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The midday came down into a certain house in the middle of Inaba. In this particular house with the ‘Amamiya’ plaque over the fence, there was a certain young one doing the biggest pep talk he could do… to himself.
Looking in the mirror, Ren Amamiya told to himself looking directly at his eyes.
“This is it, Ren. Just one more hurdle. One more. Come on, man. You can do it. You’re Joker. You’re the leader. You’re the one who killed a god. You’re the one who survived everything. You can do this. YOU. CAN. DO. THIS.”
He stared in silence to his reflection, looking at some of the scars left of his ‘extracurricular activities’ from last year. Only to finally drop his head to the water on the sink under the mirror while holding his hands on each side. Letting the air of his lungs coming out with a scream, he let his anxiety bubbled up and wash up in the little waves. He took out his head to regain his breath, taking another look in the mirror.
“There’s nothing to worry about, man. They are just her parents… her parents.”
And there he goes again. Another scream underwater. Anxiety washing down and leaving droplets slowly sliding down the sides of the sink. This time, it wasn’t him gasping for air what caused leaving the ‘safety’ of the little lake in the bathroom sink, it was a knock on the half bathroom’s door.
“Babe, you ok?” Ann’s sweet voice, of course.
“I don’t know. Maybe. Kinda?” He tried to convey that the smooth, suave Ren was always in front of her. He heard her sigh, “I’m coming in.” He stared into the mirror once more while she opened the door and took her place at his side, looking at him using the same mirror. She wrapped herself into him letting her head rest on his shoulder, while he did flat, slow breaths to pace himself.
“It’s about my mum and dad, right?”
He lowered his face to look at her hands resting on his chest. “I think so…”
“You’ll be fine. They loved you before and now they love you even more.”
“I don’t think so. Video calls are one thing but face to face… hoo boy.” She giggled at how the catchphrase of a certain coffee owner made his way into the life of his loved one. Also remembered that once video call with her parents before he came back to Inaba months ago.
“It is fine. Besides, Yukiko is doing her best to keep them entertained while we get ready to see them.”
He let out another sigh. But also said thanks into the world that Yukiko used her ‘ultimate host abilities’ for free. He makes himself a mental note to still give Chie the yens for the bill. No effort should be taken for free, even more, if the effort comes from your friends.
But, as if destiny itself manifested on those thoughts, Ann’s phone ringed with the message that her parents were ready to see them.
“So… You’re ready?”
“Kinda… Just let me do one more thing.”
“Ok.”
“Ann, can you step back?”
“What for?”
“Please.”
She snorted. “Ok.” She let the warmth of his boyfriend's bare chest only to jump at the sight of him sinking his head once more on the water. She sighed.
Amagi Inn. The treasure of Yasoinaba. The best hot springs to visit in the Yamanashi prefecture. Whatever name you put it, it was the ideal place to arrange a meeting, whether business or pleasure. Or in this case, meeting your girlfriend’s parents.
Ren still felt some anxiety because of the magnitude of this event, even if the voice of her loved one tried to soothe him. He knew that while be loved by Ann was the most important thing in his life, become an important person to her parents was the second on his list.
He sensed the tension emanating from the room her parents stayed. That feeling somehow shrank when Yukiko left the food in the main table of the room and gave Ren a glance of assurance, almost like ‘My job here is done. Good luck and don’t get killed'. He surely uses the time for eating as a way to think a plan for the situation. Or any escape plan, maybe thinking about giving himself another name after doing that, ‘Akira Kurusu’ sounded good somehow.
At first sight, Aatos Takamaki looked like one of the thousands of people that came to Japan each year as a tourist. But outside of his fit frame, ash-blonde pigtail hair and much taller height compared to Ren’s, the distinctive azure eyes he carried was the one point that surely every person that interacted with him would look first. His rugged and slightly callused hands, lightly chipped lips and crow’s nest at his eyelids revealed years of experience in the fashion business, coming from someone who started from a simple assistant, all the way into one of the world’s most important fashion designers. That is… until you realized that his work ethic consisted mostly of rushing all the job once the deadline was approaching so quickly, that sorta explained the ‘sweet tooth’ of him, product of the many sleepless nights he went to finally finish his designs. Sugar is also a fuel for the body, believe it or not.
Compared to her husband, Rie Takamaki looked just like any other Japanese citizen. Except that she let a wave of authority that Ren mostly felt with his mother. Even with her American-Japanese side of the family helping her deep hazel eyes, small flat nose, and kinda pointy ears, one could not believe she was one of the biggest authorities in fashion planning and former teacher of one of the most prestigious design schools in the world, his former teaching job was so famous, that is part of a much-talked reality show about fashion designers to this day.
The pressure of living to their expectations was so high that Ren took his time while eating, as a form for not engaging in conversation. He was on ‘Just go and look good mode’, something he didn’t use since forever. But as he makes his way to grab another piece of edamame, it was the voice of Ann’s father what almost makes him toss his chopsticks and run, especially when he asked:
“So… Any kids we should be expecting soon?” Ren froze while grabbing the bean.
“isä! I told you not to joke with that!!!” Ann’s exasperated voice took him back of his stupor.
Her father let out a chuckle. “Sorry, tyttö. But I just won't be sure that there are no secrets between us. I don’t wanna be worried that soon my little sunshine is soon to become a sun on our lives. Don’t you think darling?” He turned to his wife, who only smacked his forehead with her chopsticks. “Aatos, behave.”
Aatos rubbed the wound keeping his eyes closed. “Yes, dear.” Ren reserved his chuckle at the scene. Ann had some of the fierce authority of her mother, he thought.
“Thank you, mama.”
“Don’t worry, sunshine. But still, I suppose that both of you already thought of protection. I wouldn’t leave neither you or Ren here hanging your futures in simply luck.” Ren almost choked with the edamame at hearing this, he reached for his tea.
“Of course we use protection! We are thoughtful of one another. I’m not dumb anymore, mama.” Ren choked with his tea. And turned to Ann so fast that you could almost hear the whiplash of the movement.
It only took seconds for Ann’s blushing face to rising so quickly as she finally let her words sink on her mind. “OH. MY. GOD! MAMA!” She tried to cover her face with the rice bowl, only in front of the laugher fit made by her father and the smugging face of her mother eating the last piece of mackerel left in the table. If there was any form of saving Ann from embarrassment, it could be considered a miracle. It was another hit from Rie’s chopsticks to her husband’s head what calmed the situation. “Aatos, calm down.” Another round of rubbing the hit and “Yes, dear.” led to Rie finally asking Ren directly.
“So Ren, what’s going for your future, besides loving my child?”
Ren felt the sweat on his brow slowly falling at the deep look Ann’s mother gave and just as he was going to answer, he saw how she raised a hand at him.
“Wait a moment. Aatos, dear.”
“Yes, my love?” He said while munching on almost all the sweets on one plate left by Yukiko.
“Could you be a good loving husband and go talk to Ren outside?”
“mama!” Ann tried to intervene, only to stop at the deep glance her mother gave her.
“But I’m a good loving husband already.” Aatos responded, ignoring his daughter’s plea.
“Aatos~” She looked at him with her hands on her waist with a loving look of ‘If you don’t do it, I’m killing you on your sleep’.
Aatos saw her glance and after wiping the crumbs from the traditional yukata he and his wife received from the Inn, took the other plate of sweets and gesture Ren to leave the room. He couldn’t argue on that. After all, one could say that Ren saw a deep look from Ann’s father, almost like Aatos could bury a knife on his back if he didn’t comply.
Once both Ren and Aatos left the room, Ann quickly tried to follow them, only to stop at her mother’s voice.
“Takamaki Ann. Sit down. We need to talk.” Ann turned to face her mother.
“Need to talk? mama, Ren is going to die out there if I don’t stay with him.”
“I’m sorry Ann, but you’re still as oblivious as always.”
“Oblivious?! mama, I love Ren, and if you try to do something to hurt him-”
“We are not trying to hurt him. We are saying sorry. To both of you.” Rie said with a sad look on her face.
“Huh?”
Rie invited her daughter to sit in front of her. And with a hint of deep sadness, she hugged her.
It was only after the hug and the perplexed look on Ann’s face, that she spoke.
“We are sorry. Not because you finally found love -we are very happy of that-, but mainly because we didn’t know what both you and Ren here went through for this.”
“mama I don’t-”
“We didn’t know about that bastard teacher of yours until the news got into us.” Ann shivered at the memory of Kamoshida and to the raging tone of her father’s voice on the phone when they got the news while on a work trip in Italy. She stopped him of leaving a high profile client and rush to Tokyo just to kill Kamoshida.
“And also we didn’t know about the phantom thieves and the ‘death’ of Ren until we were free from work. We weren’t there when you needed us. We are the worst parents a child could get.” A tint of sadness on her tone was reinforced of a single tear and a deep bow to Ann. Ann couldn’t believe it.
“mama… mama, stand up.”
Rie raised up her head from the floor, only to be surprised from a sudden hug from her daughter.
“mama, I’m not mad neither at you or papa.”
“But Ann, we-”
“I’m not asking for forgiveness. You must not feel any guilty out of this.” Ann separated from his mother’s embrace.
“mama, it was my decision to follow Ren. To help him, to see him as a leader and then seeing him more than that. I gotta admit that I didn’t like Ren that much when I saw him last year, but now I know that following that hunch made me who I am today. You don’t need to say sorry or anything, I just want to know if you see Ren as part of our family. as part of my heart.”
Rie led a sad smile to flood her face.
“I’m happy that you choose Ren as someone to love. Your father in the other half…”
Ann gasped, and quickly raised only to find the other door opening and both her father and Ren ‘brothers-in-arms’. She looked a both of them, laughing and smiling like they were the biggest friends in the world.
“isä… what’s this?”
“Oh neiti, you don’t have to worry about him. He’s just perfect. You can mennä naimisiin now.” ‘mennä naimisiin’ means ‘getting married’, by the way.
“ISÄ!” She blushed so hard and blushed, even more, when Ann kissed her in front of her parents.
“R-R-REN!”
“Hey, I’m part of your family now. Kippis!”
“REN!!!” Both he and her father let her laughter out in the room. Her mother just nodded to all of them.
Ren Amamiya and Ann Takamaki are officially a couple. Kippis!