"Excuse me? Are you Amamiya Ren?"

Ren had been returning to class from lunch period, walking through the courtyard by the vending machine area when a soft, somewhat demure voice asked him that question. He turned around and was confronted with the fluffiest hair he had ever seen. Oh, and attached to that hair was a really cute girl who he recognized vaguely as a third-year.

"Yeah, that's me."

"You're starting a Gardening Club, right?" she said.

"That's correct."

"Well, the school's been letting me grow some plants on the roof, and… I mean, it'll be nice to spend time with other people who like gardening."

"Really? What kind of plants?" Ren asked, genuinely curious.

"Oh, you know, mostly flowers, but I've taken to growing vegetables lately. To use as ingredients."

"So you'd like to join the club?" he asked, hopefully.

"I would!"

Ren smiled inwardly. He'd been unsuccessful in getting new club members for the past couple of days and he even had to replace the flyer once already after the first was vandalized.

"Great! And, uh, what's your name again?"

"It's Haru."

"...Haru?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow at the lack of a surname.

"Just Haru. Don't worry about honorifics or anything, I don't mind."

"I see…" Ren allowed himself a smile as she signed her name and gave her contact information. "All right, Haru. Welcome to the club! Once I get it officially approved, I'll let you know the details."

Haru bowed. "Thank you!" She walked off to her own class before Ren had a thought and stopped her.

"Oh, by the way, I know you've been a member for like 30 seconds, but can you do me a favor?"

"What kind?" Haru asked.

"You've got permission to be on the roof even after… you know… do you think you'd be able to convince the faculty to let the club meet there, since you're already growing things there?"

"I'll do what I can," Haru said.

Ren nodded. "Thank you," he replied. He figured it wouldn't be that big a deal to get approval. Principal Kobayakawa did want him to stay out of trouble, and starting a club had been the Student Council President's idea in the first place, so he had her vouching for him.

And so they parted ways. One down, two to go, Ren thought, completely unaware of the blue-eyed, black-and-white cat that was watching from above, who promptly scampered off.

"Uh… Mr. Kamoshida?" Mishima stammered as he walked into the P.E. Faculty office. After what happened when he came here with Ryuji, he feared the worst.

"Ah, Mishima," Kamoshida said with a disturbing false cheeriness. "Have a seat."

Mishima did so, too nervous to do anything else. "Wh-what do you want? Aren't I expelled?"

"Well, I've been thinking. It's not your fault that the Track Traitor dragged you along with him for his misbehavior. He threatened you, after all, didn't he?"

Mishima shakily nodded. While he wouldn't go that far, Ryuji did corner him and yell at him, and he couldn't really say he blamed the guy, honestly, after what happened. But it was the answer Kamoshida was expecting so he didn't clarify.

"Well, I figure I'll let your involvement in this… incident… slide for now."

Mishima let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, sir," he managed.

"That being said…"

Mishima's blood turned to ice.

"...There's something I'd like you to do for me."

He stood up. "Sakamoto may have been dealt with, but there's still the matter of that other delinquent."

"You mean Amamiya-san?"

He began slowly walking towards the cowering student. "The brat's starting up a club and I'd like you to join it and figure out if he's up to anything. Since with a record like his, he has to be up to something. He's putting up a good show of being a good student, but you and I both know he's faking it." He put his hand down hard on Mishima's shoulder, promoting a flinch. "Don't you?"

Mishima swallowed and nodded. The message was clear: Spy on Amamiya or his expulsion won't be revoked. "I-I understand."

"That's good. You can run along to class now."

Mishima didn't need to be told twice. He promptly walked out and back into the hall.

Kamoshida got back to doing work on his computer. After all the work he did for the school's reputation, he wasn't going to stand for some criminal showing up and invalidating his efforts. Mishima was going to find some ammunition, that's for sure. He was a coward, but more often than not, he was a reliable coward.

"You want to join the club? Really?" Ren asked, genuinely perplexed. First Mishima, now Takamaki? "I didn't think you were the gardening type."

Ann twirled one of her large twintails with her finger, looking off to the side. "I… just like gardening, but I haven't had a lot of time to do it lately."

Ren didn't buy it, but he wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth. After all, she was the last student he needed to get his club off the ground, so he'd take what he could get. And besides, what ulterior motives could one possibly have for joining a gardening club? "If you say so." Once he got her signature and her contact information he smiled. "Thanks for joining, I'll let you guys know when the first meeting will be once I get a teacher to sign off on it."

"Looking forward to it!"

Mreoow.

Ren looked around at the sudden sound, in the process missing Ann briefly losing her composure but regaining it with all the nonchalance the part-time model could muster. "It's the stray cat again… I keep hearing it meowing but I've never seen it. It's too bad… I really like cats."

Rwreawr!

Ann hitched her shoulders to shake her backpack slightly. "Well, see ya later," she said. "I got a part-time job to get to."

"Me too, actually," Ren said. It wasn't a complete lie; if anyone asked where he disappeared off to, he told people he was working at Takemi's clinic part-time, which was technically true, even if he was working for something other than money. The two students parted ways.

Before he left school, Ren dropped by the faculty office to get Ms. Kawakami to sign off on his club. To no one's surprise, she barely took a look at the thing and immediately signed it before Ren could even explain what she was signing. He blinked in surprise before wondering what sort of joke fate was playing on him today. There's gotta be a catch to my sudden good luck, he inwardly accused no one in particular, but he figured he might as well roll with it.

He didn't have time to ponder it anyway. He had somewhere to be.

Ren downed the concoction Takemi had placed before him once again. It tasted slightly worse than last time, he noted, but as he braced himself for the impending blackness and unconsciousness, he felt… nothing. Just a slight feeling of light-headedness.

Takemi wrote a few things down in her clipboard and hmmm'd to herself. "You're not feeling the urge to pass out again, are you?"

"No," Ren said. "Just feeling light-headed."

"Good," she said. "I guess I had to make it taste worse to fix that, but it's something at least."

Just then, they heard the sound of someone just outside the door. "Oh, so you ARE here."

Takemi rolled her eyes. "Oh boy… Hey, can you do me a solid and pretend you're knocked out and just waking up?" she whispered. Ren complied and flopped over just as a man walked in.

"I've told you before, officer, if you want to investigate me you need to show me a warrant."

Ren froze as he sat up and saw the blue uniform. Oh no there's a police officer here, he panicked internally as the officer and Takemi argued over something or other. Ren wasn't paying attention, the sound dull against his ears as his mind was too busy replaying the day everything went wrong.

What did I do this time, was this testing illegal, crap it probably IS illegal I can't go back to juvie this was my one chance and I blew it-

"You there," the officer accused, now directed at Ren. "You're her patient, right? You don't…" the officer blinked. He observed Ren up and down, noting his slightly pale complexion and sweaty brow. "All right then, 'Plague,'" he said, turning back to Takemi. "This kid's definitely come down with something, I'll give you that. But you'd better-"

"I know, I know," Takemi said, waving him off.

The door closed behind the officer. Takemi gave Ren a wry smirk. "Thanks for covering for me. How'd you convince him you were… sick?" Her voice trailed off as she saw Ren's face white as a sheet, him staring off at nothing in particular.

Takemi, for once, actually looked genuinely concerned. She put a hand on his shoulder to ground him. "Hey, Ren," she said, using his given name in a gentle tone of voice that sounded utterly foreign coming from her. "Is everything all right?"

Ren blinked a couple times as his awareness returned to him. "Y-yeah," he said, sighing. "I… I'm sorry you had to see that."

Takemi's unfettered exterior resumed its place. "I take it you've got a bad history with the cops?"

"Yeah…" Ren admitted, laying back down.

"...I'm sorry," Takemi muttered. Though she'd never admit it out loud, Amamiya was a sweet kid, and she had to wonder just what happened to get him on the law's bad side.

"You didn't do anything," Ren said, his heart rate returning to normal. Sensing the tension that had built up in the room, he decided to do something about it. "I'll tell you what happened if you tell me why he called you Plague."

Takemi rolled her eyes, though this time it was accompanied with a smirk. "Maybe some other time. We're not that close yet."

"Well we did have a bunch of near-death experiences together not too long ago."

"Touche. But you should find someone else to tell your life story to. I'm a doctor, not a therapist."

"But therapists are doctors."

"Well I'm not that kind of doctor." She set down her clipboard. "I think we're done for today. Any idea when our next "adventure" is going to be?"

Ren got up off the bed and stretched his legs. "How does Monday after school sound?"

"Works for me."

"Hello everyone," Ren said as he looked around the roof. Mishima sat there with a fresh bruise or two that he didn't feel like asking about, Ann was glancing sidelong at Mishima, and Haru had given Ren her undivided attention.

"Welcome to the first meeting of the Gardening Club. I went ahead and got some stuff for us to get started. Some pots, some soil, a few packs of seeds, and-" his phone vibrated. He blushed. "Uh… just a second." He opened up his phone and saw the message from Takemi.

Ready whenever you are, she had texted.

Ren blanched. That's right, it's Monday, we had agreed to go into the Palace today! He put away his phone. "Uh… this is awkward, I'm gonna need to go into my part-time job pretty soon, but I want to do something for our first meeting…" An idea struck him. "Hey, how do you guys feel about getting something to eat, you know, to commemorate the official start of the Gardening Club? I know a place in Yongen-Jaya. My treat."

"Don't worry, I get it," Ann said. "My job can be like that too. You can count me in."

"I don't mind," Haru said.

"Uh, m-me neither," Mishima said.

"Perfect! Let's head to the train station."

They all started to head out but before Ann could leave, Ren approached her. "Hey, Takamaki-san?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"I, uh," Ren stammered, scratching the back of his head. "This isn't making you uncomfortable, is it?"

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

"I didn't really think through our meeting spot. I wasn't sure you'd be all right being on the roof after… you know…"

Ann's eyes widened in realization. "Oh, oh no, you're fine, it's… I'm not really too bothered about it. Thanks for your concern though."

"...How is she?" Ren asked. "I wasn't too close to her, but we got along okay the couple times we did talk."

"She's… her condition is stable," Ann said, sighing heavily, "But she hasn't woken up yet."

"Things could always be worse."

"I guess they could, yeah."

Ren smiled at her, a gesture that earned one back from her in return. They turned to leave the roof, but Ren could swear he saw a cat's tail quickly disappear around the corner. Ren would normally have stayed to investigate but he didn't have a ton of time.

Must be my imagination...

Leblanc was empty today. Sojiro appreciated the peace and quiet on one hand, but on the other hand, he could do with a bit more business. The door chime rang out and he looked surprised as Ren walked into Leblanc with three other students in tow.

"Hey Sakura-san," he called. "Four orders of curry, meal's on me."

"Do you really have the money to throw around like that?" Sojiro queried.

"I got a part-time job, remember? I can spend my money how I want."

"Fair enough." Sojiro got to work. "Are you going to introduce your friends?"

"I started a gardening club at school," Ren explained.

"That right?" Sojiro replied, intrigued. He took note of the three students who had accompanied his charge. "Didn't I tell you to stay out of trouble?"

"Wha- I am!" Ren said defensively.

"Really? Because it looks to me like you've wasted no time picking up chicks," Sojiro said with a sly smile. In response Ren sputtered, Haru blushed deep red, and Ann couldn't help but let out a laugh. Mishima looked a bit dejected at being ignored.

"I'm kidding," Sojiro said. "I'm glad you're making friends. You three have a seat. Amamiya?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you make them some coffee?"

Ren's eyes widened. "You want ME to do it?"

"I wanna know if you've been paying attention to my advice."

He had been, but that didn't mean he felt ready to actually serve it to people. Still, he nodded as the other three club members took a seat. The three sat in relative silence. Haru wasn't much for conversation, Ann was glaring at Mishima for some reason, and Mishima was looking to the side out the window.

Sojiro turned to Ren from his own work in the kitchen. "Not a lot of chemistry between those guys," he noted.

"It's only the first meeting," Ren replied. "I think they'll warm up to each other eventually."

"Hm."

The coffee was ready shortly after Sojiro brought out the curry. As the club members commented on how good the curry was, Ren carried the tray with the four steaming mugs over to the table, swallowing as he waited for these three to pass judgement on his work.

Sojiro had told him before that his coffee had a tendency to turn out bland, that the flavor profile was weak, but that he'd get better with practice. He still wasn't sure just what he was doing wrong, and he felt in no way ready for the "real thing" as it were.

As Mishima hungrily devoured his curry, Ann took a sip of the coffee and looked down at it with an expression Ren couldn't see too well.

Ren braced himself. "I'm sorry, this is my first time brewing it for someone other than myself or Sakura-san, I haven't-"

"This is really good, Amamiya-san! Guys, you gotta try this!"

Ren blinked. He was not expecting that. Haru and Mishima both took sips of their own. Mishima noticeably perked up.

"Come on, it's not that good," Ren said. "It's nothing compared to the way the boss makes it…"

"Don't sell yourself short, Amamiya," Ann reassured. "If this is really your first time serving it, it'll only get even better from here!"

"I agree," Haru nodded, smiling. "It's very good."

Ren perked up a bit. He sat down next to Mishima and they started chatting. The awkwardness between them had melted away from the warmth of the coffee and they were talking with one another like normal high schoolers. Ren didn't add much to the conversation- he was still new to the big city after all- and Ann's face darkened any time Mishima said something, but it felt nice to be among friendly faces again.

And maybe, after this Futaba business got sorted out, he might actually have some good memories once this year was over and done with.

Takemi was leaning against the wall checking her phone as Ren approached her. She turned his head in acknowledgement. "You're late."

"Sorry about that, schedule mishap, you know how it is."

"Not really. I don't get enough patients for that to happen."

"Fair enough. You ready to go in?"

"After you."

Ren pulled out his phone and activated the MetaNav app. "Futaba Sakura, bedroom, tomb."

" Candidate found ," the app rang out. " Beginning navigation ."

The world around them once again rippled into the desert landscape from before. Ren and Takemi didn't even flinch as their clothing transformed around them. They were used to it by now.

"So what's on today's agenda?"

"I think those murals we had to unscramble mean something," Takemi said. "If we want to help Futaba, we need to figure out what story they're telling. Wouldn't Sojiro know if we asked?"

"I'm not gonna risk asking him. He got testy last time I asked about her."

"Hard way it is, then. Let's go."

Ren gripped his dagger and Takemi her bonesaw, and they nodded to one another. The two ran towards the entrance and stepped inside…

Completely oblivious to the fact that Yuuki Mishima was standing right there.

He had done as Kamoshida had asked and tailed the delinquent. He managed to get close without being seen- an advantage to his lacking presence, he assumed- and was too shocked to make a sound as he was pulled into the desert along with them, silently watching as the delinquent and some sketchy-looking chick pulled out weapons, more questions pouring into his head as the seconds went by. Once the two Persona users had disappeared behind the doors of the pyramid, Mishima took a deep breath…

And promptly screamed.

Still no idea who I'm going to pair Ren with. So many good choices...

Also, in case you're wondering why Ren reacted that way to the officer in Takemi's office when that didn't happen in the actual game, I just really like the idea of him being traumatized by his arrest and being terrified of the police.