Chapter 1
Notes:
So I've redone the first chapter to better fit with Ren's personality and touch up on the grammatical errors of my sloppier writing. I don't know if AO3 will notify of the update but if it has and you're coming to rereview the first chapter then I hope you enjoy. And if you're reading this for the first time, I aplogise for the dip in quality after this chapter, it picks back up in like 7 or so chpaters from the recpetions I've recieved.
Chapter Text
Ren Amamiya let out a long and tired sigh when he finally walked through the gates of his school, the sun having already begun to set by the time he had been let out from yet another day of detention. As he walked through his quiet town he reflected on all that had gone wrong in the day for him. The morning had started off fine enough until a couple of guys he had a run in with the week prior decided they wanted revenge, clearly not respectful of the fact that he was already running late. When he eventually did manage to get to school, he was subjected to a stern talking to from the guidance councillor. Which only furthered his tardiness and led to his eventual detention when he managed to sag his way into his class.
Another frustrated sigh escaped his lips and followed him past every similar house and convenient store he walked by. For all the mundanity and annoying people his town was filled with, he harboured very little hate for it. The prospect of leaving one’s hometown and exploring the wide world often excited his classmates but Ren liked the quaintness of it all, the peace and quiet, for all it’s problems, this town was still his home.
It didn’t take long for Ren to reach his house, one of the downsides of living in a place with such a small population. He stood at the entrance, his hand on the doorknob as he took a moment to breathe and calm himself, a routine he had developed and employed a saddening amount in the recent years.
He eventually turned the knob, hoping for the off chance that his dad would either still be at work or doing something in his study upstairs. Ren was afforded no such luck.
“Where have you been all day?” The question came out quiet but was dripping with venomous disdain.
Ren closed the door behind him while giving his father a non-committal shrug, when his dad wasn’t yelling, it often benefited Ren to be quick and avoid as much conflict as humanly possible.
“I had detention for being late.” Ren began moving through the living room and towards the stairs, hoping the direct answer would be enough to satisfy the man long enough for him to escape to his room, but of course, it just wasn’t Ren’s day.
His father stood up from his chair and moved to block Ren’s path. At seventeen, Ren stood slightly taller than his father, the two shared many similarities, the unruliness of there dark hair, the sharp features of their faces and the cold glares they could give people they didn’t like. But where Ren was lanky and still growing into the length of his limbs, his father was toned and filled out his body much better then Ren.
“I thought I told you to stop getting into trouble.”
Ren rolled his eyes and tried to step around his father, not in the mood for yet another lecture about his performance in school and general attitude. He could only hear how much of a screw up he was so many times before it started to feel redundant.
He half expected his dad to block his path to make sure that Ren listened to what he had to say but if he could give his dad credit for anything, he was never physical when it came to Ren. He was halfway up the stairs when he heard his dad’s voice from behind, it had lost some of its venom, instead sounding exhausted.
“Why are you still acting like this Ren, you’re seventeen, you’ll be finishing high school in a couple years and yet you continue to behave like a child. I know you’re still getting piercings even though I told you to stop.”
Ren gripped the handrail tightly, his knuckles turning white under the pressure. This is how it would always go with them. Ren would do something, his dad would get angry which just made Ren want to do something worst. It was a vicious cycle that neither man knew how to escape.
“You’re mother would be disappointed to see you as you are.”
Ren turned to face his father, any sense of guilt or remorse for his actions fading instantly and he could tell that his father understood that he had taken it too far. Ren was vaguely aware that his father was talking to him, whether to reinforce his position or offer a half-hearted apology, he wasn’t sure because his own anger had taken over his senses before he slammed the door behind him and stalked back onto the streets of his home.
-
Ren took a deep breath after finishing the cheap premade dinner he bought from the convince store a few streets down from his house. There were closer ones that he could have gone too but the more distance he put between him and his father, the better he felt.
He tossed the empty packaging into the bin and began his normal routine of aimlessly walking around the town. There wasn’t exactly a ton for a teenager to do, especially when it was 9pm on a Tuesday but he always appreciated the quiet of the place, it was always a solace to Ren, quiet meant that he wasn’t being grilled by his teachers, wasn’t being irked by the wannabe thugs of his school, wasn’t being told how much of a fuck up he was by his dad.
Quiet was good.
Quiet was safe.
Ren was dragged from his thoughts by that same quiet being broken by what sounded like someone calling for help. A part of him knew that following the sound wouldn’t lead to anything good, he had learned the hard way that butting his nose into other people’s business was a quick- and sure-fire way to get it broken but as the cries for help got louder and more desperate, his body had clearly already made the decision for him as he started towards the source.
His brisk walk soon became a light jog and then even sooner became a sprint as he turned corners and heard the commotion getting louder and louder. As he rounded the last corner, he was greeted by the cause of all the noise. He saw a woman, pressed up against a wall as a man with yellow shades stood tall over her. His hands held hers above her head while his knee spread her legs apart, her shirt had been ripped open and Ren could tell she wasn’t exactly pleased by the man’s advances.
Ren could now hear the content of the conversation as the man in yellow shades failed to notice his presence.
“C’mon baby, I’m an important man, just come back to my place and I can show you a good time.” Ren could tell the man was drunk just by the way he slurred his words.
The woman shook her head in denial and that’s when she saw Ren, her eyes going wide with a mixture of fear and relief at his presence. Her lack of interest in his face was enough to spur the man to follow her gaze until he too settled on Ren’s outline.
He scowled as he let the girl go to face Ren in what he assumed was a display of power but was hardly intimidating considering the man in shades could barely stand up straight.
“What do you want kid? Fuck off. This is adult business.”
Ren made his way towards the man. “Maybe you’re a bit too drunk to take the hint dude but when the girl says no, that generally means she’s not interested in you.”
Ren moved between the two, now that he was within arms reach of the guy he could smell the tell-tale scent of a guy who drank way too much, but the teen was confidant his assumption that it didn’t have any effect on the guy’s personality, just removed the sensible part that stopped him from doing things that would get him arrested.
“Well look who thinks they’re someone special. Listen kid, leave now and I promise I’ll forget your face by morning. You don’t want to fuck with me.”
The man took a step forward, clearly expecting Ren to move aside for him but instead just found the teens hands placed firmly on his chest and pushing him back. Ren didn’t push with any amount of strength that would send a normal guy flying but due to the lack of light and the man’s inebriation, he stumbled over his own feet, his body twisting in panic before his head crashed against the metal guard rail on the side of the rode.
“Get the fuck out of her before I make you. The girl said no, end of story.” Ren channelled his father, imbuing every word with as much venom as he could muster, his annoyance and anger that had been building up all day helping in that matter.
The man in shades struggled to right himself into a sitting position, he reached his hands to his forehead where a sizable gash now laid pooling with blood. Ren had been enough scraps to know what a serious injury looked like, and this one simply looked worst then it actually was, he might have a scar, but it didn’t need stitches. This obviously didn’t matter to the man in shades.
“You little fuck! Do you have any idea who I am. I’ll sue.”
Ren raised his eyebrow, finding the whole thing ridiculous, he turned to the lady, about to ask if she had a way back to her hotel recognising that she wasn’t from around here when the siren of a police car echoed in the quiet night.
Ren sighed, both in relief and frustration because while the two cops that walked out from there car signalled the end to this whole fiasco, Ren was sure that this would reach his dad one way or another and he really didn’t enjoy the prospect of his father having even more reasons to be disappointed in him.
Before the cops got close, the man looked up from his spot on the ground right at the lady behind Ren.
“Hey bitch, if you want any chance of a career after this, you’ll keep your mouth shut about what happened here.” Ren expected the lady to tell the guy to fuck off in some manner but when all he heard was a deafening silence, he finally turned to look at her and felt his stomach drop. That same feeling from earlier when he first heard the commotion came roaring back.
“We got a noise complaint, care to explain what’s happening here.”
Ren was about to say something when the man, still sitting on the ground and now clutching his forehead like he had just been shot, groaned out a response.
“This brat just popped out of nowhere when I was taking my friend back to out hotel and started attacking us. He pushed me to the ground and split my head open and then tried to rip her clothes off.”
“He’s fucking lying.” Ren interjected, he was about to explain himself, but the cops held a hand up and glared at the teen indicating that his words wouldn’t be taken seriously even if he kept speaking.
They turned towards the lady who had taken a few steps away from the teen, confliction clear on her face to Ren alone.
“Is that true ma’am?”
The lady wouldn’t even look at Ren or the cops when she answered, and Ren’s legs almost gave out at her response. “Yes, it’s exactly as he says. This boy tried to attack me.”
The words echoed in Ren’s head so loudly that he wasn’t even aware when the cops grabbed him roughly by his arms or slapped handcuffs around his wrists. He only became aware of what was happening when he was sitting in the backseat of the police cruiser, gazing listlessly out the window as the cops took down the details from the man and woman.
The man in shades turned to look at Ren like a piece of dirt he found on the bottom of his shoes, before his scowl morphed into a vindictive smile which only made Ren’s blood boil. A couple hours later, Ren found himself sitting the back of his dad’s car, the two sat in complete silence all the way back to there house. There is no anger in his dad’s silence which only made the teen feel worst. All he felt from his father was disappointment and regret and it made him feel completely alone.
-
A couple weeks later, Ren was summoned to court, though his presence was a non-factor. The decision had been made long before he even step foot into the court room. Charged for assault, the 17-year-old was found guilty on all accounts and given one of two options. Due to it being his first offence and with a little help from his dads’ connections, Ren could either choose to spend a year in Juvie or move out to Tokyo and enrol in a school that would help reform him on a 1-year probation.
A week later, Ren found himself standing on the edge of the platform of his towns small train station, waiting for the train that would whisk him away from all that he knew and grew up with to a city he was unfamiliar with and ill prepared for. He tugged on the collar of his new uniform, the blazer suffocatingly tight with all its buttons done up, especially to Ren who liked to wear his loose due to his old schools’ lax policies on uniforms. He wanted nothing more than to undo a couple of the buttons, but his father had been very explicit in making sure Ren made a good impression to his new guardian when he arrived, and Ren was hard pressed to disagree with his dad at the moment.
“The train will be arriving in five minutes.” The PA rang out across the quiet station.
Ren and his dad stood next to each other in awkward silence. The two rarely knew how to talk to one another in the best of circumstances and with everything that had gone down in the past few weeks, the two Amamiya men had barely spoken to one another.
Eventually his father let out a tired sigh before turning to face him, his eyes steeled with fatherly authority.
“Listen Ren. I know we don’t see eye to eye on most things, but I need you listen to me, just this one time I want you to really hear what I’m about to say.” Ren turned and looked his father in the eye, making a pointed note not to speak. The older man took a deep breath before continuing. “I believe that you tried to do the right thing, you’re rebellious but I know you’d never go out of your way to hurt someone on purpose, but you can’t afford any more screw ups, you need to keep your head down and you ass out of trouble. So, take out those piercings and just get through the year without pissing anyone off.”
Ren wanted to say something, to make his claim that he shouldn’t have to suffer for trying to help someone. That Mum would have supported him through all of this and that his father should be trying to do whatever he could to keep Ren where he could see him. None of those thoughts made there way to Ren’s mouth, instead all he did was turn towards the train as it arrived, he pulled out the few studs he had in his ear before dropping them haphazardly into his bag which was apparently enough for his dad to know that he at least heard what had been said.
A part of him wanted to hug his dad goodbye, the two may have bickered more then they didn’t but in the end he was still an important part of Ren’s life. But he couldn’t bring himself to look at the man, the betrayal and shame of everything was just too much for the seventeen-year-old.
He found a seat on the opposite side of the platform, not wanting to give himself any chance to look at his dad before he left. He felt the train begin to pick up speed, all the while feeling his dads intense gaze piercing him through the window and the seats that blocked them until finally he could breathe again. He rested his head against the window, the dull thudding of the tracks lulling the teen to sleep.
Before rest finally came, a thought crossed Ren’s mind, making him smile bitterly to his own reflection.
“From small town delinquent to a criminal huh?”
“What a fucking Joke.”
Chapter Text
“Next stop. Shibuya station.”
Ren awoke to the sound of the train announcement, he stretched his arms and tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Usually, after a nap like that, he’d feel more refreshed but the knowledge that everything that had just happened wasn’t just a bad dream sapped all the energy out of him.
He made his way out of the station and was greeted by what he could only describe as total sensory overload. So many sounds and people encompassed Ren and he had half a mind to cover his ears and run to the nearest alley just for a moment of quiet. He managed to restrain himself and opted to put his headphones in, letting the loud music drown out some of the noise of his surroundings.
He knew he was going to have to get used to it eventually but that was a future problem, the current problem was finding his way to the next station that would take him to his new home for the year. He looked down at his phone and noticed a new app that hadn’t been there previously. He hesitantly pressed the icon and watched the world around him drain of color, the ever-moving streets coming to a sudden halt. He pulled the headphones from his ear and yet no sound replaced the music.
“I’ve lost my mind haven’t I?” he muttered to himself.
A sudden wave of nausea came over the teen and it took all his strength to keep himself upright. His eyes were inexplicably drawn to the central street of Shibuya, they widened in a mix of horror and awe at the sight of a column of blue flames erupting from nowhere. In the flame Ren could vaguely make out a face, the maniacal laughter pierced his eardrums like it was coming from within his head, every passing second he continued to watch the flames worsen the headache that had throbbed behind Ren’s eyes, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to look away until the flames finally dissipated.
The world began to resume, the people pushing past him seemingly oblivious to everything that had just taken place.
Ren managed to stumble his way into an alley free of people before letting his back slide against the cold brick wall, he was dripping with sweat and his headache still lingered. He looked down at the app on his phone and immediately deleted it.
After a few minutes, he managed to pull himself up and went back on his journey to find the damn station, hopefully with less fire.
-
Ren found himself standing in front of a café, he was told this was the most likely place to find the Sojiro Sakura he was looking for. He took a deep breath and opened the door and was immediately greeted by the pleasant smell of coffee and curry. His stomach rumbled but the old man sitting on the stool doing a crossword puzzle didn’t look up. “What can I get you?”
Ren just stood awkwardly, unsure how to breach the subject. “Um, are you Sojiro Sakura?”
The man looked away from his puzzle toward Ren. “Ah that’s right, today was the day.” He said idly as he chucked the magazine onto the counter
“Follow me, I’ll show you where you’ll be staying” he started moving towards the stairs near the bathroom before looking back at Ren who hadn’t moved. “Well, are you coming?”
Ren realized a bit too late that they weren’t leaving the café, which meant he was essentially going to be staying in an attic. He let out a quiet sigh before moving towards the stairs to follow Sojiro. He had braced himself for the worst, it was an attic so there might be a few boxes and a couple of cobwebs, but nothing could have properly prepared him for what he’d see.
There was more dust than there was in the attic. There was furniture and books scattered across the floor and as far as Ren could tell, none of it seemed related to a café at all. Sojiro saw the look on Ren’s face and chuckled to himself “Got something to say about your new place?”
Ren was prepared to say a lot of things and make a lot of comments on the liveability of sleeping among dust bunnies but stopped himself. He idly rubbed his ear as his dad’s words played in his head. Soon all the quips he had come up with just didn’t matter anymore.
“It’s fine, it’ll just need some cleaning. Thanks.” He gave a polite bow and started walking towards the bed to put his bag down. Sojiro just gave a gruff at his response and went back downstairs.
Ren went to work cleaning up his new home. A couple of hours went by, and Ren was sure there was more dust in his lungs than oxygen, but he had managed to get the attic clean enough for it to be considered liveable.
Sojiro came up to check on his new tenant a few moments later.
“Wow! have you spent the whole-time cleaning?” Ren just gave a solemn nod recounting all the dust “Looks good kid, might have to start renting to place out after you leave.” He said with a smirk. Ren was quiet, wondering if he should ask the question that was on his mind.
“Why did you take me to Sojiro-san?”
Sojiro rubbed his chin like he was trying to remember his reasons before he let out a sigh. “I’m an old friend of your pops, he explained the situation to me. You got caught trying to help a girl and you got kicked out of your town on an assault charge. Which means no one wanted to watch your sorry ass.” He chuckled at his own joke “And your dad was willing to pay so that’s a bonus.”
He started walking back towards the stairs before stopping himself.
“I know it sounds cruel but at least you know now to keep your nose out of other people’s business. Get some rest, we need to introduce you to your new school’s principal tomorrow, so I’ll drop you off.”
With that, he walked down the stairs leaving Ren to ponder the words that sounded familiar to what his dad said. He flopped down onto his bed, it wasn’t particularly comfortable, but it was a bed away from his home, so it felt like heaven. He soon felt his consciousness slipping before hearing his phone go off.
He looked at it and noticed the same strange app from earlier. Not wanting to repeat that nightmare, he quickly deleted it.
-
Makoto wasn’t particularly happy to be at school on her Sunday, for once she was grateful her sister wasn’t home to ask where she was going. She was sure that Sae would have some choice words about her little sister wasting time that she could be spending studying for her to get introduced to a new transfer student, who just so happens to also have an assault charge.
Why she was meeting him at all hadn’t been explained to her though and Principle Kobayakawa had refused to elaborate any further. So now she stood in said principles office with a very irate Kawakami sensei waiting for this infamous transfer student to arrive.
When the door had been opened, all the images she had imagined of what he’d looked like were tossed out the window. When she heard about the delinquent from a small town coming to Tokyo, her first thought had been of a gruff boy with too many piercings and brightly dyed hair.
What she had been greeted with was an older gentleman in a pink shirt and white coat who looked like he’d rather be anywhere that wasn’t here. And a boy behind him who remained her of a scared puppy. Instead of a burly boy with cuts and scars all about, this boy was tall and lanky, his hair which was a shaggy mop of black ink partially covered his eyes making it impossible for Makoto to gauge his feelings.
“Ah Sakura-san, I appreciate you coming today. I’m sure you’re a busy man.”
-
Ren wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, no one in the room aside from the girl standing beside the principal’s desk seemed to acknowledge his existence. It was clear that he wasn’t wanted there judging from the glares that the female teacher kept occasionally shooting his way, and the outright disdain the principal radiated toward him.
Ren wasn’t even listening to what the large man was saying but judging purely by his facial expression, the message was clear.
“Don’t screw up, you won’t get another chance.”
Sojiro seemed to notice Ren’s discomfort and the teen was surprised to hear what the café owner said.
“Hey, are we done here? I got a café I need to get back to.”
Principal Kobayakawa looked taken aback by the sudden urge to cease the conversation, obviously enjoying the sound of his voice a bit too much. He coughed out a reply “Yes I believe that’s everything that needed to be covered.” They opened the door but before they could exit, Kobayakawa chimed “Oh and Amamiya-Kun, we want you to achieve outstanding grades so you will be studying with the student council president, miss Nijima here.”
The girl called Makoto looked at the principal in utter shock and disbelief. “Principle Kobayakawa, why wasn’t I told about this?”
He looked at Makato not enjoying being questioned by a student, “I’m telling you now, will that be a problem miss Nijima?”
Makoto could only clench her fists and grit her teeth; she knew that arguing with him would only cause her problems in the future. She managed to reply through gritted teeth, “No sir, there’s no problem.”
He gave her a slimy smile at her obedience and turned back to Ren. “And I assume you have no problems with this Mr. Amamiya.”
Ren tensed his shoulder, it was one thing to punish him, but he had no intentions of dragging people completely unrelated to his problem into his mess. He wanted to speak up, but the words died in his throat at the expected stares of the three adults in the room. He clenched his fists and bit down on his tongue before muttering out “No sir. That won’t be a problem.”
He looked at the girl who was now glaring daggers at him, somehow in less than ten seconds and through no action of his own, he managed to turn the one person who hadn’t been outright hostile against him. He gave her a slight bow, hoping that the action conveyed his apology before turning on his heel and walking out of the room, desperate to escape that oppressive atmosphere.
He was a few steps down the hall before he needed to stop, he leaned against the wall and tried his best to catch his breath. It wasn’t long before Sojiro caught up to him, Ren half expected the older man to tell him to hurry it up but instead, he just felt a strong grip on his shoulder.
“It’ll be an all right kid, you’ll get used to it. Take a few minutes to catch your breath. I’ll be waiting in the car.” Before Ren could argue that he was fine, the café owner started making his way off down the hall and out of sight.
Ren spent a few minutes leaning against the wall until he managed to properly calm down. He hadn’t had a panic attack in so long that he had forgotten just how drained they left him feeling. He started making his way down the same hallway Sojiro had walked down.
He was halfway down the stairs when he heard a lighter pair stop at the stair above him. He turned curiously towards them and found the girl from the principal office staring down at him. He let out a huff before asking “What do you want?”
He hadn’t meant for the words to come out as aggressively as they did, his frustrations and exhaustion starting to catch up with him. He saw the way she tensed at the tone of his words, and he realized that if she was expected to tutor him, then she was probably made aware of his circumstances.
He took a deep breath to try and level himself out. “Sorry. It’s been a long couple of days. Did you need something Nijima-senpai?”
She seemed to relax at his apology if only a little. She did not attempt to get closer to him and he could see the way she was fiddling with a stray hair. “The principal asked me to show you around the school. Only if you have the time though.”
If the circumstances surrounding the conversation, Ren may have felt excited by the prospect of having someone show him around, a chance to make a friend, but all he could see looking at her was a girl being put in a tough position and being forced to do something she didn’t want to.
Ren turned back towards the stairs and started walking down them. “I’m kinda tired so I’ll have to kindly decline. Thanks anyway senpai. I’ll try not to bog you down with our tutoring.”
And with that Ren left the girl where she was standing, not particularly caring what her reaction to being declined was. If he could help it, he wouldn’t be interacting with the student president any more than needed.
For both of their sakes.
Chapter Text
Ren was convinced the morning of his first day that life couldn’t get any worst. He figured that being abandoned by the people around him and being forced to attend a school that didn’t want him would be the crux of his issues. Turns out that whatever god decided he would also have to deal with crazy dreams about rehabilitation and prophecies also found it hilarious to have it pour with rain on his way to school. So, he found himself standing under an awning just staring at the streets as students and businessmen walked by without passing him a single glance. At least he was alone and able to breathe somewhat calmly, the sound of rain tended to drown out the overwhelming sounds of Tokyo, something he was grateful for. As he waited for the rain to lighten up, Ren found himself pulling at his collar, he wasn’t used to having it done up and it felt too tight for him, he rubbed his hand over his ear, forgetting that he left his piercings at home per his father’s request. It left him feeling even more nervous.
It wasn’t long before his solitude was broken by another student who had the same idea as him, he could tell it was a girl based on her frame and it was confirmed as she pulled down her hood letting her blond twin tails free. Ren couldn’t help but stare at the girl, she was pretty, that was an objective fact, but he was more curious about seeing someone who wasn’t fully Japanese. She must have felt him staring at her because she gave him a side glance before politely smiling, Ren didn’t make any attempt to hide the fact he was looking, he just casually nodded to her before returning his gaze to the street, while she was pretty, she wasn’t his type, so he didn’t feel too guilty getting caught.
Time seemed to drag as the rain continued to pour, Ren was tempted to ask the girl’s name, if not just to relieve some of the awkwardness of two people standing next to each other without speaking. He missed the opportunity as a car pulled up in front of the two. The passenger window rolled down to reveal what Ren could only describe as a ‘face only a mother could love, a perfectly creepy mix of a baby face and a sex offender. The blue tracksuit didn’t help at all.
The man looked at the girl next to him before asking “Hey, do you need a ride” Ren side-eyed the girl wondering how someone like her could be related to something like him and as she started towards the car, Ren could see the discomfort and defeat on her face. As she opened the door the man asked Ren with far less enthusiasm “How about you?”
Ren could see how uncomfortable she was, he thought it’d be safer to go with her or to get her out of the car but as he was about to reply, his mind drifted back to the day at the train station and his father’s request. Ren could only wave his hand at the man’s question and watched as he drove off, leaving Ren to feel sick to his stomach at his cowardice.
Ren wasn’t alone with his thoughts for long when another blonde who wasn’t a natural came barrelling under the awnings. He stopped in his tracks and watched the car drive away.
“Damn pervy teacher” he grumbled completely ignoring Ren. Ren could only repeat the words that he had thought when he saw the man “Pervy teacher?” It wasn’t as quiet as he thought as the boy turned to stare at him with a glare, though it seemed somewhat forced.
“What, you plan on ratting me out to Kamoshida?”
Ren just stared at the boy, trying to figure out if the question was rhetorical or not. “Who’s Kamoshida?” The blonde boy just stared him up and down looking at his uniform “You go to Shujin right? You expect me to believe you don’t know who Kamoshida is” Ren let out a long sigh, the boy was starting to give him a headache, at least he didn’t feel sick anymore, just annoyed.
“I just transferred, today my first day” the boy looked him over again and ditched the scowl on his face, realizing that trying to intimidate someone who had no idea who he was wasn’t going to do him any good. He rubbed the back of his head nervously.
“That makes sense considering I’ve never seen you before” Ren could tell this guy wasn’t the brightest. But he didn’t feel like making enemies on his first day, so he tried to get the conversation moving again.
“So, who’s Kamoshida?” The scowl returned to the boy’s face immediately after he said the name.
“He’s the pervert teacher that just drove off. Asshole thinks he’s the king of the castle at Shujin”
Ren felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, he thought he heard something, but it was too quiet with the rain, the boy in front of him got his attention.
“Shit, we’re gonna be late, follow me, I know a shortcut” Ren debated whether following the guy was the smart move, but considering he’s the first person in days to talk to Ren, he decided to follow the blond boy.
Ren was sure that life couldn’t get any worst, raining on his first day would have to have been where God would draw the line. Not trapping him and his new blonde buddy in a goddamn castle. Ren woke up feeling groggy, his head spun as he tried to sit but it quickly corrected itself. His headache though was still there and was only being exasperated by the blonde banging on the bars.
“Hey, let us out of here!” he was greeted by Ren groaning at the volume. The blonde who had introduced himself as Ryuji Sakamoto turned around to face him.
“Hey dude, you ok?” Ren appreciated the genuine concern in his voice. “Yeah, just a bit groggy, where are we?” He looked around to see they were in a cell, not unlike one you’d find in the castle which made as much sense as being trapped in a castle in 2020 could.
“No clue, it looks like a dungeon but that’s insane”
“Is it any more insane than walking into a castle that’s sitting right where a school should be” Ren replied deadpan, suddenly Ryuji was on the floor as guards piled into the room followed by a sight that Ren is sure will be burned into his mind for the rest of his possibly very short life, a naked Kamoshida wearing nothing but a pink speedo and a royal looking cape. He stared down at Ryuji.
“Ah Sakamoto, I should have known you were the intruder”.
Ryuji managed to get back to his feet but his path to Kamoshida was blocked by knights.
“Kamoshida, what the hell is going on”.
Kamoshida just spat at the floor next to Ryuji. “Insolent fools’ barge into my castle and talk to me like that” his gaze turned towards Ren “You’re a fresh face, but if you’re associating with Sakamoto then you must be trash as well-”
Suddenly he was cut off by a guard being pushed into him, Ryuji looked at Ren.
“Quick, run!” but they didn’t get the chance as Ren was blocked by knights, and Ryuji was quickly grabbed and forced to his knees. Kamoshida regained his balance and sauntered towards Ryuji before letting a right hook crash against his face.
“If you wanted me to kill you so badly, you just needed to ask” he looked towards one of his knights and nodded in Ryuji’s direction. The knight took his position beside Ryuji and lifted the sword. Ren tried to rush forward but was grabbed by two nights and slammed against the wall.
“You can just stand there and watch, trash” Kamoshida explained with a sickening grin across his face. Ren could only watch in horror as Ryuji braced for impact as the sword started to descend. And then, just like when he first arrived in Shibuya, time seemingly stopped as Ren stared forward. His gaze focused entirely on a blue butterfly. A soft voice spoke as if it was his consciousness.
‘This truly is an unjust game, your chances of winning almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may still be a possibility open to you” suddenly the soft voice was replaced by another, a voice entirely strange yet somewhat familiar.
“What’s the matter, are you content with just watching as those around you suffer? Will you willingly silence yourself for your preservation?”
Ren could feel his head pounding, wanting to split open but he continued to listen to the voice, knowing full well that ignoring it was the wrong choice.
“Do you regret your decision, to act upon your justice to help another? Was it wrong for you to do that”?
The question was so simple, the answer was even more so, he knew his true feelings better than anyone. But he couldn’t bring himself to answer immediately, his father’s words still ringing painfully in his ears. The headache was only getting worst, and he wanted nothing more than to pass out. To be done with the entire situation and just sleep. Maybe what he did was wrong, and these thoughts drifted in his mind. The voice became quieter, sounding almost disappointed. But just before it had disappeared, he felt a cool, soft hand touch his ear and move his hair. As he opened his eyes, he could see her, smiling with full sincerity before poking his forehead.
“Ren. No matter what you choose to do with your life. No matter what type of person you turn out to be. I will always be here for you, to support you, and to tell you that what you’re doing is right. Because I know that whatever you do, you’ll do for the sake of the people you care about.”
And as quickly as it had come, it faded, the voice and touch of his mother gone.
“I wasn’t wrong” he muttered quietly. Not to anyone in the room, not to the voice in his head. Not to any cognition of his parents or friends. He said it to himself. And the headache was gone. A gale of wind emanated from seemingly nowhere blowing back the guards holding him. He was standing on his own two feet, and he could feel something on his face. He tentatively touched the mask now sitting on his nose, it was attached to his skin. While the rational part of his brain was telling him to leave it alone, his instincts were screaming to rip it off, no matter the pain, remove the mask, and see what happens. And that’s what he did. He struggled to get a grip on the smooth material but as he did, he pulled and pulled until he screamed in pain as the skin ripped from his face, blood pooling down, and with a final tug, he removed his mask and was rewarded with what he could only describe as true freedom as blue flames engulfed his entire body, coiling around each of his limbs before removing themselves, leaving behind a three-tailed coat and red gloves with black pants. His hair was shaved on one side to reveal his left ear which was now adorned with glamorous piercings the flames themselves took the form of a demonic creature who sported red pants and arms, heels made of blades, and black wings that stretched across the entire cell and topped off with a top hat.
Ryuji could only stare with something that was halfway between mortal terror and awestruck as he stared at what used to be the meek and timid-looking boy he had met earlier that day who was now sporting what could only be described as a shit-eating smirk. For the first time today, Ryuji met the real Ren Amamiya and couldn’t help but grin himself.
Chapter Text
Ren felt free, he felt right as he brushed his hand against his hair and ear. He could feel Arsene behind him, patiently waiting for him to act. And Ren was happy to comply, he slid his hand into his coat and pulled out a knife. It fit his hand perfectly, it had just the right amount of weight behind it like it was tailored and made just for him.
“What are you morons waiting for. Kill him!” Kamoshida barked from behind his knights. Two knights charged at Ren, as a sword came down towards his skull, he moved with a fluidity he wasn’t aware he possessed, he nimbly avoided the strike and taking the opportunity, drove his knife deep into the helmet’s eye slot. It disintegrated almost immediately, and Ren let out a sigh of relief.
“Jeez, almost thought I killed someone there. But if you guys are just gonna turn to dust after I hurt you.” The smirk quickly returned to his face as he pocketed his knife. He could feel Arsene tugging at his chains, itching for a fight and Ren was nothing if not gracious.
“Ravage them Arsene” the gentleman thief darted forward and quickly skewered a knight with his long dagger-like claws. He tossed the limp corpse against Kamoshida knocking the perverted king off his feet. Ren walked towards him as Arsene went ahead and took out the Knights behind them. He squatted in front of Kamoshida and rested his chin on his hand as he studied the man.
“You know? Pink isn’t your colour.” He turned away and started towards the exit, casually talking to Ryuji who was still stuck where he was in stunned silence.
“Ryuji grabs the keys” the order snapped him out of his daze, and he ran after Ren with keys in hand. Kamoshida was too slow to realize what his captors having the keys to the cell meant and wasn’t able to get out as Ryuji slammed the door shut and locked it.
“Eat shit Kamoshida” Ryuji laughed as he tossed the keys into a nearby river.
“Wait! Let me out of here you damn punk” Ryuji responded by flipping Kamoshida the bird before he and Ren ran off leaving Kamoshida to scream from inside his cell. The two made it about 10 meters through the dungeon before they had to stop. Ren felt his knees give out nearly and nearly fell before Ryuji managed to grab him.
“Whoa, you ok?” the worry in his voice made Ren smile slightly, at least someone liked him. Suddenly a blue haze covered Ren and his clothes returned to normal. He looked down at his uniform and let out a little tch. It took a moment before Ren regained his balance and was able to stand on his own.
“Thanks, Ryuji” the blonde just beamed a smile at Ren, his obvious and genuine emotion brightening the mood slightly.
“No worries, it’s the least I can do after you saved my ass. But how do we get out of here?”
Ren didn’t answer, he just rubbed his hair as he took in his surrounding, from outside the cell, it was clear they were underground. But that didn’t tell them much considering the absurdity of the entire situation.
“Do you wanna get out of here?” a high-pitched voice startled the two out of their thoughts. They looked around for the source of the voice, unable to find it, the two looked at each other both thinking the same thing ‘Are we going nuts’
“Down here idiots”
They began looking again but this time at a lower elevation and quickly found the source. But their original thought still rang true as neither of them could comprehend what they were looking at. A small bipedal mascot not unfamiliar to a cat, Ryuji decided to take the plunge into crazy town first and asked the question on both of their minds,
“Did you just talk?”
The mascot let out a small huff of air at the question.
“Of course, I talked, and I asked you two a question. Do you want to get out of here? Let me out and I’ll show you the way” the creature puffed out its chest in pride. Ryuji slowly pulled Ren by his shoulder to face away from the cat-like creature. “You hear him too right” Ren could only nod, too confused to think, he still hadn’t figured out how to refer to the thing, much less acknowledge its language capabilities. Both the boys turned back toward the creature.
“How would a cat be able to help us?”
“I AM NOT A CAT!” the not cat jumped up and stamped its feet at the two. It took a breath and continued.
“I was staking out this castle, but I ended getting caught”
“Staking it out? What for” Ryuji asked them, he stood silent with a pained expression on his face.
“I… don’t remember” the not-a cat mumbled in response but quickly returned to its original bravado.
“But that’s not important, I need to get out of here and you two need a guide. So, do we have a deal?” the two boys looked at each other, Ryuji wasn’t buying it but still asked Ren “What do you think?”
Ren walked towards the cell before squatting in front of the door, getting as close to eye level as he could. He held up two fingers “Two things before I let you out. First tell me your name, and second, if it turns out you are lying, I will personally throw you into that river behind us” the cat shivered at Ren’s smile.
“Morgana, now if you could just find a bobby pin or a thin piece of metal then I can-”
Click
Ren opened the door and started putting away the tools he had taken out from a small punch in his bag. Morgana and Ryuji looked at him in disbelief. Ren looked back at the two after finishing, he quirked his eyebrow at two.
“How do you know how to pick locks,” they said in unison, then glared at each other. Ren could already feel a headache forming from their bickering. He rubbed his temple as he replied.
“I learned it a few years ago back in my hometown…Not a lot of things to do” while he liked Ryuji and felt like he could trust him, he wasn’t exactly ready to dump his entire story on the guy. Especially not when they’re still stuck in a castle and the company of a talking cat mascot.
“Any way Morgana, can we go now, I don’t wanna spend any more time here than necessary”
Morgana seemingly pleased with being given a task puffed out his chest and started leading the boys out of the dungeon. As they reached a set of stairs that led up to the entryway, they were ambushed by a set of knights. Morgana jumped in front of the two boys.
“Stay behind me, I’ll deal with the shadows. Come Zorro!” a burst of wind surrounded the three as a matador with exaggerated limbs, as if they were inflatable, emerged behind Morgana. The knights however seemed to collapse under their weight before turning into an ooze, they emerged as weird floating creatures with pumpkin heads. Ren felt a familiar coolness envelop his body.
“Dude, your clothes changed again” Ren looked down to see he was wearing his coat from earlier, the breeze feeling cooler on his head and the empty feeling of his piercings now filled. He couldn’t contain the smirk that came as he felt the mask on his face. Morgana seemed completely shocked by his transformation.
“You’re a persona user?” the word persona rang in his ears. “Persona” he whispered calling forth Arsene who floated behind him like Zorro. He charged forward ignoring the questions coming from not a cat as he drew his knife and cleanly sliced through one of the jack o lanterns before jumping out of the way of an incoming fireball that left the spot he was standing on black with soot.
“Garu!” a sudden burst of wind sent the other jack o lantern flying across the room slamming it against the wall. Arsene quickly followed before impaling the poor pumpkin with his dagger heel.
Morgana hopped in front of Ren with Ryuji coming closer now that it was safe.
“I never would have expected to meet another persona user”
Ryuji clearly shows that he has had enough of being confused and asked the obvious question. “What the hell is this persona shit?” Morgana simply smirked at Ryuji; something was telling Ren that these two bickering were going to be a running theme.
“Well, if you must know, A persona is the physical manifestation of the mask you show the world, like the inner self you use to deal with hardships. A persona user uses that power to fight the shadows which are the malevolent manifestation of a person’s thoughts” Ren would have laughed at Ryuji’s face as he tried his hardest to understand what Morgana had just told them, but too many questions were running through his mind. Did this have something to do with Igor and his rehabilitation? Why did his clothes change, how did this all relate to where they were right now?
“You said this reality, does that mean this isn’t our normal reality?” Morgana looked at Ren like he had grown a second head. Clear that he either said something very relevant or very stupid. His affirmative nod showed it was the former.
“You catch on a lot quicker than your friend here. You’re right-” the sounds of guards rushing from where they came from interrupted Morgana, they all shared a nod that implied that it would have to wait. The three rushed up the stairs and continued following Morgana as he led them out of the castle to the drawbridge they had entered from.
“If you just go this way, you should find yourself back in your reality” the two looked at each other with slight apprehension, it all felt too easy to Ren. After everything that had happened just to be let back into the normal world. Ren turned around to ask Morgana some more questions, but the creature was nowhere to be seen. He let out a sigh before he started walking across the drawbridge with Ryuji beside him.
As the two kept walking back the way they came, Ren could tell they were close to their own reality, maybe awakening his persona made it more obvious when their reality had changed, just another question to add to his growing collection. The two ended up back where they first met, both feeling exhausted mentally and physically. Neither of them got the chance to ask the generic ‘was that all real’ question as they were approached by two police officers.
“Hey, why aren’t you two in school”
Ryuji looked aggravated by the cop’s annoyed tone. “Screw school we were just trapped in a castle-”
Ren quickly clapped his hand over Ryuji’s mouth in a desperate attempt to keep the blonde quiet.
“Castle? Are you two on drugs, you’re from Shujin academy, right?” Ren wasn’t planning on screwing up his probation so soon, so he gave the first excuse he had in his head.
“We’re very sorry sir, this idiot slept in past his alarm and I was just grabbing him to bring to school, better late than, never right? Let’s go blondie” Ren grabbed Ryuji’s shirt and started walking away pretending not to hear the cops asking him to explain the situation further with Ryuji grumbling about being called an idiot the entire way to school.
Ren would have been annoyed by Ryuji complaining the entire way but it kept his mind off of the events that just happened so he was honestly sort of grateful that his new friend could act so normal. He felt a small smile come as they made their way to school.
Chapter Text
“What the hell are you two boys doing coming so late?”
This is what greeted Ren and Ryuji as they walked into the school gate, not a castle in sight. Neither looking particularly up for dealing with a pissed-off guidance counsellor.
“Those cops must have ratted us out” Ryuji whispered in Ren’s ear as they started walking up the stairs. Both boys tensed immediately at the sight of Kamoshida walking out, thankfully he was wearing his normal clothes this time.
“You should cut them a break sir, Sakamoto’s always been a lost cause used to be quite the delinquent I hear.”
Ryuji moved forward slightly, still tense.
“What was that asshole?” he wasn’t able to get too close to Kamoshida before the councellor grabbed Ryuji’s arm and dragged him into the school scolding him for being late and rude to Kamoshida. Just leaving the two staring each other down.
Ren wasn’t sure how to act, it seemed like the teacher wasn’t aware of what had happened in the past 4 hours, but he could feel the hostility coming from Kamoshida. He gave Ren a plastic smile.
“You should meet with Kawakami; she’s been waiting the whole day for you to arrive”
Ren decided it’d be better to not push his luck any further and simply nodded in response and started walking past the former king before being stopped by his stretched-out arm.
“Trash like you has no right to be at this school, I suggest you don’t get too comfortable”
Ren looked back to see that same plastic smile but now it hid something much more sinister, it was the same sick smile he had when he was wearing a speedo ready to lop off Ryuji’s head. Ren instinctually reached for the knife that he didn’t have anymore, so he opted for the next best thing. The proverbial knife.
“You know, it’s real unbecoming of a teacher to pick up high schoolers. Let me guess” he pointed towards the man’s crotch “You have trouble pleasing the more experienced ladies don’t ya?”
Ren could feel the anger radiating from the man but didn’t back down, he had enough of adults trying to intimidate him. He walked under the stretched-out arm and headed towards the faculty office with his hands shoved in his pockets.
“Do you have any idea how late you are?” Kawakami sighed as if she was the one in trouble.
“How did you even manage to come to this late” Ren almost let his smart-ass nature get the better of him but managed to hold it in, as much as he enjoyed talking back to Kamoshida, he knew that Kawakami didn’t deserve that, she was just trying to do her job.
He bowed his head slightly while apologizing “I’m very sorry, I got lost, I’m still not used to the subway system” she knew there was more to the story, like how it somehow involved Sakamoto, but she chose to let it be, she didn’t want to get more involved with the transfer student then necessary.
“Well, I guess there’s no point mulling over it now, c’mon, let’s introduce you to your class, 4th period is about to begin” she got out of her chair and started walking towards the classroom with Ren following a few paces behind.
As soon as he entered the classroom, he could feel something was off, it’s normal for students to stare at a new transfer student, sure, but this wasn’t simple curiosity, this was a stare of fear and wonder, like an escaped animal running through the streets. Then he heard the whispers if you could even call them that.
“Hey, isn’t he the transfer student, the one with a record?”
“I heard he beat someone up so badly that they weren’t able to go to the court hearing,”
“I heard he’s an ex-Yakuza and he carries a knife”
Ren could hear his heart beating in his ears, he tried his hardest not to let the anger and frustration show on his face, but he wasn’t sure how well he was doing it. Luckily, Kawakami noticed his tension before she clapped her hands to get the room’s attention.
“This is our new transfer student, we had him come in a bit later because he wasn’t feeling well. Why don’t you introduce yourself to the class”?
Ren was so focused on the whispers that hadn’t ceased despite his teacher’s best efforts, he could hear the rumours getting more and more out of hand. He felt a hand grab his shoulder softly and he flinched at the touch.
“Hey, are you ok?” the question had a lot of meaning behind it, there was no way she couldn’t hear the whispers as well, her face was telling Ren that it’d be ok to leave if he needed to. He felt calmer by the fact that at least one adult feels somewhat sorry for him. He took a deep breath as his classmates all backed away slightly. He swallowed his pride and bowed before the class.
“My name is Ren Amamiya, I hope we can have a good year” he lifted his head to see that no one was buying it, the rumours were already circulating, and acting like the good boy was just going to be fighting a losing battle. Kawakami directed him to his seat in the back and Ren just slumped slightly before walking towards it, painfully aware of the students either retracting in fear or giving him less than subtle glares.
“Lies” he directed his attention to the girl who just said that she was right in front of him and his desk. He saw the blonde twin tails and immediately recognized her. He wasn’t sure if that was directed at him or the class but either way, Ren was too tired to make a big deal out of it.
“Fucking tell me about it” he muttered louder than what was probably necessary because as he sat down, he heard the class whispers start up again.
“Did you see that”?
“Do they know each other”?
“You think she’s cheating on Kamoshida with the transfer student”?
Ren quirked his eyebrow at that last comment. How anyone could find that man attractive was beyond him. He glanced at the girl’s back and noticed her stiffness she was a victim of baseless rumours as well. He looked out the window and let out a long breath.
‘This is gonna be a long year’
When the final bell rang signalling for students to go home, Ren stood up from his chair and made his way to the door quickly, one perk of being an infamous transfer student was that nobody wanted to talk to him and take up any of his time. As he left the classroom closing the door behind him, he bumped into Kawakami.
“Amamiya-san, do you have a moment”?
Ren wanted to say he didn’t, he wanted to leave and get back so he could rest. But he knew that alienating the one adult that is nice to him would be a bad choice in the long run.
“Sure, Kawakami sensei, what do you need”?
She looked surprised by his obedience “I heard you were hanging out with Sakamoto before school today, care to explain” Ren could hear her opinion on his new friend in her voice, it was clear that the faculty didn’t care for him all too much. He just shrugged at her loaded question.
“Nothing much to say, I was lost, and I bumped into him on the way, said he slept in and helped me find my way to school” It was obvious that she didn’t believe the story but also saw that Ren had no intention of elaborating any further. She just let out a long sigh, wondering how the boy in front of her and the meek-looking boy she met in the principal’s office yesterday was the same person.
“Listen, he’s a troublemaker and for your sake, I wouldn’t associate yourself with him”
As if on cue, Ryuji came up behind Ren.
“Yo, how you feeling man”?
Kawakami folded her arms
“Well speak of the devil. Glad you could join us at school today Sakamoto-Kun”
Ryuji frowned at the teacher, not particularly happy about the hostility behind her voice.
“No need to be so rude about it” he mumbled under his breath.
“Didn’t the guidance councillor want to see you?”
“Yeah yeah, I’m going” he started to walk past the two before leaning closer to Ren “meet me on the roof after you finished” and left.
Kawakami let out another sigh “Don’t say I didn’t warn you. You’re free to go”
Ren started heading up the stairs towards the roof, making sure that no one was around or watching him. He did not doubt that the roof was off-limits like most schools, and he didn’t want to give any credibility to the rumours. Though he was sure that credibility was the last thing on anyone’s mind when they were spreading them.
When he thought the coast was clear he headed up the last set of stairs and was standing in front of a closed door, he tried turning the handle, but it was locked. Ren grumbled to himself about Ryuji’s lack of preparation but then smirked to himself. Ryuji knew he could pick locks, so of course, he’d walk to talk about what happened somewhere where no one would expect them to be.
“Maybe he’s smarter than I gave him credit for” Ren mused quietly as he grabbed the tools out of his bag. He managed to get the lock picked, it took longer than normal, most likely due to a lack of practice, not exactly the smartest thing to do when you’re on probation but Ren would be lying if wasn’t happy to have some privacy, he never did like being the centre of attention.
He walked out on the roof, moving a brick to keep the door open and to stop it from locking itself. He was sure he’d be able to pick it up again if necessary, but he didn’t want to take the risk of getting trapped in a restricted area. He walked towards the fence facing the courtyard and saw several students heading home some walking by themselves playing on their phones, others walking with their friends probably chatting about what to do with their free time. He wondered if he could have been one of those students. Living an honest life without having to worry about it all ending with one stupid mistake. He turned back towards the roof, there were spare desks and chairs scattered across the area noticing a few potted plants. He pulled out a chair and sat down, it wasn’t long until the day’s events caught up with him and he decided to rest his head on the table in front of him. If push came to shove, Ryuji would come to wake him up.
His desire for sleep overruled his rationality as Ren drifted into slumber.
Chapter Text
Makoto was not having a great day at Shujin academy. Endless requests from teachers and faculty left her feeling physically exhausted and the mountain of papers and documents from students and clubs in the student council room was eating away at her mental stability. Made even more arduous by a lack of a student council to help her. But she was used to this, it’s what came with the title of student council president. What didn’t come with the said position was the more “personal” requests from the principal.
“I have been informed that our new transfer student is already acting out. Coming to school late, interacting with Sakamoto, and even threatening Kamoshida.”
Makoto stood patiently while listening, she knew that Principle Kobayakawa would tell her when she was allowed to ask questions and did not enjoy it when people interrupted him. He rambled on about how Ren should have been “easy PR” and how he should “know just how lucky he was” before finishing and looking to Makato, the cue for her to ask the question he probably already knew was coming.
“Sir, with all due respect, what does this have to do with me” and that’s when his mischievous smile grew on his face, every time she saw that smile she could feel her stomach drop because it always meant he was going to ask something ridiculous of her.
“I want you to go and find Amamiya after classes finish and reprimand him. I’d do it myself, but I get the feeling having an adult tell him off would just drive him further down the wrong path.”
She stared at him slack-jawed, he asked her to do several downright stupid tasks but telling her to lecture a criminal on his behalf was just about the top of the list.
“I feel like that’s a very bad idea, sir, what makes you think he’ll listen to me anyway”
The principal just shrugged at her question.
“I didn’t ask for your opinion Nijima-san, just imagine though how good helping reform a criminal will look on your recommendation letter”
And there it was, the only real reason she went along with these requests. Her college recommendation letter was always his go-to threat and whenever she tried to ignore it, he’d bring up her sister and she’d crumple.
“So, I can expect you to take care of this matter right Nijima-san?”
She nodded at the rhetorical question before leaving the room with her fists clenched. Ren Amamiya hadn’t even been here a day and he was already causing her trouble.
After the final bell had rung, Makato made her way to his classroom. She opened the door to see no familiar mop of unruly raven hair. She walked over to Kawakami who was packing away papers.
“Sensei, have you seen Amamiya run around?”
Makato could see her shoulders drop as she mentioned his name.
“I talked with him a few minutes earlier, it didn’t seem like he was planning on leaving the school after he saw Sakamoto-kun if that helps”
Makato thanked her before leaving the classroom, she huffed, annoyed that her investigation was already reaching a dead end. She walked up the stairs to check the third-floor library before she overheard a couple of students talking to each other.
“Hey, wasn’t that the transfer student that just went up to the roof.?”
“You mean the one with a criminal record? I wonder if he’s got a secret stash of weapons or drugs up there”
The girls continued leaving Makato stunned. How did these two know about his record? The only people in the school who should know about that are her and the staff. She made her way up the stairs to the roof. She knew it was meant to be locked but she didn’t have any other leads. Much to her surprise, the door was open, kept from closing with a loose brick.
She opened the door as quietly as possible, she didn’t know what to expect but she’d be lying if the fact that he had a record didn’t influence her ability to ignore the rumours. She felt silly with the sight with which she was greeted. The same black hair she found somewhat attractive yesterday was now just a mop lying on a table. Of all things to suspect a criminal to be doing, taking a nap on the roof after school had finished was the bottom of the list.
She walked towards the sleeping boy with light steps, she didn’t know why she didn’t want to wake the boy up immediately, but she felt it was fair for him to get some rest. She was standing in front of him now and wasn’t sure what to do. The boy murmured something and shuffled slightly turning his head to reveal his face. She had to admit she liked his face, its features soft and innocent looking. She hadn’t been able to see it very well the day before and when she did, she was so focused on the emotions held within his eyes that she didn’t take in much of the rest of his face.
She felt conflicted, a part of her wanted to wake him up, tell him off for coming in so late and napping on the roof. But another part of her wanted to pull up a chair and just study him, sure he had caused her trouble but not by his own volition and she was sure that now that his record had been leaked, he’d be grateful for any sort of reprieve.
A strong gust of wind blew through the area and rustled his hair, moving it to one side to reveal his ear, she noticed there were holes in them, signs of piercings, not big and eye-catching like the spacers she’s seen online, but they were big enough to show that he was at least used to wearing earrings. She wondered why he wasn’t wearing them right now.
“You know, you should buy a guy dinner first before you rub their ear” Makoto froze as she looked at the now awake Ren Amamiya who was staring at her with drowsy eyes and a half-cocked smirk. Her eyes followed her arm down to her hand, which had interpreted her curiosity as a sign to carefully rub his ear lobe.
Ren wasn’t expecting to get such a decent sleep on the rooftop of Shujin, yet he was out like a light. His dreams were hazy, a far cry from the nights prior where he was constantly reliving the night he got arrested, or the arguments he had with his father and the time he met Igor, and his new wardens did little for him in terms of meaningful rest. But as he laid his head down on the table and listen to the dull murmurs of students going about their daily lives, completely oblivious of his existence then, only for that noise to be overshadowed by the cool wind. He managed to calm his body and mind. As he fell into a deep slumber, he dreamed of his mothers. Moments of their life that Ren cherished, going to the beach with her. Drawing with her. Crying to her when times got tough. In every situation, she was there, providing a comforting warmth, and laying a cool hand on his head letting him know everything was all right.
When he woke up, he was anticipating the loneliness that came with knowing it was a dream and the disappointment of knowing he was alone. But it didn’t come, the cool feeling of a hand on his head, and the warmth that came from another person offset the chilly breeze. He peered up at the girl from yesterday, a girl he had judged as just being a tool used by adults who were giving him the comfort he had grown used to no longer having. He was content with just letting her continue believing he was asleep, but he knew that Ryuji would be coming any moment, and as much as he enjoyed her company. What they were about to discuss didn’t involve her, and with how close to death they may have come earlier, he had no plan to involve her.
The blush and squeak that came from revealing himself were almost as satisfying as letting her play with his ear had been. Almost.
“I- I- I’m sorry, I didn’t know what I was doing. And you were fast asleep. But that doesn’t make it okay to just touch someone and I was just coming to tell you something but then the door was open and- and- and- “She just stared at him as he slowly stood up and stretched his limbs, rubbing the drowsiness out of his eyes and flashing her another smirk as he caught watching. The memory of his voice earlier. Husky from sleep replayed in her mind and she turned a deeper shade of red.
She was silent for a moment until she suddenly bowed “Please make sure you get home safe” and then turned and raced off the roof and down the stairs. Leaving Ren to chuckle to himself. ‘I’m gonna have fun teasing her’ he thought as he sat down in his seat, this time opting to just mess around on his phone as he waited for Ryuji.
He wasn’t waiting long as he soon appeared waving to Ren as he walked over to grab a seat of his own.
“Yo, got any clue why miss student pres. was rushing through the school red as a beet muttering something about ears”? Ren couldn’t contain his laughter as he imagined the sight. After he calmed down, he just shrugged at Ryuji.
Ryuji raised an eyebrow at his friend’s silence but didn’t press any further. Knowing that it was probably none of his business anyway.
“So about earlier” Ryuji muttered the words quietly and both the boy’s faces got serious. Ren just sighed and rubbed his head.
“Do you think all of that was real?” He asked more to himself than Ren.
“I don’t know, if it was just me then I’d say no but it’s unlikely both of us hallucinated the same thing.”
Ryuji nodded at his reasoning “Yeah, but then why did Kamoshida not react at all? And why was the school normal the second time round”? Ren went quiet as he mulled over the facts they had, he groaned in frustration and ruffled his hair, they didn’t have enough information to make any sort of guesses.
Ryuji just sighed and stood up. “Maybe we should just forget about it. I mean, if everything’s normal now then there’s no real point on theory crafting about it” Ren nodded in agreement and stood up as well. They were getting prepared to leave when Ryuji interrupted.
“Also, I’m sure you already sort of know but someone leaked your record on the school forum” Ren huffed. While he had already assumed something like that happened, it didn’t make it sting any less, he hated that he wasn’t given the chance to try and do good. All his control had been taken away from him.
Ren looked at Ryuji and asked with a genuine curiosity “And what do you think”? The question left a lump in his throat, he had spent the last month dealing with this whole thing by himself, being told to act like something he wasn’t and now the first person to like him for who he was might be too scared to associate with him. Ryuji walked up to Ren and patted him on the back. Hard. So hard it knocked the wind out of his lungs. Ren glared at the blonde boy, but his expression softened at the sight of Ryuji’s grin “Dude, you saved my ass earlier, no way am I gonna turn around and ditch you just because of a record. You and I are best buds from here on out” Ren couldn’t hide the surprise on his face at his new friend’s words. He smiled and stood up, catching his breath he turned to Ryuji with his arm extended and fist clenched loosely.
“Thank you Ryuji, that means a lot”
Ryuji just beamed at Ren and raised his fist to bump against Ren’s
Chapter Text
Ren woke up in his cell. The cold feel of the hard mattress was hurting his back, he swung his legs off the bed and stood. As soon as his feet hit the floor, a ball and chain materialised around his ankle. He shimmied his way towards the cell and was greeted by a familiar face. Or more appropriately, a familiar nose.
“You’ve done well trickster” the deep voice reverberated through the entire prison “You’ve taken the first step towards your rehabilitation, awakening the power of your persona”
Ren just glared at Igor.
“Are you going to explain what the hell is going on yet” a loud bang startled Ren causing him to retreat from the bars of his cell?
“Silence inmate, you do not get to ask our master questions”
“It seems we must teach him basic manners”
Ren sighed as he was berated by his twin wardens Justine and Caroline, respectively. He once again walked towards the cells and ignored their warnings talking directly to Igor.
“Cut the shit Igor, what was that castle.” Igor just sat there, tapping his fingers against his desk, that unsettling grin never wavering on his face.
“That is not my duty to explain, but that place will be of great importance.” A siren rang throughout the space, the sound piercing Ren’s ears causing to him drop to his knees.
“One last thing trickster, I have another gift to help aid you on your journey” with a snap of his fingers a blinding white light clouded Ren’s vision, the brightness burning his retinas and he was sure for a moment he was about to go blind. The overwhelming sound and sight caused Ren to lose consciousness and as he came to, he was back in his bed in Leblanc.
Ren walked down the stairs to the downright intoxicating scent of curry and coffee. His stomach groaned as if it had a mind of its own making Sojiro chuckle as he stirred the pot. Ren was about to walk out before the sound of a plate caused him to stay put. He stared at the coffee and curry and looked up at Sojiro who stood behind the counter with a small smirk.
“Don’t get used to it, you looked exhausted yesterday, so I decided to make you breakfast. Sit down and eat” he turned around to check on his beans and Ren didn’t need any convincing as he sat down and took his first bite. The complex combinations of spices danced on his tongue and the tender meat melted away in his mouth. The coffee perfectly complimented the savoury flavour with its acidity and Ren began to wonder how long it had been since he ate homemade breakfast. After his mother had passed, his father started leaving for work earlier and earlier each day, and it soon became routine for Ren to wake up to find money on the counter. He couldn’t suppress the sad smile that came with the thought.
The school trip was uneventful, with no castles, no knights, no talking cats and thankfully no teachers in speedos. As he walked through the gates of Shujin academy, he could feel the eyes of hundreds of students staring at him, the whispers of his past following him throughout the entire school, and they only seemed to get louder and more absurd as the day went on. It wasn’t until lunch when he was able to dash onto the roof that he felt like he could finally breathe. He wanted to scream but he knew that adding crazy on top of being a delinquent and a criminal would only bring more trouble than good.
“Yo, thought you’d be here” Ren turned to see his new friend smiling at him as he let the door close on the brick, his company helping Ren relax slightly “This is the one place where I don’t have to hear people talk about me behind my back”
Ryuji frowned “tell me about it, it’s the only thing anyone’s talking about, it’s total bullshit. People are saying all sorts of things, robbing people, murder, shaving a cop’s head” Ren didn’t respond as a guilty smile crossed his face. Ryuji stared at him as the realisation came to him.
“What?”
“That last one…might not be entirely false”
The blonde went quiet for a brief moment “You’re shitting me”
“In my defence, that cop was a dick. And he was already going bald, so I kinda just sped up the process”
Ryuji’s face went from confused, to shocked and then to laughing hysterically in a matter of seconds. The laughter was so infectious that Ren couldn’t help himself from joining in and soon both boys were gasping for breath. Ryuji wiped a tear from his eye as he struggled to talk “I knew there was something I liked about you. Thank God you didn’t turn out to be as meek as you looked when I first met you”
Ren grimaced at the memory of yesterday when he had felt so disgusted by himself for accepting the person, he thought he should have been in his father’s eyes. “There was a lot on my mind at that time. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing or the type of person I should have been. But after the whole incident with the castle and my persona, everything became a bit clearer, like I knew that acting like anything but myself would just be wrong” Ryuji nodded, refraining from adding anything knowing that it was Ren’s duty to figure it out for himself. The atmosphere became slightly heavier, and Ryuji decided it’d be a good time to bring up what he wanted to talk about.
“Hey man, I know we said we’d forget about the castle and everything. But what would you say if I said I want to try and go back”? Ren didn’t look at Ryuji with surprise or concern but rather with a strong resolution like he was having a similar thought.
“I’d ask why you want to go back”
Ryuji rubbed his neck “Well I didn’t say anything yesterday because of the situation we were in, but I happened to recognise some of the people trapped in those cells. I was just worried that they may have gotten trapped as we had”
Ren remained quiet for a long time; Ryuji couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He sighed before giving Ryuji a tired smile. “I was thinking of trying to go back there myself. So, hearing you want to come with is a huge relief”
Ryuji let out a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding before giving his usual smile. “Thanks, man, so we should probably meet up after school and figure out how to get back” Ren nodded, he stood up and started walking towards the door. Leaving Ryuji just sitting looking at him with a confused look.
“Where you are going, lunch hasn’t ended-” but he was cut off by the bell. His confused face morphed into surprise before mild annoyance as he saw the smirk Ren was giving him. He stood up huffing out a breath.
“This is gonna be a thing isn’t it”?
Ren just responded with a small chuckle as he went back down the stairs.
The rest of the day went by without any drama before the final bell indicated it was time for students to go home. As students were preparing to leave Kawakami spoke up “Don’t forget that the volleyball rally is on tomorrow so make sure to bring your gym clothes” for the first time that day, the mutters and whispers weren’t about Ren, instead, everyone was fawning over the idea of watching Kamoshida play volleyball.
He made his way out of the classroom and made his way toward the stairs. He could see two male students standing by them glaring at Ren. He sighed at the sight wondering how the school could tolerate a teacher making moves on a student and obvious bullying but apparently, he and Ryuji were the delinquents for coming late. He ignored the boys deciding that if they wanted to fight then they could wait until Ren could get off school property. He was halfway down the stairs when he felt a foot on his back. Suddenly his feet were in the air, and he was falling to the ground fast. If he had more time, Ren was sure he could have manoeuvred himself in such a way to minimise the damage but in his current situation with the ground fast approaching he’d have to settle with minimising the ‘serious’ injuries, he managed to rotate his body slightly and push his hand out, as he made contact with the floor, his wrist took the brunt of the force and his used the leverage to help roll his body across the ground avoiding any damage to his shoulder or head.
As he regained his sense and orientation, he looked up to find himself lying in front of Makoto. He could only flash her a less than convincing smile.
“Hey, Nijima, senpai, fancy meeting you here” he tried to push himself up but as he put pressure on his right hand, a sharp pain shot throughout his body, he had to bite the inside of his cheek to avoid crying out in pain but managed to get himself standing. As he directed his focus back to Makato, he could see her glaring at the boys on the stairs that had pushed him. They were smiling proudly to themselves as they tried to subtly high-five each other.
“What the hell were you two thinking? You could have killed Amamiya-Kun” everyone jumped at the sound of Makoto yelling. The two boys’ proud smiles vanished as they realised who they just pissed off. They instead just looked at her with irritation at being accused.
“We don’t know what you’re talking about miss robot. He was just being an idiot and tried to jump down. I can’t believe they allowed a moron like him to come to this school”
The look Ren saw in Makoto’s ruby eyes made him nervous that she was about to set fire to the boys with the fury in her glare
“What the hell did you just say, you’re coming with me to the prin-” Ren grabbed her arm, wincing at the pain but choosing to ignore it.
“Forget about Nijima senpai, they’re right, I was just being an idiot” Ren gave the two boys a glare of his own, while Makoto’s had been burning with fury, the boy froze at the sight of Ren’s, a cold glare that sent shivers down there spines as if they were looking at a hungry lion. The two boys scurried up the stairs.
Makoto stared at Ren incredulously, she couldn’t understand how he was being so calm about what had just happened, he had just been assaulted, in a school no less, the place designed to help children. She was prepared to yell at him before she noticed the pained expression he was wearing and saw the way he was cradling his right wrist. She cursed herself for not noticing that he got hurt from such a rough landing. She made sure to grab his left wrist and started dragging him away from the area towards the nurse’s office to help his wrist and to get them away from the surrounding crowd.
Notes:
So I think I like how this story is going. But I'm going to take a few days to write out a few chapter because I think I've been trying to get them out daily because a lot of people have been reading and that's causing a dip in quality. If any one has any feed back then I'd love to hear it.
Chapter Text
Ren couldn’t say that he hated being dragged by Makoto, after yesterday he realized that maybe she did just want to be a good person and help him out. And the way she reacted to him getting hurt made him reconsider the offer for tutorage. But he also realized that Ryuji would be waiting for him and the last thing he wanted was for the boy to wander back to the castle without any way to protect himself. The possibility of Morgana being there was somewhat reassuring, but Ren wasn’t sure how much the cat could be trusted. Not yet at least.
“Nijima senpai, would you mind letting go of my wrist? I’m fine really” she didn’t listen to him as they continued down the hall towards the infirmary. When they reached the door, she let go of his wrist and turned to face him crossing her arms.
“I’ll let you go if you open the door” Ren raised his eyebrow at her request, he could tell what type of game she was playing. He reached for the handle with his right hand knowing that if he could just grit through the pain, she’d have no basis for making him stay. He grabbed the handle and tried to slide the door. He didn’t anticipate the door being locked and thus used too much force. The act of pulling against it caused a wave of pain to roll through his risk and he couldn’t stop himself from clutching it in an attempt to dull the throbbing,
He looked at Makoto as she stood with her arms still crossed and her head cocked to the side. She wasn’t smiling or laughing at his pain, but he could feel her pride in outsmarting him as she pulled out a key and unlocked the sliding door.
Tch
She stared at him. The way her ruby eyes bore into him made him audibly gulp.
“Did you just click your tongue at me”
He could feel his neck sweating, but he refused to concede to her so easily. He returned her stare with a smirk as he walked past her into the infirmary.
“I think you’re hearing things Prez”
She followed him in shaking her head slightly. He sat down on the bed and looked around the room. Not surprised that no one was present considering the door had been locked. He watched as Makoto grabbed a first aid kit and stood in front of him with an open palm.
“A bit scandalous to hold hands with a criminal isn’t it”?
She smiled slightly at his joke but retained her serious face. He could tell she was still annoyed that he stopped her from trying to punish the boys. He sighed as he gave her his right wrist. She felt around his wrist touching parts and looking for his reaction. Had it been someone else, he may have let his pride get the better of him and tried to hide the pain, but he felt that resisting Makoto’s help any further would just waste more time for him than for her. The memory of her rubbing his ear gently the previous day also helped him open up slightly.
After a bit more prodding, she started wrapping his hand in a bandage, making sure it was tight and well-supported.
“It’s probably just sprained, but you’d do well to get it examined by an actual doctor. The best I can say is that it’s not broken”
An awkward silence fell between the two. Ren had wanted to meet up with Ryuji quickly to make sure his blonde friend wasn’t doing anything reckless, but he didn’t want to leave any bad blood between him and her.
“Thank you, Makoto” he saw her shift slightly at being called by her first name, he made a mental note of that for later teasing before continuing. “Not just for helping me with my wrist, but for standing up for me. It meant a lot” she sighed relaxing her shoulders slightly.
“You should report them to the principal or a teacher. Just because you have a record doesn’t mean you should have to worry about your health” Ren smiled at her compassion and reasoning. He could tell she was a good person who trusted people a bit too much.
“Maybe if I were someone like you then that’d be an option. But with my reputation. They’d at best look the other way and let it end there. At worst they’d pin the blame on me and that would just paint a bigger target on my back”
She narrowed her eyes at him slightly.
“What do you mean someone like me?”
Ren laughed lightly at her resistance.
“Let’s be honest here Nijima senpai, You’re the student council president and an honour student. If anything were to happen to you, the school would suffer the most. I on the other hand am expendable. Whether I get ‘reformed’ as they would put it doesn’t matter. I become good publicity for them. Or just another nameless student to ignore”
Makoto wanted to argue with him, but she felt like she couldn’t in good faith. She knew that what he was saying had some truth behind it. If it were her who was kicked off the stairs, Kobayakawa would reprimand the two boys and assure her that they would be punished. Because he knew that if she was happy then she’d be willing to help him more often. But if Ren was the one who asked him to do something, she could imagine him being told that he needs to keep his head down and avoid trouble and the two boys would get off with a slap to the wrist. She could feel herself shaking slightly at the injustice between the two. Makoto has had three years to build up her reputation while Ren hadn’t been here two days and yet was treated like he’s been an infamous criminal for years.
Ren noticed her conflict and stood up. He didn’t like seeing her like this, he much preferred the curious and compassionate girl. And he very much preferred the girl who could set forest fires with her glare. He walked towards her.
“Makoto, it’s fine really. I have experience being an outcast, and I have a friend who likes me for me despite my record. And I feel a lot better knowing that even the student council president cares about me enough to get so angry on my behalf” he gave her as pure a smile as he could before walking past her outside. He felt like she needed time to figure things out and he was nervous that Ryuji was about to start asking for directions to the nearest castle.
“Hey man, what took you so long?” Ryuji was waiting by the gate as he spied Ren walking down the stairs. Ren just shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to act casual. Ryuji saw his bandaged wrist and frowned. “You good? We can do this later if your hurt” Ren shook his head slightly.
“I’m fine, just tripped and landed on it funny. So where should we start?” Ryuji looked like he wasn’t buying the story but didn’t press him.
“Why don’t we try retracing our steps from yesterday and see what happens” the boys nodded in agreement and started following the same route they took the previous day. The first attempt just led them back to school. They tried 3 more times until both the boys were frustrated. Ryuji because it wasn’t working and Ren because he was getting tired of walking.
“How the hell are you not tired,” Ren asked through ragged breaths. Ryuji who wasn’t showing any signs of exhaustion replied somewhat quietly.
“I used to be on the track team”
“I didn’t know Shujin has a track team”
“It had a track team”
Ren recognized the tone of Ryuji’s voice. It was a sign that he didn’t want to anymore and Ren was fine with just leaving it there. He understood better than anyone that there are things you just don’t want to share. Ren managed to catch his breath and stood up straighter.
“So got any other ideas because I don’t think this is gonna work”
The two went quiet as they mulled over any possible methods. Ryuji broke the silence with his idea.
“Why don’t we see if there are any castles on google maps” Ren just stared at the blonde boy as he threw his hands up in defence.
“You got any better ideas”
Ren sighed in defeat because he didn’t. He was more annoyed that Igor had directly told him the castle was important but didn’t give him any clues on how to get back. He pulled out his phone and unlocked it as Ryuji stared over his shoulder.
“Hey what’s that weird-looking app at the bottom” Ren stared at the app Ryuji had pointed out. It was the same red eye from when he first arrived in Tokyo. Memories of that day played in his mind, the world had drained of colour and a face appeared in a column of fire.
Blue fire.
Ren opened the app quickly and as it loaded, he half-prepared himself for another event similar to the first but instead, it just showed an odd navigation app. Suddenly his phone wasn’t in his hand anymore and the blonde who was behind him was standing in front of him.
“Dude I’ve never seen an app like this. And there’s a history. Look it says Kamoshida”
Ren walked next to the blonde to get a better look at the app but before he could see what he was talking about. The world began to distort, and Ren could feel his stomach turn as if he had vertigo. In an attempt to reorientate himself he closed his eyes and waited for his stomach to settle. After a moment he opened his eyes to be greeted by a familiar castle and green-looking Ryuji.
“Oh god I’m gonna puke”
He ran behind a bush and the sounds of retching filled the air. Ren stood with his arms crossed as he waited for Ryuji to come back. The blonde eventually managed to empty his stomach and staggered back over to Ren. He looked him up and down with a surprised look on his face.
“Dude your clothes changed again”
Ren looked down to see his three-forked coat and red gloves.
“You jealous?”
“You like it? You’re weird”
Ren just smirked at the boy.
“You’re jealous”
“Why are you two back here”
The two looked around trying to see where the voice came from, both remembering the similar situation, and looked down to find Morgana staring at them.
“Hey look, the cats are back”
Morgana glared at Ryuji before yelling “How many times do I have to tell you, I’m not a cat”! Ren covered his ears at the cat screeching. “Tell me about it, loudest fucking cat I’ve ever seen”
Morgana turned his glare to Ren before dropping it and sighing. “So why are you two idiots back here” Ryuji stared at Ren as if waiting for permission, which he just gave in the form of a casual shrug.
“We saw something weird yesterday and we needed to check it out”
Morgana stared at the two with his eyes wide open.
“You two want to go back in there.”
Ren stepped forward to take over negotiations knowing that Ryuji would just piss off the cat at some point.
“Yeah and we could use your help as well Morgana, you know how to get back to dungeons right?”
The cat looked up at him. He could tell that he was trying to figure out a way so this would benefit him which made Ren feel a bit annoyed, but he knew that they didn’t have much of a choice. Ren didn’t know enough about this other reality to go in by himself and he wouldn’t be able to protect Ryuji if he was busy exploring. After a moment, the cat had a mischievous smile.
“Mwhehe, I’m sure we could strike up a deal, I’ll help you get to the dungeon if you’re willing to help me complete my mission”
Ren looked down at Morgana with a slight glare.
“What’s your mission”?
The cat continued to smile “I’ll tell you later, so do we have a deal”
Ren’s glare hardened, he hated not having all the facts. He mumbled under his breath “Fucking Cheshire cat”
He sighed and rubbed his head before speaking at an audible volume “Fine but only if you explain to us what all of this is” he motioned to the castle in front of them”
Morgana gave that strange laugh again.
“That’s simple. This is called the metaverse. The castle behind me is called a palace. They’re formed when a person has extremely distorted desires. Think of it as the cognitive version of the place in reality”
Ren rubbed his chin at the explanation. He was sure Ryuji was lost so he decided to elaborate.
“So, you’re saying that this castle is how Kamoshida views the school in reality? And the fact that this palace exists means he has very distorted desires. Does that mean that the Kamoshida in there isn’t the real Kamoshida”?
The cat looked surprised by how concise Ren was being
“Pretty much. That’s the shadow version of the guy you’re talking about. It’s his true self, so to speak. The person who embodies his true desire”
Ren could hear Ryuji mumble behind him “So the guy is a sicko” Ren nodded at the idea not sure if Ryuji was even looking at him. Morgana stared at the two and could sense their distaste.
“Any other question before we go.”
Ren looked down at his outfit and smiled.
“Wanna explain why my clothes keep changing.?
The cat smirked at Ren’s appreciation of his new clothes.
“Think of them as your sign of rebellion. It hides your identity to make it easier to act as your true self. Every good thief needs to look the part.”
Ren’s smile turned into a cocky smirk as he started walking toward the vent they had previously used to escape, eager to experience that feeling of freedom he felt the first time he awakened his persona.
He turned back to the two who were just staring at him.
“Well, you two coming”
Chapter 9
Notes:
This has been my favorite chapter to write. So I hope you all enjoy it as well.
Chapter Text
The three made their way through the palace, Morgana and Ren took the lead with Ryuji watching out behind them. The route they had used to escape previously was now swarming with Knights. This meant that they had to take an alternate one, but Ren was okay with it as it gave Morgana more time to explain the basics to them. The knights were called shadows, which are drawn to corrupted desires and when engaged in combat will take the form of mythical creatures.
Things were going smoothly as they continued towards the dungeons until they walked into one particular room, as they explored it Ren could feel his eyes starting to burn. The pain was excruciating, and he had to cover his eyes with his hands in an attempt to block as much light as possible.
“Dude! What’s wrong? Ryuji’s concern sounded muffled as if he were talking through the water. When the burning had subsided, he managed to open his eyes slightly. The world was dark and for a brief moment he thought he had gone blind but as he rubbed his eyes, things gradually came back into focus, it wasn’t that the world was dark, it was simply duller. He looked at Ryuji and Morgana and noticed they had a green haze surrounding them. Ren rubbed his eyes once more just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, but they continued the shining green. He managed to get back to his feet with Ryuji helping him up. He looked around the room and could see a few areas shining bright gold, he walked towards them as his companions stared at him warily.
He stood in front of a set of three vases, they looked decorative, but Ren could see something in the middle one. With the back of his knife held in his left hand, he bashed the top cracking it open. Morgana hissed at him.
“What are you doing moron, are you trying to draw attention to us”
Ren just gave him a raised eyebrow as he smirked slightly. He reached into the vase and pulled out a gold necklace that was encrusted with jewels of different varieties. Ryuji walked up beside him to take the necklace.
“Duuuude, this has got to be worth a fortune. You think the other ones have something in them” Ren shook his head. “I don’t see anything in there.”
Ryuji looked at him incredulously.
“What do you mean ‘see’ they’re all closed”
Ren rested his chin on his fingers as he thought about how to respond. He wasn’t sure if this was the work of Igor, but it was the most likely theory considering Morgana didn’t seem to have this ability. That just raised the question of whether he should tell them about the velvet room and everything else. He opted against it. Not until he had more information to work with and share,
“I’m not sure, After I felt my eyes burning, I looked at you guys and saw you had a faint glow, then I saw a gold light coming from the middle vase. Could be an ability from my persona or something else”
He looked back to Morgana who had been incredibly quiet. He looked confused but it wasn’t directed at anyone or anything in particular. The cat seemed to snap out of it before asking him.
“Do you still see the glow”
Ren nodded in confirmation.
“Can you turn it off”
Ren closed his eyes and willed it off. He opened them up and the world returned to its normal view. As normal as a cognitive castle could look at least. Both Ren and Morgana smiled at what this meant. They now had a direct advantage in gathering intel. Ryuji saw their criminal smiles and sighed to himself.
“I don’t know if I’m more creeped out that you are smiling like the cat, or the cat is smiling like you”
The three continued through the castle with the two arguing about whether Morgana was or wasn’t a cat and Ren regretting now bringing something to help his now growing headache. Equal parts were caused by the strain of using his new third eye and the two bickering.
They managed to navigate down to the dungeons without having to fight any shadows. Ren had to admit he was slightly disappointed, itching for a chance to call Arsene into action. They were hiding behind a wall as they stared at a large shadow guarding a door, all three could hear screams of pain from behind it. Morgana and Ren were planning on how to best deal with the guard when Ryuji chimed in.
“Hey guys, I can help. Look what I brought” The two eyed him curiously as he pulled out a model gun from his bag. Ren didn’t look impressed.
“That’s not a real gun you know”
Ryuji just beamed a smile at his scepticism.
“Yeah, but It looks legit, right? So, it might scare them”
Ren was about to ask Ryuji how he planned to intimidate cognitive versions of mythological creatures when he was cut off by Morgana’s weird laugh.
“Maybe you aren’t so useless Ryuji, give it to Ren”
Both boys stared at the cat completely confused.
“Um, it’s not real and he has a knife, so how would it help him”
The cat just continued to laugh.
“Don’t forget that this is a cognitive world. So, if it looks real enough then the shadows will perceive it as real. But I guess seeing is believing so give it to Ren”
Ryuji pouted slightly as he handed his model over to Ren. He was surprised by how heavy it felt, he expected it to feel light and flimsy, but the heft made him think it had metal in it.
“Ryuji, what is this made of”?
“I mean it’s a model so It’s plastic”
Ren just smiled mischievously as what Morgana had said clicked in his head. Without warning, he walked out in front of the shadow who quickly reacted to his presence.
“Halt, who dares walk into King Kamoshida’s training ground-”
Bang
The knight quickly crumpled in as Ren held the gun in his left hand, the barrel smoking slightly from the miniature explosion within.
“Holy crap, it fired”
Ren kept his smile as he faced the blonde. “Ryuji, you are showing me where you got this gun from when we get out of here”
Ryuji smiled at his friend’s jovial grin like he was a parent watching his kid open presents on Christmas. The three proceeded through the door and the two boys grimaced at the sight. Several cells lined together show students from Shujin being tortured in unusual volleyball practices. Ranging from people being made to run for eternity with no water to just straight up being pelted by volleyballs. Ryuji kicked the cell bars hard enough to set dust and rust flying off.
“Dammit that son of a bitch, this isn’t practiced, it’s just abuse,” Ryuji growled as he went about trying to open the cells, when the doors wouldn’t budge he turned to Ren.
“You think you can pick the locks?” Ren nodded, if they were similar to the cells yesterday then it shouldn’t be too difficult. Although he wasn’t sure how he was going to get his tools now that his bag was nowhere to be found. He started walking toward the door until Morgana stopped him with his question.
“Wait, you’re going to try and free them?”
Ryuji looked annoyed at the obvious question “Well yeah, we can’t just leave them here”
Ren almost laughed at the sight of Morgana rubbing his furrowed brow like a teacher scolding a student “You don’t get it to do you, this is a cognitive reality. Those aren’t real people, freeing them wouldn’t do anything”.
Ryuji felt conflicted about leaving them to suffer even if they weren’t real. He ruffled his short hair and growled at his powerlessness. “Fine, then just give me a second to look at them so I can remember their faces. We’ll ask them about the abuse in the real world” Ren nodded in agreement, even though he didn’t care much for his fellow students. He didn’t like the feeling of letting them just get abused.
After Ryuji had finished memorizing the student’s face they were preparing for the journey back when a siren rang throughout the castle. Ren used his third eye to scan the hallway to see Shadows coming in from the door.
“Morgana, we have shadows coming in. Ryuji takes cover and gets ready to run. I think they’re on to us” the two nodded at his directions and while he didn’t want to admit it, He was eager to get some action. He rushed forward with Morgana summoning Zorro behind him. Two knights entered and dissolved into the Pyro Jacks. He felt a small whirlwind in front of him separating the two and Ren summoned Arsene. He dashed to the shadow on the left as it started to raise, he leaped into the air and kicked the pumpkin like a soccer ball. As it crashed against the wall it popped into dust. Behind him Arsene stomped the pumpkin into the ground, Arsene faded away as Ren turned back to the two.
“Let’s go” he didn’t wait for them to nod or say anything as he started leading them out, he had the route somewhat memorized from following Morgana and his Third eye would help them avoid any unnecessary fights. As they went forward, they had to start taking alternate routes because some rooms were filled to the brim with shadows. They eventually found themselves in the main entryway. Ryuji and Ren tried opening the doors but couldn’t get them to budge.
“Well look what we have here. The trash from yesterday decided to come back” the two boys stiffened at the sound of the gym teacher’s voice. They turned around to see him at the top of the stairs surrounded by shadows.
“We need to go now” Morgana mumbled under his breath in an attempt to not alert him.
“Where do we go, the door’s locked”
Ren looked around with his third eye. He saw the door to their left and the blue haze that covered it. He nudged Ryuji subtly as he nodded in the direction of the door. He assumed Ryuji understood from the look on his face. A couple of seconds passed and the three started dashing towards it. Only to be blocked by a shadow that appeared out of the ground.
“Well, that just doesn’t seem fair” Ren half joked as he and Morgana took up a defensive stance. Only then did he realize Ryuji hadn’t followed them as he stood where he was, clutching his right leg. A gold knight charged toward Ryuji and Ren dashed back, he only had barely enough time to draw his knife and intercept the knight’s path, the knight raised its sword and Ren had no choice but to block it to make sure Ryuji wasn’t caught in the collateral damage. The moment the blades connected Ren could feel his wrist explode in pain from the weight and with the light-headedness that came with using his third eye too much made him too slow to react to the shield that bashed him from the side sending him sprawling across the floor.
He tried to prop himself back up but was shoved back down by a knight pinning him against the floor with his shield. He saw Morgana had been sent flying into the middle and was being stepped on by Kamoshida while Ryuji was on his knees.
“I bet this was all your idea Sakamoto, wasn’t it? You always tended to rush head-on into things.” He stepped heavily on Morgana causing the cat the cry in pain “How dare you to go against me, have you already forgotten my generosity when I helped coach the track team”
Ryuji nodded in disbelief “That wasn’t coaching, that was torture because you didn’t like us”
Kamoshida just smiled cruelly at the blonde “You should have known your place, but you had to resist it, and look what happened. You had your leg broken and the team disbanded because of your recklessness. Now watch as your new friends get punished for your stupidity once again”
Ryuji started bashing the ground in frustration “Dammit, am I going to lose again”
“What the fuck are you doing Ryuji!”
Everyone turned towards Ren as he shouted “Are you just gonna sit there and let him get his way? Are you that fucking spineless that you’ll just submit? Where’s the guy from yesterday who tackled a knight to help someone he only just met”
Kamoshida just glared at the boy before smiling coyly “Scum should know their place, now watch as your friends die”
“You’re wrong” Kamoshida’s smile dropped as he watched Ryuji pick himself back up. “All you think about is using people. You’re the true scumbag Kamoshida”
“So, stop looking down on me. WITH THAT STUPID SMILE ON YOUR FACE!”
Ryuji grasped his head as he felt a voice speak in his mind. The sound reverberating within his head made his skull feel like it was about to split open.
“You made me wait quite a while. You seek power correct? Then let us form a pact. Since your name has already been disgraced, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc? There is no turning back and thus the skull of rebellion will be your flag henceforth.”
With a puff of blue flame, a skull mask materialized on his face. He gripped it by the edges and knew in his heart what must be done. To toss away all his doubts and regrets. He ripped the mask off in one pull screaming as the blood rained on across the room. A gust of wind knocked the guards and Kamoshida back freeing Ren and Morgana. Revealing a skeletal pirate riding on top of a floating pirate ship. One arm was replaced with a canon
“Another one?” Kamoshida muttered as he stood back up while trying to block the wind emanating from behind Ryuji. As he opened his eyes and stared down at his clothes, a black jacket covering his knee and shoulder pads. Yellow gloves with knuckle guards. He held an iron pipe as he let a mischievous smirk grow on his face.
“This effin rocks. Wassup persona”
Ren couldn’t stop the smile as he watched his friend regain the confidence that he was used to seeing. Rolling his eyes, he walked up beside Ryuji draping an arm over his shoulder as Arsene appeared behind him.
“See what I mean about the clothes. They’re awesome right” He held out a fist that Ryuji gladly bumped.
Kamoshida panicked as he realized, he no longer held the advantage.
“Take them out. NOW!” The gold knight that had sent Ren flying earlier dissolved into a larger red armoured knight riding a horse.
Ryuji cracked his knuckles as he felt the fight begin. “Blast them away. Captain Kidd!” A canon ball shot out from his persona and barrelled towards the knight. Ren was close behind as the horse scrambled to dodge. As it landed Ren slid underneath. Using his knife to slice the tendons in the horse’s legs causing it to collapse under its weight. The knight noticed Ren beside him and brought his spear up into the air preparing to slam it on his head.
“Zio!” a bolt of lightning conducted through the spear to the knight’s Armor. The Knight wasn’t able to move as its muscles were no doubt constructed from the electricity. Ren saw his opportunity and took it.
“Morgana, give me a boost” Ren started dashing away from the knight before turning around and sprinting right at it. He leaped into the air and could feel a gust of wind catch him from behind giving him both extra momentum and a leverage point to rotate his body. He barrelled into the knight with his legs kicking against its chest sending it flying. He landed on the horse that hadn’t recovered from its leg injury.
“Don’t worry, you won’t end up as glue” He drew his gun before emptying two bullets into the horse’s skulls causing the whole thing to dissipate. As he landed on the floor, he could see Ryuji bouncing his lead pipe on his shoulder as he stood over a pile of dust that had no doubt been a knight. The two smiled at each other before Ryuji felt his legs give out. Ren jogged over and gave him a shoulder to lean on.
“We need to go after that bastard” Ren laughed at his tenacity before directing Morgana to scout out their exit. “Easy champ, we’ll get him, but you need to rest” the sound of Ryuji’s stomach grumbling filled the now empty room “correction, you need to eat” The two couldn’t contain their laughter as they made their way to the front of the castle.
After they were sure they weren’t being followed, Ren let Ryuji stand on his own. He turned to face Morgana who was looking at the two of them like a proud father.
“I can’t believe I found two persona users. That’ll make my job so much easier. Now onto my request”
The two boys stared at each other with tired eyes.
“About that Morgana. We’re gonna have to take a rain check on that mission for now”
Morgana’s mouth fell open. “Hey, that wasn’t part of the deal. You owe me”
Ren gave the cat a sly smirk “And we will. Just not right now. Thanks again” He turned around and started to walk towards the drawbridge with Ryuji in tow.
“Hey, don’t just walk away from me. Tell me where you’re going”
Ren turned around and flashed him another coy smile “I’ll tell you later” and with that, he left the cat slack jawed as he chuckled to himself.
Chapter 10
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The two were slurping Ramen in a comfortable silence. Both exhausted from the trip to the palace. Ryuji because he had just awoken his persona and Ren because he had become a human ragdoll. After they both filled their stomachs, they let out a sigh of relief now that they could somewhat relax. Ren looked at Ryuji and thought about his home, he wondered if he and Ryuji could have been friends if they met under different circumstances. Ryuji noticed Ren staring and raised an eyebrow as he started drinking the remaining broth.
“What’s up dude” it came muffled from the bowl and Ren just smiled at the brevity.
“So, the reason I’m in Tokyo in the first place” Ren spent the time slowly recounting the events that had led them to this moment. Everything from his history as a delinquent to helping the girl from a drunk man. How the whole thing had been rigged from the very beginning. After he was done a heavy silence filled the air. Only to be interrupted by Ryuji slamming his fist against the table. Ren would have jumped had he not expected this type of reaction.
“That’s effin bullshit. You didn’t do anything wrong and you’re the one who ends up getting a criminal record?” Ren smiled at his friends’ anger; he knew he made the right call by talking to him.
“Calm down, I didn’t tell you so you could get us kicked out” Ryuji noticed the stares they were receiving and blushed slightly before sitting back down. He huffed and crossed his arms to show he was still frustrated. His face softened as he asked.
“How can you be so calm about all of it. I’d be pissed” Ren put down his chopsticks and stared at his empty bowl trying to gather his thoughts in a way that properly convey how he felt. He realised that he hasn’t talked to anyone about his feelings in a long time.
“I’d be lying if I said I was fine. The night it happened I wasn’t really shocked, it felt like a long time coming honestly. So, when I was told I was being forced to live in Tokyo I wasn’t sure how to react. Should I remain who I was and repeat the same mistakes or should I listen to my dad and become a model student. Or should I just slip into the background and live a life of mundanity. Everything felt clouded”
Ryuji remained silent while staring at Ren to make sure he knew he was being listened to. Urging him to continue. Ren felt good knowing that someone was listening to him. “But then I met you, and then all this cognitive realty stuff happened, and when I saw my new clothes, felt the piercings in my ear and the power of my persona. It was like drinking water in the desert. Unbelievably refreshing. So right now, I think I’m going to be fine. I’m gonna keep being me regardless of who it pisses off” Ren flashed a heartfelt grin to Ryuji, and he felt like a little bit of the weight he had been carrying since arriving was taken off.
Ryuji smiled back at his new friend pumping his fist into the air “Hell yeah, screw those shitty adults”
They were quiet for a moment before Ryuji started fidgeting in his seat. “I guess I should explain my history with Kamoshida” Ren shook his head lightly “You don’t have to if you don’t feel comfortable. I told you because I honestly just wanted to get it off my chest” Ryuji stared at Ren dumbstruck. He couldn’t believe the guy who looked like he was about to puke the first time they met and the guy who was doing flips in the air earlier were the same guy. He took a deep breath to steel his resolve.
“Last year Shujin had a track team. We weren’t amazing but we were fairly good. Won a few awards. Then one day they hired Kamoshida because he was an Olympic athlete. He was in charge of the volleyball team but he didn’t like that the school was splitting funds between the two teams so he offered to help coach the Track team” Ryuji scowled as he recalled past memories “It was awful. You couldn’t even call it training, he would have us run laps constantly without giving us any breaks or water. When we’d complain he’d add more laps and even harsher exercises that had nothing to do with Track. He’d talk shit about us and our personal lives. But we gritted through it because we wanted to win in spite of him” He went quiet, internally debating whether he wanted to continue, he looked at Ren who was giving him a small smile to show he could stop if he wanted to. He took another breath “Then one day he talked about my family situation. My dad was a drunken bastard who’d hit my mum, he compared me to that asshole, and I lost it. I tried to punch him, and he broke my leg. When it was taken to the school, he claimed self-defence. He got off Scott free and the track team got disbanded. I was so pissed at Kamoshida, but I was even more pissed at myself, because of me, those guys don’t even have a place to train anymore”.
Ryuji had his hands clenched underneath the table and was biting his lip in an attempt to stop himself from shaking. He was so focused on himself that he didn’t see Ren stand up slightly and lean over the table to flick him across the head. The sudden impact shocked Ryuji as he started rubbing his forehead.
Ren sat back down with a light-hearted smirk. “You were provoked Ryuji, set up. I won’t tell you that you shouldn’t feel guilty for what you did. That’d be hypercritical. But I don’t think what you did was wrong. Kamoshida is a bastard and we’ll get him to pay. So, no matter what, I’m with you through and through” he held up a fist over the table looking at Ryuji expectedly. Ryuji looked back unsure of how to react to what he had been told. He had spent so much time debating with himself what what he had done was a mistake, how’d he change it if he could and now he had this guy in front of him who he’s only known for two days convincing him otherwise. He couldn’t contain the joyous smile as he reached over and bumped his new best friends’ fist.
Ren woke up groggy. Yet another night’s rest interrupted by the man with a long nose congratulating him and being cryptic about everything else. He had made it clear that he’d assist Ren with his journey but not how he’d go about doing that and it was getting on his nerves. He got dressed for school being sure to pack his gym clothes when he came across his piercings. He held them in his hand. He frowned as he put them in drawer of his desk. While he relished having his piercings filled in the metaverse he didn’t feel like he earned the right to wear them in this reality
He made his way to school unable to get a seat on the train, he started looking at his phone in an attempt to pass the time when he overheard a couple of students.
“Hey, isn’t that her, the honour student”
Ren followed their line of sight and saw a head of bright red hair. He wondered how he could have missed such an eye-catching colour like that when the students continued their loud whisper.
“She’s so thin, it’s so unfair. I mean I have my hair in a ponytail.
“What does that have to do with being thin?”
Ren couldn’t contain the laughter that came in reaction to the comment. The two stared at him looking angry at being laughed at until they noticed who he was. He could see the sweat start to form on there face and Ren decided he would have a bit of fun. He slowly put on hand into his jacket pocket, making sure a visible bulge appeared. He smiled coyly at the two before quickly whipping his hand out in the shape of a finger gun. He grinned as he saw the girl yelp and the boy fall over.
He heard a giggle from behind and turned to see ponytail poorly containing her laughter. Ren smiled and faux blew the smoke from his finger before holstering it back into his pocket, going back to looking at his phone feeling a lot lighter then when he had woken up.
As he started walking up the stairs on his way to school, he was interrupted by ponytail running up behind him. He turned around.
“Senpai. I’m so sorry, I almost forget to thank you for earlier”
Ren raised he eyebrow quizzically, implying for her to elaborate.
“Oh, well, I noticed how you stopped those two as they were talking about me behind my back”
Ren shrugged his shoulders while continuing up the stairs “They weren’t exactly being subtle, And I’m not a big fan of the Shujin rumour mill”
The girl bowed “Regardless, it’s only right that I thank my senpai” she looked down at her watch before her eyes went big “Oh shoot, I’m late for morning practice, I’m sorry senpai but I need to go on ahead” She ran past Ren and disappeared over the stairs. Ren could only sigh with a small smile as he wondered where she could possibly get that amount of energy from as he made his way towards school.
Notes:
So I was debating whether I wanted to include the P5 royal story but I think I'll try, I want to play around with Ren and Goro's relationship. I hope you guys are still enjoying the story so far.
Chapter 11
Notes:
I both loved writing this and hated it so I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter Text
Ren couldn’t understand how Shujin was regarded for its volleyball team. The game being played in front of him was a train wreck to put it nicely. Students with bruised hips and black eyes limping around the court in a desperate attempt to return spike after spike by Kamoshida. There form was terrible, and no one seemed like they enjoyed playing. The one exception being a brown-haired girl who was carrying the team.
After one nasty sounding spike that would have hurt if anyone tried to return it Ren could hear girls from his class talking to each other.
“Kamoshida look’s so hot when he hits the ball”
“I know right, He’s so good all covered in sweat”
Ren and Ryuji both gagged at the conversation they were being forced to listen to. After their episode Ren and Ryuji found themselves sitting on the floor watching the game with boredom in their eyes.
“Fucking bastard is using this entire rally to boost his own ego”
Ren nodded his head as he started looking at his phone. He was actually quite interested in volleyball, the idea of leaping into the air and slamming a ball sounded liberating before he could do all of that in the metaverse. But the game in front of him wasn’t volleyball. It was child abuse being glorified by the student body.
“So how are we gonna talk to the guys you saw yesterday” Ryuji frowned while rubbing his head in frustration.
“Well we’re stuck here until free time. I’d say we split up and talk them by ourselves. Might be more open if it’s just one of us”
Ren was apprehensive about the plan, neither him nor Ryuji had a good reputation, but he couldn’t argue, he hadn’t been able to come up with anything better.
As the day continued, the game got less and less interesting. The team was exhausted, and Ren could practically hear Kamoshida giggling from all of the attention. He stood up to stretch his legs as he saw Kamoshida leap into the air spiking the ball hard into a boy who wasn’t paying attention. He recognised him from his class, Yuuki Mishima, but didn’t know anything else about the boy. The ball collided with his face and was sent sailing into the air.
Ren stared at the ball, feeling as if the world around him was slowing down. He felt something deep in his stomach calling to him. Pushing him forward. Telling him to rebel. Was it Arsene or was it his own volition? Either way, Ren listened and felt his legs begin to sprint towards the court. Everyone had gone quiet at the sight of Mishima getting pelted in the face but now all eyes were on the criminal transfer student. He didn’t have a plan, something very unusual for Ren but he felt right as he stepped onto the court and used his right leg to propel himself into the air. From the corner of his eye he saw the girl from before, she had understood exactly what he was intending to do and gladly set the ball towards him. The world was still slow, if anything it became slower as the ball entered his sight and drifted in front of his hand. He stared down at Kamoshida who wore the same stare of disbelief as his shadow had when he unleashed his persona. The biggest grin came across his face as he brought his hand down on the ball. The sound cutting through the silence like a sonic boom before it crashed against the ground right next to Kamoshida and bouncing away.
Ren landed gracefully like he had done it a thousand times and looked around the Gym. He was greeted with stares of shock, awe and fear and he relished it. He looked to the brown hair girl who was giving him a warm smile much unlike the deadpan frustration she wore before. He looked to Kamoshida who was trying to remain calm, but his eyes burned with a fury that Ren knew came from being challenged in his own castle.
The words from his father that echoed in his mind since arriving in Tokyo had finally silenced. Only to be replaced by a warm arm on his shoulder almost pushing him to rub salt in the wounds. He pulled his hair back not caring about possibly revealing his piercings and smirked at Kamoshida.
“For an Olympian. You’re not great at receiving are you?”
The silence was almost deafening. The tension between the two so thick it could be cut by a knife. Only to be interrupted by 3 sets of laughter. The first coming from Ryuji who was doubled over on the side of the gym trying to contain it poorly. The second coming from the girl beside him who giggled softly before quieting down after receiving a glare from Kamoshida. Something Ren made sure to take note of and the last coming from his blonde classmate Takamaki-san.
Ren could feel the blood lust coming from Kamoshida and he wondered if anyone would try and stop him if he decided to deck Ren right then and there. And for what felt like first time in ages, the universe seemingly decided to cut Ren a break as the bell signalling the end of the rally rang. He quickly dashed out of gym with Ryuji following in tow. As he opened the doors, he decided to add a bit fuel to the fire that was the Shujin rumour mill. He spun around looking Kamoshida straight in the eyes and smirked as he flipped him off and ran through the door before any teacher could reprimand him or Kamoshida could strangle him.
Makoto never had trouble studying. She always had a schedule and made sure to stick to it no matter what. Whenever she was free in school, she’d spend her time in the library getting a head start on projects or revising tests. But ever since she met the infamous transfer student, she has been getting less and less productive. Memories of his sleeping face would cause her to blush and make it hard for her to focus.
Their conversation would play over and over in her mind as she tried to come up with counter arguments or reasons why he was wrong to distrust the school as much as he did. This in turn would distract her from her studies forcing her re-read the same line multiple times before it begrudgingly sunk in.
And now as she sat in the library finally able to focus on her books, she was getting distracted by the mumblings of other students sitting in the study booths. After this had gone on for several minutes only getting louder, she decided it was time to ask the students to leave. As she walked over to the study booth, she looked over their shoulders to see a familiar mop of black hair. Only this time it was on a phone, swaying in motion as the boy it was attached to was running. Her eyes became glued to the screen as she watched the boy run across the gym. She felt her mouth go agape as she saw him leap into the air and just stay there as if the laws of physics didn’t apply to him.
The students seemed to notice her presence as they quickly locked their phone and turned to apologise to her. She blushed slightly at being caught peeping before she regained her composure. Her original plan felt somewhat hypocritical considering she had just been caught watching the same video, so she settled for asking them to remain quiet. She went back to her table and opened her textbook but yet another thought kept distracting her. The image of Ren Amamiya leaping in the air with raven black feathers behind him.
“What do you know about my situation. Please just leave it alone, you’re just going to make more trouble for us”
Ren was starting to get annoyed with Mishima, he looked at Ren like he was about be stabbed but as soon as Ryuji tries to ask anything about Kamoshida he decides to grow a spine and stand up for himself in the worst way possible.
“Mishima, you’re not a volleyball player, why are you even on the team?”
He looked at Ren as if he had just slapped him and spit in his lunch and Ren didn’t believe for a second it was because he loved the sport. Not after he had seen how he played during the game before he got hit in the face. When he noticed that Ren wasn’t going to back down or take back what he said he sighed.
“You just don’t get it, we’ve tried. We’ve told our parents and police, but the school just covers it up. Now please, just let me go”
Ren was about to argue and urge him to try again but his attention was drawn to the perverted king that rounded the corner staring at the three. He stared at Ryuji with contempt, Mishima with pity and the stare he shot at Ren could only be accurately described as downright murderous.
“Mishima, where are you going, training buildings this way”
All the rebellious spirit Mishima had when talking to Ryuji had been all but snuffed out. Ren was sure that If he didn’t have a skeleton stopping him, he’d have rolled himself into a ball.
“I’m actually not feeling too well Kamoshida-sensei. I was thinking of going home and getting some rest”
Kamoshida sighed as he shook his head in disappointment. “Well maybe you’re just not cut out for the team” Mishima stared at his feet like he was hoping the earth would open up and swallow him whole. When he figured that it wasn’t going to happen, he sighed heavily before walking past Kamoshida towards the gym. Kamoshida had a vile smile of amusement which changed into a frown of contempt as he stared at Ren. “Care to join us Amamiya-kun”
Ren smiled in response, dedicated to rebelling against the man as much as possible.
“I’d love to, but I can’t join any clubs because of my probation”
Kamoshida smiled at the thought of having a one up over the boy.
“Ah yes, such a shame your talent is wasted on the likes of you”
Ren noticed Ryuji tense up and knew he had to end this game quickly to avoid any physical altercations. So Ren decided to go for the killing blow with a smirk and shrug of his shoulders.
“I think it’s a bigger shame that they got the only talentless Olympian as a coach”
The air could have frozen over with the deathly stare Kamoshida was giving the boy, but Ren’s pride and inner rebellion was keeping him nice and toasty as he walked away with Ryuji quickly behind him. Before he opened the school door, he turned back to Kamoshida who hadn’t moved and inch.
“Oh, and in case you were too preoccupied missing my spike earlier. Have these again” Ren flipped the teacher off for the second time that day as he left the school chuckling to himself.
Chapter 12
Notes:
Yay, I managed to get another chapter done, and it's longer then normal. Sorry about the delay but I think we're getting close to finishing all the character set up but I'm not exactly sure. I have a rough plan for the Kamoshida arc but after that is sorta just a pipe dream.
As always. any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Chapter Text
Ren and Ryuji both groaned with what was probably a bit more melodrama then necessary. The two had spent the better part of their lunch trying to talk to any possible sources of information on Kamoshida and much like the previous day. Every single person they asked repeated the same tired excuse. Ren faceplanted into the desk with a loud thud as Ryuji started rocking back and forth on his chair.
“What are we gonna do? We have no evidence to convict that asshole.”
Ren didn’t respond. He just kept his head on the desk and tried to think about their options, he knew it had something to do with the metaverse, why else would Igor direct him towards it and give them a method to travel between the two worlds but what was the significance. The boys were taken away from their silence by the sound of a oddly familiar high pitched voice.
“I finally found you two”
The boy’s first reaction was to check the door in fear of being caught but when they saw it was still being held open only by a brick the two stared at each other. The feeling of Déjà vu spurring them to look at a lower elevation. Which rewarded them with a.
Cat
The two looked back to each other and back to the cat who was staring at them in bewilderment. An awkward silence hung in the air. Neither of the boys daring to ask the question most likely on both of their minds. Only they weren’t the one’s to break it. And in turn answered their biggest question at the same time.
“I know a way to deal with Kamoshida”
Ryuji was the first to react, by falling out of his chair and smacking his head hard against the concrete. He cursed many profanities while Ren just stared at the cat like he was expecting it to transform into the real Morgana, he thought that would somehow be better.
“What are you two idiots staring at?”
Ryuji looked at the cat with a glare on his face, rubbing the back of his head. “I don’t know. The fact that there’s a talking cat in front of us”
“I’ve already told you I’m not a cat” the two could only stare in disbelief as he said that all while licking his private parts in a very cat like way. It took a moment for the realisation of what he was licking to set in and both boys looked away in disgust.
“Could you stop that dude. It’s weird”
The cat stopped abruptly and looked at the two with a disbelief equal to what they held. Before whispering to himself
“I wasn’t aware I was even doing that”
The cat quickly regained his senses and asked his question with a familiar bravado
“So, do you want a way to deal with Kamoshida or not”
The two boys stared at each other with suspicious eyes. Both of them were still trying to grasp the fact that talking cats apparently exist but that didn’t change the fact that they had hit a serious roadblock in the investigation and Morgana was the direct link to the Metaverse Ren had been looking for. Ryuji nodded to Ren seemingly assuring him that whatever call he makes he’ll be ok with it. Ren took a deep breath before turning to Morgana.
“Alright, speak cat”
Morgana glared at Ren but chose not to argue, he somewhat needed Ren for his plans. “Well if you steal Kamoshida’s treasure. He won’t have his distorted desires anymore and will most likely confess to his crimes”
Ren stared at Morgana expecting more but when the cat decided to be silent as if waiting for his congratulations Ren nearly gave into his urge to test if cats really do always land on their feet. He sighed before dragging his hand across his face.
He held up one finger to indicate his first question “What do you mean when you refer to Kamoshida’s treasure”
Morgana started licking himself again and Ren had half a mind to ask him to stop but needed answers more than peace of mind.
“Kamoshida’s palace was born from his desires. As they grew more and more distorted, his palace became more and more elaborate. So, it’s obvious that the desires came from something right. A catalyst of sorts. That’s what the treasure is”
That oddly made a lot of sense to Ren and he scorned himself for how used he’s gotten to all the things surrounding him. But he still needed some clarification before he agreed to anything a talking cat offered him.
“And this treasure is definitely in the castle”
Morgana was quiet for a second as Ren’s eyebrow raised as the time went on.
“Morgana?”
“Yes, it’s definitely in there, I can…feel it”
Had it come from anything else he might have laughed, but when it came from the cat he had met in the cognitive representation of his gym teachers mind. He could believe that feelings had some significance in that world. It didn’t make him any less sceptical.
He raised a second finger.
“What exactly would we need to do steal his treasure”?
Morgana explained the process of entering the metaverse and traveling through the castle to where the treasure would be stored. Most likely at the top and how they’d need secure a route to it. It all sounded too extravagant, Almost gamey and Ren worried that the Cat was sugar-coating the severity and dangers of said mission. After the cat had concluded it’s lecture about stealing treasure, it stared at Ren expectantly for a response. The only one Ren gave was a third finger indicating his final question.
“What do you mean ‘possibly’” Ren made sure to slowly articulate every word of the question to ensure that the cat understood the importance of it. Both Morgana and Ryuji gulped at Ren’s cold stare that made the wind blowing around them feel all the more chilly.
Morgana rubbed his paws against his neck and the sight was almost amusing had the answer given not made Ren’s stomach drop.
“Well, I’ve never done it before so it’s all speculation. That would be the best-case scenario”
Ren stared at the cat intently and Morgana could hear him ask the question without a single word being uttered.
“Worst case scenario. The guy might die”
Both the boys were quiet as the revelation sunk in. Ren stood up, partly because the bell was about to ring but also because he had to make himself look as intimidating as possible in case someone tried to argue with him.
“We’re not doing it” He looked to Ryuji who was nodding his head in agreement “Yeah I’m with Ren, I hate the guy, but I don’t want to kill him”
Morgana looked genuinely shocked by the speed of the decision and the decision itself. The cat frowned before huffing and shaking its head in disappointment.
“I thought you guys would be more willing, but I guess you’re just cowards. I’ll stick around for a while. Come find me if you change your minds”
Ryuji looked like he had wanted to argue about being called a coward, but the bell had managed to save Ren the headache. They grabbed their bags and started walking back to class. Ryuji spent the trip talking crap about the cat, but Ren paid no attention. His mind was being fully taxed by the overload of new information as he went about sorting it.
Ann and Shiho were sitting on a bench in the courtyard just eating their lunches in a peaceful quiet. A rare luxury for the two with everything that had been going on lately. Ann sneaked a glance at her best friend and had to hold back a frown as she spotted yet more bruises on her legs and arms. She noticed that her friend who had almost always wore short sleeved shirts in the past no matter the weather was wearing her sweater more often. She knew it was in an attempt to hide the injuries from her, but it only made them more obvious. Ann wanted nothing more than to ask her to quit the volleyball team to escape the hell she was living.
“So, how’s practice been”
Shiho’s gaze immediately darkened at the word and Ann winced at her friends pained expression, chastising herself for bringing up something she knew was the source of her pain. Shiho took a shaky breath most likely to calm her nerves.
“It’s been a bit rough. But we have a match coming up soon so I’m sure he’s just pushing us to be our best”
Ann could only do her best to hold back tears at the sound of her friend’s voice. It was rough and strained like she was fighting against her own tears. Both of them fell into a painful silence as neither wanted to say something that might break the dam of waterworks in both of their eyes. As Ann was about to talk again, her phone cut her off. She begrudgingly pulled it out and saw her managers number. She let a small sigh of relief out when it wasn’t Kamoshida’s name on her screen, she was about to decline before Shiho stood up.
“You should take it; I need to get back to practice”
Ann could only watch her friend walk away and it broke her heart to see how small she looked.
Ren spent the rest of class either staring out the window or at his desk. None of the lessons were being digested as his mind kept thinking back on what Morgana had said. He was so deep in thought that it wasn’t until Kawakami was smacking the back of his head with textbook that he realised she had been calling his name. He looked up and gulped at the glare she was giving him.
“Amamiya-san. I moment of your time if you’d please”
She turned and walked towards the door leaving Ren to fumble around in his desk as he attempted to catch up with her. The entire classes snide remarks weren’t lost on him and he wished he could return to his zen place worrying about a different reality just to block them out. As he exited the classroom, he began to follow Kawakami as she led him to the faculty office. Before she entered, she looked at Ren and her cold glare softened into that of a concerned teacher.
“Has something happened between you and Kamoshida”
Ren was stunned. Unsure if it was because the teacher had noticed or that she hadn’t noticed until now, he assumed the entire faculty were aware of Kamoshida and were simply being quiet for the sake of their own jobs but now he wasn’t fully convinced. Regardless he decided it’d be best to downplay the animosity, so he replied with a small shrug.
“Nothing more substantial then any other teacher that’s met me”
She gave him a quizzical look before being interrupted by the faculty office door opening as Kamoshida and the Red-haired ponytail from the train came out. The girl looked at Ren and almost immediately gave him a warm smile before bowing politely.
“Ah senpai, good to see you again”
Kamoshida’s look went from bored to infuriated in a record speed before he crossed his arms and took a more aggressive stance.
“Yoshizawa-san, remember our conversation about the people you should be avoiding here at Shujin.”
She raised her head and looked at Kamoshida, nodding her head in affirmation, a good moment went by before she understood what he was saying as she looked back to Ren with genuine surprise on her face.
“Oh, the criminal transfer student”
Ren could see the teacher about to make a snark comment, so he decided to take the wind out of his sails.
“The one and only. Nice to meet you again”
He looked to Kamoshida with a smirk plastered across his face
“I hope you said good things about me to my Kohai Kamoshida sensei”
He returned Ren’s comment with a simple scowl before walking past them with ponytail starting a second later to catch up. Ren grabbed her arm gently and whispered soft enough for only the two of them to hear.
“I’d stay away from Kamoshida whenever possible if I was you”
She looked perplexed but didn’t get the chance to answer before the bell signalling the end of the day rang. She quickly bowed and Ran off. Ren turned back to look at Kawakami expecting a glare but only received a look of defeat. She let out a long sigh before waving him off.
“Forget it, I got the answers I needed. Look I won’t tell you how to live you school life, but I’d highly suggest you try and fly under the radar”
Ren felt a bit annoyed by her comment, as if the entire incident behind his record getting leaked was something he had any control over. He turned away from Kawakami and muttered.
“If I was ever given the opportunity, I’m sure I would have”
He walked off before he could see her reaction.
Chapter 13
Notes:
I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter. I think I'm improving but I always feel theres one part in every chapter where it could be a lot better. Either way I hope you enjoy. The inciting incident should be happenig in the next chapter so look forward to that.
Chapter Text
Ren made his way to the station in a bad mood. He texted Ryuji asking if he wanted to grab something to eat but said he had to help his mum out so that left Ren all alone to stew in his own bitterness. The conversation with Kawakami had only reminded him how thin the ice he was treading was at Shujin and it frustrated him to no end how little control he had over his life. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed that he already arrived at his destination. The only thing snapping him out of his daze was a girl with blonde twin tails yelling into her phone.
“I told you I can’t come over. I have a shoot today”
He wasn’t close enough to hear the response on the other end.
“That wasn’t the deal, you promised!”
Another response he couldn’t hear but from the way she pocketed her phone and crouched down with her head tucked between her arms, it clearly wasn’t great news. He made his way towards her when she noticed his presence. Her head shot up and met his eyes where he could see hers were threatening tears. She quickly wiped her eyes and stood up making herself look as normal as possible.
“Didn’t anyone tell you it’s rude to eavesdrop”
Ren just crossed his arms, the exhaustion from the day catching up and making his patience thinner than normal.
“Can’t call it eavesdropping if the person shouts what they’re saying”
She met his glare with one of her own. Her patience clearly wasn’t entirely there either. She dropped it quickly though just to be replaced by one of defeat. She took a deep breath.
“Sorry, you’re right it’s not your fault”
Before Ren could apologise for snapping himself, she darted off down the stairs of the station. He let out a sigh and turned towards his train, he didn’t get three steps before he turned on his heel and started running in the direction, he saw the girl run off towards. Huffing to himself softly as he made his way down the steps two at a time.
“Stupid morale compass, why can’t you just let me act like the criminal everyone thinks I am”
On the list of things Ren had wanted to spend his afternoon doing. Chasing after a crying girl in the labyrinth that was the Tokyo metro system was just above seeing the real Kamoshida in a speedo. She wasn’t making it easier on him with her constant comments that were less then flattering when directed at someone with a criminal record, but he continued his chase eventually losing her in a sea of people. He questioned how hard it could possibly be to find one blonde in an ocean of black hair but here she was eluding him. He scanned the crowd and thought about his last trip to the metaverse, he wondered if it’d work in the real world.
“No time like the present” he mumbled as he closed his eyes and tried to focus. After a moment he could feel the people around him become distant, the sounds became muffled and when he opened his eyes the world was dim, he looked around again and noticed a shimmering blue haze coming from a crepe stand. He started towards it and found his target. He closed his eyes and willed the world to return to its original saturation.
“Why do you keep chasing me around. I swear I’ll call security”
Ren sighed and rubbed his head; the third eye had already started to give him a headache and her shouting wasn’t doing any favours.
Clap
She fell silent as he clapped his hands together and he smiled slightly at its success. He moved his hand to his head and started to rub his hair.
“Look, first let me apologise for eavesdropping it wasn’t my place to listen”
He looked around the station and wished he could just put his headphones in to drown out the noise. He still hadn’t gotten used to how busy everything was all the time in Tokyo, he looked back to Ann and could tell she was still wary about talking to him.
“I’m gonna head to a café and get something to drink. Do you wanna come? My treat”
She spent a minute gauging his question and studying his body language looking for any hidden motives. When she concluded he didn’t have any she let out a long sigh and nodded her head in agreement as the two left the underground station heading towards the nearest café in Shibuya.
“I guess you’ve heard the rumours?”
Ren had to restrain himself from knocking his drink over in surprise. After 10 minutes of mind-numbing silence the girl had finally given him a small opportunity to talk.
He shrugged slightly while taking a sip of his drink.
“Depends. Are you talking about yours or mine? because I’ve started ignoring both”
Ann smiled softly at his attempt of humour and took a bigger sip of her drink. The awkward silence had apparently left her quite parched. After she looked to her side trying her hardest not to meet his eyes, she rubbed her arm nervously.
“The guy on the phone was Kamoshida. I tried my hardest not to give him my number, but he ended up just using the school’s records to get it himself”
While her posture indicated fear and defeat, the scorn in her eyes showed that she was pissed that he got her number at all.
“He keeps asking me to come over to his place even though I’ve told him no so many times, but he won’t take it for an answer”
Ren decided to remain quiet, he knew that once a person starts venting their issues, the worst thing you could do is interrupt them.
“But he’s started threatening Shiho’s starting position and I-I-I”
The tears fell from her eyes as she stumbled over what she wanted to say. She bit her lip tightly as she willed them to stop.
“Tell me, what am I should I do?” she mumbled under her breathe through clenched teeth. Ren could only clench his fists under the table. She waited a moment for a response and when she realised she wasn’t going to get one she took a deep breath before standing up.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be dumping all my problems on you. Thanks for the drink. I’ll see you tomorrow”
Ren sat eerily still as she walked past him out of the café. He could feel his bones shaking and the taste of iron filled his mouth as he bit the inside of his cheek. He felt truly disgusted with himself. He had coaxed her into telling him and he had nothing to give her. He stood up not long after and walked out of the café with Morgana’s plan replaying in his head.
He spent the entire trip home arguing with himself over the morality of the decision. Kamoshida was a scum bag through and through. He abused children and is trying to illicit sexual favours from the female students. The school is just as bad in its attempts to cover it up but did that give him the right to take justice into his own hands. To risk killing a person. Did the needs of the many really outweigh the needs of the few? Especially if the needs of the few were inherently evil. And most importantly, was it his decision to make, he made it for Ryuji on the rooftop but was that truly fair. What would Ann do if she had their powers.
The bell of Leblanc brought him back to the present as Sojiro looked at him in confusion as he stood awkwardly in the door.
“You plan on coming in kid”
Ren sighed as he took a step in, he hadn’t even considered the time and expected Sojiro to chastise him for coming home late. What he wasn’t expecting was to be catching a key that was tossed in his direction. He looked it over with apprehension and intrigue.
“It’s the key to the shop, I’ve decided that you don’t need a babysitter and I can’t keep waiting for you to come back before closing up the shop. Now it isn’t an excuse to spend all night out in Shibuya and if I hear you end up skipping school one more time, I won’t hesitate to-“
“To kick my ass out. Right?” Ren finished the sentence with a small smirk.
Sojiro retuned it with one of his own before crossing his arms.
“Heh smartass”
A peaceful quiet enveloped the two when Ren let his cocky smirk transform into a genuine smile.
“Thank you Sojiro. You don’t know how much this means”
The look on his face showed that Sojiro hadn’t expected to hear that from the delinquent. Ren was almost convinced he saw a small blush on the owner’s face as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Ah jeez kid, no need to get so sappy” he removed his apron and walked around the counter towards the door, before leaving he patted Ren on the shoulder.
“And stop calling me Sojiro, everyone around here just calls me boss. Goodnight kid”
Ren looked down at his key and felt his smile grow a touch bigger.
“Goodnight boss”
Chapter 14
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Shiho was tired. This was nothing new lately, she woke up feeling less rested then she did when she fell asleep and every step she took towards the hell that was school made her feel more and more exhausted. Her only reprieve came in the form of her best friend Ann Takamaki, and even talking to her was becoming more challenging as she lived knowing that her friend was placating Kamoshida’s advances for her sake.
Shiho wanted nothing more than to go home and forget about life for a brief moment, but she could feel her stomach acids churn as Mishima was waiting for her at the front gate.
“Kamoshida wants to see you Shiho” she should have hated the boy, it was always him that appeared before another day of beatings and degrading comments but whenever he told her the news, the way he’d shake in fear of what he was doing, she couldn’t blame the boy because she knew he had the same nightmares she did.
She let out a tired breath as she turned around and walked towards Kamoshida’s office, fighting back the urge to vomit the entire way.
As she opened the door and looked at the man, she knew right then and there that today wasn’t going to be normal “extra training”
The next few days were quiet, and Ren was on edge the entire time. He didn’t know when quiet had become a sign of bad things to come but it had. No signs of Morgana only reinforced his worry that something awful had to happen soon.
“Dude you good?”
Ren shook his head to try and get his senses back, a bad habit as of late where he gets too engrossed in his thoughts. He looked at Ryuji who was stuffing his face with a sandwich. He could only offer a tired smile.
“I don’t know, don’t you think the last few days have been…too normal”
The blonde boy frowned as he thought about it.
“Yeah I guess you have a point, even Kamoshida has been less of a dickhead lately”
The two went quiet as the wind picked up, the metal fence rattling and groaning at the force. Ren stared at its rusted bolts and eroding chain links. He couldn’t help but feel entranced by it. The bell rang and Ryuji was the first to stand stretching his arms and sighing at the realisation he’d have to go back to class.
“I’m not sure if quiet is such a bad thing though. At least we don’t have knights trying to stab us when it’s quiet”
Ren nodded absentmindedly at the comment. He didn’t want to make Ryuji as anxious as he felt without any concrete reason, having one of them being optimistic could only help more than hurt. Ren stood up and followed Ryuji off the roof, closing the door behind them but not locking it. A habit they did during first break due to their extended time on the roof. No reason to pick the lock twice a day.
The day continued like any other. Classes went by with information Ren tried to retain, failing more than succeeding due to the incessant comments of him not paying attention when he fails to answer a question correct. He hadn’t spoken Ann since there last meeting but at least she was smiling whenever he walked by, even if it was obviously just to be polite, it was a step in the right direction.
But as the day went on, Ren felt the pit in his stomach get deeper and deeper and he couldn’t understand why. It got to the point where sitting in his seat was starting to become uncomfortable, he raised his hand and asked to go the toilet. The teacher, Ushimaru glared at the boy before begrudgingly accepting. As Ren stood up and walked towards the exit, he heard a boy two seats away mutter under his breath
“Probably going to the bathroom to have a smoke”
Ren walked past him making sure to kick his chair hard. He smiled slightly as he heard the boy yelp in a pitch higher than anyone expected which earned him a few snickers.
As he closed the door behind him, he stared out the window towards the roof, He saw some movement and assumed it was simply a bird. The pit in his stomach though grew enormously and he couldn’t help but look again, this time paying much more attention to the movement and this is when he saw her. The brown hair, the ponytail and the white Shujin uniform, and she was now standing on the edge.
Ren wasn’t sure when he had started running, whether it was before or after everyone else had noticed but it wasn’t important. He could feel his muscles strain as he sprinted across the archway towards the practice building, weaving between student and teachers. Ignoring the stray comments about him needing to return to class. He managed to get the stairs and he started climbing, three steps at a time.
As he reached the third floor, he was going so fast that he had no time to react to the arm the clotheslined him right across the chest. Knocking him on his back and forcing the air out of his lungs, he laid for a second before realising he needed to get back up. He rolled onto his side as he gasped for any air possible only to be met with a foot in his ribcage. Pain flared through his chest and it only got worst with each subsequent kick before it drifted down to his stomach. He could only contain his vomit through sheer force of will as he stared at his assailant. One Suguru Kamoshida who was beating Ren with a maniacal grin plastered across his face.
Once he figured Ren wasn’t going to cough up any lunch, he gripped the boy by his collar. Lifting him slightly off the floor only the drive a fist right into his cheek, Ren wasn’t able to see straight after the first punch and after the second and third, he was struggling to keep his eyes open at all. Everything felt foggy and he wondered if this was what a concussion felt like. He could only look on as Kamoshida turned his back and walked away muttering something about trash.
Ren felt the world start to dim as his eyes closed from exhaustion and when everything went dark, the last thing he heard was a sicken thud coming from the courtyard.
As ren opened his eyes, he found himself laying in his cell at the velvet room. The hard bed feeling strangely comfortable underneath him, he swung his legs and sat up but made no effort to stand or look at his wardens.
“The time has come trickster; you will be faced with great despair and it is up to you and the bonds you form to fix it. As such I have one last gift to give you personally”
With a snap of his fingers a strange warmth flooded Ren’s chest and he could feel Arsene stir within his heart. Though what this actually did to help him, he wasn’t aware.
“Until we meet again trickster”
Ren couldn’t resist the urge to lay back down on the bed and as his head rested on the pillow he was back in realty, eyes wide open and breathing ragged. He groaned as he turned himself onto his side, blinking the stars out of his eyes he felt his ribs, he sighed a small relief as he didn’t feel any extreme pain, at least they weren’t broken. He managed to get to his feet and took tentative steps towards the nearest window where he saw a crowd forming in the courtyard. He looked towards the direction that Kamoshida had sauntered off in and took a deep breath. He decided that would be a problem for later as he started jogging down the stairs towards the scene.
As he walked out of the building into the courtyard, he could see two sets of blonde hair on the out skirts, one was crying and the other was shouting at students to get out of the way. He could feel his blood boil at the thought of the girl lying there dying with no one beside her side. He rushed towards the crowd and shouted as loud and rough as he could muster.
“GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY”
The voice of the criminal transfer student apparently was a lot more recognisable then the blonde headed troublemaker as a line of students turned towards Ren with pale faces. Ryuji nodded at Ren, eyes slightly surprised at his bruised face before grabbing Ann by the arm and pulling her towards Shiho.
Ren let out another ragged breath as the felt exhaustion wash over him, he took a step back and leaned against a beam choosing to draw less attention the two by being with them.
He noticed Mishima on the edge of the crowd mumbling to himself before he skittered off. He followed the boy and managed to catch him trying to put on his shoes.
“Where are you running off to Mishima?”
He could see the boy physically shiver at the sound of his voice and as he turned around to face Ren, he could see the look of fear in his eyes. Fear and…guilt. Suddenly everything clicked in his head. Ann’s phone call, her relationship to Shiho. Kamoshida’s sudden beating and Mishima’s nervousness.
Ren took a slow step forward as Mishima backed himself up against the shoe locker. With the way Mishima was shivering, Ren was sure his glare could freeze over hell itself.
“What did he do to her Mishima”
Mishima opened his mouth and closed it but no words came out, as if it would physically kill him to speak.
Ren felt the metal crumple underneath his fist that had flown past the boy’s head into the locker. A small trickle of blood fell from his hand and Mishima’s eyes widened in terror.
“I-I-I”
“Mishima, I’m in a very bad mood, if you don’t tell me what happened, I’ll kill you before Kamoshida can ever get a hold of you”
Mishima took an audible gulp before taking a breath to steady himself so he wouldn’t stutter as much.
“A few days ago after practice, Kamoshida told me to get Shiho, He seemed to be angrier then usual and instead of taking her to the Gym, he made her talk to him in his office…” Mishima’s eyes became more and more guilty as he put the dots together about what he had done.
“That son of a bitch did what” Ren turned to see Ryuji staring at the two. Anger and disgust evident on his face as he readied his body into a running position.
“Ryuji wait a seco-“ but the words fell on death ears as the blonde boy started sprinting off. Ren swore to himself and gave one last pitiful look at Mishima before he followed suit.
Ren ran will all his might to catch up to his friend. He needed to stop Ryuji before he did something rash but no matter how much he willed his legs to run faster, he couldn’t overcome the difference in leg power between him and a former track runner, even if said runner had suffered a serious injury.
It was this difference that led to Ren running up a set of stairs only to no longer see the boy. He scanned the floor for any signs and as he stood for a moment, he could hear a set a laboured breaths following him up the stairs, he snuck a glance behind him and saw it was Mishima. He turned towards the boy who was struggling up the last set of stairs, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him to the top.
“Kamoshida’s office. Now”
The meek boy simply nodded and led the way as quickly as he could. They found themselves standing in front of a sliding door, the sounds of a chair being kicked echoed inside and Ren feared that Ryuji was once again going to suffer another case of self-defence.
He slid the door open with more force then necessary and let out a small sigh when he saw his friend still standing on two legs.
Kamoshida stared at Ren with contempt on his face.
“Great, more trash joins the party.”
Ren walked past Ryuji and stood toe to toe with Kamoshida.
“What the fuck did you do to her” he hissed through gritted teeth.
Kamoshida stared the boy down and Ren could see the teachers fist shaking in excitement, Ryuji grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, an action Ren allowed as he took a breath to calm himself.
“What you did. That wasn’t coaching”
The two boys turned slightly, both surprised to see Mishima was still present, Ren had to give the kid credit, despite looking like he wanted to melt into a puddle, he had a backbone when it counts.
Kamoshida shook his head in disappointment at Mishima’s disobedience.
“Oh Mishima, you’re siding with this trash here, I guess that makes sense, you couldn’t become a regular, so you convince the criminal and thug that I did something to that poor girl.
Mishima balled his fists as he mustered more of his courage.
“You know that’s not what this is about. You told me to bring Suzui-san here and you did something to her”
The teacher leered at the boy and all the confidence he had seemingly drained out of him. He crossed his arms and stood taller in an attempt to intimidate the three.
“If we even assume what your saying is true, where’s your evidence. We just got a call from the hospital, Suzui’s in a coma and the chances of recovery are slim. The poor girl might never play volleyball again. What a shame”
Ryuji took a step forward as he drew his fist back but was swiftly stopped as Ren locked his elbow with the blondes. Ryuji sent a glare towards Ren.
“Let me go Ren, I’m beating his ass here and now”
Ren returned Ryuji’s glare with one of his own, both of their tempers had been wearing thin the entire time so neither took it personally.
“And what do you intend to do when he breaks your leg. I need you to stay calm.”
The two stared each other down and for a moment Ren was nervous that Ryuji’s temper had clouded his judgment more then he suspected but unlocked their arms as he saw the teen take a deep breath and let go of the fist he was holding.
“Oh, you’re stopping him. Now that’s a surprise. I thought you of all people would want to hit me”
Ren sent a much more deadly glare towards Kamoshida. He looked the teacher up and down before smirking to himself.
He spat at Kamoshida’s feet “Heh, no blood, guess your kicks are like you spikes, grossly overrated”
Ren was certain he could hear the man snarl under his breath before he turned around and sat back down at his desk.
“You’re all expelled, I’m reporting you at the next staff meeting”
Mishima seemingly managed to scrape up some of the courage that had leaked out as he spoke up from behind the two boys.
“You can’t do that”
Kamoshida didn’t even bother looking at the boy, his murderous look directed solely at Ren.
“and who would believe you three wastes of space. A criminal, the delinquent that assaulted a teacher and the student that leaked Ren Amamiya’s personal information on the internet”
Ren and Ryuji turned to look at the boy, Ryuji in dis-belief and Ren in disgust. Mishima crumpled under there gazes, falling to his knees. “He told me to do it, I didn’t have a choice”
Ren was the first to walk out with Ryuji giving Mishima one last disdainful look before following him out of the office.
He ran after Ren who was down the hallway walking down the stairs. He managed to catch up to him as he was standing on the bottom step.
“Ren wait”
He bowed forward
“I’m sorry, I should have waited like you said”
There was a heavy silence the surrounded the two, Ryuji wasn’t sure how Ren reacted, too scared to raise himself to look at the raven-haired boy.
When the silence became too much for him, he snuck a glance at Ren who had turned to face him.
Ryuji was stunned too see not a face of malice or anger. Not a face of frustration or defeat. The face Ren wore was one of excitement and confidence.
“Hey Ryuji, ever wanted to beat up a king?”
Notes:
Boom, inciting incident. And I think I did it well.
There are things I wish I had set up in previous chapter but regardless, I'm proud of the chapter.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
Chapter 15
Notes:
Hey everyone. Sorry for the long gap.
I was having some trouble feeling motivated to write but I hope the qulaity is still good enough to make up for it.
I hope you all enjoy.I won't say that future chapters will come sooner or not, I might try to limit it to 1 per week to not bunr myself out.
Chapter Text
Ren was watching Ryuji take out his anger on a vending machine and he had to stifle a laugh when the vending machine won the fight leaving Ryuji with a red hand. The blonde hadn’t taken the news about Ren being assaulted on his way to try and help Shiho well and he couldn’t blame his friend, Ren also really wanted to punch something but with his record he knew that the small satisfaction would only cause more issues then fix.
After Ryuji had called it a draw between him and the machine, he opted to use his sparring partner as a wall to lean on. He let out a puff of air in frustration, “What are we even waiting for. We should be going in there and beating the shit out of him”
“You really are a simple-minded fool. We’re not beating him up, we’re stealing his distorted desires”
Ren smirked as his friend jumped in surprise at the sound of Morgana’s voice, the cat jumped down from a ceiling beam and landed on the table in front of them stretching his body in the process. He sat down and stared at the two before smiling coyly.
“So, I gather you guys have reconsidered my plan”
Ren looked over to Ryuji and the two made eye contact. They didn’t say anything before Ryuji nodded in affirmation. Ren leaned forward in his seat and clasped his fingers together, his smirk from earlier disappearing as he took a serious tone. “Yeah, we have. We’re in. We’ll steal his distorted desire and make the bastard pay”
Morgana shivered slightly at Ren’s words and stare. For a brief moment, the cat swear he could feel the teens shadow grow larger, but it quickly returned after he blinked. The cat grinned at the two.
“Great. We’ll infiltrate the palace after school- hey what are you doin-” Ryuji quickly grabbed the cat and stuffed him into Ren’s bag, with one last angry meow, the bags zipper was shut just as Ann turned the corner.
“Did I just hear a cat”?
Ryuji attempted to whistle nonchalantly but failed to consider the fact that he wasn’t good at whistling. Ren shook his head at his friend’s stupidity before sighing and looking at Ann. “Don’t worry about it, why are you hear? I thought you’d be at the hospital”
Ann didn’t reply immediately, a long pause fell over the three as she started rubbing her arm. “Is it true you two are getting expelled” Ryuji and Ren looked to each other out of the corner of their eyes, both of their faces showed slight shock at the speed of which the information spread. Before Ren could form a satisfying answer for the girl, Ryuji interjected with one of his own. “Forget about it. It has nothing to do with you”
Ren had to resist every fibre of his being willing him to slam his head against the table at his friend’s deftness and from the look Ann gave him, she was resisting every urge to slam his head against the table. “What’s that supposed to mean! Shiho told me what the piece of shit did to her before she lost consciousness. If you guys have a plan I want in” Ren tried to think of the best thing to tell the girl but once again Ryuji’s bluntness beat him to the punch “You can’t help Ann, You’d just get in the way. Focus on helping Shiho” Ren was certain the girl was gonna slap the boy from how hard her hand was shaking but instead she turned swiftly on her heel, her twin tails spinning with a force begging to slap Ryuji’s face as she stormed away. Ren stared at Ryuji in disbelief while the boy let out a sigh of exhaustion. He looked back at Ren “Why you are looking at me like that” Ren shook his head in disappointment “There were better ways to go about that”
Ryuji looked at the spot that Ann had been standing “It’s not like we could take her into that world. It’s too dangerous. It’s better if she doesn’t want anything to do with us” Ren continued to stare at his friend as he realised his friends true motives and couldn’t help but smile. He stood up and opened his bag letting Morgana out who gave the two boys a death stare. “What’s the big idea shoving me into that bag. I could have suffocated” Ryuji looked away mumbling under his breath “If only” Ren tried to cover his mouth before his chuckle escaped but to no avail. The cat looked at the two incredulously and let a small groan at his new apprentices.
As the bell signalling the end of the day rung, the two stood up and left school with Morgana begrudgingly riding in Ren’s bag to avoid being seen by other students. They made their way to alleyway that had used before to enter the metaverse and spent a good while watching the students make their way out of the school. When they were sure that no one was going to walk by Ren opened the app and pressed the navigation button, the world began to distort around him but where before the sight had made him sick and forced him to close his eyes, it now gave him relief, filling the pit that had been growing in his stomach all day and with a new found drive, the sight of a castle in front of him stirred up a whole new form of rebellion within him.
“Woah, we’re already in our weird costumes”
Ren looked at Ryuji and saw his thug gear not bothering to look at himself, he could feel the cool breeze against his now freshly shaved head and the weight of his piercings felt perfectly natural. After Ryuji had finished admiring his new clothes, the two started walking towards the window that had been previously used only to be interrupted by Morgana’s snicker.
“You guys really are amateurs; we need to come up with code names first before we infiltrate”
Ren and Ryuji stared at each other before looking towards the cat with suspicion. Ryuji was the first to ask the question “Why do we need codenames?” both regretted asking the question because they could feel Morgana get smugger the longer, he explained.
“We’re inside Kamoshida’s mind, what do you think would happen if with went around shouting our real names” Ryuji looked confused as Ren crossed his arms and stroked his imaginary beard. “He’d subconsciously start thinking about us. And if we want to do this quickly, it’ll be better for us if he isn’t on our case all the time at school” Ren looked at Morgana and felt intense satisfaction the wind taken out of the Cat’s sail.
“Alright then, what should we call ourselves” Ryuji slightly moaned
Morgana snickered “You should be called Monkey”
Ryuji stepped forward “What was that you little shit”
Ren clapped his hands together shutting the two up, he was lucky that Kamoshida’s stress relief didn’t leave him with a concussion but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel any sort of lasting pain from having his head banged against the floor. The last thing he needed was the two’s bickering to stir up a headache.
“Ryuji, you’ll be skull because of your mask, and Morgana, we’ll call you Mona because Morgana is a mouthful” The two looked at Ren with slight disappointment as they weren’t able to decide for themselves but neither of them argued when Ren shot them a spine chilling smile daring them to complain. Ryuji sighed in defeat “Fine but what should we call you. Your mask doesn’t look like anything” they stood for a while thinking about possible names and when Ren was about explain that they could think of it later, a high-pitched voice interrupted them.
“What the hell is going on” The three turned towards the voice and saw Ann standing there in her school uniform looking at the Castle in horror. Ryuji and Ren stared at the girl in shock while Morgana stared at her in a stupor.
“Ann? How the hell did you get here?” Ryuji asked with panic evident in his voice. The girl stared at him and then at Ren in confusion as the voice was familiar to her, but the clothes were completely foreign.
“Is that you Ryuji? What the hell are you wearing” Ren couched loudly getting their attention and avoiding the long conversation answering that question would bring. He looked to Ryuji and tried to keep his voice quiet enough for her not to recognise it. “We need to get her out of here before she gets involved any deeper”
“Wait does that mean you’re Ren?” Ren snickered at the girl’s sharpness. He had gotten to used to dealing with Ryuji who wore his thoughts on his sleeves but was denser than a rock. He started walking towards the girl who took up a defensive pose as Ryuji followed closely behind.
Ren quickly clarified “I got her legs” Ryuji didn’t understand Ren’s apprehension of being near the girls top half and happily ran behind her and draped his arms under her arms as Ren lifted her legs into the air.
“Hey where are you tak-HEY WATCH WHERE YOUR TOUCHING!”
Ryuji panicked as he realised his arms had accidently moved further down her chest then he intended.
“Shit sorry, listen we’ll explain later just-“
Chomp
“And that is why I didn’t want to go anywhere near her top” Ren laughed as he and Ryuji started walking back towards the castle after dropping Ann in the real world and darting back into the metaverse. Ryuji was tentatively rubbing his hand where a bite mark had definitely appeared underneath his glove “You could have warned me I was about to accidently grope” Ren smiled at the Blonde while draping his arm around his neck “And what kind of friend would I be if I robbed my best buddy his chance to hold onto the girl he likes” Ryuji started gaping at Ren like a fish out of water as a bright blush covered his face “What are you talking about, I’m so not into her” Ren just gave the boy a impish grin as he let go of him and walked towards a still stunned Morgana.
“Yo what’s up with the cat”
The two looked at the mascot who was as standing limply slowly rocking back and forth with a dazed look on his face. Ren recognised the pose from somewhere and as he remembered an old Shojo manga his mum showed him Morgana decided to mumble “She was beautiful”
The two just stood in utter silence before Ren started rubbing his temple in pure contempt.
“The cat has a god damn crush on Ann” Ren groaned out as Ryuji responded halfway between laughing and gagging, the sound of which snapped Morgana out of his daze. “I AM NOT A CAT!” Ren glared at the creature “I’m not having this conversation” he started walking towards the castle with Ryuji beside him leaving the feline to scramble to catch up.
As per Morgana’s teachings, there first goal was to find a map of the castle to assist them in forming a plan. The three made there way through the bottom floor of the castle meticulously searching rooms before coming across their first shadow. Morgana hopped in front of the two as they readied their weapons.
“We should conserve our energy; we don’t know how long we’ll be there”
Ren stared at the shadow, it was walking a designated route in the room, It would have been simple to avoid it, darting between the shadows while keeping a look out for any maps but Ren couldn’t contain the frustration he had been feeling the entire day, the feeling of powerlessness that plagued him. He dashed past the cat and hopped onto the shadow when it wasn’t facing him, climbing up it’s back with dizzying speed, as he reached for his knife, Arsene’s voice echoed in his head.
“There is no time to kill him boy. Rip his mask off and take advantage of his confusion to enact your vengeance”
Without hesitation Ren slipped his fingers underneath the mask of the knight and pulled with an incredible strength unknown even to him. The force and lack of resistance sent him flying backwards and with an added flip for flair, he landed directly in front of his companions. The knight shuddered without its mask before crumbling to ash and reforming as small fairy but unlike the past shadows the creature’s eyes looked glazed and lost.
“Dammit, why didn’t you listen to me”
Ren smiled to himself, the familiar feeling of strength coursing through him as he drew his knife and launched himself towards the beast, He ducked below the fairy and drew his knife upwards using his own force to launch himself into the air. “Mona, gimme a boost” he didn’t bother waiting to hear the cats comment before pushing his body forward in a front flip, as he reached the apex of the arc, a gust of wind brought his foot down on the shadow in a devastating axe kick that cause the ground to crack. As he brought his foot up expecting to see a mess of black sludge, he was greeted with the shadow floating lazily in the air. He grabbed his knife but stopped as he heard a voice enter his mind, not his own or Arsene’s though, this time it was new female voice.
“Please don’t kill me. I have so much left to live for”
Ren stared at the shadow in horror and wonder. He hadn’t heard a shadow speak in full sentences before and when they did speak, it was simply to butter up to their king.
“Hey man, what are you waiting for” Ryuji started walking towards Ren but was swiftly stopped by his raised hand indicating he remain where he was.
Ren turned back to face the shadow, sheathing his knife and kneeling in front of the floating creature “And why should I? You’re one of the kings subordinates”
The shadow looked back him with a dazed look on her face, her eyes downcast as if she were thinking to herself “Subordinate? king? That’s not right. I belong to the sea of consciousness; I have no king”
Suddenly with a brand-new vigour the shadow raised itself to eye level with Ren who had taken a quick step back readying himself for combat. “That’s right, I remember now. I am Pixie and I shall be the one to mend your wounds on your journey”
The shadow glowed with a bright light that engulfed Ren’s vision. From the exclamation behind him, he wasn’t the only one blinded. When the light dissipated, all that remained of the Shadow was a floating mask shimmering a light shade of blue. The design exactly the same as the one Ren wore and as he reached out to examine it, the mask flew against his face but instead of feeling the impact, the mask disappeared into his own and a warm feeling flowed through his chest.
“What the hell happened man, did it hit you in the nose or something”
Ren didn’t respond as his mind was filled by the woman’s voice “Call upon me trickster and show your allies your new strength” Ren lifted the mask off of his face and as it faded into nothing. Blue flames and chains shot from behind him. Ryuji and Morgana stared in amazement as what used to be a space reserved for Arsene was replaced by the very shadow Ren had beaten down.
“You can summon more then one persona” Morgana somewhat whispered as if he had to confirm it for himself. Ren Smirked to his friend’s and looked behind him to see Pixie floating behind him giving him a warm smile” Pixie. Dia” A comforting green glow surrounded Ren and all the lasting pain and aching bones he had suffered from his earlier beatdown faded.
“Mweeheehee”
Ren and Ryuji stared at Morgana with concern “I think I know what your code name will be”
They continued to stare at the cat waiting for the big reveal.
“Joker. Our wild card”
Ren couldn’t contain the devilish smile the grew across his face at the sound of his title as he started walking towards the rooms exit before stopping and spinning on his heel to face his comrades.
“Skull, Mona. I think we have a treasure to steal”
Chapter 16
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Where did they go”?
Ann was scared. Scratch that, she was downright terrified. Her day started off with watching her best friend jump off a building and then immediately learned why she tried to kill herself. Before she could even try to confronting that excuse of a human being she was bombarded with a new set of rumours about Ryuji and Ren getting expelled for attacking Kamoshida only to be told to stay put and twiddle her thumbs when the people around her were suffering.
She then made the mistake of following the two when they disappeared into an alleyway and was swiftly greeted by a wave a nausea and a freaking castle, the boys in question cosplaying as weird thieves and then groped by the only boy she’s ever really known.
And to top it all off, after being thrown out of the weird fantasy world, her phone started acting up which led her right back to where she started only without the only people she knew around. She felt completely lost now standing in the courtyard of what should have been a school.
“Princess Takamaki”
Ann spun at the sound of her name, she wasn’t greeted by another human, instead it was a suit of armour so obscenely large that there was no chance it was being worn by a human. Her instinct screamed at her that she was in danger, that she should run. But another instinct was shouting that running would only lead to her imminent demise.
“Um. Yes?”
The suit looked her up and down and she shivered under its gaze, it was exactly the same way that piece of garbage looked at her, ogling her chest and proportions.
“Why are you out here my lady, King Kamoshida is expecting you”
The sound of his name almost caused her to retch.
“I’m sorry, I think you have the wrong girl. I’m just going to leave”
She started to back away slowly in an attempt to minimise suspicion but stopped dead in her tracks as she felt a cold hard hand grip her shoulder.
“Nonsense Princess, our lord is waiting for your return”
Before she could even attempt to break free and run, she was lifted into the air by the knight and carried through the large door.
“HEY! LET ME GO! What is it with guys carrying me around today”?
The three were making slow progress through the castles bottom floor, even with Ren’s ability to cover the teams weakness with new persona’s, obtaining said persona’s was becoming an issue as they continued to run into more and more shadows and as they continued to fight battle after battle, the three could feel the exhaustion starting to take its toll.
“There’s just no end to them” Ryuji growled in frustration as he electrocuted another set of floating horses with Ren taking advantage of their lack of mobility to slice their throats with his knife.
“No kidding, I swear every time we clear a room, the next one has twice as many shadows. Even with us avoiding a good number of them”
Morgana came up beside the two looking no better than them, he had naturally taken up a navigation role but that didn’t exclude him from helping out in fights. If anything, it was making him a more obvious target.
“Enough complaining, I can feel a safe room up ahead”
The teens sighed in relief, they were sceptical of safe rooms when Morgana had explained their power but all doubts were gone when they were able to use one to escape from a crowd of shadows that had caught them off guard.
They started heading down the hallway following Morgana’s direction before being stopped by a distant scream. Ryuji turned on his feet almost immediately at the sound which grabbed Ren’s attention. He stared at his friend and noticed the look of horror on his face.
“Ryuji? What’s up”
“That sounded like Ann”
Ren stiffened at his deduction and quickly turned to face the direction Ryuji was facing, straining his ear to hear as much as possible.
“Are you sure?”
Ryuji nodded “100 percent”
Ren started thinking and soon his face dropped at a possible conclusion. “Hey Ryuji, didn’t you tell me that the app appeared on your phone as well”
Ryuji turned to face Ren, slightly confused about his train of thought “Yeah. Right after…”
Ryuji bolted back towards where they had come from and Ren had barely a second to process what happened before he groaned and ran after his friend.
“Of all things the guy could have been. He just had to be an ex track star”
Ren and Morgana chased Ryuji back through the castle until they found the blonde teen struggling to get a large set of doors open. Ren sighed before walking up to his friend and pulling him back by his shoulder before grabbing his mask and pulling it off, swiftly being replaced by the floating horse Kelpie.
“You really need to stop this habit of running off without me Ryuji or I’ll have to tie you up when I bring you here” Ren grinned at his friend as the horse rammed its head against the door splintering the wood until it shattered under the pressure.
Ren’s grin swiftly morphed into a look of anger and disgusts as he saw what was on the other side of the door. A hallway decorated with statues of female torsos donning gym uniforms and below faceless purple bodies dressed the same way groping each-other.
“What the hell is this shit”
Morgana walked forward to examine “It’s probably how he sees the girls in the volleyball team. Simply vessels for his pleasure.” The three started towards another set of doors slowly walking around the purple bodies before one grabbed onto Ren’s leg. He looked down and though there was no face, he got the distinct feeling it was pleading to him. He smiled softly like he would at a child who was afraid of the dark before slowly bringing his knife out and plunging it into the cognitions back. Though it shouldn’t be possible without a face, he heard a faint thank you as it decayed into nothing.
The two nodded to each-other as they used their combined force to open the doors being greeted by Ann tied to a giant X with a speedo wearing Kamoshida holding onto a cognition of Ann who was wearing purple underwear and cat ears.
“Ann!”
Ryuji prepared to rush forward before Kamoshida’s voice locked them down.
“One more step and I’ll take her pretty little head off”
To reinforce his threat, two knights crossed their swords between her neck getting dangerously close to her jugular. Ryuji showed signs of an internal struggle debating whether to call the man’s bluff but the throbbing in his bad leg kept him rooted in place, he knew better then to test the perv’s temper.
“Good, seems like you do have a brain up there Sakamoto. Now where were we?”
“Fuck you Kamoshida, stop this stupid joke and let me go. Where’d you even find these guys” her eye’s widened as if she just noticed the other version of herself “And what am I wearing!”
Kamoshida looked over to his cognition of Ann and formed a sly and perverted grin “She’s talking down to me, what should we do?” The other Ann giggled like a schoolgirl and started stroking the king's chest with a lewd look on her face “It’s totally not cool to talk back, I think she needs to be punished” Kamoshida’s sick grin only grew wider “I couldn’t agree more”
With a flick of his hand, one of the knights brought his sword down the middle of her shirt causing the buttons to pop off revealing the girls’ body “Hey what the hell do you think you’re doing”
“Oh please, this is your fault you know. If you just listened to my requests from the start”
The girls eyes widened in horror at the man’s statement, she looked ready to fire back before Kamoshida continued talking “It’s such a shame, If only you agreed to come over that day, I wouldn’t have called your precious friend into my office and she probably wouldn’t have jumped”
Ann’s fiery gaze dropped almost instantly as her body went from rigid against her restraints to limp with her gaze downcast. She started speaking softly to herself “Is this really my fault, is this my punishment for what happened with Shiho”
Kamoshida started chuckling to himself “That’s more like it, I prefer my women to be more submissive.”
Ann didn’t pay the man any attention, too lost in her own self-loathing “Shiho I’m sorry” soon the only sound that filled the room was Kamoshida’s laughter while Ren struggled to think of a plan that would pose the smallest risk to someone without a persona.
Suddenly a new voice overpowered the Kings incessant laughter “Are you just going to take this shit Takamaki” all eyes flew to Ryuji as he stood there shaking with anger.
She stared at the boy with disbelief and sadness “Ryuji?”
“What the hell are you thinking listening to this garbage, was your friendship with Shiho so shallow that your just gonna stand there and take this shit. We both know she loved hanging out with you more than anything” He pointed to Kamoshida “He’s the one that made her jump. Not you. So, get over yourself”
A hush fell over the room and the only sign of movement came from Kamoshida examining his intruder’s reactions. When no one said anything in response to Ryuji’s word he started to laugh once again. “Trash should really know when to-”
“You’re right” Ann interrupted with a quiet but resolute tone. He stared back his captive with a glare.
“Slaves should just behave and listen to-”
“Shut up you piece of human trash”
Ren would have given anything to be able to take a picture of the face Kamoshida was wearing at Ann’s words, but he felt content with just watching the scene play out.
“You’ve pissed me off for the last time you son of a bitch”
Ann could feel her head throb in an instant, a pain she couldn’t describe started flaring through her mind and body and all she could do to relieve it was to desperately struggle against her restraints.
A seductive voice started to boon in her ears only adding to the pain of her headache.
“My… It’s taken far too long. Who will avenge the girl if not you? Forgiving him was never an option, such is the scream of the other you that dwells within. I am thou and thou art I” with a jerk, she lifted her head and felt a cool mask on her face giving immense relief to the throbbing pain. With a new burst of strength, she pulled against her shackles and listened as they broke away with no resistance, she fell to the floor and ran towards one of the knights that had backed away in surprise. She grabbed the armours sword and booted the body away before it could react.
The voice quickly returned “There you go. The contract can finally be forged. We both know nothing can be solved by restraining yourself. Understand?” Ann nodded to the voice knowing that it could see her wherever it was coming from “Then I’ll gladly lend you my strength” Ann felt a mysterious desire to rip her mask off and she had had enough of denying her true feelings.
She gripped the corner of her mask and screamed as she ripped it off. A familiar column of blue light exploded blinding all that looked at it. As the light faded, she looked down and saw her true self, a red latex suit that fitted her body perfectly, accentuating every curve. She could feel a presence behind her and turned back to see her persona. A beautiful lady smoking a cigarette while holding onto chains that were attached to men in suits. All dawned by an incredible dress covered in roses.
She stared at her doppelganger and felt a fire light within her. That was the version of her he always saw, the version of her he wanted and a version he had convinced the entire school she was, and she was done with it. She leapt high into the air and brought the sword down right on top of the girl’s head, watching with satisfaction as she screamed before disappearing into nothing.
Ren watched the whole thing unfurl with a grin on his face because he knew they had just found their newest team-member. He looked over to his friend and resident cat who were both staring at Ann but with much more impure thoughts on their minds. He quickly jabbed his elbow into the blonde’s side which gifted him a glare of annoyance.
“What the eff dude”
Ren simply pointed to Morgana and laughed slightly as Ryuji’s faced paled. He patted his friends’ shoulder “word of advice, you generally stare at the girls butt after you start dating her” his laugh continued as he watched his pale face grow extremely red.
Ren watched as Ann started slowly advancing towards Kamoshida.
“I’m done trying to play up to your fantasies. You took everything from Shiho, and I will make you pay”
As the three made their way across the room to meet with Ann they heard a rattling of armour from behind them.
“Insolent fools how dare you threaten my king” Ren looked back to see a golden shadow start to shake violently and swiftly drew his knife as the knight collapsed into a puddle and reformed into a large demon.
The four looked on in horror and disgust as they processed what they were seeing. A giant demon sitting on a toilet wearing high heel boots. Ren started rubbing his brow in frustration.
“Why does everything this fucker thinks of have such bad fashion sense” he looked over to Ann and when he saw her face, he could tell she was thinking the same thing “I’d like to explain everything Ann but we need to take that thing out first”
He was surprised when he saw a fireball spark in her hand and couldn’t stop the smile from coming up as he thought of the possibilities having a fire user would open up. He started walking towards the shadow confidently drawing his pistol and unloading the clip into the demon’s toilet but couldn’t see any damage appear.
“Guns don’t work guys” Ryuji walked up beside him, smacking his metal pipe against his hand. “Good, up close and personal is more my style”
The two boys gave each-other a knowing look before making a beeline straight towards the demon. Only splitting up when they heard Morgana shout “Watch out, a Bufu shard coming from the ground” Ryuji dashed right to avoid it but Ren looked down with his third eye and saw the shards position under the ground. He adjusted his stance and as the shard pierced the ground, used the momentum to be lifted into the air. As he was sent hurtling over the demon’s head, he looked at Ann and felt déjà vu as she clicked her hand and tossed a volleyball sized fire ball in his direction. He called upon kelpie to use Garu to rotate his body before quickly switching to Arsene who appeared behind him, the two kicked the ball of fire directly into the shadow and watched it sail past the demon into his toilet.
A moment passed as Ren continued to fall before fire exploded from the toilet. “Mona!”
“Got it”
Ren felt a gust of wind blow him out of the way and as he landed on his feet, he switched back to Kelpie, he called upon a small tornado of wind which came into contact with the flame only intensifying the heat. The demon’s charred body fell to the ground and the moment it touched the floor he could hear a loud “Captain kid” before watching a cannon ball shatter the now fragile porcelain thrown. As the demon fell to the floor with nothing to protect him Ren saw his opportunity and ran forward brandishing his knife, on the way over he called Pixie for a quick heal to relieve the slight exhaustion he felt, boosting the speed at which he leapt towards the shadow and stabbing his knife into the demons forehead and kicking back to his original position. The combined force sent the demon reeling onto it’s back.
“Do it skull”
“ZIO!”
A lightning bolt made its way through the roof and found its home in Ren’s knife now acting as a makeshift lightning rod. The demon spasmed before dissolving into black dust.
The four held their breaths before letting out a collective sigh of relief at there victory. Ren walked towards Ann standing next to Morgana who was still staring at her dumbstruck. Even though he was closer, Ryuji managed to get to her first and Ren smiled at his friend’s obvious concern.
“We need to go after that son of a-”
Before she could finish her sentence, she felt her knees buckle and would have fallen over had Ryuji not rushed in to catch her.
“Whoa easy now, don’t worry, he’s not going anywhere but we need to get you out of here”
The girl struggled to try and stand on her own but to no avail before letting out a sigh of defeat, Ren couldn’t stop his laughter at the sight which earned him a confused look from the two. He simply shook his head at their deftness.
“I guess birds of a feather flock together”
Notes:
Not a whole lot to say honestly other then I hope you're all enjoying the longer chapters and hopefully my writing is improving or at least staying consistant.
As always, feedback is appreciated.
Chapter Text
“Which one do you want?”
Ren looked away from his phone towards his friend who was holding two drinks, one clear and the other orange. From the way Ryuji was staring at Ann he guessed the question wasn’t aimed at him. Ann looked up from her own phone at the boy and it was clear from how pale she looked that she was still feeling exhausted from awakening her persona. She let out a quiet sigh before pocketing her phone.
“Whichever one isn’t carbonated”
Ren and Ann laughed as they watched the blonde study the labels before scratching his head and responding sheepishly “I think they’re both carbonated” Ann rolled her eyes but maintained her smile. “Fine, give me the lemonade”
Ryuji handed her the drink carefully, making sure she wasn’t gonna drop it before tossing the orange one to Ren who caught it easily. After she took a couple long gulps emptying half the bottle into her mouth, she let out a loud gasp of air.
“So, let me see if I got everything. We were in a place called the metaverse, and that castle was Kamoshida’s perception of the school. So, in a way we were inside the perverts mind?”
Before either Ren and Ryuji could confirm her recap, Morgana popped his head out of ren’s bag and ran up his back onto his shoulder “That’s absolutely correct Lady Ann. Your so smart. And gorgeous” Ann stared at the cat for a good 10 seconds before giggling hysterically, the two boys stared at her with slight worry before she managed to calm herself down enough to speak.
“I’m sorry, it’s just so much has happened today that when I heard the Cat talk, I realised I didn’t even find it strange”
Ren and Ryuji stared at each other before starting to laugh themselves as they both realised the absurdity of getting used to a talking cat. Soon all three were laughing leaving a grumpy Morgana who kept insisting he wasn’t a cat. To the people around them, the three must have looked quite strange and out of place but for the ones laughing, it was a brief moment of brevity from the rough day they had all experienced.
After they had calmed down enough, Morgana was the first one to chime in with a question of his own.
“So, who’s going to let me stay with them. I’m sick of living on the street”
Ren stared at the two fully expecting them to take the cat off his shoulder. Ryuji scratched the back of his head.
“Sorry I can’t, mum’s allergic”
Ann who had managed to stand up but still didn’t look entirely stable also gave an excuse “I can’t either, mum and dad said no pets when they’re overseas and I have a nanny who keeps tabs on me” she stared directly at cat and Ren could feel Morgana shiver on his shoulder “Plus I don’t think I need a human trapped in a cats body hanging around my place when I’m getting dressed”
Ren looked at his friends who were staring right back at him. His brain which working slower with the full day’s exhaustion settling down on him eventually put the pieces together and he quickly cut the air with his hands.
“Nah ah, I’m on probation and I live in an attic above a restaurant. You really think my guardian will let me keep a cat there”
Ryuji just smiled innocently, and Ren really wanted to force the orange drink into his mouth “Just say your taking care of it to help keep you out of trouble and show that you’re responsible.” Both Morgana and Ann nodded at the boy’s suggestion. Ren looked around once again and groaned letting his head fall flat.
“The first sound argument he makes and it’s at my detriment” He quickly snapped his head up and stared the cat right in the eyes.
“Alright. You can stay”
Morgana opened his mouth to speak but Ren didn’t let him start.
“But on the condition that you shit outside, I find one turd in my room and I swear to god you’re gonna wish I never broke you out from that dungeon. Understood?”
Morgana gulped loudly in response while shaking his head in affirmation. Ren sighed but smiled lightly, he wouldn’t admit it, but he was somewhat ok having someone other than Sojiro to talk to after school. The three waved each other off as they went their separate ways.
The trip home was quick for Ren as he nearly passed out on the train back when he managed to find a seat. After waking up just in time to avoid missing his stop, he exited the train and started the short walk back to Leblanc, going through all the possible conversations he might have with Sojiro when he revealed that he brought a stray cat back with him. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice the unfamiliar figure sitting at the counter until he was standing in the doorway.
When Ren actually saw the woman, his eyes were immediately drawn to her outfit due to its contrast with the antique style of the café. She wore what could only be defined as punk. With a blue dress that stopped short of her thighs, adorned with a black leather jacket with a spiked choker covering her neck. His focus was quickly ripped away when his eyes landed on her tights’ covered legs. He must have stared for longer than appropriate because she hadn’t noticed she was now standing in front of him with her arm’s crossed and a devilish smile on her face.
“You must be the new ward Sojiro’s been complaining about” she held out her hand in front of Ren “Tae Takemi, I run the clinic near the abandoned theatre here in Yongen Jaya”
Ren tried his best to will a natural smile onto his face, but he was sure it came across more tired than anything before reaching his hand out to shake hers.
“Hi, name’s leg’s”
A silence fell over the Café and Ren could hear Sojiro mentally facepalming, Ren couldn’t blame him as he wanted nothing more then to smash his head against the nearest wall or table.
Suddenly all the tension was released as the doctor started to chuckle lightly “You’re definitely an interesting one. I mean I show them off for a reason, but no one has been so blatantly obvious about staring at them like you”
Ren just gave another tired smile as he tried to compose himself somewhat.
“Sorry, it’s just been a long day. I’m Ren. Ren Amamiya”
Tae gave him a small smile, but it quickly fell away as she looked him up and down properly. She moved closer to his face and Ren had to fight his newly acquired instinct to retaliate. She put a hand gently on his cheek and applied slight pressure, Ren bit his Tongue to stop himself hissing in pain, he could tell Tae knew something was wrong, but he hoped Sojiro hadn’t noticed.
She frowned at his reaction before glancing at the owner who was watching them lazily as he cleaned his glasses. She sighed before grabbing her bag. “Thanks’ for the coffee boss. I’ll see you next time” She turned to face Ren with a serious look on her face “Feel free to drop by my clinic if you’re ever feeling ill alright?”
Ren nodded at her proposition, not tired enough to miss the hidden implication of the entire situation. She gave him an approving nod before walking past him. “It was nice meeting you Leg’s”
Ren couldn’t help but smirk at her jab “It’s Ren”
She chuckled softly as she walked out the door “I know what I said”
Ren stared at the doctor as she walked out, watching as she made her way down the street and out of view. He hadn’t noticed Sojiro walk up beside him until he put a hand down on his shoulder. “Word of advice kid if you’re interested in her. Don’t. She so far out of your league that its hurts”
Ren looked at Sojiro before chuckling to himself. “Don’t worry boss, she isn’t my type” Sojiro raised an eyebrow at his wards response before dawning a cocky grin “Oh, and what is your type exactly?” A set of Ruby eyes with a fierce look flashed in his mind and Ren smirked. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually boss. Where’s the fun in just telling you” Sojiro chuckled at the boy’s aloofness before heading back behind the counter to finish washing the glasses.
Ren walked up the stairs and as per his usual routine tossed his bag onto the bed from across the room. He felt himself jump when he heard an angry hiss come from his bag and paled as he remembered how he had gotten himself into the situation downstairs. He rushed over to the bed and quickly unzipped his bag allowing Morgana to escape.
“What’s the big idea tossing me around like I’m sort of stuffed animal”
Ren let out a sigh of relief knowing that he hadn’t accidently injured their only source of information about the metaverse. He sat down on the bed next to the cat rubbing his eyes. “Sorry Morgana forgot you were in there.”
He looked at the cat beside him and saw that he wasn’t happy with the answer, Ren remembered a time when he would feed stray cats back home and decided to try something that had always helped the them relax. He reached over and started to scratch Morgana behind the ear.
“Hey what are yoooou-“
The sentence was cut short by an approving purr and Ren felt his body relax and the smile return to his face. He always liked cats but his father never allowed pets in the house. Ren was so focused on the soft feeling of Morgana’s fur that he didn’t hear footsteps echoing from below.
“Hey kid, I nearly forgot to…”
Both the cat and Ren looked at Sojiro in surprise, Ren felt the colour drain from his face. Sojiro crossed his arms as he glared daggers at Ren. “Care to explain why you brought a cat to this food establishment?” Ren had imagined a lot of ways that he’d fail his probation, but he never thought that getting kicked out for bringing home a stary cat from another realty would ever be a possibility. He quickly racked his brain trying to come up with a response that could possibly justify bringing a walking health code violation into his guardians’ restaurant.
“I found him being bullied by some kids at school. When I scared them off, the thing wouldn’t stop following me”
Morgana looked at Ren in disbelief “Couldn’t you at least give me a cooler backstory”
Ren gave the cat the deadliest side glare he could muster without Sojiro noticing. He looked back at the old man and prayed that he could get away with simply tossing the cat out of the shop. But by the way Sojiro’s face went from extremely aggravated to sympathetic told Ren that he bought the story somewhat.
“Damn kids can be so cruel” he sighed in defeat “Listen kid, taking care of an animal is a big deal. But I do suppose it’ll look good on your record if your responsible for something other then yourself” he turned around and started walking back towards the stairs before stopping and talking over his shoulder “Fine, you can keep him, but he stays up here during business hours and if I find so much as one stary hair downstairs. It’s your ass on the line”
He walked down the stairs and both Morgana and Ren let out a long breath before slumping down on the bed. They looked to each other before smiling lightly.
“Well that could have gone better” Morgana chimed
“Yeah but it could have gone a lot worst. At least boss seems to like cats. I don’t think I’d being able to convince him to let a Pitbull to stay up here”
Morgana didn’t even look at him as he repeated his tried and true line “I’m not a cat”
The conversation was cut short by Sojiro walking back into the room carrying a plate of fish. Ren looked at the man in confusion and felt his jaw drop as the owner sheepishly placed the plate on the ground in front of Morgana.
“Don’t look at me like that, how could I possibly ignore him with all that meowing and purring. Poor thing must be starving”
Ren smiled gently at his Guardian’s actions “You really are a softy underneath all that gruff”
Sojiro frowned at Ren’s comment before remembering what he had originally come upstairs to do in the first place. He fished around in his pocket before pulling out a small envelope and handing to Ren who took it apprehensively. Ren looked over the letter and saw no name or shipping address.
“Where’d this come from?”
Sojiro shrugged as he started to walk away. “I met up with your parole officer, said it’s from your dad” Ren felt a cold sweat come over him as he stared at the envelope in a new light. He hadn’t thought about his dad very much in the past couple weeks with everything going on.
He opened up the letter and saw a note and couple hundred-dollar bills. He ignored the money and looked at the letter, carefully reading over every word.
‘I heard from your parole officer that you arrived late on your first day. I thought I told you to keep your head down and just focus on not drawing attention to yourself. I figured you’d do something like this so I’m telling you this now. If I don’t hear anything negative from your parole officer in the future. I’ll keep giving you this allowance. So please grow up and stay out of trouble.
Dad’
Ren continued to stare at the letter, turning it over in a desperate attempt to find anything else written. Words of encouragement or love. But he couldn’t find them, all that was written were the words that dripped with disappointment and desperation.
He looked down to see Morgana finishing his plate of fish before the cat stared back at him with a cocky grin on his face.
“Look’s like boss already likes me better then you”
Ren smiled bitterly at how deeply the throw away comment stung after reading the letter. He stood up ripping the note into too many pieces to ever salvage, he opened his wallet and pocketed the cash.
He walked over to the desk and opened the draw looking down at his piercings before mumbling under his breath.
“Story of my fucking life.”
Chapter 18
Notes:
I wanted to start building the relationship between Ren and Makoto.
I also wanted to write some cute fluffy stuff after all the persona awakening and whatnot so here it is.Would love opinions on how people think the story is going. What I could improve and what's not working.
Enjoy
Chapter Text
“What’s he even still doing here?”
“I heard he tried to fight Kamoshida and is getting expelled”
“Do you think he’s the reason Suzui-san jumped?”
Ren was used to the stares; to the comments. He was even used to the feeling of malcontent that came from his peers. But in hindsight after reading his fathers letter. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. He felt Morgana pop his head out from his bag but made no attempt to hide the animal. He was already facing an impending expulsion, breaking another couple of rules wasn’t going to do much.
“Jeez, do you have to deal with this every morning”
Ren nodded his head, he felt drained despite having slept a full night’s rest without any blue prisons to interrupt him. As he arrived at the front gate and turned the corner to move towards the school, he felt the world fall from under his feet and could only push his hands out to avoid eating the concrete. He sighed in frustration as he looked up at the person who had tripped him.
Of course, it was the last person he wanted to see so early in the morning. Kamoshida stood tall over the boy with a maniacal grin on his face.
“Oh, sorry about that, I didn’t see you coming”
Ren started get back up and felt his wallet drop from his pocket, splaying itself on the ground. Kamoshida quickly snatched it away before Ren could grab it himself. He opened it and eyed the cash stuffed inside. The grin only grew larger and Ren had to resist the urge to try and steal it back.
“Now how would a criminal like you get this kind of money”
Ren remained quiet for a moment before answering. He was fully aware what the teacher was doing, goading him into doing something rash. He held his hand out expectedly in front of the man.
“Pocket money from my rich daddy” he responded monotonously “Now can you cut the bullshit and give me my money back” Ren smiled slightly, even though he knew that laying low and taking the loss would be the best course of action. He’d be lying if he said he want to ruffle the gym teachers feathers just a little. “Or is stealing from students another one of your hobbies. After raping them that is.”
Such a direct accusation might have been a bad idea as Kamoshida’s fist quickly clenched and that cocky smile morphed into one of anger and disgust at Ren. The teacher took one step forward and Ren was worried he was gonna have to suffer yet another beating from the man.
“Ah Amamiya-kun, I’ve been looking for you”
Both men turned towards the voice, Ren saw it was Makoto standing in the doorway, he noticed her breathing was irregular and a slight sheen of sweat was starting to form. He wondered if she had rushed to stop the teacher. He turned to walk towards her but felt a hand grip his shoulder so tightly that it was painful.
“I’m sorry Nijima-san, but I need a moment to teach our delinquent transfer student here some manners”
The 3rd year raised her eyebrow quizzically at her teacher.
“With all due respect Kamoshida, whatever he’s done to upset you can’t be worth ignoring the principle’s orders can it”
Ren was surprised that the girl was defending him but was none the less grateful as he felt the pressure leave his shoulder. He heard the teacher tsk under his breath before walking inside the school past Makoto. Ren felt his tense muscles relax slightly but was quickly put back on edge as he made contact with her intense gaze. While he found her eyes incredibly alluring when they were staring down other people with murderous intent. Being on the receiving end was a bit unnerving.
“Amamiya-kun, I want you to come to student council room during lunch. Am I understood”?
Ren could only nod under the pressure from her stare and felt his mouth go dry as she smiled at his fear. When she turned to leave, he realised that all the students around him were staring and he quickly made his way inside the school after picking up the wallet Kamoshida had dropped in frustration.
Ren slumped into his seat feeling exhausted. Ann eyed him curiously as she fixed her hair. She turned in her seat to face him.
“It’s a bit early to be going to sleep don’t you think. What’s up?”
Before Ren could answer Morgana hopped up on his table “He ran into Kamoshida earlier and now this scary girl with Red eyes wants to see him during lunch” Ren quickly grabbed the cat by the scruff of his neck and shoved him underneath his table. He smiled at Ann before ducking underneath to meet him at eyelevel “Keep the pining to after school where you won’t get me into more trouble.
He raised his head to face Ann who was suppressing her laughter. Ren smiled quietly, feeling good having someone to finally talk to in class.
The day went slowly, Ren hardly focused on the classes as he thought of plans to infiltrate the Palace, he wanted to change Kamoshida’s heart as quickly as possible to save himself any further headaches during school, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew he had to cover all their bases to avoid anyone getting injured in the other world. The aching bones he felt from the numerous fights they experienced the previous day showed that while Dia could help circumvent exhaustion within the metaverse. It did little if anything at all to help in the real world.
Smack
Ren could feel a small bump forming on his forehead and he wasn’t sure what had happened. He looked down at his desk to see a small piece of white chalk rolling around. He looked up at a scowling Ushimaru staring him down.
“Mr Amamiya, as much as I don’t care about whether or not you pass or fail here at Shujin. I will not let you daydream during my classes”
Ren rubbed his sore forehead and resisted the urge to throw the chalk back at the teacher. He settled for gritting his teeth and crushing the chalk into a powder within his hand.
As the bell signalling the start of lunch rang, Ren pushed himself up with great effort, when he saw no one was watching him or Ann, he opened his bag in front of his desk and waited for Morgana to get in. He zipped up his bag making sure to leave it open enough for a good amount of air to enter. He handed the bag to Ann but not before looking at Morgana’s face through the hole “Now before you try anything funny with lady Ann here. Don’t forget who feeds you now”
Morgana’s face looked shocked and genuinely offended “I am a gentle man and would never do anything to a lady”
Ren smiled at the cat’s response and gently rubbed his head earning a loud purr from the feline before handing the bag to Ann “I’ll try and finish my business with prez quickly and catch up with you guys”
Ann waved her hand casually “Don’t worry about it, I’m sure Ryuji will survive without having you around for one lunch break”
Ren made his way towards the student council room, with every step closer to his destination, the rumours got more and more ridiculous until he arrived at front of the door as a Yakuza underling coming to steal the student council president and auction her off on the black market. He knocked on the door ready to get the conversation done with and put an end to the rumours that involved the two. He could handle people talking about him behind his back, that was something he got used to quickly back home, but he couldn’t stand when other people were caught up in the ridiculousness of it all.
He waited a moment and when he got closer to the door and heard no sounds coming from inside, he tried to open it. He was surprised to see it open but walked in and let out a grateful sigh of relief as the door closed behind him helping to dull the overloading sounds of the busy school.
He looked around the room and as he thought, there was no one else present, he started to walk around in an attempt to pass time as he waited for Makoto. The room wasn’t particularly large but felt much smaller due the centre being occupied by multiple desks pushed together. Against the wall furthest from him sat a larger desk that he assumed was reserved for the student president. He made his way towards it and saw multiple stacks of papers neatly organised, a big contrast to the paper sprawled about on the centre desk. He could easily see Makoto sitting at her desk, frustrated at her student council’s work ethic before smiling to herself as she completes another document.
He walks over to a couch planted against the wall and sits down. As he rests his head against the cushion he closes his eyes just to think, but as the dull sounds of a school slowly fill his senses and the warm atmosphere of the room calms him down, he can’t stop himself from dozing off into a light slumber.
Makoto quickly made her way to the council room fully cursing her tardiness, in her defence, it was that damn principle of hers that had caused her to be late. She already had a foot out the door before her teacher told her that Principle Kobayakawa needed to see her. Of course when she entered the man’s office, she was asked to give a progress report in which she could only reply that it had only been two hours since she had been given the task which earned her quite the lecture. When she opened the door, she was fully expecting the teen to be long gone, she was prepared to go to the roof that she knew he frequented to drag him by his ear back to the room. What she wasn’t prepared for, was to catch Ren Amamiya, delinquent transfer student and apparent yakuza leader, snoring lightly on the dusty couch they had been provided to ‘Relax’ during the numerous times of crunch.
She wasn’t entirely sure why she closed the door slowly to avoid waking him. She was even less sure why she locked it but the thought of someone else walking in and seeing him defenceless made her feel uneasy and something else. Jealous? She took careful steps forward like the boy was a sleeping lion, she felt stupid doing so considering she’s already approached him when he was sleeping once before but she had witnessed what he was capable of at the rally weeks back. She couldn’t get the image of the boys staring her down with raven wings out of her mind.
She had managed to stand right in front of him without alerting him to her presence and as she stared at the boys relaxed features, she was almost fully convinced that all the rumours were just that. He didn’t wear the face of a killer or even of a seasoned fighter like her late father. Instead, he wore a face that looked tired, tired of the struggle’s life has thrown his way.
The boy stirred slightly causing his hair to fall over his face covering the delicate features and Makoto was surprised by how instinctual it felt for her hand to reach out to move it out of the way. As she pushed the hair behind his ear, the boy mumbled something quiet under his breath before gently pushing his head against her hand. She smiled at his cat like reaction and started to stroke his head slowly, smoothing out his frizzy hair.
Suddenly she felt a strong-arm wrap around her waist and as she was pulled down onto his lap, she couldn’t suppress her yelp of surprise. The loud sound seemed to wake him as his eyes slowly fluttered open. He stared at her quizzically and she could feel her cheeks radiating an intense heat. As he realised what was happening, several emotions appeared on his face, confusion quickly turned into panic and as he let go of the girl, she could see a glimpse of a tired smile before it morphed into the cocky grin he wore around the school.
He stretched his arms out as Makoto quickly rushed to a standing position before straightening her skirt in a desperate attempt to keep her focus off of him. He watched her do this and laughed lightly under his breath.
“Well that was definitely the best nap I’ve had in a long while”
Makoto took a deep breath as she composed herself, she motioned with her hand for him to sit at the table. He raised his eyebrow at her but complied regardless. Makoto still wasn’t sure how anyone got such a dangerous impression of the teen.
As they sat at the table, Ren cut right to the chase.
“So what has the principle forced you to do this time” the way he asked the question made Makoto’s shoulder relax, his tone was playful and showed that he understood this wasn’t her idea, which she was grateful for.
She let out a sigh before clearing her throat.
“I guess it’d just cause more problems if I beat around the bush. The principle wants me to keep tabs on you and report to him any issues you might be causing”
She could see Ren’s posture get slightly tenser. He sat forward and she could tell that she had his full attention.
“But as you could already guess, that wouldn’t be very good for my own studies so let me pose a compromise”
Ren nodded his head.
“Study sessions”
She almost laughed at the way his face contorted into disappointment “I’ll be honest, you built that up way too much” slowly his smile returned. “But I don’t think it’s a bad idea. None of the teachers seem to care about whether or not I do well”
Makoto frowned at his comment. She had worried that the teachers here would write him off, but she had a sliver of hope that they would take pride in their job rather the listen to silly rumours created by the student body.
Ren started to stand up but not before raising to fingers “I have conditions though” Makoto raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms but felt a grin come across her face “Oh? And what makes you think that you’re in any position to negotiate” Ren returned her grin with a sly one of his own “Because this is the second time you’ve decided to watch me sleep rather then wake me. Which is making think that you have some interest in me” Makoto could feel her cheeks blush and she knew Ren noticed by the way he chuckled slightly.
“And we both know I could make you life a living hell if I decide to act like the “criminal transfer student” everyone’s painting me as.”
Makoto rubbed her chin mockingly like she was thinking long and hard about it. She sighed but kept her smile on her face “It will depend on the conditions, but go ahead”
“First, we limit it to twice a week, the specific days don’t matter but I have business that I need to take care of”
She stayed quiet as she pondered the condition. Ideally, she’d just have him study with her every day when she would go to the library, but she knew that wouldn’t be fair on him. As far as she’s seen, he hasn’t done anything to warrant needing constant supervision. And he was already being more the accommodating with the whole ordeal.
“And the second?”
Ren smiled gently at her and She could feel her heart skip a beat. She much preferred this smile to the cocky one he always seemed to maintain.
“You call me Ren. Not Amamiya-san”
Makoto smiled as she let out a small sigh of relief. She stood up and held her hand out in front of him.
“Only if you call me Makoto then. I hate being called student president”
Ren shook her hand in response. “Well I called you student prez to be fair. But deal”
He started to walk towards the door and Makoto went to her desk ready to finish completing a few unfinished documents before she saw Ren standing in front of the door. He turned around with genuine confusion on his face.
“Why’s the door locked?”
Makoto blushed deeply for the third time that day.
Chapter 19
Notes:
We did it reddit.
100 Kudos.
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has read my dumb story. I started writing this because I watched Haikyuu and thought it'd be cool for Ren to jump like Hinata but 10 people have decided to bookmark this so that means at least 10 people want to know when it's updated and I think that's really cool.
I hope you guys keep enjoying this story and I hope it only gets better from here on out.
Chapter Text
Ren walked up the stairs with conflicting emotions plaguing his consious. On one hand, he felt frustrated knowing that the school was monitoring him, he felt even more annoyed by the fact that they dragged an innocent girl just trying to get through her last year of high school into his mess. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but feel cheerful knowing that his social group in the school that downright wanted him dead was slowly growing. And he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he was okay with spending more time with Makoto. But Ren couldn’t shake the feeling like he was taking advantage of the girls’ situation to help him keep the principle off his back.
His inner turmoil was briefly interrupted by his phone buzzing, he pulled it out from his pocket and stared at the new message he received.
“Hi, this is Makoto. I’m just testing to make sure this is the right number.”
Ren smiled, standing in the middle of the stairway, purposely blocking students who nudged him as they tried to walk past him. He quickly tapped a response.
“Is it really appropriate for the student council president to be using her phone during school hours”
He went to pocket his phone expecting her to ignore his provocation like Ryuji often did but stopped his hand as a new message appeared.
“It’s simply for testing purposes. And you shouldn’t be using your phone either.”
Ren grinned down at his screen, finally starting to move up the stairs again when he felt one too many sets of eyes looking at him with murderous intent. He now found himself on the staircase leading up to the roof, like always, it was empty which gave Ren plenty of time to craft his witty retort.
“I’m a delinquent remember. Breaking rules is in the job description.”
Once again, he received a message not ten seconds later and he could get used to these quick replies.
“Does the job also state that you need to take naps in random places and accept tutoring lessons from the student council president?”
Ren tapped his reply.
“It does when the school doesn’t want you around and you’re being monitored.”
Ren stared down at the unsent message surprised by the bitterness it conveyed. He hadn’t intended it to sound so vitriolic but often when he was messaging people, it became far too easy to speak his mind without a filter. He quickly deleted the message before opting for a more light-hearted response.
“Have you ever read manga? Delinquents nap literally anywhere and everywhere”
There was a pause, the longest time between messages so far and he couldn’t help but laugh at the image of her realising that she had set herself up to fail.
When his phone buzzed and he looked down at the message, his smile waned slightly.
“Just make sure you take the study sessions seriously. We’ll start next Monday.”
He replied with a sticker he found appropriate and when he didn’t receive any more messages, he pocketed his phone before walking to rest of the way up the stairs.
As he stood in front of the door, he could hear a chorus of yelling and laughter and felt his hand hesitate on the handle. He looked own to see it shaking ever so slightly, after a moment to compose himself, he managed to will it to stop. As he opened the door he was saw Ann with her head in her hands as Ryuji was shouting at Morgana who was sitting comfortably on top of the Ac unit.
“Why don’t you say that again down here this time you dumb cat.”
Morgana relaxed his body while looking down at the boy, showing no signs of moving.
“It’s not my fault you’re too uncoordinated to climb up here. And all I was saying is that there’s no way a dumb monkey like you could ever be worthy of having lunch with Ann alone.
Ann raised her head up to look at the scene before groaning.
“Christ how does Ren put up with you two?”
“With ear plugs and a lot of Panadol.”
The three turned their heads in unison at him as he started walking towards the chair he usually sat at. Keeping his hands shoved deep in his pockets.
“Hey man, glad you survived.”
Ren stared at Ryuji with a raised eyebrow.
“You’re making it sound like there was a chance I wouldn’t.”
The blonde rubbed his neck nervously “I mean dude, have you not heard about the Nijima glare?”
Memories flashed in his head of the day he had been kicked down the stairs and Makoto had sent a glare that could melt ice at the two who had pushed him. The memory sent a shiver down his spine but probably not for the reason Ryuji suspected.
Ren looked over to Ann who was staring at him with a knowing smirk, he held up a finger to his lips feigning a shush. He knew he wouldn’t be able to get it past the girl but the last thing he needed was his friend, who had a habit of speaking before thinking, to know about his interest in the student council president.
Ryuji who hadn’t noticed the interaction between the two cut the silence with his question.
“So, what did she want anyway?”
Ren sighed both in frustration and relief at the change in subject.
“The principle isn’t exactly thrilled with how I’ve been acting, so he’s making her keep tabs on me for the time being. She wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of constantly monitoring me, so we made a deal where we study together twice a week.”
Ryuji huffed in frustration at Ren’s predicament.
“So, the principle is fine with Kamoshida abusing kids, but he gets someone to tail you? And for what, some bogus assault charge.”
Ann’s head perked up at the subject.
“That reminds me, what’s up with your record. far as I can tell, you’re a bit of a smart ass but I can’t really see you assaulting someone.”
Ren smiled bitterly; he was grateful that someone else didn’t think he was dangerous, but it didn’t make the fact it took saving her from a metaphysical castle to spur her to ask about his situation any less frustrating.
He looked over to Ryuji which earned him a nod of approval. He took a deep breath before recounting his situation and what led him to Tokyo.
Her response was much quieter than his other blonde friend had been. Whispering at a volume barely audible to the others. “That’s awful.” Ren gave a light smile at her sympathy, appreciating it but not wanting to draw any more attention to it. He stood up and stretched waiting for the bell to ring.
“What’s done is done. It’s not all bad, if it didn’t happen then we wouldn’t have the opportunity to change Kamoshida’s heart.”
He gave the group confident grin “Which means we have a responsibility to see this through to the end”
The others stood up, Ryuji clapping his fist against his open palm and Ann wiping away the tears that prickled at the edges of her eyes before smiling. Morgana hopped down from his perch and climbed into Ren’s bag as the bell signalling the end of lunch rang.
“After school. That’s when this heist truly starts.”
After they had made sure that there wasn’t a soul around that could get caught in the transition. Ren pressed the navigation app and felt a familiar pressure in his stomach as the world dissolved into another. He looked around and was surprised to see Ann standing straight with no signs of nausea, though it had been her third time so maybe it shouldn’t have.
She stared incredulously at her outfit; it wasn’t a stare that showed she hated it but rather was confused about it.
“You said these clothes represent our rebellious spirit. Am I meant to take that as me secretly wanting to be a dominatrix?”
Ren didn’t miss the way Ryuji’s body shuddered at her question. He shrugged in response before walking forward towards the castle speaking over his shoulder.
“It’s hard to say, it could just mean that you’re sick of people viewing you as a sexual object. It might be your way of wanting to be the one who objectifies.”
He walked towards the courtyard as the three discussed the hidden meaning of the latex suit behind him. As he neared the entrance, he heard a familiar sound of a prison door being opened. He felt an intense gaze that drew his attention towards the sound. He struggled to keep his voice from leaking out as he spotted one of his two wardens, Justine holding her clipboard with her neutral expression.
“Trickster, our master wishes to speak with you. Please come this way.”
Ren took a moment to look back at his team, they were still at the gate, none of them seemed to have noticed his absence. He looked back at the blue door and let out a sigh before walking towards it following Justine inside.
When he walked through, he felt his vison blur slightly, and as it returned to normal, he was standing in his cell within the velvet room, he glanced down to see he was still in his thief attire. He looked back up to find Igor in his usual spot tapping his fingers against his desk.
“You’ve done extremely well trickster. You have managed to form several strong bonds. They will be paramount in your rehabilitation.”
Ren took a step forward, feeling the confidence that was commonly stripped from him with his forced visits. He grabbed the bars while looking Igor in the eyes.
“Cut to the chase Igor. Why did you want to see me?”
He felt a sharp pain shoot through his hand which forced him to retract it from the cell bars. He looked down to see Caroline banging her baton against her hand.
“Show some respect inmate. Just because we allowed you to wear those clothes doesn’t change your role here.”
He glared at his warden before looking back to a chuckling Igor.
“It’s quite alright Caroline. It seems our trickster is eager to complete his rehabilitation. But a friendly word of advice.”
Ren felt his entire being tense as the subtle shift in Igor’s tone suddenly dropped any feeling of comradery It held before.
“There is a thin line between confidence and recklessness trickster. You’d do well to remember that.”
And just like that the tone changed back to normal leaving Ren feeling colder than normal despite the many layers of clothes he wore.
“Now back to the topic at hand. I have another tool to help you. Girls if you may?”
With a wave of his hand, Ren’s attention was drawn to where Caroline and Justine were standing, his gaze fell on the contraption they stood next to, the shape looked foreign and all details were covered by an equally large tarp. The two wardens each grabbed a separate corner and pulled the tarp away revealing the new tool.
Ren stood in awe and horror as he gawked at a massive guillotine. It might have been normal sized, but Ren would have no idea as he’s never seen one outside of textbooks or history videos. Unlike the dirty and bloody guillotines that were often shown during the French revolution. The one in front of him was a thing to behold. Beautiful craftsmanship was prevalent in all its small mechanisms and it held the same blue mundane aesthetic that the entire velvet room embodied.
This quality of the device did nothing to appease the growing knot in his stomach when he considered the implications of the tool. He looked back to Igor who’s face never once changed. His fingers never once losing their rhythm as they tapped.
“This will be an important part of your rehabilitation trickster. This guillotine will allow you to perform fusions with your persona. I suggest that you make use of it as much as you can”
Ren listened to the words and carefully considered their meaning. He took a moment to settle his stomach and mind so that his nervousness wouldn’t show as he spoke.
“You want me to sacrifice my persona’s? For what exactly?”
Even though it was highly unlikely. Ren swore he saw Igor’s grin grow even wider.
“To create stronger personas of course. Why not give it try, I’m sure it’ll help in the battles to come.”
Ren could feel the persona’s stirring within his heart, the longer he stared at the guillotine. The more restless they became, as if they were trying to escape. The only persona he could feel remain calm was Arsene. He wasn’t sure if the feeling was there fear of the readiness to be sacrificed but either way. Ren wasn’t about to blindly follow Igor’s instructions.
“I won’t do it; I don’t fully understand what these Personas are, but I do know they aren’t just tools to be used and discarded.”
Igor chuckled, it started off as a quiet ringing before it became unbearably oppressive and loud in Ren’s ear.
When he calmed down, he spoke with intrigue “Very well Trickster, let’s see how far you get sticking to those morals of yours. It will truly be interesting to see if you can still believe in those words when your faced with overwhelming adversity.”
With a snap of his fingers, the cell around him became blurry once again and as he regained his senses. Ren found himself standing in the courtyard with Ryuji’s hand on his shoulder.
“Hey Joker. You good? You’ve been staring off into space for a bit”
Ren stared at Ryuji for a moment before looking back to the blue door he had entered before. Justine stood there before moving her finger to her lips. He shook his head slightly before turning back towards the castle.
“Yeah…I’m good. Let’s do this.”
Chapter 20
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Codenames?”
Ann looked at Ryuji confused. The blond boy just smiled at her before explaining.
“Yeah, we all have one, I’m skull, He’s Joker and the cat’s Mona.”
“I’m not a—"
Morgana hung his head in disappointment.
“I give up.”
Ren listened to Ryuji and Morgana give Ann an introduction to the metaverse as he leaned against the castle door. He was looking at the navigation app for any other functions while keeping an eye out for guards. Normally he would have been over there to help but the experience from the velvet room and Igor’s words were weighing heavily on his mind.
“Let’s see how far you get sticking to those morals of yours.”
Ren honestly couldn’t tell if he was being too rash or too cautious with refusing Igor’s aid. On one hand, all that he’s done and said to Ren has only been of benefit to him in the metaverse, but Ren still couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t exactly in his best interests.
Ren also wasn’t sure if he could believe in the words he spouted. Did he honestly believe that the persona’s that he’s acquired were apart of him in the same way Arsene was? Was the pixie he’s stored in his heart any different from the pixies he’s gone on to slaughter afterwards. Sure, they talked to him when he called upon their powers, but shadows talked too, and he hasn’t had any issues slicing them into ribbons before or after they transformed. There was too much he didn’t understand about this world and Morgana always had a way of giving vague answers.
Ren must have been too deep in thought because it took until Ryuji gripped his shoulder before he came back to reality.
“Dude, you sure you’re okay? That’s twice you’ve spaced out on us.”
Ren shook his head and slapped his face lightly “Yeah, I was just thinking about strategies. You decide on a code name for Ann yet?”
Ryuji beamed at the opportunity to talk about Ann.
“Sure have. Her code name is-
Ann cut him off with her own sly smirk “Panther. Because these two couldn’t come with anything besides kitty or Cougar”
Ren couldn’t contain the laughter that came after he heard the failed attempts, especially the second one. As he wiped away the tears that had started to form, he spied a blushing Ryuji who had his chin tucked against his neck.
“I didn’t know it meant that.”
This only made Ren laugh harder.
After a few minutes of Ren struggling to catch his breath, he walked up and slapped Ryuji on the back playfully.
“You have no idea how much I needed that laugh.”
Ryuji just stared at Ren visibly confused about the situation. Ren stretched his back and started to loosen up his stiff joints before turning swiftly flapping his coat for extra effect. “Let’s get started then.”
Having Ann on the team helped alleviate some of Ren’s concerns from earlier, having a fourth team member made redoing previous rooms much easier and allowed the team to conserve more of its energy. As soon as they had entered the first saferoom to make sure Ann was doing ok, Ren pulled out his phone and looked through the recently visited tab he discovered outside. He started scrolling back and noticed that every Safe room they had been inside the previous day was recorded.
“Hey guys check this out.”
The others gathered around him to look at his phone. Ann and Ryuji looked confused while Morgana just stared at Ren with exaggerated grin.
“You thinking what I’m thinking Joker?”
Ren quickly matched his feline friend’s grin which earned them a combined ‘gross’ from the two blondes. He quickly pressed the navigate button after selecting the last safe room they reached the day before.
“Hold onto your stomachs guys.”
Ryuji stared at Ren with fear and confusion “What’s that supposed to me—”
A sudden wave of distortion washed over the safe room. Morgana and Ren managed to endure it due to their awareness of it happening and Ann must have had an iron stomach because Ryuji quickly grabbed his held his gut and bolted for the far corner of the room before filling the air with sounds of him retching.
After a minute of Ann patting a hunched over Ryuji on the back, the teenager managed to look up for just a moment and glare at Ren who was still smiling in amusement.
“Little warning would be nice.”
Ren had already started walking out the door ignoring Ryuji’s protest and chuckling to himself. The three quickly followed him and they continued their heist, all in better spirits excluding Ryuji who was still tasting the remnants of his lunch.
The team was making good progress through the castle, but Ren could feel his worries starting to get the better of him as he couldn’t help but notice that every subsequent fight was getting more and more drawn out. Ann helped cover some of their weaknesses, but the team still relied on Ren’s unique ability to finish battles. He also noticed that they hadn’t encountered any new shadows for Ren to recruit.
Regardless they still soldiered on and managed to find more safe rooms. As they walked into the third safe room since they started, Ann and Ryuji flopped down onto one of the couches as Ren and Morgana studied a map they had found earlier on.
“You’re positive that the treasure is at the top of the castle?”
Morgana who was standing on the table in a desperate attempt to match Ren’s height crossed his arms as he focused intensely on the piece of paper. “Positive. I just feel it. You know?”
Ren sighed in frustration as he focused his attention back to the map “No I don’t but that’s been the story of my life for the past month, so I’ll take your word for it.”
He felt Ryuji and Ann stand next to him also looking at the map. Ren planted his finger on the paper before stating. “I think we’re here. Which means our best route would be to head through the archive. Towards and up through the cathedral. We climb out onto the courtyard and go from there. Hopefully, we can scale the castle from the outside.”
Ann rested her hand on her chin as she raised her concern “That’s a big gamble. What happens if we can’t scale it? That’s a lot of wasted effort considering how important the archives and cathedral look”
Ren frowned slightly, he agreed with Ann but from what he could see, it was there only way forward. He rolled up the map and shoved it into his coat feeling it disappear much like his knife did. “We’ll just have to figure it out when we get there.”
‘mwhehe’
The three turned to the cat still standing smugly on the table. Having experienced that laugh enough times Ren decided to humour him. “What is it Mona?” With a twirl, Morgana produced what looked like a grappling hook not dissimilar to ones Ren had seen in the spy movies he watched as a child. Ryuji stared at the contraption looking completely lost “Where the hell did you get that?” Morgana lost all the smugness he had, and it was replaced with confusion and worry “I-I don’t remember. I just knew I had it.” Ren walked forward and took the grappling hook from the cat, he inspected it before attaching it to his wrist and aiming it at the ceiling. It didn’t have any buttons or ways of physically activating, so much like his third eye. He willed the tool to shoot out and sure enough, he could hear the sound of the hook implanting itself into the ceiling. He gave the line a swift tug and frowned as a piece of the roof came falling down next to him.
Ann walked around him to examine the damage. She could see the hook still embedded in the piece of drywall. “Look’s like we’ll have to look for studier parts to grapple onto.” Ren retracted the hook and ripped off the debris. He stared at the grappling hook attached to his wrist and glanced up making eye contact with Ryuji. Both boys smiled as memories of cartoons and action movies played out in their minds. Ren turned around and started walking towards the door “Either that. Or some sturdier shadows.”
The team were nearing the 2-hour mark of their infiltration when they entered the archives. Everyone could feel the exhaustion, and Ren couldn’t blame them, Morgana aside, this had been the longest any of them have spent inside the metaverse. After a preliminary check with his third eye he informed the team that the area was free of shadows. “Be vigilant though, we don’t know what will cause them to appear.” The three nodded there heads as they started making there way through the halls, surrounded by shelves filled to the brim with books, when the maze seemed to have no exit, they turned a corner and found a large set of wooden doors, 4 indents marked the doors and they quickly concluded that the only way to open the locked door would be to fill them. Ann took a step forward and ran her finger around the indent. “It looks like we need fill them with books.”
Ren could hear Ryuji groan in frustration “Well that’ll be simple, not like we’re literally surrounded by books.” he saw the blondes’ shoulders slump down and Ann and Morgana quickly followed suit. Ren took a moment to retrace his steps trying to remember if anything felt out of place within the archive. “Didn’t we pass a smaller room earlier?”
Ryuji glanced up at Ren but waved his hand in dismissal “Yeah but that room was also filled to the brim with books.”
Morgana waddled over with more pep then the rest “Wait, some of the books in that room had weird titles. Well compared to the other ones at least.”
Ann started to walk back the way they came, noticing the lack of enthusiasm from the rest of the team “We might as well check it out, beats trying to look around out here.” Ren nodded in agreement and started to follow the girl leaving Morgana and Ryuji grumbling to themselves about more walking. A quick walk back brought them to the room they had discussed and as Morgana had noted, there were several books that looked out of place, Ren activated his third eye just to confirm and sure enough they lit up with a bright blue haze.
Ren squinted as a sharp pain shot in the back of his head and his third eye deactivated itself. He sighed in relief as the pain dissipated. He made a mental note to test out the limits of his ability at a later date as he directed the others to grab the books around the room and soon 4 books laid on the table. Ryuji read the titles out loud “The king, the queen, the princess and the slaves? What the hell are these books?” They all picked up a book and began reading. Ren didn’t get far before he heard Ann slam the queen book against the table. The other two looked at her with concern before Ryuji asked “Panther? What’s up?” even under her mask, he could tell Ann was pale and shaking slightly. “It’s a book about all the girls he-he’s—” She began to shake more violently before the room got considerably warmer as fire began to envelop her hand.
Ren started to move but didn’t have to go far as Ryuji grabbed the girl’s wrist looking her right in the eye. “Trust me Ann, you’re smarter than that. We need the book.” Ren smiled slightly as his friends’ actions and relaxed when he saw Ann’s shaking ease somewhat. He continued to read the princess book and he could feel his blood slowly begin to boil. In the book were countless passages about girls he was grooming but had yet to act on. There was a passage about a particularly annoying blonde bimbo who refused to listen to orders. That one already left Ren pissed off but the one after that made his body seize in anger. It noted an uptight student who thought so highly of herself yet still associated with a criminal. Ren felt a similar urge Ann had when he continued reading about the things the sick bastard wanted to do to what was obviously Makoto.
“What bullshit!”
Ren was taken out of his self-stewing fury by Ryuji’s outburst as he threw the slave book back onto the table “It’s just full of bullshit he’s made up about students who’s tried to oppose him. He called me a monkey and you a dirty street thug.” Morgana hopped onto the desk and laid the king book down on the others “This one is just about how Kamoshida views himself. Pretty self-indulgent.” The three looked to Ren, clearly expecting him to explain the contents of his own book. He looked between Ryuji and Ann. He sighed before closing the book and grabbing the other three “Doesn’t matter what mines about. These are the books we need so let’s head back.” He turned towards the door ignoring the looks the three gave to each other.
The team swiftly made there way back to the large doors that had initially blocked there path, they placed the books in there respective slots and after making quick work of a shadow that had appeared to impede there progress, managed to get the doors open.
Ann, Ryuji and Morgana started walking down the hall eager to reach the next safe room while Ren just stood behind quietly looking back at the archives that he was sure held even more despicable stories. He looked back towards his companions and called out to Morgana “Hey Mona, how far is the next safe room?” The cat looked back at him wearily “I can feel one fairly close. Why?” Ren came up with an idea that would surely lift his spirits. With a smile, he gave his directions “Take Skull with you and scout it out. Panther, I have an important mission for you.”
The others looked cautiously towards each other before splitting up, as Ann walked back towards Ren, he took a step into the archive and grabbed a book off a random shelf. “William’s Blakes proverbs of hell.” Ann caught up and was standing behind him, fidgeting slightly “So what’s the mission Joker?”
Ryuji and Morgana were walking down the hall slowly but steadily. After Morgana had scouted ahead of him, Ryuji followed suit feeling more relaxed knowing there weren’t any shadows in front of them. Morgana matched his pace and Ryuji could tell something was on the cat’s mind. “What’s up Mona, you’ve been on edge since we split up.” Morgana looked up at the blonde “Aren’t you worried about leaving Panther and Joker together.” Ryuji stared at the cat with pure curiosity about the question “Why would I? Joker’s got the hots for Miss prez.”
Morgana continued to stare at Ryuji but now with pure astonishment on his face. Ryuji frowned at the cats weird look “What?” Morgana shook his head before laughing slightly “Nothing, I just wouldn’t have expected you, of all people, to pick up on that.” Ryuji’s frown turned into a glare as he stared down the cat “What’s that supposed to mean—”
“Be quiet… Do you smell that?” Ryuji didn’t listen and continued trying to bicker.
“Don’t shush me you damn cat. What did you—” he cut himself off when he took a breath and smelled the oppressive scent of burning smoke? He quickly turned on his heel and could feel a warmth emanating from where they had come from. He and Morgana looked at each other as concern dawned on their face before racing back towards the archive.
There was a lot of things Ryuji expected to see as he turned the corner. His only two friends beaten to a bloody pulp or them fighting to the death with a shadow.
What he did not expect to see was the two walking out of a burning archive. Ann was giggling at Ren’s expression as he attempted to read a line from a book with a straight face.
As Ren saw him and Morgana he smirked before he started to read from the book out loud “He who desires but acts not, Breed pestilence” So it is written.” He quickly slammed the book closed for dramatic effect.
There was a beat of silence until Ren’s façade broke as he started to laugh through pursed lips which caused Ann to start laughing harder herself. Soon they look like a couple of insane people laughing in front of a burning library. But Ryuji couldn’t help but smile at the two, he had been worried about Ren since he had noticed how he wasn’t running around with that casual smirk he so often held and was happy to seem glimpses of it coming through.
After he had managed to hold in his giggles. Ren straightened up and took a deep breath. He looked down at the book before casually chucking it back into the burning hellscape behind him. “I never did like poetry. Too preachy.” he started walking towards Ryuji and Morgana who were still staring at the two in amazement, Ryuji took a step forward “What the hell happened in there?” Ren and Ann looked at each other like they were felons trying to remember their cover story, after a second Ann shrugged her arms “I was feeling a bit chilly.”
“And books make a very toasty campfire.” Ren added as a particularly large wooden beam fell blocking to path back into the archives. Choosing to ignore it he continued “So did you guys find the safe room yet?”
Morgana and Ryuji could only shake their head in response, Ren slapped Ryuji’s shoulder as he started walking down the hall with Ann in tow “Well let’s get moving then.”
The two were left behind staring at the backs of their teammates when Ryuji asked, “Is it weird that I’m jealous?” Morgana stared at the blonde boy before looking back to Ann and Ren “Of which one?” Ryuji just shrugged as he started to follow the two “Both?”
Notes:
So the next chapter is already underway. I had initially planned to have 20 and 21 combined but then it'd been over 5000 to 6000 words and I don't think that'd make for fun reading. If some of you are interested in longer chapters then let me know and I'll start keeping it in mind.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 21
Notes:
Hoo boy this was a hell of a chapter to write. Editing it was a nightmare so if there are any obvious mistakes I apologise but regardless I hope you all enjoy.
I have an important note about the upcoming schedule and future chapters but I'd rather have you guys read it first and then proceed to read the note.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“So, what’s the plan Joker?”
Ren looked around the safe room letting his eyes slowly hover over each of his comrades. They all showed signs of being tired but none of them looked downright exhausted. He removed his mask to let some cool air to blow against his sweating face. “How close are we Morgana?”
The cat frowned as his started focusing on his sixth sense. After a moment of silence, he answered “If I had to guess, I think we’re close to the halfway point.” Ren rubbed his chin as he considered their options, as he was thinking Ann chimed in “We could always come back tomorrow.” Ren shook his head “I’d prefer it if we could avoid coming here two days in a row, it’d be dangerous to come unprepared and tired.” Morgana walked forward on the table “You guys have about two weeks before Kamoshida said he’ll expel you.”
“And Ren has a study session with Nijima-senpai Monday” Ann added, Ren kept his head tilted down as he thought, He mumbled to the room “We’re putting a lot of faith in the idea that Kamoshida will hold true to his word. And every day we wait is another day for him to potentially hurt someone else.”
Ryuji stood up snapping Ren out of his concentration “Why not keep going and see what’s ahead, the chapel might just be another puzzle like the Archives, and if it isn’t, we just run?” Ren stared at his friend feeling a bit less anxious about the whole situation. He opened his coat and pulled out three vials before tossing them to his companions who stared at them in confusion before looking back at Ren. “I found them while we were making our way through the castle, they work similar to Dia and relieve some of the soreness you feel. We’re gonna keep going.”
While they all looked at the vial with apprehension, they quickly steeled themselves as they broke the glass in their hands, the shattered glass vanished leaving a soothing green light that enveloped their bodies. They started moving around the room with more flexibility and lightness then when they entered the room. Each member smiling as they followed Ren out of the safe space ready to press forward in their mission.
The way to the chapel wasn’t as quiet as Ren was hoping, perhaps the archive had simply made him overly confident but Ren knew there was something else, the whole castle was starting to get under his skin, from the way it objectified people into simple tools of lust, how it degraded everyone and everything around him. The princess book and its disgusting detailed passages did little to alleviate this feeling that they had to rush. All of these were driving Ren to push himself and his team further then what was probably necessary, he knew they had time but another part of him was screaming that turning back now would be his downfall and he wasn’t convinced if this was his own feelings or the lingering words of Igor worming their way into his subconscious.
Regardless, the four found themselves standing in front of an ordained set of doors that screamed vanity rather than Beauty. Ren was hesitant to keep moving, doubt still plagued his mind but Ryuji clearly didn’t share his worries as the blonde teenager was already walking past him to open the doors. Before Ren had a chance to voice his concerns, Ryuji had already started to walk inside leaving Ren only able to follow with Ann and Morgana not far behind.
As Ren caught up with his friend, he placed a hand on his shoulder “Hold up skull, this might have been a bad idea.” The blonde turned to look at him with raised eyebrows. “Dude chill, we’re still going strong.” He paused for a moment as he tried to find the words to articulate his feelings, Ryuji continued “You were right, we have do this quickly, not even for our sake but for the sake of those who can’t defend yourself like we can.”
Ren stared at Ryuji, while he wanted his friends words to convince him otherwise, he was still unsure “That’s all well and good but we also have a responsibility to look out for ourselves, we’re the only ones that can stop him and if we fail here, that’s it. It’s game over.”
Ryuji turned his body this time instead of just his head to face Ren punching him lightly in the chest “Joker relax. We can always run if there’s an enemy we can’t deal with. I trust in your abilities. With you by our side, we can take on anything.” Ren had to force a smile in response to Ryuji’s trust.
“Guys, there’s something off about this room.” Morgana quickly interjected cutting off their conversation. “You mean other than the alter to Kamoshida looking directly down at us?” Ryuji responded mockingly as he started walking further into the room. Ren turned to look at Morgana who was shaking his head in denial “No, I feel a shadow, but I don’t see anything.” Everyone’s bodies immediately tensed at the mention of a Shadow.
“Hey, the doors are locked.” Ren whipped his body to face Ann who was struggling to reopen the doors that had apparently closed behind them. Ren felt his stomach drop, he turned back to face the alter Ryuji had mentioned and stared hard at it, despite not having access to his third eye, he could still tell something was off. He continued to stare at it before feeling a cold sweat cover his body as he realised what was wrong. The picture in front him shimmered ever so slightly.
It took a moment for Ren to register the events that took place. He knew that the image in front of him wasn’t real, or at least there was something hidden behind it. He knew that Ryuji had walked the closest to the mirage and he knew that Morgana had sensed a shadow somewhere in the room. All of this happened in a fraction of a second within Ren’s mind and he found himself immediately sprinting towards Ryuji as the fake backdrop vanished and a towering angel clad in armour appeared with a blade being swung directly at Ryuji. Ren had just enough time to reach the teen who had been much slower on the reaction, Ren knew he only had one option.
Ren felt his boot plant firmly on the blonde’s chest. And with as much force as he could muster without any ill intent. He pushed him away from the attack, he breathed a silent sigh of relief when he hadn’t felt anything crack underneath which gave Ren the peace of mind that he had managed to save his friend without seriously injuring him. But that only left Ren with one last problem and he knew there wasn’t a harmless solution to the blade now coming on a direct course with his side.
Ren had no time to dodge, that was fact, so he didn’t even bother considering it. The only way to avoid being cleaved in two was to block. He shoved his right hand into his coat summoning his knife and pulled it out only to slam it down parallel to his left arm before raising said arm vertically to intercept the blade.
SNAP
Ren had never broken a bone in his 17 years of existence. Despite his status as a delinquent and his fair share of fights behind schools and under bridges. The worst pain he had experienced was a sprained ankle or a bruised rib. The pain that he experienced in the short period of time he spent flying through the air away from the shadow was beyond excruciating, it was so painful that Ren couldn’t tell exactly what part of his arm was broken but he could tell that from the way it limply flopped as he sailed through the air that it’s wasn’t something he’d be able to just walk off.
Luckily for Ren, he wasn’t able to feel the pain for long as he felt his back collide with the wall and the air was forcibly expunged from his lungs, the world went black and quiet.
Ren’s eyes slowly opened to reveal he was no longer in the palace, his back was sore, but he connected that to the prison bed he was laying on. After his eyes were fully open, he slowly raised his body and swung his legs over the bed, tentatively touching his left arm which gave no feeling whatsoever. He could feel Igor’s and the twin’s eyes on him, but he made no attempt to look back at them.
“I didn’t expect to see you back here so soon trickster.” Ren snickered at the man’s quip “I’ve only ever come here because you’ve forced me.” A thunderous laughter echoed throughout the prison, so loud that Ren almost had to cover his ears. “You’re sorely mistaken trickster. This,” he waved his hand across the entire room “Is your velvet room, you only end up here because you need it. Whether that’s your own decision or not isn’t up for debate.”
Ren turned his head to face Igor with a glare “Just get on with it Igor, what do you have to tell me.” The long-nosed man simply smiled his wide grin at Ren before pointing in his direction “I believe that is a question you should ask yourself.” Ren turned his gaze towards where Igor was pointing.
In front of him floated his persona, his original persona, Arsene. “Is this where your rebellion will end trickster? I thought you wanted my strength to break free of the chains that had held you down. But now I see you’re simply content with sitting there twiddling your thumbs as your comrade’s fight for their lives. Tell me why is it that you hesitate?”
Ren looked at Arsene with tired eyes before casting his gaze down at the floor. “How can I sacrifice these personas just to gain strength. Doesn’t that make me as bad as the people I’m trying to fight against?” he mumbled lightly, as if he was asking himself and no one else.
A moment of silence passed before Arsene’s laughter filled the prison much like Igor’s had, thought where Igor’s had been oppressive, the laughter coming from Arsene was jovial. He spoke in a boisterous tone once his laughter subsided “You truly are a compassionate one. One might say to your own detriment.” Ren looked back up at Arsene, face full of confusion as he waited for his persona to continue “We are not living being’s trickster, we exist solely to give you the strength to face this worlds cruelty. When you discard one of us for something stronger, you’re simply casting away your weaker self so that you can protect what you care about.”
Ren sat there silently staring at the floor letting the words of the gentleman thief wash over him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Igor’s fingers tapping more impatiently and as soon as the long-nosed man opened his mouth to speak a powerful gust of wind cut him off. “I will be the one to ask him fool.” Arsene looked down at Ren and asked his question “I will ask this only once trickster. Will you foolhardily grasp to your morals in a desperate attempt to hold onto your past self or will you break the shackles and forge a new path in the flames of rebellion?”
Ren slowly stood up raising his head in the process to give Arsene his usual smirk, though it felt different, where the last couple days it had felt forced in a desperate attempt to convince himself he was ok. This one was full of confidence and determination. “My home labelled me as a delinquent. I’ve been labelled a criminal from day one since arriving in Tokyo.” He raised his fist and gave a light bump against Arsene’s chest “But I will be the one to decide who I am from here on out. If they want a delinquent, then I’ll give them hell. If they want a criminal, then I’ll use whatever underhanded trick I need to achieve my goal.” Ren turned to look at Igor “And if I’m going to be forced to become a monster to protect my friends.” He took a step towards the cell, wrapping his hand tightly around the bars until his knuckles became white “Then I’ll become a monster so powerful that god himself won’t be able to stop me.”
A blue haze illuminated Ren’s back and Arsene was no longer in his cell, instead he stood next to the infernal contraption that had caused Ren’s mind grief since the first saw it. He stood there along with his most recent capture Agathion. Ren continued to stare at his persona’s, refusing to look away as he felt it disrespectful. Igor snapped his fingers and the twins walked over to the guillotine; they covered his persona’s in a blue cape before forcing their heads through the hole.
THUNK
The blade collided with their necks with loud thud. The heads of the two persona’s burst into a haze of blue light that began frantically flying around the room outside Ren’s cell. He held his breath as the two lights collided with each other. Dancing together before finally forming into one to reveal its new form.
In front of Ren floated a scantily clad woman with golden locks and black leathery wings. He was transfixed not due her beauty but because of the power she radiated. It was stronger than any persona he had held before, and in that moment, he could feel Arsene calling to him within his heart. The woman floated to his cage and drew her hand tenderly against his face “I am succubus. And from this moment forth you will be my new toy. In exchange I will you give you the strength you desire.” Ren smirked before grabbing her hand and pulling her as close as possible “I’m no one’s toy. You will give me your strength and in return I’ll make sure you have your fun.” He could see the persona blush slightly before smiling seductively at him.
After his last fusion, Ren stood tall in his cell staring at Igor waiting for the man to give his final words before sending him off “There won’t be any other chances trickster, Go forth and strengthen your bonds so that you may save the world from ruin.” Ren smirked as he turned his back on the velvet room attendant, “I’m doing this for my friends. The world can burn for all that I care.” He took two steps before he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. He couldn’t stop his feet from collapsing and as soon as his head hit the floor, he was out like a light.
Ren’s eyes cracked open slowly, the bright light of the chapel in contrast to the dull hue of the velvet room stung his eyes. After he managed to get them open, he propped himself on one elbow before pushing himself into a sitting position. He quickly looked over to his left arm when he realised his couldn’t feel it and one glance was all he needed to know that it was broken. He wasn’t sure if the fact he couldn’t feel the pain coming from it was a blessing or simply a sign that it was worst then he could imagine but he decided that was a problem for later when he heard pained yells coming from across the room.
He was able to see his friends pressed up against the far wall from where they entered. Ryuji was the only one standing with both Morgana and Ann on their knees. Each of them was beaten and bruised but it seemed like Ren had sustained the worst injury. Something that he was grateful for.
Ren slowly pushed himself up with his good hand and started walking over. He was oddly calm considering the situation, he felt no need to rush over there. After about 5 steps he pulled off his mask calling upon Succubus who floated around him “Calling me so soon honey, Girls don’t like needy guys.” Ren gave his persona a playful smirk “As much as I’d like to play with you, I need to help my friends.” He could see the persona look over to said friends before giggling “The boy’s cute, mind lending him to me?” Ren was now bracing his hand on the floor with his legs set into a running position, he glanced up to succubus “That depends how useful you are.” Succubus pouted at him before blowing a kiss filled with magic “You’re no fun.” Ren could feel the magic flowing through his body causing his muscles to tighten past a normal human’s limit.
In an explosive burst, Ren pushed off rocketing towards the shadow’s right side, the moment he was in his desired position he planted his foot on the ground to stop himself. He jumped up and with a power he’d never experienced before and spun his body slamming the flat pf his foot against the angels side sending the shadow hurtling away from the four teens into the nearest wall sending up a cloud of dust.
Ren landed with a dull thud, he turned to see his friends staring at him with their mouths wide open, he couldn’t help but smile gently knowing that they were okay. Before he could ask them if they were okay, he heard the shadow start to get back up, he looked at Panther and Morgana and could see their legs trying desperately to get back up, he fished around his jacket before pulling out a couple of glass vials and tossing them to his teammate “Panther, Mona, you guys can sit this one out.” He looked over to Ryuji who’s breathing had remained steady since the fight had started “How about we pay him back for sneaking up on us?” the blonde boy beamed at Ren before slinging his lead pipe over his shoulder.
The two started walking towards the shadow slowly, when they were out of earshot of the other two, Ryuji muttered quietly to Ren “Do you think we can take it by ourselves Joker?” Ren shrugged his shoulders “Doesn’t matter if we can or not. We need to beat him, so we will. Simple as that.” Ryuji chuckled as the casual remark his friend made in such a dire situation.
By the time, the two teens were within running distance of the shadow, the archangel had managed to stand itself back up. Its wings were splayed, and it was floating above the ground. It stared down at Ren and even though its expression remained neutral, Ren could tell it was glaring him which brought a small smile to his face. It pointed its sword directly at the raven-haired teen. “You made a mistake returning child, you would have been better off accepting your fate during your slumber. Lord Kamoshida has given me permission to make you all suffer for the incoveni—” with a snap of his fingers, succubus appeared behind Ren summoning two bolts of lightning that pierced through the shadows wings like spears from the heavens. “You talk too much.”
As the shadow stumbled onto its feet due to its wings no longer capable of flight. It roared before swinging its sword horizontal to the two boys. Unlike the first time it tried this method rendering Ren’s left arm useless, Ryuji was prepared. The blonde teen intercepted the sword with his lead pipe, its thickness acting as a much better shield then Ren’s knife had.
Before the shadow could recover. Ren dashed towards the hand that was holding the sword. The shadow didn’t have any time to react as Ren already had his knife between the chink of armour between the wrist and forearm. As soon as he felt the distinct feeling of flesh being pierced by his knife, he readjusted his grip to allow him the drag the blade around the circumference of the knights wrist detaching the hand from the arm and leaving the sword clattering to the ground.
In a desperate attempt to finish Ren off quickly, the shadow used its other arm to try and punch him, only to be blocked by captain Kidd’s ship. Ryuji took the opportunity to rush past ren with his pipe in hand. He swung his pipe directly at the kneecap of the shadow causing its armour to crumple and forcing the knight to its knee.
Ren jumped away from the shadow and summoned Succubus “Sukukaja” A green light surrounded Ren and the muscles in his legs felt so tight that they were ready to burst. He shouted at Ryuji who had already crushed the other knee rendering it completely immobile. “Skull give me a boost!” He could see a smile of excitement flash on Ryuji’s face before he locked his hands together and braced it against his thigh.
Ren began to run forward throwing all his momentum towards his friend. He took one step into the blondes’ hands before kicking off with Ryuji using all his strength to lift Ren into the air.
Ren flew high above the ground. Higher than either of the boys had expected but Ren felt giddy as he continued to rise further and further up into the air. It wasn’t long before he was nearing the ceiling and he quickly found his feet contacting something solid.
Time felt slow to Ren as his feet planted themselves on the ceiling. He looked up to see his target, the shadow still kneeling on the floor making no effort to move, whether that was because it had resided itself to its fate or simply couldn’t, he had no way of knowing. He glanced over to his friends who were all staring at him in amazement. He could see Ryuji’s mouth moving but the sound was muffled and drowned out by Ren’s own heartbeat.
After what felt like minutes but in realty must have been less than a second. He relented his position up there in heavens knowing full well that his place was down there beside his friends. He pushed himself off with what he felt was the lightest of steps but as the ceiling beneath his feet caved in and crumbled around him, he could tell his perception of realty wasn’t fully correct.
He was hurtling down towards the shadow now with knife in hand, the air catching his tailcoat making it flap uncontrollably. He yelled as loud as he could muster “Come Mokoi.” The bandaged persona followed him on his way down and Ren could feel his body get heavier in an instant. He flipped in the air so that his bottom half was directed downward, he quickly maneuvered the knife so that when Ren was just above the shadow, it’s hilt would be what made contact instead of the blade, with one last guttural yell Ren slammed the hilt directly on the crown of the shadows head, “Skull cracker!” he felt the metal of the helmet crumple underneath the knife’s small point of impact with a bone chilling crack.
The shadow was deathly still but Ren knew better then to leave well enough alone. In a fit of fury that came from agonising over his own sense of self and morals since entering the damned palace. Ren Ripped the knife from its new home lodged in the helmet, turning it over so that the blade was now facing downward and with a thrust holding all his frustration and rage. He drove the blade deep into the same hole that he had just created.
A moment passed before the shadow started to turned to black dust, as it melted away, Ren couldn’t move from his position, sitting on the shoulder of the giant he had just slain and once it had fully disintegrated, Ren could feel himself start to fall incapable of helping himself. He fully expected the hard floor to break his fall but instead he felt the wind around him carry him down saving him from experiencing yet another source of pain. As he drifted slowly down, he felt the exhaustion of the past two days catch up with him and all he could do was struggle in vain to keep his eyes from closing before eventually, the lull in excitement drove him to sleep.
Notes:
So due to some personal cirumstance involving my family, the next chapter will probably take longer to write. How long? I'm not sure, I'm hoping it wont take longer then a couple of weeks but I really can't say. So if there isn't any update for a while please be understanding.
Thank you all for the support you've given on this story and I hope it'll be worth the wait.
Chapter 22
Notes:
I have returned feeling reinvigorated for this series. Thank you everyone for being understadning and the nice comments.
I'll keep it brief by saying that as the chapters get longer and longer, there will be more time between each new relaese just so I don't grow to hate writing.
I hope you all enjoy.
Chapter Text
Ren’s eye slowly fluttered open as he found himself staring at a back much larger than his own, he could feel movement despite his legs dangling above the ground and the strong arms holding onto his thighs made him feel safe. He wanted so badly just to close his eyes again and let the steady rhythm of his body shifting up and down lull him back to a slumber, but he managed to hold back his sleep.
After willing his eyes to open just a touch more, he looked up to see a familiar mop of brown hair, its curly nature similar to his own. He looked down and noticed the distance between him and the ground he was being carried above, realising just how large the body of the person holding him was compared to his own.
“Oh darling, I think Ren-kun has woken up.”
Ren’s eyes snapped open fully as he recognised the voice that had just spoken, He spun his head towards it and saw a woman of pure beauty, with long black hair that shone with a silkiness that’d put models to shame, His mother. As her eyes met with Ren’s, she beamed a calm smile while giggling into her hand. “Look at you mister sleepyhead, who was it that wanted so badly to stay at the park just a little longer.” The man holding him who he now recognised as his father chuckled lightly, the deep voice resonating through his body which Ren felt. “He is my son after all. I’d take any opportunity I could get to sleep during school.” His mother sighed while shaking her head, her smile never wavering though, “What I remember is me being asked by the teachers to find out where you snuck off to.”
As they started laughing at memories from the past, Ren’s face became wet with tears, his mother was the first to notice. “Ren-kun what’s wrong?” Ren felt his father’s head shift slightly to look at him “Hey bud, did you have a bad dream?” The sight of his father’s relaxed face only made him cry harder. He shoved his face into his dad’s back in a desperate attempt to hide from the realty he knew was coming back to soon. He felt a cool hand gently stroking the back of his head “It’s ok Ren-kun, Mum and dad will always be here for you.” He felt a wave of fatigue wash over him as the combined senses of his dad’s warm back and mother’s gentle touch lulled him back to sleep.
Ren woke up for the second time to a similar feeling, his body moving despite his legs not being anywhere near the ground. Though where his fathers’ gait had been smooth and effortless, the back he was riding on currently was strained. “Christ for such a lanky guy, the dude weighs a god damn ton.” Ren smiled at the sound of Ryuji’s voice, he quickly wiped away the small tears that had come from his dream before karate chopping the back of the blonde’s head lightly. “Word of advice buddy if you’re ever lucky enough to carry a girl on your back. DO NOT mention her weight.”
Ann and Morgana turned towards the duo when they heard his voice, Ren hopped off Ryuji’s back, taking a moment to steady his feet. When he was confident, he wasn’t gonna fall flat on his ass, he looked up and saw the worried glances they were shooting him. It took a moment for him to realise why they might be concerned and quickly brought his left arm up in front of him to inspect.
He started by wiggling all his digits before slowly squeezing his hand closed and opening back up. After feeling for a couple of minutes and concluding that it wasn’t broken any longer, he and his friends let out a collective sigh of relief.
Ann started explaining what had happened after Ren had passed out. “We quickly surveyed the chapel and couldn’t see any other shadows. Afterwards we started looking through your coat pocket and grabbed every potion we could find.”
Ryuji interjected “Took us like 5 minutes to get them all, it’s like your pockets are freaking black holes or something.”
Ann shot Ryuji a slight glare for interrupting her before continuing “Anyway, we used them to recover as much mana as possible before Morgana and I started using our healing spells. While Ryuji started pouring the healing liquid all over you.”
Morgana butted in, to finish explaining “We were worried that we’d run out of mana before we could fix you fully but eventually we heard—” The three shivered in unison as they all remembered the terrifying sound of Ren’s broken arm snapping and cracking back into place “Basically we got really lucky. We need to be more prepared next time.” Ren nodded his head solemnly, realising that his eagerness to push forward may have lost them his arm at best and their lives at worst.
Three teens were on their way to train station after making sure Ren could move alright before Ryuji stopped dead in his tracks and faced Ren directly. “Ren, I want you to punch me!” the raven haired boy just stared at his friend with his eyebrow raised, Ryuji quickly bowed “It was my recklessness that got you hurt so I want us to be even.” Ren took a step towards the blonde boy, ignoring the shocked looks on Ann’s and Morgana’s face silently pleading for Ren to say no.
“Stand up.” Ryuji slowly started to raise his body keeping his eyes shut tight anticipating a punch. After 30 seconds of feeling nothing, he opened his eyes slightly only to be greeted by Ren flicking him on the forehead. His eyes were now wide open looking at his best friend in confusion, Ren smiled calmly. He turned shoving his hands into his pocket “There, you have been officially punished.”
He started walking away without waiting for the others as they scrambled to catch up. Ryuji was the first to match his pace, struggling to articulate what he wanted to say “Wait, why are you so cool with all this. If I didn’t rush in like that, you wouldn’t have had your arm broken.” Ren just laughed lightly at his friend’s disbelief “Ryuji, I’m no one’s responsibility, I’m the one who agreed to keep pushing forward even though I could see we were tired. I made that decision, and in the end, I feel like it was the right one.” Ren wrapped an arm around Ryuji bringing him closer, “And this just means that I’ll be counting on you to take a bullet for me in the future.” Ryuji’s face went from complete confusion to happily excited in an instant as he punched Ren lightly against the chest “You can count on me.”
“Hey Ren, I didn’t get a chance to ask earlier.” Ren stared at the cat who was laying on his desk as he finished putting on his pyjamas. “Where did you get those new persona’s?” The teen took a moment to think, he wasn’t sure how much he was allowed to say. After a moment, he let out a sigh before sitting down on the bed with a thud, rubbing a hand through his shaggy head of hair, he started explaining. “I don’t exactly know how it happened, but I have the ability to fuse weaker persona’s into stronger ones. That’s all I can say at this point until I look into further. Sorry I can’t give you any more information.”
Morgana pouted at Ren obviously not fully pleased with his response, but Ren wasn’t ready to talk about his experiences in the velvet room yet. Not until he understood Igor’s role in all of this. Ren yawned as Morgana hopped from the desk to his bed, the exhaustion of the earlier fights and mental anguish he went through were catching up with him and he was fully ready to have a nice long sleep in.
“Hey kid get up.” Ren let one of his eyes open ever so slightly while making sure he didn’t move a single muscle on the off chance he could fall back asleep. The sun was shining bright through his window and he told himself he’d have to buy some curtains in the future. Sojiro continue when he saw that Ren was at least conscious “I know it’s your day off, but the café is really busy so you’re helping me out.” Ren groaned slightly while pushing his body to a sitting position. “Are you gonna pay me?” Sojiro huffed a small laugh while turning back towards the stairs “You’re living here rent free, that’s you’re pay.” Ren cocked an eyebrow even though Sojiro couldn’t see him “I thought dad was paying you?”
A moment of silence passed between the two and Ren could see the older gentleman stiffen. “Just get your butt downstairs, we’re packed.” Ren decided to drop the discrepancy as he wasn’t really interested in what the deal was between his father and Sojiro, he had enough on his plate dealing with his own problems without having to worry about his dad’s as well, He quickly threw on a black shirt with a white button up and a pair of grey jeans before he followed Sojiro down the stairs silently cursing Morgana’s freedom as a cat to sleep whenever he wanted.
Sojiro wasn’t kidding when he said the café was busy. Where the small establishment usually held maybe 5 people at one time max. Today every seat was filled, and the smell of Coffee and Curry seemed stronger than ever. Sojiro had Ren put on an apron before ordering him to start taking orders, after every order had been written down Sojiro asked the raven-haired boy “You ever cooked curry before?” Ren nodded as he started chopping carrots and Onions “I used to cook for dad after mum passed away.” The stylish owner blew out a puff of air in relief as he walked away from the pot “Good, you take over stirring and plating when I get to work on the coffee.” Ren nodded in affirmation as he walked past Sojiro grabbing his wooden spoon on the way and got to work.
It was around 3 pm, a good 6 hours after Ren got roped into helping when the café finally began to settle down. Sojiro came up behind Ren who had collapsed onto one of the stools in front of the counter and patted the boy on the shoulder “Thanks kid, you were a big help. You’re free to go as soon as you take out the trash.” Ren grumbled to himself as he willed his legs to stand “I thought Child labour was abolished but look at you re-writing history.” Sojiro chuckled “Oh please, stop whining.” He started to rub his goatee staring at Ren who had walked behind the counter to grab the trash bags from the bins, he clicked his fingers “How about this, as payment for helping me out today and for future busy periods. I’ll teach you how to make the perfect cup of coffee, and I’ll even help you improve your cooking skills.”
Ren stared at his guardian doubtfully “Why would I need to know how to make a cup of coffee, and my cooking’s fine thank you very much.” Sojiro failed to hold his laughter in and Ren could feel his patience wearing thin “Kid, you’re cooking is passable at best, and besides getting to taste a fine cup of joe every morning. Girls love guys that can make a good cup of coffee.” In an instant, an image of a certain student president sipping on a cup of coffee reading a book flashed in Ren’s mind causing him to blush slightly. He turned towards the door ready to leave but not before mumbling “I’d prefer money, but I guess coffee is fine.” And left a smirking boss chuckling by himself.
Ren walked outside with a bag of trash in each hand, he made his way down the street and prepared to turn the corner into the alley where Sojiro kept the bins for the café but was stopped by a couple of voices. “Is it true?”
“Yeah man, that doctor is giving out drugs that you can’t get anywhere else.”
Ren strained his ears to listen in further on the conversation before a voice from behind startled him “We could use those drugs in the metaverse.” Ren glanced over his shoulder to see Morgana hanging of the awning of the cafe, “We should pop into that doctors office when we get the chance” Ren nodded, he waited for the two boys to leave the alley before throwing away the garbage.
After grabbing his bag from Leblanc, he made his way towards the clinic that Takemi had mentioned. It took a moment before he could find it due to its recessed location. As he approached the front door, he saw the two boys from earlier leaving “Dude what a joke. It’s just some cough medicine.”
The two walked away leaving Ren to reconsider his plans, Morgana popped his head out “Was is just a rumour?” Ren stood on stairs for a moment thinking about whether he should enter, before he had the chance to leave, the door opened and in it stood Tae Takemi who smiled when she saw him. “Well if it isn’t Leg’s-kun, what can I do for you?”
Ren stared at the doctor weighing his options. In theory it couldn’t hurt to ask her about the drugs, but he felt that burning his only bridge with the person who might save his life in the future would be a bad idea. “My left arm is hurting a bit. I just thought it’d be worth having it checked out?” Tae’s smile thinned as she realised, he wasn’t here just to have playful banter, she walked back into her clinic motioning for Ren to follow which he did.
“You can leave your bag and cat out here.” Ren looked at Takemi with his jaw agape which earned him a small giggle as she crossed her arms “You really think I wouldn’t notice the constant purring coming from your bag or how the same cat keeps coming and leaving your bedroom window?” Ren stared down at Morgana who had now slinked as far down into his bag as possible. After he felt that his disappointment had gotten through to his cat, he placed the bag less then gently on the nearest seat and followed Takemi into the exam room.
He sat himself down on the bed and waited for instructions. She raised her eyebrows while waving her clipboard at him. “Well are you gonna strip so I can see your arm or what?” Ren raised his hands to cover his chest as if he were naked “You could buy me dinner before asking for my body.” Takemi chuckled at his retort and Ren was glad that some brevity was added to the oddly tense situation. Takemi moved closer to the bed and started feeling around Ren’s arm, every time she got closer to the part where his arm had been broken, he could feel his muscles tense involuntarily. After a minute of prodding and poking Takemi sighed while walking back to the door. A distinct click filled the room and Ren could swear he felt the room get a few degrees colder.
“So why are you really here because your arm is perfectly fine.” Ren sighed realising how dumb it was to not assume the doctor would be able to tell he was lying about a medical problem. He rubbed the back of his neck as he decided to just bite the bullet “Look, I heard you’re selling some off the market medicine which I could really use.” Takemi narrowed her gaze in Ren’s direction but he didn’t slink away. “For fucks sake who doesn’t know.” Ren strained to hear her curse under her breath “I don’t know what you’ve heard but it’s wrong, now get out—”
“Wait! It’s important so please, let’s make a deal.” Takemi glared at the boy who was now standing a couple inches above her, when she could tell he wasn’t going to back down or drop it, she let out a sigh of defeat “Aren’t you on probation? You shouldn’t be getting involved in the world of shady drugs.” Ren smiled bitterly “Who better to make a deal with a shady doctor then a criminal.”
Takemi couldn’t help but smile at the boys determination as well as sympathise with his situation, whether he really did do something that warranted his record, it didn’t mean he should be subjected to the unjustified cruelty that she was sure he was facing. “Fine. I needed a guinea pig for testing anyways.” She took step forward drawing her hand against his jaw and Ren suddenly felt like a fish in shark infested waters. He took a big gulp “What do you need me to do?” Takemi smiled mischievously as she walked towards her desk pulling out a beaker of red liquid and holding it towards Ren who eyed the liquid suspiciously “Drink it.” He lifted his gaze towards Takemi “What’s in it?” She frowned “Do you want the medicine or not.”
Ren continued to stare at the liquid, he gripped his left arm tightly as memories of yesterday’s battle played in his mind. He grabbed the beaker and downed the contents in one long gulp. He didn’t feel anything immediately but as soon as he started to taste the concoction, he felt lightheaded, it tasted somehow bitter and sweet at the same time. The contrasting flavours made his eyes feel heavy and a familiar sensation overcame Ren. He mumbled what he thought was a curse as he realised, he was going to pass out for the third time in 24 hours before collapsing on the bed.
Ren opened his eyes and groggily tried to sit himself up, the bright light of the exam room intensified his growing headache. He groaned as he rubbed his forehead which garnered the doctor’s attention “Rise and shine my little guinea pig.” She pulled a pen off her clipboard and readied the tip against the paper “How do you feel?”
Ren snorted to himself quietly “Like I just got beat up by a fucking angel.” Takemi didn’t respond but simply raised her eyebrow curiously at the boy, “Sorry, inside joke. I have a bad headache; it feels like someone is bashing a hammer behind my eyes. Oh, and my mouth feels really dry.” There was a moment of silence only broken by the scratching of her pen. After she was finished recording everything Ren had to offer, she recapped the pen and threw it and the clipboard on the table before pulling out a few bottles. She tossed them to Ren who caught them effortlessly and started inspecting the liquid inside “That’s the medicine you’ve been looking for. It’ll help wake you up and act as a powerful painkiller. Best part is that it doesn’t have anything in it that would make it addictive so you can take larger doses then other brands.”
Ren stood up and started walking towards the door when Takemi asked him “You haven’t told me why you needed it in the first place.” Ren smiled lightly before turning the doorknob “If I asked why you made it would you tell me?” Takemi laughed lightly before she turned back to her desk “Fair enough. Come back when you need a refill and I’ll give you some more.” Ren was just about to leave when she added one last thing “Oh and Ren. Whatever it is that you’re doing. Don’t get in over your head. I’d hate to see a good kid like you throw his life away.”
Ren just scoffed lightly to himself as he shut the door behind him “That ship has long since sailed.”
Chapter 23
Notes:
Hey guys. I wrote the second half of this chapter when i'm a bit sick so if theres any spelling mistake or grammatical errors I apoligise. I wanted to write a fluffier chapter before getting into more of the palace stuff but I think the Kamoshida arc will be wrapping up soon, I hope you enjoy the chapter while I go pop a bunch of medicine and sleep for a couple days.
Chapter Text
SNAP!
Ren’s eyes shot open, now wide awake he gently pulled himself into a sitting position and held onto his aching left arm. He started slowly flexing each of his digits before tenderly touching the part that had been broken, after a few minutes of inspecting, he managed to calm himself down enough to let go and reach for his phone.
He quietly groaned to himself when he saw the time. 5:30, a good 2 hours before his alarm was set to go off. He looked out the window at the still dark streets of Yongen-Jaya contemplating how he was going to keep himself busy. He stared down at his roommate who was happily snoring away with his belly facing the ceiling. He smiled lightly before giving it a little rub. “For all that ‘not a cat’ talk you sure sleep like one.” He quietly whispered.
After about 15 minutes of boredom that Ren spent playing on his phone. He heard a familiar ring of a bell downstairs. He closed his phone and slowly stood up being careful not to wake Morgana. He started making his way downstairs as Sojiro was tying his apron.
“Oh hey. Didn’t expect you to be up this early.” Ren gave a half-hearted smile as he pulled out a stool and sat down. “Yeah well it wasn’t by choice.” The old man looked at him with gentle eyes. “Bad dream?” Ren wondered why his guardian was being soft with him but decided not to ruin the moment by asking. He just nodded his head as he pulled out his phone. They spent some time in silence, neither having anything to say but both enjoying the company regardless. It was around 6 o’clock when a cup was placed in front of Ren.
He eyed it suspiciously before looking up at Sojiro. “First step in learning to make a good cup of coffee is tasting one. You don’t look like your heading back to bed anyways.” Ren smiled while pulling the cup up to his lips. He wasn’t much of a coffee drinker, but he felt it rude to refuse the man’s generous offer.
After taking a sip of the hot liquid, Ren’s eyes opened in amazement at the complex flavours. Where instant coffee always tasted bitter and plain, the coffee in his mouth was something else entirely. It was still bitter but had an acidity that helped cut through it and danced on his taste buds long after he swallowed. He hadn’t even realised how much he had drunk until he saw the owners cocky smile.
Trying his best to avoid blushing, he placed the half empty mug back on the plate. “Well what do you think?” Ren wanted to make a snarky comment to help lowers the man’s ego but all thoughts of being a smartass faded away as he looked down at the mug and yearned to keep drinking. He smiled contently “It tastes like home in an odd way. It’s comforting and warm and just makes me feel relaxed.”
Sojiro’s smirk softened into a genuine smile as he crossed his arms “There may be hope for you yet.” Ren tilted his head slightly waiting for the man to continue “Anyone can make decent tasting coffee kid. But only the people who can truly taste what a good cup has to offer and understand it can make exceptional coffee. By the end of your probation, I will leave you with the skills to open up your own shop.” Ren was awestruck by the man’s passionate words as well as the vote of confidence. All he could think to do to show his gratitude was pick up the cup and finish the remaining drink making sure not to leave a single drop.
The next hour flew by quickly for Ren as he listened to his guardian talk about all the different beans that lined the wall, where each came from, the historical value and flavour profile. What mixed well with what and how they all paired beautifully with curry. The raven-haired boy never once losing interest as he realised just how badly he missed the mundane aspects of his old life, where he could sit down and not worry about what the day had in store for him. He was honestly a little annoyed as his alarm went off signalling the start of his day. He got up from his seat and made his way upstairs to get ready for school when he spied Morgana standing straight on his bed looking wide awake.
Ren raised his eyebrow quizzically at the cat who shrugged before hopping onto the desk next to his bag. “Sounded like you and the boss were having a good time. I didn’t want to get in the way.” Ren’s face softened as he made his way towards the desk and started rubbing the cats head. “Hey! What are you—” Morgana couldn’t contain his purring as Ren started scratching all the right spots “You know Morgana? A lot of humans like having their head rubbed.” The cat gave Ren a slight glare but made no attempt to stop him or escape.
Ren let out a loud yawn as the gentle rays of sunlight warmed up his sore tired body. He looked around the roof seeing Morgana laying comfortably on an air conditioning unit as Ryuji and Ann reminisced about times in middle school. He briefly considered emulating his cat and taking a quick nap but decided to opt for something slightly more productive.
“Ren are you studying?” Ann asked after she noticed how quiet Ren had been for the past 10 minutes. Sure enough, he was using the spare desks for their intended purpose as he had books and notes splayed out across him. “I thought you were studying with Nijima-senpai, why are you wasting your lunch doing it now?”
“Isn’t it obvious, the guy doesn’t want to look dumb in front of her.”
The two teens just stared at Ryuji. Ann’s eyes were wide with surprise while Ren’s were struggling to remain open. “What? Why are you guys looking at me like that? Ren rubbed his eyes as he started packing away his books “How is it that you managed to figure that out but couldn’t tell that Kamoshida was goading you when he broke your leg.” Ryuji pouted at his friend’s reaction “That’s cold dude.” Ren just shrugged as he finished packing “let’s not forget who broke their arm saving you.” Ryuji opened his mouth prepared to say something in response but quickly realised he didn’t have much to stand on as his mouth slowly shut itself leaving Ren staring at his friend smugly. “yeah I got nothing to say to that.”
‘Didn’t think so. Now let’s head back.” Ryuji opened his mouth once again but was quickly interrupted by the bell signalling the end of lunch. He hung his head in annoyance before scratching his hair widely as Ren and Ann left the roof “How the hell does he keep doing that?” he picked his bag up and ran after the two.
THUNK
Ren’s head fell flat against the desk as the final bell rang. He let out an audible groan while Ann quickly gathered her things ready to leave. The blonde ruffled the boy’s shaggy hair. “Is the big bad criminal really so scared of studying with the student president?” Ren looked up and let out a puff of air causing his hair to shift slightly to reveal his face. “Studying yes. President no.”
He slowly brought himself up grabbing his bag ignoring a giggling Ann. They made their way out of the classroom towards the stairs. “Hey look. It’s the school slut and the criminal. Think he’s paying her for sex?”
“She’s probably not even doing it for money.”
Ren clenched his fist as he overheard the two boys behind them laughing away. He started to turn around when he felt an arm grip his shoulder. He moved his head to see Ann shaking her head with a tired smile “Don’t you have a study session to get to?” Ren wanted to shake her hand off and give those guys a good scare but when he saw the way her face was pleading for him to drop it. He let his fist go and returned her smile with one of his own. He watched her walk down the stairs before walking towards the library.
As Ren opened the library door, he could already tell that he wasn’t welcome. Despite the library being a place to study and read, the room was brimming with chatter and laughing. All of which died down as soon as they saw him.
A tense silence came over the room. He scanned around the space looking for his study partner and let out an exasperated sigh as he couldn’t see the head of brown hair he was silently praying for. He reached into his pocket ready to text Makoto but as soon as he started moving his hand, he heard a cacophony of gasps and silent cries of fear. “Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
Makoto was almost sprinting down the stairs. This was the second time she was late to her meeting with Ren and once again, it was the fault of that overbearing principle of hers. She was fully prepared for her study session with Ren when her teacher told her to go see the principle. And sure, enough it was for nothing as the administrator only wanted to know how her investigation was going. She figured at some point she was just going to have to ignore his stupid requests.
She soon found herself standing in front of the library, her breath slightly ragged from her desperate attempt to make up for time but nothing was going to change the fact that she was now 15 minutes late. As she reached for the handle, she was honestly expecting the raven-haired boy to be long gone, fed up with her tardiness and ready to take his chance to escape from studying. But contrary to popular belief, there he sat, at the table that was unofficially reserved for her, not by her own request but from everyone’s unwillingness to sit there. Something felt wrong though.
She had anticipated the boy not wanting to study but the way his body was rigid and his eyes glaring harshly at the pages of his textbook made it look like he wasn’t just annoyed but angry. For a moment she thought that anger was being directed at her for her constantly being late but as she looked more broadly at the room, she only then just realised how quiet the library was, which was oxymoronically unusual as it was always somewhat alive with the buzz of students chatting and studying together.
She took a hesitant step forward towards her table which drew the boy’s attention, his glare felt like it was freezing her body but as he recognised who he was looking at, it swiftly shifted into a tired but warm smile which melted away any fear that she may have been harbouring. She tried to take another step forward when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she turned to find herself face to face with the second-year librarian. “Nijima senpai. Thank god, he’s been here for fifteen minutes and I don’t know how to ask him to leave.”
Makoto’s brow furrowed slightly, “Why would he need to leave?” The second year stared at her looking dumbfounded at her question and Makoto quickly realised why her study partner was so on edge, she felt it now as everyone looked at her questioningly. They were scared of him and wanted him gone. Makoto shook the girls hand off and walked towards the desk sitting herself down and pulling out her textbooks. “Sorry I’m late Ren-kun. I had some council work that needed sorting.”
Ren smiled and looked back down at his textbook, body relaxing if only marginally. “Let me guess, the principle asked you for a report on me.” Makoto couldn’t help the small blush that came as her lie had been seen through so easily. She hoped that casually talking to the boy would show the others that there fear was misplaced.
How wrong she was.
As they started working through subjects Ren had problems with, she could feel the intensity of everyone’s gaze on her and him. She looked up from her textbook and while he seemed more relaxed then when she arrived, his body still looked rigid as if he were fully prepared for a fight. She had to wonder if this is what he felt on a daily basis when he was at school.
And then the whispers started.
“Why the hell is he even here anyway. It’s not like he has a chance of doing well anyways.”
“I know, he should just leave and let us study in peace.”
“He’s so selfish, just because he screwed up his future doesn’t mean he’s got to make it harder for us.”
“How much you wanna bet that Nijima-senpai is doing this for a college recommendation.”
“Nah I bet he’s screwing her.”
Makoto stood up ready to tell the library to quiet down but before she had a chance to get the words out, Ren had flown out of his chair and was standing in front of the table where the last couple comments had originated from. His back was facing her so she couldn’t see what expression he was making but his next action spoke louder than anything as he brought his legs high into the air and dropping it down in an axe kick motion directly on the centre of the desk causing it rattle and sending bags and stationary flying.
He leaned down towards one of the boys who’s face went deathly pale. “If you want to talk behind my back. Go right ahead. I couldn’t give a fuck. But if you’re really going to claim that you all have a future, then shut the hell up and study like the good little students you think you are. If not. Then fuck off so I don’t have to hear it.” He spoke in a hushed tone that was still plenty loud enough for everyone to hear.
The student he was speaking to quickly glanced towards Makoto and after seeing her, started to smile smugly. “You’re fucked now criminal. You think you can just get away with doing whatever the hell you want.” Ren followed his gaze and saw Makoto standing, he turned his body still keeping his foot planted on the desk. She almost lost her breath when she saw the cocky smirk that he was flashing her. “What do you say Makoto. Am I in trouble?” She couldn’t help but return his smirk with a smug smile of her own as she crossed her arms. “I don’t see why you would be; you were just politely asking these boys to quiet down so we could study in peace.” She looked around the room making eye contact with as many onlookers as possible “Isn’t that right everyone?”
The boys looked on in shock as everyone who had taken part in the staring and gossiping quickly turned back to their books or phones. Showing not a single hint that they had played an active role in the whole situation. They huffed some profanities under their breath as they packed their bags and left the library followed by a dozen onlookers who didn’t want to risk being on the receiving end of Ren and Makoto’s tag team.
After they all left, Ren casually strolled back to their desk which Makoto had already taken her seat at before reopening his book. “Now Nijima-senpai, where were we?”
Ren stretched his arms while letting out a groan as he walked besides Makoto out of the school. He looked up to see the sun starting to set and a quick glance at his phone showed how long they had been studying for. He looked over to the girl beside him who was quickly grading his practice test as they walked. After a few somewhat agonising minutes of silence, he saw her mouth form a smile and handed him back the sheet of paper. “You know if you applied yourself like you did back there, I’m almost positive that you could be top of the grade.”
Ren grinned widely at her compliment before carefully placing the paper back into his bag being sure not to show the sleeping cat to her. He took a few steps forward as she finished sorting through her bag, he rotated himself to face her with a cocky smile on his face “Now we couldn’t have Shujin’s number 1 problem child showing up its top students, now can we?” Makoto rolled her eyes before she started walking towards him. Ren pulled out his phone to check the time once again before sighing. “You know, after all that studying, I’m in the mood to do something mind numbing. Wanna head over to the arcade.”
Makoto stared at Ren with her eyes wider than normal and mouth somewhat agape. When Ren didn’t continue, she quickly realised he was waiting for her answer. “You’re asking me to come to an arcade with you.” Ren turned his head slightly towards her in confusion “Yeah? Is that strange.” Makoto hung her head in a vain attempt to hide her embarrassment. “It’s just… I’ve never been invited to one before.” Ren stared at the girl with intrigue, while he knew that she may be a bit standoffish with her role in the school, he never would have expected her to be that socially distanced from her peers.
He took a step towards and gently grabbed her wrist ‘Well we can’t have that can we. You taught me Algebra, so I’ll teach you how to have some fun. Delinquent style.” Makoto was taken aback by his brashness; it took all her willpower to fight back the blush that came from the simple contact. While a part of her wanted to refuse, to cling to her usual routine, the way he smiled at her gently as the sun set behind him, as well as an earlier text from her sister informing her that she’d be eating dinner alone for yet another night made her unable to resist the smile that came across her face as she let herself be dragged by the boy towards the train station.
As she looked at the teens back, she could swear she saw those jet-black wings that had left breathless in past.
Ren and Makoto soon arrived at the local arcade at Shibuya. They walked in and Ren couldn’t help but giggle as he saw the way Makoto’s eyes were wide at her surrounding which earned him a less then playful punch in the arm. “stop laughing at me.” He put his hands up in mock surrender as he tried to settle down his giggling “Sorry, I just thought you looked cute, like a kid in a candy store for the first time.” Her face immediate went red at the compliment which only made him want to laugh more but the throbbing in his arm kept it from happening.
“So where do we start?” Ren looked around the arcade searching for something he’d think Makoto would like when he realised, he didn’t actually know much about the girl. He rubbed the back of his head before looking back, where he saw her staring intensely at a shooting game, he couldn’t help but be surprised. With a smile, he started walking towards the machine knowing full well that Makoto was following close behind him with excitement shining in her eyes.
After Ren put a couple of coins in the machine, the two picked up their respective pistols. Ren looked at the game while Makoto carefully inspected the piece of plastic in her hand, examining every nook and cranny of the revolver. “I wouldn’t have pinned you as a gun enthusiast.” Ren’s words snapped her out of her concentration, she quickly held the gun out feigning her readiness to play “My dad used to be a police officer, so I guess I just grew up around them.” She took a moment before she continued “Anyways how do we play?”
Ren gave her the run down on the game, explaining how each player would play the same stage and whoever has the most points would be the winner. Makoto’s eyes were wide with anticipation as Ren pressed start and they began their friendly competition.
After the stage was complete, Ren arrogantly swung his gun around his finger where Makoto was staring at the screen annoyed with the results, while it hadn’t been a total one-sided beating, Ren’s point were drastically higher than her own. After Ren was done gloating, he went to put the gun away ready to go to another game when Makato quickly cut him off “One more, I have a feeling for it now. Ren grinned as he readied the pistol for another round “Suit yourself Pres. I won’t go easy.”
Eight games later, Ren found himself against the nearest wall on his hands and knees with his head hung in shame. Makoto stood over him looking at the boy with a mixture of pride and worry. “Ren-kun, are you alright—” Ren put his hand up to stop her from talking any further. “Not another word, my pride can’t take any more of a thrashing.” Makoto couldn’t help but laugh hard at the way Ren was taking his eight-game losing streak and almost doubled over while clutching her stomach. Ren managed to pull himself to his feet purely to look at her in annoyance but soon got swept up in her laughter.
The time was now 6:30 as Ren was walking Makoto home despite her constant claims that she didn’t need an escort. “Seriously Ren, I can take care of myself.” Ren laughed to himself as he started rubbing his arm “Oh I know. I’m still feeling It where you punched me.” This only earned him another punch of equal pain, but he was more impressed by the girl’s ability to hit him in the exact same place as before.
The two settled into a peaceful quiet as they continued their trip, the only sounds coming from the muted noise of the city and their own footsteps. Ren always found comfort in quiet, it was a sign that everything was going well, there were no issues for him to worry about and he could simply leave the world to its own devices. Apparently, Makoto had other ideas. “Would you mind if I asked you a question?” Ren glanced over at her and quickly raised his hands “I plead the fifth.” Makoto wound up for another punch before Ren lowered his hands in surrender “I was joking. Ask away.”
Makoto sighed as she lowered her fist, a small smile tugging at her lips that didn’t go unnoticed by Ren, but he found it prudent not to bring that up in fear of his arm breaking in this reality as well. “I was going to ask why you have so many piercings.” Ren looked at her, unsure of what to say. He took a moment and then looked up to the sky, focusing on the stars as he gathered the thoughts he never actually articulated to anyone.
He must have stared at the open sky for longer then he anticipated because he felt a small tug on his sleeve which snapped him back to reality. He looked back down at the girl who had a worried look on her face. “You don’t have to say if it’s uncomfortable.” He smiled gently at the girl and took a deep breath before finally speaking “When I was 11, My mum got really sick, she always had a weak body and would have moments when she couldn’t leave the house but this was the worst she ever got, she was in and out of the hospital for about 6 months before we were told that she didn’t have much time left. One day she gave me a wrapped box and told me to open it on my birthday.” He went quiet in an attempt to steady his emotions as to not let them interrupt him, the entire time Makoto never let go of his sleeve which brought him a small amount of comfort, he continued “She passed away about a week before my birthday, so on the day I opened up the box and inside was a do it yourself piercing kit and all her old studs and rings she wore when she was a teenager. So, every year on my birthday, I’d pierce my ear much to my father’s chagrin and I’d wear one of the piercings she left me.”
Makoto was quiet, her grip on his sleeve got tighter and tighter as she tried to muster up any words that could help comfort the boy. But instead she only felt a gentle hand on her head slowly rubbing it. She looked up at Ren who was still smiling gently at her “It’s okay Makoto, it wasn’t meant to be a sad story. When I wear her old piercings, in a way make me feel like I’m living the life she should have gotten.”
Makoto had to look back down at the ground to stop her tears from falling, because despite the beautiful words and kind smile, she could tell that Ren was still in pain and was trying his best not to show it because it’s something she did and still does when it comes to her own family. She also knew calling him out on it would do neither of them any good so she instead steeled herself and continued walking home making sure that she never let go of his wrist much like he had done when he brought her to the arcade.
The trip was short, something they were both grateful for as they didn’t have anything else to really say after Ren had dropped that big reveal about his life. So, when they reached her apartment complex, neither were sure how to say goodbye. After a couple minute of silence, Makoto decided to be the one to break it. “Thanks for today Ren, it was a lot more fun then I was honestly expecting.” It seemed to relax Ren as his body untensed, and his smile became smaller but more comfortable. Obviously happy that his story didn’t completely ruin the atmosphere “It stings to know you ever doubted me.” They both chuckled lightly at the joke “We should do this again Makoto, there’s a lot of cool things I’m sure you haven’t had a chance to experience.” Makoto started chapping her chin mockingly before snapping her fingers “Only if you continue to do well during our study sessions.” Ren’s shoulders dropped at the mention of study “Way to take the fun out of exploring Tokyo. But I guess it’s deal.” He raised his hand to Makato who shook it back with a melodramatic vigour.
As Makoto closed the door behind her and she flicked to lights on in the empty apartment. She felt an odd sense of sadness that the day had come to end. She honestly couldn’t remember the last time she could say she just had fun for the sake of having fun. Even though she enjoyed studying and doing well on tests. It never felt like she was doing that out of her own volition but because it was expected of her. But whenever she looked at Ren who despite his situation, never stopped trying to bend the world around him so that he could live life how he wanted to.
In the midst of these strange thoughts and feelings she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, she pulled it out and looked at the message that floated on her screen.
“I don’t plan on losing our next match at the arcade, I will beat you :P”
Makoto wasn’t sure why the silly declaration made her feel so calm. But she couldn’t deny that as she held the phone close to her chest, she felt a long-forgotten warmth fill her body and a smile grace her lips at the idea of spending more time with the raven-haired delinquent.
Chapter 24
Notes:
This chapter took a long time to write between work and getting over being sick so I hope you all enjoy it.
As the chapters continue to get longer, there will be a bigger gap between uploads purely because theres a lot more to edit and more chances for me to wanna change parts so i guess i'll apologise in advance if uploads become less consistant.
Chapter Text
Ren and Ann were making their way towards the stairs after then final bell went when they felt an added weight on each of their shoulders. They both turned to see the energetic blonde hanging off them. “Hey guys you ready to mess that cast—” Ryuji was cut short after he felt elbows from each side stab into his ribs. He glared at his two friends who were looking at him incredulously “What the hell guys?”
Ann shook her head disapprovingly “Are you trying to give us away.” His eyes went wide as he started looking around, clearly seeing everyone staring at the three. All of his energy seemed to disappear only to be replaced by him sheepishly rubbing his head “Oh. My bad. Are we still on for today?” Ren smiled, despite all the shit that Ryuji’s hot-blooded nature got him in. He couldn’t help but find it endearing. He wrapped an arm around his best friends’ neck and started moving towards the stairs with Ann tailing close behind still shaking her head but the glimmer of a smile starting to form. “Almost buddy. We just need to make one stop before we head out.”
Ryuji looked at Ren with his head tilted in confusion “Where?” Ren’s smile morphed into one of impish excitement. “You promised to show me where you got that model. Remember?” Ryuji’s smile started to imitate Ren’s as the words spoken were processed. The two quickly found themselves giggling like children as they walked down the steps, no longer caring about the stares and comments they were getting.
Ren stared up at the neon sign that read ‘Untouchable’ with the nothing but dismay on his face. He turned to Ryuji who had the complete opposite expression. “You have got to be kidding me?”
Ryuji’s confused face told Ren that he was in fact not kidding “What’s the problem?” Ren just shook his head as he started walking towards the door. Muttering under his breath “It’s making a lot of sense how you ended up friends with a criminal like me.”
The shop chimed with a cheap electronic doorbell as Ren and Ryuji walked through the doorway. Ren surveyed the shop taking in all the different models and tools for upkeep. The store was dim and quiet, something Ren could appreciate, the only other customer being a heavy-set fellow who embodied a gun enthusiast waiting patiently as the store clerk rung up his order. From the corner of his eye he could see Ryuji bouncing on his feet as he darted from case to case looking at every form of shotgun known to man.
After the customer left the shop, the owner turned to look at the two. His eyes falling over Ren in a way all too familiar, sizing him up much like he did for shadows in the metaverse, by the way his expression didn’t change, he could tell he was indifferent to the black-haired teens presence.
Ryuji was a completely different story.
As soon as the owner caught glimpse of the ball of energy that was Ren’s best friend, he dawned a scowl before opening up a magazine. “What do you two want. I’m not running a day care.” Ren could tell it was a bait but by the way Ryuji stopped bouncing and started walking towards the counter, it wasn’t as clear to his friend “What the hell, I was in here a couple of weeks ago.”
The owner’s eyes never left their place on the magazine “Don’t remember or care. Why are you here?” Ren decided to interject before Ryuji could burn the bridge he hadn’t even walked on yet “We’re looking for model guns.” This managed to drag the owner’s eyes away as he took in Ren’s appearance fully “you’re a gun enthusiast?” Ren shrugged figuring that buttering up the guy by pretending to be something he wasn’t would just piss him off “Can’t say I ever wanna shoot one but I can appreciate the craftsmanship behind them regardless.” The two stared at each other, neither wanting to be the one to concede defeat and continue the conversation. After a moment, the owner smirked while chucking his magazine to the side “Alright, but only you, your friend has to go.”
“That’s total bullsh—”
Ren put a tight grip on Ryuji’s shoulder “Deal.” The two teens made eye contact and Ren was grateful that Ryuji quietly conceded defeat. His shoulders dropped as he started to walk away but not before turning back to Ren and slapping a 50 dollar note in his hand “You better get me something really cool though.” Ren grinned at his friend “I wouldn’t dream of giving you something lame.”
Ren turned back to the shop keeper who had traded his magazine for a lollipop which he was lazily sucking on. Ren eyed the sucker curiously before hearing a distinctive pop as he removed it to speak “What you are looking for?” Ren stepped towards the counter so he could talk at a normal volume “Pistols, Sub machine guns.” He paused for a moment as he looked out the window to see his friend impatiently tapping away at his phone “And some cool looking shotguns.”
The shop keeps gave a neutral grunt as he walked into the back out of Ren’s sight, he was gone for about 10 minutes before returning with several varieties of each gun he’d asked for. Ren grabbed one of the smaller pistols, inspecting its details and craftmanship. “That a Makarov pistol, mainly used by the soviets and known for its compact nature and strong firepower.” Ren smiled as he noticed all the finer points on the model, from its paint all the way down to its clean cuts and rougher textures.
After spending about 10 minutes picking through his team’s new weapons and almost completely emptying his allowance money. Ren had a bag full of model guns and other weapons the owner showed to him. As his final purchase was being rung up, he figured he’d ask one of the two burning questions on his mind “Never caught your name.” The owner side eyed him as he was punching in numbers on the register “That’s because I never gave it to you. You want it, show me you’re gonna be a regular.” Ren took that response as indication not to ask his other question about the man’s tattoo. While he enjoyed being a smartass, he also knew the importance of keeping quiet.
With the final model in his bag, Ren left the shop and walked with Ryuji back to school where they had left Morgana and Ann. Both boys practically drooling in anticipation to try out their new toys on a particular gym teachers fantasy world.
As one world blended into another, the four started walking across the drawbridge, each one inspecting their new weapons that Ren had picked out like children looking at their toys during Christmas. Ren smiled as he continued forward by himself towards the castle when he heard the familiar clang of a metal door opening. “Trickster, our master wishes to speak with you.” Ren looked down at his warden frowning, he turned back towards his team and a smirk started to appear on his face. He wasn’t sure if it was due to his newfound resolve to fight or his relaxing day spent with Makoto rejuvenating him, but he was feeling a bit rebellious. “Tell Igor I’ll speak with him later.” Caroline tilted her head, her face not showing any form of emotion “I’m not sure I understand.” Ren bent his knees so that he was looking at the girl in the eye. “I’m done speaking to the man with long nose on his terms. If Igor really wants to see me so badly then he can come see me himself. If not then he’s gonna just have to wait.”
“Hey dude you good?” Ren turned back towards Ryuji flashing him his cocky grin “Never better.” He winked at Caroline before walking back to meet up with his team “I think it’s time we sent this king to the chopping block.”
The four made their way back to the cathedral with no problems, the shadows from before posing little to no fret to the thieves as their new weapons made short work of them. But that wasn’t the only reason why there were fighting more efficiently, the other three could tell that Ren was in his groove, they stared in awe as he nimbly made his way from shadow to shadow, ripping masks off and devasting them with his new knife and pistol, his energy was infectious. By the time they reached there stopping point from before, Ren had a full collection of Persona’s to draw from and an eagerness to continue where they had been previously halted.
After they managed to scale the walls of the massive room and finally proceed with the heist, they quickly encountered their next challenge on the rooftop plaza. When Ren turned the corner, he nearly had a heart attack at the sight of all the shadows pacing around the open space. He halted everyone’s movement with a silent hand wave, flicking Ryuji as he tried to push past the others to get a look. When he was sure none of the shadows would see, he dashed behind a stack of boxes and waited for each of his friends to follow suit until they were all together in relatively safe area.
“What’s the plan Joker.” Ren stared quietly as he watched each shadows movement, they were all following a set route not deviating even slightly. After he was sure he memorised all their movements, he turned back to his team and decided to have a little fun in the stressful situation “Skull. Pop quiz. What should we do in this situation?” Ryuji’s face paled at the word quiz, but it wasn’t long before he had his finger rubbing his chin as he seriously pondered Ren’s question which almost made Ren break down laughing. “We probably shouldn’t fight them; it’d be bad if we got surrounded.”
Ren clapped his hands as quietly as he could manage “Look at that, there’s hope for him yet.” After the rest got down chuckling at Ryuji’s pouting face, Ren pointed past them towards the wall of the castle. “We climb up there and hop from battlement to battlement until we reach that window. Everyone understand the plan?” The three nodded before they started making their way towards the target destination using boxes and flower beds as cover.
When they reached the bottom of the wall, Ren leaned against it using it as a brace as he interlocked his fingers and bent his knees. “Skull, you go first and pull the others up.” Ryuji gave Ren a thumbs up before taking a few steps back for a run up. He dashed towards the teen and with their combined strength cleanly reached the ledge which he easily pulled himself up. After a couple tense seconds of not seeing the boy, he reappeared with his arm dangling over the edge “Quick, it’s looks like there getting suspicious.” Ren looked at Ann signalling it was her turn. With a run up similar to Ryuji’s, she was sent high into the air before grabbing the blondes outstretched hand.
“Hey! Who goes there?” Ren could hear the footsteps of multiple shadows approaching, and his mind went into overdrive. He moved towards Morgana who had taken a step back ready for his run up. He grabbed the small cat by the scruff of his neck muttering an apology before tossing him towards the other two using the momentum to blast past the shadows that had just turned the corner.
“Joker!” He looked over his shoulder towards his friends who called out to him, he flashed them his smile before giving them a thumbs up. “Keep going, I’ll find a way up.” Without waiting for a response he managed to avoid the shadows and started dashing through the maze of boxes and flowers that adorned the rooftop doing his best to avoid shadows and there attacks, getting nicked by the occasional spear of the ones that had transformed into their mythical forms. He could hear the clacking of hooves behind him as he ran with all his might towards the open window that taunted him 10 metres above. The perfect infiltration point had he not managed to alert every guard to his presence. As he got closer to the said window, he soon realised that there weren’t any abrasions on the surface for him to use as a foot hold and nothing for his grappling hook to attach to. He turned to try and find another way only to come face to face with one of the shadows he was running from, a knight holding a spear riding on the back of a red horse. Smaller than the one that he faced when Ryuji awoke his persona, but he could tell it was far stronger.
As he moved to make some distance, he felt the cool stone wall against his back and his eyes widened as he realised, he had managed to corner himself in the rush to regroup with his friends. The space around him was just barely large enough to fight but not enough to slip past the shadow, not that escaping would lead to anything better, just a larger group of strong monsters. Ren felt his brain scrambling to come up with a plan that would pose the littlest risk to his wellbeing knowing that having to end the heist prematurely due to an injury would deal a bigger blow then any wound he could suffer but as the shadow raised its spear ready to pin Ren to the wall, he heard a deafening blast above and then the clattering of metal on concrete.
He looked at the shadow to see its hand now a smoking wisp of dust. “Joker! Hurry up and do your thing, we can’t hold them off for long.” He stared up at his teammates, Ann and Morgana were shooting off into the distance, most likely to keep the other shadows from ganging up on Ren. He felt a small grin flitter on his face as he brought his gaze back down on the shadow who was standing, staring indifferently at its missing hand. A plan soon graced Ren’s racing mind as he had his foot planted firmly against the wall. He ran directly towards the knight who with no weapon to skewer Ren with simply watched eagerly waiting for its hand to regenerate. When he was directly in front of the shadow, he pushed off the ground high into the air ripping his mask off “Mokoi! Skull cracker.” The green mummy manifested, and Ren felt he body weight increase, he brought his leg high above his head before gravity dragged him back down to earth letting his foot collide against the knight with a dull thud against its armoured head.
Just as Ren had expected, the heavy boot wasn’t enough to defeat the Shadow proving that the Red aura he saw with his third eye was indicative of the Shadow’s strength. What his powered-up kick did do however was leave the knight stunned and unable to move, the horse seemingly connected to the knight forming one being altogether was also completely immobile giving Ren the chance he needed. As his feet contacted the ground he jumped once again, this time angling his body backwards, he called upon succubus and felt the cool air on his face as his mask disappeared “Tarukaja!” He felt his muscles tighten and now all the pieces were falling into the place. He drew his knife and left it to float in the air as his body was nearing its completion of the somersault, when he was at his apex, Ren summoned all the strength his could into his leg, extending it and feeling the hilt of his knife make contact with the top of his foot.
As the energy from his powered-up kick transferred into the small point of the knife, he could hear it cutting through the air before making a distinctive clang as the blade wedged itself deep into the stone. He completed his flip and started dashing towards his new foothold not wanting to see how long the shadow would remain stunned or if its hand had healed. As he reached the wall, he offered a silent prayer too any god that he hoped has had enough fun fucking with his life to cut the boy a break before putting as little weight as he could muster on the lodged blade before using it to push himself up the wall. While it had been better than nothing, it still wasn’t enough for Ren to reach the ledge, once again, a series of ideas and plans flashed in Ren’s mind but before he could put any of them into practice, he felt a strong grip around his wrist which brought him back to realty “I got you. No more showing off for today.” He felt the same strong grip start to pull him and before he knew it, he was lying on his back, a warm and soft carpet beneath and his friends all around on their hands and knees gasping for breath.
“There, that makes us even for the arm breaking thing.” Ren could hear Ryuji struggle to say through panted breaths. Ren managed to drag himself up so that he was sitting while leaning against a raised knee “Pretty sure I’ve saved your ass when we first met as well.” Ryuji didn’t make any attempt to move “What about that time I saved you and Morgana from that massive knight?” Ren smiled coyly at his friend “You would have passed out in the castle had I not dragged you out afterwards.”
“Well let’s not forget who saved both of you when you were floundering around the dungeon.” Ren and Ryuji just glared at Morgana as he waddled towards the two boys “Let’s not forget who you’re living rent free with.”
“Yeah and who gives you food during lunch when you should be hunting birds or something.” Morgana took a small step back at the two’s pressuring gazes, Ann just shook her head at the three’s antics “You guys are so dumb.” A moment of silence filled the room before being broken by all four bursting out into laughter.
After the group managed to quell their giggles and healed up with the help of Morgana and Ann’s magic as well as a couple of potions. The four continued their heist, manoeuvring between halls and rooms taking anything that seemed valuable “Hey joker I’ve been wondering, what does this stuff turn into when we leave.” Ren turned towards Ann who had asked the question after he finished pulling off a golden necklace from a bust of Kamoshida. “It’s weird, the money we get from shadows is normal, but all these statues and gold-plated stuff just turns into normal jewellery. I haven’t figured out how we could sell it, but it doesn’t look that valuable, stuff you could probably find at a flea market.” Ann pouted as they walked down yet another hallway “That sucks, it would have been nice if we could get rich dealing with this asshole’s cognitive world.” Ryuji and Morgana nodded their head in agreement while Ren just kept moving forward deciding not to add anything. While he could argue that doing this for any kind of reward defeated the purpose of why they were fighting. He could also recognise that it’s natural to desire a reward for one’s efforts especially when your risking your life.
After what felt like hours of constant walking and battling. Ren could tell he was running into the previous problem where his Personas were no longer strong enough to deal with the shadows increasing strength. He knew that he should visit Igor but he felt like trying to explain why they’d have to warp back to the front of the castle so Ren could stand still for who knows how long before returning with stronger Personas would be a conversation best left to the end of their infiltration. At least for the moment.
Eventually the four found the next big turning point of the heist as they opened a door to be greeted with a spiralling staircase that went both up and down from their position. As Ren and Morgana looked over the edge of the railing, they could see the bottom far below and the top of the stair case must closer. “Which way’s the treasure Mona?” Ren watched as Morgana sniffed the air “It’s still up.”
“So, we head up then, right?” Ren didn’t answer Ryuji’s question immediately, instead he continued to stare down at the bottom of the spiralling stairs, and more intently at the red door that was sitting there seemingly leading to nowhere. “We’re heading down.” The three looked at Ren like he cracked a bad joke but quickly realised he was serious as he started descending. “Wait why are we wasting time going down their Joker?” Ren didn’t stop moving as he responded “This is Kamoshida’s physical manifestation of his desires. So, I don’t think it makes sense for there to be such an impressive looking door if it just leads to nothing. Call it a hunch but I feel like something important is hiding behind it.”
The four walked down the staircase and soon found themselves standing in front of the door. While not as vainly ordained as the church doors, it was still far more extravagant then any door they had seen in the castle with gold metal accented by a red velvet material. They spent little time admiring the craftsmanship before they started walking towards it only to be cut off by a shadow materialising in front of them.
“Halt Knaves, no one is permitted to enter. Especially not the likes of filthy thieves as yourself.” Ren kept walking towards the door ignoring the shadow as if it weren’t there, his friends staring at him with silent excitement. The shadow was taken aback by Ren’s nonchalant nature, looking only at the teenager while fully disregarding his friends. “You dare ignore me. One of King Kamoshida’s strongest—” The shadow cut itself short as Ren came to stop, slowly pulling out his knife and inspecting it. He looked over the blade making sure it hadn’t been nicked by his earlier stunt while also admiring the craftsmanship. Unlike the original knife he had. The shop owner informed him that the knife was of Indian design much more akin to a machete and it showed easily purely from the size of the blade.
After he was sure that the shadow was focusing only on him, Ren casually tossed the knife high into the air, watching as the shadows gaze was affixed solely on the hovering blade. A beat went by before Ren exploded into action, ducking between the large shadows open feet and deftly climbing up the still unaware being’s back onto his shoulders where it finally noticed him. “Hey what are you—” Ren dug his fingers underneath the shadows mask before quietly saying “I know this speaks more of Kamoshida but every single one of you shadows talk’s way too much.” Before the shadow could even yell in defiance, Ren pulled away the mask, ripping it from the black flesh and pushing of the giants shoulder landing shoulder to shoulder with his friends as they all watched the shadow collapse into itself before reappearing as it’s true form.
…
“So is no one gonna mention how it looks like a peni—”
A crack of a whip silenced the boy as Ann glared daggers at him “Wanna finish what you were saying?” Ryuji didn’t respond with words, only desperately shaking his head. Ann began walking towards the phallic shaped shadow tugging her new barbed whip taut. “I am so sick of dealing with this perverts sick and disgusting mind.” A loud crack echoed in the open space of the hall causing both Ren and Ryuji to lightly grab their family jewels as they witnessed Ann begin whipping the shadow over and over, making sure to drag the barbs across the monsters flesh with each whip.
A deep laughter erupted from the shadow causing the girl to stiffen “You truly are a foolish one coming right to me. One of Kamoshida’s elite guards.” Before Ren could move forward to support Ann, the shadow began to glow with a brightness that forced Ren to shield his eyes, in his periphery he could see a flash of blonde rush past him towards the girl and Ren felt a hole open in his stomach. He forced his eyes towards the shadow and watched in horror as the Shadows body erupted, light filled the room and subsequently his two friends and with it, a pressure and heat that felt unbearable from where he was standing a good couple of metres back. The force of the blast causing both him and Morgana off their feet back towards the stairs, the impact of which knocking the air out of him and making his vision hazy.
As he blinked the stars away, he looked down and felt his mouth go dry as he saw Ryuji and Ann laying still in a crumpled pile. He continued to stare unsure of what to make of their forms, his mind immediately assumed the worst and it took almost all his effort not to yell. It was only after he saw their bodies rising and lowering softly that he managed to calm down enough to actually assess the situation. He looked closely at their bodies to see the extent of their injuries. Ann looked fine if just a bit roughed up, he had to guess she was unconscious due to the impact of hitting the ground but compared to Ryuji, she was ok. His other friend had obviously positioned himself in such a way that he took the brunt of the explosion with his back showing signs of serious burns.
Ren quickly grabbed two bottles of Takemi’s medicine and one regular bottle of medicine that he tossed to Morgana who was starting to recover himself. He poured one of Takemi’s concoctions on Ryuji’s back and watched as the singed skin started to repair itself. “Mona, heal panther and give this to her when she wakes up, both of you work on healing Skull afterwards.” Morgana caught the second bottle Ren passed to him and looked down at the contents before looking back at Ren “Ren I don’t think you should—” Morgana’s words faded to silence as he felt a coldness wash over him from seeing the glare Ren was giving the shadow “You’re advice is duly noted but frankly.” Ren started walking towards the shadow, cracking his knuckles between his gloved hands “I’m not gonna stop until I personally grind that fucker to dust.”
As Ren walked towards the shadow, he could hear the monsters guttural laugh reverberating through the room and passage him above him. While he was sure that it was intended to make the shadow seem intimidating, it only made Ren’s blood boil. He continued forward and felt the cool blaze of blue flames surround him, soon the scantily clad demon succubus was hovering around him “Ooo you look good when your angry. What do you need?” Ren glanced up at his persona, his expression stoic. “Give me all the speed you can.” With a mocking salute, succubus quickly blew a kiss at Ren and he felt the effects of multiple sakukaja wash over his body.
He was now back to where he was standing when the monster originally combusted feeling light on his feet he stood still, pulling out vials of purple liquid before ingesting them, feeling his dwindling mana return. He looked at the shadow and could tell it was talking but the sound was muffled, masked by the beating of his own heart and memory of his friends beaten bodies.
Before the shadow could finish whatever monologue it was spouting, Ren was gone, no trace of him left for the Shadow or Morgana to see. The boy vanished and a moment later he was in front of the shadow with a green mummy floating above his head “SKULL CRACKER!” The ground shook with the impact of Ren’s boot coming straight down on the shadows head masked by a cloud of dust.
As the dust settled, Ren’s foot was still planted directly on the shadows head, but it showed no sign of damage or even caring about being hit at all. Instead it only laughed at Ren’s attempt “You might be the stupidest one of them all.” Ren didn’t react, he was too focused and gathering data to care about his attack’s ineffectiveness. He understood now why Ann’s whip had no effect on the shadow before and it was due to the compressive nature of its body. He felt it underneath his foot, its whole body was acting like a shock absorber. “Joker watch out!”
Ren pushed himself off the shadow up into the air and watched as spikes of ice erupted from the ground skewering the air where Ren had been standing. While in the air, Ren reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small red sphere. He pulled the pin like a grenade and threw it down with all his might watching it crack against the ice before combusting into a sea of flame turning the spikes into puddles of water and making the shadow flinch, if only a little but more than enough to give Ren an idea.
As he landed back on the ground a couple meters away from the shadow, he pulled out his knife and some metal twine, he started walking back towards the shadow slowly as he wrapped the twine tightly around the hilt of his knife making sure it was properly attached “You really don’t learn do you. Well no matter, in a moment I’ll be ready to explode and this time there will be nothing left of your filthy corpses.” Ren ignored the words coming from the monster, in another flash he was behind it, but instead of lingering this time, Ren stabbed his knife into the shadows flesh not caring about it’s lack of damage and went about executing his plan, he could feel the rumbling beneath him and couldn’t help but smirk a little at the monsters willingness to fall right into his trap, he moved quickly to dodge the ice and dashed around the shadow and after he felt the second spike of ice erupt from below, he knew he had everything under control.
It went on for as long as he could manage with the effects of the buff running out, dashing and jumping all around the shadow making a show of dodging each of the monsters ice skewers and before long Ren was back at his starting position, his breath heavy and his muscles sore. He could hear the shadows laughter from where he stood “No matter, even if I can’t kill you with my ice. My explosion will be more than enough to erase you all.” A large grin graced Ren’s lips as he caught his breath and stood up straight, pulling the line of nylon tight between his fingers “You know, I never thought I’d say this, but thank god you shadows are as arrogant as Kamoshida.”
Before the monster could question Ren’s words. The teens mask disappeared revealing another one of his persona that he received via fusion. A small fairy with amber wings flew beside him. “Agi.” The fairy produced a small spark that dropped down onto the nylon between Ren’s finger and soon the line was ablaze and swiftly travelled down the wire towards the Shadow which screamed in terror. Ren felt the shadow struggle against his grip, but Ren had no plans of letting the line go, easily holding onto it with his gloved hand.
The flames quickly enveloped the shadow and Ren could hear it’s cries of pain but he could tell it still wasn’t enough, he needed just a little more heat but wasn’t sure what to do, He was fully out of mana from Succubus applying his buffs and didn’t have any potions left to restore it. As Ren quickly tried to scramble together a plan, he felt the nylon become scalding hot in his hand, almost causing him to drop it on instinct alone. He looked up to see a column of flame burning around the shadow making the wire glow white with heat. He looked back to see Ann back on her feet, her eyes red from tears and Carmen behind her. “Castrate that piece of shit Joker.” Ren felt his spirit lift as he turned back towards the screaming shadow with a confidant smirk on his face. He grabbed the wire with his other hand ignoring the pain and pulled back with all his strength as he felt the wire tighten around the shadow before its heat started cutting through it. With one final pull, he felt the line go slack and saw a pile of ash lying where the shadow one stood.
Ren quickly turned back towards his friends and rushed over, Ryuji was sitting on one of the steps with Ann behind healing his back, when he saw Ren running towards him, he tried to stand up but felt a strong grip on his shoulder “You even try and move before I’m finished fixing your stupid back and that explosion will be the least of your worries.” He sat back down quickly with his back straight and Ren couldn’t help but collapse to his knees “Joker! Are you alright?” Ren had his face down hiding the smile that was on his lips “Yeah. I’m just happy you guys are alright.”
Ryuji blew some air out of his nose “That might be a bit of stretch. My back is a bit crispier than I’d like.”
The four laughed and after everyone was healed enough to walk. They made there way towards the door. Ren grabbed the handle and started pushing
“Let’s see what’s so important about this room.”
Chapter 25
Notes:
Hey guys. Sorry about not posting in a while.
I'll be honest, I'm finding it hard to find inspiration for this story right now. It might be because I was working a bit too hard on it and it was no longer becoming fun for me or maybe I'm just a bit tired of Persona 5 content as I've been playing the other shin megami games. Either way, I won't say that this series is dead but I'm not going to force myself to write a story I don't find interesting as that'll just leave no one happy.There might be a day when I get really back into this and crank out another 10 chapters but until then I hope you can understand if I don't release anything for a while. I do have a draft that I'll probably release at some point after cleaning it up a bit so you can look forward to that but after. Well who knows.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chpater none the less.
Chapter Text
The four stood in front of the door. Each of them battered and bruised in different ways from the previous fight. They shared a look that expressed their readiness for whatever may be behind. Ren placed his hand against the door feeling the cool metal through his glove. With a forceful push, the looming slab of metal creaked open with a groan that filled the expansive stairway.
Ren held his hand up to silently tell the team to hold position. He walked in by himself activating his third eye in the process to quickly scan the room without having to wait for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The room was smaller than he expected considering the size of the door and the shadow that guarded it. The room itself couldn’t have been any bigger than his room in Leblanc and all that was occupying the space was what looked like a dying tree with some sort of fruit sprouting from it.
“It’s all clear, you can come in.” The others quickly followed behind Ren not wanting to let their friend be alone in any part of the castle for longer than necessary. They all walked towards the centre of the room where the tree stood. “What’s up with this creepy tree.” Ren didn’t respond, he walked closer than the rest to examine the fruit that was hanging from it, the skull shaped plant unsettled the boy. “It’s a will seed.” The three turned towards Morgana who had just spoken. The way he muttered it made it seem like he was confirming it with himself, Ren raised an eyebrow “How do you know that?” The cat’s eyes went wide as he realised that he was heard before a pained expression replaced it. “I… don’t know. I just do.” Ren let out a puff of air before turning back towards the fruit “Your amnesia is becoming very convenient. Can you at least tell us what a will seed is?”
Ren felt somewhat guilty when he saw the way Morgana reacted to his statement but decided to apologise later when he wasn’t as tired, he was more concerned about whether this will seed would be worth the risk he imposed on his friends. “The best way I can describe it is as a more condensed form of Kamoshida’s more secretive desires. Think of the palace as the structure of his distorted wills and wants and the will seed as the things he himself isn’t aware of.”
Ren let the explanation process, his eyes never leaving the fruit and its ominous skull shaped appearance, he felt that the longer he stared at it the more unsettling it became. A few minutes of silence passed before Ren made his move. He grabbed the fruit firmly between his gloved fingers and with a swift motion plucked it from its root. The door they entered from slammed shut and everyone went on the defensive. Everyone bar Ren who was still focused on the object within his hand, he could see in his peripheral vision that the tree that held it started to wither away into nothing and while every sign screamed that he had just fallen into a trap, he couldn’t feel any need to worry or escape, the instincts that had gotten him through many fights previously weren’t going off leaving the boy feeling oddly calm.
“You and I are a lot alike criminal.” Ren looked up to find himself standing face to face with a shadow Kamoshida. “Joker watch out—” The three were cut off by Ren holding his hand up signalling them to stay where they were “He isn’t the real one.” He looked the shadow in its eyes before responding “What do you mean?” Kamoshida simply smiled at the teen before extending his arms “I mean I was a lot like you. Nobody wanted me, my family didn’t think much of me, I didn’t have any friends. Girls wouldn’t give me the time of day.” Ren noticed he said that last part with a more bitter tone then the rest but knew better then to call him out on it, deciding to let him continue before offering his own opinion. “But that all changed when I went to the Olympics, everyone loved me, everyone wanted a piece of me. Every girl wanted me to take them.” Ren could feel Ann shifting uncomfortably behind him “But after a while they all forgot about me, now look at me. I’m just some gym teacher and they all want to ride on my coat tails. They don’t understand, I should be treated like god, yet they still ask me to do more and more. Can you really blame me for the things I’ve done? Me taking those stuck-up high school girls for myself, that’s just me taking what I’m owed. You understand don’t you, if you were in my position, you’d do the same.”
Ren didn’t move for a moment, content with tossing the fruit in his hand as he pondered what he just heard. He started to move forward, tossing the seed over his head, hearing Ryuji scramble to catch it. When he was standing toe to toe with Kamoshida, he reached into his pocket while offering the shadow the plastic smile he got used to wearing around those he didn’t care for. In one fluid motion his pulled out his gun before popping a bullet in each of the shadow’s kneecaps, he watched as the mirage of Kamoshida collapsed onto the floor screaming as his smile faded into a glare of hatred and disgust.
He continued to watch the shadow writhe on the floor before bending down to get closer to its face. He grabbed the monster by its hair and tugged it so that his face was angled towards Ren and its eyes were met with the teens. “Don’t ever tell me that you and I are alike. I have suffered plenty of injustice in life, but I have never once felt like I’m owed anything. I’ll use my strength and experience to forge my own path, and I’ll use that strength to help the people I care about. That’s how I’ll validate my life. But you.” He tugged on the shadow’s hair just a little harder “You are a monster. A stain on society. You deserve nothing better than to rot in a prison for the rest of your life. When we’re finished with you, you are going to wish we killed you.” Ren pressed the barrel of his gun beneath the crying shadows chin aiming upwards, not hesitating for even a second before he pulled the trigger and watching as its head disappeared into a puff a black smoke.
Everyone stood deathly still as they watched the events take place and after Ren had finished off the shadow, no one dared make a sound. No one besides Ryuji who had walked towards his friend still awkwardly holding onto the will seed. “You okay dude?” Ren took a deep breath before exhaling it slowly, he turned around showing his friend the confident smile he knew they needed to see. “I will be when I burn this castle to the ground.” Ryuji shook his head indignantly “Dude what is up with you and fire. You sure you weren’t busted for arson?” Ren let out a light chuckle as he recounted the times where he’d burn homework he didn’t want to show his dad before he walked to Ryuji, taking the seed out of his hand and watched as its barky flesh started to glow a deep crimson before it morphed itself into a silver ring.
“Hey guys we have a problem.” The three teens looked at Morgana who was busy trying to push the metal door that had closed behind them. “It’s not opening, I thought after Kamoshida was dealt with then it’d budge, but no dice.”
“For real?” Ryuji ran towards the door banging his shoulder against it in a desperate attempt to force it open, to no one’s surprise, the door remained tightly shut with Ryuji now clutching his shoulder. “You idiot, I don’t have much mana left so make this the last time you get hurt.”
“Hold up Panther.” Ann was stopped just before casting Día by Ren placing a hand gently on her shoulder, she gave the boy a confused look which he reciprocated with a kind one. “Don’t worry, you’ll get to help our hot-blooded friend, but put this ring on first.” She looked between Ren and the ring, the disgust of wearing anything that had any relation to Kamoshida evident on her face. “Trust me on this one.” With a resigned sigh, she took the ring from Ren’s hand before reluctantly slipping it on her index finger. She immediately felt a new power course through her body, she looked at Ren who nodded in Ryuji’s direction, try healing him now.
With Carmen behind her now, Ann conjured the spell that had manifested in her mind, this time instead of Día, the words ‘champions ballad’ flashed and without any hesitation, she spoke them aloud aiming towards Ryuji who was still standing there clutching his shoulder looking at his friends totally perplexed by what was happening.
A green light much like Dia enveloped the blonde boy and soon he could feel his sore shoulder heal itself. After the light had faded, the two teens looked at Ren curious about what it was all about. Ren just grinned as leaned back. “Skull, try blowing the door open with Captain Kidd.” Ryuji didn’t seem impressed with his friends plan. He pointed at the door before stating “Dude, my shoulder can tell you that isn’t a great idea.” Ren just shrugged at Ryuji’s doubt “Just humour me.” With a sigh, the blondes shoulders dropped as he half-heartedly removed his mask summoning his persona behind him.
He pointed at the door blocking their path and with a bit more vigour yelled “Blast it away Captain!” Almost immediately, the four could tell something was different as the persona aimed it’s canon at the metal door. Even without his third eye, Ren could see the power emanating from the skeletal pirate. A moment went by before the Captain unloaded its canon ball at the door with an explosion of magic gunpowder so strong that it sent everyone’s hair flying as the projectile connected with metal, shattering the door into many pieces and leaving both Ryuji and Ann’s jaws on the floor.
Ren moved forward with his lips quirked upwards, he put his hand on Ryuji’s shoulder as he walked past “And that is why we trust Joker’s hunches.” With a chuckle, he left the room with Morgana hopping beside them leaving the two gawking at the damage of their combined effort. “That rings special isn’t it.” Ren nodded, his smile wavering only slightly “I don’t like using something that came from this guy’s mind, but we have to take any advantage we can get.” Ren looked up the staircase, his expression somewhat grim about continuing before he felt a hand on his shoulder. Standing next to him was his best friend “So what’s the plan?”
The team decided to hold a discussion about what to do after they reached the next safe room. They made there way back up the stairs, passing their entry point and continuing further up into new territory. They found themselves standing in front of a door waiting for Ren to make the next move. He tried activating his third eye again but as he had anticipated, he had used it too much since coming into the palace, so he settled for the tried and true method of placing his ear against the cool wooden door, listening out for any signs of enemies. After as few moments he carefully grabbed the handle before twisting it and slowly opened the door. While he hadn’t heard any footsteps, he still heard movement of some kind.
He peeked through the open crack and his eyes went wide with what he saw. The room was large but that was all he could tell as the walls and floors kept morphing in and out of realty, the whole structure of the room seemed to shift before his very eyes. “What the hell is going on?” Ren glanced to his side where Ryuji had waddled beside him to get a look at the room. Morgana hopped onto his head using it as a vantage point much to the blonde’s chagrin “We must be getting close to the treasure; the distortions are getting more and more intense.”
Ren scanned the room looking for anything useful or dangerous when his eyes fell on the only parts that seemed to remain stationary in the ever-changing layout. A set of double doors that screamed vanity on the other side of the room and a familiar mundane door that signalled the entrance to a safe room. Ren stood up stretching his legs before slowly opening the door further and signalling to the rest their new destination. They gave an affirmative nod before readying themselves to follow Ren into the room.
As the four walked through the door, Ren could feel the familiar sensation of eyes watching him. Before he had a chance to investigate the source of the feeling, the door slammed behind the four with the distinct sound of a lock clicking following suit. A gust of wind sent the four staggering away from the door forcing them to the centre of the room where two shadows made their presence known. The shadows took the form of overly muscular men, but that wasn’t what made them hard to look at, It was the what adorned the beasts, each of the shadows hovered in the air with a set of wings but where the angels wings had looked somewhat dignified and classy, these shadow’s wings were avian in nature with odd mismatched colours and the pulsating blood vessels indicating their actual physiological connection to the body, only further reinforced by the grotesque bird head that sat on the floating muscle.
“Well look what we have here brother. I dare say that these are the unwelcome guests that King Kamoshida has told us about.’
“Why I must agree with you their brother. Now what were our orders again.” The shadow rubbed its chin before clicking its fingers. “I just remembered; we are to exterminate—”
BANG
A gunshot echoed through the room piecing one the shadows wings bringing the creature crashing to the floor. Ren quickly spun to face the other with the smoke of the first show still billowing from his pistol “RUN!” The four started dashing towards the safe room as the shadows roared in outrage and followed suit only being kept back by there fear of Ren’s pistol that was letting off precise shots towards there wings. They were halfway towards there destination when Ren’s pistol clicked indicating a lack of rounds in the magazine. After giving the trigger a couple more presses just to be certain, he tossed the weapon with all his strength at the bird hitting it square in the head causing it to relent slightly in it’s chase but that only slowed it down.
They continued to run with all the strength there tired muscles could produce and as Ren watched his 3 friends burst through the door, he felt cold sharp talons dig into his shoulders ripping him away from the safety that was just barely out of reach. He could see the floor get further away from him as he was lifted into the air. He tried to reach for his knife, but the talons lodged in his shoulder made any movement of his arms unbearably painful. As Ren was sure that his final stroke of luck had ran out. He heard the familiar blast of a shotgun echo in the room and one of his shoulders become much lighter. He looked to his right and found the foot of the beast still lodged in his shoulder but no longer attached to the shadow, he wasn’t about to waste the opportunity of escape that his friends had given him, he reached into his coat and pulled out his knife, he knew that from his position that he’d have no chance to actually slay the monster so he instead used the sharp blade to sever the other foot holding onto him.
After he felt the blade cleanly slice through the foot that was the preventing him from free falling towards the hard ground. He felt the weightlessness of his body overtake him as he started his descent, he heard the angered cry of the shadow that had lost its prey and looked up to see it diving towards him. Through gritted teeth, he moved him arm and grabbed him mask “Come Hua Pao.” The small fairy emerged from thin air and followed closely behind as he plummeted towards the earth. With his remaining mana, he willed the persona to shoot out a wall of flames and watched as the shadow’s eyes went wide and stopped in placed seemingly fearful of the fire.
Ren felt the cushioning air of Morgana’s magic catch him and Ren was quickly back on his feet and dashing towards the open safe room ignoring the screeching of birds behind him as he leaped through the open passage and helping Ryuji slam the door shut. “So… Any plans?”
Ren found himself sitting on the couch wrapping his shoulders with bandages as his friends tried to come to a unanimous decision about what to do. Ryuji put his hands on the table “I think we should try and beat them.” Ann crossed her arms and stared at the boy in disbelief “And how do you plan on doing that, we’re running low on potions and did you see what they did to Ren. We should back off for the day.”
“We know what to expect now, we can heal up and come up with a plan. I don’t want to give Kamoshida any more time than necessary. What if taking that will seed thing makes him go crazy or something?” The three looked at Morgana expecting him to have something to say about his theory but they could only hang there heads when they saw the feline shake his head “I don’t know a lot about will seeds, Skull could be right or he could be wrong.” Ann threw up her hands in frustration “That still doesn’t change the fact that we can’t beat those gross bird things yet.”
Ren started to tune there arguing out as he began formulating possible plans. Ryuji was right, they had the advantage of being able to plan out their method of attack this time, unlike what happened with the archangel. Ren could tell that the shadows had an aversion to fire and were susceptible to gun fire. He reached into his coat and pulled out his pistol that had rematerialized there and checked its magazine which was freshly stocked, A quirk of the metaverse where no matter how often he emptied it, it would be refilled at the start of every new battle.
Despite knowing their weaknesses, that didn’t make up for the fact that they were dealing with two enemies that were much faster than any of them. A problem he had a probable solution for but lacked the means of using due to his reluctance to tell his friends about the velvet room.
“Hey dude you good?” Ren snapped back at the sound of Ryuji’s voice and realised that everyone was staring at him with worried eyes as he held the bandage making no effort to actually patch up his wounds. He quickly resumed his task ignoring the question for a second to come up with an excuse only to be asked a much more difficult one “Hey Joker, I didn’t want to pry because it seems like you have your reasons. But where did you get those new personas from anyways. We could really use the extra fire power?” Ren’s body went stiff before he took a deep breath. He looked at his friends and a thought crossed his mind.
Was he really willing to risk the live of the few friends he had found in Tokyo for his own little secret? What was he really scared of, upsetting Igor by breaking a rule that hadn’t actually been placed on him? or was he just scared that if his friends found out that he was special, that if he had an apparent role in all of this, that they’d be scared of him, that they’d not want to associate with him anymore. That’d he’d be alone once again.
He looked at his friends in each of their eyes, examining their concern and felt a strange sense of déjà vu. The looks they gave him oddly enough reminded him of the way his mother had looked at him when he was sick of scared of being yelled at. Through a shaky breath he managed to calm his nerves a bit before saying “I have a lot I need to explain.”
Explaining the velvet room was surprisingly easier than he had anticipated. He talked about his first encounter with Arsene on the day he came to Tokyo as well as the strange dreams he’d have at night. He explained his two wardens and their ability to combine weaker persona’ into the stronger ones that they saw. He even told Ann about his third eye and how he had used it to find her in that massive crowd at the station.
After he was done explaining everything, he couldn’t help but hold his breath in anticipation at their response. Many different possibilities ran through his head and while he was sure that they’d still accept him, a small part of his mind was scared shitless that they’d look at him differently from before. What he wasn’t expecting was Ryuji’s exclamation “Dude…That’s so cool.” Ren raised his eyebrow slowly as he felt the air escape his lungs in relief. The blonde rushed towards him with a gleam in his eyes “That means you can get make persona, all these awesome looking bad-ass creatures with crazy powers and you can just make them by fusing others together?” Ren backed away slightly to create some distance between their faces “I guess so?” Before the blonde could close the distance again, Ann had her hand around the boy’s collar dragging him back and taking his place standing menacingly over Ren. He was expecting a strong slap to put him in place for hiding it, his eyes widened in surprise when he felt her arms wrap around his neck and pulling him towards her “You idiot, why would you hide something like that if it was stressing you out like this. I’m already mad at myself for not doing anything for Shiho. Don’t make me worry about you as well dumb ass.” Ren smile as he leaned his head against her body “I’m sorry Panther, I’ll talk about this stuff in the future before I let it get this bad.” She quickly let the boy go before turning around, obviously trying to hide her prickling tears. “You better… You’re our friend after all”
As if to try and brighten the mood, Ryuji slapped Ren on the back causing his fresh wounds to sting with an almost unbearable pain and eliciting a death glare from the raven-haired boy. “Oops, sorry about that. Anyway, why are we still hanging around here, let’s get our trump card a new persona so we can kick those bird-brained shadows asses.” After Ren was tired at glaring of his friend, he lifted himself up and pulled out his phone with a smirk on his face “Sounds like a plan Skull.”
Chapter 26
Notes:
If the writing quality doesn't seem to be as polished as before. I apologise but I will say that I felt a lot better about writing this chapter then I had when writing the last couple. I think taking time to not think about the story helped myself from railroading myself into certain ideas.
As before, any feedback is welcome.
Enjoy
Chapter Text
The four stood at the front of the castle, clutching their stomach feeling the effects of the drawn-out expedition and shifting worlds cause a wave of nausea to wash over each of them. While Ren and Ann were able to keep their composure, Ryuji and Morgana weren’t as lucky, both rushing towards the nearest bush to relieve their stomachs.
After a few minutes, the two managed to walk back towards Ann and Ren with wobbly knees and distraught faces “I thought I was finally getting used to the whole warping thing.” Ren peered over the blonde’s shoulder spying a green puddle that laid on top of the grass. He gave his friend a sympathetic smile and smacked him on the back as he walked past towards the metal door “Don’t worry bud, I’ll be sure to refill that stomach with all the ramen you could want.”
Ren had to hold in his laughter as he saw Ryuji’s face turn a deeper shade of green before he slapped his hand against his mouth, most likely to hold back anything that may still left in his stomach “You’re still pissed about me slapping your back earlier aren’t you.” Ren didn’t give a verbal response, instead holding his fingers just an inch apart from each other. The blonde sighed before he started following Ren with Ann and Morgana not far behind. “So where is this velvet room you were talking about?” Ren pointed towards what he assumed was only thin air for his friends but to him was a metal door with a very irate looking warden tapping her foot impatiently.”
“Inmate, you have some nerve making my master wait this long for you—” Ren ignored his wardens berating and walked directly through the doorway fully prepared for whatever punishment Igor was planning to give him. Driven purely by his desire to end this heist as quickly as possible and get his friends out of trouble. A bright light flooded Ren’s senses and he was back in the familiar sterilised velvet room, no matter how often he would go there, he never felt welcomed.
He looked up to see Igor tapping his long fingers against the wooden desk and his other warden looking downcast beside him. It didn’t take a detective to understand that Igor was less the pleased with Ren’s presence “Ah trickster, I’m so pleased that you were able to spare me some of you precious time.” Ren bit his tongue, holding back all the things he would have said had he not been in a hurry. “Igor I really don’t have time for one of your lectures, I need to fuse some personas and—".
Before Ren had a chance to notice. Igor’s fingers stopped tapping and the next thing he knew; he felt an intense weight fall on his shoulders as if a giant was trying to squash him under its palm. Ren tried to keep himself standing but as the pressure continued to build, he could do little to stop his legs from crumbling beneath him forcing him first to his knees and then quickly to his stomach flattening his entire body against the cold floor beneath him. All Ren could do was move his head to meet the man’s eyes.
“Now that I have your attention, maybe you’ll appreciate what I wanted to originally give you before.” Ren couldn’t move a muscle as he watched Igor motion for Caroline to do as he commanded. With little hesitation, the small girl quickly made her way towards an object that Ren didn’t recognise and hastily removed its tarp, revealing to Ren his new tool and removing the wight that was previously holding him down. Perhaps it was due to the weight being gone and being able to breathe normally again or maybe it was happiness that Igor was letting him get away with what equated to a slap on the wrist but as he stared at the cold metallic electric chair in front of him, he could feel his body relax, if only slightly. With still shaking legs he looked back to Igor knowing full well that the long-nosed man was itching to explain his new toy. “I present to you trickster my final gift.” he motioned to the chair with his hand like a game show host “With this chair, you can sacrifice your persona’s to transform them into weapons inconceivable in realty, surely it’ll come in handy for future battles. And that’s not all. Girls.” Ren looked down as his wardens sauntered up to his cell, both holding onto a comically large book. “This is the compendium, we will record every persona you recruit and create and for a nominal fee, you can use this book to summon past personas.” The two explained in unison, Ren’s eyes widened as he realised exactly what they meant. He didn’t hesitate as he asked, “Can you bring him back?” The two girls looked to each other and Ren was almost certain that he saw the faintest glimmer of a smile ghost their lips as they opened the book.
Ren stared in awe as he saw the pages begin to turn on their own, slowly as first before quickly picking up in speed as the wind around them began to quicken as well. He couldn’t stop the widest grin from growing on his face as he saw the wind begin to form into a vortex obscuring a part of his view before revealing an old friend. There he floated, dressed in a shining red suit and jet-black wings. His first persona. Arsene.
“Trickster. It is good to see you once again.” Ren only smiled in response as he held out a fist towards the floating gentleman thief waiting patiently for his persona to return the gesture, which he did with no hesitation. He looked back at Igor who was happily tapping his fingers. “As much as I know you’d love to hear me apologise and thank you for your gifts Igor. I’m in a bit of a hurry so I won’t be staying for long.”
“I take it you didn’t summon me simply to talk. Surely you have a plan.” Ren felt a sadistic smile start to form on his lips as he looked at his first persona and pointed past him. “Get in the chair.”
Ren was in the process of exiting the velvet room when he heard Igor’s deep voice speak to him. “Trickster, I went easy on your punishment but that’s only for the sake of making sure you next fight is fair. Do not expect to get away with such insolence in the future.” Ren stopped moving after hearing the man’s words, he smiled lightly to himself before holding his right hand over his shoulder proudly displaying his middle finger. “If I’m going to be playing your game then don’t expect me to play by the rules.” He didn’t wait for a response before he walked to the end of the cell and exited his personal prison.
“Hey dude, how’d everything go?” Ren looked at his friends and finally felt like he could breathe easy again. He smirked at his band of thieves as he called upon one of his new persona’s and brandished his new knife. “Koppa Tengu!” A man of smaller stature with wings appeared behind the Raven-haired trickster to a muted reaction from his blonde friend. “Uh, is he our trump card? Gonna be honest, he looks kinda weak.” Ren rolled his eyes but kept his smile, he walked past his blonde friend patting him on the shoulder “Come on, when have my plans ever gone wrong?”
“Uh—” Ren held out his finger interrupting Ryuji mid-sentence “Rhetorical.”
After another warp, the four were standing back in the room they had previously been in. They could hear the shadows outsides flapping their wings and occasionally beating on the door in a vain attempt to break it down. Ren looked to each of his friends with a smirk. “Everyone know the plan?” He watched them nod their head, each adorning a smile with similar energy to his. Ren’s own grew larger as he started bending his knees. “Alright then on my mark.” Ryuji walked to the door grabbing its handle, ready to open it at Ren’s signal, he felt a small weight hold onto his back and the effects of Ann’s healing buff strengthen his tired body.
Ren listened carefully, tuning out all other sense that weren’t important, focusing solely on the sound of the shadow’s wings flapping outside the door, he continued to listen and slowly started to figure the pattern they were taking and finally after 5 minutes of painful silence from everyone, he whispered under his breath “Koppa Tengu. Sukukaja.” A beat passed before Ren yelled “NOW!” Ryuji yanked the door open and Ren didn’t waste a second propelling himself forward with an arm outstretched. When he felt a feathery neck collide with his forearm, he knew his timing was perfect as he went sailing across the large room with a shadow coming along for the ride.
The two scaled the entire distance in less than a few seconds before Ren used his momentum to launch the shadow ahead of him into the wall, he watched as the concrete cracked under the pressure and for a moment he was hoping that was all it would take to deal with enemy. A notion quickly snuffed as the dust settled revealing a fuming shadow picking himself out of the wall. “I’m going to enjoy ripping you to shreds!” The shadow swiftly closed the distance at a blistering speed with talons outstretched ready to dig themselves into Ren’s arms.
Only this time, instead of the familiar sensation of razor-sharp claws piercing flesh, the shadow only found itself grasping at empty air. Its face quickly went from confused to panicked as it noticed Ren’s presence behind it. Just in time to turn its face directly into Ren’s boot, sending it flying even further from its companion who was busy dealing with Ryuji and Ann. As the shadow started to prop itself back up, Ren started sauntering towards the abomination twirling his knife in the air. “Now I haven’t even paid you back for first flight you took me on.” The shadow produced a low growl from its throat before lunging again at the trickster with a speed far beyond anything a normal human could react to. But once again, instead of the feeling of ripping deep into flesh, it only felt a cold metal scraping against both its talons.
Ren stood there with each of the shadows feet against his knifes. In his left was the knife he bought from Iwai and in his right was a new knife. A thin blade protruding from the top of a Cane, a weapon born from his persona’s soul. Ren looked past his crossed arms directly at the shadow “Shall we dance?” With a speed that rivalled the shadows, Ren brought his foot with pointed toes directly against the monster’s temple dazing the creature, Ren let both of his knifes disappear and used his now free hands to prop himself against the ground using the leverage to rocket his foot upwards catching the shadow under its chin sending the beast into the air. Before it could get too high up, Ren grabbed the beast by its foot and with his enhanced strength slammed the shadow into the ground cracking the marble floor and sending shards of concrete and dust flying.
Using the momentum, Ren threw himself into the air and brought both his knifes out before diving back towards the ground sinking both blades into the shadow’s wings pinning it to floor. Ren raised his foot into the air but felt his vision blur as his body became heavy. Realising too late that the buffs had worn off leaving him unable to avoid the shadows talons that raised behind him and threw him back. As his back collided with the hard floor, he felt the air forced out of his lungs leaving the teen winded and unable to react as the shadows human hands wrapped around his throat holding him in place. He managed to glance back to where he had pinned it and saw two patches of feathered wings still pinned beneath his knifes.
“You did well to match my speed. And for that I’ll give you a quick death.” As Ren felt the pressure tighten around his throat. He could only manage to do one last thing.
He laughed.
As he continued to laugh, he felt the pressure loosen and saw the shadows confused face which only caused him to laugher harder. The shadows face quickly turned from confusion to frustration at the boy’s lack of concern and growled “What is so funny.” Between short breaths, Ren managed to reply, “How many people are fighting your brother.” The shadow glanced to its side but not wanting to let his prey potentially slip away, wasn’t able to see his counterpart, but Ren continued regardless “I’ll give you a hint, half my team is fighting him. And there’s two of them.” In the moment it took the shadow to figure out the meaning of Ren’s word, one of Ren’s knifes pierced the shadows neck, it slumped forward slightly revealing the small body of Morgana who had jumped off Ren’s back during the fight. Before the beast could resist, Ren reach behind the shadows neck grabbing the hilt of his knife and twisted it until it tore through shadows neck, successfully ending its life and turning it to dust.
Fatigue washed over Ren but he managed to keep himself from passing out, with the help of Morgana, he propped himself so that he was sitting just in time to watch the second shadow lunging towards him in what he could only imagine was a blind fury for killing his brother. Ren didn’t even flinch though as he saw Ann’s barbed whip wrap tightly around the shadows foot causing it to plant itself directly into the ground giving Ryuji enough time to sprint towards an immobilised shadow smashing it’s head with his mace like it was a tee ball.
Ren watched the second shadow turn to dust and let out a sigh of relief before falling flat on his back, it took all his willpower to keep his eyes open but he managed to stave off the desire to sleep as his friends walked over to him and Morgana “You good dude?” Ren couldn’t bring himself to respond so he just gave a tired thumbs up. Even though he couldn’t see their faces, he could tell they were rolling their eyes with a smile before they both reached out to help him stand.
He tried to move towards the large doors but as soon as he took his first step, the stiffness in his joints and muscles threatened to send him falling, but before his knees could give out, he felt and arm under each of his shoulders. He looked to his sides and saw two heads of blonde hair holding him up “If you can’t move just say so you idiot.”
“Yeah what she said.” Ren smiled and let his head dip so that his hair would help cover his bashfulness. The four started towards the door slowly as to not put any extra burden on Ren’s tired body. They reached the set of massive doors and together, all four managed to push them open revealing and extravagantly decorated throne room. The three teens gave each other a wary look but before any of them could raise their concerns, Morgana bolted past them with a speed that might have rivalled Ryuji’s own. “Hey where are you going you dumb cat.” Ren felt his body become much heavier as Ryuji left him for Ann to solely hold up as he chased after the cat, until both were disappeared behind the massive throne blocking their view. “Hey skull don’t just run off own your own.” The only response the blond girl got was an annoying silence which elicited a tired and frustrated sigh from her while Ren could only chuckle to himself before he started moving nudging Ann to follow along.
When the two eventually caught up the their friends, they could only stand and look on in awe as they entered the small room behind the massive throne and saw what could only be described as an excessive amount of treasure filling the room. Cold coins littered the floor as it spilled out from chests, so much in fact that it created a pile bigger than any of them in the centre of the room. Jewellery studded with precious gemstones were scattered with no concern as if they were plastic toys left out by an overprivileged child. But oddly enough, what drew each of the thief’s attention wasn’t the decadent amount of fortune on display but rather a faint shimmering light that floated above the centre pile of gold. Despite having no physical appearance, it demanded their attention. “What the hell is that?”
“That’s the treasure.” Morgana mumbled his reply seemingly broken from his trance like state, this only garnered a more confused look from the former track star. “That’s the treasure? That’s the thing we risked our lives for. I can’t even tell what it’s supposed to be.” Morgana glared at the teen, obviously irritated about being questioned on his deduction. “Of course, you can’t idiot. The treasure only appears when the owner is made aware that he has one.” Morgana looked over at Ren, hopeful that he’d get what he was talking about but only frowned when he saw the raven-haired teen shake his head indicating that even he didn’t understand what he was talking about. With a sigh, the cat continued “Basically, if the palace owner doesn’t know that his treasure is going to be stolen then it won’t appear, we need to bring it to the forefront of Kamoshida’s mind.”
“Alright, so how do we do that.” Morgana seemed to gain a bit more vigour when he heard Ann’s question, happy to be given a chance to show off to her. With a puffed-out chest he continued “We send him a calling card.” Ren had to hold in his laughter when he looked over and saw how Ryuji’s face lit up. “DUDE! That’s totally what a thief would do. Oh. Can I do it?” Ann and Morgana looked at each other with trepidation. “I don’t know skull; it sounds like a really important job.”
“I know but I promise I’ll take it seriously; I mean who else is going to do it. I’ve seen your art Panther and if you’re still as bad as you were in primary school then I don’t think you’ll do any better.” Ann looked like she wanted to complain but as soon as she saw the way Ryuji was looking at her, she couldn’t stop herself from caving “Alright, If joker doesn’t have any issues then I guess we could leave it to you.” Ryuji’s head shot right over to Ren who despite enjoying the whole show he was watching, was really starting to feel the effects of their extended expedition. He gave a simple shrug “I’m leaving it you Skull.”
The four stood at the gates, Ann and Ryuji were still helping Ren stand as he opened the meta nav on his phone. With a final press the world began to shift and the four found themselves standing in the alleyway they had used to enter. Ren tested the strength of his legs without his friends help and while they stung as if had just ran a marathon, they seemingly weren’t the jellylike consistency they had been in the metaverse. “So, Ren.” The teen looked over at his friend “You ready to buy me that Ramen?” Ren was about to crack a joke but was swiftly interrupted by his stomach rumbling. It took all his effort to stop his face from turning a shade of pink before relenting “Sure. I could really go for some chicken anyways.”
Chapter Text
Ren was in the process of getting ready for bed, still steaming from his trip to the bathhouse across from Leblanc when Morgana asked the boy a question. “Are you sure about waiting to send Kamoshida the calling card.” Ren remained quiet, using the time of changing into the clothes he frequently slept in to formulate a response.
After a few minutes all he could offer was a sigh of resignation. “I don’t know Morgana; this is the final stretch and I’m worried about rushing into something we’re not fully prepared for.” Morgana hopped from his position on the desk to the comfort of his bed, Ren couldn’t help but notice a slight glare coming from his feline roommate “I don’t know why you’re hesitating, we’re not going to get any stronger waiting around.” Perhaps it was due to his tired body or his exhausted mind but Ren wasn’t in the mood to be talked down too by yet another person in his life. He took a step towards his bed and the cat sitting on top of it. “Why are you so eager to take the treasure, you know I was ok with letting your history and reasons slide under the radar. But don’t forget that we’re risking our lives here. All of us.” He took another step forward until he was towering over the small body of fur “I will not. Put my friends lives in unnecessary danger again.”
A silence fell over the room and when he saw the look of worry on his friend’s face, Ren lets his tense body relax.
He reached forward and rubbed morganas head.
“That includes you as well Morgana.”
The added addition of being called Ren’s friend seemed to calm the cat enough for him to reconsider arguing. Both of them let out a tired breath as Ren went to turn off the light. “We’re both exhausted, let’s talk about this with everyone tomorrow okay? I’ll admit that I don’t feel comfortable waiting as well.” The yawn that came from his bed seemed to be all the affirmation the teen was going to get which was enough for him as it meant he could finally sleep.
It didn’t take long after resting his head on his admittedly stiff pillow before it shifted into a much less comfortable surface. Ren’s eyes squinted shut in a desperate attempt to ignore the three other presences around him and simply drift back to sleep but once he heard the sound of a baton smacking against the metal bars and the click of a clip board, that Ren was forced to accept reality. Ironic as that may sound.
Ren’s eyes opened and he felt his tired body move on routine to sit himself up and shuffle to the bars. Hoping that whatever Igor wanted to tell him would be said quickly and allow the teen to return to the quiet respite of slumber. “What is it now Igor?” Ren immediately regretted being so hasty with his words as he noticed far too late that the man’s fingers weren’t tapping their usual rhythm against the desk he sat at. “I told you this before that the punishment I gave you earlier was light. But now that you’ve successfully survived another hurdle. I feel no need to abstain from showing you what it means to take my guidance and generosity for granted.”
Before Ren could even try and talk his way out. He felt a pressure inside his head, where it felt mildly uncomfortable to begin with, it quickly ramped up in pain and not a moment later, Ren was on his knees desperately clutching his skull in a vain attempt to keep in from splitting open like a watermelon. But the pain only continued to escalate, the pressure building causing his whole body to sweat, then tears to spill from his eyes blurring his vision until finally the pain became so painful that his body started to convulse. In that moment Ren understood what he was experiencing, he was on the verge of death. The message he got from Igor’s face was clear despite the man’s expression never changing.
‘I can kill you whenever I please. You are my toy to play with.’
Ren’s eyes shot open as his entire body lurched forward. He could taste bile in the back of his throat and the sweat that covered his body chilled him to his very core with the weak breeze that came from his open window. He felt Morgana stir beside him before the cat raised its head, eyes still groggy from sleep “Ren? Are you okay?” In that moment, vivid memories of what just happened flooded his mind and the bile in his throat threated to topple over. He grabbed the sheet, throwing it off and sprinting towards the bathroom downstairs to relieve his stomach.
After a few minutes of grotesque sounds coming from below, Ren eventually stumbled his way back up the stairs. “Ren? What happened” He looked at his friend but didn’t have to energy to explain all that happened, so he settled for just rubbing the cat’s soft fur. “Just a bad dream. I’d rather not talk about it. You go back to sleep alright.” Morgana looked like he wanted to push harder to get Ren to talk but as soon as he saw the pained expression the teen was trying so hard to hide, he thought it’d do more harm than good. With some trepidation, Morgana laid his head on the bed expecting to feel the weight shift under Ren’s body. Instead he only heard the sound of a chair scaping across a wooden floor. “Ren?” the boy just waved his hand over his head after turning the lamp on “I’m just gonna do some homework and calm myself down a bit. I’ll go back to sleep later.” Morgana really wanted to argue with the teen telling him that he needed to sleep but he thought it’d be hypocritical when he himself had spent nights awake because of nightmares. He could only hope that Ren’s common sense would prevent him from pulling an all-nighter.
Ren couldn’t stop his hand from shaking. Even when he told himself that what he had experienced wasn’t real, that it was by definition a cognition of his creation. It did little to calm his buzzing nerves or settle his beating heart. No matter how much he tried to convince himself, his instincts were screaming that what he experienced may has well been reality.
Ren risked glancing at his phone and immediately regretted it, As the neon screen lit up telling him just how early it was. He had to stifle his groan of frustration less risk waking up his roommate knowing full well that he could only put off explaining what happened for so long. He opened his desk drawer pulling out a few textbooks and question sheets Makoto had given, praying that the mixture of boring homework and the warm memories of Makoto at the arcade may lull him into some sort of slumber.
It didn’t and now Ren found himself walking to school with everyone’s eyes on his slouched posture and baggy eyes and he could already feel the new batch of rumours coming from his appearance alone.
“I bet he was out all night beating up rival gangs.”
“The guy is definitely on drugs.”
“Maybe he’s feeling remorseful about killing someone”
Ren wanted to ditch so badly. Find a nice corner of the city with some stray cats and just take a nap. His exhausted mind was already calculating the best cat to use as a pillow but quickly scrapped the idea when he saw his favourite gym teacher manning the gate. Looking directly at him with his slimy smug smile. “Ah Amamiya-kun. Happy to see your taking your school life seriously despite knowing you’ll be gone—” Ren was already 3 steps past him when Kamoshida cut himself short to place a firm grip on the teens shoulder “Now now, even you know it’s rude to ignore your teacher right.” Ren let out a sigh, he was already fed up with the school day and it hadn’t even begun yet.
On a better day and with more sleep under his belt, he would have a million verbal response’s he could use to mitigate any chances of him being reprimanded for. But he was far too tired to think of any, so he decided to gamble with a physical taunt. He ignored Kamoshida as he shoved one of his hands into his coat pocket fishing around for a bit until he pulled it out, revealing a shiny coin. He started flipping the coin in his free hand for a good while until he was certain he had the teacher’s attention. After one final flip, he grabbed the coin and readied for another before subtly tilting his hand directly towards Kamoshida’s head before letting it fly. He didn’t have to look to see his shot was a direct hit as the ping from the metal coin bouncing off the gym teacher’s skull was more than enough for him to prise himself out of the teachers weakened grip. He turned himself around after putting some distance between them.
“You little shit, I should just—”
“Oh my god, I am so sorry Kamoshida-sensei. I didn’t get much sleep last night. You know students. Always got some homework left. I didn’t even realise you were behind me.” Before Kamoshida could respond, the school bell rang across the courtyard “Oh geez, I better get to class. Sorry again Kamoshida sensei but at least your thick skull seemed to block most of the damage anyway. Seeya” And with that Ren jogged into school leaving a fuming Kamoshida to follow soon after.
Ren slumped into his seat with an audible groan, his entire body was sore from their previous trip to the metaverse compacted with the stiffness that came with a lack of sleep. It didn’t take long for Ann to notice Ren’s condition. “Wow, you really don’t look good. You alright?” Ren let his head smack against the desk with a thud before answering. “I will be when I take a nap.” He could feel the blonde’s eyes rolling from where he sat but kept his head laid flat on the desk resting his eyes until the very last second before the class began. As much as he wanted to just sleep through school, even he knew that wouldn’t be the greatest look for his already piss poor reputation.
He tried his best to stay awake, but as second period began and he heard the lull of Kawakami speaking about calculus, Ren could do little to resist the tempting bed that would be his desk.
He wasn’t sure how long into the lesson Ann had managed to hide his napping, but he was quickly awakened by the slapping of printouts against his head. With groggy eyes he lifted his head to find himself face to face with a very irritated looking teacher. “I must say Amamiya-kun, you have a lot of confidence to be sleeping in my class when I am literally giving you answers for the next exam.”
Ren couldn’t think straight, his whole body was aching from sleep exhaustion and the quick power nap only left his mind whirling. He could see in the look of Kawakami’s eyes that she was expecting some sort of quip in response, but nothing came. “I’m sorry Kawakami sensei, I’m running on about an hour of sleep here. And that’s being very generous” Everyone stared at Ren like he just punched a baby, obviously they weren’t expecting such a sincere reaction. He looked at his teacher and thought for a second, that he saw sympathy in her eyes, but he put that on his sleep deprived brain playing tricks on him.
Kawakami examined the young teens face looking for signs of any falsehood, she could believe that children puled all-nighters, even she did it in her youth but she could also tell the difference between someone who did it of their own will and someone who was forced to experience the hell of sleep deprivation. When she failed to see anything but truth on his face, she let out a frustrated sigh. “Go to the nurses office, tell her I sent you and don’t worry about coming back to class, I’ll get Takamaki to bring you any handouts. Don’t let it happen again though.”
Ren was genuinely surprised; this may have been the first time an adult since Sojiro gave him a break and he was not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He grabbed his bag and cat and started walking towards the door, before he could leave the room, he heard one of his classmates mumble under his breath “Jackass gets to leave just cause he stayed up late. Fine, didn’t have a chance of passing anyways.” He spared a glance over his shoulder and saw the question sheet he had failed to even obtain during his nap, it looked eerily similar to the one’s Makoto had given him, so much in fact that he recognised one of the questions, and he could also recognise that he had the wrong answer.
In his still delirious state, he reached over the boy’s shoulder ignoring the flinch the kid gave and started scribbling on the paper the method Makoto had shown him. “That’s the way you do it. But what do I know? Not like I have a chance of passing or anything.” And then he was out of the room.
Ren turned to corner to head down the stairs when he felt a weight bump against him. He caught a glimpse of brown hair and in his delirium shot his arm out to stop the person from falling back, when he looked down, he saw himself holding a now blushing student council president dangerously close to his body. The only thing that was going through his mind was ‘Cute’.
“Um Ren-kun, do you mind letting me go?” Ren let go of the girl but let his hands linger against her skin for just a moment longer then necessary. He watched as she started straightening out her skirt. “So, may I ask what your doing here in the halls mid class Amamiya-kun?” Ren smiled slightly before putting his hands in his pocket. “Just on my way to the nurse’s office.” He couldn’t help but notice how quickly concern filled the student presidents’ eyes, it made his heart tingle just a tad. “Nurses office? Are you feeling alright?” Ren held his hands out to stop the girl from getting the wrong idea “Calm down Makoto, I’m just feeling tired so I’m gonna take a nap.”
Makoto studied the boys face closely, she could tell he wasn’t lying about being tired, dark rings sat heavily under his eyes and his whole body seemed slouched like the weight of his own being was a struggle to maintain but there was more to his words then he let on. She could see it in his eyes, the boy was scared, perhaps even he wasn’t aware of it, but it was there. Once again, this fellow student of hers was experiencing a pain that she had no way of dealing with and it frustrated her to no end.
She was about to ask the dark-haired boy if there was anything else weighing on his mind when a older voice made itself known behind said boy. “Nijima-san are you coming or not?” She quickly steeped past Ren to properly face the teacher that was calling for her “I’ll be there in a second sir.” With a frustrated grunt the teacher turned away and made his way to the student council room. Makoto turned back to ask her question when she saw an empty space where the boy in question once stood.
Ren would never say that the beds in the nurse’s office were particularly comfortable. But to a man with only an hour of sleep under his belt it could have been a literal rock and he still would have praised it like a bed fit for a king.
The moment he let his head touch the pillow he was out like a light. And thankfully, he was given the privilege of uninterrupted sleep. No flashbacks to painful trips to the palace. No long-nosed bastards torturing him. Just the calming sense of nothingness that brought him more comfort then one would expect.
But all great things need to come to an end and his sleep was no different as the ringing of the school bell finally wrested him from him slumber. With groggy eyes he looked around the room noticing a lack of a school nurse, he looked at his phone and nearly dropped it from shock. He had assumed that the bell that woke him up was the lunch bell, he figured he at best got an hour of sleep but the clock on his phone proved otherwise. Ren had managed to sleep through all of school only waking up as the final bell rang.
He looked at his bag and saw only books and writing supplies. No fluffy cats using them as a makeshift bed as he had gotten used too.
As he started stretching his stiff joints, he heard loud footsteps coming from outside the door, he payed little notice figuring it was just students excited to be done with school. That was until he saw the door open up and three boys, he didn’t recognise file into the room shutting it behind them.
He side eyed the three hoping that he could just ignore but as he stood up ready to leave, the three made their objective known as they formed a wall blocking off his escape. Ren studied the three, they must have been from different classes because he didn’t recognise them at all, they looked about his age so he guessed second years as most first years tended to run and scream when they saw him walking by and third years were too busy stressing over exams to pay him any notice.
“Any reason you’re blocking the way out.” The boy in the centre looked at him with a smug smile on his face as the two beside him just sneered. “Isn’t it obvious, you’re not leaving this room in one piece.” Ren raised an eyebrow at the blatant threat “And exactly how have I pissed you off enough to corner me after I just took the best nap of my life?” The boy’s expression didn’t shift at all, if anything it just got smugger “You’re not very bright are you criminal. Kamoshida said he’ll put us as starters for all upcoming games if we rough you up a bit.”
Ren crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at the admission of guilt he was being presented with. “And what’s stopping me from just ignoring you lackeys and running away.”
“We know you’ve been hanging out with that loser Sakamoto and that slut Takamaki. It’d be a shame if something happened to them because you decided to leave.” Ren tensed up and felt his hand gripping the scruff of the middle guys shirt painfully tight.
“I’d be careful with the threats buddy—”
“Uh uh uh. If you even so much as push one of us. We’ll have your ass expelled so fast that you wouldn’t even have a chance to argue. Not that it’d matter anyways.”
Ren kept his body tense but remained stoic in his movement knowing full well that they weren’t bluffing, This was Kamoshida’s plan from the beginning, get him into a position where he’s either get so badly injured that he wouldn’t be able to do anything to save himself, or retaliate and ensure his expulsion then and there.
Ren glanced the two beside him and then stared directly at the bastard in front of him, he wanted nothing more then to wipe that smug grin of the boys face but instead, he took a deep breath in before slowly letting it out, directly into the boys face. He let go of the kid’s shirt and opened his eyes. “Alright, go ahead.” He took a moment to pause while looking each of his assailants in the eyes “But just know that when Kamoshida eventually throws you lot away. They’ll be no one to stop me from tearing each of you a new asshole.”
As Ren felt the first fist connect with his jaw, he sometimes regretted not learning how to keep his mouth shut.
Chapter 28
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It was the end of the school day and Makoto found herself turning corners at a rapid pace. Not towards the school gates so she could go home and study like she would normally do, but instead towards the school’s infirmary because for some reason, the sight of a sleep deprived Ren had plagued her mind all through the day making it frustratingly difficult to focus on class.
She would have gone during her breaks but being the student council president always meant that a teacher just had to eat up her entire lunch time which had only built up her anxiety all day.
She turned the final corner and could see the nurses office in sight, she could also see a second year standing in front of the door without a single hint that he was planning on going inside nor an obvious reason why’d he’d need to.
She walked up the boy expecting him to move aside and let her through but instead he simply stood his ground blocking her way. She looked at him hoping that maybe he was just spacing out, but his stoic expression made it clear that what he was doing was intentional.
She had to bite back a frustrated sigh. “I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but your blocking the way into the nurse’s office. I’d appreciate it if you could please move.” The boy looked unfazed by her request, instead only getting more rigid in his stance “Sorry senpai, the nurses office is off limits right now.” Makoto crossed her arms while raising an eyebrow curiously “Really? Under who’s request.” She swore she saw the boy’s body flinch if only just a little before he responded “A teachers…”
Makoto took a deep breath in before slowly releasing it. “Right. So, I think neither of us are buying what you’re saying, so I’d suggest you move before I get any more irate. I’m only here to check on a student anyways and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
Makoto felt her frustration rising to angering levels as the boy refused to move. “There’s no one inside right now so you have no reason to go—”
A sudden shout from inside the room cut him off.
“Why the fuck won’t you go down!”
Both the boy and Makoto made eye contact. “Move.”
Ren was fairly used to getting hit. It was an occupational hazard as the ‘Local delinquent’ that every other guy wanted to be the tough one that managed to bring him down.
What he wasn’t fully used to was taking a punch and then not throwing one right back. Something he took for granted because getting hit over and over with no reason for the other guy to back down fucking sucked.
Punch after punch kept flying towards Ren’s face and after the fourth one that had managed to find its way to his nose, it was starting to get on his nerves.
The only saving grace he could find was that his assailants were clearly amateurs when it came to fighting, opting for mainly haymakers that while quite dangerous, were quite easy to avoid. But Ren was only human, and he couldn’t avoid every punch, and as his body and face became more and more bruised and beat up. It was starting to become obvious that he was reaching his limits for punishment.
“Why the fuck won’t you go down?” All four of them were huffing staggered breaths, it was clear that the three boys underestimated how tiring it was to throw your entire body into a punch over and over. Ren could confidently say that none of them had a future in boxing.
In a desperate attempt to feign strength and confidence, Ren ignored his bodies screams of pain and straightened his body making him appear tall and less hurt then he actually was. He prepared one of his signature snarky quips when he heard a thump come from outside the door before it slid open at a blistering speed followed by a blur of mass that came flying through, colliding directly against the floor next to them.
Ren wasn’t given long to question what had happened as he saw Makoto follow shortly after clapping her hands like she was dusting off chalk one would use in a professional fight. The four boys looked at her with their jaws agape.
They all stiffened; Ren included when she directed her glare towards them. She looked them up and down and saw a battered and bloody Ren standing opposed to a group of three boys with nary a scratch on them.
“What the hell is happening here?” Before Ren could even get a word out, the three boys backed off slightly and faced Makoto. “Nijima senpai, he tried to attack us. We were just trying to defend ourselves.” Ren watched as a now seething Makoto put her hands on his hips and glared holes into the boys. “You really expect me to be stupid enough to believe that Amamiya-kun managed to corner all three of you here in the nurses office, and then proceed to get himself beaten to a pulp while not one of you has a single mark on your bodies.” She pointed at the groaning body “Even if I was that gullible, that wouldn’t come close to explaining why you had this guy blocking the door outside.”
Ren heard the leader of the three tsk under his breath “What does it matter anyway, the guy’s a criminal, he’s just getting what he deserves.” Ren shuddered as he saw the glare Makoto gave the boy and he could only imagine what he was feeling being the direct target of it. “I don’t know who you think you are but regardless of a person’s background, that does not give you the right to gang up someone who isn’t fighting back. Now all of you will be coming with me to the principal’s office where he can decide what to do with you.”
The three backed away from the student president and started walking back towards Ren “Go ahead, the principle doesn’t care what happens to this trash.”
Smack!
As if to emphasise his point, he let a strong backhand ring across Ren’s face causing his head to turn slightly. With almost seething nostrils, Makoto started marching towards the boy who had readied his hand for a punch next, “I told you to stop!” She was almost shouting as she grabbed his hand. He glared the girl “And I’m telling you to fuck off.”
Ren watched as his attacker wretched his hand free, smacking Makoto across the face in the process.
Ren Grabbed the boy by the scruff of his shirt not unlike what happened earlier when they were first introduced. The attacker smiled, most likely expecting Ren to hesitate and back down in fear of being expelled. But all the colour soon drained from his face when he saw the look Ren was giving him.
Utter contempt and anger were conveyed through the glare that Ren was almost stabbing into the boy. Ren pulled his fist back before mumbling a quiet yet very clear phrase “I warned you.”
Ren let his fist explode forward making direct contact with the boys’ nose sending his assailant sprawling across the ground. The boy to his left looked at his friend then back to Ren before charging directly at him. Ren wrapped his arms around back of the boy’s neck before pulling back his knee and then driving it right into his gut. Ren watched the boy collapse to his knees before gabbing a bunch of the boy’s hair and letting his knee crash against his face.
He turned back towards the second lackey who had watched in horror as both his friends were assaulted by a pissed off criminal. When he saw the look Ren was giving him, he tried to turn and run but only found himself bumping into a very angry Makoto who grabbed the boy by one of his arms, turning her back into him using the leverage to lift him over her and crashing his back into the hard tiled floor beneath.
The two teens were breathing heavy now watching the fruits of their labour. Two boys groaning in pain as their backs were battered against a hard floor. One unconscious and the last rolling on the floor holding his most likely broken nose in a desperate attempt to reduce the pain.
“What the hell is happening here!?”
Ren felt his knees give out dropping him to the floor. Maybe it was due to all the hits he took finally catching up on him or maybe it was the realisation that he may have just blew his final chance. Regardless of the reason, Ren wasn’t in any state to come up with an explanation or excuse, being only able to look at a fuming Kawakami standing tall above his crumbling stature.
“Kawakami sensei, Ren isn’t the one at fault here.” Both Ren and Kawakami directed their attention towards the student council president. Kawakami crossed her arms genuinely surprised by the usually cooperative Makoto talking to her, a teacher, with such a firm tone.
“Okay, then explain what happened here.” Ren let out a silent breath of relief but made no attempt to try and speak, trusting Makoto to explain his situation better than he ever could.
“Ren was being attacked by these three when I tried to visit him in the infirmary. The one over there tried to block me and any other students from entering.” Kawakami shifted her gaze to the body that was still groaning in the corner of the room. “After I told them to stop what they were doing and come with me to the principle office, they continued to attack Ren and, in the process, hit me as well. Ren simply defended himself and me.” She took a moment to mull over the information when another body entered the room. The last face Ren wanted to see.
Kamoshida.
“Whoa what the hell happened here.” Ren could feel the slime coming through his fake acting as his eyes fell on Ren “Ah I should have known; it was only a matter of time before the criminal fell back on old habits.”
All three looked at the Kamoshida and Ren could swear he saw Kawakami glare at the man much like Ren would. “Why don’t you let me handle this Sadayo, he could be dangerous—” The gym teacher was cut off by Kawakami holding up her hand before turning to face him “First off, I’ve told you not to call me by my first name. Second, I would appreciate it if you didn’t refer to my student as a criminal and finally, you haven’t heard the full story.” She looked at the four boys sprawled out across the floor and then back to Kamoshida “These students are on the volleyball team, aren’t they?”
Kamoshida didn’t even bother to look at their faces, knowing full well who they were. “They are but I don’t see how that’s relevant.”
“Well interestingly enough, Makoto here is claiming that your students cornered Amamiya-san when he was resting here in the infirmary.” Ren watched as Kamoshida shot a subtle glare towards the girl standing beside him before redirecting his sharper stare back to his co-worker. “And you believe that story?” Kawakami crossed her arms, letting a small smile play on her lips “I do, considering I’m the one who sent him to the infirmary in the first place.” She looked back at Ren’s small body still resting on the flaw offering him small smile to comfort “And despite his lack lustre grades, Even I can tell that my student here wouldn’t be foolish enough to attack three people at once.”
Ren saw the gears turning in Kamoshida’s head in a desperate attempt to figure out how to pin the blame solely on Ren. “But that still doesn’t excuse the fact that this crimin—” Kamoshida cut himself short at the sight of Kawakami’s glare. “This student still fought back; he still needs to be punished.” Kawakami took a confident step forward “Or we could just drop the whole thing, You get to save yourself the embarrassment of having to explain why your students decided to gang up on one of their schoolmates and Ren can breathe a sigh of relief of not having to get expelled for defending himself.”
Ren had the urge to take notes from his teachers’ ability to corner Kamoshida. After a second, the gym teacher let out a groan of frustration before directing his attention to the four boys laying on the ground, each of which had managed to prop themselves into a sitting position expect for the main attacker who was still lying on the floor clutching his nose. “You three, pick up your friend and meet me in the gym, I have some words for you.” Ren watched as each of his attackers faces went deathly pale, he felt sorry for them knowing that some small part of them only attacked Ren because they were scared, but it did little to illicit sympathy from the teen. He knew better than anyone that actions had consequences no matter how little choice you think you have in the matter.
After his assailants and their ringleader left the room, only Makoto, Ren and Kawakami remained. The two students looked at the teacher expectantly. Ren especially as he wasn’t sure how much of the story his homeroom teacher actually believed, He expected the worst as he saw her walking towards him, and he was rewarded with a small smack on the head. “Next time some guys try to get you to fight, just run alright. I don’t wanna have to stress that one of students might just disappear one day.” Ren rubbed his head but nonetheless let a tired smile form “Thank you Kawakami sensei, I’ll keep that in mind.”
The teacher let out a small scoff before turning to Makoto. “Can I trust you to give him some first aid, I’d ask the nurse but I’m certain she’s already gone home for the day.” Makoto stood straighter, as if she were in the military addressing her captain “Of course miss.” And with that, all that remained was the two teens who just stood there in awkward silence for a moment. “So, I guess I’ll just head off then. Seeya Makot—”
“Sit down.”
Ren couldn’t stop himself from swallowing audibly “Yes ma’am.”
The two spent the next 10 minutes in silence but unlike the awkward one before, this silence felt more comfortable as Ren watched Makoto glide around the room gathering supplies to help heal his battered body. Eventually she found her way back in front of him with a myriad of rubbing alcohol and gauze which she immediately started applying, much to Ren’s chagrin.
After she was done patching up his face, she found her way down to his hands which were still red from the punch he gave the guy that had hit Makoto. Her touch lingering on his knuckle and Ren could feel a shiver run down his spine. “That’s wasn’t the first person you’ve punched, was it?” Ren’s face sagged a bit knowing where the conversation was going. “I’d be lying if I said it was. I’ve been in my fair share of fights.” The quiet that filled the room was almost suffocating for Ren until Makoto continued “Did you really assault someone?”
Ren felt a lump forming in his throat but he chose to ignore it, he gently pulled his hand away from her grasp before retuning it, this time with his holding hers, he looked her in the eye praying that she was smart enough to feel the sincerity through his gaze “I have never gone out of my way to hurt anyone, after mum died, I was scared and confused so I lashed out and did dumb things but I knew that it’d kill her to know that I went around hurting people with no good reason and I’d sooner jump off a cliff then do something that would make her sad.” Another silence followed before all his worry was washed away by the sound of a small giggle. “Not a whole lot of cliffs in Tokyo you know.”
The two continued in silence as Makoto finished treating his wounds. “Shall we head off?” Ren glanced at the door before sighing slightly. “You go ahead, I need to meet up with Ryuji anyways.” Ren couldn’t help but smile when he noticed the slight look of disappointed that flashed across the girls’ face. But it was short lived as she grabbed her bag. “Alright, try not to get into any more fights, your reputation will start to proceed you if you’re not careful.”
Ren gave a quick peace sign as she walked out the door leaving him alone with his thoughts. He waited a moment before standing up and making his way to the door knowing full well what was coming.
He wasn’t ten steps away from the nurse’s office when he heard heavy footsteps quickly catch up to him and felt a tight grip on his shoulder. He didn’t even bother looking when he heard the bastards voice next to his ear. “You got lucky today trash. But that pretty little suck up won’t be able to protect you when I tell the board to expel your sorry ass.” Ren was content to just listen to the scumbag berate him and be on his merry way.
That was until he heard what the guy said next which caused his blood to freeze in pure vitriol. “And after your gone, I’ll make sure to have my way with her as payback for getting in my way. I’m sure she’ll do anything for a college recommendation.” Ren gripped his palm tightly; he could feel the blood start to pool beneath his fingernails as he tilted his head so that Kamoshida was looking him right in the eyes.
The teacher nearly faulting at the stare Ren was giving him. “Lay one fucking finger on her and I’ll rip that thing you call a dick off and shove it so hard down your throat that they’ll find it coming out of your ass.” He shook Kamoshida’s hand off and started walking away, He heard him try to speak but immediately cut him off.
“You think you’re the king of the castle Kamoshida but just you wait. I’ll show what happens to kings that fail to see the hatred they embed in their subjects. A revolution is coming, and it’ll be your head on the pike at the end of it.”
Ren could feel his blood pulsing and his heart beating with every step down the back streets he took. His mind was racing with so many things he now had to do that he barely even registered the weight that hopped onto his shoulder, much less pay attention the words being spoken in his ear. His attention focused solely on his burning rage. He continued to ignore his feline friends’ words of concern as he pulled out his phone and rang a number.
The phone rang twice before a familiar voice answered the line. “Yo dude, what’s up?”
“You think you can get the calling card done by tonight?”
Silence hung over the call.
“Are we really doing this?”
Ren smiled to himself as he felt his eyes widen in what most would call mania. “I’m done hesitating. We’re ending this.”
Notes:
Probably only a couple of chapters until the Kamoshida arc is complete. I am equally terrified and excited to get it done but don't expect it any time soon. I have some thoughts about how i want to write the fight and how to arc will end but not nearly enough to start writing it yet.
Anyways before hyping up future chapters. I hope you all enjoy this one.
Chapter 29
Notes:
Shorter chapter but I wanted to focus an enitre one for the fight with Kamoshida and maybe the fallout afterwards. So the next chaoetre might be the last one of this arc or the second one at most.
I've also been trying out shorter paragraphs that have more focus and less confusion. I'd love feedback on whether this is more enjoyable to read or if people preferred the longer paragraph from before.
Regardles, I hope you all enjoy it.
Chapter Text
“Ren shouldn’t we think this through a little more?”
Ren didn’t look at morgana as he used his finger to nudge the cats head back into his bag. “What’d I say about talking on the train. I’d rather not have to beg Sojiro to drive me to school because I brought my stray cat school with me.” He could feel his friend pouting as he hushed his tone ever so slightly “My point still stands; Will you just explain what happened?” Ren dropped his casual smile as he recalled the events that had taken place. “I already told you. Kamoshida sent his goons to beat me up and threated Ann and Ryuji. We can’t wait any longer.”
“Right I got that part but there’s something you’re not telling me. I haven’t seen you that mad since that time in the library.” Ren ignored his friends face peering up at him from inside his bag, not wanting to recall the threat Kamoshida had given him. He instead pulled out his phone to avoid focusing on it “It doesn’t matter, I’ve cooled off and we’re still going through with it.”
Ren started to get out of his seat as the train began to slow down, he picked up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Come one, we have some last-minute preparations we need to make.”
The teen walked through Shibuya ignoring his still sore bodies protests. He soon found himself in a familiar back alley in front of a neon sign reading ‘Untouchable’. He couldn’t help but notice the well-dressed gentleman peering into the shop from outside, they spared Ren a passing glance slightly intrigued by his presence. He chose to ignore them and walked through the single door into the empty store.
Iwai peered over his magazine at the sound of a potential customer and his eyes went just a tad wider at the sight of the black-haired teen. He chucked the magazine to the side showing that he was now paying attention. “Well I’ll be, wasn’t expecting to see you again.” Ren raised an eyebrow “Why’s that?”
The gruff man shrugged before unwrapping a lollipop. “Your friends an idiot but you looked like you had a good head on your shoulders, most people wouldn’t risk coming around these parts. They’re usually too scared about being labelled some sort of delinquent.”
Ren was left speechless. The shock was so great that it stopped his immediate reaction of doubling over on the floor laughing at the irony of what he heard. “Hey kid, you good?” Iwai’s voice shook Ren from his flabbergasted state. “Yeah, what you just said was… Interesting.”
“Heh” he leaned forward in his seat “So what are you buying?”
After about 10 minutes of Ren searching through the store with the last of his money burning a hole in his wallet, he had a bag full of upgrades for the team, everything from bats to Uzi’s. As Iwai was finishing ringing up the last of his items, he stared at the door expectantly, he saw the slightest of movements and lets out a sigh of frustration.
“Hey kid, I need you to do me a favour.” Ren didn’t say anything as the gruff man ducked behind the counter before coming back up with a paper bag in his hand. He dropped it on the counter and Ren could tell that whatever in there was made of metal from the sound it made hitting the glass.
Ren stared at the bag keeping Iwai’s face in view, waiting for the shop-keep to explain what was going on. “I need you to take this bag and leave the shop, bring it back to me in a few days.” Ren raised his eyebrow at the odd request, out of the corner of his eye he noticed movement coming from outside the shop, the sight of suits made it clear who it was. It didn’t take the teen long to put the pieces together in his head, and it took even less time for Ren to see the opportunity this presented him.
He reached for the bag and held it in his open palm, “Alright. Under some conditions.” The way Iwai scowled most likely would have sent anyone else running but to Ren it was exactly what he was looking for. A scowl of frustration knowing full well that he had no room to argue. “You got balls kid, But I don’t do conditions.” Ren smiled while dropping the paper bag back onto the counter “That’s too bad, because I don’t do empty risks. One wrong move and I’m going to juvie, so now why don’t we do business, One felon to another?”
Ren could tell that Iwai was completely taken aback by the brazen remarks he made but he needed to appear confident if he were gonna have any sort equal footing with what he could only assume was an ex yakuza. The air was tense as neither man seemed ready to back down, until the gruff shopkeeper finally cracked a small smile at Ren. “Alright, what’s your conditions, if I like them then maybe I can change my policy.” Ren smiled letting out a silent breath he had been holding “First, you will buy whatever weird stuff I bring in. Doesn’t have to be a lot but you’re the only place I can offload it.” He heard the man grumble to himself before breathing a tired “fine I’ll see what I can do. what else?”
“I want a discount on future purchases.” Iwai raised his eyebrow at his second condition “Kid, you do know I need to run a business here.” Ren tapped the paper bag on the counter “Hard to run a business when your only employee is locked behind bars.” Iwai didn’t respond, obviously hoping that the silence and the glare he was giving would persuade Ren to change his condition, but he wasn’t gonna budge. After another painful minute of silence and the sound of feet pacing slowly outside, he finally relented “Fine but nothing big. I do have to make money. Anything else you want kid when your twisting my arm.”
Ren smiled “One last thing.”
“Alright, so we have a deal?” Ren grabbed the bag with a smile “Deal.” Before Ren could start moving, Iwai dropped his tone “And kid, whatever you do, don’t open it.” He gave his new accomplice a quizzical look before he started walking towards the door right as it opened up with a pleasant chime from the doorbell. The two well dressed men Ren saw outside walked in. One looked to be in his fifties and was obviously very annoyed with Iwai, the one next to him looked younger, most likely in his late twenties or his early thirties. They were the picture-perfect example of a good cop, bad cop duo.
“I thought I told you guys that if you don’t have a warrant and if you don’t intend to buy anything then you’re not welcome in my shop.” Through gritted teeth, the older gentleman retorted “Zip it, we have a warrant and we’re gonna do whatever we please.” He then directed his attention to Ren “What are you doing here kid, this shop isn’t suited for someone so young.” Ren kept his snarky remarks to a minimum, the last thing he needed to do was piss off more cops. “Sorry sir, I’m new to Tokyo and I was checking out some the stores here, I’ll be leaving right away.”
Ren tried to walk past but the older cop’s loud voice boomed “Hold it kid… What’s in the bag?” Ren tried to subtly move the bag away from the two’s sight less he risk them seeing some outline through the paper. “It’s my lunch, you know what schools like, didn’t have much time to eat it during break.” It wasn’t one of his more creative lies, but Ren thought that keeping it simple and boring was the best call.
A second passed before the older cop moved his body to face Ren “Show me what’s inside.” Ren swore in his mind making deathly sure not to let his face show any hint of reservation, he instead pulled his phone out and looked at the time “Oh shoot, I’m going to be late for the train, Sorry I need to go.”
“Hey we’re not finished—”
Iwai’s calm voice cut in “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrogate one of the few customers I actually have.”
“Watch your mouth. I’ll ask whatever question I want.”
“Jesus Jim, leave the kid alone, we don’t have a lot of time to check the shop so let’s not waste it.” With a final nod from the younger officer Ren was free to leave, not daring to risk looking back.
After Ren was a good distance from the shop but still out of the prying eyes of the public, Morgana’s head emerged to stare at the bag he picked up. “What was that all about. That guy in the suit really wanted to see what was in the bag.” Ren continued to stare at the bag while his friend rambled on about nothing important. “So, do you know what’s in it?”
Ren glanced at his feline hitchhiker with a smirk “I have a couple guesses, none of them will do my criminal record any favours.” The cats face dropped slightly as his eyes cautiously moved away from the bag to Ren “Then what are we gonna do with it?” Ren raised his eyebrow surprised that Morgana couldn’t see what was coming a mile away. “Well first we’re going to open it.”
Ren almost lost it as the cat’s face dropped in pure mortification. “But Iwai made it very clear that you shouldn’t do that.” Ren blew out a puff of air realising that maybe people had more of a reason to label him a criminal then he had once thought “Morgana what’s the best way to get someone on your side when your doing something shady?” His friend didn’t answer, thinking that the question was rhetorical and waiting for Ren to elaborate which only earned another puff of air in disappointment. “And you call yourself a thief.”
“You make them an accomplice. There’s nothing stopping me from just handing this bag to the police and saying that Iwai gave it to me. But if I look at it, maybe touch it a bit, then I’m in the same boat.”
From the look on Morgana’s face, it was clear that he still wasn’t fully getting the point Ren was making. “So then why would you willingly walk into that situation Ren?” A smile graced Ren’s lips when he heard the question he had been waiting for ‘Because there nothing better than being accomplices with someone like Iwai who probably has all sorts of connections to Tokyo’s shadier parts.”
A moment passed before Morgana finally responded, “Ren you scare me sometimes.” The smile on Ren’s face only grew larger as he opened the bag and peeked inside “Trust and fear go hand in hand in Life Morgana.” He quickly stuck his hand inside and pulled out the object revealing to the two what exactly Ren had risked his probation on.
All Ren could think was he was so glad he didn’t show those cops what was inside because in his hand right now was one hell of a model pistol. It was so lifelike that even Ren had some trouble distinguishing it. The weight and cool feel of metal on his skin really sold it. It was only as he inspected it closer that he noticed the smaller things that gave it away. Such as how the hammer was too stiff to actually function as a firearm or how the magazine was just a solid piece of metal with no space for any ammunition. But from a distance, you’d be hard press to realise it was a fake. As Ren continued to inspect the model, his grin only grew bigger at the thought of how Kamoshida’s shadow would perceive it. He put it back in the paper bag before shoving it deep into his school bag. “Let’s head home Morgana, we have a big day to prepare for.”
-
“Hey, is this for real?”
“There’s no way. It’s obviously fake…Right?”
“I mean that Suzui girl did jump though.”
“Actually, haven’t the volleyball team members been covered in bruises lately.”
The three teens stood a good distance away from the quickly gathering crowd that surrounded the schools bulletin boards. Ren lent against the wall twirling a red card in his hands watching the Shujin rumour mill did what it did best. Spread anything remotely interesting like wildfire. Only this time what was being spread was the truth that no one wanted to believe, the complete opposite of what had happened to him.
“You don’t think you could have come up with a better picture Ryuji, and what’s with this message, it’s so over the top.” Ryuji stood up straighter, as if to show his pride in his work “Lay off will you, I didn’t get a lot of time to draw the thing after Ren told me to make it yesterday, and arts never been my strong suit anyways. But I think it’s cool, super mysterious. What do you think Ren? Ren ceased his card spinning, looking down at the writing while reading it aloud, one part to help spread the message and another because he found strangely cathartic seeing the devil’s sins put to paper.
“Sir Suguru Kamoshida, the utter bastard of lust. We know how shitty you are, and that you put your twisted desires on students that can’t fight back. That’s why we have decided to steal away those desires and make you confess your sins. This will be done tomorrow, so we hope you will be ready. From, the phantom thieves of hearts.”
Ren looked at his friend with his eyebrow slightly raised. “The phantom thieves of hearts? When’d you come up with a team name.” Ryuji rubbed the back of his head and smiled. “It’s pretty sweet right, makes us feel more legit. Morgana and I spent a lot of time brainstorming ideas.” Ren glanced down at his feline companion who was watching through a crack in his bag. “I’m not surprised in the slightest.” He looked back at the card and felt his spirits lift “I like it. In the end it’s the truth. Though your vocabulary might paint a big target on our back.” Ren’s eyes fell down towards the shoddily drawn top hat adorned with a cringeworthy smirk. “Is that supposed to be me?” Ryuji’s smile just grew larger “Well this all started after you got Arsene. So, I thought he should be our emblem.” Ren flicked the card towards Ryuji who scrambled to catch it “I’m actually offended by that drawing.”
Before Ryuji could complain, an angry voice boomed over the chatter of the crowd “What the hell is all this.” The man of the hour pushed his way through the mass of students until he was standing directly in front of the bulletin board and all the red cards identical to the one Ryuji held. As he read the contents of the cards, a hush fell over the crowd until it was broken but the sound of tearing paper “Who did this!” The furious gym coach scanned the room until his hatred filled eyes locked onto Ren.
The teen didn’t move an inch as the pissed off teacher stormed towards him, not bothering to care about appearances as he grabbed Ren by the scruff of his jacket. “This was your doing wasn’t it you little shit head?” Ren took the card from Ryuji’s loose grasp and held it, blocking his assailant’s face, he peered over it “Nope, but whoever did really know there stuff. Of course, that’s only assuming its true. Right Kamoshida-sensei.”
Ren didn’t care about the way his wide grin would have been interpreted by the student body, he was only relishing in watching the man in front him; A person who from day one made his life a living hell, a man who had done so much in such a short time to hurt those around him, a man who had tormented his friends for such a long time. Squirm under his own rage as he tried to find and outlet, Ren was sure that a punch was coming his way but to his relief, Ann came to his side “Jeez Kamoshida-sensei, you sure are angry. It’s almost as if what that card said hit a bit too close to home.” Ryuji wasn’t a beat behind “Right, it’s seems like only someone with something to hide would take that card seriously. Now I’d suggest you let our friend go, no amount of influence can save you from a video of you punching a student in broad daylight.”
Kamoshida glared at the two teens beside Ren before directing his attention solely on the frizzy haired delinquent whose smile had only grown wider “The revolution has come my king. What size pike would you like for your fat head.”
Tsk
Ren’s shirt was released, and his feet were back on solid ground. The three watched the fuming teacher turn around “You trash haven’t solved anything. You’ll be expelled by tomorrow, just you watch.” And with that, the bane of each of there existences started to walk away. The three watched as their teachers image shimmered and was replaced by the stripper king they had begrudgingly gotten used to seeing. Morgana mewed from inside Ren’s bag “Did you see that. It worked; the treasure should have manifested now.”
Ren walked forward so that he was standing slightly ahead of his friends. “Ann, Ryuji, Morgana. We’re finishing this today.”
The three nodded, each with a confident smile emblazed on their faces.
Chapter 30
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The day went by quick. Ren had a hard time focusing on the classes and from the way Ann fidgeted in front of him he could guess she was feeling similar. But the two managed to make it through without earning to much ire from their teachers but Ren did finish his classes with a white mark on his forehead.
Soon the final bell rang and the two quickly gathered the school supplies and slung the bags over there shoulders. They made there way towards the door after a few other students had already left. Last thing they needed was to stand out from the crowd.
After they felt comfortable leaving, Ren grabbed the door opening it up only to greeted by a familiar hair band and a sweet smell wafting into his nose. He looked down slightly, making immediate eye contact with a set of Ruby eyes staring back at him.
“Oh Ren, I’m glad I was able to catch you, shall we head the library together?” Ren mentally smacked his head in annoyance, how had he let the fact that he had a study session planned with Makoto slip his thoughts. Somewhere in all the chaos that was the previous day it had just slipped through the cracks of his mind.
He spared a cursory glance towards Ann who was looking at him expectantly, obviously displeased by the delay they were experiencing. He looked back to the girl who was still staring at him with almost gleaming eyes and it pained him when he knew what he was going to have to say.
He swiftly slapped his hands together and bowed his head “I’m really sorry Makoto but my guardian asked me to come home early today so we can discuss what happened yesterday. He’s threatening to call my parole officer if I’m not back on time.” Ren felt his heart break slightly at the sight of Makoto’s joyful eyes saddening just a tad, but it was quickly replaced by her usual level headed, downright robotic stare and inflection “It’s alright, I understand, we’ll just reschedule for later this week.” Before Ren could even offer another apology, she turned on her heel and started down the hallway out of his sight.
Ren wasn’t given a lot of time to feel sorry for himself as he felt a hand tap his shoulder, “Sorry Ren but we should hurry and meet up with Ryuji, this is more important then a study session.” Ren felt slightly irritated by Ann’s casual dismissal of his personal life but he knew what she was saying had some merit, this was a matter of his expulsion and possible incarceration, he just hoped that he hadn’t burned the still rickety bridge he had built with the student body president.
“Hey guys, what took you so lo—? “
Ren and Ann rushed into the alley to cover Ryuji’s mouth “Dude, I don’t know how many times I need to explain what laying low means.” Ryuji’s eyes widened as realised that students were looking in there direction. “Oh, shit sorry.” Ren and Ann let out an exasperated sigh as they watched the stream of students slowly dissipate until it was just the three remaining.
Ren pulled out his phone, offering a glance towards his friends in case anyone was having second thoughts, Ren didn’t have a choice in this matter, but he wouldn’t force any of them to risk their lives. When he was greeted by steeled resolve and hidden excitement, he let a small smile appear on his face as he opened the app.
“Beginning navigation.”
Ren said in a hushed tone. “Here we go.” As the world began to dissolve into another revealing the malformed castle they had gotten so used to seeing, and hopefully would soon be saying farewell too.
The breeze brushed against the exposed part of Ren’s head, his hair rustling in the wind revealing his piercings as he stood still, watching the castle in front of him. It was obvious that the whole palace had a different aura from usual. It was as if the air itself was reflecting the inner chaos of Kamoshida’s mind.
Ren wanted to take a step forward but felt himself hesitating. It annoyed him to no end considering how ready he was yesterday when he was hopped up on anger and adrenaline, but now that he was right at the finish line, he was beginning to doubt himself. The lack of a familiar set of twins was also playing heavily into his worries. One thought kept plaguing his thoughts.
‘Was this the right call. Should I have waited. Should I have gotten involved in the first place.’
“Dude this shotgun is sweet.” Ren felt himself shaken from his thoughts, turning himself to face Ryuji slightly and almost laughing at the way he was inspecting his gun. Like a kid on Christmas.
He knew the moment he saw the model in Iwai’s shop that this heist wouldn’t feel right if his best friend wasn’t standing next to him holding it. In his hand was a beautifully textured matt black pump action shotgun, a far cry from his old spaz which looked like it had come right out of the Vietnam war.
Ann was similarly loving her new whip and tommy gun which made her look like a lady right out of a mafia film.
Strangely enough, seeing his friends ignoring the oppressive feeling the castle was giving to play with there new toys helped alleviate the worries that were plaguing him. If only enough to steel his nerves and approach the castle.
He took a step forward while uttering “I’m glad you like it skull, because it’ll be coming out of your cut.” He couldn’t help but spare a glance back at his friends face which despite being covered by his mask, still conveyed the shock and disappointment it held. “When was that part of the deal. And what about panther?” The lady in red took a step forward following Ren’s lead “I already payed him.”
“What! When did that happen?” He looked down at Morgana “What about the cat?” Said cat followed Ren and Ann towards the castle “Sorry skull but Iwai doesn’t sell slingshots, Ren’s been making my stuff.” Ryuji was the last to follow, with much less pep in his step compared to his friends “This is so lame.”
As he watched his final friend follow him, All of Ren’s reservations were washed away. As he looked over each of his companions and fellow thieves, he felt compelled to ask the one question that he had been avoiding this whole time. He turned his back so he couldn’t see any of them, fearing that the words wouldn’t come out if he were. “Hey guys. I know it might be a bit late, but I wanna say this. If you don’t want to. I’m not gonna make you fight.”
Silence followed his statement and Ren found his breath becoming shallower as none of his friends responded. It only returned to normal when he felt a strong grip on his shoulder. He didn’t need to look to see whose it belonged too “What the hell are you saying man. There is no way we’re turning back now. I still need to make the bastard pay for busting my leg.”
“Yeah, I’d sooner die then let him get away with what he did to Shiho.”
“I still need to thank you for getting me out of that cage and giving me a place to sleep. And plus, there no way you guys would be able to win without my magnificent strength.”
“Heh, big talk coming from a guy who’s barely scraping 3 feet.”
Ren felt a warmth pierce his chest as the three bickered and laughed behind him. He looked up and saw the faintest blue light flutter by. Under his breath he whispered “I’m alright mum. I’ve found where I belong.”
With a twist and a spin of his tailcoat. He faced his friends. “Well what are we waiting for.” He pulled out his phone opening the navigation app “We have a heart to steal.”
A moment later, the four felt the world shift again and then they were standing in the final room of the castle. They gave each other a knowing nod before exiting the safe room. They were careful to open the door, expecting some sort of resistance outside the throne room but were surprised to see nary a shadow in sight.
They wasted no time and dashed across the room until they were pressing there bodies against the large doors. Ren held his hand up signalling them to stay where they were as he activated his third eye.
“Well? How many are there. 100? 1000?” Ren shook his head with a troubled look on his face. “I don’t see anyone.” His teammates looked at him as if he were joking but Ren ignored there questioning gaze, instead looking at Ryuji and then back to the door. “Give me a hand will you.”
With there combined strength, they were able to push it open just enough for the four to slip by. Ren took the lead, treading lightly as he entered the room and behind a pillar for cover. While he trusted his third eye. He wasn’t sure if there was a limit to a shadows strength that he could sense.
He scanned the room swiftly, inspecting every inch that he could see and using his third eye to check the parts that he couldn’t but like before. Nothing was there, and it just made him more anxious. With how it felt outside, he expected the castle to be on high alert, especially so close to the treasure.
He waved back to his friends signalling for them to follow, he stood up and walked out from his cover as to convey that they didn’t need to waste time hiding. “This is bizarre. Why aren’t there any shadows?” Ren pondered the possibilities but chose not to dwell on things that he didn’t have control of. “I don’t know panther. But lets not linger any longer then we need and risk finding out.”
Ren started forward knowing that his team was close behind. They were quick but cautious with there steps and they soon found themselves walking by the massive throne and in front of the door behind it. With a final look Ryuji and Ren shoulder tacked the door open and were immediately caught off guard by what they saw.
In the centre of the room littered with a gold and jewels. Floated a humongous crown where a barely noticeable shimmer once occupied. The four were enamoured by the spinning symbol of royalty, none of them moved or made a word. That was until a low purring became audible to the three teens. ‘Treasure.”
Before any of them could question there feline friend. The cat quickly leaped towards the floating crown. Using his claws to latch himself onto it. The sudden shift in weight causing it wobble before finally crashing down to earth. Ryuji was the first to chase after the cat to neither Ann’s nor Ren’s surprise. “What the hell are you doing you dumb cat. What if you broke it?” Ren followed behind plucking Morgana from his perch and holding him by the scruff of his neck. As soon as he was detached from the treasure, the feline seemed to regain his senses. “Sorry. Lost my cool there for a sec.”
Ren raised an eyebrow before dropping his friend watching as he landed on his feet. Like a cat would, but he chose not to comment. He started sizing up the treasure before asking Morgana “So what’s our next move.”
“We steal it of course.” The three teens eyed the treasure and then the cat “You want us to carry that thing out of this castle?”
Ren ignored the bickering that came from his best friend and his roommate, He walked towards the crown before putting his fingers under. “Lets just move it to the safe room and go from there.” Ann started to follow his lead mumbling something about getting new nails while Ryuji skipped the mumbling part and said loudly under his breath. “Can’t believe a freaking cat is forcing me to do unpaid labour. I thought there were laws for that.”
The three spent a while trying to fenagle the massive crown out of the small door but eventually managed to coax it through. With the added help of Captain Kidd blowing open the door slightly. They soon found themselves around the massive throne and down the corridor when they heard a slow clap. “You criminals really are stupid.” The four turned towards the voice and tensed at the sight of the man who had started everything.
Kamoshida.
Before any of them could react. The crown shrunk back to a normal size. Bewildered by the sudden shift in weight, none of them were able to grab it before it flew across the room right into the king’s hands. “You all think you managed to corner me with that stupid card, but I’ll show you just who owns this castle and each and every fool within it.” Ren tried to rush towards the king before he could do anything but was unable to reach him as he slipped the crown on his head.
The four were sent flying at the sudden burst of energy that emanated from Kamoshida. Each of them smacking unceremoniously against the wall. As they slid down, they were unable to look at what had sent them flying as they could only shield there eyes from the raging wing blasting against their bodies. It eventually subsided and they were able to finally see what happened. Each of them felt there stomachs drop at the sight in front of them.
In the place where the gym teacher once stood now only held a terribly malformed creature with a sickly pink body so large that it was unable to sustain the weight of its own body, rendering its legs useless. In one of its massive arms was a golden fork and in the other was a goblet that was filled with a strange blue liquid adorned with the lower half of female bodies.
The phantoms thieves could only look for long as the wind picked back out with each roar of laughter the monster let out. “Gaze upon me and be amazed. I am no longer your king. I am now you god. What say you now peasants—”
BANG!
The beast cut itself short as it felt a small bullet collide with his head before bouncing off. He stared daggers at the source of the inconvenience which was now walking towards him. Brandishing his pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. Ren walked with his head low so that his eyes were covered by his hair, hiding his expression from the monster “Over and over. I’m forced to listen as you stroke you own egotistical dick just to satisfy your deluded fantasies.” Ren let his expression show, his eyes filled with a fiery rage “And I’m fucking sick of it.” He pointed his pistol at the beast shot off another flurry of bullets, not caring about their effectiveness as he waited for Ann, Ryuji and Morgana to join his side. “So, let’s cut the bullshit monologue and end this. You ugly bastard.”
The four split apart to avoid being one big target for Kamoshida to focus on. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ryuji and Ann group up and begin peppering the beast with there combined firepower as Ryuji started laying down suppressing fire with his shotgun while Ann hurling fireballs. There efforts did little to hurt the massive monster that was once called Kamoshida but was effective in drawing his attention, Giving Ren and Morgana more time to figure out how to tackle this behemoth of a fight. “Got any plans joker.”
Ren carefully observed the monster, looking for any vulnerabilities that he could exploit. As big and powerful he had become. Kamoshida was by no right godlike. The most obvious flaw would have to be his lack of movement evident in how the monster struggled to move towards Ryuji and Ann to get within striking range. Ren looked to Morgana with a small smile on his face. “Think you could get him to look this way with a blast of wind?” The cat puffed out his chest “Who do you think you’re talking to?”
Ren pulled off his mask summoning Koppa Tengu, he felt his body weight shift and his feet become light, he gave a couple of tentative bounces to get a feeling of how moving with this new base speed would feel when he wasn’t extremely injured or tired. After he felt comfortable, he braced himself, Giving Morgana a final look before blasting towards the monster in front of him.
He could feel himself nearly trip over his own feet, turns out he still wasn’t fully ready for his own speed but nevertheless, he managed to keep himself upright and he crossed the gap Kamoshida had made between the two in no time. Right as Kamoshida was about to send one of his forks flying at his friends, Ren shouted while aiming his palm at the floor. “GARU!” He felt a blast of wind erupt from his hand right into the floor below him, the combined force with him leaping off the ground sent the teen soaring into the air.
With unreal mobility, he turned himself so that he was facing directly at the beast with both his knifes drawn. He felt another powerful blast of air rocket around him directly into the back of Kamoshida’s head. The force easily apparent in the way it caused the monsters head to snap forward. Whether it was effective in hurting the beast was irrelevant to Ren as he only needed the malformed gym teacher to look at him. Which it did exactly that.
As soon as the monster eyes were visible to Ren, he called “Rakshasa!” the image of a dual sword wielding tribal warrior appeared behind Ren, he felt his body get heavier and the muscles in his arms get tighter. With all his force, he launched both his knifes at Kamoshida’s eyes and watched as both implanted themselves in the soft tissue.
With his momentum still carrying him, he compressed his body before letting it explode back out into a spectacular drop kick. One that would make any pro wrestler proud and cause a reeling monster to fall backwards. The teen landed awkwardly on Kamoshida’s exposed stomach, he tried to stand up but before he could find even footing to run off, a flailing arm of the monster managed to connect sending the comparably lighter teen flying across the room and skidding against the floor.
Before any of his friends could voice their concern, he let out a powerful shout to his teammate. “Don’t let up. Attack him with all you got!”
As much as Ren wanted to join his friends in beating the crap out of Kamoshida, the stray hit he took did far more damage then he wanted to let on, finding it extremely painful to even move. If had to guess, he most likely had a broken rib. With pained breaths and small gasps for air, he managed to stand himself back up in time to watch the carnage his friends were unleashing. Ryuji had somehow managed to fling himself into the air spinning himself like a Beyblade, gaining more momentum as he returned to earth, all culminating to a smack against the face of Kamoshida with so much force that Ren felt it in the ground from where he was standing. Ann following suit with a giant fireball that seemed to suspended in the sky as it continued to grow in size before it, like a river being held by a dam, simply dropped right above Kamoshida covering the screaming monster in a see of flames before that in turn became a tornado of fire As Morgana cast Garula.
For a moment, things were deathly quiet. A lull in the battle rendered the room silent aside from the heavy breathing of three teens and a cat. Ren stood still wondering if they had really done it. Had they really defeated the source of so many peoples suffering. Was he allowed to have just that tiny inkling of hope that he thought had been snuffed out the moment he was told to come to Tokyo for his probation?
Another moment passed. And then another before Ren took a single step forward ready to reconvene with his friends and end this whole nightmare. It was only then that Kamoshida’s body twitched. And with that twitch came a powerful shockwave that even threated to send Ren hurtling despite the great distance between the two. Unfortunately, his friends weren’t as lucky. Each of them was sent flying across the room away from the monster who had managed to prop itself back up with a devilish smile on its face.
“You naïve fools truly thought you could defeat me. I am a god here.” Ren noticed a fraction of a second too late what the creature’s goal was as he watched its hand subtly snake around the goblet which had gone untouched throughout the ordeal. “Don’t let him drink from that cup!” Ren tried to rush back into the fray, but one step and he felt his balance slip. The shockwave must have done some damage to his inner ear because the world refused to stay still. Forcing the teen to watch as all their hard work and effort was washed away as the monster brought the goblet to its malformed lips and letting his grossly long tongue snake around one of the bodies before swallowing it whole.
As the body worked its way down the creatures’ throat with a visible bulge, all the wounds and burns it had sustained started to evaporate in a mystifying green haze not dis-similar to the green glow the phantom thieves experienced from Dia.
All Ren could do was stumble his way to a crawling position on his hands and knees as he waited for his balance to return. He looked to Ryuji and Ann and could see that there closer proximity must have left greater lasting effects on their bodies because it seemed they were still struggling to get out of there lying position. “Peasants bring me my balls.”
For a split second, a funny joke rolled through Ren’s mind, but it was quickly set aside as he watched in horror as naked boys wearing iron maiden masks crawled along the ground carrying a massive volleyball on the backs. They moved with surprising speed considering their position, in what felt like an instant, they were already in front of Kamoshida getting ready to serve the ball.
The cogs in Ren’s mind started to turn as he realised what was about to happen and more importantly. Where Kamoshida was aiming. It wasn’t at the raven-haired boy who now able to balance on one knee. It wasn’t the cat that had been sent flying behind the monster. No, it was the two teens who had suffered the most from the Kamoshida’s greed and who were least able to defend themselves.
Ren’s body went into auto pilot as he quickly swapped to another persona calling it’s name and almost begging for it’s aid as he watched the monster prop itself onto it’s feet before leaping high into the air with it’s arm extended “Come Decarabia. Tetrakan!” Three thinly veiled barriers formed in front of two teens as the ball got spiked towards them at an unimaginable speed. It instantly tore through the first barrier and just and well obliterated the second. Each shield broken sent a sharp pain through Ren’s head as he continued to pour his mana into the subsequent shields.
It was only the third shield that managed to keep itself together against the incredible force of the projectile causing a cold sweat to form across Ren’s body as he felt his mana dwindling with every passing second he held it. It eventually became to much and Ren could no longer sustain the barrier, losing its strength the moment it lost its source of magic and breaking.
The ball continued its journey, only narrowly missing the two teens who had managed to wriggle themselves out the way enough to not become red stains against the floor, but were still close enough to feel the impact of the projectile undoing all the work they had made propping themselves back up.
Ren wanted to vomit. His entire nervous system was screaming for him to pass out. To take even a moment of rest and close his eyes. A scream that he refused to listen to because he was still focused on the laughing monster and could see it start to shimmy itself towards Ann and Ryuji who were for all accounts. Sitting ducks.
Against the whining protests of his body. The teen had managed to find even footing on the floor. Yet he was unable to move, his legs refusing to listen to his plead to run towards his friends and help them.
‘I need to move’
That was the only thing going through his head.
‘I have to help them’
He tried to take a step but as soon as his foot left the floor, like a weight being dropped on it, It immediately planted itself back to the ground.
‘Why won’t I move?’
He looked up and realised why he was dead set on standing by as his friends were about to be impaled. Ren was scared. For the first time since his mothers passing. Ren was forced to face death, only this time, instead of as an observer of the natural cycle, he was on the receiving end of a monster who saw no value in human life, and was more than willing to sacrifice it for the betterment of his own.
Ren could only watch as the creature lifted it’s fork high into the air, poised to skewer Ryuji and Ann like they were the leftover food on a plate.
‘Move’
Ren stood still.
‘Move!’
Ren’s body started to shake.
‘MOOOOVE!’
Ren’s feet left the ground. Relaced only with the sound of blood splattering against the floor.
Ryuji wasn’t sure what was happening. He thought they had won. Kamoshida was lying on his back and they had given there all to finish him off. After watching Ren get sent flying, he figured that they needed to end it there and then. But something had happened. The bastard was just playing dead and had come back stronger then ever.
He vaguely remembered a giant volleyball that had somehow stopped right in front of him and Ann just long enough that he could drag his friends’ body out of the way. Then he remembered looking up at a giant fork ready to impale him and her and the only thing on his mind was a need to protect her. So, he thought he did just that, he threw himself on top of her, hoping that only one of the prongs of the fork would be able to pierce him, saving her in the process.
But the pain never came, in fact, he didn’t feel anything aside from the admittedly comforting heat that emanated from the Ann’s body. Rather, instead of feeling anything, he heard something. A sharp metal clang followed by an exhausted and pained breathing. He quickly turned his body to see what was happening. He vison was filled with the sight of Ren’s back, his coat gone and his arms bulging against the weight that he was holding up. In his hands he held two blades which he was using to keep the fork from stabbing through the three of them, one of the blades was coated with a fresh layer of blood. What really drew Ryuji’s attention though was the blood dripping onto the floor below his friend, he quickly found the source as he followed where it was dripping from in the form of a gash in Ren’s Thigh.
“Dude. what happened?” Ryuji couldn’t see Ren’s face fully but nevertheless, he managed to glimpse the corners of Ren’s mouth curling upwards “Oh, I just had to do a bit of convincing to get my body to listen.”
Ren didn’t have much in the way of a plan. His whole body felt as if it were about to collapse under the heavy weight of Kamoshida’s force. His head was clouded by a splitting headache and he was seriously worried about his leg. He was almost sure that he avoided cutting through the artery, but he couldn’t be fully convinced, it had all happened so fast that his memory of what actually happened was fuzzy at best. The only facts that he could be certain of was that he was losing a lot of blood. He had to do his best to keep his friends safe. And that he was gonna be leaving the metaverse with yet another scar he was gonna have a tough time explaining.
The weight above him suddenly shifted and he almost lost his footing, it seemed Kamoshida was still recovering from his spike earlier and was trying to end the fight quickly. Ren silently summoned Genbu, the turtle persona formed behind him and while he didn’t have enough mana to cast Rakukaja, it was still able to keep Ren’s muscles from being ripped apart by the strain.
Ren still didn’t know what to do. In all honesty, he was running on instinct alone at this point, He just needed to make sure his friends were safe, surely if Ryuji could get Ann and Morgana back to the safe room then they could come up with a plan. Ren didn’t care if he wasn’t able to join them, he was content with seeing his friends safe.
Once again, the weight holding him down shifted again, except this time it was an opposite direction. Instead of his body screaming more in pain, it was given relief as the fork holding him in place was lifted slightly, he looked to side and saw Ryuji with both his hands holding the fork in place with Captain Kidd above him mimicking his action.
Through gritted teeth, Ryuji exclaimed “Joker. Leave Panther with me and figure out how to beat this guy.” Ren knew his friend was bluffing, trying to look cool to convince him despite being a shitty liar. But Ren relented regardless, knowing that trying to convince the blonde otherwise would be futile.
Ren’s knifes quickly vanished as he dashed away around the hulking beast.
Ryuji could feel his muscles straining with every passing second and it was only then he realised just how strong Ren was. As much as he wanted to think he’d willingly go through this pain for his friends. It fucking sucked. He had his leg broken once and to this day he still feels the phantom pains making him regret his impulsive actions all over again.
But Ren. He was on another level. He’d had the whole world thrown at him. Not only in the real world but in this crazy fantasy world where demons and gods want him dead. AT the end of the day, if he was in the situation where he needed to stab himself just to experience the pain he was feeling now. He couldn’t be fully sure he’d do it. And that really frustrated him.
“Champions cup.” Immediately Ryuji felt a wave of comfort wash over him as his tendons started to get stronger, the former runner allowed himself the liberty of glancing back to see an exhausted Ann leaning against his back to support herself. “You two are both idiots.”
Ryuji couldn’t help himself as a smile took over his lips. “Maybe you should focus on healing Ren.” Another wave washed over him. “I trust Ren to handle himself. You on the other hand would get yourself killed without me.”
Ren’s eyes scanned the room until they landed on a small bundle of black and white fur. Morgana looked like he was only just able to stand on his feet again from the way he wobbled while trying to move.
Ren ignored burning pain in his leg. He dashed at the cat with one of his most haphazard plans yet. “Mona!” Morgana struggled to turn and face Ren who was now sprinting directly at him with hyper focused eyes. “I’m going to throw you.”
From the way the cats face contorted, it was clear that he wasn’t sure he heard Ren properly. “Wha—Meooow!” Ren was nearly stepping on the cat as he planted his good leg in place, grabbing Morgana by the scruff of his neck before letting all his momentum spin him in place. As soon as he reached a full 180-degree rotation he aimed right at Kamoshida’s head before tossing the smaller phantom thief with as much force as Ren could muster with the help of Rakshasa’s added strength.
Morgana went sailing with a disgruntled mew all along the way before impacting hard against the crown that was sitting proudly on top of Kamoshida’s head. Before Morgana had even fully started his flight, Ren was already onto phase two of his plan, He sprinted towards the nearest pillar, his run not wavering in the slightest as he planted a foot against the vertical beam and continued into an ascent.
In his periphery he saw the cat make contact with the crown, sending both bodies flying into the distance. As soon as he saw the exposed skin of Kamoshida’s head, he decided then and there that he’d bet everything. His future. The future of his friends and the future of all students at the school that despised him on one final gamble.
Through gritted teeth and blurry vision, he pushed himself off the pillar, sending himself sailing high above the monster, he flung out his left hand letting the grappling hook un-winch itself and sending it flying directly into the centre of the monsters skull. With enough force to almost dislodge his shoulder, he started to wind back the line pulling himself directly towards the monster with a knife now in his right hand before his slammed the blade straight into the monsters’ head.
Kamoshida roared in pain, releasing the pressure he had on Ryuji and dropping his fork. Ren could see the monster’s hands start to approach but fuelled by an almost blinding rage and adrenaline, quickly pulled the knife out from it spot before revealing out his last surprise. From his coat pocket which had reappeared during his mad dash for his cat, he pulled out a desert eagle. It’s appearance nearly matching perfectly with its real-life counterpart that Ren was currently hiding for Iwai.
Ren swiftly pulled back the hammer before aggressively slamming the barrel directly into the hole that Ren’s knife had created. Ren wasn’t finished though as he brought his foot above the gun before slamming it down further into Kamoshida’s skull until the entire pistol was nearly fully embedded in the monsters’ head.
The entire process continued to reward Ren with the desperate screams and bargaining of the monstrous Kamoshida “Stop this. I am a king. I am a god. I AM A WINNER!” Ren stood tall, the pain in his leg was masked by the roaring of blood in his ears and his simple desire to destroy everything below him. He pulled a nylon string attached to his hand in his hand. The other end connected to the trigger of the pistol that was 2 feet deep in the monster’s skull.
“Game Over.”
BANG!
Notes:
Hoo boy, this was sorta hell to write. I have issues writing fight scenes because i usually know how I want to end them but I don't know how to build up to that ending.
This will be the scond last chapter of the Kamoshida arc which means the next one will be the last chapter for a while. I hope you're all still enjoying this series. I'd be interested to see if people want it to continue through the other arcs.
I'm also thinking of giving out my discord info if anyone has any questions or would like to offer to edit furute chapters because it turns out that editing sucks.
As always, feedback and comments are always welcome
Chapter 31
Notes:
This might be the largest chaoter yet, which I feel is right considering it's essentially the end of the Kamoshida Arc.
I hope you all enjoy and read the notes about future chapters at the end.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Ren let out a long breath of exhaustion. He could feel the flesh below him start to dissipate into the usual black smoke, but his body refused to move from its brief respite of rest. It continued to remain steadfast even after the monstrous body underneath was nearly fully gone, only moving when there was nothing left to hold him up, sending him into a freefall before colliding with the ground below.
After landing on his feet, his legs almost immediately gave out, and he was soon kneeling on the floor looking around the room for his friends. Ryuji and Ann weren’t far from him, both were on their knees with Ryuji receiving some personal healing from the blonde girl. A little more searching revealed Morgana who was still disoriented by the sudden toss Ren gave him. The one person he couldn’t find was their gym teacher.
Another minute went by until Ren was able to force himself back to his feet, blood continued to seep from his wound, slower than before but still at a worrying rate, he needed to get that healed asap but his potions weren’t strong enough to fix the wound or even stem the flowing blood.
As he started towards his two blonde friends, he spied the crown out of the corner of his eye, he turned himself to go and grab it but was unable to reach it before it was snatched away from him by the king himself.
The slimy bastard scooped the crown into his hands and started bolting towards the massive doors before being swiftly cut off by Ryuji who was blocking the way smacking his metal bat against his hand. Kamoshida started to run back but skidded to a halt as he stared directly sown the barrel of Ren’s pistol. With fear and panic in his eyes, he scrambled to find any kind of escape.
He turned and started sprinting towards an open balcony but defeat soon crept its way onto his features as he peered over the edge and saw how high he was.
“Are you scared?”
Kamoshida turned with incredible speed at the sound of Ann’s voice. The leather cladded lady started stalking towards Kamoshida with fury and contempt showing plainly beneath her mask. “I bet that’s what Shiho was feeling when she looked over the edge.”
“Fear. Despair. Feeling like she was trapped.”
Kamoshida started to squirm as Ann got closer and closer, he kept peering over the edge but recoiling as he was continuously met with the dizzying height.
“But you know what makes you and her different? She had the courage and strength to take that final step. Despite knowing what awaited her, she still chose to take fate into her own hands.”
With a blue haze, her mask disappeared as the femme fatale behind her appeared. A fire ball with enough heat the boil skin started to form in her hand. “Hey Panther, you can’t—” Ryuji was cut off by Ren’s hand, stopping him from going any further and interrupting the girl. When he was met with a questioning gaze from his friend, Ren simply shook his head. “We got our retribution. We need to let her make the decision for herself.”
“But if what if she kills him?”
Ren was quiet for a second before returning his gaze to the show in front of them. “I’ll take the fall so don’t worry. No one would question if I were the one who killed him.” Ryuji’s face looked like he wanted to scream in protest but surprisingly the blonde managed to keep his mouth closed.
“Please don’t kill me. I didn’t know any better. I just wanted people to need me, to give me the respect I deserved.”
Ann’s hands started to clench tighter and tighter, shaking as she listened to the bastard in front of her beg and rationalise his wrong doings until it finally became too much for her. “HOW DARE YOU TRY AND JUSTIFY RAPING MY BEST FRIEND!” With a final scream, she let the fire in her persona’s hand go flying directly towards Kamoshida who had found himself sitting against the banister behind him. He curled his body up expecting his life to end at that moment.
Which only made it stranger as he opened his eyes to a panting Ann and a scorch mark next his face. The radiant heat making it feel like he was standing next to a blazing campfire. As the realisation came that he wasn’t a burnt crisp of a king set in, his body slumped back in horror. He looked up at Ann with quizzical gaze only to be returned by one of utter discontent and a hint of sorrow.
“Death is too good for someone like you.”
Kamoshida leant forward, tears started to stream down his face as he fell to his hands and knees. “I’m so sorry. I did deplorable things. But what do I do from here?”
Ann turned her back on the quivering king, not giving him the attention he once believed he deserved “You’ll never be able to redeem yourself for the evil things you’ve done to people… So, go back to your real self. Admit your wrongdoings to the world and let them decide your fate. That’s the first step.”
Kamoshida managed to stop himself from sobbing to look at the three teens with tired eyes. He let his head nod down before his body started to shine in a blinding radiance and then finally dissipating into nothing, leaving only the crown which bounced its way towards Ann. She looked down at it before picking it up and tossing it to Ren.
As he caught the lightweight decoration, he felt his leg start to go numb. He looked down worrying that he had finally ran out of blood but was instead greeted with a green light wrapping itself around his thigh, stopping the flowing blood before stitching up the open wound on his leg.
The teen let out a sigh of relief before looking back at his friends with a smile on his face.
“Good work guys. I’d call that mission a success.” Ren, Ann and Ryuji looked at Morgana with confusion and shock on their faces. Each of them looking down lower than normal at the furry mascot. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”
No one knew what to say, or better yet, how to phrase it. That was until Ryuji decided to just bite the bullet like he always did. “Dude, why are you a cat now?” Morgana looked ready to fire back with his normal ‘I’m not a cat’ retort but held his tongue as he caught a glimpse of his hand, which was now very clearly a paw. “I guess because we dealt with the palace ruler, the palace metaphysical perceptions are retuning back to their forms in realty.”
The three teens went silent. They knew there something more important about that fact other than Morganas shift back into his quadruped form. It took Ren the least amount of time to ask his question to their metaverse expert. “Wait, if the place ruler is gone. What happens to the palace?”
It was in that moment that he decided God might just be the one comedian with perfect comedic timing because when Ren finished his question, not a beat later did the whole palace shake as if it were in a magnitude 10 earthquake, the force was so great that it threatened to topple each of the phantom thieves. Ren looked at his friends, the ones that stood on two legs at least and muttered almost causally, despite the situation “We need to run. Like right now.”
Through gritted teeth and strained muscles, the three teens began their journey outside of the palace. Ren felt a small weight on his shoulder which he assumed was Morgana but didn’t have time to check as he was too busy scanning his phone for any possible shortcuts they could take, he quickly learned that all the safe rooms were now inaccessible meaning that they couldn’t simply warp back to the entrance and the original route they had taken was filled with debris and missing parts of the monolithic structure.
After a minute of running blindly through rooms and hallways they had previously ignored on their one-way path to the top of the castle. Ren finally found their possible salvation. “Take the next left?” With Ann being the least injured of the three, she took position at the front, with Ren in the middle and Ryuji trailing close behind. They all rounded the corner and found an obnoxiously long hallway. “AH dude, that’s a dead end.” Ren turned and gave Ryuji’s doubtful expression a cocky grin of his own. “Skull, nothing’s a dead end when there’s a window.” Confusion quickly turned into dreadful realisation on Ryuji’s face “You can’t possibly mean—”
“Guys we don’t have time, we need to go!” With that, Ann began sprinting towards the end of the hallway, Ren gave his friend a casual shrug as he followed suit, almost laughing as he heard Ryuji complain behind him as he ran to catch up.
The Hall seemed to stretch on forever, as they kept running, it just seemed to get longer and longer but Ren knew this was the right way. If it was really as long as he was seeing it and it wasn’t simply due to a loss of blood warping his perception of time. Then it should have led directly out to the front of the castle.
“OW!” Ren and Ann skidded to a halt to see what happened behind them. Each of their faces filled with worry as they saw Ryuji on his knees behind them. “Don’t worry, I’ll catch up with you—.” But before he could even finish his sentence of dumb self-sacrifice. Ren was already beside him with Ann closing in. “No chance I’m leaving you behind to get crushed under this perverts castle.”
“Are you guys alright?” Ann asked as Ren pulled Ryuji to his feet, draping his arm over his shoulder “We will be. Panther do you have any mana left?” She closed her eyes for a second to feel her reserves “A bit, why?”
Ren grinned “I need you to cast champions cup on both of us. Take Morgana and book it out of here.”
“But what about you guys?” Before Ren could even try to explain his plan Ryuji stuck his thumb out at Ann “Trust us Panther, we’ll be right behind you.” Ann took a moment consider arguing but instead punched Ryuji on the chest lightly. “You better. You idiots.” Soon a green light enveloped both Ren and Ryuji, they felt the muscles grow tighter and stronger, the pain in each of their respective legs reducing to a dull throb. Morgana quickly leapt off Ren’s shoulder and gladly took place on Ann’s who gave to two one more worried look before turning and starting her sprint back down the hall.
Ren turned to Ryuji as they locked there bad legs together and readied there good ones “How good were you are three legged races.” Ryuji gave a light chuckle as he steeled his resolve “No clue, no one wanted to race with me.” Ren laughed “That makes two of us.”
With a final synchronised breath. The two took off, awkwardly at first but they quickly found there rhythm and were soon tearing it down the hall. They began to pick up speed as they continued to improve their rhythm and before long, with the castles crumbling behind them, were able to make out details of the now broken window they were about to fly through.
As they were right on the precipice of jumping out said window, Ryuji shouted to friend “What’s the plan!” Ren could only smile and shout back “I hope you can swim!” Before the two went soaring out the window with a final leap. Yelling their lungs out as they started plummeting towards the moat beneath them.
SPLASH
Ren and Ryuji’s heads popped out of the water. Both were sputtering trying to get the water out of their lungs. After they had calmed their breathing, they looked around to see Ann already on the shore ringing out her wet hair. The two shared a final look before they started to swim, intent on joining there friend.
After they had reached the shore and dragged their heavy bodies out of the cold water. The four looked back at the crumbling castle. None of them sure as to what to say. Ren simply pulled out his phone and brought up the navigation app. “How about we go home.” The three nodded as they started walking to the drawbridge. “If I never see a castle again it’ll be too soon.” Ryuji and Ren laughed under their breath at Ann’s muttering before Ren pressed the button.”
As the world began to morph and twist, Ren gave a final glance back towards the crumbling palace, while he was happy to be rid of the atrocious thing, he’d be lying if he denied that it felt bittersweet. Because despite being put through pains and experiences unimaginable to the young teen, the fact remained that he may have never gotten a chance to bond with Ryuji and Ann like he had without the presence of an overwhelming threat like Kamoshida, and he certainly wouldn’t have met his new roommate, whether he was happy about that was still up in the air.
With a final turn of his stomach, the phantom thieves found themselves in a familiar alleyway, each of them looking more haggard and exhausted then when they had first entered it. Morgana hopped from Ann’s shoulder back to Ren’s with a massive grin on his face “Good work guys. Our first successful heist as the phantom thieves.” Each of the teens reciprocated the cats grin with a scowl of their own, quickly wiping away any smugness the cat had “What’s up guys.” Ren picked up his roommate by the scruff of his neck before placing him in his bag “As punishment for not telling us that the freaking palace would collapse after we won. You are hereby sentenced for dry cat food for a month.”
The face Morgana gave his friend would make it seem like Ren had just sentenced him to life in prison. “You can’t do that. What about my fatty tuna?” Ren ignored the whines of his feline friend, instead choosing to focus on his bipedal ones who both weren’t looking as happy as he was expecting “How do we know what we did worked?” Ren figured that question was gonna come up at some point, and yet he didn’t have a concrete answer to give Ann, he opened the app on his phone. “Well, I don’t see Kamoshida’s palace in the history anymore, and it’s not popping up when I type it in. So, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see whether it had any effect on the real one.”
Ren’s words did little to calm to girl, only making her face scrunch up in worry. That was until Ryuji came to the rescue. “Dude what happened to the treasure. A crown like that must be worth a fortune.” Ren’s eyes widened in response, he had completely forgotten that he even had the thing, his thoughts more occupied with escaping then ensuring he kept the thing on him. He started searching his pockets, not sure how a crown would have fit in there but figuring that stranger things had happened.
After a minute of searching, he finally felt something foreign in one of his back pockets, he quickly pulled it out and each of the phantom thieves looked at the item in confusion. Because instead of a gold and glittering crown adorned with various jewels, what Ren held in his hand was something far more ordinary by comparison.
“A gold medal? What the eff, did we really risk our lives just for that.”
Ren looked at Morgana expecting an explanation and was surprised when he actually received one. “The treasure was the source of Kamoshida’s distorted desires, it’d make sense that it would be something special to him in the real world.” Ren looked at the Medal closely before elaborating to the other two “I guess he viewed the medal as his golden ticket to do whatever he wanted, I mean you guys said that he only really became a teacher here because he was in the Olympics, he must have seen it as his crown to Shujin’s castle.”
Ryuji’s body slumped slightly “Well that’s interesting and all but is it worth anything. And more importantly, can we even sell the thing?” Ren and morgana looked at each other with a smile before Ren pocketed the Medal. “I might have someone who would be willing to buy it.” Ann clapped her hands in joy “Oh I have an idea, Golden week is coming up soon, why don’t we use the money we get from the medal to go somewhere nice?”
“That’s if Ren and I don’t get expelled before then.” Ann flicked Ryuji’s forehead “Alright enough moping around, we’ll just have to wait and see.” Ren smiled at his friend’s newfound optimism before picking up his bag. “Ann’s right, all we can do is be patient, we should try and avoid doing anything suspicious in the meantime, and we should probably avoid hanging out as a group for the time being.” As Ren started to walk out from the alley, he could hear Ryuji mumble under his breath “Great, so now I get to freak out by myself for the next couple of weeks.”
The following weeks went by in a flash for Ren which he found odd. He thought he’d be up all night freaking out like Ryuji had been, but he was strangely calm. As soon as he heard that Kamoshida was taking a leave of absence from school, he felt like the weight he had since day one was finally lifted off his shoulders, if only slightly. It did little to qualm any of the rumours that were circulating about him or the stares he was still getting from his school mates.
It even gave him a chance to properly focus on his study session with Makoto but as he had feared, ditching her the previous week had left some lasting damage on their still debatable friendship, even offering to take her out to get something to eat afterwards fell on death ears as he was blown off when she explained how she had to prepare dinner for her sister. All he could hope for was that he could slowly repair the damage he had caused over future study dates.
As time continued to pass with no mention of Kamoshida, Ren started to wonder if the bastard had actually turned himself in and it was just being covered up by the school. With the way the principle had handled the whole Shiho situation, it wouldn’t surprise Ren if the tub of lard were more worried about the school image then the wellbeing of its students.
Days continued before something finally happened. It was the second Friday following there heist, the last day of school before golden week when an announcement was called over the P.A. “Would all students please make their way to the Gymnasium.” The chatter within the class started to pick up as students got out of their chairs and made their way towards the doors. Ren watched Ann get up but remained seated himself, obviously in no Rush to follow the class. “We should probably head over, not draw attention and all that.”
Ren gave Ann a casual smile as he stood up from his chair and grabbed his bag, he and Ann were the final two to leave the classroom. They started walking towards the stares, Ann turned to take the steps down but stopped when she noticed Ren wasn’t following behind her “Where are you going Ren?”
Ren rubbed the back of his head before looking down the hall “I’m just gonna go the bathroom really quick. I’ll catch up in a sec.” Ann could tell something was up but chose not to push him. She gave the boy a shrug before continuing down the stairs. “Alright but don’t take too long.”
Ren waved her off, when he watched her leave his line of sight, he let out a sigh of relief before he started walking up the stairs. Morgana’s head popped out to question him “I thought you were going to the bathroom.” Ren didn’t look at his friend as he continued up the stairs “I don’t particularly feel like being in a gym filled with people staring daggers into me, No one will care if I ditch anyways.”
Ryuji stood at the back of the crowd scanning the room for his friends. The past two weeks had been hell for him. Every day after lunch he could swear he felt kids looking at him like they knew what he had done and not being able to hang out with Ren and Ann was only making his anxiety worst, he got why they should try to avoid hanging out in a big group but that did little to calm him down. He didn’t even know how to act natural, he figured that maybe he should actually pay attention in class for once but the moment he looked at his handout, the teacher looked at him like he was an alien so he scrapped that idea very quickly.
After a while he finally spied Ann walking into the gym following her class, but he couldn’t see his best bud with her. He started making his way towards her when the principle started talking. “Attention all students, we are holding this assembly to speak to you all about your mental health. As I’m sure you’re all aware, a few weeks ago, one of our beloved students was the victim of a horrible accident. I would like to tell you that as of right now, Shiho Suzui has pulled through and is no longer in critical condition.”
Ryuji could feel his blood boil as he listened his fat ass principle refer to one of his friends attempted suicide as a simple ‘Accident’ as if he had nothing to do with it. He was almost ready to shout bullshit but realised that Ren would probably beat the shit out of him if he managed to drag them into another incident with the school. So, he kept his mouth shut as Kobayakawa continued his speech.
“Everyone here has a bright future ahead of them. I implore you all to rethink the importance of life and—” Kobayakawa was cut off by the sound of the gym doors opening. Every head turned towards the new arrival and every person held their breath at the sight of a dejected Kamoshida.
“Mr Kamoshida what are—”
“I have been reborn. And that is why I must confess to you all.” Kamoshida ignored the worried looks he was getting from the students and made his way to the stage. He walked to the podium and began speaking into the microphone despite the principle’s questions. “I have repeatedly done things that were unbecoming of a teacher.”
“Verbally abusing my students. Physically abusing my team and… Sexually abusing the female students at this school.” Every student gasped in horror at the final part of his admission. Each of the girls visibly moved away from Kamoshida.
“I am the reason Shiho Suzui tried to kill herself.” Kamoshida dropped to his knees, his quiet sobs echoed like thunder through the silent gymnasium. “There were even students that I tried to have expelled purely because I didn’t like them.”
“I am truly sorry for putting innocent youth through such horrible acts. I am a horrible, despicable, morally reprehensible human being. No! I’m even worst then that.” The blubbering mess of a teacher could only sob for a moment before finally managing to continue. “I will take responsibility for my actions. I will kill myself.” It was at the mere mention of suicide that the crowd began to roar with chatter. Ryuji heard all different kind of things from his school mates, from some begging Kamoshida to reconsider to others egging him on. Ryuji felt sick to his stomach as he realised some people were so excited to see the bastard off himself that they were getting their phones out to record.
Principle Kobayakawa looked the most nervous, he dodged around the podium to get close enough to Kamoshida to talk without letting every student hear what he was saying. No doubt trying to get the sobbing teacher to reconsider and leave before any more commotion was caused.
When Ryuji was sure all-out chaos was about to ensue. A female voice cut through the roaring crowd with clarity and power like no other. “Don’t you dare try and run you bastard!” As if the mute button had just been hit, every student that was a part of the chaotic flurry of voices went deathly quiet, giving Ann the perfect stage to say her piece. “Shiho is still alive, even after all the awful things you put her through. She’s going to recover but it’s going to be fucking hard for her. What gives you the right to take the easy way out?”
No one made a sound, even Kamoshida had stopped crying to listen to the girl, He looked up and stared Ann right in the eye as he muttered “You’re right… You’re absolutely right, I Should be punished under the law and atone for my crimes.”
He continued to look at Ann as he explained further “I did horrible thing to Takamaki-san as well. I used Suzui-san’s position on the volleyball team as leverage to try and have sexual relations with her.” His head dropped, breaking his gaze with Ann “As of today, I will resign as an instructor of Shujin academy and turn myself into the authorities. Someone. Please call the police.”
With his final request, Kamoshida went quiet and the gymnasium roared to life once again as teachers and the principle tried to usher people back to classes. Ryuji continued to scan the room looking for Ren, when he once again couldn’t see the mess of Black hair in the increasingly more active crowd, he pulled out his phone before sending a text to his friend.
Ren pulled out his phone when he felt the familiar buzz of his ringtone. He read through the contents of the message carefully and deliberately. Making absolutely sure not to miss a single detail or misconstrue the information. When he finally got to the end of the message, the only words that really stood out in his mind were “Kamoshida just admitted to everything. I think it worked.”
Ren’s phone continued to buzz with messages from Ryuji, but he didn’t read them, He put his phone back in his pocket and stared up at the sky as he waited for everything to sink in. It didn’t take long before he felt his back slide down against the fence he had been leaning against.
Thoughts raced through Ren’s mind. But none of them stayed long enough for him to dwell or analyse as his desire to sleep superseded everything else. With every passing moment, the nervousness Ren had been keeping under control the past couple weeks started to catch up with him. Added on top of the massive weight that had been dropped knowing that for the time being, there was nothing threatening his expulsion and thus his possible incarceration.
It all compacted into Ren closing his eyes for just a second to breathe before passing out entirely.
Makoto walked up the stairs of Shujin academy not entirely sure what she was doing. One moment she was in the same gymnasium as every other student listening in shock and horror as Kamoshida, A teacher she once resected, admitted to not only abusing students with physical violence but even sexually abusing the female students. It made her nauseous just to remember it, so when she heard it from the man himself, all she could do was leave the room ignoring her teachers worried glances and demands to stay where she was.
After she had left and managed to catch her breath, the image of a single student fluttered through her mind. Spurring her forward to go and see him. Ren Amamiya. She didn’t need to go back into the gym to confirm he wasn’t there, oddly enough, lately she’s been entering every room and found herself scanning it for a familiar mop of shaggy black hair, even when she wasn’t actively looking for the boy.
Instead, she started traveling up the various floors of Shujin academy with one location in mind.
The roof.
When she finally arrived at the top of the school, she could see the door was open slightly to prevent it from locking itself upon closing as it’s meant to do. She carefully pushed the door open wide enough to allow her to slip by, she still didn’t have a plan, but she knew she had to talk to Ren about what just happened, she didn’t have any concrete evidence to support it, but she was almost certain that he had some connection to Kamoshida and his apparent wrongdoings.
As she managed to get onto the roof itself, all the words she wanted to say to the local delinquent of Shujin vanished when she saw said student with his back against the chain link fence, his head down and bangs covering his face, lightly snoozing in the afternoon sun.
She took tentative steps towards the boy until she was directly in front of him. If it were anyone else, she was sure that she’d wake him up so they could have the discussion she had originally wanted. But instead, she found herself drawn closer to the boy, she bent her knees until she was at eye level. She got as close as she dared, her desire to study his features overwriting any previous thoughts.
She wasn’t sure what exactly it was about the boy that drew her to him on so many occasions. She had met many boys in her life that she could define as attractive. She’s even met the detective prince himself, yet Ren Amamiya was the only person that constantly plagued her mind when she occasionally let it wonder.
As she continued to study his resting face, she finally got a clue as to what it was. He was the exact opposite of her. Because even though he had just as many, if not more pressures forced upon him by society and the people around him, he constantly exuded an aura of confidence and self-affirmation. He took all those pressures and carried them not to please the people around him like she was apt to do but in spite of them. He had the strength that she always wished for.
And yet here he was, just taking a nap while the biggest scandal in Shujin history played out right below them. Makoto could only look at his resting form and think to herself.
‘He looks so peaceful right now.’
Makoto wasn’t sure how long she spent watching the young man. He must have been exhausted because she was sure he would have been woken up by her presence any other day, like the first time she came across his sleeping form here on the roof. As she continued to watch his chest rise and fall softly. She felt her own breathing start to sync with his, every breath making her eyelids heavier. She found her current squatting position uncomfortable, she started to adjust not even aware that her body moved to sit beside the resting boy.
All it took was one final cool breeze to send her over the edge before she too lost the battle to sleep.
Ren felt himself stir awake. His eyes opened slowly to give him time to adjust to the light, he tried to stretch his arms but felt something pressing lightly against his right arm.
He looked over and found himself genuinely surprised by what he saw. Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected to see Makoto, miss student president herself, sitting beside him snoozing away the day using his arm as a makeshift pillow.
He looked to his left and uttered a silent thank you when he saw that his phone had wriggled itself out of his pocket during his nap, with as little movement as possible, Ren unlocked his phone to check the time. His eyes widened when he saw that they had managed to sleep through the entire school day with the final bell set to ring soon.
He gazed back at the girl who’s mouth was hanging slightly agape, just enough to keep any possible drool off her new pillow, as he watched resting face, a comfortable smile came to his own. He locked his phone and carefully fenagled it back into his pocket before leaning back against the fence and letting his body relax, content on letting the girl rest just a bit longer.
As Ren continued to sit there and bask in the afternoon warmth, he started contemplating what his next move was, he did promise Morgana that he’d help him, but he wasn’t sure if Ryuji and Ann would be on board or even what helping Morgana entailed. As time continued to pass, Ren’s thoughts drifted into obscurity as he found himself looking at Makoto more and more. He started to pick up on the little habits she had, such as when the sun would shine right on her face, her features would scrunch up as if trying to block out as much light as possible, or when her hair would sometimes fall through her headband, her nose would begin to twitch from being tickled.
But by far, the one that Ren found the cutest was whenever a particularly cool gust of air would blow past the two, Makoto’s face would frown before she’d turn her head and buried it deeper into Ren’s arm as if she were seeking refuge from the cold.
Ren started to lose tract of time. Perfectly content on just enjoying the moment of quiet he was experiencing and allowing the girl beside him to occupy his mind. A strong gust of wind blew across the two, causing some of Makoto’s hair to drape over her face. Ren wasn’t even aware of his arm that had moved to brush it out of the way. And he realised too late because as his arm moved, so too did his body, the motion being just enough to stir the sleeping girl awake.
Ren found himself face to face with Makato with her hair in his hand and staring right into her eyes as they fluttered open, revealing to him a set of dazzling rubies that seemed to look right past his arrogant façade and into his soul itself. Neither of them made a sound or an attempt to move, each was transfixed on the others face like some outside entity was holding them in place. As Ren continued to stare at the girl, taking in all her features and staring deep into her eyes. I single thought ran through his head.
‘Oh…I think I like her.’
And like that, a flood gate had crashed in Ren’s mind sending it into overdrive thinking about all the obvious signs that pointed to him obviously having feelings for the student council president. Luckily for him though, the final bell of the day Rang, giving his mind just the moment of clarity, it needed to reclaim control of his emotions and keep his cool.
Slowly he propped himself up before offering a hand to Makoto. “I hope you have a good excuse ready for the teachers that definitely noticed your absence for the last three periods.” Unexpectedly, Makoto’s face showed no signs of nervousness or regret, instead she stretched her arms and happily held onto Ren’s to pull herself up “I know I should tell you off for breaking the rules and coming up here without permission, as well as ditching classes, but that nap may have been the best sleep of my teenage life, so I don’t think I have a right to chew you out.”
The two stood there somewhat awkwardly, neither sure as to what to say after experiencing the intimate moment they had shared. Ren was the first to move, he grabbed his bag and started walking towards the door. The footsteps behind him telling him that Makoto was close behind. That was until he started walking down the stairs where only his footsteps echoed.
“Ren?”
Ren turned to face the girl, from the tone in her voice, it was clear that she wanted to ask him a question, He felt his blood cool as he readied himself for the obvious question to come.
“Can you promise me that’ll you’ll properly try in class, I know you have it in you to do well, you just lack the motivation.”
Ren waited a moment before he felt himself relax and smile. “Yeah, I think I can promise that, as long as you can promise that you’ll let me take you out somewhere fun after our study sessions.” Ren almost lost his breath seeing the girl try to hide her light blush before she followed him down the steps before passing him “I think I can agree to those condition. I’ll see you after golden week Amamiya-san.” Ren rolled his eyes at the girls emphasising of his last name “Yeah, seeya Pres”
Ren watched the girl smile before she turned the corner leaving him all by himself. Some part of him felt relived that she didn’t ask him about his connection to Kamoshida, yet he couldn’t help feeling something wasn’t right about it.
Notes:
This was an actual nightmare to write and edit. As in I was suffering some serious writers block during the writing process and kinda wanted to neck myself when I realised I'd have to edit it.
Regardless, I'm happy with it, I think it struck a good balance between the phantom Thieves and Ren's personal life which is something I'm worried is gonna get harder and harder to manage.
With this being the end of the arc, I'm probably gonna take a bit of a break, take some time to actually come up with a chapter list and break down whats gonna happen throughout the arc so we don't get another 30 chapters for Madarame. I might also try and bulk write chapters that way I can spend more time on future chapters and keep uploading consistantly.
Or I might just keep doing what I've been doing. Who knows. Either way I'm so happy that so many people have read it, I'm so happy that so many people have rated it and estatic that some of you have commented and given me feedback, it really helps knowing that people are reading the story and wanting to talk about it.
So thanks again guys.
Chapter Text
Ren left the front gate of Shujin feeling more refreshed then when he first walked through it all that time ago, it was amazing what a little peace of mind did his body and soul. He turned the corner and was greeted by two heads of blonde hair running towards him, Ryuji being the former track star was the first to reach him before wrapping him in a suffocating bear hug “We did it dude, we changed Kamoshida’s heart and we’re not getting expelled.” Ren tried to respond but felt all the air get forced from his lungs before he could utter a word. All her could settle for was smiling while tapping on Ryuji’s arm.
“Hey idiot, you’re gonna kill the guy if you don’t let him breathe.” And as quickly as he had lost it, all his breath came back to him as soon as Ryuji’s embrace loosened. “Oh, my bad dude. Just a bit excited is all.” Once Ren had managed to breathe normally again, he gave his friend another smile “It’s all good, I’ll let it slide this time.” The four laughed for a bit before Ann’s phone rang, she excused herself from the group to take the call.
“So, what are you gonna do now dude.” Ren’s smile faltered slightly, that was the question that had been on his mind ever since he heard the news and yet he still didn’t have a concrete answer, he glanced down at Morgana, he opened his mouth to offer some sort of response before Ann’s voice overwhelmed the three “Really! You’re absolutely sure. No that’s great. Yep, I’ll come by as soon as I can.” With that, the girl pocketed her phone, Ren expected her to return to the group but rather she just stood there staring aimlessly, the three boys shared a worried look before they made their way over.
Ryuji was the first the speak “Everything all right Ann—” The boy cut himself short, his faced turning pink as his crush quickly closed the gap between the two, embracing Shujin’s problem child in a tight hug, burying her face deep into his chest. “Whoa Ann, what’s wrong?”
All that was offered to the three was a muffled mumble from the girl, explaining nothing to them. “Um, come again.” She pulled her face away from Ryuji’s chest just enough to allow her words to come through somewhat clearly. “Shiho woke up.” Each of the phantom thieves’ eyes widened in response to the news. “For real?” Ann just nodded her head before resting her forehead on Ryuji’s chest “Yeah, they said it was only for a bit but the fact that she was conscious means that she’s gonna be alright.”
Ren smiled gently, he walked by Ryuji and rested his hand on Ann’s shoulder, her face was once again shielded from sight by Ryuji’s chest but even if it wasn’t, Ren didn’t look at her, instead just saying “This is the fruit of your efforts Ann, you showed everyone that Shiho’s choice wasn’t in vain, you should be proud.” Ren didn’t wait for a response, he felt the way her body shook from his words as he walked away from the two, He gave Ryuji a glance which the blonde boy simply responded with a knowing nod.
Morgana’s head popped out as Ren walked down the stairs of the train station. “Are you sure we should have left lady Ann like that?” Ren grinned as he looked at the cat’s face “I think she’s in the best possible hands.” Morgana looked frustrated by the fact that he couldn’t argue with his assessment, so he just settled for taking another nap in Ren’s bag.
Ren continued through the station taking a look at various shops, he didn’t feel like heading back to Leblanc after the emotional rollercoaster of a day he had. As he explored the station he came across a notice board covered in fliesr, the one that caught his attention was a ‘Help wanted’ poster. Spurred by the sudden stop of Ren’s movement, morgana showed his face again to question the bumpy ride “What are you looking at?” Ren grabbed the poster before tearing it off the notice board to get a better look, for some reason, getting a part time job had never been on his priority list when he started probation, probably because he didn’t plan on getting attached to the city or doing anything that would have costed him a lot of money. But after his escapade in the metaverse, his funds from his pocket money were almost completely gone, and without any castles to steal from, he didn’t have anything apart from the medal to sell to Iwai.
He read the poster; it was for a part time position at the convenience store back in Shibuya. He scanned the information and the decided to pull out his phone after reading;
‘No experience needed.’
And
‘Late night shifts perfect for students.’
The phone rang after he punched in the number before being answered by an older sounding lady. “Triple seven convenience stores. How can I help.” Ren hesitated for a moment, he had never applied for a job before, so he wasn’t sure about the process. “Um, I saw your help wanted poster in the station—” before he could even finish his question, the girl’s bubbly voice cut him off “Oh perfect, we’ve been looking for part timers for so long now. Are you able to come in for an interview tomorrow?” Ren was taken aback by how easy that felt, he had heard horror stories about trying to get a job in Tokyo. “Uh, yeah, that shouldn’t be a problem, what time should I come around?” The girl went quiet, the sounds of books and paper being turned was all the indication Ren had that she was still there. “How does, 4 pm sound?” Ren did a quick mental check to see if he had made any promises to be anywhere that time, after he was certain he was in the clear, he responded “That works for me.”
“Great, see you tomorrow.” Ren didn’t even get a chance to thank the girl as the line went dead against his ear. He looked at his phone just to make sure that call had actually taken place and he didn’t just have a sudden fever dream. When he saw the call history, he let out a sigh of relief as he pocketed his phone, he couldn’t help thinking to himself that maybe working a part time job would be more exhausting then infiltrating an imaginary castle.
-
It was late when Ren finally got off the train in Yongen Jaya, late enough where the sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, and late enough where the café should have been closed for the day. Which is why Ren was confused when he saw that the lights were still on as he turned the corner, and the door was unlocked as he pushed against it. The chiming bell grabbing Sojiro’s attention from the Tv. The elder gentleman quickly turned off the tv and turned towards the boy with an annoyed look on his face “Where the hell have you been!” Ren raised an eyebrow at Sojiro’s angry tone. “I was out with friends, why do you care anyway, you gave me a key, so you didn’t have to stick around right?”
Sojiro pushed his glasses up so he could rub his eyes “kid, I gave you that key in case you had to study or something that would keep you back at school. It wasn’t an excuse for you to stay out all night. Whether I like it or not, I’m still your guardian for the year.” Ren felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance, the flippant attitude from the café owner was starting to piss Ren off, but he kept his anger in check and instead focus on the real source of confusion “Look boss, you didn’t waste your precious time waiting here just to tell me I’m not allowed out late. So, skip the lecture and tell me why you’re here right now.”
Ren worried that he might have pushed his luck too far by the look Sojiro shot at him, but the older man just let out a frustrated breath of air before speaking again “I heard the news about your teacher. I just wanted to make sure you had nothing to do with it.” Ren expected the accusations, but it still stung regardless, whether he really did have something to do with it or not, it was frustrating to be the first-person people suspected. He almost wanted to go off on his guardian but knew better then to let his ego and self-righteous get the better of him.
The teen shoved his hands into his pocket and started walking towards the stairs, as he passed Sojiro, he spoke in a calm and almost deadpan tone “Nope, the guy was just a paedophile and an abuser, guess his consciousness got the better of him.” He saw Sojiro’s body relax slightly at Ren’s lie, a tinge of guilt still wormed its way through Ren even through the teen’s annoyance. “Good, you just got to get through the year without doing anything stupid. It seems like your taking what I said to heart.” Ren stopped to consider the words that Sojiro said to him during their first meeting. “Hey boss, if you had the ability to stop bad people from doing bad things, don’t you think it’d be wrong not to?” Sojiro looked at Ren with eyes full of exhaustion, he took off his glances to clean despite then glass not having a speck of dirt on them.
“Kid, the world isn’t black and white, there aren’t good and bad people. Just people going about their lives. Every coin has two sides.” Ren’s eyes squinted in frustration at the cliched answer “So are you saying that Kamoshida just happened to show us his bad side. The sicko raped a girl at the school.” Sojiro’s face shifted into one of genuine anger at the mere mention of Shiho’s assault, but he quickly regained his composure. “No, I’m not gonna defend the low life. But I want to believe that no one is born evil, that comes from the decisions and the people they interact with their entire life. I guess what I’m trying to say is that you can never fully understands someone’s life story.”
Ren stayed quiet after hearing the last of Sojiro’s words, he wasn’t sure if his guardian was waiting for a response, but he didn’t give one regardless, he just kept moving towards the stairs. As he reached the bottom step, he stopped again and said one last thing “Hey boss. Thanks for taking me in. I really appreciate the chance you gave me.” He heard the older man laugh under his breath, “Just don’t expect me to let you live here rent free, I’m gonna work you to bone when it gets busy.” Ren smiled and chuckled to himself as he walked up the stairs. Ready to end the long day.
-
The weekend went by quickly for Ren, much like the phone call, he somehow managed to ace the interview with almost no hassle, it honestly felt like he was getting scammed by how easy it was to get the job. Only time would tell whether it was a blessing or a curse that he just got his first job ever.
The teen woke up Monday morning not due to any self-implied motivation, but rather due to his phone ringing loudly next to his head making it impossible for him to ignore. With his eyes still closed in desperation to continue sleeping, he clumsily moved his hand to answer his phone.
Ren had instant regret as Ryuji’s voice blasted through his speaker, ending the last shred of hope Ren had for sleeping in during golden week. “Hey dude, you are doing anything today, I’m already bored.” Ren opened his eyes and checked the time, groaning into his phone as he saw the big 9 am. Ren didn’t have his first shift until 6pm so he had nothing in particular planned for the day. “You’re lucky you’re endearing but wake me up this early on a holiday again and I’ll show you why I was arrested.”
Ren grinned when he heard the blonde audibly gulp over the phone. “What’d you have planned anyway?” Ren asked over speaker phone, using the spare time to get dressed out of his sleep wear into something more appropriate for going outside “I thought we could just grab something to eat in Shibuya, I don’t think I’ve shown you any of the cool hangout spots yet.” Ren cast his mind to what he has spent his first month doing, he guessed that between dealing with a perverted teacher and a different reality, sightseeing in Tokyo fell through the cracks along the way. “All right, I’ll meet you at the station then, and Ryuji…try not to get into any trouble.”
“Why do you say it like that’s a given with me?”
Ren went quiet for second before answering “Experience.”
“Shut up.” And the line went silent
After Ren was finished changing, he started to make his way down the stairs, the teens eyes went wide in shock at the sight, the café that would usually average 3 to 4 customers throughout the day, was now packed with people of varying ages. Ren looked over to Sojiro who was busy taking orders and grinding coffee. The owner of the cafe looked up from his task and spied Ren. “Ah kid. Good timing, grab an apron and start helping out.” Ren was about make a joke, but with how many people were around him and how much Sojiro was sweating, he didn’t have the heart to complain about being roped into helping out for free again. He grabbed his phone and sent a quick apology to Ryuji before stepping behind the counter and tying on an apron.
It was around 3 pm when the final customer left the store, Ren was busy scrubbing dishes when Sojiro let out a tired groan as he sat on one of the stools. “It’s always busy the first day of golden week, but I always get surprised by just how many people come in here.”
Ren grinned as he went about his mundane task “Maybe you should think about hiring some more staff.” Sojiro just grumbled to himself but Ren could tell there was smile on the old man’s lips “I can’t just give my secret coffee and curry tricks to any old schmuk off the street.” Ren turned his head to give Sojiro a doubtful gaze. “Plus, I don’t make nearly enough to hire a part timer for the whole year.” Ren smiled and went back to cleaning the dishes “Thanks again kid, you really saved me there.”
“Don’t mention it, I don’t have work until 7 so it’s not like I had anything planned.”
Sojiro got off from the stool and made his way to small kitchen recess next to ren “Didn’t expect you to get a job. Where at?”
“Triple seven.” Sojiro crossed his arms and offered Ren a cocky smile “Well look at you, becoming a proper member of society, maybe probation will do you some good afterall.” Ren rolled his eyes but kept his smile. The two worked in a comfortable silence until Sojiro spoke up “Hey kid, how about you work here for this week, Golden week can get pretty busy, not today levels but still a bit more then I can handle comfortably, I’ll even pay you.” Ren turned his head towards his guardian with his mouth help wide open, Sojiro offered a concerned eyebrow raised in response “What is it?”
“I just never thought I’d see the day where you offer to pay me.” Sojiro almost laughed but managed to keep it to a muffled chuckle ‘All right smartass, I’ll finish up cleaning, you can head out and enjoy your holiday.” Ren finished rinsing the dish he was holding before wiping his hands and taking off his apron, he tried to hand it to Sojiro, but the old man just pushed it back. “Take it upstairs, may as well make it yours.” Ren smiled before he made his way up the stairs, he threw the apron on the couch and grabbed his bag with Morgana still snoozing inside before leaving the café.
-
Ren walked into the convenience store feeling oddly nervous, the boy had fought mythical beings and the literal personification of Kamoshida’s inner demons yet working his first shift was what tipped his anxiety over the edge. He was given the basic run through of things, where he could keep his bag, where he could get changed, where and how to clock on. He was given the full tour of the shop before he was finally brought behind the counter and had his actual job explained to him. “So basically, your job is to help customers find what they’re looking for, scan the products as quickly and precisely as possible so we can eliminate any down time. Since you’re working the night shift, it probably won’t be very busy, when you get some down time, focus of restocking the shelves and tidying the store up. Got any questions?” Ren shook his head, then remembered what he learned about work etiquette and quickly bowed his head “Thank you senpai.” The girl in front of him, probably in her mid-twenties look flustered by the sudden respect she was givin “Oh please, none of those honorifics, I can’t handle that kinda stuff.” Ren let out a breath of air and relaxed his body, he himself wasn’t too big on the implicit respect he was supposed to show to his superiors or elders.
His co-worker looked at her watch before walking around the counter to the front “Well if there’s nothing else, then I will be seeing you later.” Ren’s eyes widened in horror “Wait, so I’m just gonna be by myself for the night.” The girl seemed like she wanted to laugh but managed to supress it. “Well, the manager will be in her office but yep, you’re the only one rostered on for the night shifts, why do you think you were hired so quickly, no one else wanted them.” Ren’s mouth nearly fell open, the young man had been tricked. “You’ll be fine, trust me, you look the part, and no one really comes this time of night. Believe me, you’ll find the real reason no one wants the night shift in due time.” The girl gave Ren what he assumed was meant to be a reassuring smile but only came off as one of betrayal to the teen before she left him by himself.
-
Ren quickly found out why what the girl meant. It only took about 40 minutes of standing around doing nothing for him to realise that the reason no one took the night shift wasn’t because it was busy time or even a particularly dangerous time. It was because it was so boring. Ren had absolutely nothing to do to keep himself entertained; his phone was in the locker room, but the security cam pointed right at the counter would have prevented him from using it regardless. He had already restocked all the empty shelves and polished the floor to such an extreme that he was afraid he was going to have to put a wet floor sign down just to stop people from slipping. He couldn’t even talk back to Morgana who was napping on the windowsill behind him in fear that he’d be called out as a weirdo that talks to cats.
It was about an hour of nothing happening before a customer finally arrived. The doors opened with a classic chime as a woman with a bob haircut, adorned with yellow sunglasses walked in. Ren watched the woman make her way through the aisles, grabbing an assortment of snacks, when her back faced the teen he noticed a camera hanging from a strap around her body. He wasn’t an expert on camera’s, but he could tell it was a professional one, not something you’d use just for sightseeing or taking selfies. Once she made it to the counter with her hands full of snacks and drinks, Ren could smell the alcohol on her, he expected her speech to be slurred and her behaviour to be obnoxious but was surprised when she spoke with almost perfect clarity “Hiya, haven’t seen you around here before, you new?” Taken aback by the cheerful personality and lack of speech impediment despite the overwhelming stench of liquor, it took a moment for Ren to answer. “Uh yeah, it’s my first shift.” Ren got to work scanning the items, going at it with speed and proficiency, no doubt enhanced by his time in the metaverse, when compared to dodging fireballs and spears, scanning bags of chips seemed like a cake walk.
The lady watched his hands with such intensity that he was almost got nervous as he went about his job, he became so focused on doing well, he failed to notice the lady grab her camera and snap a pic of him, the flash hurting his eyes slightly and leaving him in a daze. The lady seemed uncaring of his surprise, more enthralled by checking her picture. “yep that’s pretty good.” She glanced over her shoulder before showing him the picture with a smile “You look pretty cool doing your job, you might just be the most diligent cashier I’ve met.” Ren really didn’t know how to talk to this chick, he was used to being the one in control of conversations, he was usually the one to set the pace which he preferred to keep slow. But this lady was content on stealing the reigns from him and just going full speed. “Hey how old are you?”
Ren almost let himself take a moment before realising that he knew the answer to the question. “Uh 17.”
“Oh wow, you could easily pass off as 21.” Ren grinned, satisfied by the strange compliment. “So, are you saying I should try and sneak into bars?” The lady laughed and waved her hand “Nah don’t bother, the only good place to drink anywhere in Tokyo is ran by a chick who could sniff out you’re were underage in a second, even a pro couldn’t get you a fake idea good enough to convince Lala- chan.” Ren smiled as he finished scanning the items, he put the snacks into one bag for the girls convenience, when she grabbed the bag, she asked “What’s your name cashier-kun.”
“Ren.” She pulled out a 5-dollar bill and handed it Ren along with a business card. “For your excellent service, I’m a reporter so give me a call if you ever need info.” Ren looked at the card reading the name. “Thanks, Ohya, I’ll keep that in mind.” He looked over the card at the girl and could tell she was waiting for something else; Ren wasn’t a stranger to mutual benefits. “I’ll also give you a call if I come across anything interesting.” This seemed to be the right answer because Ohya beamed him a smile “I like you already Ren. We’re gonna get along just fine.”
Ren waved the girl off as she cracked open a can of beer and disappeared into the night. Ren’s smile faded as he realised that was easily gonna be the most exciting time of his night and he still had another hour before he could clock off. He leaned his arm on the counter and rested his head against it, settling in for a boring night.
Chapter Text
The end of golden week left Ren more exhausted than when he started. Juggling between helping Sojiro out at the café, hanging out with his friends and then rushing to his part time job which while dull and uninteresting, still had the teen standing for hours without any rest. It all coagulated into Ren almost sleeping through all of his Saturday, ignoring the questions from Sojiro downstairs and the pings on his phone from Ann and Ryuji.
Ren finally woke up when he heard his phone ring, He grabbed the device and looked at the time, almost hoping that by some miracle, it was still 8 am and he could tell whoever was calling him that they made a serious mistake in their life choices.
Only instead of it being 8 in the morning, it was 3 in the afternoon, and instead of either of his two blonde friends, it was his student council president. Ren almost cringed at how excited he got from her call, the moment he finds out he has feelings for the girl, he turns into a Shojo manga character.
The teen pulled himself to a sitting position, clearing his throat slightly before answering the phone. “What’s up Makoto?”
“Ren? Are you alright?” The boy in question raised his eyebrow even though the girl couldn’t see. “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Oh, it’s just that your voice sounds off, I thought maybe you caught a cold.” Ren laughed to himself, feeling his body relax more and more as he talked. “No, that’s just how I sound when I wake up first thing in the morning.”
There was a moment of silence where Makoto was piecing together what Ren said before she responded with less worry and more disbelief. “Ren, it’s noon.”
“I see no evidence for that. I just woke up meaning it must be morning.” Ren smiled when he heard rustling on the other end of the line, no doubt coming from the strict and scheduled girl shaking her head in disappointment. “Your gonna sleep your life away at some point.”
Ren stood up and started getting changed as he talked “That sounds like a life well spent to me. What’d you call for anyway.” There was another silence before she responded in a hushed, almost embarrassed tone “I thought maybe we could have a study session today. Try and make up for the time we missed during golden week.” Ren smiled, sensing there was more to her request then just efficiency. “Are you sure you’re not just bored on a Saturday and want to hang out.” There was a bang on the other line, followed by a muffled scramble to pick it up. “Did you just drop your phone in surprise.”
…
“Makoto?”
“Do you want to study or not.” Ren held the phone away from his face just to make sure his laughter didn’t squeak through his sealed lips and embarrass the poor girl any further. “Sure, how about we meet at the diner near the arcade.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Sounds like a date.”
Ren heard the girl panic before he hung up the call, he stared at his phone and felt a faint blush in his cheeks, he chucked the phone towards his bed, berating himself in his head as he took off his clothes and changed into something a bit more presentable ‘C’mon Amamiya, it’s not like you haven’t had a girlfriend before.’
Ren hopped down the stairs 2 at a time, the fatigue from his body vanishing with every step. “Where are you off to?” Ren was almost out the door when he responded, “Studying.” The store owner’s face was quickly adorned with a mischievous grin “Is it a girl?” Ren flinched, followed by him immediately muttering a profanity at how easily he gave it away. He turned to face Sojiro hoping maybe the old man wouldn’t have noticed, but the shit eating grin gave it away.
“Would you believe me if I said no?”
“Not a chance.” Ren sighed, feeling his body slump “Then yes it’s a girl.” He readied himself to leave right when Sojiro said "She cute—”
“And I’m leaving, I’ll see you later.” Sojiro laughed as he polished a glass, he glimpsed himself in his reflection and smiled, reminded of his days of youth.
-
Ren got off the train, much calmer than he expected, in all honesty, talking to Sojiro and being shown just how embarrassing he could be relieved some of the tension. Just because he had feelings for Makoto didn’t mean she had any for him, and before all that, Ren didn’t have to act on them in the first place. He was going to study, and then hang out with a friend. His feelings didn’t change any of that.
He navigated through the station, moving between people like it was second nature, a far cry from his first time in Tokyo when he was bumping into every other person earning their respective glares for being interrupted. Even Ren was impressed by how quickly he adapted to the increased pace of Tokyo, almost as if he were born for the city.
After making his way out of the station and into Shibuya proper, he arrived at the agreed location, a quaint little diner not 5 minutes away from the arcade he and Makoto visited previously, and even less time from Iwai’s shop.
He walked up the stairs to the establishment. One at a time as not to draw attention from others and as well as discipline himself. Once he got to the top and walked through the door, he immediately found where his study partner was sitting. Not because of some cliched love sight helping him locate her in the crowd, or even with the use of his third eye. Rather it was pretty hard not to see Makoto as she was being badgered by two guys around Ren’s age.
As Ren got closer, he could hear the conversation happening between the three. “C’mon, we know somewhere much nicer then this shoddy place, we’ll take you, our treat.” Ren could almost see the vein about to burst on Makoto’s forehead, a sign that this had been going on for some time. “I don’t know how many times I need to tell you. I’m waiting for my friend; Now I would appreciate it if you could leave me alone.” Even despite the very clear message that she wasn’t interested, the two boys didn’t back down, almost earning a shred of Ren’s respect. It took balls to kick a hornet nest.
“Oh, don’t be like that, you can bring your friend along.” The second guy chimed in after “Is she cute?”
“He is adorable.” The two boys turned towards Ren, there smooth nice guy façade dropped immediately, before they could even get a chance to retort, Ren had already taken a step towards him, perfectly content with letting his slight jealousy sway his response “Now how about you two get out of this place if you find it so shoddy.” The two looked ready to talk back but backed down when they noticed most of the diner’s patrons, including the staff, were now glaring at them. They shoved their hands into their pockets and walked around Ren, glaring at him the entire time. Before the completely walked off, one of them muttered “Bitch should have just said she had a boyfriend.” Makoto got out of her seat, looking like she was ready to sock the guy, but Ren just held his arm out to block them from her sight. She looked at him quizzically, but he just offered her a gentle smile in response. “Let’s not let them ruin our day. People will say what they want.”
Makoto took a deep breath in before exhaling it out slowly. She found her way back to her seat with an audible thump before she offered Ren a smile of her own “You’re right. Shall we get stared.” Ren slid his way into the seat opposite of her, bringing out his own textbook. “We shall.” He looked down at the actual content, losing all charisma he had “begrudgingly.”
It felt like an eternity had passed before Makoto finally let Ren have a break. His head dropped to the table, sending papers and glasses jumping lightly into the air. “Amamiya-kun, I’d like you to refrain from damaging the diner’s property.” Ren didn’t raise his head; he just awkwardly waved his arm in her general direction. They sat in silence as Makoto looked over his answers, as Ren waited he started snacking on his chips, using the opportunity to look at the girl. He was honestly surprised with himself that he somehow hadn’t noticed what a beauty the girl was. Prim and proper, elegant even, where Ann was easily considered a knockout based on her exoticism. Makoto held a more subtle beauty.
The boy was knocked out of his daze by the girl smacking the papers on the table, for a moment he was worried he got caught staring but let out a silent sigh of relief when the girl smiled in his direction. “You’re doing well, it’s somewhat impressive how quickly you’ve improved when compared to our first session.” Ren leaned against his arm, munching on a chip “You make it sound like you thought I was an idiot.” The girl looked genuinely apologetic “No I didn’t mean it like that. I just think you’re doing really well and—”
“I’m messing with you Makoto. I don’t think you have it in you to belittle someone based on their intelligence, especially when the guy you’re belittling is a criminal.” Ren had to hold in the urge to laugh when he saw the girl aim her head down to hide her embarrassment. When the girl managed to keep her blush from growing any bigger, she once again scanned over his test, hiding her laugh as she saw the boy let his head flop against the table again out of the corner of her eye. She honestly couldn’t help but be impressed by how much he improved, it left her wondering just what his life could have looked like if he focused on his studies.
She had to shake the thought away chastising herself in the process. She didn’t have any right to judge the way Ren lived his life, while she could sympathise with losing a parent, she also didn’t truly know anything about the nature of their relationship or how her passing changed things in his life.
She looked at the boy who was munching on chips with his head still flopped on the table and realised that in many ways, Ren seemed to be enjoying his life full of hardships more than she was living her life on the straight and narrow.
She looked back at the boy and smiled before shutting her own textbook. The sound causing Ren to look at her curiously. “I think we’ve covered enough for today, now it’s your turn to teach.” She giggled at the way the boy’s eyes beamed with anticipation, he quickly shoved the books into his bag before calling the waitress over to pay.
-
The two walked out of the diner with Makoto huffing at the boy. “You really didn’t have to pay for both of our meals. I’m the one who invited you.” Ren held his hands behind his head like he wasn’t taking the girl seriously at all. “But we both know you could have gotten a lot more done if you weren’t helping me out, so I think paying for a couple of drinks and a sandwich makes us even.”
The two were walking down the street towards the arcade when Makoto noticed the two boys that were annoying her earlier. This time though they weren’t alone. She nudged Ren’s arm to get his attention and when he finally looked at what she was pointing to, the two boys were being ushered into a back alley by two men easily twice there age in suits.
Sure that something was wrong, Makoto started to follow only to be stopped by Ren grabbing her arm, not tight enough to hurt her, or even stop her but enough to make his intentions clear, she turned to face him and noticed the frown on his face. “What are you planning on doing Makoto.” The girl frowned back at him, believing that her intentions were quite obvious. “I’m gonna help them, they’re clearly being threatened.” Ren sighed and rubbed his temple in frustration. “Yeah I got that part. I’m asking why?”
Now Makoto was the one getting frustrated by Ren’s attitude “What do you mean why, they’re students like us, why shouldn’t’ we help them.” It was clear to her that Ren wasn’t exactly thrilled about what she was saying. “First off, why do you care about them, they were hitting on you earlier and annoying you. Second, they don’t go to our schools and finally, if they really didn’t have anything to do with those guys, they could have just walked away. The way I see it, they’re just facing the consequences.”
Ren nearly flinched at the way Makoto was glaring at him. “So, you’re just gonna leave them to be harassed because of one dumb mistake. Isn’t that exactly what’s happening to you at Shujin.”
She shook her arm free. “I thought you were better then that Ren.” She almost immediately wanted to apologise when she saw the face Ren made at her words but her frustration and desire to help prevented her from doing so. She turned away from him and started to move towards the alley only to be stopped once again.
“Enough Ren, I’m going whether you tell me to or not—” Her words were cut short as she scrambled to catch the mask Ren threw her. She looked at him confused but quickly realised his intent as he was putting on an identical mask on himself, he pulled up the hood of his jacket and handed the girl a lackey band, his eyes tired and frustrated but still caring. “Well, what are you waiting for, put on the mask and tie your hair up. Unless you want them to recognise you whenever they see you again.”
Makoto smiled as she followed the boys lead, putting the mask on but hesitating when she saw the lackey hanging from his finger. “Why—”
“Ann wanted to see what my hair would look like tied up.” Makoto grabbed the lackey while trying her best not to laugh at the image of Ren with his hair in a ponytail. The boy ignored the giggles that escaped her mouth, happy to see her laughing at him rather than disappointed in his action, he started walking past her into the back alley he was more then familiar with, sending a text to Iwai in the process.
“So, did you guys do what we asked.” The two boys remained quiet, their hands getting clammy and the voices eluding them. The older men took a step towards them, there height towering over the boys who seemed to shrink away. “Why aren’t you saying anything, don’t tell me you got cold feet, after you already took the money.” With shaking hands, the boys pulled out there wallets “Look we didn’t spend any of your money so you can have it back. Please we just don’t want to get in trouble.”
The men looked at the bills in there shaking hands and smiled before snatching them. They pretended to look through the notes. “I think you guys are a bit short, you know how our boss feels about his money.” The boys eyes widened in horror at the threat “Wait that can’t be true—”
“ARE YOU CALLING ME A LIAR! YOU LITTLE—”
Splat.
The mobster got cut off when something popped against the back of his head, he could feel his hair was now wet with something and when he looked down, he could see bright red juice all over his clothes. The two men turned around giving there scariest glares at whoever through the tomato.
Ren smirked under his mask at the faces the mobsters were giving him. He whistled loudly through his mask “Man, you must really hate tomatoes with the look your giving me. They’re a good source of vitamin C you know.”
The girl beside him just palmed her face lightly at his antics but he could tell she was smiling under her mask as well. Despite the situation he was in, he couldn’t help but really enjoy the sight of Makoto in a ponytail. “You shits must have a death wish, why don’t you show us your faces and maybe we’ll go easy on ya.” Ren tapped his finger against his chin like he was genuinely considering the option.
With a snap of his fingers, Ren responded “Or how about you take your money and get the fuck out of here, and we might just let you go back to your boss without having to explain why you got beat up by a couple of kids.” The mobsters smiled with anger at Ren’s threat, smacking their fists into open pams.
They started walking towards Ren seemingly ignoring the girl beside him. As soon as the mobster that Ren chucked the tomato at was withing punching distance. Makoto moved at a speed no one but Ren anticipated to intercept. Taken by surprise, the man had no time to react as his arms was grabbed before being hoisted over the girl’s shoulder onto the hard concrete, the crack of the man’s back was unpleasant to hear but Ren, rubbing his arm, could tell that nothing was broken.
The second mobster seemingly regaining his composure, ignored Ren and went straight towards Makoto who’s back was still facing him. Much like how Makoto made use of the mans focus on Ren, the raven-haired boy moved to intercept but opted for tripping the rushing man, causing his body to fall giving Ren just enough time to move around the mobster, giving him the perfect position to let a right hook blast across the mans chin, causing the poorly dressed mans head to snap suddenly to the left and knocking him out cold.
The two boys stood in awe at the sight of the masked teenagers standing over the grown men’s bodies. Ren turned his glare towards them, and they felt there blood cool. “Get the hell out of here, and don’t you dare get involved in this shit again.” The two nodded before hurriedly rushing past Ren and Makoto not sparing them a second glance.
Makoto walked beside Ren, taking the lackey out of her hair but keeping the mask on. “You could have been nicer about that.” Ren scoffed while shoving his hands into his pocket. “They’re lucky I didn’t beat the message into them.” The girl rolled her eyes but smiled, she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the alley much to Ren’s surprise, “C’mon we need to get out of here before they recover.” Ren pulled his hood down further over his head, hoping that his mask was hiding his growing blush.
-
The two spent their remaining time exploring Shibuya, Ren took her to the arcade where she once again thrashed him in the shooting gallery, though he had managed to lessen the gap in performances just a bit. Afterward, Makato showed Ren where she got her textbooks and even recommended a few novels he might enjoy. Eventually the day came to an end and the two were standing in the station waiting for Makoto’s train. “You didn’t have to wait with me for my train.” Ren just shrugged as he scrolled through his phone “I know, I also don’t have to leave you alone so just humour me.”
The two waited in a comfortable silence until the train finally arrived “Thank you for today Ren, I had a lot of fun.” Ren pocketed his phone and smiled at the girl “So did I, I think our ratio of study to fun is off, but we’ll iron out the creases.” Makoto raised her eyebrow, her lips curling upwards in unison “Oh really, what ratio are you aiming for.” Ren tapped his chin before answering “What about 2:8?” Makoto tried to contain her giggle but failed in doing so, she stepped over the gap and stood in the doorway of the train “At least your understanding of ratios is getting better.” The doors shut splitting the two apart from their conversation. Ren watched as the train started its journey, annoyed by the feeling in his gut from the lack of company.
After he watched the train disappear fully out of sight. Ren turned on his heal and started walking back through the station until he popped out into Shibuya. He looked around until he spied a familiar ball of black and white fur. He strolled over to the cat that was sitting perched on a high fence. “Alright Morgana, you can come back now.” The cat, spurred by Ren’s voice stretched its lean body before hopping from his perch onto Ren’s shoulder I hope you haven’t forgotten our deal.” Ren rolled his eyes before smiling and scratching his friends head “Yeah yeah, your ban on wet food has been officially lifted.”
The two started walking through Shibuya until they came to a familiar alley way. He walked under the neon sign, opening the door and listening to the chime of the store. The man behind the counter turned his attention towards Ren, a small smile ghosting against the rugged man’s lips before disappearing behind a magazine. “Well would you look at that, the kid returns. Don’t get used to me cleaning up your little stunts out the front of my store.”
Ren laughed as he closed the door behind him “Would you rather have a couple of kids get there heads caved in out front instead?” The man huffed a small laugh from behind his magazine before tossing on the counter. “Just don’t make it a habit. Now what Can I get you.” Ren’s smile turned into a smirk as he fished around his bag before pulling out a gold medal, dropping it unceremoniously on the glass counter.
Chapter 34
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
‘200 dollars! That’s really all we got for the medal?’
Ren smiled at the screen while he typed out his response into the group chat. ‘If you don’t think that’s enough, you’re free to take your complaints to Iwai.’ Ren started tossing his phone in his hands, laughing to himself as he saw the text bubble indicating that Ryuji was typing his response come up and disappear over and over.
‘You know, 200 is honestly quite a reasonable amount of money.’
‘That’s what I thought.’
‘If you two are done, can we please get back to figuring out where to go for the last day of golden week?’
The group brainstormed ideas. Ren wasn’t fussy, in all honesty, he could have been served some ramen and he would have been happy. Ryuji appeared to be in the same boat offering up the option of just getting some beef bowls.
This apparently wasn’t ambitious enough for Ann though. ‘C’mon you guys, this is our celebration of changing Kamoshida’s heart, we have to go somewhere special. Forget it, let me decide and Ren can just bring the cash tomorrow.’ Both Ren and Ryuji started at their screens with a mixture of excitement and fear before agreeing to the blonde’s conditions.
-
“Yo Ren.”
Ren looked up from his phone as he got off the train. Even in the rush of the crowd and packed station he could spot his friend immediately, his beaming smile and loud voice making it more than easy to find him. He returned the blondes smile with one of his own as he pocketed his phone and walked to meet him. “You have any idea what this place Ann picked for us is?”
Ren just shrugged his shoulders. “I’ve been living in Tokyo for a month now and I barely know Shibuya.”
They two continued to chat as they made their way towards the address Ann had given them. “Man, this golden week has been so boring. First dude friend I get for years and he ignores me during one of our few holidays.”
Ren rolled his eyes but smiled at the melodrama “We can’t buy you new shotguns and blunt weapons without one of us having a job.”
Ryuji’s typically bright face dampened just a bit. “What are we gonna do now about the whole metaverse thing?” Ren didn’t respond. Mainly because he didn’t have one. He had spent most of his free time thinking about that very question. He had even asked Morgana, but the cat said that it was something he wanted to talk to everyone about.
“I don’t know. But for the mean time. There’s no rush.”
Ren was glad that Ryuji was the bundle of energy he was. Where the dark-haired boy would have strewed in his own self-doubt. His friend immediately bounced back, breathing life into the conversation, making it seem the subject had never been breached in the first place.
-
“You have got to be shitting me.” Ren’s eyes glanced over to Ryuji’s now hunched and depressed form. He’d be lying if he didn’t feel a similar desire. He turned his direction to his other blonde friend who was in the complete opposite mood.
“I’ve read so many things about this place, I have been dying to try there sweets. Let’s go guys.” The girl blasted ahead leaving the two boys to stew in their own sourness.
“I wonder if this place does background checks on their guests.”
Ryuji didn’t even look to Ren as he responded, “Forget the background check, I don’t think they’ll even let me in with my hair and clothes.” Ren looked the boy up and down, had it been somewhere like Ramen or beef bowl, Ren would have Argued that Ryuji’s fashion sense actually worked surprisingly well. The same standard didn’t apply to a high-class restaurant. He walked closer to Ryuji before smacking him against his back, causing the boy’s posture to straighten.
“C’mon, I think I’d rather fight Kamoshida again then keep that girl from her sweets.”
The raven-haired boy raised an eyebrow at the way Ryuji’s body stiffened and his face paled. He could see the boy muttering something under his breath, the only part Ren could catch was something about crepes before the blonde-haired teen made his way inside with Ren close behind, in fear that his friend might just pass out.
The two quickly caught up to Ann who was waiting in front of the reception desk. Her previous vigour and excitement were now masked with furrowed eyebrows and a scowl on her face “I’m trying to tell you that we have the money. I’m just waiting for my friends.”
The man, a twenty something year old waiter in a tux that was clearly two sizes too small for him began looking Ann up and down, As Ryuji and Ren came closer, his attention shifted to them with the same up and down motion, as if he were calculating their net worth based off the measurements alone.
“With all due respect, I don’t believe that this establishment suits you or your friends tastes. Perhaps you three would be better off going to a family restaurant.”
Ren felt his eye twitch in response to the man’s less then subtle jab at their social status. The teen was honestly amazed that he had managed to find someone he wanted to beat up as much as Kamoshida but here he was, standing in front of them being a literal gatekeeper. In his periphery, Ren could see Ryuji step forward, fully committed to giving the guy a piece of his mind. Only to be stopped by Ren casually placing a hand on his shoulder
“Oh no.”
Ren paused as Ryuji looked at him and his growing smirk “He’s mine.”
Ren walked forward past Ryuji and Ann until he was standing right in front of the guy, despite their age difference, Ren was still taller which just made his already growing cockiness skyrocket. “I’m sorry, I’m not too sure I could hear you too well. It sounded like you were telling us that we’re not welcome here.”
A small sweat started to form on the receptionist’s brow, obviously not expecting to be challenged by the teens he was trying to shoo away. “I’m sorry sir, I didn’t mean to offend, it’s just that the price of entry tends to be more then what teenagers can afford.”
“Oh ok, so what your trying to tell me is that I look poor. Is that right?”
“Um—”
“Because if I recall correctly, I actually have earned a bit of money from my job.” He grabbed his wallet and pulled out the cash he got from Iwai with a couple extra bills he had gotten from work.
“But if I look poor then I guess there’s no helping it, Maybe I’ll just go to that family restaurant, I’m sure they’ll accept my poor man’s cash.”
“I’m so sorry sir I’ll just—”
Ren leaned over the desk so that he could whisper, and the guy would still be able to hear him. He quickly dropped his playful attitude and adopted a more commanding and insidious tone “What you are going to do it shut the fuck up. Take my money and let me and my friends have our god damn lunch. Am I clear?”
The man in front of him swallowed loudly and nodded in response. Ren moved back and put on a small smile. “Great, now I don’t know about you guys but I’m starving.” Ren started walking forward with Ryuji and Ann following close behind. As Ryuji passed the nervous wreck of a receptionist, he flipped him off as Ann stuck her tongue out at him.
-
The three quickly found themselves a table surrounded by multiple couches giving each teen their own seat. Despite managing to get inside, Ann and Ryuji’s mood seemed to remain eternally sour from the experience “I can’t believe that dick head almost didn’t let us in.”
“He was treating us like little kids.” Ren let out an audible laugh before he tried to cover his mouth earning a curious if not angry look from his friends.
“What is it?”
Ren managed to get his giggles under control before responding. “I just find it funny that your annoyed about being called kids yet here you are sulking.”
Each blonde’s face was blushed with embarrassment with being called out. But they soon found themselves laughing with Ren. “You’re kinda right, we’re here now and that’s what matters.”
Ann started kicking her feet with a newfound vigour “You’re right, it’d be criminal to let that guy ruin our meal.”
Ren smiled as he leaned forward in his chair. “Yep, so how about we eat.” He prepared to stand but was quickly beaten by Ryuji and Ann who were already out of their seats and walking towards the food court.
“I’m starving. Oh dude, mind watching the table.” Ren’s face dipped in disappointment but was soon replaced with wide eyes as he realised what was happening.
“You can’t be serious, are you holding a grudge?” But his words fell on death ears when he saw his friends backs already halfway towards the food.
With a huff, Ren leaned back in his chair. Morgana’s head popped out to give him company. “Don’t sweat it Ren, we’ve saved their life a bunch of times. I’m sure they’ll bring us something delicious.”
-
Ren and Morgana stared at the plate in front of them with disgust before slowly aiming there gazes towards what they once thought were there friends. Ann was happily munching on a slice of cake that was as big as her hand while Ryuji was stuffing his face with all different forms of meat. Ryuji quickly noticed there irritated face. “Oh yeah, we weren’t sure what you guys like, so we just got you that.”
As Ren and Morgana looked at the plate full of a variety of beans stacked as high as a small mount fuji, Ann chimed in “Everyone likes beans right.” Ren felt his eye twitch again as he stood up, grabbing Morgana and stuffing his hands into his pockets.
He started walking by Ryuji before he stopped and gripped the blonde’s shoulder tightly “I will remember this betrayal.”
Ren walked to the buffet, staring in awe at all the luxurious foods he’d only heard of through tv and cookbooks. He never admitted it to his dad, but he had a passing interest in cooking. Especially after his mothers passing when home made food became rarer and rarer.
As he started making his way between tables filling his plate with an assortment of foods, he couldn’t help but overheard the conversation of the guests around him.
“Haven’t you heard the news about the teacher dear?” Ren’s ears perked at the mere mentioning of a teacher.
“Right, Kamoshida was his name wasn’t it. He did some deplorable things to those students.”
“And they still haven’t discovered the cause of those psychotic breakdown incidents.” Ren vaguely recalled what the couple was talking about. After he had moved to Tokyo, there was an accident that affected the whole metro line where a train went out of control as it approached the station. The news reported it as a system malfunction, but a lot of people online were claiming that the reason behind it was the conductor suffered a mental breakdown that caused him to purposely speed the train up.
“Oh, please Margret. Don’t tell me you believe those silly scandals. Perhaps this is a sign of how peaceful Japan has become if you can indulge yourself in such fantasies.” Ren wasn’t aware how obvious he was eavesdropping on the conversation until the two older people were looking directly at him with less than pleased eyes.
“Can we help your young man. Actually, how is it that you can afford to come here? I hope you didn’t bring any of your friends. I’d rather enjoy my food hooligan-free.” Before Ren could even get a word in, the couple moved on leaving the teen to just stand there annoyed by their comments.
As Ren continued to move between tables of food. He couldn’t help but pick up the conversations going on around him. From people in there forties condemning Kamoshida to the younger patrons talking about the phantom thieves. Ren wasn’t sure how but there group had become the talk of the internet.
By the time his plate was full of various dishes, Ren was preparing to return to his table when another conversation caught his attention. “Ratings are through the roof.”
“Really? What’s the reason?”
“The public loves the story of that Kamoshida fellow. People won’t ever admit it but the public loves to hear those types of stories. It makes them feel better about their boring lives. And then when you start talking about that dumb girl that tried to kill her—"
CHRASH
Ren stood there glaring daggers into the old man as food dripped down from his clenched fist onto the assortment of broken plates scattered across the ground and table. The man turned to look at the commotion with no doubt a snarky comment ready but as soon as he caught glimpse of glare Ren was shooting him, his throat closed, and his mouth became incredibly dry.
Ren only held it for a moment before he replaced it with his calm and composed façade wiping the food from his fist with his napkin and grabbing his plate as staff quickly rushed to the sound of the crash.
“Is everyone alright?”
“Oh my god. I’m really sorry, it was crowded, and I just bumped into the plate on the table. I’ll be sure to pay for any damaged.”
The staff blew out a breath of air in relief before giving Ren and half-hearted smile. “It’s alright, accidents happen, just be more careful from now on.” Ren gave them a polite bow before he started moving back to his table. As he passed by the couple he got close enough to the man so only he could hear Ren. “People who don’t know shit should keep there dirty mouths shut. Your just as scummy as that Kamoshida was.”
Ren gave the man one final glare before walking past him. Purposely bumping into the mans shoulder.
-
“What was that all about?” Ren simply smirked while sitting himself back down into his chair with his plate full of food.
“You know. Just shutting up a few assholes who didn’t know what they were talking about.”
Seemingly satisfied by Ren’s answer, the four began eating there lunch, the topics varied as food continued to disappear from their plates. From things they did during their golden week to future plans. Ryuji decided he was gonna start training again and Ann was gonna do all she could to help Shiho during her recovery.
Eventually there was a lapse in conversation where everyone was just silently eating there meals before Ryuji spoke up.
“I’ve been thinking.” Ren and Ann looked at the boy, neither said anything aside Morgana who wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to insult his arch nemesis.
“That’s never a good thing.” Ann and Ryuji glared at the cat, but Ren just laughed lightly before flicking the cats head causing his roommate to retreat into his bag. He turned his attention to Ryuji with a calm smile.
“Go ahead Ryuji.”
Ryuji continued to let his glare linger on Ren’s bag for just a moment longer before he took a deep breath and sat forward. From the way his legs bounced slightly and how his hands didn’t seem to know what to do, Ren could tell he had something important to say.
“I want to keep being a phantom thief.” Morgana whose head had popped out and Ann stared at the boy with their mouths agape, most likely because they found it ridiculous that he had just blurted out there identities in a public place, but Ren was a different case. Instead of being shocked or annoyed, Ren just found himself bursting out into laughter. Drawing the attention of his friends and some people passing by.
Ryuji’s face went a brighter shade of pink as he watched Ren continue to laugh his ass off.
“Dude, what’s so funny.”
Ren had to take a few deep breaths to contain his now dull chuckle, but he managed to get the words out.
“I just find it hilarious that I’ve been stressing out how to tell you guys that I was gonna keep being a phantom thief and here you are just blurting it out in a public space.”
Ryuji’s eyes went wider as he realised what Ren was saying. “So, does that mean?”
“Yeah Ryuji. I think we should keep going. The fact that the app is still on our phones must mean that other people have palaces. And if they have palaces, that means only we can change their hearts.” Ren could feel the joy radiating from his best friend as his smile continued to get wider and wider.
“Hell yeah. I knew we’d be on the same page.” Ren and Ryuji exchanged a fist bump when Ann started shaking her head.
“You guys are so dumb. I thought it was a given that we’d keep going on as the phantom thieves.” Ren and Ryuji kept smiling as they heard that Ann was also on board. Clearing his throat, Ren decided to make it official.
“Well then I guess that’s that then. I hereby declare that we are now the phantom thieves of heart.” Ren put his fist into the middle and watched as Ryuji happily placed his own fist into Ren’s and Ann with a roll of her eyes but a smile of her own followed suit. Even Morgana with his comparatively tiny limbs joined in spirit.
“So, I guess that mean’s your gonna keep being our leader? Right Ren.” Ren raised one of his brows in response to her statement.
“Was I ever the leader to begin with.” Both Ryuji and Ann rolled their eyes.
“Wasn’t it obvious that you were the leader dude. I’m not cut out for the whole tactics stuff and I wouldn’t trust one of Ann’s plans as far as I could throw her.”
“Hey, was that meant to be a fat joke?”
“With the amount of cake, you’re eating right now. It might be in the future.”
“Oh, bite me Ryuji” Ren sighed as he started rubbing his temples with his back hunched over.
“At this point I might just kick you two out to get some peace and quiet”
They went quiet for a moment as Ryuji checked his phone. His eyes going slightly wider in the process. “Oh shit. We only have twenty minutes left before we need to leave.”
Ren and Ryuji stared down at the multitude of plates in front of them. All them covered in what could only be described as a mountain of meats. The two boys gave each other a knowing nod indicating they both knew what had to be done. Ann only watched her friends in confusion.
“Guys? What’s the matter—”
But the girl’s words fell on deaf ears as both boys and the cat included started shoving food into their mouths. Ann shook he head in disappointment. “You guys are so embarrassing.”
Ten minutes later and all the mountains of meat on the table had vanished. All that remained were two boys and a cat all splayed out across the furniture groaning in pain, there stomach noticeably larger then when they had first entered the establishment.
Through dangerous burps Ryuji managed to talk. “I don’t think I can look at a steak ever again.” Ren could only groan in agreement.
As each of there bodies began to digest the overpacked food in there stomachs. A single meat ball that had somehow avoided being eaten started to roll across the plate towards the three. Unable to look away, Ren, Morgana and Ryuji’s watched in horror as they felt there bodies react to the single piece of meat.
Like a damn collapsing. Ren and Ryuji shot up to attention listening to rumbling in there stomach. The gave each a sparing glance as the same word escaped both there lips.
“Bathroom.” And they were off leaving only Ann to watch the table shouting at their fading backs.
“Don’t take too long or I’m leaving without you guys.”
Ren and Ryuji let out a sigh of relief as the elevator started making its way back to the floor the restaurant was located on.
“I’m glad we made it. I cannot afford to buy any new clothes. Whose bright idea was it to put the bathroom on a different floor to the place where they serve food?” Ren shrugged his arms and pulled out his phone as he waited for the slow elevator. He could tell something was bugging Ryuji by the way the blonde was fidgeting.
“What’s up Ryuji.” Ren got a small chuff out of seeing the boy flinch when he realised he’d been figured out.
“I’m just wondering if you’re really okay with this whole thing. I mean out of all of us. You have the most to lose being on probation and all.”
Ren smiled at the worry that laced everyone of his friend’s words. He closed his phone before putting it back into his pocket, once his hands were free, he took a deep breath in before exhaling it and putting his hand behind his neck.
“Your not wrong. If we make one wrong decision then that’s it. My life is essentially over. The smart play would be to leave well enough alone and keep my head down.”
Ren could see the way Ryuji’s shoulders sagged a little and it brought a small smile to ren’s features. He reached his fist out and bumped it against Ryuji’s arm, getting the blondes attention.
“But that doesn’t mean that my decision is going to change. Just like I wouldn’t change my decision if I were given the opportunity to ignore what happened that night.”
Ren paused for a moment as memories of the man and woman played in his mind. His expression becoming more and more convicted. “We have the power to change the world. To make sure people are held accountable for the shitty things they do. There’s no way I could knowingly give up that power.”
Ren held his arm out towards Ryuji with a smile on his face “So I guess I’ll ask you this as the leader of the phantom thieves. Will you lend me your strength in changing this shitty world and the shitty people in it?”
Ryuji smiled back at Ren before bumping his fist. “You don’t even have to ask dude. We’re friends. I’ll follow you to hell and back for all you’ve done for me and Ann.” Ren felt his spirits being lifted by the words his friend spoke. He wondered how long it had been since he really had people he could call friends. Back home he had people who he hung out with, but he never felt a connection with them like he did with people like Ryuji, Ann and even to a certain degree, Morgana.
The doors to the elevator opened, Ren and Ryuji started to exit the machine but like they had simply appeared out of thin air. The two boys were nearly crushed by a crowd of people that all scrambled to get in. Somewhere in the chaos, the two got split up and Ren felt himself bump into someone as he was spat out from the crowd.
He took a moment to get his bearings, rubbing his sore body before looking back at the elevator to see which person had caused his to trip. He only managed to catch a glimpse of the person as the elevator doors were nearly closed.
In that short moment Ren could only see a couple of distinguishing features. A pointy goatee below a shiny head. Adorned with gross orange tinted sunglasses in front of irritated eyes.
As quickly as they came into vison, they disappeared as the elevator made its descent. Ren continued to stare at the closed doors with his eyes wide open. A flash of pain stabbed into Ren’s head as memories of that night flooded his mind.
“You okay dude?” Ren’s eyes drifted over to meet Ryuji’s worried gaze and outstretched hand. He looked once again at the metal doors before letting a sigh escape his lips before grabbing the blonde’s hand.
“It’s nothing. C’mon, we shouldn’t keep Ann waiting any longer.”
They started walking back towards the dining hall. Ryuji trying to make small talk talking about how he didn’t want to go back to school but Ren couldn’t bring himself to pay attention as his thoughts kept drifting back to the encounter.
“It couldn’t have been him.”
Whether it was because he didn’t actually believe it or because he didn’t want to. Ren couldn’t be sure.
Notes:
hey guys so I got some comments that the syntax of the chapters can make it difficult to read. Especially in regards to dialogue so hopefully this chapter is the first step to improving that. If there are any problems or things that i've overlooked then please feel free to make them known.
Chapter 35
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“What took you guys so long?!”
Ren and Ryuji both took a step back in surprise at Ann’s tone.
“Whoa, What’s your deal?”
As if all the anger suddenly disappeared from the sound of Ryuji’s voice, Ann blew out a sigh of frustration before rubbing her arm.
“Sorry. I just had to deal with this lady who accused me of spilling water on her dress. Even though she was the one who bumped into me.”
Ryuji shoved his hands into his pocket before looking around at all the patrons. Ren followed suit and saw what Ryuji surely noticed. How every person walked with an air of arrogance and privilege that none the three had.
“God. Everyone here pisses me off. It’s like they think there the kings of their own castle.”
Ren took a step forward and grabbed his bag from Ann before slinging it over his shoulder.
“It’s like each of them is their own mini Kamoshida.”
Each of the phantom thieves looked around with a pensive face before being interrupted by Ryuji rubbing his hands against his head. “Dammit. That just means we need to find our next target quick.”
Ren motioned for Ryuji to come closer. When the blonde was only a step away, Ren flicked his forehead, sending him reeling.
“What the eff dude?”
Ren held up three fingers, a common method of him essentially telling the hyperactive youth to be quiet for a moment.
“If I’m gonna be the leader. I’m gonna set three ground rules. First, we don’t talk about our business in public places, like a restaurant for example.” Ren smiled at the way Ryuji flinched at the jab obviously directed at him.
“Second. We don’t just pick our targets all willy nilly. We need to make sure they actually have a palace and that what they’re doing warrants our involvement. We’re not just changing hearts because we don’t like the person.” Ren dropped another finger only leaving one left.
“And finally. We decide to go after a target unanimously. If one person doesn’t feel comfortable changing the targets heart. Then we drop it there and then.”
Ren looked at his friends. Ann nodded with a smile on her face clear that she had no issue with the rules. He looked over to Ryuji who was in the process of taking a deep breath to calm himself.
“You’re right. I let myself get caught up in the excitement. I’ll be careful from now on.”
Ren smiled before he took out his phone to check the time.
“I think our time is up. Let’s head off.” The three nodded their heads agreement and started to make their way towards the exit with Ren in the lead. As they moved through the dining area, an altercation caught his attention.
“What are you doing! Don’t you know how expensive this dress is?”
Ren looked over to the source of the commotion. From his position, he could see a lady in an awful looking dress yelling at a busboy who couldn’t have been much older than Ren or his friends. The employee was on his hands and knees picking up pieces of broken glass while trying to apologise to the lady.
“I’m truly sorry ma’am. I lost my footing when someone bumped into me—”
“Do you think that half-hearted excuse will pay for the dry cleaning? I am going to speak to your manager and make sure you never work in this industry again.”
Ren hadn’t noticed that Ann and Ryuji were beside him watching the scene play out as well.
“Man, what a bitch. I feel sorry for the kid.”
As Ren watched, an idea started to formulate in his head. He turned to face Ann “Yo Ann, got any spare hair ties?” The girl gave the boy a suspicious gaze through slitted eyes but complied never-the-less, handing him one of her many spares.
Once in his hand, Ren started heading towards a specific table in mind.
“Yo dude. What’re you doing?”
With a smirk growing on his face, he turned towards his friends with a face mask in his hand “She might not have a palace but that doesn’t give her the right to be an awful person.”
He kept moving towards the table but not before adding one last thing. “Oh, and get ready to run as fast as you can.”
Once he reached his destination, he scoured the table until he found what he was looking for. A small jug of melted chocolate. He quickly dipped his finger into the gooey mess testing its heat. He didn’t like the woman, but he wasn’t going to actually hurt her. When he knew that the temperature wasn’t a scolding burn but rather a mild warmness. He made his way towards the commotion.
His hair was tied up into a man bun. A style that didn’t really agree with his wild mess of hair which is why he was confident he wasn’t going to wear it again anytime soon. With his mask on and his hood up. He was fairly certain that no one would be able to recognise him for what he was about to do. So long as he remembered never to wear his hoody there again.
Navigating between the spectators who were watching what they must have considered a comedy take place. Ren soon found himself standing behind the lady who was still drilling into the poor kid. Ren shot him one final glance and when he saw how the kid was clearly on the point of tears. His resolve was only reaffirmed.
Noticing his presence. The lady turned her ire towards the fresh face.
“And who the hell are you. One of this incompetent kids’ friends—” Her words quickly died in her throat as Ren poured all the warm brown liquid over the lady’s head. He could see the girl’s hair become clumped and sticky and watched as the chocolate made its way down her clothes covering the atrocity of colours and patterns. For a second he wondered if he had actually done the lady a service but quickly realised that she wouldn’t ever see the true beauty behind his art as her face flushed brightly with anger.
“I hope you have a good lawyer kid. Now show me your face!”
If he hadn’t faced literal monsters. The stare of death that came from the lady may have made him consider his actions. Instead, Ren just reached down to the tray the young waiter was holding. Grabbing a strawberry from its perch on a piece of cake and standing back up.
While definitely impressive. The glare the lady was giving him didn’t even compare to the one he’s seen Makoto casually toss out. He gently placed the strawberry on the lady’s head and stepped back to admire his work. He slowly turned away from the woman who seemed like she was about to scream bloody murder and started sprinting towards the exit.
As he passed Ann and Ryuji who were staring with their jaws open and eyes wide. He could only remark with the cockiness he often saved for Joker. “I’d start running if I were you.” Before blasting past the two teens.
The three found themselves gasping for their breaths in an alley far from the hotel they had just been eating in. Despite the pain it caused, none of them could stop themselves from laughing at the situation.
“What the hell was that dude?” Ren had his hands on his knees and struggled to give Ryuji a response.
“Are you trying to question my art?”
Ann was the first catch her breath. She straightened her body and walked to Ryuji and Ren smacking both of them against the head. Ryuji looked up in disbelief.
“Why’d you hit me. He’s the one that did it.” Ann rolled her eyes but smiled at the two boys.
“Oh please. I could see you egging him on from where we were standing.”
Ren rubbed the spot on his head but still laughed at the fresh memory.
“In my defence. It’s not like I made that dress any uglier.” Ann started rubbing her face like a mother having to scold her kids on something obviously wrong.
“Forget about dying in the metaverse. You’re gonna piss off the wrong person one of these days.”
Even though he knew that the comment wasn’t a direct jab at him or his situation. Images of the guy from the elevator surfaced in his mind souring his mood ever so slightly.
“I think I’m past that point already.” Ren responded through whispered breaths.
“You say something dude?” Ren shook the thoughts out of his head and put back on his spirited smirk.
“I was just saying we should think about calling it a day.”
Before Ann or Ryuji could even respond. Morgana’s head popped through Ren’s bag to make his presence known.
“Hold up guys. There something I wanna show you all now that we’re officially the phantom thieves.” The three teens gave hesitant glances at the cat.
The three teens looked at the station each of them frequented on a daily basis and then back to their smug looking cat.
“Uh Morgana. Care to explain why you of all people wanted to come to the station.”
The cat jumped out of Ren’s bag and perched himself on the nearest wall.
“You three are finally gonna help me.” The three all looked at each other hoping that someone understood what he was talking about. When no one took the initiative to answer, they could only resort to turning there questioning gazes back towards Morgana.
When he realised no one remembered, Morgana’s body sagged slightly. “Don’t tell me you all forgot. You’re meant to help me recover my memories.” Ren and Ryuji’s faces quickly morphed from confused to guilt as they realised they had completely forgotten about their friends promise.
Ann who hadn’t been present to their deal continued to look at the boys confused. “What is Morgana talking about guys?”
Ren quickly caught Ann up to speed about the deal the boys had made when they first met the cat in the metaverse. After he was finished he couldn’t bear to look at Ann who was giving him the ultimate look of disappointment. “Wow, I’d expect Ryuji to forget about something like that because… well because he’s Ryuji but even you Ren?”
Ren held his head dejected. He could have easily made an excuse that in the grand scheme of everything that had happened that he couldn’t really be blamed for forgetting something, but he didn’t have the conviction to stand by those thoughts let alone articulate them.
“Sorry Morgana. But that doesn’t explain how being here will help you get your memories back.”
Seemingly content with having the show-off Ren hang his head in shame and getting the chance to have Ann to sympathise with him. He spoke with a newfound vigour.
“Pull out your phone and I’ll show you.”
Ren turned his head looking uncertain but took out his phone regardless. The cat hopped from his perch and landed on Ren’s shoulder. The teen made a mental note that he’d need to put Morgana on a diet if he were gonna keep using his shoulder as a platform to rest on.
“Open the app.”
Before Ren could comply, Ryuji spoke up. “But we don’t know anyone with a palace so how are we gonna go to the metaverse?”
Morgana ignored Ryuji’s question and just looked at Ren waiting for him to open the app. With a shrug of his shoulders, Ren tapped the icon and watched the app open on his phone. Even though it had only been a week since he last used it. It felt oddly nostalgic.
As per Morgana’s next instruction, Ren tapped the search bar and activated the microphone and held it up for Morgana who uttered only one word.
“Mementos.”
An all too familiar feeling washed over the four as their stomachs and all the food still left in them started to shift as the world around them dissolved into something else. Ann and Ryuji felt their knees give out, there bodies clearly not expecting the sudden shift. It took a lot of willpower for Ren to keep himself standing up even after feeling his stomach lurch during the transition.
He looked over to Morgana who was standing a few steps away stretching his new humanoid limbs looking as smug as ever. Ren walked over to the small mascot who hadn’t even noticed the others situation. He leaned down and pulled up the cat by the back of his neck spinning him to face the teen.
“That little stunt just revoked your wet food privileges.” Ren dropped Morgana who’s eyes had gone wide at his newfound punishment.
Having dealt with his roommate. Ren took the chance to look around, despite the clear feeling of entering the metaverse. It wasn’t immediately apparent from their surroundings. They stood in the same place they had entered, at the top of the stairs leading into the station. The only glaring difference was a lack of busy people going about their lives and the darker atmosphere that hung over them.
“I’m gonna punt that cat like a football one of these days.” Ren watched as Ryuji and Ann managed to get back onto their feet. Ryuji was the first to join Ren and take in the scenery.
“Whoa. What the hell is this place. Is this a palace?”
“You’re almost right…For once.” Morgana waddled over to join the two boys seemingly coming to terms with his future dietary plans. Ren raised his eyebrow at the cat’s flippant response.
“Care to elaborate.”
With a sigh, Morgana started to explain. “It’s called mementos. It’s sort of the palace for the general public.”
“That doesn’t answer the question. I thought palaces only formed when someone’s desires became completely distorted?”
“They are. But what about the negative emotions that everyone experiences on a daily basis. All the little things that pile up to leave you in a bad mood.”
Ryuji quickly hopped into their conversation with a new question.
“Ok but why does it still look like Shibuya? I mean in Kamoshida’s palace, everything looked different.”
Morgana shrugged his shoulders like it was obvious. “I mean, do you think the station looks any different when you’re having a rough day. Kamoshida’s palace looked the way it did because he was so convinced of his ego that he began viewing the school as a castle. When you’re having a bad day and you’re on the train, do you think of it as anything other then a train?”
Memories of Ren’s first trip to Tokyo surfaced in his mind where he was cursing his situation. When he looked at it that way, it made a surprising amount of sense. From the looks Ryuji and Ann were giving, it seemed like they had a basic understanding of it as well.
“So why are we here Morgana. How will this help get your memories back?” Morgana seemingly ignored Ann’s question; his gaze almost purely focused on the stairs that would have led to the platforms the teens often frequented.
“Morgana?” The second mention of his name from his lady love managed to get his attention.
“Hmm… Oh sorry. I don’t really know. The best way I can describe it is as a calling. I feel like the answers are waiting for me at the bottom of Mementos.”
Ryuji rolled his eyes “You say you’re not a cat, but you really rely on these feelings of yours for everything don’t you.”
“How many times do I need to tell you that I’m not a cat!”
“Well, if it walks on four legs and licks itself clean then I think it’s cat!”
Ren shook his head while watching his two friends argue before turning to face the long set of stairs looming beneath him. Despite knowing nothing about what they were in for, Ren couldn’t stop himself from feeling excited, even though it had only been a week since his final fight with Kamoshida. Ren was itching to get back into the action.
After Ryuji and Morgana had finished there scuffle, with the help of Ann smacking them both on the head, the four started walking down the stairs. With every step they took, Ren could feel the familiar oppressive atmosphere of the Metaverse, when then finally reached the bottom and were face to face with a set of train tracks. It was almost identical to the feeling he had back at Kamoshida’s castle.
“Whoa. It’s been a while since I felt that chill.”
Ann started rubbing her arms through her suit. “Yeah, I’m starting to remember why I didn’t like being in that castle.”
As Ren listened to his friends. He started to wonder if he was the weird one for enjoying that feeling. He turned to Morgana who had once again entered a trance like state looking down the tunnel in front of them. With a little tap of his foot, he managed to stir the cat back to reality. “What’s the plan now Mona? Do we just walk around the tunnels?”
The Mascot shook his head. “No, this isn’t like the castle, Mementos is an ever-changing labyrinth. If we walk around aimlessly we’ll never reach our destination.” Ren raised an eyebrow at the explanation. It really shouldn’t have come as a surprise but his experience in Kamoshida’s palace left him feeling confident in understanding the rules of the metaverse but apparently he had barely scratched the surface.
“Ok so what do we do then?”
Morgana grinned before puffing out his chest and facing the rest of the phantom thieves. “Mwehehe. I guess it’s time to show you one of my super-secret skills.”
The phantom thieves watched with intrigue and slight apprehension as there companion hopped further away from them before taking in a deep breath. With one paw raised and the other lower. Morgana started to rotate his hands while chanting.
“TRANSFORM!”
With a puff of whimsical smoke and glitter, the teens vision was blocked just enough to obscure what was happening in front of them. When the smoke cleared, the three looks on in awe as there cat like comrade was now replaced with an oddly fuzzy looking van.
Each of the phantom thieves was lost for words, none of them really being able to process what just happened. While ironic that the people who fought the embodiment of gods and folklore on a once regular basis, they simply couldn’t comprehend the idea that Morgana had turned into a mini van. That was until the van talked to them in a familiar high pitched tone.
“What are you guys waiting for? Hop in.”
Ryuji leaned over to Ren and talked in his ear. It couldn’t be called a whisper as he was sure everyone could hear him. “I don’t wanna get in the weird cat van.”
Ren kept his head tilted before nodding to himself. He wrapped his arm around the blonde’s neck and started walking towards the track. “Agreed. Skull and I are just gonna take our chances on foot.” The two couldn’t even get two steps before they were dragged back by the scruffs of their necks.
“C’mon you two.”
-
The three phantom thieves were sitting in the back seats looking out the windows. No one moved until they heard Morgana’s voice. “What are you guys doing?” The teens could only look at one another. When no one volunteered to answer, Ren spoke up.
“Uh waiting for you to go?”
“I’m a van right now. One of you has to drive me?” Ren’s face fell ever so slightly. The idea that his talking cat could transform itself into a van yet couldn’t drive itself actually made sense to the boy. And he couldn’t believe that something so outlandish was juts a normal thought for the teen now.
In the time he spent chastising himself, the other two members stared expectantly at Ren. Once he realised he was being looked at, he turned his attention to his friends. “What? Why are you staring at me?”
The two looked at each other like they were confirming what answer to give the boy and who should do it. Apparently Ann was the better choice. “Welll… Neither Ryuji nor I know how to drive.”
It took a moment for Ren to figure out what they were insinuating. “Oh, I get it. Since I’m a delinquent. I just must have taken my dad’s car for a joyride.” The two continued to look at him, there’s faces unfazed by the facetious remark.
Ren could only hold out for a few seconds before he huffed and jumped over into the driver seat. “You guys suck.”
-
It didn’t take long for Ren to figure out what Morgana meant when he explained how walking through mementos would have been a bad idea. If Ren thought of the normal metro system a maze, then the one represented in Mementos was the whole labyrinth. Every turn they took would either lead to a dead end or a path wrapping back around in on itself.
That in itself wouldn’t have been an issue but almost every dead-end would lead to a fight with a shadow or a glowing chest just begging for Ren to pick it’s lock. Both of which slowed them down considerably.
By the fourth floor, the gang were starting to get bored. Ren was busy trying to control the behemoth that was the Mona van which led to Ann and Ryuji having to keep themselves entertained, something they found difficult with the drab scenery.
“This place sucks. It’s just tunnel after tunnel.”
Ann nodded her head in agreement before speaking herself. “I never thought the day would come where I praise Kamoshida but at least his Palace was something to look at. Even if it was in bad taste.”
SCREECH!
The van came to a sudden halt sending the phantom thieves inside reeling. Ann who had her seatbelt on felt her body whip in place but was lucky enough to escape any whiplash, maybe due the padded seating of the Mona van. Ren and Ryuji however, being the reckless delinquents of Shujin, thought it cool to drive without a seat belt and now found themselves splatted against upholstered seats and front windscreens.
Ren groaned as she tried to peel his face off the window. “Little warning next time Mona. Unless you wanna drive after all.”
“Get over it. We need to find another path.” Rubbing his now sore face. Ren looked out to see what had Morgana so spooked. In front of them stood a particularly large shadow. The ones they had been fighting for the past few floors were on the level of the general shadows of Kamoshida’s palace, so while annoying to deal with, they hadn’t posed any threat to the experienced phantom thieves. But Ren could tell even without his third eye that the shadow in front of them was at least at the level of the arch angel. Or maybe even the Andras.
Ren pulled up the phones navigation app which they had been using to keep track of the paths they had already taken. “Bad news Mona. That way is the only way forward.”
“Oh no.”
Ren really didn’t like the tone of Morgana’s voice. He had gotten used to cocky yet endearing charm of his voice over the past months and there was one thing that Ren realised. Morgana had a wide arrange of emotions, scared wasn’t one that appeared often.
“Is that a problem? Can’t we just go back up to the last floor and head back.”
Despite being a motor vehicle, Morgana still managed to shake his head. Causing the passengers to stir slightly. “There’s no time. If we don’t get to the next floor soon then that shadow will be the least of our worries.”
Each of the phantom thieves raised their eyebrows at the broad statement. Ann was the first to ask the question on all their minds.
“What does that mean Morgana. That’s the only shadow left on this floor?”
Once again, the van shook in rhythm of Morgana’s head bob. “If we wait on one floor for too long. A Very dangerous shadow will show up.”
Ren felt it necessary to ask. “How dangerous?”
Ren never expected to see a van shiver in fear, let alone be inside one when it did but he could safely say that he never wanted to experience it again. He looked through the windshield at the shadow in front of them. It hadn’t moved from its position with its back turned to them, sneaking by seemed like an impossibility and he wasn’t sure how fast the stronger shadows could run here.
Slowly a smile started to draw across his face as he concluded that if sneaking was no longer an option than it only left one possibility left.
To fight.
Ren sat back down in the driver’s seat and turned Morgana’s engine on. He could see the looks of confusion that Ann and Ryuji were giving him in the rear-view mirror. He quickly pulled his seatbelt down and turned to face them. “I’d strap in. I just got a great idea.”
Ren laughed as he saw how quickly the confusion on their faces was replaced with worry and fear as Ann planted herself against the seat while Ryuji scrambled to click in his seatbelt. Ren turned back to face the shadow with his hands on the wheel and foot hovering just above the peddle.
“Mona.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m no longer revoking your wet food privileges.”
Morgana hesitated before asking his question. “Why?”
Ren didn’t answer, instead he just pushed in the parking break and slamming his foot into the peddle with a force he’d usually save for to stomping on shadows heads. The thieves rocketed forward as the tyres of the van spun, screeching as they tried to gain traction. As the distance between the van and the shadow became shorter with each passing second and the screams of his friends egging him on. Ren smile manically until the van was within reaching distance of the shadow which had just then turned to face them.
Like in every action movie he had ever seen. Ren yanked the parking break with as much strength as he could muster, turning the steering wheel as far right as it would allow him. Even through the rushing blood in his ears and the screaming behind him. Ren could still easily here the dreadful sound of rubber skidding across concrete as the van turned nighty degrees. The distance between them and the shadow continued the decrease and right before impact, Ren could only yell to his friends.
“HOLD ON!”
The van collided with the hulking mass of darkness. A rough bump was the only indication they had made contact as the vehicle continued its journey forward before the friction of the ground and the weight pressed to one side caused the van to tip over.
Just before the mass of iron and cat could crash against the ground. Morgana reverted to his normal form seemingly halting there momentum and only causing the phantom thieves the lightly roll against the stone beneath them. Ren being the most prepared quickly rolled onto his feet while his friends weren’t as quick to recover. He casted his gaze toward the being they hit and could see its true form materialize. A small snowman wearing a blue hat was laying on the floor without any legs.
“Dude, gonna need more warning next time you pull a fast and the furious on me.”
Ren continued to smirk while he sauntered towards the crippled shadow drawing his gun from its holster. “Stop complaining and hurry up, we’re not done yet.”
He dashed towards the shadow with his friends following quickly behind, each with their own respective weapons drawn. Ren smiled as he knelt behind the snowman which hadn’t even tried to move. He found it hard to believe that such a cute looking demon could actually be dangerous, but his third eye hadn’t been wrong before.
“Hey little guy. How about you join me, and my friends and I won’t have to turn you into a snow cone.”
The shadow looked up at Ren with an oddly sinister smile. Ren could feel the creature scanning him, gauging his strength before speaking, it’s mouth remaining still the entire time.
“Hee Ho. Sorry, I don’t fight with weaklings.”
Ren felt oddly offended by being call weak by a snowman barely half his height even with its legs still attached. The teen stood up and aimed his pistol at the snowman’s head. “What a shame, but it has been getting warmer, so I guess I’ll live.”
“Hee Ho. I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
Ren’s eyes went wide, he could feel the ground underneath him rumble ever so slightly. He quickly activated his third eye and could see a massive amount of mana underneath him and his friends. He spun his head to look at the other three while yelling “Move!”
Without hesitation, his friends followed his direction, and all leaped back as spears of ice started to shoot up from the ground they were standing on. They had to continue to leap back as spear after spear tracked them until they were about 10 metres away from where they had originally surrounded the shadow.
Even with the distance between him and the shadow. Ren could still see the little snowman from hell. He drew his knife before tossing it into the air and leaping after it, using his foot to give the knife the speed it’d need to make to distance but just before it could reach the shadow, a massive wall of ice erected from the floor separating the phantom thieves from their target and their destination.
Ren swore under his breath as he landed on the floor and started making his way towards the wall. The spikes that had chased them quickly disappearing as they no longer had any mana to sustain them. No doubt all of which had be directed to keep the wall up. He grabbed his knife, yanking it free and putting it away.
Ryuji walked up beside him and tapped lightly on the wall with his fist to gauge the strength of it. “Man, that snowman almost turned us into shish kebabs.”
The blonde looked over to Ren. “So got any plans.”
Ren looked over to Ryuji, ready to vent about being tricked by a 2-foot snowman but quickly stopped himself as he looked over the boy, noticing the new metal bat they had picked up in the palace prior. Ren felt the gears turning in his mind and the smile return to his face. “Yeah. Just a quick question. How good were you at baseball?” Ryuji gulped as he felt a chill run down his spine.
-
“You ready?”
Ann nodded her head in response to Ren’s question. Shortly after, the leather cladded teen laid her palm bare, in a blaze of blue flames, Carmen appeared before her. As he face focused, a small fireball the size of a baseball formed in her hand. Ren placed his own palm on top of the ball of magical flames, taking it from the girl in the process. Even through his glove, Ren could feel the heat radiating from the small fireball.
“Uh dude, are you sure this is a good idea?” Ren turned his head to give Ryuji a playful smile. He started to pump the ball of fire with his own magic, feeling it growing larger as the heat became more and more unbearable to be near and by the way Ryuji’s eyes went wide in horror.
“Nope.”
Ren tuned his entire body bringing the ball of fire which was now larger than the teen himself.
“Batter up.” As if it was as light as a beach ball, Ren casually tossed the ball into the air laughing as Ryuji suddenly came to his senses and readied his bat. Once the ball fire had reached its apex and started it’s quick decent back down, a tailwind of magical air started to spin behind Ryuji’s bat brought about by Morgana’s persona.
Ren watched gleefully as his friend swung at the fireball, it rocketed forward with a speed even Ren wasn’t confident he could dodge before colliding with the wall of ice. Ren had expected the wall to melt away before anything else but was pleasantly surprised when audible cracks echoed through the tunnels.
Ren was already strolling forward when the cracks soon became too large to still be considered cracks and instead simply became parts of the wall that had crumbled away before all at once, the wall shattered into thousands of icicles raining down on the phantom thieves who had followed Ren into the fray. He could hear Ann and Ryuji gasp in awe at the beautiful sight of the artificial light from the lamps above refract through the tiny fragments of ice letting colours finally dance across the drab stonework.
Morgana had strolled up beside him as the group walked over the spot the once occupied but now only a puddle remained. “You come up with the strangest plans Joker.”
Ren shrugged his shoulders as kept moving forward, turning to face his friend. “They tend to work don’t they?”
Notes:
Hey guys. Guess what, the story isn't dead.
(Yet)
I'm sorry that there was such a gap between chapters but I was feeling burnt out on it honeslty. Trying to remember what happens during the second arc was beoming more troublsome then fun and that was making it less then enjoyable to actually write.
I have ideas for cool scenes and fights. New power mechanics and the works but then I remmeber that I'm going to have to write so much inbetween that I lose motivation. Add personal life stuff on top and it became something that I honestly thought about just dropping.But I stil really love writing this story, I still think about in my off time or while i'm in the middle of work so I think I'm going to stick with it. At least until it becomes completely unfun to continue with. But I'm going to start deviating from the original canon a lot more, Times are going to become out of date and story elements will change just so I can go at a good pace that isn't bogged down but having to hit unnecessary plot points.
I hope you guys will continue reading but I wouldn't blame any of you for wanting to drop it until it's fully done because releases will be a lot more sporratic from here on out.
Thanks anyway and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Chapter 36
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Ren could feel his body become more and more sluggish with every step further into mementos. Even though the shadows they had been fighting throughout the maze of tunnels were on a similar level to the small fry they had blown past in Kamoshida’s palace. The sheer amount of them they had been facing with every dead end they reached quickly sapped away his strength and from the way his friends looked, they weren’t fairing much better.
As the four made their way down to the seventh level, Ren could feel the oppressive atmosphere of the metaverse lessen ever so slightly, nothing that he would call comfortable but at least his legs didn’t feel like they were filled with lead anymore.
Ren looked at his surroundings, unlike the previous floors which was a mish mash of tunnels and overly spacious rooms with no coherency. This floor was much closer to something they would see in reality, a set of train platforms separated by a set of recessed tracks.
“I never thought I’d be so grateful to be stuck waiting for a train.”
Ren turned towards the voice and saw Ann and Ryuji splayed across rigid plastic benches often used by tired commuters either starting there long day or ending them. He never once thought they were comfy but the way his friends leaned into them could have convinced him they were Egyptian silk.
The teen then looked down to Morgana who was hopping anxiously from one foot to another. “Hey Mona, Is this layer like the safe room of palaces.” The small animal stopped fidgeting for a moment to answer Ren’s question.
“It feels like it. Can we keep going please?” Ren looked at the phantom thief with disapproving eyes before pulling out his phone. He opened the nav App and was grateful to see the warp function once again working. He lifted his gaze to look at his other friends who while outwardly showed they were ready to keep going, were giving signs that the exhaustion was getting to them, such as the way Ryuji’s breaths were becoming more haggard and erratic and the sweat that was pooling on Ann’s forehead.
Ren sighed knowing that he was going to have to deal with Morgana after what he going to say. “Alright, I think we can call it a day here.” The three turned to look at Ren with surprise, though the tone was very different between the teens and the cat.
“What! But we can keep going, just a few more levels and—” Ren picked the cat up by the scruff of his neck cutting him off mid-sentence.
“And that’s where I draw the line. Don’t forget that we’re only risking our lives here to help you out based on your gut feeling. The moment you made me the leader of this group, you also made me responsible for making sure everyone here is safe. So, we’re leaving.”
Morgana’s face quickly shifted from annoyance to guilt as he eyed the figures of Ryuji and Ann’s tired forms.
Ren saw the way Morgana understood his reasoning and it made his frustration evaporate, he cursed his soft spot for cats as he let Morgana back onto the ground gently before speaking further. “Look I know why you’re in such a rush, but we won’t get your memories back any quicker if we’re dead. We have to pace ourselves.”
Morgana remained silent but the way he shook his head let Ren know that he understood the point the teen was trying to get through. Ren gave his friend a soft head rub before pulling his phone out and opening the Nav app.
He looked through the log until he found the layer they had entered from before pressing it. He felt his stomach shift and suddenly they were back at the beginning of mementos. With his final check making sure that all their progress hadn’t been lost with the warp, he tapped the screen one more time as mementos melted away and was soon replaced by the normal metro that he had grown accustomed too.
Ryuji knelt down letting out a long sigh as if he had been holding his breath for the past ten minutes while Ann looked for the nearest wall low enough that she could sit on. Ren felt his own body grow tired as it got used to the normal feeling of reality, as if the oppressive nature of the metaverse had just caught up with him now that he could relax.
The only phantom thief that didn’t seem to be affected was Morgana who was sitting on Ren’s shoulder still quiet as a mouse. It only brought up more questions about Morgana’s existence, it was clear that the cat and Mementos were related but how much so?
Ren felt the slight pain of a headache coming as more questions about his friend’s origins formulated in his head, which he decided that it could wait for a time when he wasn’t exhausted.
Ryuji pulled out his phone and looked at the time. His eyes went wide as he shot up like a rocket. “Oh shit, I’m late for dinner, Mum is gonna kill me.” The former runner pocketed his phone as he began stretching his legs getting ready to dash into the metro in a vain hope to make the next train.
“I gotta go guys. I’ll talk to you later.” Ren and Ann gave the boy a tired wave goodbye as he sprinted down the stairs into the metro and out of there sight. The two remaining teens looked at each other before laughing lightly to themselves. Ann grabbed her own phone to check the time before sighing and putting it away.
“I should probably go home too. Emma doesn’t like it when I’m out too late, I’m worried she’s going to start reporting the times I come home to my parents. Seeya Ren.” She looked at Morgana who was still quietly looking out towards Tokyo. A small smile appeared on her face as she stepped towards the two and rubbed the felines head gently.
“Don’t worry morgana, now that we know mementos exists, we promise we’ll help you search it when we can.” The touch of lady Ann seemed to bring some life back to the cat as his tail started to move.
The two watched there other friend walk down the stairs before she faded into the large crowd of people. Ren pulled out his phone to see if there was anything left to do in the city. As his phone lit up, he saw a new message that hadn’t been there when they entered the metaverse. He felt Morgana stretch on his shoulder before asking. “Are we heading home now?”
Ren smiled as he closed his phone and turned back towards Shibuya. His excitement barely able to be contained as he got closer to the city. “Not yet, there’s one more thing I have to do before we head back.”
Morgana raised his eyebrows in curiosity before shrugging and jumping down into Ren’s bag deciding to use the detour as a chance to get some shut eye.
Before long, Ren was back in the city looking at a familiar neon sign in a non-descript back alley. He took a deep breath the calm himself before pushing the door and listening to the ring of the bell. The shop owner looked over his magazine giving Ren a smile when he recognised the customer. He chucked away the reading material before popping a lollipop into his mouth.
“Hey kid, I was beginning to think you weren’t gonna show.” Ren couldn’t contain his smile any longer as he fished into his bag and pulled out the contraband that he had been given quite a while ago. He held it up to Iwai before tossing it to him.
“Time for you to make good on that final condition.”
-
Ren stood at on the platform trying his best not to fall asleep on his feet. Even though he had spent all of golden week working and sleeping, the very thought of returning to Shujin and having to deal with teachers that didn’t want to have anything to do with him and students that would rather see him dead was leaving him already feeling drained. Even in the bustling crowd of people waiting for their train, Ren could hear the occasional rumour about him coming from his schoolmates.
He was so caught up in his own world that he hadn’t even noticed that Ann had popped up beside him until she tapped his arm immediately causing him to flinch from the stinging sensation. He involuntarily glared in her direction until he recognised her. Even though he was quick to drop his confrontational gaze, she still held her hands up as if she were surrendering.
“Sorry, I didn’t realize your arm was sore.” Ren sighed as he relaxed his body.
“It’s all good, I shouldn’t have defaulted to getting pissed off. I’m just on edge when people from school are around.” Ann’s faced soured as she looked around the metro spotting different people wearing there uniform.
“No kidding. I thought the rumours about me were bad but listening to what they’re saying about you in downright crazy. At least the rumours about me made sense, somehow you’re a Yakuza member and a lone serial killer”
Ren grunted in response to her words, he could at least give Shujin credit for the imagination of its students, not so much it’s integrity or intelligence in most cases. Once again, Ren was too deep in thought to hear his other friend running towards him. That was until he felt a fist crash against his arm which instead of making him flinch, brought the leader of the phantom thieves down to his knees.
Ren turned his head knowing full well who could be stupid enough to punch the infamous transfer student before school had even begun. Despite knowing who did it, Ren did little to soften the death glare he sent towards Ryuji who was standing over him confused.
“Uh…Sorry?”
-
“Dude that was a bit of an overreaction.” Ren didn’t even look away from his phone as he replied to Ryuji.
“I think that was a perfectly rational reaction.”
“You threatened to drop me onto the train tracks.”
“But I didn’t which should count for something?”
“Yeah it would have if you hadn’t actually held me off the edge with nothing but my bags strap keeping me from falling.”
Ren remained silent as he kept walking forward. Ryuji sighed in defeat as he realised that even if he was right, that would just annoy Ren further so he decided to drop it. “How come your arms so sore anyways.” Ren stopped walking as he pocketed his phone and checked his surroundings. There were only a couple other students using the route the three were taking. Ren walked into an alley signalling for Ann and Ryuji to follow which they did with almost no hesitation.
Once they were out of the sight of the prying public, Ren started taking off his jacket much to the surprise of both Ann and Ryuji who had looked away with a slight blush on their faces,
“Uh dude, I know we’re closer than most friends, but I don’t think we’re at the point where we can strip in front of each other.” All Ryuji could hear was Ren chuckling as he continued to take of his jacket and now his buttoned shirt.
“Just look and you’ll understand.” Ryuji took a gulp as he turned back to look at his best friend. Immediately all embarrassment disappeared as Ryuji looked on in awe at what he saw. Instead of clear white skin, Ren’s arm and shoulder was wrapped in hand drawn chains that made their way down to his wrist, starting of as a dark metallic grey at the top but fading into a brighter blues further down. He quickly realised that they were the chains that came when they summoned there persona’s in the metaverse. Beneath the chains Ryuji could see raven feathers dotted around his arm. Each containing small stars that contrasted with the black background.
The reason why Ren’s arm was so sensitive was because the young teen had just had ink permanently embedded into his skin.
“Holy shit dude. Are those real?” Ren smiled as he started putting his shirt back on.
“They wouldn’t hurt like a bitch if they were fake.”
“But isn’t illegal to get tattoos when you’re underage.” Ren causally shrugged at the important question Ann brought up.
“I turn eighteen in a few months so as long as my parole officer doesn’t find out then there’s no problem.” Ann and Ryuji looked to each other unsure how to react to their leaders’ flippant attitude on something that might seriously get him into legal trouble, but they both knew that Ren wasn’t someone to do something that he wasn’t prepared to deal with.
Ryuji shrugged his shoulders before turning back to face his friend. “Regardless of legality. The design is sick. Who did it?” Ren only moved his finger to cover his lips in shush gesture.
“As far as anyone needs to know, I just woke up with it.” The phantom thieves laughed as they exited the alleyway while continuing on their way to school feeling more refreshed than ever.
-
It had been a few days since school had started back up, but Ren still couldn’t find the energy to fully open his eyes as he waited for the train to come. Ryuji had pulled up beside him offering some of his energy drink for the drowsy Ren which he politely declined.
Right when he was about to drift into sleep, he heard Ryuji grunt in pain beside him. He opened his eyes and looked over to see that Ann had knocked him over in a panic. Alarm bells went off in Ren’s head and his eyes were now fully awake at the thought of his friend in danger. “What’ wrong Ann?”
The girl started fiddling with her hands as she watched Ryuji pull himself up rubbing his sore bottom.
“Yeah jeez, I’m actually gonna fall on those tracks one day.”
“I’m sorry, it’s just—” Her sentence drifted off as she hurriedly checked the crowd around them. Ryuji quickly realised that something was wrong and dropped any annoyance in his tone.
“Seriously what’s up?”
“I think I’m being followed. This guy keeps popping up wherever I go, it’s been like this since I first got on the train this morning.” Ren looked around to see if he could spot anyone obviously suspicious, but it was difficult to make out anything specific in the ever-morphing mass of people going about their morning commute.
Ryuji frowned at the way Ann was panicking before grabbing her hand and pulling her onto the train that had just arrived. Ren followed close behind noticing how quickly the girl’s body relaxed when she was close to Ryuji which brought a small smile to his face.
“What are we gonna do Ryuji?”
Ryuji looked back towards Ren to answer his question. “Just follow my lead.”
-
Ann stood at the top of the stairs with her back. She felt a chill run down her spine as the sound of light footsteps began to get closer. It wasn’t until the last moment when she saw Ren and Ryuji walk around the corner to block her that she turned her own body to confirm whether her feeling was right.
Sure enough, on the other side of her friends stood a long-limbed skinny boy around her age, his hair a dark shade of blue, she couldn’t tell if that was due to a hair dye or simply from having a unique shade of black hair that she wasn’t aware of. Oddly enough, even from her position and her slight panic, she could tell that the boy was incredibly skinny, Ren was too but where his skinny body seemed more defined by an inability to gain fat, the boy in front of her looked like he simply hadn’t eaten enough.
The boy’s face wasn’t panicked or worried. If anything, he only seemed confused by the angry looks Ren and Ryuji were giving. In a monotonous tone void of any concern, the boy turned his head and asked.
“Is there something I can help you with?”
Before Ren and Ryuji could respond. Ann interjected, annoyed by how casual the stalker was.
“Why the hell have you been stalking me!?”
The boy continued to look on in confusion and worry as the people around him started staring at the group curiously. “I believe there’s been a grave understanding.”
Ren moved forward wrapping his arm around the boy’s neck. In a sign that made them seem like close friends making the curious gazes of passers-by look away in disinterest while also keeping the boy from potentially fleeing.
“Now you’re gonna have to do better than that to justify following our friend here all through Tokyo.”
Just as the boy looked like he was about to speak. The four were interrupted by the sound of a car door slamming followed by an older voice. “Yusuke? What’s going on here?”
“Sensei!” The boy nimbly slinked out of Ren’s grip much to the black-haired teens annoyance.
“I’m sorry for running off but I simply needed to talk to this girl.”
The older gentleman wearing a modest robe simply laughed at the boys flustered apology. “There’s no need to apologise my boy. I have always told you to follow inspiration the moment it strikes.” The man looked over at the three and seemed to notice there rigid stances. He looked from Ann to Yusuke while letting out a long sigh.
“Though it seems I haven’t taught you about what’s socially acceptable.” The man took a step towards the three and bowed lightly towards them.
“I apologise on behalf of my students’ action. It seems he’s made you uncomfortable. Yusuke, I expect you to explain yourself to these young ones.” The boy name Yusuke stepped forward, his eyes wide as if he just realised why Ren and Ryuji were stopping him before.
“I’m deeply sorry for the misunderstanding I’ve created. I saw you earlier today and inspiration struck me like a lightning bolt. I’m an artist you see and when I saw you I simply had to draw you. So, when I saw you enter the train, I rushed to follow you, but I could never find the right moment to make your acquaintance.”
The boy bowed deeply. Even Ren who rarely trusted anyone he had just met couldn’t help but feel bad for the guy. Time continued to pass, and Yusuke didn’t seem like he was going to raise himself anytime soon. Neither Ryuji or Ann knew how to react, and Ren was about ready to have another nap. Just as he was prepared to walk away, the old man clapped his hands as if he just had the best idea.
“I know. How about you invite these friends of yours to the art gallery this weekend?” Yusuke finally raised his head while looking at his sensei with a glint in his eyes. “That’s a great idea sensei.”
He turned to face Ann while pulling out some tickets. He grabbed her hands with surprising quickness. “I would be honoured to have you view Sensei’s art.”
He stared at Ryuji and Ren with less than friendly gazes “I doubt you two could appreciate the fine details of art, but you’re welcome to come along as well.”
Ryuji was about to step forward and talk shit to the snobby art kid but stopped when he felt a painfully tight grip on his shoulder. He turned and saw Ren wearing the fakest smile he’d ever seen, the animosity he was trying to contain was spilling out through his features. “We would be honoured to come. I would love to talk to you about art. And maybe in return I can teach you how to approach girls without making them feel terrified.”
Yusuke glared at Ren which he gratefully returned as the boy gave the tickets to Ann and made his way back towards the car following the old man who was chuckling at the scene. “I feel like you and that boy will be great friends Yusuke.”
The skinny teen scoffed as he entered the car. “I’d like you to refrain from making such tasteless jokes sensei.”
-
Ren, Ann and Ryuji were standing in the middle of a large crowd of students. When they arrived at school and made their way to their respective classes. They were quickly interrupted by Kawakami who swiftly reprimanded them for being slightly late before directing them to the gymnasium where they now stood unsure of what was happening.
Ren looked around and sure enough, people were keeping there distance from Ren while making there stares of fear and contempt very known. He had a slim hope that maybe with one of there long-standing teachers being a literal sex offender that some of the heat surrounding his situation would have died down, but it seemed like he was destined to spend the rest of his year as public enemy number one.
The sound of a microphone becoming live rung through the gym calming down the excited voices of friends talking to each other. The principle waddled his way onto the stage sweating like a pig the entire time. Once he reached the mic, he finally drew his pocket square and wiped away only a small fraction of the sweat on his face before speaking.
“I’m sure a lot of you have questions about everything’s that’s transpire over the last couple of weeks and what will happen going forward. I implore all of you to please keep quiet about the entire situation until things cool down. We wouldn’t want to make Mr Kamoshida’s former students uncomfortable by bringing up unnecessary memories.”
Ann clenched her fist before whispering to herself and the boys next to her. “I can’t believe the bastard is using Shiho as an excuse, he just wants to save face for the school.” Ren couldn’t argue, the frog of a principle in front of him may have been a scumbag but he wasn’t a great liar.
“Now for some brighter news. I would like you all to know that your classmate Suzui-san has regained consciousness and is set to make a full recovery.”
An awkward hush fell over the crowd as no one knew how to react and Ren couldn’t blame them, to so casually brush the whole situation under the rug only to bring up something that directly pertained to it seemed odd, once again, it was a half-baked attempt to show how caring the principle was to his students, which made it all the sadder when the only reason people began to clap was due to a teacher noticing the tension in the air.
“And finally, in light of recent events, the school board deemed it beneficial to begin promoting better mental health, So I would like you all to please welcome Dr Maruki.”
The crowd immediately buzzed with the announcement of a new faculty member and only continued to grow as a young man with brown hair and a white lab coat walked onto the stage to take position in front of the microphone.
The crowd winced as the mic started relaying feedback the moment he tried to speak but died down when his voice finally came through.
“Hello everyone. I am Dr Takuto Maruki. I am here to be somewhat of a guidance councellor as well as an official Psychiatrist. I understand that a lot of you have gone through some incredibly difficult and downright traumatic experiences and some of you may not know how to properly comprehend everything that has happened. So, if any of you need someone to talk to, then please don’t hesitate to drop by my office. Or even if you’re just hungry, I’ll have plenty of snacks that you can pinch. I look forward to spending then next year with you.”
Dr Maruki took a deep bow not realising how close he was to the mic. The sound and sight of the twenty something year old bumping his head against the microphone washed away any awkward tension in the gym which got replaced by casual laughter. Even Ryuji and Ann had to surpass there giggles while Ren just smiled, if he were more cynical he’d assume the whole thing was scripted but he could sense that the Doctor had no ill will.
The assembly was soon ended, and students started making their way begrudgingly back to their classrooms. Through the crowd Ren had managed to lose Ryuji and Ann. He shrugged to himself before putting his hands back into his pockets and making his way out of the gym along with everyone else.
Before he could actually leave, he spotted a head of dazzlingly bright red hair within the crowd. As far as he knew, only one person in the school had such a unique hair colour. He decided to go pay his underclassman a visit considering all that happened.
It wasn’t difficult for Ren to manoeuvre through the crowd considering most students were trying their best to keep as much distance as possible, he soon found himself standing beside the girl who was talking to the fresh face at Shujin academy.
The bright haired girl was the first to notice Ren’s presence, turning to face him with a bright smile on her face. “Senpai! It feels like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you.”
Maruki looked over Ren before directing his gaze back to the girl. “You know this young man Yoshizawa-san?”
Ren raised an eyebrow realising that he hadn’t ever gotten the girl’s name. “So that’s your name huh. Feels strange having to hear it from someone I’ve never met before.” Ren grinned at the way Yoshizawa-san’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Oh, that’s right, I never got your name either did I senpai.” She gave Ren a polite bow before introducing herself.
“My name is Kasumi Yoshizawa. I must thank you for that warning you gave. Who know’s what Kamoshida might have done had I not heeded your advice.”
Ren smile as he bowed less deep then Kasumi did. “Ren Amamiya. And I was just doing my job as your senpai.”
The two laughed at each other’s formal greeting before Kasumi realised that she had just ignored Dr Maruki. “Oh my, I’m terribly sorry Dr. This is my senpai Amamiya-san, he was the one who I mentioned before at our sessions.”
Maruki’s eyes went slightly wider at the statement. “Ah now I see. Yes he does match the description you gave.” The young man held his hand out to Ren, A foreign action for the teen considering his past relationships with adults. He hesitantly shook the man’s hand.
“Oh, that reminds me. Now that I know who you are, I feel like I should preface this by saying that considering your involvement with Kamoshida. You will be required to visit me at least once during my stay here at Shujin.”
Suddenly all of Ren’s goodwill soured at the thought of once again being forced to do something against his will. He quickly pulled his hand away from the man with a touch more force then necessary.
“Can’t say I feel comfortable being forced to speak with a Psychiatrist. What if I refuse?”
Maruki gave a sigh, though not one that Ren often received as a sign of being frustrated having to deal with Ren’s rebellious nature but rather one very similar to Makoto’s sigh, one of having to deal with forces he had no control over either.
“I understand why you’re hesitant. If it was up to me I’d rather have you come by of your own accord as well, but the principle has made it clear that if you don’t attend, he will directly report it to your parole officer.”
Ren bit the inside of his cheek in frustration. That damn walking tub of lard was gonna give him a heart attack with the amount of pressure he was shoving onto his shoulders. Maruki seemingly noticed Ren’s apprehension and annoyance before he continued to speak with a more jovial tone.
“Oh, but please don’t misunderstand, when I say you have to come see me, in no way am I saying you have to speak with me. Even if it’s just for 10, 20 minutes, you can come into my office, do some light reading or studying and then leave and I’ll be sure to report it to the principle that you’ve attended the session.”
Ren raised an eyebrow at the proposition, no matter how he looked at it, it seemingly only benefitted Ren so why was it that the man in front of him seemed fully content with the conditions.
“Why are you being so lenient with me. I’m sure you’ve read my record, and I’m even more sure that the tubby principle has said less then flattering things about me.”
The doctor looked at Ren with genuine confusion. “That is true but why should any of that matter. You’re Ren Amamiya but that’s all I know about you. It wouldn’t be fair for me to base my opinion of you from second-hand information alone. Until I sit down and have a conversation with you, all the information in the world is irrelevant.
Ren felt his mouth drop agape just enough to be noticeable. Perhaps it was his bias from the past couple of months, but he had been certain that such understanding adults were a thing of legend, yet here one stood so casually in front of him. All Ren could do was laugh to himself while struggling to contain his emotions less he shed a tear in front of his underclassman.
“Okay doc. I’ll drop by sometime. I could use a couple of snacks.”
Notes:
This is the first chapter I've written in a long time. Its feels good to be writing again and now that I'm taking more liberties, I can write more freely before using the time editing to sharpen rough parts. But if you think that the writing has gotten less polished then please let me know and I'll do my best to try and find a middle ground.
Rgardless I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Chapter Text
Mishima stood in front of what the entire school would have considered the lion’s den. In front of him laid a sleeping Ren Amamiya and Mishima had the terrifying task of waking him up so he could finally thank him for all he did with Kamoshida.
After a few minutes of fidgeting with his phone, the door to the classroom opened and walked in Ann Takamaki. When she spotted Mishima standing in front of a sleeping Ren she took the straw that she was drinking her strawberry milk with out of her mouth.
“What’s up Mishima. You wanna talk to Ren?”
Mishima jumped slightly when he realised she was actually talking to him. He quickly swung his hands widely. “Oh no It’s really not important I was just going—”
Before he could even finish making the excuse to avoid talking to Ren yet again, Ann had made her way over to the boy’s desk and smacked the back of his snoring head causing the teen to rocket up still dazed.
“I’ll reveal your true form!”
Ren noticed the curious glance Mishima was giving him, and Ann covering her mouth in a vain attempt to stop a myriad of giggles.
“I said that out loud didn’t I?”
“Oh yeah.”
“How much will it cost for you to forget that?”
Ann tapped her chin before spying one of the hair lackeys wrapped around her wrist. A downright sinister smirk graced her lips which caused Ren to gulp.
“Uh…” Ren looked over to Mishima, seemingly only just then noticed his presence. Ren sighed when he realised the boy wanted to speak with him. “What do you want Mishima?” The boy flinched at the tone of Ren’s voice; the teen would have felt bad had the boy in front him not been one of the reasons he was ostracised from his classmates. Even though he knew the kid had little choice in the matter, his rationality did little to cool down the anger he felt towards him.
“I just wanted to ask you guys. You’re the phantom thie—” The boy’s sentence was cut off swiftly when Ann slapped her hand against his mouth effectively silencing him. Although the look and aura Ren was exuding would have been enough alone to shut him up. Ren stood up from his chair with enough force to send it skidding backwards drawing the attention of their classmates. He ignored there curious and terrified gazes while he walked over to Mishima and wrapped his arm around his neck tightly.
“Let’s go for a little walk.” All Mishima could do in response was gulp loudly.
-
“Are you just trying to get me expelled or are you really that fucking stupid?” Ren asked with genuine anger tinging his voice. Even Ann felt sorry for the kid who had brought this wrath upon himself.
“I’m really sorry Amamiya-kun. I wasn’t thinking about everyone around us.” When he saw the way Mishima was trying to become one with the wall he was backed up against, he couldn’t help but cut him some slack, a special skill that only the weak Mishima seemed to possess.
“Forget about it… Look even if we were the phantom thieves, which we’re not! Why do you care?”
Almost immediately the timid Mishima was replaced with a young boy beaming with gratitude and excitement. “Because you guys are actual heroes, you did something that even the police couldn’t do.” Ren was taken aback by the enthusiasm that Mishima showed, he glanced towards Ann who was holding back giggles as she watched Ren deal with his first ever fanboy. The teen sighed as he ran his fingers through his shaggy locks.
“Alright, I get it. Let’s just go on the basis that I know the phantom thieves. What do you want to tell them?” The smile Mishima beamed now that he was in on the secret almost blinded the pessimistic Ren.
-
“I can’t believe that Mishima made a freaking app for us.” The three teens were all on their phones as there precious break time ticked away. After informing Ren and Ann about the app he created, the two quickly messaged Ryuji and the three of them with Morgana watching over Ren’s shoulder due to a lack of a phone, and thumbs, had been exploring the app and all its features.
“It very…flattering.” Ren exclaimed through a long sigh. He honestly wasn’t sure how he felt about the app, while on one hand, he was glad that their hard work was being recognised in some form or another. The way the actual app was set up left a bad taste in his mouth. The main feature was the big red progress bar in the centre that was laughably empty with the question. ‘Do you believe that the phantom thieves are real?’
“They’re just a hoax. No way they’re real? Only kids could believe in them? What the eff are these guys problem!” Ren figured Ryuji must have found the comments section beneath the loading bar. He looked at them for a bit but didn’t take much issue with the words people he didn’t know were spouting. What did grab his attention was the request tab, he hesitatingly hovered his finger about the button already knowing what was the come but he eventually gave in and opened it up only to be barraged by hundreds of posts.
“Phantom thieves, please steal my dumb bosses’ heart so he can give us longer breaks.”
“Phantom thieves please steal my best friends’ heart so she can stop talking about her new boyfriend.”
Ryuji and Ann started reading the benign requests out loud. With every new request Ren was getting a stronger urge to walk off and find Mishima. He was close to the breaking point until Ann read one final comment. “Wait this one sounds kinda scary.”
Ren and Ryuji walked over to look at the message on Ann’s phone as she began reading it out aloud. “Dear phantom thieves. I’m currently being stalked by my ex-boyfriend. At first I thought it was simply a coincidence but now he’s been approaching me with my friends more and more. I’ve tried contacting the police, but they haven’t been able to help. Please, I’m desperate for any kind of solution.”
The four were silent as they read over the message. Somehow throughout all the petty and asinine requests, they had managed to find the one person who genuinely needed help, but Ren could only frown. “It’s bad but would that mean he has a palace? Can we even do anything if they aren’t completely distorted?”
The other two teens looked pensively at the message now wondering the same thing. No one seemed to have an answer until the familiarly annoying laugh of their feline friend pierced the silence. “What would you guys do without me.” The cat hopped from Ren’s shoulder onto the table with his chess puffed out.
“It’s simple, we just need to explore Memento’s, if this guy is as bad as the girl is making it out, he should almost definitely have a shadow of himself there.” Ren walked closer and asked.
“Are you saying it’s possible for people to have shadows without being a persona user or a palace owner.” Morgana raised his paw like he was a teacher explaining in more detail to his favorited student.
“I ask you this Ren. Do you think that everyone with a palace simply started there life out completely distorted?” Ren rubbed his chin as he let the words soak in. From the look of Ann’s face, she wasn’t too far behind Ren in his realisation while Ryuji just looked lost and a tad bored.
“No, that wouldn’t make sense. So, Mementos holds all our distorted desires until they grow large enough to become a palace?”
Morgana held his chin up high like he was the proudest teacher. “And that’s why you’re my favourite, Ren… After lady Ann of course.” Ren grinned as he pulled out his phone dialling Mishima’s number.
“Nice save.”
After two short rings, a voice answered on the other line.
“Hello?”
“Mishima. Come to the roof. Now.” The phone went silent after the sound of hurried footsteps echoed on the line. Ren pocketed his phone and turned to his friends. Ann still worriedly looking at the message while Ryuji just smirked at Ren.
“What?”
“You know that just sounded like a threat right?” The realisation hit Ren all at once causing him to drag his hands across his face.
“Oh my god. Maybe I am as bad as the school says I am.”
Mishima was doubled over trying to breathe in front of the three as Morgana kept his distance on the roof. Ren looked him up and down and wondered what ever compelled the poor kid to try his hands at sports when it was clear he had no aptitude for anything physical. After he managed to catch his breath he looked at the three with glee obvious in his eyes. “What do you guys need? Whatever it is I’ll do my best.”
Ren held his hand up to stop his classmate from rambling any further. “Dude, you’re at an eleven and I’m gonna need you at a six at most.” Mishima closed his mouth and relaxed his posture slightly, a faint blush covering his ears. Ren smiled lightly before bringing up the app and showing him the message. “I need you to message this person and get the stalkers name. Think you can do it.” Mishima stood up a bit taller and held his thumb up.
“Leave it to me.” And as quickly as he came, the kid was gone, dashing down the steps with his phone out. A moment later the sound of a dull crash echoed up the stairwell which made Ren laugh slightly as he grabbed his bag.
“I think that’s our cue to leave as well, we’ll meet up at the station after school and head into Memento’s when we have the guy’s name.” The three nodded their heads in unison as they followed their leader off the roof. Each smiling with a vigour that came with having a new target.
The phantom thieves were standing at the top of the stairs leading into Shibuya station. They had decided to avoid moving together so Ren was the first one there. He was playing on his phone going over the information Mishima had sent him over text. Ren was honestly impressed by the speed the guy had gotten the stalkers name and even more detailed information like what he looked like and the extent of his stalking. While Mishima may not have any chances making it to the Olympics, he defiantly had a future in tech.
“Yo dude, Ann here yet?” Ren closed the game he was idly playing on and pocketed his phone while turning to Ryuji shaking his head. “Not yet but don’t forget she isn’t an ex-runner or delinquent like us.”
“Well sorry for having a social life.” Ann appeared almost as soon as Ren had finished speaking leading to a light blush of embarrassment covering his features which he tried to nimbly avoid by turning his head, but it was clear the other three had already noticed as each tried to supress there laughter.
“So did Mishima come in clutch.” Ren managed to clear his face of the redness as he turned back to answer Ryuji’s question. “Did more than just clutch. We’re looking for a young guy in his early twenties named Nakanohara. Has black hair and usually wears a suit and glasses.”
The two looked impressed by the amount of information they had to work with. “Damn, didn’t think Mishima would be able to get that much.” Ren made a low grunting noise in acknowledgement as he looked around to find a spot where there weren’t able people.
“All that’s left is to do our part. You all ready?” They all nodded behind him which brought a smile to Ren’s features as he opened the navigation app.
“Alright then, let’s go change some hearts.”
The four stood at the bottom of the stairs on the small platform. Ren peered over the edge killing time as he waited for Morgana to change but nearly fell off when he heard Ryuji yell behind him. He spun around ready a fight, or to punch Ryuji in the face, he’d make the decision after seeing what caused him to yell.
“How come you’re outfit changed?” Ren raised his brow at the blonde’s unusual question, it was only then that he noticed a slight breeze brush against his arms. He looked down and sure enough, his friend was right, Ren no longer had his three-pronged tailcoat, rather his arms were bear and the only part covering his upper body was the vest like body armour he’d normally wear beneath. He looked at his arms, one was bare but the other was completely covered in tattoos, they resembled the design of his own in reality, but the level of detail was beyond what an artist could do. They were the embodiment of all his ideas and concepts for tattoos he’d ever wanted over the years, all merged together to form one arm encompassing sleeve.
As he let his two friends examine his art-stained arm more closely, he looked over to Morgana who was standing back. Ren raised an eyebrow to ask why his outfit had in fact changed, the cat only gave him a casual shrug. “It makes sense, the clothes in the metaverse represent our rebellious spirits. Nothing screams rebellion like painting over your own skin so of course it’d reflect on your body here.” Ren laughed at the nonchalant retort, really in a world of gods and shadows, clothes changing based on the person’s thoughts was the closest thing to normal he had to work off. He was about ready to get the mission underway when Ann said.
“It a bit of a shame though, I really liked the coat.” Ryuji nodded his head like he was agreeing with something profound.
“I get what you’re saying Panther. While the tattoos are awesome, the coat really made him look like a proper leader.” Ren rolled his eyes at how seriously his friends were treating his new look, but he smiled regardless. He closed his eyes and imagined the coat he had grown accustomed to wearing, he’d admit that he had a bit of an attachment to it even though it wasn’t technically real. As he began to recall all the subtle details of the coat, he soon felt the familiar sensation of cloth against his arms, when he opened his eyes the coat was there, covering the artwork.
He gave a cocky smirk to Ryuji who was clearly jealous that Ren now had too outfits he could swap between, he huffed before grabbing Morgana and haphazardly tossing him onto the tracks only to be consumed by a puff a smoke before emerging as the weird feline van. “We get it, you’re cooler than us. Now get in the van.”
Ren’s smirk didn’t fade for even a second as he started walking towards the van thinking how the only thing he was missing was a set of car keys he could spin around his finger.
The phantom thieves started back with there usual routine, even though the navigation app allowed them to warp to the rest stop they encountered before, Morgana’s meta sense told them that the target was a on floor prior to it, so instead of working backwards and getting ambushed by higher ranking shadows like the snow man from before, they decided to just redo the first few floors.
While the shadows posed little threat to the now experienced persona users, there was one thing Ren didn’t account for and that was his utter boredom. The floors continued to stretch on forever and unlike Ann and Ryuji who could keep themselves busy playing cards in the back seat, Ren was delegated to driving duty. His boredom only exaggerated when he hadn’t even needed to get out of the car for a majority of the fights, the team instead opting for the quicker method of just ploughing right through them.
By the time the gang managed to get to the 4th floor and were informed by Morgana that there target was somewhere on the floor. Ren was practically bouncing in his seat as he turned and explored every nook and cranny of the dungeon desperate for a good fight.
When they finally found the correct corridor, they found themselves in front of a swirling black and red mass reminding him of the look of portals in games he had played. Ren had to physically stop himself from jumping through less he look like a madman. He turned to look at his friends and asked, “You guys ready?” The three gave him a confident nod and Ren smiled as he took the first step through the portal.
When he stepped through, the first thing he noticed was the size of the room, its décor was identical the corridors on the other side, but the actual size was much more akin to a regular room in Kamoshida’s palace, larger then normal but no where near the scale of the rest of mementos, which meant that if a fight were to occur, there’d be no where to hide.
Ren’s focus shifted to the body in the centre of the room. Much like Mishima’s report, the shadow in front of them took on the appearance of a 20 something year old male with black hair and glasses, as Ren eyed up there target, he could hear the others walk through the portal, there respective footwear getting closer to Ren’s own position.
“Is that the guy?” Ryuji’s voice appeared beside his ear, Ren smiled as he took a step forward, angling his head to shoot a response.
“Only one way to find out.” Ren continued to walk closer to the shadow which remained where it was with its feet planted to the ground, A black miasma became more visible the closer Ren got.
“Yo. You the guy who’s been stalking his ex-girlfriend all over Tokyo?” The shadow finally reacted to there presence at the mention of the word ‘stalk’ immediately spitting back at Ren.
“What’s it to you. How could you kids ever understand what I’m thinking? She should just be a good bitch and keep her mouth shut.” Ren whistled as he started fishing through his pocket looking for his knife.
“Wow, I guess follow up questions are unnecessary.” Ren felt the knife in his pocket and sensed his heartrate jump just a moment. The mere passing idea of a fight was able to get his blood pumping. He was ready to start the fight when he felt a slender hand on his shoulder. “Hey Joker. Can you let me and Skull deal with this creep?”
Ren could feel the need to cry come about. After about 2 hours of driving with nothing to keep him entertained and after finally being given his opportunity to fight a strong opponent. His friends decided now was the time to be independent. A small part of his wanted to argue, come up with a dumb reason to let him fight but the resolute look on Ann’s face made it clear that she wouldn’t forgive him if he butted in.
With a long-drawn out sigh and a ruffle of his hair. Ren shoved his hands and knife back into his pocket while spinning on his heel. Resigning himself to finding a good wall to lean against, mumbling under his breath the entire way. “I am so flipping the van on the way back.”
Ryuji ran to catch up with Ann who was making her way towards the shadow in front of them. Nakanohara’s other self had begun twisting and convulsing as he started to reveal his true form. Ryuji wasn’t exactly nervous about fighting without Ren, but he was definitely confused by Ann’s insistence on it.
“Uh Panther, wanna tell me why you sidelined Joker?”
Ann didn’t look at Ryuji, her focus only on the enemy in front of the two but responded regardless. “Don’t you think we’ve been relying on Joker too much? How many times has he gotten hurt protecting us?” Ryuji had known Ann long enough to tell when something was seriously bothering her. The tone in her voice reminded him of how she sounded after Shiho jumped from the roof. Frustrated by her own sense of weakness.
And it pained him that he didn’t have a response, he had felt similarly ever since Ren had got his arm broken saving him that day in Kamoshida’s chapel. There were still times where he’d see the scar it had left behind in reality and it always felt like someone had kicked him in the stomach. He looked down at the bat in his hands and then at Ann’s back, she felt the same as him, yet she was actively trying to better herself and Ryuji wasn’t about to be the one left behind.
He gripped his bat tightly and smiled as he slung it over his shoulder, watching as the shadow finished transforming, in front of them stood a small snowman very similar to the one they encountered on the last trip, but this time with all it’s features in complete contrast. Instead of white, the small body was pitch black, instead of a blue hat, its hat was a dark purple and replacing it’s chilly comical gaze of before, red eyes did little to hide how sinister the shadow was.
Ryuji took a large step so that he was standing right next to Ann rather than behind. “You’re right Panther, if we can’t even beat this small fry then we have no right to call ourselves phantom thieves.” Ann smile as she stretched her whip out.
“Yeah. Let’s do this Skull.”
Ren started playing with his phone as he felt the cool wall behind him make him drowsy, He paid little attention to the tiny footsteps that walked beside him. He was content on just taking a nap on his feet until Morgana asked him anxiously. “Joker, do you think it’s a good idea to let those two fights on their own. I can tell that shadow isn’t like the other ones on this floor.”
Ren raised an eyebrow at the cat’s tone, he figured he’d be singing his praises for Lady Ann’s courageous heroics but maybe he was just being too cold. For all intents and purposes, his friends were purposely risking there lives more then what was necessary. Ren sighed as he closed his phone and chucked it into his pocket. He relaxed further against the wall while crossing his arms and focusing his attention on the fight taking part without him.
Ryuji had taken the lead using the strength increase from Ann’s champion cup to send the shadow flying across the arena into the wall. While it didn’t do much damage, it did give them the advantage of having the entire arena to move around and limiting the shadows own movements.
As he continued to watch he started explaining to Morgana. “I don’t see why your worried, if you’ve watched them like I do you’ll be able to tell that those two. And you for a fact, are much stronger than me.” He glanced down to look at Morgana’s reaction and sighed knowing he was going to have to spell it out for him.
“Ann has a much deeper mana pool then any of us, me included but she lacks in any ability to protect herself at close range, even her whip isn’t suited if an enemy manages to get right in her face. But her fire spells are genuinely dangerous, where mine might leave some soot against the concrete, if she isn’t careful she’ll melt that concrete.”
During his explanation, he saw a fireball whiz across the room stopping the small shadows movements by erecting a wall of blazing heat. The slight hesitation it had was enough to let Ryuji catch up and give the soccer ball sized head a clean kick sending the poor snowman flying across the room again right at Ren. The teen knew that if he wanted to, he could summon a persona and deal a considerable amount of damage to the flying shadow, instead he ducked down, grabbing Morgana in the process and dashed to the neighbouring wall letting the shadow collide with the spot he was just leaning on.
He dropped the slightly disoriented Morgana and continued explaining. “And while Ryuji’s magic isn’t nearly as powerful as ours. His physical abilities are in a class of their own, his only issue lies in a problem of closing the distance between him and the shadows.” The two watched as the fight began to come to a wrap, the shadow was now caught between two walls of fire as Ryuji ran at him full tilt, his bat crackling with electricity as he winded up. Ren felt his fingers twitch as his desire to join in nearly overcame him, but he managed to keep his feet planted and finished praising his friends to their metaverse expert.
“The one thing you guys haven’t realised is that the only reason I push myself so hard and get myself into situations where I’m more likely to get hurt is because I know I have capable friends who will be there to catch me. This is a team and while I might be the leader. That isn’t indicative of our own individual strengths.”
As Ren finished, he started walking towards his teammates. A blast of lighting collided with the ground, causing it to shake underneath his feet and left the air buzzing with static electricity, He stood still at the centre of the room as he watched two figures walk out of the dust cloud, each brandishing there weapons while coughing from all the particulates.
“Damn it Skull, did you really have to hit it that hard. I can barely see.”
“You’re blaming me? Who’s fireballs was it that created all this ash and dust in the first place?”
Ren stopped the happy couples bickering with a congratulatory clap. “Alright you two, it’s bad enough to relegate me and Mona to bench warming duty but if I have to listen to you two carry on like this, I’m making you walk home.” The two stiffened at the leader’s threat but a jovial grin spread across there faces, they shot Ren a thumbs up which he responded with one his own at their good work.
Each of the phantom thieves turned back to the settling smoke, another figure lied in the cloud, instead of a snowman though, all that was revealed once everything had cleared was a kneeling Nakanohara, on his hands and knees staring absently at the ground. “What was I doing. I can’t believe I did those things to her, said those things about her, she was right to dump me.”
Ren frowned as he walked towards the shadow, he wasn’t used to seeing shadows of real people properly reflect on themselves. When he was standing over top of him, the figure beneath him only glanced up for a second before looking down again, a sad smile on his face. “Are you gonna kill me. I deserve it after all.”
Ren scratched his head before frustratingly bending his knees, so he was at the poor guy’s level. “That’s not what we do. Just go back to your real self and realise why what you did was wrong, and properly apologise to the girl as well. That’s the first step at redeeming yourself.
The shadow looked at Ren with concern in his eyes, as if Ren’s sweet words were only meant to make the backstabbing worst. When he realised Ren had no such intentions, a genuinely pitiful smile crossed his lips. “Redemption huh. I thought my life was over after he cast me out. But maybe there is a future for me. Thank you.”
Ren brows furrowed after hearing the ominous words but before he could ask who “He” was referring to, A bright light blinded his eyes before dulling, leaving only empty space and a ring behind. Ren brought himself back up, grabbing the ring in the process, he didn’t even have to wear it to know what it did, the weight was almost comical for the size of the metal ring, but he knew wearing it would give the user heightened strength.
Ren turned on his heel and made his way back to his friends who hadn’t moved. They all looked worried by his less then pleased expression. “Everything good dude, did we win?” Ren gave Ryuji a tired smile as he tossed the ring to him, the boy barely caught it before nearly falling over himself due to unexpected weight.
“I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Chapter 38
Notes:
I felt a bit bad about making you wait a while for the last chapter so enjoy this one relatively early.
Chapter Text
The four walked up the stairs towards the central area in Shibuya station. Ren and Morgan led the group while Ryuji and Ann followed far behind. Each step they took caused their faces to contort in pain. Ren turned and looked down with a smirk on his face. “C’mon guys. What’s taking you so long?”
Ryuji and Ann glared up at Ren who didn’t even react, knowing full well why they were taking so long. Ryuji didn’t even answer his friend, He simply flipped him the bird and continued to pull himself up the railing. Ann however was much more vocal. “Gee I wonder why we’re moving so slow, it’s not like our driver flipped the van over because he was, and I quote. ‘Bored’.”
Ren laughed as he pulled up his phone, sending a message to Mishima to tell the victim that she shouldn’t have anything to worry about. His friends had finally reached the top of the stairs, breathing heavily holding onto their knees.
“So, what do we do now?” Ren put his phone away before answering Ryuji’s question.
“Nothing for the time being, I’ve asked Mishima to tell us if the girl notices any changes.”
Ren and Ryuji watched Ann stretch her body, Ren didn’t really pay much attention, but he couldn’t help but smirk at the blush that painted Ryuji’s face. He gave the blonde a playful bump. “Eye’s up buddy.”
He laughed as Ryuji punched him lightly in the arm. The four said their goodbyes and decided to head their separate ways.
Once Ren was seated on the train back to Yongen Jaya, his joyful façade fell away, and he let out a deep sigh as he reflected back on what the shadow said in the metaverse. As much as he enjoyed fighting shadows, he still didn’t want to have to deal with another palace owner if he could. But the knot that sat at the pit of his stomach was giving him the inkling that it wouldn’t be that simple.
When Ren walked through the door to Leblanc, he could tell something wasn’t right, the usual warm and welcoming atmosphere was nowhere to be found, even the smell of coffee and curry wasn’t doing anything to lessen the tension in the room. The main source of said tension seemed to originate from the only other inhabitants. On one side of the counter Sojiro stood glaring down at the customer in front of him, his opinion of the person clearly showed through his expression.
Ren didn’t recognise the lady sitting in the stool though, silver hair sat on top of a grey suit fitted perfectly for the woman’s figure. He couldn’t see much of her face from where he stood but he could tell that she was calm and collected, choosing to show little emotion.
Ren was perfectly content with letting the scene play out without him, but the sound of the bell seemed to grab the woman’s attention. She turned to look at the new party, her face didn’t react at all as if she knew exactly who Ren was. “This must be the ward you’re taking care of.”
“Leave him out of this.” Ren was surprised by how much venom was behind Sojiro’s words. He wasn’t used to seeing his normally cocky and smug boss show such raw emotion. It didn’t fit well with his image at all.
The suited lady finally showed some kind of reaction, sighing in frustration at the hostility directed at her. She stood up and took a final sip of her cup before grabbing her handbag and putting some notes on the counter. “We will discuss this further.” She turned to face Ren, her expression less then warming. “And I do hope you keep yourself out of trouble. I’d hate for you to cause any more problems at Shujin.”
Ren’s eyebrow twitched at the clear disdain being directed at him. He couldn’t stop himself from firing back. “As an employee. I do wish that you do us the service of finding somewhere else to drink your coffee from now on.” The lady glared at him before walking past him without offering any sort of response.
As soon as she was out of view, both Sojiro and Ren let out a tired sigh. The teen turned to look at his guardian with his eyebrow raised. “Is she someone I should be worried about?” Sojiro didn’t immediately answer, taking his glasses off to rub his eyes.
“You’d do well to stay out of this kid.” Ren was a bit annoyed at the dismissal of his involvement, but he didn’t take it personally. He didn’t know much about Sojiro’s life or circumstances and he was fine with that. The guy was already doing him a massive favour as is, so he wasn’t going to pry. Ren shrugged his shoulders and started walking towards the stairs when a commanding voice stopped him.
“Hold it kid.” Ren turned curiously.
“What’s that under your jacket sleeve.” Ren’s blood went cold, he tried to pretend he didn’t hear the question as he slowly backed towards the steps. “If you don’t show me now, I’m kicking you out.”
Ren sighed as he stopped his potential escape plan. He dropped his bag and took his jacket off figuring that showing him would avoid any further probing. Once the jacket was off, Sojiro sighed deeply, a reaction the teen wasn’t exactly expecting.
“Dammit kid, you know those things are permanent. Could you really not hold off one year?”
Ren shrugged as he put the jacket back on, less anyone who knew his parole officer walked by. “A lot happened alright, I felt like I deserved to do something I wanted to for a while.”
Sojiro kept rubbing his eyes but didn’t reprimand the teen. “Look, it’d be hypocritical of me to scold you for it. But if your parole officer finds out, I’m not gonna cover for your ass. Got it.”
Ren spent a moment thinking about the first part of that response, the gears in his head turned slowly before going into overdrive as he realized what that implied. “Wait boss… Do you have tat—” Sojiro raised his hand effectively shutting Ren up.
“And we are done for today. Go on upstairs and do whatever, I’m closing up shop. That lady left a bad taste in my mouth.” Ren nodded as he grabbed his bag and walked upstairs, wondering exactly what Boss got inked into his skin and where.
Ren stood behind the yellow caution line waiting for the train to arrive. A drawn-out yawn escaped from his lips, he made no effort to stifle it, his body too sore to even bother. It had been a few days since they had dealt with the stalkers shadow and they had made one other trip to Mementos where Ren may have gone a little too crazy in response to his utter lack of action beforehand.
While it might have cost Ren all feeling in his muscles, the team had managed to make it deeper into Mementos. It had come as a shock to all of them though when it wasn’t Ren who made them return early but the actual place itself. It seemed like even Morgana hadn’t expected the literal roadblock that came in the form of a door barring them from proceeding to the deeper floors.
Ren looked down to his bag, it was oddly light without a cat sleeping in it. Morgana had told Ren to go by himself wanting to spend the day alone as he thought about what the door meant and how to get by it. It only took a moment to realize that this was the first time since his first arrival in Tokyo that the boy travelled by himself, he didn’t have either of his blonde friends beside him or the nagging voice of their navigator trying to make moves on Ann or boast about how skilled he was.
He honestly felt mystified how off it felt to be by himself considering that had been the usual routine back home. He wasn’t sure when it happened but having Ann, Ryuji and Morgana with him had become the new norm for him.
“Amamiya-kun!” Ren turned towards the voice calling for him. In the distance behind a lot of annoyed businessmen he spied the spindly limbs of Mishima trying to squeeze through the mass of people. Ren’s lips quirked up slightly as he let out a sigh. His peace and quiet went as quickly as it came but he couldn’t be too bitter about it.
He walked towards Mishima who had gotten wedged between two burly men who hadn’t even noticed the small boy’s presence. Ren grabbed the kid by his wrist and yanked him though like sliding a piece of paper through a tight crack.
Ren watched as he tried to catch his breath before looking up at him with a grateful smile. “Thank you. I thought I was gonna get crushed there.”
Ren waved away the gratitude and started walking back towards the train tracks, He could hear Mishima’s light footsteps following closely behind. As Ren continued to walk he asked. “So, what’s got you so hyped this early Mishima?”
The boy’s face went from grateful to giddy in an instant.
“So, it actually worked?” Ren nodded in response as his mouth was full of food. They had gathered on the roof like always for lunch. He watched as the two blondes’ high-fived each other, obviously proud of their work which made Ren roll his eyes. If he weren’t directly involved in what actually happened then he’d assume they were simply celebrating winning a soccer game rather than changing the heart of a potentially dangerous stalker.
Ren swallowed the last of the left-over curry Sojiro had given him for lunch. He put the plastic container back in his bag and started playing on his phone as he let he friends have their moment together. He honestly wondered when they were gonna figure out that they obviously liked each other.
“You don’t seem too excited about this though dude.” Ren’s eyebrow twitched as Ryuji already broached the subject Ren was trying to avoid. He sighed as memories of the morning conversation with Mishima came flooding back.
He sighed as he explained to his friends. “I am happy that we changed his heart, but I don’t think it’s gonna be the end of our worries.” Ryuji and Ann got closer as they could tell what Ren was gonna say was pretty serious just by the tone of his voice.
“Turns out that Nakanohara guy reached out to Mishima on the app’s forum asking to meet with the phantom thieves who changed his heart.” The blondes’ eyes went wide much like Ren’s had when the same words came out of Mishima’s mouth.
“Do you think he wants revenge?” Ren shook his head at Ryuji’s fair question.
“That’s what Mishima thought as well so he asked some clarifying questions. Seems like he doesn’t want revenge, but he does want to talk to us about changing another person’s heart.”
The roof went quiet as each of the phantom thieves minus Morgana pondered the information. Ren studied each of his friends faces. Ryuji seemed to be the least sceptical but even he wasn’t jumping right on the idea like Ren honestly expected him too. Ann’s was much closer to Ren’s, considering the possibility of it being a trap.
Ryuji broke the silence like he often did by asking Ren. “What do you think, at the end of the day you’re our leader so whatever you decide we’ll be right behind you.” Ren smiled but he could feel his exhaustion piling on, it was reassuring knowing that they’d trust him, but that responsibility didn’t come without its own burdens.
Ren started rubbing his chin lightly as he started thinking about it. All his instincts were telling him to refuse, accepting it was obviously the more dangerous option that came with the most risks. But the conversation he had Nakanohara’s shadow kept playing out in his mind.
After about 10 minutes of pure silence, Ren stood up and pulled out his phone, going straight to his contacts list. Ann and Ryuji silently watched as they waited to hear who Ren was calling. After a few rings, the familiar voice of Mishima came through the speaker.
“Mishima, tell Nakanohara that the phantom thieves will meet him in Shibuya station at 4 pm tomorrow, if he isn’t there by that time then he won’t get another chance.”
…
“You got it, I’ll let him know right away.”
Ren looked at Ann and Ryuji who were clearly wanting the teen to show there new accomplice some gratitude. He sighed as he put the phone back up to his ear.
“Thanks, Mishima, you’ve been a big help lately.” Ren could tell how surprised the kid was by the appreciation he received, there was a moment of dead silence on the line before he nervously asked.
“Does that mean?”
Ren smiled lightly at his apprehension. “Yeah we’re cool now. I get that Kamoshida had your hands tied so I won’t hold it against you anymore.” Ren could already see the massive grin that was growing on Mishima’s face.
“I won’t let you down Amamiya-kun.”
“Just call me Ren from now on, Amamiya is a mouthful.” And with that Ren hung the phone up, he felt exhausted after the conversation, he didn’t know forgiving someone would leave him feeling so drained.
He felt Ryuji pat him on the back, he turned towards his friend who was giving him a confident grin and a thumbs up. “Don’t worry dude, if this is a trap, I’ll come bust you out of Juvie.” Ren smiled as he put his own hand on Ryuji’s shoulder.
“If this is a trap. Then I’m officially making you the leader of the phantom thieves and I will throw you under the bus to reduce my sentence.” Ryuji’s face dropped into one of disbelief and then worry.
“Haha, good joke man.” Ren’s sadistic grin didn’t falter as he turned and made his way down the stairs while the bell rang through the school, He heard a set of footsteps that belonged to Ann follow him down as Ryuji’s voice echoed through the stairwell.
“You were joking right… Ren?”
It was around 4th period when Ren could feel his eyelids becoming heavy. Maybe it was due to him pushing his body too hard in the metaverse the day before, maybe it was the mental exhaustion of mulling over Nakanohara or maybe it was simply because relearning the content he just went over with Makoto was incredibly boring, either way he could feel the pull of sleep call to him.
He looked around the classroom and could see a good number of his classmates were having similar issues with staying awake, even Ann who when bored would default to playing on her phone in secret was struggling to stay upright.
Ren tried his hardest to keep his eyes open knowing full well that getting caught sleeping in class would be a one-way ticket to detention but as soon as the sun started to shine lightly through the dark clouds directly onto his desk turning it essentially into a heated pillow, Ren simply couldn’t care anymore and before he knew it, his head was lying against the open textbook with his eyes drifting closer and closer together.
Makoto stood outside Ren’s class, she felt strange coming directly to him, but he hadn’t answered her text about whether he would be attending there study session today. She had even texted him during class, which was a first for her, she could have never imagined herself breaking a rule so blatantly before and yet she still didn’t receive a response.
After fiddling with her skirt slightly, she took a deep breath, unsure of why she was so nervous, she was simply coming to see if her friend wanted to study together. Nothing more, nothing less.
She grabbed the handle to the door nearly yelped as she felt it slide without using any force, she felt a body bump into her harshly, sending her reeling backwards slightly. In front of her were three boys snickering to themselves, the one that bumped into her looked down at her and glared slightly not even offering an apology.
From the look on his face, he wanted to say something rude to boost his own ego but managed to recognise her face before doing so. “Whoops my bad Pres.” He turned back to the boys behind him. “Let’s go guys, it’ starting to smell like wet rat in here.”
Makoto’s eyebrow raised slightly at the strange comment, she watched them walk down the hall snickering the entire way before walking into the classroom. It was empty bar from one Ren Amamiya who was leaning his head back over his chair with his long limbs stretched.
She would have laughed at the casual body language had she not noticed that his hair and head were soaking wet with brown liquid, the smell of cheap coffee permeated the room. He must have noticed her presence because he slowly turned his head to face her, his features read as calm and collected but she could tell that in his eyes he was struggling to keep his anger from spilling out towards the wrong person.
When he noticed it was her, she could see his face relax slightly, losing the thin veneer of collected and simply read as annoyed. “Hey Makoto, I guess it is the day we usually study huh?”
She rushed over to his side looking through her bag for anything to use as a towel. “What happened Ren, you’re soaked.” As soon as she asked the question, she figured out the obvious answer when she considered the reactions of the boys who had just left.
“Don’t tell me those three did this to you?” Ren sighed as he pushed himself out from under his desk and stood up, the movement causing more of the sticky coffee to shake free of his hair.
“Another case solved by the brilliant detective Nijima.” Makoto frowned slightly at the joke, she couldn’t help but notice the bitterness behind his words, she must have reacted more then she expected because Ren sighed as he rubbed his neck. “Sorry, didn’t mean for that the come out so negatively. Yeah, they got me when I was sleeping.”
A small part of her wanted to ask why he was sleeping in class but figured that now wasn’t exactly the time. “Listen, we can move our study session to tomorrow, you should go home and get cleaned up.”
Ren smiled but shook his head, more coffee fell to the ground as he spoke. “Can’t. My guardian sent me a text earlier that I’m not allowed in the shop until later tonight. Said something about important business.”
Makoto frowned at how cold Ren’s guardian seemed to be. “Surely if you explain the situation to him he’d understand.” Ren waved his hand dismissive, as if he were used to getting the short end of the stick.
“It’s alright Makoto, I’ll just head to the park and rinse my hair at one of the water fountains and kill some time.” Ren grabbed his bag which had gotten slightly wet from the coffee as well and slung it over his shoulder, he walked past her towards the door. She could see on his face that even though he said it was alright, he was obviously annoyed by the whole situation.
She tried think exactly how she could help him. Not only was he a student under her care as the student council president, but he was also her friend. It was then that she remembered a message she got from Sae earlier during her break.
She quickly dashed across the room and grabbed him by the hem of his shirt stopping him in place. He turned towards her slightly confused by her action, she could already feel her face getting redder before she even said the words.
“I have an idea.”
Ren really hadn’t expected his day to turn out like this. He wondered how he went from enjoying his quiet moment before school to waiting to riding in an elevator with a blushing Makoto on the way up to her home.
He had tried his best to refuse the girls offer to use her shower, coming up with every excuse in the book but the student council president simply wouldn’t have it. Looking at how she fidgeted and played with the hem of her skirt, you’d have assumed that Ren was the one who insisted.
“Makoto, while I’m very appreciative of the offer, if you’re uncomfortable with having me over then I can just leave.” The girl jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, but her face went stern with determination when he offered to leave.
“Don’t be ridiculous, you can’t go around looking and smelling like that. Plus, my sister texted me earlier that she wouldn’t be coming for dinner, and I already have her portion prepared so we’re killing two birds with one stone.”
Ren raised his eyebrow at the reasoning behind her having a boy well known for his delinquency in her house but kept his mouth closed knowing that trying to argue with her would lead nowhere. He just decided that he’d wash his hair and just take whatever she wanted him to eat in a to go bag.
The elevator came to a sudden stop which caused Makoto to jump, Ren almost laughed wondering how many times she’s ridden in the elevator. The doors opened and after a short walk, the two were standing in front of an innocuous door.
Makoto took the lead and started fishing through her bag for the key. The nerves must have made her less dexterous because she spent an awful long time grabbing the key and actually lining it up with the keyhole. Ren looked down at her neck as a playful grin crossed his face.
He leaned down until his mouth was right next to her ear and spoke in the most mischievous voice he could conjure. “You know, most people wouldn’t let criminals directly into their houses unless they wanted something from them.” Ren saw her back shiver slightly as she spun around to face him, the blush covering her face was almost as red as her eyes.
“I-I-I’m just helping out a friend.” Ren laughed as he took the key from her hand and nimbly slid it into the lock, he made a show of opening the door and waving for her to enter before him.
“Then lead the way Ma’am.” The girl pouted slightly at the teasing before storming into the apartment. Ren followed soon behind, closing the door in the process.
The first impression he got from Makoto’s place was sterile. A far cry from the regular warm and comforting atmosphere he got from walking into Leblanc. It was clean and for all intents and purposes pleasant to look at, but everything felt unnatural, it felt like it was only furnished because that’s what a house should look like.
Ren put his bag on the floor by the door and took his shoes off. He started walking through the house following Makoto as she dashed across the house and into a room that he guessed was hers.
He wasn’t sure exactly what he should do, he’d been in girls places before, but he rarely ever entered from the front door or spent any time in a place that wasn’t his girlfriend’s bedroom. He started to awkwardly move around the room, looking for literally anything to focus on but no matter where he turned, not a shred of personality was shown.
He noticed a shelf full of DVDs and gave a silent thank you that he found something interesting to look at. It started off pretty normal with the classic movies but the further down he got, the more unusual the selection became. As he looked past the crime thrillers and romance dramas, he started to notice a vast selection of Yakuza movies ranging from blockbusters to titles he’d never heard off.
And that wasn’t even the strangest part, while not as vast as the Yakuza selection, there was a staggering amount of movies based on the old Bushimaru cartoon. A small puff of air escaped Ren’s upturned lips as he imagined the prim and proper Makoto sitting in front of the tv eagerly watching a children’s movie.
Thud
Ren turned towards the dull sound and saw Makoto staring at him, another blush covering her face out of embarrassment. He looked to his side and couldn’t help but see the inside of her room, the most obvious feature was the familiar black and white colour, but before he could see just how much Bushimaru merchandise was in her room, the door was slammed shut, the only thing he could see now was her face glaring daggers of embarrassment in his director.
She pointed towards a hallway as she grabbed the clothes she dropped on the floor. “Go take a shower and afterwards we will never speak of this again.” Ren laughed as he shrugged and walked to grab the clothes, his original plan of leaving immediately now gone due to him having too much fun teasing her.
Ren wasn’t even ten second into taking his shirt off when the door suddenly opened. The two only stood looking at each other, Ren’s expression was perplexed by the brazenness of the girl as well as confused by her own facial expression, she looked embarrassed, Ren could understand that, but she was also shocked.
He then realised why the student council president of Shujin academy might being flabbergasted by Ren’s exposed top half. Or more particularly one of his arms.
Neither knew how to react, Ren was almost certain that this was it, he’d lose one of the few friends he had at Shujin and more importantly, might lose his last chance to get through the year.
Another moment of silence hung in the air and Ren was already prepared to grab his stained clothes and leave, but Makoto spoke up before he could. “Umm, I’ll leave the towel here while I go wash your clothes.” Before he could even react, the door was closed, and Ren let out a long sigh as he felt his back slide against the wall.
Makoto didn’t know how she should react. That was definitely a tattoo, and a big one at that, if it were just a small symbol on his shoulder then she could easily gloss over it as a temporary tattoo or a drawing, but that was a sleeve, something that one of the characters from her Yakuza movies would have. How could she rationalise that to herself and not disclose that information to anyone?
Her mind kept racing as she put his dirty school uniform into the washing machine. While the tattoo was going to be an issue, oddly enough it wasn’t the thing that demanded her attention, what did though was his body, and while it’s looks were nothing to sneeze at as per her currently beet red face.
The thing that stuck with her was the amount of scars he had, all over his body was what looked like burn marks, stab wounds and a particularly nasty looking fracture scar on his arm. She hated herself because her first assumption was that he had those scars because he was in fact a criminal, yet she quickly dismissed that thought, she’s had experience dealing with liars and unless Ren Amamiya was a master con man, she simply couldn’t accept that he was actually a violent criminal. Sure, her underclassman was short tempered and prone to act aggressive, but she could always tell that he never wanted to hurt anyone, much less get into the situation where that was even an option.
She wasn’t aware of how long she was lost in thought, not until the sound running water ceased and she found herself standing over a pot stirring the soup broth she had prepared the night before. She heard the door to the bathroom open and felt her breath catch in her throat at the sight of a now steaming Ren with damp hair.
She realised too late that it may have been best to go grab him a long sleeve shirt, but she also secretly thanked herself for not doing so because while it was a blatant violation of not just all the school rules but also the law. The sight of his slender and toned body with his arm completely covered in art put any of the actors in her Yakuza movies to shame.
She hadn’t even realised she was staring until he looked at her with a nervous smile.
“Uh thanks for the shower…and the shirt.”
That may have been the longest shower Ren’s ever taken in his life. Every passing minute under the warm water was another second he didn’t have to deal with the situation that waited for him on the other side of the door. During his time, he managed to calm himself, the warm water mixed with a bit of soap he borrowed helped clear his head.
Based on how she reacted initially, it was clear she wasn’t gonna just throw him under the bus and even now she still didn’t broach the subject. He sighed as he pulled a chair from the table and sat down. His body and mind exhausted but still somewhat relaxed.
“You’re gonna ask why I have a tattoo.” Makoto walked over to him and plopped a plate down in front of him. He could smell the food coming from the plate and while it didn’t have the same impact as Sojiro’s curry, he could immediately tell that a lot of time and consideration went into the nutritional balance of the dish.
She sat down in the seat opposite of him, stealing glances at the design on his left arm. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious why someone currently on probation got a tattoo.”
Even though the comment was by all accounts meant to be snarky, the way she said it made it sound like she was more concerned than condescending.
Ren looked at the plate of food in front of him before grabbing the pair of chopsticks she had laid out; He picked a piece of the meat from the grilled fish off the bone and brought it to his mouth. The time and care were evident the moment the fish touched his tongue, quickly dissolving with an explosion of freshness. While Sojiro’s curry was a hit of flavour that warmed you to the core. Makoto’s food was much more subtle, but it was comforting none the less.
It became clear that the only sense of warmth and personality Ren could get from the apartment came directly from the girl in front of him, who had ceased asking any questions and was instead much more focused on his reaction to the food.
After swallowing the food in his mouth, Ren pulled the chopstick out of his mouth with a smile. “It’s delicious Makoto… But you could be a bit more generous with the seasoning.”
Makoto smiled before putting her own food into her mouth. “Too much salt is bad for you, you know.” The two gave a light chuckle at Ren’s scathing criticism, once there was a lull in the conversation Ren decided to explain.
“I got it on the last day of the holiday, so about two weeks ago now.” Makoto put down her chopsticks to give Ren her full attention.
“Ever since I came to Tokyo. It feels like I’ve had my control ripped away from me bit by bit, first it was my school, then it was where I lived, who I could talk to and what I could do. So, when the opportunity came. I just kinda felt like I needed to get it, to show that even if everything around me is controlled by someone else, my body is and will always be mine to control.”
There was a moment of heavy silence that sat between the two, neither knew what else to say, Ren was sure he conveyed everything he wanted to, and Makoto didn’t have enough experience to come up with a response.
“What does it mean?” Ren raised his brows questioningly, spurring Makoto to clarify.
“Your tattoo, what does it represent?” Ren looked down at the artwork, at face value it was just a cool design that was inspired by the metaverse, but even without knowing of the alternate reality, It held a special meaning to Ren which brought a smile to his face.
“It’s a reminder to myself. That no matter what’s thrown at me, I won’t change who I am. That I’ll do whatever it takes to keep being me.” Makoto began to look at the ink with a new perspective, she let out a tired and somewhat bitter sigh, it seemed that whenever she spoke with the boy, she was made painfully aware of how different there lives were, where Ren would willingly bend the world to his will if it meant freedom, Makoto could only ever bend herself to conform with the world around her.
She took a deep breath as she came to her final conclusion. “I won’t tell anyone about your tattoo.”
Ren opened to his mouth to express his gratitude, but Makoto quickly clarified, turning his relieved smile into one of panic and fear.
“If you get into the top ten of midterm exam results.”
Ren’s face sagged. “That’s a joke right?”
This time it was Makoto’s turn to smile devilishly. “It most certainly is not. You said it yourself, you feel like all your freedom has been taken from you. So, take it back, prove to the school that you’re not just a publicity stunt for them, show them that even without their help, you can be better than the rest of those students who shun you and treat you poorly.”
Ren’s frown slowly grew into a shit eating grin. “That might just be the most round about way of telling that fatty principal to get fucked. But I can’t say it isn’t appealing.” Ren watched as Makoto extended her hand in front of him.
“Do we have a deal?”
Ren reached out with his own, not complaining about getting to hold her hand. “It’s a deal.”
Chapter 39
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The two spent the rest of the evening studying and chatting, time seemed to slip away for both of them because neither had even realised how dark the city outside had become until the front door of Makoto’s house was opened.
Ren had a momentary heart attack but quickly managed to calm himself when he remembered that he was now wearing his now clean and dry uniform, hiding his tattoo from any unwanted gazes.
Makoto stood up from the table when she heard the door open and quickly left the living room to go greet whoever had entered the house. Ren leaned back against the chair he was sitting on and stretched his body before checking his phone.
He looked through the messages he had received while it had been on silent, just the normal messages from Ann and Ryuji, new stock information from Iwai and a particularly cold sounding message from Sojiro telling him it was fine to come back.
“Sis? I thought you were spending the night at the office?” Ren could hear the muffled voices coming from within the house. He heard two pairs of footsteps coming his direction, his immediate reaction was to quickly duck into a room and hide but he realised that he wasn’t dating Makoto and thus it wasn’t necessary to hide away.
“I will be, I just came to grab a change of clothes and some documents… Has someone been here?” Ren immediately regretted not hiding the moment he heard the accusatory tone of the familiar voice, but it was too late as both Makoto and the new party entered the room he was occupying.
Both Ren and the mature looking lady’s voices ceased to come out, they both recognised each other the moment they made eye contact. Suddenly all the stories of Makoto’s older sister being a prosecutor made sense considering this lady seemed to know who he was just because he was associated with Sojiro.
The older Nijima sister ignored Ren and turned to Makoto. “Makoto, can you please explain to me why you have boy over on a school night.” Makoto seemed to notice the tension in the room, she quickly dashed over to Ren’s side to introduce him and hopefully relieve some of it.
Sis, this is Ren Amamiya. He’s the underclassman I’ve been tutoring.” Ren could feel his entire body being examined head to toe, looking for any sense of guilt or manipulation on his part.
“Ren, this is my sister, Sae Nijima.” Ren wasn’t sure how to react in this situation, he could already tell that he wasn’t welcome here, but he also felt like it’d be rude to Makoto if he didn’t at least try to bridge the gap. He slowly raised his hand and tried to give her the politest smile he could muster.
“Ren Amamiya. It’s a pleasure.” Sae wasn’t having any of it, she crossed her arms and glared at him.
“Leave. Now.” Ren sighed but followed to direction regardless, happy to at least be given an out. He leaned down and grabbed his bag.
“Sis!”
“Yeah I expected that.” He turned to Makoto and gave her a more genuine smile. “Thanks’ again Makoto. I’ll talk to you later.”
He tried to leave but felt her hand grab his jacket. “Hold on one second.”
She looked back to her sister with a somewhat hesitant glare. “Sis I can understand why you’d be upset with me having a friend over without telling you but that’s no excuse to be rude like that.”
Ren smiled, it felt nice having someone stand up for him, but he still didn’t like that he was the reason they were fighting. He knew little of their family’s situation, but it was obvious to Ren that Makoto loved and respected her sister.
“It’s alright Makoto, she’s just worried about her little sister having a boy over so late.” He turned to look at Sae, hoping that the older sister would at least have the where with all to confront him out of Makoto’s sight.
Sae only sighed “Trust me Makoto, I know what’s best for you.” Ren could see in Makoto’s eyes that the answer she was given wasn’t a satisfying one but didn’t do anything further to challenge her sister. Ren grabbed his bag and made his way towards the front door, giving Makoto a smile and Sae a purely formal head nod of acknowledgement.
Ren was a few steps down the hall when he heard the door open and shut behind him. He didn’t stop moving but slowed his step till he was in front of the elevator when Sae called out to him. “Stay away from my sister.”
Ren sighed and turned towards her with his eyebrow raised. “I’m sorry?”
“Don’t act like a fool. This whole study partner business you have with Makoto ends here. If you want to ruin your life acting like a child then be my guest but I won’t let you ruin hers.”
Ren’s brow twitched at the superiority of the elder Nijima’s tone. He ran his hand through his hair before responding. “I knew we were never gonna get along.” Ren took a step towards her, dropping any form of politeness before speaking.
“I’ll just be blunt. That’s not gonna happen.”
Sae glared down at the boy, her height slightly above his due to her heels. “I believe I misheard you?”
Ren’s brows quirked in surprise. “Oh? Then let me repeat myself in a more direct way. I’m going to keep hanging out with Makoto and that’s not all, I’m gonna take her to arcades, movies, fast food joints. Maybe even A few amusement parks and festivals.”
Ren took another step closer so that he didn’t have to speak at a loud volume less he annoy any of the neighbours. “And you want to know why? Because she’s a fucking teenager just like me. I don’t know what you two have been through with your parents or what you go through to look after her. But none of that is an excuse to isolate your sister from the world around her all for the sake of getting the number one position in a shitty test.”
Sae glared down at the boy, but he didn’t back off. “If you want to hate me, go ahead, you know my record? Good for you, you can join the club with the rest of Shujin academy, Makoto included. But if you’re gonna tell me that I need to stop talking to Makoto for her own good, that’s where I draw the line.” Ren turned on his heel and walked to the elevator which doors had opened during their conversation. “Makoto’s a big girl, she smart and strong, if she doesn’t want to see me then that’s fine. But only when that’s her decision.”
Ren walked into the elevator and spun on his heel, giving Sae a devilish grin as he waved her goodbye. “Oh, and Makoto’s cooking was great, you should try it some time. See you later O-NI-CHAN.”
Ren laughed when he could almost see the steam coming out of Sae’s ears at his final comment he gave as the doors closed between them. Once the elevator started to descend, he felt the cool of the metal wall against his back as a sigh of exhaustion escaped his lips. He didn’t regret anything but he couldn’t help but worry that Makoto was limiting herself by trying to live up to her sisters expectations.
Makoto felt the cool wood of her bedroom door slide against her back as she let her bottom rest on the floor. She heard the footsteps of her sister as she made her way back into the apartment. A small part of her wanted Sae to storm into her room and get mad at her, just to see that her sister cared enough about her life to get angry.
But all she could hear in the other side of the door was a frustrated sigh followed by the footsteps getting further and further away. Makoto brought her knees to her chest and hugged them close. How long had it been since Sae had actually paid attention to her life rather than just her academic achievements?
Makoto was sure she’d have felt more depressed had Ren’s words not been currently replaying through her head. She hadn’t meant to eavesdrop on their conversation, but she just couldn’t let him leave with a misunderstanding. She didn’t expect for him to so vehemently declare their friendship or his future plans for their time together.
Ever since she had scurried away from the entrance, her heart refused to beat at a regular rate, instead it felt like it was about to pop out of her chest and her face was burning with a blush, she was no stranger when it came to blushing because of Shujin’s new trouble maker but this one felt different, instead of mere embarrassment, this burning sensation made her head dizzy, and thoughts jumbled.
She didn’t know what this feeling was, but She knew one thing for sure.
It wasn’t unpleasant.
Before he had even noticed, the final bell of the day rung through the school. Ren leaned back in his chair letting his head hang lightly, a drawn-out sigh came from his mouth as he heard the chair in front of him scrape followed by Ann’s light footsteps.
“Are you sure you wanna do this.” Ren didn’t answer, he brought his phone up to his face reading the message Ryuji had just sent him informing that he was now patiently waiting at the gate which just read to Ren as ‘You have nowhere to escape.’ He looked over to Ann and gave a light smile as he stubbornly dragged his body out of the chair.
“No. but I know I’d regret it if I didn’t go.” Ann smiled back at the boys reasoning while she waited for him to get his stuff.
“Should we bring Mishima?” Ren glanced towards the boy a few rows in front of them. The thought had crossed his mind about using him as a go between for the entire meeting, but he decided against it fairly quickly.
He shook his head as he finished packing his notebooks into his bag. “As useful as he was in getting this whole thing set up. At the end of the day, it’s phantom thief business. The less people who get involved, the better.” Ann left it at that as she put her phone away and followed Ren who had already started walking towards the door.
The two walked through the hallway and turned into the staircase. Ren felt a body bump into him which caused him to take a step back on reaction. Luckily neither person was moving quickly enough for anything dangerous to occur. Ren looked down and noticed the familiar head band followed by very familiar ruby eyes which had moved up to look at him.
Ren smiled gently at Makoto before opening his mouth the speak. “Hey Mako—”
“OH! Dr Maruki I need to speak with you.” Before Ren had even finished greeting the girl, she had darted past him and locked her arm around a very confused man in a lab coat and dragged him quickly out of sight.
Ren and Ann watched the scene play out and had two very different reactions.
“Is Mr criminal having a hard time seducing the prim and proper student council president?” Ann teased while Ren barely glanced at her, a small part wondering how long she had known but not at all surprised by the fact she did.
Ren turned back towards the stairs and started walking down. “Hey even negative progress is still progress. Which is a lot more then I can say about you and Ryuji.” The girl sighed as she followed him down, clearly not shocked that her crush was revealed, more defeated by the truth of the statement.
“Freakin tell me about it.”
The three walked into Shibuya station square, sticking to the more crowded areas to avoid drawing unwanted attention. Ren’s bag felt light as Morgana had offered the scout the area from a higher vantage point. The teens started scanning the crowd looking for their target but quickly realized that trying to find a single man in his mid-twenties wearing a suit was equivalent to trying to find a needle in a haystack, maybe even harder considering a needle at least looks different.
“Oi Ann, you’re the model here. When the hell did bowl cuts become fashionable?” Ren laughed as he looked up to where Morgana was.
“Find him yet?” The cat nodded his head and pointed his paw towards the centre of the square directly at a bench. Sure enough there was the bowl cut they were looking for. Ren tried to take a step forward but felt both his arms be pulled back by his two blonde friends.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Ren raised his brow at the synchronicity of Ann and Ryuji’s question.
“Uh, going over to talk to the guy?” The two let go on his arms and looked at him incredulously. They passed each other a cursory glance before Ann asked.
“Aren’t you worried this might be a trap. I should go and talk to him first in case he has the cops ready to jump in.”
“No way, that’s too dangerous, I’m the screw up here so it makes sense for me to take the risk.” Ren couldn’t get a word in edge wise while his friends bickered between each other who was more appropriate to potentially sacrifice themselves for Ren. Ren shook his head lightly at the nonsense but couldn’t deny the warmth he was feeling in his chest.
While the two continued to argue, he looked up the Morgana who was also shaking his head. Ren shrugged his shoulders as he spun on his heel and moved away from his bickering friends.
He soon found himself standing in front of Nakanohara who was looking at something on his phone, completely oblivious to Ren’s presence, it only just occurred to him that there was a good chance the guy wouldn’t believe him considering his age but at the end that was more Nakanohara’s problem then Ren’s.
He coughed audibly into his hand getting the businessman’s attention. The older male looked at Ren with an inquisitive gaze, unsure of how to react to a random teenager trying to get his attention.
“Yes?”
“Nakanohara right?”
It didn’t take long for the guy to put the pieces together, he quickly rose to his feet. Ren’s first instinct was to back away, but he managed to steel his nerves and keep his feet planted as the man quickly grabbed his hand to shake it.
“I take it you must be the guy the admin I was talking to mentioned.” Ren gave a polite smile as he pulled his hand free from the guy’s grip.
“Sounds about right.” Ren looked around; most people weren’t paying them any attention but more than enough were looking at the strange interaction between a businessman and a Highschool boy for Ren to be anxious. He turned and spoke over his shoulder. “Let’s take this somewhere quieter.”
He looked over to his friends who had yet to notice his lack of presence. He rolled his eyes and yelled loud enough for them to hear. “Alright that’s enough you two, let’s go already.”
The blondes were shaken by the sound of Ren’s distant voice, they quickly looked around the immediate vicinity for their shaggy haired friend and only just noticed that he had ignored there good intentions and made contact already.
Ren smiled and looked at Morgana. The two had gotten good at communicating without words so Ren was sure his feline friend understood the meaning behind his look and was okay with acting as a lookout for the team.
The four made their way deeper into the train station, going down multiple sets of stairs and taking many turns to escape the prying eyes of the public. Ren took the lead with Nakanohara following behind, Ann and Ryuji brought up the rear on the off chance the guy tried to run. The entire trip was filled with a tense silence that only made Ren wanna go home and take a nap.
Eventually the four reached a spot where Ren felt comfortable talking. He turned on his heel and crossed his arms while leaning against the nearest wall. He had noticed that Nakanohara was slightly taller, so he needed to act casual and in control to not make it obvious. He looked the guy in the eyes.
“I assume you have some questions, ask away and I’ll decide whether I want to answer.”
The businessman seemed taken aback by the confidence Ren exuded despite the clear age difference. He stood a little straighter as if he were speaking with a superior at work.
“Right, so I guess my first question is. Are you three the phantom thieves? The ones that changed my heart?” Ren’s eyes narrowed slightly at the accusatory nature of the guy’s question, for a brief second he considered ending this talk right here, but he was in too deep now.
Instead, he just shrugged his shoulders playfully. “That’ll depend on what you’re here for.” Ren could tell that Nakanohara wasn’t a dumb guy, or he at least had a little experience dealing with shady people because he didn’t take offense to his remark or show any signs of confusion.
“You’re right. That wasn’t how I should have started this. First let me say that if you three are the people who changed my heart. I’m extremely grateful.” Ren tried not to react, but it was difficult when he saw Ryuji’s and Ann’s faces change.
“Now that’s an oddity, A stalker being grateful for being caught.”
“I wasn’t—” The guy bit his tongue to keep himself from speaking any more, he obviously wanted to deny the accusation but really couldn’t bring himself to.
“No, you’re right. Ever since she broke up with me, I couldn’t stop myself from following her around, I’d go to spots I know she’d visit and try bringing up anything to start a conversation.”
Ren glared at the downtrodden guy. “I’ve been dumped plenty of times buddy, doesn’t give you the excuse.”
Nakanohara’s shoulders slumped at the thought of being rightfully chewed out by someone so young. “I know. I wasn’t trying to make an excuse. Let me start from the top.”
The businessman took a deep breath and smiled sadly as he seemed to recall painful memories. “Believe it or not, I used to be an artist before I became a salaryman. I loved art with all my heart and really wanted to paint for a living. I went to an art university and everything.”
Ren frowned as he leaned off the wall slightly, he got the feeling that he was finally going to get an answer to who the mystery person his shadow had mentioned was, but It was Ryuji who pressed him to continue.
“What changed then? Can’t say you look exactly pleased with your new line of work.” Nakanohara laughed bitterly at Ryuji’s throw away comment before he kept speaking.
“You’re right, I’m not happy with how things ended up. But I didn’t have a choice. A few years ago an old master painter took me under his wing, promising to teach me so that I could improve my technique and in return I would show my art in his gallery exclusively. At the time I thought that if I passed up that kind of opportunity that I’d regret it for the rest of my life. Turns out that accepting it had been the biggest regret of my life.”
He took another deep breath, his voice getting shakier as he continued to explain to the three teens. “After I agreed and signed the contract, he immediately moved me into his place of residence. It was a decrepit shell of a house, practically falling apart but I didn’t care as I was just too excited about getting better at art. But it didn’t take long for me to realise something was wrong. He wouldn’t ever stay at the shack for very long whenever he’d visit which was rarely to put it nicely. I soon found myself running low on food and supplies which he refused to help pay for, claiming that an artist’s true worth is achieved through struggle.”
The twenty something salary man grimaced as if he was watching his old self make the same mistakes all over again. “But I still didn’t fully grasp how evil he was until after a year of telling me my art was garbage and wasn’t worthy of tainting his galleries, he decided that one of my many, many pieces was deemed acceptable. I was ecstatic that my effort was finally paying off, all those nights without dinner had finally led to some progress. He took my canvas and drove away saying that I wouldn’t have time to view the gallery. But I was too excited about finally being accepted to simply not go, so with what little money I had left, I bought a ticket to his gallery and went against his instructions. I walked across the entire gallery looking for my name, but I couldn’t find it.”
Ren leaned forward off the wall he was resting against, giving Nakanohara his full intention and pushing him to continue, Ren had a feeling he knew where this was going but he needed to hear the words come from the mans mouth before he could go forward.
“But I did find my painting, it was actually one of the more popular pieces at the show, only it was said to have been drawn by my teacher. Later that evening I confronted him about it, and he simply waved me aside like I was a child throwing a tantrum. When I said I’d tell the media about his lies, he laughed at me and told me to try. A couple days later I was kicked out of the place, my school expelled me for apparently cheating on my exams and no news organisation would agree to see me. I was essentially blacklisted from the art world. I had to go back to living with my parents and eventually agreed to get a normal job. And now a few years later here I am, a faceless worker who couldn’t even handle having his girlfriend dump him.”
Ren could see the shock and sorrow on Ryuji and Ann’s faces as Nakanohara told his story. Even Ren had to admit that he felt bad for the guy, he pushed himself fully off the wall and stepped in front of him.
“Alright, I get that you’re not exactly a bad guy. But I’m only going to ask you this once. What is it that you want the phantom thieves to do?”
Nakanohara looked Ren in his eyes and the teen could tell that the businessman understood the true meaning of his question. He wasn’t asking what he wanted, he was asking why he wanted them to change his old teacher’s heart.
Nakanohara squeezed his hand into a tight fist as if cursing his old teachers name was physically painful for him. “I’d be lying if I said I had purely noble intentions, I’m bitter that my dreams were crushed, but more than that, I’m worried about a young boy who I know is being used by the bastard, he was living in that same dump as I was when I was kicked out. I saw his art and I know he has a good chance of becoming something great. In truth the likelihood of me ever becoming a well-known artist was slim to begin with but I don’t want that bastard to ruin the future of someone with true talent.”
Ren looked past Nakanohara towards his friends, they both smiled immediately which gave Ren all the confirmation he needed. He looked back at the man in front of him, in a lot of ways, Nakanohara was similar to Ren, it felt eerie, as if the teen were looking into what his future could have been had he simply kept to himself and let the world walk all over him. He smiled lightly as he crossed his arms.
“Alright, the phantom thieves will look into this old master of yours.” The smile that beamed from Nakanohara almost blinded Ren.
“But before we can begin with this. We just need one more thing from you.
“What is it?”
“What’s your old teachers name.”
“I can’t believe that someone like Madarame was capable of something like that.” Ren wanted to reply but his mouth and arteries were currently busy trying to consume the massive burger that he held in his hands, Ryuji was simply too enamoured by Ren’s progress to pay Ann much attention.
After a few more massive bites of meat, lettuce and bread, Ren had to call it quits and dropped the burger back onto the plate with a meaty thud. He leaned back in his chair feeling the fat circulate through his body. He knew that eating that burger was going to kill him but after failing the big bang challenge for the fifth time now, the teen was hooked, his stubborn attitude wouldn’t allow him to accept defeat.
“Dude I didn’t think you could eat that much; I swear that burger weighed more than you do.” Ren flipped his friend off with a casual smirk trying desperately to kickstart his heart to start pumping blood again. Ann watched the entire thing and groaned.
“Can you guys take this seriously please.” Ren leaned forward and was about to speak but was stopped by a belch that forced its way through his teeth rendering him breathless. He saw the disgust his female friend gave him and muttered a timid apology while quietly high-fiving Ryuji under the table.
“I know why your stressed about this, but we have to remember that this isn’t going to be the same as our mission with Kamoshida, we lucked into his palace to begin with so we’re going to have to get used to starting from scratch from here on out.” Ann’s face changed as she realised that Ren was actually making sense.
“I… I hadn’t thought of that.” Ren gave her a comforting smile as he waved his hand.
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. I guarantee that you thought about it more than Ryuji had.”
“That’s just mean dude.” Ren raised his eyebrow begging for the blonde to correct him which Ryuji simply couldn’t. “I mean, you don’t have to point it out like that.”
Ren smiled as he leaned back and took a sip from his drink. After a moment, his expression became more serious as he started thinking about just what exactly they were going to be in for. With Kamoshida they all had a personal reason for fighting, while feelings often led them into more dangerous situations and stupider decisions, it had motivated them to keep pushing through regardless of the struggle, would they be able to perform at their best while they had nothing personal to do with Madarame.
“You good Ren?” Ren snapped out from his own thoughts as he saw Ann and Ryuji both looking at him concerned. He smiled lightly as he realised how dumb it was to think that the two of them would let something like that interfere with their performance. They had taken down Kamoshida for other people in the first place.
He leaned forward again with more confidence and less gas in his stomach. “Let’s just get this out of the way. Are we all agreed that our next target as the phantom thieves will be Madarame, the washed-out artist who abuses his pupils and then plagiarizes there works?”
Each of the other phantom thieves smiled at Ren’s question, there posture getting straighter as their confidence grew. Ryuji slapped Ren on the back with a cheerful expression which almost made Ren burp again. “Of course, dude, if we don’t change those shitty adults’ hearts then nothing will ever change.”
Ann flicked her hair as she laid back in her seat. “If you two idiots are going then there’s no way you’re leaving me behind.”
Morgana laid his head on Ren’s bag with a satisfied grin. “Wherever lady Ann goes, so do I.”
Ren’s smile turned into a smirk as he entered their new objective into his phone and showed it to his friends.
‘Step one – Infilitrate Madarame’s palace.’
Notes:
So I've been thinking about how I want to do fights from here going forth because I'll be honest, trying to write fights while keeping the games mechanics in mind just isn't very fun, So I'm thinking of just kinda leaving the persona as a background thing that gets brought out at pivitol moments and focusing on the fights with just the phantom thieves and there abilities.
I've been watching Jujustu Kiasen a lot and the cherography of fights in the show and Manga have been stuck in my mind so let me know if this sounds good for upcoming fights. The next chapter will probably involve a fight scene so you'll get a taste of of what I'm talking about but I'd love to know opinions if anyone has them. Comments are the biggest source of motivation to actually get me writing in the end.
Also it never occured to me before but if anyone wants to be a beta reader or just wants to talk about the fic or anything in general. My discord is TheGingerprick#7672.
Hope everyone has a good day.
Chapter 40
Notes:
This might have been the biggest gap between chapters. I've just been swamped with work. I will say that the writing for this chater was kinda all over the place so in terms of when I actually wrote certain chunks so it might not be great, I've tried to kinda smooth it out duing the edit but we'll see.
Chapter Text
After the phantom thieves had finished there dinner at big bang burger, they began walking back towards the train station to catch their respective rides home. They were halfway there when ryuji asked his friends a question.
“I meant to ask earlier but how do we actually find a palace anyway?”
Ren and Ann turned to look at Ryuji with gazes of astonishment while Morgana just let out a tired sigh as if he expected the boy to ask the question at some point, he didn’t even make fun of the blonde and instead just retreated back into Ren’s bag.
“Oh. you’re serious?” Ren felt like he had to ask just in case the former track star was pulling his leg.
“Alright the reactions are seeming a bit extreme.”
Ann shook her head as she pushed her finger against her temple. “Did it never cross your mind to actually open that weird app that appeared on your phone?”
Ryuji rubbed his head bashfully as if he were too embarrassed to answer Ann’s question.
“I actually kind of forgot about the app.”
Ren and Ann looked to each other to confirm what they were hearing was actually real and not just a strange hallucination.
“Hey! In my defence Ren was always the one who decided when we were going in so it’s not like I ever had a reason open it up.” Ren watched Ryuji explain himself with an exasperated gaze. He turned and put his hand on Ann’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry Ann, at least our little boy will never try drugs.” Ann mockingly blew out a breath of relief.
“You’re right. He’d be too oblivious to even notice them.” Ryuji pouted as he listened to his friends chastise him.
“I expect this from Ren, but I didn’t think you were this mean Ann.” Ann smiled at the genuine hurt in Ryuji’s face and walked over to him to rub the sad boy’s hair.
“C’mon Ryuji, we’re just teasing you a little.” Ann turned to look at Ren. “You wanna explain it or should I?”
Ren shrugged “Be my guest.”
The other phantom thieves began to explain to Ryuji how the app worked, needing three conditions to allow them to travel to a person’s palace. The first was a name of a palace owner. The address where the palace actually sits and finally what the palace ruler perceives the palace as.
“Oh, so in Kamoshida’s case, the address was the school, and the distortion would have been the castle?”
Ren smiled at how quickly Ryuji was catching on. His friend might not have been the most observant but in no way was the blonde teen stupid.
“You got it. You might not remember but you were the one who actually input those coordinates into the app initially.” Both Ann and Ryuji looked at him with confusion.
“On the way to school when we first met, you called Kamoshida by his name, asked if I was new to Shujin and complained about how he thought of the school as his own personal castle.” Ryuji was quiet for a few seconds as he scanned through the memories of his and Ren’s first encounter.
Another moment went by before a realization washed across Ryuji’s face. “Wait, so how are we meant to find Madarame’s palace if he even has one? We have his name, but we have no clue where he lives or what he thinks his palace is.”
Both the blondes looked slightly concerned as they thought there investigation had already hit a dead end but instead of panic or disappointment, Ren had a more sinister smile as he pointed at Ann’s bag.
“I don’t know why you guys are so worried, we’ve been given a literal golden ticket to meeting the man and one of his victims.” Realization hit Ann’s face before Ryuji’s as she quickly scrambled through the pockets in her bag before revealing 4 slips of paper.
Dread covered Ryuji’s face as he immediately recognised the tickets Yusuke had given them. “Wait we’re actually going to that dumb art exhibit?”
Ann walked up behind him and smacked his head lightly. “No complaining Ryuji, you’re the one who wanted to keep being a phantom thief. That means going to places you don’t wanna.”
Ryuji rubbed the spot where Ann had hit him but didn’t make any other sign of annoyance. Ren felt like if he had done that then he’d get a swift kick to his shin at the next available moment.
“Fine I get it. But there’s four tickets, who are we bringing with us?” Ren and Ann both raised their eyebrows at the odd question, just because they were given four tickets doesn’t mean they had to bring four people. Ryuji seemed to notice there confusion and quickly frowned while he explained himself.
“Oh hell no. I know how it will go if it’s just us three. You two will somehow find yourself looking at art and talking to important people while I’ll just get myself lost or kicked out. I’m not third wheeling at a snobby art gallery.”
Ren smirked at the blonde. While he was sure that the reason he had just been given was valid. There wasn’t a single part of Ren that wasn’t convinced that Ryuji wanted to use the fourth ticket as a chance to get some alone time with Ann.
“I asked Shiho if she wanted to go but she has rehab on Saturday so I’m not sure. We really don’t need to bring a fourth person do w—” Ren cut the blonde girl off as he swiftly swiped two of the tickets, one for himself and another for a person he intended to invite. He shot Ryuji a shit eating grin while giving him a subtle wink.
“Now let’s not get to hasty, Ryuji might have a point, we’d be less suspicious if we had someone come with us that had nothing to do with the phantom thieves. And it turns out I have just the perfect person in mind.”
It was supposed to be so easy. Catch Makoto during a break and invite her to the art exhibit with him and his friends. Everyone was supposed to win. He’d get brownie points with the principle if Makoto decided to report it. Ryuji and Ann would get some quality bonding time and to top it off Ren could get some alone time with Makoto.
That was the plan, and Ren had thought it a pretty fool proof one at that. Yet here he was, barrelling down the hallway dodging students and jumping over all sorts of objects like he was freaking spiderman. All in a vain hope to catch up with said girl who was currently doing everything in her power to avoid him.
“Makoto can you please stop for two minutes just so we can talk?” Ren shouted through the hall trying to overpower the sound of hundreds of students excitedly racing towards the bread stand downstairs to get a quick lunch for their brief respite from school.
His words seemed to reach her as she waved her hand while shouting back herself. “Sorry. I really need to… speak with Maruki?” The way she said it made it sound like a question rather than a statement, but Ren wasn’t gonna except that.
“You already used that excuse earlier when you ignored me.”
Even though there was no way to actually confirm it, he swore he could hear the girl utter a small curse under breath at the blunder but rather then concede and let him catch up, the girl simply increased her pace as she rocketed down the stairs two at a time.
Ren sighed as he skidded into the turn towards the stairs. If he was going to actually catch her, he wasn’t gonna be able to stop and go down the stairs carefully. Instead, all he could do was trust the new instincts that had been ingrained into him from the metaverse and give a small prayer he didn’t end up breaking his neck trying to catch a girl who may not even want to talk to him at all.
Ren’s feet were right at the edge when his muscle memory kicked in, He quickly hopped to the side and used his hand to lift himself onto the guide rail, using his feet to reduce the friction as he glided down the rail at a dangerous speed before dismounting and using the same rail to swing himself into the next set of stairs. Luckily for him and any potential casualties. No one was using the stairs at the time.
He saw the back of Makoto’s shoes disappear out of sight as Ren leaped forward, soaring through the air down the second set of steps. He feet collided with the ground with a dull thud before getting drowned out by the buzz of students and the squeaking of his shoes as he continued his chase.
He had managed to cover a good amount of distance risking a majority of his bones with that stunt. Ren was right behind her by the time she burst through the doors that led to the courtyard. The space was fairly deserted which made sense considering that break had only really just begun.
Ren reach his hand out to grab the girl’s wrist but just before he could, he felt his body lurch forward as his foot smashed against a stray piece of concrete. His body began to fall forward directly into the girl in front.
“Shit.” Ren quickly put his arms out and wrapped them around the girl’s body keeping her close to him as he fell down, he rotated his body so that he took the brunt of the impact and couldn’t stop himself as they began tumbling across the grass.
The two teens rolled for a bit before Ren had managed to stop there momentum. The boy’s vision was slightly dizzy from all the rolling, so he didn’t immediately notice the position he and Makoto was in. It was only the slight yelp that came from beneath him that managed to shock his vision back into focus.
And Ren was very glad about it, not that he’d admit it.
Somehow during the tumbling, Ren had managed to pin Makoto beneath him with both of his arms outstretched on either side of Makoto’s head effectively trapping the straight-laced student. Ren couldn’t help himself from taking in the girls features. Her forehead slick with a thin layer of sweat, no doubt from all the running she had been doing all day to get away from him.
Ren found it oddly attractive, and he prayed that being in enough life-threatening situations had managed to steel his puberty driven hormones from acting up. Though the way her face slowly grew more and more red was making the position he was in extremely dangerous to whatever reputation he might still have.
Hell, if this were a year ago and he managed to get himself into this exact situation, there was doubt in his mind that he’d have gone straight for a kiss, but he managed to contain himself.
Oddly enough, despite the embarrassment both teens were obviously showing, neither seemed like they wanted it to end. Both Makoto and Ren kept themselves still, looking at each other as if daring the other to make a move, to push it just an inch further.
It was only when Ren could feel the stares of several students on his form did he decide that they should take this intimate moment somewhere slightly less public.
Ren sighed quietly as he pushed himself up and off of Makoto who let out a breath as though she had forgotten how to breathe during that entire scenario. Ren offered her his hand which he was more than a little pleased she grabbed without a moment of hesitation.
He pulled the girl up and watched as she dusted off the blades of grass and dust that had clung to her skirt. It was then that he noticed that her headband had gotten crooked during the fall.
Even Ren was surprised by his own hand which had seemingly moved on instinct to straighten the accessory, smoothing out her hair and flicking the dirt off in the process. Makoto quickly moved her own hand to her head as if to confirm what she felt was real.
This time it was Ren’s turn to blush at his own actions which he tried to play off with a light-hearted. “It was uh…crooked.”
The two stared at each other before they both started giggling at the absurdity of all that had happened.
“Here.” Ren handed Makoto a bottle of water that he just got from the vending machine before opening the cap on his own fizzy drink. Makoto frowned as she opened her water.
“That’s gonna rot your teeth you know?” Ren rolled his eyes but smiled.
“You sound like my mother. I think all the curry I eat for breakfast will kill me before the soda becomes a problem.” The two laughed lightly, Ren found himself leaning against a table while Makoto drank the rest of her water while sitting on the bench. The two had moved to somewhere quieter less they draw any more of a crowd with their unlikely pairing.
Ren rubbed his arm uncomfortably, the question he wanted to ask was sitting on the tip of his tongue, yet his worry was keeping him from asking it. Makoto seemed to notice his mild anguish and laughed lightly.
“And what has got Shujin academy’s bad boy so worried exactly.” Ren wondered if he had simply gotten worst at concealing his emotions since coming to Tokyo or maybe Makoto just had a certain effect on him. Either way he felt stupid worrying so much about an answer to a question he hadn’t even asked yet.
“I just wanted to know why you’ve been avoiding me. I know that it’d be awkward after meeting your sister but…” Ren trailed off, not really sure how to finish. Makoto’s face went from light-hearted teasing to guilt ridden real quick, she hadn’t intended on avoiding Ren as much as she did but every time she saw the boy, memories of his tatted arm and steaming body flashed in her mind as the sweet words he had spoken when he didn’t know she was listening played in her head and she’d simply panic.
Makoto quickly stood up which almost caused Ren to choke on his drink at the sudden closeness. “That’s not it at all!” Ren leaned further back onto to table, not expecting the prim and proper student president to get as close as she did. The two spent a moment in that weird position, Ren waited for the girl to realise how intimate the distance between the two was, but she simply kept speaking as if the things she wanted to let Ren know overrode the embarrassment she should have felt.
“I just couldn’t bring myself to face you. I should have stood up for you and not let my sister make assumptions. I wasn’t even aware that she knew of your circumstances and yet when she made you leave, and I didn’t do anything to try and stop her.”
Ren’s mouth turned into a smile at the girl’s desperation to make sure he knew he wasn’t being avoided for a malicious reason.
‘God she takes these things way too seriously…though that might not be a bad thing.’ Ren Thought as a small laugh escaped his lips when he remembered how close they were. He decided that Makoto had taken him by surprise more than enough for one day so now it was his turn.
Ren leaned forward until both their foreheads were touching. The sudden contact of their skin seemed to snap Makoto back to reality as evidenced by the sudden shift of colour on her face and ears. Ren couldn’t blame her though; it was taking all his willpower and desire to tease to keep his own skin from blushing. “I get it Makoto; trust me, I don’t blame you for what happened. I’m just glad you didn’t decide to follow your sister’s advice and cut me out altogether.”
Ren decided it was time for his final blow, He leaned even further forward until his lips were right next to the frozen Makoto’s ear. “Now even though I do like how close we’ve gotten. Do you think it’s very appropriate for the student council president to pin Shujin’s problem child against a table like this?”
Ren could see the blood immediately rush to her cheeks and ears as she backed away with enough speed to put some shadows to shame. Ren chuckled quietly as he hopped off the table with a dull thud and opened his bag, he could see the girl in the corner of his eye trying her best to come to terms what she had inadvertently done which only continued to elicit small content chuckles from the teen.
After a few seconds of rummaging through the mess that was his bag, he pulled out the tickets that he had taken from Ann. He turned back to Makoto who was still muttering justifications to herself completely oblivious to Ren who had moved over to stand in front of her.
Her eyes slowly rolled to look at him which seemed to reignite the blush she had desperately fought down, she coughed into her hand as if it was her that was trying to get Ren’s attention, she stood up and flattened her skirt which Ren was now almost certain was a way for her to calm herself down whenever she got embarrassed.
“What would you like to speak to me about Ren?” Ren smiled and dangled the tickets in front of her.
“Personal tickets to one of the most illustrious art exhibits. Obtained through legal methods no less.” Makoto rolled her eyes at the added comment but smiled anyways. She grabbed one of the tickets from Ren’s hand and scanned the printing, Ren’s smile got larger as her eyes grew wider with every passing word read.
“You have tickets to Madarame’s art show? How did you get these?” She started turning the piece of paper over in her hands looking for any signs of discrepancy or forgery. When she seemed satisfied they were real, she looked back to the infamous teen with one of her eyebrows raised.
“And you said legal right?”
Ren shrugged; he couldn’t help himself from teasing a little. “Well…”
Makoto’s eyes quickly narrowed. “Ren.”
The boy swiftly threw his hands up and explained. “Kidding. Let’s just say we know someone who works closely with Madarame.” Makoto’s frown relaxed back into a smile as she kept looking at the ticket, Ren was expecting the yes soon after but realised that it wasn’t gonna be that simple as the girls smile seemed to get less and less pleasant.
“I don’t think me going would be such a good idea.”
Ren tilted his head as he crossed his arms. “Why’s that, don’t tell me you’d rather study by yourself then hang out with friends on a Saturday.” The girl quickly shook her head in denial, Ren would have thought it cute had the conversation not taken a weirdly sad turn.
“No, I actually think I’d really enjoy it. I just don’t think Sakamoto-kun and Takamaki-san would enjoy my company.” Ren could honestly say he wasn’t expecting that, he would have thought there’d be a million other excuses the girl would have made to avoid the date but none of them involved the only other two people he cared about in the school.
“I’m not following, why would they not want you there. Sure, Ryuji says you’re a bit a scary but.” Makoto frowned slightly at being thought of as scary by Shujin’s number 2 troublemaker, but she didn’t comment on it.
“Those two were very close to Shiho-san right? I’m the student council president, it’s my responsibility to make sure the students are safe and happy, and yet I couldn’t even notice that my peers were being abused both physically and… sexually. I don’t have the right to have fun with them, I need to focus and—”
Bop.
Makoto stopped her self-depreciation when she felt the light tap of a rolled-up textbook on her head. She looked up from the ground that her gaze had drifted to during her rambling to see Ren. Not wearing his often-teasing smirk, not even frowning with his usual bored or annoyed look. This face was something completely new to her, not just from the teen but from people in general. Ren looked down at her with a calming smile that radiated warmth and support.
Ren moved the textbook and Makoto rubbed the spot instinctively, he didn’t hit it nearly hard enough for her to feel anything and yet the spot she touched was warm.
“That’s a bad habit of yours you know. I’ve noticed it even during our study sessions. You get so caught up assuming other people’s feelings and what they think of you that you fail to rationally think anymore.”
“But—”
“Makoto. You weren’t the one hurting those kids, you weren’t the one making them do ridiculous and cruel training sessions, you weren’t the one taking advantage of naïve and powerless student. And you weren’t the one that caused Shiho to jump from the roof that day. That was all Kamoshida’s doing.”
“But It’s my responsibility to—”
“To what? To keep the teachers in line? To personally stop a man twice your size from abusing his students. Do you understand what I mean Makoto, do you see how ridiculous that sounds? You weren’t the only one who didn’t notice that man’s sick tendencies. If anyone is to blame, it’s that damn principle and the staff who chose to ignore his actions.”
Makoto didn’t have a comeback to Ren’s words because she knew he was right, now that she calmed down, she still felt guilt, but she couldn’t blame herself anymore.
Her body shook when she felt Ren’s warm hand on her head. “Makoto, we’re all still children here. School isn’t meant to be a place dedicated solely to achieving good grades. We’re here to socialise, make friends, get into arguments and most importantly. Make mistakes. Being a third year or the student president doesn’t exempt you from that.”
Ren gently placed one of the tickets in her hand. “I won’t force you to come, but if you really feel like Ann and Ryuji won’t want you there, then use this as an opportunity to talk to them. Instead of just assuming they hate you, go see for yourself.”
Ren turned and walked away waving Makoto goodbye, he tilted his head to get a sight of the normally confident and put together girl deep in thought which was what he wanted. He knew that he could make her go with enough convincing but that wouldn’t lead to anything, it’d be pointless if she didn’t make the decision herself, Ren wasn’t worried though, not in the slightest. He could see that Makoto really wanted to better herself, to escape from the shackles that the adults around her had placed her in. To make friends and do normal things that people her age did. To not be perfect like everyone expected her to be.
The sun had begun to set when Ren left school, Ren had stayed back to do some rare self-study much to the surprise of every student and teacher that walked past him in the library. It had been a bit difficult to convince the girl on Library duty to actually let him study without the help of the student presidents glare to back him up, but he eventually managed to find a quiet spot, that was after emptying all his pockets and proving he didn’t have any weapons on him.
Ren stretched his stiff limbs, he had forgotten what had been like to study by himself, turns out that Makoto was a better teacher then he had initially thought cause while it had only taken her a few moments to explain something he didn’t understand, it had taken Ren a good ten to fifteen minutes to work through the problem and actually understand the method.
“Senpai!” Ren turned his head towards the high-pitched cry. His eyes immediately fell upon a familiar shade of red hair bounding towards him. He turned the rest of his body with a small smile while holding his hand up in a lazy wave.
“Yo Kasumi. Just finishing club work?” The energetic underclassman stopped just before smashing into the boy, he looked behind her and almost expected to see skid marks with the speed she had just been running at.
“Yeah, how’d you guess?” He almost commented on the amount of sweat the girl still had on her face but managed to bite his tongue. He remembered the time he had made a similar remark after Ann had finished gym and the pain he felt behind his eyes as a heavy textbook had crashed into his skull.
With a nervous gulp, Ren managed to dismiss the question. “Uh lucky guess.”
Kasumi looked around Ren quizzically, when she couldn’t find what she was looking for she turned back to her senpai with a raised eyebrow. “No friends today?”
Ren shrugged his shoulder as he slung his bag further onto his shoulder, being extra careful not to let the cat inside be seen. “They all had plans today so I decided to just study by myself.”
Kasumi gave an exaggerated gasp as she took a step back from the boy. “Study? Willingly? What have you done with my senpai?”
Ren laughed as he ruffled the girl’s hair. “Even criminal’s have to study every now and then.”
Ren and Kasumi had gotten close over the past few weeks, ever since he had helped her during the schools outing to help pick up litter from the local park. He had been late due to working too late the previous night but in a way that was a good thing because when he had actually made it to the Shibuya, he had come across a terrified red-haired girl being approached by a slimy creep thrice her age.
It only took a look at his tattoo and a glare to make the guy piss his pants and run away. Luckily Kasumi didn’t take much convincing to keep her quiet about his tattoo, it was one thing to show it off in public, it was an entirely different beast to show it off at school.
It was during that trip where he had learned she was a part of the gymnastics club and was actually brought to Shujin on a scholarship due to her previous achievements. A far cry from his reason for being at Shujin.
“So senpai, have you visited Dr Maruki yet?” Ren sighed, ever since the two had started talking more at school, she would not stop talking about how he should go pay the shrink a visit. Part of him had almost done it just to get the girl off his back but he still hadn’t brought himself to actually facing the Dr.
“How many times are you going to ask that?”
“Well until you actually say you have. Wasn’t that obvious.” Ren wondered if his snark quips had begun to rub off on the girl. Maybe he wasn’t exactly the best role model for an impressionable young girl.
“I’ll do it soon alright; I just have a lot going on right now and the last thing I need is to add a shrink into that occasion.” Kasumi frowned and quickly blocked off Ren’s path to freedom.
“That won’t do Senpai, the longer you leave this, the worst it’ll get. Go see him today, I promise it’s not gonna be what you think.” Ren stared down at the slender girl in front of him, she wasn’t really gonna be able to stop him if he decided he really wanted to leave but pushing down a first year wasn’t gonna do anything good for his image. He looked back at the school and rubbed his head messing up his already messy hair while sighing.
“Fine, I’ll go see the god damn shrink.” Ren smiled impishly before looking back at Kasumi with his finger raised. “On one condition.”
Kasumi gulped slightly, she had gotten used to what Ren’s differing smiles all meant and the one he wore now wasn’t exactly meant to be in her best interest. “What?”
“You teach me gymnastics.”
…
“Excuse me?”
Ren smiled proudly as If he just scored big in the lottery. “You heard me, I wanna learn how to do gymnastics, and who’d be a better teacher then the girl who’s won competitions.”
Kasumi watched her Senpai chuckling to himself like he was the smartest guy in the world which only caused her to explode into a giggling mess which quickly sapped away all the confidence Ren seemingly had.
“If you really wanted to learn Gymnastics Senpai then you just had to ask, my coach encourages me to bring new people to her gym all the time anyways. But If it’s that important to you then I guess I’ll agree.”
Ren’s shoulders sagged slightly “Wait doesn’t that mean I just—”
“Now now senpai, a deal’s a deal, don’t wanna keep Dr Maruki waiting.”
Before he even realised it, Ren was already back in the school with the door closed behind him. He turned back and saw a still giggling Kasumi waving at him as she skipped away from the school. Ren realised a little to late that he, the famed delinquent of his hometown and Shujin just got hustled.
He sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, despite the situation he just found himself in he couldn’t help but smile, maybe he was a bad influence, but he’d be lying if he didn’t find some pride in the girl.
The teen lazily walked up the stairs to the second floor. He honestly could have just left and ignored Kasumi’s request, but he felt like that would be taking an even bigger hit to his pride then just letting the girl hustle him. He soon found himself in front of the student council room, it had been an empty room when he first came to the school, but it seemed like they refurbished the room for Dr Maruki’s arrival during Golden week.
He took a deep breath before bringing his hand up to the door and giving the wood a light tap, the sound echoed loudly due to the empty building and lack of outside sound.
A calm and warm voice came from within, muffled by the door between them. “Come in.” Ren took another deep breath for opening the door.
Chapter 41
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The two men sat in the well-furnished room in almost complete silence. Ren had quickly made himself at home when Maruki asked him to make himself comfortable, his body had immediately gravitated to one of the two sofas that sat opposed to each other with a small coffee table adorned with a multitude of snacks and fruits in the centre.
While he agreed to see the doctor per his underclassman’s request, it didn’t mean he had to share any more of his personal story then what was required to keep the principle off his back, and even if it wasn’t, he’d sooner lie about his life then give the school any more ammo to use against him in the future.
After what felt like hours of quiet save for the occasional scratches of a pen on paper or the tap of a finger on a phone. Maruki was the first to speak up and break the unspoken stalemate.
“May I ask you something Amamiya-kun.” Ren sighed as he pocketed his phone and leant forward in his chair, trying to come off as composed as possible.
“Sure, but drop the last name stuff please, just Ren is fine.” Ren watched as the doctor wrote something down on the clipboard he was holding and soon realised he already just shot himself in the foot. For a second the teen was worried that the trained psychiatrist was going to dig deeper into it, but Maruki just smiled as he placed the clipboard on the table between them.
Ren peered down at the paper trying to see what the doctor had wrote and raised his eyebrow involuntarily when he saw what was written. Instead of a note about the possible relation between him and his last name, it was just a shopping list.
Maruki feigned surprise as if he just noticed that Ren had read the paper he had made a big deal of putting down in the first place. “Oh, sorry about that, I was listening, but I was just thinking about what I should do for dinner tonight.”
Ren had the feeling he was reading too deeply into it, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the doctor knew exactly what he was doing, and it was frustrating how Ren had already walked into his trap twice now, but he decided to drop the mind games and just go with the flow of the situation as he was already too tired to deal with it all.
He leaned back in his chair with an exhausted exhale. “Don’t worry about it, what’s the question?”
Maruki gave a small chuckle which only exasperated Ren’s suspicions, but the teen didn’t care anymore.
“I was just wondering why you don’t wear any piercings considering you have quite a few.”
Ren was surprised more so by the fact Maruki even knew he had piercings considering the minimal interactions he had with the guy and how he rarely put his hair up in general, let alone at school. A small part of Ren wanted to just give a vague answer and end the conversation there and leave, but instead decided to try and take it seriously, he wasn’t sure when he’d ever get the chance to talk to a therapist on somewhat equal terms again.
The teen leaned further back into his chair and tried to relax, he only then realised how little he ever spoke about himself, sure he told Makoto that one time but that was a very limited explanation about why he had them.
As he tried to best put his thoughts into words, a small cup of steaming coffee appeared in his vision followed by a smiling Maruki, Ren wondered just how long he had been thinking if the guy could go a brew a cup of coffee.
“It’s alright Ren, there’s no need to rush, or even worry about having it make sense, I just wanted to hear your honest thoughts.” Ren took a deep breath before having a sip of the drink. His face almost instantly recoiled from the bitter taste which only caused him to laugh out loud.
“I forgot how bad instant coffee tasted.” Maruki gave a nervous chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
“Ah my apologies, it’s all that I had?” Ren smiled as he went back for a smaller sip, this time tempering his expectations which did little to mask the gross taste.
After setting the cup back down Ren felt it a little easier to breathe. “The day I left my hometown for Tokyo, my dad asked me to settle down my behaviour. Basically, telling me to keep my head down and get through the year without any incidents.”
Ren paused for a moment as he let the bitterness of that memory wash over him. “Maybe me keeping my piercings out is my way of trying to get his approval… or affection. I don’t know anymore, I just can’t bring myself to wear them, so they sit in my desk drawer back at my guardian’s place.”
Maruki didn’t write anything down, he didn’t make any obvious facial expression to indicate a reaction, he just looked at Ren waiting to make sure he didn’t cut off the teen. A moment later he asked another question.
“Ren, do you regret getting your piercings?”
“No.” Ren didn’t hesitate to answer, there were many things Ren regretted doing in his short life, getting his piercings would never be one of them.
Maruki smiled at Ren’s certainty. “Then I don’t think you have to worry about what you father thinks or wishes of you.”
Ren raised his brow in disbelief of the casual defiance of authority that was being advocated.
“I can’t say for certain that what you did on that night was right or wrong, but I can tell from our brief interactions and what I’ve seen is that you’re a good kid. Sure, you have a bit of a hot head and a sharp tongue, but every teenager has that to some degree. This is a period of your life where you can be rash, be idealistic and discover who you are as a person and to purposely stifle that part of yourself just to get through the year without any incident? Well that just sounds sad to me.”
Before Ren could even think of response to what Maruki had said to him, a quiet alarm went off from Maruki’s phone. The doctor quickly pulled out the device and smiled as he silenced the ringing. Ren looked at his own phone and quickly noticed the time.
“I would love to keep talking with you Ren, but the time has gotten quite late, So I think you should think about heading home.” Ren nodded while he grabbed his bag, still digesting what Maruki had told him.
He made his way to the door but hesitated while passing through it. He turned his head slightly to make sure Maruki wasn’t looking directly at him.
“Hey doc, do you think it’d be alright if I stopped by again sometime.” Maruki looked up somewhat surprised by the question before smiling gently at the teen.
“Of course, Ren, I’d more then happy to speak with you again, I’ll try and bring some better-quality coffee next time.”
Ren waited for a moment before closing the door behind him and walking away with a hint of a smile on his face.
-
“Thanks for your hard work.” Ren waved off his manager as he walked out of the convenience store, the darkness of the sky was being fought back against with the glittering lights of the city. He was honestly still shocked that he still got to see this view as he expected his boss to fire him immediately upon seeing his tattoo. But all he was that as long as it wasn’t offensive, then the company had no intention on firing one of the view employees who willingly worked the night shift.
The teen stretched his slender frame and long limbs listening to the pops his joint made in the process, his body was tired from the long day, yet his mind was still thinking about what Maruki had said to him during there short session, he had wanted to stay and work through just why he hadn’t been able to bring himself to ignore his fathers request and wear the piercings like he wanted.
His mind was so occupied that he failed the notice the ball of fur that jumped from the nearest ledge and landed on his shoulder until a high-pitched voice rang through his head. “Is it finally time for us to go home?”
Ren smiled at the cats’ mannerisms, as if he were a parent looking at his exhausted child, he gave his friend a small scratch under the chin as he continued towards the train station. “Yeah yeah, we’re going home.”
Morgana let out some non-comprehensible celebration as he slinked into Ren’s bag for his usual pre bedtime nap leaving the teen all alone to think, a surprisingly rare opportunity for the young man, he pondered on the last time he really had a moment to step back and look at everything since arriving in Tokyo, it had been one thing after another the moment he got off that first train.
He continued through the streets and back alleys, fully ready to head home and get a good night’s rest for the big day tomorrow until a small shop caught his attention. He hadn’t been living in the city long enough to memorize every route so it wasn’t a surprise whenever he ended up in some back alley he didn’t recognise, they normally held the usual crystal or homeopathic medicine store that Ren would just ignore.
But the store Ren was looking at now was one that very much interested the young delinquent, he peered into his bag and saw his feline friend soundly snoozing before letting his eyes drift back into the downright tiny store.
“Why am I hesitating, the guy doesn’t pay rent anyways.” Ren justified as he opened the glass door.
A nostalgic scent wafted through Ren’s nose, the smell of rubbing alcohol mixed with metal that every body modification shop had, it was similar to a doctor but less clinical. The shop was tiny, just a few tables in the centre of the single room with a counter on the far wall manned by a man who couldn’t be more then a few years older the Ren.
The clerk had dyed blonde hair rivalling Ren’s own in term of messiness but was just short of being completely unruly. He looked up from the magazine he was skimming through as soon as he heard the sound of the door shut behind Ren.
He leant on the counter with a casual smirk. “Hey man, help you find anything?”
Ren made his way towards the counter as he glanced across the tables lined with a multitude of ear studs, earrings, belly piercings and everything in between, he couldn’t help but be impressed by the sheer variety considering the small size of the shop.
“Just passing through, didn’t even know this place existed honestly.”
The clerk laughed clearly not offended. “That’d make you and 98 percent of the Shibuya’s population. I tried so hard to find a better location, but this was the only place within my price range.”
Ren smiled by the boy’s sarcasm, happy to find someone he didn’t need to skirt around in regards to his speaking. “I’ll be sure to bring a friend if we’re ever nearby.”
The clerk beamed “Sweet, I can say I’ve doubled my sales then.”
The two laughed as Ren kept examining the jewellery on display, he didn’t have any real intention of buying anything, his help with Maruki had made it clear to him that keeping his piercings out was more then just him trying to follow his dad’s instructions but that did little to actually address what the issue was. It also didn’t help that he was running out of space in his ears to pierce as well.
“Whoa, that’s a lot of holes for a kid to have, almost everyone I see come through here has one or two at most.” Ren hadn’t even noticed that the clerk had left the counter to come talk to him.
“Yeah, I started getting them when I was young and then it became a bit of habit.”
He felt a firm palm pat him on the back, knocking some of the air out of his lungs. “Not shaming you dude, it’s cool that kids like you are still around. Back where I’m from I was the only guy to have any sort of piercings.”
Ren went back to looking at the jewellery, it was the normal stuff he come to expect in a shop like this, studs with and without gems in them, many of which Ren already owned, same with the earing accessories. Belly rings had never appealed to him in the same way nose rings didn’t.
He scanned some of the other cabinets contents, looking for a little longer before going home less he worry the owner about potentially scaring off one of his few customers.
He was almost ready to leave when something caught his eye, a thin chain too long to sit comfortably connected to just his ear, the clerk must have noticed Ren’s sudden attention with the product and swiftly pounced on a potential sale.
“You connect it to an ear cuff and a lip cuff. They used to be really popular in the early 2000’s with punk bands but they’ve kinda been fazed out here in Japan. It’s pretty hard to cover a lip piercing when your job hunting.”
Ren couldn’t help but stare at the simple chain, it wasn’t anything particularly flashy or elegant which is what drew Ren to it, most of the studs and cuff’s he had at home were embezzled with jewels which screamed out to be noticed, it reflected Ren’s desire to be seen by his peers and the people around him and eventually his own father after his mother’s passing.
The chain though was industrial, it didn’t give off a sense of wealth or a high social standing, it was rough and unremarkable and yet demanded attention rather than flaunting it.
“How much?” The owner raised his eyebrow before catching a glimpse of the excitement evident on Ren’s face causing the older of the two to grin.
“30 bucks and I’ll even throw in a lip cuff cause I assume you don’t have one already.” The owner’s assumption was correct as Ren hadn’t gotten a piercing anywhere other then his ears per his father’s begrudging request after learning that his son was still getting holes punched through his skin.
Ren held out his hand with a smirk. “I’ll be sure to bring two friends next time then.” The man grabbed the teen’s hand with a smirk of his own.
“A sale and I triple my clientele? How could I back out after that.”
The man took the chain and went behind the counter to ring it up. Ren followed slowly behind looking for any other piercings that might catch his eye. By the time he reached the counter, the bag containing his new jewellery was already waiting for him. Ren grabbed the bag and found himself surprised by how much heavier it was then expected.
“I also included a proper tool for piecing your lip. Trust me, it’ll be much better than a safety pin.”
Ren wondered if he had just gotten bad at hiding his intentions since coming to the city or if everyone in the city was simply better at reading people.
-
“Are you sure you wanna do this, isn’t it gonna hurt?”
Ren and Morgana sat on the teens bed, Morgana had made himself comfortable like always while Ren fidgeted with one the piercings he had brought to Tokyo, I small silver stud adorned with a bright green gemstone.
His gaze drifted to the table where the rest of his piercings laid and then drifted to the bag right beside him containing the new piercings.
“It won’t tickle, I’ll tell you that much.”
The cat sighed in defeat; he had spent enough time with the Ren to know that when he started making jokes, it usually meant his decision was set in stone. “Fine but I still don’t get why you wanna throw away your old ones. Aren’t they important to you?”
Ren rolled the stud between his fingers, the cat was right, the pieces of jewellery, while holding almost no monetary wealth, still meant the world to Ren but they also came with an unforeseen baggage that Ren had only just recently realized was there.
“They are, but I think I know why I couldn’t bring myself to wear them. They were my last thread of hope that I might return to my old life one day, that if I listened to dad’s advice, maybe I could go home and have everything go back to normal.”
Morgana’s eyes creased as he felt the tinge of sadness in the boys’ words. “Ren…”
The teen noticed his friends concern and gave him and a newly confident smile and a chin rub. “But I now know that was always going to be a pipe dream, this is my home, and nothing will change that. This is my new normal, I can’t just pretend that everything that’s happened and everything I’ve done hasn’t happened. And I don’ t think I’d want it to even if I could.”
Ren stood up feeling refreshed despite the long day he’d spent on his feet. He grabbed the bag and emptied its contents. He looked down one final time at the piercing in his hand before clutching it tightly, as tightly as he might his mothers’ hand when he was a young boy before tossing it into the drawer along with the rest of them, where they would sit indefinitely.
He grabbed the piercing gun and the lip cuff before standing in front of the mirror in his room so he could so he could see what he was doing. “I won’t go back, I won’t run from my mistakes, I’ll push forward with the friends I have now. That’s what this piercing means and that’s why I need to do it.”
Ren placed the tip of the needle against the inside of his lip, feeling the cool metal against his flesh, itching to pierce through.
“Three.”
“Two.”
He took a deep breath.
“One.”
-
Notes:
It's been a while, hasn't it guys. Sorry for the lack of content for the past couple months, this chaoter was one wrought with writers block and fatigue, no matter how I wrote it, I felt it was tacky or too all over the place and honestly, I'm no where near 100 percent happy with how it turned out. But It's decent, and maybe getting it out there will help the next chapter come along smoothly.
I'll probably still take a while to release chapter, I wanna try writing more orginal content so I don't know how much time and interest I'll be able to split up.
I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter at least, I think taking Ren in this more confident direction will help improve the flow of the story even if it doens't completely make sense logically.
Chapter 42
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Light filtered through the cheap blinds of Ren’s window and draped delicately across the teens face. His face remained still until the rays began to heat up his features, causing his nose to crinkle in response and his eyes opening just a sliver. The small gap was all it took for the sun to blind his corneas, making his eyes crinkle and waking the teen up proper.
Ren waited a few seconds, hoping desperately that he might magically fall back into the peaceful world of slumber and for a moment he felt his body begin to relax, until the alarm on his phone blared next to him, the volume far louder then he remembered and making his body jump to attention.
Ren scowled at his phone, having half a mind to toss the device out the window in some form of defiance but memories of prices he’d glanced at in Shibuya stopped his hand from going any further then just pressing snooze more aggressively than normal.
A low growl came from the back of his throat as his swung his legs over the bed frame, letting his feet rest against the wood beneath him. He ran a hand through his hand in futile attempt to manage the knots that had tangled themselves in his sleep, the other hand that had tossed the phone on his bed now moved to his shirt, tugging against the fabric that had stuck to his skin throughout the night. It reminded Ren just how close summer was and bringing back the dread of figuring out how to either hide his tattoo or come up with an explanation that would keep the fatty principle from tossing him out.
After making sure he didn’t miss any important messages—Ryuji strategizing how to complete the big bang challenge did not constitute as important— he resigned himself to staying awake and brought himself to a standing position. Ren began stretching his long limbs, enjoying the way they made satisfying pops despite knowing they probably weren’t indicative of a healthy seventeen-year-old body. He looked around the room for his furry roommate but couldn’t see any balls of familiar black and white fur, though he wasn’t surprised. Morgana would often wake up before him and rather than wait for his narcoleptic owner to maybe wake up, he’d just go about his own business.
Ren made his way to his wardrobe and began pulling out shirts ready to get dressed for the day before he stopped himself. He gave a quick sniff of his arms and recoiled slightly at the salty tinge of his own aroma. Had it been a normal day hanging out with Ryuji and Ann then he might have settled for some simple deodorant, but a certain ruby eyed girl crossed his mind.
He looked at the time on his phone before letting his gaze drift to the bathhouse across the street.
“I have time for a shower.”
-
“Today marks the opening of world class painter Madarame’s most recent art gallery where—”
Sojiro tuned out the news host’s voice as he went about cleaning the unwashed glasses he had left over from yesterday. The store wasn’t set to open for another hour or so but even then he was sure he wouldn’t be seeing any customers till mid-day. A sigh escaped his lips as he reflected on just how poorly his shop was doing.
The sound of light footsteps coming down the stairs shook him from his self-deprecation. He casted his gaze towards the staircase where he saw a familiar mop of dark hair bouncing down. Sojiro let out a low whistle at the sight of his ward causing the teen to stop moving and giving the coffee shop owner a chance to properly look at him.
He looked a lot better than when he had come down half an hour earlier, trading his sweatpants and dark green top for blue jeans that hung tightly to his legs and a white button up over top of a black t-shirt. Sojiro didn’t want to admit it but the pain the ass he was responsible for had a good sense of style. The clothes he wore were simple enough that it didn’t steal attention away from the obvious stars of the aesthetic, his tattoo and the lip piercing and earing which he realised were both new. On the other hand, the top his wore underneath the button up had non-descript pattern which kept the whole thing from looking too clean.
Ren’s brow quirked at the sight of his guardian analysing his appearance. “Got something to say boss?”
Sojiro pulled his glasses from his face and began wiping them before returning them to their spot on his nose, squinting his eyes as if he was having trouble seeing out of them. Ren had to stop him from rolling his eyes at the comedy routine that was taking place.
“I just never thought I’d see the day where the big bad criminal actually dresses with some kind of style.”
Ren flipped his guardian the middle finger, but a casual smile still tugged at his lips. He didn’t wanna give Sojiro the satisfaction but hearing the praise helped ease his nerves just a little.
The elderly gentleman went back to cleaning his glasses after giving Ren an exasperated breath at his actions. Ren took that as his cue to leave but stopped at the door when he heard Sojiro’s voice.
“It’s a girl isn’t it.” Ren could have said a million things, tried to deny it or pretend it wasn’t. But instead, he just turned with a smirk.
“That obvious huh?”
Sojiro chuckled “She pretty?”
Ren waited for a few seconds, letting the image of his school president come into his mind before turning towards the door. “Terrifying actually… But stunning.” He didn’t wait for Sojiro’s response, fearing that he might have already missed his train as he pushed the door open.
The sound of a bell ringing and the older man’s chuckles filled the store, drowning out whatever was playing on the television.
“Hoo boy, he’s got it bad.”
-
Makoto let her head rest against the glass of the train, the rhythmic bumping that came every few seconds helped to ease the nerves that had started forming in her stomach. Even as the station got closer and closer, she couldn’t stop the part of her brain that was trying so desperately to find a way to not meet with Ren and avoid seeing Takamaki and Sakamoto.
When the train finally stopped, a sigh escaped her lips as not a single thought came to mind. A part of her wanted to just remain seated and let the train continue on its journey, pulling her along with it and giving her an excuse, but another part, the prideful Nijima part of her, willed her legs to stand and carry her out into the station.
She was immediately bombarded with a mass of bodies, pushing her in every which way, despite living in Tokyo her entire life, she was always surprised by just how busy Shibuya station could get on the weekends, though her not having many friends and thus reasons to go to Shibuya on the weekends probably didn’t help her in that regard.
After managing to make her way through the stuffy station and up the steps into the fresh air, she scanned the crowd looking for the one person who could drag her out of her house when she could have spent it studying. It didn’t take long for her eyes to fall onto Ren Amamiya, she found him sitting on a low standing wall with his phone in his hand and his tattoo on full display, she could see the way people naturally went around him like he was a dangerous animal.
Though Makoto felt that even if people weren’t avoiding the boy like the plague, she still would have naturally found him, she couldn’t help but take in his appearance. She was so used to seeing him in his uniform, covered head to toe and wearing a tired expression that seeing him now, dressed in a way that both defied and exceeded people expectations was a shock to her senses. He had his hair tied back giving her full view of his face which was smiling slyly down at his phone like he was reading a terrible joke that he still found funny.
She hadn’t put much thought into it before but now she was starting to realise that Ren Amamiya, Shujin academies supposed problem child and apparent Yakuza/serial killer, was also devilishly good looking.
He must have felt her eyes watching him because he moved his face up from his phone, it was then that she noticed why she had been so transfixed on his appearance, sure seeing him in new clothes was interesting but even she wasn’t sure why she had been so entranced by him. Now that she could fully see his face, she saw that he was wearing jewellery, it wasn’t anything flashy, just a stainless-steel ring in his ear and steel stud in his lip. Even though it was simple, it still made her breathing still for a moment, and when she saw the metal quirk upwards as he gave her a gentle smile, it all but stole her breath away.
Ren spent a moment just looking at her and she couldn’t reason why she felt her cheeks heat up under his gaze. His eyes eventually trailed back to meet her gaze and he gave her another one of those smiles that she was beginning to find more annoying than his smirks, the smirks he’d give to anyone but the smile he had now was much rarer, it was genuine, and she swore he only ever gave it to her.
“You look nice.” Her heart thumped loudly in her chest, and she nearly had to physically hold herself from reaching up to grab her chest. Makoto was suddenly very glad she had spent the entire morning fussing over what she would wear, even if it did cost her some of her sleep.
She felt her hands ball up into her white skirt, trying desperately to fight back the blush that was creeping onto her cheeks, she looked back and saw that his smile had morphed into a smirk, even though the sight should have annoyed her because he knew what he was doing, she felt some of the tension leave her body allowing her to take a deep breath while gaining back some of her composure. Makoto rested her hand on her hip casually as she stared up at the boy in front of her.
“It wouldn’t do to visit an art gallery without looking my best.” She used the moment to eye up the boy, making it obvious to him that she was doing what he did to her. She didn’t need to, considering she had already gotten a pretty long look at his outfit without him knowing, but seeing the way the clothes looked when he was standing was a nice bonus.
“You don’t look so bad yourself.” She eyed to lip piercing and tapped the spot on her own face. “I’m fairly sure getting a lip piercing is against school policy though.”
Ren just chuckled lowly at the jab and Makoto tried to ignore how much she liked his laugh or the way his face seemed to relax as he did so.
Ren raised his arm, giving her a full show of the tattoo that stained his skin and she once again found herself getting lost in the tapestry of colours that was painted on it. “I don’t think they’ll be paying much attention to my jewellery when they get a look at this.”
The two laughed lightly at the ridiculousness of Ren’s situation before a comfortable silence took over, both listening to the bustle of the crowds around them. Despite standing minutes away from the sights of Tokyo, neither teen seemed interested in looking at them, but rather focused on each other.
A chime rang from Ren’s pocket, startling both of them slightly and bringing them from whatever trance they had been in. He reached in and grabbed his phone, his eyes crinkling as he read the message before a sigh left his lips like he was annoyed that someone had ruined the moment.
“That was Ryuji, they’re wondering where we are. Shall we head off.”
She felt like a wave of ice water was just splashed against her body, for a brief moment she had allowed herself to forget why she even came to Shibuya in the first place and Ren’s words hit her like a truck. The sick feeling she had since waking up had returned and she desperately wanted to ask Ren if they could just forget about the art exhibit all together.
She wasn’t sure how long she let herself stew in her dread, but it was clearly long enough for Ren to get worried. She felt his hand rest gently on her arm, she could feel the warmth radiating from his skin and it helped immeasurably fight against the chill that had taken in her bone. She let herself lean slightly into the touch, wanting nothing more than to stay where they were and let it warm her entire body, she let her eyes drift up to his face, half expecting a teasing smile to greet her, but she remembered who Ren Amamiya was. There wasn’t a hint of snark or teasing in his feature, there was only concern and worry.
“Hey, I know I said this would be a good opportunity to make amends, but you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, I’ll explain it to them, and I know they’ll understand.”
She felt like she could get lost in his dark eyes, the genuine worry and concern they held for her felt almost too much for her to handle, she wasn’t sure she deserved the boys unwavering support considering the circumstances that had brought them together. But she’d be lying if she said she’d have it any other way, the thought of not meeting Ren and all the ways he’d brightened up her dull school life was far worst then the guilt she felt in regard to his gaze.
She took a step back, holding onto the warmth that his hand had brought to the small patch on her arm as she brought her hands hard across her face. An audible slap rang, and she could feel the tingle of her skin come soon after. She let the stinging of her cheeks clear her thoughts and finally for the first time since she left the safety of her apartment, she remembered who she was.
She was Makoto Nijima.
And Nijimas didn’t run from challenges.
She ignored the confused look on the boy’s face as she grabbed his hand and started dragging him through the station towards the city. If asked why she did so, she’d almost definitely default to not wanting to be separated in the crowd, which might have worked better had Ren’s appearance not kept every passer by at an arm’s length distance from the two, but she would use it regardless. Makoto didn’t think she had it in her to admit that she enjoyed the warmth that Ren’s hands brought to her skin, filling her with a confidence she felt she was sorely lacking in.
But Ren didn’t ask any questions, and whenever Makoto felt it safe to cast a glance at the delinquent, all she found was a content smile mixed with red ears. So, the two spent there time in a comfortable silence with Makoto dragging the boy and Ren allowing himself to be dragged.
-
“Here.” Ryuji said casually, holding out one of the two bottles of water he grabbed from the vending machine to the up-and-coming model.
Ann looked up from the game she was idly playing on her phone, her eyes creasing at the harsh glare of the sun shining directly in her eyes. She pocketed her phone and reached for the bottle of water, uttering a quiet thanks to the boy as he sat on the curb, even though there was plenty of space on the bike rack Ann was leaning against.
Quiet filled the space between the two as they both just watched the people of Shibuya go about there lives in front of them. Both teens knew that Ren was late but neither felt inclined to call him knowing full well that the only reason he’d be late would be because he either slept in too long or he was just enjoying the time he had with a certain school president. Both of which were things Ann and Ryuji couldn’t be particularly mad about considering how much he had done for the two of them over the past month they’d known the teen.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
Ann peaked down at her side; Ryuji had forgone looking at the pedestrians to ask her a question which she could only perk an eyebrow in response to.
“What do you mean?” She asked curiously, not sure where the sudden question had come from or what had spurred it.
Ryuji just shrugged, like he wasn’t sure of his own question either. “Just the whole thing with Ren bringing miss Pres with us?”
Ann kept her brows quirked, still not fully understanding the question. “Why wouldn’t I be okay with it?”
Ryuji turned to face the crowd of people passing them while rubbing the back of his neck. “I was just wondering if you felt like she was partly responsible for what happened with Shiho.”
Ann’s eyes widened in slight surprise before she quickly chided herself for falling into the same trap that a lot of people did with Ryuji. Assuming he was oblivious to everything.
While the fake blonde tended to act before thinking, he was oddly perceptive when it came to his friends.
She leaned back on the railing, letting her gaze drift towards the open sky as she tried to sort her own feeling into a response, if she was being honest, she had put off the whole thing about Ren and Nijima senpai because she assumed that it wouldn’t have anything to do with them.
“I was mad at her, in the beginning at least. I mean it’s her job to help the students and yet all I’ve ever seen her do is suck up to the teachers.” She paused, still trying to formulate the rest of response, strangely enough, she could feel Ryuji’s eyes on her, and it made it easier for her to take her time.
“But I’m starting to realise that wasn’t exactly fair of me, even if she did know about Kamoshida, there wasn’t much she could do even in her position. A part of me doesn’t want to forgive her for everything that happened, but a bigger part of me is willing to try. For Ren’s sake at least.”
She let out a long breath like she had been talking for minutes without air when in reality it was only a few seconds. She let her eyes fall back down to earth and she was met with Ryuji smiling lightly at her.
“I’m glad you’re willing to try, because I think Ren really likes her, as weird as that pairing sounds on paper.” Ann giggled brightly at the thought.
“You’re right, of all the people for Ren to fall for at Shujin, who would have guessed it was the prim and proper Makoto Nijima.”
Another giggle cut through the crowds of people, followed shortly by a low chuckle that both teens immediately recognised. There eyes were drawn to the sound, and they were greeted by a smiling Makoto and Ren walking shoulder to shoulder towards them, neither teen seeming to notice that they were being watched by the two blondes.
“I also can’t imagine someone who can make Ren smile like that is a bad person.”
-
Spending time with Ren always seemed to be easy for Makoto, there was never any expectations or standards she had to live up to. She could just talk to the Raven-haired teen like the teenager she was, making stupid jokes and complaining about school. She was so caught up in laughing at some stupid joke he made that she almost didn’t realise how close they had gotten to the art exhibit.
Keyword being almost.
She was quickly brought back to reality at the sight of two blonde teens, one natural and the other artificial, leaning against a bike rack talking to each other with content smiles on there faces. Makoto briefly wondered if that was how she and Ren looked at each other when they spoke.
She felt her body stiffen when the girl looked at her, making eye contact for only a second before shifting her gaze to Ren and giving him a wave. She knew that the act most likely wasn’t made with the intention of excluding her, but she still felt a familiar sense of dread forming in her stomach.
Before she realized it, her feet had stopped, and they refused to move. She internally chided herself for her cowardice, she hadn’t even been directly involved with Kamoshida, yet she felt terrified to come face to face with his most immediate victims, and for what reason?
Guilt?
Shame?
She could feel herself about to spiral into her own self doubt and pity when she felt a warmth blossom from her shoulder. She whipped her head towards Ren who was looking at her calmly.
He leaned in closer so he could talk quietly to her, and she felt her face flush at the intimacy of his breath against her ear. “Those two are the some of the best people I’ve met. If you just be honest and sincere then I have no doubt everything will be fine.”
Makoto was almost annoyed by how easily his words managed to ease her erratic heart beat and clammy hands. She didn’t find it fair that someone a year younger then her seemed to always know exactly what to say to make things better. But here she was, feeling a new sense of confidence as she looked at the two teens in front of her.
She took a deep breath—something she picked up from her time in Judo— before letting her clenched fist relax, she looked at Ren and gave him a smile she hoped exuded the same confidence he gave to her so readily. Judging by his smile, it seemed to have worked because he gave her a reassuring nod before he started walking towards his two friends, allowing her to follow behind him of her own free will and giving her some semblance of control.
It didn’t take long for all four teenagers to come together and like she anticipated, a very awkward silence hung over the group and even with her lack of people skills, she could tell that she was the reason.
She immediately locked eyes with Ann who was looking at her with an expression that Makoto couldn’t read, which was mildly frustrating to the girl. Makoto liked plans, she liked having an expectation and liked having it met. She had expected anger, maybe even just pure hatred directed at her by Shiho Suzui’s friend, it was what she had prepared herself for and now that she didn’t get it, she felt somewhat embarrassed about the sleep she had lost worrying.
She gave one last cursory glance to Ren who only looked amused at the entire situation, like he was in on a joke that no one else was which annoyed her. He had that signature smirk that she found equal parts endearing and infuriating and that brief moment of normalcy was enough to spur Makato into doing something she rarely ever does. She was just going to wing it.
Like she was spring being held taught, her back bent forward with alarming speed, causing both Ann and Ryuji to flinch slightly at the sporadic movement.
“Takamaki and Sakamoto. I’m sorry.” She could feel the two younger teens gape at the sudden apology and before they could even formulate a response, the rest of her apology spilled from her mouth.
“I won’t make excuses, I wasn’t aware of the extent of Kamoshida’s misgivings and that’s a failure on my behalf, I should have paid more attention to the signs that something was wrong and done what was needed to protect my fellow students. But more importantly.”
She raised her head to make eye contact with Ann before dropping her head back down, “I’m so sorry Takamaki, I’m sorry that I neglected my duties and allowed it to get so bad that Shiho-chan felt her only option was to do what she did, I don’t expect forgiveness, from either of you. But I hope you’ll allow me to try and make things right.”
Makoto felt air rush back into her lungs, her speech drawing just about the last of her oxygen reserves to get out what she needed to say. She didn’t allow her body to straighten yet, she needed to hear there response before she could even imagine looking at their faces.
The silence that followed was almost suffocating to the brunette and a not so small part of her was terrified that they wouldn’t even allow her to try, she wouldn’t blame them of course but the thought still left her feeling sick to her stomach
Another second passed before Ann broke the silence “okay, I forgive you.”
Makoto’s neck shot up at a speed it had never moved at before. She was briefly worried she’d given herself whiplash, but her confusion beat out her worry. She stared at the blonde with eyes wide and mouth agape, unsure if she’d even heard her correctly.
“You do?” Makoto could only ask slowly, scared that her fears had caused her mind to play tricks on her, but before she could question her own hearing or sanity any further, the blonde quickly moved beside her and entwined there arms together before dragging her away from the boys.
“Yep, so now we’re friends, which is great because it was starting to get boring being the only girl.” Makoto didn’t know what to say and apparently, she didn’t have to because Ren was the first to break the tension with one of his sarcastic quips.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I guess you don’t want to play with my hair again after all.” Ann just turned to stick her tongue out briefly before pulling a flabbergasted Makoto deeper into the city.
Notes:
We're back... Maybe.
There's a few things I need to say but before all that, let me just first start by saying thank you everyone for the support you've given, the comments have been incredible to read and this story is currently on the second page when you sort by Kudo's and Hit's which just amazes me.
So let's get down to what I'm sure eveyone is thinking. "Is it back." and the answer isn't as clear cut as you're probably hoping, I loved writing this story, and I still have thoughts about fights and interactions with Ren and Makoto, things I'd love to share but heres the big problem with how I write.
I come up with interesting scenarios and scenes that I think would be cool, I then write everything surrounding that. This whole fic started because I was watching Haikyuu and thought "Wouldn't it be cool with Ren spiked a volley ball like Hinata?" and thus From Deliquent to criminal was born.
So the problem lies in everything that come inbetween, I would love to finish this fic, I have the final fight scene written, or at least the first draft, and I think it's really cool and dramatic, but when I think of everything I need to write to get there, all the characters I gotta introduce and keep in the back of my mind when I'm writing a scene, well it exhausts me just imagining it.
So I don't know if I'll finish this fic, I started writing this when I was playing through royal and really into the P5 fandom, but if i'm being honest, I'm not as interested in it as I was back then, so It does get finished, It's probably gonna come at the expense of a few arcs and possibly whole characters just not existing because I'm not a professional author, I write fanfiction and trying to juggle so many characters while keeping things original is tough.
So in the event I drop this fic, I just want to say I love you all, the comments I've read have pushed me through dark parts of my life and have given me an outlet I didn't know I needed, I fell in love with writing because of this fanfic and I don't know If I'll ever write something proper in the future but it's no longer a pipe dream because of all the amazing things you've had to say about this fic.
Chapter 43
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Ren was only slightly worried about how Makoto would fit into the small group he had made with his friends, Ren loved Ryuji and Ann but even he knew that they weren’t exactly the easiest people to get along with, what with Ryuji’s inability to think before speaking and Ann’s outgoing and bubbly personality. Ren was sure that even the most social of social butterflies would struggle to keep up with the dynamic the two brought, much less a girl who had spent the better part of her high school life ignoring personal relationships in favour of studying and her own academic achievements.
Though it seems Ren’s concerns were unnecessary because it only took a few minutes of awkwardness before Ann struck up a conversation, and from there everything seemed to slot into place. The two girls started chatting about any and everything that came to mind and soon Ann had given Makoto one of her makeup kits while Makoto gave Ann the number to her old Judo teacher.
“I feel like we’re being ignored.” Ryuji loudly whispered to Ren; the two boys being left to follow behind the girls while they went about their idle chatter. Ren would have replied to the blonde with his own snarky remark, but the teen found himself to enamoured in watching the way Makoto’s face would light up with expression as she talked to the extroverted blonde. He felt a small pang of jealousy in seeing the girl smile at something he wasn’t responsible for, but he managed to completely squash that selfishness when he heard her laugh at something Ann had said.
It didn’t matter if he wasn’t the one making her laugh, ren would give anything just to hear her soft reserved giggle.
Ryuji noticed the way Ren’s eyes were trained Makoto’s figure and smiled at the way his own friend face was lighting up. Before he knew it, he had his arm slung around the teens shoulder and started jabbing his ribs lightly “Be careful not to get caught staring, don’t want her thinking your like that beansprout.”
Ren rolled his eyes, but the edges of his lips still quirked up, he pulled his elbow back and let it strike firmly against the blonde’s stomach, much harder then he had been receiving but not nearly enough to actually hurt his friend, just knock the wind out of him a little.
Makoto and Ann turned back at the sound of Ryuji’s wheezing to see the fake blonde hunched over and giving Ren an annoyed glare. When they looked at the boy in question, he just gave them a smile that was far too innocent for the notoriety Ren had.
The girls just looked at one another, rolling their eyes and continuing whatever it was they were talking about before they were interrupted.
-
It didn’t take long for the four to reach there destination, what took the most time though was the long queue of people waiting to get in. Ryuji wasn’t the most patient of people on the best of days, so mix his utter disinterest in art with the warm weather and the blonde boy couldn’t seem to keep his leg from bouncing for more than two seconds, an annoyed scowl ever present on his features. Ren wasn’t fairing much better, at least on the inside, his outer appearance may have given off cool and bored vibe but on the inside he was certain his legs would resemble fried chicken under the intense heat of the sun against his tight black jeans.
By the time the four made it to the front of the line, Ann and Makoto looked the exact same as when they had half an hour ago while Ryuji was panting like a dog and Ren could feel the steam trying to escape from his pants. The girls looked at the boys and Ren could feel the incredulity in there gazes.
Two security guards stood either side of the entry, one was a man clearly in his forties, his head shiny and bald and his eyes covered by reflective sunglasses while the other one was obviously much younger with his full head of black hair, slicked back with far too much gel to look like anything that hadn’t come straight from fifties.
Makoto and Ann gave the two guards there tickets and were let in without issue, though Ren felt his jaw tighten when the younger guard clearly checked out Makoto’s retreating form, his gaze wondering far lower than Ren appreciated. “Fucking finally.” Ren heard Ryuji mutter under his breath as the two took a step forward, tickets ready in their hands, but instead of walking through like they expected. The two were each stopped by a firm palm against their chests.
Ren made a show of looking down at his chest with his eyebrow raised, “And the reason you’re not letting us in is?” The younger guard gave a half chortle before obviously eying Ryuji’s attire and then staring right at Ren’s exposed tattoo.
“There is a very strict dress code for entering the building, one that neither of you meet unfortunately.” Ren looked right at the guard; his eyebrow still raised as if to ask if that was seriously the excuse he was gonna stick to.
“Really? Because last I checked our friends that you spent and awfully long time checking out were wearing clothes that were just as causal as me and my friend here.”
“Yeah, what the eff are you guys talking about, there was nothing said about a dress code anywhere.” Ryuji’s louder outburst was enough to garner the girl’s attention where they quickly realised they weren’t being followed any longer. They started back towards the entrance; there good mood obviously gone by the frowns on the faces.
Makoto was the first to speak, almost gliding out of the building and next to Re side, her eyes already glaring at the younger guard, something ren was sure he’d never get bored of seeing. “Is there an issue here with our friends?”
The guard who had been so obviously checking out Makoto eyed the space between the two teens and scowled. “I was just explaining how your friend here doesn’t meet out dress standards.” He spoke with a less friendly tone then he had when he first let Makoto and Ann pass and despite not looking directly at Makoto, ren could tell her glare harshened considerably, clearly noticing the way the younger guard was eyeing Ren’s tattoo when he spoke. She cocked her hips, the hem of her blouse ruffling slightly with the movement and Ren wondered if had a thing for Makoto getting pissed.
“The exhibit is open to the public, so long as they have official tickets and aren’t wearing anything that wouldn’t be deemed inappropriate in a public setting. There wouldn’t be a need for a dress code.” Ren’s mouth grew into a smile as he watched the guard who only a few seconds ago had spoken with enough confidence and ego to rival Kamoshida, now seemed to struggle to find any words to respond to the brunette in front of him. Hi figure visibly recoiling from the heat of Makoto’s glare.
“Uhh… Due to the increasing popularity of the artist’s work, precautions needed to be implemented to keep his public image from being ruined.” He sent a not-so-subtle glare in Ren’s direction, as if blaming the teen for the wrath of Makoto which Ren chose to purposefully ignore, he’d much rather watch the way the girls eyes furrowed even deeper, clearly not buying a single thing the security guard was saying.
She opened her mouth to make another counter argument, but Ann’s calm voice came out first. “I just looked at the website and there is absolutely nothing said about a dress code.” Ren could hear Ryuji trying to contain his laughter as Ann read the content of her phone like she was reading a passage from a textbook. “So, can we go now? All of us?”
The younger guard looked like he was about to burst from embarrassment, his face the same shade as Ann’s red top. He took a step forward like he was prepared to escort them away forcefully when a fresh voice intervened.
“What is all the commotion out here?” The four turned towards the smooth voice coming from inside the gallery. Three of them recognised the voice where Makoto was staring more confused about the sudden appearance of a new person. Yusuke’s lanky frame soon appeared, looking annoyed by the noise being caused by the four teens. His eye met with Ren’s, and his face immediately turned to a scowl before eventually landing on Ann and shifting to something completely different.
“Ah Takamaki-san, I’m so happy you made it.” Any other time Ren would have been annoyed at being so obviously antagonised and ignored. But he was having too much fun looking at the bouncers faces as they quickly realised that the personal apprentice of the Madarame knew the group of kids they were trying so desperately to keep out.
It was clear that Ann was a little put off by the boys straight forward politeness, but she was quick to regain her composure, whether that had anything to do with the life-threatening situations she’s dealt with in the metaverse, or simply from her day-to-day life as a model, Ren would have no idea.
“Thanks for inviting us Kitagawa-kun.”
Yusuke beamed at the blonde before directing his attention to the other three, his eyes trailing on Makoto but rather then the perverse way the bouncer’s had, the artists eyes were more focused on trying to conclude if they had met prior to this and whether he should, regard the girl with the same annoyance as he did with Ryuji and Ren.
“I see you’ve brought your friends as well.” The disdain in the boy’s voice wasn’t even subtle. “But pray tell why you are out here in this awful heat.”
Ann tried to give a polite smile but the other three could tell it was taking all her strength not to roll her eyes at the oblivious artist. “Well I’d love to come inside but these two here are saying my friends aren’t welcome due to a supposed code.”
Yusuke looked at the two boys and Ren could almost hear the insults being slung at him in the boys’ mind. For a brief moment Ren thought the teen would agree with the guards, chances with Ann be damned but the skinny teens eyes turned to glare at the guards.
“What utter nonsense. You two.” He pointed at the guards; the older one looking unfazed by the teens glare while the younger one sweated with all the panic of someone who was about to lose their job. “They have been invited personally by Madarame. I suggest you refrain from drawing unneeded attention.
The two gave silent nods in affirmation while Yusuke moved to usher Ann into the building, “I have so much I want to show you.” The gangly teen spouted, ignoring the other three much to Ryuji’s annoyance.
The two were soon gone with Ryuji trailing not far behind, his hands in his pocket grumbling about something Ren couldn’t hear. Makoto sighed from beside him and looked up at the dark-haired teen expectedly. Ren was about to walk in with her but gave another glance at the younger guard who was still scowling at them, he gave Makoto a look and the brunette could only sigh in resignation but wasn’t a direct no which was more then enough for Ren.
He took a step towards the entrance before stopping right beside the guard who was still eyeballing his every move. Ren raised his arm before dropping it on the guard’s shoulder with a loud thump, he gave a few patronising pats before moving closer to speak.
“Don’t worry buddy. I’m sure it was hard being rejected from the police force for that walking fire hazard you call a haircut. But who knows, one day you might meet a real Yakuza and he can show you just what would happen if you tried to pull the same shit you just did with me. It’ll be a real cool story to tell all your friends. You know, when they manage to fix your jaw.” Ren spoke quietly enough that he came off as cool and composed but still with enough volume for Makoto and the other guard to pick up on the conversation.
He walked through the doors before the young man could respond, laughing lightly to himself as Makoto shook her head disapprovingly, but Ren could see the hints of a smile creeping onto her face.
-
By the time Ren and Makoto had caught up to the others, Yusuke had already begun his pitch to persuade Ann into being his model. Ren was worried that the directness would have made her uncomfortable, but it seemed having Ryuji close by her helped to ease her nerves. Ren’s eyes drifted to the girl walking close beside him and wondering if he had any kind of effect on her, she always seemed more confident in his presence.
They had just made to their friends when Yusuke’s attention was drawn from Ann in the direction of warm hearty chuckle. The rest of the teen’s gazes were soon to drawn towards the source, and they quickly saw Madarame striding towards them in his traditional Japanese robe.
“I’m happy to see your friends decided to come Yusuke, I’m always telling you to make connections with people and broaden your horizons.” Yusuke glanced at the three teens that weren’t Ann with trepidation.
“You’re right master, though I’d be surprised to see if any of them aside from Takamaki could offer me very much in that regard.”
Ren didn’t fail to notice the way the older gentleman’s eyes hovered on his arm. A gentle smile coming to his lips. “You’d be surprised Yusuke. But anyways, as much as I’d like to leave you to your friends, I require your assistance.”
Yusuke beamed at the artist, the joy of being helpful radiated from the teen at a level that Ren felt like he was intruding on another families Christmas. “Of course, Master.” The apprentice artist towards Ann and spoke directly to her, completely ignoring the others. “I’m sorry Takamaki but I must save our discussion for later. But I implore you to look around and enjoy the exhibit.”
It was only then that the boy acknowledged the other threes existence, though it was clear that Makoto wasn’t the recipient of the teen’s annoyance. “You’re also free to look around, though I doubt you would be able to appreciate the nuances of art like this.” Before either of the boys could retort, Yusuke gave Ann and by association, Makoto, a short bow and moving off after the old painter.
“Uh, who was that?” Makoto asked, finally being given an opportunity to pose the question. Ren rubbed his forehead, the pain of headache already starting to flare up.
“The type of person I really struggle to deal with.” Makoto looked from the dark-haired teen to the two blondes with her brows raised, hoping that one of them could give a less vague answer. Luckily for her Ann took it upon herself to translate what Ren meant.
“He’s Madarame’s apprentice, he said he wanted me to model for his latest painting and invited us to the exhibit.”
“He also stalked Ann across the trains to ask her, so I’m still not convinced that he isn’t a pervert.” Ryuji chimed in, clearly not about to let that tidbit of information go unmentioned.
Makoto rubbed her temple, mimicking Ren’s action and starting to understand why she saw the notorious delinquent of Shujin napping all the time. She had barely spent an hour with the group, and she was already exhausted just trying to keep up and understand.
“How is it that my underclassman getting a tattoo is the least strange thing that’s happened recently.” She paused to pinch the bridge of her nose like a teacher trying to calm a noisy class.
She felt slender fingers touch her shoulder and had to suppress a shiver while Ren talked to her in a hushed, almost resigned tone. “I’m so happy I have someone to share my problem children with.”
Both Ann and Ryuji rolled their eyes at Ren’s theatrics, but all four teens were appreciative of the ever-lightening mood that the strangeness brought. Washing away the tense awkwardness of dealing with both security and a persistent Yusuke. Ann took a step towards Ryuji, latching her hand around his wrist before dragging him away.
“Fine, if you don’t wanna deal with us then we’ll just go have fun on our own.” Ren watched with a smile as Ryuji’s eyes widened in surprise, looking to Ren for some kind of guidance which he could only shrug in response to. Ren didn’t miss the way that Ann’s eyes gleamed with excitement, or the way her tongue stuck out at Ren like she knew exactly what she is doing separating the four.
Eventually the two blondes disappeared into the crowd of onlookers, leaving the student president and the problem child alone to their own devices.
“Are those two together?” Ren looked down at the brunette beside him, noticing the way the dim lighting of the exhibit made her brightly colour irises stand out even more and couldn’t help but laugh. Makoto turned her attention to him, her cheeks a tinge rosier then before while Ren answered simply.
“God I wish it was that simple.” Ren took a step forward before offering his hand, motioning with his arm like a butler guiding the way for his master. “Shall we Nijima-senpai?”
Ren made sure to over annunciate the honorifics which earned him exactly what he wanted. Makoto rolled her eyes while taking a step forward before doing something that Ren wasn’t expecting. He felt her slender fingers wrap around his wrist and he let himself be pulled by the shorter girl with a stupidly large grin on his face.
Whether Ren was referring to Ann and Ryuji when he answered the girl’s question, he wasn’t sure, because when he looked at her light brown hair, held neatly in place by her brown hair band. He wished to any god out there that things could just be easy for him for one day.
Notes:
Another month, another chapter. I've decided that I wanna keep this fic going because I do love it, no matter how much anxiety it's brought me and how many nights it's kept me awake. I'm going to be releasing shorter chapters because it felt like I was writing for the sake of reaching a stupid word count per chapter. So unless I'm feeling a bout of inpsiration, chapters will avergae between 2500 to 3000 words.
I won't spoil anything for future chapters but I will say that there is going to be big changes to way personas work and abttles play out. Why you ask? because I've been watching Jujustu kaisen and I wanna write more interesting fight scenes. And having a mythical creature give ren a flat power boost is boring.
I'm so happy people are still enjoying this whole mess and I don't think I'd have made it past chapter 10 without all the words of encouragement and praise so thank you all again. I know I say that every chapter but it can't be understated how much it means to me.
Chapter Text
Art wasn’t exactly Ren’s forte, he could appreciate the rare piece of graffiti he saw on the underside of a bridge back home or the occasional glimpse of ink on a passers-by arm, obscured by their sleeves in what was most likely an attempt to reintegrate back into the harsh reality of being a member of Japanese society.
But when it came to the type of art that one would proudly display in a gallery such as the one that he and Makoto were currently walking through, he just couldn’t see the same appeal in it that others clearly saw. Sure, he could understand the technique behind it, and he held respect to a person who could dedicate their entire life to mastering a single craft, but when he was expected to find some deep meaning in it, that’s where he was usually lost.
So, on the list of things that he like to spend his Saturday doing, walking around a gallery full of art he didn’t understand was most probably stolen and platinised for a single man’s own fortune would be very close to bottom of his list, right next to seeing the real Kamoshida in his pink thong.
But turns out, when you add one excited Makoto Nijima into the mix, suddenly Ren couldn’t imagine a place he’d rather be. The art on the wall paled in comparison to the sight of Makoto gazing intensely at every stroke and every colour splotch. Her eyes lighting up as she read the plaque that accompanied every frame and her brow furrowing with every theme she was seemingly unable to grasp.
Ren realised quickly that he had all but stopped paying attention to the art in favour of studying the girls face but he couldn’t bring himself to really care. In the back of his mind, he realised that they weren’t here for fun, Madarame may very well be abusing children and taking credit for their work but another part of him relished in the normalcy of just watching Makoto. For a brief moment Ren just wanted to pretend that he was a normal teenager, a teenager who had a crush on his upper-class man and not a falsely accused criminal forced to spend a year in a city that he didn’t fully understand, or a school he was convinced didn’t actually wanted him.
And especially not someone with mysterious powers and an apparent grand purpose thrust onto him that he wasn’t made privy to knowing.
“There isn’t much point in coming to an art exhibit if you’re not actually going to look at the art.” Ren was shaken from his thoughts to see he was face to face with Makoto who was giving him an unimpressed look. Her arms crossed and her hips cocked in a way that was so different to the first time he met her.
Ren shrugged as he looked at the painting she had just been staring at, a simple landscape of a small village somewhere in Japan. Unassuming just like his own hometown but drawn beautifully. “I’m just surprised you like art so much.”
He looked back and saw her left eyebrow raised incredulously. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
While the question was accusatory, there was no venom behind her words, if anything her question revealed her genuine curiosity. Ren just smirked as he looked back at the piece of art. “I just wouldn’t expect the straight A student president, who is also a Yakuza film nerd, would have much of an interest in something so nuanced as art.”
Ren watched the girls mouth part slightly and he hated the way his eyes were almost instinctually drawn the pink of her lips. The thought of rubbing his finger across it threatening to move his arm of its own volition.
Sojiro was right, he did have it bad.
Makoto’s face quickly grew red as she sputtered “I-I-I don’t know what you mean about the Yakuza…”
Her voice trailed off as Ren smirked in response “You left your movie cabinet open when I was at your place. Some of those movies are classics. Now that I think about it I think I saw some Buchimaru…”
Ren felt a mouth slap tightly over his mouth, his eyes trailed down towards Makoto whose face and ears had turned crimson. She looked up at him through her bangs with as much as a glare as she could muster through her embarrassment. “Stop talking. Right now.”
Ren wasn’t sure what compelled him, but the urge was simply too strong and before he knew it, both him arms had found purchase on the spot right above her hips. Makoto’s glare turned to a gaze of confusion until she felt the slightest bit of pressure from Ren’s fingers. Immediately her gaze turned deadly as she realised just what he was about to do. “Don’t. You. Dare.”
Ren’s eyes softened into a face of pure innocence, betrayed only by the grin that Makoto felt under her hand. Ren’s fingers squeezed fully, and Makoto couldn’t control the yelp that came. A high-pitched noise escaping the girls’ lips right before she cold slap her other hand over her mouth, inadvertently drawing the attention of most of the people around them only for Ren’s laughter to draw the rest.
Through an even deeper blush, Makoto reached to grab Ren’s wrist and dragged him through the exhibit, out of the gazes of the curious onlookers while Ren tried desperately to contain the laughter’s that continued to bubble out from his stomach, something which he was doing a very poor job of. Eventually the two found somewhere more secluded where Makoto tried her hardest the glare at the boy but couldn’t help herself from indulging in the atmosphere as her laughter quickly joined Ren’s.
-
The day continued and Ren found himself standing in front of a painting by himself, Makoto had excused herself to use the restroom and Ren had no intention of getting in the way of Ryuji’s and Ann’s time together.
God knows if any two people deserved to have a normal day as teenagers then it was those two.
The painting he was looking at had been the only one that had managed to properly grab his attention since walking into the building. It was a simple picture by most standards but the bright red of the woman’s dress and the longing she held in her eyes was enough to demand even Ren’s untrained gaze.
“I see even someone like you can understand brilliance if you try hard enough.”
Ren slowly drew his eye from the painting towards the thin painter, his gaze filled with boredom and disinterest in the blatant discontent being targeted towards him. He’s met plenty of people who don’t like him, some who downright hate him, enough to know when someone’s feelings are genuine, and honestly Yusuke wasn’t one of them.
“You don’t have many friends do you?” Ren was sort of surprised when the artists body visibly shook at the question, anger marring his face for only a brief moment before his features sagged.
He took a quick breath before speaking. “I… No, you’re right, that was uncalled for and immature. I apologise.”
Ren couldn’t help his brow from rising, he had expected more resistance if he was being truthful. He shrugged as he looked back at the painting in front of them. “I wasn’t exactly pleasant when we first met either. Water under the bridge.”
He saw Yusuke smile as his body relaxed. The two looked back the painting in front of them and stood there in silence as they both took in the work of art. Yusuke broke the silence, his voice no longer holding the haughty tone it had a few minutes ago. “May I ask for your opinion?”
Ren glanced away from the woman on the canvas towards the thin teen. “About what?”
He saw Yusuke’s hand gesture forwards. “On the Sayuri of course.”
“This is Madarame’s greatest piece, it’s what made him the world-renowned painter he is today. There’s been much discussion on just what the woman in the painting is staring so longingly at.”
“And you want my opinion?” Ren asked warily, while Yusuke wasn’t being openly hostile, he had found that truly passionate people weren’t often open to hearing the opinions from outsiders.
Ren noticed the way Yusuke’s eyes trailed over the tattoo on his arm, his gaze trailing each methodical line that stained his skin. “I hadn’t noticed before in my haste to speak with Takamaki-san, but the art on your skin is exquisite.”
Ren spent a moment looking at the Sayuri, deciding to properly observe the painting and form a conclusion that would satisfy the artists curiosity. Normally Ren would just give the bare minimum answer about whether he liked it or not. But something in the earnestness of Yusuke’s question and opinion of his tattoo made him want to try.
“I think she’s a mother, looking at her child. Just imagining what kind of life that tiny human will have as they move through it. The people they’ll meet, the things they’ll do.”
Yusuke was quiet as he absorbed Ren’s words. “What makes you say that?”
Ren turned to face the artist with a bitter smile. “Because that’s how my mum used to look at me. Same loving eyes and subtle smile. It’s oddly uncanny how similar they look when you’re only focusing on the expressions.”
Yusuke’s mouth opened and closed, words seemingly escaping the artist as he tried to come up with a response. Ren wasn’t sure if his interpretation was what the artist was looking for, but he took a strange sense of satisfaction in leaving the elegantly spoken artist speechless
Yusuke opened his mouth once again but instead, all that came was the brief beep of the phone in his pocket. The blue haired teen reached for the device and looked annoyed by what was on the screen. He quickly put the phone back before finally speaking, “I’m required for some matters pertaining to the exhibit.”
Ren watched the lanky teen turn, taking long strides to wherever he was summoned to. Ren was prepared to just wait for Makoto in silence and boredom but was surprised when Yusuke suddenly spun on his heel and stalked back towards Ren like a man on a mission, he drew his phone and all but shoved it into Ren’s hands. “I don’t really understand why it is that I want to speak with you more but alas I do. So, if it doesn’t displease you, would you mind giving me your phone number.”
Ren looked down at the phone and returned Yusuke’s flustered explanation with a smirk, his brows raising as he began subtly typing his number into the boy’s phone. “You sure I’ll be able to understand the brilliance of our discussions of art?”
While he enjoyed watching the way Yusuke flustered about his earlier statement, the lanky boy simply didn’t hold a candle to his favourite senpai so he didn’t spend much time holding onto the teens phone before passing it back.
Yusuke grabbed the device, looking through his phone for the new contact, no doubt worried that Ren would simply pretend to give him a number just to spite him and honestly, if it was a few months ago on different circumstances, that worry may have been valid. Ren could pinpoint the moment the blue haired boy found his number by the relieved breath he shuddered out.
He pocketed the device and gave an appreciative “thank you” before turning back and moving away again, but this time it was Ren who stopped him.
“Word of advice, you want Ann to trust you and go along with the modelling? Invite Ryuji, the other art idiot you turned your nose up earlier that is.”
Ren almost laughed at the way Yusuke’s neck cringed lower, tucking his head between his shoulders as he looked back on his own behaviour, but Ren considered that a better reaction then simply scoffing at the notion. He gave a final nod and turned a corner out of Ren’s sight, leaving the raven-haired teen to continue staring at the Sayuri, a newfound appreciation for the piece of art even if it was tinged slightly by the fact that Ren probability would never know who actually painted it.
“It really is beautiful isn’t it?” Ren turned towards Makoto who had slid beside him like it was the most natural place for her to be. She looked at Ren with a smile, her eyes flitting across his features as she waited for his response.
“Yeah, She’s gorgeous.” Ren responded quietly, his eyes never leaving Makoto’s face as the words tumbled from his mouth. An easy grin came to his mouth at the sight of the girl blushing furiously, she quickly turned her face away from him, tucking her chin against her collarbone in a desperate attempt to hide.
Ren gave a low chuckle before gently grabbing the girl’s wrist and moving her away from the painting, purposely avoiding any other art enthusiasts, not because he wanted to save Makoto the embarrassment of being seen by others but purely because Ren decided that he deserved to be a little selfish and wanted to keep her to himself.
“let’s go find Ryuji and Ann.”
Both of them knew that Ren didn’t need to keep holding onto her wrist but neither of them made any attempt to change the situation. For reasons neither of them were ready to fully admit yet.
-
“Damn, I can’t believe we wasted the whole day in that stuffy exhibit—Ow!” Ryuji rubbed the spot on his arm that Ann just hit.
“What eff was that for?”
Ann just crossed her arms and glared at the blonde “Oh I’m sorry that hanging out with me was a waste of time.”
Ryuji’s eyes widened while his arms started flailing about “What? No, I didn’t mean that bit was a waste of time, I’m just saying that—”
Ren rolled his eyes while Makoto stifled a giggle into her hand as they both watched Ryuji flail like a fish out of water, seemingly unaware that everyone besides himself knew that Ann wasn’t seriously mad. But no one was particularly concerned with mentioning that at the moment.
“Whatever, I’m just gonna take the L here.” He checked the time on his phone before quickly putting it away. “What do you guys wanna do now, we can grab something to eat at big bang?”
Ren looked at the girl beside him as she wrapped one of her arms around herself, a disappointed expression clear on her face as she watched the two blondes begin discussing how to best spend the rest of their day.
“Actually guys, Makoto and I are gonna call it a day.” Ryuji and Ann looked at the pair curiously, Makoto looked up at Ren just with just as much surprise. “She promised to help me study for the tests coming up, we didn’t get the chance earlier because of my shifts at work.”
Ryuji pouted slightly “Can’t you guys just do that tom—” The blonde was cut off by a sharp elbow curtesy of Ann digging sharply into his side.
The girl smiled brightly at Ren and Makoto as she began dragging Ryuji away. “No worries guys, have fun studying, we’ll catch up with you later Ren.”
Ren waved casually with a smirk while Makoto just watched the scene, her features wrought with confusion. Eventually when the pair of blondes disappeared into the crowded streets of Shibuya she stared up at Ren looking conflicted. “Thank you, but you didn’t have to let them go on their own. I could have just gone home myself.”
Ren shrugged as he gave a gentle flick against the brunette’s forehead, surprising the girl and making her eyes go wide at the gesture. “I know that. I’m doing it because I want to, now lets get moving so we don’t have to deal with the train rush.”
He didn’t wait for the girl’s response before he started moving in the direction of the station, smiling to himself when he heard footsteps rushing behind him.
-
It didn’t take long for the two to find themselves sitting in a fairly empty car of the train. Despite her constant remarks that she could make it home by herself and just as many from Ren saying he knew and was just doing what he wanted regardless, the pair of teens found themselves shoulder to shoulder on the way back to Makoto’s apartment.
They spent the first few minutes of the ride in comfortable silence, Makoto was checking notes on her phone for an upcoming quiz while Ren watched the scenery zip across through the trains window. Eventually it was Makoto who broke the silence with a less then subtle yawn.
Ren looked at the girl whose eyes were now steadily drooping, and he could tell she must have been tired based on the lack of embarrassment from being caught. “Had a good day then?” Ren smirked, his voice purposely quiet despite there only being a handful of other passengers to potentially annoy.
Makoto gave a little nod in affirmation “It was great, I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun.”
Ren chuckled, allowing himself to lean closer to the girl, their shoulders barely touching, he dipped his head lower so he could talk right into the brunette’s ear “You’ll get used to it. You’re a part of the group now after all. I don’t think Ann would let you leave even if you wanted to.”
He felt his heart flutter at the way Makoto’s eyes finally closed fully as a smile grew on her face, like his voice was lulling her to sleep.
“I’d like that, maybe I could even help Ryuji with his stud—” her words trailed off into nothing, only to be replaced by the light steady breaths of sleep. Ren smiled and leaned further back into his chair, ready for a quiet ride for the rest of the journey.
He looked at the girl resting beside him before checking around the rest of the car, being sure to look out for anyone that might recognise them before gently tugging on the girl’s sleeve, just enough to cause the brunettes head to droop to the side before finding its spot in the crook of Ren shoulder and neck.
He went back to looking out the window, the scenery and quiet suddenly becoming a little less droll.
Chapter 45
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Makoto felt the faintest touch on her forehead, a gentle poke that held a nostalgic amount of affection. She let her eyes flutter open, taking a minute to take in her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was looking at the notes she had on her phone and talking to Ren but now the entire world seemed tilted which was odd to her.
“As much as I’d love for you to keep using my shoulder as a pillow, I think we’re coming up on our stop.” The low frequency of Ren’s voice, husky from his whispering sent a not so unpleasant chill down Makoto’s spine, she could feel goosebumps prickle on her skin, and it took all her willpower not to shiver.
Makoto turned towards Ren’s voice, she quickly noticed that her head was still leaning against the boy’s shoulder but couldn’t bring herself to lift it just yet. Her focus was solely on taking in the features of his face, the length of his eyelashes and the way his nose twitched when a strand of his dark hair tickled against it. The way his eyes looked at her with a fondness that felt both so foreign and so familiar at the same time.
But above all that, it was his gentle smile that caused her heart to flutter. The way his lips turned upwards, conveying every emotion on his face clear as day. The amusement he found in her probably less that flattering appearance and the joy he had just being with her, even his lip ring which by all rights she should reprimand him for getting when it was a clear violation of the school rules, looked beautiful and ethereal with the way the setting sun reflected off the steel.
Makoto knew that she should move her head from the boy’s shoulder, she should be embarrassed and mortified that she not only fell asleep while studying but used Ren as a makeshift pillow. Despite what her brain was telling her though, she couldn’t bring herself to move, the warmth of Ren’s body mixed with the quiet atmosphere of the still empty train car felt too special to let go.
It was only the soft rumbling of the train slowing down that managed to break the two teens from there reverie. Makoto lifted her head from Ren’s shoulder with a surprising amount of reluctance and when she looked back at the boy, she thought she saw the hints of a frown on his face, but it was gone as quick as it came so she couldn’t be certain, nor did she wanna focus on what that would have meant if it had.
-
The walk down Makoto’s Hall was filled with a peaceful quiet, after their day together it seemed that both of the teens had all but exhausted what they could talk about, but Makoto didn’t mind. That was something she had grown to appreciate in the tall boy beside her, he never made her feel like she needed to continue talking just for the sake of filling dead air. Conversation just seemed to come naturally to the infamous transfer student.
Normally the walk from the elevator would take Makoto five minutes at the longest and that was usually after a long day of school or a particularly rough bout of judo practice. But with Ren trailing beside her though, the five-minute walk ended up taking them ten minutes and Makoto was surprised by how little she cared. Her usual proclivity for speed and efficiency always seemed to crumble in the presence of Ren Amamiya and while she was sure that she’d be annoyed if it was anyone else, with Ren it felt nice to just take things at a slower pace.
But the hallway could only go on for so long and before she knew it, Makoto found herself looking at the door to her apartment. The silence coming from within was the total opposite of the comforting quiet the two shared, it was lonely and oppressive, something she desperately wanted to fill with the sound of dinner being made or the scratching of lead on paper. She turned on her heel to look at Ren, ready to see him walk away and go on with his life, but the boy made no effort to move from his spot, his eyes met hers and Makoto suddenly lost any desire to open the door behind her.
It was incredible how such a peaceful atmosphere could take such a sudden shift, the space between them had been so melancholic and relaxed before, but now it felt charged with an electricity that was completely foreign to Makoto. Her eyes roamed across Ren’s features, the bleariness of sleep no longer hiding any of the details that she had failed to notice before.
The softness of his eyes that looked at her own features, the pinkness of his lips. The way his shirt hung loosely on his body or the way his pants showed a clear definition to his legs. Makoto briefly wondered if Ren was avid about exercise.
She could feel the space between them begin to shrink and Makoto couldn’t tell if they were actually getting closer to one another or if she had simply forgotten to breathe and was starting to get delirious. Once again Makoto’s gaze fell to his lips, the way he gently sucked them to keep them from getting dry, the slight wince that came from prodding his fresh piercing and for but a flicker of a moment. She imagined how the cool steel would feel against her own.
Bing.
The two teens immediately startled at the sound of the elevator down the hall, their senses heightened from whatever spell that had come over them. Makoto quickly straightened her already very straight skirt and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, she could feel her cheeks brightening with every passing second. She looked up from the spot of the floor she had been staring a hole through to see Ren doing the same with a spot on the ceiling, his hair doing a good job at hiding the pink on his cheeks but not so much for his neck and exposed ears.
It brought a weird satisfaction to see the usual ‘too cool for school’ Ren blushing furiously, it brought and even weirder satisfaction to know that she had been the one to do it.
“I… should head in.” Makoto said through a whisper, like the tension in the room was a physical thing that her voice could break through if she wasn’t careful.
“Yeah, I’ll uh… see you Monday.” Ren responded, his voice sounded quieter by the fact that he still couldn’t bring himself to look at her.
Makoto couldn’t help but smile before slipping through her door.
The moment the door clicked shut behind her, Makoto felt her legs give out from beneath her, her back slid down that wooden barrier and her rear landed softly on the tiled floor of her apartment. Her hand instinctually went up to hold her chest, feeling the way her heart was beating erratically, uncertain if it would ever slow down.
She remembered feeling something similar to this the last time Ren had been at her place, standing up to her sister and declaring his intentions with such confidence and sincerity. She hadn’t known what that feeling meant at the time, but now as she recalled the image of Ren face and more importantly his lips in her head, she started to understand.
This feeling wasn’t admiration or joy.
It was love.
-
Ren relished in the cool metal of the elevator doors, his forehead resting against them as he waited out the descent. The teen took a deep breath in before letting it all out in a desperate attempt to calm his racing heart.
If you asked him what had happened, Ren wasn’t sure he’d be able to answer, one moment they had been walking to her apartment and then like a switch being flipped, he couldn’t take his eyes off the girl. He felt something in the air and all the breath from his lungs had been sucked away.
He vaguely remembers looking at her lips and the thought of what they would feel like— which normally only flashed briefly in his head— had refused to leave, he remembers the way she looked at him almost expectantly even though she probably wasn’t sure what she was expecting and everything after that was a blank in his mind.
He felt his cheeks begin to turn red again when he wondered just what would have happened had the elevator doors not broken whatever spell that had come over them.
He let out another sigh, trying to reign in his emotions. He knew that he had more important things to worry about, they had just gotten there first foot into their next targets palace, but it was hard for him to prioritise something when he had so little understanding about just what his role was in this story.
At least with Makoto he knew who he was and what he was doing—mostly at least— but a part of him wondered if what he was doing was fair. Ren wasn’t even sure he would still be in Tokyo by the end of his year, whether that meant he ended up in juvie or going home was an entirely separate matter, did he even have a right to think about dating.
How would people react if they saw the two of them together, Ren knew better than anyone just how ruthless the rumour mill at his school could be and what was more scandalous then the criminal transfer student, covered in tattoos and piercings dating the prim and proper student council president. It was one thing to provoke people when it was just him taking the brunt of the abuse, it was an entirely different matter when he was directly involving the people he cared about.
Still lost in his own doubts, Ren barely noticed the lack of movement around him. He glanced up and saw the elevator had reached it’s destination. He briefly considered just riding the elevator back up and down a few more time in a vain hope that he could organise his feelings and priorities, but he also knew that if he left Morgana alone in his room and longer without the promised sushi Ren had bribed the furball with that there would be hell to pay.
He walked out through the lobby and back onto the streets of Tokyo, he allowed himself a final look up at the building, unsure which of the windows belonged to the girl who managed to make Ren more nervous than any monstrosity he encountered in the metaverse could ever hope to.
Running a hand through his unruly mess of hair, he turned back towards the street and began his journey home, looking up the cheapest sushi restaurant on his way.
-
Sundays were Ren’s favourite day of the week, in no small part because it was socially acceptable for him to sleep in till noon, the café was always quiet and empty on Sundays, so he didn’t have to worry about Sojiro waking him up by tossing an apron at him or ignore the hustle and bustle of customers enjoying their coffee and curry. Sundays were bliss to Ren and in his life, he’d take advantage of whatever peace he could get a hold of.
So, when his phone began buzzing its annoying song beside his ear, he was prepared to kill someone. He ignored the id of whoever was calling him, his response already sitting at the tip of tongue, poised like a snake ready to strike.
“I will murder you.”
He heard a giggle in response and immediately knew who it was, scowling at the knowledge that Ann would be the only person who wouldn’t buckle under his threat, next to Makoto but Ren couldn’t imagine a scenario where she would be calling him at the ungodly hour of 9 am on a Sunday morning.
“That sounds something you’d tell Ryuji, not me.” Ren could hear the girl smirking through the phone and he wondered if he had inadvertently created a monster when he started hanging out with her.
“Ryuji already knows the consequence of waking me up this early.” Ren practically growled into his phone, pulling himself up into a sitting position on his bed, rubbing a hand across his face, resigning himself to knowing he wouldn’t be going back to sleep.
“You know, the whole tough guy act loses some of its edge when I’ve already seen you drooling on your desk between classes.” Ren got off the bed, frowning at Morgana’s sleeping form beside him, more than a little jealous that the cat got to sleep in longer then him. He started putting on his clothes as he kept talking.
“You’re so much harder to deal with then Ryuji, you know that?”
He heard a burst of breathy laughter through the phone, imaging the blonde on the other side absentmindedly twirling her hair. “Thank you for the compliment.”
Ren smiled despite his annoyance. “What are you calling me this early for anyways.”
Ren heard her sigh through the phone “I’m bored, and Shiho doesn’t get out of the hospital for another few days.”
Ren combed through his hair with his hand, getting rid of a majority of the knots that had tied themselves in his sleep. “I’m failing to see how this justifies you ruining my Sunday sleep”
He could feel Ann roll her eyes, knowing that the girl was smiling regardless. “Oh, come on, let’s go for breakfast, just the two of us. We only hang out by ourselves when we’re in class.”
Ren sighed one last time as he slipped on the last of his clothes, they both knew that he was gonna say yes to her request, but Ren still liked to pretend that it was an inconvenience. “Alright, I’ll meet you in Shibuya in half an hour.
-
Ren walked through the doors of the shop Ann had told him to meet her at, it was a cosy little café, barely able to sit more than 30 people at a time and given its out of way location, Ren assumed that was by design. He looked around the café until his eyes were caught by an expressive wave and a bright smile beneath it, drawing not only his attention but the attention of every patron in the building.
Ren rolled his eyes before making his way towards the table, relishing in the way that every guy that had been ogling Ann’s appearance suddenly found something more interesting when they saw Ren with his tattoo and piercings on full display pull out the seat across from her. As he sat down, he saw that Ann had already ordered something and he quickly realised why Ann had chosen this café out of every other in city.
“You’re gonna get cavities if you keep eating cake for breakfast you know.” Ren side eyed the assortment of pastries and cakes that were piled on the girl’s plate.
Ann just stuck her tongue out at him before digging into the food. “And you and Ryuji are gonna give me an aneurism one day, but you don’t see me ditching you two idiots.” Ren couldn’t help but smile at that.
The two made light chatter between bites of food, Ren had ordered something less tooth rotting then Ann, settling for a coffee with bacon and eggs before Ann finally bridged the topic that Ren knew was coming.
“So, you and Nijima senpai?” Ren took a sip of his coffee, less because he was thirsty and more because he wasn’t sure exactly what Ann wanted to know, deciding for a non-committal shrug.
“What about me and Nijima senpai?” It felt weird referring to her by her last name.
Ann gave him a knowing look and he suddenly realised how much he appreciated Ryuji’s obliviousness. “Are we really gonna play this game Ren?”
Ren’s shoulders sagged while he sighed. “Fine, I like her okay. Is that what you wanted to hear?”
Ann’s smile was a lot less snarky then Ren anticipated, it was more akin to a friend who was actually happy for him which shouldn’t have been a foreign concept to the teen but shouldn’t didn’t mean wasn’t.
“I already figured that out, I’m more interested in what you’re gonna do from here, it seemed like you two had a good thing going yesterday. You know she likes you as well right?”
Ren thought back to the train ride to her place, the ride up the elevator and the moment that they shared at her door, unable to exactly define what it was they had shared. Another sigh escaped his lips, “I’m still not sure about that part.”
Ann rolled her eyes as she rubbed her temples in frustration. “Oh my god, why are boys so dumb. Ren I talked to her for less then a day and even I can tell she has some kind of feelings for you.”
Ren started tracing the edges of his tattoo with his thumb as he looked at the cup of coffee, only half of it was gone and Ren blamed Sojiro because before he could have easily downed a cup of substandard coffee with no problem but now he just craved the special blends behind Leblanc’s counter.
He let out another breath “Even if she does like me, we’re not gonna date.”
Ann looked at him like he was something she found on the bottom of her shoe. “Why? If you both like each other, why not?”
“Because I’m me Ann, I have a criminal record, I’m hated by everyone in that school, I’m being watched constantly by the faculty and principle, and I don’t even know if I’m gonna still be here after my years up. And to top it all off, I’m also the leader of a group of thieves that go into people’s psyches and steal manifestations of their corrupted hearts.” Ren didn’t realise how loud he had gotten until he felt the stares of strangers all around him. He looked over his shoulder giving anyone who was still looking his harshest glare.
Ann’s gaze softened, she reached over the table to rest a hand on Ren’s. “Ren tell me. Have you ever cared about what the people at that school think of you?”
Ren didn’t say anything, but Ann seemed to know that he didn’t, not beyond the base level of wanting to be left the hell alone at least. “So then don’t you think you should let Nijima senpai decide whether she cares or not?”
Ren opened his mouth to try and refute her point, but Ann was quick to cut him off. “You’re not a bad person Ren, you got dealt a bad hand that you had no control over. You deserve to be happy and watching the way you and Makoto were with each other, I can tell she makes you happy. And I can tell you make her just as happy.”
Ann pulled her hand back and gave him that gentle smile that reminded him that he wasn’t alone anymore. “I can’t make that decision for you Ren, but I can and will tell you if I think you’re being an idiot.”
Ren felt his frown soften, morphing into a tired smile. “Thanks Ann. I’ll think about it, I can promise you that much.”
Ren was sure that any of her modelling agents would strangle Ren to figure out how to get the girl in across from him to smile the way she did at that moment in front of a camera. Ren took another sip of his coffee despite its less then pleasant acidic taste.
“So… You and Ryuji then?”
Ren almost doubled over with laughter at the way Ann’s smile dropped into an annoyed scowl.
“Don’t even get me started on that dense idiot.”
Notes:
This was easily my favorite chapter to write, It's almost like I wrote this fanfiction because I wanted to write a romance story. It only took 45 chapters but here we are people.
Chapter 46
Notes:
"I'm gonna write shorter chapters to make editing easier."
Looks at the 5000 word count.
Looks in the mirror. "Why are you like this?"
Chapter Text
Ren didn’t bother trying to conceal his yawn as he waited on the edge of the platform for his train. He knew he was going to be late and was likely going to get chewed out by a teacher when he arrived, but his sleep raddled brain simply couldn’t bring himself to care.
Ren bobbed his head in time with the music playing through his earbuds and found himself just enjoying the down time. It was strange how much Ren’s perspective on things changed in such a short amount of time. When he first arrived in Tokyo, the train system had seemed like such a daunting and un-navigable place but now Ren took great comfort in his ability to just drown out the world around him, knowing that he was just another sardine packed in the tin, it gave him the briefest chance to be normal.
Of course, the moment he thinks he’s invisible, someone just has to come along and throw all that out the window with a single tap on his shoulder.
He turns slightly and finds himself surprised to see a new face. A young man who must have been Ren’s age, wearing a grey coat that Ren couldn’t pin a school to, though he wasn’t exactly knowledgeable about the schools in Tokyo apart from Shujin. His hair was brown and rivalled Ren’s in length though it was notably less chaotic then his.
Ren lazily pulled out one of his headphones, the music growing considerably duller now only playing through a single ear. The stranger offered Ren a disarming smile that put Ren slightly on edge, it was like the boy had hand crafted that smile over years of practice.
“Sorry to bother you, but could I trouble you for the time, my phone seems to have died.” Ren slowly pulled out his phone, keeping the stranger within his periphery, before he read out the time.
The stranger let out a sigh of relief “Ah thank goodness, I haven’t missed my train then.”
Ren expected and kinda hoped the stranger would walk away, off to catch whatever train he didn’t want to miss, but like most things in life, Ren didn’t get his way and resigned himself to standing next to this stranger.
He considered putting his headphone back in, a tell-tale sign for ‘don’t bother me’ but he could already tell that this guy wanted to keep chatting with Ren.
“Do you attend Shujin?”
The question was innocent enough but something in the boy’s voice had Ren narrowing his brows. “What gave it away, was it the uniform that has Shujin written on it?”
Ren didn’t expect the stranger to smile the way he did, where the last smile he gave seemed fake and arbitrary, something he gave everyone he met. This smile felt more jovial, like he and Ren were playing a game.
“You don’t know who I am do you.” The stranger said it more as a statement rather than a question.
Ren made a point to look the boy up and down before answering, noting the brief case the boy was carrying with the letter ‘A’ emboldened on the metal. “Should I?”
The boy laughed then, and Ren really couldn’t make heads or tails on the guy. Part of his brain was standing on edge, screaming at Ren to leave, but another part was as equally curious about this stranger.
When the boy managed to contain his laughter, he offered his gloved hand to Ren.
Ren looked at the hand for a moment, the jet-black glove seemed like an oddity with the lighter colours of his whole ensemble. He reached for the hand and grasped it tightly, unsure why he was indulging this random person, but Ren never backed down from a game, even if he didn’t know the rules.
“Ren Amamiya.” Ren offered his name first, smirking at the way the boy seemed taken off guard. It was clear he wanted to introduce himself first.
“Goro Akechi.” The stranger returned.
“Yep, still have no clue who you are.”
Goro gave a light chuckle before releasing Ren’s hand. “You’re an interesting person Amamiya-san.”
Ren turned back towards the train tracks, feeling the rumbling of the train approaching in his feet. “I’ve been called a lot of worst, so I’ll take it. And just call me Ren.”
The train arrived and a sudden sea of people swarmed around the two, Ren was barely able to keep his eyes on the boy and had an even harder time hearing the last words Akechi was saying. “I do hope we can do this again Ren.”
And like everyone else in the station, Goro Akechi became invisible within the crowd of faceless people, leaving Ren to wonder what the hell had just happened.
“I’m way too tired to deal with this.” Ren muttered as he put his headphone back in, taking his spot among the hundreds of other people going about their daily lives.
-
“What took you guys so long?” Ryuji asked lazily from where he was sitting against the wall.
Ann rolled her eyes and stood beside him giving Ren full access to the door leading out to the rooftop. “Hey, don’t blame me, It’s Ren’s fault for taking a nap during second period.”
Ren just shrugged as he pulled out his tools and begun picking the lock. “If we’re playing the blame game, then it’s really your fault for waking me up yesterday.”
“You two hung out!” Both Morgana and Ryuji exclaimed before pointing a glare at one another. Neither pleased that the other had the same thought in their heads. Ren joined Ann in rolling her eyes as the two quickly devolved into an argument which actually helped Ren focus on the lock. After the incident with Shiho, the phantom thieves had agreed that the door to the roof would remain closed during classes. The others didn’t seem to care about waiting and Ren always enjoyed having an excuse to practice.
Though when the tumbler didn’t take more than a minute to click into place, Ren found it hard to consider it practice anymore. He wondered if he could give Makoto a little nudge to talk about replacing it with a newer one, for the student’s safety of course.
Ren was quick to return the tools to his bag knowing that Morgana would take care to put it back in its proper pocket, he stood up and pushed the door open and walked through, kicking the brick into place and letting the other phantom thieves to walk through as they each took the spots in the chairs with Ren quick to join behind them.
“So, what’s the plan from here on?” Ryuji asked while leaning on the back legs of his chair, Ann had pulled her phone out and begun texting someone and Morgana watched from his spot in the middle of the table, the hearts nearly visible in his eyes.
Ren sighed as he leaned forward in his chair. “We’re going to wait for a little bit. Now that Ann has Yusuke’s number, we can get Madarame’s address whenever we want.”
Ryuji frowned, clearly displeased by the lack of action. “Why don’t we just hop in today after school, isn’t every day we let this bastard go free another day he’s profiting off other people’s work.”
Ren liked Ryuji’s passion and sense of justice, but he hated how short sighted it made the blonde. “Ryuji, do you remember the last time we first entered a palace, we barely made it out of there alive.”
Ryuji didn’t see Ren’s point. “Yeah but we’re stronger now, we have Persona’s and we’re going in on our terms.”
“We also don’t know what kind of palace this will be, where we’ll enter from or how strong the shadows are. What happens if we enter, and the rule of the palace forces us apart or they throw a powerful shadow at us right out the gate.” Ren took a moment to breathe and calm himself, knowing that Ryuji wasn’t being overly zealous for malicious reasons. “I don’t want you guys getting hurt, that world might be one of cognition, but the pain is real. Trust me.”
Ren rubbed his left arm, tracing the lines of the tattoo that covered the mark of his broken arm. All three of the phantom thieves’ eyes softened at the tone of Ren’s voice and it was Ryuji who broke the silence like he often did. “Shit man.”
Ren watched as the boy rubbed his own injured limb, him and Ryuji had started running since there time in Kamoshida’s palace, so he knew more of the gritty details of all that happened in the blonde’s past.
“I didn’t think of it like that.” Ryuji let out a sigh before finding his smile. “You’re right, I need to take this more seriously.” Ren couldn’t help but smile in return and soon the four moved past the grim atmosphere and went about their lunch break like normal.
“Dude are you studying?” Ryuji asked with his mouth still full of bread earning him a chastising from Ann about basic manners, but she too quickly joined Ryuji’s interest.
Ren just glared at the worksheet Makoto had given him, cursing the problems that seemed to elude answers as easily as he dodged shadows. “Yeah, is it that surprising, we have midterm exams coming soon.”
Both of the blondes groaned in response. “Don’t remind me, my parents said if I fail one more test then they’re gonna contact my modelling agency.” Ann whined through her hands that had started dragging across her face.
“That doesn’t explain why you’re studying now, like willingly, I get doing it with Pres but surely you only need to get a C to keep up with your probation.”
Ryuji felt goosebumps prickle on his skin as he watched Ren’s scowl turn into a sinister smile that accompanied his standing up, the blonde briefly wondered if this is what Shadows felt when they were on the pointy end of Ren’s knife. “Ryuji, here’s something you should know about me. When I play a game, I play to win.”
Ren didn’t say anything more as he pushed the paper back into his bag and started making his way towards the door, confusing his companions as they knew they still had 15 minutes before the end of break.
“Where are you going.” Ann asked curiously, still also recovering from chill that came with Ren’s declaration which earned her a softer and snarkier smile.
“To find my tutor and ask her to explain how the fuck trigonometry works.”
-
Makoto could no longer contain the yawn that she had been stifling for the past hour, the dam finally breaking once the bell rang for lunch. The brunette rubbed her eyes desperate for any sort of stimuli to keep them open, but the moment of blackness only made her crave sleep more.
People often said that falling in love was a beautiful thing, made the world look brighter and all that. But no one had found it worthwhile to inform Makoto of just how much these newly realised feelings would affect her ability to sleep.
In her three years of high school, not once has Makoto taken for granted the value of sleep, often retiring to bed at nine thirty. Ten if she was feeling daring and wanted to finish off the movie she was watching. But yet here she was, trying desperately to keep her eyes open and her mind focused, and all because a certain dark haired second year decided to invade her thoughts all throughout her night.
Her night had consisted of her mind playing ping pong between denying her feelings and making excuses to why it didn’t matter if they were real. She wasn’t sure which side of the court that ball was in, but she was sure that the incessant back and forth had kept her up to the downright criminal hour of 3am.
She was so tired that the thought of retiring to the student council room to take a quick power nap crossed her mind, long enough for her to not notice the person who had taken the seat right in front of her and was now facing her.
“Makoto-chan.”
Surely no one would blame her for just resting her head against the cushions on the couch.
“Makoto-chan.”
And who could blame her if her eyes closed for just five minutes, it was quite a bright day after all.
“MAKOTO-CHAN.” Makoto blinked the thought out of her mind, finally drawing the attention to the girl across from her.
The girl had brown hair like Makoto but a darker shade bringing It closer to black, tied into a side ponytail and offset with a pink bow that matched the pink heart earrings hanging from her ears. It took Makoto an embarrassing amount of time and squinting before the name finally popped in her mind, something she knew she couldn’t blame of the lack of sleep.
“Eiko?”
The girl beamed at being recognised, holding her hand outs with peace signs displayed proudly. “Ding ding ding. You got it right.” She pouted slightly “But that took you wayyyy to long Makoto, like we’ve been classmate for 2 years now.”
Makoto didn’t have a good response for that, so she just sunk further into her seat. “What can I help you with anyways Eiko.”
The girl smiled as she leaned forward, prompting Makoto to mimic the action. “You’ve been hanging out with that transfer student right. The one with the record?”
Makoto cringed internally at the way that everyone seemed only able to refer to Ren by his past. She wondered what percentage of the school actually knew his name. She narrowed her eyes at Eiko slightly before responding. “I’m helping Amamiya-san with his studies. Why do you ask?
This was the answer Eiko seemed to be looking for, made evident by the smile she gave. “Is he a hottie? I’ve heard rumours that he’s got heaps of Piercings and even some tattoos.”
Makoto wanted to smack herself when the first thing that came to mind was a quick and resounding Yes.
“I honestly haven’t really considered Amamiya’s attractiveness.” Makoto lied through her teeth because she wasn’t ready to admit to herself just how attractive she found the boy, let alone this girl who she hadn’t spoken two words to before today.
Eiko frowned, clearly annoyed that Makoto wasn’t joining her in the girl talk. “Oh, come on Makoto, are you seriously saying you haven’t looked at him and thought about how hot the bad boy transfer student is. I bet he has this dangerous aura about him like he’s always ready to fight.”
The sight of Eiko essentially swooning at her imaginary version of Ren left a bad taste in Makoto’s mouth and she wasn’t sure why, she wanted to tell her that her impression was totally off, how Ren was actually pretty laid back, more worried about making her blush and teasing her about it rather then who he was gonna fight with next, but she kept it to herself, feeling protective of the version of Ren he only showed to the people he trusted.
“I have not. We study and then we go about our own business afterwards.”
Eiko rolled her eyes, she looked like she was about to walk away but a smirk came to her lips which left Makoto on edge because she knew what that kind of smile meant, at least when it came to a raven-haired boy.
“Well, if you don’t think about him beyond tutoring him, then maybe I should ask him out.”
“W-what?” Makoto’s stomach dropped as she stammered out a response.
“Well surely you wouldn’t care if I asked him out on a date if you don’t think anything of him, as long as it doesn’t affect his studies right.”
“I… You… but…”
Eiko smile grew as she pulled out her phone. “It’s been a while since I last went on a date, plus I’ve never gone out with a delinquent before so I bet he has a bunch of exciting things we could do—”
“YOU CAN’T!” Makoto didn’t even realise that she had stood up until she felt her palms stinging, resting against the desk she had slammed them on. The anger that had come over her quickly dissipated leaving her only feeling mortified. She looked down at Eiko expecting to see her surprised, but she only wore a positively giddy expression.
The girl quickly raised to her feet and clasped her hands “O.M.G. you like him don’t you?”
“Shhhhh.” Makoto pulled her hands free and clamped them over Eiko’s mouth. “Not so loud.”
She more felt then heard the girl squeal beneath her hands, her eyes lighting up at the admission of guilt that Makoto inadvertently gave. Makoto just sighed and removed her hands from Eiko’s mouth before slumping into her chair.
“Yes okay, I like Ren. Or I think I do. I don’t even know anymore.”
Eiko quickly took her own seat and scooted closer to Makoto like she was brand new toy that she couldn’t wait to play with. “That’s not surprising Makoto, you might get A’s on tests but if you were graded on your social skills you’d be flunking just about as badly as I am on exams.”
Makoto wanted to chastise the girl for apparently flunking classes in their final year of high school but she was more concerned with the scathing rating of her social life.
“Am I really that bad?” she asked tentatively.
Eiko didn’t even hesitate “You are. Or you were up until a month ago. You used to walk around with this I have more important things to be doing then talking to you air around you. It made it really hard to approach you.”
Makoto couldn’t even argue with that, before she met Ren and had him worm his way into her day-to-day life, she didn’t put much value in personal relationships. She wasn’t even sure what it was about him that made her change, maybe it was the fact that this person who was so like her in the beginning, a slave to the forces around them, managed to do what she couldn’t. Take charge of his life and form those connections she once craved.
“I guess you’re right, I have changed.” Makoto muttered quietly as a smile came to her lips which earned another squeal from the girl cross from her.
“You’re totes glowing. You really like him don’t you. You have to tell me—.”
The door to the classroom slid open before Eiko could bombard her with questions. Makoto was relieved for all but two seconds as she realised who had walked through the door, of course it had to be the very subject of Eiko’s questions. Looking as calm and confidant as he always did.
All eyes in the room were drawn to him including Eiko’s and even though Makoto had grown a little fond of the girl, the way her eyes traced Ren’s figure brought that same bitter taste to her mouth. It was quick to be replaced with butterflies in her stomach when Makoto’s eyes made contact with Ren’s, and he gave her that stupidly endearing grin he always had prepared for her.
He sauntered over to her desk like he didn’t have the attention of the entire room following him, or at least he didn’t show it, but she also knew that he would act like it didn’t bother him just to spite the onlookers.
“Hey Makoto, do you mind helping me with some the problems you gave me. Whoever came up with Trigonometry needs to be tried as a war criminal.” He looked down at Eiko, who was now grinning at the two of them like she was in on a joke that no one else understood. “Am I interrupting, I can go if you’d like?”
Makoto saw her opportunity and decided to pounce. “No!” She paused realising how desperate that sounded, she coughed into her fist to calm herself. “I mean I’d be happy to explain it, why don’t we go to the student council room, it’s more.” She looked around the room, glaring at any of the students who decided to ogle their conversation. “Private.”
Before Ren could make any comments about her word choice she had already begun pushing him through the classroom, making a conscious effort to ignore the pointed smirk coming from Eiko.
When the door slid closed behind them, Makoto finally felt like she could breathe again, she knew that this was doing little more than avoiding the problem for now and that she’d have to deal with Eiko eventually, but she couldn’t really find it in her to care at the moment.
She turned towards Ren who was just staring at her with his brow raised curiously. She was honestly surprised by how little his presence was actually affecting her, the last time when she had been vaguely aware of her feelings, the very notion of Ren being near her made her flee on instinct. But since coming to terms with them, she found being near the subject of her affection had a rather calming effect, the butterflies of worry and anxiety were replaced by ones of relaxed joy. Her curious mind wanted nothing more than to continue spending time with him to see how these feelings would evolve
“Has anyone told you that you have great timing.”
Ren gave a half chuckle while crossing his arms. “Would you believe me if I said it got me into more trouble than good.”
Makoto gave a faux gasp while covering her mouth in shock. “You? Getting into trouble? Never.”
Ren rolled his eyes but the genuine grin on his face made her stomach lurch in quite a pleasant way.
“Oh great, now you’re learning sarcasm. I’m starting to think I’m a bad influence on people.”
Makoto was gonna go for another reply when a commanding voice echoed through the hall.
“Amamiya. Principals’ office. Now.”
The teens looked towards the direction of the voice and spied Ushimaru staring down the boy with a cocky grin plastered across his face, like he just caught Ren with his hand in the cookie jar.
“What did you do?” Makoto hissed as she grabbed Ren’s sleeve, incapable of believing that the normally level-headed Ren would do something to jeopardise his situation. And the frown she saw on Ren’s features helped relieve her of that worry.
“For once, nothings coming to mind.”
Ren seemed to notice something when he was looking at the teacher, he followed Ushimaru’s line of sight and Makoto was quick to do the same, all three landing on Ren’s left arm. Ren’s frown was quick to turn to a scowl as he apparently put two and two together.
“Of course, its Shujin’s famous rumour mill that fucks me over yet again.” Ren growled through gritted teeth before turning back to her with a softer smile on his face, which Makoto could have mistaken with a grimace. “Sorry Makoto, guess I’ll have to ask you about that trig stuff later.”
He started making his way towards the teacher while mumbling under his breath “Assuming I’m still a student here by the end of this.”
Makoto took a moment longer to catch up but quickly remembered the throw away comment Eiko had made earlier.
“I even heard he’s got some tattoos.”
How did she know about that? The only ones who should have known about those tattoos were herself and Takamaki and Sakamoto, how on earth did Eiko know about them? Makoto didn’t have the answers, only theories and in the end it didn’t matter how it happened, just that it did and now Ren’s whole life might be put into jeopardy.
For once, Makoto wasn’t sure what to do. Ren was possibly about to be expelled and subsequently arrested for a dumb mistake that didn’t affect anyone but himself and Makoto couldn’t do anything other than sit and wait.
She felt useless, unable to help her friend. She had just come to learn that she liked the boy and now he was about to disappear. Makoto quickly clapped her cheeks with her hands, letting the stinging sensation clear her spiralling mind, she looked towards the direction Ren and Ushimaru had walked off in with a steel gaze.
She started following in the direction, determined that no matter what happened, Ren deserved to have someone waiting for him when he walked out that office.
-
Ren stood in front of Kobayakawa’s desk, the principal radiated an aura so malicious that he didn’t even need his third eye to see it. He finished whatever he was writing before capping his pen and leaning back into his chair, staring right at the messy haired teen.
“I’ll be frank Amamiya, remove you jacket.”
Ren knew it was coming but he was still reluctant to comply. “May I ask why?”
Kobayakawa gave the teen a knowing look that made it clear that denial would not be an option afforded to him. Ren let out a sigh as he begun unbuttoning his school jacket, taking as much time as possible to come up with an explanation that wouldn’t immediately result in his expulsion. He cursed himself for not having a plan prepared in the case that someone got wind of his tattoo.
The fist slammed against the table so hard that the multiple papers and pens littered about jumped at the impact. Ren felt like he too would have jumped had he not been on receiving end of creatures far more terrifying then an angry principal.
“I think you’ve forgotten your position here Amamiya. I’ve heard many unsavoury things about you from your teachers and other students, sleeping during class, not paying attention, threatening your peers with violence. You’re on thin ice and yet you go and pull this ridiculous stunt?” The principal slunk back into his chair, almost sinking into the comfortable upholstery like his skin was apart of the chair. “Give me one reason why I shouldn’t expel you right this instant?”
Ren had to bite back the smirk. This was exactly what he needed, just five minutes to do what he did best.
Talk.
“Because you can’t.” Ren said it with such conviction that it may as well have been a fundamental truth like gravity or space and time.
The look Kobayakawa gave him would probably have killed any other student, but Ren had long since had enough of adults high on their own authority trying to intimidate him.
“You’re still acting like Shujin academy is the Steller school it was a few weeks ago but it’s not. After everything that happened with Kamoshida and the students he abused. The students he sexually assaulted. I’m the best thing you have for your image right now.” Ren took a step forward, resting his hands against the mahogany and leaning over the desk, looking down on the large man and lowering his volume. “The reality of the situation is this. You let that scumbag get away with years of horrendous acts. If I’m on thin ice then your already sinking, flailing about just to stay afloat and if you kick me out of this school worst off then when I came. Well, I’ll sink but I’ll become the cinderblock tied to your ankles.”
Ren looked into the principals’ eyes, anger and rage boiling at the surface, but Ren could see something beyond the obvious rage. Fear. Kobayakawa was scared of the teen because he knew Ren was right. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, his entire career at that moment rested precariously on the raven-haired teens hand.
“So, here’s how this is going to go down. I got this tattoo before moving to Tokyo and you’re not gonna tell anyone anything different, if a teacher asks? Say you didn’t know, simple as that. And in return I’ll be the pretty little criminal that you helped whip into shape.”
Ren waited and watched as the principal’s jaw clenched, working through the options available to him, though there wasn’t exactly many. He looked at Ren with a glare.
“You need to get an A on your next exam, that’s my condition.” Kobayakawa tried to sound authoritative but to Ren, it was like listening to a 5-year-old trying to negotiate, wanting to have some semblance of control.
Ren couldn’t help the smirk that broke out across his face “Oh I’m not just aiming for a good grade. I’m gonna show this entire fucking school that they shouldn’t have messed with me. I’m gonna be top of the whole year group.”
Ren didn’t want to spend any more time in the room, despite removing his jacket the air was still unbearably stuffy. He turned on his heel and walked out the door, letting whatever Kobayakawa was trying to say fall on death ears.
He closed his eyes as he let out a tired sigh, debating whether he should just skip class and go take a nap in the nurse’s office when he bumped against someone. He opened his eyes and saw Makoto looking up at him, a mixture of panic and utter frustration in her eyes. Her brows raised like that was question, but Ren got the gist of what it meant.
He smiled at the girl that continued to surprise him. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
He honestly expected a punch, but when he felt the girls’ arms latch themselves around his back and her head ramming hard into his chest. He felt his breath shift before his entire being relaxed into the embrace. He remembered the words that Ann had spoken the day prior.
“You know she likes you as well right?”
Ren knew that these feeling for Makoto weren’t good, she had her whole future ahead of her and it wouldn’t do her any good to be too closely associated with him. But he also couldn’t deny that being with her was easy, he didn’t need to be a strong leader for the phantom thieves. He didn’t need to be constantly keeping his cool during school or worrying who was watching at any given time. Ren could simply be himself when he was with Makoto, and it always felt like that's all she wanted from him.
He took a deep breath and finally decided to let the girl hugging him make the choice, he started counting down from 5 in his head.
She didn’t let go.
4.
Her arms didn’t loosen.
3.
He slowly draped his arms around her, making sure they didn't rest against her.
2.
He held his breath.
1.
He wrapped his arms around her smaller frame and pulled her closer to him, melting into the warmth she offered. Ignoring all the probelms that might arise in the future and just focusing on the one thing he was certain of. He loved her.
"I'm not going anywhere Makoto."
Chapter 47
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Makoto wasn’t exactly a touchy type of person. She wasn’t opposed to it like many people probably assumed but she never really had much of a desire to initiate contact with someone. Most of her memories of feeling the embrace of others were relegated to her early years when her family was fuller, her father would often squeeze the life out of her when she performed well on a test or executed a judo move flawlessly during a match, eventually dragging Sae reluctantly in as well.
But after her father’s passing, touch became rarer and rarer in her household, it started mainly as a coincidence due to Sae’s ever-increasing workload to support the two of them but eventually even on the rare days where she would see her, her sister would still be void of affection.
But when Ren had come out of the principal’s office, his eyes closed in contemplation and his jacket draped over his arm. Something inside her nearly broke because as she was prone to do, she assumed the worst. Ren Amamiya, her first real crush and introduction to a world she had deemed insignificant and out of her grasp was about to disappear, taken somewhere she couldn’t follow and may never see him return from.
So, when he broke that tension with a stupid joke, dispelling all her anxiety and panic in less than ten seconds, she felt that either one of two things was about to happen. She started moving and even she wasn’t sure what she was about to do, she was either going to wring his neck or…
Her arms wrapped tightly around his back, her hands interlocking and pulling him closer in the same motion. She felt her cheek press against his chest, listening to the steady thumping of his heart like she was worried this was all a sleep-deprived hallucination.
She knew that what she was doing was inappropriate, she hadn’t even come to a proper understanding of her feelings, let alone pondered Ren’s. For all she knew, he had someone else he was interested in. But all those rationales ceased to be important in her mind, instead, all she could focus on was the warmth that radiated from his body, the sculpted lines of his back muscles and the mesmerizing thumping of his heartbeat.
Seconds passed, or maybe minutes, Makoto honestly couldn’t tell, her drowsiness mixed with the relaxing feel of Ren’s body against hers was lulling her to sleep. For a moment she considered letting go, thinking that she had thoroughly embarrassed herself enough when her body stiffened. Ren’s arms draped around her, hovering just inches from her own body. She couldn’t breathe, fearing that showing any indication she was aware of what he was doing might scare him off like a small animal.
More time passed and Makoto’s insecurity flared up, this was what she was expecting, a clear sign that he wasn’t interested. That was until she felt the space between them close and his arms finally wrapped around her. If she thought she was comfortable before, she figured this must be what heaven was like, safe and peaceful.
She wasn’t sure how long they stood there in the hallway, hugging each other like they were people who hadn’t seen each other for years, but eventually, Makoto’s brain pulled itself together enough for her to be semi-rational, the break was close to ending and she wasn’t keen on giving the school any more ammo to use against Ren.
“We should probably get moving, class will be starting soon.”
Ren let out a shuddered breath and she felt her will slip slightly, wanting nothing more than to give him even a fraction of the comfort he gave her, but he eventually released her. The warm spring air felt unnaturally cold against her skin despite its sticky heat.
“Yeah, you’re right, sorry for taking up your break,” Ren said quietly, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
Makoto smiled and shook her head. “Don’t be, I was probably gonna spend it studying or sleeping anyways.”
Ren smiled back at her, and she took that as her queue to start walking, expecting Ren to follow closely behind, instead she felt his hand snake around her wrist gently, pulling her back. She turned to look at him and found him looking at her with the faintest hint of blush on his cheeks.
“Hey, can we like, hang out after exams are done?”
She had to bite back a laugh at the candidness of his question. She wanted to say yes immediately but knew that the chances she got to tease the boy were far and few between, so she decided to capitalise on the rare occasions.
She gently tapped against her lip with her free hand like she was pondering whether she could fit him into her busy schedule. “Hmm, I don’t know, I’m kinda busy teaching this second year. But if he does well on the exam then I think I could skip a lesson or two.”
Ren’s shy demeanour quickly disappeared behind his smirk and Makoto was glad that he was quick on the uptake. “I guess I’ll just have to convince the guy to study some more. Seems like a real handful.”
Makoto laughed into her hand as she started walking back to her class. “Oh, he’s insufferable.” A few steps down the hall she found a strange desire to be upfront. “But he’d also kinda cute.”
She couldn’t bring herself to look back, already feeling the heat rushing to her cheeks, she turned the corner and walked as fast as she could without actually running back to class, hoping that she could blame her redness on the sudden burst of exercise.
-
A few days later, the phantom thieves found themselves in front of a building that would make a demolition site blush. Ryuji looked at the building with his brows furrowed before turning back to Ann.
“You sure you put in the right address? I’m fairly sure that I’m gonna get tetanus just looking at the place.”
Ann frowned at the accusation but looked back down at her phone, no doubt checking to see if she had put in the right address. “Yeah, this is the address Yusuke sent me when I told him I’d do it.”
Ren looked up at the building and couldn’t blame Ryuji for being sceptical. The structure looked like it was only a couple of days away from collapsing in on itself. The two-storied building was covered in a mishmash of metal panels, each one adorned with its own unique pattern of rust. The sliding glass doors and windows had varying shades of grime and dirt caked on them, and Ren was almost certain he could hear the rats.
Morgana popped his head out of his bag as the two blondes started bickering about who knows what. “This is the right place.”
Ren looked down at the cat “How can you tell?”
Morgana grimaced like he always does when something about his powers is brought up, like a memory trying to claw its way out of his consciousness. “I don’t know, I just feel the presence of a palace, like I did with Kamoshida’s castle.
Ren let out a sigh as he took a step towards the house, carefully avoiding the uncontrollable mess of vines and weeds that writhed across the tiny garden. When he reached the door he knocked as gently as he could, not because he was afraid of disturbing whoever was inside but because he was sure that if he knocked too hard that he’d snap the brittle-looking wood.
Ann and Ryuji managed to control their bickering enough to join him on the porch. The four listened as they heard scrambling coming from within before a crash echoed through the thin door that separated them. The four looked at each other concerned, waiting for the door to open but after a couple of minutes of silence, nothing happened.
“Uh, you think he’s okay?” Ryuji asked, clearly unsure just what was happening and for once Ren couldn’t fault him.
The black-haired teen gently grabbed the sliding door and tried moving it. He was surprised to see that it wasn’t stopped by any sort of locking mechanism but rather it was jammed on its own rust. Ren turned back to his friends who all just shrugged in the unsureness, provoking another sigh from the teen.
“I swear if this counts as breaking and entering I’m just gonna set fire to place before they take me in.”
-
“My apologies for frightening you, it seems in my excitement I stood up a little too quickly, by the time I realised that I needed a moment I was already falling to the ground,” Yusuke explained directly to Ann, making a pointed effort to pretend neither Ren nor Ryuji existed, his face when he had awoken to the sight of the two boys had made it clear Ann’s invitation hadn’t been extended to them.
“Tch, not like we carried his unconscious ass or nothing.” Ryuji bristled in the seat beside Ren. The dark-haired teen just gave his friend a casual elbow to his ribs, earning him the blonde’s annoyed glare in response.
“Play nice, we’re here to get info, remember,” Ren whispered to the teen.
“I must say Takamaki, I was worried that you had reconsidered my proposition, I can’t say I’m ecstatic at the company you’ve brought but I’m truly happy that you’ve agreed.”
“Well, what can I say? I just… love art.” Ann spoke so mechanically that he wondered how it was that Makoto had earned the robot title at school. Ren turned to Ryuji with his brows raised sceptically.
“How is she this bad at acting?”
The blonde couldn’t seem to decide whether he should laugh or cringe. “Would you believe me that this is the best I’ve seen her perform?”
The answer was a resounding no, but Ren had enough sense to notice Ann’s intense glare in his periphery to keep that to himself. He looked at Yusuke, already trying to come up with a plan to escape after the obvious lie in Ann’s statement but all he found was an enthusiastic artist preparing his tools, oblivious to the farce of the entire situation.
Ren briefly wondered if it was too late in his life to find normal friends.
-
Two hours had passed, and Ren was very close to strangling Ryuji, the blonde unable to keep his leg from bouncing in anticipation. He couldn’t exactly blame him considering he was also incredibly bored but that did little to lessen the throbbing headache the constant movement was causing.
Finally, Yusuke let out a bitter sigh, putting his paintbrush on the canvas board with a frustrated scowl on his face. “Something just isn’t right.”
Ann dropped the pose she had been holding, her shoulders noticeably stiffer than before, she was distraught by Yusuke’s plight. “I’m sorry, was I not doing it right?”
The lanky teen’s tense body loosened, and his scowl softened. “No, it’s not you Takamaki-san. I just can’t seem to translate what I see in my mind to the canvas properly. I’m simply not skilled enough.” He looked at the two boys across the room, his scowl returning in full force, “I am also not used to having an audience when I paint either.”
Ren ignored the obvious bait, he pinched Ryuji’s back when he saw the blond open his mouth to retort. He looked around the room he had been inspecting for the better half of two hours. It bared a striking resemblance to the front of the building, the paint was peeling off the wall, the paper of the sliding door was torn, and the obvious signs of mould were beginning to show.
“I can’t imagine painting in a place where the warmest thing in this room is your glare would be very useful either. How is it that a world-renowned painter like Madarame can’t afford a house that isn’t one bad accident away from being zoned as a hazard anyways.”
The painter scoffed, this clearly wasn’t the first time someone had asked such a question, though he was probably the first to say it so plainly.
“True art can only come from hardship, Sensei understands that and thus doesn’t use his wealth for such materialistic needs, he dedicates all his funds towards his art.”
Ren raised his brows sceptically, “Right, so do I also need to starve myself and freeze to death in my sleep before I can draw the Mona Lisa, that doesn’t sound like art to me, that’s abuse.”
“For real, it’s just me and mum, she works a shitty retail job and even we have a central heating unit at our place,” Ryuji interjected.
Yusuke stood up abruptly, knocking the barely painted canvas over as he fumed at the two boys. “That’s enough, you come here un-invited and have the gall to throw senseless accusations around. I don’t know how many people I need to tell this to, but Sensei doesn’t abuse me.”
He turned his attention back to Ann “I’m sorry Takamaki-san, I think we should reschedule this for another time.” He sneered at Ren and Ryuji “just us two next time. For now, I’d like you all to leave.”
Ryuji stood up to argue but quickly closed his mouth when he felt Ren’s hand rest on his shoulder. “Sure, we’ll go. I’d hate to get in the way of all that art your proudly making.”
It was a cheap shot, but Ren’s patience had run thin a long time ago. He let Ann and Ryuji go ahead before waiting beside Yusuke, he could feel the anger radiating off the guy and frankly he had had enough of the teen defending what was so obviously abuse.
“I know it’s hard to admit that the person you admire could be anything less than perfect, but you don’t have to suffer for the sake of your art. Frankly, art made at the expense of someone’s happiness isn’t worth being admired.”
If Yusuke had a rebuttal, Ren didn’t stay long enough to hear it, joining his friends as they walked out the front door and onto the street, the sound of a rusty door sliding shut punctuating their exit.
The two blondes looked at him, unsure of how successful the first part of their plan had been and silently asked him how they were doing. Ren just sighed and rolled his shoulders, his frustration at Yusuke’s defensiveness turning into disappointment.
“Well, that could have gone better.”
Notes:
Bet you didn't expect to see me again did ya!
I wasn't sure if I was ever gonna come back to this story, my passion for Persona 5 kind of fizzled out as other series took my interest. Add on top another fic that I was writing and it just became more and more difficult for me to continue on.
But low and behold here I am, writing another chapter and feeling pretty good about it, the next one is almost 3 4ths done and I have a few ideas beyond that, mainly fight scenes because that's where my brain has been going for the past few weeks but I have come up with story beats as well.
Will this fic ever be done... whos the say.
Will I abandon it again for months at a time... Almost defintely.But if people enjoy it then that's all that matters so I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and expect to see the next one relatively soon.
Chapter Text
“So, what’s the plan now?” Ryuji asked, his desire to enter the palace was coming through clearly in his voice. Ren almost found it funny how his friend wanting to go on a dangerous journey to a completely separate dimension resembled a kid trying to downplay their excitement for their birthday.
Ren pulled out his phone and opened the navigation app, the unease of that red eye staring at him never seemed to go away despite their numerous trips to mementos. He couldn’t help but feel like he was always being watched when he tapped it.
“Let’s just try and figure out what the distortion is first, we have a name and an address now, so we just need to know what Madarame views this place as.”
The phantom thieves had moved around the corner, not wanting to run into Yusuke if the art student decided to leave the house. The four spent the next fifteen minutes throwing out an assortment of locations, everything from a castle to a jail. The frustration of each failed attempt was compounding until Ryuji finally had enough.
“Why the hell is this so hard!” Ryuji practically shouted as he started rubbing his head in annoyance.
“It’s a lot harder when we don’t know the guy,” Ann added, her voice calmer but still holding a tint of exhaustion.
Ren rubbed his chin, too busy trying to think about what the older painter could view the dilapidated building as. It was clear he didn’t live in the house considering all the vacant rooms Ren had spied in on when he had excused himself to the bathroom. Yusuke’s room had been the only one that looked lived in, the others all varying shades of abandoned.
He wondered just how many masterpieces had been produced in those near unliveable rooms, how many people had trusted their sensei, believing in the lie that their suffering was necessary for their art to flourish, only to have their hard work stolen right from under their noses. Each room may as well have been an exhibit.
Ren’s mind paused at the thought.
Exhibit.
Art.
Money.
When his attention was brought back to reality, his eyes focused on the app, the dull sound of Ryuji and Ann giving more and more eccentric answers fading to white noise as he spoke.
“Museum.”
His phone dinged and suddenly each of the phantom thieves felt a familiar lurch. Ren almost lost his lunch at the sensation, he had almost forgotten how different entering a palace was compared to Mementos, the strength of an individual’s distortion was so much greater than the general one of the publics.
Even with his turning stomach and the uncertainty of what was about to happen, Ren couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off his face.
“Prepare yourself Madarame..”
-
The beginning of their heist was punctuated by Ryuji dry heaving into the nearest bush. Ren found the sounds of his friend retching oddly comforting in their nostalgia. He couldn’t feel too bad for the guy though, it gave Ann a good excuse to be nice to him, offering reassuring pats against the boy’s back.
He decided to use the moment to survey the perimeter of Madarame’s palace. Just as he had thought, the dimension had taken the form of a museum, grander than anything that could ever possibly exist in reality, with so many levels that it rose high into the sky with too many offshoot buildings for him to count.
“True art comes from suffering huh? I’m sure carrying that much cash hurts the geezer’s back.” Ren snarked to no one in particular, the irony of Yusuke’s earlier declaration adding a bitter tinge to his sarcasm.
“Why can’t we ever come here in a nice way? Why does it always have to feel like a rollercoaster.” Ren heard Ryuji groan from his bush, standing up on less than stable legs but at least the bush remained clean and dry, so the blonde had at least managed to keep whatever he ate for lunch on the inside of his stomach.
His friend looked up at the building behind Ren and let out a low whistle. “And I thought Kamoshida’s palace was flashy.”
The two teens walked to Ren’s side as Morgana saddled up in front of them having just completed his own sweep. “There are two entrances that I can see. One is right there.” The cat directed their gaze with his paw towards the front of their palace, a line of imaginary people stood were sectioned off with a velvet rope as they all waited impatiently for a shadow in a security vest to usher them in.
Ren didn’t need his third eye to tell that the Shadow was stronger than what they could handle. The three teens all looked at each other nervously before looking back down at the mascot. “What’s the other?” Ann asked Morgana, worry evident in her voice.
Morgana shifted his paw to the right and the teens all followed along until they were looking at what looked like a news van parked right against the high wall that surrounded the entire complex. They looked at each other again and nodded in agreement before responding in unison.
“The second one.”
The phantom thieves all began moving towards the van, ready to scale the vehicle and give the mission a proper start. That was until Ren heard the sound of a metal door creaking open, in the past that would have brought fear and confusion but now it just brought frustration.
“Inmate, our master requests your presence,” Justine spoke with that icy coldness in her voice.
“Uh, dude, what’s the hold-up,” Ryuji asked over his shoulder having noticed Ren was no longer following them. Ren just sighed as he turned towards the velvet room.
“Give me a minute, I just need to deal with something.” He was glad he told them about the mystical space, even the idea of trying to make an excuse for his sudden stillness gave him a headache, instead, the others gave a reluctant nod and started inspecting their gear.
-
“It is good to see you again trickster. It has been far too long since your last visit.” Ren rolled his eyes at the faux familiarity Igor gave at his arrival.
“Can it with the pleasantries will ya? Just tell me what you need to tell me so I can leave this place quickly.”
It was hard to tell because of the being’s nose and unchanging face but Ren could swear that Igor furrowed his brows at Ren’s attitude. His wardens however were much more obvious in their disdain for him.
A bang rang through his cell at the crack of Caroline’s baton against the bars. “Watch your tone inmate, our Master will have your respect.”
Ren just rolled his eyes, leaning against the door and making an obvious point of looking down at the girl. “Sure, short stuff. You know you stopped being intimidating about 3 feet ago.”
Igor’s fake cough drew the two out of their glaring contest, redirecting Ren’s attention back to the lone figure at the table. “It is exciting news to know you will continue your rehabilitation. But you must not forget what I’m about to tell you. At your current level, you will fail.”
Ren narrowed his eyes at the being. “Then what do I need to do to ensure that won’t happen?”
Igor simply chuckled at the straightforward question, though Ren wasn’t sure what part of it was particularly funny. “Alas trickster, that is entirely up to you, I have nothing left to give anymore, it will simply be a matter of if you’re capable of exceeding my expectations of you. I’m simply warning you of the trials that will await you.”
Ren wished he had something to throw through the bars, he’d even make do for a ball of paper if it just meant feeling the satisfaction of getting some kind of hit on the figure in front of him. “What is it with you and being obtusely cryptic?” He turned on his heel and made his way towards the exit, content with having already wasted too much of his time. “If you’re not gonna help then I got no reason to stay here.”
Igor gave a throaty chuckle at his receding form, laying his head heavily on his clasped hands as he watched his wild card left. “Show me the strength of your resolve trickster. Prove to me that my decision was a correct one.”
-
Ren was surprised by how easy it was to enter the palace, it took them no time to scale the wall with the help of the news van, and found it was a straight shot to the rooftop of one of the branching buildings.
“Doesn’t this feel too easy?” Ryuji’s quiet voice questioned while Ren made short work picking the lock to the windowed ceiling. It was hard to tell what was in the building due to the lack of light, but he could vaguely make out multiple portraits adorning each wall of the maze-like room, though he couldn’t tell what the subject of the pictures was.
In reality, he did find the whole thing suspiciously simple. It was as if they were being invited right into the palace, they hadn’t even really had to avoid any shadows, the scaffolding of the garden awnings made it comically easy to stay out of sight. But he kept all that to himself, he could tell everyone was thinking the same thing, and admitting it would just put everyone on edge.
“We’re just scouting out the area for the time being. We’ll look for a map and then get out of here and come up with a proper plan later,” Ren stated as matter of fact, punctuating the sentence with the tell-tale click of the window’s lock rotating freely. He grabbed the rope that Ryuji tossed him and tied one end to the sill of the roof window as an anchor before unspooling it down to the floor beneath them. He and Ryuji took point, sliding down the rope and doing a quick sweep of the area, when they determined that no shadows were immediately present, he signalled for Morgana and Ann to follow.
Ren quickly found a light switch and finally revealed what was on the portraits as light flooded into the room. He hadn’t been able to tell from so high up but his initial estimate of the number of pictures was way off, each of the many walls held several photos of people none of the phantom thieves recognized, beneath each frame was a plaque with a name and varying amount of money.
None of them could tell what the photos meant, nor why they held enough significance to occupy an entire room in the artist’s mind. That was until everyone turned towards Ann’s shocked gasp.
“Guys look. It Nakanohara.” Ren was the first to slide to her side and sure enough, she was right. A familiar face with a name to match. It suddenly clicked in his mind what the photos meant judging from everyone else’s faces, they understood as well.
“These are all that bastards’ former students.” Ryuji hissed through gritted teeth.
“And I’d hazard to guess that the amount of money is how much he made off stealing their work,” Morgana added sadly.
Ren continued to walk through the room, if Nakanohara’s photo was there then he knew who must be close by. And sure enough, he didn’t need to walk very far before he was faced with the guy he had been arguing with not ten minutes prior.
“Well, we don’t have to second guess ourselves anymore. If there was any doubt that we were doing the right thing, it ends now. Let’s go steal this asshole’s heart.” The disparaged looks on everyone’s faces were quickly replaced with renewed vigour at Ren’s declaration, walking after him with confident strides as he left the room.
-
It didn’t take long for the phantom thieves to make their way into the reception area of the main building. For the most part, it had been smooth sailing with no shadows for them to avoid, their battle laying more in trying to navigate the twisting maze of rooms and hallways. Ren wanted their first time in the palace to end without any fighting, the main goal was the grab a map so they could familiarize themselves with the layout.
He’d be lying though if he said that Igor’s words hadn’t left his desire to avoid any battles greater than it had been initially. He hoped that the shadows outside were an outlier in terms of their strength, a way to deter any would-be intruders but he couldn’t be sure without actually seeing them inside the building.
“Hey Joker, I think I found what we were looking for,” Ryuji called from the reception desk he had been searching. The others all gathered in front of the table as the blonde tossed the paper on top. It looked exactly like the kind of map you’d receive when entering an art exhibit and a brief glance showed an incredible amount of detail.
“Nice work skull.”
The thief beamed at the praise. Ann looked around before asking “So what do we do now, keep pushing forward and try to find a safe room?”
Ren walked towards the metal shutters, rapping his gloved knuckle against the surface. The metal didn’t seem too thick, and he was sure that an enhanced kick or a little fire would be enough to open a hole.
“At your current level, you will fail.”
Igor’s words rang loud in his head, he wished the guy could just be direct with what he meant. All the cryptic bullshit ever did was make him second-guess himself.
“Let’s call it here for a day. I’d rather us start the infiltration proper when we’re more prepared.”
Ren turned on his heel, ready to start making the trip back to the portrait room when he felt something was off. He turned towards the shutter doors and narrowed his eyes.
“Joker. look out!” Morgana’s voice pierced the air just a fraction of a second too late.
In the time he saw the metal crumple from the other side and Morgana’s warning reached his ears. He barely managed to pull off his mask and shout “Tetrakan!” before the metal shutter flew off its roller directly at him with whatever had sent the thing flying.
He felt his physical shield shatter under the pressure, having not been given enough time to properly form. He was sent flying in an instant, colliding directly against the metal doors that must have led to the front courtyard just as quickly. He felt the metal crumble slightly against the force and the hinges creak and groan as they struggled to keep the doors from tearing off under the force. He shuddered the imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t gotten the Tetrakan off in time.
Though he wasn’t given much of a chance to ponder what kind of stain he would have made, despite the creature’s size and apparent lack of a second leg, it didn’t lack in speed, made evident by the shadow that was currently cast over his laid-out body, a silver hammer bigger than his head careening directly on top of him. He felt something wrap itself around his leg before he was suddenly dragged out of the impact zone just in time. A morbid thought strayed through Ren’s mind about how similar the sound of the tiles shattering was eerily similar to what his bones probably would have sounded like.
Turns out it was Ann’s whip that had saved him, and he had never been more grateful to have a secret dominatrix as a friend as he was dragged to her side, Morgana and Ryuji bringing out their weapons quickly. It took a second for the shock to wear off, but he was quick to rise to his feet, drawing his knife in the process.
“So, what’s the plan here dude?” Ren couldn’t give an immediate answer to his friend’s question. He spent a few moments studying the shadow, the grey-skinned monster looked like a malformed blacksmith with its leather apron and black gloves. The shadow stared at them passively through the single eyehole in its mask, not attempting to charge at them as he had at Ren.
“Mona and Panther, use as much mana as you can and burn the thing to a crisp, Skull, blast it with a bolt of lightning and when it’s paralysed, I’ll finish it off with my knife. Even if we can’t kill it, we just need to incapacitate it long enough for us to get out of here.”
He only took a single took step forward before his knees buckled under his weight, forcing him to kneel as a bout of coughing racked through his body. He covered his mouth more so out of habit rather than politeness and when he pulled it away, he was horrified to see that dark red splotches now covered his bright red gloves, while it had saved him from having his bones shattered into dust via giant hammer, the barrier hadn’t been as kind to his internal organs.
“Joker? Are you all right?” His friend’s worried questions was enough to sober him up and snap him from the stupor he had fallen under. He quickly clenched his hand into a fist and forced himself to stand despite his body’s protests.
“I’m fine, last hit just winded me a little. Let’s do this!”
He could tell that his companions weren’t convinced by his lie but that was fine, he didn’t need them to believe him, he needed them to prioritize hitting that shadow with everything they had, the worrying could come later when they were all safe and far away from the palace.
He popped one of the stronger pills Takemi had given him. He felt the effect kick in nearly immediately, the aching feeling that had started to plague his body faded into numbness while his tired muscles contracted with renewed vigour. He knew it wasn’t a substitute for the proper healing Persona’s provided or even the medicine that they could find in the palaces but if they kept him on his feet and his blood inside then they were more than enough.
The shadow hadn’t moved from its spot and that somehow put Ren even more on edge, he hated the unnervingly passive shadows. At least the loud ones made it clear they wanted him and his friends dead.
“Let’s go!” Ren bellowed as he started racing towards the shadow. His companions all summoning their Persona and unleashing a cacophony of elements. Ann’s flames were the first to appear, bursting from the ground beneath the shadow and developing it into the fire before Morgana’s wind began circling it, drawing the fire into its vortex and turning the already blistering hot flames into something far deadlier. Ren could no longer see the shadow, but he continued to move forwards knowing that they would only get one real chance.
Ryuji’s lighting struck a few seconds later, cutting through the flaming tornado right above the shadow and making the monster light up like a Christmas tree. Ren didn’t waste any time capitalizing, he had to make sure the thing was dead and not just paralysed. He hadn’t considered that his teammate’s combined strength wouldn’t have been enough to at least incapacitate the monster until he was already on the shadow’s shoulder, knife poised to sink into its neck. It was only at that moment when his knife bounced harmlessly off the shadow’s skin and was greeted by the curious gaze of a singular eye that he realized just how badly he had messed up.
He vaguely heard his friend’s screams filling the room, but he couldn’t make out anything they were saying. His entire attention was on the monster in front of him, his eyes seemingly trapped watching the way its singular eye peered at him, crinkling with glee that he could only associate with a cat catching a mouse. For the first time in a while, Ren felt a fear that he had thought he had gotten used to.
He was looking at his death.
Maybe if that fear hadn’t latched itself onto him as it did, he might have had the where with all to retreat, put as much distance between him and the monster as possible, grab his friends and escape. But his reaction speed was too slow, Takemi’s drugs already beginning to wear off as pain reintroduced itself to his body. Before he could even realize what was happening, a gloved hand latched onto his arm with a vice-like grip and was tossing him back towards the same set of doors he had hit originally.
This time though he didn’t have any of the residual effects of Tetrakan to help cushion the impact. His full weight on top of the force he was thrown with hitting the door and he couldn’t tell the difference between metal crumpling and hinges snapping and his bones cracking. The doors blew off their hinges and were brought along with his body as he went flying out into the courtyard, bouncing along with him as he skipped against the stone path like a rock over water.
When he finally came to a stop, he could only just make out the figures of his friends fighting before the world went dark.
Chapter Text
When Ren opened his eyes, he couldn’t see anything. No matter where he looked or how hard he squinted, all he was greeted with was unending darkness that seemed to go on for infinity. Fear overtook him for a brief moment when he thought that he had finally gone blind after one too many blows to the head, but he was quick to calm when he looked down at his own hands.
He blew out a sigh of relief when he counted all ten digits and saw the familiar scars that lined his knuckles. Despite his body’s protests, he managed to push himself off the floor he was lying on. He was surprised to find that moving, while not at all pleasant, wasn’t nearly as painful as he thought it would be. Rather than the ache of strained muscles and broken bones inhibiting his ability to move, it felt more like walking through water, everything felt heavier and disconnected.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been walking, or even how far he had travelled, he could have been walking in circles for all he knew because no matter how many steps he took, it never seemed to bring him closer to an exit or anything that wasn’t just more darkness. He bit back a groan of frustration.
“It has been a while trickster.” Ren spun as quickly as his body allowed, trying to face the familiar voice. When he finally convinced his body to turn around, he was standing face to face with Arsene floating above the floor with his wings fully unfurled.
“Arsene? What are you doing here? Actually, where even is here?” The gentleman thief chuckled at his questions, looking around the space like it was nostalgic.
“I believe the warden would refer to this space as the velvet room. But there are numerous ways for one’s mind to manifest itself. For me, I simply call it home.” The persona spoke fondly like it was a cherished memory. “Though at the current moment it’s a little… Empty.”
Ren’s shoulder sagged. “Great, I’m trapped in my mind talking to another version of myself. Maybe I have gone insane.” Ren spun on his heel and kept walking, determined to at least find something.
“You wouldn’t happen to know a way out. I’m not sure if you know but I’m kind of in the middle of something. Surely you know a way out.”
“Why have you stopped yourself from getting stronger?”
Ren’s body stiffened at the accusation, he looked over his shoulder at his Persona with narrowed eyes. “I’m sorry?”
The thief shook his head, like he expected that response from Ren, and was disappointed to see it come true. “Don’t play dumb trickster, we both know you’re capable of far greater feats than casting simple spells. Why have you limited yourself?”
Ren turned back to his Persona, hands in his pockets and a sneer on his face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Now if you’d be so kind as to let me out so I can help my friends.”
Arsene shook his head “You can lie to yourself, but you can’t lie to me.”
“Yeah well, I’m not exactly in the mood to have an introspective debate with myself. So how about I just show myself out.”
“You will die if you keep avoiding your true potential.”
“I’ve pulled bigger feats out of my arse, so I’ll take my chances.” Ren spun and kept walking, feeling his other self follow him close behind.
“Why do you choose to run away−”
“BECAUSE I’M SCARED!” the teen shouted into the void, unable to look at his persona. He took a deep breath, he felt ridiculous getting so worked up when he was just talking to himself. “I’m scared all right, are you happy? I know what I need to do, the only way for me to win is to let my body become one with the persona. But I’m terrified, terrified that if I let them so close to my mind that I won’t be able to come back.”
Ren finally turned and looked at his persona, hoping that the gentleman thief would be able to give him any sort of comfort, even if it meant lying to him. He needed someone else to tell him that he had no choice, that there was nothing to worry about.
Instead, all he got was a swift flick to his forehead from the demon’s long finger. “Do you truly think so little of yourself trickster?” Ren stared at the floating demon slack jawed, honestly of all the reasons to be berated for, his own perceived self-worth hadn’t been one of them.
“I have always been watching you, I have seen you overcome adversity time and time again. You have always known who you were, and you always will, that’s where your strength comes from and that will never change. Becoming one with your Persona won’t change that and if you ever feel yourself slipping, you’ll have your companions to remind you who you are.”
Suddenly the deafening silence of the void seemed to scatter and if Ren focused, he could hear the dulled words of his friends.
“We need to get Joker to safety.”
“Mona! Hurry up and heal him, we’ll cover you.”
“C’mon Joker, you’re not gonna die like this and leave Ryuji to look after me, are you? You promised me fatty tuna.”
Ren opened his eyes to see Arsene looking down at him and despite that same expression, he could tell the gentleman thief was smiling at the determination on his face. “A final piece of advice before you go. Think of something important to you, a concept, a place, a moment in time. Something that will keep you grounded in case you feel yourself slip.”
Before Ren could ask for him to elaborate, Arsene vanished, the slender and dapper persona was replaced with a knight that towered over the teen, his blood-red armour somehow glinting despite the darkness. Even with his visor down, Ren could tell he was being silently judged.
“So, you’re the one that will become my new master? I must say I’m not impressed, but if you’ll give me the means to a good fight then I’ll lend you my strength.” Ren felt a chill run up his spine as the knight tilted his head to the side. “Be ready boy, I’m not one to bend a knee to anyone, prove to me that you’re worth my time.”
In a haze of blue flames, the knight was gone, and a mask appeared on Ren’s face. The dark-haired teen ran his fingers along the edge hesitantly, practically feeling the power radiating off it as if it held the power of every persona he’d had and then some.
Arsene had told him to think of something important but what did that even mean? There were a lot of things important to him but to pick a single one to keep his mind his own felt like an impossible task. Memories of his mother felt like the most obvious choice, but he wasn’t that same kid anymore, memories of his time with Ryuji, Ann, and Morgana would work but nothing came to mind. He needed something to remind himself why he was fighting, and what he was fighting for at the end of the day. He wanted to survive, to beat the system that had abandoned him and so many others. He wanted a normal life. When the thought came to him, a single image flashed in his mind, a pair of ruby eyes glaring at him as he ignored his homework to tell a dumb joke.
Ren opened his eyes with a smirk and a newfound sense of confidence as he grabbed the edge of his mask. All hesitation was gone from his grip.
“Persona!”
-
This was bad, Ryuji had no idea how things had gone so wrong so quickly. And to think he had been psyched that they finally had a new target and a new palace to explore. Ren was right, this wasn’t a game and yet he had forgotten just how dangerous things could be in this world.
And once again, it was Ren who had paid the price for their mistake. He knew something was wrong when Ren started coughing, he saw the blood on the guy’s hands, and yet he didn’t say anything. He trusted Ren and somewhere along the way he had just started trusting that his friend knew what he was doing. He was their leader, the first one to jump to the rescue, and always the pillar of their victories.
And yet no matter how many times Ryuji could manage to look away from the shadow long enough to check on his friend, his body remained where it was, deathly still except for the barely noticeable rise of his back. It should have been him, he should have been the one to take the blow or offer to charge at the shadow. Hell, he should have grabbed his friends by the shoulders and told them to book it. Running was something he knew how to do, so why didn’t he do it when they all had the chance?
“Shit!”
Ryuji looked away from his friend to the girl he cared about, she was ducking and weaving between hammer swings, trying her best to get to her whip which had been lost in the fighting. Morgana was nowhere to be seen but he just had to hope that the cat was too stubborn to have gotten killed without getting at least one more jab in at his expense. He already let one of his friends get hurt, and he wasn’t about to let another.
“Hey, you dumb-looking bastard! Over here!” Ryuji shouted as he tossed his metal pipe at the malformed blacksmith. The metal pinged off the thing’s helmet like it was nothing, but it did have the effect of drawing its attention away from the girl he was about to squash with its hammer. He started to move away from Ren as he called to Ann “Panther, grab joker and get out of here.”
“Huh? Are you kidding me, I’m not just going to leave you here.” He would have been touched if he didn’t have their most dangerous opponent chasing him at that moment.
“We don’t have a choice, Joker needs to be healed and I don’t have any recovery spells and Mona is AWOL at the moment.” Ryuji huffed out between breaths, he was thankful Ren had agreed to go running with him because that extra cardio was saving his life.
He could barely see the distraught on Ann’s face, but he could tell she knew he was right, even with his life on the line he couldn’t help the satisfaction he felt at stepping up in his friend’s stead. He might never be the leader of the phantom thieves, but he could at least help ease Ren’s burden.
Turns out his noble sacrifice didn’t exactly amount to much when he felt the monster finally get a hold of his jacket. He tried to break the shadow’s grip with his thrashing, but the thing had the grip strength of a freaking vice. The fake blonde was suddenly lifted into the air before he was spun around like a hammer throw, just when he was afraid he was about to lose his lunch, the shadow let go and sent the boy flying directly on top of Ann who had only just managed to wrap Jokers arm around her shoulder.
He collided with his two friends, and they all went sprawling across the ground. When his eyes stopped spinning, the first thing he saw was the shadow booking it across the courtyard towards them. He pushed himself up but looked at Ann when he heard her hiss in pain.
“Shit, I think I twisted my ankle, I can’t stand.” She looked at Ryuji who stared with wide eyes. If she couldn’t move then that was it. “Ryuji, you need to go.”
Ryuji looked at the girl he had known since kindergarten, she was right in a sense, there was no way for him to carry them both out with that thing chasing them. Logically he should escape as there was no point in all of them dying.
But Ryuji Sakamoto was many things, a punk, foul-mouthed, and a bit of an idiot. But he wasn’t logical, and he wasn’t someone to abandon his friends.
He turned towards the shadow and pulled out his shotgun, the one he begged Ren to buy him with the promise he would repay him as soon as he could. Guess he could add a liar to the list of things he was.
“Ryuji please,” Ann begged, he could hear the tears coming through, but his mind was set. Maybe he could get a couple of good shots off and keep the shadows attention on him long enough for Morgana to come and save Ann and Ren.
He stared at the giant hammer as it was brought high above the shadow’s head before it began its arc down, trying his best to grin in the face of danger like Ren would.
“Bring it!”
He know he shouldn’t have but he couldn’t help but close his eyes in anticipation. And yet the feeling of being splatted never came. The only thing he noticed was Ann’s surprised gasp and the thud of something heavy being suddenly stopped.
When he opened his eyes, he saw the last person he expected to come to save them.
But wasn’t that Joker’s MO? Doing the unexpected.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
He said it so casually that Ryuji couldn’t stop himself from laughing, the shock of everything that happened finally catching up with him and turning his legs to jelly beneath him.
“Jeez, you just don’t die do you?”
-
Ren hated this feeling, his blood was boiling, his head felt like it was about to split open, he couldn’t breathe without tasting the tang of iron in his mouth and his body and bones felt like they were shifting underneath his skin.
He also felt stronger than he ever had before in his life. The blood red armour that clung to his arms and legs felt like an extension of his limbs, as if they had always been a part of his body. He wanted to move, he wanted to fight, to destroy and he couldn’t distinguish whose desire that was.
His or Eligors.
Maybe there wasn’t a difference anymore, maybe he was Eligor, or maybe Eligor was Ren. Perhaps neither of them were separate, just different faces of Joker.
One thing was clear though, the shadow in front of him was an enemy, and enemies needed to be cut down. He could feel the hammer try to crush him but his grip on the hunk of metal was steadfast, his feet cracking the stone beneath him under the pressure.
He clenched his free hand and drew it back, relishing in the feel of each of his muscles contracting, storing all that energy and waiting for the moment to unleash. It felt like he had cast Tarukaja on himself but with none of the limits that came from his body. He aimed the fist right at the unsuspecting shadows sternum before striking. The skin that his knife had bounced off so easily before now crumpled under his fist as it exploded forward, sending the shadow across the courtyard.
Ren looked down at his gauntlet-covered hand, clenching and unclenching his fist as he got a feel for the new sensation. Despite it being armoured he felt the sting of the punch on his knuckles like it had been barehanded. He looked up as the shadow hopped back up and started charging at him, the joyful smirk in its eye replaced by fear-induced anger.
Ren didn’t move to meet it or make any attempt to get into a defensive posture, he just leaned down and grabbed the hammer it had dropped, the thing was stupidly heavy, barely budging at Ren’s attempt to move it but he remained unnaturally calm, the fear of death that had been instilled in him a few moments ago felt so foreign with Eligor’s confidence.
He heard his friends call out in worry, but he ignored them, his focus hyper-fixated on watching the shadow charge at him. Ten meters turned to 5, then three, and when it was close enough that he could hear the beast panting in frustration, Ren put his entire weight into pulling the hammer, it swung off the ground and its weight carried it as Ren spun clockwise, bringing the hammer along for the ride.
By the time Ren had made a full rotation the shadow was right in front of him, its gloved hands outstretched, ready to grab Ren by his throat and crush his larynx.
Ren didn’t break eye contact for a single moment, even when he could feel the rough leather brush against his skin.
Before the shadow could take its final step to close the distance, the hammer careened into the side of the monster’s face, crumpling the metal of its mask like Paper Mache and changing its trajectory a full ninety degrees.
But Ren wasn’t done with the shadow, not by a long shot. His anger mixed with Eligor’s insatiable lust for battle combined into something that could only be described as sinister in nature. Instead of allowing the shadow to go flying, Ren used his other hand to grab it by its leg, digging his feet into the ground to halt their momentum.
For a brief moment, the shadow just laid suspended in mid-air but only until Ren brought its hammer crashing down into the centre of its back, sending its massive body into the earth beneath them with a bone-chilling crunch. Ren couldn’t tell if that was the stone cracking or its internal anatomy.
He meandered towards the shadow’s head, slowly bending over as he gripped its head by the opening near its eye. He felt the shadow try to resist but his grip was too strong, he lifted its face as Ren leaned closer, he wasn’t sure if the shadow could even understand what he was about to say but he didn’t care.
“Did you have fun tossing me and my friends around like dolls? Well, I have to admit it looked pretty entertaining. So why don’t you let me have a go!” Ren started to turn on his heels, bringing the shadow along for the ride, he kept spinning faster and faster until he finally let go of his grip and flung its body back towards the main building, watching as it careered right towards the brick wall before it made impact, cracking the masonry and sliding down limply.
He briefly noticed the shocked looks on his friend’s faces, but he paid them no attention, the sound of his heart thumping in his ears was too distracting. He walked towards the slumped body of the shadow, Eligors incessant thirst for battle growing louder in his subconscious with every step he took until he was standing right over it with a feral grin plastered on his face. He raised his leg and let it explode towards the shadow’s face, over and over until he could see the cracks forming in the brick behind it like spider webs.
“Hey come on. Where’d all that energy from before go?” Ren drawled, letting his foot rest against the shadow’s head while he kept digging his heel harder into it. “Don’t tell me you’re finished already. I haven’t had my chance to repay you for all that fun.”
Ren scowled at the lack of motion, energy burned beneath the surface of his skin like an annoying itch. He wanted to fight, he needed to fight.
“Hey Joker, I think you won.” He barely heard Ryuji speak behind him, holding a limping Ann as they watched what was taking place.
He ignored his friend’s silent plea as he kept smashing the shadow’s head against the brick with his foot, his annoyance slowly turning into anger at the lack of challenge.
“Dude you can stop, just kill it so we can go home.”
Ren just kept kicking until finally, the monster reacted, wrapping its hand around Ren’s armoured leg. A grin spread across his face, but it shifted back into a scowl when he could barely feel any strength in its grip. Ren was sure that even without the armour he’d barely notice it.
He easily shook off the feeble attempt of retaliation, giving the shadow a swift kick to the side of its head as punishment for disappointing him. His friends’ words had completely faded as the rushing blood in ears grew louder.
Ren reached down and grabbed the shadow by its arm and started to pull, using his foot as a brace to keep the monster from coming along with it. Ren finally started to smile when he felt the arm pull from its socket, he had wondered how the internal anatomy of shadows functioned and he was morbidly pleased to now know that it mimicked humans to a certain degree.
He would have kept going until the shadow’s arm came clean off if he didn’t feel someone’s heavy palm rest on his shoulder.
“Ren, stop! We won. End this. Please.”
The dark-haired teen turned to face his friends and the shocking realization of what he was doing washed over him at the concerned look on their faces. He looked back down at the shadow and only then noticed just how much damage he had done. A satisfaction sat at the pit of his stomach, and he was unsettled by the fact he couldn’t tell if that was Eligor’s influence or entirely his own.
He gave Ryuji a subtle nod to let his friend know that he was heard, he leaned down, dropping the arm he had nearly ripped off before wrapping his hand around the shadow’s head. He clamped down and swiftly crushed its skull, turning the monster to dust in the process.
He stood up and looked down at his hand, the blood-red gauntlet making him feel sick to his stomach. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, a part of him wanted to keep fighting, to rush ahead of his friends into the palace and find the next opponent to attack, but he reminded himself of those quiet moments in the library with Makoto, making dumb jokes in a desperate attempt to see her smile.
The urge to fight began to subside and when he opened his eyes, his body was back to normal, covered in the familiar leather of his coat and gloves. Ryuji’s hand once again landed on his shoulder, drawing his attention back to his worried friends.
“You good?”
Ren could only give him a tired smile. “Yeah, I think I am.” Ryuji smiled at him before wrapping his arm around his shoulder, pulling Ren in close to the blonde who looked at him like he had just told him Christmas came early.
“Sweet, now you need to tell me where’d that armour came from because it looked badass.”
Ren’s smile became easier at Ryuji’s outward excitement, he had worried that they’d be scared of him after what they saw but seeing Ryuji grinning like an idiot quickly put those fears to rest. No matter what happened to Ren, what these stronger Persona’s meant for his sense of being, he could at least rely on Ryuji always being his loud rambunctious self.
“I guess I got a bit of explaining to do huh?” Ren brushed off Ryuji’s arm and tried to take a step forward, ready to be done with this place when he noticed the shocked look of Ann and Morgana who had been sitting a few feet away from the two boys, the cat busy healing his Lady’s sprained ankle.
It was only then that he tasted the iron in his mouth properly and felt the warm liquid that had begun to drip his nose. He raised his hand to wipe at it and stared down at the deep crimson. As if waiting for their cue, Ren’s knees suddenly buckled and breathing became nearly impossible.
“Oh. That’s probably not a good sign, isn’t it?” He didn’t get to see the mortification on the faces at his stupid joke as he almost immediately passed out right after the words left his mouth.
Notes:
The start of this chapter went through so many rewrites before I was finally happy with it/ Overall I'm really happy with how the chapter turned out. Hopefully the new combat system I've thought up will lead to more interesting fights that don't just involve casting spells and buffs.
As always feedback is welcome, good or bad and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Chapter Text
A pounding headache and the sound of hands slowly clapping were what greeted Ren when he opened his eyes. He had to bite back a groan as he pushed his body off the threadbare bed of his cell to face his apparent audience and sure enough, the source of the insufferable clapping was none other than Igor.
“Well done trickster, I never doubted you for a moment.”
Ren ignored the desire to immediately bite back, taking a moment to crack his neck and stretch out his joints. “Right, because you were so helpful with all your cryptic mumbo jumbo. Couldn’t have just told me that I had to suck it up and fuse with my Persona?”
Igor just grinned at Ren, his face unchanging but the teen could tell he was being looked down upon and it made him bristle with annoyance. “To give you all the answers would defeat the purpose of your rehabilitation.”
“Pretty sure dying would also defeat the purpose,” Ren mumbled back, not caring if his warden heard, he knew the puppeteer wouldn’t care about his opinion anyways. “Is there a reason I’m here or do you just get lonely with your two yes girls here?”
A loud tang rang through his ears, causing the dull throb of his headache to flare up. “How many times must I tell you to show respect inmate!” Caroline spoke harshly only making the pain behind his eyes even more unbearable.
Ren covered his ears as he glared at the short girl to his right. “Do you have a volume nob, I swear you only have two levels, loud and insufferable.”
“I hope so trickster but alas, I have yet to find it myself,” Justine interjected, her ears also covered with her small hands.
“Humph, it’s not my fault his ears are too weak.”
“Now now you three, let’s not fight amongst ourselves. To answer your question trickster, I did not bring you here, you came here of your own volition. Though If I may, offer you a bit of advice, be careful with your newfound power, as you have seen for yourself, it will be important for the challenges you’ve yet to face but nothing in this world comes for free.”
The sensation of that power lingered in Ren’s fists like an itch he couldn’t scratch. That desire to keep fighting kept nagging at the back of his mind even at this very moment. If he wasn’t careful with Eligors power he was either going to get himself into a fight he couldn’t win, or his body simply wouldn’t be able to keep up. Ren let out a groan as he sat back on the uncomfortable bed and ran a hand through his hair.
“So, I need to get stronger is the gist of what you’re saying? See this is so much easier when you just speak like a semi-normal person.”
The master of the velvet room just chuckled at the obvious provocation. “How you handle what’s to come is entirely up to you trickster. I do not doubt that you will do what is required of you to see the rehabilitation to its inevitable conclusion.”
Igor looked somewhere that Ren couldn’t see from his position before turning back to his inmate. “And with that, I believe your time here has come to an end, I look forward to our next meeting.”
A wave of exhaustion rolled over Ren, almost dragging him to lie against the bed like a physical force but he managed to hold himself up long enough to show Igor his middle finger.
-
“Guys this is bad, he still isn’t waking up.”
“Skull I’ve said it like 4 times already, we’ve healed all his wounds, he’s just asleep. So instead of watching him like a hawk, how about you make sure we’re not jumped by another shadow because Mona and I are kinda exhausted after healing him.”
“Just how are you guys so calm about this, the guy was coughing up blood.”
Ren groaned at Ryuji’s loud voice as it pierced through his ears, snapping him out of what little restful sleep he had been in. He heard his friends gasp at the noise he made but he couldn’t see what expressions they were making, his eyelids still too heavy to open, instead he just draped an arm over his face in a vain attempt to block out the light.
“Uh dude, are you like… alive?” Ren could hear the hesitation in his friend’s voice like he was too scared to get his hopes up.
“Is it so much to ask that I can get a full eight hours of sleep without some weird hunchback speaking in riddles or my best friend yelling like he’s never heard of an indoor voice?” Ren moaned out as he forced his body to sit up. All his muscles burned as if he had just finished a multi-hour full-body workout and his bones felt foreign in his body like they had grown several inches longer way too quickly. But he could breathe without the feeling of blood filling his lungs so he figured he could be worse for wear all things considered.
His friends looked at him like he had come back from the dead, clearly unsure how to broach the question no doubt burning in all their minds until Ann just decided to ask, “Ren, what the hell happened when you were unconscious?”
That was a great question, one Ren hadn’t had the benefit of asking himself yet let alone actually figuring out an answer to it. He blew back a strand of hair that had fallen onto his face as he tried to sort through the series of events that had taken place in such a short period.
He took in a deep breath and faced his friends, figuring there was no better way to figure things out than to just start from the beginning.
-
“So, you’re saying you can fuse with your persona’s now?” Ann asked slowly like she had arrived at the correct answer without understanding the method that got her there.
Ren nodded at the half-right answer. “Kinda, it’s less fusing with my personas and more embodying their strength. We stop becoming different versions of Joker and become a whole unit. Both in body and mind.”
“And how long have you been able to do this?”
Ren rubbed the back of his neck, he could just sidestep the question or outright lied, pretending it was another gift of Igor’s in response to the unprecedented threat that had shown up. But he didn’t want to lie to them, to his friends. The people who had stuck by him despite everything.
“I think I’ve always been able to. I could feel these stronger personas just waiting for me to grab a hold of them, but I had been worried about what would happen if I accepted their power.”
Ren paused, his attention drawn to his hand resting in his lap, he closed in into a fist, the impact of his blows and the strength they held still vivid in his memory, as well as the pleasure he felt along with it.
“In truth I was scared, I wasn’t sure if I could ever come back after letting something that strong become a part of me. And as you could tell, maybe I was right, maybe I can’t control it.”
The atmosphere dampened with Ren’s words, and he hated it, he knew that he should be bringing up the team’s morale, taking the moment to reinforce their objective and plan for the future but he couldn’t shake the underlying fear that encompassed him. If he couldn’t control this new power then did he even have a right to make those big decisions, how long would it be before one of the more battle-crazed Personas took the reigns and made the wrong choice?
“I don’t see what the issue is, you didn’t seem any different when you fused with the armour guy than you normally are when fighting.” Ren’s eyes shot up to meet Ryuji’s, the blonde was casually stretching, completely oblivious to the inner turmoil Ren had been experiencing.
“What do you mean?” Ren asked, probably more aggressively than necessary judging from the surprised look on Ryuji’s face.
“Dude, you’ve always looked like you’re having way too much fun when fighting shadows.”
“Skull’s right, I’ll be honest watching you fight can be… how do I put this.”
“Downright terrifying,” Ryuji interjected, earning him a quick slap to his arm from Ann.
“I was going to say intimidating, you ass.”
Ren couldn’t believe what he was hearing, he thought back to all the fights he’s had but none of them stood out to him. “I don’t understand.”
“No offense Ren but you’re crazy when you fight, I’ve seen you charge at an angel with a broken arm, and block Kamoshida’s giant ass fork with a hole in your leg. You’ve burned down a library and crashed a car to try and kill a snowman. You’re kind of insane.”
Looking back on it, Ren could see where his friends were coming from, those moments had been so intense and risky that he hadn’t had a chance to think about what he was feeling at the time. Now that he realises it, while he had been terrified of losing, of dying, he couldn’t deny that he had also felt free like there was nothing that could stop him.
“You got carried away this time sure, but you had also been blown through a set of steel doors and probably had some of your insides scrambled, if anyone of us deserved to go a little overboard, it was you.”
Ren looked at the smile on Ryuji’s face, as well as the relieved look on Ann’s and Morgana’s and he realised just how dumb he had been for worrying. It felt so ridiculous that he couldn’t contain the laughter that suddenly burst from his lungs as he fell over onto his back. His friends looked at him like he had finally lost the plot and in a lot of ways, they weren’t wrong.
“Oh my god, you’re so right. I’m fucking insane. We’re fighting monsters in someone’s metaphysical mind like it’s totally normal.”
The other three watched Ren for a little bit before they all joined him in their laughter. The intensity of all that had happened seemingly washed away with every new burst of giggles and chuckles that escaped the four phantom thieves.
When Ren finally opened his eyes, he was greeted by Ryuji’s outstretched hand and radiant grin. “C’mon leader, no more moping around, we still have the heart to steal.”
Ren grabbed Ryuji’s hand with a tight grip and let himself be pulled up, feeling lighter than he had in ages.
-
The sun had begun to set when the four stepped out of the metaverse and back into reality. Ren had to wonder how long he had been unconscious if that much time had passed. He could see his friends visibly deflate as the tension left their bodies, despite their little giggle fest, they had all been on edge, ready to fight at any sign of danger.
Ann raised her arms above her head, the vertebrae in her back giving loud pops with every inch she stretched. “God I cannot wait to get home and have a hot bath.”
Ryuji stepped next to her, joining her in her stretching as he cracked his neck and loosened his legs. “I’m starving, I need to get something to eat.”
The blond runner tried to take a step forward only to be dragged back by a strong grip on his collar. The teen looked over his shoulder and felt the blood drain from his face at the almost sadistic smile on Ren’s face. “Uh, dude?”
“Ryuji, you remember that gym membership you were telling us about.”
Ryuji swallowed the saliva that had suddenly appeared in his mouth, he wasn’t sure what the right answer was to this question. “Uh… yeah?”
“Cool.” Ren’s grin grew larger before he turned on his heel and started walking towards Shibuya, dragging a helpless Ryuji along with him despite the blonde’s grunts of protest, “text your mum you’re gonna be a bit late for dinner tonight. We have some training to do.”
The runner looked back at Ann no doubt hoping to find some way out of this impromptu workout session, but his shoulders sagged at the bemused smile on the model’s face as she waved her friends off. “Try not to kill him Ren.” She shouted at the retreating boys.
“No promises,” Ren yelled back with a wave of his arm, ignoring the struggling blonde in his hand.
-
Makoto wasn’t sure what led to her staying out so late on a school night. Maybe it was the text that she got from Sae telling her that her sister wouldn’t be home for dinner despite what she had said earlier that morning before Makoto had left for school. Maybe it was because she couldn’t seem to focus long enough to even try studying, her newly realized feelings making sitting down for any stretch of time unbearable. Or maybe it was just her desire to change, to make her own decisions regardless of what other people expected like a certain dark-haired troublemaker she knew.
Regardless of the cause, it didn’t change the fact that she was out way past the curfew she had set for herself long ago, kicking a punching bag to a familiar rhythm. She had been going to this gym for years, it was where her father had signed her up for Judo lessons and where she had spent a good majority of her youth back when she took the sport seriously rather than a form of light exercise between study sessions.
She had just finished her last set and was gathering her things when she heard a familiar voice.
“Hey dude, I’m gonna head home before mum gets really pissed.” She hadn’t had the pleasure of talking to Sakamoto much, but it was hard to miss his voice considering how loud he tended to talk around school, even more so given his close connection to Ren. She followed his voice and looked around the corner to see the fake blonde watching Ren as he continued to throw punches into the punching bag.
Shujin’s notorious troublemaker gave one final thump to the bag before turning to look at his friend, grabbing a bottle of water in the process. “Yeah all good, sorry for you keeping you back so late, I’ll buy you a beef bowl tomorrow after school.”
The blonde beamed at his dark-haired counterpart. “Hell yeah. But next time just ask me if you wanna train, you’ll ruin my best shirt if you keep dragging me around like that.”
Ren just rolled his eyes with a smirk, “I can’t ruin something that’s already a fashion crime.”
Sakamoto just laughed and proceeded to flip Ren off before grabbing his bag. He looked as if he was about to walk away when he paused and turned back to his friend. “Don’t push yourself too hard all right, you need rest.”
Ren’s smirk died down to a smaller, more tired smile and he moved to face the punching bag again. “I know, just a little bit longer and then I’ll head home.”
Makoto could tell by the look on Sakamoto’s face that he wasn’t exactly convinced by the boys’ words but also knew better than to push. He waited a few more seconds before eventually resigning himself and walking out of her sight. Leaving her to just watch Ren hammer as he focused solely on the punching bag before he returned to punching the bag.
She hadn’t intended to watch as long as she had but she couldn’t seem to drag her eyes away from the boy’s form. His movements were nothing to write home about, they lacked any clear style or practice, and she wouldn’t be surprised if this was his first time using a bag. But his punches came out so heavy and full of power that it was mesmerizing to watch. The steady thump of his fist against the bag reminded her of a heartbeat and it only seemed to beat faster and faster with every passing moment until its inevitable crescendo into a powerful blow that sent the bag flying backward and leaving the teen panting as if he had forgotten to breathe during that entire time.
“You’ll hurt your hands if you don’t wrap them properly.”
The boy jumped at her sudden voice, turning on his heel to face her. For a second she was taken aback by the intensity in his gaze, she had only seen that look a handful of times on particularly serious opponents she used to face in judo. But it was quick to soften as recognition flooded his eyes, his features softening into his normal smirk as he gently rested a hand on the bag to steady it.
“Careful Prez, I know someone who’s very strict when it comes to curfews.”
Makoto just rolled her eyes as she made her way closer to the boy, “ha-ha very funny, the day you tattle on someone for being late will be the same day I flunk a test.”
Now that she was closer she could get a better look at him, he wore a simple black tank top that fitted well against his figure, he was hardly muscular but the signs of a sleek and toned body made it clear that while he was a novice at punching a bag, he knew how to take care of himself.
She must have miscalculated how brief her stare had been because one look at his raised brow and cocky smirk made it clear she had been caught ogling. She felt her cheeks flush.
“I’m a well-known truant, what’s your excuse for being out so late Nijima senpai.”
Makoto took a moment to compose herself and hopefully lose some of the heat in her cheeks before responding. “Maybe I just felt like burning some extra energy. Unlike you Amamiya-kun, I can be trusted to conduct myself appropriately outside of school.”
Ren just raised an eyebrow at the obvious challenge in her voice. “Oh? So, spying on a guy beating the shit out of punching and then checking out his body is an appropriate way for Shujin’s number one student to conduct herself.”
She couldn’t help but scowl at the victorious smirk on his face. She hated how good he was at teasing her.
“Careful, don’t forget who the tutor is here. I can and will give you the wrong answers just to spite you.”
At this Ren could only seem to laugh, a low chuckle rumbling through his chest, and reverberating in the near-empty gym bringing a smile to her face. When Ren managed to wrangle in his laughter, he quickly glanced at his phone before looking back at her. All traces of the tension that he had when he was exercising were gone.
“You eat dinner yet?”
Chapter 51
Notes:
Did someone say fluff?
Chapter Text
To say that Makoto was out of her element would be a major understatement. That wasn’t to say that she had never once stayed out late before but those times were usually few and far between and she often had a specific reason to do so, usually involving emergency trips to fetch groceries that she needed for dinner or to pick up a new textbook she had ordered. But she never just casually strolled around the streets of Shibuya like she was doing now, especially with friends and doubly so with one of the opposite sex.
The boy walking in front of her though couldn’t have looked more in his element if he tried. He walked the rough and cracked pavement footpaths with a familiarity that was noticeably absent in the way he walked through the halls of Shujin. It was like she was watching an entirely different version of Ren Amamiya, one she had only been able to catch brief glimpses of at school.
The number of people who called out to the boy was staggering, varying from brief greetings and acknowledgments to short conversations they held when they passed each other. If she hadn’t been given the details of his date of arrival, she would have just assumed he had grown up in Tokyo with how entrenched he seemed to be in the community.
“Heya Ren, I saw your cat hanging around earlier, looked like he was trying to find ya.” Makoto was startled by the deep voice that boomed across the footpath. Both teens turned to face it and where Ren seemed unperplexed, Makoto was shocked, to say the least. She had always thought her dad had been the biggest person she’d ever meet, and it turns out she couldn’t be more wrong, the broken Japanese came from a dark-skinned bouncer that stood out front of what she assumed must be some kind of club. The burly man easily stood a couple of feet taller than Ren and was at least thrice as wide as the lean teen.
Ren just smiled and crossed over to talk with him, leaving Makoto to gawp before quickly following along. “Thanks Steve, how’s the night treating you?”
The man called Steve just gave a casual shrug. “Business as usual, people far too drunk for their own good. I figured you Japanese would realize by this point that you really can’t hold your liquor.”
Ren chuckled at the unintentional dig. “I’ll be honest Steve, compared to you I don’t think anyone could hold their liquor. Y’know besides Ohya, I’m fairly sure her liver is immortal.”
The two laughed at the inside joke like it was the most natural thing for a high schooler and foreigner working as a bouncer to have such a conversation. Makoto was confident that in her 18 years of life, she had only had a single conversation that involved alcohol and that was when she was very young and asked her father if she could have a sip the can of beer he was drinking, unaware of what it even was at the time.
“I’ll be on shift tomorrow night, drop by the shop and I’ll give you a bowl on the house.”
Steve immediately perked up at the mention of free food. “Thanks, Ren, I might just take you up on that offer.”
With a final wave goodbye, Ren started walking down the street with Makoto quick on his heels. She took a couple of extra steps to walk beside him, and she didn’t fail to notice the way he purposefully shortened his gait to match hers. There were several questions on the forefront of her brain that she felt needed answering and yet all that came to mind surprised her.
“You have a cat?”
Ren looked equally perplexed as she felt but answered nonetheless, the hints of a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “He’s kind of a stray that just started following me around. I let him crash at my place.”
And as if waiting for its cue, the sound of a cat meowing echoed from above the two and was followed by a blur of black and white fur that landed gracefully on Ren’s shoulder with a level of finesse that indicated this wasn’t the first time it’s happened. When the cat settled on the teen’s shoulder it began mewling causing Ren to chuckle. With it now standing still Makoto could get a proper look at the animal and it didn’t take long for her to recognize where she’d seen the animal before.
“Wait. Isn’t that the cat that people have been seeing around school?”
Ren and the ball of fur on his shoulder looked at one another like they were surprised that she had recognized him at all. “You hear that Morgana, you’re famous.”
Makoto knew that cats tended to act high and mighty, but she could confidently say she’s never seen one look as smug as the one using the teen as a free ride, its grinning face looked strangely human to her. Even then she couldn’t deny that the animal was pretty cute.
“Can I… Can I pet him?”
Ren smirked and quickly nabbed the cat off his shoulder, holding him in front of her under his front legs leaving the animal daggling and looking oddly offended and betrayed. “He would love that.”
Makoto only had to take one look at said cat to see that he would not love it, but her argument died in her throat at the joyous grin on the boy’s face and was only emboldened by the little jiggle he made Morgana do.
“Trust me, he likes to think he’s above such things but he’s a secret softy.”
She gave the boy one last look, in a vain attempt to gleam any sort of joke that may underlie his actions but failed to find anything other than pure amusement at his cat’s annoyance. She reached her hand towards the animal tentatively, having experienced the pain cats could cause when they weren’t in the mood to be touched enough times to know that she needed to let Morgana know he could tell her no at any time. To his credit though, despite his obvious annoyance, he made no signs that he was going to attack her aside from a soft growl that was pointedly directed at his owner and not at her.
She gently rested her hand on the cat’s head and slowly began to stroke the soft fur underneath and all reservations seemed to fade. His growls quickly morphed into a happy purr.
She was so enamoured by the cuteness of the scene that she was even able to ignore the prideful smirk on Ren’s face.
“Told you.”
Makoto honestly couldn’t tell if he directed that at her or the cat that was nuzzling against her open palm but neither she nor Morgana seemed to care. She did however notice just how clean and well-groomed the cat was considering he was apparently just a stray that followed Ren around. It was easy to tell that Ren took care of the little guy even if he wanted to downplay his good nature and she couldn’t contain her laughter at the image of Ren Amamiya, someone with such a strong stigma among his peers going out of his way to bathe a stray cat.
Her laughter elicited a curious look from the boy in question to which Makoto could only shrug as she went back to pining over Morgana, using both hands to scratch under the cat’s chin. “I just wonder how everyone at school would react if they knew their local Yakuza member was a big softy who takes in stray cats.”
Ren rolled his eyes and finally let Morgana crawl back up his shoulder when Makoto ceased her head pats. “No one would believe you anyways.”
It wasn’t hard for her to notice the slight bitterness to his words but Ren, ever the master of deflection, quickly moved on turning his head to look at Morgana. “We’re gonna grab something to eat, mind hanging around for a little bit?”
Makoto was about to tease him for speaking to his cat so frankly but couldn’t even get the first word out before Morgana nodded his head and jumped off his shoulder onto the nearest railing and disappeared into one of Shibuya’s many narrow alleys. She could only watch the interaction in slight awe as she realized Ren had just talked to his cat and said cat seemed to understand him.
Ren looked at her with his brow raised, obviously unsure of what caused her shocked expression.
“That was… he’s a very smart cat.” Was all she could muster to say
Ren just snorted and started walking again, “I wouldn’t go that far.”
-
They spent most of their journey in comfortable silence, broken up only by the occasional stranger greeting Ren and the ambient sound of the city night. Neither of them felt it necessary to try and fill the quiet that had fallen between them, Makoto was more than entertained looking at all the different shops and types of people that had forgone going home just yet. It was like a whole other world she hadn’t even known existed and Ren seemed more than happy to just guide them through the streets, watching her inquisitive eyes out of the corner of his vision.
Eventually, they reached their destination, Makoto couldn’t tell what kind of shop it was based on its name, but Ren seemed familiar with it based on how he barely wasted a second before he stepped forward and pushed the door open. He looked back at her expectantly and she hated how much the simple courtesy made her stomach flutter and her cheeks blush, she could only pray that he didn’t get a good look at her face as she dashed past him.
If she thought the streets of Shibuya were busy then she was sorely mistaken about what that word meant. It was incredible how so many people managed to fit into such a relatively small shop, The first thing that hit her was a wall of sound, numerous conversations played out in sync and were punctuated by the sudden outburst of laughter that came from every direction she faced. The second thing that hit her was the delicious smell that permeated the air, freshly grilled meat and the rich multitude of spices and broths completely ensnared her senses.
One of the chefs looked over his shoulder towards them, the man’s face immediately lit up at the sight of Ren’s tall frame and unruly mop of black hair. “Ren! I don’t remember seeing you rostered tonight.”
The boy chuckled from behind her, moving to stand at her side as he spoke to the chef, having to practically shout to be heard over all the noise around them. “Nope, here as a customer for once, brought a friend as well.”
The man’s eyes drifted towards her and she felt unsure of how to conduct herself, was she supposed to be respectful and bow or wait to be greeted? She opted to just give him a small wave, unsure if he could even see it behind the wall of people that separated the teens from the chef.
“Ah, a fresh face, thank god I don’t think we have enough meat to fill that blonde kid’s stomach again.”
Ren laughed as he gently pressed his hand against her back, the minuscule contact still managed to send a shock through her nerves, but she was proud of herself for keeping the sensation from expressing itself through her body. She let herself be ushered away from the door towards the counter that separated the staff from the customers. Ren had no trouble finding them some empty seats despite how incredibly packed it was, she didn’t even have a chance to sit and open the menu before a new face was standing in front of them. Makoto looked up and saw a middle-aged man wearing an apron with his notepad open, ready to take their orders.
“Didn’t expect to see you here tonight Amamiya.”
Ren didn’t look too put off by the use of his family name which gave Makoto enough information to gather that the person serving them must be Ren’s manager, which amazed her by the fact that the teen just shrugged his shoulders in response.
“I was in the area.”
“Uh-huh right. So just the usual then?” His stare shifted to Makoto, “And what’ll you get miss?”
Makoto suddenly felt flustered, she kicked herself for not having the forethought to at least look at the menu when the two men were chatting. Luckily for her, Ren interjected, taking the attention off her. “It’s her first time here Takamura.”
The man’s-tired expression brightened at the mention of a new customer, she had heard the term before, but he truly looked 10 years younger when he smiled. “Ah, a newbie huh? Don’t worry miss, I’ll get you the house special, free of charge if it’s not to your liking.”
The man was off before Makoto could even get a word of argument out of her mouth, leaving her with her finger raised and mouth open with the boy next to her chuckling in amusement. “Don’t bother, that man will track you down to the ends of the earth if you try to give him that money.”
She decided to leave the issue of paying for it later after she had her food. There was no chance she was going to take advantage of the man’s kindness, but she could worry about it after she was no longer starving. She instead turned to Ren with more questions brimming in her head. “I thought you said you worked at the convenience store?”
Ren grinned as he also turned to face her. “I do, I also work here a couple of times a week and occasionally help out at the flower shop in the station on weekends.”
Makoto could only stare at him agape as she let it sink in just how much effort he dedicates to working. “How do you find time to do all that and study?”
The teen just shrugged his shoulders. “I make time when I can, nights at the convenience store can get pretty quiet and this place gives pretty generous breaks.”
“Only when Takamura makes him take it!” One of the cooks yelled across the room at Ren, the boy in question just rolled his eyes and raised his middle finger in response to the man that called out despite having his back turned to the teen.
Makoto just continued to look at Ren. “You’re incredible.”
Ren’s eyes went wide at the compliment, obviously taken aback by the suddenness of it. She watched as the normally confidant and headstrong Ren turned his head away from her, but not before she saw the tell-tale colour of blush on his cheeks.
“You’re exaggerating.”
She saw the opportunity to tease him about the way he clearly couldn’t handle being complimented but decided she’d much rather double down on her praise. She shook her head lightly even though he couldn’t see her.
“I’m not Ren, I’ve seen how much effort you’ve put into improving your grades and I can attest to the progress you’ve made. Knowing that you’ve made leap and bounds while everyone’s been trying to drag you down for your past and working multiple jobs. It’s nothing short of amazing.”
She could see his ears turning pink despite his best effort to cover them with his hair, he eventually huffed out a breath and turned to look at her, glaring a little but she couldn’t feel any ill intent behind it, she could guess that he was simply annoyed by how flustered he had become.
“Jeez, has anyone told you that you give pretty decent pep talks.”
Makoto just stifled a giggle with the back of her hand which made him roll his eyes.
The two spent the time waiting for their food just talking, even though the topics were mundane, Makoto couldn’t take her eyes off the boy beside her as he told her story after story about his antics with Takamaki and Sakamoto, most of them were things that she really should reprimand him for considering his situation, but she couldn’t help but laugh along. In return she told him about the repeated attempts Eiko made to get close to her in class, making doubly sure to obfuscate the parts where the bubbly girl would tease her about her crush. It was pleasant and inconsequential, and Makoto couldn’t remember a time when she felt so relaxed just having a conversation with someone.
Their discussion about schoolwork was cut short by the placing of two bowls on the table in front of them. Makoto looked from the food to the man who had placed them, the same middle-aged server whom she now knew was named Takamura looked at the food like they were his children.
“One curry Udon for my most sarcastic employee and a house special for his friend. Enjoy.”
Makoto watched the server walk off to tend to other customers before turning to the boy beside her looking no doubt perplexed by the sudden shift in demeanour. Ren just laughed as he grabbed and broke his chopsticks in two. “I swear that man only has two joys in life. His kids and his Udon.”
Makoto was curious about what would lead a man to have such a vested interest in Udon but the scent coming from the steaming bowl in front of her was too tempting to probe Ren for more information. She followed her dinner companion’s example and grabbed her chopsticks. The two gave their thanks for the food before she dipped her chopsticks into the broth and fished out a noodle, she brought the food up to her lips and pushed her bangs out of the way with her free hand. She was about to put the food into her mouth when she noticed Ren looking at her instead of eating his food.
When he saw the question in her eyes he gave a small shrug. “I just wanna see your reaction, don’t mind me.”
Normally she’d be embarrassed about her eating habits being watched, especially by this particular person beside her but the craving for food in her stomach was just too much for her to care. She ignored the expectant smirk on his face and focused instead on the food, she finally sucked the noodle into her mouth and her eyes widened immediately as the rich broth hit her tongue and the bouncy noodle broke between her teeth. A cacophony of flavours and spices ignited her taste buds, shocking them to life in the process.
She turned to Ren, her eyes still somewhat bulging at the flavour that lingered in her mouth, Ren just chuckled like he was expecting that exact reaction from her.
“Oh my god, Ren.”
“I know.”
“This Udon is incredible.”
“Best in Tokyo right.” He said between laughs as if he had seen and heard this reaction so many times.
Makoto could only nod her head in response as she quickly dunked her chopsticks back into the bowl and began fishing out the rest of the contents of the dish. Ren just continued to chuckle as he began to eat his food with a more appropriate vigour compared to hers. She couldn’t understand what it was that made it so tasty, it was clear that a lot of love and care had been put into the dish, none of the flavours were overpowering each other and the meat was cooked to near perfection giving it a great eating texture. But that didn’t change the fact that she was eating a bowl of Udon for dinner, something she’s had many times in her life and even made for herself on a few occasions, but she couldn’t deny that every mouthful she swallowed left her with an innate craving for more.
She pondered this mystery for a little bit but was quick to find her answer when she looked at the boy beside her. He had forgone watching her entirely to focus on his food. He had his hair tied back into a weird mix between a bun and ponytail to keep the hair out of his face as he leaned over his bowl of Udon. She could see the faint tint of rose on his cheeks from what she could smell was a surprisingly spicy curry broth and with every mouthful of noodles he slurped up she could see his shoulders visibly relax.
It wasn’t that the food was necessarily 5-star quality, it was just a really good dish that was elevated by the entire atmosphere of the place and the company besides her. She felt silly that it had taken her as long as it had for her to realise it, dinner for Makoto was usually a quiet and sombre time, a get-in and get-out kind of event. How long had it been since she just enjoyed a meal she hadn’t cooked for herself? How long had it been since she could have a casual conversation before eating? How long had it been since she felt relaxed at a dinner table without worry about setting off her tired sister?
Ren must have felt her gaze on him because after slurping up the noodles he had tangled around his chopsticks, he turned to face her. His cheeks were bulging slightly from the food still in his mouth, he titled his head in question, but she simply shook her head and went back to eating. She was going to just enjoy this moment in time when she could be a normal high-school girl.
-
Both of the teens left the shop feeling full and satisfied, they each let out a sigh of relief as the food settled into their stomachs. Makoto was surprised by how quiet the busy streets of Shibuya felt after spending time in the packed Udon shop, she found it incredible how her perspective had shifted in such a short time, she had gone from feeling completely out of place barely a couple of hours ago to feeling content by Ren’s side as they began making their way towards the train station.
“I swear that man puts some kind of narcotic in that Udon of his, it’s the only explanation for how good it tastes,” Ren exclaimed between breaths as he stretched his long body. Makoto watched as he raised his arms above his head, making his gym shirt ride up slightly and giving her a full view of the defined lines of his abdominal muscles. She was mildly ashamed by how long she watched the way the muscles flexed with his movement before she managed to look away, thankfully Ren must have been too tired to notice her obvious staring because he didn’t make any snide remark about it.
The two walked arm in arm towards the train station, their light conversation swiftly quieted to a comfortable silence, she couldn’t help but notice that their arms kept brushing together but neither of them made an effort to put any distance between each other despite the street they walked having little foot traffic. Each brief glance set off a new wave of butterflies in her stomach.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home, it’s pretty late,” Ren asked when they reached her train platform. A part of her wanted to indulge in her selfish desires and ask him to, but the more responsible student-president part of her won over. She shook her head but smiled at the gesture.
“By the time you take me home, get another train back to the station, and then to your place it’ll be way too late for me to condone. I’ll be fine Ren, I can take care of myself if something happens.”
The boy frowned, his eyes drooping slightly together which Makoto couldn’t deny was incredibly cute, he looked like a kid trying to stay awake purely for the sake of not wanting to go to sleep.
“I know you can, it doesn’t mean I don’t wanna help.”
Makoto turned towards the train as it arrived and gave the boy a small wave. “Go home Ren, we’re gonna be studying extra hard tomorrow in preparation for your exams so you’ll need your rest.”
Ren rolled his eyes and smirked, he pushed himself off from the pillar he had been leaning against and gave Makoto the laziest salute she had ever seen, one that her dad would have definitely chastised him for if Ren was one of his underlings.
“Yes ma’am. Get home safe.”
She rolled her own eyes at his insistence on her safety but waved him goodbye one last time, watching as continued to stand in his spot even as the train began to roll away. When he was finally out of her sight, she grabbed the nearest seat and let herself sink into it. She couldn’t remember a time when she had felt so tired but not in a way that left her drained.
She was about 20 minutes into her 30-minute ride when the realisation hit her. She had been resting her eyes and listening to the voice memos she had recorded for herself to help her remember her English before they shot open, all the tiredness disappearing as her brain went into overdrive as it put the pieces together.
She had just spent the night out with a friend. Not just any friend but a boy. And not just any boy but the boy she definitely had a crush on and one she was sure didn’t exactly hate her company. That boy had invited her to dinner and offered to walk her home.
She was very glad that the train car was practically empty because she didn’t even realise she was speaking when the thought articulated itself.
“Did I just go on a date?”
Chapter Text
The streets of Yongen-Jaya were dim and quiet when Ren stepped out of the train station. It was a sight Ren had become accustomed to seeing more of ever since Sojiro had become laxer on his curfew. The desolate streets, surrounded by houses with no lights in them and the crisp air of the night wind, reminded him of home. His steps were slow and deliberate as he made his way down the pavement back to Leblanc, his desire for sleep beaten out only by his appreciation for the peace the empty streets provided, something he had grown to appreciate more than ever lately.
He was still hesitant to call the place home given the circumstance that led him here and the temporary nature of his stay but even then he couldn’t deny that he felt a sense of peace walking these streets that he hadn’t felt in years. The lack of expectations, the lack of disgruntled stares as he walked by, it all felt so foreign compared to his life prior.
Eventually, the young man arrived at the front door of the Leblanc, the normally warm and inviting café felt unusually cold and empty until Ren turned his key and pushed the door open. The chime of the bell cutting through the silence and reigniting the life in the place as the scent of coffee and curry passed Ren’s nose, prompting the teen to breathe in deeply. The smell was almost enough to convince him to find some of the leftover curry Sojiro always seemed to have but Ren resisted the urge and continued through the café after locking the door behind him.
He flipped the light on in his room and moved to his bed, dropping the bag around his shoulder on the thin mattress with more force than necessary considering the cargo he carried in there, but he was far too tired to care. He ignored the squark that came from the bag and went about quickly shucking out of his uniform and into his normal sleepwear. When he was dressed and his teeth were brushed, Ren stood over his bed ready to just collapse, but before his legs could finally give out he spied the sheet of paper still sitting on his desk and more importantly, the lower half of the worksheet that hadn’t been filled in yet.
The teen just stared at the paper, annoyed that he was even considering forgoing the beautiful world of sleep to finish homework of all things. If it were him from a few months ago he wouldn’t have even given the thing a second glance, but then if it were the same him from months ago, there wouldn’t even be anything written on it to begin with. Ren sighed as he rolled his neck and diverted his one-way course from the bed to his desk, silently cursing the only person that could have caused such a travesty all with a dumb grin on his face.
Ren was about twenty minutes into finishing off the worksheet when he heard a soft yawn from behind him.
“What are you still doing up Ren?” Morgana asked as he hopped from the teen’s bed to the windowsill and finally onto the desk beside the paper Ren was writing on. Ren was leaning his head on his fist as he scratched down some of the easier answers he already knew not sparing a glance at his new observer.
“Finishing off this math worksheet Makoto gave me a couple of days ago. I can already tell that she’s gonna want to review all this tomorrow so I may as well get it done now.”
Morgana remained silent as Ren kept working methodically through the problems, Ren wanted to believe it was for his benefit knowing that the sooner he finished the work, the sooner the teen would turn off the lights and the two could finally get some much-needed rest. But Ren was also well aware of the diverse types of silences Morgana offered and this wasn’t one of mutual benefaction.
“Spit it out, Morgana.”
Ren glanced over at the sitting cat who looked unsure of what it was he even wanted to say until he finally relented and spoke. “I just… How close are you planning to get to her Ren?”
The teen was taken aback by the question, he honestly hadn’t expected Makoto to ever be a topic of discussion between the two, especially not with such a dire tone to accompany it. Ren didn’t even respond verbally, instead urging the feline to elaborate with a raised eyebrow.
“You know that getting close to her is risky considering her relationship with the principal and her sister. She’s smart Ren, we both know that if she wanted to, or was forced to, it wouldn’t take her long to figure out that you’re connected to the phantom thieves. I’m concerned, not just as your partner but as your friend. Is her friendship worth the risk?”
Ren was quiet. He wanted to refute Morgana’s argument, to remind his roommate to mind his own business and tell him he didn’t know what he was talking about. But he couldn’t, not in good faith at least, because in reality, all the things he had just said were echoes of things the young man had already asked himself. Getting close to Makoto was a risk if he looked at it logically and rationally.
If he wanted to be objective, she was his biggest detriment, the one person who could easily end his future with a wave of her hand if she so chose to. Ren leaned back in his chair, balancing the piece of furniture on two of its four legs as he stared at the ceiling.
“You’re right in a lot of ways Morgana, if I was being smart I would only interact with her the bare minimum to not draw suspicion. I would keep my distance and go about my own life, fighting shadows and changing hearts.”
Morgana stood up from his position and moved across the table to in front of Ren. “So, then you’ll−”
“Have you ever noticed how weird our lives have become?” Morgana’s words faltered under Ren’s unexpected question.
“I mean just a few months ago I was on the very edge of my life being ruined, I could have been sent to juvie and that would have been it for me. Japan isn’t so forgiving to people like me, if I had to disclose that I went to jail at the age of 17 I could kiss any chance of having a career goodbye.” Ren continued speaking, clearly not having expected an answer to his earlier question. “So not only do I get put into a position where I have to choose between having a home and having a future. I’m suddenly whisked into a different reality, forced to confront my weaknesses and fight battles that could lead to my death. I make new friends, get a cat that can talk and is apparently actually a human, and can change the hearts of evil people with my own strength.”
Ren ceased his rocking, letting the chair’s front legs rest on solid ground once again as he looked at Morgana. “I’m so tired Morgana, it feels like I haven’t had a single moment to breathe ever since I stepped off that train. My brain feels like it’s everywhere at once, juggling my responsibilities to my dad, my friends, my education, the team, and everything else. But you know when I feel all right? Do you know when I feel like Ren Amamiya and not Joker? When I’m with Makoto, making dumb jokes as she desperately tries to get me to focus on some dumb history question while hiding her amusement.”
Ren leaned forward and rubbed Morgana’s head gently. “Thanks for worrying Mona, you’re a good friend, but I’m not some superhuman who only thinks about things rationally. I like Makoto, I like her a lot and I don’t plan on giving up one of the few things that makes me feel normal.” Ren stopped his head rubbing and picked up his pen, indicating to Morgana that he was done with the conversation and to the cat’s credit, he didn’t push any harder, instead just hopping off the table and back onto the bed as he waited for Ren to finish, determined to stay awake until his friend finished just so he could make sure he went to sleep.
-
“He’s totally into you.”
Makoto groaned as she scratched her pen against the paper she was working on, already regretting her decision to tell Eiko about her time with Ren. Who could blame her though, she had spent the entire night tossing and turning in bed as she tried to rationalize what the boy she had a crush on inviting her out to dinner could mean, and by the time she arrived at school, she felt just about ready to explode.
She could only be glad that she had the forethought to drag her bubbly classmate to the student council room before telling her.
“It’s possible he was just being polite.” Even with most of her attention focused on the documents she was drafting, Makoto could still see how hard Eiko rolled her eyes at her flimsy rationalisation.
“I can count on one hand the number of times a boy’s invited me somewhere just because he was being polite.” Even with most of her attention on the papers in front of her, Makoto could still see the air quotes and stupid grin on the girl’s face as she said that last part, earning yet another groan from the third year.
“Why did I even tell you about this?” Eiko didn’t even attempt to contain the giggle that escaped her mouth as she began wandering around the room, clearly bored of just watching the student president work through her never-ending pile of documents.
“Because I’m one of the two friends you have, and you can’t exactly talk about your crush to your crush can you?” Makoto frowned at the blatant dig at her social skills but was more frustrated that she couldn’t refute the truth of it. Before she could get back to what she was doing, the space in front of her was filled with the energetic girl, her side ponytail swinging wildly with the movement.
“So, tell me, how was it? Where did he take you? what did you talk about? Give me the details girl.” Makoto leaned back as far as she could in her chair at the sudden onslaught of questions, each one bringing back fresh memories and making her cheeks warm up.
Luckily for the third year, her friend’s questions would remain unanswered as a knock rang through the room, followed by the sound of a student’s voice.
“Nijima senpai? Are you free to speak?”
The two girls looked at one another, neither of them seeming to recognize whom the voice belonged to. Makoto cleared her throat and ignored the pointed stare of the girl in front of her as she responded.
“Yes, I am. Please come in.”
Makoto was surprised to see that what she had assumed was a single student turned out to be several, all of whom piled into the room at her summons. She took a quick head count and noted the group consisted of five different students, three males, and two females, all coming from years below Makoto and Eiko as she couldn’t recall seeing any of there faces prior to this moment.
Makoto capped her pen and placed it on the table before turning her full attention to her fellow students. “How can I help you all?”
The group of five looked at each other with uncertainty, clearly whatever they had to discuss wasn’t something they were completely comfortable speaking about, it left a bitter taste in Makoto’s mouth because she knew only two subjects that brought about such a reaction within the walls of Shujin.
“Nijima senpai, we believe that the transfer student has been cheating on his tests.”
Makoto’s clasped hands tensed up, her grip leaving indents of her nails into the back of her palms. Of course, this was about Ren, she swore that Shujin academy had nothing better to do then talk about him, she couldn’t even remember what the main rumour before the boys’ arrival had been.
She took a deep breath before responding “That is quite the claim, I would hope that you all have some evidence to substantiate it.”
Once again the students looked at one another unsure of how to proceed, it was obvious that they had banked on the idea that she would have just outright believed them and their ridiculous accusation. One of the male students took a step forward, his gaze resolute and frustrated.
“It just doesn’t make sense senpai, he doesn’t listen in class and is either talking to Takamaki-san or sleeping when everyone else is studying. And yet the results of the second-year mock exams were just printed and he somehow managed to make it into the top ten. It’s obvious he’s cheating or threatening the teachers or something!”
A strained quiet fell over the room after the boy’s biased outburst.
“Yeesh, so lame.”
The boy’s manic eyes quickly shifted to Eiko at the sound of her less-than-subtle whisper. Makoto couldn’t agree with her more, but she had the tact to realise what it would look like if she worded it in a similar fashion.
The student president just sighed as she sat up a little straighter in her chair. “So, what I’m gathering is that you’re unhappy with the fact that Amamiya-Kun has done better than you all in his mock exam and you’re looking for any sort of justification to ignore the reality that he simply worked hard.”
“But senpai—”
“No! you will listen to what I’m about to say.” The teen quickly shut his mouth, his and his friend’s all stood a little straighter at the tone of her voice and the intensity of her glare. “I have been personally tutoring Amamiya-kun, I have seen firsthand just how smart he can be when he applies himself. The reason he may not be applying himself in class is that he is constantly being made aware of how little his classmate and his teachers care about his education. But to stand there and try and tell me that he’s cheating without providing any sort of tangible evidence is not only downplaying the hard work he’s put into improving himself but is also an insult to me and my abilities to teach.”
Makoto took a deep breath as she looked around the room, everyone including Eiko looked terrified of her sudden rant, though Eiko’s look of fear felt more directed at the group in front of them in consolidation than anything else. She hadn’t even realized she had stood up in her tirade until she felt the need to sit down and rest, her annoyance and lack of a restful sleep leaving her exhausted after the little outburst.
“If that is all you had to discuss then I’d suggest you all leave and return to your studies if you care so much about your classmate’s rankings.”
The boy who made the initial claim didn’t know when to quit as he took another step forward. “Nijima senpai I didn’t—”
“Hey buddy, maybe you should take this gripe up with the guy in question then our overworked president here.”
All eyes shifted to the doorway where the new voice came from. There in the flesh stood Ren, leaning against the doorframe as he stared at the scene in front of them looking both bored and amused by what he was seeing despite being the indirect cause of the debacle. Makoto could see all five of her visitors pale at the sight and honestly, she couldn’t blame them. Ren’s reputation mixed with the now visible tattoo covering his arm cut a striking silhouette. The infamous transfer student pushed himself off the door and towards the centre of the room, moving like he knew the crowd of five would make way for him which of course they did.
He stopped right in front of the main talker of the group who at least had enough confidence to stand his ground, though Makoto had to admit that the inherent height difference made to sight look more comical than brave. “So, what’s this about me cheating? Last time I checked, the teachers were very adamant about checking my belongings and desk to ensure I didn’t do exactly that.”
“Well, it’s obvious they missed something, or maybe you paid them off to keep quiet. You can’t fool me criminal.” The air got tense at the blatant insult, everyone held their breath at what they expected to come, except Makoto of course, who had been around Ren long enough to know that he wasn’t one to be goaded into starting a fight with such a lacklustre insult. Though she wouldn’t have minded flipping the guy herself with how annoyingly tenacious he was being
Ren just looked down at the boy and laughed boisterously. “Jeez, you obviously haven’t worked a part-time job if you think I have enough money to bribe 5 separate teachers. Nah you’re just bitter that I’m actually smarter then you. Hey tell me.” Ren draped an arm over the boy’s shoulder, pretending as if they were good buddies despite the steam that was about to shoot from his classmates’ ears.
“Remember when I fixed that problem on your worksheet when I dead tired? Did I get that right because I seem to remember seeing a big ol tick next to it when we got it back. I guess it doesn’t matter considering you got like 80 percent of that test wrong as well. If you ever need a tutor I charge a pretty cheap rate, for a criminal at least.”
Makoto was genuinely concerned for Ren at that moment, based on the shaking fury of his classmate she had no doubt that given the opportunity the other boy would have stabbed Ren had he had access to any kind of sharp object. Instead, he just shook Ren’s arm from his shoulder before walking out the door with his entourage following closely behind, all of them giving Ren varying looks of contempt, something he simply waved away with a cheeky grin.
Once the group had left, Makoto felt like she could breathe again.
“Whoa, that was intense. OMG is that tattoo actually real?” Makoto had almost forgotten her friend was even here until she watched the bubbly girl hop out of her seat and move around Ren like a shark circling its prey. Makoto had to stifle a laugh at the perturbed look on Ren’s face as he clearly hadn’t expected someone who wasn’t immediately scared by him.
“Ah yeah… I mean I hope it is considering the money I spent on it.”
Eiko just kept inspecting the boy who was looking more and more uncomfortable with every passing second. Makoto would have taken some guilty pleasure in the way Ren seemed so out of his element had Eiko not moved his hair out of his face to get a better look.
“Wow you’re actually pretty cute. You seeing anybody?” Makoto almost snapped the pen she had picked back up. She quickly dropped the expensive stationery before slamming her hands on the desk a little harder than what was necessary.
“Eiko!”
The girl jumped at her friend’s sudden outburst but the impish grin on her face made it clear that she wasn’t at all sorry. If anything, this was the exact response she had been hoping for with her little comment based on the wink she sent Makoto’s way, thankfully out of Ren’s view as he also turned to look at her.
“Oops guess that’s my cue to leave. Play nice you two, don’t glare anybody to death when I’m gone.” Before Makoto could even try to reprimand her, the girl was already out of the room, gone to who knows where leaving the two teenagers alone in the student council room.
“Is she… always that intense?” Ren asked, breaking the tension in the room.
“Unfortunately, she’s my version of Sakamoto-Kun.” Makoto sighed as she dropped back into her chair, all the energy she once had to work through her list of documents vanished. Ren just chuckled as he took a step closer to her desk so he could lean against the firm wooden table.
“Word of advice, if she ever starts getting too chatty, just offer to buy her lunch, they never turn down a free meal.”
Makoto smiled, the tension in her shoulders beginning to dissipate, she relaxed into her chair as she looked at the boy and felt her worries begin to wane. Maybe Eiko had a point, maybe she should allow herself to hope for something more between them, but she was scared of what that would mean for them in the end. No matter how much she disliked the idea, he wasn’t going to remain in Tokyo after the year was up, she wasn’t even sure where she would go after she graduated. Would there even be any merit in allowing her crush to blossom, to actualize her feelings if all it meant for them was a sad goodbye?
“You’re doing that thing again.”
Makoto was brought back to the present at the sound of Ren’s voice, she narrowed her eyes in confusion as what he said sunk in. “Doing what thing again?”
“Worrying about stuff that hasn’t happened yet. You kinda furrow your brown and start looking past things rather than at them.”
She could only blink at the boy and his analysis of her mannerisms. She couldn’t even argue against it because that was exactly what she was doing, does that mean she did those things every time as well?
“How do you even know that?”
The teen shrugged like what he did wasn’t oddly intimate given their relatively new friendship. “You do it a lot when we study. I can always tell when you’ve hit a problem you don’t think you can solve. It doesn’t happen often but it’s obvious when it does.”
Makoto highly doubted it was as obvious as he was making it out to be. Not even Sae mentioned anything about her studying habits though the times where they could have such a mundane conversation were becoming few and far between.
“Somehow I doubt anyone, but you would notice such a thing.”
The boy just gave another shrug, adorned by a small smile. “Possibly. Maybe it’s just you I notice these things about.”
Makoto didn’t have a rebuttal to such a comment. She hated that Eiko might be onto something because the way he said it held such compassion and sincerity that she couldn’t even try and convince herself that it was said in jest. She felt her cheeks warm and the smile he gave her indicated that was the exact reaction he was hoping for.
“Was there a reason you decided to drop by?” Makoto sputtered as she tried to reign in her teenage hormones and act like the adult she was supposed to be. Ren just hummed as he made his way toward the door and Makoto hated how displeased she was with the idea of him leaving.
“Well, I was going to tell you the good news about my mock exam results but apparently my little fan club beat me to it.” He was about to step past the boundary of the student council room into the hall before he paused. “Thank you Makoto, for everything, no one would have blamed you if you didn’t help me as much as you have. But you did and I just want you to know I appreciate it.”
Makoto just smiled, the moments when Ren was so openly vulnerable were so rare. “It was your hard work that made this possible Ren. I appreciate your gratitude, but I must insist that you give yourself more credit.”
Ren didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. Not to her at least, the gratitude for her words radiated off him like heat from the sun. He gave her a simple wave goodbye before exiting the room and leaving the student president alone. She found it funny how barely a few months ago she used to relish in these quiet moments, when she could focus solely on her work without distraction but now she had grown to find them oddly lonely.
She stared at the door that both Eiko and Ren had left through and decided she much preferred how things were now compared to how they were before.
Chapter 53
Notes:
Wow has it really been over three months since I last posted? Man I suck but hey, I managed to write another chapter so surely you guys will forgive me... Right.
Honestly it's so strange, even when I tell myself that I hate writing this fic, My mind will just sort of drift and think of these cool scenes, like the fight with Ren and the shadows and the urge to just write it down is hard to ignore. If there's one thing I can say confidently about all this, I think i really captured the type of Joker I imagined years ago when I started this.
As I always say, I have no clue how long this will last, if it will ever be finished because holy shit I'm 53 chapters deep and we're not even a quarter of the way through the story, not to mention all the original stuff I wanna write. At some point this will just become a book and who the hell wants to read a book on a fanfiction website. But until I truly can't think of anything I wanna add, I'll keep chipping away at it and I hope you all will continue to enjoy what I put out.
Chapter Text
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Ryuji cursed as bullets flew past his head, his legs burned from how much he had been running around the confusing halls of the museum. He had no idea if he was going the right way until he turned one of the many identical corners and spied an overturned table down the end of the hallway. He put all his power into his legs, ignoring the sharp pain that sparks through his bad leg as he sprinted towards the table and flinging himself over the piece of furniture. Landing unceremoniously next to an equally exhausted looking Ann.
“Please tell me you got that door unlocked.” Ryuji all but pleaded between haggard breaths, every inhale felt like he was breathing in fire, but he still went through the familiar routine of pulling out his shotgun and loading it with as many shells as he could cram into the thing, he made a mental note to listen to Ren’s advice about getting a model that came with a drum rather than stick with his pump action.
“Do you think if I did I’d still be here.” Ann snarked as she focused on the metal lock that was barring them from safety, well Ryuji assumed it led to safety, it had to be safer then where they were currently, what with all the bullets that kept zipping over there heads and lodging themselves into the table they were hiding behind.
The sound of metal snapping somehow registered in Ryuji’s head despite all the noise that surrounded them. Ann growled in frustration as she tossed the broken lock pick to the side and on top of a worryingly large pile of similar looking picks before pulling out another one.
“How the hell does Joker make this look so easy.”
Ryuji was about to explain to her that there friend had years of practice and a much steadier hand then the blonde but had enough forethought to not poke that beehive when he already had a shower of bullets whizzing over his head from one direction, he really didn’t need Ann to add to that.
He was busy reloading after firing all his shells blindly over there slowly crumbling barrier when a stray bullet pinged off the metal latch of the lock right next to Ann’s face. Both blondes froze as one the girls twin tails unravelled itself, the hair tie that had kept it up falling to the ground.
For a second Ryuji could swear he heard the string of Ann’s patience snap as the leather clad girl dropped her tools and spun on her heels away from the door. Ryuji watched in horror as she grabbed her Uzi and stood up, uncaring of the absolute hailstorm of bullets that continued to fly through the air.
“Would you fucking cut it out with the GOD DAMN SHOOTING!”
Ryuji cringed, he prided himself on knowing a lot about his friends, and one of those things was knowing just how mad Ann had to be to start cursing like that. He shuddered at the memories of that trip to the aquarium when they were kids, he had clutched that stuffed dolphin pillow like it was riot shield.
He peered around the table and watched as the atomic blonde started mowing down shadows left and right with terrifying precision, all the while not giving a single shit about the pieces of flying metal that were slowly zeroing in on her position until Ryuji had to physically tackle her out of the way and even then she barely seemed to notice, continuing to unleash her fury on them from the floor.
By the time her magazine had run empty, and her gun did nothing more then click as she manically squeezed the trigger, Ryuji could tell that the amount of shadows had decreased dramatically but there was still to many for them to risk jumping out of cover. Ryuji barely managed to wrangle his friend back behind the table where she seethed as she fished around for a spare magazine, Ryuji visibly relaxed when she couldn’t find another one.
“Panther, you need to chill alright, I think you got them.” Ryuji spoke tentatively very aware of how easily he could become her next target.
Ann just dejectedly squeezed the trigger of her Uzi in a vain hope that the bullets would magically return. “Fine. Maybe I lost my cool just a little bit.”
“If mum heard you talk like that I’m fairly sure she’d have a heart attack, right after she kicks my ass for corrupting you.” Ann roller her eyes but visibly calmed down.
“Fine I’ll admit that I kind of lost the plot, that lock was just getting on my nerves and do you know how hard it is to do my hair?”
Ryuji would have laughed if a bit of the table didn’t just explode next to his face covering him in splinters and saw dust. He had almost forgotten that they were currently pinned down by a stupid amount of gunfire.
“Alright Mr cool head, got any plans to get us out of this one?” Ann teased, clearly enjoying the fact that she no longer was the only one whose appearance had been messed with. Ryuji just groaned as he picked a couple of splinters out of his mask.
“We both know I’m not exactly the brains of this whole operation, just start hucking fireballs there way when I give the lock a try, maybe I picked something up through osmosis or something.”
Ann just stared at him, even beneath her mask Ryuji could tell her eyes were wide with surprise.
“What?”
The girl just shook her head before summoning her persona. “Nothing, I just didn’t think you’d know what osmosis meant.”
Ryuji just grinned as he flipped the girl off. He was about to move to the lock when a loud crash caught both blondes’ attention.
“Was that you?” Ryuji asked while Ann just shook her head. They both carefully peered over the table, realising that the near constant gunfire had mysteriously ceased. They could see that the shadows were no longer aimed at their flimsy excuse for a table, but instead the cloud of dust that settled in the middle of the hall behind them. Next to said cloud there was a massive hole in the wall.
Both blondes strained their eyes to see what their enemies were aiming at, it took a second for the dust to settle, revealing a figure clad in red armour as he slowly stood up. Ren cracked his neck like he had just gotten up from a nap and hadn’t just busted through a concrete wall like it was a sheet of paper, the shadows hesitated firing for just a moment, clearly they were as confused as the two phantom thieves down the hall and that hesitation was enough to seal their fate.
Like a coiled spring Ren flew towards the nearest shadow, wrapping his iron clad fingers around the monsters face while batting to pointed gun away from him, his movement seemed to kickstart the rest of the shadows into action, they all moved to train their guns on the phantom thief but by that point he was already two steps ahead of them, spinning in place and using his vice like grip to toss the shadow he had a hold of like a sack of potatoes towards the cluster of shadows.
One of them was far enough away from the pack to avoid being knocked over but by the point it could even raise its gun, Ren was already beside the monster, pivoting on his heel to slam his shoulder into guards back and throw off its balance. With its posture shattered Ren was able to easily grab the gun from the shadow and kick the faux security guard away, sending it skidding down the hall while Ren used his new weapon to causally mow down the group of shadows that was still trying to untangle themselves, reducing them all to little more than dust on the floor.
Ren tossed the now empty rifle, turning slowly to stalk towards the remaining shadow that had managed to stand itself back up. For a brief moment neither of them moved, Ryuji and Ann held their breath as they watched in awe.
The shadow tilted its head, clearly unsure of whether it should go for broke or retreat. Ren mimicked the monster’s action purely to mock the thing. Ryuji barely saw the shadow reach for its remaining weapon before Ren was in front of it, despite the monstrous size of the shadows, Ren looked like he absolutely dwarfed his opponent.
“Too slow.” Ren said, his tone sounding like he was more bored than anything else as he placed his hand limply on the shadows face before pushing with the force of a truck, slamming the shadows head into the floor with a bone rattling crack.
Ren turned to look down the hallway and despite just seeing the guy mercilessly decimate the shadows that had been giving Ryuji and Ann so much trouble like he was boxing toddlers, the cocky smirk that the raven-haired boy gave them made Ryuji sigh in relief.
“Oh, this is where you guys disappeared to.”
Ryuji couldn’t help but crack a smile at the casualness of his friend’s remark, he shouldered his shotgun and walked around what remained of their makeshift barrier with Ann following close behind.
“I swear you make those flashy entrances just to look cool.” Ren just shrugged as he started moving towards the two blondes.
“Maybe I just got fed up with the fifth door took me to an identical looking hallway.” Now that he mentioned it, Ryuji could see the amount of dust that covered the teens bright red armour, a sign that that wasn’t the first wall he had busted through.
“How’re you feeling dude? Getting used to whole crazy psycho in your head?”
Ren shifted his gaze down to his palm, his eyes wide like he had just remembered he was even wearing the thing which Ryuji had to admit was a tad disconcerting, not that he would ever say it aloud knowing just how much his and Ann’s opinions mattered to the guy. It was equal parts endearing and terrifying how someone so confident and sure of themselves like Ren needed someone like Ryuji to keep him grounded.
“If I’m being honest, I don’t think I would have shoulder charged wall after wall if I didn’t have Eligor whispering in my head but so far I don’t think I’m about to jump into a mosh pit of shadows looking for a fight, which is definitely an improvement.”
Ryuji barked out a laugh, slapping his friend on the shoulder, failing to hide a wince as the rock-hard armour slapped back sending a painful tingle down his arm. “Well if you’re about to do that then let me know so I can jump in with you.”
Ren gave a small chuckle as he watched the armour slowly begin to fade from his hands, disappearing in a haze of blue flames.
“Hey, where’s Mona?” Ann asked, looking around the room for their feline companion, Ryuji did the same but wasn’t exactly looking too hard, he never thought he would be the one to think this, but he was actually appreciating the relative quiet. Ren looked at his belt buckle for some reason before realisation flooded his eyes.
He quickly spun and jogged back to the makeshift entrance he came through, he looked at the floor before moving a couple rocks out of the way to reveal a familiar figure of black and white fur, the cat’s eyes were unfocused, and Ryuji could faintly here the mascot mumbling something about “Lady Ann.”
Ren turned back to them with a sheepish look on his face. “I… uh… guess he fell off my back when I started blasting through walls.”
At this Ryuji couldn’t contain his laughter, doubling over in the process.
After their rocky start, the four phantom thieves all agreed to take the rest of the infiltration a tad more cautiously. They proceeded through the twisting hallways and galleries of stolen art slowly, meticulously checking corners and rushing to find cover at even the first sign of shadows.
Ren was finding it harder and harder to keep his persona in check, Eligor felt like an annoying itch right under his skin and no matter how much he tried to placate the battle crazed soldier, he felt himself getting more and more annoyed with every minute he didn’t scratch it.
“You good dude? you’re holding that wall a little tight.” Ryuji whispered from behind him, Ren looked at his hand and could see the dry wall cracking underneath the pressure of his grip. The phantom thief leader blew out a tired sigh as he slowly let go of the wall.
“Yeah, you know when you get that itch to move in class?”
“All the time.” Ren actually chuckled at that.
“Yeah well instead of bouncing your knee up and down, imagine having some ancient mythical knight mocking you from inside your head until you just want to punch something.”
The blonde behind him was silent, spurring Ren to look back, he found Ryuji’s face contorted in thought until he seemingly came to a conclusion and shrugged.
“Yeah I can’t imagine that, honestly I don’t think literally anyone could.”
Ren snorted and turned back to looking around the corner, he could see the tail end of the shadows walking away, he waited a couple more minutes before giving the signal to Ann and Morgana across the hall from them to move.
“Let’s just find the next safe room and call it a day, I need to finish my homework anyways.”
He could feel Ryuji stiffen up behind him and he didn’t even need to turn around to know what had gotten him so spooked.
“Oh, mum is gonna kill me.”
“Why the hell is this place so confusing.” Ryuji practically growled when they turned yet another corner that led to an identical looking hallway. For the better part of an hour, the four persona users had been meandering about the palace with no sense of direction or even landmarks to indicate they were making any progress.
“Turns out a map of a person’s inner desire made manifest is quite unreliable.” Ren snarked as he once again stared down at the map they had found at the reception when they first entered the palace. After rotating it for the fifth time in some desperate attempt to make some meaning of the useless diagram, Ann peeked over his shoulder.
“May I?”
Ren rolled up the pamphlet and held it up towards the air, “Be my guest.”
The paper suddenly went up in a blaze of red flames, disintegrating and quickly turning to ash in the boy’s palm before floating listlessly to the ground.
Ryuji and Morgana watched the two with a knowing look. “You two have an arson problem, I hope you know that.” Ryuji drawled as boredom began to wear away at his enthusiasm.
The two classmates just shrugged their shoulders, neither denying nor confirming the blonde’s assessment which only seemed to exasperate the boy and cat more.
They continued to meander about the palace for what felt like hours until the four finally found something that felt like progress, well as much as you could call an immovable wall covered in ugly art ‘progress’.
“Of course, the first interesting thing we see in hours and it’s an f-ing wall.” Ryuji practically spat as his whole body slumped with bored exhaustion. Ren walked towards the wall and tried to get a grasp about what it even was. He tried lightly pushing and when he felt no give, he tried pulling and after exhausting both options, decided to let Eligor have a swing.
Blue flames covered his arms as he placed one palm against the wall for leverage and pulled the other as far back as he shoulder would allow. There was a brief moment of silence as everyone watched before Ren’s fist exploded forward.
No one knew what to expect and yet each of the phantom thieves was surprised both by the fact that the punch hadn’t even left a graze on the paint and that Ren’s hand wasn’t broken by the force exerted, though the flexing of his fingers seemed to show that the armour had done most of the saving in that regard.
He turned back towards his friend with a resigned shrug. “Well, I’m out of ideas.”
Ryuji and Ann visibly deflated, they had obviously been banking on Ren’s ability to pull solutions out of thin air. Morgana however just waddled closer to the wall, seemingly lost in thought as he studied the walls surface. While Ryuji and Ann went about discussing possibilities, Ren moved closer to Morgana’s side with his arms crossed.
“What’s on your mind roomie?” Ren asked and Morgana practically growled at the new nickname.
“I just can’t shake the feeling I’ve seen this design somewhere.”
Ren cast his gaze back at the wall and actually looked at it properly, now that Morgana mentioned it, the hideous work of art felt distinctly familiar, he felt the gears turning in his brain as he went through his rolodex of memories, soon the discussion going between Ryuji and Ann faded to mere white noise as he got lost in his own mind. One look at the cat beside him showed that the two thieves minds were working towards the same realisation.
Both of them snapped their fingers as they arrived the same conclusion. “Yusuke’s house!”
They both practically shouted as the strange, locked door from the artists house reappeared in their minds, shocking both blondes from whatever conversation they were having and earning them a concerned look like they had found out there friends were actually insane.
“Uh what?” Ann asked apprehensively.
Morgana and Ren turned to look at their companions. “The design on the wall, it’s the same as the one in Yusuke’s house, we noticed it when we went to the bathroom, it was the only door that seemed recently renovated and was locked. Clearly whatever’s behind there, Madarame doesn’t want anyone, including Yusuke, to know.” Ren spoke like he had just cracked the mystery behind jack the ripper.
Morgana stepped forward, rubbing his chin like he was sherlock Holmes deducing the final bits of a puzzle. “If the metaverse mirrors reality, then it makes sense why we can’t just break through the wall. Madarame knows it’s locked, probably has the only key so there’s no doubt in his mind that whatever’s behind it will be safe and sound.”
While Morgana and Ren were practically giddy with excitement, Ryuji and Ann looked absolutely dejected.
“Doesn’t that mean we’re completely stuck then?” Ann asked tentatively, she didn’t want to rain on her friend’s parade, but she failed to see how this information helped them.
Ren just smiled devilishly. “Panther, who do you think you’re talking to? If Madarame thinks the door it sealed shut.”
Morgana hopped onto his shoulder with a Cheshire grin that equalled Ren’s. “Then all we have to do is show him how wrong he is.”
Chapter Text
“Ren… I’m scared.” Ren could hear the utter despair dripping from each syllable.
“I know. I am too.” Ren could barely manage those words before he had to swallow.
“Are we going to die here?”
A buzz started to form around them and seemed to grow in intensity with every passing second. The dark-haired teen could only let out a shallow breath as his body tensed on instinct.
“I don’t know. But if we do?” Ren turned to look at his best friend, grabbing the boy’s arm and clutching his shoulder with his free hand. “Know that it was an honour fighting with you.”
Ren could almost see the tears threatening to spill from Ryuji’s eyes, another minute passed, and the buzz had progressed to a wave of whispers.
“You guys are actually so embarrassing.” Ann drawled as she scrolled through her phone, a few steps away from the massive crowd that was hovering around the canteen stand of Shujin academy.
Both boys looked at the girl with equal parts disdain and disbelief at her words, Ryuji turned his nose up at the girl as he looked back at the place that was soon to become a bloodbath.
“Fine, I guess you’re not interested in having some of the curry bread they announced last month.”
Ren had never seen someone change their attitude so quickly.
“Oh my god you two are so brave, you’re the best friends a girl could ask for and I’ll be sure to write something sweet on your tombstones.”
Even though the final part of that sentence was oozing with sarcasm, Ryuji actually looked kind of touched by the sentiment.
“That’s what I thought.”
The last minute passed, and the school bell rung, but to everyone in that hallway it may as well have been a war horn. Everyone braced and watched with bated breath as the lock to the roller door shifted. Ren was so zoned in that he barely noticed the tight grip on his shoulder.
He turned to look at Ryuji and for the first time, he truly saw fear in his friends’ eyes.
“Please, tell my mum I love her.”
Ren could only give a solemn nod before the shutter door finally opened.
He wasn’t sure what transpired in those next five minutes, but he knew he’d have rather face a thousand Kamoshida’s instead.
-
“Oh my god! This is delicious.” Ann practically moaned as she bit into the curry bread, Morgana sat beside her purring contentedly as he nibbled on his own chunk of bread.
Ryuji and Ren, however, were sprawled out across the hard plastic chairs they were sitting on, each of the boys sporting an assortment of cuts and bruises. There uniforms were ripped and dirty in several places and both had a faraway glassy look in their eyes.
Despite everything they went through to get it, two bags of curry bread remained untouched on the table, still fresh in there wrappers.
“Uh guys? You good?” Ann eventually asked after she took another bite of the curry goodness.
“I thought I had experienced the worst the world could throw at me. I was taken from my home and charged with a crime I didn’t commit, my entire social life was ruined before I even arrived in Tokyo and a perverted teacher beat the shit out of me in school and threatened to have ME expelled.”
Ren went quiet as a shudder ran through his body.
“But I have seen what hell looks like, I have felt hands touch me in places I didn’t even know existed and I don’t think I’ll ever be the same again.”
Ryuji just started sobbing as he threw an arm across his eyes to block out the sun, not at all to hide the tears that had streaked down his face.
-
“Holy shit this bread is good.” Ryuji mumbled through a mouthful of crumbs. After spending a few minutes decompressing and shoving there inner demons deep into the psyche, both Ren and Ryuji had devoured there spoils of war. Ryuji had inhaled the entirety of his curry bread while Ren sobbed into the bread like it was the apple of eden.
After they were all done eating, they pulled there chairs into a loose circle, each of them sitting a little straighter as they realised the conversation was about to become more serious.
“Let’s go over the plan one last time.” Ren spoke first. “We understand that the reason we can’t get through the wall in the palace is because in Madarame’s mind, that door is always sealed shut. So, the only way we can get through it is to show him the door being opened.”
“I message Yusuke and tell him I want to model and bring Ren along which shouldn’t be too hard considering he doesn’t seem to totally hate him.” Ann added, reciting the plan they had worked out a couple days ago.
“That still leaves a big problem though, how do we know when Madarame will be at Yusuke’s place and how do we get him to see the open door without catching us in the process.” Ryuji interjected, slumped over in his seat like the brief amount of planning had already fried his brain.
Ren rested his chin on his hands thinking about the main issue of their plan. He eventually blew out a sigh and scratched his head at a complete loss.
“Actually. I think I have a pretty good idea of when he’ll be visiting Yusuke.” Ann’s calm voice broke through the silence that had surrounded them.
Ren gestured for the girl to continue and in response she just held her phone up, a news article shining through the screen. The three leaned forward to actually read what was on the device while Ann elaborated.
“Madarame has told people that he’s going to be unveiling a new piece in a couple days as a way of marking the second half of his exhibit’s availability. Assuming the guy is as much as a hack that people are claiming, then wouldn’t it make sense that he’d visit Yusuke to get a new painting?”
Ren couldn’t help but grin. “Has anyone ever said you’re the best?”
The girl smiled, a small tinge of red staining her cheeks at the praise.
“Alright guys, we have a plan, Ann will message Yusuke and arrange for us to meet up, Ryuji and Morgana, you two will wait it out in the palace ready to make it to the other side the moment that wall comes down. We don’t know if there’ll be shadows waiting for you, but your top priority is finding a safe room that we can warp to from this point on. Hopefully Ann and I will be able to sneak out of the place before Madarame knows it was us but if push comes to shove we can just jump into the metaverse and escape that way.”
Ren looked at everyone and appreciated the way everyone’s eyes glowed with passion. Ryuji stood up after slapping his knee. “Hell yes, I’m getting pumped.”
-
The final bell rang through the school and students all began to file out of the classroom, Ren was stuffing books into his bag while Ann stretched back in her seat.
“You coming with us to big bang burger?” Ann asked over her shoulder as she went about storing her school supplies. Ren finished putting his stuff away and leaned back into his chair, pulling out his phone.
“Can’t, have to study with Makoto today, said she wanted to go over the mock exams and work on what needs improving.”
Ann was oddly quiet, prompting Ren to look up from his phone, he could tell almost immediately that the girl wanted to ask him a question. “I can’t read minds Ann, so if you want your question answered then you need to actually ask me.”
The blonde just blew a strand of hair from her face. “I’m just gonna be frank here, do you have a thing for Nijima senpai?”
Ren spent a moment mulling over the question before lightly shrugging. “Yeah, I do.”
Ann looked genuinely surprised by the quick response, clearly she had been expecting all manner of side stepping and obfuscation.
“Is that gonna be an issue?” Ren asked more for formality then clarification, her answer wouldn’t really change much. Luckily the girl just gave a lazy shrug as she stood from her chair and slung her bag over her arm.
“No, I don’t exactly like her, and I still think she should have done more to help Shiho and everyone else but I trust your judgement above all else. If you like her then there must be more to her then what I’ve seen.”
Ren couldn’t help but chuckle, it was odd having two of his friends question his relationship with the student council president and yet have two completely different reactions.
“Thanks Ann.”
The blonde just smiled back at him. “Anytime. We’re friends after all.”
The two started walking out of the classroom together in a content silence, well, until Ann opened her mouth.
“So have you asked her out yet, are you two a thing yet or what.” Ann asked with a cheeky grin on her face, eliciting a groan from the dark-haired boy.
“Oh, I’m already regretting telling you this.”
-
“That girl is going to be the death of me.” Makoto mumbled as she rushed down the hallway towards the student council room. The original plan had been to make her way to the room when the bell had rung and give herself enough time to get everything ready so she and Ren could review his mock exam results, but Eiko had somehow trapped her in a conversation about something she couldn’t even remember by this point for 30 minutes!
When she arrived at the sliding door, she was equal parts relived and annoyed that Ren was nowhere to be seen. She reached into her pocket to pull out the key before noticing that the door wasn’t actually closed despite knowing for a fact that she had locked it after lunch.
She looked around the hallway for any teacher that might have left the door open but quickly realised she was alone. She slowly reached for the handle before quietly sliding the door open.
She let out the breath she was holding when she saw the back of Ren’s head sitting at the table in middle of the room, he was looking down at a worksheet while nimbly spinning a pen mindlessly in his hand.
“Uh Ren?”
The only indication he gave that he heard her was the slightest twitch of his hand, all while still twirling the pen like it was second nature to him. Makoto could only sigh as she slid the door closed behind her before circling to the other side of the desks.
“Wasn’t the door locked.” The question was rhetorical because it was her responsibility to lock the door when she left the room and they both knew how seriously Makoto took her responsibilities.
Ren finally became more animated with a dramatized tilt of his head like he was casting his memory to decades ago rather than minutes.
“Yes, I believe it was.” He spoke bluntly before retuning his attention the worksheet.
Makoto let out another sigh as she sank deep into the chair.
“Please tell me you didn’t break into the room.
“I could but I think we’d both know I’m just lying at that point.” He responded so matter-of-factly that Makoto wasn’t even sure if she should be annoyed with him, all she was sure about was that it was giving her a headache but even then she could probably blame that on Eiko as much as Ren.
“Did you want to learn?”
Makoto pulled her hand away from her eyes to look at the boy, he had apparently given up on what was stumping him on the worksheet as she now had his full attention. She tried to ignore the flutter in her chest at the way he seemed so at ease with his head resting lazily on his hand and his hair covering his eyes.
“I don’t believe that would be very appropriate of me.”
At this Ren just shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t ask if it was appropriate, I asked if you want to learn. But hey if you think it’s too hard then I understand.”
Makoto narrowed her eyes at the boy, all the flutters were replaced with indignation, both at challenge and how much she was being sucked into his trap.
“I know what you’re doing here Amamiya.”
Ren leaned forward more, gently moving his hair away so she could get a full look at his eyes and cocky smile. “And does that matter?”
Makoto could feel her own smirk coming through. “No.”
-
It probably took about half an hour before Makoto stopped being so stubborn and started looking at the clear pad lock he bought for teaching Ann as a puzzle, rather than a tool for illegal activities. And the moment she had done that, she had taken to it like a duck to water.
It took about another hour after that until Ren was taken out of his listless sketching of equations by the familiar and satisfying click of a lock opening.
Ren looked up from his paper and was nearly startled at the sight of Makoto brimming with self-satisfaction. It was breathtaking to see nothing but pure confidence and understanding written plainly on her features. He knew that it would become a secret goal to get that reaction out of her more.
She looked at him and quirked her brow, he only then realised he had just been caught staring and promptly closed his mouth.
“What? Is there something on my face?” Makoto asked and Ren quickly shook his head, coughing into his fist in an attempt to give his cheeks some time to cool off.
“No, I was just surprised by how quickly you got it.” His heart started doing flips when he saw the genuine smile she gave at his praise, she eyed the padlock fondly.
“You were right about it being easier when I understood how the lock worked. I can only imagine how difficult locks are when you can’t see there insides.”
Ren leaned back in his chair knowing full well she was deflecting his praise, it was a technique he was very familiar with.
“You’d be surprised by how similar a lot of locks can be. Picking a lock like that in barely a couple of hours in impressive. Ann still hasn’t gotten it by herself yet and Ryuji was a lost cause from the very beginning.”
She gave him another of those small smiles and he was worried that he’d have a heart attack with how often it seemed to skip beats in the girl’s presence. He’d have to bite the bullet and actually get her on a date with him before it gets any worst for his health.
The idea of giving her a reward for her efforts spurred the repressed memories of the lunch stall war he’d fought in earlier. He dug around his bag before pulling a curry bread still sealed in the plastic. He casually tossed it towards the girl while she was packing away the lock picking set. With a startled yelp she just managed to catch the projectile.
She eyed the packet warily for a brief second before recognition flooded her features, which was quickly swallowed by confusion.
“You said you wanted to try them but were busy with council duties. So, I managed to snag an extra during my time at war.”
Her eyes crinkled with confused laughter, she had heard how bad the stall can get when new breads are announced but Ren spoke about it like he had just come back from a third world war. She tore the packaging off and pulled the bread out, the scent of spiced curry and fresh bread was almost enough to make her drool, her stomach growled, reminding her of the light lunch she had earlier.
She cast her gaze back to Ren and saw him packing away his stationary and didn’t think twice before breaking the bread into two very even parts. He looked a little surprised when she held one half towards him but didn’t really hesitate before taking it out of her hands. If his fingers lingered against her own for half a second more then necessary then neither of them mentioned it
They ate there bread in a content silence as they finished packing away everything they had taken out of there bags. The hallways were buzzing with the relaxed small talk of students finishing their clubs.
When they were on the edge of the school boundary, Ren took one step ahead of her, so they were closer to eye level when he turned to look at her.
“Wanna drop by the bookstore on the way to the station?”
It struck her at that moment that walking with her to the station had long become the norm and she couldn’t contain her smile as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and passed him on the stairs.
“I’d like that.”
Chapter Text
“I can’t believe out of everyone I could be stuck waiting in front of wall with, it’d be the damn cat.” Ryuji groaned from his squatting position.
The vein was practically bulging under Morgana’s fur, his already comically large nostrils flaring out to ridiculous proportions.
“I’m well aware you’re not happy, it’s not like this is fourth time you’ve said exactly that in the last FIVE minutes.”
Ryuji gave no sign that he was even listening to the feline’s words, instead just staring absent minded at the literal roadblock.
“I hope this doesn’t take all day.”
-
“I fail to see how stopping for crepes was necessary.” Ren tried to sound annoyed, but he had failed to notice the bit of cream that stuck to the corner of his lips. An ever-present reminder of how quickly he had inhaled to sweet treat.
Ann just hummed a tune in response as she finished nibbling the leftovers of her strawberry filled crepe. After she took her final bite and thoroughly cleaned her fingers of any stray cream, she had the nerve to look smug.
“It’s all about going into these things with the right state of mind, we can’t have Yusuke thinking we’re up to something, so we have to appear relaxed and normal.”
Ren just raised a brow at the blonde. “Right, is that also why you made me pay for both of yours?”
Ann just stuck her tongue out in response.
“You know for a criminal, you’re awfully stingy with your money.”
Once upon a time that kind of joke would have hit too close to home, but with Ann, the only appropriate response was an eyeroll and his middle finger raised high in the air. He reached forward to knock on the decrepit door of Yusuke’s residence, but Ann quickly grabbed his hand.
“Are you sure you’re okay with this, I can’t help but think how much more you have at risk here than the rest of us.”
Ren was almost taken aback with how concerned Ann looked. He still wasn’t used to people who wanted the best for him.
“Yeah, I decided a while ago that I won’t anything stop me from doing something I believe is right.”
Ann just returned his smile and let her hand drop back to her side. Ren once again reached forward and knocked on the door, he tapped lighter than normal, still scared that too much force would topple the whole building.
The door slid open barely a second after Ren pulled his hand back. In its place was a very stressed and tired looking Yusuke, his body as thin as ever.
The artists eyes immediately gravitated towards Ann which sent a wave of cold through her body, she grabbed her arm instinctually and bit the inside of her cheek, she hated that Kamoshida had done this to her without her even realising it.
“Takamaki-san, I’m so glad you came.” The boy’s eyes drifted up to Ren’s face and all the joy and expectations seemed to drain away in an instant, though he didn’t replace it with an immediate scowl so Ren could live with the small victories.
“And you brought him along as well I see.”
Ren rolled his eyes and stood a little straighter, if only to help accentuate there difference in height. “Careful Yusuke, you’ll make me blush with that warm a welcome.”
The artist simply scoffed and began making his way to the room they had all gathered in during their last visit. “Sensei has been asking about this piece for a while, he’s insistent on showing it at the exhibit tomorrow and says he must see it by today.”
Ann and Ren shared a look in silent agreement. Once they reached the room with a canvas prepped and a lonely stool in the middle of the space, Yusuke moved with a strange elegance that Ren hadn’t noticed last time. He gathered his paints and equipment with a fluidity that spoke of years of practice.
“I have no qualms with you being here if it makes Takamaki-san more comfortable, but I must stress above all that you do not interrupt us at any point, if you must leave then do so quietly.”
Ren was ready to retort with something sarcastic but the authority behind Yusuke’s words momentarily stunned the teen. He honestly had never met someone so close to his age that had that much determination and drive to do something. So instead of even responding, he just gave the artist and nod before moving to sit in the chair closest to the exit.
Both him and Ann had agreed beforehand that they should let Yusuke get invested in the work before Ren even made an attempt to leave and while Ren had no doubt that the too thin boy would be invested the moment he picked up a brush, it was always better to air on that side of caution, so he rested his head on his hand and settled in for the long wait.
-
Ren would begrudgingly admit that it was hard not to appreciate the way Yusuke worked. Perhaps it was uncertainty or maybe he was just not used to all the eyes on him but comparing the Yusuke from there last visit to the one Ren was watching now was night and day in differences.
The way he drew bold lines across the canvas with absolute confidence in his skills was mesmerising to say the least. Ren found himself getting entranced in the movement of stick thin high schooler even without seeing what he was actually drawing from behind the canvas. It was so easy to get lost in the movements that it took a very unsubtle cough from Ann to bring him back to reality and back on task.
If Yusuke noticed or even cared then he didn’t show it. Both Ren and Ann shared a look and decided that now would be there best chance. With practiced ease, Ren raised himself form the chair with an earie quietness and removed himself from the room.
He lingered just outside, waiting to see if his absence would go unnoticed or not. He waited for two minutes while the sounds of bristles against canvas filled the air before he let out a quiet sigh and started making his way down the hall.
He was confident that Madarame was still out, it was most likely that the moment the artist returned, he’d make his presence known to his pupil, or at least that’s what Ren hoped, but even still the teen walked with his ears alert for any sounds. In his experience, being cautious often beat out expedience.
Eventually Ren made it to the main, and hopefully only, obstacle in reality that would bar progress in the Metaverse. At least in the other reality, Ren had the ability to fight back. The boy couldn’t help but snort at the absurd notion that he’d take fighting in life and death situations then even consider explaining himself to the police, how messed up was his life where that was the better of the two options.
Ren looked at the door, it truly was hideous, and it made all the more sense why Madarame felt it necessary to steal from his students if this was what the master painter considered decorative. It was clear to the teen that it was the most modern thing in the entire building and made it obvious that whatever was on the other side was something Madarame considered keeping secret.
Ren wasted no time pulling out his tools and getting to work. It took longer than he expected but that only worked to motivate him more. He wasn’t above admitting there was a childish curiosity that made cracking the lock all the more appealing. Even with it being one of the tougher locks in recent memory, it still only took him about 15 minutes of fiddling with the tumbler before he felt the familiar click and the lock turned smoothly under the tension.
He quickly packed away his tools and stood himself up, he rested a hand on the door and hesitated. The rational part of his mind told him to leave it at that and go back to Yusuke and Ann, knowing what was in the room had no effect on the mission going forth and it’d be easier to play dumb if Madarame started asking questions. But as he peered into the darkness, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had to look inside, not just to satiate his curiosity but also to fully cement the type of person Madarame really was.
He gave the door a light push and knew there was no going back when he flipped the light on.
-
Ann eyed the door from the corner of her vision. Her back hurt from how straight she was keeping it and she wanted nothing more than to deflate and take a break, but Ren still hadn’t returned, and she was certain that moving would cause Yusuke to take a break. Apparently he was just as stiff as she was because he broke the silence with a sigh of his own before gently placing the paint brush on his easel.
“I think we can afford to take a small break.” The artist spoke with hushed tone, Ann held her breath as she watched the boys’ eyes dart from her to the empty stool beside the door. “Where is Amamiya-san.
Ann sucked in a breath, hoping she hid it behind the popping of her back as she stretched. “Oh, geez who knows, I think he needed to use the bathroom.”
The blonde had to resist cringing at her own bad acting, who even said ‘geez’ anymore.
Yusuke narrowed his eyes and Ann had a mini panic attack as her brain rushed for anything she could do to keep him occupied. That was until the door to the room slid open and Ren walked through with the definition of intimidating written all over his face.
Before either of the two could say anything, Ren crossed the room and grabbed Yusuke by the teens collar. Yusuke clearly wanted to say something, but his voice was caught in his throat as Ren started dragging the boy back towards the door.
“You need to see this.”
Ann just looked on in horror as Ren pulled the lanky boy out of the room, ignoring all comments about indignation and unhanding like they didn’t exist, she didn’t know what to do besides just follow.
Ren moved like a man on a mission, dragging the boy along without any signs of a struggle and she couldn’t tell if that was due to the training he and Ryuji were doing in their free time or if Yusuke was just as light as he looked, either way it didn’t take long for all three of them to find themselves standing in front of the door Ren had presumably just broken into.
The door was wide open but before either Ann or Yusuke could look inside or ask any questions. Ren just shoved the artist into the room and moved to follow close behind.
“What on earth are you—” Yusuke’s words trailed off into nothing as his eyes locked on to all the portraits that ordained the room. Ann gasped as she finally realised what she was looking at.
It was the Sayuri, but that wasn’t right because the Sayuri was a one of kind painting famed for its beauty and uniqueness. What she was looking at right now was what looked like hundreds of Sayuri’s, each identical to each other and stacked like books in a library and not prized art hung in a gallery.
“I…don’t understand.” Yusuke muttered, it was so quiet that Ann was sure he had completely forgotten about Ren and herself.
“Really, because it’s pretty obvious to me.” Ren’s tone was bitter, and Ann couldn’t tell if it was because of what he knew or because Yusuke was too blind to see it himself.
“What other reason could Madarame have hundreds of Sayuri knockoffs other than to sell off at exorbitant fees.”
Yusuke looked conflicted, like he wanted to tell Ren he was lying but couldn’t actually bring himself to say it.
“That can’t be. Sensei—”
“Yusuke, open your eyes. The man isn’t an artist, he’s a con man.”
“No! Sensei took me in when I had nowhere to go.”
“And he stuffed you into a house which is one broken faucet away from being condemned, having you paint for him just so he can take it and claim it as his own. That’s not parental love, that’s abuse.”
Somewhere in there arguing, Ren had moved to grab Yusuke, forcing the young man to look at everything around him.
“Look me in the eyes and tell me all of this.” Ren gestured wildly to the entire room, “Is the sign of a modest artist whose in it for the sake of creating.”
Yusuke said nothing, he only looked around as the dread of everything began to set in. While Ann could see why Ren was so frustrated, she hated to see the way the young artists eyes became glassy, as if she could see the way years of his life and memories were being warped in that very moment.
Ren opened his mouth as if he had more to say when the sound of the front door sliding open permeated the room, all three pairs of eyes darted to the open door and watched in varying degrees of horror as they saw the old man in question turn the corner. Before Ann even had a moment to worry about their identities being discovered, the door was slammed shut with Ren holding the knob.
One look from the teen was all she needed before she begun opening the Metaverse app on her phone. As she was doing so Ren turned to look at Yusuke.
“If you really believe Madarame is who you say he is then you’d do well to forget any of this ever happened.” Ren let go of the door after locking it, he knew that Madarame would be quick to open it back up, but it gave Ren just enough time to cross the small room until he was right in front of the young artist.
“But if seeing this has caused even the tiniest sliver of doubt to form, then come with us and we’ll show you who that man really is. No more burying your head in the sand, you have to make this decision yourself.”
Yusuke stared at the boy’s hand with so many questions begging to be asked, he just wanted a single minute to think but the banging on the door made it clear he wasn’t going to be given that liberty. Normally he would have refused in a heartbeat but something about the certainty in the boy’s voice made it hard to hold himself to that conviction.
He quickly remembered the look on his sensei’s face, it hadn’t held confusion or even betrayal, it simply held contempt and anger. He couldn’t recall ever seeing that look on his surrogate father’s face before and he realised he might have just never wanted to see it.
“Ren we need to go.”
Yusuke could hear the urgency in Ann’s voice and felt his arm move before he could even think and then the world and his empty stomach began to shift.
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