Thursday, 9/22

Ren opened his eyes to blinding light. He blinked a few times as it naturally dimmed with his eyes' adjustment. The room around him slowly came into focus as he sat up.

Well shit.

The examination room of Tae's clinic was the exact same as it had been before Ren downed Tae's mixture, and Tae still occupied her usual desk, trusty pen and clipboard in hand. "Enjoy your nap?"

Ren hadn't. Well, he had, but not for the reasons he wanted to. He'd come to the clinic to get a hallucination and he woke up without one in his memory.

I don't know what I expected. The one thing I'm not lied to about is that I actually am useless now. How the hell am I supposed to save the world from the evil Yusuke god? Sit around like Akechi told me? Fuck.

At least he was well-rested. "Sure, you could say that."

"How'd this one go?"

Ren forgot that Tae was aware that he had been tripping balls all year long. He didn't know how, he just thought that she didn't know the full effects of her work. Technically, she didn't and probably wouldn't believe its powers to communicate with gods, cats, and detectives. "Less eventful. I kinda just slept normally, I think. Maybe I can't remember my dream."

"Maybe." Tae jotted down a note, not looking up at Ren. "On your way. I have patients to see."

"I have never seen anyone else in this clinic."

"That's right because the patient isn't coming here." Tae finally shifted her gaze upwards, meeting Ren to crack a smile and a joke. "I'm actually going to your dad's house tonight."

"Good one."

"What? Not funny?"

"No…" Ren hated forcing someone else to discuss the objectivity of a joke, given that he had to do it from time to time because of his sarcasm, so he didn't enjoy telling Tae off. "It's just less funny when it's about dads and not moms, ya know?"

"Nope. I don't know." Tae stood up, walked over to the examination table where Ren sat, and extended a hand. "I just think you're sexist."

Ren met her hand, standing up while shaking. "Shit, you're right." They disconnected their handshake, Ren going to the door and Tae going back to her desk. Just before he left, Ren left one final request for Tae. "Could you get me a happy meal before you come over tonight?"

Tae smirked. She crossed her legs in the most emphatic way she could, lifting one high to get Ren's attention in the process. "'Course. Do you want breasts or thighs with that?"

"Screw you." Ren walked out the door of the examination room. Seconds later, he crossed the threshold of the main entrance into Yongen's backstreets. As he always did after his unintentionally lengthy trips, Ren checked his phone first thing.

Iwai:

-Got work for you tonight.

Ren Amamiya:

-And this entails…?

Iwai:

-Working.

Ren Amamiya:

-Not babysitting?

Iwai:

-Working.

Iwai:

-Now get over here before it turns into babysitting while working.

Why not? I have nothing better to do tonight, except homework, video games, multiple friends I could hang out with, a girl who I should be trying to win back, a detective to contact, a god to kill, and a counselor to investigate. Oh, and a cat to feed. Very modern problems for the Lord of GRAVY-esque Goodness.

Ren walked toward the subway station anyway.

Surprisingly, "working" didn't involve any contraband or potentially illegal activity. Instead, it consisted of handing boxes of model guns for Iwai to store on the top shelves of Untouchable's storage room.

Iwai, on a stool and very, very cranky, would pass boxes down to Ren to inspect. Ren would open the box, quickly check that all the models had a little green sticker on the top of the barrel, close the box, then hand it back up to Iwai. This simple process was dragged out by the fact that Iwai had at least a hundred boxes of these crammed in the tightest, mustiest storage room Ren had ever seen. That didn't mean much because he didn't go around camping out in storage rooms, but he hated it and that's what mattered.

The stench of a dead horde of animals reeked from the walls, bringing Ren's burning eyes to the point of tears. He pulled his shirt over his nose to help, only to find that he'd been a very sweaty sleeper at Tae's clinic. He was trading dead animal must for bodily must; the fairest of fair deals.

To make it only slightly better, Ren tried to have a conversation with the second most enigmatic person he knew. "So what do you do in your free time, Iwai-san?"

"'Scuse me?" Iwai said, coughing as he dropped another box into Ren's arms. He didn't pay much attention to his assistant, only preparing the next box to be dropped.

"If I'm gonna be helping you check boxes all evening, a little conversation can't hurt, right?"

"Conversation hurts depending on your career, kid." Iwai pointed over his shoulder to the door to the main store. "Haven't ya seen that old propaganda poster I got on the wall? 'Loose lips sink ships.'"

"Okay, well, telling me about a hobby like knitting can't possibly tie into your Yakuza affiliation, can it?"

As Ren was handing the next box upward, he saw Iwai's knees bend slightly. He looked up as he held the box. Iwai stared down at Ren, his eyes sending a very polite and definitely not obscene message to be quiet. "If I'm Yakuza, then you're Yakuza too. You work for me, so congratulations."

"Whoop-de-fuckin'-doo." Ren faked his award speech, tears and all. "I want to thank my mom for leaving me alone enough so that I went down the path of becoming a hardened criminal. I wanna thank Junpei for being really, really weird and letting me have a whole apartment to use as a meth lab. I wanna thank my Yakuza friend for paying his babysitters well. And, finally, I want to thank Principal Kobayakawa for keeping hell down with his weight. It really means a lot."

"How many times a day do people tell you to shut up?"

"Not nearly enough. Too many people laugh, so I get plenty of encouragement."

"Did you have overly-loving parents?"

"Opposite."

"So I should give Kaoru more attention if I don't want him to turn out like you?"

"Yep."

"Good to know." Iwai passed a new box down to Ren. "Don't open it. You're gonna be keeping that one."

"May I ask why?"

"No."

I asked as a courtesy. Of course I'm gonna ask about the box!

"What's in the box?"

"Stuff."

"What kinda stuff?"

"Stuff you shouldn't worry about."

"I'm gonna worry about it if I have to keep it. That's why it's fair to wonder what's inside."

"Don't care."

"Come on… can't you just tell me?"

"I can tell you to shut up."

"You can give me a one-word response, just tell me what's in the box."

"No."

"What's in the fucking box?"

Iwai, clearly frustrated with Ren, closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Remember the friend who tried to get the upper hand on me?" Ren nodded, prompting Iwai to continue the explanation. "His head's in the box."

"Ew, the fuck?!" Ren dropped the box and backpedaled into the shelf behind him. His head smacked against a shelf, surely resulting in a soon-to-be bump. Ren rubbed the back of his head as Iwai showed signs of life: he laughed at Ren with genuine energy.

"Kid, lemme tell you," Iwai said, shaking his head as he kept laughing. "You're an idiot. You really think I'd tell you what's in the box just because you annoyed me into it?"

That is precisely what I thought.

"Nope."

"Well, too bad." Iwai's smile from laughing vanished, replaced by his usual stone-faced expression. "You are keeping the box, though. It can't be here, 'cause I got an inspector coming through tonight. Contraband for a retail store; you get it."

"I really, really don't, but I guess I'm happy to help out."

Saturday, 9/24

Ren's concentration on playing his mobile game under his desk was ruined by noise from in front of him. "Psst." He looked up to see Ann turned around mid-lesson, not caring that Kawakami would probably stop the lecture to discipline her. "Happy birthday, Ren."

First birthday wishes of the day coming from Ann. Interesting. My bet was on Kawakami, considering that I got to school early today.

For his whole life, Ren could never figure out the best response to birthday well-wishes. Sure, a polite, "Thank you," was more than acceptable, but there had been too many occasions where relatives and friends seemed displeased that Ren didn't have anything else to say.

"Thanks," Ren said, nodding at Ann. He held himself together casually to not make a big deal out of it; he didn't like pulling extra attention to himself just because it was his birthday.

Too bad he couldn't do that in a classroom. "Takamaki-san!" Kawakami's voice cut through Ren's nerves, giving him a momentary spike of adrenaline that subsided into humiliation. All of that, and he wasn't even the one about to get lectured. "I hope your conversation with Amamiya-kun is more interesting than what I have to say."

"No, Kawakami-sensei, it wasn't. I was just asking him a question about the material."

Kawakami rolled her eyes. "Sure…" Nonetheless, she turned back to the blackboard and resumed her lesson.

Ann didn't turn back again, but Ren did feel bad for her going out on a semi-risky limb just to remind him about his birthday. "You didn't have to do that," he whispered as he leaned forward over his desk. "But thanks."

"Of course I had to do that," Ann muttered back. "It's the Lord of GRAVY-esque Goodness's birthday. It'd be treason to not wish you a happy birthday as soon as humanly possible."

"And that is exactly how you earn a promotion."

"How's seventeen treating ya so far?" Ryuji asked, walking ahead of Ren as they exited to Shujin's roof. Ren decided to spend his first lunch as a seventeen-year-old with the first friend he made in Tokyo, though he'd hoped their conversation wouldn't end up at his birthday. "I remember my birthday like it was yesterday…" Ryuji sat down at one of the abandoned desks. He closed his eyes as a grin sprouted from ear to ear. "The maids, the cake, the Ratman, the maids !"

Ren took a seat of his own. He also opened his bag to procure his specially prepared birthday lunch: a loaf of bread. "I hope you're not planning anything similar for my birthday."

"Don't tell me that you're anti-maid!"

"I'm not anti-maid, I'm just pro-monogamy."

"Shit, you have mono too?!" Ryuji's ignorance of the term got a laugh out of Ren. "Effin' Makoto… I knew that I shouldn't have trusted her."

"Not mono; monogamy . Only having one partner."

"Oh… well, that's less interesting. I'm just gonna go with you and Makoto both having mono."

"Please don't. It's my birthday."

"Fine. The rumor mill waits one day."

"What convenience."

"So you're not doing too much to celebrate, right?" Ryuji had his own lunch to eat. He pulled a thermos out of his bag and opened it to lukewarm garlic noodles. "Ann told me that you're going out with Makoto and… that's it, right?"

Still weird to think that Makoto's taking me out on my birthday, especially now. Is she taking me out for food, for fun, or just taking me to the oh-so-subtle surprise party that she definitely wasn't alluding to the other day? Who knows.

"I guess. I don't even know what I'm doing with Makoto."

"What if she takes you to like…" Ryuji looked up at the sky to ponder the worst possible date scenario. "To get your toes manicured! That'd suck, huh?"

Ren shrugged. "Happy people have clean toes, Ryuji. Couldn't hurt to go."

"But for a date?! Eff that!" Ryuji continued with the hypotheticals, much to Ren's amusement. "What if she took you to uh… an Imagine Socks concert?"

"Who?"

"Imagine socking these nuts!" Ryuji high-fived himself as he chewed more of his food. Ren laughed. His juvenile sense of humor was tailor-made for those kinds of jokes. However, he did have the obligation to clap back at Ryuji.

"Okay, fine. Good one." Ren leaned forward over the table. He interlaced his fingers and placed both hands on the table, setting the scene for a serious business discussion. "Sorry to change the subject, but do you prefer E-girls or I-ladies?"

"The eff is an-" Ryuji stopped the moment he realized. His eyes went wide at the horror Ren was about to unleash. "Wait, no pl-"

"I lay deez nuts across your face!" Ren dropped an invisible microphone and took a celebratory bite of his bland bread.

"We'll call it a draw."

"Whoever gets the last laugh is the winner."

"That's not how I see it."

Ren shrugged. "That's how I see it. In my book, I'm the winner and you can't do anything to change my mind. Unless you get me with another joke, that is."

Ryuji's eyes widened at the idea. "Remember how we had to exchange yen for US dollars in Hawaii?"

"Yep."

"What was the label on the ATM? I think it was… B-something, right?"

That'd be a good one if I didn't know it was coming. Ryuji could've waited for a better opportunity, but no. He just had to use this joke when it would be least effective.

Naturally, Ren spoiled the joke before Ryuji could have his laugh. "Bofa these nuts in your mouth, yeah yeah," he sleepily relayed before correcting the root of Ryuji's joke. "Also, you do know that it's not 'bofa,' but actually B of A? Bank of America?"

"Oh…" Ryuji seemed surprised. "That makes a lot more sense."

"So I still get the last laugh and I'm up by two because I finished your joke for you."

"Wha- that's not how it works!"

"That's how it works for me." Ren smirked as Ryuji got more and more riled up. Ryuji's strength was his commitment to himself, what he believed in, and who he believed in. Fiercely loyal to his own thoughts, Ryuji stubbornly stood his ground on hills that didn't have much logical basis, making it his defining quality. Ren liked him for that exact reason.

Ryuji's the second strongest person I know. His dream literally got snapped along with his leg, and practically the whole school resents him for it. Until I came along, he was probably in the exact same position as me. The only difference between us is that I know he's more sensitive to it. I'm amused by it, but I know it bothers Ryuji. Still, he puts on that smile and goes about making everyone laugh.

At least, that was Ren's perspective on his friend. "Kidding, I'm just messing with you. We'll call it a draw." Ryuji smiled, only for Ren to squeeze one last joke in. "With an asterisk, of course."

Ryuji took it in a good spirit, laughing it off as he ate more of his lunch. "Oh, get the eff out of here."

Ren took the moment to really savor the delicious staleness of his bread, chewing it so much for every bite that his jaw began to tire. It didn't ruin the surprising moment of peace atop Shujin with Ryuji, of all people to be peaceful with.

Maybe it was birthday angst, or his residing thoughts on Ryuji being a great friend, or just how nice the breeze felt in the crisp fall afternoon, but Ren spoke aloud what he normally would've kept to himself. "You know, Ryuji, I think you're what everyone in GRAVY should strive to be."

"Uh…"

"I know it sounds out of place after, well," Ren waved his hands in the air, trying to physically articulate their juvenile humor. "But I just want you to know that you're the realest motherfucker at this school. That first day, when we ended up in the castle, I was walking to Shujin and planning on giving zero fucks. I wasn't going to talk to anyone, just keep my head down and live on my own. Thanks to you, I have a life."

Ryuji faked a snivel, wiping his nose across his hand. "Oh, I'm so proud of you Renny-boy," he said in a shrill voice, mimicking an old grandmother. Ryuji may have joked, but Ren remained serious.

"If you hadn't approached me that day, I'd be celebrating my birthday alone." Ren extended a hand across the table. A symbol of camaraderie, of collaboration, was needed for Ren to feel satisfied and not like he made a complete fool of himself by opening up. "Maybe I'd still be in that castle."

Instantly, Ryuji shook Ren's hand. With a firm few pumps, the handshake dissolved and both withdrew. "Ya know, we never really got answers about that place. And you still have a self-aware cat for eff's sake!"

"Yeah," Ren said simply. He could only shrug in response. "You'd get used to him if he was your pet."

"I know, but don't you feel, like, evil by keeping him?"

"It's not like he's staying with me unwillingly. He likes how much food I give him and he's more than capable of following me out the door in the morning. I think he's just lazy."

Ryuji shook his head, unable to comprehend how something so strange, yet subconsciously relatable, could even exist. "Still weird." Ren conceded to Ryuji's point by nodding. A short silence came and went when Ryuji spoke again. "You still think about the castle?"

"No. I've considered it, how it factors into…"

Into the whole thing with, you know, the god that's trying to end the world. That, and the flaming man in Shibuya square were where things went weird. Sure, the dream of the blue room could count, but that's a dream. Maybe it's supernatural, but it's less real than the other two by definition.

Frustration found its way to Ren whenever he tried to put all the puzzle pieces together. If all the weird shit started happening in April, then surely an answer awaited Ren within his memories. Yet, whenever he went back, he came up empty-handed. As he'd been all year long, Ren just wasn't good enough to solve his own problems.

"...Into things," Ren continued. "But I don't think about it a lot. You?"

"I dunno, kinda. I get the feeling that that day was less important than it was supposed to be, if that makes sense." Ryuji looked down at the surface of the abandoned desk, Ren's eyes following. Multiple gashes existed as blemishes along the surface with dirt trapped in small grooves. Ren always thought that a roof was a stupid place to store desks. "We didn't get the full picture, that's for sure."

Well…

"Ryuji, I might have a hint as to what that was." Ryuji perked up, but Ren quickly sought to deflate any expectations set for him. "But that's all it is. A hint… or two."

"Then why aren't you tellin' me right now?"

"I'm telling everyone all at once, whenever we get the whole group together."

Ryuji chuckled. "Oh, you're gonna put your public speaking skills to the test?"

"Something like that." Ren had no clue how he would even broach the subject in a group setting. The only thing he had planned was to not stop himself from talking and to let almost everything out. The one thing he would hold back was arguably the most dangerous: Maruki. Futaba couldn't know and neither could Ryuji because Futaba tracked him. If he were to tell the others, he would have to ensure that they wouldn't do anything with that information.

I mean, I don't even know what to do with it. A few days after figuring this shit out and I still have nothing. How do you stop someone who literally changes the way you think, how you act, and who knows what else?

Ren figured the best way to go about it would be to force the situation upon himself so he couldn't back out. Until then, he would lay in wait for the perfect opportunity, spending as little time as possible planning his words.

Makoto and Yuriko exited Shujin together. They descended the steps in a careful, well-timed fashion, matching pace and speaking as they did so. "So then she said that I needed to return the purse, and I told her to wait. Now, here's where things start getting cr-" Yuriko gave up on far too many sentences midway through for Makoto's tastes, but this instance had a purpose. "Isn't that Ren?"

Makoto had worried about this happening. Her plan to meet with Ren at the front gate hadn't factored in how timely Ren would be. Because of his speed, he'd now have to deal with Yuriko. Unless they'd truly grown past their beef like the reasonable people they supposedly were, Makoto was eager to keep the conversation as brief as possible.

"I'm meeting him here to hang out this afternoon," Makoto explained as they kept walking towards the gate. Ren hadn't noticed, his phone taking his attention instead.

"Wha- on his birthday?!" Yuriko teasingly pushed Makoto's shoulder, laughing as she did so. Makoto didn't expect Yuriko to know about Ren's birthday, but being unpredictable was the driving reason for Yuriko's existence. "Makoto, you sly girl."

Makoto wheeled on her friend. She would tolerate no antics on a day so important to someone she held dear. "Keep your voice down!" she said through a harsh whisper.

Yuriko huffed, puffed, and conceded to Makoto's wishes. "Okay, fiiine… whatever you say."

"Thank you." A few silent seconds later and the pair arrived at Ren Amamiya, still oblivious to the passing world around him. His phone must have been awfully enticing. "Hey, Ren. Happy birthday!"

"Yeah, happy birthday," Yuriko added, much to Makoto's annoyance. Yuriko was allowed to wish Ren a happy birthday, obviously, but the girl's naturally teasing tone always felt like the first spark before a bonfire.

Ren looked up from his phone. He immediately smiled, much to Makoto's delight. She wanted even more, maybe even an embrace, only for her to remind herself that there was a reason she couldn't expect that of Ren anymore. What's the point of breaking up with him if you can't even remember that you're not dating, Makoto? She asked herself.

He nodded to both of them. "Makoto, Yuriko." Ren focused back on Makoto, setting her nerves on fire. She couldn't understand why she viewed Ren differently than usual, why he provoked more of a response in her. "What's the plan?"

"You know that arcade on central street?"

Ren raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you know that arcade on central street."

The birthday surprise nearly slipped off a cliff the other day when Makoto asked a few too many questions to Ren. She didn't want to take any risks when it came to spoiling the rest of Ren's day for him. "A week ago, I didn't, but Futaba forced Ann, Haru, and me into going. It ended up being surprisingly fun." A lie, and one that could easily be disproved. Makoto had never been to an arcade, so getting a hold of the mechanics of the games was a necessity to make sure that Ren didn't find out Makoto was just delaying him.

Ren didn't pick up on it. "Hm. Cool," he said, turning to Yuriko. "You coming, Kuramoto-senpai?"

Makoto rolled her eyes at the honorific. Ren was making fun of Yuriko and she didn't even realize it. "And third-wheel your guys' date? No chance," Yuriko said.

"I-it's not a da-"

"Keep telling yourself that." Yuriko smirked at Makoto. "Well, I'll leave you two to do your thing. Don't worry about me ruining your big day, Ren." Finally, Ren and Makoto were alone as Yuriko unceremoniously walked down the street towards the station.

"Thank you for being nice to her."

"She's a lot, isn't she?"

"Yes, but in a good way. She's a good energy boost."

Ren shrugged, not caring too much about the topic. "Ready to go?" Makoto nodded and she joined Ren at his side. They walked to the station together, both of them falling into old habits all too easily.

Yet again, the deep voice of the fighting game's automated announcer growled, "Player one wins." Ren had spent the last half hour whooping Makoto, making it very clear that the arcade was not her area of expertise.

She's not that bad. Matches aren't ending instantly and she makes an effort to dodge. She's a good sport about getting her ass kicked, too. I wonder if we'd have gone home by now if it wasn't my birthday.

To Ren, it seemed that Makoto wondered the same thing. Between every round of the game, she checked her phone. Ren wouldn't have cared if it wasn't out of fashion for Makoto, as someone with manners as good as her wouldn't religiously check their phone when out with a friend.

He wasn't the only one in the arcade to notice Makoto's habit. "Hey," a voice squeaked from Ren and Makoto's right side. Ren paused the game to look over the kid who wore a vulgar red cap, a blue varsity jacket, and jeans rolled up to just below his knees.

This poor kid looks like he was dressed by someone that does not understand how kids dress.

With their attention, the kid began his proposition. "Your girlfriend sucks ass at the game, but you seem pretty good. Wanna play?"

Makoto looked more confused than offended. Instead of being able to share the glance, Ren was caught up in his own mental dilemma: defend his girlfriend's bad performance in an arcade game, or ditch her to play a kid in the same game.

Decisions, decisions.

"Not gonna say anything, pussy?"

Line? Crossed. Forgive me, Makoto.

Makoto didn't even need a warning, relinquishing her spot next to Ren quickly to switch to his other side. The kid took her place as she observed from Ren's left. "Now you have to beat him," Makoto whispered to him.

Ren chuckled at the implication that his victory wasn't guaranteed. "He's barely tall enough to grab the gun from the socket. How good can he really be?"

"Tough talk from someone who wears glasses," the kid said.

"I'll have you know that millions wear glasses and millions more," Ren said, glancing over to Makoto to make sure she listened, "are attracted to people who wear glasses. You, on the other hand, are occupied by a far uglier accessory."

"Uh-huh. Sounds like I hit a nerve."

"Sure, bud. Let's just start the game and get this over with." Ren navigated through the menu to set up the new match. Just as they reached the screen to select their fighters, the kid set stepped back from the machine. Ren turned back. "Scared?"

"We forgot to bet."

"You're five years old. Five-year-olds don't bet."

"Too chicken?"

"Fine. What are we betting?"

"If I win…" The kid brought his hand to his chin, gazing off into the corner of the arcade as he pondered his options. "I get your girlfriend."

The audacity. The sheer brazenness. The unmitigated gall of this little shit…

"What's your name, kid?" Ren took great pride in being the one able to look down upon someone younger than him. After dealing with Sojiro's condescension over his generation being superior, Ren fully understood why older people looked down on younger people. While Ren only had a few years on the kid, he was still older.

"Shinya, but everyone here just calls me the King. You'll see why soon. Or, as soon as you choose your winning prize."

"You chose my very, very willing girlfriend." Ren glanced at Makoto, who was nice enough to hold imminent laughter behind her hand to not insult Shinya. "And I can choose anything ?"

"Yep. Anything you want."

Well, he's just a kid. He probably doesn't have anything over five-hundred yen, I don't want the hat, and there's nothing else that's even considerable for a prize. Unless… fuck it. He's a kid. He'll believe me, right?

"If I win, you have to legally change your name to Shitya."

"Shitya?"

"Did I stutter?"

The kid gulped. Ren smiled at the fact that gullibility hadn't escaped the modern youth. "Fine. Good thing I'm undefeated," Shinya said after a nervous chuckle.

Ren rolled his eyes and looked at the screen. Shinya selected his fighter and Ren did the same, with their states of readiness triggering the match into starting. They spawned on a flat platform of a map. It was visually bland but mechanically desirable; its flat surface would be perfect for showing the kid how bad he was at the game.

A voice shouted from behind Ren but he couldn't look back. "Everyone! The King's got a new victim!" Whispers flew through the arcade and a barrage of steps came with a crowd. Makoto got squished against Ren's side as kids Shinya's age surrounded the machine to watch the match.

Ren struck first with a light attack and the match was off. Back and forth they went, Ren doing more attacking than Shinya. Aggression was a rare thing for him in fighting games, though he was almost exclusively playing with the members of GRAVY who sucked at games. Ren just really wanted to teach the young whippersnapper a lesson in respect for the elderly.

Elderly. I'm seventeen and I'm already entitled because of my age. By the time I'm old enough to have kids, I'll be ordering them to brush my teeth.

What also began with the match was a habit of Shinya's: incessant, vulgar trash talk that would make a mother cry and vomit all at the same time. Worst of all, Shinya was whispering all of it into Ren's ear while they played. Ren did his best to tune it out, but…

"That's right. Big, giant, birthing hips. Covered in powdered sugar and chicken broth. That's your dinner tonight you worthless bitch. You whore. Just think of those gloriously slippery birthing hips, chicken broth everywhere, while Peter Fan frolics across them. You're gonna dress like Peter Fan after you lose. You're gonna get shit on so hard that Lil' Shane is gonna write bars about you." Shinya's mouth was so vulgar that Ren forgot the kid probably couldn't even solve for X in a slope formula. "Just think of three hundred rabbits having a blood orgy over your own dead body. That's what you'll deserve. They're all running and jumping everywhere, making little rabbit noises, as they feast in their orgy." He even went as far as mimicking said rabbits. "Num num num, num num num! Mmm…" Shinya smacked his lips right as he hit Ren's character for a huge combo. The crowd let out sounds of amazement, but Ren was still warming.

He responded with a combo of his own, knocking Shinya to the edge of the map. Ren's character advanced to deal blow after blow, the screen flashing red with feedback and animated gore. Shinya button mashed and accelerated his trash talk as he got more defensive.

"Uh… birthing hips! Covered in fur and dried, crusty milk! That's like the taste of defeat in your mouth, you swashbuckling motherfucker!" Ren almost laughed at the strange nautical choice of words. Instead, he held his composure and continued to pressure Shinya into worsening degeneracy. "Think of how disappointing you are to your parents! Divorce! Bossanova! Aliens! Q, the letter! Birthing hips! Peter Fan doing lines of coke off of Teddie the Bear's birthing hips!" Shinya spewed pure nonsense, most of it about birthing hips, while continuing his descent into his first loss.

"Okay, that does it!" Ren initiated what would be the final combo. Shinya's health bar severely lacked the strength to absorb damage while the edge of the map sapped his ability to dodge attacks. With alternated button presses and one final satisfying click of the red button, Ren's character kicked Shinya's character in the balls before ripping his head off. "What the fuck is with you and birthing hips?!"

And just what are birthing hips? I think I get it, but I know I don't really get it.

Ren's question lingered in an arcade stunned into silence. The young teenagers that gathered to watch The King win were shocked by his defeat, all of them hanging their heads but keeping their eyes on the unstable King to see his reaction.

"I lost?!" Shinya grabbed the brim of his cap and crumpled it downward. "Nooooooo!" He collapsed to his knees, still on the small platform that came with the arcade machine. The crowd huddled around him to watch his meltdown.

"Cool beans, Shitya. May your next loss be more graceful than this." Instinctively, and because he had a good excuse to do so with the crowd so tightly packed, Ren put his arm around Makoto to guide her out. A few cheers and whistles came as Ren and Makoto pushed through, but most of the kids focused on The King howling his lungs out.

"I can't be Shitya! Anything but Shitya!"

"He doesn't realize that he doesn't have to acknowledge the name, does he?" Makoto asked.

Ren was so elated that she hadn't told him to move his arm yet to answer the question. In fact, they made it out of the arcade and partway down the street before Makoto actually got him to speak.

"Hold on. Could we stop for just a moment so I can check something?"

Phone again, huh?

Ren relinquished his hold on Makoto's shoulder as she stepped back from him. Expectedly, she took out her phone and immediately started tapping away at it. Ren watched, deliberating whether to tap his fingers on his crossed arms to rush Makoto.

She finished before he could decide. Looking up, she smiled and put her phone in her pocket. "I think it's time we head back."

"Is that why you've been checking your phone all afternoon? You didn't want to go to the arcade?"

"Wha- um…" Makoto reddened. Ren put enough pressure on her by just expecting an answer for her to lack any words to say. " I invited you to the arcade, didn't I? And just because I check my phone doesn't mean tha-"

"You are the last person I would expect to check their phone every few minutes when with someone else, so there's definitely something up."

Makoto crossed her own arms. She pouted, clearly frustrated that Ren pressed her when she didn't want to answer any questions. "You're being paranoid. No more questions." She even put a hand in Ren's face, practically ordering him to stop.

Getting a "Talk to the hand" moment from Makoto is not what I expected on my birthday. Then again, I also didn't expect to hear about Teddie's birthing hips. All's fair on birthdays, I suppose.

Ren didn't let any frustration show. He wanted his questions answered, but he wanted things to go well with Makoto even more. The questions could always be asked later, also. For the time being, the pair began their walk back to the station.

Elevator doors slid closed on Ren and Makoto. They just arrived at their apartment building, taking the short elevator trip up to each of their respective floors.

"Thanks for the afternoon. I had fun," Ren said, intending to spark more conversation. He didn't want his birthday date with Makoto to end on a silent note.

Makoto kept her response short, sweet, and pleasant. "I'm glad."

"Feels kinda weird, though; being broken up and all."

"We're still friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah, of course. But of the few people I'm friends with, you took me out today. I know you're not very willing when it comes to questions today, so I'll skip to thanking you. I really appreciate it, Makoto."

The doors opened to Ren's floor. Still waiting for a response, Ren didn't step out. "I just wanted someone important to me to have a good birthday." Ren could tell the difference between a stock response and a genuine one, yet he kept quiet. Makoto had her reasons to take him out that afternoon; Ren didn't need to know them.

Ren nodded a goodbye before stepping out of the elevator. Machinery hummed as the doors began to close behind him, suddenly stopping as Ren got lightly pushed from behind. He turned around.

Makoto inched towards Ren, her head just a few inches from his. "You can't end your birthday celebration so soon. Why don't we watch a movie?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Friends" my ass. Sounds to me like Makoto is trying to give me a birthday to remember. Or, on a more realistic note, maybe she just wants to visit Morgana.

"Uh… are you sure you still wanna be just friends?" Ren's flat tone showed nothing but indifference.

Makoto's face flushed with embarrassment, hopefully because Ren hit a nerve, but she continued to attempt to maintain the poor acting job. "What? Is there something wrong with making sure a friend has a good birthday?"

"No, it's just-" Ren automatically began, stopping when he actually considered what was happening.

If she's this devoted to hiding something from me and coming to my apartment, I'm not going to get any truth out of her, aren't I?

Ren excused his half-sentence. "Nevermind." Even sooner, he moved on to acceptance. "Movie sounds fun, but I get to pick."

Makoto's face lit up with her smile. "No horror, please?"

We're gonna be watching 'Fire in the Sky' if I don't get my questions answered. That would probably make Makoto move out of Tokyo and immigrate to Korea. Honestly, I probably can't even watch it. I only know that one scene with the… ugh. Yeah, definitely never watching that movie.

"No promises."

They walked down the hall to his door. Ren received the best birthday gift of his life in the form of his key not having to be jimmied into oblivion for the door to open, only to immediately be one-upped by:

"Happy birthday, Ren! " The pops of confetti cannons simultaneously went off around the apartment. Bright gold lettering wished Ren a happy birthday from the wall opposite the apartment entrance. Gold streamers hung from all around the apartment, waving alongside the falling confetti. Ren stood dumbstruck at the entrance at the sight of all his friends in his apartment. The first thought that came to his surprise-blanked mind was a bit of a party pooper.

How the fuck did they get in?

He decided to worry about that later and blame it on the self-aware cat for the time being. Ryuji and the others quickly approached. "Renny! You made it!" He extended a hand for a firm handshake. As soon as Ren accepted, Ryuji pulled him into a hug, slapping the GRAVY leader on the back.

Ren pulled back. "I literally couldn't miss it, so…" Ryuji laughed.

Pats on the back and well wishes for Ren's birthday came from every direction. Yusuke placed a delicate hand on Ren's left shoulder while Futaba pulled on his right shoulder to bring him down to her level.

I'll admit that I like the attention.

Ren shook off his friends and turned to Makoto. "So the arcade was just a diversion?" She nodded, glad that the plan worked without Ren being too aware of it in advance. "Good job, Makoto."

GRAVY excitedly chattered, but Ann's voice cut through them all. "How about we go sit down instead of just standing at the door?" Each teenager nodded in agreement before moving over to the living area. Ren, Futaba, and Yusuke took the couch, Makoto and Haru each took a chair, while Ann and Ryuji stood in front of the TV.

Finally in a position to rest from the overwhelming bombardment of surprise, Ren looked around the apartment. Along with the decorations, boxes of the same decorations were stacked on the kitchen counter. In the corner of the living area, various sleeping bags were rolled up. Futaba caught Ren looking almost immediately.

"Oh, noticed the sleeping bags, huh?" She raised her voice and turned to Ryuji. "Ryuji, care to share our master plan for this evening with our esteemed birthday gentleman?"

"Why of course, Sakura-san." Ryuji turned to Ren, playing into the theatrics by taking a bow. "Your lordship of GRAVY-esque Goodness, I present to you a new concept; something otherworldly. I present Saturdays at Renny's!"

"I'm intrigued."

"Every Saturday, us GRAVY disciples aggregate-"

Ann interrupted with a complaint. "Dammit, Ryuji. We went over this. It's 'congregate,' not 'aggregate.'"

"As I was explaining before I was so rudely interrupted, us disciples of GRAVY shall congregate at the fortress Lord Amamiya built, whether it be to discuss club matters or to settle a disagreement with a virtual battle to the death. All festivities are concluded by us sleeping together."

"Phrasing!" Futaba yelled.

Ryuji jumped a little as he realized his mistake. He quickly rectified his poor choice of words. "By us sleeping near each other."

"That is the most complicated way to propose weekly sleepovers."

Ryuji shrugged. "I figured someone who refers to themself as the Lord of GRAVY-esque Goodness would like it."

"You know me so well." While on board with the idea, Ren still had questions, especially considering that the concept seemed to exclusively take place at his apartment. He didn't want to be stuck spending every Sunday cleaning up. "And does it always have to be at my place, or…?"

Ann jumped in by literally pushing Ryuji to the side so she could become the center of everyone's attention. "Ryuji was also supposed to mention this, but I guess we can't have nice things, can we?" She gave Ryuji a teasing smirk before looking back at the group. "We can trade-off depending on how we feel each week. Sometimes I can host, and sometimes Makoto can. Now, there are some exceptions, like Yusuke living in Kosei's dorms, but-"

"When have I ever forbidden you all from joining me in my quarters?"

"Where would we sleep, Yusuke-kun?" Haru asked.

"Kosei dorms are not as rigid as one would think. Every night is a pitiless struggle for territory, a sinkhole opening up to Hell itself. Warriors are made in the Kosei dorms."

Futaba asked the question that everyone else had. "Could we get the Japanese translation of that, please?"

"Kosei's dorms follow the principle of the first to come being the first to be served."

"That's effed up. So you guys are, like, killing each other and shit every night?"

"Essentially."

"Okay, so my point still stands," Ann interjected to refocus the group. "Kosei's dorms are off-limits."

Sleeping over at Makoto's place would be cool. She owes me, in that regard.

"Then, uh… I'm assuming we won't be decorating every week, right?" Ren asked, waving his hand toward the streamer-covered walls. His laziness got murmurs of approval from the more lethargic members of GRAVY.

"Not unless it's your birthday every Saturday," Ryuji joked.

Okay, dumb question.

"We actually didn't finish decorating," Haru said. Rather than the typical thrilled tone that everyone held since Ren arrived, she sounded downtrodden; disappointed in herself.

Ren jumped at the opportunity to compliment his friends' work. "Looks pretty complete to me."

"Well, we wanted to rent a helicopter to pull your perimeter walls off so we could launch fireworks, but gold streamers work too," Ann said.

Naturally, it'd be Yusuke flying the helicopter because of-fucking-course he knows how to fly a helicopter.

"Ah."

"But that's enough questions. We got a birthday to celebrate!" Ryuji stepped towards Ren, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him up from the couch. "Guess how we're celebrating your birthday?"

"A surprise party."

"Well, yeah, but we got a karaoke machine, too!"

Pure from-the-tap J-pop was shot into the party's veins. Yusuke took over the karaoke machine almost immediately to run through his personal history of music. "Dame da ne dame, yo dame na no yo, anta ga suki de, suki sugite." His mournful ballad did little to sour the party, as pretty much everyone passed the performance off as a typical antic for Yusuke.

Except for one, however. Ryuji, so enraptured by the performance, sat on the couch with his head resting on his palms. He stared blankly at the wall. If Ren had to guess, Ryuji was having an existential crisis to end all existential crises. Nonetheless, Ryuji was left to his own devices as everyone else enjoyed the party.

"So then I told the guy at the front desk, 'Hey. You're breaking our balls. Just let us up,'" Futaba explained, relaying GRAVY's troubles of getting through the lobby. Ren found himself standing in between the kitchen and living area with Futaba and Haru. The latter held Morgana, too while she listened to Futaba devolve into goofy mimicry. "And then he said, 'No, Futaba, you can't do that because I hate people with fake orange hair and I'm a stupid bastard. I have a stick the size of Tanna Tuva up my ass.'"

"I don't think you're giving him enough credit for being polite with us," Haru said.

"Yeah, he's not that bad, Futaba. I don't know what beef you gu-"

Unintentionally, Ren set off a bit from Futaba. "Beef?! You relegate my prophesied hatred of this foul villain to mere 'beef?!' I'd have your tongue before hearing your-"

"Foul villain? He runs the front desk of a high-rise apartment building. I can't see any evil on his part."

Futaba transitioned between fake voices like she played hot potato. For the next bit, she became a wise old lady reminiscing on the past. "Ah, so you have forgotten what he did on Valador-Four, hm? The men? The women? The children, too?!" Just as easily as she switched, Futaba dropped the act. "Has being a seventeen-year-old for sixteen hours gotten to your head?"

"Well, with how much you guys went out of your way to celebrate… yes, it is a bit of an ego trip."

"Think of it as a thank you for starting the club," Haru said. "We'd all be in very different places if you hadn't."

"Don't thank me; I made the club just to get on Makoto's good side."

"It doesn't seem too difficult to do that," Haru said, opposing the necessity of what Ren did back in the Spring. "I'd say it's much more challenging to get on her bad side if she even has one."

Okay, hold up. Makoto definitely has a bad side. She can get angry and throw down when she needs to. I mean, she's not telling people to go fuck themselves, but she's definitely capable of blocking bullshit thrown her way.

Futaba was taken aback, letting out an exaggerated gasp. "Is that a challenge?"

"No, it was no-" Haru scrambled to clarify her words, knowing how quickly Futaba moved, but was interrupted by Futaba doing the very last things she wanted.

"Hey, Makoto!" Futaba called over to the kitchen. Both Ann and Makoto, who were joyfully working on the evening's food, turned their heads to look. "Ren just told me that his favorite character on 'The Contraltos' is PJ!"

With Yusuke's dominance over the karaoke machine continuing in the background, Ryuji's somber reflection still incomplete, and with everyone else in the room looking at him, Ren defended himself the only way he could. "She said it, not me."

The bitter, J-pop-tinged moment continued until Makoto shook her head. "I can't even look at you right now." She and Ann quickly went back to cooking, laughing it off almost immediately.

"Shit. I thought that would work."

"See? I told you that Mako-chan doesn't have a bad side."

"Huh? That's not what the data says at all !" Futaba countered, getting a finger in Haru's face. "Makoto clearly has a bad side, it just doesn't apply to Ren."

I like the sound of that.

Haru made an argument out of the whole thing when she shot back. "She's been mad at Ren-kun many times! For instance, she…" By the time she actually started explaining herself, Ren had walked away.

There's no way in Hell that I'm listening to that.

He made his way over to the kitchen to hang out with the two members of GRAVY least likely to get into an argument. "Need any help?" Ren offered as he entered the kitchen.

Ann looked up from her busy work, glancing around the kitchen to find something for Ren to do. Finally, she pointed at the cutting board. "You know how to dice vegetables?"

You just cut them up, right?

"Yep." With an approving nod from Ann, Ren went to the cutting board. He withdrew a kitchen knife from the wooden knife holder and placed a few of the aforementioned vegetables on the cutting board. Without much thought, Ren just pushed down on the vegetable, only holding the knife with one hand.

"Woah, hey!" Makoto rushed up from his side, grabbing the knife and securing it in her own grip. "Haven't you used a knife before?"

"In a few dreams, yeah."

"Ren…" Makoto sighed, pushing into him so he would move out of the way. Instead, Ren held his ground as Makoto pushed up against him. "If you cut your finger off on your birthday…"

"Then it'd be my most memorable birthday."

"Because you cut off your finger."

"Still counts as memorable."

"This shouldn't be debatable."

"Maybe I just like talking to you."

Ann chimed in with her own way of telling Ren to shut up. "I am going to cut off everyone's fingers if you guys don't get a room soon, my god." Ann took the knife from Makoto, pushing both Ren and the student council president out of the way. She began slicing the vegetables on her own. "Makoto, cut the flirting. We need to-"

"I wasn't even flirting!"

"Keep telling yourself that. I know it when I see it."

"But-"

"No buts! Only cooking!"

Makoto grumbled, turning around to face Ren. "Your fault," she whispered with a coy smile plastered across her face. As defensive as she got with Ann, she clearly liked what was going on.

Instead of being serious, Ren decided to leave the two to their work by repeating an important sentiment in a deepened, ironically serious voice. "Makoto, cut the flirting. We need to cook!"

Makoto rolled her eyes as she brushed past Ren to continue the meal preparation.

An unwritten rule of all GRAVY congregations at Ren's apartment was that the TV always had to be on. Whether it was for video games, a movie, or karaoke didn't matter; it just needed to be on. Even while the group settled around the living area's table, two of them atop pillows on the floor, they turned the TV on to watch a movie. Specifically, a cult classic movie that rose to fame for its mindfuckery and dark sense of humor.

Ren was the only one in GRAVY who had seen 'Bite Club' before, making him giddy with excitement to see the film's twist unfold and split GRAVY members' heads in two. The tale about a miserable office worker who started a biting club with his friend succeeded in its feigned simplicity. GRAVY thought they were getting a film about people who bit each other as a cathartic release from the pressure of the world. Instead, they got a deep exploration of toxic masculinity centered around biting.

GRAVY eagerly dug into their fresh, warm meal. The film didn't get as much attention as it should've gotten, but Ren knew that would change as the intensity increased and GRAVY finished their meals. In fact, they finished it just in time to fully enjoy the scene where a health inspector arrives at a Bite Club meeting.

On the edge of their seats—Yusuke and Futaba on pillows because one simply can't have shit in Tokyo—GRAVY watched as the health inspector silenced the biters just by walking through their dingy bar basement. Drops of blood stained the cement floor, each drop from a different bite. The health inspector calmly looked in between the blank faces of the biters.

"Whose in charge of this mess?"

A voice dripping with charisma, bloodlust, and everything controversial in the world responded from the back of the crowd. "That would be me." The crowd parted for a buff man of above-average height. His buzz cut matched the rest of the biters.

"Ryuu Tsuji?" Immediately, the inspector got down to business. He pulled a folded paper out of his coat pocket, unfolding it as he did so before summarizing it. "The city has ordered this so-called, 'Bite Club,' to cease and desist all operations, else they will face prosecution and judgment on the grounds of…" The inspector paused and pulled the paper to his scrunched-up face. "Encouraging the spread of rabies."

"That's a bunch of bullshit." Ryuu kept calm, not showing the inspector that he actually cared. "How 'bout you leave, tell your city we like the way we do things, and everyone gets back to biting one another, huh?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that."

"I insist."

"The city can easily procure a warrant for its law enfo-"

"The city can come down here and out-bite us if they want us gone. Every last one of them. Whaddya we say to a challenge, men?"

"Bite through it!" the crowd of biters yelled, pumping their fists. The confined space of the basement made it that much louder for the grimacing inspector.

"Sounds to me like we won't be ceasing or desisting."

Ryuji ruined the whole scene by enjoying the movie. "Ah man. That guy is so badass!"

He's missing the point, but… eh, who cares. Stories like this always blow up among people who don't get it. It's kind of sad.

Collectively, GRAVY made their annoyance known. "Shhhhh!"

As the inspector retreated from the basement, one biter ran up the stairs from behind. He grabbed the man by the ankle and sank his sharpened teeth into the fat, spoiled ankles of the health inspector. A howl, then a crash came in an instant as the biter was shaken off and tossed down the stairs. The inspector left in a hurry and the scene cut just like that.

The film continued its slow build towards the climax, almost paralleling something similar within Ren.

I did promise to be honest the next time we got everyone together, didn't I? I also planned to do it on my birthday, so the stars are really aligning.

Ren would've waited until the end of the movie, but he had a particular idea he liked.

If I pause the movie, tell them everything, then resume the movie, it would ease my embarrassment. Playing the movie right after would force everyone to pay attention to something other than me. Yeah, it's my birthday, but admitting the shit that I'm about to admit brings the worst kind of attention. Even from friends.

Ren, who'd enjoyed the whole film up to that point with Makoto next to him on the couch, gave up the greatest seat on Earth to stand up. He grabbed the remote and paused the movie at the start of the final act.

"Dude! I wanted to watch the rotten adults get rabies!"

"Relax, I just wanna say a few things before we get to the end of the movie." Ren walked around the coffee table and stood directly in front of the TV. He watched as Futaba swiftly took his seat on the couch and got under the blanket that Makoto and Haru were sharing. "So, uh…"

Even with all the time he had to figure out even just an opening sentence, Ren still had nothing. GRAVY, Ryuji in particular, made sure to encourage Ren to do better in a respectful manner. "Boooo! I wanna watch biting!" Confused eyes came from every direction.

From the pillow on the ground, Yusuke shot up. He did a full one-eighty mid-air spin to look down on Ryuji in the armchair. "You have mocked our GRAVY-esque leader's words before, yet you sit in his chair at his birthday party. Let him speak or all of us be damned!" With the exact opposite level of energy, Yusuke lethargically sat down as if nothing happened. Even Ryuji didn't say anything, apparently too shocked by the outburst.

"Um… thank you, Yusuke, for that wonderful opening." Ren paused, looking from face to face for each of his friends. Their expressions varied, but all of them connected back to a caring form of concern. Even Futaba's confused, bored, and mildly annoyed frown told Ren that he would be welcomed with open arms.

Well, all except Ryuji who was enjoying a staring contest with God.

I guess post-Yusuke stress disorder really does fuck you up.

"Actually, Yusuke shouldn't be the only one getting thanked. Seriously, with zero irony or GRAVY-esque flavor packed in, thank all of you guys." With a decent point to jump off of, Ren began his rambling. "Now, you may be confused about why I'm thanking you. The party's ongoing and the maids haven't even arrived yet."

A joke or two couldn't hurt, right?

"We all know how fucked this year has been, with vigilantes and yakuza bosses and Teddie the Bear wreaking havoc on everyone's sanity… I wanted to recount what's been happening to make sure all of us have the full perspective. I want to be honest with you guys." Ren looked Makoto in the eye for the first time during the speech. She nodded, encouraging him to keep going and not worry about her. "Think of it as a bit of catharsis for me and some new… stuff for you guys to process."

And we're off.

Ren's definition of good was that he was yet to have any questions asked of him. GRAVY let him talk without interruptions after Yusuke silenced Ryuji, making things much, much easier for Ren.

And so Ren began by rewinding back to his first day. The flaming man at Shibuya station, the blue prison block, the long-nosed ma-

"Hold the eff up! You were dreaming about little girls?!"

Some questions went unanswered as Ren continued his story. Ryuji's jaw dropped when Ren retold the events of the castle, including the voices that he heard. Haru put Morgana on the ground after the revelation that Morgana had human intelligence. Ren went through every strange event from the Spring, leaving the incident of forgetting Makoto out because one member of GRAVY had the potential to be an unwilling mole for Maruki.

As he got to the events of the Summer, he explained the clinical trials in greater detail. Haru found great humor in her role as executioner, while the entire group found great humor in Ryuji dressing as a goth doctor. Yusuke, on the other hand, didn't care in the slightest that he got to be a god.

Ren slowed his pacing as he got to a regretful memory. "And during one of those trips, I was sent to a battlefield. I found dog tags from a dead soldier." He looked down, not wanting to see Haru's reaction. "They had Haru's mom's name on it. A few days later, we went to Iwatodai."

GRAVY surprised him by maintaining their attentive silence. Ren even managed to look up, seeing that Haru stayed calm. She didn't have a smile on her face, but was she enraged? Did her opinion of Ren change? No.

Ren pushed through his recap of the blue door from Paulownia Mall because he knew the next bit would be difficult. The memory, no matter how much distance he achieved and how many happy moments he'd had since that trial, remained freshly torturous.

GRAVY thought so, too. Everyone's faces soured, even as Ren skimmed over to the gorier details of his hallucinated death for Makoto. Ren sensed hatred, anger, and sadness from his friends, but none of them acted. They kept their composure and let Ren drop the weight from his shoulders. Even Ryuji, fuming at the mere mention of Yoshiro and at the possibility of what he could've done, sat still.

"We all know what happened to Yoshiro. It's my fault, one hundred percent. I put his name on the Prince's website, I wanted him to die because I was scared," Ren said, breathing heavily. He didn't know it, but admitting something that he only shared with Makoto prior was quite taxing on his energy. "And it turns out that none of it meant shit. After I got the news about Yoshiro, I went down to Tae's for another trial. In it, I met up with Akechi. I don't know how or why, but I think it was the real Akechi. He told me basically everything I'm telling you; an evil god is manipulating me, I'm not worth a damn, and that I'm supposed to be important to him stopping the god." As the cherry on top, Ren shrugged. How the hell else could he end such a speech?

Silence fell on the apartment. The group had grown so stuck in attentive listening that they forgot to start talking when Ren finished to take the pressure off of him. "Um, to make this all a bit less awkward, thank you guys for coming, for the party, and for putting up with me being a moody asshole a lot of the time. If you guys ever need something, even if it's on the level of killing a god, just ask. I'll help however I can," Ren said, feeling the burn of each eye that found him to be a worthy subject. "You're all the best of Tokyo."

I don't know what I expected. Cheering? Hugs and kisses? Them all pledging to fund my early retirement? I guess silence is the appropriate response. I wouldn't want to be the first to speak after hearing all that either.

To absolute silence, Ren made his way back over to the couch. Without being asked, Futaba stood up and let Ren take her place next to Makoto. She went back to her trusty pillow in front of the TV.

Ren sat down next to Makoto. In his peripheral vision, he could see Makoto staring. She wasn't the only one. The only members of GRAVY not giving Ren their undivided attention made more of an impact than the ones who were; Yusuke, Morgana, and Futaba patiently looked towards the TV as if they were ordering Ren to resume the movie.

"Frankly, Ren, I couldn't care less that you let a god manipulate you," Ryuji began from his chair next to the couch. "You're still Renny. That's what matters."

Ren heard hums of approval, specifically one from the person sitting next to him. Again, he didn't turn to acknowledge her. "Ryuji's right," Ann added. "Ren, we don't blame you for what any of us have dealt with this year. I mean, who wouldn't be scared by the stuff you saw?"

"For real," Ryuji said. "You had me pissing myself with some of that shit."

Futaba, still sitting, spun her head around. "Okay, TMI! But yeah, how could we be mad at you, Ren?"

"Especially on your birthday, man!" Ryuji stood up from his chair, walking over to Ren. As he put a hand on Ren's shoulder, Futaba shot up from her pillow and snatched Ryuji's chair. "Ya know, how 'bout we lighten the mood a little?" Ryuji looked to Makoto on Ren's right. "Now?"

"Mhm." Makoto stood up as well. With Ryuji, she abandoned the living area for the kitchen. Ren heard the opening and shutting of cabinets.

That's weird. I don't think I use any of those for storage, nor does Junpei. The only things I have are plates, silverware, and the rest of the bare minimum. Oh, and that box Iwai gave me. I should open that. Or does that implicate me in whatever crime is in that box? Eh, fuck it. I'm curious.

Yusuke stood up, blocking the TV just as Ren had a minute ago. "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you," he sang in a low, powerful tone. Realizing what was happening, Ren turned and looked to the kitchen. Ryuji and Makoto were returning with a box the size of Ren's torso in hand. As Yusuke continued his song, the others joined in. "Happy to Reeeeen, happy birthday to you!"

With a few celebratory claps, Ryuji and Ren brought the box before him. They set in on the ground so everyone got a fair view of the present. Ren's smile grew as he read the labeling on the box and realized what he'd received.

Ryuji slapped Ren on the back. "It's a coffee machine! This way you don't have to look so damn tired all the time," he added, cracking up as he finished the joke.

Ren chuckled. "Thank you guys. You didn't have to, really."

"We wanted to," Haru insisted. "You deserve it."

Ren looked at each member of GRAVY, privately having a moment with each of them in his head. Yusuke's strangeness didn't compare to his loyalty, the same could be said for Ryuji with his quick temper. Ann made Kawakami's class bearable with her willingness to procrastinate classwork for the sake of talking with Ren. Haru's purity served as a sort of moral compass for Ren. Futaba was the only person who played all the games that Ren did, always ready to talk about them. Lastly, Makoto was smiling down at Ren. She did so many things for Ren, most of them without her even knowing it, that he couldn't attempt to condense them into analysis. All he could do was cherish what she meant to him.

"Again, thanks. I mean it," Ren said, proudly meeting the eyes of every member. "I think it's about time we got back to watching 'Bite Club,' huh?"

It took quite some time for the night to officially end, but it did dwindle in the hours leading up to the actual end. Once 'Bite Club' ended, the group's focus was shattered. The whole of GRAVY split into mini-groups, mostly just people hanging out and talking to each other. Futaba, Ryuji, and Ren kept up a few games of Rash Toes, Yusuke and Ann played with Morgana, while Haru and Makoto occupied the couch, observing the others while talking between themselves.

Eventually, as more boredom and exhaustion set in, it became clear the night neared an ending. The official declaration came when Ren said his goodbyes and goodnights, exiting the living area for the enclosed space of his room.

Makoto, how could you forget?! She'd been so caught up in the evening that she forgot to find a time to have a more private conversation with Ren. Her additional gift to Ren was supposed to be given during that conversation that never happened. The gift back remained stashed in one of Ren's many unused cupboards. GRAVY's clued-in members even fulfilled her request of putting it in the apartment beforehand, yet Makoto still failed to act on it.

Maybe it wasn't her fault. Ren kept himself around the others all evening, still sticking close to Makoto of course. She'd also been busy with cooking for a while and watching a movie doesn't encourage thriving conversation, so she'd run out of luck.

I should've made more of an effort after the movie, Makoto thought as she rolled her sleeping bag out over the ground. GRAVY, minus Ren, had begun the efforts of making the living area into a full-blown campground. Ryuji and Ann moved the coffee table against a wall to make room for everyone to get their sleeping bags next to one another. Yusuke, of course, refused a sleeping bag and took the couch.

Gradually, after many trips to the bathroom and much complaining over the bathroom being occupied, GRAVY settled into their sleeping bags. They hit the lights, making the only points of illumination in the apartment their phone screens. Makoto, from her position in the sleeping bag on the outside of the line, saw Yusuke put in earbuds to listen to music. Futaba pulled her sleeping bag over her head, but Makoto still saw light from the inside. Ann draped a pink sleep mask over her face. Haru pulled a book out of her bag and used a dim light from her phone to read.

Ryuji, because who the hell else would, couldn't accept the end of the night like the others. "You guys think Ren is doing alright? I mean, that shit he dropped on us…"

Makoto prayed no one would take him seriously. Ren didn't deserve to be discussed like this, especially after his honesty, and she wanted to sleep to get to the next moment she could give Ren his present. Before breakfast seemed like her next best option.

"It's hard to believe," Ann concurred. She didn't take off her sleeping mask, opting to leave it on and talk from her place of blindness. "But you can just tell that it was the truth."

"What? It can't be that simple!"

"Why not?"

"Because… because you can't 'just tell' when someone is tellin' the truth."

Makoto felt herself growing angry on Ren's behalf. He probably wouldn't care if his story was believed or not, but she cared. Then why can't I say anything? Why am I not telling Ryuji how wrong he is right now? Makoto asked herself.

Ann did what Makoto wanted to do but at a much higher level by using her past with Ryuji to her advantage. "Ryuji, you remember when you introduced yourself to our class from junior high as a people person?"

"Yeah."

"You are not a people person if you couldn't tell that Ren was being honest."

"Wha- how?"

"God, I don't know. It's like you can't even hear the point of what I'm saying." Ann, growing audibly frustrated by Ryuji, roped Makoto and the others into their conversation. "Makoto, you could tell that Re-"

"You can't ask Makoto! She's biased."

I'm biased but I'm also correct, so it shouldn't matter, Makoto thought.

"Okay, fine. Haru, you could tell that Ren was telling the truth in his story, right?"

Makoto watched as Haru dog-eared her book and looked up. Her innocent, tired eyes wanted no part in the conflict. "I believe Ren-kun, if that's what you're asking."

"Nah, come on. You can't ju-"

"Ryuji," a cold voice said from above. Makoto rolled over and sat up to see Yusuke doing the same on the couch. He glared down at Ryuji, the lack of light keeping the upper half of his face in darkness. "Ren is telling the truth."

"You guys are crazy. It's impossible to just hear something and instantly beli-"

"It's not a matter of Ren's conviction; I will verify everything that he told us."

"How?"

"With my Kitagawa stamp of approval!" Makoto could swear she heard a catchy J-pop jingle right before Yusuke delved into the legality of his stamp. "The Kitagawa stamp of approval is a trademark of Gardeners Raging Against Veganism Yearly and may not be redistributed in any format. Any unsolicited reproductions of the Kitagawa stamp of approval may result in the following: death, extreme bodily injury, reversing the unstuck, limb loss, tongue extraction, bankruptcy, and, in extreme cases, ex-communication from Gardeners Raging Against Veganism Yearly."

Haru had the best takeaway from Yusuke's legal jargon. "Excommunication makes it sound like we are running a cult."

"Might as well be. Any of you guys ever question the name?" Ryuji asked. Makoto mentally thanked him for changing the subject, if not by his actual intention. Ryuji likely just forgot his point after Yusuke's earful.

"At first, but I got used to it surprisingly fast," Makoto said.

"I know what ya mean, but it's just weird how we're now known around the school as the GRAVY kids."

"Screw them. Who cares? What's wrong with GRAVY or actual gravy?"

"Nothin', it's just funny that we're so adjusted to thinking of ourselves as GRAVY members while everyone else is like, 'Who the eff do they think they are?'" Ryuji chuckled, giving his point a bit more life to it. Makoto hadn't considered what others thought about the club. She knew that they got a lot of buzz following Club Day and after returning from Hawaii, but didn't pay too much attention. Ren got the brunt of the negative rumors and it seemed that GRAVY's reputation was cleaner in the eyes of Shujin's student body.

With his point made, Ryuji settled down. The conversation he tried to spark and the mild argument it turned into were over. Makoto could finally rest to face Ren and her late gift in the mo-

"If you guys could bite one person, who would you bite?"

I can't take it. I might have to go ask Ren if I can sleep in his bed with him, Makoto thought as she rolled over in her sleeping bag to face the wall.

Unfortunately, Ann gave Ryuji the attention he begged for. "Ryuji… it is one in the morning."

"Nah, I mean it like the conversation they had in the movie. If you had a free bite on any person you wanted, who would you choose?"

Futaba's head popped out of the airtight seal she created with her sleeping bag. "Bill from the news. No, I won't be elaborating." As quickly as she emerged, Futaba pulled the edge of the bag back over her head.

"Why can't we ever have a normal conversation?" Ann asked, insulted by the idea of biting someone. "Normal people don't talk about who they would bite."

"Fiiiiine." Begrudgingly, Ryuji made the question more 'normal.' "If you could fight one person, who would you choose?" When only the apartment's ambiance answered him, he defended the question. "C'mon, that's a good one! I would fight… Ushimaru."

"Ushimaru would kick your ass," Ann said.

"That's not what matters. What matters is me getting one single moment to slam my fist into his face. If I have that, I've lived a full life."

"When you put it like that…" Ann pondered the question, humming to herself as she went through what Makoto assumed would be a short list. "Someone I hate more than anyone else… I'd fight Mika."

Ryuji didn't care about Ann's choice, instead moving on to the other members of GRAVY. "How about you, Makoto?"

"I don't think I could fight anyone."

"Everyone can fight someone. Even Futaba." The summoning prompted Futaba to emerge once again from her fortress. "I think she would have a good shot at beating a ten-year-old."

"I would put my foot up your ass, Ryuji."

"Point taken." Ryuji surrendered to Futaba, who went back in her sleeping bag. He looked back at Makoto. "So, Makoto, who would you fight?"

Makoto didn't like being on the spot, especially for a dumb question. Her mouth opened without anything to say. She would've stuttered out nonsense if Yusuke didn't save her. "Logistically, it would be an unfathomable nightmare," he mused from the couch. Everyone sat up to look at him.

Ann, like every other time Yusuke spoke, was confused. "What?"

"Biting every person in Tokyo. I could never pull it off."

I certainly hope you couldn't pull it off, Makoto thought.

"Respectfully, the eff are you talking about, man?"

"You asked who we would bite if we could bite anyone we wanted. I, like Makoto, couldn't arrive at a reasonable conclusion. The only fair option was to bite everyone to determine who is the best bitee."

"Yusuke-kun…" Haru set down her book and scooted closer to the couch. Her face, only inches from Yusuke's, couldn't be seen in the darkness. She lowered her voice to extract the truth from Yusuke. "Do you eat people?"

"Of course not. There is no practical way to do so, and the nutritional benefits are far outweighed by the moral implications."

"I'm glad you don't eat humans because it's not practical," Ann said, Ren-levels of irony in her voice. "Thanks for not eating people, Yusuke."

"It is no problem."

If not eating people was a problem… Makoto smiled at the thought of a cannibalistic Yusuke. He would probably request permission before taking a bite out of someone.

"Good. Glad that we're all in agreement that cannibalism is bad," Ryuji said. "But Makoto, who would you fight?"

"Oh my god, Ryuji," Ann said. Makoto heard the thump of a pillow and a yelp from Ryuji.

Makoto closed her eyes. She didn't know how, but she could "just tell" that Ryuji would be silent the rest of the night.

"Mmm…" Ren groaned as he rolled over in his bed. Morgana matched Ren's sounds, complaining quite a bit over being stirred. Ren smacked his dry lips in response. "I'm gonna get some water. Want any bread?" Using his phone, Ren illuminated Morgana's face to get an answer. The cat shook his head. "Your loss," Ren said, shifting his feet over the edge and pushing his body off the bed.

Late-night snack and/or drink runs weren't an abnormality in Ren's apartment. They were opportunities to check Shujinstagram, bathroom breaks, and, most importantly, a time of reflection while inhaling carbohydrates. Now, Ren did very little from a productivity point of view during his late-night shenanigans, but he liked to think he did.

Knowing he had guests, Ren slipped through his door and pushed it to be barely cracked open. Careful steps took him across the room to the kitchen. As he snuck, Ren glanced at the living area. The couch obscured sleeping bags, but the fact that Ren couldn't see anything other than the couch meant that his friends would sleep through his mini-adventure.

Out of habit, Ren opened the fridge first. Most of it consisted of the leftovers from a few hours prior.

Are you really going to eat while your friend's asleep twenty feet away? Nothing wrong with it, Ren, but you will end up judging yourself and you know it.

Ren prioritized his spontaneous hunger over being reasonable and grabbed the easiest leftovers to prepare. Nothing involving the microwave, getting a new plate, or putting out a placemat; just eating out of the container with a fork like a caveman. He set the container on the counter and grabbed a glass from the cabinet below.

In his five-foot trek to the sink, Ren turned his back on his friends to fill his cup with tap water. The sink's inconsistency would prove to be fatal, but Ren had no way of knowing. It sputtered as the water line slowly raised in the glass cup, annoyance forming in the back of Ren's head. Yes, it was absolutely his fault for having a shitty sink for not bitching at Junpei, but could he still be mad about it? Yes.

"Can't sleep?"

The cup slipped out of Ren's hand, hitting the bottom of the metal sink with a thud. Relief of the glass not breaking couldn't be enjoyed because Ren still had to jump out of his sweatpants in fright. "Shit!" Ren turned to see to realize that he cursed far louder than he should've, as well as doing it before knowing who surprised him.

Makoto, Buchimaru t-shirt and sweatpants, stood at the entrance to Ren's kitchen with her hands behind her back. When Ren's thoughts returned from his scare, he smirked at the look. Ren didn't need to take his eyes off Makoto to reach behind him and turn off the water.

Quite devious for a student council president. Makoto the Menace scaring an innocent citizen just trying to get some water.

"I, uh, wanted some more of your food, too." Ren gestured towards the container he left on the counter, at which Makoto looked and smiled, only illuminated by the lights that Ren set to dim levels.

"Why don't you sit down?"

"Um…" Because it was Makoto, Ren did exactly as told. Ren walked towards her, expecting her to follow him around to the side of the counter with chairs. Instead, she turned her body to keep him facing her front while he walked around the counter. "Hiding something?" he asked as he settled into one of his high chairs.

"You'll find out." Makoto stayed standing as she moved directly across from Ren at the counter. She pushed the leftovers and the fork Ren set out towards him. "Any guesses?"

"I'm guessing that you're enjoying this a little too much."

Makoto one hand from behind her back to reach towards Ren. She took his hand and held it on the table. "Play along, please?"

"Fine…" Ren looked towards the darkened ceiling. Some part of him expected answers to pop out of thin air. "A balloon animal that you made with your mastery over the craft of inflatable latex and animal anatomy?"

He got Makoto's devious grin to vanish for just a moment. "Er, close…" She regained it just as swiftly. "Two more guesses."

"A voodoo doll of Kobayakawa."

"Technically, you're getting warmer." Her grin widened as her little game reached an artificial climax. "Last guess."

Ren didn't pose his final guess as a question because he'd figured it out before his first guess. "One last birthday gift."

"Correct." Makoto brought her hidden arm around her body and placed a navy blue gift bag on the table. Similarly colored tissue paper sprouted from the top. She pushed it next to Ren's leftovers, simultaneously letting go of his hand.

"Makoto, you didn't ha-"

"I did." She pushed the bag even further toward Ren. "This makes us even, you know."

"For?"

"Celebrating my birthday with me."

Hah, I forgot about that. That was her first time at Leblanc. Glad Sojiro didn't ruin the whole relationship for me that day.

"We're only even if you bought me the rights to name a star," Ren said, adding a chuckle to not sound ungrateful. "Seriously, though, you didn't need to. We were already even because I got to spend that day with Makoto Niijima."

"That's so cheesy."

"You liked it, didn't you?"

"Just open the gift, Ren."

She definitely liked it.

Ren pulled the tissue paper out, scrunching it up and dropping it to the side of the bag. Reaching in, he felt a cold object, flat and heavy in his hand. As he pulled it out, he realized it was a frame of some sort. When he finally pulled the whole frame out, he could finally see just what was so important that Makoto deemed it framable.

"I wanted something that summed up the year, but none of our photos together really did it. I considered photos with GRAVY, but Ryuji always has his eyes closed and some people were left out…" Makoto paused as Ren looked at the framed piece of paper with a growing smile. "So I didn't didn't frame a photo."

She certainly didn't. In his hands, Ren held the club establishment form he'd written for GRAVY back in April.

Ah… I know that I make at least one Lord of GRAVY-esque Goodness joke per day, but damn does it feel good to see 'Residing Lord of GRAVY-esque Goodness: Ren Amamiya' in writing.

Ren laughed when he saw the next abnormality in the document.

Holy shit! I forgot that I literally just wrote down 'Haru.' Not sure why, but it's hilarious seeing an official-looking document with something so improper. Well, and it has 'GRAVY' written all over it, but I'm numb to all the humor that originally came from the name.

"I love it." Ren set down the framed paper and looked up at Makoto. "Thank you."

"Of course."

"Isn't this an important document for the student council, or something? Paperwork is ninety percent of your job."

Makoto's deviously cute smile from when the gift remained hidden returned. "Let's just say that someone misplaced something and that something floated into a framing shop where I, minding my own business, recovered it."

"So my plan to infiltrate the student council and steal their secrets technically has worked?"

Makoto shrugged, giddily feigning innocence. "I don't know what you're talking about. Like I said-"

"-Someone misplaced something. Got it." Looking at the frame paper again, it occurred to Ren how much of the value of the gift relied on sentimentality. Without his relationship with Makoto, would the gift mean nearly as much? Definitely not. "Makoto, I gotta ask. Are we really just friends right now? I don't want us to go back and forth like we were today, just for it to turn out as a misunderstanding."

"You know that we bro-"

"Yeah, obviously I know. But you have to know what I mean. Today felt like we were still together. Hell, I don't even think we lasted a full week without talking to each other."

"It's more complicated than that and you know it."

"Is it? My feelings towards you are just as strong. I can't speak for you, but the vibe that I'm getting…"

Makoto sighed, breaking eye contact and looking down at the frame. "I find myself forgetting that we're not dating, sometimes."

Oh, to be validated!

"And I realize how difficult it must have been for you to speak to everyone like that earlier tonight. You struggled to tell me, then you had to condense it into something that made sense while keeping everyone's attention. You were great and I admire that. A lot." Makoto and Ren's eyes reconnected as she looked up. "I'd be lying to myself if I said I wasn't confused about what I should do."

"Confused?"

"Think of it as a spectrum. On one side, the furthest I was pulled from you was immediately following Takata's death. The other side is… after the beach. When I stayed the night." Ren drowned in the warmth of memories. Makoto's lips on his forehead were an undeniable anchor to his existence on Earth, whatever the fuck that meant. Ren just knew it to be true. "I'm in the middle of those two," Makoto finished.

"So you still love me?"

"As a friend." Ren's instinctual reaction was to get up, walk to his room, and jump out the window. Luckily, he contained himself long enough to hear Makoto's distressingly late addition. "But as something more, too, if that makes any sense. I probably sound like an idiot…"

Yes, you sound like an idiot. Love me, goddammit!

"Look, I don't want you to make your decision while confused. It hurts, but take as much time as you need. What we have shouldn't be ruined because you rushed through your feelings."

"That's… a very mature thing to say."

"You sound surprised."

"Well, I…" Makoto trailed off. Her defensiveness may have been triggered, but it ran too short for her to come up with an actual response.

"You don't expect me to be mature?"

"It's not that, it's just that I think of myself as the more mature person in our relationship." Ren would've been offended if Makoto didn't laugh off what she knew to be a pretentious comment. "But here I am being lectured by the birthday boy about how to handle my own feelings, and he's doing quite a good job at lecturing."

"You give me too much credit. I'm just paraphrasing what you've said to me in the past."

"You're still the one saying it. It's hard to internalize something without another voice to say it to you."

"Glad I could be that for you."

Makoto paused, looking at Ren. Her eyes widened, then she looked away. The momentary change in her emotions took Ren for a turn, scaring him that he messed up in some minute way. Only when she began smiling ever so slightly did he know that he was far from fucking up. "Speaking of things you can be for me, may I ask a favor of you?"

"Sure."

"Could you pretend to be my boyfriend for a-"

No fucking way. There's just no way she can expect me to let her finish that sentence after what we just talked about.

"Miss President, you have to be the worst breakup-er of all time."

Makoto smiled and laughed, but pleaded for Ren to hear her out. "No, no, Ren. It's not like that!" She composed herself and slowed her words to her usual rate. "There's a student council situation that requires me to go on a double date with Eiko and her boyfriend bec-"

Ren put his hands up as soon as he heard the name of one of his least favorite people. "No. Stop. End. Halt. Quit. I don't need to hear the background." Makoto's face fell as Ren seemingly rejected her request without even hearing it. "Because you had me at, 'May I ask a favor?' I'll help, even if it involves Eiko," Ren said, happy to see the relief wash over Makoto's face. She grabbed his hand and squeezed.

"Thank you, Ren! I owe you for this!"

"Don't worry about it. Just make it so that I have to speak to Eiko as little as possible and I'll be fine."

Makoto nodded her head far harder than any human was capable of. "Done."

"Great…" Ren looked down, realizing that he'd forgotten all about his late-night snack all for the sake of talking to Makoto. He'd also forgotten that he had friends sleeping only twenty feet behind him. "I think I'm gonna eat my lefto-"

"God damn! Could you get an effin room already?!"

A/N: Removed two scenes that we're only half finished because they weren't required for the chapter and it's already taken me so long to put this together. The first one was Ren cracking a joke about Kawakami's job after she wished him a happy birthday at lunch, second one was GRAVY setting up the party in Ren's apartment.

By far the strangest writing process for a chapter so far. I'll admit that some laziness was in play for the first week or so, but everything after that turned into a clusterfuck. Bunch of end of school stuff, early summer traveling, and a brand new computer breaking while on the trip have all been bumps in the road, but here we are. Fixed the new computer a few hours ago, too, so I'm having a pretty solid 6 hours. Plus, Warriors are champions. That makes everything that much better.

Anyway, I got jack shit to do from now until late September. Gonna push myself to write a lot more. Hope you liked the chapter, and thanks for reading. Have a great week, even if you're a Celtics fan.