Persona X TWEWY X Kingdom Hearts
Summary: Trapped in an unfair game? Fighting against society? Changing the hearts of evil adults? Save the world? Discovering oneself? Nothing out of the ordinary for these teenagers.
Chapter Twenty-Five:
Exams.
*Saturday: Evening. 7/5*
*Leblanc*
Stretching with a yawn, feeling his muscles popping in his shoulders as he dropped his bag onto the desk nearby, Ren rubbed his neck before he approaches his dresser. Following their introduction and exploration of Mementos, the party had scheduled a study session at Wildkat around the afternoon, even if many of their teammates whined at the idea of using their day off to cram and crunch for the exam.
The leaders shared similar disdains for a waste of a day but when Ventus reminded them of the stakes of their results, suddenly the party were all for at least fighting against destiny. Though Ren lamented that Ryuji might be screwed if him asking what subjects they had were any indication to the ordeal. Though he was confident in his own academic skills, it never hurts to brush up one subjects he may have little care or understanding off. Plus he was curious how different the guardians approach to exams would be, or heck if they had magic for studying.
"Can't believe that girl…the nerve she'd accuse me of being a ghost…" Morgana complains as he plants himself on Ren's bed, "What the hell does she have against cats?".
"You know you could always ask her or Roxas…" Ren mentioned as he throws on his nightwear, eager for summer to come so he could sleep without wearing PJs to fight against the cold. Morgana lamented the spiky haired teen would probably tease him or lie about her disdain and confesses he was afraid she'd kick him all the way out of Shibuya and end up somewhere out of Japan. Somehow Ren could believe that happen and tries to hide his smile at the mere thought. "But you said it yourself, you're not even a hundred percent sure you're a human, heck you could be a car for all we know," argued the leader.
"And how do you know I am?" challenged Morgana.
"How do you know you aren't?" teased Ren.
Then his phone vibrated on the lamp table, prompting him to scoop it up and check the messages.
Skull: "Man that Nakanohara guy was cake walk! Mona got me all anxious about something like Kamoshida and bam! Nightmare took him down without breakin' a sweat!".
"I never said he'd be tough as Kamoshida…does that idiot ever listen to me?" Morgana asked after Ren shows him the message. Ren chuckled and watched the others texting.
Scarlet: "He's just showing off, I think I saw him at the gym this week".
Nightmare: "One of us can't afford to be lazy and leave all the work to the others. Guess somethings never change".
Scarlet: "Rude!".
Skull: "If we can take down a bigger target, we're totally gonna get famous!".
Panther: "Don't forget why we're doing this, we're helping people!".
Reaper: "Our moral compass has a point…but gotta give Skull some credit he's got a point too".
Tigress: "Yeah, we can't really give people hope if we don't have people believing in us. Remember there's barely anyone who actually believes we're a thing".
Tzu: "That's right. Like Mona said we're gonna need people to believe in us if we want to access the depths of Mementos".
Panther: "I get it…I do".
King: "What's wrong? You don't sound like you're on board with us?".
Panther: "I mean, should we really be doing this? With Kamoshida we had so much at stake but…".
Scarlet: "But if we're going by that logic, then we didn't have any reason to help out with Nakanohara problem".
Joker: "She's got you there, Panther".
Skull: "Yeah! So what if we're sticking our noses in other people's business? If someone's in trouble, its natural to wanna help, right?".
Panther: "I guess you guys are right there…".
Jet: "Sides, what good are our Personas if we don't use'em?".
Ren looks at the screen thoughtfully, while he certainly was on board with what the others are saying he couldn't denounce Ann's concerns on this either. The more he looks at the messages and Ann's while thinking back, he could definitely see where these doubts are coming from and a part of him wondered how long they could keep up this mentality of wanting to help people instead of abusing this power. Kamoshida wasn't always an evil scum of the earth for sure, but when he was able to get away with what he did and with no one there to stop him, he walked that dark path without a care in the world.
"Would we be like him if we all shared the same want? Or does turning into a monster like him just take one moment of doing something awful but not face the consequences?" he asked himself quietly while looking at his phone. Morgana stares up at the thoughtful Ren, wondering what was taking him so long. Eventually Ren texted back.
Joker: "I get where you're coming from Panther, and I won't lie, there's a lot of responsibility on us if we're gonna continue being Phantom Thieves. We may not have a direct connection to the people causing him or much of a reason to put our necks out, but think it as a necessity".
Joker: "Kamoshida would have continued what he was doing if we hadn't intervened, and chances are Shiho wouldn't have been the only one to use extreme methods to escape him. What if Nakanohara escalated above stalking? Can you tell me if you had the power to do something but choose not to, would you be able to look at yourself in the mirror?".
Panther: "I…I don't think I could…".
King: "…I know it looks like we're taking advantage of what we can do, but people like Nakanohara and Kamoshida are causing pain for innocent people. And even if they don't believe in us, doesn't it make a big difference if we help them regardless?".
Reaper: "I'm with Joker and King here, we're the only ones who can make a difference in people's lives without taking a life".
Skull: "See!? These guys get it, and sides, we all wanna help people, don't we?".
Panther: "Of course we do…".
Skull: "I mean look at that Mada…Made….".
Naminé: "Madarame. And yes, people like him (if true) are a prime example of…bad…adults".
Scarlet: "We just have to be careful not to get carried away. And failing our exams is a good way for us to stand out, which we do NOT need".
Skull: "Gahh…why do you gotta remind me of that?".
Xion: "Cause you're gonna fail if she doesn't remind you :D".
Nightmare: "Which is probably best we go to bed and get some rest before we enter a world of school subjects. Night everyone".
A quick text to wish everyone a good night, Ren places his phone on the table and heads to sleep.
*Sunday: Afternoon. 8/5*
*Café*
Before Ren was able to head to the study session with the others, he received a text from Mishima the very moment he just finished his breakfast. Even with all the excuses to just ignore it, the leader remembered the benefits of keeping someone like him around and checked his messages. Turns out he was keeping tabs on the forums on the Phantom Aficionado site, namely the post regarding the stalker. He was pleased they managed to help out that woman, and insisted he'd come to the café for a catch up.
Reluctantly Joker had no other choice but to go and see what was so vital they'd catch up. Granted he had arrangements made with his friends but considering they were still looking for their next target and with Mishima's website being a pool of information on targets, maybe the chances of finding a bigger target would escalate if he engaged with him. Hence why he and Morgana had settled into a booth with the boy, who looked like he hadn't slept last night.
And he confirmed it when he yawned and admitted he was up for the past few nights managing the website, which he referred to as the "Phan-site". "Maybe we should talk about toning down the use of Phantom for everything relating to us…" Ren thinks and asked him what the purpose of the meeting was. Mishima explains that it'd be pointless if the thieves take down the bad guys and have nobody hear about it. Mishima had started the blog for postings from the people they saved and filtered out the haters.
"We need the Phantom Thieves to be seen the proper light if we want to make the name popular, right?" he asked.
"That's a lot of work to try and get the name out there, is it really needed?" asks Ren. Mishima waves off the worry, reminding him he took down Kamoshida after all the garbage he put them through, that their ideals resonate within Mishima, and knowing he'd take down more rotten adults. He actually asked how they do punish them, but Ren shot down the question with a soft but stern refusal. He had no idea how much he could tell Mishima about the Metaverse and more, and the last thing he needed was a potential leak within his growing circle.
Especially given how quick and eager he is to seek approval.
Mishima promised him that while he couldn't help them the way they take on the adults, he could help with their reputation. But he said something that worried the thief. Something on the lines of their popularity at his mercy that he quick corrected "my fingertips" but Ren did not ignore the tone in his voice, that subtle but very clear to the trained ear tone of power. And then he just announced he'd be their "strategic image management representative" and no, it did not roll off the tongue easily. However as excited as he is, Mishima did admit it was exhausting to work.
"Then try and limit yourself, remember the PT aren't that big right now, and until we find a target that's worth the same level of attention as our former coach, being small is what we're gonna be until then," Ren reminded and pressed. Mishima agreed and admitted that one of the worst aspects of the task was the bizarre comments unrelated about the PT reforming society, his biggest fear would be the message of the thieves being blurred by all the garbage.
"Ahh but don't worry about that. I'll sort through the trash, but I did find out something worthwhile about their school," he said. Then he yawned again and this time he looked ready to collapse on the table.
"…how about we talk more after you sleep?" Ren offers.
*Wildkat*
"All nighters for the… "Phan-site?" Riku asks as he brushes through a pages of his history book, "I dunno if I should be impressed by his dedication or worried for his health".
"Agreed, but his site has benefited us already and chances of finding an even bigger target is already higher than our own attempts," Ren agrees while reading up on English literature, "But I'm concerned about his tone regarding the responsibility on being our manager".
"Our popularity is in his hands? What a load…" Neku scoffed, "Sounds like the twerp's got his own agendas".
"Yeah, and if Ren's hunch is right than we're going to be more than his "heroes", especially now that he knows about us," Naminé hummed, "But all the more of a reason to keep him at arm's length. Last thing we need is to upset him and have him reveal our identities".
"The hell is he gonna do? Tell that tubby principal 'bout us? What proof does he got?" Beat argued, "Pipsqueak ain't got nothin' on us!".
"Beat's right, plus the school knows he's the one who posted Ren's record, right?" Ryuji asked. Ann nodded and added that nobody really hangs around him and considered him a weirdo, so chances of him being believed is slim. "Can we get back to studying please?" Ventus sighed, "I'm totally lost on this!". He slumps in his chair and rubs his head, his heard filled to the max with numbers, equations and Ys and X's.
Gathered around the large table together with boxes and other school tools at their disposal, the "Phantom Thieves Study" party had started roughly as one could expect. Only half an hour in and most of the party were already done with the whole session. The more impatient and easily distracted members had already adopted the looks of exhaustion and defeated confusion, namely Ryuji regarding how to understand the kanji meanings and Beat when it came to maths, which at least nearly everyone concurred should be considered another language.
"Uugh…when the heck am I gonna need history in my life?" Eri groans, "How is mentioning the change of Kyoto to Tokyo gonna benefit me in my future career?".
"Basic history lessons are mandatary and useful, besides I'm happy learning about my culture," Rhyme argued as she makes notes, "Besides this is as straight forward as we are going to get in terms of the exams".
Riku, who was pinching the bridge of his nose, sighed in complete sympathy to his friends. How could the Mark of Mastery exam seem so much easier compared to this, one exam about retaining knowledge versus fighting monsters and traversing worlds?
Kairi seemed to be the only one among the guardians who was free of the burdens of study-fatigue, quietly reading her English literatures and making notes here and there on her note pad while Sora was boringly reading his math textbook. The princess mouthing the sentences while her hand scribbled down the notes, which Ann notes herself when she gave up on understanding Shakespeare. "How are you multi-tasking like this?" she asked, baffled.
"Easily," Kairi retorts with tongue and cheek, "Sides its no different than how I studied back home in our school".
"…Kairi, did you ever graduate from your home world school?" Naminé asks, curious.
"Nope. Sadly with all that business with the keyblade war, never got the chance to graduate from my school, and chances of repeating the year is slim since its been almost two years now," Kairi replied, then paused and looked at Sora who was making notes on the mathematical questions with seeming ease. Blinking, Kairi looks at his notes and is shocked to see he was answering the questions with ease and even surprised her.
"Sora….when did you get so good at maths?" she asked.
"Oh, you know Donald's uncle Scrooge? When I worked for him at the Bistro he taught me a bit of maths," he answered, "Most of it goes over the head but you know".
"UGH! This is so much harder than fighting shadows!" Ryuji whined.
Spinning his pen in his fingers with skill, Ren hums quietly as he notes a few pieces of fact in his history studies while beside him Neku pick apart what key notes of details for his report on the artist he chose to study. Naminé, on the same subject, quietly took more than just study notes as she reviewed some of the world's greatest artists and even sees some sparks of inspiration to use for her next piece, namely what techniques and tools used for the art pieces.
"Three days of exams…" Roxas groaned, and flipped a page of his literature book, "And how bad is it gonna be if we flop?".
"Best case? Repeat the exam with an interview with the teacher. At worst? Repeat the year," Rhyme answered. She was rewarded with more groans from her friends, some more loudly than others, while the more confident study students rolls their eyes at info. Morgana teasing a fond farewell to the block heads of the group, which made them turn their ire on him and Roxas even contemplated throwing his book at him.
Shiki lazily turns a page in her textbook for the next wall of words to melt in her brain, but then turned to Xion who was reading a page from her book. She shrugged and resumed her study, but then pauses and looks back at the girl and noticed something off. Firstly Xion has her nose in the textbook but was unmoving, her eyes dull and seemingly unfocused. And most importantly she had been on that page for the past six minutes without any attempts to take notes. Curiously, Shiki lifted her hand into Xion's face and waved it in front of her.
"Xion?" she asked, noticing not a single reaction form her. This prompted the others to look, and Roxas scoffed. He gets up from his chair and walks around to her, and unceremoniously he poked her head. Xion jumps up with a yelp and shouts: "I WASN'T ASLEEP I SWEAR!".
"Oh you cheater!" Roxas grunts, "You're using that open eye sleep trick again!".
The others sighed as Xion starts to argue with Roxas about him disturbing someone when they are studying while he lectures her on laziness rivalling Lea. "Think a break is in order…" Ren sighed, pushing up his glasses, "Perhaps a drink or too?". He gets off his seat and heads for the coffeemaker with Neku in tow as the others sighed and relaxed in their seats, some relived that they were free from studying even for a little while the two former nobodies still argue about laziness and misuse of tricks, heading for the lounging section of the café.
"Can't believe how exhausting this is…" Riku yawned, "You'd think the MOM would have been harder than just retaining who did what".
"My head hurts just from all that maths…man no wonder master didn't teach us all that junk," Ventus sighed, "No wonder we trusted Aqua with the funds, she's probably the one who could do all that x and y and w…".
"W isn't part of mathematical equations…" Kairi informs dryly while her friends giggle. Ventus rolls his eyes as the drinks were served and the two coffee makers settle into the couches, allowing them selves to take breather before plunging into the world of schoolwork. "Hey, has anyone noticed the change in atmosphere in the school lately?" she asks after sipping her tea. The others looked at Kairi, who explained that now with Kamoshida out of the picture, people are being more open about his cruelties and exploitations.
"Obviously," Neku replied, "Without him beating the crap out of the volleyball team or hell just anyone, they're all breathing easier now that he's gone".
"Just wish they'd thank us or somethin'," Ryuji says with a grunt, "I mean we were the ones who got rid of him".
"But wouldn't that mean we'd have to tell everyone we're the Phantom Thieves?" Sora asked. And Xion stood up with a finger to the air, proclaiming: "Superhero Club rule number one! NEVER EVER REVEAL SECRET IDENTITY!".
"…Xion…. has a point," Ren says slowly before composing himself, "If sacrificing gratitude means we maintain our anonymity and keep people like Kobayakawa blissfully unaware of who the thieves are, it's a small price to pay".
"Sides, the whole point was to save you two from getting expelled and put an end to that dick head's tirade of being a colossal piece of garbage," Neku reminds, "Plus I prefer people not knowing who we are".
"Right, and most importantly Kamoshida got exactly what he deserved for what he did to those students," Naminé added, "That's more then satisfactory to me".
"But what's gonna happen to him now? I mean, he's kinda famous isn't he?" Ryuji asked, chugging down his soda. Naminé theorizes that chances are that apart from prison time, he may receive therapy for his narcissism at best, but at the very worst he'll be hated for the rest of his life. "He deserves it, no sympathy from me, that's for sure," Ann huffed. The others agreed, and Ventus pipped up about hearing some of the investigation results from the teachers he eavesdropped on a few days ago.
"Seems like Kobayakawa managed to make him seem like an innocent but ignorant victim in all this as well, apparently Kamoshida's sway over the students made it impossible for him to get any idea on the man being a piece of crap like everyone said," he revealed, "Meaning he will likely be labelled as innocent and uninvolved with Kamoshida".
"What a load of bull!" Beat grunts, slamming his cup on the table, "Everybody knows that fat ass knew what a piece of shit Kamo-dickhead was!".
"But without any evidence to argue his claims, other than Kamoshida confessing that the principal was in on it, this was always the likeliest outcome," Naminé sighed, "Morgana, do you think Kamoshida will say something like that?".
"Hate to say it Naminé but not really," Morgana says, laying on Ren's lap, "The change of heart only makes the person of the changed heart confess their guilt. They're so overwhelmed by their own guilt they don't even consider anyone else".
"Figures, otherwise, why wouldn't the principal be a suspect," Riku hums. As he says this, Ren's phone vibrated, making him check it. He frowns and exhales a sigh before replying a few times before planting his phone back into his pocket while the others talk about the exams coming up, Morgana asked the guardians would any of it ever matter to them since they didn't give the team the implication that they're gonna take up normal day to day jobs when everything is said and done.
"You know furball has a point…" Roxas hummed with a very thoughtful look, but Xion slaps the back of his head. "No he doesn't! Evil Kitty is trying to make us fail exam!" she argued.
"…apart from wanting to succeed in our very neglected academical skills, we won't always be guardians so the potential of getting an actual job would benefit us in the long run," Riku explains, "We gotta eat too".
"But can't we live off the loot we had from beating heartless, nobodies and other monsters?" Ventus asked, "I mean that was how I supplied myself during my journey". Then Kairi frowns along with Shiki, and then suddenly she piped up: "Wait a second…what happened to the treasure?". Morgana reminds her that they sold Kamoshida's medal almost a week ago, but she shakes her head and reminds him about the literal treasure vault they depleted from Kamoshida's Palace during the big heist.
"Hey yeah! What happened to all that loot?" Sora asked, "There was like, twenty bags filled with treasure". The Persona-users looked to the five, Eri rubbing her arm and the four guardians sharing a glance between them all.
"…about that…".
*Later*
The thieves just stared at the contents on the table with several mixed expressions. Anger, disbelief, confusion, and a mix of all three in one. Instead of the bag being filled to overflowing with priceless gold coins, jewels, and jewellery that they could have sold and live as royalty for the rest of their lives, instead the contents were just materials. Familiar ones.
Spilled out on the table were several darkly coloured materials in all form of shapes and sizes, like crescent moons, spheres with rings around them and even ones that looked like beautifully designed trophies or ornaments for pure decoration. Except the guardians could sense something akin to magic or other world energies surging within these colourful materials. Yet they were unable to speak due to the sheer flurry of emotions that sparked within their hearts.
"…what…the hell…are these?" Neku asks, arms crossed and heatedly glaring at the strange items, "They look like over-sized candy!".
The gang looked at the guardians as Riku and Sora picked a few up and studied them for a moment. With a heavy groan, Riku says: "These are materials we used to create weapons and armour during our journeys. But they're either remnants from our fallen enemies or we just find them all over the place".
"Thing is, they worth something to a few people I know and even more valuable to others…buuuuuut…." Sora says and then the others got the picture. Selling these things would have net them a nice profit for certain, however considering this world has no other worldly merchant or any other means to sell and remain incognito, they were worthless. Beat groaned in disappointment while Rhyme frowns and mutters: "Goodbye university funds…".
"All that work…just to steal junk…" Morgana whined, "We can't even use this can we?".
"Nope, the moogles never taught me how they used it…something about synthesis…or something like that." Sora explained. Kairi clarifies to the others it was close to alchemy of sorts but more complex and universal, and even Aqua had tried her hand at it once. And nearly demolished the entire basement of their home.
"So much for that extra spending money, huh?" Ventus huffed. He then frowned and chuckles, saying now that Neku said it they do look like candy. The others share a similar sound between them. "Well if anyone is feeling brave, take a bite," jokes Riku with a shake of his head.
"Are you kiddin'!? Dude, we probably break our teeth if we tried!" Ryuji shouts.
"Then don't be a dumbass and try," Ann retorts with a smirk.
*Munch*
They party blinked and turned their head to the noise and to the utter shock of the entire party, Xion was standing there with a red material in her hand with a noticeable chunk missing and her cheeks were full like a chipmunk. She chews thoughtfully before she swallows it and hummed. "MMM…strawberry!" she cooed, looking at her new snack. She then turned to the others who were staring at her with wide eyes and some even had their jaws hitting the ground, leaving a very confused Xion to stare at them, then looked behind her to see what was shocking them and then when she finds nothing, she turned back to the others.
"What?" she asked.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" Riku shouts, "WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?".
"Because you said if anyone was brave enough-
"THAT WAS SARCASM!" Roxas informs, snatching the treat from her, "Xion you don't just take a bite out of something because someone suggested it!".
Xion pouts and snatches it back from him and then clutches it like a protective hamster. "My treat! No sharing saliva!" she says. Roxas tries to take it back from her before she damaged herself, teeth, or body wise, but she keeps it away from him like a brat before she and start a game of tag around the place. While they were busy, Sora looked at a blue material and picked it up, genuinely curious and wondering if Xion was just a human being that could eat anything, like a cartoon. When Kairi looked at him with some form mixed of curiosity and worry, he shrugged and said: "Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?".
"I'm hoping the only thing you'll gain from this risky venture is just a very expensive trip to the dentist," she sighed.
"With teeth as pearly white as his? I doubt he's ever been to one," Eri teased.
Sora rolls his eyes and takes a bite from it, which sounded like he was eating an apple, and chewed. He blinks and swallows it, looking at his piece with bewilderment. "It…tastes like blueberries…" he revealed. They all stare at him and then back to the materials on the table, speechless. Sora then breathes and from his mouth is a plume of icy mist, which startles him and Kairi, who shivered from the sudden cold.
"D-Did you just sigh ice?" Neku asked.
"Yeah, ugh my mouth feels so chilly too!" Sora whined, rubbing his jaw, "It's like I've eaten to much ice cream in one go…".
Kairi picks up a yellow material and took a smaller bite, muttering something about it tasting tangy like a citrus fruit and lemony. "Are these just rock candy based on fruit?" she asked, "Because that's what I'm calling them now…". As she finished and swallows her snack, her red locks started to fizzle and stand up as if she was covered in static, and when she tapped Sora's shoulder, she zapped him with light static.
"…okay…this is getting weirder by the minute…" Ren says with hesitation and even apprehension in his voice, "Maybe we should just put these away before someone eats the more risky stuff".
Interrupting one of the leaders of the thieves was a very loud belch that boomed across the room along with a flash of light and heat. They all snapped their heads to see Xion clasping her mouth with a blush on her cheeks, thin clouds of smoke around her head and Roxas on his backside with eyes wide as dinner plates. Up above them they see scorch marks on the ceiling and even tiny flickers of a fire dying out. The smells of burnt plastic and wool instantly assaults their noses and some groaned.
"This could not get any worse…" Ventus sighs.
Then just as he finished that sentence, the smoke alarms go off and the sprinklers come alive, dousing the entire café in water. The teens all groaned and cursed at the sudden change in the room, some covering their heads while others ran to save their textbooks. "You just HAD to say that!" Eri growls as she scrounged up the books and other school tools with Shiki and Rhyme while the others quickly try to save the couches. Xion however stood under a sprinkler and opens her mouth for some water. She sighs blissfully as the water cools her mouth, leaving her friends to scramble to save their home from water damages.
*An hour later*
"…well…I think we can call an end to our study session…" Ren sighs as he dries his frizzled hair with a towel.
A soaked café that smells damp as all heck, a scorched part of the ceiling, magic rock candies, no extra loot for their efforts, and now their exam drawing closer and closer to them?
It was effectively the worst study session anyone of them has ever been a part of…
*Monday: Afternoon. 9/5*
*Shibuya*
With a stretch followed by a yawn, Sora strolls through the bustling and busy city of Shibuya with his bag slung over his shoulder and a jam donut in his hand. Little snacks like these while walking through the city was soothing to him, and especially given what's happened these past few weeks he ultimately decided to try and do more mundane everyday things to settle into normality. It had been a struggle at first considering how little he ever spends in just one world, and a place like Shibuya was full of surprises.
With the exam just two days away now and all he did was study in the school he just took the afternoon off and wanted to at least rest his mind before he throws himself into the world of words again and fail history.
He strolls to the subway stations and almost walks past it before something caught his eyes. Ahead of him was a lottery stand and a few people surrounding it, prompting him to approach it and inquire about it. The worker told him that there was a lottery for minors (he held back a frown) and offered him to take a spin for just a hundred yen. Deciding he'd at least partake in it, Sora hands over the money and watches the device spin ahead of him, holding his ticket.
"Maybe I'll win a coupon or somethin'…" he thinks to himself.
"CONGRATULATIONS SIR!".
Sora jumps from his pondering and was handed two tickets. "…huh, lucky me…" he says quietly and looks at the tickets. They were bright red but looked very pricy and posh, and he could see a name of something akin to a restaurant. He thanks the worker and walks off, both confused and baffled by his weird luck.
On his way home, he bumped into Eri and a few of the girls and was asked about their clothing and the people who made it. Apparently she and a few of the girls were curious about it after Kairi explained how she could imbue them with magic. Which leads him into a diner to share a coffee with hem and talk about it, despite him having bare minimum knowledge on it.
"Seriously? You have magical clothing, and you don't even know how it works?" Ann asks while eating her cake. Sora shrugs and reminded them that on his adventures he wasn't entirely worried about fashion or how he looked, nor did his enemies. "Sides, only me, Riku and Kairi ever wore them, even Xion's is just the normal clothes she bought in her home".
"But she could have them magically enchanted if she wanted to?" Rhyme asked.
"I mean…yeah? I dunno if there's like some that can't be or something," Sora says and sipped his very milky coffee. Eri mentions she was working on designs similar to their plaid clothing, and has Shiki show him a few of their sketches. Impressively, Sora could see the amount of work and detail into these rough but certainly appealing outfits, the girl's ones looked beautiful but nothing skimpy or anything and the guys clothes certainly made him consider commissioning her for one or six. "If you girls told me the three fairies made these, I'd believe ya," he complimented.
"Hah, showed those trolls!" Shiki cheered with a grin and nudges a smugly grinning Eri. While they gushed on their genius creations, Ann chatted Sora up about his thoughts on the exams and he answers he put them out of his mind for the afternoon and just decided to have a walk around Shibuya for some "Sora time" and mentioned the lottery he won. Which made the boy hand over the tickets to Ann if she could tell him what exactly he won, since he was still struggling to read the world's language.
Ann's eyes widened.
"I know this place! It's the same restaurant I was thinking we'd go to for our celebration dinner!" she reveals, "And you got it for free for two!".
"Ohh…umm…" Sora says, "Then they're no good…"
"NO GOOD!? Sora, you're essentially throwing out a meal of a lifetime if you're not using them!" Ann lectured. Shrugging, he offered she'd take them and maybe treat Shiho when she got out, but the girl lamented that they had an unfair expiration date and it'd be too late for Shiho when she got out of the hospital. Rhyme offered he'd could at least treat someone to dinner since they'd go to waste otherwise, and then Eri slammed her hand on the table.
"OH HO! I think Rhyme's on to something here!" she says with a grin.
"…Sora could take you?" Shiki asks with a look.
"Pfft no, not me ya doofus!" laughs the girl, ruffling her hair, "At least…not this redhead~".
All the girl's grinned excitedly while the boy looked confused and lost, suddenly feeling like he opened a gate that probably should have stayed closed. They all looked at him, and he awkwardly asked if he should run. "Come on ya dork! Who else has red hair?" Eri asks.
"Who also happens to your best friend?" Ann added.
"And may-or-may not have a crush on you?" Shiki chirps.
"And would love to spend time with you one-on-one?" Rhyme throws in.
Sora blinked, and then when he did think for a minute, his face goes bright red, and heart starts to beat at a much faster rate than it should. "I-I-I-I-I mean…maybe…Kairi w-w-would like to go…its just dinner…" he squeaks.
"Nope! You gotta ask her out!" Eri says, "You literally have a golden opportunity to ask her on the perfect date!".
"A fancy restaurant, for free mind you, its just you two, and its after the exam too! The opportunity pretty much anyone would kill for!", Ann explained. Sora blinked and scratched his head; very good arguments were made in this short exchange between him and the girls. Sure he didn't doubt Kairi would say yes, especially if it means free food and it was just them, something they haven't had much since the night where they reunited. But asking her out on a date…that was new. It also brought up a question that the more he hangs out with her, the more uncertain he feels.
What were they now?
"…I mean…she deserves it…" he thinks to himself, "Ever since we met up again, we've been so busy with everything we barely had any time to just relax…and who knows? This could make her day".
"So?" Eri asked.
"…I'll ask her…but no a word to her!" he requested.
"Deal!".
* Tuesday: Morning. 10/5*
Taking out several books that will likely make her bag weigh a ton or six, Kairi sighed as Xion slumped against the lockers with a yawn. "Sleepy…" she whined. Kairi teased her that if she just watches her shows in the day as opposed to binge-watching them then she'd never have to worry about falling asleep in school. The raven argued her shows were more interesting and fun than learning algebra.
Kairi couldn't argue that.
Together they walked off to their classroom, making idle chat about the exam and a few other topics that caught her ears, like the book clubs she was thinking of joining, more about the website Mishima made and other bits. Xion rubbed her eyes and says: "So many thingies to do…".
"Yeah, between being superheroes," she says and winked at the girl; "School, working for Eri's new boss, homework and Mementos, its actually scary how busy we are these days". Thinking back to her short time in the Land of Departure, it baffled Kairi how different her schedule was compared to this world and their roles here. At home it was simple, get up, have breakfast, train for most of the day, then ease off in the evening times, hang with friends and then sleep. Nowadays here it was a blessing that Sunday was their only day to themselves.
Provided they actually get their homework done of course.
"At least you guys don't have to worry yourselves with the other bits," Kairi reminds.
"No fun without all of you…and Nami-Nami is super bossy!" Xion whined, "And stingy!".
"If your diet included more than ice cream and ramen, she'd ease off on you," Kairi says with a giggle, "But I can understand the ramen part. This place has so many tasty noodles!".
They came to their classroom and like everything else, weathered through the same reminders of their up-coming exams and to study hard, which Kairi thought would put more pressure on the students since it's somewhat implying they should start cramming and spend some nights last minute studying. "Can't believe how lax we were back at home, then again we don't have half as much back at the islands compared to a city," she thinks to herself, "Ah well, the pros and cons of living in the city".
After class, she gathered her things up and was about to head off for the next lesson, but then Sora approached her. She waves at him and he flashed her a smile.
"Heya, eager for the exam tomorrow?" he asked.
"I'm as eager to take the exam as I am to get a tooth filling," she laughed, "But I'm pretty confident I'll pass them".
"Yeah, no doubt there," complimented Sora, then he scratched his neck, "Umm so I uh, got a question for you". Kairi nods and awaits for the question, though she warned him she was not going to hand him an answer sheet. He chuckles nervously and she notes he was a little sweaty when he clears his throat. "Umm…yesterday I won tickets to uh, err…it's that restaurant Ann was thinking we'd got to for our celebration," he says, forgetting the name. Not that Kairi could blame him, she didn't remember and couldn't read kanji either.
"S-S-SO umm…do you wanna go?" he asked.
"Sure, sounds nice," Kairi says, "Are the others coming too?".
"Umm…no…I uh, managed to win just two," he confessed, "A-And I thought, ya know, we could go…as a date?".
Kairi blinks once, then twice and after the third, her cheeks went rosy red, and she suddenly felt the overwhelming desire to squeal. "COMPOSURE! KEEP YOUR DARN COMPOSURE!" her mind screams, "YOU CAN SQUEAL AND GUSH AFTER SCHOOL AND IN PRIVATE!".
"O-oh! Ye…yeah! Yeah, that sounds great!" she says with a dazzling smile, tucking a stray hair in, "But um, it'll be after the exam right?".
"Y-yeah totally!" Sora awkwardly laughs, "Mean we can't enjoy ourselves if we're worried about that exam, right?". They both awkwardly laugh and with a promise made, they both headed off for their respective classes. Sora wearing the largest grin on his face while Kairi was skipping with joy, both already thinking of the date.
*Wednesday: Morning. 11/5*
Entering the school building with dread in each step they took, Ventus and Roxas stopped when they spotted a few students near a bulletin board. "Oh great, what now?" Roxas grumbles and approached the group with his "brother" in tow. Luckily they didn't need to see what was on the board, the students voiced their disdain. Apparently there is a school assembly happening during the week of the exam, and its happening the day after tomorrow.
"Seriously, now?" Roxas asked, "Aren't the exams bad enough?".
"Yeah. But I wonder what its about," Ventus said crossing his arms, "Must be about Kamoshida again or something".
"Pfft great! Even when that asshat isn't here, the whole school is still talking about him!" Roxas remarks, "Whatever, it doesn't have anything to do with us".
They walked off to their own classes after bidding each other a good luck. Meanwhile in the English classroom, Naminé and Beat were already prepping for the exam, one with hesitation and doubt and the other lamenting on how "screwed" he was gonna be the moment they started. Naminé wished the boy would have a little more faith in himself, he has better hand writing than Ryuji so that was already credit to his abilities.
Then he leaned closer to her and asked: "Yo, somethin's up wit Kairi".
Naminé looked to see Kairi sitting at her desk, but she was surrounded by a burning reddish aura and her eyes were steeled with determination. Her hand twitching with readiness and her form was primed for the test. Naminé blinks with her blond friend, never seeing her looking so ready to go and determined to…win?
"…I think she's just eager to start…?" she answers uncertainly.
"This exam is the only thing between me and Sora's date, you will NOT stop me, exam papers!" she bellows within her heart as her aura intensifies, "PREPARE TO BE DEFEATED!".
And as the teacher enters the room, the exam commenced.
*Friday: Afternoon. 13/5th*
School Gym
Gathered in the school gym after just coming out of the (halfway) last exam, the students of Shujin Academy wait for the principal to dispense the reason behind this unwanted interruption to the schedules of the already stressed to the highest degree students.
Nearing Riku and Rhyme, Ren adjusted his glasses as the gym is singing with students silently whispering about the ordeal and exam. The principal stands on the stage with the microphone and stand before him, clearing his throat. The moment he held everyone's attention, he spoke about the incident, IE Kamoshida's breakdown, and after everyone expressed their concerns he could no longer ignore, leaving Ren to roll his eyes.
"Call it what it was, Kamoshida finally confessing to the garbage he was getting away with. If you cared about our concerns, none of this should have happened," he thinks resentfully.
Kobayakawa goes on about the importance of the students' mental health and more pandering spiel that the thieves ignored, until he mentioned the school had procure the aid of a psychiatrist. He nods to said psychiatrist, who walks to the mic. He's a tall, bespectacled man with brown, short unkempt hair and a small stubble underneath his chin. He wears a blue dress shirt tucked into his upturned khaki slacks with a checkered dark blue tie. He wears a white lab coat over the top. On his feet he wears open-toed sandals without socks.
In an instant, the girls were already going on about his looks while some of the boys just rolled their eyes or glare at him. Ren folds his arms and watches the man on the stage while Riku and Rhyme glanced at each other.
"Its nice to meet you all," he greeted with a gentle and cool voice devoid of arrogance. When he tried to introduce himself his mic cut off and left him confused. He blinked and fiddles with it with clear confusion and lack of knowledge in his expressions. Once he resolved the issue, he apologized and introduced himself: "My name is Takuto Maruki, thank you for welcoming me to your school". Then he bowed to everyone, completely forgetting there is a mic before his head.
His forehead bumped into the black head of the mic, sending a loud feedback into it and him recoiling with a little hiss. His cheeks bright red and some of the students laughed at his awkward greetings. "Already a step up from the other adults here…" Ren thinks to himself with a little smile curled. Maruki cleared his throat and talked about his role as the school's councillor for their mental health yet assured them formalities would not be a thing, and even came across as very laxed when he offered the students to come visit if needs must.
Maruki chuckles and laments that while he was here for advice and to help out in whatever way he could, he implores to the students not to ask about financial advice. Again he got a laugh out of the students and even a bigger smile from Ren. But Kobayakawa clearly lost his sense of humour as well as his sense of body health and cut the rest of the assembly short.
After the abrupt ending, the trio meet up with Beat and Ann who were sharing a few drinks with each other. In the courtyard walkway the five gathered up for a while before the exams resumed.
"An actual psychiatrist coming to Shujin," the former player remarks, "You guys honestly think the principal gives a shit about the students mental health?".
"After everything that happened with Kamoshida? Absolutely not. But remember the school was on the national news after all," Ann says.
"Bad enough the crap with Kamoshida had been going on for god knows how long, it'd be a hell of a lot worse if they didn't do anything to help the students," Riku added, and turned to Rhyme, "But that doctor Maruki, he wasn't what I was expecting".
"Agreed, I thought they'd get a more grumpy old-fashioned doctor just to look like they were fixing the issues," Rhyme says, "Instead he was more goofy than anything else". Riku snickers as the description, softly explaining that term held a little more meaning to Sora. Still Beat huffed that he was more of a clown than a doctor, even voicing his doubts that he'd help them out. Riku frowns while Ann hissed his name and Rhyme sighed…just in time for said "clown" to appear before them all.
"Hey there. The Bito siblings, Takamaki-San and Kuroi-San, right?" he asked addressing the four before turning to Ren, "Which makes you Amamiya-San". The students gave him looks of surprise while Beat growled at him, wondering how he knew them already. It turned out Maruki was briefed on certain students already before beginning his tenure at Shujin, particularly those who have more interactions with Kamoshida. He looks at Ren with genuine sympathy, lamenting how hard it had to have been only after being transferred here.
"It was, truth be told," Ren admits, "One moment I think my hardest ordeal would be adapting to a new social life, and then the coach making me a target…".
"I can't imagine how you must have felt throughout all that," Maruki says, "But you came out on top, from what I can see".
"So what'cha want wit us?" Beat grumbled.
Maruki chuckled and asked them if they'd be interested in coming for counselling, but Beat refuses point blank, surprising the doctor. Rhyme gently explained that the school had a rather poor history with students coming to teachers for help and her brother had a bad experience with one in the past. Maruki nodded in understanding, yet he still insisted they'd at least attend one session, even offering free snacks.
"…go on…?" Ren says.
"Has he already enticed you with snacks?" Riku asked with a laugh. He turns to Maruki. "Why us though? Seems like you're really interested in having a session with us".
"To be frank with you all, I've been specifically ordered to provide counselling to the students who have been directedly involved with Kamoshida. Its…in the schools interests," he says but even from his tone the party knew why he was specially supposed to provide aid to the ones closest to Kamoshida. Beat immediately huffed in disgust while Rhyme frowns, disappointed yet somehow not surprised.
Maruki even admitted it would be a waste time to just make a mandatory visit when neither of them wanted to go and he said he couldn't help them unless both are willing to work it out. He then snapped his fingers and suggested to them that if they do attend, he could teach a few tricks that could improve the mental acuity.
"Our…what?" Beat asked.
"Mental acuity. Little ideas that can help you concentrate on exams or not get nervous on dates, and that's just scratching the surface of what I can teach you," he offered.
"Proper concentration…that…we could use that," Ren thinks. Beat looks at the others, and Ren said: "Snacks and help with exams? Sounds too good to pass up". While more hesitant, Ann reluctantly agreed to at least give it a go and even Riku, though suspicious, promised to think on it while mentioning it to the others. Smiling, the doctor thanks them for at least hearing him out and informs them he'll be at the nurses office, inviting them to drop by whenever the time suited them. The group disperses with Maruki thanking Ren at least for giving him an ear, smiling.
"…maybe this man is for real…", thinks to the frizzy haired raven.
*Friday: Evening. 13/5*
"Glad that's over with…" Shiki says with a loud yawn, following the group of girl's to Eri's place for some well-earned treats, "I swear I thought my fingers were going to fall off".
"I'm just surprised Xion managed to stay awake long enough to make it through," Naminé remarks softly, looking at the zombie walking Xion, dragging her feet with slouched shoulders and just shuffles from to and fro like she was drained. "So…many…numbers…brain hurts, need cookies…" she slurs tiredly.
Kairi on the other was in the complete opposite state of body and mind, practically dancing as she walked while glowing like the sun. Those pesky exams stood no chance against her desires and no nothing stands between her and the date with her lovable spiky friend. "Looks like somebodies happy the exams are over…or is she thinking of something else?" Ann asked, nudging her slightly. Kairi looked at her before blushing and shyly confessing she indeed has something to look forward to. The two former nobodies look at her, before Eri dropped the info bomb.
"Our spiky haired boyo has finally grown a pair and asked our fairest maiden out~" she cooed.
Xion squeals in delight, hugging Kairi while Naminé smiles wonderfully, saying: "About time". Then she frowned and asked Kairi if she had a suitable dress for the occasion, but then slammed her hands to her mouth.
"OH NO," she thought. Eri and Shiki's eyes glow with glee as Kairi sweats nervously.
"Oh…we got her covered…" schemes Eri.
"H-How many outfits do I have to try on?" Kairi asked weakly.
"You'll see~" Shiki cooed.
Naminé then shoots Riku a quick text as they hurried back to Eri's home.
Naminé: "We're gonna be staying over at Eri's place…".
Nightmare: "Prep work for Kairi's date?".
Naminé: "Yup…".
A/N:
Not sure why I made this more humorous than normal but hey, least you all got a chuckle or two from it I hope.
Sorry for the delays again, and chances are there won't be another update this Sunday due to work obligations but I'll do what I can to cut down on them.
Also I'm just pointing out that yes by this point in the game you're supposed to meet Yusuke (next Phantom Thief) after the exam but considering how much time you'll have before the deadline, I'll be using the next chapter to set up a few things.
Also fun fact, Larxene's somebody was supposed to show up as Maruki's assistant but I'm not smart so I have no idea what she could do for him and figured we have enough characters already. Unless you want her to show up, please let me know in your reviews.
QUESTIONS:
Q1: Thoughts on this chapter?
Q2: Materials as snacks?
Q3: Excited for the date?
Q4: Xion in this one?
Q5: Maruki?
Q6: Wanna see something even more crazy?
Q7: Yusuke?
As always everyone thanks for reading! Stay awesome but more importantly stay safe!