Ren let out a sigh. He didn't know what was weirder:
The fact that there was a giant castle that is located where his school is supposed to be. That he got imprisoned in said castle and almost got executed. A winged… human? demon? thing that he summoned by ripping off a mask. Or the fact that he was currently talking to a cartoonish-looking cat behind bars.
"You want to know where the exit is? Let me out and I'll help you find it. You don't wanna get executed, right?" the cat offered.
"How do I know you won't stab us in the back?" Ren asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, what he said!" Sakamoto added.
"You can trust me, I swear." the cat said in a pleading voice.
"Dunno about that, it kinda looks like it's all talk." Sakamoto muttered to Ren, making the cat huff.
"If you guys think you can get out on your own, fine, be my guests. But if you guys don't hurry now, they'll catch you. So, what's it gonna be?" the cat replied.
"I suppose we have no choice; it seems to be more familiar with the area. Leaving it behind would be a loss, Sakamoto-san." Ren told Sakamoto who let out a sigh.
"Fine…" he said before opening the cell the cat was trapped in.
"Alright, where's the exit now, you monster cat?" Sakamoto asked.
"Don't call me a cat! I am Morgana!" the not-a-cat snapped back.
"I don't think that is important right now. Unless you want to get locked up and/or executed, that is." Ren said sternly.
"A-alright, sheesh." Morgana said as he flinched at Ren's tone.
Morgana guided the boys to a stone statue resembling Kamoshida.
"Oh, I see. It's a hidden lever, isn't it?" Ren thought out loud as he saw that the statue was right next to the drawbridge.
"You seem to be picking up things fast, frizzy hair." Morgana said with a grin.
Ren then proceeded pull on the statue's jaw, lowering the bridge.
"F-for real? How the hell were we supposed to know that? Heck, how the eff did you know that?" Sakamoto asked with a shocked expression and pointed at Ren.
"The statue was right next to the drawbridge. I apologize that I didn't realize it sooner." Ren explained sheepishly.
"Hmph, amateurs. Anyways, let's go." Morgana said and they continued onwards.
Once they crossed the bridge knights intercepted their path, making Sakamoto jump up in surprise and fall back.
"AH SHIT! IT'S THEM!" he shouted in fear.
Ren's clothes changed again, and Morgana jumped forward with a huff.
"You amateur! Stay still! Hey you…" Morgana said as he looked at Ren.
"You can fight, right?" it asked, getting a nod in response.
"Alright then. Come… Zorro!" Morgana shouted.
A blue light then enveloped him, summoning a muscular man with a pointy mustache, wearing a belt with a large 'Z' on it's belt buckle, a cape on its wide shoulders and a black mask.
"Y-you got one of those things too?" Sakamoto asked as he looked at Zorro.
"Time to promptly shut them up." Morgana said confidently.
The knights transformed into monsters again, this time one of them was a pink demon that had a large horn coming from its crotch.
"Damn Shadows, they've already taken up intercept position." Morgana explained.
"I take it they're not gonna hold back, huh?" Ren said, getting a nod from Morgana.
"I'll be backing you up, so fight them with everything you've got!" Morgana told Ren, who rushed towards the pink demon and attacked it with his knife.
"You really are an amateur, are you?" Morgana snarked.
"It's not like I wanted to be in this shithole in the first place." Ren snapped back.
"Allow me to demonstrate how to really fight then." Morgana said confidently.
He summoned Zorro, telling him to attack the Jack-o-lantern with a spell called 'Garu', releasing a strong wind, dealing a good amount of damage, and knocking it to the ground.
"Shadows have weaknesses towards certain elements. Find that weakness to knock them down and use the opening to strike a second time." Morgana explained, before attacking the shadow with his sword to kill it.
"Alright, I think I got it." Ren said.
He summons Arsene, commands it to attack the pink demon with Eiha, Morgana then swoops in for the killing blow.
"Not bad. You're persona's pretty powerful." Morgana complimented.
"Thanks, you're not weak either." Ren replied.
"Persona? You mean like the things that come out of you all dramatic-like?" Sakamoto asked as he stared at them wide-eyed.
"Yes. You saw how Frizzy Hair summoned it by ripping off his mask. Everyone has a mask like that deep within their hearts. If you would remove it…" before Morgana could finish that sentence, Ren's clothes changed back to his uniform.
"Um… Is that normal?" Ren asked with a raised brow.
"Hm, it looks like you don't have proper control over your powers yet." Morgana said as he scanned Ren.
"I suppose that is makes sense. I take it my clothes should not transform back and forth like this, correct?" Ren said and put a hand to his chin.
"Yup, after all-" Morgana said enthusiastically only to be interrupted by Sakamoto again.
"Enough about that. This crap doesn't make any sense." he said while scratching his head.
"Ugh, can't you just sit still and listen for once, Blondie?" Morgana snapped at him.
"Don't call me Blondie! My name's Ryuji!" the blonde protested.
"I don't think we have the time to be bickering. I think it would be best if we kept the lectures for another time and make escaping in one piece our first priority." Ren interjected calmly.
"Sheesh, talk about a change in attitude." Morgana thought before clearing its throat.
"You're right, we should hurry. The exit's not too far anyway." Morgana said and lead the way again.
When they headed towards another bridge, Ryuji stopped in his tracks.
"Whoa, hold on a sec!" he called out to them, making them stop as well.
He looked inside a cell and saw a boy, wearing a jersey, lying on the ground, desperately trying to get up.
"I feel like I've seen this uniform somewhere… Damn it! Nevermind! I'm too flustered to remember a damn thing!" Ryuji said loudly and let out a frustrated sigh.
"Come on, let's go already!" Morgana told the boys.
"Hold on dammit!" Ryuji protested.
"What did you just say? Did you forget that we're running out of time?" Morgana snapped at Ryuji.
"Yeah, I know that but… Who are these guys? We can't just leave 'em behind." Ryuji said with a guilty look on his face.
"I agree with Sakamoto-san, we cannot just abandon them if we could help instead." Ren added.
"Are both of you out of your mind, helping them now would be wasting time, that we're already low on. Besides, they're-" Morgana tried to explain before getting interrupted by a guard.
"Over there!" he shouted.
The shadow let down the bridge and approached them.
"You should've listened to me…" Morgana said with a sigh.
"Guess we got no choice but to fight then." Ren said as his clothes transformed once more.
"I'm glad you stick to your guns, but the shadow seems to be raring to go too." Morgana said as the shadow transformed into a pair of pixies.
The battle was over quickly, as Ren was able exploit their weakness of curse spells, which is Arsene's specialty.
"Alright, let's hurry and get out of here." Morgana said.
"But what about these guys? We can't just leave 'em." Ryuji told Morgana.
"You really don't get it, do you? Ugh, fine, if you wanna stay behind and get caught, be my guest." Morgana said and continued onwards.
Ren clenched his fists and put them into his pockets, averting his guilt-ridden gaze.
"Come on Sakamoto-san, we should go." he said in an unreadable tone.
"Fine, let's go." Ryuji said and let out a sigh.
They followed Morgana and ended up in a room with two doors.
"We're here!" Morgana announced.
"Finally, we're saved." Ryuji said and walked towards the door to the right.
"Hey! It's not openin'! D'ya trick us you jerk?" Ryuji asked angrily.
"Don't jump to conclusions. Over here!" Morgana said with a smirk, opening the door to the left and entering the room.
Inside the room was nothing but a row of bookshelves and a ventilation shaft.
"How are we even supposed to get out of here? There aren't even any windows." Ryuji asked with a frown.
"Sakamoto-san calm down. The answer is right there." Ren told Ryuji and pointed at the ventilation shaft.
"That's right! As I thought, you're a natural at this." Morgana complimented.
"Oh, I see. We only have to remove that metallic mesh." Ryuji said before climbing up a bookshelf to remove the grid, falling back to the ground by accident.
"Crap! The enemy didn't hear us, did they? But seriously, we're finally getting' outta here!" Ryuji cheered.
"We should probably celebrate once we actually get out." Ren commented.
"Yeah, what he said. Now get going!" Morgana said.
"But what about you?" Ryuji asked empathetically.
"You won't have to worry about me, there's still something I have to do. We're going our separate ways." Morgana explained.
"Alright then if that is what you choose. Thank you, Morgana-san." Ren said politely.
"Heh, you got manners, be careful on your way." Morgana said before they started climbing the bookshelf.
"These two seem useful. Especially the frizzy-haired one, if my judgement is correct." Morgana thought to himself as he watched them escape.
Real World
"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back." a voice coming from Ren's phone said.
"Does that mean we got away?" Ryuji asked curiously.
"It seems that way." Ren replied.
"I dunno what to believe anymore. What was all of that anyways? That castle, Kamoshida, and that weird cat! What the hell's going on?!" Ryuji yelled out his confusion, attracting two police officers on patrol.
"What's with the yelling? Are you two students of Shujin Academy?" one of them asked.
"Cutting classes now, are we?" the other added.
"Huh? No! We were on our way to school and then we ended up in this weird castle." Ryuji explained, only getting deadpans from the officers.
"Please hand over your bags, we have to make sure you're not on drugs." an officer told them.
"Why the hell would you think that?" Ryuji shouted, in the meanwhile Ren took his bag and handed it over to the officer.
"Huh? You're handing it over just like that?" Ryuji asked him with a wide-eyed expression.
"Why shouldn't I? I am one hundred percent clean. So, I have nothing to hide. Shouldn't the same count for you as well, Sakamoto-san?" Ren stated calmly.
"Huh? But I… guess you're right, there you go, sir. Got nothin' to hide." Ryuji said and handed over his bag as well.
Once they finished examining the contents, they handed the bags back.
"It seems that everything is alright… for now. Now hurry up and go to school." one of the officers said.
"Thank you for your time. Let's go Sakamoto-san." Ren said and glanced at Ryuji before making his way back to school.
"Is that guy for real? How is he this calm right now?" Ryuji thought to himself as he looked at Ren, who was seemingly minding his own business.
Shujin Academy
Arriving at the school gates was… awkward, to say the least. Not only did they get a scolding from the counselor, Kamoshida also showed up. To Ren's surprise, it seemed like Kamoshida didn't remember anything from their encounter at the castle. Ryuji had to go with the counselor due to his tone towards Kamoshida, giving said man a short glare as he passed him.
"Have we met somewhere?" Kamoshida asked Ren when Ryuji was gone.
"We have. You took that girl to school and offered me a ride as well, but I declined." Ren answered. "He really doesn't remember the castle, does he?" he asked himself.
"Oh right, now I remember. Anyways I'll overlook today since it's just your first day. But remember what the principal told you, cause any trouble and you will be expelled on the spot. Understand?" Kamoshida told him with a threatening glare.
"Yes, sir. I understand." Ren replied calmly.
"Good, as long as you get it. You should head to the faculty office; I'm sure Ms. Kawakami is already waiting for you. Good luck trying to enjoy your new school life." Kamoshida said with a grin and left. Ren couldn't help but feel the evil intent behind, what is supposed to be an encouragement.
Ren entered the building and couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. He felt as if everyone's eyes were focused on him. As he wandered through the hallways, he could hear whispers but chose to ignore them.
He arrived in the faculty office and found his homeroom teacher, who let out a sigh.
"Unbelievable. Being late over half a day on your first day. Can you explain yourself?" Kawakami asked.
"I was unfamiliar with the area and got lost. Whether you want to believe me or not is up to you of course." Ren answered.
"Well it is true that you're not familiar with the area yet, but how could you have been gone for this long? It's almost lunchtime for crying out loud." Kawakami complained and sighed.
"Just pull yourself together, you were given a fair warning. Also, I heard that you were seen with that Sakamoto-kun." Kawakami continued.
"That Sakamoto? Does he have a reputation around here?" Ren asked with a curious look.
"Let's just say that he is a lot of trouble. He wasn't like that when he devoted himself to track though. Just don't get involved with him." Kawakami told him and sighed.
"Past tense huh? I wonder why he quit?" Ren thought to himself.
"Anyway, break's almost over. Classes will end after fifth period today, due to the subway accident. I'll have you introduce yourself to class once the breaks over. Follow me." Kawakami explained and got up.
Ren followed her to the classroom and entered after getting a brief warning to be serious about his introduction.
Once they entered Ren noticed that the whispers were back, but even stronger. As Kawakami told him to introduce himself, he cleared his throat and took a deep breath.
"My name is Ren Tatsumi. I will be looking forward to working with you." Ren said politely and bowed.
While Kawakami made up an excuse about his late appearance, Ren listened to the whispers.
"Well he seems polite and harmless."
"But I bet when he loses it, you'll probably end up in a hospital."
"But he talks so formal."
"It's probably just an act, don't forget that he was arrested for assault."
Ren gulped when he heard that last one. He realized why he felt so uncomfortable. Someone leaked his criminal record.
He walked towards his appointed seat and saw the girl he met in the morning.
"Lies." she muttered and glared at him.
Their exchange strengthened the whispers and Ren couldn't help but overhear them. From what he was able to gather the girl referred to as 'Takamaki-san' is rumored to be dating Kamoshida and people believe that she is easy, and that Ren hit on her.
"Just when I thought this day couldn't get any weirder." Ren thought to himself and frowned.
Once class finished, he left the classroom only for a familiar headache to hit him.
"Are you alright?" Kawakami asked him as she saw him clutch his head.
"Is this… a castle?" Ren sputtered out and tried to regain his composure, making his homeroom teacher sigh.
"Are you sure you're okay? Anyways, you might have noticed that people are already talking about you, but I'm not the one who told them." she explained while scratching the back of her head.
"Oh, and while I'm at it you should probably head straight home. Sakura-san sounded pretty angry on the phone." she explained, making Ren gulp.
"And like I said earlier about Sakamoto-kun, don't get invol-" before she could say that a certain blond boy showed.
"Speak of the devil." she sighed and turned to Ryuji.
"What do you want? I heard that officers caught skipping classes today." Kawakami asked, making Ryuji sigh.
"It was nothin'." he said, scratching the back of his head.
"And you haven't dyed your hair back to black either." she remarks.
"So it is dyed." Ren thought to himself and further inspected the boy's head. He already had a theory that it was dyed, since the color of Ryuji's eyebrows didn't align with his head's.
After their short conversation, Ryuji walked away and stopped for a moment, standing right next to Ren.
"I'll be waitin' on the rooftop." Ryuji whispered into his ear and left.
"Do you see now why I don't want you to get involved with him?" Kawakami asked and let out a sigh, leaving before Ren could respond.
A few seconds later, Ren spots Kamoshida and the Principal having a conversation and decided to eavesdrop.
"Why did you let someone like him in here? He's already starting to associate with Sakamoto. He's already been charged with a record for assault, who knows what else he'll do. At this rate all of my contribution for the school becomes pointless." Kamoshida states and sighs.
"Now now, don't be like that Kamoshida-kun. Of course we are relying on you, you are our Star after all. However, a steady build-up like this is also necessary for such brilliance." the principal responded.
"You're troubles only seem to pile up don't they Principal Kobayakawa? Oh well, I understand. I'll keep doing my best to meet your expectations of me." Kamoshida responded with a (shit-eating) charismatic grin.
"Great, so this is my school life now, huh? That's some reputation I got." Ren thought to himself as the two men left, his expression remaining unreadable.
Ren made his way to the rooftop, this time ignoring the whispers. After all, he had already done enough eavesdropping. Once Ren arrived at the rooftop, he looked around and to his surprise, saw a rather well-maintained garden next to where Ryuji was sitting. He waved at Ryuji before suddenly hearing someone yelp.
He turned to the sound's source and saw a girl looking at him. The girl had chin-length, light auburn hair, the curls making it look rather fluffy. She wore a gym uniform and held a watering can in her hands.
"Apologies, I didn't mean to startle you." Ren said while tweaking strands of his bangs with two fingers.
"N-no, it's alright. I was just surprised to see someone else other than Sakamoto-kun up here. I was about to leave anyways." the girl responded and put the watering can away.
"Is that garden yours?" Ren asked curiously as he pointed at it.
"Yes, I got permission to tend to my own garden here on the rooftop. I tend to them with all my heart." she explained proudly.
"The garden is very well maintained; I can tell how much you effort you put into it." Ren stated, keeping his eyes on the garden.
"Th-thank you! I really appreciate it. I will be going now, it was nice talking to you." the girl said with a bow.
"Likewise. It was a pleasure talking to you as well." Ren said kindly, giving her a smile.
"My, what a handsome smile." she thought to herself, trying her best to hide her blush.
The girl quickly nodded and turned around, leaving at a rather steady pace.
Ren let out a relieved sigh, being able to have a normal conversation with someone was a nice change of pace.
"Geez, took you long enough." Ryuji muttered when Ren walked up to the table he was sitting at.
"Sorry for callin' you out here like this." Ryuji said.
"Don't worry, it's fine. Also, I apologize for delaying our conversation for a bit with my small talk." Ren said sheepishly.
"Nah, it's fine. Speaking of which, damn, you were pretty smooth there." Ryuji complimented.
"Thank you?" Ren replied with a raised eyebrow, giving Ryuji a puzzled look.
"Gosh, are you that dense?" he sighed, "Anyways, let's get back to the main topic. I bet Kawakami was all like 'Don't get involved with that Sakamoto', right?" he asked and frowned when Ren nodded.
"Pretty much, she told me that you are trouble." Ren explained calmly, being caught off-guard when Ryuji chuckles.
"Guess we're pretty much in the same boat then. I heard about your criminal record, everyone's talkin' about it. No wonder you were so gutsy back there." Ryuji said calmly, getting a nod from the raven-haired boy in confirmation.
"Back there? So you remember too?" Ren asked and took a seat.
"You mean that weird castle we almost got killed in? What was all that anyways?" the blonde asked with a confused expression.
"I don't know, but since we both remember, it couldn't have been a dream." Ren answered, putting a hand to his chin.
"Maybe, but I don't think it matters right now. Even if it was a dream, you saved me from Kamoshida. So yeah, thanks man." Ryuji said with a grateful smile.
"No need to thank me. When I see someone in trouble, I can't help myself but step in." Ren said and adjusted his glasses, making Ryuji chuckle.
"You sure you got a criminal record? Cuz that sounds pretty noble to me." he frowned again, "But man, that Kamoshida we met at that castle. You probably don't know, but there's been a few rumors 'bout him going around." Ryuji said in a serious voice.
"Is that so?" Ren asked, thinking back about the evil intent he felt back then.
"Yeah, but no one says anythin' against him, just because he's some Olympic medalist or somethin' and took the volleyball team to nationals last year." Ryuji explained with a scowl.
"I see, him being the king of that castle must have felt a lot more real to you because of this, correct?" Ren concluded with a thoughtful expression.
"Yeah, pretty much. I wonder if we could enter that castle again." the blond boy muttered. He shook his head and immediately shot up from his seat.
"Agh! Forget it! It was probably just a dream or somethin'." Ryuji said, scratching his head in frustration.
He took a moment to breath before turning to Ren.
"I feel like I just wasted your time. Sorry, for dragging you all the way here like this." Ryuji told him sheepishly.
"It's alright. If I'm honest, talking with you and that girl was a fresh breather from all of the warnings and lectures from Ms. Kawakami." Ren stated, getting a laugh out of Ryuji.
"Thanks man. You know, I think we might be more similar than we think. I think we'll get along just fine as 'troublemakers'." he claimed with a grin.
"I'll look forward to it then, Sakamoto-san." Ren answered with a smile.
"Oh, you don't need to be so formal with me. Then again, we never properly introduced ourselves, huh? I'm Ryuji Sakamoto, just call me Ryuji, no need for the honorifics." he introduced himself, stretching out his hand.
"I am Ren Tatsumi, in my case just Ren is fine. A pleasure meeting you Ryuji." Ren told him and shook his hand.
"I'll come talking to ya when I see you around, so you better not ignore me, alright?" Ryuji said.
"Why should I ignore you, when you're the only one who is willing to speak with me?" Ren argued, making both of them laugh.
"Guess you're right about that. Anyways, I gotta go, see ya tomorrow Ren." Ryuji told him and left.
Ren couldn't help but smile at the fact that he somehow managed to make a friend with his tarnished reputation.
Author's Notes:
So, this was... weirdly paced.
I didn't really have much of an idea where I wanted to end this chapter and it shows.
I wasn't really sure whether I wanted to release this right now since it felt kinda fillery or wait till I finished writing the next one to release both at the same time, so it doesn't feel like that much of a letdown.
But I think I was able to end the chapter on a decent note.
Also our favorite floof made her first appearance and writing her interaction with Ren was pretty fun.
As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this Chapter as much as I had writing it and I will see you guys next chapter (which I'm actually determined to write... for real this time)