After a moment of awkward silence, Ren decided to roll with it.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss Sakura."
"You can't put the moves on my daughter, kid," Sojiro glared.
The café was silent again, filled only with the sound of coffee dripping and the scent of freshly ground beans wafting through the air.
Ren stared speechlessly at Sojiro.
When did he do that?!
"Jeez, Sojiro, I won't fall for his womanizing ways," Futaba's muffled voice came out.
"Just take off the mask or go upstairs with the kid. I need to open the shop again."
Futaba yelped and bolted up the stairs, leading to—
BOOM!
"NOOOOOO, JACK FROST-KUN! THAT WAS 20,000 YEN!!!!"
Ren just gave Sojiro a tired look.
"Don't even start, kid," he sighed.
---
Ren came up the stairs quietly with Morgana. He noticed she was jumpy, so as he approached, he knocked on the wall a couple of times before rounding the staircase into the loft.
Futaba was sitting on the couch, holding her broken mask.
She was a cute girl, but very thin, with orange-red hair similar to Orihime's, though not natural. Her black roots were beginning to show. It was hardly noticeable, but the Third Eye wasn't for show! Her hands were a bit shaky when she saw him. She was blushing hard. Not because he was handsome or anything.
'Well, he is,' she thought.
But because she was embarrassed and had not been planning on removing the mask!
"Uh. Hi. Harem-Protagonist-kun."
Ren just smiled and looked around the room. He saw a few more bugs set up in the loft. She had done that quickly. He'd leave them for now, but not without teasing her.
"Miss Sakura, what did we discuss about cameras in my room?"
"HOW?!"
---
CHAT LOG
[Girls Chat!]
(Private)
---
[Panther]
Look at this! I made the director give me the untouched photo!
Ren_and_Ann.png
[Dove]
No fair! He looks so gentlemanly!
[Hime]
He looks so intense too! It's like looking at Joker in the real world!
[Panther]
Think we should tell him to ditch the glasses?
[Hime]
Didn't Rise say that Ren needed to wear them, though? Maybe we should ask?
[Panther] added [Navi] to the chat.
[Dove]
Oh boy.
[Navi]
OMG OMG OMG, you guys are so cuteeeeeeeee!!!!! So, so, so, who is gonna date him?!
[Hime]
(@_@)
[Dove]
Why does Ren have to wear his glasses?
[Navi is typing...]
---
"I sense that something has been unleashed that shouldn't have been," Ren suddenly said.
Futaba paused and asked, "Perhaps a harem comedy moment?"
"I don't have a harem," Ren answered dryly.
Futaba pouted. "I don't know why I can talk to you so easily. It's strange. Wait. Wait. Wait. Cat. Where is the cat?"
"Me—ow?" Morgana said from across the room, confused.
"Cute." Futaba nodded.
"We don't need to dance around the topic. What do you want to know? I can't tell you everything. Not without getting approval from everyone else."
"...Do I have to meet them?" Futaba asked in a whisper.
"You might," Ren said gently.
He knew this was tough on her. He had been nervous when moving to Tokyo, but this was way more serious than his social anxiety. This was crippling her. He wanted to help.
"...Then I'll wait for the whole story. What CAN you tell me?"
Ren paused. "Not much... What do you know about cognitive science and Jungian psychology?"
Futaba dropped her mask, causing more cracks, and looked at him in shock.
"Cognitive Psience? Like, with P.S.I.?"
"No. I don't know what that is," Ren shook his head.
Futaba paused, struggling, before saying, "It's nothing. Just something I saw online a long time ago..."
"I know a bit about Jungian psych, but not much. Archetypes are interesting," she continued with a mutter.
"What if—keep in mind, this is just a theory," Ren said seriously, "reality as we view it isn't raw reality, but a result of our perception and cognition? What would happen if cognition was distorted?"
Futaba's heart nearly stopped.
---
Futaba went home after her conversation with Ren. She liked the guy. He was nice. Gentle. Kind.
But—
"How did he come so close to what Mom was researching on his own?" she whispered as she glanced at a book nearby.
It was something her mother had written. She had managed to carry it with her after she—
Futaba shook her head fiercely and groaned into her hands.
She had always been afraid to read this. But she wasn't ready to learn the whole story from Ren. It definitely had something to do with her mother's research.
Maybe.
Just maybe.
Someone else knew as well.
Maybe her mother was killed to—
Futaba let out a cry.
"No, it was my fault," she whimpered.
---