"Ren? Ren, are you sure about this?" 

Ren's reedy frame shuddered, jolted back into the reality that he was still standing in front of his apartment, the card that had prompted a surge of emotions and fractured memories half-crumpled in his hand. He looked down, glasses steamed from the acrid humidity in the hallway, but still visible through the sauna-like environment was Morgana, tail swishing in curiosity as his head nodded towards the door.

"Come on, let's get inside." With a nod, Ren followed the sound advice, entering his quarters with Morgana's mottled fur rushing up against the leg of his slacks. A blur of black was visible as he took off his glasses, cleaning them on his damp(ish) off-crimson dress shirt before returning them to his face. Morgana paced on the kitchen island, paws clicking on the granite. 

"No one knows who we are in Osaka. We picked Osaka JUST for that reason." An aggravated sigh, the cat's sky-blue irises glaring at Ren.
"Well come on, tell me what you're thinking. Don't clam up on me now!" A sardonic chuckle was followed by a reply:
"When I touched the card, I...felt something. Like when I would go to the Velvet Room except...I never left? I don't think?" Morgana's tail stiffened.
"Velvet room, eh?" Ren nodded.
"It was the same feeling of being uncontrollably whisked away, but all I felt was my mind trying to remind me of something...something important. I can't put my finger on it, but I just know whoever left this is someone that I need to see." Ren cast his eyes past Morgana to the ebony leather sofa tucked against the right-hand wall, several pictures hanging right above, each depicting various slices of the past that he never wanted to forget, no matter how painful the reminders might be. 
"Do you think it's..." Morgana shook his head.
"No, no, she wouldn't do something like that. She'd just show up." He looked to the pictures as well for a moment, eyes narrowing before turning back to Ren. 
"Think Futaba would be able to help figure out...I dunno, where the card was made?" Ren rapped his fingers on the island, then nodded.
"She might be able to get something. I'll send a picture and text her on the way to...wherever this address is." Punching in the address into his nav, he found that the caller wanted to meet at a cafe right on Dotonbori Canal. Odd to want to meet in such a public place, but then again, Ren knew the power of subtlety within chaos. Dotonbori would packed with tourists, drunk salarymen, hawkers and every other kind of distraction imaginable. No one would regard two people talking at a cafe, even with the subject potentially revolving around his past. 
"Want me to come?" Ren shook his head.
"Too dangerous a time. Don't need you getting abducted or trampled." Morgana let out a huff.
"Just because I'm not as spry as I used to be doesn't mean I'm an invalid!" Ren half-smiled.
"Guess you can ride with me. Don't be too obvious, though." Having spent most of the day roaming around the alleys and side-streets around Ren's office, the thought of falling asleep in Ren's oversized duffel bag did sound appealing. 
"I'll be listening the whole time, though! Whoever this is will have to deal with the both of us." 
"Just like always."

Cafe Paris' terrace faced the canal, but also had exit points on either side of the sitting area, giving Ren the perfect area for a discussion with a potentially dangerous individual who knew about his past. His coffee lazily wafted steam, untouched. Sojiro had trained Ren too well when it came to recognizing good coffee, which soured almost any visit to a normal coffee shop. Ren understood why the old man was cranky about sampling other's coffee; it was never as good as his own. 

His phone buzzed, Ren glancing at the message from Futaba:

[i]Nothing unusual! Weird, huh? Seeing something like this...let me know how it goes, ok?! I want deets!
[/i]
With a chuckle, he placed his phone on the table, grateful that Futaba was still a part of his life, as was Sojiro. With his parents as emotionally distant as they were, Sojiro and Futaba were more family than his parents ever were. It had been a few months since he had gone to Yongyen, maybe he should...

He heard footsteps coming onto the near empty terrace, Ren turning his head to see if this would be the mysterious caller.