Chapter 24

Lasting Impressions

Saturday, September 17th, 2016

"Are they seriously going after Okumura? It kinda feels pointless to me."

Shinjiro rolled his eyes. "Aki, they've got no intel," he said dryly. "The places are basically password locked. Besides, you weren't there to hear the bullshit Sugimura was spouting."

Aki was silent for several moments, to the point where Shinjiro thought that the connection had cut off, before he spoke again. "Define how bad."

Shinjiro just snorted. "Let's just say if Mitsuru was there, she would've executed him right there on the spot."

Though he wouldn't lie. He would pay good money to see that. Only Minako and Aigis had been there when Mitsuru kicked Sugimura to the curb and told him to scram. He wouldn't be surprised that Sugimura had put Mitsuru's name on the site out of spite.

"She nearly did when Sugimura tried to 'court' her a few years back."

Shinjiro glanced around the bar to make sure there weren't any eavesdroppers. It was a slow night. Hardly any customers, though Amamiya had shown up a little over an hour ago to speak with Ohya for some reason. He had shown up several times since the first time back in June to talk to Ohya. One time he cornered Ohya about that, but Ohya just shrugged and claimed he wasn't doing anything illegal. He really didn't know what they were up to, but Ohya would always excitedly scribble in that notepad of hers after Amamiya left the bar. But then again Minato and Minako always seemed to run off somewhere, unless they decided they should train at Tartarus.

"But anyways… Shido's been building his powerbase, and Okumura's old man's Shadow all but confirmed that he's with Shido," Shinjiro said. "They're hoping to poke him for some info so they know where to go to target Shido."

Aki just let out a thoughtful hum. "Makes sense. Mitsuru's probably going to get antsy about all of this though…"

Shinjiro rolled his eyes, even though Aki couldn't see. "Yeah, well, tell her that they can't really help it. Probably would help if you told her about Okumura being engaged to Sugimura."

"…Please tell me you didn't beat him up."

Shinjiro just scoffed. "Look, I know there's a difference between fighting you and a spoiled brat. Just scared him a little."

"Yeah, that's really assuring." Aki snorted out a laugh. "Your definition of scaring someone a little is a bit skewed, Shinji."

"Aragaki, break's almost over!" Lala warned him, before Shinjiro could think of a retort.

"I gotta go, Aki," Shinjiro said. "Talk to you later."

He hung up after Aki said his own goodbye, slipping his phone back into his pocket. His conversation with Aki had distracted him so much that he didn't notice the new wave of customers coming in.

Not soon after Shinjiro returned back to work, Amamiya had gotten up with Ohya. They both walked to the door, and Amamiya walked out. Shinjiro wished he could follow Amamiya out, just to make sure that he got on the train safely. Then Ohya plopped onto one of the bar stools, demanding yet another drink, grabbing Shinjiro's attention.

Several minutes passed, and the customers slowly began to trickle out of the bar. But that was then the door opened, revealing Niijima's older sister. She stepped inside and pointedly seated herself right in front of where Shinjiro was standing.

"Hello, Aragaki," she greeted, her voice cool.

"Niijima," Shinjiro returned, his voice curt. "What can I get for you? This doesn't look like a place you'd go to."

Niijima leaned forward, her voice dropping to barely a whisper. "Some information would be nice."

Shinjiro couldn't help but narrow his eyes, before forcing himself to look as neutral as possible.

So that was her game, was it? Ken had talked a little about how Niijima's older sister was determined to get some more info on the mental shutdowns. She had apparently put him down as a potential lead. How Niijima got that idea in her head… he had no clue.

"Sorry, but we're fresh out of that. Can I start you off with wine? You don't look like the type to enjoy beer," Shinjiro said blandly. Niijima's expression turned baffled, so he continued. "Or maybe sake? Or would you prefer a mixed drink? How 'bout a margarita?"

Niijima blinked at him several times, before irritation flashed in her eyes. "What are you doing?" she ground out, leaning in close to him.

Shinjiro stifled the urge to smirk. Had to be professional while on the job, after all. "My job, what else?"

"Stop playing games," she retorted, glowering at him.

"What games?" Shinjiro asked, raising an eyebrow. He had to fight back another smirk as Niijima's eye started to twitch. "I'm just doing my job." He then looked at her. "Are you sure you don't want to order something? You look like you need to unwind a little."

"I DON'T NEED TO UNWIND!" Her outburst drew just about everyone's attention. Well, everyone who wasn't completely wasted.

Lala raised an eyebrow, but Shinjiro quickly shook his head. Lala hesitated for a moment, but a customer waved her over. After shooting him a look, she went to go help the other customer.

Niijima coughed, fidgeting until everyone settled down. But she stared at Shinjiro intently. Her hands clenched into fists until her knuckles turned white. "Amada-kun may be too young to remember about Apathy Syndrome, but you were eighteen at the height of the activity," she said lowly. "You have to know something."

Shinjiro just scowled at her. "How 'bout you leave Ken out of this?" he snapped. "What the hell are you doing, asking him 'bout this crap?"

He knew that Niijima had met Ken before. Otherwise she wouldn't have recognized him at the train station. But what exactly had she tried to pry out of Ken? He made a note to ask Ken about this tomorrow.

"So you do know something." She smiled victoriously.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," Shinjiro said, shrugging. "You're not gonna play that shitty game you played with Sakura with me."

"How do you…?" Niijima scowled, shaking her head. She then folded her arms over her chest. "I was just doing what I had to do. As I am now. Just tell me what you know about Apathy Syndrome. From what little I've managed to dig up… it could be a key to the mental shutdowns."

"I ain't telling you shit, Niijima, and you can't fucking make me," Shinjiro bit out, narrowing his eyes at her. There was something in Niijima's eyes that… unnerved him. There was a wildness, an intensity to them, that he didn't like. Not one bit. "And 'sides, a testimony from just a guy off the streets…?" Shinjiro stared at her coolly. "That probably won't fly in court."

Niijima scowled. "But-"

"If you're not gonna order a drink…" He nodded in the direction of the exit. "There's the door."

Niijima exhaled deeply, but her expression was almost murderous. Yeah, like he hasn't dealt with that before. Niijima may have intimidated someone else, but not him. "This isn't over, Aragaki."

Yeah… it was far from over. Shinjiro couldn't help but scowl a little, watching her leave. And he thought that Mitsuru was a bratty princess when they had first met.

He was glad that Ken had warned him about this, after Sakura had deciphered the info that they had taken from Niijima's laptop. He wasn't a huge fan of the method, but the warning had prepared him a little.

…Though maybe he shouldn't antagonize Niijima so much, with how Ken was behaving around her little sister…

"Someone you know, Aragaki?" Lala finally asked.

"…No," Shinjiro said shortly, looking away. "It's nothing."

Monday, September 19th, 2016

"I'm glad that they let the third-years off the hook for booths," Ken grumbled, as he thumbed through a file. "Things are crazy enough already… I really don't envy the juniors."

"Well, it's not like we're not busy ourselves," Makoto sighed, leafing through her own file. There was so much preparing to do for the school festival, even though it was over a month away. "We'll have to run a vote about our guest speaker soon…"

"Guess it's a good thing that Ren's not jumping into things right away," Ken muttered, before dragging his free hand through his hair. His bangs fell into his eyes, due to his mussing up his hair, and Makoto had to fight back the urge to brush it out of his eyes.

Makoto shook her head. She had to get her head on straight. She was acting nothing better than the girls who liked Ken just because they thought he was cute.

She kinda wished that Haru-san hadn't pushed her to realize it. Then she wouldn't be pining over a friend who only saw her just that… a friend.

Makoto quickly turned her attention to the file in her hands, so to distract herself from her thoughts. The first-years had turned in what attractions they wanted to do for the school festival. Most of them were fairly common options but…

"…Group date café?" Makoto rubbed her eyes, but it didn't change. She raised an eyebrow at that. "…That's an odd one, honestly."

"I've heard of that before," Ken said, before he shrugged. "Not something I'd particularly want to partake in but… it's not exactly new."

"O-Oh, I see…"

She had that double date with Eiko, but she… couldn't help but feel incredibly awkward during all of that. Though she supposed it hadn't really helped that she had asked Ren to help her, when Ren had feelings for Anne…

"Though the guest speaker…" Ken frowned. "Just what are we supposed to get?"

"Oh, most people want an idol or some other celebrity," Makoto explained, feeling relieved that Ken had changed the subject. "Last year, Risette had won the poll, but we didn't get to book her. She was far too busy."

Though she suspected that people had voted her last year because of how Risette had seemed to transform once she had turned twenty. She was always a pretty girl (though Makoto never paid much attention to pop idols), but she had blossomed into a gorgeous woman once she hit twenty. There was just… a certain magnetism to her.

"That's no surprise," Ken mused. "Though that makes the whole guest speaker thing rather pointless to me."

Makoto sighed. "Well, it's kinda… a tradition."

Though she also remembered the other tradition Shujin had... She would avoid that at all costs, even though it was highly unlikely that she would be chosen for the Shujin Sharing Special. She'd probably die of embarrassment, right there on the spot if the MC had asked her something if she liked anyone.

"Guess you can't do anything about that, then." Ken shrugged. "We're about done today, right?"

Makoto nodded. "Just about. I need to drop off some paperwork at the office, though…"

They straightened up the student council room, before Ken accompanied her to the administration office to drop off the paperwork. It was still… chaos. The vice principal was acting as principal, and it seemed they wouldn't hire a new one until the next school year.

Though that wasn't a surprise. It was really only a week ago since Principal Kobayakawa had died… Even though it had felt a lot longer…

"I could really use a pick-me-up," Ken muttered, before he stifled a yawn. "I need to catch up on some studying… Been kinda neglecting that."

"Why don't we stop by the diner on Central Street?" Makoto suggested. "For some coffee. Or we could stop by LeBlanc—" A sudden movement by the stairs caught her eye and she glanced over to see Haru-san was descending the stairs.

"Oh, Makoto-chan, Ken-kun!" Haru-san greeted, hastening over to their side. She then tilted her head slightly. "Student council work?"

Makoto nodded with a smile. "Yes, that's right. I assume that you're tending to the garden?"

Haru-san just nodded enthusiastically, her curls bouncing a bit, before her eyes began to sparkle. "The vegetables are looking wonderful! I should be able to harvest some soon." But then she tilted her head. "Are you heading back right now?" she asked hesitantly, before she clasped her hands before her back. "If not… I was wondering if you would like to get some coffee." She then smiled shyly. "I'd like to get you know better…"

"We were just talking about that," Ken noted, before turning back to Makoto. "What do you say? I'm fine with that, if you are."

Makoto just smiled again. "I'd love to."

"Oh, wonderful!" Haru-san's smile turned bright. "Do you have any recommendations then?"

"Did you know that Ren's guardian runs a café?" Makoto asked. "Ren actually… lives in the attic."

Haru-san's eyes went as wide as saucers. "H-He is?!" She then looked down. "I knew about his probation but… I thought he would be living in his probation officer's house…"

"There's a reason why Ren has joked about living with me and Shinjiro-san before," Ken said dryly.

"To be fair, Shinjiro-san is a phenomenal chef," Makoto said lightly. "I'm sure Ren has more than one reason."

Ken just snorted. "You think I don't know that? But I'm guessing we're going with LeBlanc?"

"What do you think, Haru-san?" Makoto prompted.

Haru-san just nodded enthusiastically. "I'd love to try it! Let's go!"

Since it was later in the afternoon, the train leaving Aoyama-Itchome was a little less crowded than usual. Makoto was glad that Yongen-jaya wasn't too far away.

"Oh…" Haru-san spun around slowly, taking in the small neighborhood. "How quaint."

"Where do you live, then?" Ken raised an eyebrow.

"Ah… Aoyama-Itchome, actually," Haru-san admitted. "I will admit it's convenient when we have school."

That had surprised her when she had taken Haru-san back to her home. But it did make sense. Aoyama-Itchome's real estate were geared towards the wealthy.

Makoto just nudged Ken in the side. "I don't think you can complain about that, Ken. You live in a penthouse, of all things."

Ken just rolled his eyes at her, before letting out a huff. "You know perfectly well that place is on loan from Mitsuru-san. We have a perfectly normal apartment back on Port Island, thank you."

"There's no need to argue," Haru-san was quick to interject, holding up placating hands. "Let's get going."

They led Haru-san to LeBlanc, and the bell chimed cheerfully when Ken pushed open the door, allowing both her and Haru-san to step in first.

Makoto inhaled the scent of coffee. There was really something comforting about LeBlanc.

Sojiro just looked up when they entered. He was wiping a glass clean. "Oh, hey, it's been a while," he greeted.

"Hello, Boss," Makoto greeted, and a beat later, Ken said, "Hello, Sakura-san."

He just chuckled, his eyes now on Haru-san. "It seems that you're constantly adding to your group of friends." He then smiled at her. "Hello. I'm Sojiro Sakura, but you can call me Boss."

Haru-san quickly bowed. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Boss," she said. "I'm Haru Okumura."

Sojiro raised an eyebrow on that, but didn't further comment on that. Honestly, Makoto thought that was what Haru-san preferred. He just nodded towards one of the booths. "Why don't you take a seat?" he invited. "What can I get you? Coffee? Curry? Or both?"

"Just coffee for me," Ken requested. "It's getting close to dinner, after all."

"Would you like to share a curry?" Haru-san inquired, turning to Makoto. "I'd love to try it, but I'm afraid that's simply too much for me to eat on my own…"

Well… it's not like Sae will be home to eat dinner with. Makoto had to fight back a sigh at the thought, before she forced herself to smile. "I'd love to."

"Wonderful!" She beamed at Makoto for a moment, before turning back to Sojiro. "I'd love some coffee too, though. The house blend, please?"

"Coffee for me too," Makoto added, before sitting down at the booth.

Haru-san sat next to her while Ken sat opposite of them.

"So this is really where Ren-kun lives?" Haru-san asked, looking around. She then smiled fondly. "It… It reminds me of my grandfather's old café. It has the same… homey feel."

Makoto let out an affirmative hum. "Though it's been a while since we've visited LeBlanc as a group," she mused, glancing over at Ken. "It had to be…"

"It hasn't been that long ago," Ken said. "It was back when Futaba woke up."

"Woke up?" Haru-san echoed, a puzzled frown on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Futaba was our last target, actually," Makoto said. "Her cognition was distorted because of… multiple reasons. She was a shut-in, so she requested us to steal her heart. In return, she would deal with Medjed."

Haru-san's eyes went as wide as saucers and her mouth formed a little o. "She's so young…" she breathed out, though she took care to keep her voice low. "She really took down Medjed? All by herself?"

Ken opened his mouth to say something but then Sojiro came by, carrying a tray with their cups of coffee and containers of cream and sugar balanced on top.

"Enjoy," he said, passing out the cups and setting down the sugar and cream on top of the table. "I'll be done with the curry soon."

Ken didn't even touch the cream and sugar, instead just drinking it straight. Haru-san just tilted her head at that. "No cream or sugar?" she asked. "Honestly, I can't imagine doing that…"

Ken just lowered his cup slightly, his lips suddenly forming a wry smile. "I've had enough milk to last me a lifetime."

Makoto raised an eyebrow at that. "Just what's that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, well…" Ken flushed for a moment, his smile turning sheepish as he lowered the cup to the table. "I… I was short in elementary school." His cheeks then suddenly flushed. "And you know what they say about calcium…"

"Oh, that's just adorable, Ken-kun!" Haru-san cooed, pressing a hand to her cheek before letting out a giggle. "You're adorable, Ken-kun."

Ken just scowled at that, a hint of a pout on his lips. "Why do girls always say that?" he grumbled.

"Why do guys find it an insult when people find them cute?" Makoto asked back. "It is what it is. Haru-san is just observing what she sees."

Ken just narrowed his eyes at her. "And you agree with her?"

"Well…!" Makoto felt a flush spread across her face, before she began to fiddle with a lock of her hair. "Um… maybe?" she said weakly.

…Smooth, Makoto. Ugh, how did Ren make flirting look so easy? He didn't even bat an eye when he complimented Anne. In fact, he never failed to couple his flirting with a charming smile. Meanwhile, she was turned into a blushing mess.

…Not that she should be trying to flirt with Ken. Ugh. Why did it have to be so hard to like a friend? How did anyone handle having a crush on a good friend…?

Ken froze for a moment, pink beginning to creep on his cheeks again.

Ugh. Why did she have to say something weird like that?! Of course he would be embarrassed! If it wouldn't embarrass her even more, Makoto would have slammed her head against the table. Haru-san could have said it, with her being so feminine and soft (despite her wielding an axe in the Metaverse), but just came out strange when she said it.

Haru-san pointedly cleared her throat. "Well, it's two against one, Ken-kun," she teased lightly. "I'm afraid you've lost this round."

Ken just grumbled, before folding his arms over his chest and looked away. Then he looked past their booth. "Curry's coming."

"Oh, wonderful!" Haru-san's eyes gleamed as Sojiro placed the platter heaped with fluffy rice, with thick curry generously ladled on top, in front of them. "I must confess, I do prefer simple food over fancy food."

Sojiro just laughed, slipping a hand in his pocket. "Be prepared for this curry to knock off your socks, then. It's my best dish, after all."

"I'm sure it'll be delicious, Boss." But after Sojiro left, Haru-san's expression grew puzzled. "But… why would he want to knock off my socks? They're not anything special…"

…Well, she supposed her confusion did make sense… Haru-san was a bit sheltered after all.

"It's not quite that…" Ken said. "He's just trying to say that his curry will really wow you."

"Ohhh!" Haru-san's eyes lit up with understanding, before she smiled. "Well, let's find out then, shall we?"

She picked up her fork and took a dainty bite. She had barely started to chew when her eyes began to sparkle.

After she swallowed, she exclaimed, "This is simply delicious!" She then let out a wistful sigh, pressing her free hand against her cheek. "I've always wanted to learn how to cook such meals… There's just something about a homecooked meal that makes it more special to me than five star restaurant food."

She could understand Haru-san's mindset. Makoto looked forward to the rare occasions when Sae came home early enough for them to sit down and eat dinner together.

Ken just laughed, before taking another sip of his coffee. "You would probably get along well with Shinjiro-san," he mused. "We rarely go out to restaurants for dinner. And usually when we do… he claims that he can make it better."

Haru-san just giggled. "Well, in that case, maybe he should open a restaurant then."

Ken suddenly faltered at that, staring down at the table. "…Yeah, he should," he said, his voice barely audible.

"Ken…?" Makoto asked, setting down her fork and reaching over to touch the hand resting on top of the table.

Ken just smiled faintly, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It's nothing, Makoto. Nothing important, at least…"

"Ken-kun…" Ken stiffened at Haru-san's voice. "You're lying," she said flatly. "Won't you tell us what's going on?"

Ken just heaved out a sigh, before rubbing his face. When his hand lowered, his expression was… weary. "Shinjiro-san does want to open his own restaurant back on Port Island. The problem is… me."

"You?" Haru-san frowned. "You're… not making sense, Ken-kun."

Ken sighed again. "I'm another mouth to feed. Shinjiro-san has my schooling to think about too. I do what I can to ease the finances but…" He shrugged helplessly. "I even gave Shinjiro-san my mother's old engagement ring to give to Fuuka-san when he proposes but… it's not much."

Watching Ken's face was… upsetting. He really thought that he was a burden on Shinjiro-san…

"…Stop it," Makoto said lowly.

"Huh?"

"You're talking like you're some kind of… leech," Makoto said. "You're not, okay?! You gave him something that belonged to your mother. And from what you've talked about her, that is not something you would give away lightly. And… And Shinjiro-san cares about you. A lot. There's simply no way that he would view you as a burden."

Haru-san just smiled. "Makoto-chan is right," she agreed. "Besides, he chose to take you in, correct? I'll admit that I don't know Shinjiro-san all too well… but he seems like a kind man. He probably cares about you a lot." She then sighed. "…You shouldn't take that lightly."

Ken looked shocked, before closing his eyes for a moment. "You're… You're right. I'm sorry…"

"Though…" Haru-san frowned. "Why wouldn't Kirijo-san offer aid?"

"Oh, she has," Ken said. "But Shinjiro-san's a bit… weird about accepting Mitsuru-san's help. He views it as charity. He grumbled enough about the penthouse."

She… hadn't expected Shinjiro-san to have a bit of a prideful streak. But then again, what did she know about Shinjiro-san? Not all that much, honestly…

"That's rather silly if you ask me," Haru-san said with a frown.

Ken just shrugged. "Well, maybe you should do something about it then," he said dryly. "You're similar to Fuuka-san in a couple ways. Maybe he'd listen to you."

"Oh!" Haru-san's eyes lit up. "Perhaps I can after we deal with Father-"

"H-Haru-san, Ken was joking," Makoto said, putting a hand on her arm. And then she turned to Ken, shooting him an exasperated look. "You shouldn't use sarcasm on someone who'll take it at face value."

Before Ken could even open his mouth, the door suddenly opened. Sojiro straightened up. "Welcome to—"

Sae stepped inside.

Sojiro just scowled. "…Hello," he said flatly.

Makoto bit the corner of her mouth. She didn't blame Sojiro for being a bit… cold with Sae. But then again… she had done something similar to everyone… hadn't she?

She… She didn't even know if Sae was sorry about that…

"Makoto-chan?" Haru whispered, and Makoto turned to see confusion swimming in her light brown eyes. "What's the matter?"

"It's… It's complicated," Makoto mumbled out.

Sae just sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Listen, Sakura-san, I was just trying to do what I thought was right at the time… Are you really going to turn away a customer? Your coffee is one of the finest in Tokyo, after all."

Makoto fought the urge to sigh. She was still justifying her actions… Of course…

She then felt fingers brush against her hand. She looked to see Ken giving her an encouraging smile. Just seeing it made her heart flutter. She couldn't help but smile back.

Sojiro clicked his tongue loudly. "Fine," he said in a clipped voice. "Just don't harass the other customers."

Sae's eyes then flicked to where they were sitting out. "Makoto…" she said slowly. "I didn't know you liked this café so much."

Ken then withdrew his hand, looking at Sae calmly. "A friend of ours works here sometimes," he said, somehow keeping his expression rather blank. "And we spend time with him here. And the coffee is excellent. Is that really a surprise?"

"Hmm, I suppose." But Sae seemed to study him closely. "Amada-kun, your guardian is awfully stubborn," she said flatly.

...Oh no. Makoto could feel a pit forming in her stomach. So Futaba's analysis of the files was right. She was looking into Apathy Syndrome… and she thought Shinjiro-san was some intel.

And… Sae had tried to blackmail Sojiro before. Who's to say that she wouldn't try it… again?

"Sis… please tell me you didn't…"

"He was ridiculously close mouthed," Sae huffed, brushing her hair out of her face. "And where he worked… I didn't want to cause a scene." Then her eyes moved to Haru-san. "…And who might you be?"

"H-Hello…" Haru-san said nervously. "I-I'm Haru Okumura…"

Sae's expression turned… intrigued. "Okumura, you say…?"

"I'm warning you," Sojiro said sharply, glaring at Sae. "Do not harass my customers."

"Ah…" Haru-san glanced at the clock. "It's starting to get late. Maybe we should head home…"

Sojiro nodded firmly. "Let me get you a to-go box for the curry, then."

It was a relief to leave the café. Seeing Sae's behavior was just… saddening. She didn't want to think that their differences had created a too big chasm for them to close, but… sometimes she couldn't help but think it was too late already.

"I… I can't believe that's your sister."

"That's nothing new," Makoto murmured. "Sis is just… a completely different person from before…"

Haru-san's expression softened. "I'm sorry," she said gently. "I… I know how that feels."

Makoto just smiled weakly. "…I know."

She was being selfish. Sae's behavior was wrong, but at least Sae didn't demand something that was so wrong. Why should she be complaining about Sae when Haru had her father trying to sell her body to Sugimura?

"It seems that she's more determined to find something about the mental shutdowns case," Ken remarked, folding his arms over his chest. "Than before. Though sad to say, it's more common than it should be with people enforcing the law."

Makoto just sighed. "I'm… I'm sorry that you had to see that."

"Oh, Mako-chan, don't apologize!" Haru-san rested a hand on her shoulder, somehow still smiling. "It's not like you haven't witnessed some of the darkest parts of my father…"

"That's true—" Makoto blinked. "…Mako-chan?"

"Ah, well…" Haru-san clasped her hands behind her back, suddenly sheepish. "It just… slipped out? I didn't realize that we had more in common than I realized and you are the same age as me…" She then raised her hands. "I understand if you don't like it. I'll stop if you want me to!"

"No, no… it's fine." Makoto then smiled. "I've never had someone call me that before," she admitted. "It's… nice."

Haru-san—no, Haru—beamed at her. "I'm glad!" she exclaimed. "I've said this before, but… I'm so glad that I've found you all," she confessed. "I've never had friends who truly cared…"

"You're not the only one, Haru," Ken said. "And… we'll take on your father soon. I promise."

"Oh, wonderful!" Haru beamed at him as well. "I've been hoping that was the case. I could use some stress relief after all!"

…Okay, she could understand the stress relief, but Haru really did sound too happy about fighting Shadows…

Wednesday, September 21st, 2016

"Your total's three hundred twenty thousand yen today, kid."

Ren fought back a groan, before pulling out his wallet to dig out the needed money. Even after all of the loot they had found in Futaba's Palace and then Mementos, today's purchase cost an arm and leg. Anne had a good point when she said that it was a good thing that Shadows somehow carried money on them. Not to mention that he could demand more by negotiating with Shadows.

Sometimes he wondered if the other Persona-user team leaders had this problem…

He pulled out several bills, before laying them on the table. Iwai just raised an eyebrow, before scooping up the pile to count them.

After he finished counting, he just looked back at Ren, before letting out a chuckle. "You know, I really gotta wonder where you get this kinda cash."

Ren just shrugged. "You've got your secrets… I've got mine."

What else could he say?

Iwai laughed at that. "You got me there, kid," he acknowledged with a smirk. "But hey, you free tonight? I've got some work for ya if you can swing it."

"I'll think about it, Iwai," Ren answered, before Iwai turned and bagged Ren's purchases.

Iwai just shrugged. "No pressure if you can't," he said, before handing them over. "Though I've gotta wonder, why do you need an axe all of the sudden? Got some firewood to chop?"

"Something like that," Ren said, giving a shrug of his own. He wasn't gonna question where Haru had learned to swing that axe of hers, but he wasn't gonna complain as long as she used them against the Shadows and not him. He raised his hand in farewell. "Later, Iwai. Thanks again."

Iwai just nodded at him. "See ya, kid."

"So we've got weapons covered," Morgana piped up as Ren headed for the train station. "Should we buy some medicine from Takemi then?"

"I dunno, Morgana," Ren answered out of the corner of his mouth, as he usually did. "The weapon purchases were steep enough… and Futaba's summarized Haru's abilities for me. She knows a spell that can cure any ailment, apparently. So we can strike that off the list… I think we can just stick to buying the medicine for injuries, so you and Ken don't get so wiped out healing us."

Morgana tsked. "That's risky, Ren," he scolded.

"Tell that to my wallet," Ren sighed, shaking his head.

He would have to visit the Velvet Room sometime before they entered the Palace again. See what kind of Personas he could fuse… And that was pretty killer on his wallet too…

"…Fair enough," Morgana grumbled. "What do you want to do then?"

"Not too sure," Ren admitted. "We've gotta hang tight for a couple more days… I'm gonna whip up some more coffee and curry for the couple next nights, so we can have more energy to keep going in the Palace."

He could ask Kawakami to come over and make coffee for him while he did something else, but her rates were also killer.

Morgana nodded in approval. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

"So maybe I'll swing by LeBlanc first to drop off everything because this is so damn heavy…"

Ryuji and Haru's weapons were hands down the heaviest weapons, but Ken's was definitely the most cumbersome with how long spears were. He really questioned how Ken could wield a spear back when he was a kid—wouldn't he be like half the size of the spear?

"Need a hand, then?"

As if his thoughts had summoned him, Ken had appeared out of nowhere. (Well, not really. He was pretty close to the train station, after all.)

"Uh, yeah, that would be great-" Ren's stomach rumbling loudly suddenly cut him off.

Ken sighed. "Please tell me that you ate something more than bread today," he deadpanned.

"I had curry for breakfast?" Ren offered. When Ken stared at him, unamused, Ren just held up his hands as the best as he could with the bag he carried. "In my defense, it's not like I can borrow LeBlanc's stove to cook anything!"

"Come on, we're going back to my place," Ken droned, grabbing one of the bags from Ren. "Seriously, you've got to take care of yourself, Ren…"

"Get Shinjiro-san to certify himself as a probation officer and I can just live with you guys," Ren joked, before following him.

Ken turned to roll his eyes at Ren, before huffing out a laugh. "Uh huh. Sure, if you're willing to put up with his constant nagging."

"Sure you say that, but we all know better," Ren teased.

Ken's cheeks darkened to pink. (It was just too easy to tease him.) "Just come on," he grumbled.

The walk back to Ken's place was brief. They left Ren's purchases near the door, though not so close so that if Shinjiro-san returned, he would trip over them.

"We have way too much leftovers," Ken said, before ducking into the kitchen. "Let me heat that up for you…"

Ren found himself walking around the living room. He hadn't really noticed during his previous visits, but there were quite a few framed photographs set up on the glass table right underneath the plasma screen TV.

One was a shot of Shinjiro-san and Fuuka-san standing at the kitchen counter, his hand over hers as he guided her into chopping some vegetables. They looked like they were in their late teens. They were both wearing a fancy school uniform, probably Gekkoukan's. Shinjiro-san's hair was shorter, while Fuuka-san's hair was several shades darker and went to her shoulders. His expression was surprisingly gentle as he seemed to coach her. Ren couldn't help but snicker a little at Shinjiro-san being a total softie.

Another was a shot of Ken on the soccer field, wearing a teal uniform. He looked a few years younger, though—maybe fifteen or so? He seemed to have made a headshot as the ball flew towards the opposing goal.

And the last picture was a group picture, though Shinjiro-san wasn't in it. It was far from being a good picture though. One guy was falling backwards of all things, his baseball cap knocked askew, while several of the people looked on in alarm. Everyone but the older man with an eyepatch wore a red armband. But Ren's eyes were drawn to two people, in particular. They seemed to be opposites in several ways. A blue haired boy with silver headphones hanging around his neck, his eyes a cool gray-blue. An auburn haired girl with bright red headphones, and her eyes were crimson red.

"Ren, what are you—oh."

Ren hastily set down the photo. "Sorry, I just… didn't notice this before," he said sheepishly.

Ken just waved him off. "It's fine," he said. "The last couple times you've come here were more so for business, and Fuuka-san just put them up during her last visit." He then let out a chuckle, before smiling an amused smile. "She thought the area looked a little bare, so she brought a few photographs and set them up."

"She looks so… different," Ren remarked, looking back at the photo with Shinjiro-san and Fuuka-san. "When she was what… seventeen? Eighteen?"

Not to say that she was plain or anything. She was more cute than anything, but Fuuka-san had matured into being more… graceful. More confident in a way. She was apparently a bit of a late bloomer, from the looks of it.

Ken nodded. "That was before Shinjiro-san and Fuuka-san started dating. Minako-san snapped a photo of them in the kitchen, and gave a copy to Fuuka-san right after they graduated from Gekkoukan." But then his eyes traveled to the third photograph, before a soft sigh escaped him. "That's the closest we have to a group picture," he said.

Ren then looked back at it. "Of SEES?"

Now that he looked more closely at it, most of the people in the photo were wearing a red armband. He could make out S.E.E.S.

Ken let out an affirmative hum. "That night… wasn't particularly happy," he said quietly. "But Fuuka-san wanted a reminder of all of us, I think."

"Then… which one is…?"

"Minato-san?" Ken guessed. "The one with the dark blue hair."

Oh right. Ren felt a bit dumb once Ken had said that. He had stated before that Miyuki and Kaito had inherited most of their looks from their dad, and they both had dark blue hair. Though looking at the girls in the picture, and from what he knew… Minako-san had to be the auburn haired girl. She had the same type of headphones.

Though… he couldn't help but be curious.

"Tell me about them," he said suddenly. When Ken just blinked at him, he clarified with, "I mean… about everyone. They're important to you, but I've only known what they've accomplished at a group."

"Well…" Ken sighed, wrapping an arm around himself. "Come on, let's sit down. Your food's getting cold. I'll tell you more while you eat."

The leftovers turned out to be lo mein. (He better not tell Yusuke. He'd probably find it an atrocity, given how attached he became to those lobsters of his.) Ken had taken some of the extra lobster, removed the shells, and gave Morgana that to eat. While it wasn't the fatty tuna Morgana adored so much, Morgana greatly appreciated it judging from the happy sounds he was making.

Ken let out a thoughtful hum. "Well, to start with… there's Mitsuru-san." Ren couldn't help but stiffen at the mention of her name. But he quickly shoved that out of his mind. Judging her was just as bad as how everyone jumped to the conclusion that he was a crazy, violent delinquent when he first moved here.

"She's a total ice queen, according to the media," Ren said. "Is that true?"

"Hmm… but yes and no. Mitsuru-san has a tendency to try and fix things on her own, and she's tried to take on her family's burden on her own shoulders several times. But at the same time, she always tried to look after all of us." Ken's lips twitched into a smile. "This was before I had even met them all, but when Fuuka-san had disappeared and her homeroom teacher hadn't done anything to try and find her, Mitsuru-san raked him over the coals for pulling that stunt. Minako-san said that they never got to find out what his punishment was…"

"Damn, we could've used that with Kamoshida," Ren said, before he frowned. "Probably would've saved us a lot of grief…"

From what Anne had said about Shiho, she used to be a bit of a goofball. But by the time Ren had met her, she had been kind, but quiet. He kinda wished that he got to know his girlfriend's best friend better. Before Kamoshida had pulled all of his shit.

Ren winced. "…Sorry. Didn't mean to distract you."

"Speaking of distractions…" Ken just raised an eyebrow at him. "You should really eat before it gets cold."

Ren sheepishly began to eat again. He really had to convince Sojiro to cook different dishes. His curry was great and all, but variety was the spice of life.

"Let's see… Akihiko-san is a cop. He decided to become one about… four years ago? He had a bit of a crisis after our incident because he shaped his purpose around fighting Shadows for the longest time…"

Well… Ren could understand that. He couldn't imagine going back to a normal life, after trekking the Metaverse for so long.

"He grew up with Shinjiro-san in the same orphanage," Ken continued, before he laughed. "I wish you were there when they came face to face with each other, after not seeing each other for over two years." Ken snickered for a moment. "He took one look at Akihiko-san and went, 'Aki, what the FUCK are you wearing?'."

Ren couldn't help but burst out laughing at Ken mimicking Shinjiro-san's voice. Ken's voice was far from high, but Shinjiro-san had a gravelly voice.

Ken then continued to talk about some of the stupid competitions they had gotten up to over the years. It was a bit hard to believe, with them having a pickle jar opening contest, but there was just no way that Ken would make this shit up.

Ken talked for a long time. About Minako-san—who was apparently his first and only crush. (Well, according to him, at least. Ren personally didn't see that.) How she was the first one out of SEES to treat him as an equal, though she did have her moments when she had fawned over him.

Aigis-san, being a robot, actually looked closer to their age. Though over the years, she had developed a weird sense of humor. She apparently had a tendency to sass Mitsuru-san. But the idea of a robot becoming more human was… really hard for Ren to wrap his mind around. Though Ken just had to point out the weird stuff they had seen.

Junpei-san was apparently very similar to Ryuji, and he was a PE teacher at a junior high on Port Island. And as Yusuke had mentioned before, he was married to Chidori Yoshino. Who he apparently absolutely adored and would do anything she asked of him. Ren had to wonder how Yusuke would react if he actually met her.

"So Yukari-san really is like the Anne to Junpei-san's Ryuji?" Ren asked. "I find that hard to believe."

Ken just laughed. "Yukari-san's got a better handle on her temper nowadays, but Junpei-san is really good at pushing her buttons. Though of course, him saying something he shouldn't to the twins is a really good way to set her off."

Ren snickered. "What did he do, get them to swear for their first word?"

"Nah." Ken suddenly cracked a smile. "Their first word was actually… Junpei in a way. Because Yukari-san has a… nickname for Junpei-san when she's mad at him. Stupei. Yukari-san was yelling at him for some reason, and the twins just… imitated her."

Ren burst into laughter. "I bet he never lived that down."

Ken just nodded. "He would constantly try to bribe the twins into saying something else."

"Aren't babies not supposed to have that much sweets?"

Ken just raised an eyebrow at him. "You tried to bribe Kaito with sweets."

"He's five, not a baby. And he didn't even like Morgana!"

"You tried to bribe Kaito," Ken said slowly, "with Morgana."

"He was being all huffy and pouty," Morgana piped up. "I don't blame Ren."

Ken just snorted. "I suppose. Yukari-san did teach them not to trust strangers all too easily." His eyes then traveled back to the group picture. "And that leaves… Minato-san."

"He was the leader, wasn't he?"

"In a way," Ken answered. He just smiled wryly when Ren gave him a confused frown. "Because Minato-san and Minako-san were co-field leaders. But Mitsuru-san was the overall head of SEES."

Ren frowned. Well… that made sense in a way. Morgana often offered advice to him, after all.

"Though… what was he like?" Ren asked.

The whole idea of having predecessors—senpai, in a way—was still mindboggling to him. And from what Ken had said from before, SEES did view the male Arisato twin to be their field leader, though Minako-san was his lieutenant of sorts.

Ken let out a thoughtful hum. "He was… quiet. He kept to himself a lot, but he always was pretty insightful." He then shook his head. "He would make the strangest jokes sometimes. One time, he insisted to me, with a completely straight face… that he drank coffee with hot sauce."

"H-Hot sauce?" Ren couldn't help but gape at him. "And you… you bought it?!"

"Hey, I was eleven!" Ken quickly defended. "And he sounded so serious about it…"

"Oh my god, Ken."

Just thinking about it made him cringe. Just the idea of hot sauce tainting coffee like that…

"Shut up, Ren," he grumbled out.

"Anything else I should know about him?"

"Well…" Ken's expression turned thoughtful. "He was… very protective of Minako-san. When she started dating Akihiko-san, he took Akihiko-san on a solo run inside Tartarus."

Oh jeez. He's never met the man, but he couldn't help but feel bad for him. Dealing with an overprotective sibling couldn't be fun.

Ken suddenly huffed out a laugh. "Minako-san was not happy with that…" But then his face became somber. "…He didn't breathe a word about how he was slowly dying... He wanted us to have the illusion that everything was okay until he passed away." His lips then trembled for a moment. "He always had a weird way of showing his concern..."

Ren's eyes widened. There was nothing he could say to that. Hiding the truth like that. He couldn't imagine doing it.

"I wish that I had spent more time with him before he had died," Ken continued quietly. "I always had fun with him when he watched Feathermen with me. One time he took me to the movies… But Minato-san always seemed so busy at night." He shook his head. "Sometimes I have no idea how you manage to juggle so much."

"I mean, it's a good way to stop yourself from being bored," Ren said, with a shrug. "Though… I can see why you're so attached to them now. It's nice to hear about them instead of their exploits."

Ken then smiled sheepishly. "I guess we didn't get to talk about the things we did in between the fights, huh?"

"Hey, I don't blame you." Ren shrugged. "It probably would've taken you days to talk about it all. But Ken…"

"Hm?"

"You've talked about the Shadow Operatives before…" he said carefully. "Are you planning on joining them full time?"

"Well…" Ken pursed his lips. "If you asked me this just a few years ago, I would have said yes," he confessed. "But honestly, now… I'm not so sure. I've wanted to become a defense attorney for a couple years now… but… what we've been up to has had me thinking that there's something more I can do. To even the odds for people who don't have a voice."

"Well, nobody said that changing society was easy."

Ken just rolled his eyes at Ren. "That's a lofty goal, anyways." His eyes suddenly grew far away. "But… it's a noble one. Maybe we can ease his burden this way…"

Ken bringing up his former leader couldn't help but make him think… could he make the same sacrifice? Sacrificing himself to ensure his friends' safety?

Ren shook his head. No… He didn't want to dwell on the what ifs. Nothing good came out of that.

"It definitely won't be easy," Ren agreed. "But nothing worth fighting for is, right?"

Ken just smiled. "You're right, Ren."

RANK UP! Adjustment Confidant has reached Rank 6.

Harisen Recovery: Chance to cure status ailment inflicted on party member.

Shinji and Sae's relationship is gonna be… interesting. They're somewhat foils in this. I really can't wait to dive more into that, because Shinji will have a lot to say about Sae's actions. But that'll be later on in the story.

Though while I think that Makoto and Haru could have a great friendship, I always thought the way the game went about it was… strange. They couldn't touch on it as much as they could've. So I tweaked the whole Mako-chan thing.

I never showed it but the Adjustment Confidant rank 6 would be locked until after 8/30 (the day where Ken reveals the truth). Someone remarked that it was a pity that we didn't get Ken's perspective on Minato's death but I was saving it for this rank.