Ren Amamiya could confirm: cleaning this attic was easier said than done. As he dusted another cobweb off the shelf filled with miscellaneous things along the wall, he wondered when his guardian had last been in here.
In fact, he wondered if he was supposed to be rooming in here at all. When he first met Sojiro Sakura, he was already closing down Café Leblanc. And when Ren asked him where he would be staying, he could have sworn he heard the older man mention something about not having room in his house before leaving him in the attic.
Sakura-san saying that there might be a bed somewhere here only reinforced that thought.
Regardless, beggars (and students who were wrongfully accused of breaking the law) couldn't be choosers. This was going to be his room until his probation ended, and he was going to be sure to try not to stand out in order to make his probation go as smoothly as possible.
Ren wiped the sweat that was building up on his forehead as he checked his progress. The attic looked a bit clearer now. The desk on the corner was still piled high with god-knows-what, but at least the floor and the walls were free of debris and cobwebs.
There was just one box left that sat at the center of the attic.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps climb the staircase that led to the attic, causing him to turn around. His guardian's head unveiled itself as he ascended the stairs.
Once he got to the top, the older man, who had ditched his workwear and was now wearing a casual cream suit, scanned Ren's work.
"Huh, so that's what all this noise was. So you actually were cleaning. Impressive," Sakura-san whistled impressively, but Ren could hear just a drip of condescension in his praise.
Ren bit back his tongue as he kept his ire contained. "Yeah, but I think this is all the cleaning I'll be able to do tonight. We're going to Shujin Academy early tomorrow, right?"
His guardian raised an eyebrow, as if he were confused about Ren's statement.
"No, we'll be going to Sobu High School. You really think a prestigious academy like that will take you in?" Sojiro frowned, caressing his goatee, before continuing, "But Sobu is also rather prestigious. I wonder why they would accept you…"
Ren furrowed his brow, as he contemplatively stared down. Sobu? Since when was it Sobu? He could have sworn that in his probationary agreements, he would attend Shujin Academy.
Not only that, but he was here in Tokyo. If they were talking about the same Sobu, then he'd have to take quite the journey. It just didn't seem plausible or efficient to be living here and then going to school in another city.
"Well, you probably got it mixed up, since they both start with an S," Sakura-san said, breaking him out of his thoughts. The older man reached behind his back and he pulled out a small black journal, tossing it to the raven-haired teen. "Here, one of the requirements of your probation is that you have to write down your progress. Make sure to stay on top of that. I have to give a report to your probation officer every few months."
Ren managed to catch the small leather-bound book before it hit the ground. It was a little bit larger than his hand, but it didn't seem thick enough to hold a year's worth of progress.
'Not that it matters, since I'll be doing the same thing every day anyways…' he thought, before looking back up at Sojiro. "Thanks. I'll be sure to."
"Sure. Just remember, this is your last chance, if you cause trouble, I won't hesitate to—"
Vrrrrrr! Vrrrrr! Vrrrrr!
The older man sighed, whipping his phone out of his pocket. He checked the screen briefly before answering it, and Ren swore he saw the older man's eyes soften a bit.
"Hello?...Yeah, don't worry. No, I have it right here. Yes, yes, I'll be there soon...okay...bye."
The phone call ended with a click, and he pocketed his phone. "That's my cue. Wake up early tomorrow, we'll be heading out to meet your principal and your homeroom teacher...at Sobu."
"Alright," Ren replied simply, though his cheekier side wanted to come out and ask about the phone call. But he was too distant with the man at the moment to be able to make those types of jokes. He did just get away from a lecture. No sense in inviting another one.
And with that, Sakura-san grunted, as if he were satisfied with this interaction, before turning around and heading down the stairs. The lights that emanated from the downstairs café clicked off, and Ren heard the soft jingling of a bell and a lock clicking into place, indicating that the man finally left.
He sighed in relief.
'That went...okay...?' he thought, as he opened the last box.
At least, that interaction had been a bit better than the others he'd had so far ever since stepping foot into this establishment. The moment he arrived at Leblanc, his guardian had been giving him a rough time, constantly reminding him about his position. He was getting fed up with it, and if he were to be honest, he almost lashed out at the older man.
But he kept his tongue on a leash. The whole ordeal was mentally taxing, and he didn't want to get even more on his guardian's bad side than he already was. If he could just live an honest student's life, then this year would pass by without incident.
He found a pair of faded blue pajamas and changed into them, placing his old clothes onto the couch that sat along the wall.
Afterwards, he turned off the lights and headed for his discovered bed on the far side of the attic. When he climbed into it, he stared up at the ceiling. He could see the faint glow of the moon from the corners of his eyes, illuminating the room through the window.
Today was a long day.
And hopefully now...he can rest.
His eyes closed slowly, his tire finally catching up to him as he entered his well-deserved slumber.
Dreams. They were an interesting thing that contain an abstract meaning, leading to multiple theories on what they actually are. Some say they were premonitions of things that could occur in the future. Others say they were a glimpse into a different reality. A parallel universe. There were many more theories, though it was mostly those two theories that were brought up the most.
Which did he believe? He wasn't sure.
In this particular dream, though, he found himself walking through a bustling plaza on a sunny day, passing by a station entrance that said 'Shibuya Station'.
Ahhh, so he was here again. The same station he took to get to Yongen-Jaya.
Autonomously, he made his way to the center of the plaza. A man shouting garble into a megaphone was stationed to his left, attracting a crowd with his incomprehensible words.
And all of a sudden, time seemed to stop, and he did too, though only to watch the environment halt. It was as if someone pressed pause on the remote. People were frozen midstep. A group of kids playing jump rope to his right were frozen midjump. And the orator to his left was frozen midword.
'What was going on?'
He wanted to dart his head around, but his head only scanned the scene before him slowly, as if he was still trying to process what just happened.
And then he saw it. From across the plaza came a billowing blue fire that seemed to meld into some...humanoid shape. He couldn't help but be entranced by the mystical blue flame, and he watched as a giant pillar of fire burst upwards consuming the civilians around it.
He wanted to shout, to tell them to get out of there, but it was hopeless. He could only watch.
Within the pillar of blue flames, a set of narrow, jagged eyes formed along with an equally devilish smile.
The flames spoke.
"Unfortunately for you, Trickster, the cards have been reshuffled, and the path you were meant to take is no longer the one available to you."
The words rang throughout the plaza, before seeping into his mind.
"Either way...I shall be with you until the end."
And just like that, the flames disappeared and time resumed to move forward. He turned to watch the kids, who were stuck midjump, finally land as the rope swung upwards again before restarting the cycle.
'That was a strange dream…' he thought groggily, as he absentmindedly brushed his teeth. Through half opened eyelids, he stared at himself through the bathroom mirror.
Today, he was going to Soubu High School. And knowing how far Chiba was from Tokyo, he had to get up early, lest he be on the lecturing end of Sojiro already.
Spitting out the minty foam that accumulated in his mouth, he rinsed his mouth with water before spitting that out too. After that, he splashed his face with cold water. It didn't wake him up fully, but it did its job.
After drying his face, he left the bathroom stall of the café and climbed back upstairs, bringing his toiletries with him.
At the top, he checked his phone for the time.
6:58.
He had to be at Sobu by 8:30. He still had time. His guardian was probably going to pick him up at 7:30 or 7:45.
As he tossed his phone onto his bed, he pulled out his box of clothes and...wait.
Did he have to wear his uniform today? He never got his uniform for Sobu. He remembered receiving the uniform for Shujin, but apparently since he wasn't going to Shujin anymore…
He ran his hands through the contents of the box, pushing aside his casual clothes as he searched for the uniform. Maybe he could just wear Shujin's uniform and—
'No way…' he found...or rather he hadn't found what he was looking for. At the bottom of the box, instead of the plaid trousers of Shujin were plain black pants. And instead of the black blazer accessorized with red buttons, he found a simple black jacket with white lining. A green tie was folded neatly on top of the white button up.
"I don't…" he started, as he pulled the replaced uniform out. "I don't remember packing this. Or even receiving this. What's going on?"
Was going to Shujin Academy just a figment of his imagination? Or was he being tricked?
"Ah, you're up," came Sakura-san's voice, which caused Ren to jump slightly. He turned to look back at the man standing by the staircase, wearing the same type of clothes he wore yesterday. "Hurry up and put that on, we're leaving in a bit. I'll only drive you there today. After this, you'll have to get to Sobu by train."
With that, the café owner headed back down the stairs to give him his privacy.
Ren nodded absentmindedly as he changed out of his pajamas and into the uniform. It was strange. Wearing Sobu's uniform felt...wrong. Like he wasn't supposed to be doing this.
He grabbed his box of clothes and returned it to its spot before heading over to his bed to collect his phone. He checked it briefly before heading down the stairs to meet with Sakura-san.
7:05.
Earlier than he expected.
The ride to Sobu was shorter than what he expected. Despite the morning traffic, it only took about fifty minutes to reach the front of the school.
When they got there, Sakura-san parked his car and as Ren got out, he couldn't help but stare at the school. The main building was rather large, scaling at four floors, with a set of large stairs that led up to the entrance.
The more he stared, however, he saw an image of a school three stories high flicker briefly, veiling Sobu's campus. Even a sign in front appeared, saying "Shujin Academy".
"Come on, enough staring. Let's go," his guardian said, breaking Ren out of his thoughts. The older man began to walk ahead, unwilling to wait for him.
Ren opened his mouth to speak, but when he looked back at the building, it returned to the normal Sobu building.
'I must still be tired,' Ren thought, as he began to walk, catching up to Sojiro by the time he reached the top of the stairs.
When they were about to enter, Ren felt a hand grip his shoulder and he turned to look at the older man who glared at him with an intimidating look.
"Do me a favor and be on your best behavior. Don't get me wrong, I don't care what happens to you, but I don't want you causing me trouble," he said, before continuing inside, not waiting for Ren's response.
Ren sighed, but said nothing else. In the end, he couldn't escape another tongue lashing from Sakura-san.
He followed the older man inside and they traversed the halls, before finally coming to a stop at a door. A small placard on top read "Reception Room."
"Remember what I said," Sakura-san warned, eyeing Ren from the side before sliding the door open and stepping in.
"Yeah," he replied quietly, before following him in.
The reception room was small, with placards and achievements decorating the walls, no doubt meant to impress whomever entered. Even Sojiro couldn't help but stare in awe at the vast amount of achievements on the wall.
There was one such achievement that seemed to receive the most attention out of all of them. In a glass case, was a picture of a man, holding a tennis racquet and a medal.
Ren blinked and the tennis racquet was replaced by volleyball briefly. Blinking again, and he found that the tennis racquet returned in his hands. He shook his head slightly before reading the placard underneath it.
'Suguru Kamoshida, 20XX'
At the center was a small table, with two leather couches located on the front, which faced the far end of the room and the back, which faced the entrance.
On the back couch, sat a large bald man wearing a beige suit. His eyes and mouth were small and beady, like a gopher. Standing to his right was, in contrast, an attractive woman wearing a lab coat. Her long black hair almost reached the hem of her coat. And they greeted the two with a smile.
"Hello, hello! You're early!" The large man spoke cheerfully, outstretching his arms, "Welcome to Sobu High School. Please, take a seat!"
He gestured to the open couch in front of them and the two sat down.
"You must be Sakura-san. And this is…?" The large man dropped his arms, before setting his beady eyes on Ren. He felt a slight chill crawl through his spine.
"Ren Amamiya," he replied politely. A small niggling thought crept into the back of his mind.
'He's not supposed to be here,' it said, but he paid no heed to the thought.
"Amamiya-san. You must be the probationary student we'll be taking in," his cheerful voice was replaced by a stern voice, and he took out a stack of papers and a pen. "I'm Principal Kobayakawa. To my right is Shizuka Hiratsuka, your homeroom teacher."
Hiratsuka gave the pair a short wave before crossing her arms. Ren merely nodded back, while Sakuea-san…well…
"Why, hello there," he greeted back smoothly, "a pleasure to meet you."
Ren should've known he was going to pull a move like this. With comments like, "I never let guys sit in the passenger seat" or "I never give guys my phone number", it was like he was trying to be cool. And to be honest, it was kind of funny.
He noticed the corners of Hiratsuka's mouth twitch upward before settling back into a straight line.
"Ahem, Sakura-san," Principal Kobayakawa started, "I believe you have these papers to sign." He gestured to the stack of papers on the table and Sakura-san's cheeks reddened slightly.
Ren snapped his head away from the adults, trying to stifle his amusement.
"Anything funny, Amamiya-san?" Principal Kobayakawa asked menacingly.
Ren wiped the trace of amusement that managed to escape onto his face and shook his head in response.
He continued, "To reiterate, you will be expelled immediately if you cause trouble. In my opinion, you're nothing but a liability, but we had our circumstances to consider. Whatever you might have gotten away with back in your hometown, those days are over. If you get expelled. there will be nowhere for you to go. Keep that in mind."
Ren wanted to sigh in frustration, but kept it in. Another reminder of his circumstance. This was going to be held over him, wasn't it?
"I know," he replied calmly, but a trace of frustration left his voice.
He caught Hiratsuka furrow her brows slightly before they returned to a neutral position, and she began speaking. "Once again, I am Shizuka Hiratsuka, your homeroom teacher. Here's your student ID."
From her pockets, she procured a small plastic card with Ren's face on the corner and she held it out to him.
Ren stretched out his arm to take the ID, and he looked up at her. "Thank..."
When he did, he came face to face not with a woman with long black hair, but with a woman who had shoulder length curly hair and brown eyes. When he blinked, he was staring back into Hiratsuka's purple eyes.
"...you…" Ren finished, and he immediately looked downwards, trying to comprehend what just happened and who it was he just saw. He just hoped nobody else took it a different way.
"Make sure you read the school rules. Violations will send you to the guidance office. And since I'm a guidance counselor too, that means you'll be sent over to me. Come to the faculty office tomorrow before school. I'll show you our classroom," Hiratsuka said, seemingly unbothered by the lost-in-the-clouds moment Ren had. She turned to look to Kobayakawa with a menacing glare that was even more terrifying than the principal's, "And you are going to uphold your promise right?"
"O-Of course, Hiratsuka-sensei. You can have him first before the school does. But remember, he is responsible for his actions. After meeting with you, trouble that he causes will not be tolerated," the large man relented easily.
'A promise?' Ren wondered, gazing up at the two adults before dismissing his curiosity.
No. He was going to make this as easy for himself, Sobu, and Sakura-san. He wasn't going to need a promise or whatever it was that his new teacher had planned.
"There'll be no need for that, Hiratsuka-sensei," Ren found himself saying, earning everyone's attention. Hiratsuka stared at him with raised eyebrows. "I won't be causing trouble anyways. I'll be living an honest student's life while I'm here."
"Ha! We'll see about that...boy," Principal Kobayakawa said with a smirk.
Ren grit his teeth inwardly, but otherwise remained calm at the man's hostile advances. His principal wasn't going to make this year easy for him, it seemed.
"Is that all?" Sakura-san cut in, sliding the signed papers back to the larger man, "Do you mind if we leave? I have a store to get back to."
"Y-yes. We'll be seeing you here tomorrow, yes Amamiya-san? Early. Without incident," Principal Kobayakawa replied, as Ren and and his guardian rose from the couch.
"Yes," Ren replied, before the two began to walk out. As they were about to exit, they heard a voice. It seemed the principal had a few final words.
"Sakura-san? Please keep an eye on him. We don't want any trouble outside."
Sakura-san sighed, as if Ren's very presence was burdensome to him. Which, Ren figured, it probably was.
"Will do."
And with that, the two exited the room.
The ride back to Yongen-Jaya was silent. Ren could usually make do with silence, but the cold shoulder he was getting from many adults, including the man that was currently driving the car, was taking a toll on him.
"Everyone's giving you the cold shoulder. That's what happens to people with criminal records."
He found himself thinking back to that fateful night more recently. If he'd known his life was going to be like this, then would he have…?
No. He would have done the same thing again and again. He wasn't going to let an injustice like that occur in front of him.
He felt a bit better after his mental reaffirmation, and trying to prevent himself from overthinking anymore, he pulled out his phone to pass the time.
He scrolled through his phone to determine which app to use to pass the time. Maybe he should join in the hype with his peers and join Instagram?
'No way, who'd follow a criminal like me?'
Then maybe...the thumb that was being used to scroll through his phone halted, as it hovered over a red icon with an eye.
'I don't remember downloading this…,' Ren thought. Though maybe he had. He wasn't sure. His mind has been playing tricks on him lately. First with Shujin, then the uniform...et cetera, et cetera.
On the other hand, this might be less of a mind trick. It might've been some bloatware that the phone automatically installed. He held down on the icon, prompting the phone to allow him to edit his homescreen, and he dragged the offending app to the trash can.
'Are you sure you want to delete this?'
He pressed yes, and the app disappeared.
"Ughhhhh….," he heard Sakura-san groan from beside him, causing Ren to look upwards. The streets were clogged with cars. "Traffic isn't moving at all!"
The older man tapped the steering wheel impatiently, urging for traffic to move. "We've been stuck here for fifteen minutes. You're taking the train starting tomorrow. No way in hell am I gonna trouble myself with this again."
The stoplight at the end of the block turned green, yet traffic still had yet to move. Ren heard various honking, but to no avail.
"Sure," Ren replied. He felt sort of sorry for the older man. He was mean, but Ren had been giving him trouble, intentional or not.
After that, another period of silence. The car in front finally began to move, if only a little scoot upwards, and Sojiro scooted up as well.
"So…," Sakura-san started awkwardly, still focusing on the road, "How do you like it? The school, I mean. Think you can manage?"
Ren's eyebrows raised slightly. That's surprising. Normal conversation for once.
"We'll see," Ren replied neutrally.
"Do you understand the situation you're in? One mistake and that's it." he shook his head in disapproval, "What a troublesome kid I've taken in."
Ren, once again, found himself frowning. This begged the question. One he felt he needed an answer to. It wasn't fair that he was being treated like this.
"...Why did you take me in then?"
"I...I was asked to do it. And I just...happened to agree to it. Besides, I already got paid for it," Sojiro said with a tone of finality. It seemed that was all he was going to get from that question.
So his parents had already negotiated with this man? And they didn't even bother to tell him? He sighed. Of course, they probably didn't want to move all the way out here for his mistake anyways. No sense in dwelling on it.
In the end, he should be a bit more grateful that he was being taken in at all. No doubt, it would have been troublesome for his parents.
The two returned to silence, as traffic finally released its hold. The cars finally began to flow down the streets with ease.
Ren heard a blip, followed by the voice of a staticy newscaster.
"—And now, back to today's top stories, another subway train derailed, causing an inflow of traffic—"
Another blip and the radio turned off.
"Well that explained a lot," Sakura-san said as he mindlessly took a turn. "There's been a lot of those accidents lately. Matter of fact, there was a real sad one last month. Happened before you came here. Kid at Sobu got hit by a speeding car. Hundred on a forty. He was young too, about your age. His parents have gotta be just…"
Ren heard the shift in his traffic companion's voice. He sympathized with him. It seemed no matter where he turned, there were always injustices. The woman he saved that night...he wasn't sure if she got lucky or not, but others...some of them had no chances.
It was evening by the time they got back. With a push, the door to the café opened, accompanied with a small jingle as they walked in.
"To think...it'd taken us all day to get back. Can you believe that? Once you think the traffic gets going again, it stops just like that," Sakura-san complained, removing his fedora.
Ren turned around to face the older man, and he subconsciously brought his hands up to play with one of the curls of his hair. A small tick he'd developed when he was nervous or idle. "I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you."
Despite his apology, his guardian only seemed to look at him with scrutiny.
"...Whatever. You have the rest of the night to yourself, so do whatever you want. Except for messing up the store. And if I notice even a single coffee bean missing, I swear I'll—"
Ring riing.
The older man sighed, cooling his frustration before answering the phone.
"Hello?...Yeah...I'll be heading off...alright, I'll be there soon."
Click.
"I'm heading off now. Remember what I said."
With that, the older man left, the jingle of the bell by the door ringing once again.
"First day of school tomorrow huh...," Ren said to the empty café, before heading up the stairs and changing into new sleepwear.
When he got into bed, he hovered his phone above his face and checked the time.
10:05.
He should sleep now. School tomorrow, and with that subway train derailed, he suspected that the trains would be running late.
Despite that fact, he couldn't help but scroll through his phone before sleeping. It was a routine that developed long long ago. Hopefully there wouldn't be anything distracting this time around. The last time that happened, he ended up staying up until three in the morning. Internet rabbit holes were a curious thing…
After scrolling through his recent emails, he closed the app and back to his phone's home screen.
'Huh…?'
That...that app was back. That creepy red icon with the eye stared back at him.
'I thought I deleted that…' he thought, repeating the procedure from earlier today to delete the app.
He sighed upon doing the deed and he allowed his phone to drop onto his chest, resting the arm that held his phone over his eyes.
Hopefully, the first day of school will meet his expectations.
Ren walked down the stairs groggily, fixing his glasses and trying to tame his natural bedhead in the process.
"Ah, you're awake," came a familiar voice that seemed to be a bit more tame than the usual tone that Ren often associated this voice with.
He rubbed his eyes as he came face to face with the owner of the voice. There, behind the counter was Sojiro in his usual work outfit. A pink button-up and a black striped apron. And in front of him was...curry? And milk?
"Come, have a seat and eat before you leave," Sojiro said, gesturing to the food before him.
He must still be half asleep. Was Sakura-san...being nice to him? No...no that can't be it. He must still be dreaming.
"Are you just gonna stand there and waste my good will? I hate wasting food you know," Sakura-san added, as if sensing Ren's disbelief.
After failing to process his altruism, Ren simply nodded and walked to the counter, taking a seat in front of the food.
"Thanks for the food," Ren sighed tiredly, as he absentmindedly picked up his spoon.
"Just make sure to finish it before the customers come in," he heard Sakura-san say before leaving him alone to his breakfast.
Lifting the spoon of curry and rice, he brought it to his mouth and…
He was wide awake.
'Holy shit...this is good,' Ren exclaimed mentally, as he savored the magical burst of flavor that coated his taste buds. Hastily, he took another spoonful of the wonderful dish and before he knew it, the plate was empty.
The sound of the spoon scraping the plate disappointed him.
"Glad you liked it. Now it's time for you to go," Sakura-san said, reappearing in front of him and picking up Ren's dirty dishes.
Ren checked his phone, and upon seeing the time, he had to agree.
7:05.
If he wanted to make it to school, he would have to leave now.
Hoisting his bag over his shoulder, he began to head out the door, but not before hearing Sakura-san call out, "Do me a favor and flip the sign to open!"
Without delay, Ren flipped the sign, but remained at the door.
"Thanks...for feeding me," Ren said, as he headed out. He almost didn't hear his guardian's chuckle and the sentence that came after it.
"Turns out you do have manners after all."
A small smile graced Ren's face as he walked down the alleyway and to the train station.
Cafe Leblanc was now open.
"Now arriving, Chiba."
He finally made it. After a harrowing maze that was Tokyo's train station, as well as a few transfer lines, he finally made it.
People spilled out of the train like a dam that had just broken, one Ren Amamiya included. Heading up the staircase and back to the overworld, he was greeted with...rain? Heavy rain at that.
Shit, he didn't bring an umbrella.
He eyed the nearest building, which had an overhead tarp sticking out. Something to take cover from the rain for a bit, though he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to wait there for.
Lifting his bag over his head, he ran for the building as fast as possible. Once he was underneath the tarp, he lowered his bag and stared off the distance, identifying one of Sobu's towers. It was still a ways away.
He pulled out his phone to check the time.
7:50.
'And how much further do I need to go?'
Sliding the screen to unlock, he came face to face with that...icon again, smack dab in the middle of a preview of his GPS app.
He frowned. This was the third time that—
Suddenly, the app grew in size, taking up nearly the whole screen. Did he accidentally open it? He hoped not. He didn't know what this app was or why it kept on coming back. For all he knew, it might be a virus.
Yep. He decided, his next phone was going to be an iPhone.
Just as he was about to close out of the app, he heard the rapid sound of footsteps that seemed to be approaching him quickly, and he looked up at the source.
It was a girl, with light orange hair tied into a loose side bun and reddish eyes. She was wearing the same jacket that he was. A Sobu student as well, no doubt, though her uniform seemed a bit...unkempt.
"Gaaaahaaaa…" she huffed as she took the spot next to him. She stood back up, recomposing herself after losing her breath. "Mouuu, I forgot an umbrella. I didn't know it was gonna rain…"
Ren lowered his phone and he couldn't help but stare. Without a doubt, he could say that she was really attractive.
As if sensing his eyes on her, she turned to face him.
"Oh! Yahallo," she greeted cheerfully, to which Ren could only raise an eyebrow.
Yahallo? That's a new one, if not a bit silly. Was she trying to start a trend?
"Hello there," he responded, giving a small nod in her direction. And with that, a silence draped over them as they watched the rain continue to pour.
From a side glance, he could see that she was searching for something.
"Where is...ah!"
Just then, a white sedan pulled up to the curb and the window rolled down, revealing a man's face. It was blocky, with an over pronounced chin.
Where had he seen that face before…?
"Good morning!" He called out to the two, though he was most likely talking to the girl beside him. "I'm still offering that ride, Yuigahama-san!"
"Yeah! I'll take it Kamoshida-sensei!" She responded back in kind, before hesitantly shifting her gaze over to Ren. "W-Would you…"
Ahh, now he remembered. His picture was in the glass case in the reception room.
"Hey kid! Do you need a ride too?" Kamoshida-sensei called out to him as well. That was most likely what Yuigahama wanted to ask.
Ren shook his head at the offer. If he was to be taking the train starting today, he would need to remember the path to school.
"Thank you though."
He watched Yuigahama get into the passenger seat, before watching them drive off.
"Hey waaaaait!" came another voice, along with another set of rapid footsteps.
This time, it was a guy with short blonde hair. His uniform was even more so unkept than Yuigahama's, sporting a wrinkled jacket and a loud yellow graphic tee that, no doubt, broke Sobu's uniform guidelines.
"Damn it! Freakin' perv! I was too late...," The boy huffed in frustration.
"Perv…?" Ren parroted without realizing, and the boy's attention quickly shifted over to him.
"Yeah...I said what I said," the boy replied, taking intimidating steps towards Ren. "Planning on ratting me out to Kamoshida?"
Ren remained passive at the boy's advance, focusing instead on his words. Was there some reason for him to be reacting that way? He knew who Kamoshida was, now that Yuigahama confirmed it, but confirming the man's identity seemed to bring trouble. And that would have meant breaking his rule of "living an honest student's life".
So with that in mind…
"Was that the teacher there?" Ren asked innocently, and the boy who took more steps towards him faltered.
"I—uh...yeah? You don't know who Kamoshida is?" The boy asked, with a facial expression that also asked, 'Have you been living under a rock?'
"I'm the transfer student," Ren clarified, earning a surprised look from the vulgar blonde.
"No way...so you're that transfer student?"
Ren raised an eyebrow at his words, but kept his mouth shut. What did he mean by 'that transfer student'?
The blonde haired boy shook his head, "Anyways, that guy in the car just now was Kamoshida. He always acts like he's the king of the castle, getting away with what he wants."
Ren had no response to that, and an awkward silence engulfed the two.
He noticed that the pounding of the rain on the tarp became softer.
"So uh," the boy started "Forgot my manners. I'm Ryuji Sakamoto."
He held out his hand.
Ren looked at Sakamoto's hand before clasping it, completing the handshake.
"Ren Amamiya."
"Well, Ren? Think we should go, the rain's letting up," Sakamoto said, releasing Ren's hand.
But before they walked off, Ren felt a heavy pressure building up in his head like a migraine that caused him to keel over slightly.
Ren clutched his head instinctively and saw that Sakamoto was also keeling over.
"Damn...my head…," Ren heard him mutter before standing up straight and walking off.
'What a coincidence,' Ren thought as he checked his phone for the time.
7:15.
Sliding his phone to unlock, he was led straight to the GPS. The red icon was nowhere to be found.
The GPS showed that the direction that the boy was walking in was the right path to the school, and so he followed him.
They passed through tight spaces and suspicious alleyways, sometimes thinking that he was going to get mugged on the way to school. Why did the GPS take this path?
Before they knew it, they finally reached the front of the school. Or so...it was supposed to be.
Ren and his companion stared up at the giant building.
"What…"
"...the hell…?" Sakamoto finished. "This isn't right, this is where Sobu's supposed to be!"
Ren checked the GPS on his phone. The vulgar blonde haired boy was right. The blue dot on his GPS indicated that they were at Sobu…
So why was it that, instead of Sobu, they were peering up at a castle that should have been seen from miles away?
'Yet another long day of work.'
Shizuka yawned as she watched the classroom fill in with students. Some were still chatting, carrying their morning conversation through the room as they headed to their seats, while others immediately headed to their desks and pulled out their notebooks.
She kept an eye out for a certain bedhead with glasses. She instructed for him to meet at the faculty room, but to no avail. He didn't show. Maybe he just didn't know where the faculty room was. She should have waited there a bit longer. Hopefully, he would manage to find his way to class.
She kept glancing at the clock from time to time.
8:03.
Ren Amamiya has yet to arrive.
Another few minutes passed by and the bell signaling that classes had begun finally rang. He was late. But she wasn't going to hold up class for him.
'Maybe he's lost,' she thought optimistically. It was fine, it happens. When he comes in, she'll just have to introduce him and then catch him up to speed.
"Okay class," she called out, earning everyone's attention, "Today's lesson will be about…"
And she went through the lesson plan for today. Minutes passed by, and so too did the hours. Eventually, the bell rang again, indicating that the lunch break was going to begin.
Ren Amamiya never arrived.
Lunch passed, and soon, it was the end of the day.
As she watched the last student exit the classroom, she sighed. A few minutes late, sure, but he was nowhere to be seen on the first day of class. Inexcusable. She thought he wanted, in his words, "an honest student's life".
Then, she heard it. Fangirl squealing, failed attempts at muttering, and an obnoxious voice greeting everyone. She groaned, slumping into her desk. She knew exactly who that was.
The door to her classroom slid open, followed by the obnoxious voice, "Hey, Hiratsuka."
"Hello...Kamoshida," she greeted unenthusiastically, as she gazed at him leaning against the doorframe.
She hated this man. He stood for everything she was against. His cheerful and upbeat mask was what drew the students in, but deep down, she knew he was a monster. He bullied his boys' tennis team, and condescendingly berated any student that left a...stain on their prestigious school.
She'd even heard the rumors too, about how he abused both the boys' and girls' team, if Sakamoto's 'accident' was anything to go by.
"What's up with that greeting?" he asked, laughing cheerfully. Oh how she wanted to punch that face into a proper shape.
She sighed. "Nothing, it's been a long day, and the new student hasn't shown up yet."
"Oh!" Kamoshida exclaimed, as if remembering something, "Did you hear? We got a call from the police. Turns out he was doing drugs with Sakamoto."
Her eyes widened, quickly standing up from her desk. "Where are they now?"
"Last I saw, they just now got to the entrance. You know, I feel bad that they sicked him onto you. I could whip him into proper shape myself, you know," Kamoshida replied coolly.
"I don't feel bad at all. It's my job as a counselor to watch over these kids, not that you'd understand," she replied harshly. "Now if you'll excuse me."
With a hastened step, she pushed past Kamoshida and exited the room. She heard Kamoshida's words as she passed by him.
"Hey! Maybe I can take—"
"No chance in hell, Kamoshida!" She replied back, shuddering at the unfinished sentence, as she made her way to the entrance.
Kobayakawa's promise to her was going to go down the drain on his first day.
Have you ever had those dreams that mirrored reality with near-perfection? Like, for example, you convince yourself that you were going to call off work the next morning, and you dream that you do, but then you wake up and realize that it was just a dream?
Those dreams were...interesting, to say the least. When a dream ends up bordering reality, then you wake up, and you are thrust back into the real reality, and you're left confused.
That must have been what that was. A dream that bordered reality. Executing itself so well, he couldn't remember when the dream transitioned from near-reality to pure fiction.
It explained a lot, really. Why Sojiro was so...amicable. Why that app kept on coming back, despite deleting it twice.
A groan filled his ears, prompting him to wake up, though not without a sense of urgency. For that groan did not come from him.
Ren's eyes snapped open and he jolted upwards, clutching his head in the process. His body hurts. His head hurts. Everything hurts.
"Duuuude...you good there?" Sakamoto asked, snapping him out of his daze. Ren blinked as the room before him finally processed into his mind.
Before him was not the familiar attic of Leblanc. Instead, it was a dimly lit jail cell, with various shackles and...instruments that hung from the wall. Barrels littered the room making it seem more crowded.
So...this wasn't a dream.
"Nope, it's not, I thought it was too," the boy replied. Ren blinked again. He hadn't realized he'd said that out loud.
Sakamoto's previous question finally caught up to Ren's mind and he responded, "Aside from everything hurting, yeah. You?"
"Yeah, more or less. But...arghhh! What's goin' on?!" Sakamoto asked in frustration, walking off within the cell, though Ren paid no mind. He was busy massaging his aching head.
He heard an aggressive heavy pounding coming from the other end of the cell along with shouting.
"Hey! Let us out already! I know that there's someone there!"
After a few more seconds of pounding, Sakamoto returned.
"Damn it! Where are we?! Is this some kind of movie set?!" He asked. Ren could sense the panic seeping into his voice.
"Doesn't seem like it, but—"
Then they heard it. A painful blood curdling scream that echoed into the room.
"Th-the hell was that just now?"
"Let's go, come on!" Ren replied urgently, and the two ran to the cell bars, hoping to catch a glimpse of the source of the screaming.
Ren strained his ears to keep listening through the atrocious screaming. And he was right to. Beneath the yelling, he heard a spurting, like in the movies where someone gets impaled and accompanied by the sound of blood gushing out of the open wound.
"No...no, no, no…"
Ren's companion must have heard it too, because he released his hold on the bars and took a few steps back. Terror was etched onto his face, and Ren could notice the sound of fast, shallow breathing.
"You're shitting me, there's no way this can be happening right now…"
Ren knew how he felt. In fact, he was sure he was feeling the same way. But if he started panicking too, things would get much worse. He hoped that Sakamoto didn't see through his façade.
"Hey!" He placed his hands on the blonde's shoulders, and shook him lightly, "We gotta stay calm and get out of here. Panicking will only make things worse."
He was surprised by his own level-headedness. Perhaps to the point where even he believed it, though he couldn't stop the slight trembling in his hands.
Fortunately, his companion seemed to buy it, and he took deep breathes to calm his own breathing.
"Yeah, yeah...you're right. Sorry 'bout that…" he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
Ren nodded in acknowledgement before inspecting one of the barrels. Nothing inside. It would be perfect. "The barrels...think we can hide in here?"
"Let's try it."
As he was about to lift the lid off the barrel, he heard multiple footsteps echoing from the outside that got closer to their cell.
"Shit, no time…"
Whether it was he who said it or his companion, he didn't know. What he did know, was that a group of knights, the same ones that cornered them and took them down, appeared.
"Be glad that your time of reckoning has come. The bell of evening tolls thy name," one of the knights said, as they approached the jail cell.
Ren glared into the eyes of the blue mask the knight wore. They were helpless, but that didn't mean they were going to go down without a fight.
Then, a familiar voice joined in. Despite hearing it briefly once, Ren knew who it belonged to.
"No one's allowed to do as they please in my castle."
Kamoshida-sensei, or rather, Kamoshida stood over them, glaring down at them with unnaturally golden eyes and a wretched smile. Instead of any semblance of work attire, he wore a red velvety cloak that draped around his body. The opening of the cloak...well...Ren wanted to bleach his eyes. For in the cloak, all Kamoshida wore was a speedo.
"I thought it was some petty thief, but it turns out, it's just you Sakamoto," Kamoshida said, eyeing the blonde before shifting his gaze to him. "And you...the criminal transfer student."
Ren locked his glare onto the taller man. How did he know?
"What the hell are you playing at, you asshole?" Sakamoto asked aggressively clutching onto the bars.
"Is that how you speak to a king?!" Kamoshida snarled back, obviously upset by the disrespect that Sakamoto just showed. "It's time for your execution! Take them out!"
At Kamoshida's command, the knights charged in, busting the cell door wide open and flinging the two students onto their backs.
"Agh!" They shouted in surprise, as the knights marched in. They focused on Sakamoto, however, as one of them kicked him in the stomach to roll him over, eliciting another yelp of pain.
With their attention currently focused on the blond, Ren shakily stood up and lunged forward, roping his arms around the knight and attempting to halt its advance.
"Don't do it...just go!" Ren heard him yell, but ignored his plea. No way in hell was he about to just...abandon this guy.
Ren locked his arms harder, but it seemed little to deter the knight.
"Just...shut up...Sakamoto…!" Ren replied through gritted teeth, feeling his heels dragging against the stone floor as the knight went in for a kick.
"Pathetic. You can't even save your friend," he heard Kamoshida taunt from the side. Ren glanced over to the man, who seemed to be entertained by the scene before him.
Ren grit his teeth harder. Kamoshida was right, and he could feel his strength waning. His arms began loosening, and before he knew it, he felt a blunt pain coming from his cheek as he fell to the floor.
Ren struggled to get up, but stopped when he felt the sharp pointiness of a sword a hairwidth away from his forehead.
"Ahh there we go, now I can focus on this one," Kamoshida said. Ren watched him grab Sakamoto by the collar of his shirt and lifted him, slamming him onto the walls. What followed next was a flurry of flesh hitting flesh, as Kamoshida pounded and kicked into Sakamoto's torso before spitting on Sakamoto's badly beaten body.
"Piece of shit like you doesn't deserve anymore of my energy. I'll just kill you right now!"
With that, the guards that kept Ren hostage left his proximity, and he saw a knight hand Kamoshida its sword. The guards huddled around Sakamoto, stepping on his limbs to prevent any resistance of escape.
Shakily, Ren tried to get up, but with no avail. Was he so helpless to allow another injustice occur again?
Kamoshida lifted the blade up into the air. The blade gleamed like a taunt, telling him to try to stop what was about to occur.
"No...Stop it!" Ren yelled, as the blade swung down before halting inches away from Sakamoto's neck.
"Well well...looks like this little ant thinks he can stop the boot," Kamoshida said prying his eyes away from Sakamoto and towards Ren.
He hoped that Kamoshida could see the defiance in his eyes. "I think I've decided. Killing you in front of Sakamoto before I killed him would be so much more entertaining than just killing him and then you."
With a snap of his fingers, Ren found himself pinned against the wall harshly, letting out a gasp of pain.
He flailed helplessly, as Kamoshida approached him, lifting the blade upwards. Only seconds left until his demise. But...he wasn't scared. He kept his defiant eyes on the muscular man.
"That look on your eyes are irritating me!" Kamoshida shouted, before swinging the blade downwards. However, midswing, time seemed to slow before it came to a halt.
Everything dimmed like a cutscene displacing all those deemed unimportant, save for himself.
Out of the corners of his eyes, he saw a soft blue glow that was easy to the eyes. Despite it being so close, it wasn't blinding.
The light floated before him, and in its luminescence, he could make out the figure of a butterfly. It remained there, as if it were staring at him.
"Truly...this is an unjust game. The cards have been shuffled, Trickster, and all that was meant to be is no longer so. But if you can hear my voice, then there is still a chance…," came a soft voice.
Was...was that butterfly talking?
"The bonds you were meant to form have changed, but if you wish to play with the new cards you were dealt, then let us fight. Fight...until the end."
With those final words, the butterfly disappeared, but the dimness did not go along with it.
"What's the matter?" Came a new, gruff voice. "Will you allow this game to end before it even begins? Death awaits you both if you do nothing. Was your previous decision a mistake...then?"
Ren grit his teeth, instantaneous flashbacks of that night occurring to him. A woman, harassed by a man. Saving the woman. A bleeding head. Being blamed.
'No...no it wasn't,' he thought confidently.
Then, as if the voice read his mind (which it most likely did), it asked, "Then…?"
"Let me...fight!" Ren shouted in determination into the stilled void.
"Very well...let the battles begin," the voice chuckled before fading out into silence, but still, he hadn't left the time standstill.
Suddenly he felt a throbbing, at first from his head before slowly encompassing his body, and then came an explosive pain that shook him. He gasped in pain as the throbbing continued, and before he knew it, he was thrashing wildly. The rational part of him was wary of the blade that was near his face. The rest of him screamed in pain, wishing for it to cease.
"Vow to me…," the gruff voice from a few seconds ago returned, "I am thou...thou art I. Thou who art willing to perform sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Call upon my name! Release thy rage!"
"Arghhhhhhhhhhhh!" Ren released a built up yell of pain, no longer allowing himself to mute his suffering.
"It hurts, but thou must prove thyself. Show me thine strength and will to continue! Even if thou art chained to Hell itself!"
And just like that...it stopped. The pain subsided. The voice ceased. And time continued.
'Shit!' Ren realized at what point that interlude occurred, and he watched the blade swing closer and closer, as he felt energy swell up inside him.
As the blade was about to make contact, Ren braced himself for the impact, but it didn't come. The energy that he felt within him burst open, and with something akin to an Almighty Push, everyone flew backwards.
He felt a weight on his upper face that wasn't there before, like something was constricting him, and instinctively he brought his hands up to pull it off.
'A mask…?' He thought as he felt the hard plastic against his finger tips.
Get it off. Get it off!
Those words rang deep into him as he tried to pull it, meeting a heavy resistance like it was part of his skin. And it damn near should have been, based on the fact that, when he finally managed to pry it off, it hurt like hell. He let out a scream pain as he gripped the mask in his hands.
The next feeling he felt was a warm liquid rolling down his face. The slight scent that filled his proximity told him exactly what it was. Blood.
But the release of the mask and the feeling of blood dripping down his face...did not panic him. Rather, it left him in a state of serenity, as if whatever chains that shackled him were released. He felt...free.
Blue flames bursted around him before engulfing him, but he felt no heat. No burning sensation. It was a warm and tingly feeling.
He recognized these flames immediately. They were the same flames from that dream.
"Heh…," Ren smirked as the flames died out, and he felt a presence behind him. An uncharacteristically cold and merciless smile graced his face as he stared down at the man who had been taunting him and beating his companion.
"I am the pillager of Twilight! Arsène!" the voice from before spoke, as the presence from behind him shifted to his front, revealing its form to Ren.
Arsène was a humanoid figure with thin and pointy limbs and ravenous black wings, donning a red suit and black top hat.
Arsène glanced back to him, his face permanently etched into a devilish smile with equally devilish eyes, with horns protruding upwards. Truly, it looked like a devil was unleashed.
"Shall we?" Arsène asked, though his mouth did not move. Ren suspected that his 'face' was more like a mask.
"We shall," Ren responded with a merciless tone.
"Hmph. Very well."
"Who the hell are you?!" Kamoshida's voice shouted, as the pair turned their attention to the man who was now up on his feet. "Guards!"
Two guards heeded their king's call as they rose up before melting into a black liquid, instead replaced by...floating pumpkins wearing a cape? In their hands were an ominous glowing lantern.
They were more terrifying as knights, if Ren were to be honest. But regardless, that did not deter him. For he now had the power to end this farce.
"Jack-O-Lanterns. Think you can handle this?" Arsène asked, floating on standby.
"Is that even a question that needs to be asked?" Ren quipped back.
"This power of mine is yours! Kill them however you want! Run wild with your heart's content!" Arsène shouted encouragingly, spreading his wings intimidatingly.
"With pleasure!" Ren replied, pointing a finger at one of the Jack-O-Lanterns. Despite this being his first time, the words that came out of his mouth next came like second nature. "Arsène! Eiha!"
Arsène flapped his wings, and in the area Ren pointed at, a small red and black beam bursted upwards consuming the little creature, as a pained yelp escaped its mouth(?). Once the blackened energy disappeared, nothing remained of the little Jack-O-Lantern.
"Not bad," Arsène said casually. "Why don't you try that thing by your waist this time?"
Following Arsène's suggestion, he felt his waist and found a relatively heavy weight holstered to his hip. His hands grasped what seemed to be a handle and pulled out.
"A knife…? Since when…?"
In his hands was a sleek black dagger. It was simple, in design, with a single sided blade and a small guard connecting the hilt and the blade.
"That is your weapon manifested from your rebellious soul! Let's do some work!" Arsène responded.
With that, Ren leaped forward with a speed that would put even the fastest track star to shame. Midleap, he twirled the blade flashily before landing a slash on the final Jack-O-Lantern.
"N-no…," it whimpered, before disintegrating into nothingness.
Hearing those words, Ren paused and stared at the once occupied spot. Did he just...kill someone? Or something?
"Arsè—," he turned around to ask his companion, but the red suited devil disappeared. Did Arsène just leave? Or…?
"What...the hell was that just now?" He heard Sakamoto ask hesitantly, pulling him out of his thoughts. He turned to look at the blond boy, who looked a lot worse for wear.
"I…," Ren wasn't sure. Even he was still trying to comprehend what just happened. One moment he was about to meet his demise, and then the next he fought back like a protagonist in a video game that just unlocked his true power.
"How dare you!" Kamoshida shouted, a gleaming blade in the air ready to strike.
'Shit!'
It was too late for Ren to react.
"Oh no you don't!" Sakamoto shouted as he shoved the man onto the ground, the blade prattling against the floor as it skidded away.
The two looked at each other with a smirk.
"Let's get out of here...Ryuji."
"Hells yeah!"
—
Ren found himself in the faculty room with Hiratsuka-sensei. The room where he was supposed to meet her before class started. At least half of her instructions were completed.
"So tell me why, Amamiya, we got a call from the police about you doing drugs?" Hiratsuka-sensei asked irately, glaring at Ren.
Wait, hold on.
"Drugs?" Ren asked quizzically, an eyebrow raising past his glasses frame.
She sighed harshly, "I'm not in the mood for games, Amamiya. We got a call. From the police. About you and Sakamoto doing drugs. On top of that..." She waved her hands in the air, emphasizing his face, "What happened to your face?!"
What…? He would never. Never in a million years. Unless…
"Show me what's in the bag. There better not be any drugs," the policeman warned.
Ren couldn't help but sigh as well. "Hiratsuka-sensei, Sakamoto-san and I never did any drugs. We, uh…got jumped. By thugs."
Though she stared back with a deadpan, like she didn't believe him. Why wouldn't she though? He had the bruises on his face to prove it...
"You threw my protection down the drain, you know?! Principal Kobayakawa allowed me one chance to correct you, and you blew it on the first day! It's like you had one phoenix down left, and you just used it!" his teacher exclaimed loudly, earning looks from other other faculty members nearby.
Well, when she put it like that…
"I...Yes, I know. I'm sorry," Ren replied simply, but that only earned him a sigh.
"Amamiya, you know what this probation means right? It's not even your first day and not only did you skip the first half of the day, you also got into a fight! Those bruises on your face aren't helping your case you know?! And, before I go any further, are you okay?"
Ren blinked. So she did buy the story. This was...well, Ren didn't know if it was a good thing or not.
"Yeah, didn't get roughed up too badly," he replied, before smirking. "I made quick work of them, though."
Another irritated sigh. "That's what I mean. I thought you wanted an honest student's life?"
"I—"
But she wasn't done, as she continued speaking, "On top of that, they said you came in with Sakamoto. I…" Her brows furrowed, as if she felt conflicted about what she was going to say next. "I...Ahem. If you want your probation to go as smoothly as possible, I recommend you keep in mind about who you'll be hanging out with."
Ren remained silent. He knew what she was trying to say.
Be careful of Sakamoto.
He saw how he acted and reacted. Though, if it weren't for his brash attitude, he wouldn't have gotten out alive. Even with Arsène.
"I don't like what you're insinuating about Ryuji," Ren replied sharply. No one was going to talk shit about his friends on his watch.
"D-don't get me wrong. I love the kid, I do, but it's just...he hasn't been doing very good lately. He has a high temper. He says stuff without thinking. I'm responsible for him too, you know. Matter of fact, as a guidance counselor, I have quite a few students I gotta keep my eye on."
Ren's eyes softened lightly before returning to its impassive look. "I see..."
Then, he saw it. A sudden look of realization before a mischievous glint in her eyes appeared, like he was the final piece in her grand plan.
"I have an idea. Come with me," Hiratsuka-sensei said, standing from her office chair.
"Uh...sure," Ren replied, and the two exited the faculty room.
As they traversed through the halls, Ren and Hiratsuka-sensei received a vast amount of stares from the students found in the halls. That was easy to ignore, though some students seemed to look as if they were passing around gossip. That made him a bit uneasy, especially when some of the words spoken escaped the confines of a cupped hand and into the open air.
"That's the transfer student? He doesn't look dangerous…"
"Not now, but watch, when he gets mad, he'll probably pull a knife on you."
"I heard he got initiated into the yakuza."
"Oh shit, is he looking this way? I hope he doesn't kill me later…"
"Look at those bruises! I bet someone took a stand against him, but got beaten down."
Ren shut his eyes harshly, though it had little effect on venting his frustrations and even less of an effect blocking the gossip.
"Hey!" He heard his sensei shout, and he snapped his eyes open. "That's enough! Any more words out of anyone and you'll be going straight to the faculty room!"
That seemed to shut them up...for now.
"Sorry, I have no idea how they learned of that, and you just got here…" she murmured, but all Ren could do was sigh. There went any semblance of trying to keep it normal.
"Thanks, though."
The two exited the building and into a smaller building nearby. They traversed the hallways of the building before finally coming to a stop in a room.
"This is our stop," Hiratsuka-sensei said, sliding the door open and walking in.
Ren followed in after her, and saw that the room was relatively empty. Desks and chairs were stacked against the walls, indicating that the classroom didn't have any practical use. Though Ren did feel the afternoon wind, which felt nice now, thanks to the skies clearing. But that one thing: The window was open, and unless the school has a habit of leaving the windows open in any unused class, that meant...Ah.
In the middle of the room, sat a girl seated on a chair, engrossed in a book. She was slender in frame, with long black hair and red ribbons tied to them. She looked elegant, to say the least.
As if she sensed his eyes on her, she looked up from her book and at them.
"Hiratsuka-sensei?" she asked, her voice was soft, yet sharp. "I thought I told you to knock before entering."
"Yeaah," his teacher replied, taking further steps into the room, "but you never respond, even when I do knock."
"That's because you come in before I have a chance to respond," the girl said, before fixing her eyes upon Ren. He couldn't help but stiffen.
"Blue eyes, huh…?" Ren found himself muttering, his thoughts escaping from his lips.
"Who's the thug?" She asked, quirking her eyebrows.
"Ren Amamiya. And I'm not a thug," he replied, irked at her descriptive, but keeping a passive face etched on.
"I see. The state of your face says otherwise," she replied, before returning her attention to Hiratsuka-sensei, who was leaning against the wall, "So why did you bring him here?"
"Well you see…," she jerked her thumb to Ren, "he wants to join your club!"
Ren looked at his teacher in shock. Was this what she had planned this entire time?!
"Don't give me that look. I was hoping it'd at least be a month or two before I used up Principal Kobayakawa's promise," Hiratsuka replied.
"I...Really? Two months at most?" he asked in a deadpan voice. Where was her faith in him?
"Hey! I should be disappointed in you too, you know?! Two months?! Try on the first day!" She fired back.
Yeah...that was fair. Ren sighed, reaching a hand up to tug on his hair.
"So as you can see, Yukinoshita. He wants his probation to go as smoothly as possible. And what better way of doing that than joining a club?" Hiratsuka asked the girl, now known as Yukinoshita.
"I...I suppose," Yukinoshita replied tiredly, having no energy to respond, most likely due to Hiratsuka's loud nature. "But—"
Yukinoshita was interrupted when the door slid open aggressively and an out-of-breath Ryuji tumbled in.
"Dude! There you are! I was...looking everywhere...for you…!" He huffed, looking at Ren, before realizing that there were other people in the room, "Oh...hey Hiratsuka-sensei. Yukinoshita-san."
Hiratsuka watched the scene unfold with a mild interest, while Yukinoshita seemed to be glaring daggers at him.
"Ryuji," Ren greeted simply, before sending him a curious look. "How'd...you find me?"
After they reached the entrance of the school, they parted ways but not before saying that they would meet up in front of the school. But then Hiratsuka-sensei had to go and drag him all the way here.
"Awww you know, after I got chewed out from my teacher, I waited for like ten minutes at our meet up spot, and then I got bored," Ryuji replied, plopping down onto the floor to rest, "Turns out that you're really popular. You know, being the delinquent transfer student and all."
"Delinquent...transfer student?" Yukinoshita asked cautiously, causing Ren to look back at her and sigh.
"Ryuji…" he muttered in slight irritation, though he was surprised Yukinoshita hadn't heard about his...standing yet, given that nearly everyone else had.
"Huh? Were people not supposed to know about that? It seemed like everyone already did...my bad, ahaha," Ryuji muttered apologetically, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Sakamoto, what are you doing?" Hiratsuka-sensei asked incredulously, her gaze flickering to Ren momentarily. Remember what she said…
"Uhh...Me and...uh...Ren, here," Ren felt Sakamotos hands clasp his shoulders, "Were gonna look for...pastries! There was a good pastry shop that we passed by and—"
Oh boy. Ren pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Change of plans, Ryuji, I'm...uh...kinda busy right now."
"Oh...with what?" He asked curiously.
"This is too noisy," Yukinoshita said, snapping her book shut. "Hiratsuka-sensei, please detain the two individuals that trespassed upon this room. I fear their ruckus will taint the serenity of this place, and I'll have to go looking around for a new room."
"Uhh...what?" Sakamoto asked. Clearly Yukinoshita's tongue-lashing shot past his head (luckily?).
"She's saying you're too loud," Ren replied simplistically, before frowning in her direction. "Wait, I was brought here though. And aren't I part of this club now?"
"Oh? I clearly don't remember saying that you were allowed to join," Yukinoshita replied.
'Okay...so this rose has thorns…' Ren thought mirthfully.
"I thought the hierarchy chain proves that Hiratsuka-sensei overrules your say?" He didn't know why, but he felt the urge to challenge her. Her prissy nature only seemed to tempt him further.
"Hiding behind the higher authorities to get what you want is such a delinquent move, Amamiya-san. Please come back when you find the ability to stand on your own two feet."
"Seems to me like you're the one hiding behind a higher authority if you need Hiratsuka-sensei to remove us," Ren took an intimidating step forward, and he saw her flinch, which unnerved him slightly. It seemed that the stigma of being a criminal still affected him, despite his willingness to stand against injustice even at the cost of his social standing.
He mumbled a soft, "Sorry" before stepping down.
"Hmmmm," he heard Hiratsuka-sensei hum in thought, and Ren turned to look at her. The contemplative look on her face gave him no doubt that she was scheming something again.
He was proven right a few seconds later, when she snapped her fingers, as she pushed herself off the wall.
"Congratulations, Yukinoshita! You have two new members for your club!"
"Eh…?"
Hello, and thank you for joining. I decided to write this as both a celebration for the release of P5S in the West as well as learning that 8man gets with best girl. And thus, I have come to the great conclusion that, why not write a crossover between P5 and OreGairu? (Despite the Xover ship is Ren and Yukino, and 8man is nowhere to be seen).
A few things I'd like to address though. One, criticism is greatly appreciated. I want to better my writing as this fic goes on. While I do enjoy the 8man first POVs that many OreGairu fics use, I personally feel that first-person POVs aren't really my thing, though I do really like the emotional depth that first-person POV brings. So I'm trying to incorporate a third-person POV that also has some of that first-person character insight.
Second, I understand that a lot of OreGairu fics incorporate a lot of pop culture references. I will try to do that, but my reference library at the moment is uh...well...lackluster. I have indeed tried to incorporate a couple of references already, though I haven't cited them (which I should probably start doing, idk. Lemme know if I should). So try to find 'em. I think three of the four of them are pretty obvious. Or maybe all of them are.
Third, like the billowing blue fire said, the cards have been shuffled. Some characters in P5 are going to be replaced, though you'll have to see who. Or maybe you already know who. Either way, I hope my story telling makes up for removing them.
And lastly, as for scheduled updating...not sure. I'm not going to be making any promises, as I am indeed a college student, who is also a corporate slave to a family business.
Anddd I think that's it. I greatly appreciate you sticking to the end, and I hope you've enjoyed what you read and what you may continue to read.