Chapter Text
Ren
Always have a backup plan. And a backup plan for the backup plan.
That's the advice Ren's starting to wish he'd followed as he runs through the casino hallways, darting from shadow to shadow in an attempt to escape the notice of his enemies. It was one thing when all he had to worry about were the Shadows – he can take them. Humans are something else entirely.
This isn't gonna work. He needs to get their attention, that's the whole point. If he stays in the shadows, he might accidentally escape, and that'll ruin the whole plan.
Making a sudden, reckless decision (the sort he's pretty much become infamous for at this point), he rushes up the nearest stairway, towards the catwalks. Then he climbs up the wall fixtures until he's almost on the roof, then drops down to the chandeliers. Thank god this place is unbelievably gaudy.
That does the trick. He's got the attention of the onlookers, now. When he focuses, he can even sort of hear his enemies idly talking about him, about how they're gonna capture him now. Well, he won't make it easy, that much he can say for certain.
“Good,” a voice rings in his head. “Now get running.”
“This is our only chance!” comes another.
“Stay calm. You can get away now.”
“We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end.”
As if he didn't have enough voices in his head already, another one joins the fray, this one jumbled and messy. “...suspects... not... confirmed... hold... your... positions...”
“Huh? What was that?”
“Don't worry about that!” the first voice insists. “Just concentrate on getting away!”
He consciously avoids thinking about them in direct ways. Names are dangerous, he learned that a long time ago. Keeping himself a little distant right now is probably not the worst idea, especially given the absolutely insane plan they've cooked up.
Without waiting for anything else, he starts to run along the fixtures. His feet move easily, and his body obeys without issues. It's funny, sometimes, to think back on last year. It's not that he wasn't athletic, but he definitely wasn't this athletic.
“I have to say, showing yourself above that crowd was an excellent move,” the first voice chirps as Ren races along in full view of the whole casino. “Nice work as always, Joker.”
A girl's voice giggles. “I bet Skull wouldn't pull it off that smoothly.”
It's not particularly easy to avoiding thinking of her name, but he manages it. Controlling his own thoughts is something he's had to become an expert at, ever since starting this whole thing.
“This happens because you have no sense for aesthetics,” says a new voice.
“Who asked you, Inari!?”
“Guys,” Ren says, slightly more sharply than usual. “Focus on your own escapes, got it?”
“Right!”
He can't stay up here; there's nowhere to go, really. He moves on autopilot, hopping down from the fixtures to land on the second floor balcony. It's there that three enemies race up towards him, blocking his way out. At first he looks for escape routes, before realizing that these enemies are just regular Shadows, not humans. With a grin, he leaps towards the nearest one, landing on its back and grasping its ugly face in his hands. With a strong pull, he tears the mask off, and reveals its true form to be a hideous scorpion-thing.
“Take 'em down, Joker!” comes the navigator's voice.
“Arsène!” Ren calls, tearing off his own mask with a swift move. A harsh curse attack slices down upon the monster, and it screams out in agony. In a panic, it attempts to respond with a fire attack, but Ren is too quick for it. He dodges the firestorm, then races forward and slashes at the Shadow with his knife, cutting through its metallic flesh easily and reducing it to nothing more than a pile of black dust.
“Jeez,” the navigator says. “They didn't stand a chance.”
“Focus,” he tells her.
“Okay, okay! Next level up, there's a door. Go through there!”
He leaps up along the fixtures and manages to reach the next level with ease. All around him, alarms blare and enemies point at him. Shadows mostly. The men in black aren't outnumbering me here. He can't get caught out by Shadows, though. There's no point in that.
The doors take him into the backrooms, where the glitz and glamour of the casino is lost, and the drab dirty environment behind the curtain is revealed. He races through the hallways silently until he reaches a long one, and sees a singular man at the end of it. Just one... Is he a Shadow, or a human?
“Ugh, how many of them are there?” the navigator groans in his head.
“Everything okay?” asks that voice. “The security level might rise if you take too much time.”
The fact that he's not being told to attack tells Ren there's no point in it. He looks up, focuses with his Third Eye, and then grins. “I've got another way.”
He thrusts his arm up towards the ceiling, and the grappling hook shoots out to grab hold of the catwalks above. Ren retracts it, pulling himself up all the way to the upper levels. “Where from here?”
“Wait!” Far from the praise he expected from his navigator, she instead sounds concerned. “There's... a really strange reading... It's really close to you.”
Strange...? Not human or Shadow, then? He doesn't really know what to make of that, and now isn't the time. “How do I avoid it?”
“I... don't think you can. There's only one path. Just... Just go straight ahead from here!”
He does as he's bid, and enters into a large storage room. Almost instantly, he feels a pain behind his eyes, and he jumps back instinctively as half a dozen Shadows appear around him. “No!” the navigator cries. “They... ugh... Even you can't take on this many, Joker...”
There's a part of him that thinks he can, but that would just kill time, and he doesn't have much of that right now. “I could use an escape route right about now,” he tells her, maintaining his calm demeanor.
“Well...” She swallows. “Joker! That weird reading is closing in on you!”
The sound of heels coming down the stairs grabs his attention, as well as that of the Shadows. When he sees the one approaching, his eyes go wide. “You...”
“I'll end this right now,” she says, softly. She draws her rapier slowly and points it towards him.
“Joker, it's her!” the navigator cries. “She's the weird reading I've been getting!”
Ren ignores her. “Why are you here?”
Yoshizawa's red eyes connect with his, and then she nods ever-so-slightly to her right. Ren takes the hint. With a flourish, she throws her rapier clean across the room, and it embeds itself into the chest of the Shadow to Ren's left.
Well, I won't be outdone. He draws his dagger and jumps the closest Shadow, cutting it down before it can even transform. That leaves three. She pulls out her Winchester and nails a Shadow in the chest, and he fires a volley of bullets at another, leaving only one remaining. It splits into three, forming two Oses and a vulture.
Yoshizawa instantly tears off her mask. “Cendrillon!”
A hideous vorpal blade cuts through the three monsters with ease, and they all crumble to their knees. “Let's do this, senpai!” she cries, and he nods.
Together, they make short work of their foes. The three fall apart into nothing. Ren can't really help but grin. A far cry from the last time we fought together.
“I think that's the last of them...?” she says, uncertainly.
“Yeah,” he tells her. “Thanks for your help.”
She beams. “Of course, senpai!”
“I genuinely have no idea what just happened, but I take it you're okay?” the navigator says. “Uh... You've still got enemy backup headed your way, though. Better book it, now!”
“Please go,” Yoshizawa says. “I'm going to make it harder for them to track you down.”
Just the Shadows. Not the humans. “Much obliged.”
She hesitates. “I... assume you still have something to do as a Phantom Thief, right?”
“...Yeah.”
A stiff nod, and then she turns away. “Then I won't stop you. Since I'm not a member of the Phantom Thieves, I'm in no position to interfere.” Before she takes off, though, she gives him one last look. “Please... Don't forget the promise we made, okay?”
“I won't,” he assures her... even though he's not entirely sure he can keep it.
Without another word, she disappears.
The moment passes, and the navigator's voice chirps in his ears again. “Joker, you need to get outta there! Go go go!”
“Alright, alright.”
“Don't get snippy with me! It's just a little further. Go up the stairs. Follow the path all the way to the next stairwell, then go up until you're at the upper level.”
Ren nods and takes off. He can feel the Palace pressing in on him, the way it always does when the security level gets too high. It's different this time, though. More intense. It's not just the Shadows, after all. Everything is messed up. He takes in a deep breath and forces himself to focus solely on the path ahead; not on tomorrow, or yesterday, or even the plan, insane as it might be. He focuses only on putting one foot in front of the other, over and over again.
“Your way out's just up ahead!”
When he breaks out to the upper level of the casino, though, he sees nothing that could work as an exit. Until, that is, he glances at the elaborate glass front of the building. Ren raises an eyebrow. “Through there?”
“That's just how it is! After that commotion you caused, the bottom floor's completely closed off.”
Another voice chimes in. “Can you make it?”
Ren can't help a small crooked grin.
“Over there!”
He glances over his shoulder to see some of the goons closing in on him. “There's nowhere left to run!” they call at him. “Surrender, and you won't be harmed!”
Yeah, right. Ren scoffs, then leaps off the rail.
He lands on the level below and races along the banister, ignoring the cries of his foes and making his way to the stained glass display. He lands just by it, then looks at his pursuers one last time, a grin firmly attached to his face. “See ya!”
With that, he leaps up and smashes through the glass.
As he floats through the air, he feels as though time slows down. There's more chirping in his ears from his teammates, but he doesn't even hear any of it. He just basks in the moonlight and the shattered glass, and smiles to himself. If I die tonight, I'll have died doing what I do best. And it'll be worth it. In that singular moment, all of the anxiety and tension leaves him.
Time catches up to him suddenly, and he rolls on the ground to protect himself against the impact. The shads of glass land all around him, and he pushes himself to his feet with ease.
And that's when the spotlights hit him.
Ren raises a hand to cover his eyes against the glare, then blinks until the spots go away. Most of the lights are ordinary, but quite a few are red and blue. So, our intel was right. How desperate are they...?
“An ambush!?”
“Joker, can you handle this!?”
“Joker!”
He grits his teeth against his comrades' voices, and then the commander of the police calls out, “Get him!” Without another second of hesitation, Ren darts away towards one of the adjacent buildings, then climbs the ladder of the fire escape. He shoots one last cocky grin towards his enemies, before looking up at the path ahead of him, and realizing that he's walked right into another ambush.
There's an impact against his face, and then he's falling, and then he's being pinned down, and his hands are pulled behind his back, and the handcuffs go on. Ren just grits his teeth against all of it, ignoring the pain in his face and his chest, and trying hard to find the voices of his friends. As long as they get away. That's all that matters. Just confirm to me that you're away, and I'll-
A hand grabs him by the hair and pulls his head up. “Didn't expect to find some kid,” the man says dismissively. “You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out.”
-
The cold hits him like a tidal wave.
Ren coughs, sputters, flails against his restraints. For a single, agonizing moment it feels like he's drowning. The water washes off of him, and the illusion leaves him. He blinks away the confusion and the debilitation, and forces himself to look up.
The conscious moment doesn't last. A fist slams directly into his face and sends him spiraling backwards to land hard on the floor. He falls off the chair, but can't catch himself thanks to the handcuffs holding his arms behind his back. His face strikes the concrete, and he coughs up blood. “Don't...” he croaks. It's the only word he manages to get out before a boot connects with his stomach and knocks all the air out of him.
It all feels so hazy. He grasps at lucidity and fails to take hold of it. His mind keeps slipping out, just as his eyes lose focus. It's not the physical trauma; he's handled that before. He prepared himself to be beaten. This is something else, something he didn't expect...
“Look at me.” The voice is sharp and cold and distant. “I said look at me!”
Another kick, and Ren curls into himself. There's laughter on the other side of the room. “He's just a little kid, after all,” one of the other cops says, chuckling. “Brat can dish it, but he can't take it.”
The one who kicked him kneels down by his side. “Come on, cooperate. Or what, do you want another shot?”
“S-shot...?”
“Hm. Guess the dosage was too high. Figures you couldn't take it. Little punks like you are always lightweights. It's pathetic.” He straightens and walks over to the other man, who hands him a clipboard. When he returns, he thrusts the clipboard into Ren's face. “This is your confession. Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons... and murder. Talk about the works.” He nods to the other cop. “Release him.”
Ren doesn't struggle as they pull him up and take off the handcuffs. He's tossed back into the seat. It's all just a blur for him. His eyes struggle to adjust to the room, to anything at all. Where...? What...? It all seems so far away, so distant and ephemeral...
They offer the clipboard and a pen to him. “Sign here.”
Unthinking, he swats the clipboard away. “No.”
“I see...” The cop stands and sighs. “I need your hand to sign this, but...”
And then his foot comes down hard on Ren's leg, and his scream fills the small chamber. The bone snaps under the force, and Ren feels agony unlike anything he's ever felt before. He starts to see spots, and he tightens his hands into fists just to try and ward off the pain however possible. He curls up into himself, the pain radiating up through his stomach.
The cop just scowls at him. “I don't care if you end up losing a leg. We'll chop you up piece by piece if we've got to. You honestly think you're getting out of this in one piece? We are going to make you understand... One must take responsibility for their actions.”
Despite everything, Ren manages a weak laugh. “Funny,” he croaks. “That's the lesson I was trying to teach you guys...”
The pen is thrust back into his hand. Ren takes the hint. He doesn't even read the confession; it's not like knowing what it says would make a difference. He just finds the signature line and scrawls it out: Amamiya Ren.
-
“So, it really is you...”
He blinks, and the world comes back into focus slightly. Everything is still infuriatingly blurry, and his mind remains as distant and uncertain as ever. The pain in his leg is dulled, though. They must have given him some kind of medicine for it.
With an effort, he looks up at the woman sitting across from him. Tall, confident, sharp... He knows her. He's met her before. The target... She was our target... It's coming back to him, slowly. But it still feels odd and awkward, like trying to parse through a dream, the details fleeting more and more with every passing second. Still, there's a part of his brain that is glad to see her. He chooses to trust in that. He's learned the hard way to trust his instincts, after all.
“You'll be answering my questions this time,” Niijima says. She frowns at him. “You look dazed.”
Ren only manages a grunt.
Her eyes fall to the ground, and widen when they see an empty syringe. “Those bastards...” she mutters. Her red eyes dart back to him with practiced efficiency. “Can you hear me?”
“...Yes.”
“Hm. It seems you've been through a lot. Anything can happen here. They can do whatever they want to you, and I can't stop them. That's why I need you to answer me honestly. I don't have much time.” She leans forward, crossing her arms over her chest. “What was your objective? Why did you cause such a major incident? What was your methodology?”
Somehow, through the haze, Ren gives a small smile. “Of course you don't know...”
“Don't mock me.”
“Why do you want to know?”
She scowls. “This has nothing to do with your trial. I simply need to know. This is my case, after all. If you have the strength to be flippant, you are coherent enough to answer some questions. How is it possible to steal another person's heart?”
“You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”
“Try me. Tell me your account of everything. And start from the very beginning.”
The beginning... It feels so remote, so distant. How is he supposed to remember all of it? How is he...?
The room seems to darken, but it feels less frightening than before. He isn't fading, he's just... drifting. Niijima disappears, and a small shape appears in his peripheral vision. When he looks, he finds a glimmering blue butterfly floating through the air, gently flapping its tiny wings. “You are held captive...” a voice says, softly. “The prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. This is truly an unjust game. Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you...”
“I...”
“I beg you,” the voice continues. “Please overcome this game... and save the world. The key to victory lies within the memories of the bonds you have made. The truth that you and your friends grasped. It all began seven months ago, when the game was started...” The butterfly hovers in front of him for a moment. “For the sake of your world's future... as well as your own... you must remember.”
Ren sighs. Seven months ago...
-
His eyes snap open.
Exhaustion and anxiety engage in a close tug-of-war match in him. He's been on trains all day, locked in place and worn down by constant line changes and unfamiliar scenery. But he's also completely unused to the hustle and bustle, the noise that just seems to constantly emanate from this place. He can't stay awake, and he can't sleep. Instead, he's stuck in a haze between the two.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving at Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left will open.”
Ren sighs and slumps down in his seat.
“What!? Are you for real? A mental shutdown?”
The inane chatter of two schoolgirls pulls him from his dazed state. “It's the truth!”
The first girl snorts. “To a person, though? That's gotta be a joke.”
“Haven't you seen the news? That detective Akechi-kun has been investigating them!”
“Jeez, you really love all that occult stuff, don't you?”
The train comes to a halt, and Ren gets up to transfer lines.
Having grown up his whole life in the suburbs, he's got pretty much no experience at all with big cities, and Tokyo is just about as big as they get. Shibuya alone dwarfs the whole world he knew beforehand. At least the area he's supposed to be living in is meant to be a bit smaller. It's still hard to be excited about it.
As he walks down the street, staring at his phone's navigation, he tries hard to ignore the crushing sensation of the crowds around him. There's just so many people. He's never even seen so many before. His old school had about ten students in every classroom, maybe up to fifteen in the really crowded ones. The whole school's population was in the low hundreds. Not that I'll ever be welcome there again...
Shibuya is different. It's all just so different.
Massive screens blare out advertisements and play the latest idol tracks. Salarymen grumble into their phones and stomp along the streets towards vague destinations. Tourists stand and point and consult translation apps.
He's never felt more lost and insignificant than then.
The glasses threaten to slip off his face, so he pushes them back up nose bridge. They're going to take some getting used to. Sixteen years without them, then suddenly he has to wear them all the time. It's going to take a little while for them to feel natural... if they ever do.
A tiny ping notification from his phone pulls his attention back down. Over top of the map application is a little icon; it's like an eyeball with a splash behind it, colored in black over a red background. He's never seen it before. When he taps it, nothing happens. It just stares back at him, and-
And then the world stops.
The people around him slow down until they aren't moving at all. The ads stop playing. The cars stop moving. Everything freezes in place, and yet he can still move. What the...? I-? His mind goes blank. This isn't a situation he's ever had to prepare for.
In the midst of the crossing, a bright blue flame erupts. It grows and grows, and then takes on a shape that's vaguely human-like. And then two wings explode out in fire, and a vile orange face carves itself into the blue. It looks at Ren and grins, and yet Ren feels no fear. For some reason, when he looks at this monster, he feels something more like... confidence.
It laughs, and then burns all the brighter.
And then the moment ends.
Ren blinks, and time is moving again. No one around him seems to have even noticed any of what just happened. The flaming monster is gone... and was probably never there to begin with. He's had a long day. He's probably just asleep on his feet.
That eyeball app is still displayed. Probably just a virus, Ren tells himself. He deletes it.
-
Yongen-Jaya is slightly more his speed.
A small section of the city, it's really nothing more than a few connected alleyways. Still, it's something he can understand a bit better than the enormous labyrinth that is Shibuya.
That doesn't mean he doesn't get lost. He has a vague address, but it doesn't help much right now. He asks around (though pointedly avoids talking to the policeman) until he manages to find the house with the nameplate reading Sakura. There's no answer from the doorbell, though, so he asks a deliveryman who just happens to be nearby where the homeowner is.
That's how he gets directed to a little out of the way café called Leblanc.
With a deep breath, Ren pushes the door open. The bell jingles, and a middle-aged man behind the counter looks up lazily for all of a heartbeat before returning his attention to his crossword puzzle.
The TV is on, and the only two patrons are watching it intently. “A public transit bus was driven down an opposing lane with its customers still in it!” the host of the tabloid show declares animatedly. “The citizens can't live in peace if this keeps up.”
The elderly male customer shakes his head wearily. “How frightening.”
The lady sitting across from him sighs. “What could be going on? Didn't something similar happen just the other day?”
Meanwhile, the manager just taps his pencil against the paper. “And down is... the name of a shellfish used in pearl farming...” He finally makes eye contact with Ren, and then starts. “Oh, right. They did say that was today.”
“We'll be going now,” the elderly man says, apparently sensing the awkwardness. “The payment's on the table.”
“Hm. Thanks for coming.”
“This place is in the back alley, so there's no worries of a car crashing in here.”
The manager frowns. “A what now?”
“There's been a string of those rampage accidents, you know,” the old man laments. “I just hope that none happen around here.”
“It's none of my concern.”
The customer laughs. “Well, we'll see you next time.”
The instant the door closes behind them, the manager sighs wearily. “Four hours for just a single cup of joe...” He shakes his head and rubs at his neck, then nods at Ren. “So you're the thug, huh?”
His instinct is to fight him on that, but the voices of his parents echo in his mind. Do not mess this up, they whisper. This is your one chance to redeem yourself. Do not make waves. Do not give him any reason to throw you out, or your life is over, and our reputation will be ruined.
So instead he bows politely and says, “My name is Amamiya.”
“Hm. I'm Sakura. Sojiro. You'll be in my custody over the next year.” He studies Ren carefully, then strokes his goatee lightly. “I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh?” He shrugs carelessly. “Have you been told? A customer of mine and your parents know each other. Well, not that it really matters. Follow me.”
Ren allows himself to be led through the little café and up the stairs in the back. Up there is a clustered attic, full of random garbage and loaded with dust. “This is your room,” Sakura says.
“Wait, this...?”
“What, did you think you'd be staying in my house? Like I'd let a punk like you under my roof. Be glad you're getting a room of your own at all. You want to be comfortable here, you'll have to clean it up yourself. I'll give you clean sheets, but that's all.”
I don't... Ren forces himself to sigh. “Yes, sir.”
“Hm. That's better. Now, I'll be leaving after I lock up each night. You'll be alone at that point, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause any trouble.”
Ren swallows. “I... understand.”
“Now, then... I got the gist of your situation. You protected some woman from a guy forcing himself on her, he got injured, then sued you. Right?” Sakura scoffs. “That's what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults. You did injure him, yeah?”
“I-” Ren starts, but thinks better of it.
Sakura raises an eyebrow at him, then shrugs. “...And now that you've got a criminal record, you were expelled from your high school. The courts ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your parents also approved. In other words, they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass. I get all that right?”
Ren swallows. “I... Yeah. I suppose so.”
“Hm. It's best you not talk about anything unnecessary. I am in the restaurant business, you know. Behave yourself for the next year. If nothing happens, your probation will be lifted. But cause any problems, and you'll be sent straight to juvie.” He pulls out his phone and checks the time. “We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow. Get your things sorted and get the lay of the land. I'm going back to work.”
Without another word, he heads back downstairs.
For a long moment, Ren just stands there. It's a tiny room, and filthy, too. Still, it's not like he's got a choice in the matter. If he's gotta live here, he may as well make it decent...
So he digs into his luggage and changes into casual clothes, then starts to clean. That takes a while. A lot of the junk just gets tossed to the other side of the attic, so that's not ideal, but at least it's out of his way. Once he's got the garbage out of the way, he starts dusting and mopping.
By the time he's done, it's evening. His efforts pay off, though; the room actually doesn't seem half bad now. With the darkness outside and the orange glow of a single light bulb slung over a beam, it has a bit of a homey vibe. Really, it doesn't seem so bad. Well, except for the bed. Who would have thought tossing a mattress over some old crates wouldn't be hugely comfortable?
“What the heck?” He turns with a start when he hears Sakura-san's voice at the stairs. His caretaker looks around with wide eyes. “I heard you making all sorts of noise up here, but I didn't think you were cleaning.” He strokes his chin, and the look on his face softens considerably. “You know, the place doesn't look too bad. I guess it's only natural you'd want to keep your room tidy.” He nods towards the corner. “You should go to bed for tonight. You don't have anything better to be doing, right?” He checks his phone again, then yawns. “I'm going to close up shop and get out of here myself.”
“Um...” Ren forces an awkward smile. “Good night, Sakura-san.”
“Hm. I won't be taking care of you if you get sick from staying up too late. Remember that.”
He turns and walks away without another word.
-
Whenever he's alone, his thoughts always drift back to that day.
He'd been coming home late. The sun had already set. His little neighborhood was completely silent, locked in the gloom of dusk. It wasn't hard to overhear the ruckus, even from the distance he was at. It was just curiosity that motivated him at first. Then, as he drew closer, it was fear and determination.
The woman was being grabbed at by a man, screaming and shoving at him as he used superior strength to subdue her. Maybe it was true grit, or maybe just childish courage, but something convinced Ren to rush forward and grab the man by the shoulder and pull him off the woman. He stumbled on his own feet and went crashing to the ground.
Ren remembers a moment when he genuinely thought he'd been the one to hurt the guy. That suspicion was shattered when the guy shoved himself to his feet and slurred out the words, “Damn brat! I'll sue!” His breath reeked of alcohol.
And yet that night still ended with Ren in handcuffs.
He sighs and leans his head back on the pillow of his makeshift bed. It's still more comfortable than the beds in juvie, so at least there's that.
His phone goes off again, so he checks it with haste. He hasn't been getting many notifications ever since his arrest, after all. At first, it looks like there's nothing, and he wonders if it was just a phantom vibration. Upon checking again, though, he sees that same eyeball app appear on his home screen, glimmering faintly.
With a weary sigh, he deletes it again.
-
The ringing sound of polycarbonate on metal wakes him.
When he opens his eyes, he's not in the attic of the café anymore. Instead, he's in a damp prison cell, wearing striped attire. He shoves himself off the hard cot. What the...?
From the darkness, a small girl steps forward. And then another. One has a ponytail and an patch over her left eye. The other has hair hair up in twin buns, and a patch over her right eye. They chuckle at him.
He approaches them carefully, only to be stopped by a sudden weight at his leg. When he looks back, he realizes he has an actual ball and chain attached to him, keeping him locked in this place. The two girls chuckle again, and then part ways. Beyond them is a circular room full of cells. In the center of it is a desk.
Sitting there is an old man with a long nose and pointed ears, his bloodshot eyes staring coldly at Ren as his mouth twitches up into the semblance of a smile. “Trickster...” he intones, his voice deep and booming. “Welcome to my Velvet Room.”
Ren grabs at the bars of his cell. “What is this?” he demands.
“So you've come to, Inmate,” one of the girls says in a shrill voice.
“The you in reality is currently fast asleep,” the second says, slightly more politely. “You are only experiencing this as a dream.”
“A... dream?”
The first girl slams her baton against the bars again. Ren pulls his hand back just in time to avoid having his fingers smashed. “You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!”
The old man chuckles, drumming his gloved fingers against his desk. “Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a contract may enter. I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well. I summoned you here to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well.”
“Important matters?” Ren gasps. He shakes the bars again. “Let me out!”
Another crack of the baton. “Shut up and listen, Inmate!”
The old man just chuckles. “Still, this is a surprise... The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a prisoner of fate.” Igor's grin turns colder. “In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you.”
“Ruin?”
“I speak of the end to everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be rehabilitated. Rehabilitated towards freedom... That is your only means to avoid ruin...” He leans forward, grinning all the more. “Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?”
“I... I don't understand.”
“Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation,” Igor says, ignoring him entirely. He laughs easily, then waves towards the two girls. “Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here.”
The girl on the right – Caroline – scoffs. “Hmph. Struggle as hard as you like.”
Justine nods slowly. “The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators. That is... if you remain obedient.”
“I shall explain the roles of these two at another time,” Igor says. “Now then, it seems the night is waning. It is almost time... Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually...”
He snaps his fingers, and a bell starts to ring, almost like an alarm clock. “Time's up,” Caroline says, sharply. “Now hurry up and go back to sleep.”
Ren grabs at the bars, but then he blinks, and finds himself back in bed.
-
He honestly doesn't know why he thought it would be different.
The principal of Shujin – an enormous jowly man with a face full of bitterness – had instantly treated him like scum, and his homeroom teacher had given him icy politeness, the most he probably could have expected. That coldness had turned to embarrassment briefly when she dropped what appeared to be an ad for a housekeeping service, but that hadn't lasted long.
Now, sitting here in traffic on the way back to the café, he can really only sit here and wonder what this year is going to look like.
“Traffic's not moving at all...” Sakura grumbles. “You're taking the train starting tomorrow.”
Ren's already sick of trains, but there's no point in complaining. “I understand.”
Sakura-san looks at him wearily. “So, how was it? The school, I mean. You think you can manage?”
“I'll... try my best.”
“Hm. Your best isn't enough. Keep your head down, and don't cause any trouble. You've been expelled once before. No one's gonna be sympathetic with you.” He frowns, looks away. “If that's how it is at school, people might start saying things about me, too... What a troublesome kid I've taken in...”
Ren hesitates, then looks up. “Why did you take me in?”
Sakura-san frowns. “I was asked to do it, and I didn't have a good reason to say no. Besides, I've already been paid for it.”
Their conversation is over, apparently. Sakura-san reaches over and turns on the radio. “And now back to today's top stories,” the newscaster says. “A subway train has derailed, severely affecting the timetable across all of-”
Instantly, Sakura turns the radio back off and groans. “Another accident? So that's why it's so backed up... There's been a lot of those lately.” He sighs. “In fact, there was a real sad one just last month. If I remember right, the girl that passed away was only fifteen. Her parents have gotta be just...”
Suddenly, the cars ahead of him start moving, and Sakura lets out a relieved sigh. They move all of twenty feet before the traffic halts again. Sakura slams his hands on the steering wheel. “Oh, come on!”
-
“What a waste,” Sakura laments upon entering Leblanc. “I didn't get to open the café today...”
“Sorry...” Ren says, carefully.
“Hm. Come on, head upstairs. I've gotta give you something before I head home.”
He does as he's asked. Sakura pauses at the top of the stairs and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a small notebook and offers it. “This is a diary. Make sure you keep it up to date. You may be under probation, but there's no special limitations on what you do in particular. Besides following the law, of course. However, I am obligated to report on you, which is why I'm having you record your daily activities.”
“Okay,” Ren starts, but then Sakura's phone goes off.
He turns away and answers it. “Hey, what's up? I'm about to leave right now. Don't worry. I'll be there in no time.” He hangs up, then nods at Ren. “Well, I'm off. I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh, but don't mess up my store. If something goes missing, I'll hand you right over to the cops. You've got school tomorrow. So you better head off to bed, alright?”
-
He doesn't sleep well that night.
After a full night of staring up at the ceiling goes by and his alarm blares, he finds himself even more tired than he'd been before. It doesn't matter. It's time to get going.
He changes into his uniform and grabs his bag, which has absolutely nothing in it at the moment. When he gets downstairs, Sakura-san is already behind the counter. He raises an eyebrow when he sees Ren. “So, you're actually going to school, huh?”
“...Yeah.”
“Here.” He motions to a plate on the counter. “I'll feed you today. Just make sure you finish it before the customers start coming in.”
Ren looks down at his breakfast. “Curry?”
“What's that reaction for? Just eat it.”
Well, it's the closest thing to kindness he's gotten here so far. Ren puts his bag on one of the chairs and takes the one next to it, then digs into the curry. At first, he's just eating it out of obligation. Then, suddenly, he's eating with fervor, and then the whole serving is gone, and he stares at the empty plate forlornly.
Sakura-san looks at the clock. “It's time for you to go.”
Ren nods. “That... was delicious.”
“Ha!” his caregiver laughs. “So you do have manners, after all. Hurry up and get to school. You'll end up late if you get lost on the way. Oh, and flip the sign to 'open' for me.”
The train stations are annoying. He knew that just from the trip from his hometown to Tokyo, but it's even worse this time. He's on the clock, after all. Yongen-Jaya, then Shibuya central, then Aoyame-Itchome. It's a tougher process than just walking like he's used to.
It's raining by the time he gets to the last stop, and of course he doesn't have an umbrella. He attempts to just deal with it at first, only for the gust to become all the more intense. In a desperate bid to wait it out, he rushes under the overhang of a nearby shop and shakes his hair out. He takes off his glasses and wipes off the lenses quickly. He puts them on just in time for someone else to take the spot next to him.
A girl, that much is obvious right from the start. She's got the hood of her jacket up, and she reaches up with dainty hands to remove it upon getting in cover. When she does, Ren's heart lurches. She releases an ocean of blonde hair, tied up into pigtails, obviously with a great effort, given the volume. She blinks, and he can just make out her brilliant blue eyes from the angle she's standing at. She sighs and shakes out the water from her hair, flailing her hands to dry them off.
It's only then that she seems to notice him. She turns towards him, and both of her electric eyes meet with his. Ren can't blink. You're staring. Stop staring. It's weird to stare. You're just gawking at her. Stop! The words don't work, though. His body just seems to ignore them entirely.
To his unbelievable fortune, though, she just smiles slightly at him. Then she raises a hand towards his face. “You have, um...” she starts. Then she reaches forward. He pulls back half an inch, just instinctively, but she ignores that and touches his nose for the briefest of seconds. When she pulls her hand back, she's holding a little sakura petal. She looks at it, then sighs and lets it blow away. “I hate the rain. The cherry blossoms are so beautiful, but the petals get swept up in the wind...”
He fumbles for words, and finds none.
Before he can stumble out some awkward nonsense, a car pulls up and parks on the side of the road. The window lowers, and a man in a tracksuit leans over from the driver's side. “Good morning,” he calls to them, though his eyes seem completely locked on the girl. His curly hair and square jaw make him distinctive, if nothing else. “You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late.”
“Um, sure. Thanks.” The girl steps forward to get into the car. For some reason, Ren finds himself disturbed by this. He's not entirely sure why.
The guy in the car finally looks over at him. “Do you need a lift too?”
Ren starts. “Oh, uh... No, thanks.”
“Hm. Suit yourself.”
Before the car can pull off, Ren catches the slightest glimpse of sadness in the girl's eyes... Sadness that wasn't there before.
“Dammit!”
He jumps in surprise at the sudden outburst, and then a flash of red and yellow darts past him, stopping just a few feet ahead. A guy slightly shorter than Ren grinds his teeth and watches the car drive off. “Screw that pervy teacher,” he grumbles.
Ren raises an eyebrow. “Pervy... teacher?”
The guy turns and glares at him. “What do you want? You plannin' on rattin' me out to Kamoshida?”
“Kamoshida?”
“Huh? In that car just now. It was Kamoshida.” The vulgar guy kicks at the ground. He has strange posture, and his bright blonde hair is obviously not natural. “He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is – the king of a castle?”
“He... What?”
“Dude... Wait, you don't know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You are from Shujin, right?”
“...Yeah.”
The guy studies his uniform for a second. “You're a second-year, huh? We're the same grade then. Never seen you around before, though.” He ponders this for a second, then nods. “Oh, you a transfer student?” Ren just nods. “No wonder you don't know him.” He sighs and rubs at the back of his neck. “The rain ain't too bad. We better hurry up, or we'll be late.”
Ren nods. “Yeah. You're right.”
They both go to step forward, but then something like a pulse goes through him. Ren stumbles slightly, and the vulgar guy clutches at his head and groans. “Ugh, my head hurts... Dammit... I wanna go home...”
Ren swallows hard. He feels light-headed. Did I eat the curry too fast? Have I been standing too long? Do I need to hydrate? He's honestly not sure what just happened. Why does he suddenly feel so weird? Why does his body suddenly feel so heavy?
His companion shakes his head, then starts walking towards the school. Ren joins him, if only to not be alone for a little while.
Still, everything feels... weird. It's like just moving is a bit more difficult than normal. It's probably just nerves, he tells himself. A new school... And Sakura-san is right, I can't mess this up. I can't. It... It would devastate my parents, and...
“What the hell!?”
Ren steps out from the alleyways towards where Shujin Academy is meant to be... and finds something else entirely. A huge towering castle, its ramparts stretching up into a bleak purple sky. It looms over the landscape oppressively. Just looking at it makes him feel a hollowness in his stomach.
“We didn't...” the vulgar guy starts. “We didn't come the wrong way, though...”
“The sign is for the school,” Ren points out.
“I guess... we'll just have to go and ask.”
Ask who? Ren wonders, but it's not like he has a better idea right now.
Together, they walk up the drawbridge and into the central hall of the castle. For a brief second, it all seems to fade, and he's standing in the lobby of the school... but then the vision goes away, and he's back in the castle. Blending? What is this...?
“T-that's real weird,” the vulgar guy says. “Where's the school?”
“Did we make a wrong turn?”
“No! That's impossible! I think...” He pulls out his phone and frowns at it. “No service? Huh? Where'd we end up?”
Footsteps cut him off.
Ren's eyes widen as a huge man in full plate armor stomps over towards them. His companion nearly jumps out of his skin, then catches his breath. “Jeez, you freaked me out... Who're you? You a student?”
“I don't think...” Ren starts.
“Whoa, man... Your costume's impressive. Is that armor real?” The vulgar guy crosses his arms over his chest. “C'mon, don't just stand there. Say somethin'.”
Instead, the man in armor bashes his shield against the guy, and he falls to the ground. “Hey!” Ren calls, but then he's hit from behind, and everything goes dark.
-
“Hey! Wake up!”
He blinks his eyes open. It takes a moment for them to focus, and he doesn't like what he sees when they do. A dungeon? So the castle was real... That...
He shoves himself up with an effort, and that vulgar guy kneels in front of him. “What happened?”
“That's what I was gonna ask you, dude. You alright?”
“...Yeah. I think so. You?”
“Yeah, more or less.” He sighs and looks around. “Looks like this ain't no dream... Ugh, what's goin' on!?” He walks over towards the cell doors. With every step, an odd pink substance emanates from the soles of his shoes. “Hey, let us outta here! I know there's someone out there!”
Ren wonders how often he'll have to see the inside of a prison cell. Twice so far... Three times, if you count that dream. Dammit... I'm just going to be held in captivity forever. He was told to keep his head down, and he's been trying. Why doesn't it work for him?
Footsteps interrupt his musing. A group of those armored men stomp up towards the cell. “Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon,” the leader intones, in a strange voice. It sounds like it's been placed through a filter or something. “Your charge is unlawful entry. Thus, you will be sentenced to death.”
“Huh!?” the vulgar guy croaks.
“No one is allowed to do as they please in my castle.” It's a new voice, but a familiar one. Ren grits his teeth. Where does he recognize that voice from?
And then his question is answered for him. The outfit is wildly different, and he's got bright yellow eyes, but it's impossible to mistake that jaw and that hair.
The vulgar guy realizes it, too. “Huh? Is... Is that you, Kamoshida?”
“Hmph. I thought it'd be some petty thief. To think it'd be you, Sakamoto... Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven't learned your lesson at all, huh?” The cold yellow eyes fall upon Ren. “And you brought a friend this time... Looks like you can't do anything for yourself.”
“This ain't funny, you asshole!”
“Is that how you speak to your king? It seems you don't understand the position you're in at all. Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me. The punishment for that is death.” Kamoshida waves an arm sharply, opening up his robe and exposing his mostly-naked body. “It's time for the execution! Take him out!”
The guards open the door and shove Ren and Sakamoto further into the cell, blocking the way out with their shields and their bodies. They end up on the other side of the room, near the cot, with nowhere to run. “Goddammit!” Sakamoto shouts, and then he bulls forward and shoves the nearest guard down. He looks over at Ren. “I ain't down for this shit! C'mon, we're outta here!”
Ren doesn't need to be told twice. He turns and goes to run, only to find himself locked in place. An armored hand slams down on his shoulder and holds him back. And then one of the other guards bashes Sakamoto with his shield, and the two of them are incapacitated.
Sakamoto falls to the ground, groaning. “Just go!” he shouts at Ren.
Kamoshida chuckles. “Oh? Running away, are we? What a heartless friend you are.”
“He ain't a friend...” Sakamoto glares at Ren. “Just run already!”
“Oh, go on, try it.” Kamoshida waves to the guard, and Ren is released. “Run. Or are you too scared?” Ren doesn't move, and Kamoshida scoffs. “Pathetic scum like you isn't worth my time. At least Sakamoto has bark, even if he's got no bite. You don't have either.” His cold eyes turn back to Sakamoto. “I'll focus on this one's execution...”
Two of the guards hold Sakamoto up against the wall, while the last guard holds Ren back, helpless to do anything. Kamoshida grins and raises his arm. “Take this!” His fist slams hard into Sakamoto's face. And then again, and again. Then he hits him in the stomach, and the chest. Sakamoto is completely unable to protect himself. After a moment of it, he's covered in bruises and crying softly.
Kamoshida spits on him. “Scum like you isn't worth beating. I'll have you killed right now.”
“Stop this!” Ren screams. His voice comes back to him all at once.
“Hm?” Kamoshida rounds on him. “Don't you dare tell me you don't know who I am.” He steps up and stoops over to look Ren in the face. “That look in your eyes irritates me!”
A kick to the chest sends him reeling. Ren slumps against the wall hard and falls to the floor. His whole body feels heavy. Dammit...
“Hold him there. After the peasant, it's his turn to die.”
Ren forces himself to overcome the pain, shoving himself up and rushing hard at Kamoshida, only to be pushed up against the wall again. Two guards hold him there as the last one offers his sword to Kamoshida.
“No...” Sakamoto groans. “I don't wanna die...”
Kamoshida just laughs.
And then the room seems to darken. “This is truly an unjust game...” a faint voice whispers. “Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you.”
“What's the matter?” booms a second voice. “Are you simply going to watch? Are you forsaking him to save yourself? Death awaits him if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake, then?”
Ren grits his teeth and thinks of walking down a street late at night, and hearing the screams of pain and fear, and laying a hand on a man who thought he was above everyone. “No, it wasn't,” he grunts. “I don't regret it. Any of it.”
The other guard lifts Sakamoto up, and Kamoshida aims the tip of the sword directly at his throat.
“Very well. I have heeded your resolve.” An explosion of pain thunders in Ren's mind, and sweat trickles down his face as he screams. “Vow to me. I am thou, thou art I... Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name, and release thy rage! Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to hell itself!”
“Time's up...” Kamoshida says.
“That's enough!” Ren calls.
Kamoshida turns on him, glaring coldly. “What was that...? You want to be first? You desire to be killed that much? Fine!”
The guard to Ren's left raises his shield and slams it hard against his face, but Ren hardly stumbles. His glasses – his stupid fake glasses – fly off his face and clatter against the stone ground. When Ren raises his face, he glares right back at Kamoshida.
They told me my eyes were threatening. They told me every judge on the planet would be against me with eyes like these. Well, so be it. I did nothing wrong. I should have actually punched that creep. I shouldn't have held back. He stomps his foot down hard and holds his ground. Well, I won't make that mistake again.
His eyes open wide.
A gale of wind bursts through the room, throwing the guards off him. It ends as quickly as it began. When Ren blinks, though, there's something on his face. It's like a masquerade mask, locked to his face hard. With scrambling fingers, he reaches up and pulls at it, but it clings to his face. He pulls all the harder, and it starts to give, and he keeps going despite the pain.
When he tears it off, blood splatters everywhere. And his whole body lights up.
Blue flames strike out along his sleeves and his body, engulfing him in their unholy light. A villainous laugh echoes through the cell, and Ren laughs with it as his Persona stands up behind him. He grabs at the chains and slashes forward, and the guards go flying back in a burst of cursed energy.
“Come!” he screams, grinning wickedly. “Arsène!”
And the whole room erupts.