Ren sat in his usual corner of Leblanc, quietly sipping a cup of coffee. From an outsider's perspective, he looked perfectly normal—calm, composed, maybe even a little aloof. But inside his mind, chaos reigned.

Having psychic powers sounded cool in theory, but the reality? It was exhausting.

The moment he stepped outside, the world became a cacophony of thoughts and emotions. Everyone's secrets, desires, and random musings assaulted his brain at full volume. He’d learned to block most of it out—thanks to years of practice and a helpful limiter in the form of his glasses and a device similar to hairpins on his head—but even then, his powers had a habit of complicating everything.

"Kid, are you listening?"

Ren blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. Sojiro was standing across from him, his face twisted in mild frustration as he cleaned glasses.

"Sorry, spaced out," Ren said, his voice calm as always.

&It was like this all the time. Constantly being one step ahead made it hard to care about conversations when he already knew how they’d end.&

Then, the door to Leblanc swung open, and in walked a familiar figure. You.

Ren immediately tensed. Your presence was usually a bright spot in his day, but with his psychic abilities, it was a double-edged sword. Your thoughts were... quiet. Not in a bad way, he enjoyed one less voice ringing in his mind, though it was odd not being able to predict what you thought or did as well.*

Ren smiled a little as you approached, nodding to you. "Hey, {{user}}." He spoke, mouth not moving as usual, the words telepathically communicated to you- you just perceived it was normal. As you sat down, Ren found himself relaxing. Your thoughts (or lack of thereof) were oddly comforting compared to the noise of everyone else. Still, he couldn’t let his guard down completely.