Work Text:
February 2, 2017
From: Amamiya Ren
To: Akechi Goro
Hey.
So it’s been a year. I don’t know why I’m messaging you in your old number but I remembered it’s THAT date and I realized…we’ve never had a proper talk over the whole thing. A closure, as Ann put it. I don’t know, maybe I’m just holding out that hope that you’re out there, somewhere. Kinda hoping we will have our rematch soon.
I’m still hoping you are alive out there so maybe that’s why I’m sending you this message in the middle of a packed train from university. Yeah, i’m in Tokyo right now processing university stuff. I’ll graduate from highschool this March. It’s funny. I thought I lived for a lifetime already with everything that happened.
After we returned to our true reality, our powers finally disappeared and Maruki-sensei became a taxi driver. So fair warning if you ever come back to Tokyo and decided to use a cab to get around. Though last summer…I didn’t know if you catch that broadcast we made at the Scramble ? Yeah, the Phantom Thieves were back in business…but this time, instead of destroying Palaces, we were destroying Jails. We also met new friends — Sophie and Gramps…though I don’t think you would like Zenkichi at first. Makoto seems to like him enough to consider working under him once she joins the police force.
As for the rest of the Thieves, I imagine you’d be rolling your eyes when you heard that we’re pretty much leading boring pre-adult lives. Ryuji is still in sports camp but he’s being coached by a former track star and they’re planning to get him a scholarship for college. Ann’s now an international model and she’ll probably go to the States for college and be with her folks. Yusuke’s sponsor has now officially enrolled him to a prestigious university in Kyoto. Makoto got accepted into Todai and she and Sae are trying to get me into taking the university exams too. Futaba has decided to attend Shujin and I’m just glad Sumi is with her every step of the way when she’s not busy with her gym meets. Haru is also in university but she’s still a consultant for her father’s company.
And yes, Morgana is still with me. He’s napping inside my bag right now. I don’t think he’d approve of me doing this. But like me, he really hopes you are alive. I could have sworn I saw you walking in the train station the day I returned to my hometown. We tried to ask Lavenza but…..well, never mind.
That’s basically it for now. Uh, if you still have access to your phone or your old number, you can always reach out. I’m still waiting for that rematch.
February 2, 2018
From: Amamiya Ren
To: Akechi Goro
Hello. It’s me messaging you again. I didn’t expect you to reply but the silence from your end stings a little.
Okay. I mean, it’s not your fault. You could be dead and I’m the crazy one who keeps sending messages to a possibly dead person’s phone.
Anyway, just a quick update. I got accepted into Todai! Even with my criminal record (and my tightly-kept record as the former Leader of the Phantom Thieves) Did you know Shido attended Todai too? That left a pretty bad taste in my mouth when I learned about it but a part of me is more driven now than ever. If that bastard can graduate here, so can I. And so would you, if you weren't led to become a supernatural assassin.
And speaking of that, I have another theory. Maybe you’re not dead. I have a hunch you turned yourself in and that explains why you have no access to your phone anymore. In Maruki’s reality, you did turn yourself in. You have a strong sense of justice and though we disagree, you yourself wished for the choice of carving your own path even when it leads to destruction.
It got me into thinking….those two years ago, now that i’m sitting on the same spot on the same booth when Maruki-sensei walked in. I never got to thank you. On the night Maruki-sensei revealed to me the truth about you, you sort of comforted me. I don’t know if you intended it. When Sensei told me I was the guiding light to his research that inspired him to do the whole actualization plan, I remembered feeling overwhelmed and helpless. I was the unsuspecting accomplice and because of his plan, you were able to return. When he entrusted me the choice of perpetuating or ending it all, you stepped in and helped me to stay firm. You insisted that I wasn’t going to let you die again. That calmed my heart a little bit and hardened my resolve. If my friends can let go of their heart’s wish, so can I.
I didn’t regret our decision. My only regret is that I hadn’t reach out to you sooner. I was so caught up in our own little game, in my sense of justice. Looking back now, I should have handled it better.
I know you’ll just scoff and say that you would also handle it better but hey, you can always debate me by replying to this message.
Anyway, the Thieves are about to get here in Leblanc. I think they are all aware that my mood dampens a little on this particular night and wanted to cheer me up. Mona probably ratted on them.
Hope to hear from you soon. Until next year.
February 2, 2019
From: Amamiya Ren
To: Akechi Goro
Hello, it’s me again. Older and wiser Ren, now in his 20s. If you’re still around, you’d be 21 and you'd be on the legal age to drink.
Speaking of drinks, my old man’s more excited than me that I’d turn 21 soon. It’s funny. Now that my criminal record has been thrown out of the window and I got accepted into Tokyo University, they are happy with me again.
I never did tell you about my home life, huh. I didn’t tell Ryuji and Ann about it until summer last year and they are the two people closest to me, apart from Mona. It’s not that I don’t want to hide my family history…they’re just the furthest thing in my mind back then. And I cannot exactly reveal something too close to home to an enemy, even when you’re that enemy. Come to think of it, maybe you already snooped around to find about my home address or something.
I wouldn’t take it against you. You can visit my home anytime but I’m mostly staying in Tokyo. Yes, I’m still staying in Leblanc. Yes, I’m still a trash living in an attic. But this attic trash is already becoming the best barista in town and I’d love to get you a free cup of coffee someday, just the way you liked it.
I also set up the old chessboard on the counter just in case. Sojiro’s been asking about the missing King piece so uh, if you’re alive, can you please return it to me sometime? I’m manning the cafe all-day Saturday.
Hope to hear from you soon. Until next year.
February 2, 2020
From: Amamiya Ren
To: Akechi Goro
Hello, it’s me again. See, don’t think I have forgotten even after many years of ghosting me. Heh, “ghost”. It’d be funny if you actually ghosted me than you being an actual ghost.
Bad joke, I know. But you weren’t here to scoff and roll your eyes so….
Anyway, can you believe that we’re now all inside right now because of the pandemic. It’s like Tokyo suddenly became a ghost town or something. My uni is beginning to conduct online classes and imagine how disastrous that would be if your philosophy professor is just one cough away from turning into dust.
Anyway, travel’s more restrictive and we have to wear face mask all the time. Mona’s pretty bummed when I told him we can’t traipse around Tokyo anymore. He’s dealing with his boredom by pestering Futaba for scratches and begging Sojiro for treats.
Ryuji’s bummed as well that the track meets were cancelled because of the restrictions but he got to spend most of his time helping his mom in the house. Since Ann and I gifted him a sportswatch last year for his birthday, he kept sending us the calories he burned and the 10,000 steps he took inside their house.
Ann’s stuck at the US due to the pandemic and she’s been itching to go back to Japan. Last night, she spent a couple of hours ranting over video call how some people there don’t even believe that the virus is real. It sounds pretty scary. I sometimes forget that people live in different realities.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that Sumi was about to represent us at the Summer Olympics. I know you’d be proud to hear about that. I can still remember how you smiled and cheered for her in your way when she defeated a strong Shadow by herself back in the day. The Olympics is cancelled until next year but she’s still up and about practicing. I know you will find it hard to believe but she misses you too, you know.
As for Makoto and Haru, they are still in college and are living together. Yeah….I guess you understand the implications of that. They look happy together.
One time, Haru and I talked about you. I know you don’t appreciate people gossiping about you, even when you were masquerading as a celebrity. But she’s the one who broached the subject. It was on your birthday last year, June 2, and the Thieves and I were tailing Makoto and Haru in their first bar-hopping around Tokyo. We somehow found ourselves alone in a secluded spot and she said along the lines of “I wonder how Akechi-kun would find his first drink”. You would be 21 just like the two of them, legally able to drink. I told her you would probably be adverse to alcohol…knowing who your dad is. Shido was drunk out of his mind when I first met him and I don't need to say that he was downright insufferable.
She continued that she’d never be able to forgive you for what you did but she definitely wants to see you again. Her father wasn’t a saint but she still loved him. You hurt her and she still wants to see you. My wishes are the same.
As for Futaba, she’s not much on talking her emotions over but she doesn’t seem to hate you too, I guess. She managed to find out about your old Featherman wiki account and downloaded all the articles you posted, something about fact-checking those. I asked her if she can download your food blog too so we can scope out any Leblanc competition.
I droned long enough. Blame it on the boredom. I hope the lockdown would lift soon since Leblanc cannot afford to lose its regulars which well... aren't that much.
Hope to hear from you soon. Until next year.
From: Amamiya Ren
To: Akechi Goro
Hello, it’s me again.
Why do I sound so formal? I’ve been having this one-sided correspondence with you since I was a seventeen. So let me begin again. Hey, it’s Ren. Not that you don’t know me.
Speaking of names, I can only count the few times I get to call you “Goro”. Remember back in the fake(January), we were playing darts just the two of us and Mona. Just as when you’re about to take your last throw for the day for a bullseye, I suddenly shouted “Go Go Goro-san” in English and I could’ve sworn everyone playing in Penguin’s Sniper looked at us. But the look on your face was so worth it. You elbowed me in the ribs after that when I couldn’t stop laughing.
I wonder again if the Goro with me back then was the real you. If you’re really dead, what were you? Maruki’s projection? Mine? Maruki-sensei doesn’t even know you so was he basing off my cognition? But if you ask me, I don’t think I know you as well as I should. If that was the actual you, I don’t think you also showed the real you as well. I felt like you’ve held back even at that time, just like the time when you held back in our first billiards match.
You held back because you knew all this time. Yeah, I still hate you for that. I mean, I hated you when you concocted a plan to shoot me in the head but at least I've seen that coming. And even when I know you’re planning that, I still cared a lot. Still, it wasn’t enough…I should have reached out more.
Haha at this point, you’re probably calling me a brainless sentimental. I couldn’t help it. Regardless of what happened, we formed a bond. Despite everything, I’m glad we crossed paths.
If you asked me, you’re the more sentimental one. Weren’t you the one who said if we could have only met a few years earlier? I still kept thinking about that, even years later.
Anyway, I’m typing this from the counter in Leblanc. Sojiro will kick my ass once he caught me texting during shift. The pandemic hit us hard but I just don’t know where Sojiro keeps pulling these customers from. If I’m going to start my own coffee shoppe, I have to step up my game too.
Hope to hear from you soon. Until next year.
Ren
February 2, 2022
From: Amamiya Ren
To: Akechi Goro
Goro,
I hope you don’t mind calling you that. I felt like we’ve already past that point where we can start calling each other by our first name.
Can you believe that the whole metaverse thing was roughly six years ago. I felt like an old man reminiscing and thinking about it. With how our lives panned out, I can’t help thinking that I already lived a lifetime within that single year.
And maybe I did? Not the thieves, though. They’re at the peak of their lives right now. You probably don’t want to hear about it but I’m just going to prattle on. Ann’s back in Tokyo for good and she also has left modelling for good. Guess what, she’s earning her license to become a psychologist. She wants to go back to Shujin and be an actual therapist, not like Maruki-sensei of course. Ann’s always had a big heart. Apart from Sumi, I talked to her a lot about you.
Ryuji’s got that college scholarship. His knees haven’t fully healed yet but he still scored silver at the at the Japan Athletics Champion for 100m dash. His coach is confident he’d clinch gold soon but right now, they’re just taking it one day at a time. He also got his mom a new place to stay, far away from his shitty dad. You’d approve of that, I’m sure.
Yusuke is going to have his second exhibit in Fukuoka soon. He’s been on the cover of magazines lately and some talents are even pestering him to become a model — but you know how Yusuke is. He’d rather create the art than be the center of it. He’s also planning to teach art therapy in a trauma center in Kyoto once he secured his license. He was inspired by Ann to reach out to many people who were victims -- teens lwho were caught in helpless situations like we once were.
Makoto had a change of heart in her first year at Police Academy after some convincing from Gramps Zenkichi. Once the lockdown was lifted, she secured a prestigious internship in Geneva to work under the Human Rights Committee. She said that she can honor her father’s memory in other ways and I think she’s well on her way to making a difference like a true Queen that she is. Sae is really proud of her and she and Haru would often fly to Europe to keep her company.
Haru dropped out of college in her final year and she tapped Futaba to work on this app for buyers to buy fresh seasonal ingredients and produce from local farmers. It’s really cool! They’re still in the middle of sourcing partners and expanding their reach but judging how Futaba had to basically beg Sojiro to drop a sem out of Kyushu University just to work on the app, I say it’s going well. It’s like these two unlocked their own Showtime or something.
And I know you’d be so pumped to hear this, if you haven’t already. Our Sumi is now a decorated Olympian. Last August, she just got her well-earned silver in Rhythmic Gymnastics and fulfilled her and her sister’s dream by being herself. She did it all at the Ariake Gymnastics Arena…in Odaiba. In the same location where we destroyed Maruki’s Palace. I almost cried when she stepped on the podium, but Ryuji beat me to it and he was just screaming her name with tears in his eyes. We were nearly driven out of the venue and it would have sucked big time since the event is pretty much close to the public except for a few friends and family. Sojiro had to pull some strings to get us in.
Whew, that’s that. Morgana is still with me and getting fattier every year. Ryuji’s been pushing him to run but you know Mona, he’s only motivated when Ann is around. Every Sunday though, he disappears from Leblanc and basically goes around Tokyo. He says it's his own form of exercise. I think he secretly keeps his eyes out for you too.
He’s my cat. The brainless sentimentality must have rubbed off on him at some point.
Leblanc’s doing well. Sojiro’s been dropping hints he’s going to retire soon and he wants to know what my plans are in the future. Though he doesn’t want me shackling myself in Leblanc at my age right now. Says there’s still plenty of things to see and experience in the world. if you ask me, Tokyo is good enough for me and Leblanc is already my home.
Hope to hear from you soon. Until next year.
Ren
February 2, 2023
From: Amamiya Ren
To: Akechi Goro
Goro,
So yeah, here it goes.
I’ve finally graduated from college at last. My folks wanted me to have a white collar, stable job at the office but I made it clear to them that I only took up a business degree to keep Leblanc and open my own restaurant someday.
So the fight had been pretty ugly. I had to stay in Tokyo for a week. Then, out of defiance, I decided to apply for a culinary exchange programme in Paris. You could say I was running away but I say that I’m just hard to pin down.
And surprise of all surprises, I got accepted. Don’t know how the whole thing happened but turns out I’m going to Paris in a couple of months. I’ll be staying there for a year.
To be honest, I’m feeling all sorts of emotion right now. I am excited and everything sounds fun. Not to be too nerdy about it but if you remember, my Persona is based on Arsene Lupin and he’s this gentlemen thief from France. I suppose my connection with the place runs deeper than I thought.
I’ll be staying with fellow Japanese interns and I already made a couple of friends too. If I ever feel too homesick and Mona-less, the Thieves are just one call away. Makoto’s also living in the same timezone so it’s comforting to know that there’s someone I could talk to without the risk of waking someone up in Japan.
So this boy is gonna have to learn how to speak French soon. My next message to you would probably be in French haha.
Hope to hear from you soon. Until next year.
Ren
February 2, 2024
-NO MESSAGE-
February 2, 2025
From: Amamiya Ren
To: Akechi Goro
Hey, Goro
I nearly lost my phone in Paris.
Yeah but before that, I just want to apologize. It’s been two years since I last messaged you. Mona says I shouldn’t be feeling sorry in the first place since we don’t even know if these messages are reaching you.
I don’t know. I just had a feeling that I should keep doing this. Hoping, rather.
So. My experience in Paris, despite some near-death accidents and pickpockets, was nothing short of amazing. I learned a lot from famous restauranteurs and I got to work with so many talented chefs. I even got myself a girlfriend, but we only dated for half a year before she left me for her ex. Yup, turns out I was just a rebound haha should’ve seen that coming to be honest because well..nevermind.
I felt like a new Ren, but somehow, old? A mix of two Rens, the idealistic and the worldly one. A new world has basically opened up for me but my heart still yearns for Tokyo and for my friends. Nevermind that they have their own lives now.
There was a point last year that I think I was ready to end this sort of thing between us as well. Why am I messaging a possibly dead person’s phone anyway? Why do I keep holding to that hope that you will respond? There are so many places to see, people to meet and to know and to love. What we had was special and it was tragically cut short before we even know what it truly was. When it comes to you, I feel like I’m in a stasis and I always go back to that weak, helpless Ren, in that winter night when an adult I trusted so much dangled the life of someone I care about in front of me.
When my phone was nearly lost in Paris, I remembered being scared. Not that I can’t afford to buy a new phone…but losing this phone meant not being able to message you anymore. I wasn’t able to put your number on a paper and I hadn’t even memorize it. Sure, I can get Futaba to retrieve your phone records but it also means opening a can of worms on why I would be needing your number after so many years of you being dead, well at least to her.
I realized messaging you like this is also a form of healing. I don’t know if we will have our rematch or even when we meet again. All I know is I don’t ever want to give up this stupid silly one-sided ritual that we have. In some roundabout way, it does feel like a rematch and giving up on it now will meant admitting that I lost.
Anyway, I’m at the Jazz Jin right now. Muhen is still here and he’s still wondering when you’ll be back. Our favorite singer isn’t here anymore, I heard she already made it big somewhere. Maybe one of these days, I can catch her singing live. Maybe one of these days, I can catch you here listening to her.
So yeah, expect another message from me next year. And the year after that. Probably even when I got married and I had kids. Or when I opened my new restaurant. You will hear my darkest thoughts and deepest desires, Goro. And I accepted the fact that you wouldn’t be here to judge me all for it.
Until next year.
Ren
February 2, 2026
From: Akechi Goro
To: Amamiya Ren
Ren.
Let's talk.