2026-01-18: A Sideways Angle Towards Studying
- Log: 2026-01-18 A Sideways Angle Towards Studying
- Cast: Ren Amamiya, Makoto Niijima
- Where: Shibuya Central Street, Shibuya, Tokyo
- OOC Date: January 18, 2026
- IC Date: September 12, 2012
- Summary: While studying math by way of an advanced billiards book, Ren is approached by Makoto who joins him for studying. They chat over their respective books and make plans to check out Jinbocho in the near future.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
The weather warned that there might be flash showers in the afternoon. Even so, when Ren had stopped by the book store on Shibuya Central Street to pick up an order, they hadn't anticipated that it would start pouring rain the instant they got out. Even the cover of the train station is a little too far away without an umbrella, especially with Morgana taking refuge in their bag--and so they dash a short ways down the street and head up the stairs to the diner Bikkuri Boy.
It's nice and quiet at the diner when it's raining, anyway. A good time to order a snack and crack open their book: How to Play Pool Like a Mathematician, a book all about using geometry to nail advanced billiards techniques. With the rainy quiet of the diner, it's sure to be a big boost to their Academics!
A seat at a booth and a quick look at the menu later, and Ren orders the Frui-Tea, a delicious tea full of fruit that supposedly makes one's skin softer and more beautiful. A boost to their Charm is just the thing to go with a lofty increase to their Academics...
Why? N... no reason.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
For Makoto Niijima, the idea of studying in a diner instead of the school library or at home is an unusual one. It's certainly not her typical place. But the library is crowded with students for some reason, and studying at home...
Well. The apartment has felt oppressive for a while now, not even accounting for the additional stresses that have come since her awakening.
And so, student council business dealt with, Makoto has caught the train to Shibuya and gone looking for somewhere else to study, based on some rumours at school. The rain is an added bonus.
What she did not expect is to find a friend with a similar agenda on the same day. "Good afternoon, Ren-kun," Makoto says, approaching their booth with a small wave. She's still a bit formal, but... well. That's kind of who she is in a lot of ways, still. "Did you come here to get some study in too?"
Her eyes flick to the book they're reading, and her curiousity is a little piqued. She knows Ren plays pool, but this seems to be a different approach from intuiting it.
"Do you mind if I join you? I need to get some revision in and everywhere else seems to be a little too busy."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren has gotten a solid few minutes of reading and sipping their tea in by the time Makoto approaches their table. The pitter-patter of rain outside has lulled Morgana into a nap in Ren's bag, and his tail is twitching gently by the time the Student Council President walks up.
She does still call them Ren-kun to their Makoto, but that's fine. Yusuke still calls them Ren-san to their Yusuke, too. People can and should go with what's comfortable for them. They didn't call Ryuji 'Ryuji' right away either, even when he invited them too. They look up at her and nod once.
"Not exactly the usual kind of studying... but yeah," they reply. It's geometry! It's relevant! And never mind that they're taking algebra right now. Her question is met with a nod towards the opposite seat. "Go for it. Just mind the bag."
Studying is always easier with a partner, anyway, and you can't get many study partners better than Makoto Niijima.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Alas, Makoto can't see into Ren's bag to see how cute Morgana is being. How terrible.
Look, it was a bit of a leap with Ann to be on a first name basis with her, she still uses Tsubasa-kun with Tsubasa, and while she's okay with calling Haru by her first name, Haru has decided on Mako-chan for her. Honorifics and names and the correct manner of politeness are a whole lot.
Don't ask about the occasionally flaring up politeness wars between the civility warriors of Okumura Clan and the Niijima Forces.
"I suppose that's true," Makoto says, of Ren's 'unusual' study. "But it's not like it won't help you in Math class if you can make sense of it in pool." Maybe, maybe not. Geometry will presumably be on the syllabus again eventually.
Given the invitation, Makoto slips into the booth across from Ren, careful not to disturb the bag full of sleeping cat. And one of the first things she does is start laying out her work space, the same way she does in class or in the student council room.
Notebook, with today's textbook overlapping the left hand page of the notebook. Buchimaru-kun pencil case set out on a slight angle from the textbook. As she does so, Ren can catch a peek into Makoto's bag if they want to- she's still using that Buchimaru-kn umbrella that Akechi gave her, wrapped in an umbrella bag to not get anything else wet (and to not risk it getting taken, just in case), as well as multiple other textbooks- her pre-law extra reading, as well as an old looking novel with a title in English- Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu. But today's study is, conveniently, her own maths work.
Once she's set up she remembers 'oh right, diner, need to order something'. She looks at the menu a little cautiously. She doesn't want anything fatty or greasy or anything that would spoil dinner, and she still has to cook. Maybe a tea, or a soda or something? So while she tries to find something appropriate to eat, she decides to try some small talk. "You got that one from Taiheido down the street, right? Do you tend to shop there often?"
SCENE: You have toggled your RSVP status for Field Work. You are now Attending.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Honorifics and the nuances therein can be a giant pain--especially if you're not a native Japanese speaker. Which both Ren and Makoto are. Good for them! (Less good for their players, ahem.)
"That's my thinking," Ren replies. "I study better when I can relate the topic to something I'm interested in, anyway. I did way better on my algebra exams once Akabane-san taught me to start thinking of them as puzzles to be solved. I'm hoping this'll be the same way." It'll make them better at billiards and at math. Win-win.
They fall silent as Makoto slips in across from them and lays out her work station. Notebook, textbook, Buchimaru-kun pencil case--Ren does indeed peek into her bag, just out of curiosity, and spots that umbrella--and lots more books, both textbooks and a novel in English. They can't help but smile a bit to see it. A woman after their own heart.
Once she's settled in, they resume their own reading. She'll see on the menu that the current offerings are: Hot Coffee (coffee with free refills), Surprise Sando (crayfish paste sandwich), Nostalgic Steak (salisbury steak like grandma made), and Frui-Tea (tea made with lots of fruit). (Later on in September, the Totem Pole will join the menu, but that's in the future.) Only the Nostalgic Steak would really be that messy of the current available options.
"Yeah," they reply, both of Taiheido and shopping there. "Especially since the people at Cardboard Dragon set things up there for me so I could pick up orders there instead of having to go all the way to Sumaru." They glance up at her. Their fingers are itching for a pencil to deftly tik between them, but they're not going to grab Makoto's pencil from her, so they start to twist the end of their straw instead. It's easy to see that way that their fingernails are currently painted black.
"Reading is one of my hobbies," they add, then nod to her bag. "I see you're the same."
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Makoto nods a little as Ren explains his thinking. "That makes sense. Changing the framing can do wonders sometimes. Just let me know if there's any parts I can help with. I'm happy to help you work through it, if you want." After all, that's the whole point of studying as a group. Leaning on each other- and in this case, it's not necessarily material Makoto covered the year before. "It's the same logic as taking notes as you study- reframing things in a way that makes sense to you, and a little bit of kinetic learning too from the act of writing." She may have mentioned that factoid before, but it's still one that comes to mind a lot.
On the one hand, coffee's a good to go to. On the other hand, it might be a bit too much caffeine for the afternoon. On the third hand, well... It's a diner, not LeBlanc.
She settles on ordering a Frui-Tea for herself as well, not even considering the collagen benefits or anything. Which is a pity, girl *badly* needs that Charm boost herself.
Makoto is listening, as she starts jotting down notes, eyes flitting between textbook, notes and Ren while thy talk. She's a decent multitasker, at least. "That's convenient to know. I don't know how much we'll need to order, but it's useful to be able to acquire things without the round trip, and we're not restricted to heading over that late..." She shakes her head a bit. She does not want to think too hard about the Dark Hour, or the way it's intruding into her home every night. Conveniently, her eyes flit to Ren's hand fidgeting and sees the nails, and blinks. "...did Ann get you to do those?" She doesn't draw too much attention to it, beyond flicking to the nail paint. Ann suggesting it seems the most logical pathway to Makoto's brain. She is the most fashion minded of the Phantoms, after all.
"That's right. I've been a pretty voracious reader ever since I was kid. Fiction, non-fiction, even manga sometimes, anything I could get my hands on. I've got a little less free time, but still a lot of my discretionary funds still go to getting something to replace whatever I've gotten through this week." Interesting way of phrasing it. "Taiheido's not bad, but Ninokuniya in Shibuya is closer to home, and has a few less mainstream titles, though..." A thought occurs to her, suddenly. "I know you've only been here a few months, do you know about Jinbocho Book Town yet?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Thanks. Will do," Ren replies. Their expression takes on a thoughtful cast when she explains the logic behind taking notes--especially the kinetic learning... Kinetic learning, huh. Maybe they should take more of an effort to write notes... They do like moving their body around, especially the slight motions of their fingertips.
The Frui-Tea is quite tasty, at least, on top of being healthy, nutritious, and good for one's looks. Ren would like to say it's their go-to order when they come here, but the free refills on that coffee mean a lot, and that Nostalgic Steak is so good when they're hankering for a proper dinner that isn't curry...
"Yeah. Myunghon-san set it up for me. It's pretty great," Ren replies. That, like the saxophone lessons that So-young pulled strings for Ren to start doing, will remain regardless of whatever happens with Cardboard Dragon. They pause when Makoto's gaze goes to their fingernails, though.
"Sort of," is their kneejerk reaction. Then they remember that they plan on coming out to their friends soon anyway, so they add, "Ann taught me how."
It can be a touch of foreshadowing.
"I've heard of it," they reply of Jinbocho, "but I haven't had a chance to go yet. I'm not sure where exactly it is, honestly, or I'd have gone already." It sounds like their kind of place.
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Makoto likes being helpful and useful generally. Explaining her study technique is a way to do that! Even if she doesn't realize Ren has taken her thoughts on board yet. For all she's very observant in lots of ways, reading her fellow humans isn't one of them.
Frui-Tea, then, is a winner. Makoto takes a sip when her own arrives. A little sweeter than she might usually like it, but you need sugar to keep a brain going sometimes. And at least it's natural sugars! ...Do not get Makoto started on healthy eating, she has a whole presentation living in her head at all times.
"That's handy," Makoto starts, though a thought occurs: did Myunghon set it up for Joker or for Ren? Still, Ren's not exactly careless about such things. She'll have to trust him on this.
Makoto does blink when Ren says that Ann taught him, but... well. To her credit, she realizes she may have said something uncomfortable. "Oh, I didn't mean it like it was a bad thing, I just didn't expect it. I think they work for you." Still... a little more awkward than she might have liked. "I've never really had the knack for it, and I have to keep my nails short for aikido anyway, so it never seemed really something for me. I know it's one of those things girls are supposed to do, but Ann was definitely the right teacher." There's no malice, at least. "The school's dress code will probably disapprove, but for some reason I think the disciplinary committee might not bother if they haven't been hassling you already." There's a momentary pause. "...And if they have, let me know, okay? They're small and not super active at Shujin, but they're still under the Student Council." And it's not like Makoto is going to write Ren up at this point, is she? Maybe only if she has to make a point, and even then...
One day she'll remember to tell them that they're technically a student council member on paper.
"Well, in that case... why don't we go sometime?" Makoto offering the hangout is maybe a change, but she's learned she needs to be a bit more proactive in many aspects of her life. "I know the area pretty well. I try to get out there at least once a month. There's hundreds of bookshops there, and you can find some really fascinating things in the second hand bookstores and antique bookstores there. You can save money on textbooks sometimes too, if that's a problem, and a lot of textbooks if there's something you want a head start on or just want to look into yourself, with all the universities around." She sounds, if anything, excited. "You've shown me a few places since we started hanging out, I'm well overdue to return the favour. Especially if there's anything in particular you're looking for."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Sweetness isn't a problem for Ren, who loves their sodas--especially grape Manta. But the natural sugars of Frui-Tea go really well with the refreshing taste. It's a great way to get their fruit in for the day; fruits and vegetables are something they have to go out of their way to eat--as Morgana would comment if he weren't still napping, Ren's eating habits are atrocious. ...Although they have been improving lately.
It was for Ren, of course--but since Makoto didn't ask that aloud, Ren can't confirm it for her. She is at least right to trust them.
"Nah, you're fine. I know it's unexpected," they reassure her of the painted nails. They at least look like a guy. The compliment gets her another little smile. "Thanks." They keep their nails a little long--not so long it seems strange for a guy, but long enough that they can feel it. "Yeah, that was my logic too."
...Which would seem to imply that Ren asked Ann to teach them how to paint their nails--which is because that's exactly what happened.
They shrug at the mention of the dress code. "Oh yeah. But no one's given me trouble yet. Whoever you've got on the disciplinary committee, I think they're probably too scared of me to start anything." Ironic, and yet it works out for them this time. As long as they're going to be ostracized, at least they get to live with a little bit more freedom than most. "But if they do, I will."
It is unusual for Makoto to initiate a hangout, but that's not a bad thing. She approached them first here too. It's good to see her coming out of her shell a bit. "That sounds great," they say, voice warming. "Yeah, let's definitely go sometime. I don't have anything in particular I'm looking for right now--" They tap their current book; they already picked up what they wanted, "--but part of the fun of books is finding something you didn't know you wanted."
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Makoto lets out a small sigh of relief as Ren lets her get away with her social carelessness for today at least. By comparison, Makoto's nails are clipped close and well maintained, but definitely without an eye for fashion. It's just harder and more painful to make a fist if your nails are too long, and they'd definitely break. "I'm curious, though, why black?" She doesn't really understand much about the concept, so she might as well take the opportunity to ask.
"Probably," Makoto says, letting out a little frustrated sigh. "The student council was pretty heavily influenced by Kobayakawa's picks, but if he's trying to get them to do his dirty work now they aren't showing it." ...Honestly, had he tried to put pressure on any other person in student council beyond Makoto? It sure seems like he tried that one gambit then gave up. "Let's be honest, Shujin is pretty self policing in that regard." 'The Nail That Sticks Out' and all. Hell, she knows she's just as guilty of it as any other student.
"Sounds fun. We can try and find an opening in our schedules, then. I have grading at the end of the month, but that's the only major thing on my calendar right now." She smiles as Ren talks about the fun parts. "Exactly! You never know what you'll find, or what you'll fall in love with. And to be honest, sometimes it's just nice to window shop, though it never ends up just being window shopping..."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren knows Makoto is an awkward sort of person, and Ren is difficult to offend. It's not like she knows they're X-gender either, so it's only natural for her to wonder about it. For a cis boy, it is logical to assume a girl talked him into doing it. Painting nails is just not something they usually do unprompted.
"Black's one of my favorite colors. I started with pink--that's what Ann had on hand--but black looks better on me, and it isn't as flashy as red, my other favorite color." A beat. "Also, it turns out make-up is really expensive, so I could only justify buying one bottle. Plus nail polish remover.
So they would have tried out with more colors if they could've afforded it.
Ren nods as the conversation shifts to Kobayakawa. "I wonder what he's doing right now... He's seemed really quiet," they muse. "Maybe he's still holed up, waiting for the Sword of Damocles to drop." They could check his Palace to see--but Ren doesn't want to mess around with his Palace anymore now that the team's decided not to change his heart. "Either way, I hope our gambit worked and the one in the black mask is leaving him alone now."
Makoto would've heard about it afterwards: Joker claimed to Akechi, in front of Shadow Kobayakawa, that none of the Phantoms are students of Shujin Academy, and Akechi went along with the blatant lie so that Shadow Kobayakawa could report that sincerely to the Black Mask whenever he next shows up. ...That was the intent, anyway. Ren doesn't know if it worked, because the team hasn't been back to that Palace since.
For now, though, they nod in agreement. Book-hunting is fun, and they're glad they have Makoto as a friend in that. "I've always got something going on, but I'm also flexible. Let me know and we'll figure it out."
Until then, they can study together, both quietly and while helping each other out. Before long, Morgana will wake up from his nap and join in too, as they enjoy a rainy afternoon and a pair of fruity teas. Ahhh...
<Pose Tracker> Makoto Niijima has posed.
Black and Red, huh. "Yeah, I can see that for you." It does explain a lot of Joker's outfit... Though it's not like Queen's outfit is super representative of any of Makoto's tastes. Something something a river in Egypt.
"...It really is," Makoto admits, not thinking about the implications of Ren looking into more make-up. "...I only use the bare minimum I have to and it still adds up..." Makoto's not oblivious of the expectations for women's appearance here, and if Ren is only finding that out now, she's not surprised it's a bit of a harsh surprise.
Especially since Ren seems way more reliant on part time work, given their situation.
"...We'll find out at some point. I'm just glad he's not causing us more problems right now." That's about all the thought she wants to spare the man.
"Sure. We'll make time soon, then. I'm looking forward to it."
And then, they fall into the comfortable routine of studying, chatter, and enjoying the rainy day. It's definitely more fun than studying alone...