Amamiya Ren liked to believe he had become adept at blending into the background. It was a skill he honed while trying to keep a low profile after a certain incident.
(It was best not to think about it.)
He sat, hunched over, his hands clasped together in front of his mouth. It was only the frenetic jitter of one of his knees that might draw attention.
Morgana wasn't complaining at least.
It was hard not to feel impatient or anxious or excited or whatever was the right word for the sensation that was becoming more and more distracting as the train ride wore on. He hadn't seen Makoto since the end of summer break. Sure, it was only three and a half weeks—not nearly as long as their last gap had been—but summer in the RV had been intense.
He found himself frequently preoccupied when back at school, still processing everything that had happened in a mere month and change. If it had just been a road trip that would have been enough, but the Metaverse had dealt them so much more.
It was like the longing hit even harder this time around.
Maybe he should have asked her to meet him the night before instead of telling her he was getting in too late.
It was the truth though. He took the last train after a full day of school and they had an early start today. She had a schedule. He figured he was on thin ice with Sae too given the favor they called in. So... he had just told Makoto not to come over. There was no reason to burden her.
He had told himself they'd make time today, just like that had over the summer.
However, with each passing statio-
"Hey!" Futaba leaned in front him, a wall of autumn hair taking up his view. "Pay attention! Akane's gotta believe we-"
"Queen is Scarf, " Ren's tone was calm, almost bored. "Panther is Twintails. Noir is Feather. You're Long Hair."
Futaba inhaled deeply, her chin wrinkling as her lips pressed together. She huffed to herself. "What the main character cheat..."
She leaned back in her adjacent seat and crossed her arms. Despite her defeat, she coaxed him further. "Go on. Demonstrate what Futaba-sensei has taught you."
"I'm Leader. Skull is Skull. Fox is Inar—Wait." Ren sat up. "Did you-"
"Ehehehe," Futaba laced her fingers together and stretched her arms out in front of her, palms out. "There may have been some manipulation of online polls, a few automated accounts..."
He wondered what she meant by 'a few.'
"Anyway," her hands found her knees again. "Don't forget Skull is new, some still call him Pads."
Ren nodded. Ryuji's true code name had been revealed while delivering their calling card to Konoe. His older fan name referenced his knee and elbow pads, the latter of which came into focus in the close up on the two of them last December.
"You're not getting out of the last few you know," said Futaba as she raised her index finger. "Even the two still in flux."
He exhaled. "Sophie is High Pitch. Wolf is Warrant. Mona is Monster Explosion Cat."
"Bomb Cat for short!" Futaba interjected. "Or sometimes Bomb-chan."
Morgana's tail thumped inside Ren's bag.
"I'm not a cat," he grumbled.
Ren wondered what the public would have named Morgana had Alibaba's icon not featured so prominently in the Futaba Cannon.
Futaba coughed into to her hand. "I suppose you pass, at least enough for a casual."
Behaving like this, it was unclear if Futaba was proud to be in her element or nervous. It was probably both. Ren turned to her. "Are you sure you're going to be okay with the crowd?"
"Ehh..." Futaba stretched out her legs and started poking her index fingers together in front of her. "You'll all be there and... and... it won't be that big of an event. This is just a stepping stone to ComiFes!"
Now it was Futaba who was squirming in her seat. She had a tendency to switch up positions anyway, something that usually didn't manifest on the train, but now the nerves were becoming visible.
She seemed to realize it as well. With a hop to her upper body, enough to make her hair flounce, she figuratively buried her head in her phone.
Things were still relatively quiet until they neared their stop.
"This doesn't seem too bad..." Futaba clutched his arm, looking side to side as they exited the train.
"Let's find the others." Ren didn't know what to expect. Akane suggested it would be crowded, but everything was crowded in Tokyo. Fortunately, they were there early.
It wasn't hard to spot their friends once they reached the event site.
It wasn't hard to spot her.
Just a glance was all it took to zero in. He didn't even engage his third eye.
Barely in profile, he could see her smiling sincerely at something Akane was animatedly explaining. She was wearing that outfit with those tight little calf-length pants that laced up the sides and the short jacket that made it all too easy to just slip his arms around her waist.
She knew how much he liked it.
He gripped the front of his shirt with his free hand. Did he measure up?
"Heeey!" Futaba tugged at his arm, stumbling after him. "Short legs down here!"
"Sorry," he mumbled, shortening his stride.
The rest of the way took less than a minute but felt longer. Twice, Makoto nearly turned her head enough to catch them in her periphery. Ren's free hand twitched each time.
"Hoooiii!" Futaba announced their presence, letting go of his arm and jogging the rest of the way to the rest of the group, as if wary of the space between people she knew.
It was then Makoto turned, her smile becoming even softer as she met his gaze, like she was sending an inviting message just for him. That funny and glorious feeling in the center of his chest seemed to steal his voice.
"Hey." It came out breathy as he traversed the final step between them. He had to stop himself from scooping her up right there.
Improper displays of affection made her uncomfortable.
"Hey." She let the word linger. In the bright morning sun, he wasn't sure if the pink dusting her cheeks was just an illusion.
An older man's voice interrupted their moment. Zenkichi. "Good to see you again."
If Akane's father knew he was interrupting, he didn't show it.
Akane realized though. She shook he head and rolled her eyes at her father, albeit where he couldn't see.
"Likewise," Ren answered. He followed up with a small wave to Akane, hoping she understood it was no big deal.
He still needed to greet everyone anyway. The last few times he had returned to confetti and a rush of friends at Leblanc. This wasn't his visit though. It was Akane's. He'd have to be more outgoing.
The rest of the team had arrived before him. It was usually like that, wasn't it? Despite Ryuji's struggles with school, Ann's work schedule, and Yusuke's... uniqueness... they were a timely crew.
A string of greetings punctuated by a pat from Ryuji that was just a little too strong (as always) cemented Ren's sense of being back, even if it was just for a day.
"You guys should start queueing up," Akane motioned towards the line that was forming by the entrance. "And I better get back to my table."
With that, she tugged at Makoto's hand.
Ren raised his eyebrow.
"I'm chaperone this morning," she explained. Her expression was a mix of apologetic and proud.
Of course.
"Yeah, apparently I'm not allowed near her table until the afternoon," Zenkichi emphasized his sigh, putting his hands up as he shrugged.
"And don't you forget it!" Akane wagged her finger at her father before turning back to Makoto. "Come on."
Ren knew he shouldn't be disappointed. Makoto had formed a close bond with Akane. He hoped his displeasure didn't show. He didn't want to guilt her.
Before they could take off, Zenkichi put his hand on Makoto's shoulder, leaning over to speak in her ear. "If any creeps show up... fist of justice, okay?"
Makoto pressed her lips together and gave a firm nod, making a fist with her free hand. "Right."
Akane only rolled her eyes again, sighing in a way that was all too reminiscent of her father's from earlier.
Soon, she and Makoto were off to the entrance.
Ryuji gave Ren a look that he couldn't quite interpret, so he just opened his eyes wider and lifted his shoulders in a shrug.
"Uh, okay," Ryuji ran his hand through his hair. "Well, I guess we better do what she says."
He nodded towards the back of line. It was longer than just a few moments before.
"I'll be heading to a different line." Futaba sounded self-satisfied, like she was up to something.
"By yourself?" asked Ann.
"I've been training all summer for this!" she spun on one of her boots and took two steps before she was interrupted.
"Hey! Akane said that's the side where the R18 tables are grouped," said Zenkichi. "You can't go there."
"That won't be a problem." Futaba grinned, pulling out an ID card.
Zenkichi snatched it from her.
"Really? In front of a cop? You have—What? Why is this so-?" He paused mid-sentence to bring the ID closer to his face. "How did you...?"
"You're really going there Futaba?" Ann looked like someone who had discovered rotten food in the refrigerator. "Isn't that all going to be..."
"My," Haru put a hand on her cheek. "Futaba is so bold."
"...of us?" Ann was barely audible.
Ryuji seemed to be doing his best to look like he wasn't paying attention. Yusuke was already not paying attention. Instead, he appeared to be framing the general queue with his fingers. Ren let his hair fall over his glasses and turned away.
Even Mona seemed to know to keep quiet.
Zenkichi started shaking the ID card, mumbling to himself. "I've never seen one this good."
"It's not us," Futaba shrugged. "It's the fandom's idea of the Phantom Thieves. It's basically all made up."
Ann did not look convinced.
"Ren," Haru's call had an undercurrent of nervous laughter. "What do you think?"
Why did they always ask for his opinion at the worst times?
"Anyway I'll be confiscating this." Saved by Zenkichi. The older man snapped back to the conversation at just the right time. He put the ID in the inner pocket of his suit jacket.
"This is why Akane doesn't want you at her table. As if anyone's gonna check IDs anyway," Futaba shook her head. She then took out several more ID cards from her pockets. "And if they do, I have plenty!"
"Hey!" Zenkichi reached out his hand but Futaba was already running.
She really shouldn't taunt him like that.
Ann grabbed the back of Zenkichi's jacket with one hand, her other pinching the bridge of her nose. "Just let her be."
He pulled away and straightened his clothes. "I can't just let a minor go in there alone."
Ann and Haru looked at each other and then the rest of the team.
Ryuji was looking away, failing to nonchalantly whistle. It just came out as sputtering. His ears were bright red.
Yusuke continued not to notice, not that he'd be old enough to quell Zenkichi's misgivings anyway.
Ren said nothing.
Haru sighed. "I'll go with her."
––––– ––––– –––––
Makoto stood as far back from the table as she could without encroaching into the space of the circle behind them or of the tripods that held the free-standing "Phantom Phreaks" banners. She was only there in case any of Akane-chan's fans got out of hand.
Though the aisles were mostly empty, the big open hall already felt busy with artists and creators putting finishing touches on their spaces. Even the ones who were already done buzzed with nervous energy.
The sheer amount of red and black everywhere was a sight to behold. If they could have put red carpeting over the brushed concrete floors, it would have looked like a giant version of Akane-chan's bedroom.
Akane-chan herself sat in a folding chair on the left side of her table. A large "Phantom Phreaks" banner hung from the front of the table, adorned by phone charms and keychains. The original artwork was by another member of the Phantom Phreaks circle, Yuka. The other girl was standing behind the right side of the table, organizing the charms and other items for sale. Their third member was at another table further down the aisle, making early purchases. Both of Akane-chan's friends were from schools in the Tokyo area.
"Sayuri-chan sure is taking a while," Yuka tapped her foot as she watched her circle-mate from afar. "How long does it take to buy a few doujinshi?"
Before Akane-chan could answer, Yuka spoke again. "How much time do we have?"
"Another fifteen minutes," Makoto read off of her phone.
"I'll drag her back in another five," Yuka stated, more to herself than to the others.
"She's not on the first shift anyway." Akane-chan was relatively calmer, but the cadence at which she shifted in her seat seemed to imply her apathy was at least partially an act.
"You know she's going to complain if she misses the opening."
Akane-chan shrugged. She then turned her head to look over her shoulder in Makoto's direction. "Sorry to drag you away from your boyfriend."
"It's okay," said Makoto. It had been tougher than she expected leaving Ren after just seeing him again, but they would have the entire afternoon to look around together. They were here for Akane-chan first after all. The others probably wanted time with Ren too. "I'm sure he appreciates getting to spend time with Ryuji and everyone."
"Oh. That's good. I hope it won't be boring for you," Akane-chan shifted in her seat again, turning more of her body to face Makoto. "Being stuck behind this table."
"I'm excited," Makoto smiled. "This is new to me, so I'm eager to learn."
"This is my first time too," Akane-chan conceded. "But Yuka did an event a couple years ago for the Detec-"
The rest of Akane-chan's words were muffled by Yuka's hand clamping over her mouth.
"We don't talk about that," Yuka stated matter-of-factly. "I was a naïve middle schooler back then."
Yuka was the oldest of the group, a first-year in high school, while Akane-chan and Sayuri were in their final year of middle school.
"Wait. Is that...?" Yuka let go of Akane-chan. Her head was pointed down their row of tables as she leaned over to see.
Makoto followed her sight line but wasn't sure what she was looking for.
Yuka groaned. "It is. Of course he'd be here. Did they hafta put us so close?"
"Who... are we looking at?" Makoto asked.
"It's the guy who runs the Phan-site," Akane-chan said as she also looked down the aisle.
Mishima?
Makoto didn't know him very well, but the team had used his website for requests. She squinted, trying to pick him out.
"It's that table with the crowd," Yuka discreetly gestured towards a group of five or so people, who much like Sayuri, were standing in front of someone else's space.
Across the table from the small gathering was Mishima. He looked like he was enjoying himself.
"Do you know him?" Makoto turned back to the two girls.
"Everyone knows him," Akane-chan put her elbow on the table, resting her cheek in one hand. "They believe the Phantom Thieves find their targets on his site."
"As if," Yuka punctuated each word with a shake of her head. "He's been riding a few coincidences for over a year now."
"He's always hinting that he actually knows the Phantom Thieves too." Akane-chan pupils raised towards the ceiling as she exhaled.
"I see..." Makoto grimaced, instinctively holding her hands in front of her chest. Fortunately, the girls didn't seem to question her reaction.
"He doesn't even create anything," Yuka kept going. "He just makes polls and runs a message board. All he-"
A series of chimes interrupted them, followed by an announcement. The hall would be opening momentarily.
––––– ––––– –––––
"Whoa," Ryuji voiced what Ren was feeling.
There were rows and rows of tables, all of them sporting Phantom Thieves colors, slogans, and merchandise. Small lines were forming by some of the more flashy displays.
"Now this is what I'm talkin' about!" Ryuji made a celebratory fist with one hand.
"Even if they don't know it's us?" Ann teased. Her ribbing tone was tempered by the warmth in her expression.
"Nah, I'm over that," Ryuji dismissed the idea with a weak wave. "Bein' known woulda been a pain. Plus, ain't it pretty cool bein' mysterious?"
"It's been over a year and he finally gets the basics of being a Phantom Thief," said Morgana.
Ren exhaled, making a small wish to himself that Ryuji would not let himself get baited this early in their excursion.
"Hey! Is that Akane's table over there?!" It was Ann to the rescue this time.
"Oh yeah! It is!" Ryuji confirmed. "Looks popular."
There was quite a gathering around Akane's booth, enough that it was impossible to see Akane herself. A free-standing Phantom Phreaks banner was what gave it away.
Ren craned his neck, hoping to-
"Do you want to go over?" asked Ann, tilting her head into his line of sight. "You know, go see-"
"Maybe when the line dies down," said Ren. It would be selfish to distract Akane from her fans. Not only that, Zenkichi had been barred from within five tables of her location and wouldn't be able to go with them.
The older man was lifting himself on the balls of his feet. Like Ren, he also seemed to be failing to catch a glimpse of who he wanted to see.
"Um, are you sure?" Ann's twintails hung as she tilted even further.
"Yeah, we shouldn't bother them," Ren replied. He glanced towards Zenkichi. "We can't abandon him either."
"Aren't those guys at the front of the line a little old?" Zenkichi's voice was just audible, like he was talking to himself. "Have they been there too long?"
"Ah... yeah," Ann grimaced.
"Speaking of abandoning," Ryuji piped up. "Where's Yusuke?"
––––– ––––– –––––
Makoto counted out change for yet another purchase. She had thought she would just be standing in the back, making sure nothing untoward happened. Instead, she found herself managing money and wrapping goods before handing them off.
Akane-chan and the others were busy interacting with fans and answering questions about their goods for sale. Replicas of the puppets used in the Phantom Phreaks show as well as a slim fanbook illustrated by Yuka were the most popular. Makoto found herself being handed a stack of items and asked to settle the bill, thereby allowing the next people in line more time to meet the creators.
Taking a brief pause after handing one fan a neatly wrapped book and a few coins, Makoto looked over the rest of the hall, wondering if she could find Ren and the others.
Again, the answer was no.
Makoto bit her lip. It was silly to think she could just find them, especially in what short moments she had to do so. There were too many people and it was too wide an area.
She wondered how Futaba was able to manage the sheer density of people.
"Makoto, two fanbooks and a finger puppet set," Yuka gestured at the young man at the front of the line.
"R-right."
––––– ––––– –––––
Yusuke was already six tables down by the time they caught up to him. Ren thanked his third eye. The floating Emperor card made their friend easy to find.
He let his eyes fall over the rest of the hall.
The Priestess card looked small in the distance.
He smiled to himself.
"Dude! Don't just wander off like that," Ryuji chastised, somehow getting the taller boy's attention.
"I didn't wander off," Yusuke folded his arms. "The rest of you dawdled."
"No way man," Ryuji disagreed. "The group decides."
"Maybe we should all go at our own pace and meet up at lunch," Ann offered. "Sure it's a little crowded, but it's not too different from the places we went over the summer."
"Lady Ann is right," said Morgana. He pawed at Ren's shoulder. "And this guy can always find us if need be."
"That's fine with me," Yusuke said, not looking at any of them, but rather the large posters on display at the next table over. "It takes time to consider the meaning behind the choices taken by the different artists. For example, in this piece over here, what were they trying to say in drawing Ann with giant-"
"Anyway," Ryuji cut in, stepping between Ann and Yusuke in the process. He got out his phone. "Let's meet at the entrance at 1:15."
Ren's phone buzzed. He pulled it out to see Ryuji's plan repeated in the group chat. A few moments later, Makoto replied affirmatively.
"Looks like Futaba and Haru are busy," Ann said after a pause.
"I'm sure they'll see it soon," said Morgana. He looked down the row of tables. "And looks like Yusuke's already taken off."
"Hey, can I stick with you?" Zenkichi leaned towards Ren. "I feel a little out of place here among all these kids."
Ren shrugged to say it was fine as Ryuji started speaking.
"Heh, you do look like security."
"What?!" Zenkcihi took a step back.
"You are the only one here wearing a suit," Ann added.
"So what does everyone else want to see?" Morgana squirmed. Ren could feel his friend's hind paws against his back through the bag. "I want to stay with Lady Ann."
"I was just going to browse," said Ann.
"Me too," said Ryuji, burying his hands in his pockets. "Though it'd be cool if there were some sweet Pads items."
Most of the goods Ren had seen so far were either thief-agnostic, like calling cards or logo-based trinkets, or they focused on Bombcat or the top hat character Ren assumed was supposed to represent Leader. There were some group posters, but the other Phantom Thieves weren't prominent in them.
It would be nice to find some Scarf-centered items...
The group browsed through the tables that had short or non-existent lines. The more popular ones had hanging displays, so they could at least enjoy some of the art, even if they weren't keen on waiting to get to the front.
Ren stopped at a table that had acrylic phone charms of each of the thieves, save for Sophie and Wolf. They seemed to be based on the popular still from December's Futaba Cannon—mostly silhouettes, but with red accents added by the artist. In this rendition, Makoto's scarf was red.
He considered it, his fingers stretching out. The red scarf was distracting, but it was the best he had seen yet.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to Akane's table?" Ann stood right next to him, her hands on her hips. "Ryuji and I can babysit Zenkichi."
Ren wasn't sure, but he knew he'd just be in the way. Futaba had explained the space given to each circle would be more generous in comparison to bigger events, but even so it was rare to fit more than two people behind a table.
He withdrew his hand from the charm. Spending the morning apart also meant he could shop freely. Makoto would probably feel uncomfortable watching him pick out items based on her.
She would look away while her cheeks would gain that tell-tale pink...
"Ren?" Ann asked again. "Uh... what are you grinning about?"
He affected a cough. "Nothing."
She didn't seem convinced.
"I'm fine," he added. "There isn't a lot of space at these tables."
Ann's expression persisted a few more moments before she exhaled. "I guess."
"Whoa, guys, look!" Ryuji called over from the adjacent table. "There's mash-ups!"
Ren and Ann shuffled over to their friend and looked down at the spread of doujinshi.
"Thieves vs. Ninjas?" Morgana leaned over Ren's shoulder, reading the large text splashed across the cover of one of the zines. The art featured Twintails, clad in a black body suit with a red mask, standing next to an fair-haired man with three whisker-like lines on each cheek wearing a white and red cloak over an orange top.
The artist had chosen to color Twintails' hair in jet black. In fact, almost all the artists did. It was fortunate that people seemed to assume Twintails would have dark hair. Despite Ann's distinctive look, no one seemed to make the connection.
"There's also these over here," Ryuji pointed out more books a couple stacks down.
One was titled 'Heroes, Thieves, and Villains.' The cover had a man in a red top hat and black cloak crossing fists with a green-haired kid in a blue, red, and white tracksuit.
Another said 'Feather Girls' in English along the top. Its cover featured four women with hair similar to the Phantom Thieves' silhouettes. They were wearing black Featherman costumes with red, white, and gold accents, each holding their helmet. Haru was front and center in this one.
A third had 'Shinigami Thieves' written diagonally across the front. The figure on the cover seemed to be Leader without a top hat. His coat was white and sleeveless with longer black sleeves coming from the black outfit underneath. In the background was a man wearing all white with a dark pink belt.
Ren glanced up, finding the artists at the table smiling politely. "Maybe we should move on."
He started walking, effectively herding Ryuji to the next table.
The group continued to browse. Ryuji frequently pointed out a particular item and then needed to be ushered away when it became clear he wasn't going to buy anything, something that Morgana had begun taking jabs at him about.
Zenkichi asked the group's opinions on a few things as gifts for Akane. He looked rather deflated after the third time when Ann explained that most likely Akane would prefer to pick out the items for herself.
They caught up to or were passed by Yusuke a few more times as well. He stopped at various booths to make flowery and strongly-stated remarks on the artwork. Ren watched one poor fan's face go from elated to trapped as his detailed critique of their efforts went on into the minutes.
As they traversed through more rows of tables, the wares started to blend together. Nothing really stood out. Even Ryuji had stopped alerting them to new things.
Despite all of the circles present, very few of them had Scarf items. Ren still hadn't found one that really captured his Queen.
"Hey! I didn't know you'd be here!" A familiar voice cut through the din as they turned into the next row of tables. Mishima. His former classmate stopped just inside the bubble of personal space Ren considered appropriate for an event like this.
Behind Mishima was the Phan-site's booth. There were too many people at the front of the line to see the table itself, but free-standing banners at both sides made the site's presence clear. Two high school-aged boys Ren didn't recognize appeared to be handling customers. Behind them, centered at the back of the space, was a portable screen displaying the site in real time.
At the center of the Phan-site was a prominent new poll: "Should there be Phantom Thieves events elsewhere?"
The results hovered around 70% while comments appeared underneath.
"YES YES YES"
"(˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ ) im 12 hrs away"
"no ones gonna care in a month"
"come to fukuoka!"
"less merch, more news pls"
"hi from on site!"
"get a life losers"
"Circle Bombcat table B112!"
"i wish i could go"
Beneath the poll there were images of some of the Phan-site logo merchandise that were on sale. Given the crowd, Mishima seemed to be doing well.
"So, what do you think?" Mishima leaned in further.
"You've been busy," Ren replied.
"Yes! There's been a resurgence since all of those cases over the summer," Mishima grinned. "It couldn't have come at a better time for the first ever Phantom Thieves only event."
Ren simply nodded, trying not to recall all the bad things that happened along with that resurgence.
The look on Zenkichi's face suggested that their older teammate also had some misgivings with Mishima's enthusiasm. Ryuji and Ann seemed to notice his reaction. They guided him to the next table, making themselves scarce as well.
Despite their own relationships with Mishima, they kept out of it when team business was involved.
"So," Mishima leaned in further still, darting his eyes side to side and speaking in a hushed tone. "Why didn't you hook me up over the summer?"
Ren didn't like giving more indication of his team's identities, his own included, than he had to. A non-committal shrug was more likely to keep Mishima on this line of questioning however. "Had to go dark."
It seemed vague enough.
"Ooooh, I see, things got too hot huh?" Mishima finally leaned back with a knowing upturn of his lips. "The people in power were probably staking out the Phan-site too."
Ren nodded. He might as well play along. "Could get dangerous."
Mishima's shoulders tensed and his eyes widened. His shock soon turned to defiance as he stood up straight and said, "They can't shut down the free press!"
"Indeed." Ren replied. Before Mishima could continue, he added. "Don't you need to get back to the booth?"
"Nah, Daisuke and Hiroshi have it right now," he looked over his shoulder. "I was going to see how many segments the line is."
Ren followed Mishima's gaze to a girl holding a sign that said 'middle of line.' She was speaking to another person, pointing them towards another queue.
He looked further around the hall for other lines, his eyes lingering as he caught sight of Akane's table. Much closer now, he caught a glimpse of Makoto. She was quickly occluded by the shift in people in the lines at the booths between them. She had looked busy, but a relaxed kind of busy.
She couldn't seem to break her habit of wanting to be useful.
This one wasn't out of pressure however. It was her own choice, to help a friend and a junior.
Just watching her like that... there was something refreshing about it.
"Don't tell me you're into the Phantom Phreaks." Mishima broke him from his reverie. Ren hadn't noticed that he had stopped hearing the crowd. His friend continued before he could even think to reply. "They act like you're not even real people. It's all shipping and fanon and OCs and..."
Mishima's list continued with very few words Ren recognized. To be fair, he had only seen that one stream Akane had done when they visited back in August and it had been focused entirely on the news out of Sapporo. Maybe it was different the rest of the year.
"...with the loudest voices just take over the phandom. It drowns out the serious discourse." Mishima finally paused to take a breath.
"Sounds complicated." Ren thought that might end the line of conversation, but Mishima was unfazed.
"And that's the thing," he only got more animated. "It doesn't have to be. If they'd just show some-"
Suddenly, Ren took a heavy blow to the back. He lunged forward. Morgana released a startled 'mroowwww!'
Even Mishima was surprised enough to stop talking.
Embedded in Ren's back was their small, red-headed compatriot.
"Need... food..." Futaba moaned while driving her head in even harder. "Must have energy to keep hunting..."
Ren stepped away and turned. He was quick enough to grab Futaba's upper arm, stabilizing her in case she really intended to fall over (for effect or not... it wasn't clear).
Haru stood behind her, staring at some far off point with wide eyes.
"Um, Haru?" Morgana pressed his front paws into Ren's shoulder, trying to position himself in her field of view.
"I've seen things," she said, her vision still fixed somewhere else. "So many... so many things."
Ren gave Mishima a conciliatory look. "I think it's time for lunch."
Author's Notes: I miss con season. (I also miss having time for con season.)
This was originally intended to be a one shot but my estimation skills got the better of me again... so second chapter as soon as I'm done editing it. Crossing my fingers that real life gives me some time.
Anyway, hope you are having a happy new year and thanks for reading! :)