2026-02-24: My Tamagoyaki
- Log: 2026-02-24 My Tamagoyaki
- Cast: Hibari Aoki, Ren Amamiya, Morgana (NPCed by Ren Amamiya)
- Where: Inokashira Park, Tokyo
- OOC Date: February 26, 2026
- IC Date: Sunday, September 30, 2012
- Summary: Now that the two of them know the other's secret identity, Hibari and Ren meet up to chat and discuss how the Phantom Thieves came to be, as well as the Mementos Shadow of the one who got Hibari disgraced and sent to Kasugayama High. They also discuss Ren's ongoing saxophone practice to impress their girlfriend, and more specifically the cooking lessons she's been giving them and what the next step should be. Ren will have a new eatery to share with her by next time...
(|============================= Inokashira Park ==============================|)
-========================================================= Tokyo/Kichijoji ====-
A large park just outside Kichijoji, Inokashira Park boasts a host of cherry
trees, cypresses, and red pines along its walking paths and benches with
Inokashira Pond at its center. Cherry blossoms turn the place pink in the
spring, while summer enjoys blooming magenta azalea bushes, then red leaves in
autumn as they change colors and fall. Even winter has plenty of beauty to
offer, as the park is host to many migrating birds during that season.
The park also hosts a small temple dedicated to Benzaiten, a Buddhist goddess of
eloquence, which itself hosts a petting zoo and an aquarium. Vendors, musicians,
artists, and street performers gather there, taking advantage of the bustling
crowds who gather on weekends and holidays and especially during cherry blossom
season.
The pond in particular offers boat rentals for visitors, from normal rowboats to
colorful yellow-roofed boats to swan-shaped boats. Lights among the cherry trees
illuminate their reflections on the waters at night, and wooden post fences keep
visitors from falling in.
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Hibari has had a... let's say 'event-filled' week. Between Tsubasa's capture (which she was present for, and unable to stop) and rescue, and having to deal with Kurou afterwards as part of the Thorn Gang - which she didn't enjoy much - and some personal matters mixed in... well.
And it's not exactly letting up, but some of the events are less unpleasant than others. And there's at least one loose string she *definitely* wants to follow up on.
Which is why Ren got some texts.
> Hey Ren!
> There's some things I'd like to talk to you about. A bit about last week... but that's not all of it. We've got our own deal too, right? :) And I wanted to ask how you were coming along.
> I'll be in Tokyo Sunday, if you want to meet up?
Hibari is one of those people who types more or less correctly when she's texting, apparently.
The rest was just organizational. Hibari knows Tokyo less well than she knows Sumaru, but she has a vague idea of some districts and her phone will help her with the rest. And she's been to Kichijoji before, though never to the park...
Hibari is about five minutes late for the arranged time because she misjudged some transit. So she's walking briskly down the path to her destination, in a dark skirt and a green top with a faint pattern; not quite solid green, but several greens in almost vine-like curls and arcs.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren gets it. They're in the same boat--the exact same boat, for some of those events. They haven't seen Kurou again since that battle, but they are going to see Umie soon, and considering what he knows about their respective situation... hopefully they can get some answers.
But that's tomorrow. Yesterday, they'd gotten several texts from Hibari. Like so:
> Hey. Sounds good to me.
> How about Inokashira Park? It's a nice place for a quiet talk.
They welcome the chance to meet up--and once Saturday is over and Sunday has come, they'll welcome it even more. They go to meet Yoshida in Shibuya for the earlier part of the day, and in the later afternoon, they're in Inokashira Park, practicing the saxophone as they wait for Hibari to show up.
Morgana's sitting on the bench next to them as they do so. They're doing better. They can actually hit the correct notes most of the time now.
When Hibari arrives, he looks up at her. "Hey, Hibari," he greets her, raising a paw. No need to pretend he can't talk, now that they all know each other's true identities. "I hope you don't mind me hanging out--but if you do, I can go for a walk."
Ren takes their lips off the sax's reed and gives her a nod. "I like your outfit," they remark, nodding at the subtly patterned top.
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
It was mostly awkward for Hibari in that meeting because Kurou didn't know half the people he was talking to were Ogre and Mujina, and she didn't know what to say - plus, while some of the Thorn Gang fights, Hibari's position in Kasugayama is a little more complicated than that. Also, she doesn't like confrontations like that. But she needed to be there, and she *wanted* to be there for Tsubasa, so... it's a mess. At least she doesn't have to deal with Umie too!
(Because she doesn't know Umie.)
Hibari likes parks as long as they're not raining on her, and the weather is predicted to be maybe a little cloudy but not raining, so...
> That works for me!
> I'll meet you there tomorrow afternoon.
Hibari was not actually aware that Ren was musically inclined...
...or, well, sort of musically inclined. That was hardly a perfect run. But that's why you practice, and she's not going to put them down about it. "When'd you start?" she asks instead, nodding toward the saxophone once Ren is no longer actively playing.
She doesn't play any instrument actively, but she's aware of how hard they can be to get started on.
Hibari gives Morgana a smile as she sits too. "I don't mind if you stay," she says, though she does make a quick glance to see if anyone's going to notice her talking to a cat. The answer is no, but... "You had me fooled before," she admits, remembering him from the first time she went to Leblanc with Ichika.
To Ren, the smile is bigger. "Thanks!" she says, brightly. "One of the things that happened since I came out this way was I got more interested in clothes. Sumaru and Tokyo have *way* bigger selections than Inaba ever did." Not really a surprise, that.
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren never used to be musically inclined, certainly. They like listening to music, but have never shown an interest in playing.
Case in point: "A few weeks ago," they reply. "Someone suggested it to me right before summer vacation, and I decided to take the plunge right after."
For having started that recently, they're not bad, honestly. They're no future professional musician, but they could swing learning how to, say, skillfully play a sexy piece of music to woo a lover. Their entire vibe is subdued right now, though. A good time for practicing the basics and ingraining them into their lungs and fingers.
But with Hibari here, they set their secondhand sax aside in its case and carefully shut it. If it does start drizzling, they don't want it to get wet.
"Heh heh~" Morgana's tail curls as he smirks at Hibari's admission. "I've gotten good at playing the part!" He pokes Ren with a paw. "Following this guy around all day means I've got to be careful when I speak up!"
Ren smiles briefly, but that's all. Hibari's clearly in a much better mood than they are. They nod in agreement--no surprise at all. "I've been meaning to get some new clothes, myself. There's this boutique in the town over from where I live that I've been wanting to check out, but they're really expensive..." They scoot over to make room for Hibari. "So what's up?"
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
"Huh! I figured it would be longer." Hibari was wondering if he'd decided to join the band or something. Though given what she knows about Ren's position at Shujin, that seems pretty unlikely.
Maybe it is all about the romance...
Hibari is the sort of person who tries to put on a pleasant face whether or not she is actually in a good mood or not. She smiles a lot, and easily, and always has. But she doesn't seem in a horribly *bad* mood, at least; even she can't (or wouldn't) hide something like that.
She's happy, at least, to keep it up for Morgana. "Well, I don't remember you sounding anything like a cat the first time we met," Hibari says, "so you're doing it pretty well." Of course, she hadn't met him in the Metaverse then so that's less of a surprise than it seems - Hibari isn't entirely clear on what lets you hear Morgana and has just assumed he's a good actor.
"That's always a problem," Hibari agrees with Ren. "Big city, big prices... I tend to keep an eye out for deals, but if you're looking for a specific place or for a specific item, sometimes it takes a while. Which one is that?" Even if she hasn't heard of it, it never hurts to know.
So what's up?
"Well, I could ask something like 'how long were you keeping this a secret'," Hibari says, with another smile. "But instead first I'm going to say 'thank you'. I don't think we could have helped Tsubasa-san without you and your friends. I knew you knew Phoenix but I didn't know that you knew everything about them. When Ogre suggested we talk I wasn't sure if you folks would go for it."
...
"I *am* curious, though. Don't worry," she adds. "I promised I'd keep things to myself, and I meant it. I'm a Rumourmonger - I know Tokyo doesn't have those - but there are some things I don't tell people." She just likes to *know*.
"And then... you can tell me how your cooking has been going."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Yeah, it's hard," Ren says, looking down at their saxophone case. "It's weirdly satisfying, though. Learning how to play means getting that much closer to making something..." They rub the back of their neck. They know in their own head that this is not a Minako-oriented thing to say, but still-- "...beautiful." --it's true.
They definitely haven't joined the band. Shujin's student body would never accept them. The student librarian barely lets them use the library, and only with great and open discomfort. Ren doesn't bother to mention that, though. They're probably still better off than the average Kasugayama High student. At least anyone who doesn't go to school with them will see their uniform and assume based on appearances that they're a normal student. "Cuss High" kids don't get that privilege.
"Good!" Morgana declares at being told he didn't sound like a cat before. He will never, ever, ever admit it--not before some significant character growth, anyway--but he does know in his heart of heart that he does have many catlike behaviors... Hearing that he seems un-catlike to Hibari (that's how he's choosing to interpret what she said, anyway) is affirming.
"It's called Peacock Silk. It's over in Shimokitazawa. Tsubasa could tell you more--they've been, and they gushed about the place to me," Ren replies, retrieving and this time keeping a slight smile. Indeed, Hibari might have heard about it from them already; it's where they got their binder.
How long a secret? They shrug. "Just since April," they reply, even though technically Hibari didn't commit to the question. It's a simple answer, so they give it anyway. They nod once at her words of thanks, noting the way she phrases that. It sounds like Ogre and Phoenix haven't told her they are Phantom Thieves now. They'll follow that cue and keep their peace on that matter. "A bunch of us are friends with Tsubasa, me included. Even without that, we don't abandon people in need."
She does get back to the topic of their start, though, and that's fine. Between their personal history with her and her relationship with the Thorn Gang, they trust her not to spread it around. "That first change of heart in the news, for that teacher from Shujin Academy? That was our first mission, period." They sober. "We weren't trying to rock society back then. We were just trying to protect ourselves from a predator."
...which might tell Hibari more than anything else they could say.
As for their cooking... "I've gotten better at rice balls. I make those almost every day now, so it's easy to get better fast." They rub the back of their neck again. "...I tried making an omelet for breakfast this morning, just for a change of pace, but, uh... it turned into scrambled eggs." So, they're still learning, in other words.
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Maybe it's not Minako-focused, but Hibari doesn't know that Ren has a girlfriend (or, at least, has not had it confirmed), let alone who it is and what she likes. But art is something you do to express yourself - she had this conversation not that long ago, with Yusuke no less - and if Ren thinks they're part of something beautiful, she certainly isn't going to tell him otherwise.
She smiles. "I get it," she agrees. "I've never really played anything like a saxophone but art of any kind is satisfying to work at. Both for yourself and to share with others." That's certainly true of music... it doesn't have to be for everyone, but it's probably for someone.
It is true that Hibari runs into issues when she's in her uniform. People make assumptions they wouldn't about people in other school uniforms. And she's aware of at least some of the treatment Ren gets, if not all the details - probably not all of it, but when everybody's talking about the exchange student, looking into Shujin at all means she hears some things.
But Hibari avoids going to Shujin personally, so there's that too.
Hibari isn't going to tell Morgana otherwise. He can't be a cat, though; cats don't talk. But why (and how) is he pretending to be a cat? Maybe she'll ask sometime; that's another lingering question for the pile.
"Oh! I've heard of Peacock Silk." Hibari actually *has* heard of it from Tsubasa, but also through other means. THere's the rumours, after all, about what it takes to get inside... "I've never been, though. I hear they've got some interesting items."
Hibari suspects Ogre and Phoenix are close to the Phantom Thieves - members, or close associates at least. They certainly know each other both in the mask and out of it, which is more than she would have expected - she knows the Phantom Thieves guard their identities. But she hasn't asked them straight-out, because she expects they wouldn't answer, with the possible exception of if she asked *in front* of Ren so they all admitted it together. Or not, as the case may be.
"Mmm," she says. "Still. It's a lot to ask from someone you don't know. And in that case, you didn't know me, though you know Ichika-chan." This time she uses her actual name, on purpose. "Though, I suppose you do now," she finishes, with a slight grin.
She lets Ren explain about the first Change of Heart, at least a little. She stretches her legs out while he talks, resting her heels against the ground for a moment, before pulling them back in and sitting more properly. She *is* in a skirt, after all. "That was your first? Well... I understand wanting to do that," she says. "And it explains why you came to help Ichika so quickly, too." With Shadow Eiji, of course. "And it just kind of went from there, huh...?"
Hibari volunteers a little information of her own: "For me it was different. It was - a mistake, almost. I got into Mementos," she explains. "Even before Danzaburou I could sneak around, a little, without being seen. And I found the Shadow of a person I knew. I don't mind saying I ended up running away, but that's when it started. He's still out there - down there, I mean."
Hibari never has said exactly why she's going to Kasugayama...
But, cooking. She actually laughs, though it doesn't seem *at* Ren so much as *with* Ren. "Everybody does that a few times," she says. "I did too. That just takes some practice. There's a knack to it - I could show you but it's hard to describe - but you'll manage it. At least you're still working at it!"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Yeah. I'm... learning to play so I can impress my girlfriend Minako," Ren says, looking back over at the saxophone case. They wouldn't have otherwise mentioned that--but the whole reason they and Minako had friction yesterday was because they don't tell people that. Hibari's a friend, and what's more, someone they've fought alongside multiple times now. She ought to know. "But also," they continue, "if I hadn't been interested in the saxophone already, I don't think I would've gone for it."
While their immediate thought when So-young had encouraged them to take up an instrument had been Minako, it did take learning Akechi loves jazz to push them into going through with it, after all.
"Don't tell her, by the way," they add, looking up at Hibari with a slight smile. "It's going to be a surprise for once I get good at it." As for Peacock Silk-- "Yeah, same." Maybe one of these days when they have a rare free afternoon, they'll pop by just to look around... Shimokita's right next to Yongen-Jaya, so it wouldn't be out of their way.
It is true that they hadn't known who Mujina was before Tsubasa's rescue; even their encounter in Eiji's Palace happened because Ichika had coordinated it. "I do," they agree. And it does--explain why the Phantoms helped Ichika so quickly, that is, at least in part. It helped that they had a victim to immediately corroborate what a godawful monster Eiji was; they could skip research and making sure this was a target whose heart needed changing, and get right to taking on his Palace.
They lean forward, looking over at her, when she explains how she Awoke. 'Almost' a mistake, huh...? Well, it was fully a mistake when they ended up in the Metaverse for the first time, so they get it. "Is that someone you need the Phantom Thieves' help with?" they ask. If he's still out there, either in the real world or Mementos...
They can tell Hibari's laughing with them, and they smile ruefully, rubbing the back of their neck. "Still tasted pretty good," they offer. "It's kind of fun, getting to take control of my own meals, even when I mess it up. It makes me feel self-sufficient." As for the trick to making omelets-- "Maybe we can make that the next cooking lesson. Actually, it'd be cool to learn how to make rolled omelets, specifically. How do you get them into those rectangular shapes?"
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Oh, he's learning for a girlfriend. That does explain it. (That Akechi is also involved in the decision will remain a secret from Hibari.)
Hibari grins. "I won't," she says, "but you'll have to introduce me sometime." Hibari likes meeting new people, and Ren has so far shown they've made pretty good choices in who their close friends are. The only one she's not sure about so far is Queen, and that's only because the only time they've spoken was their argument; Hibari will get over it.
'Almost' a mistake might be an understatement. Getting in there was a mistake, but Hibari - who already had heard rumours about demons - was possibly a bit better equipped to handle being in Mementos the first time. Even if she'd done nothing but hide and sneak and try to find a way out until after she'd awoken to Danzaburou, and even if she had gone in *almost* entirely blind, the difference between 'completely' and 'almost' is pretty significant.
Though it had still been dangerous. She almost hadn't made it.
Is it someone she needs the Phantom Thieves' help with? Hibari hadn't really thought about asking. "...maybe," she says, sounding a little uncertain. "He doesn't have a Palace, as far as I can tell, or he *didn't* earlier in the year. But he's not a good person, either. He uses his family's connections to get out of trouble, and he takes advantage of people."
"...he's the reason I'm at Kasugayama, actually." Hibari trails off. "I'll tell you the whole story sometime if you want. It doesn't matter, though. I haven't actually found him in Mementos since. Maybe his Shadow went deeper?" Hibari frowns. "I've gone in looking for him but I've never seen hide or hair of him since."
As for omelets: "A lot of the time you can eat your mistakes in cooking," Hibari agrees. "Sometimes it's bad, but if it just *looks* funny it's fine..." But then Ren asks about rolled omelets. "Would you believe me if I said those were much harder than they look?" Hibari asks. "Master a French or American-style omelet first and you'll have a better shot at it... it also takes a square pan. It's harder because you need to fill it edge to edge to actually make them rectangular, and the sides are straight instead of sloped, so it's harder to get out in one piece. I've got one, though."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
"Will do," Ren replies, some ease slipping into their slight smile. They are doing it, they are being better for their girlfriend. ...They know that isn't really how they should be thinking of it, and Morgana's point that they hadn't really resolved the underlying issue still lingers at the back of their mind, but they can't help but feel a little better about the friction they had with Minako yesterday. They want to make it better, and they are.
(...They're doing the thing Minako asked them to do, at least.)
"He doesn't need to have a full-on Palace for us to do something about it. As long as he's got a Shadow in Mementos, we can steal his heart--as long as we all agree to do it," Ren replies. "That's one of our baseline rules. We don't change anyone's heart unless we all agree to it. But we can at least review a request from someone in need." They frown. "Especially since it sounds like he's an asshole."
They do want that story--but... "Only if you're comfortable sharing it," they reply. They know they don't like talking about their own exile from Inaba--not that that's precisely what this is for her. "If you are, I'm happy to hear you out." But it turns out that she hasn't found his Shadow since, in Mementos or otherwise. Their eyebrows furrow, and they look over at Morgana, the resident Mementos expert.
He's placed a paw on his chin. "That's strange... If he has a Shadow and it doesn't appear in Mementos anymore, that usually means his distortions have gotten so severe that he's developed a Palace." Morgana sets his paw down and fixes his intensely blue eyes on Hibari. "Does he not show up on the Meta-Nav anymore either? Have you checked?" He figures someone as smart as Hibari probably would have, but it's worth double checking.
French and American-style omelets? Ren's eyes widen. "Uh. That sounds complicated," they say, a little alarm. And it even needs its own special pan?! They consider this. "...I think I've seen those kinds of pans in the store before. I always wondered what they were for," they muse. "I never knew omelets were so complex..."
But that just makes them that much more of a worthwhile challenge. They adjust their glasses with a finger to the bridge of their nose and look back up, dark eyes set with determination. "...Now I have to take them on."
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
Hibari sticks to talking about cooking first. Cooking is easy. "American and French omelettes are the ones you're probably thinking of. American ones are less stirred, more set, so they take more toppings... French ones are rolled, but round, and they don't have as many fillings in them. They've got curds in them - you stir them more, but not quite enough for them to break apart into scrambled eggs."
"But tamagoyaki... you start with it all along the bottom of the pan - there's not a lot of room to move it - and then you work it up, rolling it and keeping it pressed against the back side of the pan so it stays squared off." Hibari gestures as she talks. "So it's more complicated to do. I'm not saying you *can't* do it," Hibari clarifies, holding up one finger. "It's not impossible! Just that you want to get a handle on basic omelettes first. At least enough to not break it into scrambled eggs."
Honestly, it's kind of charming, the way Ren wants to rise to that challenge.
But, as for the Shadow...
She nods along with Morgana. "I think he's still in Mementos," Hibari says. "I check every month or so to see if I get a Palace hit, and I haven't yet. But I think he might be deeper now. Or maybe he always was; I'm not quite sure where I was in Mementos when I ended up in it, for all I know *I* was deeper than I can easily get back to." She sounds apologetic. "I could go into Mementos and really search, but I've kind of chickened out of doing that..."
Hibari lets out a breath, takes in a slower one through her nose. "Okay," she says. "I don't tell many people this, I hope you know. I mean, the *one thing* you don't ask at Kasugayama is why someone's there. But I think you should know, so:"
"His name's Kenzo Aoki. I mentioned him to you before," she adds. "Third year at Shujin, now. Anyway, before I went to Kasugayama or Akiyama, we went to the same school in Sumaru in second year. We got placed next to each other, so we got to talking, and ended up friends, or so I thought - we had assigned seating by name and we've got the same family name. No relation though." Not too unusual, Aoki is in the top fifty surnames.
"Anyway, we weren't quite dating but we weren't quite not..." Hibari seems a little awkward about that, and glosses over it. "We went out one afternoon. Night. And, uh, he'd gotten some alcohol from somewhere, and it seemed like a good idea at the time..." Hibari isn't always good at confrontation, and used to be worse at it.
Hibari flushes slightly. "We got drunk. By then it was night and he - anyway, we did some vandalism. I don't remember a lot after this but he broke in somewhere, threw something through the window, and we got arrested."
"When it went to the police, they were all on his side. He said I must have stolen the alcohol from the izakaya my father worked at, and that I was pushing him to steal something for me. I know I didn't steal the alcohol because we weren't missing any, and I don't think I'd've done the rest of it..."
Hibari trails off. "But they decided it was my fault, anyway. His parents didn't think he could ever do anything wrong, and that I was just some hick who was trying to drag him down. And then... he bragged that his family could solve all his problems, when nobody could hear but me. His uncle would just make all the problems go away. And that he could do whatever he likes, because there'd always be someone like me to take the blame - and even if I told the police what I said, they wouldn't believe me."
"...They didn't. The police said that my father was clearly covering for me with the missing alcohol, when he said they weren't missing any so I hadn't taken it," Hibari says. "And that I should have been raised better than that. Among other things. I got probation, and sent to reform school. He moved to Tokyo with his uncle and they pretended it didn't happen, that he was just going to a better school for his last year. I don't think anyone at Shujin knows. It's not like you, anyway." The students don't know, even if staff might.
Hibari sighs. "And I know - I mean, I'm not completely blameless. I messed up, I know it. But I know I didn't do *all* of what I was accused of. And it's - it's not right, to have people be able to just..." She trails off again. "Control the police, I guess. Get out of things because of who your family is. The police are corrupt, and nobody seems to care. Or notice. Because anyone with power is on their side, or protected by them, or both."
She looks up again. "Sorry to keep going like that. But - that's why I'm at Kasugayama. And why I really don't like him." A beat. "You're right, by the way. He is an asshole." For Hibari, who so rarely uses bad language, to say that, is a step. "That's why I said you should stay away from him, when I didn't know you were - well, a Phantom Thief."
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
Ren holds their chin and listens intently as Hibari explains the difference between American, French, and Japanese omelets. French omelets sort of sound like the kind of slice-open omelet for some versions of omurice that they've seen viral videos of. American-style omelet is definitely what they were thinking of, especially this morning--they've seen those in movies. And who doesn't know delicious, delicious tamagoyaki? The world of omelets really is complex.
"Fair," they say of starting with the basics. "I'll work my way up. After sharing a new restaurant with you, of course."
That is the deal they made. Gain enough confidant ranks with Hibari and they'll be able to prepare master-class healing foods for their friends!
"Don't worry about it," Morgana reassures Hibari. "It sounds like an unusual situation, but you don't need to search for him all by yourself."
Ren nods agreement--and listens as Hibari tells her story. They do indeed remember Kenzo Aoki and how she'd warned them away from him. She's clearly feeling awkward about the nature of their former relationship, so they let that pass without comment, but that must've made the inevitable sting of betrayal hurt that much worse... Especially if alcohol was involved. For an instant, Ren dreads where this is going next--but it's not quite that bad, thankfully. Vandalism, theft, and Kenzo throwing Hibari under the bus to keep himself out of jail.
Their eyes narrow when she describes just how deeply that ran. That sure is consistent for the police, in their experience--just doing whatever a rich, powerful man and/or his family wants them to do instead of doing what's /right/. They nod in sympathy, though they don't interrupt.
They do laugh a little, at least a bit in surprise, when Hibari calls him an asshole too. "Don't apologize. I completely get it now."
"What an absolute scoundrel! He definitely sounds like the sort the Phantom Thieves would target," Morgana yowls.
Ren nods in agreement. "We've got a couple people we're looking into right now--but if he's only got a Shadow in Mementos, it won't be as big an investment. I can pass on your request to everyone for you, if you want." If she doesn't want, they'll leave it be, though.
<Pose Tracker> Hibari Aoki has posed.
"Great," Hibari says, with another smile. "And of course I'll help. But it sounds like you've got a project." And working on omelettes is definitely something Ren can take on with the skills they have... maybe they can't do the fanciest one yet, but getting the basics down? Absolutely.
Those confident ranks really will help...
Fortunately, the nature of the event isn't quite as bad as Ren might have been thinking. Unfortunately, it's still pretty bad, just in a different way... it's still a mark on Hibari that she can't easily escape. Even when she becomes an adult, she'll still have to put down that her graduating high school was Kasugayama.
She notes that eyes-narrowing from Ren, and that comment from Morgana. "He's certainly a scoundrel. And his uncle really does have some connections - he's in the government, I think - so apparently he's not *wrong*. I just wish it didn't work that way."
"And I'm hoping he doesn't end up worse than he is," she agrees with the pair. "I haven't heard that he's been up to anything, so if he's just in Mementos - but if a Palace shows up, I'll find out as soon as I can." She has been checking that now and again.
Hibari considers for a moment, tapping her knee. "I wouldn't mind that," she eventually decides. "But it's kind of lower priority, given everything else. I didn't even think about him for a while when I was helping Ichika-chan."
"But I want to come along if you do. I mean... you know I've got useful skills. You might not even be able to find him without me. But that's assuming we can find him at all." They might need to delve deeper into Mementos than Hibari can usually go, if that's where he's ended up. Maybe when another passage opens...
They're looking into someone, too. Or multiple someones. "If there's anything I can do to help *you*," she says, "please let me know. Either as Rumourmonger Hibari... or as Mujina. I owe you - don't tell me I don't! If you're going to help me with this, I do."
She looks up at the sky for a moment, then - "It's getting really cloudy-looking," she says. "More than I was hoping... Want to move on for now? I don't want to get caught out in the rain if I don't have to. But it was great to catch up with you again!"
<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.
They'll continue to work on onigiri too, of course--they're improving, but they haven't mastered them yet--but the complexity of eggs has them intrigued. It'll be an exciting next recipe to tackle, and who knows? Maybe they can combine the two and start learning how to do omurice after that. Gotta start making chicken for rice ball filler now to prepare for that.
The improvement of the relationship and trust between Ren and Hibari definitely helps too. Both of them have confided in the other now--indeed, acted as the other's confidant. Rank up!!
"I'll keep an eye out for the name and search Mementos too," Morgana says. "If it's a low priority, we don't have to sweat it, but better to nip a potential Palace in the bud if we can, right? Fighting a Mementos Shadow is way easier than fighting a Palace Holder." (Ren nods their agreement here.)
Of course, if Hibari's suspicions are current and Kenzo's Shadow has just gone (was always?) deeper into Mementos than they all can currently go, then The Phantoms' hands are tied. Still, Ren nods slowly. "I'll run it by the others--I'd have to do that anyway, so we can come to a consensus on if we're going to change his heart in the first place--but I doubt that'll be a problem. We all know who you are and that you're reliable, and you're the one who was betrayed by him in the first place."
Hibari has a right to be there to see his change of heart through, in other words.
Ren smiles at her counter-offer, briefly. "If you know or can find out anything about someone named Futaba Sakura, that's one. Or if you can help Tsubasa figure out where Daichi Furudate's Palace is, that'd also be a big help. We've clocked his distortion, but the location's still a mystery to us." Alibaba said they'd figure that out for The Phantoms, but Ren doesn't want to put all their eggs in one basket--especially after Alibaba threatened them all with exposure to their enemies.
They follow her gaze up to the sky. "Mm. Yeah." They reach down to grab their saxophone case and stand up; Morgana hops up onto their shoulder to ride along. "Likewise, Hibari." As freaked out as they were by running into her again, that was ultimately because of their shared hometown and not anything about her herself. It's been good to reconnect with her--someone who knows about where they grew up without them having to say anything. "Let's get going."