Of Phantoms and Thieves

Meeting Again

Ren had barely opened his eyes when he felt something drop on top of him. He grunted and opened his eyes. There was a large box on top of him. He sat up and found Sojiro staring at him. Ren rubbed his head and tried to remember the last thing he did. But everything was fuzzy.

"Get up, kiddo!" Sojiro huffed. "I can't move all of your stuff. And I have no clue where you want it."

Ren looked around at his surroundings. He was at the Sakura home. Futaba came up next to him and loomed over him.

"Come on, sleepyhead. You've been out for a while."

Ren tried to remember what he'd been doing the other day. Nothing came to him. Instead, he grabbed the box and stood up.

"A-Are we heading to LeBlanc?" he asked.

"That's where you'll be staying, no?" Futaba fixed her glasses.

"I guess..."

Futaba stared at Ren's arm for a long moment.

"You're going to let them know, right?"

Ren stared at the floor for a moment.

"They're going to find out eventually. How long ago was it?"

Ren began to tear up. Sojiro put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you alright, kid? There's no need for that. Let's just get your things and head on over. You decide what you want to do, alright?"

Ren slowly nodded. "Okay," he whispered.

<><><>

Ann stared dejectedly at her cup of coffee. She and Ryuji were the only ones at the Cafe today. No one else was there.

"Does it look clean enough?" Ryuji asked, tossing the rag on the table and sitting down next to Ann.

Ann looked around the empty room. She let out a heavy sigh.

"It's just not the same without him..."

Ryuji frowned. "Has it ever been?"

"No, it hasn't," Ann breathed, rubbing her arm. She looked up. "You think this place looks like it used to?"

"Mostly. Just not occupied. By him. Or anyone. Or... you know what I mean..."

"Yeah..."

Ann looked over her shoulder and stared at the bed.

"I wonder why they needed so much help moving everything back in, honestly. We've done a lot."

"Yeah. Do you think Ren's okay?" Ryuji questioned.

Ann shook her head. "Who knows? Did he ever look okay to you?"

Ryuji didn't answer. "You think it has something to do with his hometown or family?"

"Probably just bad memories of his arrest," Ann breathed. "And to think about his parents... I just really hope nothing is wrong with him."

The shop door opened downstairs just then. Ryuji and Ann stood up.

"Hey, guys!" Futaba exclaimed, coming up the stairs. She looked around. "Looks nice! Ren's here."

"Wait, for real?!?" Ryuji cried. "Ren-ren's here?!?"

"Yeah, he and Sojiro are getting stuff out of the car."

Ann and Ryuji followed Futaba down the stairs and out the door. The trunk of the car was open, and Sojiro was handing Ren some boxes.

"Ren!" Ann and Ryuji shouted at the same time.

He turned and looked at them. He then smiled. "Hi, guys."

Ryuji took the boxes from him and set them on the floor. He then gave Ren a hug, at which looked to startle Ren.

Ryuji then froze and pulled away.

"Dude, what's up with...?"

Ann tilted her head in confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Ryuji then grabbed Ren's arm, and Ren pulled away. He looked angry.

"Don't," was all Ren said.

Sojiro sighed. "Ren, he knows now. I told you, you'd have to tell them at some point."

Ren quickly turned away and walked furiously into the cafe, leaving the boxes behind. Ann slowly walked over to Ryuji and she grabbed his hand.

"Ryuji, what was-?"

"His arm..." Ryuji looked at Sojiro. "Something happened to his arm, right?"

Futaba was staring with wide eyes. "Oh, I knew I shouldn't have said anything..."

Sojiro rubbed the back of his neck. "He really didn't want to talk about it, but... yeah."

"W-What's wrong?" Ann asked.

Sojiro sighed. "He... he was in a wreck a few months ago. He... well... his arm isn't real."

"I saw..." Ryuji stated. "When he balled his fists..."

Ann looked back at the cafe. "Oh my... he..."

"I'll... I'll go check on him." Futaba stated.

"No, give him some time," Sojiro responded. "Here, why don't you kids help get the rest of the stuff out?"