Chapter Text
Sojiro was in the cafe when the news broke.
It was late afternoon, creeping into early evening. The place was empty, emptier than usual. He was used to not having customers, it was no secret he was not the most profitable business out there, but it was different now. Sojiro had grown used to the gaggle of teenagers that congregated within his cafe. Without them, it felt desolate.
He didn't understand what they were doing, not really. The details of the business of the Phantom Thieves was a mystery to him, one he would probably never understand. But this was an urgent mission, he knew that much. No matter how nerve wracking it was to send let his kids go where he couldn't help them, it was something he had to do.
His kids. Sojiro shook his head as he continued wiping down the glass in his hands. When did he start thinking of them like that? Futuba, of course, he had seen as family forever. Ren, though, had wiggled his way into Sojiro's heart over this past year before he could stop it.
And it wasn't just them. Ryuuji, Anne, Yuusuke, Makoto, Haru, even that damn cat, Sojiro had come to care for them all.
Which meant he had to trust them with this. Futuba had said that the day when she came home without Ren after their mission. She couldn't say more, just asked for his trust. And he gave it to her, to that whole group of kids.
That didn't stop him from obsessivly checking the news of the apprehended leader of the Phantom Thieves. It played on the little cafe TV whenever he was in here. Even now he watched that more than he cleaned, mindlessly wiping down the same cup as he waited for the news of Ren's safety.
The steady cadence of the news anchor broke its sythym as someone came on set, whispering into their ear as they handed new index cards to the anchor. They exchanged nods before the attendent stepped back off set, allowing the anchor to look back into the camera.
"We have breaking news on this case, confirmed by the Detective Prince Akechi himself," she said. "The leader of the Phantom Thieves was found dead by suicide just moments ago."
The sound of glass shattering tore through the quiet atmosphere of Cafe Leblanc like a gunshot as the cup Sojiro was cleaning slipped from his now limp hand, the broken shards scattering across the floor behind the counter. The news anchor continued speaking, something about a gun stolen from a guard, but the words barely registered to Sojiro.
Dead? No, no this couldn't be real. It couldn't. Ren would never do that, would he? The kids had told Sojiro to trust him, this couldn't be real.
But, then again. The kids had been in some pretty deep trouble, at least from the little Sojiro knew. Ren was apprehended, and alone, and carrying a secret he couldn't reveal without essentially sentencing a group of the people closest to him to an even worse fate. And Ren was a hero, that crazy bastard. Sojiro knew it, he knew it deep down, that if this was what it took to save the others, then this is the path he would take.
Sojiro didn't even realize the tears streaming down his face until one slipped free from his cheek and plopped on the countertop he had been leaning on for support. His knees felt like they were going to give out on him at any second. His hands were shaking, and he couldn't breathe.
This was his fault, he thought. All because he didn't parent Ren well enough. He didn't protect well enough. He didn't know about the Phantom Thieves until it was too late, and then he let Ren walk right back into this mess. If he hadn't, if he'd stood up and said something, if he'd forbid Ren from going, then, then…
Then Ren would have found a way anyway. That was the honest truth. He would have gone back to working without Sojiro's meager support.
Was it always destined to end like this?
Sojiro didn't know how long he stood there reeling over the news, trying desperatley to rationalize it to himself. He pushed away from the counter and walked to the back, glass crunching under his feet as he did so, the sound distant to him. He kicked over an empty mop bucket and sat down, head in his hands, trying to pull himself together. He couldn't let himself fall apart, he had other people to take care of. How was this going to affect Futuba? She had just finally broken from her stupor, all to the thanks of Ren, and now he was dead just like her mother was. And what about the rest of the kids? Sojiro didn't know their stories beyond the fact that Ren had been there for each and every one of them when they needed it most.
And now…
Now…
The bell on the front door that alerted Sojiro to customers jingled, breaking him from his stupor.
"We are closed!" He shouted from the back. His voice was rougher than usual, a result of his attempts to keep his tears swallowed instead of letting them continue to spill out. The shop was absolutely not closed, he wasn't meant to close for another hour or two and the open sign still graced the front door.
"Sojiro," Sae's voice cut through the air.
Sojiro felt his stomach drop. No, no, no, no, no. Was she here to break the news? To tell him the Phantom Thief leader was identified as Ren, and she was here to notify him of Ren's death? The idea almost made Sojiro vomit on the spot, but instead he quickly scrubbed at his eyes and headed to the counter.
When he saw who was standing there, he froze again.
Sae was there, yes, but Sojiro didn't even spare her a second glance. Because standing beside her was a very alive Ren.
"I can't explain right now," Sae said, "But I need you to keep him safe and out of sight until further instruction."
The words barely registered. Sojiro had already rounded the counter, pulling Ren into a crushing hug. He opened his mouth to say something, but he knew if he tried that nothing but tears would spill out, so for now he just held on tight to what he thought he lost.
"I'll leave you two," Sae said, already halfway to the door. "Again, safe and out of sight." The door bell jingled again as she left the cafe in a hurry.
Ren winced slightly within the hug, and Sojiro pulled back. "Kid, you can't scare me like that," he said, "I thought you were a goner." He kept his hands on Ren's shoulders as he pulled back to look him over, and finally processed the state he was in. Ren's faced was bruised and bleeding, heavy bruises circled his wrists, and the state of his clothes made it look like he had fallen down a cliff before getting back to the top and doing it again.
"Sorry, not getting rid of me that easy," Ren joked drily in the shocked silence that followed. Normally Sojiro would commend his humor, even follow along, but he couldn't focus on that right now.
"What the hell happened to you," Sojiro asked.
Ren gave a shrug, not looking at Sojiro. "I got arrested, they aren't exactly gentle," he said.
Sojiro felt sick to his stomach all over again at that. Ren was alive, yes, but what had he experienced? That fierce protective feeling raged within Sojiro and he wanted to go tear down everyone that was involved in this.
He couldn't do anything about that. But he could do something about the boy that stood before him. Sae's words echoed in Sojiro's mind. 'Keep him safe and out of sight'. Sojiro may not understand exactly what was going on, but he knew enough to know that the mechanisms of it were bigger than him, and that the best thing to do right now was play his role.
"Alright," he said, finally letting go of Ren. "Go upstairs, I'll close up."
Ren nodded, heading to the stairs. Before he fully left, though, he reached out with an unsure hand and gave Sojiro a small pat on the shoulder. The gesture of concern burst Sojiro's heart all over again, but without leaving time for either of them to say anything, Ren disappeared up the stairs.
Sojiro closed the shop faster than he ever had before. He flipped the sign, locked the door, and pulled the curtains shut. Ducking behind the counter for a second he grabbed a first aid kit before making his own way to the stairs, leaving a trail of footprints in the glass shards behind him as he left.