2025-07-11: Stargazing a Pitch Black Sky
- Log: Stargazing a Pitch Black Sky
- Cast: Ren Amamiya, Yusuke Kitagawa (cameo: Morgana)
- Where: Cafe Leblanc, Yongen-Jaya, Tokyo
- OOC Date: July 11, 2025
- IC Date: Fri, Jun 08 2012
- Summary: After hot pot, late at night, Ren and Yusuke have a quiet conversation about what's still bothering the newest member of The Phantoms.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Night has fallen over Tokyo. Ann and Ryuji have gone home for the night; the hot pot has been cleaned up and the table put away; the futon's been laid out for Yusuke, and the lights are out. Morgana is asleep at the foot of Ren's bed, and Ren himself...
His arms are folded under his head as he lays awake. It's not that he can't sleep. He's very good at crashing out within seconds of deciding to fall asleep. He just feels like watching the night sky through the window for a while, though it's less "stargazing" and more "starhunting," considering how few stars there are visible even at this hour. That's light pollution for you. He has an easier time finding the lights of passing airplanes.
After a time, he rolls his head to look over at the shadowy outline of his new roommate, tucked into the futon on the floor. He wonders if he's comfortable or not, but... he doesn't want to wake him up if he hasn't fallen asleep already.
The night sky really is empty of anything here in Tokyo. It's the one thing Ren dislikes compared to his hometown. He reaches for his smartphone and starts scrolling for a stargazing app. Morgana's fast asleep, but the light might catch Yusuke's attention...
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
The peaceful night is interrupted first by the light of Ren's smartphone, then:
"Amamiya-san." Judging by how quickly Yusuke responded, he wasn't asleep. "Is something wrong?"
There's the sound of the other boy sitting up and turning to face him, as the shadow moves in that way. "I wasn't disturbing you, was I?"
On the contrary, Yusuke had been almost eerily quiet.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Oh," Ren utters, glancing quickly over at Yusuke and turning off his phone. He keeps his voice down, but he does see Yusuke's dark outline as he turns to look at him. "No, you're fine. I just felt like looking for stars."
He sets his phone down and folds his arms under his head again. Given how quickly he spoke up, Yusuke had to have been awake already, so Ren doesn't ask about that much. But since he was already awake... "How about you? Are you comfortable down there?"
He turns his head back out the window. Solid black greets him, with the occasional blinking red light passing by. "You've been through a lot of major big life changes lately."
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"Perfectly comfortable," Yusuke replies. "To be honest, this attic is much more welcoming than Madarame-san's shack was."
Ren points out that he's been through a lot lately, and Yusuke pauses to reflect. "... Yes. I suppose I have. And yet... I find myself less concerned with what we faced in that... gaudy Palace, after today."
"It would not do to say that I am not troubled, though. I find that my mind is running in circles, as though I am staring at a half-finished canvas and at a loss for what it's missing."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Mmm." It's a neutral sound, but it comes with a small smile curving up Ren's lips. "That's good."
But then, of course it would be welcoming after they all had that party and opened up about how they ended up as Phantom Thieves in the first place. His smile fades as Yusuke admits to some inner turmoil still, though.
"Yeah?" he prompts. "Makes sense. What's got you wound up right now?"
That gaudy Palace is no more, and Madarame's been taken into custody after his arrest. That doesn't mean every single problem of Yusuke's has been magically fixed, though--or that his feelings about them have been resolved. Ren wants to support him if he can.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"I was attempting to grapple with why the Gekkoukan dormitories feel so uncomfortable to paint in," Yusuke begins, "And then I ended up thinking about the school in general, and my mind wandered to the Art club."
"I must confess, I used to not pay much attention to the others attending it, but I recall that the last time I was there, one of the other regulars was missing. At first, I paid it no heed, but then I caught a bit of gossip about how other girls had started developing... ah, what do they call it? 'Apathy Syndrome'?" Apparently, the idea of total dispassion to the outside world is foreign to Yusuke.
"And then I realised that my absent colleague in the club had apparently been missing for much longer."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Mm," Ren murmurs again, a little noise to signal that he's paying attention since Yusuke can't see him nod. The direction his explanation goes is unexpected, though, and Ren's eyes widen--something else invisible in the dark, save perhaps only in a sliver of street light.
He doesn't know a lot about Apathy Syndrome himself. He's heard of it, but prior to coming to the city, it was very far away, a thing that happened to other people in other places. Now, well, he's in those other places, and he's only two degrees of separation away from it. No wonder Yusuke's worried.
"How long?" he murmurs.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"It's apparently been ten days." Yusuke sighs. "It seems as though other girls pretending to be her friends locked her in the gymnasium supply closet, and then the next morning she had simply vanished. A locked-room mystery with no body."
"It feels foolish of me to be so hung up on this - we had never exchanged more than empty pleasantries before, but..." He makes an annoyed grunt.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"That's terrible," Ren replies with quiet heat. It's a nasty piece of work, to lock someone somewhere overnight, leaving them to wonder if anyone's going to come get them at all. But... where did she go? The logical answer is that she found some other way out, or that someone else let her out overnight, but if it were that simple, she wouldn't still be missing. Though maybe she isn't 'missing,' people just haven't done proper follow-up...
"It's not foolish," he reassures him. "Even if you weren't close, she was still someone you knew, who shared a passion with you." Well... she shares a club with him, anyway. Ren silently acknowledges he doesn't know just how passionate this girl is about art. Still. "Has anyone checked up on her at her home? Just in case?"
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"I don't know," Yusuke admits. "The school is being quite tight-lipped about it."
He frowns. "I'm trying to recall her name. Short, mint-green hair... Yama-something."
He sighs. "Forgive me, Amamiya-san, it seems I remain at a loss. ... I appreciate your kind words, however."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Mmm." Ren doesn't feel good about the school's silence on this girl. Maybe it's to protect her privacy, or maybe it's because something nasty happened and they care more about their image than about her well-being. He can't help Yusuke recall her name, though. The only Gekkoukan students he knows personally are the Arisato twins. He wonders if they know anything about this...
...but even if they did, they didn't actually trade phone numbers. He breathes out a soundless sigh.
"It's okay. It's tough, knowing someone is in trouble, and you can't do anything about it. I hope whatever's going on with her, it turns out okay in the end." It doesn't sound like something the Phantom Thieves can help with, unfortunately. Maybe if they knew more... but even if those fake friends of that girl could well stand a change of heart, that doesn't help Yusuke's clubmate any right now. Ren doesn't say as much. Either Yusuke already realizes this, or it will only distress him further, and regardless, it won't help.
But he can at least offer him comfort. "You're welcome. And by the way... you can me Ren if you want," he says, tilting his head Yusuke's way. "But only if you want." He's not going to insist if 'Amamiya-san' is what Yusuke's more comfortable with.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
Despite everything Yusuke has been through at their side, he has still been holding the others at a remove, either as a mark of respect, or a rigid adherence to the social conventions. He starts a little when Ren makes that offer, as though he hadn't expected it.
"... I think I would like that, Ren." It's still dark, but that faint, wispy smile from the earlier dinner is definitely audible in Yusuke's voice.
"I do want to see if there is anything we can do to help the missing girl, though."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren hears that faint little smile in Yusuke's voice too. He wouldn't blame him for sticking with honorifics--he did the same with Ryuji at first, despite a similar offer to use first names--but he feels more comfortable around his new friends now. He's glad Yusuke feels the same.
"Good," he replies. "Do you mind if I call you Yusuke?"
He stares up at the ceiling as Yusuke expresses his wish. "Me too."
A moment of quiet as he thinks. There's some pretty clear first steps here, at least, and that's--
"Why don't you ask after her at club next time you go? Maybe someone who knows her better knows more about what's going on." At the very least, Yusuke might find out her name that way.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"By all means," Yusuke replies to Ren's question. "... It is quite an honour, after everything you've done to help me."
Ren can see the other boy's shadow nod, thoughtfully. "It might seem unusual - I don't normally inquire after others in that way - but it is a good start."
He pauses for a moment. "Should we inform the others? Do we not have a rule about acting unanimously?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren smiles back in the darkness. He does see the shape of Yusuke nod. "Mhm."
He thinks briefly on the question. "If you want to. But we don't even know if there's a heart to change here, and that's what we need to be unanimous about. It doesn't hurt to wait until we know more before we bring it up."
His eyes shift towards Morgana at the foot of the bed. He's stilled. "...It's up to you, though."
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
Yusuke is silent for a while. For all they've been so welcoming to him... it would be shameful of him to ask the others to all aid him on something that might turn out to be a fool's errand.
"... I think we should wait until we have more information," he eventually decides. After all, Ren's right - the only hearts that could be changed here are the bullies who caused this, and that would be insufficient.
"Yes. Until it's clear that it is a situation that requires the Phantom Thieves' skills to intercede."
He doesn't seem to realise that he's instinctively counted himself among the 'us' that is the Phantom Thieves.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren waits patiently as Yusuke takes the time to think it over, gaze traveling back out to the inky night sky. It feels more textured now, somehow, even with all the street lights still burning bright.
Eventually Yusuke makes his decision. "Sounds good," Ren replies. "We'll put it to a vote when we know what needs doing."
And he, too, includes Yusuke in that 'we.'
"You feeling not so mixed-up now?" he adds.
<Pose Tracker> Yusuke Kitagawa has posed.
"A little, yes. Thank you, Ren." The smile sounds a little broader. "I suppose things will seem much clearer in the morning."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Yeah." Ren shuts his eyes, a smile on his own breath. "You're welcome."
It's only a moment later that he's fallen fast asleep. The one that's awake now on this bed--is Morgana himself, tail flicking.
And here he'd stressed the importance of a good night's sleep...! Oh well. Morgana will let it slide this time. This Gekkoukan girl who's gone missing... Maybe he can look into it too.
A gentleman never leaves a lady in distress, after all.