"Daddy, what's a soulmate exactly?"

Five-year-old Anne Takamaki absolutely loved fairy tales. One of her favorite movies was Destiny's version of Aladdin. She firmly believed in the concept of happily ever after.

Her father was a busy man but both he and Anne's mother doted on their only child. So he lifted Anne in his lap.

"Well, sweetheart… soulmates are said to be two halves of one whole," he answered.

Anne gasped at that, her eyes growing wide. "And you and Mommy are soulmates, right?!"

The story went that people were able to see the bonds tying people together, represented by different colors. But people who were connected by a red string were romantic soulmates.

Tied around each of her parents' right pinky was a red string, a string that linked them to each other. It glowed and gleamed. No matter how far her parents were from each other, it never broke.

Anne's father chuckled at Anne's question before planting a soft kiss against the crown of Anne's head.

"Well, darling, I love your mommy very much but don't get so excited. Love comes slowly. It's something that you build over time. Love comes from friendship first."

Anne deflated at that. Nobody seemed to really like her. They liked to make fun of her hair and eye color. Anne tried to take pride in that she looked a lot like her Nana Takamaki, but it was hard to be happy with it when kids liked to make fun of her so much.

"Aw, sweetie don't be discouraged. You'll find someone special." But then her father's expression turned stern. "But that shouldn't be happening for another twenty years!"

Anne looked at her father. "Daddy, you know that's a long time, right?"

Her father poked at Anne's cheek. "That's the point, darling."

"But Daddy!"

"Darling, are you picking on Anne-chan?"

Anne perked up as her mother approached them. She then was scooped from her father's lap, and her mother smiled gently at her.

"Airi, I did nothing!" her father said indignantly.

Her mother simply raised a brow, skeptical. Then she looked back to Anne.

"What's the verdict, little love? Is your daddy right?"

Anne pouted. "Daddy says that I shouldn't find my soulmate for another twenty years! That's a long time, Mommy!"

Her mother gave her father a hard stare. "Mm-hm, especially since we started dating when we were nineteen."

"Airi, that's different circumstances!"

"Mm-hm, you just don't want to let our daughter go too soon."

"Anne-chan is a treasure. I won't let any ordinary person steal her away!"

Her mother then stuck her tongue out.

"You're ridiculous."

"No, you are!"

This brought on a round of bickering, but Anne thought nothing of it. It was normal for her parents. She had seen with her own eyes how much her parents loved each other.

But Anne couldn't help but wonder—when would she find the one she loved?

"It's not that emotional, Anne."

Anne wiped at her eyes before looking at Shiho. Her best friend just giggled before passing Anne a tissue.

"I can't help it!" she cried. "It's just so touching! After all of the hardships they faced, they're finally together!"

Shiho giggled. "I kinda feel bad for whoever you date. You'd make them sit through so many romcoms!"

Anne puffed her cheeks out at Shiho.

"It was my turn to pick the movie!" she protested.

It had been six months since Anne and Shiho had become friends. While they hung out as much as they could in between Shiho's volleyball practices, they had a movie night every month.

"I know, I know." Shiho laughed gently before rolling over to lie on her stomach. "So…"

"So?" Anne tilted her head.

"What's your type, Anne?" Shiho asked. "You kinda have me curious with how much of a hopeless romantic you are."

Anne blushed at the last comment. Okay, maybe she was a sucker for cute romantic stories. But that wasn't a bad thing. But still… Anne couldn't help but ponder over Shiho's question.

She tapped her lips with her index finger as she thought.

Well, to start with—she was always a sucker for dark hair. She also had a thing for gray eyes. There was just something really mysterious about gray eyes—to her, at least.

But that wasn't important in the long run. What was more important was personality.

"Well… I want a nice guy," she said finally. "I know some girls are into the tall, dark, and broody type—but not me. I want someone who's a gentleman. Someone who's just… there for me."

Anne blushed. She couldn't help but feel that she was messing up her explanation.

Shiho then rolled over before sitting up. She then faced Anne before she smiled.

"That sounds wonderful. I hope you find them someday."

She leaned over, patting Anne's arm. There was a faint string connecting them as well. Their string was a delicate shade of pink, though, like the hue of cherry blossoms. The legends never mentioned anything about a string linking two people who had a strong platonic bond, but Anne wasn't surprised.

Anne smiled bashfully before smacking her palms against her cheeks.

"Enough about me! What about you, Shiho?"

Shiho blushed faintly. "E-Eh? Me?"

"Yes, you! Spill it!"

Anne sighed to herself as she drew her hood over her head. What a great start to the school year. Anne was already not looking forward to the school year. Just thinking of Kamoshida staring at her all over again just made her want to shudder.

A part of her wanted to ask her parents to look into transferring her to another school but… she couldn't abandon Shiho.

She wrapped her arms around herself. Even though it was nearly mid-April now, the rain brought on a chill in the air that made Anne shiver. Anne had never been great with the cold, which didn't help matters.

She spotted an oasis—a store with an awning. Anne ducked beneath it, hoping for a short break from the rain. Anne then reached up, tugging the hood off her head. She absolutely loved her hoodie, but it was so hot…

She shook out her hair, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that someone was standing by her—probably to take refuge from the rain.

It was a boy around her age. The first thing she noticed was the mass of black curls on the top of his head. He was tall and lanky, about half a head taller than Anne. A pair of glasses sat on the bridge of his nose, giving him a cute, boyish look.

Now, Anne was used to staring. From Kamoshida, her classmates—the list went on and on.

But there was something genuine about how the boy looked at her, like he had never seen a girl once in his life. It was just so… innocent.

So, Anne couldn't help but smile at him. The way he looked at her was innocent—which was more than she can say of most of her male classmates and Kamoshida.

He looked surprised at that, his eyes widening slightly at the sight. He then swallowed quietly, but Anne noticed. He looked like he wanted to speak some more, but a car honk interrupted them.

The window then rolled down, revealing Kamoshida.

Anne's stomach twisted up in knots. She had to force herself to still her hands.

"Good morning. You want me to give you a ride to school?" Kamoshida said, with his usual fake friendly smile.

If only she could tell him to screw off… But then Shiho would suffer. And she couldn't do that to her.

"You're gonna be late," he added.

Anne sighed internally—she knew that Kamoshida would be pissed if she said no. So, she faked a smile before heading towards the car. She was vaguely aware of Kamoshida asking the unnamed boy about getting a lift as well.

Anne took a moment to close her eyes. She just needed to come up with excuses to spend less time with Kamoshida. She could do this…

She had to. For Shiho's sake…

"Which one you want?"

Sakamoto held out two drinks at her. Anne didn't get how he could be so calm about this but… maybe Anne would be able to get some answers.

This Metaverse, as he and Amamiya called it, was freaky. It had monsters, not to mention the even creepier Kamoshida…

But… she had awakened to Carmen. She felt steady, like she had something she was unaware she had been missing.

Anne realized that Sakamoto and Amamiya were looking at her though, so Anne cleared her throat before smiling nervously at the two boys.

"Whichever isn't carbonated," she said.

She had always disliked fizzy drinks. She just disliked the sensation of carbonated drinks.

Sakamoto smiled sheepishly. "Uh… they both are."

Anne sighed before taking the bottle with the blue label.

"You have something against fizzy drinks?" Amamiya suddenly asked.

Anne blinked. "It's just not my thing, that's all."

Amamiya laughed softly, his eyes twinkling. "Fair enough. Ryuji will keep that in mind next time, though."

"How was I supposed to know what drinks she likes…" Sakamoto grumbled out.

Anne smiled hesitantly. "But um, thank you, Amamiya-kun. For giving me the last push to fight against Kamoshida."

The black cat, Morgana, peeked at her from Amamiya's bag. "I'm glad to see that you've calmed down."

Anne winced. "Yeah… sorry about that. Um, it was Morgana, right? I really am talking to a cat… This feels so strange."

Morgana just nodded. "It's only natural that you're confused. Demanding that you understand all of this right after what you went through is asking too much."

Anne sighed before taking a small sip. "Honestly, I still can't believe what happened. And that power—my Persona..."

Morgana said, "It's the will of your rebellion, Lady Ann. With it, you'll be able to fight in that other world."

Anne frowned, before twirling her hair with one finger. "So, if what you told me is true, we can make Kamoshida have a change of heart, right? Is it really possible? Can we actually force him to confess his crimes?"

She would have a chance to make Kamoshida pay. For Shiho, for everyone on the volleyball team—for everyone who had suffered because of Kamoshida!

Sakamoto nodded. "The volleyball team's keepin' quiet about this, while teachers and parents turn a blind eye. If guys like us try and complain, they're just gonna shoot us down. Goin' all in on this plan is the only choice we got."

Anne gave the two boys a determined look. "Then let me help too. I want to make him pay for what happened to Shiho. He just keeps going like nothing happened, even after what he did to her… I'll never forgive him."

Sakamoto took a step backwards. "Wait a sec, did you seriously just say, 'let me help'? You mean, you want us to take you along?

Anne huffed, putting her free hand on her hip. "Don't act like I'm going to drag you down. Weren't you watching? I can fight too."

"It'll be fine," Amamiya said. "She'll do great."

Anne smiled smugly at Sakamoto.

"Besides that, she deserves a crack at Kamoshida too. You saw how he treated her, Ryuji," he said calmly.

Anne beamed at him. "Thank you for understanding."

Amamiya smiled. "Heh. It's no problem. I like your attitude, Takamaki-san."

He then extended his hand to her. Anne didn't hesitate, taking his hand.

"Thanks. But call me Anne, okay? If we're gonna be working together, we might as well be on first-name basis, right?"

A smile played at Amamiya's lips.

"Okay. You can call me Ren, then."

When Anne pulled her hand away from Ren's, a glimmer of light caught her eye. There was a string tying her and Ren together now. It was so faint though, that she couldn't tell what color it was. She then noticed there was a similar string tying Ren and Ryuji together.

Huh. Anne had hardly noticed when she and Shiho became friends, and their string formed.

But Anne could always use another friend…

"I love you."

Ren had said it as a joke with their heart building exercise, but Anne couldn't get it out of her head.

Anne groaned, pressing her face against her pillow. What was wrong with her? Just thinking about it made her heart race.

It wasn't like she had a crush on Ren! Just the way he said it… You would've thoughtthat he actually meant it. But Ren told her that he was just messing around.

And their string… it wasn't red.

The string that tied them together—it was magenta. Anne hadn't been sure of the color a month ago but now she was sure of it.

Ren shared strings with both Ryuji and Morgana. His and Ryuji's was a gradient, slowly going from yellow to a warm shade of orange.

Morgana and Ren's string gleamed gold. It personally struck Anne as odd, since she didn't associate gold with either Ren or Morgana but who knew why?

The fact of the matter was… Ren was just her friend. A good friend, someone she could confine in.

Anne slapped her cheeks. "Don't worry about it," she scolded herself.

She needed to get this out of her head. She was done with most of her schoolwork so… what better way to award herself than with a good movie?

So she got up, digging through her copies of the movies she's amassed over the years. Anne ended up picking out The Lady Bride, one of her personal favorites. She always had a soft spot for the love interest.

Her dad was a big Galaxy Wars fan, so he tried to get her into it. Anne personally didn't see the appeal in the saga, but she always liked Princess Leah's love interest, Hans Single.

Maybe she just had a soft spot for the charming rogue.

She popped the DVD into her laptop before settling against her pillows. She had watched The Lady Bride so many times, but she always loved watching the love story unfold.

Anne knew in her heart that it was better for Shiho to leave Tokyo, to leave the painful memories of Kamoshida's abuse.

But it didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

Anne found herself listless. She couldn't help but feel like a hypocrite after she had resolved to be an example, a shining beacon of light for others…

She couldn't help but wonder if she was in over her head.

"Be careful, if you think too hard, steam might start pouring out of your ears."

Anne yelped before whipping around to glare at the now laughing Ren.

"Ren!" she hissed out.

"That's my name, don't wear it out," he quipped with a smirk.

Anne smacked his shoulder in response. But then Ren's expression grew serious.

"Are you okay?" he asked, putting a hand on Anne's shoulder.

Anne looked down at the ground, feeling a rush of shame. She couldn't help but feel weak. Especially with how she talked to Ren how she was determined to achieve her dream to do everyone proud.

With a jolt, she realized that Ren was guiding her to sit down.

"Anne… it's okay to hurt about this," he said gently. "Remember that I want to support you. And it's not just me. You have Ryuji, Morgana, Yusuke, and Makoto…"

His hand then settled on Anne's shoulder once again, giving a soothing rub.

"And Shiho. You may be far apart but you two love each other. And I know you'll be cheering each other on."

The sincerity and care in his voice made Anne's heart warm. Anne then looked up. The warmth and affection in Ren's eyes suddenly made her heart race.

"You think… I'm not being silly about this?" Anne asked in a small voice.

Ren shook his head but then his eyes suddenly twinkled. "Anne, I know you can be silly sometimes—"

"HEY!"

"But not about this," Ren said.

Anne couldn't help but pout at Ren, a little peeved.

"Hmph…"

Ren snickered at her. "You're so cute when you pout like that."

"S-Shut up!" Anne sputtered out.

Jeez, if it was anyone but Ren, she might've assumed he was flirting with her. But it was Ren, one of her best friends.

Ren tilted his head at her, looking thoughtful. Then his lips quirked up in a mischievous smile.

"Nah."

Anne huffed. "You're the worst."

Ren just chuckled. "But you love me anyways."

"Hmph… that's debatable," she grumbled.

"How about we catch a movie?" Ren quickly changed subjects. "You can pick."

Ohhh… that sounded so fun! But what to pick?

Anne giggled before jumping up. "Let's go! We should check out the movie theater, to see what's good!"

Ren chuckled, rising to his feet.

"Sometimes you have too much energy," he said, warmth infusing his voice.

But then they started to walk, side by side. Anne then nudged him in the side.

"Umm… hey. I just want you to know that the feeling's mutual."

Ren looked to her, startled.

"I want to support you too, Ren. Through anything."

Ren smiled slightly. "Well… if you insist."

Anne gave him a sudden shove in response.

Then a gleam of red caught Anne's eye.

Huh…?

A string, brilliant scarlet, was fluttering between the two of them.

What?! Since when did—

Was Ren her soulmate?

Crap.

Suddenly, dozens of memories started to fill Anne's brain. Meeting Ren, him comforting her at the diner, him shouting at her to fight back against Kamoshida.

The days hanging out with him, the day at the park where they had built heart, fighting beside him in the Metaverse…

Ren giving her a smile as he said that he had full faith in her achieving her new dream.

She… loved him. She loved him!

But at the same time… how could she tell him? She didn't want to ruin their friendship…

"Anne?"

Ren was looking at her in confusion. Anne forced out a laugh.

"Haha! It's nothing! Just got distracted, is all!"

Anne then grabbed Ren by the wrist, dragging him towards the movie theater, which was in sight.

She loved Ren… but did he feel the same? No… it was best to focus on being his friend…

Okumura was dead. Haru had ran off crying after the livestream cut off. Everyone was horribly confused and unsure what this meant for them.

But Anne was concerned for Ren. His expression had shattered, and he had looked the most vulnerable Anne had seen him… ever.

Luckily she had managed to make it to Leblanc before Sojiro had closed.

"Anne-chan? What are you doing here?" Sojiro looked bewildered by Anne's appearance.

Anne winced before forcing a smile. "Hey, Sojiro… I just wanted to check up on Ren. It's been… a rough night."

Sojiro frowned. "Did something happen?"

"Um… w-we were watching the livestream about Haru's dad and Ren got kinda freaked over it." Anne couldn't help but cringe at her lie. "He said he was okay but I don't believe that."

"…I see," Sojiro said slowly, a frown appearing on his face. "You're a good friend, Anne-chan—for checking up on Ren like this."

Anne waved her hand, letting out a chuckle. "Aw, it's nothing really."

"I was going to lock up but just tell Ren to lock up for me," Sojiro told her. "Good night, Anne-chan."

"Good night, Boss."

Sojiro left the café and Anne looked towards the attic. She took a deep breath and began to climb the stairs. The old stairs creaked under her weight, making Ren look up as she finally made it up to the attic.

"Anne?" He looked surprised to see her.

"Lady Anne?" Morgana asked from where he was sitting in Ren's lap.

"Hey, guys," Anne greeted them.

She reached down, scratching the spot behind Morgana's ear, his favorite spot to be scratched.

"What are you doing here?" Ren asked, bewildered.

"To see you, duh," Anne said, raising an eyebrow at him.

Wasn't it obvious? Though… it was typical Ren. He was always putting others first.

Ren sighed, looking down at the floor.

"Anne, it's been a long night… you should head back—"

"Not until I know you're okay!"

Anne winced as Ren flinched at her outburst. Oops. She didn't mean to yell that.

"Me and my big mouth…" she lamented to herself.

"Sorry I just… I wanted to make sure you were okay…" she trailed off before wrapping her arms around herself.

Ren's expression softened before he stood up. Morgana looked up at that.

"Ren…?"

"It's fine, Morgana. Just gonna talk with Anne for a bit, okay?"

Morgana nodded with a quiet sigh. Anne winced. Everyone must be at a loss right now… It wasn't just Ren.

But still, Anne worried about Ren the most.

She followed him downstairs back to the café. To her surprise, Ren suddenly stepped behind the bar.

"Ren, what are you doing?" Anne couldn't help but feel confused.

Ren had fetched two cups but was now bending now to grab something. It took Anne a moment to realize that it was cocoa powder.

"Since you're here, I might as well treat you to a drink. But coffee this late probably isn't the best idea. Trying to convince Sojiro to include a couple more drinks on the menu for variety. Hot chocolate is the first on the list."

Anne gave a weak giggle. "I'd be first to buy if Sojiro agrees."

It took Ren only a few minutes to whip up the drinks and they settled in one of the booths together, their drinks in hand. Anne blew on the hot drink before taking a careful sip. It was sweet and creamy, the heat settling through her entire body.

"Good?" Ren asked, taking a sip of its own.

"Mm-hm." Anne nodded before looking at him seriously. "But we're not here to talk about that, you know."

Ren fell quiet, his fingers idly tracing the rim of his cup. Watching his melancholy expression made Anne's heart ache. She just wanted to take his pain away.

"Is there really anything to discuss?" he finally spoke up, making Anne start. "When…"

Then he shook his head, his lips pulling into a frown.

"Ifailed," he said, his voice cracking at the last part.

Anne bit her lip, her heart giving a painful twinge at just how agonized Ren sounded.

She reached out to touch his wrist for a moment, looking at him with sorrowful eyes. "Oh, Ren… don't blame yourself. We all believed in that things would be fine. We did everything like we usually do."

"I failed Haru… and all of you," Ren said quietly before placing his cup back on the table.

"Ren, listen to me…"

Anne set down her cup before grabbing at Ren's hands.

"You're not a failure. How were you supposed to predict that this kind of thing would happen?"

"Because… because… I'm the leader," Ren said slowly, his lips barely moving.

Anne felt her eyes fill with tears. "Ren, please don't burden yourself like that," she begged. "You know that's not true. We all played our parts in this."

She then heaved out a sigh before looking up to meet Ren's gaze.

"We'll handle things the way we always have. Together. Okay?"

A sad smile suddenly touched Ren's lips. Anne's heart suddenly thudded against her ribcage as Ren met her gaze.

"Okay." He then let out a little laugh, running a hand through his hair. "I guess… I'm not used to being the one comforted."

Anne poked him in the chest before cracking a smile. "That's exactly why I told you that I wanted to support you. I want you to lean on me."

Ren grinned before leaning against Anne.

"Like this?" he asked with a playful smile.

Anne gave him a little shove. "You're such a dork! You're lucky that I love you so much!"

Ren suddenly froze at that. Anne slapped her hands over her now burning cheeks.

"Noooo, I did NOT just say that!" she whined to herself.

But she did. Ugh. She and her big mouth…

"Uh… Anne, do you mean—" Ren's voice cracked.

She had never heard Ren's voice crack.

Anne screwed up her courage. "Y-Yeah. Yeah! I said it! I love you! If it wasn't so late, I'd yell it!"

Ren chuckled. "You're such a dork."

Then he suddenly leaned down, gently pressing a soft kiss against Anne's forehead. Anne could only look at him with wide eyes, her heart pounding hard. She couldn't believe that this was happening…

"I love you too," he said softly. "You make my life a little brighter by just being you. And your faith in me… means more than you realize."

Anne tilted her head. "What do you mean?"

"I never told you about what made me want to target Kamoshida, did I?"

"It was… Shiho, wasn't it?" Anne asked.

Ren shook his head. "I decided that I wanted to target Kamoshida before that. When you poured your heart to me, with how much pain you were going through and crying your heart out… I couldn't help but feel angry. That's what made me decide that Kamoshida needed his heart changed."

Anne pressed her lips together. Now that she thought about it, Ren had said 'it could happen' when she had lamented about wanting Kamoshida to change his mind.

"And you've been by my side since the near beginning," Ren said. "I… wanted to tell you that you had mewhen you were crying about feeling alone but I was… afraid of how you'd react. Losing you and your friendship scared me more than anything."

Anne smiled softly. "Aw, Ren… you won't lose me. Though… I was kinda scared of something similar. I was just… so confused when I noticed our string had turned red. I nearly got a heart attack from it, actually! I thought… when I met my soulmate—it'd be red from the beginning."

Ren tilted his head at that. "I think… it's because love comes over time."

Anne reached out, clasping his hand once more.

"Ren… I'm glad it was you," she said softly.

Ren touched Anne's face lightly before leaning in to kiss her tenderly.

"Me too, Anne."

A soulmate isn't someone who completes you. No, a soulmate is someone who inspires you to complete yourself. A soulmate is someone who loves you with so much conviction, so much heart that it is nearly impossible to doubt just how capable you are of becoming exactly who you have always wanted to be.

— Bianca Sparacino

After nearly 3 months since Shuann Week ended, I finally got this done! I wanted to explore a couple things with soulmates.

1) Platonic bonds are just as important as romantic bonds.

2) What exactly makes a couple soulmates?

Love needs time to build. I personally see Ren attracted and a little entranced by Anne during their first meeting, but he truly doesn't fall in love with her until later. That happens during their Confidant.