Ren was slumped forward on a table at a booth in Leblanc. Ryuji had to head home to help his mother, and Ann's mother was in town for a few days before she left for work again. Shiho decided to go visit as well. They were going to invite Orihime too, but she said she would stay behind. She wanted to ask Ren and Sojiro a question.
"You want to learn to cook?" Sojiro said with a raised brow before remembering the coffee-in-the-curry incident, followed by dipping melon bread in it.
"...I think that's a good idea," he muttered. "I can give you some tips, but I can't show you everything. The kid is pretty good at cooking. You could ask him."
Orihime spun around and looked at Ren with a big smile.
"I'll be counting on you, Joker!"
"Joker?" Sojiro asked before shaking his head with a chuckle. "I can see how the nickname fits."
He paused for a moment and asked Ren to look after the shop for a few minutes while he went out for a smoke.
---
The store was silent for a moment before Ren looked up at the ceiling and rubbed his face.
"I wish there was some way to help Yusuke," he muttered.
Orihime and Morgana didn't say anything, but they listened carefully.
"He isn't ready to admit it. He's already rail-thin and convinced he doesn't deserve to complain," Ren continued quietly, not realizing he was talking out loud.
"How can we show him that he is being taken advantage of, and make it really stick?"
'Fucking scummy guardians,' he spat internally.
'Good. Let it out, mon ami,' Arsène gently said.
'We should change their hearts too, Hee Ho!' Jack Frost added.
'It would lead back to him without a doubt if that were the case,' a mature, stoic voice added.
'Shut it, old man!'
Pixie was back. Ren had missed her antics. She was always fun.
'Teehee! Most people are afraid of the Fae Folk! You're the best, Trickster!'
'I feel weird knowing that I'm praising myself.'
BZZT.
Ren's phone buzzed on the table.
He picked it up to take a look, expecting a meme from Ryuji, or maybe Yu dropping more crazy supernatural bullshit on him.
[Alibaba]
Ask and you shall receive.
-MadarameFile.zip-
Ren paused for a second before opening the file. Sojiro was a trustworthy man. It took a while for Ren to reach that conclusion. Surely his daughter had inherited his honorable attitude.
"Wow..." Ren breathed out. "This is way worse than I thought."
Orihime and Morgana had been watching him, lost in thought. They realized he was distracted, so they were watching the door for guests.
Ren looked up and said, "Morgana, Orihime. I got some information we might be able to use to sway Yusuke. I don't really want to show him. But this would make him more receptive to the Change of Heart... I really want to bring him in."
He paused for a moment before saying, "Sorry I was so against you joining, Orihime."
She tilted her head and replied gently, "It's okay, Ren. I know you were only worried for me."
Ren cleared his throat.
"My source, however, has some explaining to do," he said out loud, as though it were a casual thought.
BZZT.
[Alibaba]
Sorry. I got interested. Do you think you could tell me more about this sometime? I'll keep it a secret.
.
.
.
I'm pretty much a shut-in anyways...
Ren sighed and gave a smile, then replied.
[Joker]
Talk to you soon, Miss Baba.
There was no reply.
DING!
Before Ren could send the new information to the ShadOps Messenger file-sharing system, the door to Leblanc opened. Morgana quickly jumped into Ren's bag and hid, keeping an eye on the door through a small hole he had accidentally—purposely—torn in Ren's bag to observe their surroundings better. He felt like they were being followed lately.
Entering the store was a stern-faced, silver-haired woman in a professional-looking pantsuit.
"Welcome to Leblanc. What can I get for you? The owner is away right now, so I will be serving you today. My name is Ren."
The stern-faced woman blinked.
"I didn't know this place could afford part-timers."
"Boss is getting on in years," Ren said, offering a believable excuse.
DING.
"I'm not that old, kid," Sojiro laughed before turning to the woman.
His eyes narrowed temporarily before he relaxed.
"What can I get you? The curry is fresh, and the kid is improving on his coffee. But it isn't there yet."
"Sojiro Sakura-san, my name is Sae Niijima. I've come—"
"WHAT... can I get you, ma'am?" Sojiro nearly snapped.
The woman paused before sighing.
"A cup of the house blend, please."
---
The woman was silent, seemingly struggling with what she had intended to ask upon seeing the warm environment of the café. It looked like a home. The orange-haired girl and the young man were working together quietly on homework. Sojiro was humming and occasionally cracking jokes with the two.
The kids must have thought the cat in one of their bags was hidden well, but he wasn't. At all. Especially with the occasional quiet meow. The owner didn't say anything, so it wasn't her place to pry.
Suddenly, Orihime tilted her head. "Excuse me, Niijima-san?"
The stern-faced woman blinked. She hadn't expected anyone to talk to her after Sojiro's outburst. She was clear on his reluctance to talk to government workers. She, however, was at the end of her rope and decided there was no choice other than to risk it.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Uhm, do you have a sister?" Orihime asked hesitantly. "The student council president at my school shares your name."
"Oh, you go to Shujin?" Sae asked with a blink of surprise.
An unexpected source of information?
"Yes. Niijima-senpai helped a lot with my transfer. But she's been really busy lately. I hope she's okay," Orihime trailed off.
"Makoto has been busy?" Sae repeated. "She hasn't said anything about that."
"Ever since the... Kamoshida incident, she's been running all over the school constantly. She looks tired," Orihime said gently. "Please tell her to rest."
Sae was struck by the girl's sincerity and care. It didn't appear she shared a deep relationship with her sister, but this girl cared for her nonetheless.
Sae gave a smile and said, "I'm glad she has such good friends."
She decided not to pry.
---