2/3 - ? - Maruki's Palace - Ren
Joker breathed heavily but coughed as he choked on his own blood.
The fusion between Adam Kadmon and Maruki was the strongest being the Phantom Thieves had ever fought, even more so than Yaldabaoth. Adam Kadmon was tough already, but this time their attacks weren't even doing damage. They took on the first Full Force attack, but they couldn't defend enough for the second one.
And so, here they were, bloody and bruised, spread across the building rooftop as Adam Kadmon loomed over them. Skull and Queen took the brunt of the attack with Joker since they were the strongest defensively. Fox's Hyakka Ryouran and Crow's Debilitate helped them absorb the damage. Noir tried using Life Wall, but Adam Kadmon pierced it without taking any damage. Joker ended up behind everyone, allowing him to see the entire battlefield while he rested on a pile of debris.
Right now, the worst has passed. Mona, Panther, and Violet were doing their best healing everyone with Mediarahan and Beads, but they were running out of SP and items. They were literally running on fumes. They couldn't take another attack like that.
'Still, I have to count my lucky stars,' Joker thought as he tried to search for Oracle. Fortunately, she wasn't hurt, evident from her voice.
"Are you alright guys?" Oracle asked. "I'm so close! Just give me another minute!"
Suddenly, light gathered in front Adam Kadmon, forming into Maruki, though Joker could see that a tentacle from behind Maruki's neck still connected him to Adam Kadmon.
'They're still fused,' Joker thought.
Maruki began to float towards Joker and ignored the other Phantom Thieves, allowing them to heal themselves. Crow saw that Maruki was open and tried to shoot him, but a wall of tentacles emerged to protect him.
"Are you just going to ignore the rest of us, Maruki?" Crow asked with a growl between pants. "You think that we'd roll over for you?"
"No, of course not," Maruki answered Crow with a gentle tone, though his voice had some sort of reverb that made him sound like Adam Kadmon. "You still have a fight left in you. You and I both know that you can only take one more before you're done. However," he said, glancing at Joker, "this will be the last time I could ask you to surrender without me forcing you to." Maruki extended his hand. "Please, accept my reality."
Ren chuckled, despite coughing up blood. "No way. We will never accept it."
Maruki, in a surprising show of anger, grit his teeth and his eyes glowed red, just like Adam Kadmon's. "Why are you doing this?!" he yelled as he squatted next to Joker, though his voice was slowly becoming more like Adam Kadmon's. "You're fighting so you can feel pain! Think, Amamiya-kun! You'll live everyday with a possibility of pain! You'll live the rest of your days feeling sadness and despair! Everyone and everything you know can never be forever happy! What will you have after tonight?!"
Ren breathed deeply as he stared at Maruki. There was so much he could say to him, but it stemmed back to two things.
"Growth and our own free will," Joker said with gritted teeth. It hurt to talk back to him, but it had to be done. "We're done running away from our problems."
Maruki's eyes slowly lost its red tint and Joker could only see sadness in it. "I see," he whispered as he slowly nodded. "Then this is the last time we'll have this conversation. You won't even remember this ever happened," he announced as he floated back to Adam Kadmon before disappearing into light. Adam Kadmon began to move, and it slowly lifted its right hand again, preparing for the last Full Force.
A green light surrounded him, and Joker breathed deeply again, though, this time, there was no pain. "Oracle, how are we doing?" he asked out loud.
"Analysis complete!" Oracle answered. "Its weak point is its head, but we have a small window for it! I'll send you what I got!"
Every member of the Phantom Thieves received Oracle's analysis and took a sharp breath.
"That's a tight window," Queen said.
"We'll have to do what we can to make it last longer," Fox said, not despairing over the impossibility of the task.
"I have an idea," Mona suddenly said, taking everyone's attention.
"What is it?" Joker asked. However, Mona ignored him.
"Oracle, send everyone but Joker my plans," Mona commanded. "Joker, get ready!"
Joker looked at Mona with a bewildered face. "Ready for what?!"
Suddenly, Adam Kadmon's growl rang out through the skies and it brought down its fist to the rooftop. "Let us settle this...once and for all!"
"There's no time!" Mona replied and began to sprint the front of the rooftop, where Adam Kadmon was going to slam his fist. "Just get ready!"
Joker could only shield his eyes as Adam Kadmon hit the rest of the Phantom Thieves and a bright light swallowed everything.
However...
Debris wasn't flying throughout the battlefield, not like the last two attacks. Instead, a shield met Adam Kadmon's fist, held together by the Phantom Thieves, their determined eyes pronounced by the mask they wore.
"What?!" Adam Kadmon asked in shock.
"We've come this far - we ain't gonna give up!" Skull answered.
"Yeah! You gotta do way better than this!" Panther added.
"Don't underestimate our tenacity!" Fox yelled.
"It's just another threat. We'll overcome it like we always do!" Queen stated.
"If I run now, I know I'll regret it!" Noir cried out.
"We'll decide for ourselves what we want our lives to be!" Violet shouted.
"I'm a bit occupied, so do your goddamn job!" Crow howled.
"How is it, Oracle?!" Mona asked.
"Shields are down! Go for it!" Oracle screamed.
"Joker!" Mona called out. "Finish this!"
Joker could only smirk and dash to meet the expectations of his friends. He began to run and jump through the floating debris caused by Adam Kadmon's attacks. A big gap appeared in front of him. He jumped and twisted, gaining the momentum necessary to shoot his grappling hook and reach the nearest debris. It latched on perfectly and it began to reel him higher, closer to Adam Kadmon's head.
However, it noticed. "I won't let you!" It began to move its left hand, raising it to Joker's height to grab him.
"Persona!" the other Phantom Thieves command, summoning their Personas.
William rammed his ship at the left hand, carrying both Celestine, Diego, and Ella with him. Celestine began summoning pillars of fire while Diego shot tornadoes to help make them even bigger. Ella began weaving through the flames and dancing all over the arm, using its legs to attack.
Gorokichi created a road of ice towards the left hand, momentarily freezing it in place, before running forward. Agnes used the ice to reach Adam Kadmon and began firing nuclear energy at its hand. Lucy and Hereward shot with their cannons and arrows, pelting Adam Kadmon from afar.
"Don't worry, Joker!" Oracle's voice rang inside Joker's head while Al Azif dropped bombs from the sky. "We'll cover you!"
Focusing on getting as high as possible, he landed on another piece of debris and then shot his grappling hook to a nearby crane. When he reached the right height, he somersaulted, taking back his grappling hook with him, and landed on the face of Adam Kadmon.
However, it wasn't finished. It roared and tentacles erupted from its face, leaving Joker with no choice but to jump off into the open air.
Joker's hand reached for his mask and yelled, "Persona!" He hoped that Arsène would be able to catch him.
However, it wasn't Arsène that answered. Ren landed on a metallic shoulder. A halo of black angelic wings appeared above him. Only one Persona had that.
"Satanael?!" Joker screamed in surprise, but there was no time to hesitate. 'I'll take what I can get!'
"No!" Adam Kadmon screamed out again and a pillar made of tentacles erupted from its face.
Joker pulled up his gun, targeting Adam Kadmon, and Satanael followed suit with his rifle. "Checkmate, Maruki!"
A bullet shot from both Joker and Satanael's weapons and Joker could see that Sinful Shell swallowed his own. His Persona's bullet ripped through the pillar, disappearing before it hit Adam Kadmon's face. His bullet went inside Adam Kadmon, ripping through whatever defenses Maruki had.
Joker couldn't see it, but he knew that his bullet hit Maruki as Adam Kadmon screamed out in pain and began to topple to the ground, slowly disappearing into bright motes of light.
They won. Against all odds, they finally won.
-Take Your Time-
6/15 - Early Morning - Iwatodai Dorm - Ren
Three knocks woke up Ren.
"Ren!" Yukari's voice rang from the other side of his door. "Are you awake yet?"
Ren rubbed his eyes as he looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was 7 a.m. and classes started at 9 a.m.
'A bit of time, but not a lot,' he thought.
"Just about, Yukari," Ren replied. He rose from his bed, put on his glasses, and opened his door. It seemed like Yukari was using her casual outfit in the morning. "Thanks for waking me up, but what's up? I thought that we would make our own breakfast for today."
"Akihiko-senpai made some bacon, rice, and egg," Yukari replied with a shrug. "Something about protein and making too much." Yukari stared at Ren for a moment. "Are you okay? You look kind of pale."
Ren blinked before smiling at her. "Oh, don't worry. Just a bad dream."
"A bad dream on your first day? I'm not superstitious, but that doesn't sound good," Yukari said with a worried face.
"Don't worry about me," Ren reassured her. "A bad dream for a single night won't keep me down. Plus, it ended on a good note."
"A single night?" Yukari asked, but then she shook her head. "Well, alright, if you say so. I'll get going now."
Ren nodded. "Sounds good. I'll be down in a couple of minutes."
He closed the door, turned so that his back was on the door, and leaned back, resting his head on the door with a smile. "Yeah, a nightmarish month with a good ending."
-Take Your Time-
6/15 - Morning - Gekkoukan High School - Ren
"Good morning, class," Toriumi said over the mutterings of her class. "As you can see, we have a transferee starting today. Would you like to introduce yourself?"
Ren nodded. He stood slightly slumped to show a hint of casualness in front of the class next to Toriumi with his hands in his pockets. He didn't change much about his Gekkou High uniform, other than using a turtleneck instead of the usual button-down dress shirt. He couldn't lie, Shujin's uniform did have some effect on him. "Good morning. My name is Amamiya Ren, and I transferred from Tokyo. Let's get along," he said as he showed a small smile, hoping to show that he was a normal guy.
To be honest, Ren was a little unnerved. It wasn't the fact that people were talking about him, he's used to that since his 'delinquent' days back in Shujin. No, what unnerved him was how happy his classmates were.
"He looks normal."
"Thank god for that. The class is already loaded with hotties like Yukari and Kotone. We don't need any more popular people in our class. I'll take whatever normalcy I can get here."
'Same here,' Ren thought. 'Maybe I can get that normal high school life I wanted before Kamoshida doxed me.'
"Actually, I heard he came to school with them two."
'...And there it goes.'
"Wait, seriously?"
Toriumi clapped her hands. "Alright, class, that's enough. Amamiya-kun, why don't you take the seat beside Junpei? It's been open since the beginning of the year." As Ren took his seat, she said, "Alright, I will see you in the afternoon. I believe Ono-sensei starts for you today. I'll be going now, so behave yourselves."
However, even after Toriumi left the room, some students still talked in shushed voices.
"Yeah, some girl from 2-A saw them together."
"Damn, not even a day in, and he's talking to the cutest girls in the grade."
"He looks pretty cute, what do you think?"
"A bit quiet for me. He said he came from Tokyo, right?"
Suddenly, the door opened and a man with a samurai helmet entered the room.
"Alright, class, simmer down," the man said. From Toriumi's words, Ren can only guess this was Ono-sensei.
'Still, a samurai helmet? Isn't that a bit much?'
Ono-sensei placed his teaching materials down on the desk and turned to the chalkboard with a small notebook on hand. "Let's see... Turn your books to page 131. I believe that is where I last left off. Now..."
-Take Your Time-
6/15 - Lunch - Gekkoukan High School - Ren
"But there's one thing you might not know about Murasaki Shikibu… And that's the way in which her achievement is recognized worldwide," Ekoda said. "Can anyone answer this? Hmm, let's see... You're the transfer student, right, uh... Akira, correct? Why don't you answer it?"
"What the hell?" a student muttered. "How are we supposed to answer that if we don't know it?"
"It's through the Global Heritage Pavilion," Ren answered. "And my name is Amamiya, Amamiya Ren."
Ekoda scoffed. "Too easy, eh? At least you've shown some appreciation for your culture. Now then-" he continued to talk but was disrupted by a school bell.
'That should be for lunch,' Ren thought.
"Very well," Ekoda sighed as he started gathering his belongings. "We'll continue this next time," he said before leaving the class.
Ren sighed in relief. It was the most normal morning for him. Students weren't slandering him behind his back and there were no teachers telling the 'delinquent' to behave. It was pure bliss.
'Is this what would I have gotten if Kamoshida didn't dox me? Sure feels nice.'
"Damn man, you got that question?" a male voice behind him asked. "How'd you do that?"
Ren turned around to face the speaker. He had short, brown hair and dark, brown eyes.
"I just read a lot," Ren answered before putting his hand out. "I'm Amamiya Ren. Who're you?"
"A handshake, eh?" the boy asked before shaking Ren's hand. "My name's Tomochika Kenji, though you can just call me Kenji."
"Just call me Ren then. My family name is way too long anyways," Ren said as Kenji barked a laugh.
"Damn, making friends already, Ren?" Junpei piped up beside Ren. "You're crazy fast, you know that?"
"What do you mean, Junpei?" Ren asked. "Aren't we friends already?"
Kenji raised an eyebrow at their interaction. "You two know each other?"
"Yep," Junpei answered. "He's living in the same dorm as me."
"Seriously?" another classmate asked. "No wonder Yukari and Kotone were with you this morning."
"Then, what happened to you, Junpei?" Kenji asked. "You're usually with them two."
Junpei chuckled nervously. "I overslept. I was up all night playing Innocent Sin Online."
"Damn it, Junpei!" a classmate said. "You just missed out walking with the popular girls again! Why do you keep doing that?!"
As Junpei and the classmates bickered, Ren turned to Kotone and Yukari who had arrived while they were talking. "You weren't kidding, you two are seriously popular."
Yukari shrugged in response. "Not like it really matters. There's no beauty pageant nor do we care that much for it. Right, Kotone?"
"Yep!" Kotone agreed. "No one here really bothers us, and the rumors don't really do anything. What about you? I mean, we kind of know what happened in your old school..."
"Oh yeah," Kenji interrupted. "You said you came from Tokyo, right? Why come here at all?"
That got everyone's attention.
"This school's a private school, ya know?" a classmate said. "It's not easy to get in, especially in the middle of the year. What gives?"
At this point, most of the class was staring at Ren, waiting for his answer.
Ren cleared his throat as he sat on the corner of his desk. "Well, if everyone insists, then I'll start at the beginning. I was enrolled in Shujin Academy of Tokyo."
"Isn't that school new?" a student interrupted. "It's supposed to be state-of-the-art. I even heard the government throwing tons of money on it."
"So, what does that mean? That we've got some genius moving in?"
"I wouldn't say genius," Ren clarified. "I'd say hard-worker instead. I spent a lot of time studying back then."
Kotone giggled. "Sounds like someone's bragging."
"I'm proud of what I did, Kotone, but not that much," Ren responded. "Anyways, I aced all the exams in the first-year. The chairman of Gekkou High heard about it and offered me a scholarship. Basically, he wanted me to perform as well as I did in Shujin Academy under Gekkou High."
A classmate scoffed. "Seriously? You are a genius. Accept it, man."
Ren shook his head. "No way. A genius implies that someone was smart to begin with. It denies all the hard work that I did."
The class was silent for a moment.
"Damn, that's a life lesson if I ever heard one."
"Not going to lie, that was a cool line to drop."
"So what were you before you studied like that? Can I be like that if I work hard?"
"I was just average, sometimes even lower than average. History was my worst subject back then," Ren answered. "And yeah. Sometimes it's a matter of repetition, or maybe even just starting over again and again until you get it right."
"Then what was your motivation?" Kenji asked. "No average guy just wakes up wanting to ace the school." Kenji became quiet as he began mumbling to himself, but then he grinned and looked straight at Ren. "It was a girl, wasn't it? It has to be, right? No guy changes overnight unless it's for a girl!"
Ren stared at Kenji with wide eyes before chuckling. "You could say that. I did have a crush on a girl back then. She was the smartest in her year too."
"Yes!" Kenji shouted as he fist-pumped the air.
"But she wasn't the only reason for it though. The reason is a bit personal, but it was mainly out of spite," Ren said as he looked down and a smile threatened to split his face. "And me acing all those tests felt vindictive."
"Damn, you need to talk about it?" a guy asked.
"Is it weird that I kind of want him to smile at me like that?" a girl asked.
"It's very weird, don't say that again, please? We don't want to go to Edogawa-sensei for a checkup."
"Oh, uh..." Ren fumbled as he propped his glasses up. "No, not really. I used to be bullied back then and acing those tests was my only way of fighting back, let's say."
"Seriously, there's bullying there too?"
"'Too'? You mean there's bullying here too?" Ren asked.
"Oh yeah, you're new here. You wouldn't know," Kenji said. "Well, there was some serious case of bullying recently. The bullies kept disappearing and apparently a ghost of the victim was supposed to be the one doing it," he said before shrugging. "The story is all bull though. Everyone seems to be back and from what people were saying, the bullies split. One of them is cozy with the victim, apparently."
Ren glanced at Junpei, Kotone, and Yukari with a silent message. 'Fuuka?' Junpei's answer was a slight nod.
"I see," Ren said. "I hope that the issue doesn't grow anymore."
"No need to worry about that!" Kenji reassured him. "From what I've heard, everyone's spooked about it, so there has been no bullying recently."
"Kenji's right, I haven't heard anything from the rumors. The bullying just stopped, which was kind of creepy."
Ren sighed. "That's good to hear." Outside, Ren looked relieved. However, inside, Ren was slightly disappointed and angry.
'Looks like bullying was a big problem back then too and no one really did anything about it. This was something we tried to stop as the Phantom Thieves. Without the Metaverse, I can't help them like I did back then. I wonder if I can interact with the Dark Hour like that.'
"Anyways!" Kenji exclaimed, taking Ren out of his thoughts. "Is that your type of girl?"
The class groaned.
"Seriously, Tomochika? Is that what goes through your head all day?"
"Oh, shut up!" Kenji fired back. "A girl like you wouldn't understand!"
"Sorry?" Ren asked, baffled at the sudden change of subjects.
"Are smart girls your type?" Kenji clarified.
"I..." Ren began, but trailed off, now thinking of himself.
'There was that time with Takemi and then Makoto...'
"I guess? I never really thought about it." Ren answered earnestly.
"Seriously, Ren?" Junpei asked with an incredulous face. "What kind of guy doesn't think about girls?"
"H-hey! I do think of girls, I just... I just got busy with other things," Ren said. "Anyways, now that I'm thinking about it, I may like smart girls."
"Well? Spill!" Kenji yelled out. "Tell me who you fell for!"
"You can't stop now, Amamiya!" a student yelled out. "We wanna know too!"
Ren looked around for help. Junpei was no help; his face was the same as Kenji's. Ren looked at Yukari and Kotone, hoping that they would help.
Unfortunately, while they tried to look bored, Ren could see the curiosity in their faces as they slightly fidgeted in place.
'It won't hurt, right?' Ren thought to himself.
"Well, fine." Ren sighed in defeat as the curious cheered. "First, I fell for my local doctor."
"Seriously?" Kenji asked. "You're a fellow comrade!"
Ren stared at Kenji. "What do you mean?"
"You like them older than you, right?" Kenji asked as he lightly elbowed Ren. "Don't worry, I understand you completely."
"Moving on!" Ren began again when he noticed Kotone's judgemental eyes on him. "The girl I ended up falling for next was a second-year. I could have asked her out, but we both had other things to do."
"Why didn't you ask your doctor out?" Kenji asked.
Ren stared at Kenji again. "Kenji, we're underage. It's illegal."
"Only if we get caught!" Kenji fired back, only for the class to groan at him again.
"Damn it, Tomochika!"
"Thank goodness that Ren actually has some common sense in him."
"Kanou-sensei will never end up with you, Tomochika!"
Kenji whipped his body around to face the voice. "Shut up! I'll never stop dreaming!"
"Hey, Ren," Kotone interjected, now that the class was paying attention to Kenji. "Is being smart all that you saw in those two?" she asked meekly.
Ren shook his head. "Not at all. They were smart, yeah, but they both had a really strong will, for the lack of a word," Ren said with Kotone paying close attention. "They faced so many problems, but they never gave up in the end. That's probably what I want most in a partner. Them being smart was just an attribute they shared."
'Takemi, even after years of harassment from Oyamada, she continued to make the medicine for Miwa-chan. Makoto kept on pushing forward, even after Maruki's actualization, never letting someone else do the job for her and instead drove to get her future with her own hands.'
Ren chuckled softly. "Yeah, it was definitely the fact that they never gave up."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Kotone asked.
'Do I want to talk about it?' Ren asked himself. 'There's no harm in saying it. If we are in the same timeline as my original, a little slip like this wouldn't hurt. On the other hand...'
"It doesn't have to be now," Kotone added. "Whenever you want, we can talk."
"Thanks, I don't think I'm ready yet." Ren chuckled deprecatingly.
Kotone softly smiled at him. "You really liked them, didn't you?"
Ren could only nod at her question. "I wasn't lying when I fell for them. Don't mistake me though, I don't regret not asking them. Maybe, when all this business in Port Island is done, I can go try asking one of them."
Kotone hummed as she nodded. "Then what about this?" Ren glanced at her with a questioning look. "Let's make a deal: you help me study and I'll help you when you confess to them."
"You're kidding me. You're wingwomanning me?"
"Yup!" Kotone said. "I'll even get Yukari and Junpei on this, if you want."
Ren stared at Kotone before smiling. "You don't have to do this, you know? I would still help you, even if you asked."
Kotone shrugged. "I mean, it's more fun this way. I would still help you even if you didn't help me study."
Ren shook his head. "Can't believe someone is helping me with my non-existent love life. I'll take it, so let's shake on it," he said as he put out his hand.
"It's a deal!" Kotone grinned as she took his hand and shook it. Suddenly, Kotone froze for a moment then tilted her head in confusion.
'No doubt about it, she just made me one of her Confidants,' Ren thought. 'Still, why is she confused?'
"Uh, Kotone, is everything okay?" Ren asked.
Kotone inhaled sharply as her face shifted into surprise. "I'm fine! No need to worry!"
"She's right," Yukari interjected. "She can be somewhat air-headed at times."
"Hey!" Kotone pouted. "That's just mean. We didn't mean to sideline you!"
Yukari laughed. "It's okay, Kotone. I'm fine with letting you handle the talking. By the way, Ren," Yukari glanced at Ren, "I'm also willing to help too. You're not a bad guy, so if you need to confess, just let us know."
Ren sighed in amusement. "Geez, I can't believe I let people barge into my love life." He turned to Kenji and the rest of the class. They were still arguing with each other. "They're still at it?"
Yukari shrugged. "You get used to it. We told you, right? They may like to gossip, but they aren't afraid to say it to someone's face."
"Case in point," Kotone said, "Kenji's creepy obsession with Kanou-sensei."
"I heard that!" Kenji yelled out to Kotone before talking with the others in the class.
"Hey," Ren whispered to Kotone. "Isn't this bullying? Making fun of someone, even if it is a weird sort of attraction?"
"We don't really bring it up unless Kenji brings it up first," Yukari said. "It's always been like this since last year. Seriously, he doesn't know when to quit. Pretty sure the other guys tried to talk him out of it but gave up. We're still trying to let him down gently, but, at this point, everyone is tired of it."
"And Kanou-sensei isn't filing for sexual harassment?" Ren asked.
"Not at the moment," Yukari answered. "She's only taking it as a joke, but if Kenji gets worse..."
Ren nodded. Kenji is seriously getting close to crossing the line. "Will Kirijo-senpai do something about it?"
Yukari scoffed. "I don't think so. This doesn't seem like to be something she would find worth her time."
"I see..." Ren said.
"I feel really bad for him, but at the same time I'm pissed at him too," Kotone said, though she whispered the second half. Yukari didn't seem to hear it, Ren activated Third Eye and caught parts of the second half, as well as what came after it. "Rio is such a good catch. Kenji is a waste of her crush."
'Geez, why is every woman in my life scary on the inside?' Ren thought.
-Take Your Time-
6/15 - Afternoon - Gekkoukan High School - Kotone
"It's 'and', isn't it?" Kotone answered.
Toriumi nodded. "That's absolutely correct! You'd make a great composition teacher someday, Kotone.
"You wouldn't use 'but' to compare two situations that are identical, and 'probably' isn't a conjunction. So 'and' is the way to go."
The class began whispering about the Kotone. 'I feel a bit more charming for that!' Kotone thought.
"Now then, that's it for today," Toriumi said. "Be sure to review today's lesson. I understand that finals are a month away, but it pays to start soon rather than later." As soon as Toriumi finished speaking, the bell rang to end the day. "Well then, enjoy the rest of your day. Ren, may I speak with you for a moment?"
Ren finished writing down his notes before rising from his chair and walking to the front of the room. Other students began, hurrying to get out to do whatever they pleased for the rest of the day.
From what Kotone could hear and see, it seemed that Ren wasn't in trouble but that Toriumi was just asking if Ren was fitting in and all that.
'What a social butterfly...' Kotone pouted in thought. 'He's already charmed half the class on his first day. Hardworking and smart, but not too proud that it upset other people. I even saw him help people around him answer a question when they looked at him. Even Junpei asked him for help. That's my job!'
Kotone paused for a moment and thought to herself in silence before coming to a horrifying conclusion. 'I am not jealous!'
As she finished thinking that, Ren and Toriumi finished talking. Toriumi left the room and Ren began packing his stuff into his bag.
"Is everything okay?" Junpei asked.
Ren nodded. "Oh, yeah, don't worry. Toriumi-sensei was just asking how everything was, if I was fitting in and all. Seemed like Ikutsuki-san told her about my circumstances from Shujin."
"Then she has nothing to worry about," Yukari scoffed. "You fit right in."
"Can never be too sure though," Kotone said. "Fuuka was bullied because she was smart and didn't have anyone to help. Don't worry though! We got your back."
Ren grinned menacingly. "Don't worry about me, Kotone. I can fight back."
"Oh? Is that so?" a familiar voice asked as Kotone heard the classroom door open.
"Aaah! Akihiko-senpai!"
"What's he doing here?"
"Didn't Junpei mention that Senpai lives in the same dorm as him?"
"Seriously? What kind of all-star lineup is that?"
Akihiko walked in the room and looked at the four students and nodded with his jacket over his right shoulder. "Looks to me you guys are set to go. Come on, I'll give you guys a quick tour of Paulownia Mall. There's something Mitsuru wanted me to show to you. You're in on this too, Kotone, Yukari, Junpei."
"Huh?" Junpei asked. "Didn't you tell us about Kurosawa-san already?"
"I did, but there is something new. Finish up whatever you guys need to do in school, but make it quick, and meet me by the front gates. I'll wait for you there." With his piece said, Akihiko began walking out the door. As he entered the hallway, Kotone could hear him say, "Come on, Fuuka, let's get going. We'll wait for the others at the front gates."
Kotone heard Akihiko's footsteps disappear with another set of footsteps following it, the entire hallway quiet as they stared at the most popular boy and the bullied victim walk together.
Ren chuckled lightly. "That's going to the rumor mill, ain't it?"
"That's for sure," Yukari said as she sighed. "Wonder what's going through Akihiko-senpai's mind with all that."
Kotone shrugged. "Not sure. Akihiko-senpai was really pumped about helping out though. He led the charge back then."
"Still, I wonder what senpai got for us," Junpei wondered. "He said that there was something for us. You guys don't think we have another teammate, right?"
Kotone shook her head. "Haven't heard anything from Mitsuru-senpai or Ikutsuki-san. What about you, Ren? Did you see someone new where you did your testing?"
"Nope," Ren answered as he hefted his bag over his shoulder. Kotone caught him murmuring something about light and fatty tuna.
"Fatty tuna, Ren?" Kotone asked. "You like them?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, sort of." Ren said. "Just knew someone that loved it way too much. I'm surprised you heard me say that."
"Barely," Kotone said. "I only heard fatty tuna and something about light."
"I'm surprised you like something so expensive, Ren," Yukari said.
"I don't even think that the sushi place nearby has that," Junpei added.
Ren shrugged. "It wasn't like I ate it all the time. I only had it maybe once or twice. Anyways, are we ready? Akihiko-senpai is waiting."
The group made their way to the front gates while talking about their day. Kotone had to say no to meeting up with Rio for the volleyball club that day, which hurt Kotone on the inside, but she knew that the volleyball club had made up with Rio, or at least had begun to.
Once the group reached the front gates, Kotone sighed in the predictable scenario in front of her: Fuuka clinging to Akihiko while hiding behind him, Akihiko sending a glare to the usual group of girls, and the girls that glared back at Fuuka for being so close to Akihiko. It would have a funny scene if Fuuka wasn't the target.
"Alright, back it up!" Kotone yelled. "You're scaring Fuuka!"
The girls stopped looking at Fuuka, only to glare at Kotone. "Stay out of this. You've got nothing to do with this."
"Oh, believe me, I do. Fuuka is my friend, and you don't get to scare her just because she's hanging out with Akihiko-senpai," Kotone retorted.
"Fuck off, bitch. Just because you're popular doesn't mean shit to us. The little squirt doesn't have the right to stand next to Akihiko-senpai!"
"Oh?" a voice rumbled behind Kotone. The girls looked at the speaker and flinched. Kotone followed and froze as she saw Ren's glare. His glasses were gone, and his face showed a horrifying glare. His unruly hair only helped to put a shadow over his face, making the glare even worse. "And you have the right to do so? Have you even asked Akihiko-senpai what he thought about it?"
"He's right, you know," Akihiko interjected. "Fuuka can stay with me as long as she wants. I tolerated you girls before because there was no harm in it. But you crossed the line. Leave."
The girls cried out in surprise. "W-what? Akihiko-sen-"
"He made his decision, right?" Kotone said. "Move it."
The girls began to sputter in indignation. One by one, the group began to leave, though it seemed like they weren't done with Fuuka yet.
'I'll have to keep a close eye on Fuuka.' Kotone thought sourly. 'This might have just made her a bigger target.'
Akihiko sighed deeply. "Thanks for that, you two. I didn't really know what to do about them."
"You couldn't just ask them to stop?" Ren asked. "Seemed to me they would have listened."
Akihiko barked a laugh. "I did and it did the opposite, leading to this."
Kotone hurried to Fuuka's side. "Are you okay, Fuuka? Remember to breathe."
Fuuka nodded as she breathed deeply and slowly exhaled. "I'm fine. They didn't hurt me or anything. Akihiko-senpai kept himself between them and me."
"Sorry about that, Fuuka," Akihiko said. "I don't do well in situations like that."
"Trouble in paradise, Akihiko-senpai?" Junpei asked, finally finding the time to ask.
Yukari scoffed. "Just because your paradise is a harem of girls, Junpei, doesn't mean that Akihiko-senpai's paradise will be the same," Yukari said. "Are you okay, Fuuka?" Fuuka nodded. "Maybe you really shouldn't be doing this. Being with us could just make you a target for others."
"No," Fuuka denied as she shook her head. "I decided I would join and I'm going to follow through with it." Yukari squirmed at Fuuka's response.
"It's her decision, Yukari, so don't take it from her," Ren interjected as he put back his glasses on his face. "Besides, she's already a target. It would only get worse if we left her be. The best thing to do would be to be with her whenever possible."
Yukari's face soured. "That's true..."
"By the way, Akihiko-senpai, weren't we going to Paulownia Mall?" Junpei asked.
Akihiko nodded. "That's right," he turned to Fuuka. "Are you alright now? Do you think you can start walking on your own?" Fuuka nodded. "Sounds good, let's get going."
On the way to Paulownia Mall, Kotone realized something.
"Hey, Ren, wait."
"What is it, Kotone?" Ren asked.
"What was that thing with the glasses?" Kotone asked. "When you took it off, you had this really bad glare and you ended up spooking the girls back then."
"Is that what happened?" Yukari asked. "Junpei and I couldn't see from behind him."
"Yeah, it was!" Kotone affirmed. "He took his glasses off and it looked like he was going to kill someone just by looking at them."
"Those glasses..." Akihiko began. "They're fake, aren't they? They aren't graded, but are actually just clear plastic, right?"
Ren nodded as he took off his glasses and passed it to Akihiko. "You're right. I've had them as a kid but didn't really use them until last year."
"But why use it at all? Don't they bother you?" Fuuka asked.
"I know that they can be used for fashion, just to complete a look," Yukari said. "Some outfits just need a pair of glasses to look good."
"You tried some, Yukari?" Kotone asked Yukari, to which she nodded.
"A bit before. I didn't really like how they felt though, so I ditched them in the end."
"Wow, Yuka-tan, it's hard to imagine you with them." Junpei said before grinning. "Maybe if you use 'em, you'll get smarter."
Yukari scoffed. "Oh please, you're the one that needs it."
"Still," Kotone interrupted, "that doesn't explain why Ren uses them."
"It's because of my glare," Ren answered, taking back his glasses from Akihiko who finished inspecting them. "I've always had it bad, used to scare others in the orphanage. Someone gave these glasses to me as a kid, but they barely fit back then, so I just kept it as a memento of sorts. Now, I use it to not scare others like what just happened back at the front gate." Ren glanced at Akihiko. "How'd you know?"
Akihiko stayed quiet for a moment before answering. "Personal experience. I knew someone with a glare too, but the glasses didn't really do much for him. Also, the fact that you didn't wear glasses with your outfit back in Tartarus was telling, unless your outfit also enhanced your eyesight?"
Ren scoffed. "My eyesight is a perfect twenty-twenty."
Kotone began thinking to herself. 'So the glasses do nothing but help him look normal? He hides himself even here?' However, before she could even stop herself...
"That's his mask in the real world, isn't it?" she blurted it out in a murmur as she glanced at him.
Ren's eyes were wide as he looked back at Kotone and she realized she said it. But before she could say anything, Ren's face turned into a sad smile and faced forward.
'Oh no, I screwed up!'
Kotone tried to approach Ren. "Hey, Ren, I-"
However, before she could say anything...
"We're here," Akihiko announced. Kotone looked forward and saw that they had already arrived at Paulownia Mall. "We've got two important locations here: the police station and a new store by the Kirijo group."
At Akihiko's words, Kotone saw that Ren slightly froze before walking forward with Akihiko.
'What was that about?'
"Over here is the police station," Akihiko said as he entered the station. "We've got a seller here by the name of Kurosawa."
"That's me," a familiar, gruff voice sounded from inside the station. "Heard you got two new members, Sanada. That's good," Kurosawa, the insider SEES had in the police force, said. Akihiko began to have small talk about little updates on both sides.
"Ren, you okay?" Junpei asked quietly. "You kinda look like you want to fight something." Kotone glanced at Ren and she could agree with Junpei. Ren was very tense, and while he hid his hands inside his pants pockets, Kotone could see that his hands were repeatedly opening and closing into a fist.
Thankfully, no one seemed to notice outside of her and Junpei. Fuuka was listening intently to Akihiko and Yukari was looking around the Mall, not listening to anything that was said.
"Anyways," Akihiko said, taking back Kotone's attention. "Kurosawa-san, these are Amamiya Ren and Yamagishi Fuuka." Akihiko pointed to Ren and Fuuka. "Kurosawa-san here," Akihiko said as he pointed to Kurosawa, "is our insider. He doesn't know what's going on in the Dark Hour, but he can help outside it. If you're in some trouble, give him a call."
"Nice to meet you all," Kurosawa introduced himself with a nod.
Fuuka bowed and Ren followed a moment after. "Nice to meet you as well. Please take care of us."
"Can I ask you something, Kurosawa-san?" Ren asked. Kotone could still see him tensing up, but considerably less now.
"Go for it."
"Why do this at all?" Ren asked. "You're not obligated to do this. Hell, I'm pretty sure you can pocket some of the weapons and say that you sold it to us."
Kurosawa tilted his head slightly as he stared at Ren. "Because it's the right thing to do," he answered. "I know something is up with this city. Even I can tell that the Apathy Syndrome is not normal. I can't do anything about it though, but you guys can. I'll do whatever it takes to make the city safe."
"And you trust us with those weapons?" Ren asked again.
"If Sanada trusts you, then I can trust you. I've known Sanada since he was a kid and he's always had a heart of gold," Kurosawa answered again.
When Kurosawa finished, Kotone saw that Ren began to visibly relax.
"I see. Sorry about that," Ren said. "I just find it hard to believe that someone from the Force would do this, selling weapons to a bunch of kids."
Kurosawa shrugged. "I get it, I get it. I'm supposed to be protecting the peace, not sending off kids with weapons on their hands. But, like I said, I trust Sanada."
"You said you knew him since he was little, right?" Ren asked to which Kurosawa nodded. "Got any stories since he was a kid?"
"What?!" Akihiko sputtered. "Okay, we're done here, so let's go!"
"Hold on," Yukari said, "you're telling me that Akihiko-senpai, the number one guy in the school, has some secrets?"
Kurosawa nodded. "Of course he does. For one, he can't deal with girls."
"Alright, out!" Akihiko yelled and began pushing the group outside the station. From inside, Kotone could hear Kurosawa barking a laugh.
'So that's where Akihiko gets it,' Kotone thought.
She could tell that the atmosphere had lightened up. Fuuka was daintily smiling at Akihiko, trying to calm him down, while Junpei, Ren, and Yukari were smirking at him.
"And here is the Shinshoudo Antiques," Akihiko said. "Inside is a Kirijo staff employee..."
However, Kotone wasn't listening, stuck in her thoughts now.
'I didn't forget about that bad atmosphere, Ren. Something is up with you and the police. It looked like he was having a panic attack in the middle of the police station. Why? From his records, the police introduced him to a proper parkour group, which he stayed for a very long time. He should be fine with the police. So why did it seem like he was panicking?''
-Take Your Time-
6/15 - Late Night - Iwatodai Dorm - Kotone
Kotone closed the door to her room behind her. She was very close to just laying down on her bed and trying to sleep through the night like that. However, she had other things to do, mainly studying and researching.
Her day wasn't exactly physically exhausting. Sure, she went to Paulownia Mall with everyone; then hung out with Akihiko, starting the Star Social Link; and finally, coming home from the print club in the arcade. However, since she ate her fill with Akihiko at Hagakure Ramen, she was full for the night, eating Ren's curry when she came back.
God, his curry was amazing already, but then he brewed her fresh coffee, and it felt like she was on Cloud Nine. She didn't know how, but the combination worked when it shouldn't. Maybe she can tell her boss at Chagall Cafe about it? Would he be okay with hiring Ren? Ren was nice, so the owner might like him. But Ren already worked for a year, so he could be sick working already.
'It's worth a try,' Kotone thought. The caffeine was starting to kick in, so while her body was somewhat tired, her mind was waking up. 'Thank goodness for the coffee. I should be able to stay awake for the night.'
Kotone changed to comfier clothes and turned on her laptop. Normally, she would study the school material, exams were in a month. She could sacrifice a few days for her personal research.
She thought back to her Social Links. 'Igor said that each link corresponded to a card in the Arcana deck, or at least made it sound like it. Twelve of thirteen of my Social Links matched up with what he said.'
Kotone brought up the site she used to list the 22 Major Arcana and brought out the Notepad app.
'Fool with SEES as a group.
'Magician with Junpei.
'Emperor with Hidetoshi.
'Hierophant with Bunkichi and Mitsuko.
'Lovers with Yukari.
'Chariot with Rio.
'Hermit with Saori.
'Hanged Man with Maiko.'
She paused for a second before continuing.
'Death with Pharos.
'Temperance with Bebe.
'Devil with Tanaka.
'Star with Akihiko.'
As she went through each Social Link, she matched it to the list online. Satisfied, she set them aside.
'Those followed the rules. But this...'
She remembered the Social Link chant she had with Ren.
I am thou... Thou art I...
Thou hast acquired a new vow...
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Fortitude Persona
Thou hast obtained the winds of blessing that shall guide thee from death.
'At least it had Theo's voice. That one is consistent,' she thought as she wrote down Ren's Social Link.
'Fortitude with Ren.'
She checked the list again to make sure, only to not find Fortitude amongst the 22 Major Arcana.
'It doesn't exist. Maybe it's on a different deck? I'm sure there are thousands of tarot decks out there.'
However, even when she looked throughout the net, she couldn't find anything about it. The closest was in the Four Cardinal Virtues, where it had Justice and Temperance, but this was in Catholicism, not the tarot occult.
Still, in a situation like this, Kotone could only count herself lucky. She knew that Edogawa-sensei, for all his weirdness, was part of the occult. He should have an answer for this. There was also that fortune teller in Club Escapade. Maybe she could give a hint, though it was usually too cryptic for Kotone to understand.
She sighed heavily. If his Social Link was the only thing was the worrying part, she could turn in for the night. No, there were other things she had to think about.
'Ren reacted to me saying his glasses were his mask and then there was that panic attack back in the station.
'He looked sad when I said that first part. I wonder if I stepped on a landmine. I'll have to find a way to make it up for him. Maybe I should make him breakfast for a day?
'Still, the bigger issue was the police station. He had a small panic attack there and it seemed like he was ready to deck a guy.'
Kotone remembered Ren's words about being able to handle a bunch of bullies and she grimaced.
'Maybe he really would have decked Kurosawa if Junpei wasn't there. Thank goodness that he was there. Maybe that's why he invited Ren to the arcade, to help wind him down? Junpei can certainly look out for a guy.
'There was that little questioning Ren did too. It seemed harmless, but when Ren was in the middle of a fight or flight response, and he absolutely looked like he would fight, the questions didn't seem harmless.
'It's like Ren doesn't trust the police.'
Kotone's face scrunched up. She read his files and there was nothing indicating a bad event with the police. If anything, Ren should be happy with the police since they introduced him to his local parkour group. So why was Ren so tense back then?
Kotone suddenly yawned. She glanced at the clock and cringed at herself. It was getting late, and the caffeine was wearing off. She was not going to feel good tomorrow morning.
-Take Your Time-
Activities:
6/14 - Morning - Magician Date
6/14 - Night - Coffee
Social Links:
Fool - SEES - 2
Magician - Iori Junpei - 5
Emperor - Student Council - 3
Hierophant - Old Couple - 8
Lovers - Yukari Takeba - 5
Chariot - Volleyball - 7
Hermit - Health Committee - 3
Death - Mysterious Boy - 1
Temperance - Transfer Student - 3
Devil - Businessman - 1
Star - Akihiko Sanada - 1
Fortitude - Ren Amamiya - 1
-Take Your Time-
Author's Note:
Terribly sorry about the delay, but the end of April and beginning of May was a very hectic time for me.
Now, the biggest drop here is Ren's Social Link with Kotone, which is Fortitude. Based on Fortitude from the Catholic Four Cardinal Virtues. It signifies courage and the ability to keep moving forward, even at the face of hardship, intimidation, fear, and uncertainty. Frankly, I think it fits Ren perfectly.
Some people may not like it, as they would rather want Ren to be the World, but this is Kotone's link to him, not Ren himself. Yes, he has grown to The World, but Kotone's connection to him will be about facing others, standing up for herself so that she loses her fake mask of cheerfulness. I've already shown that Ren can see through it back in Ch2 and some here as well.
The nature of the Social Link will be a mix of story-based and regular Social Link if it was in-game, so it doesn't take time unless I say so.
As for Personas, I'm still researching it, looking through Ren's P5R compendium and see what doesn't exist in P3P. I'm looking at the base game Compendiums, so no DLC, free or otherwise. Raoul is an exception and will have some plot relevance since it is Ren's Third Tier Persona. I don't mind taking recommendations for this. My requirements are that it has to exist in P5R/P5S, but not P3P/P3FES and no Phantom Thief/DLC Personas. I'll also do my own research and the final decision is on me. As for skills, it'll be slightly adjusted so that it can be in P3P's battle system (Gun - Pierce, etc.).
As for bonuses, I got them done already. There's sneaking up on Shadows (seriously, getting an advantage can take so long in P3P and P3FES), getting Persona experience if Kotone picks a Persona she already has during Shuffle Time (a P5R thing, I think), a mini Baton Pass, Mindfulness, and a Rank 10 which I won't spoil.
Here is Ren's Arsène's level up set. It's based on PQ1/2, P5R, and P5S. It's pretty set at this point, so I'm not making changes.
Role: Curse + Sleep + Crit
Starting Level - 14
Innate - Eiha
Innate - Dream Needle (ST Pierce + 35% sleep)
Innate - Sukukaja
17 - Rebellion
20 - Maeiha
24 - Lullaby (40% sleep)
27 - Sleep Boost
31 - Eiga
33 - One-Shot Kill (ST Pierce + high crit)
38 - Ailment Boost
41 - Rebel's Vanguard
45 - Maeiga
49 - Curse Boost
53 - Eigaon
57 - Curse Amp
60 - Apt Pupil
64 - Maeigaon
68 - Riot Gun (Area Pierce + very high crit)
Also, that first scene was going to be an omake, but it grew beyond it and became an actual scene. There's a reason for why it was originally an omake; if you know, you know.