2025-08-19: Personal and Phantom Matters
- Log: 2025-08-19 Personal and Phantom Matters
- Cast: Ren Amamiya, Makoto Niijima
- Where: Penguin Sniper, Kichijoji, Tokyo
- OOC Date: August 19, 2025
- IC Date: June 28, 2012
- Summary: Ren invites Makoto to play billiards with him. They talk about Akechi, the mission, and Makoto's father and how she knows Officer Suou.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
By the time Ren returns from Sumaru City, it's getting dark. There are still a few hours left in the day, though, and for all that he really should get home and hit the bathhouse and do his homework and maybe get some reading in, he finds that by the time he makes it back to the Tokyo municipal limits, he's feeling restless.
Maybe--no, it's definitely the Kaneshiro anxiety. After leaving the Cardboard Dragon, Ren can only stew on what's at stake if they fail to change his heart. There's one person he knows who will relate to that the most, and there are a few other things he wants to discuss with that person too... and so he texts Makoto Niijima.
@ > Are you free tonight?
@ > If you are, do you want to play billiards with me in Kichijoji?
When the answer comes back 'yes,' he'll send her a pin guiding her to Penguin Sniper, much as Akechi did for him earlier this month. Just having the yes helps smooth his nerves. When the train approaches the Yongen-Jaya stop, he lets Morgana off so he can head back on his own, but remains on himself, traveling past until he makes it to Kichijoji.
Penguin Sniper is only a few minutes' jog from there. It's a cool, trendy place to get something to eat and to play games with one's friends, with a nice view of town thanks to being on the second floor. Whether Makoto's waiting at the bottom of the stairs that lead up there or just within the game place, Ren approaches her with a small but genuine smile.
"Hey. Thanks for coming to meet me at such short notice," he tells her. "I wanted to talk... and do something with my hands, and billiards practice is as good as anything." It's actually significantly better than most things--especially given what he wants to talk to her about.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Today had been another day of trying to be the same old Makoto in everyone's eyes. Classes, student council work, placate Kobayakawa, Aikido, get home to an apartment that seems to get lonelier and emptier every day, cook dinner for one, get homework done...
It's just now she can't pretend the routine was fulfilling, like it was before. Now, she has to accept that it was just a rote performance made to please the adults around her, and yet she's still doing it just in case. Just in case someone's watching. Just in case Sis has changed her mind and decided to come home tonight.
When a notification hits her phone at this hour, she's honestly expecting another of Kaneshiro's collection messages, with a reminder of how time is running out to change his heart. Instead, it's an invitation?
@ > I'm free. I'll be there as soon as I can.
She hasn't had much reason to come to Kichijoji. Occasionally, she and Sae would come here clothes shopping, when they were both younger, before Sae's career became so intense. The last time she was here was... well. Tailing the person she was meeting now. She's waiting by the stairs up as Ren approaches, because Makoto Niijima is nothing if not punctual, and gives him a small wave as he approaches. "It's no problem." Makoto responds, with a smile of her own. "I wasn't doing anything important tonight."
She just nods as Ren says he wants to talk, if she's not sure what about. But, well, they haven't had much of a chance to chat except about the mission and Kaneshiro. And maybe this is about the mission and Kaneshiro, and that's fine too. "That's fine by me. You'll have to show me the ropes, though. I've never played billiards before." Of course she hasn't. When would she have had the opportunity?
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It is funny, isn't it? Before, Makoto followed Ren to all sorts of places to try to figure out if he had a connection to the Phantom Thieves, sometimes keeping him in sight, sometimes losing him. Now she knows for a fact that he is one of The Phantoms, and she's meeting him openly because he invited her here.
Makoto claims she wasn't doing anything important. Ren's smile grows even if he wonders how true that really is--or if the things she was doing were things that are no longer important.
His smile turns wry when she says she hasn't played before, though. "What a familiar feeling... I just started learning myself," he replies. "The basics aren't too hard. I bet you'll be good at it too--it needs a strong sense of geometry." Which is something he didn't think he was good at until he started playing. Sometimes you just need to find a form of homework that actually interests you.
He pays for their play tickets--at least his own, and also Makoto's unless she insists on paying for herself--and together they take up one of the pool tables. He explains the rules of nine-ball to her as they set up a diamond of cue balls.
"There's also such a thing as a break ace," he concludes as he's setting up the opening shot, aiming carefully with a nigh-perfect posture. "That's when you sink the nine-ball as part of a trick shot in the opening break and win the game in one move." Crack. The cue impacts the diamond, sending the balls scattering this way and that. The nine-ball at the center barely moves at all.
Ren watches it for a moment as he sets down his cue stick like it's a staff. Then he looks over at Makoto. "Guess how I learned about that," he says dryly.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Based on the conversation they had after she obtained her Persona, it seems like that sort of funny coincidence seems to be the norm for the Phantom Thieves. Still, there aren't enough data points to be sure yet.
Makoto does, in fact, insist on paying her share, because politeness culture is a whole thing and it's not like she spends that much of the allowance Sae gives her. (And maybe she still feels bad about the whole 'stalking and harassing' thing she did.)
Makoto is listening intently as Ren explains the rules, getting a feel for the weight of the cue as she does so. Indeed, she watches as Ren's posture too, as he goes for, she's guessing, the very shot he described.
"The hard way?" Makoto asks, taking an educated guess. Being on the receiving end of a play like that could certainly be dispiriting. Like you never had a chance at all. "Play passes to me now, right?" She asks, before moving around to try and work out her own posture and how to play. There's definitely going to be some first timer mistakes as she lines up against the one-ball, and her first attempt is a little overcautious- the cue ball makes contact with the target ball, but doesn't go particularly far, and Makoto frowns, before stepping back, holding her cue in both hands.
She can't help but feel a little impatient, though. "So... what did you want to talk about?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
True. It's only been two so far--and Yusuke wouldn't have antagonized them if they hadn't come to him insisting that his mentor was abusing him (however true that was), whereas Makoto went out of her way. They really need more points of data, and Haru--or rather Beauty Thief--is turning out to be counterpoint of data. Still, the group still needs to talk to her to know that for sure... but that'll be soon.
"Yup," he replies, letting a hint of annoyance into his tone as he remembers the incident. "Akechi invited me out here, asked me if I'd played before--I said no--and that's exactly what he opened with. He talked like it was an accident, but it obviously wasn't."
He isn't actually trying for a break ace--he doesn't think he's good enough to make it happen, and anyway, Makoto is a beginner, just like he was--but it still is her turn, so he nods and moves out of her way. He does see some awkwardness in her stance, but he doesn't try to correct her.
She gets to the point after her first shot. "A bunch of things. Akechi of course, and Kaneshiro and the mission, but also... how you're holding up." He looks over at her. "How you're handling things at home with your sister."
He does have his own anxiety about Kaneshiro and the mission, to be sure. But Ren is... to put none to fine a point on it, bad at talking about himself. It's easier to ask others how they're feeling. He does that here, too.
He goes to take his own shot. "Akechi gave me some pointers here on the stance," he says, and refrains from detailing exactly how. Instead, he demonstrates them. Locked elbow, straightened arm, legs not locked, back leg slightly bent. "The big thing is keeping your back arm parallel to the ground--you want to draw a line from your elbow to wrist."
He slides the cue between his splayed fingers, and... crack. It rolls forward, striking the one-ball, and sends it ricocheting off the back and rolling into a pocket. "Normally I'd go again after sinking a ball, but let's see how you do now," he adds, moving out of her way.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Akechi, huh. Makoto nods as Ren brings him up. Evidently, when he asked if Sae was working with Akechi, it wasn't just because of the TV appearances. Indeed, she's a little surprised he invited Ren out. "Sounds like he likes to show off."
...Ah. Personal and phantom matters, then. Makoto nods slowly. "I'm doing okay," Makoto starts, but the astute can notice that subtle turn towards presenting a stiff upper lip. "I'd be lying if I wasn't stressed about Kaneshiro... About what will happen if we don't meet the deadline." The stories her dad told her- about women getting trafficked, sold into the sex trade, extorted until they die- they really don't seem like abstract, boogeymen stories. Hell, Sae had brought them up too, when that story about Kaneshiro's gang came up on TV. She just thought she was smart enough to avoid it, that she could outplay the gangster with her wits alone. Naive of her, really.
"We don't have any choice but to deal with it, though. We have our means, we just need to follow through." Indeed, Makoto is clinging to that new strength she gained, the power of the change of heart. Because they've chosen their path, and she definitely does not have three million yen burning a hole in her pocket suddenly. Still, it's not like Makoto is the best at openness either. "I'm trying not to overthink it, I guess. We're doing what we can, right?" She sighs. "...At least it's a good thing he doesn't realize what happened. Ann and I were... maybe a little too showy."
She watches closely as Ren demonstrates, continuing to bring up Akechi. She does listen to the pointers, and can't help herself giving a small congratulatory clap as Ren sinks the first ball. She does not know if this is pool hall etiquette, admittedly. It just seemed what to do.
She tries to emulate Ren as best she can, and the physicality comes pretty easily to her, and the rest is math- and she's good at math. "It really seems like Akechi has taken a special interest in you, doesn't it?" Makoto frowns, before making her shot. This one is much better, making a solid connection on the blue two-ball, but she just fails to sink it, the ball glancing off the side of the hole and setting up an easy in for Ren. Makoto lets out a little grunt of frustration, before stepping back.
"...It's weird. I've been thinking about the day he approached me over and over again since then. I didn't realize it then, but he was definitely interrogating me." She frowns. "...Almost like he knew that Kobayakawa had me investigating them. He even asked me if I'd been sworn to silence." Before rightly pointing that she was refusing to be useful.
It's strange how that makes her angry now, instead of hurting. What had Akechi done to earn her usefulness, then? He pushed her buttons, and edged her into a position where she had to answer his questions.
And then it hurts again, as she thinks about who else works like that.
"I don't know, Sis went to Shujin too, maybe Kobayakawa made her do the same sort of stuff." She doubts it, though. Sae wouldn't have been meek and taken Kobayakawa's crap. "He wouldn't have been Principal back then, though...
Makoto steps back from the table, bouncing her cue against her open hand a little. "Though... I don't think Sis tells him much about her personal life."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"He sure does," Ren says dryly. "It's really annoying."
Or so the words lift off from his tongue in careless flight, but after they've already escaped, he wonders. He does really feel like that still, right? He doesn't... not feel like that. So why does it feel like he just told a lie?
Something to ponder later. This is about Makoto right now. (He is making it about Makoto.)
His eyes soften in sympathy when she admits she is stressed out, and he nods in commiseration. No need to say anything. She doesn't need him to repeat what she already knows. "Yeah. We have our route secured." His expression steels. "But we should think of a back-up plan in case we get more interference like we did the other day." He glances around a bit, then lowers his voice. The venue is noisy enough to mask their voices, and he murmurs, "Someone hired Strega to show up to interfere with us. That's almost certain to happen again when we send the calling card."
He does chuckle at Makoto admitting she and Ann were a little showy. "It was very cool," he reassures her. Maybe even, what with all that fire... a little hot. That sounds a lot like a pick-up line, though, so Ren refrains from saying it. He doesn't want to make her uncomfortable.
Makoto mimics his shot, and she shows improvement from before--but not enough to sink the two-ball. In fact, she sets Ren up for success, something he does take advantage of. He sinks the three-ball, too, but the angle is bad on the four-ball from there, and he ends up setting Makoto up for a decent follow-up on her end.
A special interest, huh... "You're... right," he says quietly, staring down at the pool table. He's a pretty decent read of people, but he still doesn't really quite know what to make of Akechi. He thinks he understands him up to an extent, but after that... he just doesn't know.
Before he can get stuck in his own thoughts, though, Makoto talks about her own experience with him--his interrogations, and his asking if she was sworn to silence. Ren looks up. His lips thin in thought, and he lifts a hand to his chin. "Let's say for a moment he did," he says slowly. "How would he know that? Even if we assume he was already watching Shujin Academy since that's where the first change of heart happened, that was something between you and the Principal, right? And you didn't tell him. So he must have heard from the Principal--right? Do you think Principal Kobayakawa would've told him that? Or do you think he could've deduced it some other way?" A different thought strikes him. "When exactly did he interrogate you? Relative to when you approached us, I mean."
But then Makoto mentions that her sister--the lawyer who's working the Phantom Thieves case--also went to Shujin Academy. But the Principal wasn't the Principal back then. Ren's hand rises to fiddle with a lock of his bangs as he thinks. So it's unlikely Akechi would've gotten anything from her sister... Unlikely, but not impossible. "'Much' isn't 'nothing,' though, right?" He pauses and lowers his hand to look at Makoto. "Speaking of... when we were looking at the 'trash' in Kaneshiro's Palace, it seemed like something struck a nerve with you. Is it okay if I ask about that?"
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Makoto, at least, doesn't seem like she noticed Ren's hesitance, or complicated feelings about the matter. Ren escapes scrutiny!!
"...Yeah. I have some thoughts, there." Advising is, after all, becoming her job. Still... "They're called Strega?" Makoto responds as quietly. She doesn't really know much about them. "...That doesn't explain all the other persona users there."
Makoto looks a touch embarrassed as Ren calls it cool. "Knock it off," she mutters, clearly still not comfortable with how much she lets loose in the Metaverse. Or, perhaps, how good it feels in the moment. "We're just lucky he didn't realize what happened." Makoto is, at least, good at using euphemisms. "I'd be worried that he might move up the deadline, otherwise."
She watches as Ren sinks two more, and almost a third... but she's given a good opportunity now, with a clear shot at the four-ball.
Ren asks the important questions, and Makoto takes a moment to think. "Kobayakawa wouldn't have told him. The whole reason he made me look into you was to keep the police out. There's no reason he'd tell Akechi-kun..." Makoto frowns, standing up from the shot she was preparing. "...It was the day before I called you to the Student Council office." Makoto frowns, had it been that close, really? To be fair, that week had been pretty crowded and full of pressure. "But... we know there are..." She pauses, and leans closer to Ren to speak quietly, despite the crowd noises. "People like us on the Police Force. Like Officer Suou." ...She remembered who he was after all. Or looked him up. "...But if there were, wouldn't they be investigating?"
...Crap. They're going to have to talk to him, aren't they? Or maybe Makoto will.
"...No. That doesn't make any sense, does it? He approached me before I even spoke to you."
She leans forward again, and this time, sinks the four-ball easily. It's a rough position for the five-ball, though. She moves around, trying to calculate her shot. She's going to have to rebound it, isn't she? She lines up, gets ready to shoot-
Right as Ren asks the question, and she fouls the shot, the cue ball hitting the seven ball instead of her target. "...It's nothing important," She lies, badly.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Victory! (...is it?)
"Apparently--I've been doing some asking around. I'll tell you the details once we're with everyone else," Ren replies.
Even just calling it cool makes Makoto uncomfortable. Ren makes a mental note of that, privately glad he kept it at that. "I meant it, but if you say so," he says, and leaves it at that. He can't reassure her that Kaneshiro couldn't know, either; if there was no way, then there should have been no way for him to hire extra security. If he did know, though--it'd be as Makoto says. He nods once, a little relieved himself. There's still a lot of mysteries, but they have a little time still.
Not that much time, though. They should definitely send the calling card soon.
Makoto confirms Kobayakawa wouldn't have told Akechi. Ren remembers the day she called him in. That feels like so long ago now... Ren furrows his eyebrows, fingers lifting to touch a lock of his bangs again. He nods once at the mention of Officer Suou--but he hadn't quite considered the angle she suggests. "They must be in the minority," he murmurs slowly. "Otherwise..."
He looks over at her. Akechi approached her before she approached him... But she'd been stalking him before then. If Akechi's been keeping tabs on him, then-- "I should let you know," he murmurs, "I knew you were following me around back then. Akechi's been keeping an eye on me too--I think I'm on his list of suspects." (Actually, he thinks Akechi straight-up knows who he is but can't prove it, but Ren doesn't want to freak Makoto out with what is technically an unsubstantiated suspicion.) "If he saw you following me, and found out who you are, then I bet he could've made a solid guess that you were looking into me--and if you weren't doing that because your sister told you to, then the next most reasonable guess would be Principal Kobayakawa."
That's one mystery solved... Or at least, it's a reasonable solution to it. They don't actually know if it's the solution. Especially not with what Ren knows about him... A thought occurs to him, and he almost makes a suggestion--
But then Makoto fouls her shot badly. It's obvious why, too, though it's less obvious what the specifics are. "It's clearly important to you," he says quietly. "But I get it. You don't want to talk about it."
He'll take his next shot and sink it, and the next ball too. The next doesn't have any good angles on it, and he doesn't put in enough power to sink the next ball. He leans back and looks over at her. "...What about Officer Suou? Is it okay if I ask you about him?"
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Makoto nods. "Got it. We'll discuss it with the group then." That there's information to gather is a good sign. Makoto is happy to have Ren let it slide. It's a little strange how uncomfortable it makes her to be seen that way. She's made the occasional complaints about her outfit in the metaverse too, as much as she very clearly enjoys everything else that comes with the power. Stiil, she nods at Ren's assessment. "...They'd be on the case." Makoto says, just as flatly. "I wonder if they even know about him..."
Makoto does sag a bit, honestly. "...Yeah, I thought that was the case." She says, after a moment. "I wasn't exactly subtle." The idea that Akechi, a skilled detective, would have any trouble identifying her seems pretty much on the ball. "It was the first time Akechi and I have spoken, but... I would have to drop by the Prosecutor's Office or the Police Headquarters in case Sis had to work late or stay at the office overnight. It wouldn't be hard for someone there to tell him who he was, if he didn't see a family resemblance almost instantly."
She steps back from the table for Ren to take his series of shots. "It's... really nothing." She says, almost as if she actually believes it. Maybe the only person she can easily lie to is herself. "...Thanks. Sorry."
She definitely seems a bit off now, and when he brings up Officer Suou again... Makoto nods. "Yeah. I don't know him personally. He was one of the officers in attendance at my father's funeral." Makoto steps up to the table again, but leans against it rather than taking her shot. "...My dad was a detective." She says, and another recent 'unimportant' memory surfaces, and anyone with an ounce of understanding (read, anyone other than Makoto Niijima) can see how much she still hurts. "He... was killed while investigating a gang that was trafficking young women."
She sighs, trying to line up her shot now. She has a better shot now, and while her technique is still fine, it's easy to see that some of the earlier energy she had for learning has drained out. "It was three years ago, a lot of his coworkers came to give us their condolences. He did some work at the Police Academy, too." There's a lot of pride in Makoto's voice, talking about her dad, even when it's meshed with the sheer loneliness that happened after his death. "I guess... Maybe Suou-san worked with him, or was a student of his? I don't know why he'd... have been there though. You said this hasn't happened before?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
There's a lot of information to disseminate to the group at this point--talking things through with Makoto has helped solidify some thoughts Ren's had for a while, and after he talks it over with Morgana, the Phantom Thieves might have a new move to make once Kaneshiro's dealt with. But that, too, will wait for group discussion.
Do the police even know about Junya Kaneshiro? They know there's someone in that position. Whether they know specifically it's him, Ren doesn't know. Maya was going to get her contact to look into his name, but he didn't (couldn't) wait around for that--he touched base with another reporter contact of his, and Ichiko Ohya gave him that name instead. Ren can only shake his head, though. "If they do, they're not doing enough to take care of him."
Which is precisely why the Phantom Thieves exist, Akechi.
Makoto insists it's really nothing. Ren gives her a long, sober look, as if to convey that he doesn't believe that but he's not going to push. Instead, he contemplates Akechi. She says that was the first time he'd spoken to her--but the first time he spoke to Ren, it was with a copy of Arsène Lupin vs. Herlock Sholmes in hand. No, he definitely already knew who Makoto was when he approached her. So what was his goal...? Well, what did she end up doing? She called him into the Student Council office, and when that didn't work, she caught him and his friends on tape and blackmailed them into...
...into looking into and ultimately working to deal with Kaneshiro.
Ren's eyebrows furrow. "Hm."
But Makoto seems off-kilter now. It seems like she dislikes talking about herself and her situation. Something we have in common, he thinks darkly. Still, she'll at least talk about Katsuya Suou--and when she explains how, Ren's gaze softens again in sympathy. "This mission must be incredibly personal to you, then," he notes quietly. After all, Shadow Kaneshiro outright told her he wanted to do that to her. Even if it's not the same gang, it has to hit home for her--especially since it sounds like she's proud of her late father and his work.
He shakes his head. "It hasn't, but from what I've found out, the situation's changed. We'll talk about that more with the others too, though." He looks back at the pool table. It seems like her mood for playing has dipped, and no wonder. Better to try to change the topic to something better--but he doesn't really know her interests. In that case... "What kind of person was your dad?"
...He can at least give her a chance to talk about someone she loves as they continue to play.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
"...Yeah." Makoto says, quietly. She really wanted to believe in the police, in the organization that her father died for...
But she's being exposed to the truth of the matter, very slowly, via the Phantom Thieves. Via the inaction of authorities against people like Kamoshida and Madarame, from a distance. Via their powerlessness against Kamoshida. Trying to grapple with what justice means has been difficult already.
Makoto hasn't put together what Ren has yet... Unfortunately, understanding the social gambit is not her strength. Still, the fact that this is personal to her...
"I walked eyes open into everything dad told me to be careful of, because I thought I knew better." She shakes her head. "If you hadn't shown up..." She's pretty sure where she'd end up. The thought ran through her head a little too much, as they moved toward what she would find was Kaneshiro's bank. Towards finding her own justice. "If we don't deal with him... I wouldn't be living up to him."
Another topic for discussion with everyone else, it seems. That's fair. It's best not to need to go over everything twice... Or three times, given Skull...
She blinks a bit, as Ren changes topic, and Makoto takes a moment to breathe. She lines up her shot for the third time, and the seven-ball goes into the pocket. She shifts, going for the eight-ball, and she connects, but doesn't pocket it.
"...My dad was..." She seems to take a moment, realizing she hasn't talked about at length with anyone but her sister in so long. "He was... like my hero, when I was little. He had such a strong sense of justice, but he had to work a lot too, so... I didn't see him so much when I was young. After my mom died, he worked even harder." Makoto seems to pause again, grappling with something she doesn't want to acknowledge- and back into the darkness it goes. "But... I wanted to be like him when I grew up. People said I was a lot like him, but I'm not sure I see it. But..." She steps back, and rests the end of her cue on the ground next to her, holding onto it with one hand. "...He was my dad. I keep wondering what he'd do if he was still alive. If... he'd think what I was doing was right. I... hope that he would."
Honestly, she wishes he was here to tell him herself. But that's the sort of wish that can't come true. The dead can never return. The living have to go on without them.
"Sorry. I bet I'm killing the mood." She says, but she seems a little more level now. She's had three years to come to terms with things, after all. "It's your shot, Amamiya-kun." At very least, she's up to finishing the game.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"We'll take care of it for sure," Ren reassures Makoto, low but firm, brimming with the confidence he'd felt flagging earlier. ...It always is easier to feel strong for others. That anxiety isn't gone, but it's more manageable now. Hopefully he can help get her to that place too.
For the moment, he lets the game pause so Makoto can talk and he can listen. When she's done, he murmurs, "He sounds like he was a great person." The rare Actually Good Cop--maybe. Ren does note how she mentions that he worked a lot, and worked even more after her mom died. That's a rough position to put a child in--two children, depending on how old her sister was at the time.
But Makoto apologizes, and Ren shakes his head. "You're not. I asked." He moves to take his turn--but before he positions himself, he gives her a small smile. "We can't know what your dad would do or think now, but we can do our best to finish this in a way we can be proud of. If you can be proud of yourself, I bet he'd be proud of you, too."
At least, if he really was the kind of man worth calling Makoto's hero. Ren will take her word on that, though, as they finish up their game for the night.