Author Note: I'm not going to do the palaces in this fic however they will "happen" in the world, so It'll instead be a simple recap of what happened, like the end screen of each time you infiltrate the palace. However momentos I will probably do a little more for, and screw it I'm going Canon divergent (ノ-_-)ノ~。End Note

04/11

Ren awoke from his slumber, his alarm blaring as loud as it possibly could. "This was it" he thought to himself, the true start to his temporary new life, he knew all he needed to do was keep his head down for a whole year.

"Hey Kid! Your breakfast is getting cold" A familiar voice called from below. Ren finally got dressed and headed downstairs, the food as expected was Sojiro's own curry recipe. Ren didn't complain as it was actually amazing, the flavour was mind blowing and the texture was perfect. Ren quickly scoffed down the food presented to him and thanked the man who prepared it before washing his plate and heading towards the door. As Ren's hand touched the knob to open the door he was stopped by the voice of his new guardian "Good luck today." Ren was taken aback by the man's words, causing him to smile a little after nodding toward Sojiro. "Oh and flip the sign on your way out."

Ren left LeBlanc, flipped the sign on the door and headed towards Yongen-Jaya Station, arriving at the same time as the train was well timed on Ren's part (although he can't say he had planned it). He had to take the train to Shibuya to then take another train towards Aoyama-Itchome, he didn't have to wait long for the trains to arrive. Finally arriving at Aoyama-Itchome Station Ren began heading in the direction of Shujin, he knew he was heading the right way as he couls see other students taking the same pa- Ren stopped in his tracks as he felt something hit his nose... it was rain. Not having an umbrella he immediately took shelter underneath a near by awning.

Splash, Splash, Splash... The sound of someone running through puddles could be heard, Ren would turn to see a blonde wavy haired girl heading his way, she would stop next to the boy. It was pretty apparent that she had forgotten an umbrella too, she didn't speak a word until a silver sedan pulled up next to the pair. The window would roll down revealing a man driving the car "Takamaki-Chan! Need a ride?" She wouldn't give a verbal answer, she did let out a quiet sigh as she gives a small nod and gets into the car. The strange man would turn his head to Ren with a slight look of disgust... "What about you?". Ren looked at the man with a puzzled look before shaking his head, signalling "no". A rather creepy smile would fill the strangers face before he drove away.

Ren wouldn't pay it anymore mind and would instead check his phone, he knew he was going to be late but he'd rather be late than drenched... or so he thought until another person ran into his life... He was clearly a fast runner, you could tell what kind of person he was just from what he was wearing, a yellow shirt underneath the Shujin blazer, he made it apparent that he didn't want to conform to the norm.

"DAMNIT!" The new man would shout, getting Ren's attention "Can't believe she went with that bastard!", Ren's gaze shifted to the man. "Yo! Come on we're gonna be late" He started walking out in the rain... was he crazy or something? He didn't want to get soaked but he felt as though following this person would be a good idea, he went against every rational thought and started walking with him.

The stranger finally spoke up "You new or something?"

"Yeah." Ren would finally speak up for the first time in a short while

"That asshole in the car was Kamoshida... he coaches the volleyball team. He thinks he's some kind of King. By the way I'm Ryuji Sakamoto"

"Ren Amamiya" The two carried on walking, the rain had let up and they finally made it to the school...?

"Huh!?!?" Ryuji gasped out. Ren looked up and noticed that instead of a school there was a castle... Ren began to think he was going insane. "Tell me you're seeing this too?" Ren would look at Ryuji and nod, guess they're both going insane now. "Should we go in?" Ren asked in a calm tone, he thought to himself that there's no point in freaking out. "Dude! how are you so calm about this?!?" The response only elicited a shrug from the so called calm one.

The pair entered the castle before them and started to explore, meanwhile a certain Student Council President was being handed her hardest task to date.

"You wanted to see me Sir?" The President would ask as she closes the door behind her.

"Ah, Nijima-San. I need you to do something. You know that new transfer student?"

"The one with a criminal record that's already being talked about?"

"Yes... someone on the faculty must have let it out... I want you to keep a close eye on him. I know we let him into the academy, I think you understand where I'm going with this. I don't want a stain on our reputation"

This comment would make the President recoil, to hear it from the Principal of the school, it wasn't the first time he had asked her to do something like this. "And I think you know what's on the line here."

Of course she knew what was on the line, it was the same thing that kept her under his thumb this whole time. Everytime he said he'd write the recommendation letter, but he never did.

"Do you understand what I'm telling you to do?" The President would nod, afraid of even speaking another word. "Good. You already have all the information you need." the Principal would gesture towards the door "I'm expecting great things from you, don't let me down." The President turned Spy would bow as she took her leave.

The President would make her way to her classroom, she planned to start her new mission at lunchtime, she had access to all the school records and that was her starting point.

A few hours had passed, it was now lunchtime. Ren and Ryuji had barely escaped the castle, which they now knew was called a "Palace", alive. They discovered that the castle belonged to Kamoshida, and that he treats everyone as slaves, including that girl Ren saw at the start of the day. Ren has awakened his persona and saved Ryuji's life, they broke out a weird "cat that isn't a cat" like monster called Morgana who taught them what the whole castle was, and then escaped before any more harm could come to them.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS ALL THAT?!?!?" Ryuji exclaimed, he was confused and a little bit concussed. Ren would try his best to calm him down as two Truency officers would begin to head their way. "Shouldn't you two be in school?" Ryuji would freeze up, he couldn't risk anymore trouble with the school. So Ren would speak up "We got lost on our way and found a injured stray cat, so we helped it." Ren lied as naturally as he breathed, well only half lied. The officer would take a moment before finally telling the pair to head to the school. "Holy shit man" Ryuji would whisper "I owe you one"

The pair finally entered the school, they exchanged contact info before heading their separate ways. Ren started to make his way to the Faculty office... he was only a few hours late. As he was walking he felt like he could sense people's gazes on him... He knocked on the faculty door. "Come in!" A familiar voice would respond. Ren would enter the room and close the door behind him, scanning the room revealed that there was only one other person in the room. It was his new homeroom teacher.

"Where have you been?" Kawakami would ask in an annoyed and partially relieved tone.

"Sorry, I got lost on the way here... and I was helping an injured cat I found" Ren would bow in apology

Kawakami would look the boy up and down... she was trying to figure out whether or not he was lying to her, but he was unreadable. Kawakami would let out a sigh "Just don't be late again. Come with me, I'll show you to the classroom." Kawakami would stand up and lead Ren towards Class 2-D. Unbeknownst to them they were being followed...

"Lunch is almost over... when it ends you'll come here and we'll go from there."

The rest of the day went as expected, Ren introduced himself to the class, ended up sat behind the same girl as earlier, he had picked up that her name was "Ann Takamaki", he also picked up on some students whispering amongst themselves... "I heard he killed someone". Ren tried not to listen, but they weren't whispering quietly.

Zzzt Zzzt - His phone vibrating would take his focus away, he pulled it out of his pocket and unlocked it to check his messages.

Ryuji : Yo meet me on the roof later

Ren : Can we even get up there?

Ryuji : Yeah they don't lock it

Ren would stow his phone back in his pocket and try to focus on the actual lesson.

The time passed quickly, and the school day ended. Before he could go towards the meeting spot he was pulled aside by Kawakami and told Ren that he shouldn't listen to the other people after that she let him go, and go he did up towards the roof that is. On his short journey he never noticed it but he walked passed the one who was stalking him and she immediately sprang into action, pulling out a shonen manga borrowed from the library and following behind him making sure her face was hidden by the manga, until they reached the roof access.

She knew she couldn't follow him up there, so she decided to wait for him to go up and then hide at the door to try and listen in on him.

Ren went up the stairs, he felt the stare of someone as though he was being watched as he opened the door to the roof.

"Yo!" The pair would discuss what had happened today, unaware that there was someone trying to listen, emphasis on trying, the spy couldn't hear anything and she decided it was time for drastic measures. She tried to quietly open the door a small amount so she could listen in... Obviously it didn't work. Ren noticed the door move and decided now would be a good time to end the conversation, stating that "He was in a hurry to get home" Ryuji didn't think much about it and gathered his things and headed towards the door. Making the "spy" panic and nearly fall down the stairs, she hurried to a new hiding spot so that she wouldn't be found.

Ryuji and Ren once again parted ways after walking to the station. Little did Ren know, he was still being followed... is what the woman following him was hoping however the reality of the situation is that Ren knew and just decided to ignore it. He knew that she couldn't follow him forever and after he boarded the train to Yongen-Jaya the overt spy had stopped following.

Ren headed home, toward LeBlanc. He didn't feel a reason to stay out. He walked into the cosy building and was greeted by a familiar face "Oh it's you, how was your first day?" Sojiro was partially curious. "It was fine" Ren didn't want to tell the truth about his day because he wasn't sure whether or not it actually happened. "Good.. Oh and if there's no customers here then feel free to use a booth to study". Ren's nodded at the man and thought that now would be a good time to study and so he did. Sojiro would leave the cafe and lock the door behind him. Ren was once again alone, he finished his studying for the night and went up to his room lay in bed. He knew this is what his life was going to be for the next year then what was the point in doing it?