Chapter 27

Conflicting Feelings


Tuesday, September 27th, 2016


"I order Number 2 to plant a big ol' smooch on the person they'd like to date the most!"

But Makoto just saw him as just a friend… didn't she?

It was just… a stupid dare. It didn't mean anything. And besides, if Makoto was to like a guy, as she claimed to Teddie-san… it'd be Ren. They had pretended to be a couple already. Maybe Makoto just pretended that she just saw Ren as a friend, since Ren liked Anne.

Ken heaved out a sigh, pressing a hand to his forehead. Dammit, why couldn't he stop thinking about this…? The clean, fresh scent of her shampoo… the way her lips had felt again his cheek… and how he couldn't help but wonder what it'd be like to have her lips pressed again his-

Ken shook his head furiously, feeling heat rise up in his cheeks. Makoto was just a friend! What was he doing, thinking about her like that?!

Ken just groaned, whipping off his reading glasses so he could press his hand to his burning face. Fuck. What was wrong with him? Why did he have to be so confused?

He stared down at his notebook. He had made an excuse to Makoto that he had needed to study, with everything going on, but he had barely written anything down.

What was going on? Was he just… attracted to Makoto? She was a pretty girl…

But this was nothing like back when he had a crush on Minako-san… He could still remember the butterflies that fluttered in his stomach and how his heart pounded when he was around her.

But with Makoto? He felt comfortable around her. When she smiled at him, he felt warm, but his pulse didn't race at it. It only felt natural to comfort her when she was sad… because that's what friends do.

He was just… so confused. And he couldn't really talk to anyone about this… Ren would be absolutely merciless about this, not to mention that the person Makoto supposedly had feelings for was most likely him… Ryuji… yeah, no. That was just asking for a disaster. And Yusuke was completely oblivious to this kind of thing.

And there was no way he'd go to his male senpai about this… Junpei-san would have a ball of teasing him, Akihiko-san would flounder, and Shinjiro-san would probably have his are you kidding me look.

He just… hoped it would go away soon. It's been two days since their visit to Inaba… and he still couldn't make sense of this whole thing.

He might as well go home… No sense in brooding over this, hogging one of the library's tables when someone else could use it better than him. Ken gathered up his belongings, stuffing them in his bag, before slinging his schoolbag over his shoulder.

Ken was descending the last flight of stairs, when he saw Ren and Futaba enter the building.

"Oh! Ken!" Futaba greeted, waving at him enthusiastically before darting up to him. Ren followed her at a more sedate pace. "I came to explore a real high school!"

Ken blinked at them. "What's going on? Why do you want to explore Shujin?"

Futaba winced, adjusting her glasses. She rocked on the balls of her feet for a moment. "Um… you see…"

Futaba quickly explained that she used to make a promise list with her mother, earning herself a reward by completely the list. She now was repeating the process to try and rehabilitate herself. So she could go around more comfortably, without having to rely on Ren so much.

"So… you picked Shujin?" Ken asked.

Ren shrugged. "Better Shujin than Kosei," he said. "The only people I know who go there are Yusuke and Hifumi."

"…Hifumi?" Ken raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name.

"She's one of my friends," Ren explained. "You know Hifumi Togo, right?"

Hmm… that sounded familiar. Ken couldn't quite put his finger on what exactly, though… Though he should have figured that Ren had even more friends he had never met. He still remembered how many people had came to Minato-san's funeral… and how many of those people had made speeches about him.

"She's that shogi prodigy, isn't she?" Futaba piped up. "They call her the Venus of Shogi, don't they?"

"Yep, you got it." Ren nodded. "But anyways, I thought Shujin would be better since I actually know it. Sorta."

Ren really didn't stick around school, did he…? But then again, he doubted any clubs would want to do anything with him. So he couldn't really blame Ren for that.

"And besides, if the faculty doesn't like it all that much, we could always ask Makoto for help to clear it up," Ren added.

Ken couldn't help but stiffen. He didn't need a reminder of Makoto right now, not when he suddenly had jumbled up thoughts about her… Though he had to admit that they did have a point, with going to Makoto about this.

"Did you… get in an argument?" Futaba frowned at him.

"It's… It's nothing," Ken quickly looked away from Futaba. It was nothing… It should be nothing… "You should go find Makoto then. In case you run into any faculty."

Ren studied him closely, his lips pursed together. "Why don't you come with us, Ken?" he suggested, tucking one hand in his pocket. "It could be fun. And well…" He looked down at Futaba, playfully smirking at her for a moment. "…She's a bit of a handful."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Futaba's hands flew to her hips, before she let out a huff. But then she looked at Ken. "But Ren's right about that, y'know! It could be fun!"

…She wasn't going to take no for an answer, was she? For someone who refused to come out of her house not too long ago, Futaba was surprisingly forceful.

"If that's what you want," Ken said, trying not to sigh.

He just… didn't want to make things awkward with Makoto. He didn't even know what exactly he felt…

"Yayyy!" Futaba cheered, giving a little hop. Her eyes were gleaming with excitement "But where's Makoto?"

Ken blinked at her. "I've been studying at the library. I haven't been with Makoto."

"Well, you can't blame Futaba for thinking that," Ren said, raising an eyebrow at Ken. "You spend a lot of time with her." When Ken opened his mouth to protest that they didn't spend that much time together, Ren just continued. "It's not a bad thing, Ken."

"Futaba?" Ken turned around to see that Makoto was descending the stairs as well. "What are you doing here?"

Ren and Futaba explained again, and Makoto's lips puckered together in thought.

Ken founded himself staring at her lips. They were soft. Ken immediately mentally smacked himself for the traitorous thought. He needed to stop it. Makoto was just his friend.

"A promise list…" she said slowly. "I think it's a good strategy, to ease you into interacting with strangers again."

"So it's okay?" Futaba piped up. "Ren said that we'd go on a tour!"

Makoto blinked, before slowly turning to Ren. "…And you just volunteered me for this?"

"I mean, you're the student council president." Ren shrugged. "Isn't it kinda your job to show people the school?"

"That's…" Makoto sighed. "…Okay, I see your point." She then shook her head. "Though I suppose it's a good thing that most of the students are gone, and the teachers are in a meeting right now."

"Yes!" Futaba pumped her fist. "With so little people around, this will be easier than fighting a trash mob!"

Makoto just blinked owlishly at her. "A trash… what?"

"Note to self: educate Makoto on video game slang…" Futaba muttered to herself, pretending to write on her hand. "Oh, and introduce her to video games in general!"

"I'm not that illiterate with video games!" Makoto protested.

Futaba adjusted her glasses, narrowing her eyes at Makoto. "…Do you know about Super Bash Bros?"

Makoto frowned. "Super Bash… what?"

Ken shook his head. "It's a popular fighting game made by Nintendo."

Ren grinned. "I get really into it, honestly. Sometimes I wish I could jump in and be one of the fighters, you know?"

Futaba grinned. "That would be soooo awesome. You could bust out your Persona! And shoot them with your gun! Like… BAM! They'd never see it coming!"

Ken let out an exasperated sigh. "You do know Nintendo prides itself in being family friendly, right?"

"Ah… right." Makoto coughed. "…Shall we get started then?"

The tour didn't start out well, with them showing Futaba the cafeteria. Futaba started talking about some of her bad experiences—which admittedly, cafeterias did not offer the best food—so Makoto hastily suggested they move on. So they moved onto the library. Futaba looked around, humming for a moment. She then snapped her fingers. "This place should be a recreational room! You know, with video games!"

"Um… Futaba…" Ken said slowly, "no high school has that kind of thing."

"Whaaaaat?!" Futaba rounded on him. "Come on, that can't be true! Gekkoukan's gonna be superrrr rich!"

"Just because the Kirijo Group personally funds Gekkoukan High doesn't mean we have a gaming room…" Ken crossed his arms over his chest. "Sure, the school receives funding for the top technology but… video games…? That's ridiculous."

"What about your house then, huh?"

"I assume that's Minako-san's doing. She can be very… persuasive."

"Ugh, lame." Futaba grumbled. "I mean, the library's got books, but I've got that at home!"

"…Don't you read mostly manga?" Ren asked. "It wouldn't be a bad thing to read literature for a change." He then rubbed his chin. "Oh, speaking of that, I've gotta return The Three Musketeers soon."

"I'm surprised that you can read that," Makoto commented. "English is already difficult enough to read, but making sense of the classics with how wordy they are… It gives me a headache, honestly."

Ren just laughed. "Well, my English is getting better, thanks to Anne."

"Ugh, English," Futaba groaned. "Why do they make you study a whole language?! I have Google Translate! I don't need to learn an entire different language!"

"Well, Shujin's less stringent than Gekkoukan." Ken shrugged. "They started us in the fifth grade. I remember having to study etymology."

Ren just looked at him in shock. "You're kidding, right?"

Ken rolled his eyes at him. "Yeah, because I'm known for my jokes," he said dryly.

"Oh, right, that would mean the world is ending." Ren smirked. "My mistake."

"Well, Gekkoukan is known for being one of the top schools in the country," Makoto said, giving them both exasperated looks. "Though I will say that's a bit extreme, making fifth graders studying to that kind of level."

Ken shrugged. "It's prepared me well. I can say that at least."

"Do you want to look at any books you might be interested in, Futaba?" Makoto offered. "You like sci-fi, don't you? There's a section dedicated just for that. One of us could check it out for you."

"That's… okay…." Futaba stared past Makoto, a little frown on her face. She was… staring at the shelf? "…One time I memorized the books' order on the shelf. I just glanced at them and I remembered the exact order."

"You have photographic memory?" Ren asked.

Futaba shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "…The kids at school didn't believe me when I said it. They thought I was making it up. And when I recited the order to prove it, they just…" she squeezed her eyes shut, "…laughed at me. They called me a freak."

…Ugh. Kids could be cruel. But he didn't realize the extent of how ostracized Futaba had been from her peers when she was young.

"Am I… weird?"

Ren put a hand on her shoulder, making her look up. He quickly shook his head. "No way. They're just jealous of your talent."

But instead of being reassured, Futaba just frowned. "I don't wanna be talented, if people make fun of me for it…" She then heaved out a sigh. "School's just the worst…"

"Come on, Futaba-" Makoto began.

Futaba puffed out her cheeks. "It's true!" she snapped out. "People were awful to me! Nobody would ever like me…" She shook her head. "…Why did I think this was a good idea…? Things are never going to change…"

Ken frowned. Futaba had a defeatist attitude, regarding this… But… that wasn't healthy.

"That's not true." Ken stepped forward. Futaba just pressed her lips together, giving a small shake. "You say things never change," he said quietly. "But it's not true. Just look at where you were just two, three months ago… You stayed in your room. You wouldn't even talk to Sakura-san. But you're slowly improving, Futaba. And the worst thing you could do is give up."

Futaba was silent for a moment. "I… Do you really think so?"

"Ken's right, you know," Ren interjected. "You may have struggled to make friends before, but you're not the same person as you were before, Futaba."

"And the fact that you're looking to fulfill the things on your promise list is really saying something," Makoto added. "You said that nobody would ever like you… but that's not true. We like you, don't you?" She pressed a hand to her chest, smiling gently. "I know that things have changed for me since I've met everyone."

"Ugh…" Futaba's face scrunched up. "Why do you have to be so logical about it?"

"So you can't really argue about it," Ren said with a smirk. "But you feel a little better about things now, don't you?"

"Yeah… but…" Futaba looked back at him defiantly. "Don't expect me to beg Sojiro to enroll me in Shujin any time soon!"

…Well, better than nothing. They just had to keep taking little steps.

And then he caught Makoto's eye, but he quickly looked away. Ugh… It was easy to forget while they were showing Futaba around but he still felt… funny with Makoto.

…This was all Rise-san's fault. And Teddie-san's fault. Now he was all jumbled up because of Makoto kissing him and ugh. He just had to distance himself from Makoto until he figured himself out…


Thursday, September 29th, 2016


"So… how are you feelin', Mina-tan?"

Minako groaned, before sticking a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. "I'm so bored," she complained. "Mitsuru is insisting that I should be taking maternal leave already and I'm barely into my third trimester!"

Chidori just laughed softly. Sometimes it still boggled her mind seeing how different Chidori was… She was more… gentle and kind. Though she did have her blunt moments too, which was part of how she kept Junpei in line. Even now, she was dressed more casually compared to when she used to wear gothic lolita clothing. She was wearing a white sundress today, and her bright red hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, a white ribbon tied around it.

"Well, Yukari did ask you to take care of the twins for a couple months while she finishes wrapping up the last of the shoots," she said. "That should occupy your time."

Junpei frowned. "Speaking of that… are you sure you can keep up with 'em? I mean, you are getting there-"

"…Are you calling me fat?!" Minako demanded, narrowing her eyes at Junpei.

"Wha?" Junpei blanched at that, all color draining from his face. "No! Shit, I just meant-"

Chidori just patted his arm in sympathy, raising an eyebrow at her husband. "It never gets easier for you, hmm?"

"Hey!" Junpei protested.

Minako just grumbled. Well, she supposed that Junpei was just concerned. She probably should let it slide. "You're lucky I'm holding a spoon, not a fork."

Suddenly the front door opened, and Aki stepped through. "Mina, I'm home!" he announced. "And look who I brought-"

"AUNTIE MINA!" The twins pushed Aki out of the way, clambering on the couch to give her a big hug.

Minako hugged the two of them. She ruffled both of their hair, smiling down at her niece and nephew. "You've gotten so big since I've seen you last!"

"Silly Auntie Mina!" Miyuki sighed, sounding more exasperated than she should, as she shook her head at Minako. "You saw us in July! It's not that long ago!"

"That may be true..." Minako grabbed her niece in a hug, tickling her for a moment. "But two certain somebodies turned six just a couple days ago!"

"Jeez, you two!" Yukari scolded, striding forward. Her hands were on her hips. "You nearly knocked over Akihiko-senpai over!"

The twins both smiled sheepishly at Yukari's chastisement, ducking their heads. "Sorry, Uncle Aki," they chorused together, all while smiling cutely at Aki.

"Aw…" Aki rubbed the back of his neck, a small smile creeping onto his face. "Who could stay mad at these two for long?"

Minako couldn't help but giggle. The twins were admittedly very good at the puppy dog eyes. But she was glad that the twins seemed happy and well. If she was present when those bitchy women had called her precious nephew a bastard… she would have happily wrung their necks. Not to mention that they seemed to begrudge Yukari having a well established career as an actress. Jealous harpies.

"But you're so big now, Auntie Mina…!" Kaito's eyes were round before his fingers brushed against her stomach. "How much long until you're having the baby?"

Junpei just snorted. "You're lucky that it's still cute for you to ask that, Kaito-" Then he yelped as Yukari suddenly grabbed him by the ear and yanked. Hard. "Yowch!" He yanked away from Yukari, nursing his now sore ear. "Yuka-tan, that hurts!"

"It's supposed to!" Yukari fired back, glowering at him. "Jeez, what are you doing, saying stuff like that?!"

"Hey, I'm just saying…!"

"And I'm saying that's something stupid to say!" she retorted. "Jeez, sometimes I swear you don't even know the meaning of tact."

"Mommy said a bad word!" Miyuki gasped, clamping a hand over her mouth in horror. Minako couldn't help but laugh at how scandalized her niece sounded.

Chidori sighed, shaking her head. "You're just getting into all kinds of trouble with women today, aren't you, Junpei…?"

"What about you, Chidorita?" Junpei asked innocently, sidling close to her. "Am I in trouble with you?"

Chidori just huffed, but a slight blush came to her cheeks. "…No. Not me."

Yukari huffed as well, shaking her head for a moment. But then she turned to Minako, her eyes softening. "Thanks for taking the twins while I finish wrapping up these last shoots. Especially since you're approaching your last trimester." She ran a hand through her hair. "It's getting really crazy…"

"It's no problem, Yukari-chan," Minako reassured. "You know that we love the twins and would be more than happy to take care of them."

Yukari then laughed. "But still… thanks. Once we move out here, I'd be more than happy to babysit, if you and Akihiko-senpai need a date night or something. Speaking of that…" She gave Minako a once over. "How are you feeling? I know that you're finally getting over your cravings but…"

"Oh, I'm fine." Minako rested a hand on her stomach. "The baby's been kicking some more-"

"THE BABY KICKS YOU?!" Kaito demanded, outrage clear on his round face.

"Kicking's not nice!" Miyuki scowled as well. "'Specially kicking your mommy!"

"That's right!" Junpei mock gasped, suddenly hoisting Miyuki up by the waist and making her squeal with laughter. He grinned at Aki. "So, are you gonna haul your baby to jail once she's born?"

"You're being silly, Junpei." Chidori sighed, shaking her head before smiling at Miyuki and then Kaito. "It's natural for the baby to do that. You did that when Yukari was expecting you as well."

"Whaaaat?" Miyuki puffed out her cheeks for a moment, before pouting at Chidori. "No way, Auntie Chidori!"

"Yeah, we would never hurt Mommy!" Kaito insisted indignantly.

Yukari just laughed, ruffling Kaito's hair for a moment. "Sorry, sweetie, but it's true."

"Besides…" Minako smiled as her daughter kicked in response, as if she knew that they were talking about her. Her hand glided to where the baby was talking, smiling as she felt a light thump against her palm. "It feels nice."

"Nice?" Miyuki frowned, looking rather skeptical. Minako couldn't help but smile. The twins had never met Minato, but there was no question that he had left his mark on his two children.

Minako beckoned Kaito forward and Junpei set Miyuki down so she could join them on the couch. She took their hands, guiding them where the baby was kicking. She smiled as twin expressions of delight bloomed across their faces.

"Hey, it tickles!" Kaito exclaimed, his eyes shining with delight. "You feel this every time the baby kicks, Auntie Mina?"

"Yep!" Minako nodded.

"How much sooner until the baby comes?" Miyuki piped up. "I wanna play with the baby!"

"A little under three months," Aki said. "The baby's going to be born a couple weeks before Christmas."

"But you can't play with the baby right away," Junpei chimed in. "She'll be very small."

"Whaaaat?!" Kaito pouted. "It feels like it's been ages and ages! And we have to wait even longer?!" He then huffed. "And it's a girl too." He looked at Aki. "Hey, hey, do you think that Uncle Junpei and Auntie Chidori could have a baby too?"

"W-What?" Chidori stammered out, before exchanging an embarrassed look with Junpei. "Um… that probably won't be happening soon, Kaito-kun."

"Aww…"

Minako giggled, wiggling her eyebrows at the two of them. "Not ready yet, huh? But Junpei's great with kids!"

Chidori let out an exasperated sigh. "It's just not happening now, Minako."

"Aw, but it'd be so cute if our kids would grow up as best friends…"

As it was past noon, Aki offered to cook lunch. Aki was a decent enough cook when he followed recipes, so she had no complaints. (Shinji had given Aki a cookbook, after witnessing one too many of Aki's schemes to incorporate vitamins to the point where it ruined the meal.) She was just glad that she could eat food again without getting nauseous. Feeling like she was gonna puke just from smelling certain foods wasn't fun.

After lunch, Minako put on Neo Feathermen for the twins—naturally, it was one of their favorite shows. Specifically, the Victory incarnation. It was cute to hear them to yell, "Yeah, go Mommy!"

"Sooo… Yuka-tan," Junpei suddenly interjected, "how long are you gonna stick around until you gotta jet?"

"I'll be staying until Thursday morning," Yukari answered. "I need to talk to the real estate agent about the house I'm buying, not to mentioning the place in Paulownia that I want to lease for the boutique…" She rubbed her face for a moment. "God, I can't believe it's been nearly six years since we graduated."

"Hey, it's not like we're old geezers!" Minako joked, making everyone laugh. "But seriously… I'm glad everything's working out. And it'll be a few months and you'll be back on Port Island!"

Yukari smiled. "Yeah. I'm glad to be able to come back…" But then she tilted her head. "…But you know, I heard from Rise that Ken took…" She looked carefully at the twins. They did have a tendency to hear what they shouldn't, after all. "…his friend to visit last Sunday. Did you hear from Yu-kun about how it exactly went down?"

"Yu-kun seemed to get on with Ren-kun," Minako said, trying not to wince. Aki caught her eye, frowning slightly, but he didn't say anything. At least nobody picked up on it. Though knowing Aki, he would probably be talking to her about this in private later. "Everyone seemed to."

She had confided in her husband when Yu had called her about her perspective, when he had picked up an… odd conversation between Ken and Ren. The Third Eye ability… it seemed supernatural, even by their standards. But… she didn't know what they could do. It would be best to keep quiet for now. God, if only Elizabeth would drop in. She swore that Elizabeth was the textbook definition of a loose cannon…

"That's good," Yukari said.

"Are you talking about Uncle Ken's friends?" Miyuki piped up.

"Oh, you remember them, sweetie?" Minako asked.

Miyuki nodded. "Uh huh. They were nice! The frizzy hair guy even bought Kaito a snack!"

"Frizzy… hair…?" Chidori questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Her head bobbed. "Uh huh! He had reallyyy big glasses! It covered a lot of his face! Oh, and one of the girls was really pretty! Her hair was like gold!"

"Nobody's as pretty as Mommy though," Kaito quickly jumped in.

Miyuki scowled at him. "Didn't say she was prettier than Mommy," she huffed.

Yukari huffed as well, but a light blush came to her face. "You two…"

"So Ken's got some pretty lady friends, huh?" Junpei grinned at the twins. "Wanna tell me more about them?"

"Um…" Miyuki scrunched up her face. "There was the girl who…" she looked down at the floor, "was with Uncle Ken when he went to find me and Kaito… What was her name?"

"Makoto!" Kaito piped up.

"Yeah!" Miyuki bobbed her head. "She kinda reminded me of Auntie Fuuka."

"Makoto…" Minako repeated. "She's the student council president of Shujin, if I remember right."

"Soo… Miyu-tan," Junpei drawled out, a wide grin on his face. "There's a whole package of mochi ice cream with your name on it if you tell us more about Ken's lady friends."

"REALLY?!" Miyuki gasped.

Minako couldn't help but giggle. Her niece and nephew really did have a weakness for sweets. Better for them, she supposed.

"Heyhey, what about me, Uncle Junpei?!" Kaito demanded. "I want mochi ice cream too!"

"Hey, don't bribe my daughter!" Yukari cried out, before smacking his shoulder.

"Poor Ken-kun," Chidori muttered. "I bet he's sneezing like crazy right now."

"No bribing my kids with sweets," Yukari said with a huff, hands on her hips.

"Come on, Yuka-tan, aren't you a liiiiittle curious about it?" Junpei wheedled.

"Oh jeez…" Aki shook his head. "Poor Ken. Maybe it's a good thing that he never found a girlfriend."

Minako just snickered before sharing a conspirator grin with Junpei. "That just means we have to make up with it when he does get one."

"Mina, you shouldn't torture Ken."

"Maybe we can get Fuuka to feel things out when she visits next week," Junpei snickered.

There was their bet to think about too… Ken was graduating in less than six months too.

…Holy crap, Ken was only six months away from graduating. God, she felt old.

Chidori sighed. "Junpei, don't bug Ken-kun about this kind of thing. If it'll happen, it will."

"But-"

Chidori just raised an eyebrow, giving Junpei a disappointed look.

Junpei huffed, crossing his arms over his chest in a pout. "Fiiiiine."

"You're so whipped, Junpei," Minako teased.

"We've known that since high school," Yukari quipped.

"What's whipped mean?" Kaito tilted his head, looking rather mystified.

"It means Uncle Junpei will do whatever Auntie Chidori wants him to," Minako said, before throwing an innocent smile Junpei's way. "Right, Junpei?"

"HEY!"

"That's silly, Aunt Mina!" Miyuki piped up.

"Thank you, Miyu-tan-"

"All guys are like that!" she finished, all while smiling sunnily.

Would Junpei be mad if she snapped a picture right now? The look on his face was just priceless.

"Wha—" Aki stared, dumbfounded at Miyuki. "No, they aren't! I'm not!"

"But you do whatever Auntie Mina wants you to!" Kaito protested. "And it's the same with Uncle Shinji and Auntie Fuuka. Only Uncle Ken isn't like that and he doesn't have someone he like-likes."

"That's—" Aki glared at Minako, Yukari, and Chidori, who were all beginning to chuckle. "Stop laughing! It's not true! It's not!"

Minako patted her husband's arm. "Aww, it's okay, Aki, I still love you."

"Gross," the twins chorused, identical looks of disgust on their faces.

This just made everyone break into laughter. The twins would definitely bring some liveliness in the house…

It… honestly would be a welcome distraction from all of the Phantom Thief business… and how she couldn't do anything to look into the Velvet Room…


Saturday, October 1st, 2016


Ren knew that time was ticking away. There were ten days before the deadline, to be exact. But in all honesty, they weren't ready to go back… He felt that he would have to upgrade their weapons again, before they faced off with Okumura…

He looked over at Anne, who was texting on her phone.

"Hey, Ren?" she asked, leaning in close. "Are we going to visit Okumura's Palace today?"

Ren shook his head. "Sorry, Anne. Iwai promised me the goods if I helped him out a couple more nights. But soon, okay?"

"Okay." Anne frowned. "I guess that works out… I got asked if I was free today by my agency."

Ren smiled at her. "That's great! You're getting more gigs, huh?"

Anne just nodded, a smile lighting up her face. "Yeah! It's all thanks to you, Ren."

Ren shook his head. "Come on, give yourself some more credit, Anne. I just gave you a push to the right direction."

Anne giggled, before standing up and walking up to him. She cupped his cheek with one hand, leaning in to kiss his other. "You're still my light, Ren. You make me want to be better."

Ren just smiled up at her. "Love you too. Knock 'em, dead, Panther."

Anne blew him a quick kiss before she headed out of the classroom. Ren ignored the whispers and stares as he packed up and left the classroom as well. Let them talk. He had other things to concern himself with.

He began to run things in his mind as he descended the flight of stairs leading to the first floor. Maybe he should check with Futaba, to see if she wanted to continue with her promise list? Or maybe practice with Shinya? Or-

"—study with me today?"

He looked at the voice, stopping in his tracks. Makoto and Ken were standing right outside their classroom, but Ken looked like he desperately wanted to bolt with how he shifted weight between his feet.

…Damn, he had hoped that roping—okay, kinda forcing—Ken into helping him and Makoto show Futaba around Shujin would… diffuse the awkwardness between them. Ken honestly seemed like he didn't know what to feel.

…Should've known he would kinda suck with girls.

Ken just tugged at the cuff of his blazer. Man, it was kinda weird seeing Ken in the winter uniform. Especially since the orange sweater vest he wore over his turtleneck made him look more like a dressed down version of Ace. "Fuuka-san's visiting for the next few days. I really shouldn't stay that long today, Makoto." He forced a smile. "Maybe another time."

"Okay." Makoto's face fell. "Say hi to Fuuka-san for me then."

"Jeez… nothing like drama, I guess," Morgana grumbled, poking his head out of Ren's bag.

"Shhh, Morgana," Ren quickly shushed him. "Don't want them to know that we're listening."

He watched Makoto turn away, a sad smile on her face. Dammit, he had to catch up to Ken. Snap him out of this somehow. He swore that he really needed to be paid for this.

He ran after Ken, ignoring Morgana's yelps. Okay, it was a little rough on Morgana—Ren would have buy something nice for him to make it up to Morgana—but he had to be fast. Ken was fast even when he was walking.

"Ken! Ken, wait up!" he called out to his friend.

Ken stopped in his tracks, turning around to face Ren. "Ren? What's wrong?"

"I was just…" Uh, crap, what was he supposed to say?

I was kinda eavesdropping on you and Makoto, and you need to get over the fact that you may have the hots for her. Yeah, no. Ken would get all defensive and huffy on him. Maybe even pouty. He might be able to figure out a way to ease into the conversation but…

"I just… wanted to hang out today!" he said quickly. "It's been a while, since it's been just us, you know?"

"…Okay." Ken just sighed, rubbing his face. "What do you want to do?"

Wow, okay, Ken was out of it. He didn't even question it. He would have to seriously talk to Ken about this. Like, why was Ken ever reacting like this? Didn't Ken have a crush before? On Minako-san?

"How about Akihibara?" Ren suggested, before smothering the grin threatening to break across his face. "We could look for Neo Feathermen figurines-"

Ken just responded by pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm really regretting letting you find out about that," he muttered.

Ren just smirked at him. "It would've come out, one way or another."

Though he had to admit, it was too fun to tease Ken. It was just funny to see him getting all embarrassed and flustered, especially since it was over Feathermen.

Ken huffed. "Let's just go then."


Ren was still surprised that Ken enjoyed reading manga and playing video games. Like, he knew that Ken wasn't quite what you'd guess him to be at first glance but still. He could be so serious sometimes.

Despite how Ken had been far from amused by his suggestion, they did end up going into a hybrid video game/figurine shop. They had mostly figurines from anime or video games, but they had some from TV shows. Funnily enough, one of them was of Yukari-san.

"Is it ever weird to see her on TV?" Ren couldn't help but ask.

Ken made a face. "It's weirder to hear people talk about her because they think she's attractive."

…Yeah, okay, that was fair.

Hmm… maybe he could shop around for some video games for his 3DS. His retro console was fun and all, but he picked up his 3DS again because Anne was especially into portables. It was fun battling her in Pokémon, even though she constantly kicked his ass.

"What are you looking for?" Ken asked.

"Nothing in particular." Ren shrugged, as he looked over the shelves. "But it'd be nice to play another game. The games I have right now are getting a bit stale."

"That's understandable," Ken said. "What games do you like?"

"JRPGs are pretty fun," Ren answered. "I like Fire Emblem, too."

But then something caught his eye. He picked up the case, which read Spirit of Justice. Oh damn, he forgot about the new Ace Attorney game.

He turned to Ken with a grin, holding the case out to him. "Maybe you should play this. You do want to be a defense attorney, after all."

Ken rolled his eyes at him. "Haha, very funny," he said dryly, looking rather unamused. "You're not the first to make that joke, you know."

"I'm not?" Ren snapped his fingers. "Darn."

Ken just snorted in response. "Junpei-san thought it'd be funny to show me the original trilogy shortly after I started to become interested in law."

Ren slipped the game back on the shelf. "What did make you interested in law, anyways? I mean, it's a pretty typical career for student council, but…"

"Well, I suppose I got inspired after hearing Akihiko-san talk about how skewed the law is towards the prosecution." Ken rubbed the back of his neck. "And well…"

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

"Well…" Ken said slowly. "It's just… it's pretty impressive too. Becoming a lawyer."

Ken then winced, as if he knew that it was a lame excuse.

Ren folded his arms over his chest. "I don't believe that," he said flatly. "You've never cared about reputation. You didn't give a crap when people were staring and whispering about us talking."

Ken winced again. "It's… It's complicated," he muttered out.

"Then clarify." Ren quirked an eyebrow at him.

Ken let out a frustrated sigh, running his hand through his sigh. "…You're really stubborn, you know that, right…?"

"It just means that I don't give up," Ren quipped. "Come on, out with it."

"Fiiine…" Ken grumbled out. The hint of the pout in his voice made Ren snicker. "Can we step out with this?"

Since they had been just browsing, they stepped out of the shop and found a bench to sit at. Ken was quiet for a moment, his brows furrowed together as he stared down at the ground.

"…What did you think of Shinjiro-san when you first met him?" he finally said, lifting his head.

Ren frowned, scratching the back of his head as he racked his brain. "Uh… he's kinda grumpy? And then it was… unexpected of him to suddenly cook for us."

In hindsight, maybe that was why Ken didn't care about Ren's reputation to begin with. Ken just talked to him like a normal person.

Ken smiled half-heartedly. "Better than most people's first impression of him. Better than mine."

"You can't be hard on yourself for that…" Ren said quietly. "Your circumstances are different. But… why are you even asking me about this?"

Ken fidgeted for a moment. "Well… People always assumed that Shinjiro-san was a violent delinquent… Some of my classmates had older siblings who had attended Gekkoukan High, when Shinjiro-san had been shot. Nobody had known the truth… so people assumed that he got shot by a gangster. When he had taken custody of me… people just… wondered why."

"But how would people know?" Ren asked.

"After everyone graduated from Gekkoukan, we removed all of the SEES equipment and Mitsuru-san left it open to other students," Ken explained. "She allowed me to stay there and I got to know my dormmates over the past couple years, before Shinjiro-san took me in. Though I guess part of it was my fault… I was kinda vague about why I was suddenly moving out, and they met Shinjiro-san and jumped to conclusions that he wasn't… a nice guy. It doesn't help that Shinjiro-san literally doesn't care about people's opinions."

Huh.

"But… what's bugging you then?"

Ken shrugged. "I guess… it just got to me, especially in high school. The classic literature teacher at Gekkoukan, Mister Ekoda… he really didn't like Shinjiro-san. Fuuka-san had been in his homeroom, and when she had disappeared in Tartarus, he had covered her disappearance for the 'good' of the school."

Ren made a face. Figures. It seemed like shitty teachers were just a staple of any school.

"He always took on a tone of surprise when he saw me working for student council. He'd make backhanded compliments all the time… like it's nice to see that you're such a hard worker… though I'm not sure where you learned that from."

"He sounds like an ass," Ren said flatly.

"That's an… apt way to put it," Ken said. "He wasn't too happy when Mitsuru-san introduced more scholarship students." Then he shrugged. "And I dunno… it just got to me. Especially since Shinjiro-san didn't have to take me in… And I guess that I just wanted to prove people wrong… that Shinjiro-san wasn't bringing me down. I already burden him enough…"

"But that's not a good reason to do that," Ren said. When Ken looked to him, Ren continued. "It sounds like you're just doing it… going along with it. The fact that you seemed to be bouncing between that and being a Shadow Operative kinda proves my point. I know you're graduating in the spring, but you don't have to jump into this. Especially since you decided on this pretty quickly."

Ken shrugged. "It just… doesn't seem too far away. University entrance exams are only a few months away." Then he blinked, pressing a hand to his face. "Oh my god, entrance exams are only a few months away… And I haven't studied all that much…"

Ren laughed. Though… he was a little bit worried about how Ken just brushed aside what he had said about Shinjiro-san and being a 'burden'.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Ren reassured him. "You tied with Makoto for the top score out of the third years during the last exam. But hey… you know that Shinjiro-san cares about you, right? He's not taking care of you out of duty."

Though he had to wonder just who had been taking care of Ken before he had met SEES… Ken never said it, but Ren could guess that Ken's family didn't care about him. Though that was nothing new…

Ken was silent for several moments. "Yeah, I know…" he said quietly. "I… I think I just need to be reminded of that."

Ren just smiled. "Any time, Ken."


RANK UP! Adjustment Confidant has reached Rank 7.

Unison Attack: Two or more party members may step in with a special attack, after Ren knocks down a Shadow.


Sorry for the wait, especially for a filler chapter. The Adjustment Confidant scene was giving me a lot of trouble.

But the next update will be a good one, though. A certain anniversary is coming up, and we'll finally get to wrapping up Okumura's Palace. The Okumura arc will be finished in the chapter after the next.