a/n Ta-da! Two chapters in just a couple of days! Nice, right :D Ok, I've had a big portion of this one written already, so that's why I update so quickly. I'll be updating my other story next, because I've left it for even longer than this one, but don't worry, I already know what'll happen and have a very basic version written already.

Warning - disturbing content ahead, reader's discretion strongly advised!

Some buzzing in his ears. It increased. Then, sudden lflash of light

„Senpai!"

He wasn't going to open his eyes. The darkness felt so soothing. So calm and relaxing...

„Please, senpai! PLEASE!"

No. It was better like that.

Another humming.

Another flash of light.

„Senpai, please! Help me!"

He sighed. The screaming, the lightning… it wasn't going to stop, was it?

He opened his eyes, but the darkness remained. But.. something was shining in the distance. Some sort of a crack…

Carefully, he stood up, and immediately the world around started spinning. He grabbed his head, trying to control the diziness.

But… that light felt good. He was supposed to be there… Once he saw it, he just knew it.

Just after he took the first step, the humming in his ears began again, and he closed his eyes, knowing what will happen.

„SEEENPAAAI!" The voice was desperate.

He took one uncertain step after another, the world still drifting around him, but his goal clear in his mind.

„Oooh!" Another, but similar voice exclaimed „What a catch!"

Was it… his voice?

No, that's just his brain telling him stuff.

Because it doesn't want him reaching the Light.

„No!" The first voice yelled „What are you – Please! Someone help!"

The more steps he took, the more sure of his surroundings he became. Now he was able to tell that the light was not coming in through a crack, but somehow it was shining from behind the semi-open door…

„Tshhh… there there, it will be all right, just close your eyes..."

No.

He wasn't going to close his eyes.

He was this close to the door already. The door that would let him leave this neverending darkness behind…

„AAARGH!"

He extended his hand, but suddenly something stopped him.

Was that really the right thing to do? Maybe his brain was playing tricks on him? Was what he saw even real?

But… he was already at the door.

The orange light felt so warm. He felt so calm when it's warmth touched his skin….

He made up his mind.

He pushed the door.

The light blinded him at first, but after a few moments he began to feel accustomed to his new surroundings.

He was in… a bathroom? What the hell!?

What's with all this steam!?

„NO! STOP IT! STOP IT!" The voice wasn't ominous anymore.

It was, actually, coming from his left.

He turned around and his scream got stuck in his throat.

A young, blonde male was laying on the ground. Naked, and imprisoned by… another blonde male, that looked just like him, laying on top of him.

„NO! STOP!"

He wanted to look away, to unsee what was happening. He felt sick to his stomach. But the orange-yellowish eyes of the blonde burned right into his own, and he felt he couldn't do anything…

„Please, senpai! Help me! PLEASE! I'll be good! I swear! I BEG OF YOU! " The blonde helplessly extended his hand, asking for help… but he could not. His entore body denied movement. „Oh my god, no! Make HIM stop, senpai! Please! MAKE HIM STOP!

But he could only watch as the other blonde, the one with the normal looking eyes, grabs the teenager's hair and smiles with satisfaction…

Suddenly, everything paused.

Then, with great speed, it started playing out in reverse. The normal-looking boy let go of the blonde, which got up, walked backwards to the door, and he himself felt something's dragging him backwards.

He was being led out of the room, back into the darkness, by some sort of invisible force.

Only there was no darkness anymore.

He was back at Dojima's house, together with five Nanakos, which were seeing themselves in a mirror and shaving their eyebrows, with the Junes' theme playing on a loop.

He was being taken even further, and suddenly he was in his classroom, but no other students were present. The only person aside him was a young, brown-haired teacher, writing something on a blackboard.

The moment she put the chalk down, everything stopped again for a few moments, until he felt he was being pushed forward again.

The teacher turned around, and, upon noticing him, untucked her shirt and grabbed her hips.

„My." She giggled „Aren't you a little cutie?

The force was now pushing him right onto her, and he closed his eyes, expecting a collision, but the teacher suddenly disappeared, and, upon opening his eyes, he found himself right in the center of the universe, with the faces of his acquaintances floating around him and talking nonsense.

„Balls. Balls. Balls." A dark-haired boy kept repeating, rolling his eyes and licking his lips.

„GET OUT OF MY CAR!" The face of an old, bizarre man yelled furiously, as it passed him by.

„No, thanks, I don't smoke." Dojima's head denied someone.

And then… they all popped like balloons, and he was left alone in the middle of nowhere. He saw the stars and the planets… all of them so peaceful and beautiful...

The view was truly breathtaking, and he didn't want to move, only observe this neverending beauty. That is, until something overshadowed him suddenly.

He looked up and again his scream couldn't leave his throat.

„WAKE UP!" An angry voice demanded before a gigantic shoe fell right onto him, crushing him on the spot.

LINE BREAK

„Wake up!" Ren raised his leg again „Wake up, I said!"

„OW!" The silver-haired boy opened his eyes „What the hell!?"

„Wake up! Wake up, you piece of-"

„It's okay now!" Chie grabbed his shoulder „See? He's awake now!

„What are you talking about!? No, he clearly isn't!"

„YES I AM!" The silver-haired boy examined his face, shocked. His lips were swollen, his cheek hurt like hell and he was sure he had at least one black eye. „Dude, what the hell!?"

„I was worried." Ren said solemnly „You fell on your back and lost consciousness, and I only tried to resuscitate you..."

"You could have been a little more delicate! I - AAAAGH!" Yu yelled as he looked to his left and quickly jumped away.

"What's wrong, senpai?" Kanji, the boy to his left, raised his eyebrows

„Nothing. Nothing, really." The teen laughed nervously "I just rememb-. No, nothing. I don't wanna think about it." Yu shook his head weakly and looked around. „Where the hell did we end up?"

This place was filled with yellow fog, but they could see they were on top of a structure of some sorts. There were multiple staircases leading below, but because of the fog it wasn't possible to tell to where exactly they lead.

„Hmm." Rise exclaimed „I think you might have been right, Naoto-kun! Nanako-chan really is here! I can actually sense her somewhere close!"

„Really!?" Ren jumped with you and ran to the nearest staircase „Then let's go! Let's go right now! I can't wait to get my hands on her..."

„Calm down, senpai." Naoto said „Let's not make any hasty decisions. And besides, that's not where Nanako is at all."

„What?" Ren looked at her „Where the hell is she?

In response, Naoto pointed her finger at a creepy, Red vortex at the entrance of what looked like a cave just next to the structure. The gap wasn't big, but it wasn't small enough to just jump over it either.

Thankfully, Kanji made for quite a solid bridge.

Soon after, they were all on the other side.

„Is this Nanako's?" Chie wondered, looking at the portal „No, it can be, we already saw her place."

„Guys." Yu turned to his friends „We don't know where we are. This place may be unlike anything we saw before. We will have to be extra-careful, and..."

„Yeah, yeah, whatever." Ren interrupted him and jumped head-first into the red vortex.

LINE BREAK

„What the hell is this!?" Ren was getting more and more irritated with every step. „Shit doesn't make any sense!"

„We told you." Naoto hissed „TV world. It's where we come to rescue people that were thrown into the TV by Nanako-san."

„Still..." The pink haired girl whispered „This place seems different. It…" she sniffed" it makes me wanna cry..."

„Well, it certainly is different from other places we've been." The silver-haired boy nodded his head.

The walls of this place have been dripping with blood. All sorts of broken toys were laying scattered on the floor – teddy bears with their arms or legs ripped off, toy robots broken into pieces, game consoles smashed into tiny bits. Somewhere further, some person was crying heavily and screaming in pain.

„Wait." Yu stopped rapidly „That crazy chick and that Akihiko guy… what if they're still after us?"

„Not likely." Naoto shook her head „I doubt they have ability to enter the TV world. Only you can bring people here, remember? The rest of us has to hold on to you and to each other to be taken here."

„Oh, yeah." The boy sighed with relief.

„So..." the raven-haired boy looked around „This is based on Nanako, right? Maybe we could use it against her, and..."

„Or is it?"

Everyone stopped.

„Did you guys hear that?" Yu asked, frantically looking around.

„Look!" Chie pointed „Over there!"

A dark silhouette was visible in the yellow fog, clearly coming to meet them. Ren blemished his eyes. The person gave threatening vibes, but he wasn't the one to back down. Slowly, he took a few steps forward.

„No, senpai, stop it!" Risette yelled, and actually tried to run after him, but the other teens grabbed her in time „Please, stop! I… I would cry if something bad happened to you! Please, just come back!"

Ren was taking quicker steps, but the other character seemed to take its time.

„Who are you!?" Ren yelled angrily „Come out and face me!"

„Oh, but you know who I am..." The person stepped from the fog, and everybody gasped „Don't you… Ren Amamiya?"

„What!? Okay, who the hell are you?" The raven-haired boy backed away a few steps, as he faced… himself. The same hairstyle, the same clothes, the same evil smirk. The only difference was the other Ren had a pair of yellow, glowing eyes. Real Ren turned to the other teenagers „Is this a prank!?"

„No..." Yu replied slowly „That's… That's…"

„As I said: You know who I am." Other Ren peeked at the group of teens behind the real one „Oh, man, these guys are so cool. If only they'd accept me… maybe I wouldn't have to pretend anymore. We went through so much already... "

„What the hell are you talking about!?"

„They all seem to be such good friends, who care and support each other… Why haven't I had a single person in my life! Why was I always the outcast? Unwanted, unloved…

„Hey!" Ren felt the hair on his back rise up „Stop it..."

„If only I could say there was a single person who cared about me in my entire life! But there wasn't anyone! I was always „the strange one". Beat up in kindergarten, parents preffered to focus on work instead of me...! But one day, I became tired of crying at nights. I thought that maybe if I become this sort of bad boy character people loves to see in the movies, someone will take a liking to me. But still, all it caused was more pain. All I ever wanted was for people to like me! To impress them! And what did I get? Even my own cat runs out on me!"

„Don't!" Ren shouted „Don't you dare saying anything more! You don't know nothing, you piece of trash!"

„Why? Isn't that true though?" Other Ren's eyes pierced through the real one's „Oh, you like to show off. To prove how much of an evil and heartless bastard you are. That you're so tough and mighty, that other people aren't anything but trash compared to you, that they should be scared of you… But tell me, or rather tell yourself, Ren Amamiya… whom were you trying to convince that? The world, or yourself?"

„I-i..."

„It is time to come clean. Admit that all your actions until this point have been nothing but a lost, lonely boy desperately trying to get someone's attention to himself. That they're just an attempt to block the real you."

„No, they haren't! Why… why are you doing this!?

„Why? Oh, because you see, I am you, Ren Amamiya. I have seen both your heart and your mind. And still, despite how much you try to shut yourself in, the more badass you try to look, the more pathetic you are. You know that, right? You know that the truth is they're still the heart and mind of a five year old boy, desperately yelling please, someone be my friend!"

„No!" Ren yelled „NO!"

„YES!" His doppleganger smiled with excitement „Yes, make my day! Come on, say it!"

„NO, THIS IS ALL SOME SORT OF BULLSHIT!"

Evil Ren's smile faded a little.

„..What?"

„I don't know who the hell do you think you are..." Ren hissed, nearing in „But I'll have you know you've pissed me off so much I never thought that was even possible."

The teenager had fire in his eyes – and his counterpart must have noticed that because Ren could swear it paled considerably.

„Who the hell are you?" The boy yelled „An actor!? How dare you publically mock Ren Amamiya like that? Do you even understand who you are dealing with!?
"

„No, I'm..." Now it was the evil version of Ren who started backing away „ I'm..."

„Or maybe it was you guys?" Ren turned to the Investigation Team „What is this, really? Some sort of intervention? Did Sojiro plan all of this? If so, he could have at least thought of an better backstory..."

„No!" The doppelganger desperately yelled „No, I am a Shadow, the True Self!" He looked at the other teens „Come on, tell him, guys!"

„You should probably listen to him, dude." Yu warned

„He's right."" Yukiko nodded „That's how it happened for everyone..."

„Oh, hell no!" Ren turned back to his Shadow „Well, mr. Know-it-all, wanna know how it really is!?"

„That's – wait!" The Shadow waved his hands „Hold on, that's not what's supposed to be happening right now!"

„ Friends? Why would I want friends? So they can be a burden? So they can come to me with their pathetic problems and their even more pathetic lives? Oh no, Ren-kun, my father has died, what will I do now!? Shit like that makes me laugh my ass off everytime. Using people – that's fine, as long as you can get something from it. But being friends? Why? It's so much more fun to crush them and watch as their pathetic existences go down in flames."

„WHAT!?" The shadow widened his eyes „That's… That's horrible! I don't think like that at all!"

„My childhood? What part you wanna hear about? Oh, I know! How about I tell you how my poor aunt Ayumi lost her beloved doggo? You see, when I was five, she visited my mother for her birthday, and that stupid lab wanted to play with me. So, I took a piece of wood and took him for a walk. How could a sweet, innocent, five year old child know not to play fetch near a busy expressway? Aunt Ayumi never even blamed me. Said it was an accident..."

„You devil!" Other Ren squeaked „A dog!? Why!?

„Oh, so you knew about how I treated Morgana, Akechi, the Nijimas, but a dog surprised you? I thought you're me, surely you know what I felt that moment? And if you don't I'll tell you – fun! And I still do! Because whom should I pity for? Sakamoto? Dude's as dumb as a rock. Sojiro? He brought that fate on himself. Had he not been so hell bent on easy money, I'd be running havoc in a juvenile hall right now.

„He never took a penny..." The shadow whispered „He just wanted to help your parents..."

„Then instead of being extremely greedy, he was extremely dumb. The former I can understand, but the latter makes you no better than an animal. Back on point though – the rush of adrenaline I feel when doing what I do is all that I need to know it's worthwile. Sure, some innocent people get hurt, some even die., but as long as it's for me, it's for the greater good. And you know what it brings me? Happiness…"

„ENOUGH!" The shadow screamed and fell to his knees „No, that's impossible! You're… You're not me!"

Sudden power Ren felt in that moment was unspeakable. The only thing he could do is… laugh..

„AHAHAHAHAHA!" The teenager chuckled as some sort of soft, blue light was starting to gather around him. First his legs, then his entire body started itching, and soon he realized he's growing extremely fast. „That's right, you rat! I am so much better than any of you!"

„What's going on there!?" Yu yelled „This never happened before!"

„Dude's, like, seven meters tall..." Kanji started backing away.

„I believe we better run." Naoto stated

Panicked, the Investigation Team attempted to flee the scene, but was stopped by a huge feet blocking the path to the exit.

„You're insane, dude!" Yu yelled „Let us go!"

„Oh, hell no, you assholes!" Ren's voice was so strong Yukiko had to cover her ears „You're the ones who dragged me into this, you'll be the ones who'll drag me out!

„Please, senpai, stop it!" Rise yelled „You're scaring me! I'm going to cry if you don't stop!"

With one extension of his gigantic hand, Ren manager to grab all of them.

„Where's Nanako!?" Ren yelled, looking at Rise „Tell me where she is!"

„She's..." The girl was choking back tears „She's not far from here… Please, senpai, let us go!"

„Nanako!" Ren roared, ignoring her „I'm coming, you bitch!"

The boy ran through the corridor with his teeth gritted in fury. Now he'll show that little twerp just whom she messed with. Oh, just you wait, Nanako…

Rise provided him directions, not like she had a choice, as Ren made himself clear what will happen to her if she or her friends even attempt escape. The corridor ended suddenly, as it transformed into a small, orthogonal room with no way out. But, as soon as he ran into that area, the boy stopped rapidly and gasped, looking up.

„Oh, my!" Nanako gave him an wicked grin, looking at him from above „Looks like someone's shadow rejected them!"

Ren stared at her with open mouth, but Kanji spoke.

„Dude, she's like, fifteen meters tall."

A/n Stay tuned for the final part of the Inaba arc, everyone!