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The three of us sat upstairs, around my folding table. We just sat there in silence, waiting for him to come by. A former friend, an adversary bent on turning the world into a "twisted paradise."

Earlier that morning, I received a text from Maruki's number, claiming that he wanted to come by LeBlanc to discuss some things, and hear our decision on whether to accept or reject this reality. We had, of course, long since made our decision, but that didn't make the moment any less tense. Everyone else declined to be present for this moment, all knowing that, out of all of us, this matter involved the three of us the most. Even Morgana slipped out of LeBlanc, and promised not to be back until much later (I saw Futaba outside my window guide him back toward the house).

"When do you think he'll come?" Sumire asked.

"I don't know," I said. "We can only trust that he will. He wants to hear our decision, after all."

"Why should we trust him?" Akechi said sharply. "He's been dodging us these past few weeks, stalling so that we can't give him our answer. In just a few days, the real world and Mementos will…"

We heard the door open downstairs, the bell ringing and a voice calling out, "hello?"

All of us got up at once. "That's our cue," I said. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Sumire nodded.

"Let's get it over with," Akechi grunted.

"Alright. Showtime."

We went downstairs, and found the doctor at a booth, waiting for us expectantly, while Sojiro worked on closing up shop for the night. The only other customer present was a lady with long, blonde hair and a cane propped up against the bar next to her.

"Thanks again for the coffee, Boss," she said.

"No problem," Sojiro replied. He finished putting the last of the dishes away. "I'll have to close up shop, now, but this young man can take care of your cup after you leave."

The lady looked over at me and smiled. "He seems like a very capable gentleman. It is strange that he lives in your attic, I will say."

"It's a long story," I said. I took her empty cup and went to the sink to wash it and put it away. I then started a pot for the four of us; if we were going to have Maruki, we might as well maintain a facade of politeness. After all, it was still possible that we could resolve this peacefully, on our terms.

The lady got up from her stool, got her cane, and started making her way to the door after Sojiro left. I went over to hold the door for her. "Thank you, young man."

"It's my pleasure," I nodded.

The lady then looked at the four of us, smiling when looking at me, Akechi or Sumire, but seemingly bore more of a glare upon gazing at Maruki, before going back to her prior demeanor. "I'm sure you four will have a great talk." She then left, letting the door close behind her and leaving me to turn the sign.

"That was odd," Maruki said.

"Indeed," I said.

Once the coffee was done, I poured each of us a cup, and we gathered around the booth table.

"Sorry for the last-minute visit," Maruki said. "It… took me a while to put myself back together after last time, as you could probably imagine."

"Yeah," Sumire sighed. "That girl… she beat you up pretty badly, didn't she?"

"That is not what we are here to discuss," Akechi hissed.

"Of course not." Maruki took a sip. "Now then. I've come to offer you a final chance. Do you want to reject the perfect reality I have created, and continue to struggle with loss, pain and suffering? I have created a world, where everyone can live freely, without worry, where everything they have ever desired is finally theirs… knowing that, do you still wish to take that all away?"

I slapped the calling card onto the table. "There is no discussion," I said sharply. "We have already resolved to fight for the true reality."

Maruki sat up in shock.

"The world is painful. I think we all know that by now. And, that pain is unavoidable. Everyone dies eventually. Things do not always go your way; otherwise, it would never go other people's way. Nature does whatever it wants, irrespective of our desires. Avoiding hardship is futile." I sat back down. "But, it's that hardship which makes us who we are. Hardships and challenges force us all to grow. Experiencing loss forces us to change for the better, to overcome it, and be stronger for when even larger losses hit us, for when life decides to screw us over. In my case, I've been punched in the balls over and over again throughout the past year, and nearly died on countless occasions. But rather than shrivel up and cry, I preserved throughout it all, and became a better man for it. I amassed the best friends I could ask for, and made them stronger too." I looked at Sumire. "I found the one I'm certain I will marry." I looked at Akechi. "And… I also found my best friend."

Maruki continued to stare at me, dumbstruck.

"Don't run from the truth, doctor," I warned him. "You are only doing this because you can't have happiness, because you lost Rumi forever. Ironic; how you're trying to grant everyone else a happiness you can never have." I looked him in the eye. "Not unless you move on. You can no longer have Rumi, but you can still find someone else and spend your life with them."

Maruki looked down. "But… Rumi…"

I slammed the table. "I said move on! Coward!" I shook my head. "I suppose my words are falling on deaf ears, since you have a palace after all."

Maruki didn't answer. Instead, he solemnly took the calling card, got up, and went to the door. Before he left, he turned back to us and said, "I suppose we can't reach an understanding. Tomorrow, at the top of my palace. I hope you all change your mind before then. If not, then I suppose be ready, I guess."

He left.

I looked at Akechi. "Well? Is that proof enough of my determination?"

Akechi smiled. "I could scarcely have rendered it into better words."

I looked at Sumire. "What about you?"

Sumire clenched her fist. "Yes. You are absolutely right. Because of you, I managed to get past Kasumi's death, and realize it wasn't my fault. I… I became a stronger person, and, um…" She blushed up as we looked at each other.

Akechi read the situation, got up, and took his leave. "Well then, we will meet again tomorrow, for a final time. I'm glad you weren't so spineless as to give in to the doctor's demands." He looked down, and focused.

"...what is it, Akechi-san?" Sumire asked.

Akechi looked back up. "I came to a realization."

"What did you realize?" I asked next.

"I just said that we would meet for the final time tomorrow," he replied. "But, it won't be the last time you meet Goro Akechi, not if you stick true to your will, ideals and beliefs. You do that, and I'm sure you two shall reunite someday." He then exited LeBlanc and into the cold night.

We looked at each other. "What did Akechi-san mean by that?"

I thought for a moment. "Perhaps it has something to do with that 'Gensokyo' place."

"Gensokyo… I haven't stopped thinking about it, not since that day. A place where myths become reality, almost like the Metaverse itself."

"Yeah…" I looked around, took her hand, and led her away from the booth. "Of course, there's one thing I'll never let be a myth."

Sumire giggled. "As if that could ever be sent to 'Gensokyo.'" We made our way up the stairs. "There's nobody around. I'm sure you know what that means…"

"Yes, of course…"

"What do you mean there's a bonus room inside the bonus room?!"

"You didn't know this one, senpai? Me and Kasumi discovered it several years ago," Sumire replied, smug.

The two of us were playing Donkey Kong Country, and were at the Oil Drum Alley level. I always knew there was a bonus room there that I could never find, but apparently, not only was it in one of the other bonus rooms, which none of the other ones in the game did, but you had to intentionally match four bananas to generate a barrel, then grab it with Diddy, jump up against the wall and move into the wall to break it or else you would trigger the minigame end.

It was the sort of cruel trick Futaba would probably pull if she designed a video game.

As we played, soda cans and empty yakisoba trays piled up all around us. Just after we beat King K. Rool, I offered to take Sumire back to the station, but she had already asked her father if she could stay the night. So I pulled out a futon I had stowed in the closet from previous sleepovers, dragged the mattress down onto the floor, and slid them next to each other. It wasn't exactly the most elegant sleeping arrangement, but I didn't want to leave her on the floor alone. Once we both got changed and slid under the covers, I cut the lights, but still looked at my phone for a bit, just in case there were updates from the others.

"Senpai?" Sumire asked.

"What's up?"

She paused for a second. "Um, so… I've been thinking. About tomorrow, I mean. We'll be taking back the true reality, and making Dr. Maruki see the truth. But… I still can't object to everything he did. Not all of it, at least."

"I don't think he's an evil person at all," I said. "He suffered a heavy trauma, then was put through the ringer. Then, a bunch of impossible coincidences happened that let him take out his frustrations, and make sure nobody has to live through his pain." I shook my head. "It's not the right way at all, but compared to some of the people we've had to deal with, he's a saint. And, him making you believe you were Kasumi also was not the right thing to do. But think of it this way: you were suicidal at the time, and nothing else was working to turn you away from that. I'm sure he probably didn't think it was a good fix either, but what else could he have done? He probably saved your life by doing that, until someone came along who could help you heal."

Sumire smiled. "It's almost as though fate brought us together."

"I have to admit," I said, "for all he did to try and ruin my life, Yaldabaoth wound up giving me not only the best friends I could ask for, but also…" We leaned in to kiss, and started to, before her eyes widened and she looked behind me.

"Uh, S-Senpai?" She pointed. "B-behind you…"

I turned around, shining my phone where she was pointing. There, floating in the air, was a pink bubble with a Santa hat on top. It quickly flew away, but not before leaving behind two smaller bubbles which drifted toward us. Before I could fully register what I was seeing, one of them flew into my face and popped. Things were a blur after that, although the next morning I did recall a dream in which me and Sumire walked through a field of flowers, hand-in-hand, before coming to a cliff overlooking a wooded valley with a large, fast river flowing into the ocean.


When I woke up, my eyes were greeted with a dull, brown-orange glow. I looked around, and saw I was seated in a leather chair, with a coffee table in front of me and a crackling fireplace off to the side.

And in front of me, sitting in an opposite, olive-green chair, was Doremy.

"Welcome, Akechi-san," she said. "Do you like it? I crafted it myself, using my power over dreams."

I looked around again. "Is this a dream?" I asked. "Is this your house?"

"I apologize for summoning you in this manner, which is why I thought I'd make it more inviting." She waved her hand, causing two teacups and a kettle to float over. The kettle tipped itself, pouring piping hot tea into each cup. Mine was left black, which was how I usually took it, while a sugar cube and a dash of cream appeared out of thin air to sweeten Doremy's. "But I do have one important matter to discuss."

I blew on my tea to try and cool it down, but Doremy said, "oh, that won't be necessary. It's already the perfect temperature." I took a sip, discovered she was telling the truth, then set the cup back down. "It won't grow cold, either. Such is the power of dreams."

"Indeed, but what is the important matter you wanted to discuss?" I asked.

"It has to do with the incident Outside," she said. "It would seem the Phantom Thieves have found the resolve to take it on themselves. In part, thanks to you."

I sat up. "To… me?"

"Yes." She took a sip. "Ren's greatest wish was for you to have survived that fateful day in Shido's palace, not knowing of your true fate. In Maruki's dream world, this created a gruff, no-nonsense version of yourself, accepting and unrepentant of your past crimes and perceived true nature, utterly disgusted at not being brought to justice for your crimes and who sternly and forcefully urged him to reject the dream reality, and to accept the true one, despite its hardships and pains." She took another sip. "Actually, it would seem as though this version of yourself is a cognitive being spawned from the side of Ren who took the hardships, unfairness and evil thrown his way in stride, and grew from it. Such is the impact that your being had on his cognition."

I took a sip of my own tea. "I still don't quite understand it. I almost killed him, and not only did he not hold that against me, but in the end he wished for my salvation, and I even made a deal with him to keep my justice alive." I looked down. "Although, I suppose my being sent to kill him was only so that I could gain Shido's favor so that I could eventually backstab him. I hated Ren. I hated him for all the ways that life fucked him and yet he still weathered it with his overwhelming charisma. I hated him for every advantage I seemingly had over him, but he still found success where I never could. Truly, I hated him, and yet, at the same time, he was my only real friend, the only person I could trust, the only person I could reveal my dark secrets to…" I looked back up. "And now, I suppose, I'm carrying out his example here in Gensokyo…"

"Ren is truly a remarkable man," Doremy agreed. "You and him both. Great men such as you two don't come along often."

I shook my head. "I can't be called a 'great man' by any stretch of the imagination, not after everything I have done, everything that has happened to me, or even given who I simply am…"

Doremy chuckled. "As I said, I have been observing you from birth. I truly believe you have the potential to redeem yourself, and fulfill the great destiny you were put on this Earth to achieve. All you need to do is believe in yourself, forgive, understand, and be generous and sympathetic. Your new friends and your conquering of two fortresses is proof enough that you are already well on your way to achieving this."

I took another sip. "I suppose so…"

"Anyway, the important point is that the immediate need for your group to confront Maruki no longer exists. We will, of course, continue to monitor the situation, so your group will still need to be ready to take him on should the Phantom Thieves fail to stop him."

"Understood," I nodded. "The threat that Maruki poses to the world, and to Gensokyo, is too great to ignore. And, of course, my sense of justice wouldn't allow it. Even if I were made to atone for my crimes and spend the rest of my life in prison for them, I would feel even worse for getting off scot-free, after all the atrocities I have committed."

Doremy nodded. "And don't forget that, even when this incident is resolved, there is still a threat looming over Gensokyo, like a storm cloud filled with lightning, whose scope your group has only just begun to scratch the surface of. Even I have no idea how deep the incident goes, and certainly I have no knowledge of the mysteries Ethos contains within its walls. I will watch over you and your group as you continue your assault on the fortresses and your ascent of the tower, and we shall continue to provide guidance and assistance every step of the way."

I nodded. "Thank you. I appreciate your aid."

Doremy then pulled out an oversized, golden pocket watch and looked at it. "It would seem as though our time is running short. I do apologize again, but being the master of the Dream World means that I am a rather busy person, and have other dreamscapes to manage." She got up and waved a nearby window open. "I must be going now. You are free to finish your tea. To exit, you may go out the wooden doors behind you. That will cause you to wake up in the morning immediately. Adieu…"