2025-11-24: Smack Talk
- Log: Smack Talk
- Cast: Kanae Fuyuki, Ren Amamiya
- Where: Shinjuku Red Light District, Tokyo
- OOC Date: November 24, 2025
- IC Date: August 15, 2012
- Summary: Kanae comes out of a movie theatre with some friends--and runs across someone she used to know. Ren finds himself the topic of discussion again. Sometimes, keeping your head down can be cruel.
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
It's evening now, and Kanae and a couple of friends have just come out of a movie, and Shinjuku--the Red Light District, in particular--is bustling. There's people all over, and while Kanae doesn't really plan to be alone in this part of the city... it's fine to come here now and then.
It's already dark when the three girls come out of the movie theater. Kanae herself is easily recognized among her peers, darker-skinned with black hair and brown eyes, standing about 5'3". Near the same height is Himeki Itabashi, fairr with similar hair but a slighter build, and a little shorter still is Chiaki Okazaki, with gray eyes and glasses. They're chatting amiably enough as they walk, discussing the movie a bit, but given the location, all three have their eyes open.
They're not in uniform, obviously. It's summer! But Chiaki especially is fairly popular...
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It's funny that the Red Light District has something as innocent as a mainstream movie theatre in it. Ren's seen it, but yet to visit it; they can hit up the movie theatre in Shibuya, and have, if they really want to see something, rather than going all the way out to Shinjuku. If they premiered a movie that isn't available in Shibuya's theatre, that'd be another thing, though.
They aren't here for that today. They were over at Bar Crossroads for a while, talking to Ichiko Ohya about recent rumors that've hit about a certain Eiji Kamiya--about how he's supposedly connected to a conspiracy in Sumaru and is involved in human trafficking. Ohya even mentions the rumors said something about how he's got a Palace, though she assumes that's a glorified description of the Akiyoshi Building. She does tell Ren about the talk about tuning the radio to 700 and reciting a Shakespearean verse. She laughs about it over a scotch on the rocks, saying that almost all of the rumor is certainly bullshit and she's only sharing it for the kernels of truth therein, but Ren is dead serious.
For one, they recognize the verse from A Midsummer Night's Dream. For another, they know none of it is bullshit. If this news has gotten out... they're going to have another mixed audience when they steal Eiji Kamiya's heart. So much for worrying about Ichika's privacy...
Lala fusses at them on their way out, before saying that if they're going to come out all this way this late, would they be interested in part-timing so they have a legitimate reason to be here in case the cops ask? Ren's touched by the offer and says they'll think about it, but they're already pretty sure they'll accept. Lala was open to letting them dress up when they asked...
They're thinking about that still as they cross through Shinjuku towards the train station. They pay cursory attention to those around them as a basic safety measure, but they aren't listening in to conversations. They wear their usual summer casual outfit of jeans, unbuttoned white shirt, and black undershirt, and carry Morgana in their shoulder bag. Near the movie station, they catch sight of the invisible blue door to the Velvet Room, Caroline perched imperiously on top.
If news of Eiji Kamiya's Palace is spreading, there's bound to be more tough opposition. Maybe they should work on fusing some new Personas...
...getting their ass kicked by Caroline is always tough, though...
Paused in the middle of the sidewalk, Ren doesn't at first see Kanae or her friends as they approach. Given their mindfulness, they're almost sure to spot them, though, carrying around a cat and seemingly staring into space.
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
It is kind of funny, but it's a nice movie theatre, so Kanae comes here. She hasn't been to Bar Crossroads, obviously (though Chiaki would find some common interests there), and she isn't meeting a reporter to talk about the rumors. Instead, she's just out. And as Ren approaches, Kanae does see him--but only by chance.
She glances to the blue door of the Velvet Room, familiar to her. Henry isn't out there at the moment; maybe he's busy, because it's just a door. But near it...
Kanae's eyes widen as she recognizes the boy near the room.
"...Eh?" Chiaki starts, and pokes Kanae. "What're you staring at?" she asks.
Then Himeki looks over, and blinks. "Oh--"
"Ohhhh," she says. "C'mon, you don't need the bad boys. You've got Touma-kun!"
"Bad boys?" Chiaki wonders, and then--"Oh wait, it's that guy!"
Kanae shakes her head suddenly. "Huh?" she starts, looking between her friends.
"You know, the transfer student," Himeki says, confidentially but loudly enough for anybody to hear in reality. "The one with the criminal record."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It would be tough for a teenager to head into an adult entertainment bar... but if Chiaki were bold enough to try, Lala at least wouldn't immediately kick her out. It's kind of astonishing what she'll let slide. Of course... no doubt she remembers what it was like to be a teenager figuring herself out, too, and that's got something to do with it.
There are a lot of people out and about right now. Most are talking or otherwise making noise. All of it smears together into a cacophonous jumble for Ren until two words cut through the throng like an assassin's knife:
Criminal record.
Ren stiffens. They already hadn't been looking at the Velvet Room door dead-on for fear of catching Caroline's eye, but slowly, ever-so-slowly, they tilt their head towards the source of those two words until the speaker and her crowd are in their peripheral vision.
...those girls... Obviously they're not in uniform, it being summer vacation, but... don't they know one of them...? She's staring at them too...
The thought strikes them, and they look directly at her to be sure. It's... Kanae Fuyuki. Their old classmate--from Yasogami Middle School. Their heart slams against their ribcage as they stare back at her, stunned, from behind their non-prescription glasses--glasses they didn't used to wear before this year. What--what is she doing here?
"Ren? What's the matter?" Morgana whispers behind their head. They don't respond.
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
Chiaki probably won't anytime soon. The fact that it could do her good doesn't overcome that difficulty!!
...because she keeps that part secret anyway.
Criminal record, though. Himeki has not gotten over her tendency to gossip, despite the trouble it's landed her in sometimes before. Besides, she's warning her friend--what's wrong with that?
"Oh," Kanae starts, when Himeki explains. "...Do you know where he transferred from?" she wonders hollowly, because she thinks she does recognize him, too.
Deespite the glasses.
"Huh? No, who knows?" Himeki answers. Chiaki tilts her head. "Why?" she wonders. "You know him or something? That's scary... he really hurt somebody, I hear..."
Kanae thinks about it. A boy with a record. One who really hurt someone. And it's him?
"...No," Kanae answers, looking away. "I don't know him, I think."
"...He just looked familiar, that's all."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
What is wrong with that? Well...
The three of them are close enough, and loud enough, that Ren can hear their conversation from where they stand. Kanae clearly disavows any knowledge of them, despite the fact that she asks where they'd transferred from and must have an inkling. That... stings--a lot--but it is dark, they are wearing glasses that change the style of their face, and it has been a couple years. Maybe she's just not sure. Maybe she assumes that the boy she knew from Inaba couldn't be the notorious transfer delinquent. Maybe she just doesn't want any trouble after dark so close to the Red Light District.
They look away too, heat rising in their face. For their part, there's no mistaking Kanae. It's been a few years, but she's got a very distinct look. There are a lot of reasons whose answer will remain unknown until Ren asks Kanae about it, but they're not so indiscreet as to try that here and now under the current circumstances. ...They aren't really in a hurry to confirm it's really them, either.
They hitch the strap of their bag higher up on their shoulder and hurry off towards the train station.
...Assuming Kanae and her friends head that way too, it'll be a lot harder to brush it off as a misunderstanding in such a well-lit place.
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
It's dark and they're wearing glasses, but that's not why. Kanae could in theory push back against the rumor... but she doens't actually know. She's just surprised to hear it would be Ren, of all people, who did something like that. It doesn't entirely add up to her, but what happens if she sticks her neck out and it is true?
"Oh... he's going that way, too," Chiaki says. "Um..."
"It's just a coincidence," Kanae says. "Don't worry about it."
"Maybe we should hang around for a while?" Himeki opines, but Chiaki shakes her head. "No way. We're together so it's not as dangerous, but somebody coming here alone has to be bad news anyway."
The three do set out towards the train station, Kanae increasingly uncomfortable as they go.
"You sure you're okay, Ka-chan?"
"I'm fine..."
"It's sad though," Himeki says. "You end up entangled with the hard-luck cases all the time. That Fontaine girl... And now you end up staring at that transfer student."
"What, entangled? No," Kanae says, "It's not like that. He just looked like somebody I used to know, that's all. But the guy I knew doesn't wear glasses, so..."
"Oh, yeah? They don't look bad on him," Himeki jokes, and Chiaki elbows her. "Come on, be serious! He's dangerous!"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren at least heads towards the train station ahead of the trio, so it's not like they're following them. But to a trio of girls, that might just be a creep of a boy seeing them, figuring out where they're going, and trying to head them off at the pass.
Ren tries not to think about that too much. By the time the three of them arrive, they've got their smartphone out and are messing with it. They can thus look like they're not paying attention when Kanae, Himeki and Chiaki arrive, talking about Kanae's hard-luck cases and Ren's glasses.
It does sound like maybe Kanae plausibly doesn't recognize them because of them. It's hard to tell for sure. Would she... say so if she did...? The topic is that he's got a criminal record, after all...
"Who is that girl, Ren?" Morgana once again whispers behind their head.
"Someone from my hometown. She moved away ages back," Ren murmurs back, using their phone to hide the movement of their lips. "I dunno what she's doing here."
"It sounds like she attends your school?"
That... is a logical conclusion that hadn't quite occurred to them. Because if he's right, that would mean that Kanae's been... ignoring them? All this time?
No, that couldn't be true. They were friends... or at least friendly. They would've at least heard of her... though then again, they've been aggressively keeping their head down, and even eavesdropping on others' conversations doesn't necessarily mean anything...
They've at least heard about Isabeau over in Class 2-A, and that's someone they most definitely don't want to catch up with, so they've avoided her. ...and if Kanae happened to be in the same class somehow...
They take a deep breath and stare up at the LED train schedule hanging from the ceiling. It'll be a while yet before their train arrives.
...Only one way to find out. They kind of don't want to, but better to rip the bandaid off. Ren slips their phone in their pocket and slouches over to Kanae and her friends while Morgana ducks his head back into their bag.
"Hey," they greet the three of them, deadpan. "You're talking smack about me and it's annoying. Cut it out." Their dark eyes flick towards Kanae for half a heartbeat before refocusing on the group. "Please."
...Up close like this, Kanae can be absolutely sure: it's definitely Ren Amamiya, her former friend and classmate.
<Pose Tracker> Kanae Fuyuki has posed.
It would be plausible, but it's not how it is; by now, she definitely recognizes him. And they were friends, once. ...But it's not like he'd be the first friend who turend out different when she met them again. Isabeau was like that, too.
Kanae does indeed attend Shujin... but she's been avoiding the rumors of the convict transfer student anyway.
The train has a while. And ripping the bandaid off--
"Uh?" Himeki starts, and shrinks back a little. Kanae finally meets Ren's eyes--and he might see how uncomfortable she is at the moment. But is it with the situation, or is it with him?
He says please, though...
"We weren't--"
Chiaki shakes her head at Himeki. "Nah, he's right. We totally were." She looks at Kanae. "...Sure this isn't the guy?" she asks.
"Yeah," Kanae answers, looking at Ren. "...I don't have anything to say to him," she decides.
"...Hrm."
Himeki says, "Sorry..."
Chiaki shakes her head. "All right."
Kanae finishes, "Besides, we were going to talk about the movie, not other people."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren does see how uncomfortable Kanae looks. They feel bad about that--they don't want to do that to her--but... it's better to know for sure, so that uncertainty isn't lingering for ages between them.
And, sure enough, Kanae disavows any knowledge of them while looking them straight in the eye. There's a subtle flicker of hurt in their own gaze, but they maintain their stolid lack of expression. ...If she doesn't have anything to say to them, there's... no reason for them to stay.
Whatever. It's fine. Everyone else was like that to greater or lesser extents. Why not her too?
Himeki apologizes. Chiaki owns up to the gossip. Ren shrugs to them both and walks off back to where they'd been standing before.
No, not back. Further away.
Out of earshot, as a matter of fact.
Whether they talk about movies or people, they don't want to hear anything more.