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The sun was glaring down on the bustling city of Shibuya. The heat was exhausting and everyone was rushing to wherever they needed to be to get out of the sun's rays. A trio of teenagers left the cinema, quickly shielding their eyes from the bright light.
"Holy shit, I forgot how hot it was." Ryuji commented, fanning himself with his hand.
"Yeah... Thank god for air conditioning. I wouldn't have been able to focus on the movie at all..." Ren agreed, tugging at his shirt uncomfortably.
"Air conditioning, food and an amazing movie... If only there weren't other people, then cinemas would be perfection." Futaba analysed, pushing up her glasses.
"You mean like your room?" Ren responded sarcastically, raising an eyebrow at the tiny girl, the hint of a smirk on his face. Futaba just nodded before frowning.
"Ugh, so hooooooooooooot..." She groaned childishly.
"You guys wanna go to the convenience store and get some cold drinks and ice cream?" Ryuji suggested, pointing at the store in question.
"Oh god, yes." Ren agreed instantly as he slipped his outer shirt off, tying it around his waist.
"Yes please!" Futaba cheered as the trio began making their way through the crowd. As they stepped through the doors, Futaba stopped and patted her pockets.
"Uhhhh, Ren...?" She called awkwardly with a sheepish grin.
"I know, I know, I'll pay for yours." Ren replied knowingly, reaching out his hand to the girl so she wouldn't get lost or separated from the rest of the group.. The trio couldn't help but sigh happily as they stood in front of the freezers.
"So, what're you guys getting?" Ryuji asked as he pulled out a watermelon ice lolly for himself.
"Sea salt ice cream!" Futaba responded excitedly with a huge smile on her face. The two boys stared at her.
"...You nerd." Ren chuckled as he pulled out Futaba's requested flavor. Futaba just snickered in response. Ryuji couldn't help but smile at the sight. The two of them really looked like siblings. Actually, the two of them and Sojiro looked like a happy family.
'I wonder what it's like to have a sibling...?' Ryuji thought to himself as he picked up a bottle of orange soda.
"Reeeeeeeen, just pick one alreadyyyyyyy..." Futaba whined, tugging on his arm.
"Could you wait a minute?! It's not my fault that they all look so good..." Ren muttered as he tried and failed to shake Futaba off. After a while, he eventually settled on a toffee ice cream.
"Okay, now what drink do you want?" He asked Futaba, still clinging to his arm like a monkey.
"That limited edition tropical soda!" She yelled excitedly, pointing at the drink in question.
"Alright..." Ren mumbled as he glanced at his wallet with a worried look. Ryuji knew that Ren had loads of money, thanks to their escapades through Mementos, but it seemed like he didn't have much on his person right now. Ren picked up a bottle of tropical soda and a bottle of Dr. Salt, carefully balancing everything in his arms as they made their way to the checkout.
As they waited in line, Ryuji noticed something on a nearby shelf. A pack of Mitarashi Dango.
'Mum loves those,' He remembered. He checked the price and then his wallet. After some quick calculations on his phone, he figured out that he had enough to buy them and picked them up off the shelf.
A soft smile made its way onto his face as he imagined how happy his mum would be when he gave them to her. Ryuji let the two glasses-wearing, mischief makers go before him.
The woman behind the counter cheerfully made conversation as she scanned their items and bagged them. As she handed Ren his change, she realised something.
"Oh! By the way, Amamiya-kun, Takamatsu-san has a family matter to attend to tomorrow, would you be able to cover his shift?" she asked urgently. Ren placed his hand on his chin as he thought over his schedule.
"What time is his shift?" He asked as the other two stared at him.
"Noon till Five." Nanami answered. Ren hummed in thought.
"I should be free at that time... Sure, I'll help out, Nanami-san,” he confirmed politely.
"Thank you so much! That's a huge help!" She sighed, clapping her hands.
"No problem, I'm happy to help." Ren replied softly, stepping to the side to let Ryuji ring up his own groceries.
"Dude... Just how many places do you work? I swear, every shop I go to, you're there." Ryuji asked exasperatedly.
Ren didn't say anything, he just smiled mysteriously and flashed a peace sign with his fingers. Futaba hummed suspiciously as she stared up at the silent boy. Ren made her stop by handing her the ice cream. After a couple of minutes, all of Ryuji's purchases had been scanned and bagged.
"Thanks." He said politely as Nanami handed his bag to him.
"Have a good day!" She called out as the trio left the store.
A wave of heat washed over them the second they stepped outside. Quickly, they all opened their frozen treats and shoved them in their mouths.
"Ahhhh... Sweet relief..." Futaba sighed happily as she licked her ice cream. Ryuji happily took a huge bite out his ice lolly, noticing Ren cringing as he did so.
"Dude... How can you do that without your teeth hurting?!" He asked fearfully. Ryuji just shrugged and stared back with a confused face. Ren just shook his head and turned to look at Futaba.
"How's your sea salt ice cream?"
"Salty."
"I would assume it is."
Ryuji just laughed at the back and forth between them.
"Anyways, what'd you guys think of that movie? It was awesome, right?!" He asked excitedly. The two smiled brightly as their eyes sparkled.
"It was so good, I already wanna see it again!" Ren exclaimed passionately. It was rare for Ren to get so excited and actually outwardly display it, which clearly meant the movie had been real damn good. Ryuji grinned at the cute sight.
"The final fight was amazing! Did you see that CGI?! It was incredible!" Futaba cheered delightedly, jumping up and down on the spot.
"God, I really hope they make a sequel..." Ryuji mused. Ren and Futaba nodded enthusiastically in agreement. As the three of them continued eagerly chatting, a member of the passing crowd noticed them.
"Oh? Ryu-chan...? Ryu-chan!" They called out. Ryuji blushed at that nickname while the glasses duo looked at eachother, brows furrowed in confusion.
They all glanced over in the direction that the voice came from and noticed a short woman approaching them, waving cheerfully. She had a large smile on her face, deep brown eyes, and short brown hair that was cut extremely short at the back, reaching her chin at the front. She was wearing a loose lilac t-shirt and a white,flowy ankle-length skirt with pink sandals. In her arms was a ridiculous amount of bags.
"Mum...?!" Ryuji exclaimed in surprise.
"I didn't expect to see you while I was here! How was the movie? Did you enjoy it?" She asked sweetly, placing the bags down and massaging her hands softly.
It was at this point that she noticed the other two: a tall boy with messy black hair and glasses and a small girl hiding behind him, with long orange hair and large-framed glasses.
"Oh, Hello! You must be Ren-kun! Ryu-chan’s told me so much about you! Thank you for helping my son so much." She thanked him as she politely extended her hand to him. Ren was surprised to hear her say that, but flashed a sweet smile at her.
"It's nice to meet you! There’s no need to thank me...if anything Ryuji's the one who's been helping me. He's a great guy," Ren responded gently as he took her hand. From the corner of his eye, Ren noticed the faint blush on Ryuji’s face.
Drawing her gaze from the dark-haired teen, Ryuji's mother then peeked at Futaba, a cheeky smile growing on her face.
"And you must be Futaba-chan! Aren't you cute?! Ryuji's told me that you're very gifted with computers, that's so impressive!" She cooed as she extended her hand to Futaba.
The tiny girl hummed nervously as she hid behind Ren even more. Ren encouragingly patted her head, ruffling her hair gently.
"You can do it." He whispered encouragingly. Futaba frowned worriedly as she slowly came out from behind him, raising her hand towards the woman.
"I-I-I-It's nice t-to meet you...!" She stuttered as she shook her hand. The two boys shared a proud smile.
"It's nice to meet you too! I hope I didn't make you feel uncomfortable." Ryuji's mother apologised, a concerned frown replacing her otherwise carefree and warm features. Futaba furiously shook her head.
"I-I-It's no trouble at all, Miss Ryuji's Mum!" Futaba assured stiffly. The other three burst out laughing.
"Please, just call me Tsubaki." Ryuji’s mother responded between giggles.
"A-Anyway, Mum, what're you doing here? I thought I told you to stop carrying so many bags at once..." Ryuji interrupted with concern.
"It's no big deal,” she waved him off. “I was doing the weekly shopping, and bought you some new t-shirts since you've been growing again recently... Oh! And I picked up your prescription, since you mentioned that your leg was giving you some trouble again." Tsubaki chattered, as she rummaged through the bags to show her son her new purchases.
"Yeah, I really appreciate it, but I don't want you to hurt yourself.You're clearly tired, so stop pushing yourself... Look, I'll carry some of the bags for you." Ryuji protested. Now that he mentioned it, Ren noticed that Tsubaki had very prominent, dark circles under her eyes.
"No, no, you have fun with your friends! I'm just going to the bookstore and then going home, anyway!" Tsubaki refuted, waving her hand dismissively before picking up the jumble of bags again.
"Okay, look... You go to the bookstore and wait there for me, I'll finish up here and then come over to help you out, alright?" Ryuji suggested softly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Ren had never seen this particular side of Ryuji, but he liked it. It was sweet, and pretty adorable. He couldn't help but smile.
"Alright, if that's what you wanna do... I'll see you in a few minutes, Ryu-chan. And you two,” her gaze shifted to the pair standing to Ryuji’s side, offering them a wide smile, “It was so lovely to meet you! I hope I can meet Ryuji's other friends some day!" Tsubaki conceded defeat as she cheerfully walked away down the street.
Ren and Futaba waved goodbye before grinning cheekily at each other and turned around to face the blond who stood behind them.
"Ryu-chaaaaaaan~" They sang mockingly, giggling.
"Shaddup! She's always called me that..." Ryuji muttered bashfully, his face flushed bright pink.
"You're such a good boy, Ryuji," Ren said with a smirk.
"Shaddup!"
"Hmmmm... A punkish delinquent with a heart of gold who wholeheartedly adores his mother? That's a real popular trope– You're a sweet kid, Ryuji! Only the goodest of boys would carry shopping bags for their mom!" Futaba jeered, switching into her nerd mode.
"You're exaggerating..." Ryuji denied, shaking his head in exasperation, as he took another bite out of ice lolly.
"Maybe you should help Sojiro out with his shopping sometime," Ren suggested sarcastically to Futaba.
"Do you really think I can pick up those huge bags with my twig arms?" Futaba rebutted bluntly.
"Fair enough," Ren admitted, licking his ice cream.
Ryuji finished his ice lolly and chucked the stick and wrapper into the nearest bin.
"I'm gonna head off now. Thanks for joining me today, I'll see you guys later!" Ryuji called, waving at them as he took off down the street.
"See ya!" The duo called back as they waved at him.
"Welp, I suppose we should start heading home too. C'mon, let's get you back to your hidey-hole," Ren joked, ruffling Futaba's hair.
"Yay!!! No more social interaction!" Futaba cheered gleefully. Ren just laughed as the two of them began walking back to the station.
It was late afternoon when Ryuji and his mother returned home to their apartment. Tsubaki had ended up browsing through books longer than she had anticipated and the trains had been delayed.
Ryuji had carried the majority of the bags, leaving his mother only carrying two. Ryuji sighed in relief as he placed all of the bags on the dinner table.
"Thanks so much, sweetheart." Tsubaki cooed as she ruffled her son's hair.
"Heh... 's nothing, don't worry about it." Ryuji gasped as he tried to catch his breath, still sounding as lighthearted as always. It was then that he noticed his mother had frozen and was staring at something very intently.
"What's up?" He asked her. Tsubaki ran her fingers through his hair.
"Your roots are coming through," she said as she looked a little closer.
"Meh, it's fine. I'm pretty sure that I've still got some dye leftover in the bathroom." Ryuji replied, gently pushing her hand away.
Tsubaki just smiled softly at her son and patted him on the back as she started unpacking the bags. Ryuji began unpacking the bag nearest to him to help her.
"Oh, no, no, you don't need to help me. You've already helped me enough, go and relax, it's fine." Tsubaki told him.
"But I wanna help you. So, I'm gonna." Ryuji responded bluntly as he carried on taking items out of the bags and placing them in the fridge and cupboards. As he was crouched in front of the fridge, he heard his mother chuckle happily to herself.
He made sure to keep his bag away from her, since he wanted to surprise her with the dango he bought for her. After a few minutes, everything had been put away and the two sat down, letting tired sighs. Tsubaki glanced up at the kitchen clock with exhausted eyes.
5:45PM.
She stretched her back and stood back up.
"I guess I should start making some dinner..." She huffed, shuffling into the kitchen.
"No, Mum, I'll make dinner." Ryuji protested, gently grabbing onto her arm. Tsubaki opened her mouth to argue, but Ryuji quickly cut her off and held onto her shoulders.
"Look, mum, I know that you've been really tired lately, and working multiple jobs is really taking its toll on you... So, please, you just go have a long, relaxing bath and I’ll prepare dinner for both of us, yeah?" He pleaded her, flashing a cute, sheepish grin as he finished. Tsubaki couldn't say no to that face…
"Alright... Try not to burn down the kitchen, alright little mister?" She puffed, acknowledging that he had persuaded her.
"Hehe, sure thing!" Ryuji snickered, inwardly celebrating his victory. Tsubaki rubbed her eyes as she dragged herself into the bathroom. As Ryuji heard the taps running, he began thinking to himself:
‘What was her favourite meal, again?’ He tried his hardest to remember until it finally hit him.
"Oh right! Katsudon!... Do we have all the stuff needed for that?" He whispered to himself, hoping that his mum couldn't hear him.
He checked through the fridge, freezer and cupboards and discovered that they did indeed have all the required ingredients. He pumped his fist in success and began gathering all of the things he needed.
"Hey, Ryu-chan?" His mother called out from the bathroom.
Ryuji flinched at her voice. She wasn't gonna come out of there, was she? He wanted to surprise her!
"Y-Yeah?" He awkwardly called back.
"Could you get me a pair of pyjamas? I forgot to bring some in with me..." She requested.
"See? I toldya you were tired!" Ryuji laughed as he shouted back, wandering into his mother's bedroom. He couldn't help but smile as he heard her laugh in response. He picked out the softest pair and handed them to her through the door.
"Here ya go."
"Thank you, sweetie."
Ryuji let out a contented sigh as he cracked his knuckles and got to work on making dinner.
"I think you were right, Ryuji. I really needed that bath." Tsubaki sighed out happily as she dried her hair. Her skin was slightly flushed with a healthy glow and she seemed to have much more energy than earlier.
"Yeah? Well, I'm glad you're feeling better." Ryuji replied light heartedly.
"So... What's on the menu tonight?" Tsubaki asked as she threw her towel into the washing basket and took a seat at the table.
"Eh, nothing much. Just some katsudon." Ryuji nonchalantly said as he placed the two bowls on the table.
"Oooh! It looks delicious!" Tsubaki squealed as an excited twinkle appeared in her eyes. Ryuji bashfully chuckled and itched his cheek.
It was at this point that Ryuji spotted his mother looking past him. He turned to see what she was looking at.
Ah.
Right.
She was looking at the sink which was currently overflowing with dirty dishes.
"Uhhhhh... I'll clean that up." Ryuji awkwardly stated. Tsubaki just laughed quietly and shook her head.
"It's alright, just do it tomorrow, c'mon let's eat up." She said dismissively as she tapped the other chair. Who was he to deny his mother? Ryuji happily took a seat and picked up his chopsticks.
"Thanks for the meal." They said in unison and then dug in.
"Sorry if it's not that good..." Ryuji quietly apologised as he took a small bite.
"Are you kidding?! It's delicious!" Tsubaki snapped back with her mouth full. Ryuji's eyes widened in surprise.
"R-Really? I'm glad you like it!" Ryuji replied merrily. He couldn't stop the smile making its way onto his face.
"I love it! I'm so proud of you!" Tsubaki cheered, ruffling his hair. Ryuji giggled sheepishly as he continued eating. It did taste a lot better than he was expecting. He'd have to make it again sometime.
"Those two friends of yours seemed nice. I'm glad that I was finally able to meet them." Tsubaki commented, making small talk.
"Yeah, they're great, I love hanging out with 'em." Ryuji replied, taking another big bite.
"Oh! Did Ren have his cat with him? What was his name? 'Morgana' right?" She excitedly asked.
"Nah, Ann and Makoto were watching over him for Ren." Ryuji answered.
"Oh, I suppose that makes sense... You can't really take a cat into a cinema..." Tsubaki mumbled in realisation.
"You think that means anything to Ren? Nah, he's always taking Mona to the cinema. Morgana just really likes Ann." Ryuji refuted with a smirk.
"Oh! Ren sounds like he's a lot more daring than he looks." She commented in surprise.
"Nah, he just doesn't really give a crap." Ryuji explained casually. His mum just laughed.
"That's not a bad quality to have." She pointed out.
"True, very true. That's prolly why I like him so much. Although it can be kinda annoying 'cause nothing at all fazes him!" Ryuji added, growing more animated as he continued.
"I'm sure you'll discover his weakness one day... Anyway, why didn't you invite your other friends? Ummm... Yusuke and Mishima?" Tsubaki encouraged her son before growing curious.
"We did. Yusuke was too busy working on a painting and Mishima had apparently been up all night and was fast asleep when we called him." Ryuji refuted, rolling his eyes a bit.
"Ah... Then, why didn't Ann and Makoto join you?"
"They weren't really interested in the movie. Besides, they wanted to check out this cafe that's really famous for their cake..." Ryuji sighed, shaking his head.
"Yeah, that sounds like Ann-chan." Tsubaki giggled before getting lost in thought.
"By the way... How are Ann-chan and Shiho-chan?" She asked carefully, not wanting to bring back bad memories for her son.
"They're doing pretty well! Ann's decided that she really wants to continue her career as a model, so she's been joinin' Ren and me in our training at the gym. An' I haven't really seen much of Shiho, but Ann says she's been doing really well at her rehab sessions!" Ryuji spoke excitedly, happy to share news about his friend's accomplishments.
Tsubaki smiled fondly at her son, glad to see him so happy.
"I'm glad to hear that. Those girls are really strong, aren't they?" She commented, proud of the two girls, as if they were her own children.
"They sure are!" Ryuji agreed with his own proud smile. A peaceful silence engulfed them for a few minutes as they continued munching on their food.
"By the way, mum, I've been meaning to ask: You don't have a work shift tonight, do ya?" Ryuji asked.
"Nope. I wouldn't have changed into my pyjamas if I did." She responded cheekily. "Why?"
"Heh, guess that's true. Uh... I was jus' wondering if you wanted to watch a movie together or somethin'?" Ryuji asked bashfully, his cheeks flushing slightly red. Tsubaki giggled cheerfully at how adorable he was being.
"That sounds like a lovely idea, why don't you pick out a DVD after dinner?" She agreed instantly with a peaceful smile.
"Sure thing!" Ryuji cheered eagerly as the two continued eating, talking about nothing in particular.
After they had finished their meal, Ryuji carefully added the bowls to the mountain in the sink, watching for a few extra seconds to make sure they didn't topple over.
"D'ya want some coffee, mum?" Ryuji called out as she perched herself on the sofa in the living room.
"Ooh, yes please!" She replied excitedly. Ryuji smiled to himself as he began brewing two cups. After he had finished, he walked into the living room and carefully placed the two cups down on the coffee table then headed back into the kitchen.
"By the way, mum, I got you a little surprise." Ryuji admitted as he picked up his shopping bag from earlier.
"Oh?" She hummed thoughtfully as she took a small sip of her coffee. Ryuji handed her the bag as he sat down on the sofa next to her. The mother placed her cup back onto the table and wiggled her fingers in anticipation before taking the bag from Ryuji. As she pulled the pack of dango out of the bag, she gasped in pleasant surprise.
"Ooooooooh, you know how much I love these!" She squealed blissfully with a huge smile on her face.
"Thank you so much, my precious boy!" She let out an elated wail as she grabbed her son's arms and planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Muuuuuuum..." Ryuji groaned in embarrassment as he wiped his cheek.
"Whaaat? You're my adorable little baby and I love you very much!" She cooed lovingly as she pinched his cheeks. She could tell that he was only pretending to be annoyed by the smile that he was trying to hide.
"Yeah, whatever..." He mumbled shyly as he scratched the back of his neck.
"By the way, Ryuji... What's all this about?" Tsubaki asked, suddenly serious.
"Whaddya mean?" Ryuji asked back, not sure what his mother was insinuating.
"Helping me with the bags, helping me unpack, the bath, the dinner, the dango, the movie... What're you doing all of this for?" She explained. Ryuji sighed as he looked down at the floor.
"You're always working so hard... You have so many different jobs and you always look so tired, so I just wanted to give you a chance to relax... I'm just really worried that you're working yourself to death, and you're always doing so much for me... So... I wanted to do something special for you for a change..." He emotionally admitted, avoiding eye contact with his mother. Tsubaki felt tears pricking at her eyes at those words.
"Oh, sweetheart, you already do so much..." She mumbled soothingly as she pulled him into a hug, gently rubbing his back.
"You know how much you mean to me, right?" She whispered into his ear. Ryuji just nodded against her shoulder.
"I love you, mum." Ryuji uttered quietly. Tsubaki couldn't see his face, but she could see that his ears were bright red.
"I love you too, treasure." She said back with a loving tone, ruffling his hair softly. After a solid minute had passed, she gently pushed him away.
"Now then, why don't you pick out a DVD?" She suggested, patting his shoulder.
"Yeah, sure thing." Ryuji replied, smiling at her with slightly red eyes before kneeling down in front of the tv and rummaging through the shelves full of DVDs.
He really couldn't decide which one to watch, especially when considering something his mum would want to watch... Until he came across a certain case. It was an anime movie that gave him a lot of memories. It was a comforting story about an outcast girl who was taken away from her cruel village by a pirate boy and his crew, and the two went on a huge adventure while falling in love with each other.
Ryuji would always remember this movie. This was the movie he and his mother would always watch together to cheer themselves up after his father had been particularly aggressive. It was their comfort movie. He smiled softly and quickly checked if the disc was in the case. It was. His smile grew bigger as he turned and displayed it to his mother.
"How about this one?" He asked eagerly. Tsubaki glanced up from her cup of coffee and instantly widened her eyes.
"Great idea." She replied delightedly, her eyes sparkling. Ryuji grinned as he popped the disc out of the case and slid it into the dvd player.
He quickly hopped back, grabbing a blanket from a nearby radiator and sat back down on the sofa, spreading the blanket over himself and his mother. As the movie started, the two snuggled up to each other with their cups of coffee and smiled contented, enjoying their quiet family night. Together.