@dereines
With midterms on the rise, there was no way in hell that Makoto was going to let the rest of her teammates slack off on their studies -- and least of all Ren, their leader. When it came to academics, Ren did surprisingly well for a "so-called criminal", climbing his class's ranks as the school year went on. It was a mistake to believe it was out of any genuine love for school, however; perhaps it merely satisfied him on some level to see his naysayers eat their earlier words about him, casting judgment without knowing anything about his situation. It helped, too, having Kawakami-sensei on his side nowadays, a shockingly helpful ally who let him use class time to sleep or work on infiltration tools.
She couldn't help him through midterms, though. That was how he found himself in the student council room alone with Makoto after class let out for the day, thumbing through textbook pages and jotting down notes. Briefly, Ren wondered why he needed to know the names of certain phenomenons or the origins of certain words, as well as contemplating how startlingly relevant some of these study topics were to phantom thievery... But not so much for daily life. Needless to say, his mind was wandering, and before he knew it, his eyes landed on Makoto's Buchimaru-themed pencil case, worn as usual. Then, Ren looked at his phone. There was a text from Ryuji, but Makoto would raise hell were he to answer it. Without realizing it, Ren had begun spinning his pencil around his finger, like he needed to keep his hands busy if his mind wasn't. Noting the rain beginning to gently fall against the windows, Ren finally stood up.
"I'm gonna go grab us some drinks. Head feels like mush," Ren complained. "What kind do you like?"