Chapter Text
~Ren~
Two and a half weeks had passed for Ren since the interrogation incident, and his physical injuries had healed enough that Ren was finally given permission by Dr. Takemi to resume daily activities, so long as he didn’t overexert himself.
The other phantom thieves had wanted to throw a party to celebrate, but Ren had declined their kind offer, stating that they would have plenty of time to celebrate after defeating Shido. He didn’t really have the heart to tell them the real reason, which was that he hardly felt as though he had recovered. Not mentally, anyway.
Instead, he asked if they could meet to discuss phantom thief business. Thanks to the amount of time it had taken his injuries to heal, the thieves had really yet to explore Shido’s palace. Not to mention, Mementos quests had been piling up for a bit as well.
Besides his brief involuntary excursion to the Velvet Room, Ren hadn’t interacted with the metaverse since the interrogation incident. He felt he needed to get back out into the field, and accomplish, well, something. Though Shido’s palace seemed like too much to take on at the moment, Ren was fairly confident that even he could handle a few of the Mementos quests he had been neglecting.
Speaking of the meeting, it was almost time for the others to arrive. Their hideout for the time being was still his room in the cafe attic. Checking his IM’s, he could see the group chat was buzzing. Morgana, who was sitting beside him on the bed, curiously stared at the chat.
Ryuji: Just got off the train, be there in a second. I also found some weird snacks that I am bringing over for us all to try.
Yusuke: Strange snacks you say? In what way?
Ryuji: Well, there was a huge sale at the convenience store with all sorts of weird and experimental flavored chips, jerky, and ramen, so I bought them.
Makoto: You really shouldn’t be wasting your allowance on stuff like that.
Ryuji: Yes, mom. :/
Futaba: Did someone say Ramen?
“Of course the mention of ramen is what catches Futaba’s attention,” Morgana mewed with amused exasperation.
Ren flinched a bit, having forgotten that the cat had been beside him, but quickly forced himself to relax, before responding on his furry friend’s behalf.
Ren: Morgana is disgusted by your ramen addiction.
Futaba: What’s that, kitty? You don’t want any of the sushi I acquired and planned to bring? A shame. Guess the rest of us will have to eat it. :p
“I mean, I am! But I didn’t say that!” Morgana balked before trying to steal Ren’s phone to type his own message. Unfortunately, having no opposable thumbs made that a bit difficult.
Ren: Jwoskdhwjsud?!..’b
Ren managed to repossess his phone, and gave Morgana the annoyed side-eye before returning his attention to the conversation.
Makoto: I’m assuming Morgana’s attempt at texting again?
Ren: Astute as always, Makoto.
Ann: Ryuji is bringing some weird shit, and Futaba is bringing sushi. Anyone wanna pitch in and grab some sweets?
Speaking of sweets, Ren glanced over to the bag of them that Iwai had been kind enough to bring over. He had gone through a good amount, but there were still plenty left.
Ren: I have some candies over here I can put out if you want some.
Ann: Perfect! I’ll pick up a special from the underground mall then and be there in a flash! :D
Haru: Um, I can bring some vegetables I’ve been growing that Boss is welcome to use at his convenience. If it isn’t too much trouble.
Ren: Sure, thanks Haru.
Haru: Of course… :)
“I thought you said this wasn’t a party?!” Morgana said in surprise. Ren shook his head. “It’s not supposed to be, but let them do what they want. It’s just food,” Ren said, and Morgana relaxed a bit.
“Well, as long as you’re okay with it,” Morgana said before stretching and lying down beside him.
‘I should be okay…’
~~~
Well, for the most part, he was. To his pleasant surprise. Sojiro had kindly closed the cafe early, leaving the thieves to themselves for their first meeting in quite some time. Aside from Ren and Morgana, who lived in their hideout above the café, the first to arrive was Ryuji, unsurprisingly considering he had already purchased his snacks and was en-route when he last texted in the group chat. His bright-haired friend with an even brighter personality quickly made himself at home lounging on Ren’s couch, much to Morgana’s annoyance and Ren’s amusement.
“Glad to see you looking better, Leader. Those assholes really roughed you up,” Ryuji had said with a sympathetic grin before anyone else had arrived, gently patting him on the shoulder. Ren had stiffened a bit at his friend’s touch, but managed to keep himself together. Still, he could feel himself trembling slightly as he gave Ryuji a half smile.
Ryuji then sighed dramatically. “Seriously though, I’m glad you avoided any serious long term injuries. You had us really worried there for a bit,” he said with a small frown, glancing at his own permanently damaged leg before looking back to his buddy.
“Sorry about that,” Ren said softly, and Ryuji shook his head.
“You're not the one that needs to apologize, It's the shitty adults that did this to you that are going to be sorry,” Ryuji said with a determined look in his eyes.
‘That’s right. That determination is what started this all,’ Ren thought nostalgically, giving Ryuji an equally determined nod. Though he couldn’t see it himself, the glint of resolve that had carried him thus far shimmered in his gaze in that moment.
It quickly disappeared though, as the next thief arrived. Futaba was the next to poke her head above Ren’s banister with an enthusiastic wave. “Hey, Ren! Oh- Ryuji’s here too.” She quickly scurried in and placed the sushi she had said she would bring on the table, next to the bowl of candies Ren had placed prior to the arrival of his friends, before quickly spinning on her heel to stand beside and loom over Ryuji. “Where is the weird ramen you mentioned?!” she interrogated, and Ryuji quickly shoved the convenience store bag in front of him as if trying to repel a demon with religious iconography.
To be fair, Futaba was comparable to a demon when hungry. It was why Ren always stashed some instant ramen in one of the boxes in his room. He idly noted he would need to refill that stash soon. Not being able to go out the last three weeks or so had cut into his supply, since Futaba would constantly come to check on him, get hungry, and then eat from the rations box. If he had been smart, he could have asked Iwai to pick some up when he came over that one time, but his mind had been otherwise occupied. Mostly by Iwai.
Futaba’s excited voice snapped him from his thoughts. “OOOOO, NICE GOING, RYUJI! You scored quite the fine selection of curios! Now, which to eat first…” Futaba mumbled the last part as she held up two packages of weirdly flavored instant ramen and kept looking between them.
Ren snickered and shook his head in fond exasperation at Futaba’s antics. Including himself and Morgana, only four of the thieves were here and already things were getting lively. Morgana jumped up onto the table, quickly sniffing over the sushi to inspect what the finest pieces might be to claim for himself. Ryuji told Morgana not to drool all over the sushi, which led to the two of them bickering.
Next to arrive was Yusuke, who greeted Ren and the others politely before instantly being drawn to the strange ramen collection as well. Unlike Futaba, who was debating which she wanted to eat first, Yusuke marveled at the packaging. Upon seeing some spicy lobster-flavored ramen with two lobsters dueling on the front, he gasped. His eyes sparkled.
“This artwork on the packaging is absolutely genius. I feel as though I might be able to draw at least three inspired works from this,” he said boldly as he waved it around, before looking to Ren. “Sorry, Leader, I really must at least outline these ideas before they vanish; do you have a pencil and some paper so that I may at least make a rough sketch?” the artist begged with an almost puppy-like expression.
Maybe Okami as a code name would have fit better than Fox for him, but that thought aside, Ren nodded and rummaged through his supplies on his desk before handing Yusuke the requested tools. As he did so, his hands accidentally brushed against Yusuke’s cooler ones, and he froze unnaturally for a moment.
“Thank you, you have done me as well as the entire art world a great service on this day,” Yusuke said dramatically, not seeming to have noticed Ren’s momentary panic. Ren sweat-dropped, but still said that Yusuke was very welcome with a troubled smile.
Next to show up was Ann, and a sweet appetizing scent followed her as she entered the room.
When she arrived, Morgana was the one to greet her excitedly. “Lady Ann! You’re here!” he said with little hearts in his eyes and his tail swishing excitedly from his place on the table.
Meanwhile Futaba was sitting on the edge of Ren’s bed, still looking between the two ramen packages, muttering to herself. Yusuke was sitting on the floor, leaning against the couch with the lobster ramen package laying next to him while he sketched furiously, and Ryuji just waved to Ann from his spot on the couch. Ren gave her an awkward smile and a wave as he leaned against a nearby wall.
Ann set her bag of what Ren assumed was sweets in the middle of the table, effectively ignoring Morgana’s greeting entirely as she walked straight towards Ren. She looked him up and down as though checking him out, though he was fairly sure she was just checking for injuries. Last he had seen Ann in person, he had been pretty beat up.
She lifted her hand to his face, gently tracing her thumb under his previously black eye. Ren had to will himself not to tense up, but his breathing still came out a bit more shaken than he would have liked. Still, he felt notably less scared at her touch compared to when Ryuji or Yusuke had touched him earlier.
“I’m glad to see it healed properly. I know I’m the model, but it would have been a shame if something happened to that ruggedly handsome face of yours, Leader,” she said, playfully patting his cheek.
Morgana looked devastated, as though Ren had just stolen his wife, but for once he didn’t voice how jealous he clearly was about Lady Ann giving Ren attention.
She then walked back towards the couch, gesturing for Ryuji to scoot over. As soon as the blonde did so, Ann plopped onto the sofa next to him. “Well, I know this isn’t technically a celebration, but it isn’t a real gathering without cake, so I got us one!” she announced proudly before revealing a colorful round cake.
Ryuji seemed excited if the slight amount of drool shining at the corner of his mouth was any indication, as the sweet smell of the baked confection filled the room.
Futaba looked up and quickly told Ann to save some for her for later, as she was currently making some very important dinner decisions. Ann didn’t bother to ask the ginger-haired girl to elaborate.
However, Yusuke looked up at Ann, who was sitting slightly above him as he leaned against the couch arm, and smiled excitedly. “I think I’ve gotten to a good enough stopping point in my drawing to partake in some sweets now,” he said before turning to Ryuji and holding up the lobster ramen. “I can take this with me to my dorms, yes?” he asked pleadingly.
Ryuji shrugged a bit, weirded out, but smiled. “Uh, sure, man. Go for it.”
Yusuke looked overjoyed at that, before quickly shifting gears and offering to grab some plates and an implement to cut the cake from the kitchen downstairs. Likely because he wanted some for himself, but it was kind of him to get dishes for the other thieves as well.
As Yusuke arrived back upstairs with a knife in hand, Makoto and Haru had apparently arrived, and were following behind him. Makoto had paper plates in hand, while Haru held disposable cups and utensils in hers.
Makoto looked over all those present and sighed. “We figured you all would bring food without any disposable utensils, so we decided to pick some up on the way here,” she explained, before looking suspiciously at Yusuke who was just standing there holding a knife.
Haru smiled and nodded, her hair bouncing cutely as she did. “Mako-chan really has the best ideas,” she praised her friend, who was not so subtly trying to get the knife away from Yusuke. Makoto looked very much like a mother telling her child to hand over the knife at that moment.
“Also, if you could, let Boss know I put the vegetables in the fridge. Let me know how they taste!” Haru continued obliviously, as she cheerfully grabbed Ren’s hands on her own.
He tensed a bit but felt the fear fade fairly quickly. It was odd, but despite still tensing up a lot with Haru and Ann’s touches, the fear reaction still wasn’t as intense as when Ryuji had patted him on the shoulder, or when he had brushed hands with Yusuke.
~~~~
When everyone was settled and everything was finally set out, the table was filled with paper plates, utensils, a cut cake (courtesy of Makoto because although Yusuke was good with swords, his knife skills were comically bad), convenience store sushi, and whatever the hell creations Ryuji had brought.
Everyone laughed and had a merry time. Despite his miniature internal freak-outs now and then (mostly due to accidental touches), Ren for the most part really enjoyed spending time with his friends again. However, as the leader of the phantom thieves, he also knew they needed to wrap up the social portion soon to get to the reason the meeting was called to begin with.
Clearing his throat, the chatter of his friends fell silent as he felt all their attention land on him. “Due to my injuries, we have been unable to explore Shido’s palace as of yet. I apologize for that.”
There were some murmurs of “Don’t apologize,” and “Not your fault,” but Ren decided to push on with what he had to say rather than acknowledge the mutterings.
“However, I suggest before we start that palace, we finish any outstanding Mementos quests. Any objections?” he asked.
The thieves all collectively shook their heads, as though to say there was no disagreement.
“Good. Let’s get started then,” Ren said, the confidence in his voice being, for the first time in a while, something more than bravado.