Persona 5 x persona 4

chapter 41

Ren stared out the window of the limousine as it headed for some destination unknown to him. His mind was a mess of thoughts. Yu's disappearance, Goro almost dying by Haru's hands, the eggshells Naoto seemed to be walking around him, this new Ken person, the dead look in Rise's eyes. Everything was just too much at the moment, so he retreated into his mind, ignoring the conversation of his friends around him. The only thing Ren wanted at the moment was some time to retreat into his head and figure all these things out. The helicopter ride over had been a small blessing as it allowed him some time to think over it all.

Yu's disappearance was by far the biggest thing that worried Ren. He had been with Yu last night as he and his friends told him the epic tale of their adventures. Ren had listened like a bright-eyed grandchild. It was an amazing tale and by the end of it, Ren understood why Yu and his friends were so close. It was also something he took to heart, if Yu was his example then these friendships he was making were something that would be lasting. That had been a comforting fact that had helped him fall asleep the night before.

But now Yu was gone and all that wisdom his mentor was always ready to shower him with was gone. Ren in a way felt alone. Sure he had been leading the Phantom Thieves well before Yu appeared but the wisdom Yu offered seemed to make him feel as if he didn't need to shoulder it all on his own. Admittedly it was nice to have someone Ren could fall back on if things got tough, but now he was once again the man that had to face it all alone. Ren wanted his mentor back. Ren wanted his friend back.

Then there was the look in Rise's eyes. She looked as if her whole world had just suddenly been destroyed. The Rise Ren had known was gone and replaced by the shell of a woman barely conscious. Futaba's connection with the idol only made the whole situation worse for Ren because Futaba only wanted to bring Rise's smile back but his sister had no real social skills to do so. Futaba was slowly retreating into her mind and Ren knew he'd need to keep a careful eye on his sister. Looking away from the window Ren glanced over at his navigator. Amidst all the ruckus of the other Thieves talking about things Ren didn't care about at the moment; Futaba sat glued to her phone. She was currently coping, at least not everything was horrible.

Speaking of horrible. Ren's eyes drifted back to the window after he received confirmation his little sister was fine for the most part. What the hell was that move Goro pulled? Offering a gun to Futaba then to Haru. Did he believe such a grand stunt would earn him atonement? Fool. Luckily neither Futaba nor Haru hated him. He understood why Goro had to do it however and while it wasn't the way he wanted Goro to do it, the gesture had been effective. Ren would at least give Goro that much. The shock of almost watching someone Ren cared about almost die in front of him by the hands of someone he just as equally cared about. That was kind of messed up. Also, in a way during all that, he felt Futaba grab onto his arm with a death grip. Futaba wanted to do something but it was as if she was paralyzed. Ren would not have held it against Haru if she had pulled the trigger to end his life, but it would have created a rift between them. Ren cared about Goro but he cared about all of the people around him.

A gentle touch on Ren's leg pulled his focus away from the storm of thoughts raging in his mind. Ren turned to the owner of the touch as his gaze leveled off against Makoto. She held his look with a concerned look of her own. She had picked up on his mental distress before anyone else had, how clever of the woman he had given his heart to. Then again that mind of hers was part of the reason he was so smitten with her. The problem was as soon as he saw that look on her face it was instantly replaced in his mind with the dead one Rise wore. Ren had to pull himself away as his heart lurched in his chest. His line of sight found its way back to the window. Would Makoto have that same look as Rise if something happened to him? Did she care about him that much? More questions flooded Ren's mind as he subconsciously gripped the fabric of his pants, jaw locked in a scowl.