2026-08-10: Relationship Talk
- Log: 2026-08-10 Relationship Talk
- Cast: Ichika Kawase, Ren Amamiya
- Where: Iwatodai Station
- OOC Date: August 10, 2026
- IC Date: Sunday, December 23, 2012
- Summary: While visiting Ichika's pregnant mother in Iwatodai City, Ichika and Ren talk about the present, the past, and their respective romantic relationships.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
The Kawase home in Iwatodai is a nice, two-story house, with a big enough yard for a garden--though not a big garden, with the walls and all. The residential area the Kawases live in is very green, a pleasant part of Iwatodai City with a view in the distance of the bay and of Port Island. It has space for two cars--one of which is Ichika's, the black van that she carries her friends in.
Ichika got in last night, coming back home for a while (though with visits back to Sumaru probably) to help out her pregnant mother, who's due in less than two months now. And it's a good place to meet with a friend she's overdue to talk to.
While Dr. Kawase is at work today, Suika Kawase is relaxing a bit, with Ichika having taken on the day's chores and cooking at likewise Ichika's insistence.
She's warm to Ren, which may be a strange feeling given the general tenor of adults in their life these days with probation and all. Ichika introduces them as her boyfriend's best friend, and has a little gentler a way of speaking around her mother than the typical roughness of her sukeban position.
But now...
"I think I'm going to go lay down for a bit," Mrs. Ichika's Mom says, rising to her feet faster than Ichika can move to support her. "I want to be alert when your father comes home." A beat, "Besides, I'm sure you two have things to talk about that only young people want to know." She winks.
"All right," Ichika answers. "Just let me know if you need anything, Mom. It's nice to get to see you."
"Of course, of course."
The living area is made up of a couch and a few chairs, a coffee table, a TV, some cabinets; it's a pleasant locale, nearby to the dining area and kitchen, and if Ren wanted a drink, Ichika's already gotten them one.
The door closes after Suika a few moments later.
"...Hope you didn't mind the conversational detour," Ichika says to Ren. "I appreciate you helping out with lunch. You're really learning stuff out at Leblanc, huh?"
But that's not what they got together to talk about, either.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
It is a very nice place. Ren took a moment to admire it and to consider how much her doctor father must make to get a place this nice in a location this good. Since moving to Tokyo--or more to the point, since moving out of their family's own very nice house--that's something they've become more aware of.
They're polite and friendly to Mrs. Ichika's Mom too, who is indeed very nice. They're also quiet, which isn't unusual for them, and a little guarded. New, trauma-informed habits die hard. Considering they're busy cooking and washing dishes as they go, it's easy to get caught up in that, and they like listening to others anyway.
However, they likewise don't have the chance to offer to help with anything when Mrs. Ichika's Mom chooses to retire to her room. They nod to her as she leaves, and waits until the door closes.
Then they look back at Ichika with a slight, lopsided smile. "Nah," they reply of the detour. To Leblanc, they nod. "And from Hibari too." They finish drying the last plate and smile at it with a muted joy that even yesterday's awkward dance can't snuff. "Akechi," Goro, in their heart, "said he liked it." Their cooking, that is. Getting up extra-early to make both of them bentos was well worth it.
It isn't what they got together to talk about. However, it's absolutely what's on Ren's mind right now. It's worked miracles with the nightmares. Who would have thought?
Of course, considering they get nightmares after their stress breaches a certain threshold, it's inevitable they'll come back sooner or later.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
As it happens, after the Incident ten years ago (almost eleven now?), there was a great need for doctors in Iwatodai. He got a better deal than he would've otherwise--though he does still make a lot even today, in part because of being so established as a result.
She is interested in Ren, but not inclined to pry; she's waited for Ichika's other friends to open up on their own, and this is likely to be the same way. If anything, she is a little impatient with Ichika waiting on her so much... but they'll find a balance eventually. It is nice not to have to do as much on a day when she doesn't feel her best, after all.
Ichika smiles back though. "Yeah, Hibari-chan's great," Ichika agrees; she makes a good home cook, but Hibari could go pro! But Akechi... "Oh yeah?" Ichika smiles slyly. "That's good to hear." There's details she doesn't know... but she knows that part.
But as Ichika points out the place for the last plate to go, she does get a little more subdued. "...I know i'm annoying her a little," Ichika says, "But after the way she took care of me, I want to return the favor."
Ichika looks up to the ceiling. "...Since... She was especially good after Toshiaki, too."
"Well, I was worried about you," she says. "After what you saw. Tell me if you want me to just stuff it but--I get it, you know?"
"I mean, doing the dishes doesn't make me think of him, exactly; it's not like he usually had to. But..."
"I watched him die, back then. I could never really talk about it with everyone... They were all as distressed as I was, in their own ways."
"But even when you're not close to someone, it's hard to watch, isn't it?"
"...I still wanna hear about why you're smiling so much. But I figure, we should talk about the heavy thing first. ...Since that's part of why i wanted to talk to you at all."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
The more Ren comes to understand that Mrs. Ichika's Mom has a genuine interest in them, the more likely they'll be to open up. That won't be on the first meeting, though. One day.
"I think annoying someone with being thoughtful and trying to help is way better than most ways of annoying people," Ren replies. "Not a bad idea to reel it back a little, though. You shouldn't stop, but you also want to make her less stressed, right?"
They sober at the mention of both Toshiaki and--as they know now, thanks to a text from Umie to Joker's phone--Zakuro, the ninja who died. They nod in mute agreement. At least Zakuro was a stranger to them. Watching your own brother fall to his death... They must have been a horrible experience, made that much worse by feeling unable to talk about it with her family.
Ren knows they have trouble with talking to their family, albeit for very different reasons.
"Yeah," they agree quietly. "I knew anything with Ruin involved was a risk, but... it was still shocking."
But then she calls them out on 'smiling so much.' Ren looks over at Ichika, cheeks slightly pink. However... they bow their head and smile a little more, eyes shut. "Maybe I'll tell you later, then."
For now, they'll join her over in the living room, taking a seat on the couch.
"...Futaba and I talked about it some too, after everyone else left that day," they murmur. "Since... she's also had that experience." They fold their hands and stare down at them. "It's... I'm not sure how to describe it. There's something unreal about the moment, isn't there? It's not like seeing it in a movie or TV show. It's just so raw, it's hard to wrap your mind around it."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
One day! There may yet be opportunity.
"That's true," Ichika allows of it being better. "I guess I will. At first i was overcompensating a little--I thought... it'd bug me, remind me of my... pregnancy." She says it a little more delicately. "But it's about her. And I feel good for that being true. So yeah, I'll ratchet it back some."
Zakuro; it's better to have a name, isn't it? Maybe not.
"Mm. We deal with danger all the time... but a Shadow isn't the same as a person, usually. It's not like it is with a guy with a gun and other people."
She smiles back--briefly, given the topic, but still a smile. "Cool."
But Ichika likewise goes to the couch, sitting after her guest has, looking over to them. Futaba... "Yeah, she saw for sure, huh?" They all know that, from what they saw in her Palace.
"...The moment where they go from 'a person'--your acquaintance, some guy... your brother--to a 'body'. It's... Awful."
"And unreal, too. Maybe that's because we don't like to process death. ...Maybe it's supposed to feel that bad, seeing someone die."
"But it's hard, for sure."
Ichika sighs. "...I don't think the fall killed him," she says of her brother. "I think he died in that moment that I saw him seize up like that."
"...Do you know much about the guy you saw?" she wonders. "Would it help to talk about him?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren nods their approval when Ichika says she will indeed reel it back. Putting the focus back on her mom will be best for both of them, in their opinion.
A Shadow isn't the same as a person, but sometimes they can be part of or reflect a person. The danger a Shadow presents is not to be underestimated, but... there is a certain terror about the sheer abnormal normalcy of a gun with a gun.
"...Yeah," Ren quietly agrees when she speaks on that moment of death. "That's exactly it." They rub the side of their neck without thinking about it. It should feel bad. Most people have a survival instinct, so seeing someone die right in front of them probably sets off something in their primal brain.
The fall didn't kill Toshiaki, though. That's a good point and a good possibility. It might be more like Futaba's mother--maybe the car crash did her in, but even if she hadn't fallen into the middle of the street (even if Toshiaki hadn't fallen off a mountain), death would have come anyway.
It really is a sobering thought. All the more so if Ruin really is responsible for all three deaths. Surely he can't have done every mental shutdown though, right? That would be wild.
"Not really," they say. "Akabane-san told me his name was Zakuro, and it seems like he was a subordinate or a bodyguard for Shiryuu, or both. That's about it, though." A small sigh of their own. "I talked to her about it too some. I've got mixed feelings about how I ended up helping people who tormented Tsubasa--though I guess I knew what I was getting into when I agreed to help Akabane-san out--but I don't hate them so much that I'd want someone to die over it either way."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika finds that's what sticks with her, too. That moment. "Yeah," she repeats.
It's sobering indeed--Ichika one day will have to find the one who did those shutdowns... and do something. But what? She's thought about it a lot, but hasn't gotten anywhere between 'it'd be wrong to kill them in turn' and 'but would it really?'.
Still, "I see. One of those ninja guys..." She nods, after that. "That makes sense. But it's complicated; you don't want to turn your back on Akabane-san, but it means dealing with them... right?"
"...Yeah. I think I feel the same. I hate them, but I don't want them dead if there's other options. And like..."
"No, that's pretty much it. You guys remind me... that that's not the way. And I think I feel better sticking to it."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Yeah," Ren agrees. If it were just Kurou, whom they've come to genuinely like, it'd be one thing, but both he and Umie are obsessed with Shiryuu. It's not something they can get around.
Ultimately, they don't regret going. They don't have to feel good about it either, though.
When Ichika agrees back on both counts, though, they smile a bit. "...Thanks." They rub one of their temples with two fingers. "It was crazy right after. Shiryuu and Kurou went right for the throat, and Ruin just shrugged them both off like it was nothing. On the one hand, I'm glad no one else died--even Ruin--but on the other hand... if even literal ninja masters couldn't defeat him, how can we? How can anyone?"
And even then, there was someone Ruin saw fit to caution them about. That memory returns to them, and they shake their head slowly.
Well. Ruin is a much bigger problem to them than Hisataka Shinjo--and they have a potential solution for him, now.
They also don't have to feel good about it, but god help them for having one.
"...We can't let that stop us, though," they continue. "We can't back down on our Justice just because it might be hard or dangerous."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika doesn't know the intricacies of those relationships, and maybe that's for the best--she might have more trouble looking past Kurou's actions that one day. ...But here and now, she's listening about Ruin.
"Wow," Ichika says. "And Kurou kicked our asses pretty hard that one time, too." No one else died--not even Ruin--but...
"We can't," Ichika agrees. "It's important--Justice... It matters more than whether we 'can'. Though I mean, we gotta try to actually succeed, too. If ninja masters can't do the trick, we'll have to become Persona masters, or whatever."
"I won't back down, either. Not even if he's willing to kill people about it."
"...But that's what I wanted to tell you, I guess. That with things like this... you can count on me. Either to help out, or just... to listen. Because I've seen some things, too."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Yeah," Ren replies of Kurou, dryly this time. Not like they're crazy about how Kurou took them out, but they're not the kind of person who'd hate someone just for that either. They wouldn't have the relationship they have with Goro if they did.
She's right, though, about how they can't just try, they also have to succeed. Trying is damned important, but if they'd tried and failed with Kamoshida, or Madarame, or Kaneshiro, or Kamiya... no amount of just trying would have saved them from the consequences.
"We'll just have to keep fighting and changing hearts. Anyway, he's got a head start on us, but we've got something he doesn't: each other," they continue, firmly this time. "We'll make it work."
Even if Joker has to lay it all on the line with Ruin.
Their gaze softens as she continues too. "...Thanks. I know I can rely on all of you, of course." For different things, also of course. They wouldn't rely on Ryuji for studying, and they wouldn't rely on Makoto for fashion tips. It's all about understanding your friends' strengths and weaknesses. "But it does help to know you can help me, and I can help you. And Futaba, and Tsubasa too." They shake their head slowly. "...Hopefully nobody else will ever have to."
They know that the odds aren't great on that, though.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika wouldn't hold that part against him too badly. ...Just working for Shiryuu, mostly. Messing with Tsubasa goes a long way to get into Ichika's darker books.
"Right," Ichika agrees. "We'll keep going, and we'll win. ...For just that reason, yeah. One strong guy... or a lot of strong people. I know what my money's on."
They will make it work. But Ichika doesn't know Joker's full plans there.
"Sure," Ichika says; all of them, for different things. That much is just how friends work. "Yeah. ...I feel for Futaba-chan. I want to talk to her sometime, too, but... I'm not sure how."
"But seeing family like that... I feel like it must be hard for her to sit with alone."
A shake of her head, too. "If they do... we'll be there for them. And if they don't, we'll celebrate."
"...Speaking of celebrating," she says. "You were thinking of maybe telling me something."
"It's cool if the mood's wrong, though."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren holds their chin when Ichika admits her uncertainty on how to approach Futaba. "When it was the two of us, we were just hanging out at Leblanc after closing, eating curry. She brought it up on her own. Maybe you just need to make yourself available in a quiet, comfortable place to her," they suggest. "Let her come around to you." They crook a smile. "Like a stray cat."
Ren has experience in this. They've never had a pet they cared for at home, but Inaba has a lot of stray cats.
In the meantime, Ichika circles back around on their good mood from earlier. They lean back, folding their legs and leaning a hand on their face as they rest their arm on the back of the couch. "I was thinking of that, wasn't I?" they say mildly. "What to do, what to do..."
No, they're definitely in too much of a good mood about whatever it is to let even discussion of witnessing murders dampen it. They wave a hand. "Thanks. I'm just fooling, though." (No pun intended. By Ren, anyway.) "You know how I said before Akechi told me he wasn't interested in a relationship?"
They sit on that for a moment. They want to see if Ichika puts it together on her own. There are more smarts than book smarts.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Available... Ichika thinks on that. "I've known people like that," she reflects. "That's what I'll do then. Thanks." She laughs softly. "Right. Maybe I should bring snacks, then..."
Ichika's never been to Inaba! But the stray cat understanding may be universal, even if she's experienced it less.
That good mood htough--Ichika grins at the mild statement from them. "Hmmm?" she asks, eager to hear it. And then, of course--
Fooling. Of course! "I remember," Ichika says. She waits a few beats.
"So tell me about your new relationship!" Ichika says then, grinning cheerfully.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Snacks always seem to hit. You could even ask Futaba what she likes, use it as an excuse to get together somewhere," Ren points out. "Bring her to the Triple 7 or something for a snack run, maybe with someone else in tow. Give her a chance to get out in public with safe people around so it's not as overwhelming."
Beyond that, though, Ren prompts Ichika. She does indeed put it together, and beams at them about it. Ren unfolds their legs to lean forward as they break into a happy grin, tempered by a quick glance over their shoulder at the door through which Suika left earlier.
"Would you believe he's had a crush on me for ages, and just didn't think I'd like him back?" they say. "He's bi, by the way. But not out, so keep it to yourself. He gave me permission to share--discreetly.
"He and I both ditched the Christmas Village to take an overnight trip to a more rural area to catch the Geminids. That's a meteor shower," they add, in case Ichika doesn't already know. "I decided to tell him, and..." Flowers all but bloom over their head. "I'll leave the rest to your imagination. But we're going on a date on Christmas Eve." Their first official one. (They've had many, many unofficial ones.)
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Oh, good thinking. I remember back then, when I didn't want to see anybody--letting things go at my pace helped. It's not the same, but..." She does know about 'overwhelming' at least. "I'll think on it."
But prompting!! Ichika laughs happily at that grin--though the glance at the door, "She's not the eavesdropping type," Ichika assures Ren.
"I'd totally believe it," she says then. "You're very crushable." Bi... Hmm! "You got it. Lips are sealed."
"An overnight trip! That's a big step." She didn't, so she apprecaites the fill-in on the Geminids. "Haha, you should be careful about my imagination. But that's great! I'm so happy for you!"
A date on Christmas Eve... "Great timing for romance, too. Well, I hope the date goes great. Are you going anywhere in particular?"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ichika reassures Ren that her mom isn't a snoop, which is reassuring; she'd know best, and she wouldn't lie to them, even if it is her mom.
Ichika calls them very crushable. Ren's grin turns devilish as he crosses his legs and poses again. They have no romantic interest in Ichika and vice versa, but it's a flattering compliment all the same. "Thanks." A beat. "Should I admit this was our second overnight trip together?" (They know full well they just did.)
"As long as you aren't spilling it anywhere, I'm not scared of your imagination," they joke. (Mostly joke.) Their devilish demeanor breaks apart into metaphorical flowers spinning over their head. "It really is. I didn't think I'd have a Christmas Eve date this year." They shake their head at the question. "It's probably not going to be anything big or fancy, since we only just started going out. We'll probably just see where it takes us."
But there's something exciting about that. Making no plans means anything can happen--and there'll be plenty going on during the holiday, so they'll be spoiled for options. And if it gets too noisy or crowded... there's always the option to head back to Leblanc for a quiet night in.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika's mom makes a habit of not listening in when Ichika is having company over, even if it's innocent and platonic like today. ...Because often it hasn't been.
As far as Ichika's concerend she's just paying Ren a compliment, and she claps softly at the pose. "Of course!" And then she grins wickedly back. "You definitely should," she says. "Exciting!"
Ichika taps her lips to show that she's not going to share it elsewhere, and those metaphorical flowers are joined by the same over Ichika's. She's delighted at all this. "And now you do!"
She nods thoughtfully. "Sometimes, having loose plans is better--it means you can go where your hearts take you. That's always nice."
"Well, wonderful. I know you like him a lot--I'm happy to hear it."
"And of course, if you feel like gushing about any details sometimes, I happen to know somebody who likes to hear that kind of thing..." Ichika grins again.
"Of course, I'll have a busy Christmas myself. I have two dates to contend with. At least they both know about each other, or I'd be in trouble."
Can you imagine? A special night like that coming and a lot of would-be dates all meeting together to realize they've been tricked...?
Nah, wouldn't happen to either of them.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"You'll be the first I go to," Ren promises, then amends, "Well, besides Morgana. Actually, after him, you're the first I've told, period. I'm still deciding on who I'm going to let in about it. Makoto also knew--that's part of why we broke up..." They rub the side of their neck sheepishly. "But that was just the nail in the coffin. There were other reasons."
...Which Ichika can no doubt guess, but technically speaking, Makoto's crush on Haru isn't Ren's secret to share. Even though Ichika totally figured it out already, well before Makoto herself did.
"Yeah," they say fondly. "It's funny. I couldn't stand him at first. He tries so hard to put on that perfect mask, you know? It made him feel fake. The fact that he's a detective after the Phantom Thieves only made it worse. I know him a lot better now, though, and... now I trust him." They chuckle. "Good thing I can, or I'd be in trouble."
Ahem.
Two dates is a lot, though. "Are all three of you going out together, or are you doing them one at a time?" they wonder, curious. "On that note, are you guys going anywhere in particular?"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
"Heh. I can go second after Morgana," she allows, not inclined to push that one--Morgana is a gentleman after all. But, "Really? I'm honored." Then, Makoto... Ichika winces a little. "Yeah. You had a lot of reasons there. I saw some of them."
Ichika definitely figured that one out, but it's not her place to say anything about it any more than it's Ren's place to tell her, so they don't!
"Heh. It's something, how that works. Now that you see under the mask..." It's different. And indeed--"Yeah? Well, trust is a solid foundation. I'm glad you can." Trouble would be a problem.
But, "Both," she says. "I want something for the three of us, but... Ah, I want some 'alone time' with each of them too, you know?"
"Nowhere super fancy," she says, "At least, not for the date--I don't want to put that on either of them. They both like to pay their own way, so..." She doesn't want to make that a Thing.
"But I did get a nice hotel room."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Morgana lives with Ren, too! As their constant companion and mentor, it's only natural Ren would talk to him about nearly everything first.
Ren nods, seeing that wince. "It worked out in the end for both of us. We care about each other a lot, but I was rebounding on her after Minako and I broke up, and she was having emotional difficulties of her own at the time too. We were vulnerable to each other, and... I guess we both thought that was love."
Strictly speaking, it is. It just isn't romantic love. Maybe in another world, it could've worked out, but that's not where they live.
"Yeah," they reiterate fondly--of masks, and of trust.
Both, she says. "Ambitious," they note. "I'm rooting for you, though. They both deserve the best." They give her another crooked smile. "I'm glad you're not going to skimp on either."
Even if her mention of a nice hotel room gets a pair of raised eyebrows. Ichika can say or not say whatever she wants, but Ren definitely caught that implication.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It is!!
And, "Well, that's good at least. Sometimes, 'care' isn't the kind of care you think it is. It's good that you can still be good friends, right?" A rheotircal 'right', since Ren already established that for themself. "Hopefully she can move on, too."
Ambitious! Ichika laughs softly. "Well, they're really important to me," she says. "I feel just the same. They do." And she deserves something nice, too. "Thanks. I know sometimes Ryuji-kun feels like he's an 'extra'... so I want to make sure he doesn't have to feel that way."
Ichika catches the raised eyebrows, and Ichika smiles back, if more lopsidedly. "Sex complicates things," she admits. "I wouldn't change it--but it definitely complicates things. It's important to me, though. It's... the way I best know how to share my feelings, with someone I feel that way about."
"But obviously we're being safe," she's quick to reassure. "That's especially important for me."
"I understand if it's awkward to hear it's happening, though--we're all your friends."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Yeah." Makoto did seem guilty about everything afterwards, but Ren did their best to reassure her that everything was fine on their end. They don't want her to feel bad about it; no one's at fault, after all.
Damn, she really did just come out and say it. That's just like Ichika, though. Ren nods once. They raise a hand palm-out. "I'm not going to think that deeply on it. As long as you're all happy and being safe, that's all I care about."
They smile. "It sounds like we're both going to have a great time, though. Cheers." They reach for their drink and raise it to her before taking a swallow.