Subaru barely noted Aladdin's disgust as he lookeed at his companion ''Easy, Mona.''
"But...but they...!'' He couldn't help it. They had just learned that not only where people brushing off the attack as one caused by thugs, Kamoshida was encouraging this by spinning up stories subtly, hinting at Subaru to be the cause. It infuriated Morgana that people actually lapped this up. Hell, they just heard a student express how Subaru was nothing but trouble and he deserved worse for causing this.
Subaru wasn't even all that surprised, they knew Kamoshida had most of the school in his pocket. The man had already proven he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted-if anything he was just more disappointed that people were tricked so easily.
He blinked as someone called his name, spotting Ayumi near the school entrance. The girl greeted him cheerfully ''So I guess you got a really early preview of how bullshit this school really is.''
Morgana held back a snort. He liked this girl already. Subaru shook his head in amusement ''You heard the talk too, huh?''
Her scowl was enough of an answer ''They're so apathetic that it makes me sick-I don't know what they would've done if someone had actually died back there. How are you even taking this so well?''
"I'm not-I just don't see the point of arguing my case if they're just going to believe what they want. That's all they've done so far.''
"...Fair point.'' Ayumi nodded. ''Anywho, glad to see someone else who doesn't buy the stupid rumor mill. I mean come on, my best friend stands up for herself and suddenly she's the bad guy?! Ugh...''
"Well, we know the truth. Let's just be glad the rumors are a load of hot-air, can you even imagine what it'd be like otherwise?'' Subaru returned.
"Not a can of worms I want to open.'' was her immediate response. ''Let's move on! So the other day, Mitsu was telling me...''
Ann rolled her eyes, glad to hear the lunch bell ring. Their classmates were still surprised that Subaru turned out to be a diligent student, heck even today, he spent their free period in the library. At least they agreed that he definitely deserve to be targeted that day. But still people were so intent on thinking the worst of the boy-it was so unfair!
The girl was on her way to meet him and Morgana so they could eat together when she heard a couple of third years talk about the new stories. It was about the rising theory over the attack and how thugs broke in somehow. Ann froze as she heard one of them mention how it was Subaru's fault and he deserved what he got. He was of the opinion that he was nothing but a good for nothing criminal who didn't deserve what he had.
How dare they...? Ann was all set to rip the jerk a new hole when a hand landed on her shoulder. Startled, she turned around to find Subaru, who shook his head as Morgana glared at the retreating boys ''It's not worth it, Ann.'' The girl started to protest but he carried on. ''This won't help. Yes, it's downright cold and callous but they won't listen to us. Nothing we say will change their minds.''
Then it hit her, it wasn't that he didn't care what people said. It was more than he had grown to expect this sort of behavior. That was even sadder but...well, was he given much of a reason not to? ''...Fine, I'll let it go this time but you better believe I won't let people treat my friends like that for long.'' She didn't miss the surprise flickering in his eyes at this. ''Hey, now-none of that. You're just as much my friend as Ryuji and Morgana. You're a great guy and screw them if they can't see it.''
"Well said, Lady Ann. I couldn't agree more!'' The cat chirped.
"...We have a good team, my other self.' Aladdin remarked.
The boy couldn't agree more ''...Thanks, both of you. All right, let's not waste time.''
Ryuji and Makoto happened to be close enough to hear the exchange. Neither was pleased to say the least. Only the fact that the boys had left stopped Ryuji from chewing them out. ''Those assholes! What the hell?! They already knew the ambulance had to rush to make sure Subaru was okay. What, they're okay with him dying?!''
"I'm sure they didn't mean it like that...'' Makoto pursed her lips. ''...but I won't deny that was terrible of them. I'm more surprised at how Namikaze-kun is handling this.''
Ryuji was too, but he figured it was understandable. When one considered what his friend been through recently...
"He knows how badly they think of him, they're not shy about making their opinions known. He's been denounced before he could even start school...but he still tried to help the students, he still stood up for them. Why?'' Makoto couldn't figure it out. In her opinion, Subaru had every reason to simply keep out of all this mess but he still tried, he fought to do the right thing.
"He's just that kinda guy.'' The ex-athlete returned. ''The whole situation at school disgusted him-he doesn't bury his head in the sand. He didn't need a reason to help someone. It's like he told me the other day-nothing's going to change unless someone takes action, and he won't get anywhere if he's too afraid to move.'' The girl's eyes widened a little. ''Everyone of those idiots might be glad to call him a criminal but I'm proud to have him as a friend. They can't change that.''
With both Ryuji and Ann busy today, the team agreed to head back to the Palace tomorrow. Thus, they went their seperate ways...
"I'm glad Suzui's getting better.'' Morgana remarked, eliciting a hum of agreement from Subaru. Ann had briefed them in a short while ago. Shiho wasn't exactly up to seeing much visitors but they knew she was at least awake. The stress and all the abuse had taken their toll on the poor girl and she really needed her space. ''How much do you think her parents know about...?''
"According to Ryuji, she told them everything. They were furious and I know they plan to go after Kamoshida-the school's just been getting in their way.''
"Ugh, of course..'' The feline scowled. ''...and I bet it's just like before, huh? Nothing much can be done without his victims speaking up.''
"Yeah, Suzui-san can't bring herself to even look at Kamoshida right now. They really don't want to force her. That's too cruel.''
Morgana concurred, the experience was no doubt traumatizing for the poor girl. It seemed the school would continue doing what it took to keep their so called excellent image and leave the students to suffer. ''Well, that's what we're here for. But let's leave that be for now. I'm getting kinda hungry. Can I snag a bite to tide me over for later?''
Nodding, Subaru lead them to Inokashira Park, finding a bench before taking out his bento.
Morgana purred happily as Subaru fed him ''Yuri-san's cooking is amazing!''
"Say, I was wondering-you were telling us how you found the Palace before. But you woke up with your memories missing in the Metaverse, right? Where were you?'' The boy inquired.
"Right, I never got around to explaining...see, people with particularly corrupted desires have Palaces. But there's a much widere place out there, it's called Mementos, everyone's Palace.''
"Everyone's...?''
Morgana nodded ''It's the Palace of the masses, like an embodiment of the Collective Unconscious. Palaces manifest in extreme situations but any other Shadows would show up in Mementos.''
Subaru looked taken aback ''Wait, so it's a Palace for everyone in the city? That's nuts-how big is the place?''
"Pretty huge is my bet.'' He shrugged. ''I've only seen one floor but that's where I woke up. I discovered the Castle while trying to find answers so I decided to get the treasure.''
Subaru had more questions about the other world than before. Mementos sounded like quite a place-he couldn't help but wonder what it was like...
"Hey, you should eat too.'' Morgana poked his hand, snapping him out of his thoughts. ''You've hardly eaten much before. I thought you were working on this?''
"A-ah, right...''
It was as they finished that Subaru spotted a familiar head of red hair not too far away ''Sumire?''
The girl turned, perking up ''Hello, Senpai.''
Sumire leaned back on the bench ''We first came here with Mom-it's one of her favorite places in all Japan. Dad proposed to her here.'' She smiled wistfully. ''We used to come and practice our routines here when we first started out and she'd cheer us on the whole way.''
"That sounds nice...'' He remembered another encounter with the twins a few days ago where he learned that their mother died due to an illness. ''...so you don't do it anymore?''
"Oh, it's just...we've been focused on training and improving-I don't think either of us felt up to it with Mom gone anyway.'' She added. ''I wouldn't be any good anyway.''
Subaru frowned ''There you go again, putting yourself down. I heard you two always made it to the top ranks in the competitions. Why're you so hard on yourself?''
The girl looked a bit surprised ''Well...if you know about us, then you must've heard how well Kas does. I've never been able to match up to her-she's really a prodigy. It's been our dream to make it to nationals but I doubt I can pull it off.''
"Even prodigies have to work hard, I doubt they're just given the ability to excel just like that.'' Subaru stated. ''And you must have some skill to make it as far as you did-you're obviously passionate about this dream. Having doubts is understandable but you shouldn't let that get in the way, your dream is important, right? Well, can you stand to just give it up without fighting for it?''
"N-no, of course not!'' She replied without even thinking, blinking at his satisfied expression.
"There you have it.''
Sumire began to smile, he made it sound so simple. She...wanted to believe it could be that way.
"I know you said you haven't played in a while but was music...does it mean that much to you?''
"...Yeah, I haven't really felt up to playing-I'm not sure I'm up to it...Still, I can't just abandon music all together. I want to get back to practicing and I want to improve.
The girl looked pleased ''So what made you even start learning?''
"I guess it'd have to be a mixture of curiosity and boredom.'' He answered after a moment of thought. ''Years ago, I used to try to match up to the other kids but that failed more often then not. They'd come up with a bunch of games but I couldn't go at their pace with my heart the way it is.''
The girl nodded in understanding, it did make sense. Kids were very energetic and someone in Subaru's condition would have trouble matching up to them.
"I learned to pace myself with time so that was okay. Grandpa's really good at fixing things so he got all sorts of requests, I saw him working on a guitar once and I wondered what playing one would be like. His client was enthusiastic about music too so he gave me a few pointers, ever since then I was hooked.'' He admitted. ''I just wanted to learn more and practicing was a lot of fun. I came to love it. It made me happy and I thought maybe I could spread the feeling-see others be happy just as much as it did for me.''
"I think that's great!'' Sumire was relieved to hear that despite his rough circumstances, his feelings were the same . ''Senpai-would you show me sometime? You know when you get back to practicing, I'd love to hear you play.''
The boy blinked, not expecting that ''...Sure thing.''
Later that night...
Itsuki nodded in approval as he watched Subaru connect a computer with ease ''Nice going, kiddo. You've got it figured out.''
"It's thanks to Futaba, I watched her deal with this stuff so much that it's impossible not to learn something.''
"Hah, I can see that. That kid's in a league of her own.'' He shook his head, grinning.
"Actually, on the subject of Futaba...how much did Subaru know about her situation now? He would've expected the boy to ask about his old friend sooner. And last he checked, she hadn't mentioned anything...
Itsuki made a mental note to check with Yuri or Sojiro, perhaps he was missing something?
"Grandpa?''
He blinked, shaking the thought off. ''Ah, sorry-kiddo, my mind's up and away. You were saying?''
"Did you need any help? What're you planning to...'' Subaru trailed off, looking at the multiple tools and seemingly random pieces settled around them. ''...erm, actually-how do you plan to get anything done?''
"Oh, don't you start. I hear enough of that from your grandmother. I know what I'm doing.''
"Right, so it's 'organized chaos' again?''
The response would've been irritating in another situation. Itsuki was glad to see the boy was at least willing to try teasing him ''I don't say it that much. Come on, let's go see what Yuri's up to.''
Subaru missed spending time with his grandparents.
He'd been close to them for as long as he could remember, Itsuki taught him a bunch of skills and it was Yuri who helped him out the most when he started out with music. He didn't know how he could've made it through all the recent trouble without them.
He just wished this didn't feel so awkward sometimes. So much has happened and it threw everything he knew into question. They'd assured him that they were still a family but all three knew the events affected them. Subaru had never actually thought of himself as a burden to them until that night and all that came of it. The turned backs, the awful words, the utterly callous behavior...he tried to console himself with the fact that he didn't have to go back to that town again but it was little comfort. He wished the past wouldn't weigh on him like this but he didn't know what to do about it.
Morgana walked over, glancing at his grandparents ''They sure are lively-is it always like this with you guys?'' He grinned at the boy's confirmation. ''Well, I know it'll never be boring around here.''
Subaru looked into one of the boxes Yuri was emptying, noticing a familiar notebook. Wait, was this...?
Morgana squinted in confusion at the odd writing on the first page. But then it hit him, those were musical notes. Yuri noticed what had the duo's attention, eliciting a small smile. ''Well, I couldn't leave this be. Brings back the memories, doesn't it?''
"Mmhm...'' Subaru had actually been the one who filled the notebook with some of his favorite songs when he was learning how to play ''...it's been so long, I was I'd forget them all...''
"Well, good thing you're wrong, hm?'' She patted his head with a fond smile. ''It's been nearly as long since you practiced, did you think about it?''
He nodded, his eyes flickering to the piano in the other room ''...Not today. I want to. I'm...not sure I'm up to it. Maybe it's just nerves, I don't know...''
"That's fine now, no pressure.'' She assured. ''But since we're talking about that...what do you make of this?''
Yuri gestured at one of the shelves nearby and the two saw a number of items like souvenirs and certificates. The one part that got the most attention were the awards in the center, all mentioned Subaru's name and a music contest he'd entered. The ranks were different but Morgana saw at least three of them mention first place but the others were good too.
He gave Subaru an amused look ''Someone's been holding out on me...''
The boy seemed a bit embarrassed ''You really want those here?''
"Absolutely. We're proud of you and I want to show it.'' Yuri declared happily, bringing him into her embrace. ''I know things were rough and...after all that's happened...seeing how long it's been-you have a lot of things to figure out.''
Morgana blinked, the way she was saying that...it wasn't that long ago since the arrest. Was he missing something here?
"A lot has changed even if we don't like. But we're still your family and we'll always be there for you.'' Yuri finished.
Subaru hugged her back, his heart warmed with these words ''...Thank you.''
The next day...
Ryuji immediately scowled at the familiar figure before the school gate, greeting everyone jovially.
Kamoshida's eyes narrowed for a second before it turned neutral ''Well, well, don't we have some diligent students here. Not that it'd do you any good, Sakamoto. And Namikaze, I suggest you be careful of the company you keep. No telling what that might cost you.''
The former was about to retort but Subaru grabbed his arm, silently asking him to stop. 'Do not rise to him, Ryuji. You know he can use this to his advantage.' Captain Kidd cautioned and the boy grudgingly complied.
He could see that Subaru was similarly irked with the man's behavior but seemed to keep calm.
"...I'm sure you're busy. We'll just be on our way.'' He said flatly, making sure to steer Ryuji along.
'Well done.' He heard Aladdin praise.
'I don't like it but getting mad benefits him. I'm not giving that bastard the satisfaction.'
Aladdin hummed in approval 'Precisely, we're going to something about that miserable excuse for a human being soon. Take heart in that.'
"Yeah, it's about the only thing we can do.'' Morgana mused when he relayed this. ''Kamoshida has all the cards so you've got to cool it. I know it's hard, I want to claw the scumbag's face off but it's not the answer.''
"It'd be great to watch though.''
He snorted at Ryuji's remark ''Ah, just get going. We've got to be on our way.''
Around the same time...
Yuri bit her lip as she and her husband headed to Leblanc ''...No, he hasn't said much to me either but...I think Ru-chan's too scared to try. As much as we want to help, those backstabbers caused plenty of damage to go around with.''
"Got that right...'' Itsuki grumbled. ''...I couldn't figure out how to tell him with the poor kid in that state and I want to ask Sojiro. Delaying this just makes it worse though...and I don't feel right keeping this from our boy.''
She didn't either. The only reason they kept Futaba's current situation a secret was that they needed to handle it delicately. They were trying to help but all their efforts had yet to bear fruit.
The barista turned as the door opened, blinking at the couple ''Oh, hey...'' He noted their expressions. ''...what's going on?''
"You idiot!'' Itsuki cried a few minutes later. ''Of all things-that's what you do?!''
Yuri gave their old friend a stern look ''You're Futaba-chan's guardian so of course, you have the final say in all this. But this was one of the worst ways you could've handled it. Sojiro, I can already tell your attempt at evasion was transparent. Ru-chan knows you pretty well so he must have figured it out. He probably thinks she hates him too.''
Sojiro inwardly cursed, realizing that this was likely the case. He and Subaru had become close over the years, he probably did notice something wrong. He had gotten used to keeping Futaba a secret so much that he just didn't give it much thought. Subaru hadn't exactly been given much reason to have faith in people lately...
"Dammit, I hadn't even realized...'' He exhaled sharply. ''...I'll sort this out. It wasn't fair to keep him in the dark anyway. He deserves to know the truth.''
Subaru was going to meet his friends when he noticed the girl who dumped those papers on him in his first day leaving the student council office. She seemed to be in some sort of argument with Makoto...
"...you're just too careless.'' The brunette was saying.
The other girl merely flipped her hair over her shoulder ''Oh, please. Like the council's anything special. It's a waste of my time and I don't want to deal with it. You're useless, Nijima.''
Makoto's eyes widened a little at this. Subaru scowled, he didn't know the girl all that well but this was out of line. ''No one is useless. What gives you the right to say this?''
Both girls looked a bit taken aback but the latter huffed ''You wouldn't be saying this if you knew her. The school's a mess, a whole bunch of students get hurt. The track team fell apart and the volley ball team's one step short of going the same way. There's even been an attempted murder here. But what does she do? Nothing. That's why she's useless.
Makoto felt ashamed, acknowledging that the girl's point. It was something she'd told herself after all...
"And what did you do?'' Subaru countered. ''You know all this, what did you do to fix things?''
The girl spluttered ''W-what do you expect me to do? I'm just one girl!''
"So is Nijima-senpai.'' He pointed out. ''She's like you-why should she be expected to fix all this?''
She grimaced, knowing she couldn't counter that one. Makoto could only stare, he was right. She'd become a part of the council to help students but honestly, she only had as much power as the principal and the board allowed. She was very limited here. Makoto could admit that Subaru had done more for the students in his short tenure than both of them combined.
The girl stormed off with her head high, Makoto sighed ''Thank you...you didn't have to...''
"I wanted to-I can't stand that sort of thing.''
"Well, I know this is how most of the school sees me.'' The girl admitted. ''I'm a failure, Namikaze-kun. I wanted to help the student body but I never realized how limited I was until this year...''
"It's the adults who are to blame, Senpai. They're the ones who should be taking care of the school but most of them just watch out for themselves. This shouldn't be your responsibility.''
Makoto was stunned, she'd never dealt with such reasoning before. The students either treated her as the principal's gofer or just thought she didn't care.
"I think it's good that you want to help. That's the most important part. You can't please everyone, sometimes you just have to choose your own way, your own path in life. I'm still trying to figure out how to do it but that's the goal I've chosen for myself.''
Makoto looked thoughtful, a small smile spreading on her lips ''...It sounds nicee. Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.''
I am thou, thou art I
Thou hast established a new vow
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh the chains of activity
With the birth of the Priestess Arcana
I have obtained the winds of blessing hat lead to freedom and a new power...
"How cute!'' Kasumi grinned, making Sumire blink. ''You and Senpai, silly! I saw the look on your face. I don't think you get along with anyone we've met recently like you do him.''
"W-well, he's easy to talk to...''
"I thought you'd say but that's not all there is to it, huh?'' Kasumi chirped. ''You're not fooling me, Sumi. I recognize that look on your face...''
"Of course you would-we have the same face!'' The girl grumbled, as if she hadn't heard that one before...''And quit getting carried away, Kas-we're barely know each other.''
"That doesn't sound like a denial...'' Kasumi trailed off. ''...oh, speak of the devil. Subaru-senpai!''
Sumire followed her line of sight, blinking when she noticed the boy walking down another street. He stopped at Kasumi's call, finding her waving him over. The twins returned his greeting in kind before Kasumi started ''So, I was wondering-Sumi told us about the talk you guys had yesterday. You're good with some instruments, right? Like what?''
"Well, I started out with a guitar and then learned piano. Then there's the flute, I know basic stuff with a couple more like the drums.''
"Whoa, nice!'' Kasumi smiled while her sister likewise looked a bit in awe.
"I just came to love it. But, you two are impressive-I don't know much about gymnastics but learning that stuff just seems hard.'' Subaru remarked.
"It can be but...''
"...it's worth it.'' Kasumi finished for her sister. ''We've been at it for years and it's so rewarding. I could't imagine not being a gymnast. Oh and I think you figured it out but Sumi's the same way even if she keeps putting herself down.''
"I got that impression.'' He nodded, Kasumi snickered as Sumire pouted. Were they going to double team her?
"So, your brand of gymnastics include music and a bunch of tools, right?''
She nodded and Sumire spoke ''Maybe we can show you...''
Kasumi looked pleased ''Good idea. We're going to the practice anyway, so if you have time-we can ask Coach...''
"Ah, sorry. I'd like to see it but I'm busy today. I'll take you up on that another time though.''
Kasumi clapped her hands together ''Great!''
Sumire smiled ''It's a deal.''
I am thou, thou art I
Thou hast established a new vow
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh the chains of captivity
With the birth of the Hope Arcana
I have obtained the winds of blessing hat lead to freedom and a new power...
Well, that's that. The next part continues from this point and it's on to the Palace.
I hate the way people in Shujin treat the MC. I get it, at first they were scared but even after months and months, nothing seems to change. I dunno if the point was making him an outcast but it just seems sad, I want to put my on spin on things. Let's just say the principal's going to be in a whole lot of trouble after the rally and that's when things begin to change.
Subaru's less than happy with things at school, he just resigned. He's sort of jaded at this point and he doesn't like that. The kid's going to do plenty of soul searching over the course of this story.
He's been to a bunch of places with his family and he entered a few contests to test himself and learn to play to a wider audience. He's gotten really good. The thing he and Yuri were alluding to isn't actually much of a secret, I just didn't feel like doing an info dump here. Those who read Twilight likely know what I mean, this story has a lot of elements frorm it after all. Those who didn't, it's okay, I'll explain things real soon.
I wasn't sure which Arcana to choose for the twins but I think the Hope works considering what I've got planned for their confidant. My second choice for Arcana actually fits another character better...
Welp, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Till next time!
Confidants:
Namikaze Itsuki and Yuri (Charity Rank 2)
Sakmoto Ryuji (Chariot Rank 1)
Morgana (Magician Rank 1)
Nijima Makoto (Priesstess Rank 1)
Yoshizawa Sumire and Kasumi (Hope Rank 1)