2026-03-22: How to Navigate a Secret Identity
- Log: 2026-03-22 How to Navigate a Secret Identity
- Cast: Kasumi Yoshizawa, Ren Amamiya
- Where: Shujin Academy - Practice Building
- OOC Date: March 22, 2026
- IC Date: Saturday, October 13, 2012
- Summary: Kasumi hears about the rumors about Ren and Makoto dating and invites Ren out to have lunch--her treat! Ren explains that at the time those rumors started, they and Makoto weren't dating and Ren was dating another girl... which is made all the more awkward by the fact that, as of right now, they broke up with their old girlfriend and actually are dating Makoto now. Oops? More importantly, though, are Kasumi's questions about how Ren deals with having a secret identity and what that means for their ability to have meaningful relationships with other Persona Users. Ren gives some information and advice that might hopefully help her out.
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
In the morning, Ren will find a series of text messages already popping up on their phone.
Kasumi - Senpai! You didn't tell me that you had a girlfriend; I heard about it through the grapevine.
Kasumi - That's it! Don't bring lunch today. I'll make something for you so we can have lunch together.
Kasumi - Oh! Of course if that's fine and all! I don't want to step on your ~girlfriend's~ toes. Hehe.~ See you at lunch!
---
Leaving the gymnasium and into the Shuijin courtyard, is a blonde first year, clutching a bouquet of flowers to her chest. It seems Yoshizawa-san wasn't there today. Her disappointed look instantly brightens as she looks across the courtyard, to see her idol right across from her.
The brilliant redhead it seems, has claimed the little alcove with the vending machines all to herself. She's even brought two lunches with her... Whoever is dining with Yoshizawa-san is truly lucky! The first year tightens her grip in her flowers briefly as she works up her courage. She'd just need to say hello, offer the flowers, and then leave... Before Yoshizawa-san's guest arrives.
Unfortunately, it was already too late. It took only a moment, but a dark outline crosses the flower girl's gaze. Her eyes bulge as she recognizes it as Shujin's resident delinquent, Ren Amamiya. Oh no... She sees Amamiya-senpai and Yoshizawa-san exchange greetings, the former joining the latter for lunch...! What would people think about Yoshizawa-san if they saw?! She's already having a tough time with gymnastics and the rumours... this would be awful for her.
Suddenly, a thought comes across the first year's head. As fan, she'll protect Yoshizawa-san!! She'll protect the route to the vending machine happily to protect her idol...!
---
Meanwhile... Kasumi Yoshizawa has set up her Bento boxes at the table, humming a little song under her breath. She brushes her long red ponytail with her fingers, maybe a little anxiously. It'll be the first time in a while someone's tried her cooking again.
As soon as Ren shows up however, Kasumi will leap up in her chair. "Senpai! Hiya! Please, feel free to take a seat..."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Text message notifications beep on Ren's phone as they do pull-ups from the beam in their attic room as part of their morning exercise routine under Morgana's watchful eye. Once they finish their set, they let go and nimbly land on the balls of their feet, then check their phone as they grab a towel.
They grimace once they read them. That's... awkward... They sigh a bit--but if she wants to bring them lunch, they can explain the misunderstanding then.
...Does it count as a misunderstanding anymore...? Maybe it would be better to say nothing...
Regardless, they text back:
>@ OK. Thanks. We'll talk then.
~ * ~
As Ren approaches Kasumi in the vending machine alcove, they raise one hand in greeting, smiling slightly as she jumps up to her feet. "Hey," they greet her in kind. They sit down on the bench perpendicular to her to give both of them plenty of space. As they do, they catch sight of a blonde first year. They blink her way--but she's already hurrying off towards one of the exits. Huh. Okay...
"So, just to be certain, what exactly did you hear through the grapevine?" they ask Kasumi, looking back her way.
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
Kasumi for her part, is completely oblivious to the presence of any blonde first year who might be in her class... She settles down next to Ren and offers the spare bento box. Within, is a hearty serving of rice, umeboshi, a rolled egg, even some grilled chicken presumably from last night's dinner.
"Well..." Kasumi hesitates for a moment, as she presses her foot into the concrete. She turns to Ren and claps her hands together! "I'm so sorry for paying attention to the rumours!" She declares. A beat passes, and Kasumi loosens back up. "Well... You know how people talk, Senpai. I usually try to pay it no mind. You know, both you and I get talked about so frequently. It's really best to just ignore them!" She nods. Ever since her awakening, that sort of...external pressure has been lifted off her at least. Even if it's still frustrating!
Still. Kasumi hasn't actually answered anything yet. She chuckles a little bashfully. "Just that you and Niijima-senpai, the Student Council President... Well, you know." She trails off a little. "I just overheard some of my classmates talking about it. And I started to wonder... I didn't know that. And if I didn't know even something as simple as a girlfriend, what else didn't I know...?"
"So... Lunch!" Kasumi gestures towards the bento boxes. She cracks hers open. "Hehe. It's a bit silly, isn't it, Senpai?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren accepts the second bento box gratefully. They've been learning to cook recently, but it's always nice to have someone else cook for you. Sure, it looks like it's probably leftovers, but she did only text them this morning.
"We do," they say, of the talk the rest of the student body does about them. "Just so you know, when those rumors started, we weren't dating. I was actually dating another girl from a different school entirely."
Which Kasumi still wouldn't have known about... And although Ren implies that things have changed since then, they don't go ahead and explain it just yet.
"Maybe a bit," they reply though, smiling slightly. "But chatting over lunch isn't bad at all." They bow their hands over theirs; if the box comes with chopsticks, they'll crack theirs open. "Thank you for the lunch, Yoshizawa." And then they'll dig in!
But in between bites, they'll at least add, "If you want to know things about me, though... you can feel free to ask. It's fine this time, but it'll be a lot faster that way in the future."
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
The nice thing about Yoshizawa's cooking, (other than the large portion sizes), is that it's well rounded and doesn't skimp on flavour! (For the record, the rice and egg are freshly made.~)
"...And now you and Niijima-senpai are dating...?" Kasumi asks, hoping she's following right. Even if there was no overlap, isn't that kinda fast...? "Jeez, Senpai, you're sort of a playboy, aren't you...?" She says with a giggle. She doesn't entirely believe this. "Another girl from another school, though... Did you meet her as a Persona user?"
"Right?~" Kasumi says of chatting over lunch. "I usually have lunch alone, so it's nice to have someone with me. And it's a little less intimidating to talk over, hehe."
Kasumi digs in too, using her chop sticks to grab some rice intermitted. "Ah...! It wasn't really about speed. How do I put this..." She wonders. Kasumi then lowers her voice. "Well, you know about Motojima-senpai. I wanted to talk to you about something I thought of during that. Saving her from the atelier went really well!" She pauses. "Well, Niijima-senpai chided me a bit on calling her Motojima-senpai and all. And Motojima-senpai is a Persona User now too. And..." Hmm. "Well, I started to...feel a little lonely, actually? It's sort of strange to say it aloud now..."
How should Kasumi put it? She taps her chopsticks together. "Like... It's not even safe to be around other Persona Users. And... Well, if things go well with Motojima-senpai now, I can't exactly treat her fully honestly either... You know what I mean, Senpai? How do you handle it?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Well... yeah," Ren admits, rubbing the back of their neck as color rises in their cheeks. "My old girlfriend and I broke up--not because of those rumors--and then... it just sort of happened."
Kasumi's teasing about them being a playboy makes them self-conscious about it, though. Did they jump into this too fast? ...No, she's laughing about it--they shouldn't get too into their own head about it. "No, she came by Leblanc one day with her brother, and the two of us started hanging out after that," they reply. "She asked me out one day, and we started dating after that." They smile at the memories before shrugging. "...But we had different expectations from each other that we didn't figure out until after we started dating, so... we split. We're still friends, though."
She is a Persona User, but Ren didn't learn that until the very end, and it's not their place to out her when she was trying so hard to keep it a secret. For now, they smile a little more broadly as Kasumi gushes about sharing lunch. It is nice. They resume eating too.
They nod when the topic of Kazusa comes up. It's good to hear that her rescue went well. They'd figured as much, since she no longer radiates creepiness and isn't acting all sugar-sweet, but it's good to hear it from Kasumi directly. They nod too at the chiding and how Kazusa's also a Persona User now. Their eyelids sink to half-mast when Kasumi wonders how they deal with not being fully honest with others. They chew their mouthful of chicken and rice, then swallow.
"That's just part of having a secret identity. When I think of it like that, it honestly doesn't bother me," they murmur. Just one more reason why they and Minako wouldn't have worked out long term. "But that doesn't have to apply to you, Yoshizawa. You've cooperated with us before, but you're not a member of the Phantom Thieves. All you have to say is that you worked with us on this one thing but you don't know who we really are, and you can at least be open about yourself. That's what Akechi does--he's got a mask too, as you've seen, but he doesn't hide his true identity."
Of course, it does mean that Kasumi does still have to lie about something, but at least she wouldn't be lying about herself--right?
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
"Oh?" ...Kasumi's getting the sense that she shouldn't press on the why's. "I'm very sorry things didn't go well, though."
"Lablanc, that's right!" Kasumi smiles a little. "That reminds me. I'd like to visit sometime.~" She nods. "I'm glad it was amicable at least." This girlfriend sure sounds forward. "I'm pretty impressed, actually." Kasumi says with a smile. "I don't think I could just ask out of the blue like that..."
It's Kasumi's turn to focus on eating while Ren starts talking. Just a part of having a secret identity... "Wouldn't it be awkward though?" Kasumi wonders. "I mean... At this point, I know more about Motojima-senpai, more than she could be allowed to know about me. And if I told her, that could lead back to you and the others, when looking at the list of my associates..." It'd be safer for her to disconnect with the Phantom Thieves. She wouldn't be able to spend time with Senpai like this again. And just when she was becoming friends with Okumura-senpai too... Kasumi furrows her brow. "Isn't it lonely? To not be honest, even with other Persona Users? Though, it isn't always safe, I know..." Just like with Akechi-senpai.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren gives Kasumi a faint, rueful smile. They and Minako might still be friends, and they're glad for that, but that doesn't mean there isn't still a lingering ache about how the romance fell apart. "Thanks. Me too."
As for Leblanc: "Sure--you're welcome by anytime, with or without anyone else." Just because they were talking about cooking together with Haru and Hibari at some point doesn't mean Kasumi has to wait for them to come visit. When there's a moment, Ren will text her the address.
Awkward? That could certainly be. Going through a Palace means learning more about that person--and anyone in their orbit--than one might want to. Ren can only assume Ateliers are like that too. They can understand that it might feel unfair to Kasumi that she knows so much about Kazusa that she didn't consent to her finding out.
However, there's one assumption that Kasumi's making that Ren shakes their head at. "There's something about those of us masked Persona Users--people don't automatically know it's you, even if it should seem obvious. It's sort of a cognitive glitch that protects us. It's not perfect so you still need to be careful, but even if you tell Motojima-san about you, she won't be able to tell who the rest of us are just by looking at who you hang out with in real life. It's okay," they reassure her.
So is it lonely? "Not really. I have Morgana, Ryuji and the others. I can be honest with them, and they can be honest with me. But I get that you're in between worlds about it. Honestly, you might have more in common with Ryuji--he started dating Ichika right before learning she was a Persona User, and he learned that because she made a request of us to change Eiji Kamiya's heart. He didn't feel right about knowing private, intimate things about her without her consent, either." Kasumi was actually part of that group chat conversation, but it's been a while; a recap might still be useful. "Fortunately for him, Ichika ended up joining us, so it wasn't a problem long-term, but you're not going to be that lucky."
Ren takes a few more bites of rice and egg. "If you end up deciding not to tell Motojima-san you're a Persona User, though, think of it like this: you couldn't have avoided learning those things about her and still save her. If it feels uncomfortable, just be discreet. You don't need to stop talking to her. Just keep it to yourself--like how you're keeping my secrets to yourself." They offer her a slight smile. "Right?"
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
"I'll be looking forward to having a free evening then.~" Kasumi says happily. Though, it might be a little difficult, considering how much of a worrywart her father is. (With or without anyone else, pfft. As if Motojima-senpai and her will suddenly be best friends.)
Especially after visiting Motojima-senpai's real life atelier in Akihabara... "Oh? That's a relief then!" Whew. Won't be that bad at least. Hopefully! "Oh, really? That's really helpful," Kasumi says with a small smile. "That's a huge relief to hear. Thank you.~"
On loneliness. Yeah... Kasumi's in an awkward spot. Not in the Phantom Thieves, a little isolotated in the real world. Things can and will improve now, but... "Oh, Sakamoto-senpai! We did an Atelier excursion together." She nods. "Yeah... It's a little awkward, isn't it?" She remembers that group chat, too! Though, she's struggling to remember if she's met this Ichika properly.
"Hm... I suppose so." Kasumi says after a pause. There's still the lingering worries... Like, how it totally won't be polite. "I'll continue weighing it for a bit longer, I suppose. It's certainly a relief to know that it won't be causing trouble for you and the others at least though..."
Just then, they both hear a nervous voice saying "Th-the vending machine, it's...broken down!", which causes Kasumi glance over and wonder. "...We should probably finish up, huh, Senpai? Thank you for talking this through with me..." She chuckles lightly and shoves some more rice onto her chopsticks. She stops for a moment. "You know... I hope I'm someone you can be honest with too, you know...? I mean, it really was quite a shock..." She lets 'it shouldn't take asking specifically to know about something' go implied for now... Then she chomps on some rice happily.~