Chapter Text
Sumire paced around the entrance to the alley as she waited for Ren to come back from his… What did he call it? Cognitive world? Something like that. Jeez, these last few hours have been a whole lot.
First and foremost, Ren is homeless! And he didn’t tell her! Ugh, that lovable idiot. He agreed, after some prodding of course, to move in with them if her parents allowed it. Which… they will, obviously.
Mom had already begun planning on how to ask him to move in without being blunt, and Sumire wouldn’t be surprised if Dad was right there with her.
But… Well, she had to be a little bit honest with them if she wanted them to not ask too many questions. She figured being honest was the best strategy, especially considering how much Ren was entrusting her to keep secret.
Oh. Right. That reminds her. Kurusu-senpai is a Phantom Thief! Not only that, but she’s the leader!? She couldn’t believe it when she first heard it, but thinking about it… It made lots of sense.
“Alright, Sumi. I’m ready.”
Her thoughts stopped as she whirled around to face Ren. He was dressed in the same white t-shirt from earlier, some blue jeans and had a bag slung over his shoulder. It was strange, seeing him wear something that wasn’t dark… It was also a bit weird to see him in public without his jacket.
She blinked, realizing she was getting lost in her thoughts again. “Ah… right.” She held out a hand that he took in his own. “I think the trains are still running, so we won’t have to walk.”
Ren fixed the bag he was carrying. “Thank god for that, I didn’t want to carry this thing the entire way.”
She furrowed her brow. Surely it wasn’t that heavy, right? “How heavy is that stuff anyways, Ren?” She asked curiously as they started their walk towards the stations.
Ren shrugged. “Not that heavy I’m sure, want to give it a shot?” He asked, swinging off his shoulder and holding out the straps for her to take.
She pursed her lips before she reached out a hand to take it. As soon as he let go, she flew forward as the weight pulled her down. Ren caught her quickly and took the bag back with a slight chuckle.
She pouted. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
He shrugged again before he slung it over his shoulder easily. Stupid other world powers…
“C’mon, our train is here.”
They entered their train and sat next to one another. While doing so, Sumire couldn’t help but lean onto Ren slightly. For some reason, she felt… extremely tired, despite not doing much other than training.
She smiled softly as she felt Ren’s hand creep up her neck as he started it running gently through her hair. She leaned into the action subtly as she rested her eyes for the rest of their trip.
After arriving home, Sumire gave both her parents a hug and apologized for not being in contact, saying her phone was dead and she wanted to spend some time alone. As she also expected, they were more than happy to see Ren.
“May I take a shower? I haven’t had time to clean up yet.” He asked politely as he put on that strange, way too charming, smile of his.
Her dad waved him along. “Of course, you don’t have to ask, Ren-kun.”
Ren excused himself as he made his way towards the back of the house.
She took a deep breath as she started hearing the water running. This was it. No turning back. “Hey, Mom, Dad? Can we, uh, talk?”
They turned to her. “Of course, honey.” Her mom said soothingly. All three of them went to take a spot on the couch. “What do you need?”
“It’s…” She swallowed. “...It’s about Ren.” She said softly.
“Is he alright?” Dad asked, not able to keep the worry from seeping into his voice.
“Uh…” She bit her lip. “Well, it’s a little bit strange, I guess.” She let out a breath. “So you know how Ren has his apartment?”
They nodded.
“Well… It turns out he wasn’t exactly being… entirely truthful about it.” She murmured, beginning to fiddled with her thumbs. “He’s been homeless, practically.” She said bluntly, deciding to just get it out.
“What!?” Her mom cried out before realizing Ren wasn’t too far away. “For how long?” She asked, leaning forward, concern filling her eyes.
Sumire swallowed. “Uhm, from what I gathered,” She pursed her lips. “About three years.” She murmured quietly, as she stared at the carpet.
Her parents were silent for a few moments, so she looked up to see her mom obviously holding back some tears, while her dad had furrowed his brow. “Why…” He stopped for a moment and gathered some more strength in his voice. “Why hasn’t he said anything?”
She frowned. “He didn’t feel like… burdening us.” She admitted quietly.
“W-What about his family? Surely he must have someone else–” Her mom started before Sumire shook her head.
“His family is gone. He…” She sniffled lightly. “He has no one left.” She pursed her lips before looking up to meet her parent’s eyes. “No one but us.” She let out a breath. “That’s why… I wanted to ask if he could–”
“Yes, of course he can, honey.” Her mom said, moving over to put an arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “I have no objections with him moving in with us. Do you, Shinichi?” She asked, looking up to her husband.
Shinichi ran a hand through his hair. “No, of course I don’t.” He said, beginning to rub his chin. “But, there might be some issues over custody, Ren-kun is still a minor, so he’ll have to have some sort of guardian. But…” He smiled softly. “I suppose that could wait a little bit. For now though, he could move into the guest room.”
Sumire let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “Thank you. I–... Thank you.”
Her mom ran a hand through her hair and gave her a light kiss on her cheek. “No need to thank us, honey. Ren means as much to us as I’m sure he means to you.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“Is Ren’s things all packed? Or was what he had in his bag everything he…” Her dad trailed off, a worried expression on his face.
Sumire bit the inside of her cheek, she wasn’t actually sure how much of Ren’s things were in that bag. It felt heavy enough, but he had all sorts of trinkets in his little world! “I’m… not too sure.” She answered honestly. “I don’t think he was expecting you to agree so quickly.”
Her mom smiled gently. “That’s alright, he’ll have time to gather his things, we won’t rush him.”
“Rush who?” Ren asked as he approached the family, still drying off his hair. His smile faded slightly as they all turned to look at him. “...What?”
Shinichi stood up and smiled. “Come along, Ren-kun, let me show you to your room.”
“My… huh?” He blinked a few times before Shinichi gently grabbed his arm and led him towards the back of the house.
Sumire giggled at his reaction as she watched them walk out of view. Her mother did the same. “Oh yes, I think I’m going to enjoy having Ren-kun around more often.”
Sumire couldn’t help but feel the same. Maybe now Ren won’t hesitate to ask for help from them. Maybe now… he’ll realize that he has people who care about him.
Ann jumped slightly as Kiriko’s head thudded against the table and let out an agonizingly long groan. She scooted over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“The god damn mafia.” Kiriko hissed quietly as she sat back up and ran her hands over her face.
Ann couldn’t agree more with that statement. Stupid Niijima and her blackmailing. Stupid Ryuji for revealing they’re the Phantom Thieves for all the world to see. Stupid her for also revealing they’re Phantom Thieves…
She sighed as she patted her leader on the back. Apparently finding a mafia boss was a lot harder than the shows make it out to be, who knew? Not them, obviously.
“So… we got nothing, then?” Ryuji said, looking around the group.
“What gave it away, Ryuji?” Ann replied, rolling her eyes and shooting him a dirty look.
Ryuji winced and held up his palms. “I’m just saying, Ann.” He mumbled as he leaned onto the palm of his hand. “...We clearly aren’t going anywhere with this.” He said bluntly.
Morgana stretched along the back of the booth. “I hate to do it, but I agree with Skull, we haven’t been able to find out anything about whoever this mafia boss is, the closest we’ve got is that one creep who tried to get Joker and Makoto.”
Ryuji groaned and shook his head. He perked up. “Hey, why don’t we just ask Niijima to change up the target?”
Ann raised an eyebrow. “Change our… target?” It sounded easy enough, it’ll also be easier to target someone they actually have a name for, but…
Ryuji nodded. “Yeah, sure. I mean, all we have to do is prove our justice to her, right?”
Yusuke scowled. “But that’s precisely why we should continue to try and locate this vile person.” He stressed.
Ann sighed. “He’s right, Ryuji. This guy is hurting innocent people, children no less. We can’t just let that happen.” She murmured, fiddling with one of her twin-tails. “It shouldn’t matter who the request came from.”
The faux-blond looked between the group before groaning loudly. “God, I hate it when you guys make sense.” He muttered. “Yeah, alright, I get it.”
Ann looked to Kiriko, who had remained silent throughout the small debate. Their leader had that look on her face, the one where she was thinking deeply about something. “Kiriko?” She said gently as she put a hand on her back.
Her voice seemed to snap Kiriko out of her trance. She looked at Ann with a furrowed brow before looking down at her lap. She blinked a few times before reaching into her bag and pulling out a card.
Ann leaned over to read it. “Ichiko Ohya, reporter and journalist for Maiasa Newspaper… Wait!” She grabbed Kiriko’s wrist and pulled it closer to her face. “This is the same woman who was staking out Madarame’s place, isn’t it?”
Kiriko nodded. “Yeah, it is. A journalist…” She trailed off with a thoughtful look. “If anyone knew anything about a mafia boss, it’d be someone who has done a bunch of research into it.” She mused.
“Well? What are you waiting for? Contact her!” Ann said impatiently, leaning into the other girl’s space.
Shiho came strolling up holding a couple of glasses, only to blink at the scene in front of her. “Wow, Ann…” She said before adopting a smug grin. “You still have no sense of personal space.”
Ann sputtered and pushed off Kiriko, who gave Shiho a wink. “Thanks for grabbing our drinks, Shiho-chan.” She nodded as she grabbed a drink.
Shiho rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Ann, pushing her over while doing so. “No problem, why was Ann all over you like that anyways?” She asked curiously.
“Hey!”
Kiriko grinned. “It has to do with our…” She looked around before lowering her voice. “...Extracurricular activities.”
Shiho’s eyes widened. “Oh…” She then turned to Ann and smacked her across the arm.
“What the– Shiho!”
“You’re the one dragging attention over to you guys by practically leaping onto your friend’s lap!” She said, poking the blonde in the chest. “Learn some self-control, girl! She’s pretty but–”
Ann slammed a hand over her mouth. “S-Shiho, that’s enough!” She squeaked, the tips of her ears going slightly red.
Kiriko smirked at the interaction before whipping out her phone and typing up an email to send to the journalist.
Meanwhile, Shiho removed Ann’s hand. “I’m just saying Ann, if you want to be inconspicuous, you gotta, y’know… be inconspicuous.”
Ann noticed Ryuji’s smug grin, and she wanted to do nothing but to slap it off his face. Shiho must’ve noticed it too, as she whipped around and pointed at him.
“Like you’re any better, Ryuji. I don’t think I’ve ever seen your voice go below 100 decibels.” She said, narrowing her eyes at him.
Ryuji sputtered. “W-What!? Hey!”
“My point exactly.”
Morgana snickered. “Shiho’s got you there, Skull!”
Shiho’s finger went towards Morgana. “I don’t know what you just said, kitty cat, but I know you’re just as bad.”
This time, it was Ryuji who laughed, and Morgana hissed at him before jumping down into the seats and lying flat down as he closed his eyes.
Shiho giggled before leaning into Ann. “So, what’s next, you fearless team of bandits?”
Kiriko looked up from her phone. “Taking down a mafia boss.” She answered deadpan.
Shiho’s grin faded as she turned to look at her fellow raven-hair. “I…” She blinked. “What!?”
Ann sighed. “It’s nothing to worry about, Shiho, promise.” She said, shooting Kiriko a dirty look out of the corner of her eye. “Kiriko is just being stupid, we can handle it.”
Shiho eyed the two of them before blowing a breath. “You two are unbearable.” She murmured as she took a sip from her drink.
“Love you too!” Ann replied as she wrapped an arm around Shiho’s.
The phone next to the booth rang and Ryuji stood up to answer it. “Yo… uhhh, yeah hang a sec…” He covered the phone’s receiver. “Our time's up, we gonna extend it or what?”
When no one answered, he sighed. “Guess that’s a no then.” He said, putting his attention back on the phone.
Ann perked up. “Oh right.” She pointed at Kiriko. “You gotta make sure you tell us when that reporter gets back to you, okay?”
Kiriko raised both her palms. “Obviously.” She said, grinning slightly.
Ann narrowed her eyes at the sight of it. “I know that grin, Kiriko Kurusu. You will not be doing any stupid stuff!”
Kiriko’s grin didn’t falter, in fact, it grew a little bit. “Of course, Ann, I promise.” She winked.
Shiho shuddered. “ Okay, I don’t know where you got that grin from, but you gotta cut it out. That is freaky.”
“Are we leaving?” Yusuke asked, looking up from his sketchbook. He looked back at his drink before downing the whole thing in one go. As expected, he started coughing heavily.
Shiho awkwardly patted his back while Ann pinched the bridge of her nose.
Kiriko smirked. “Let’s call it a night, you guys.” She said, standing up and letting Morgana hop into her bag. “I’ll give you guys a call once I get a message back.”
Ann nodded before grabbing Shiho’s arm and yanking her out of her seat. “Hey, my drink!” She cried as Ann began dragging her out of the Karaoke place.
“C’mon Shiho, let’s go get some crepes before we head home.” She suggested as they walked down the street. “I’ll pay, don’t worry!”
Shiho opened her mouth… only to close it and sigh. “Fine, go ahead, Ann. But only get me one, not two.”
Ann nodded. “Deal!”
She could always put her worries about that mafia boss on hold. Right now, it’s time for sweets!
“Man, this place is effin’ creepy!”
Kiriko glanced towards her blond companion as they walked through Shinjuku, the place where the journalist had said to meet them… at night… not suspicious at all.
“Ryuji, can you once in your stupidly loud life not bring attention to us? Please?” She practically begged. “Do you see the amount of sketchy ass people here?” She said, shooting a glare towards an older man with wandering eyes. He backed off into a bar shortly after.
Ryuji groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess… but, sh*t, where are we supposed to go again?”
Kiriko pinched her nose and sighed. “It’s a bar called Crossroads, Ryuji.” She said for the millionth time that night. “For now, you should probably just stick close to me, don’t wander off.”
“I’m not some kid, Kiriko!” He said, pouting very much like a kid.
She rolled her eyes in response. “Sure you aren’t.” She said, pulling him along. “Listen, when we get there, I’ll do the talking, alright? You can just–”
“Hey!”
The two looked over to see an officer approaching them. sh*t.
“Yes, officer, how can we help you?” She asked politely, hoping to not end up in handcuffs. Again.
The officer eyed the two for a moment. “How old are you two? You don’t exactly look to be old enough to be around this kind of neighborhood.”
Kiriko hid her wince behind a small smile. “Early college, if you really must know.” She answered, shuffling over to hook her arm with Ryuji’s. “We’re just on a little date, aren’t we, Ryuyu?”
Ryuji blinked before he grinned awkwardly. “Uh, yeah! T-Totally. Just a couple of college kids looking to have some fun.”
Kiriko pushed down the urge to slap him upside the head. If Ann’s acting was bad, then Ryuji was right there with her.
The officer narrowed his eyes before sighing and waving a hand. “Well, I wouldn’t want to disturb you, just… don’t spend too much time out here, it gets dangerous.”
Kiriko nodded and pulled Ryuji along. “We won’t, officer! Have a nice night!” She called out as they ducked around a corner. As soon as they were out of sight, she let her urge take control and smacked him upside the head.
He yelped and rubbed his injury. “What the eff, man?”
She glared at him and pointed to his pants. “Don’t ‘man’ me, you moron. You're still wearing our school pants!” She hissed at him.
Ryuji waved her off. “It’s fine. We made it out, didn’t we?”
“Just barely…” She muttered as they approached Crossroads. “This must be the place. Ready to go?” She asked, turning to Ryuji, who was looking up at the bright neon sign.
“Uh… You know what.” He started taking a few steps back. “On second thought, I’ll let you handle the talking, alright?” He said, putting on a sharp grin. “You’re better than me at that type of stuff.” He gave her a mock salute. “Just call me when you get finished.”
Kiriko watched as he took off back down the street. She sighed and shook her head before fixing her bag. “You awake yet, Mona?” She asked as she walked inside.
“Yeah, we there?”
“Yep, we just got to find–”
“Hey!”
Kiriko’s head turned toward the bar’s counter, seeing an older woman shooting her a strange look.
“How old are you, honey? You certainly don’t look old enough to be drinking.”
Kiriko opened her mouth to reply, but was beaten by another voice.
“Oh, she’s with me, Lala-chan!”
Kiriko’s head turned to face the other occupant of the bar, a black-haired woman twirling around a small wine glass. Oh joy.
Morgana blinked before he patted Kiriko’s head a few times with his paw. “Welp, good luck, Joker!” He said before dipping back into her bag and going silent.
Traitor, she grumbled inwardly as she approached the, obviously drunk, woman. For her sake, she hoped that Morgana’s luck would extend to her.
She’ll definitely need it.
Ren wiped off some sweat as he finished placing all of his trinkets along the shelves. His attention was dragged away from it as he heard some soft knocking coming from his door.
“Ren, it’s me, can I come in?”
He smiled softly. “Yeah, of course, Sumi.”
The door opened and in stepped Sumire wearing her pajamas. She looked around the room with a slightly open mouth. “Oh wow, you’ve been busy.” She murmured.
Ren sheepishly scratched his neck. “Well… weren’t you the one who wanted me to be set up as fast as possible?” He asked, his lips twitching up into a slight grin.
She shook her head, but still had a slight smile on her face. The smile faded as she walked over to a box and peeked inside. “What’s in here?” She asked curiously.
“My guns.” He replied deadpanned.
She turned to blink owlishly at him, at which point his facade broke down and he started laughing softly.
“I’m just messing with you, they’re still in my, er, world.” He answered as he went over to his closest to make sure everything was in order.
“Wait, so you do have guns?” She asked, her eyes widening slightly.
“Model guns. They’re just models, they don’t actually fire.” He explained as he pulled out his jacket and hooked it against the doorknob. “Same deal with my weapons, just models… Well, one of them is real, but–” he waved a hand. “–that isn’t important.”
She eyed him for a moment before sighing and taking a seat on his bed. “And what is this?” She asked, holding up his journal. He bit his lip subtly, debating on whether or not to take it back.
“That’s…” He swallowed. “That’s my journal. Probation journal.” He elaborated. “You can read it, if you want a more detailed description of what happened last time… to me at least.” He mumbled as he rubbed the back of his neck.
She pursed her lips. “You don’t mind?”
He shook his head. “No, not really. I already…” He trailed off, sensing that he was getting lost in his own thoughts. “...I don’t need it for at least a little while, you can read it.”
She tilted her head slightly before nodding. “Alright, I’ll give it back tomorrow morning.” She said, hopping up. “Also, Mom has some leftovers if you want it.” She smiled slightly before taking her leave.
Ren stared at the spot she was for a moment before going back to his things. It was at that point that he realized he was finishing unpacking everything. And yet…
Something felt like it was missing.
He looked around again, this time more slowly. He tried to spot anything out of place, anything that seemed to be missing. And yet he found nothing. He gave it one more go around before his eyes landed on his bed.
Then it hit him.
He snapped his fingers. Of course! That’s what was missing. How could he be so blind? He grabbed the pillow from the bed and his phone before walking out of his room. He set an alarm for six the next morning as he opened the door to Sumire’s room.
She was on her bed, and she looked up from his journal as he walked in. “Ren…?”
He shut the door, tossed his phone onto her nightstand, climbed into bed with her, pushed the pillow he grabbed under his head and closed his eyes. “Not quite ready to sleep on my own…” He murmured tiredly.
He could feel her rolling her eyes before she ran a hand through his hair. “This is going to become a repeating thing, isn’t it?” She asked with a soft smile.
He hummed. “Hope you don’t mind that, just don’t like sleeping alone.” He said as a way of explanation. And it was true, despite doing it for so long over the last few years, he still hated sleeping alone, especially since his Leblanc is quiet, way too quiet.
He loved sleeping with Morgana, and though he never vocalized it, he was extremely glad to have him back after that whole situation with Haru.
But sleeping with Sumire is different. With Morgana, at most he’d sleep next to Ren’s stomach or on his chest, but most of the time he’d just sleep near his feet.
But Sumire was so much different. Whenever they slept together, she almost always had an arm or leg wrapped around his own, and she was always snuggled up against him, no matter how hot it got. She was so much warmer than Morgana, so much more… present. And he loved that about her. A lot.
As he was lost in his own thoughts, she draped an arm over his chest and rested her hand on his opposite shoulder, and he wasted no time in wrapping an arm around her and holding her close in return. He let out a sigh of content, at least he found what was missing from his room.
“Hey, Sumi?”
She hummed.
“I love you so…” He took a deep breath, taking in the scent of her hair– was that strawberries? He loved strawberries– and let it out. “...so much, Sumire.” He murmured quietly as his arm moved to start running a hand through her hair, mimicking her own actions from just a few moments ago. “You know that, right?”
She shuffled closer to him. “Yes, Ren. I love you too… a whole bunch.” She added after a beat. Her grip on his shoulder became a little tighter. “Goodnight, Ren.”
“...Night, Sumi.”
And together, the pair drifted off to sleep in each other’s arms.
