did not fall. "Fuck you!" he screamed. "Fuck you! Fuck you!" Over and over, shoving onward through the tempest, crashing through the frost, sword hilt still held between trembling claws.

There was something there, shimmering around him. Like a pitch veil, shadows woven into the fractaled air itself. Something else, beyond Kirtani.

Something else protecting him.

Ren's gut lurched. "Ryuji!"

Skull threw his arms up, teeth grit, one foot back. Ready to take the blow, as Kirtani raised his weathered sword over his head with a deafening cry. And he brought it down.

Kiratani's blade shattered against the air. The Shadow froze, staring down at the emerald semisphere surrounding the Thief, at the arcane runes dancing across the ground beneath the young man. Skull seemed similarly taken aback, dropping his guard to gawk at the barrier.

"Final Guard deployed!" Oracle said, and he could hear the relief in her voice. "Just in time too, huh?"

"Coulda cut it a little less close," Skull said in a strained falsetto. "But fucking...yo. You're the best, Oracle, holy shit. Thanks for the save!"

Ren could have passed out from relief then and there, but there was the demon still towering above his boyfriend, claws clenched at nothing. "Phantoms, let's–"

A resonant roar, the crack of a skill card, and a blur of motion knocked the words out of Ren's mouth. Kiratani flinched to the side, whirling towards the sound, just in time for Queen to leap towards him. Her right fist up, glowing with all the celestial radiance of a localized supernova.

"-Flare," was the only word he could hear from the young woman before she slammed her knuckles into the Shadow's face.

A shockwave in reverse, sound collapsing inward with enough force to make Ren's ears pop from twenty feet away. A silent burst of light, and heat, and power. And the Shadow dissolved. Like a shitty sand castle in a stiff breeze, he fell apart, black dust peeling off of him in one smooth motion. And Kiratani, a simple man in a t-shirt and jeans, sank to his knees. Wavering, maybe disoriented.

"It's over," Queen said. Her right hand was shuddering, and Ren couldn't tell if it was in rage or pain. "Go back to reality, Kiratani. Pay for what you've done." A furious curl at the corner of her lip. "Make good on your justice. For once in your life, do the right thing."


For about the seventh time in the past five minutes, Ren felt incredibly grateful they'd saved Kiratani's heart for last. It only took about ten seconds inside the Monamobile before exhaustion set in like a thick layer of lead laced into his bones. He didn't feel like sleeping, but he still found himself resting his head on Skull's shoulder, arms limp by his sides. And without anything better to do, he watched Queen and Panther on the other side of the backseat, the latter sitting in front of the former and holding her right hand in both of hers, casting a steady flow of healing magic into the injured limb.

Queen winced as Panther sent another pulse of emerald through her glove. "Sorry," she said, quietly, eyes firmly fixed out the nearby window. "I should have held back my strength. I guess...his face was a lot harder than I thought?" A skewed, awkward smile.

"You're usually way more careful," Panther noted, glancing up for just a moment before returning her attention to Queen's hand. "Did something happen?"

Queen's silent glance flit towards where Ren and Skull were sitting, her lips pursed.

"We can give you some space if you need," Ren said. "I mean, I don't think I can move much, but uh...maybe Sunshine can roll me across the seats or something."

Skull burst out laughing. "Dude, I'd just pick you up. You're scrawny as hell, I could probably lift you."

Ren's cheeks felt very warm all of a sudden. "That too," he said, his voice breaking.

Queen smirked, chuckling for just a moment before scrunching up her face, wheezing out a pained sigh. "It's...it's fine. I'm just..." She turned back towards the window. "Joker. The way you acted back there, he...Kiratani reminded you of Akechi, didn't he?"

Fuck. Ren bit back a wince, and nodded. "Yeah. He did." He could feel Skull's arm wrap around his shoulders, pulling him closer. Panther glanced up towards him with a little concerned frown.

"I thought so," Queen said. A hesitation, just a little one. "He reminded me too." She let out a long, frustrated sigh, Mona's cognitive glass fogging up from her breath. "I think I was angry at you. A little, at least. You..." Queen pursed her lips. "You sounded hurt, Joker. Like you were upset at him, like you wanted him to listen. More than you wanted to stop him. And I think I just...that pissed me off." She leaned over, resting her head against the wall. "I think it's been pissing me off since Monday."

Ren's throat felt dry. He...what was he supposed to say to that? Long breath in, long breath out. "I want to forgive him, Makoto. I know it's not...I know that he might not deserve that. Maybe he won't even accept it, I don't know. But you've got every right not to. And, beyond that...you've got every right to tell me I shouldn't."

He felt a tension strangling his words, and he tried to push through it, swallow the feeling. "The Phantom Thieves don't have to agree with Akechi. We don't have to forgive him. We don't even have to work with him. And if even one of us doesn't feel like we can, then...then it's worth considering a different plan. We're not locked into this one, we can always divert course." It'd make things fucking difficult if they did, especially since he'd already promised Akechi a whole lot that he wouldn't be able to deliver on. But he'd be damned if he shied away from doing the right thing just if it were tricky.

"I know," Queen said. "I...maybe. I don't think..." A frustrated exhalation. "It's stupid. I don't even know why I'm trying to question this."

"Your feelings aren't stupid," Panther said. A little spark of genuine anger, her brow furrowed, staring right at Queen. "Whatever they are, they're worth talking through. You're worth that. And if you disagree with the decisions we've made, for whatever reason, then I sure as hell wanna know."

"It's not that," Queen said quickly, meeting Panther's gaze for an instant before wilting away. "It's...logically, I know that working with Akechi is our best plan. I know that he's not solely responsible for everything he's done, and I know that..."

She ran her left hand back through her hair. "My priority is the safety of the Thieves and our allies. Whatever I do, that comes first. I can't accept a compromise or plan that puts one of us in danger unless we've examined every other option first. Akechi's plan is logical, and safe, and the only person it possibly endangers is himself. I can live with that. I just–"

Queen cut herself off oddly. Breath stalling, blinking out the window. "Oh. I...I don't..." She took a long, unsteady breath. "I don't think I'm mad at him. Not...really. I'm just mad. I'm mad, and it's easy to hate him." Queen sank back into her seat. "Fuck."

Noir, out of the corner of Ren's eye, scooted closer along her seat. "Who are you mad at, Makie?"

"Sae," Queen said, immediately. "And myself. I just..." A pained little exhalation. "Home has been pretty awful this week. I just keep...I keep getting in arguments with her, and she's busy, and angry all the time, and I just feel...awful, and bitter, and sick, and...and guilty."

Ren's chest strained at nothing. "You could have told us." He couldn't keep the hurt out of his voice. He wasn't sure if he wanted to.

Queen winced. "I know. I know, I'm sorry, I...I should have said something sooner. There's just been so much going on, and every time I thought to mention it, I felt like...everything else was more important."

"More important than the fact a Thief was feeling fuckin unsafe?" Skull scoffed. "Koto, that's bull. And hell, I know I'm kind of a hypocrite, not like I'm the best at always saying when something in my life is fucked. But none of you guys have ever let me get away with hiding that I'm having a rough one, and you're damn right not to." Ren could almost imagine his boyfriend's impassioned glare. "So fuck right off with that. Not a damn thing more important to any of us than making sure we're all doing okay. And we means you, dumbass."

Queen didn't say a word, just kept staring out the window.

Panther straightened up, still holding tight onto Queen's right hand, refusing to look away from the young woman. "Would your sister get pissed at you if you stayed over at a friend's?"

"Um," Queen said. "No, I don't believe so–"

"Then you're sleeping at my house tonight," Panther said. Not a question, not a suggestion.

Queen bolted upright, whirling towards Panther, her lips moving and barely a single coherent word leaving her. "I, that's, just hold on a..." She snapped her mouth shut. Blinked twice. "I'm not really prepared for that." Her voice halfway to a squeak.

Panther scoffed through her smile. "We can pick up a change of clothes from your place first, duh. And it's cool if you end up sleeping in, tomorrow's the weekend. No worries."

"That's not what I–" Queen cut herself off. A long breath in through her nose. One silent second passed. Then two. Then three. And she let that breath out with one single word: "okay." She paused again, as if she hadn't even considered her own answer before she'd said it. "That sounds..." She gave a very awkward smile. "That sounds nice."

"It's a wonderful idea, Panther," Noir agreed, smiling at the two. "I'm almost jealous, that sounds like such a fun time." She giggled.

"Fuck yeah," Skull said. "Kinda wish that I'd thought..." Ren could feel a little startle snap through his boyfriend. "Oh fuck! Yo, what if..." Skull pointed insistently at himself, then Noir. "Think your dad would let you sleepover?"

The young woman's smile widened until she was beaming across the car towards them. Ren could swear his heart was about to eject itself out of his chest. "Ryuji Sakamoto, are you inviting me to stay the night?"

"Uh, yeah?" Skull chuckled. "I think so?"

"I would hope so!" Noir burst into light, airy laughter. "Because otherwise, you would have gotten my hopes up for nothing." She tilted her head a little, still giggling. "Should we invite our boyfriend over as well?"

Skull laughed too. "Duh, course we should." And Ren's already warm cheeks felt oven-hot. "Yo, Renren. Sleepover?"

"Uh," he said, the sound leaving him about an octave higher than he'd intended it to. "I...well, I mean..." Yes. Just say yes. It was so easy. Spending an evening with his two favorite people, why the fuck was it even a question, it shouldn't–

"Your heart has been cauterized, Ren Amamiya."

"I can't." He winced at the words as they left his lips, screwing his eyes shut tight. "I'm sorry. I'm just...I can't."

The silence that followed was far worse than anything they could have said.

"Could you say why?" Panther's voice. Kind, and firm, and unwavering.

"I want to spend time with you," he said. Something shoving the words up through his throat, out his mouth. Guttural and desperate and terrifyingly honest. "I love you, both of you. And I want...I want our time to be good." And the final admittance dragged itself out of his lungs. "And I've been kind of freaked the fuck out this whole week. Like I just can't stop being fucking tense and anxious and worried about every little thing."

The corners of his eyes stung with stupid, childish tears he couldn't let himself shed. "I know it'll be better when we're all set with Akechi, and we're doing whatever plan we decide on. But right now it's just...it just feels like if I stop moving I'm gonna have a panic attack or something. And I don't want you guys to see me like that." He forced himself to keep breathing, keep as close to calm as he could manage. "I don't want you to like...not have fun or whatever, just cause I can't handle that right now. I don't want to be, like, the reason–"

"Ren." And Noir's voice dragged his eyes open. A patient little smile. "You're fine. I promise, it's alright." A flit of a glance towards Skull, then back to him. "If there was something we could do to help that anxiety, could you promise to tell us?"

He...Ren couldn't lie to her. He wouldn't dare. So he just nodded, silently.

"And it would help to not be around anyone else tonight?"

He nodded.

"And do you feel jealous, or upset, that Ryuji and I might spend time together without you?" A little instant of firmness to her eyes. "It's alright if you are."

Ren almost shook his head immediately, but he forced himself to pause, to think it through. "No," he said, slowly. "I guess I...I like that you're getting along, and wanting to hang out and stuff." He let himself relax a little more, leaning further into Skull. "That makes me happy."

Noir gave an honest, warm smile. "Then I am going to stay over at Ryuji's house tonight, and you are not invited."

The words took a long few seconds to sink in, but the second they did, Ren found himself shuddering with barely stifled laughter. Judging by the way Skull was slightly shaking against him, he was probably chuckling too. "Fuck, Haru. You're...you're the best, you know that?"

"Damn right," Skull chimed in.

"Oh, I try," she said, beaming back at them.

"Um, guys?" A familiar, quiet voice. He could see Oracle scooting closer along the nearby seat, out of the corner of his eye. "I'm...sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, it's just..." She hummed a hesitant thought. "I think, maybe, we should all take some time to meet with Akechi. Like...one on one. Cause Ren and Kasumi and Mona have already had time with him, and they know him pretty well, but I think...I mean, if we're gonna..." She let out a frustrated breath. "I've still got a lot to ask him. And I don't think it's fair to make a decision about him until I...I at least hear him out. Right?" Ren couldn't find the words to express the pride currently swelling its way through his chest.

"I'm on board." Panther agreed. "It definitely shouldn't be on just the three of them to be our Akechi experts. That's a great idea, Oracle."

Oracle giggled. "Akechi experts. Silly." And Ren felt himself smile too, just a little.

Skull turned towards the front of the Monamobile. "Yo, Fox! Oracle thinks we should all meet Akechi one-on-one. What do you think?"

"Perhaps we should do two-on-one instead," the young man called back from the driver's seat. "Since he feels most comfortable around Kasumi and Ren, perhaps they should be there to mediate."

"That seems quite sensible to me," Queen added.

"Joker?" Skull asked. A little nudge into his side. "That work with you? You could always say no dude, don't forget."

"Who's the leader here?" he mumbled back, smirking despite the fatigue still echoing in every limb. "And, yeah. I know I can." The thought of facing Akechi again, whatever bullshit the detective might pile on him, still filled his veins with more dread than blood. But giving the others a chance to meet the guy properly, to really see him, sounded...it sounded right. "I asked him something a while ago, before this all went down. If he'd want me to introduce him to you guys. I never really got an answer, but I guess...I guess, if we go with Oracle's plan, it kinda sounds like I'm making good on that." His breath left him light, and easy. "And I think I'd like that a lot."


10/15 – Saturday
Evening
Cafe Leblanc

"Hey, Sojiro?" The cafe was empty, besides for the two of them. Ren wouldn't have felt anywhere close to comfortable enough to ask if it hadn't been. "Could I...I mean, I'm pretty tired, so not a long talk or anything, but could we like...just chat for a sec?"

Sojiro gave him an odd look, but nodded. "Of course we can." He scooted around the counter, facing Ren more directly. "What do you need, kiddo? Is everything alright?"

Ren just shrugged, shifting in place in front of the stairs. "I'll be okay. It's not like, it's nothing I can't handle. I'm just..." Stop stalling. He came here to say something specific. So say it. "I've been really anxious, recently. Cause, like..." Words were starting to fail him.

"Your friend is missing, right?" Sojiro asked. Ren blinked at the man, his confusion probably apparent. "Well, okay, I don't know if..." The man chuckled, awkwardly. "Maybe you and that Detective Prince didn't think of each other as friends, but he's still missing." He gestured towards the silent TV with his head. "That's all the talk shows have been jabbering about. And you..." Sojiro gave Ren a long, firm look. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't seem like the kind of guy to let go of people easy."

"I'm not," Ren said, feeling almost breathless. "I...yeah. That doesn't come easy to me at all." How could the man be so close to the truth, and yet so far? "And I'm trying to like...just keep on hoping stuff is gonna work out, and doing my best to like, to look for him and shit. But it's still fucking scary, and I guess I'm just..." He shrugged again. "I guess, I'm sorry I've been keeping that from you. It's hard to like...even acknowledge I'm freaked out, even just to myself."

Sojiro just nodded, slowly. "Ren," he said. "Would you like a hug?"

"Uh," Ren said. "Sure, that sounds fine."

"Okay." And Sojiro took a big, awkward step forward before pulling Ren into a firm embrace. "You're a good kid, Ren. You really are. I know it's hard not to worry, but the whole country is looking for him. They'll find the guy, I promise."

"What if he doesn't want to be found?" Ren closed his eyes, tempted to simply collapse then and there, to dissolve away into so much dust like a Shadow bursting under Mona's wheels. "What if we should just...what if finding him would hurt him more than letting him leave?"

"Hm," the man said. "Then the next time he decides to run away, he'd better say a proper goodbye. Cause even if he hates your guts, you deserve that, at least." Sojiro patted Ren's back. "I'd say giving his friends some closure is bare minimum. He shouldn't expect you to let him vanish without that."

An odd little laugh bubbled out of him. "Yeah. I guess he shouldn't." He reached up, and awkwardly patted Sojiro right back. "Um. I love you. And, thanks."

"You're very welcome," Sojiro chuckled. "And I love you too." He let go, pausing to ruffle Ren's hair before turning back towards the counter. "I don't know what your plans are tomorrow, but you should sleep in, see if you can call a rain check. I promise, the world's not gonna pass you by if you take one morning off."

Ren couldn't agree. He just...he couldn't. That wasn't how things worked, he knew it wasn't. There was too much at stake, always too much to juggle. He swallowed hard. Even so, didn't he owe it to the man to at least...to try? "I've got some stuff tomorrow, but I'll...I'll take it as easy as I can. I'll do my best."

Sojiro just nodded, and sent a smile over his shoulder. "Ren, that's all I'd ever ask. I promise."


Huge huge thanks to Jane for her notes on this chapter! And as always, she's been an insanely huge help in brainstorming and planning.