"Your sister has a type."

Ren and Makoto stood just outside of the stairwell to the diner, watching as Sae and her partner approached.

Even at a distance, Sae's girlfriend exuded a counterculture vibe. Her hair was long and unruly. She wore baggy cargo pants and a partially-zipped hoodie, revealing the scooped neckline of the shirt underneath and leaving her bronze skin open to the cold air. Even in sneakers, she was tall like Sae. Most of all, something about her walk and her expression communicated an assuredness in her nonconformity.

It almost distracted from the intense glare that Sae was giving him.

"Hn," Makoto murmured in response. Ren wasn't sure if she had actually processed what he said. The way she was worrying her lips together, he suspected she was thinking hard about something else, likely how their dinner was about to go.

He made a point not to react. With Sae watching them, anything he might do to reassure Makoto could backfire.

Moments later they were face-to-face and Makoto began her introductions.

"Sis, Tao-san, this is my boyfriend, Kurusu Ren," she motioned to him before shifting her attention towards the older woman. "And Ren, this is my sister's girlfriend, Machinami Tao-san."

"It's good to see you again," Sae nodded in his direction with a warm but tempered smile. It was much more inviting than she had seemed a few paces ago.

Machinami also nodded at him, but didn't say anything. She looked to be sizing him up. There was something about it that made him uneasy.

"Nice to meet you." Ren's perfunctory greeting didn't seem to change anything.

"Let's head inside," Sae pointed her hand towards the stairs, directing them to go first.

They were quickly seated at a booth. Makoto sat beside Ren on the inside by the wall, across from Machinami, leaving Sae to sit opposite him.

Their server was equally quick and they were soon nursing their drinks while waiting for their entrees. Though the coffee couldn't compare to Leblanc's, there was something nostalgic about the taste, the whole ambience—something he had also felt when he had last visited with Mishima.

Makoto and Sae had gone with tea instead, while Machinami had, like him, ordered coffee.

"So Makoto tells me you're working for the Ministry of Internal Affairs," said Sae. Her tone was relaxed. If there was to be an interrogation, she hadn't yet turned up the heat. "Are you planning on being a career bureaucrat?"

"Sis…" Makoto started. He saw her cheeks start to redden. "That's-"

"We'll see," said Ren. He didn't need Makoto's help, at least not yet. "I've only been there a month. Even if I don't pursue the career, I've been told the experience will help in a variety of industries."

"That's true," Sae took a sip of her tea. She smiled, communicating some sort of mix of amusement and affection. "Still, I'm surprised you would take a government position."

"Well, I respect my boss and I believe the work we do is meaningful," he replied.

"Kasukabe Toshiro… was it?"

He couldn't imagine that Makoto would have gone into that much detail about his job to her. Sae must have done some digging on her own.

"That's right." Ren tried to keep his posture loose.

"He was in line to become prime minister once, wasn't he?" On the surface, Sae seemed perfectly pleasant, but something about the way she was sitting up so straight conveyed the command she had of the conversation. "Until he revealed corruption within his own political allies and family."

Ren nodded. "It was a while back..."

"Curious though, isn't it?" Sae folded her hands, resting them on the table.

"Director Kasukabe's integrity is one of the reasons I took the position." Ren wondered just what she was insinuating. They had never told Sae about Toshiro. It wasn't like he could get into it with Machinami present.

"I see," Sae closed her eyes as she took the next sip of tea, slowly opening them to look at him again. "Anyway, I'm glad you seem to be on track."

Ren supposed the last time they had met, it was unclear how much the incident with Shido, with Yaldabaoth, would continue to affect his life, even if he was ultimately exonerated. While the history he carried was a worry when he was first searching for jobs, as fate would have it, he now worked for someone he had only met due to his life as a phantom thief.

"What about you, Machinami-san?" It would be easier on everyone if it was truly small talk. "Makoto said you work for a design firm."

"That's right," her tone was brusque, but she still took the time to elaborate. "We cater to grassroots organizations."

Looking at Machinami more closely and in better lighting, there was something familiar about her. She reminded him of someone, someone other than Takemi, but he wasn't sure who. "So how did you two meet?"

"I met her through a colleague," explained Sae.

"You know Makoto from high school, right?" Machinami didn't stop to let him answer. Instead, she looked between him and Sae. "But how do you two know each other so well?"

Ren had been so focused on presenting his relationship with Makoto to Sae's standards, it hadn't even occurred to him that he might need an explanation for his familiarity with Sae. Of course she would keep his past in confidence… though from the sound of things, she hadn't spoken much about him at all.

He came to the answer at the same time Sae did:

"She helped me in the past." "He helped me in the past."

Machinami's eyebrows raised. She looked genuinely surprised.

Ren and Sae turned to each other and smiled.

"That was a long time ago," said Sae, turning to her girlfriend. "So I didn't think to tell you."

The server arrived shortly thereafter with their meals and the conversation quieted as they ate.

Sae finished first and decided Ren was far enough along to resume their chat.

"So are you still active in the same hobbies as back then?" Sae asked. "Makoto tells me you're staying at Leblanc for now, have you kept up your skills as a barista?"

The second question masked it well, but he knew what she was really asking.

"I haven't been able to participate in as many since leaving school—some just aren't as accessible as they were back then," he assured her before addressing her second inquiry. "I still try to pitch in when I can at Leblanc, but I've gotten a little rusty."

"I see," Sae put both hands around her teacup. "Well, it's hard to find a good balance, especially when you're just starting out."

Ren nodded.

"And you?" he asked. "Last we talked, you were just starting your practice."

"It really has been a while, hasn't it?" Sae chuckled softly. "I've now had my business longer than I was a prosecutor. The first couple years were a little rough, but…"

She began describing some of the milestones her practice had reached over the years and her plans for growth. Ren was only starting to get a sense of how such firms operated through his work with Toshiro, so there was little he could add. It made it all the easier to get distracted by what was going on next to him.

"Here Makoto," Machinami said in a hushed tone as she moved a few slices of Salisbury steak from her own plate to Makoto's. "You should eat more."

Makoto wasn't exaggerating when she said the two women babied her.

"It's okay Tao-san," Makoto raised her hands in front of her chest in protest. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"You eat too little," said Machinami, though she did stop shuttling bits of steak. She peered at Ren out the sides of her eyes. "You're not undereating on account of this guy are you?"

The pair soon had Sae's attention as well.

"No, this is what I normally eat." If he didn't know Makoto so well, he might have missed the slight edge in her voice.

Ren considered pointing out that Makoto had always been one of the most health-conscious people he knew, but figured it was too risky. He wasn't sure what kind of impression that would make. Makoto had been fretting over this meeting all week. While he thought he had prepared well for Sae, he hadn't expected that Sae's girlfriend would be almost as difficult to navigate.

It was strange.

He couldn't resist taking a peek with his third eye. Every now and then, it helped him in ways he couldn't have predicted.

This time, however...

In the shifted world of his altered vision, Machinami appeared hazy. He could barely make out her form. The more he tried to focus with his third eye, the blurrier the vision got.

"Ren?"

The area surrounding her seemed normal, aside from the usual blue cast, but whenever he tried to concentrate on Machinami-

"Ren?!"

The hand on his upper arm jolted him back to reality. Makoto was leaning forward, trying to get a good look at his face. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah…" He rubbed the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb, his glasses shoved upward to make room. "Sorry, just feeling a bit of a headache coming on."

"You don't look so good," she said, still holding his arm. "Maybe you should head home."

"No, it's not too serious," he managed to smile. "I'd hate to leave so soon. We're just meeting again after how long?"

He didn't want to ruin the dinner she had spent so much time fretting over. He tried to look as pleasant as possible while Makoto continued to stare, watching him carefully, until she eventually gave up.

"Well, okay," Makoto looked away briefly before picking up the glass by his plate. "At least drink some water."

"Right." Ren took the glass of water and sipped, listening as the three women resumed their conversation—one he hoped to jump back into soon, but not before trying one more time.

Again, he opened his third eye.

The same fuzzy vision appeared before him.

So it wasn't a fluke.

But then, just what was it?