2025-08-25: X Marks the Treasure

• Cutscene: X Marks the Treasure
• Cast: Ren Amamiya, Morgana
• Where: Shibuya - Mementos Entrance
• OOC Date: 2025-08-25
• IC Date: Sunday, July 01 2012
• Summary: After Ren comes out as X-gender and pansexual to Tsubasa, they discuss it with Morgana, who overheard the whole thing.

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After trading good-byes with Tsubasa, Ren picks up their bag with Morgana in it and walks off. There is a tense sort of silence between the two of them. Shibuya is a bad place to try to find privacy, but there's one way to secure it. Ren pulls their smartphone from their pocket and activates the Meta-Nav.

A moment later, the people are all gone, and a vague fuzz blurs the edges of their vision. In their bag, Morgana has taken on a more cartoonish mein, though he deigns to let Ren carry him until the two of them reach the yawning mouth of Shibuya Station. They don't head down into Mementos, though. Ren simply sets their bag down and sits on the top step. Morgana hops out and looks up at them with his massive blue eyes.

"So," Ren starts, keeping their tone neutral. "I guess you have questions for me."

"Not really," Morgana replies, subdued. "You explained it to Tsubasa pretty clearly."

Ren rubs the back of their neck and looks away. "...This is embarrassing. I got so caught up in talking to them, I completely forgot you were there."

"I could tell. You're usually pretty stoic, but you lit up when Tsubasa called you... I mean, acknowledged you as a girl."

Heat rises in Ren's cheeks. He's right about that; she did get really happy. And it makes her happy now to hear Morgana put it as acknowledged, too.

"It sounds tough for both of you--them having to deal with others not accepting them, and you having to hide what you are. In your case, at least hiding befits a phantom thief, but Tsubasa's a good kid. They shouldn't have to deal with that."

"Yeah."

"I think I grasp it, though--the X-gender thing, I mean. I asked you once before about if you thought I was a boy or a girl, remember? I don't remember the days when I was human, but if I had that kind of doubt in myself, maybe I'm actually like you two too."

Ren lets out a breathy little laugh. "Maybe," they agree. Their heart, which had been racing, starts to settle, and they lean back on the sidewalk. "For what it's worth, there's a lot of different ways to be X-gender. I called myself futei-sei to Seki-kun, but there's a few different terms for what I am, like non-binary and genderfluid. They use those terms more in the West, though."

"Hmmm... It seems like you know yourself pretty well," Morgana comments, a kitty smile curling up his lips. He plonks himself down, tail curling around his feet. "'Fluid,' huh... That suits you well. You're able to adapt and go with the flow in any situation--and at the same time, you have strong convictions you adhere to. It makes sense to me."

"...I'm glad. I was actually... really scared for a while there."

"...Yeah? Why's that?"

"I come from a small country town. Very 'you're a boy or you're a girl, nothing else, and you better not be gay' vibes. I'm sort of... used to having to hide what I am." They look down at the darkness lurking within Mementos. "People can get really violent if you step outside the lines. Not even physically, necessarily, just... suddenly they hate you, just for being something they don't understand."

"That's terrible," Morgana murmurs, ears flat. "I'll admit, I was surprised at first too--maybe even shocked, for a little bit. I might've had a similar mindset as your hometown without realizing it." He perks up. "But what's changed, really? You're still you. Whether you're a boy or a girl or both or neither, you're just as reliable as before."

Ren smiles. "And you're still going to hold me to our deal?"

"Heh heh, that's it exactly!" Morgana says cheerfully. "See? You're as on the ball as you've always been! Nothing's changed."

They let out a long breath of relief. "Yeah. I'm still me. I've always been me. I know that." They turn their gaze up to the darkened sky. "I'm just glad you know that, too."

"Of course!" Morgana pauses. "But I admit I do have a question about, er... what you're attracted to. Boys or girls, it doesn't matter to you, you said?"

"Yeah."

"So when it comes to, er... for example, Ryuji vs. Lady Ann..."

"They're both good-looking people to me." Ren looks over at his companion. "Though that doesn't mean I'm going to come on to either of them, either. You can find somebody attractive and still be just friends with them, even if you're different genders." They pause. "...And you can be attracted to someone even if you're the same gender," they add meaningfully. "So, just for example, being attracted to a girl doesn't mean you must be a boy."

Morgana says nothing. They know he's thinking what they're thinking: how, when Ren suggested that he might be a girl, that he couldn't be because of his feelings for Ann.

Before long, though, he stands up on his hind legs. "W-well! As long as we've got that cleared up!" he declares a little too loudly. He cracks a grin and adds, "Ryuji'll be thrilled to hear you think he's good-looking, though! At least there's one person in this big blue world who does!"

Ren sits up straight. "He's not going to hear."

"Oh? I suppose it would be embarrassing to--"

"No, no... I mean, I don't..." They look away and clutch the back of their neck. "I don't want to tell the others. Not until I'm... sure they'll take it okay."

Morgana's smile fades until it settles into a look of concern. "You don't trust them?"

"I do trust them," Ren protests, a touch heated. "But this is complicated--and personal. I don't want the team to fall apart because it ended up being too much for someone, and besides, it's got nothing to do with our missions."

"...All right. You've got a point there," he concedes. "It's not my place to say anything about it, anyway. I didn't hear about this because you chose to tell me."

"...Thanks." Ren leans forward and rises to his feet. "And thanks for understanding, Morgana."

He smiles. "Don't mention it. So what do you want to do now?"

They pull out their phone. "We're right here, so... how about we walk around the Underground Mall for a bit before going home?"

There isn't anything they want to see or buy, but this has been an important conversation for both of them in a lot of ways. It'd be nice to have some time to process it. Fortunately, Morgana signals his agreement with a nod. "I've got your back, like always," he jokes.

Ren smiles back. Once they're back in the real world and not-a-cat Morgana is back in their bag, he sure will.