Ren let out a sigh as he looked at the countless notes on his desk. Notes he would have to memorize before destroying to prevent Sojiro, or anyone else from stumbling upon them.
It was stressful.
If he was being honest, it was starting to get to him. He really wanted to take a small vacation and stop worrying about Okumura for some time. Maybe go to the beach and relax for a day or two using the summer break. But sadly, he didn't have that luxury. After one final trip to Mementos to pick up the accessories Jose made, they would dive again into the Palace.
Leaning back on his chair, he called forth the scalpel onto his hand, and as he raised it up to his eye level he took a moment to analyze it. He had to give it to Igor, it was a work of art. It almost felt ironic, he found this little thing scarier than most of the Shadows he stumbled upon on the regular.
"What do you think, Tartuffe?" He asked out loud
'I am thou. Doth the mirror question its own reflection?' Came Tartuffe's androgynous voice. And yet, Ren could hear it, he was smiling.
"I still don't get it." Ren added with a roll of his eyes.
'Understanding is not thy burden, not yet. Thou art no Impostor, nor Jester, thou art the Fool. And in the theatre of lies, 'tis the Fool who trusts, and the Trickster who guides. Heed me well. A vow hast been made. If I am to play my role, so too must thou keep thine.'
Ren took in a deep breath as he heard the answer, tightening his grip on the scalpel.
'Are we not but phantoms in a masquerade? Players upon a stage, ever masked, ever watched. Even now.' Tartuffe whispered. 'Then let our vow be the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.'
He had other questions, but in a way, Tartuffe had already answered them with his very first response.
I am thou, thou art I.
The very same words everyone heard when first awakening their persona. And he felt like he resonated with those words more and more by the day.
Interrupting his thoughts were the quick footsteps of someone walking up to his room.
"Reeeeeeeeeen." Futaba's voice came as she poked in through the doorway. She looked exhausted as she waddled her way to him.
Collapsing face-first into Ren's bed with a dramatic flop, Futaba let out a groan muffled by the blanket.
"Ughhh… I hate Okumura." She grumbled, her voice filled with frustration as she turned her head to the side. "His security is insane. He has a degree in paranoia or something. I think I've got a decent way of dealing with it, but until we push deeper, I'm still fumbling in the dark."
She had been burning through her free time diving into the Palace with the rest of them, getting escorted in, sitting in place for hours inside of Necronomicon, trying to pry apart the intricacies of a system that didn't make any sense.
"Everything is locked behind these weird 'family access' points. Not just one or two systems, everything. And even those need extra security cards layered on top. It's like the guy's afraid his own daughter's gonna stage a corporate coup or something." She sat up and rubbed her temples. "And I don't know if I'm becoming paranoid by osmosis, but I feel like I am being watched in there, even if Necronomicon doesn't detect anything.
Ren, seated at his desk as he worked on their plans for their next trip to Mementos, glanced over.
"Family lock?" He echoed, frowning slightly.
"Yeah." Futaba huffed, flopping onto her back and staring at the ceiling for a beat before suddenly sitting up with a jolt of energy. "Yo. Yo! Wait. You know what would make all this, like, ten thousand percent easier? We could—"
"No." Ren said flatly, not even looking up.
"You don't even know what I was gonna say yet!" Futaba complained.
"I do. And no."
Maybe it was cold. Maybe it was selfish. Maybe it was stupid. But he didn't want to drag Haru into this. Not into the heart of her own father's distortion. Even if it would be a shortcut. She was too kind, and he didn't want the experience to make her jaded.
"Come on…" Futaba pouted dramatically, her voice turning teasing as she continued. "She's a big fangirl, you know? She even has some Phantom Thieves collectibles hidden away in her room. And she—"
Her words trailed off under the weight of Ren's unamused stare.
"I mean… uh… I was going through Okumura's security and I accidentally…" She began fumbling over her words before shrinking into herself. "Sorry…"
There was a beat of silence between them until Ren let out a sigh.
"Just don't take it too far." Ren answered, sounding more tired than he had expected.
"I don't get it." Futaba finally muttered after some hesitation. "That's why you brought Yusuke, right? You knew he had to face Madarame, even if it sucked. And yeah, this is different, but by that same logic, shouldn't we at least talk to her?" Futaba asked, more hesitant now. "I mean… she's already in the middle of this whether she knows it or not… I'm just trying to understand."
"She has a point." Came a familiar voice as a small figure leapt through the cracked window with effortless grace.
Morgana padded over the windowsill, his tail swishing behind him.
"I've seen her up close." He said, landing on the bed in a smooth hop. "The Okumura girl's not clueless. She wants to act, she just doesn't know how. You'd be surprised what a strong will can do. With a push in the right direction, her Persona could manifest into something powerful."
Futaba scooped him up without hesitation, setting him comfortably on her lap as she began to scratch his head. Morgana didn't resist, in fact, he leaned into it with a pleased purr.
"See?" She said, emboldened now that she wasn't the only one advocating. "Even Mona thinks it's a good idea."
Letting out a tired breath, Ren leaned back in his chair.
"Well, either way, this is something we should discuss with everyone." Ren finally answered, giving himself an out to change the subject. "Did you find anything important, Mona?"
Mona looked at him for a few moments before finally nodding.
"There's something big coming up. A masquerade ball. From what I saw, Okumura wants to use it as a way to finalize some of his… 'recruitment efforts.' And from what I could see, there is a good chance that members of the Antisocial Force are going to be present."
"Oh?" Ren perked up as he heard him. "If I can get in, I'd be able to see exactly who has a Palace."
"Exactly." Morgana agreed, tail flicking. "Even if the guests don't all have one, just being there could give us enough intel, names, faces, affiliations. If we can link even one of them to the cognitive world, we can start pulling the whole network apart. One thread at a time."
"But… how the heck are we gonna get you in there?" Futaba cut in, skeptical. "Even if I hack the guest list and slip your name in, someone's gonna notice a high schooler with zero corporate ties waltzing around the elite like he owns the place."
Ren didn't argue. She was right.
"Heheh." Morgana chuckled, puffing out his chest like he was about to reveal a trump card. "I also found a solution for that problem. Take a guess as to who is one of Okumura's main targets for recruitments?"
"Kirijo." Ren whispered as he connected the dots.
"Bingo." Mona nodded. "From what I saw, Okumura's been obsessed with trying to bring her into the fold. He's worried about Naoto finding out anything, and he also doesn't like the amount of power the Kirijo group has. He already tried using the Black Mask to get rid of them, but having a persona means that there are no Shadows to target."
"Figures." Futaba added as she played with Morgana's ears. "Even if they tried to go the hacking route, they wouldn't really find anything. Makes sense that they see Kirijo as their biggest threat."
"And if he can't control her…" Ren said, piecing it together, "then he'd rather corner her into compliance."
"Exactly." Morgana answered, wiggling out of Futaba's grasp and jumping to the floor. "He wants to convince her to go to the masquerade, since there is no way she wasn't invited. Probably to parade her around, pressure her with eyes watching."
Ren couldn't help but chuckle as he heard him. The time he had spent with Mitsuru was short, but it was enough time to realize that anyone trying to overpower her was an absolutely idiotic thing to do. The amount of pressure he felt from her was heavier than any of the Palace bosses they had fought.
"Makoto is busy at the moment, but I'll give her a call once she is free. We should have a proper team meeting before I contact Mitsuru."
She was smart, even smarter than he was when it came to dealing with stuff by the book. If he was going to go back into the lion's den, then the least he could do was consult with her, and in turn, the rest of the Thieves.
He opened his mouth to continue when the sound of footsteps echoed up the staircase once more. A few moments later, Sojiro leaned into the doorway, one hand rubbing the back of his neck.
"Hey." He said, eyes landing on the two of them. "I was closing up shop, and a customer brought something up that got me thinking about old times."
He paused, the corner of his mouth twitching like he wasn't sure how to continue.
"Anyway… I was wondering if you two wanted to go on a short road trip. There's a pond out in Ichigaya. Haven't been in years, but it's usually empty around this time. If we get lucky and we catch something, I'll cook it up myself." He gave a small, almost sheepish grin. "What do you think? Little peace and quiet. Just us."
"Oooooh. Am I finally gonna meet the legendary Ebisu?" Futaba asked, already hopping to her feet, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Ebisu?" Sojiro blinked, visibly startled. "Now that is a nickname I haven't heard in a long time."
"Hehe," Futaba smirked, rocking on her heels. "Mom told me she gave it to you to mess with your luck. Something about impersonating the god of fishermen pissing him off."
Sojiro barked out a laugh, rubbing his face with one hand like he was trying to hide a smile. "Figures. No matter how much science she threw at it, the fish never bit for her." His voice softened at the memory, and a quiet smile tugged at his lips. For a moment, there was a stillness in the room, not awkward, but calm.
"I'll go prep the car." Sojiro said, stepping back into the hallway. "I think I've still got my old rods lying around somewhere."
Once he was gone, Futaba leaned over and nudged Ren lightly with her elbow.
"Hehe. You aren't ready to see Sojiro in full fishing mode."
"Oh?" Ren raised an eyebrow. "Who would have thought, coffee dad has layers."
"Psh… I'm gonna tell him you call him coffee dad." She teased as she ran to follow Sojiro.. "Though honestly, he would probably be more proud than upset at the nickname."
From behind, Mona jumped to follow Futaba, turning back at the doorway to look at Ren.
"Hm… this is a nice break." He mused as his tail swung from side to side. "We've had enough stress for one week, right?"
"Right." Ren answered as he piled up all of the notes he had taken and hid them away so that he could shred them and flush them down a toilet or burn them once he got back. "How clean were the vents?"
"Surprisingly nice. Okumura has people keeping everything clean 24/7, so they weren't too dusty." Mona answered as he stretched before jumping into Ren's bag. "Make sure you catch something big for me to eat."
— — —
The air by the pond was crisp, with just enough breeze to stir the surface of the water in slow, lazy ripples. The hum of cicadas droned faintly in the distance, and the sun cast a golden tint over the treetops. A single bench sat by the edge of the small dock, warped from years of weather but still solid.
It was a nice change of pace.
"Alright, listen up," Sojiro said, kneeling down next to the gear he'd pulled from the back of his car. "This rod's older than both of you combined, so treat it with respect."
"Yes, sensei!" Futaba crouched beside him with exaggerated reverence. "May I bask in the wisdom of the ancient rod?"
Sojiro gave her a dry look, but a corner of his mouth twitched upward.
"You joke, but you'll be crying when you tangle your line in the weeds."
Ren stood quietly on the other side, watching as Sojiro began threading the line through the rod's guides with practiced fingers.
"You want it snug but not too tight," he explained, holding it out for Ren to see. "If you're too tense, the line snaps. Too loose, and you're just feeding bait to the fish."
"That some kind of metaphor?" Ren asked as he took the rod and mimicked the motion.
"Who knows?" Sojiro answered with a shrug, but the slight smirk on his face gave him away.
They spent a few quiet minutes getting everything set. Sojiro helped Futaba adjust her grip, patient, but not hovering. Ren took a seat on the edge of the dock, casting his line with a flick of the wrist. It landed with a soft plop, and then the pond returned to stillness.
"This place is nice," Futaba said eventually, her voice softer now, almost cautious as she held her rod.
"It is, isn't it?" Sojiro nodded, watching his bobber float lazily. "I wish I would've taken you here sooner."
Futaba didn't respond right away. Her line twitched slightly, and she jerked the rod in excitement, only for nothing to happen. "Tch. False alarm."
"That's fishing." Sojiro chuckled. "Most of it's just waiting."
"Here, Ren, I leave you in charge of my ancient rod. Don't break it, or sensei will kick you out." Futaba said in a dramatic tone as she passed it off to him before leaning over the dock and looking at the pond.
"What are you doing?" Sojiro asked with a chuckle.
"Seeing if I can spot any fish…" Futaba said, leaning forward and peering into the water, her fingertips just brushing the surface. "No luck. I think they all went to sleep."
"Either that," Sojiro said, "or you just scared them all off."
He chuckled again, quieter this time. "The less you disturb the water, the better."
"Hmm…" Futaba didn't answer right away. Her eyes stayed fixed on the pond, the ripples softening again as the water stilled. After a moment, she reached up and touched a strand of her hair, twirling the orange lock between her fingers.
For a few more moments, Futaba stared at her reflection without saying anything before standing up and turning back.
"Fishing was faster in Final Fantasy," she muttered with theatrical indignation as she stomped back toward the bench.
Ren barely had time to react before she snatched her rod back from his hands with mock offense.
"I was starting to bond with that one." He said, raising an eyebrow.
"You snooze, you lose, nerd." She shot back, sticking her tongue out, just in time for Sojiro's line to twitch sharply.
"Ain't no way." Futaba muttered as she looked as Sojiro stood up and began reeling.
Ren watched as Sojiro expertly handled the tension, giving just enough slack before reeling again, drawing the creature closer with each pull. The stillness of the afternoon broke for a moment, the sound of splashing filling the air until finally—
With one last tug, Sojiro pulled the fish clear out of the water, a surprisingly large one, its scales flashing silver and gold in the light.
"Hehe," Sojiro chuckled, a rare grin spreading across his face as he placed the fish in a worn, waiting cooler. "I still got it."
"How the hell?" Futaba shouted, staring at the cooler like it had personally betrayed her. She shook the rod in her hands a few times, jiggling the line with exaggerated frustration. "How'd you do that?!"
Sojiro just smirked, kneeling down to re-bait his hook.
"Experience," he said simply. "And maybe a little bit of luck."
"That was definitely rigged," Futaba muttered, squinting at the water like she could spot the conspiracy beneath the surface.
"Maybe the fish just know who not to mess with." Ren joked.
"Then they should be more afraid of me!" Futaba cried. "I've caught countless fish! I even automated a program to catch fish for me!"
Then, as if hearing her cries, her own rod bent.
"Ah!" Futaba shouted as she almost lost her balance before she furiously began to reel the fish in.
"Careful, you are going to snap the line." Sojiro warned, seeing how much the rod was bending. "You need to be easy on the rod when the fish is fighting you."
Futaba however, ignored the advice as she continued to pull with all her might, and in a few seconds, she pulled a small fish out of the pond, barely bigger than the size of her finger. Still, she puffed her chest with pride.
"Haha! Dinner's on me!"
Ren leaned over, inspecting the miniature fish with a dramatic nod. "Clearly a boss-tier enemy. A true lake menace."
"I'm calling it Mini-Megalo-Bass," Futaba said, scooping it up with both hands like it was a trophy and watching as it flopped trying to escape. "And yes, we are framing this."
"You're not putting that in the living room," Sojiro said flatly.
"Oh, I absolutely am."
Then after a few moments, Sojiro burst out laughing as he helped her put it on the cooler along with the other fish.
"Sheesh, this reminds me of the past." Sojiro muttered as he cast his line once more. "One time, Wakaba caught this tiny little thing, barely even counted as a fish. Hell, it was even smaller than what you just caught. But she insisted we take a picture of it and frame it on her lab desk like it was some scientific discovery."
Futaba's eyes lit up. "Wait, seriously?"
"Dead serious," he said with a chuckle. "I even gave it a name. 'Professor Wiggletail.' It had a 'spark of genius in its eyes.'"
"Okay, okay, that settles it, Professor Fishbottom PHD is going right next to my monitor. Mine also has a spark in its eyes, see?" She asked, pointing at the fish in the cooler that by now had stopped moving.
Sojiro laughed again, quieter this time. "You're more like her than you think."
That got a slight pause, not an awkward one, but one nonetheless.
"Hmm." Futaba hummed as she began to fidget with her hair again. "You got any other stories about mom?"
"More than I can remember," Sojiro said as he slowly reeled in his line, the rod shifting slightly in his hands. "Most of 'em probably wouldn't make sense to you, though."
"I can handle it," Futaba said, leaning forward eagerly, arms resting on her knees as she kept her eyes fixed on him. "Bring on the lore."
He gave a soft chuckle, not looking away from the water.
"Alright… let's see…" He trailed off for a moment, letting the reel click gently as he thought. "She never spoke much about her research, but one time after work, she sat down for a cup of coffee and told me a story. I actually think it was meant for you, but you were a bit too young for it at the time."
"Oh?" Futaba leaned in just slightly, already intrigued. "What kind of story?"
Sojiro's eyes stayed on the water, his voice calm and low, almost like he was remembering it word-for-word.
"She said there was this idea she'd been thinking about, how people walk around carrying their own little 'worlds' inside their heads. Not just dreams or fantasies, but actual frameworks. Real enough that they change how you see everything. She called it something like… 'cognitive space'? Not sure I got it right. Kinda went over my head, to be honest."
Futaba blinked, breath catching for just a moment.
"She said those internal worlds were shaped by beliefs," Sojiro continued. "That if someone truly believed the world worked a certain way, down to their bones, then part of their mind would bend to match it. She wasn't saying reality would change or anything crazy like that, just that… the human brain doesn't always draw a clear line between what's real and what's felt real. Sometimes it chooses comfort over truth."
He paused to adjust the line, then cast it out again.
"Felt like nonsense back then, if I'm being honest," Sojiro admitted, watching the bobber settle back into the water. "But I think I get it now… I think Wakaba just wanted us to be positive. To believe in something better. Not because it was true yet, but because... if we did, maybe it could be."
"I guess she was always a dreamer. Even if she dressed it up in science talk." Ren said softly as he pulled at his own fishing rod trying to entice any fish to bite. "I would have liked to have met her."
"Yeah…" Sojiro murmured, his eyes still on the pond, a nostalgic smile playing at the corner of his lips. "Time really flies, eh?"
For a while, none of them said anything. Just the wind moving through the trees, the lazy lap of water against the dock, and the occasional creak of old wood beneath their feet.
It was quiet, yet peaceful.
Or at least, it was for a few moments before another fish bit into Sojiro's bait.
They stayed out for hours, casting lines and swapping stories. Sojiro ended up with a solid haul, each catch earning a bit more smugness than the last. Futaba, to her credit, managed to land one the size of her hand and immediately declared herself "Queen of the Pond."
Ren, for his part… didn't catch a thing.
Not a nibble. Not a twitch. The fish, apparently, just didn't like him.
But he didn't mind.
Because even without a single bite, it was one of the more memorable days he'd had.
~Confidants~
Ren Amamiya/???????? (The Jester) 7
Sojiro Sakura (The Hierophant) Rank 7
Futaba Sakura (The Hermit) Rank 4