Morning rolled around as the lone resident of Cafe LeBlanc got ready for school. As Sojiro entered the cafe, he was surprised to see Ren sitting in one of the booths already prepared for his first day at Shujin.
"Well geez, someone excited for their first day of school?" He joked. In all honesty, Sojiro hadn't expected Ren to be so punctual. His view of him was that of a delinquent kid that got into too much trouble. Instead, Ren sat patiently at a booth with a cup of water and a book.
"I mean I guess," Ren answered. "I haven't really been in a big city like Tokyo so it's pretty cool."
"Here, let me make you something to eat before you head out then," Sojiro offered as he put on his apron. He turned on the tv and motioned for Ren to move over to the counter.
The tv was unsurprisingly monotonous, having nothing particularly interesting on. Ren watched as Sojiro cooked his curry with rice, going over the recipe step by step in his head as it was being made. Ren checked his phone only to find nothing. He was so used to having someone text him at any point in the day that he instinctively checked it for no reason.
He sighed as he realized just how heavy his heart was. Just how much he wanted those days to come back. But he knew that there wasn't any going back. Not after what he had done to change the timeline already. As much as he wanted his friends back, he knew he had the power to change the world. And with it, he would be sure to put it to good use.
On his way out, Ren made sure to have brought an umbrella. He knew that leaving Ann with Kamoshida for any amount of time was dangerous for her own safety. Along with that, it would be a great way to introduce himself to her in a way that gave off a good first impression.
As he got off of the train in Aoyama, Ren made sure to take a moment to wait for Ann to pass him. He remembered the first time he had met her. On the same day all those months ago, Ren was waiting beneath the awning, checking the MetaNav app when Ann had walked past him and stood beside him as the rain poured around them.
He remembers as clear as day the awe that he was in upon first seeing her. Calling Ann attractive a massive understatement. There was a reason she was a model for a magazine already. He remembered as she looked at him absentmindedly, not showing interest nor apathy towards him.
As he reminisced, he nearly missed as the girl in question had walked by him. He made sure to make it seem as natural as possible as he went to leave after her. Ren walked up the steps and into the rainy city. He pulled out his own umbrella and watched as Ann stood under the same awning as she did their first encounter.
"Hi, you're a Shujin student, right?" He asked as he walked up to her. Ann was surprised to see him.
"Oh! Yeah I am. Why, what's up?" She asked.
"Sorry, I just transferred and don't really know my way around the city just yet. I noticed you didn't have an umbrella or anything and was wondering if you don't mind showing me the way in exchange for staying dry?" Ren asked sheepishly.
Ann seemed to contemplate for a second. "Yeah I can do that. I don't mind," she said as she began to walk with him.
"So you said you're a transfer student, right? What's your name?" Ann asked.
"Ren Amamiya. And yeah, I'm a second year transfer student," he told her.
"Ren, huh? I'm Ann Takamaki, also a second year. I hope you don't have too much trouble getting used to the school," she said. "It'll probably be a little overwhelming at first but you'll sort it out pretty quickly."
Ren noticed as a certain car drove past. He had heard it slow down behind them, however he knew that Kamoshida wasn't going to try anything when other people were around.
As they continued to walk, Ren heard footprints as someone closed in on them. He turned around to see another familiar blonde.
"That pervy old teacher!" Ryuji said as he caught up to them. He looked right at Ann.
"Um, pervy teacher?" Ren asked. He already knew the answer to his question but he had to spark conversation somehow.
"You see that car that passed you? The silver sedan? That's that fuckin guy, Kamoshida. You know, the gym teacher?" Ryuji explained.
"What are you on about, Sakamoto?" Ann asked. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him.
"He slowed down when he saw you, Ann! Did you not notice that?"
"Wh-" Ann started. "What do you mean? He slowed down just because he saw me? Why would he do that?" Ann was surprised. She genuinely hadn't expected such a reaction from Ryuji.
"Oh, I get it," Ryuij said. "You're all buddy buddy with Kamoshida so you'll cover for him now huh?"
"What are you talking about? I have nothing to do with him. Whatever it is you think is going on isn't, okay?"
"Um, can we get going?" Ren interjected. He knew he had to do something to break the tension. At his words, Ann went red. She had completely forgotten that she was walking with a new student that had no idea what Shujin was like. She was embarrassed that he had seen her that way. Ryuji also seemed to have rethought what had happened.
"S-Sorry I don't know-" Ann began before being interrupted by Ren.
"No, it's fine. I don't know what's up between you guys but I really think he's just looking out for you, Takamaki," Ren assured her. He wanted to help mend their relationship as soon as he could. Even though he knew he was in the past, he hated to see his friends so up in arms against each other.
"Sorry for jumping to conclusions," Ryuji said, much to the surprise of both Ann and Ren. "I- I know it's probably not true but I just can't stand him. I just- I just lashed out at you over nothing."
"No, I get where you're coming from but I'm fine. Seriously," Ann lied. Ren took note of those words, unsurprised that she wasn't willing to be open about it yet. He knew that Kamoshida's abuse dug deeper than it seemed. He knew Ann was lying straight to their faces.
"Why don't you walk with us?" Ren offered Ryuji. "Seems like you don't have an umbrella yourself. Don't wanna get wet, right?"
"I haven't seen you around before," Ryuji noted. "You a first year, or?"
"Nah I'm a transfer student. I'm a second year though," Ren answered.
"Oh, same as me and Ann. Dude, let me tell you, some of the teachers absolutely suck! Like the social studies teacher Mr. Ushimaru! Man that guy gets mad so quickly. He'll like, throw shit at you if he catches you not paying attention. It's like-" Ryuji continued to rant about the school's faculty as the trio continued their walk to Shujin.
All the while, Ren couldn't help but stay silent and smile at his usual attitude. As they arrived at the school, Ren took note of some of the people that he saw. Mishima had been standing by the vending machine drinking something. Eiko, Makoto's would be friend , walked in around the same time as they did, talking to some of her own friends. And surprisingly, he also saw Haru tending to the gardens.
It was strange seeing these people after having met them before in his own time. The thought that none of them knew him just seemed… wrong.
He knew that he was somehow in the past, yet it still hurt to know that none of the people that he had made relationships with knew him. As harrowing as it was, it only motivated him to create a better future for them. To help them as much as he could so they didn't have to suffer as much as they once had.
They entered the school building and talked for a bit before they went their separate ways. Or at least Ryuji did. As Ann and Ren walked to the same room, Ren acted surprised while Ann was genuinely surprised to see him in the same room as her. While she went to her seat, Ren was called over by Ms. Kawakami.
"I want you to introduce yourself to the class, okay? And don't say anything weird or anything that you don't have to," she told him.
"Alright class, settle down. I'd like to introduce a transfer student, Ren Amamiya. Please say something to the class," Kawakami recited.
"It's nice to meet you all," Ren said with a light bow. Much to his surprise, there weren't any rumors or anything going on about him. At least, not yet. It had seemed that Kamoshida hadn't gotten around to saying anything yet.
"Your seat will be…" Kawakami trailed as she looked around the room. "Ah, over there," she pointed, "the empty seat over by that corner. Can the people around share their textbooks with him for today?" Kawakami requested apologetically.
"Yeah, I got it," Ann said. Ren made his way over, and only then did he hear the murmurs. They were talking about Ann and her sudden insistence on helping him. He knew what they were saying. Something about Kamoshida and Ann's relationship that they believed to be true.
As Ren took a seat, Ann spoke to him. "Wow, can't believe we're in the same class," she said with wide eyes.
"I know, right? What're the odds that we just met this morning and also happen to have the same homeroom teacher?" Ren said.
Despite the occasional stares and whispers, the classes went on without any real issue. By the time their lunch break had rolled around, Ann was, to her surprise, a lot more comfortable talking to Ren. Something seemed to click within her. It was as if he understood her completely.
"C'mon," she said. "Let's go somewhere to eat. I mostly go to one of the benches in the courtyard with a friend."
Ren knew what friend she was talking about. Shiho Suzui. The girl that had jumped. Ren hadn't known much about her, just that Ann was close to her. Her suicide attempt in the past had really woke him up though. It opened his eyes to just how bad of a man Kamoshida was. In all honesty, Shiho was one of the reasons that he took being a Phantom Thief so seriously.
He would be sure to get to know her this time around. Understand her, and let her open up. As Ann and Ren walked to the courtyard, they were pleasantly surprised to see Ryuji out there already, standing at the vending machine. Ryuji seemed to have been contemplating the meaning of life seeing how he looked at the machine.
Ren walked up to the machine and just picked out whatever he wanted, much to the sudden surprise of Ryuji.
"Wha- hey!" He began before seeing who it was. "Oh, it's you guys," he said with a sigh. Ren gave Ryuji enough money to buy something again, and he gladly accepted it.
"Man that seriously was a dick move," Ryuji stated, much to the amusement of the other two. He wasn't nearly as miffed as he acted, and he did actually find it pretty funny.
Shortly after, Shiho had found her way there, wanting to eat lunch with Ann. "Oh, um, am I interrupting something?" She asked politely. It was a far cry from what she used to be like. Shiho Suzui used to be so much more outgoing. So much more enthusiastic. It wasn't until Kamoshida that she became so much more dull and depressed.
"No no, come sit with us!" Ann requested. "This is Ren Amamiya, the transfer student and, well, you already know Ryuji."
Shiho obliged and sat next to Ann. "I'm Shiho Suzui," she said to Ren. "It's nice to meet you."
Ren offered her a nod and replied. "Likewise. As Ann already said, my name's Ren Amamiya." The four would begin their lunch break as little more than acquaintances, before they would eventually become close friends.
"So how were classes?" He asked as he opened up his soda.
"Nothing much. It seems pretty standard to me to be honest. Not much different from my old school," Ren replied.
"Old school, huh? Why'd you transfer anyway?" Ryuji asked.
To that, Ren sighed. "Long story, honestly. It's got to do with my uh… criminal record."
"Woah, criminal record? The hell did you do?"
"Well, they'll tell you that I assaulted someone out of nowhere, but that's all bs. I was walking home when I heard some people arguing. Long story short, some dude seemed like he was trying to assault some woman so I got in his way and he fell back and hurt himself."
"No way," Ryuji said with a smirk. "He fell and hurt himself? How the hell did they pin the blame on you then?"
"If I tell you, you gotta promise not to go around saying anything about it, alright?" Ren said seriously. "He's a politician. I'm not gonna give you a name yet but it turned out that the woman worked under him and refused to incriminate him. Instead, I was arrested and now, here we are," Ren explained.
"That's terrible…" Shiho said sympathetically. Despite Kamoshida's affect on her general attitude, Shiho still held compassion deep within her.
"No kidding. Are you gonna try to do anything about it? I mean, it really isn't fair that your record is hurt just because some asshole lied and the cops took his word for it," Ann said.
"No… or at least, not yet. There's really nothing I can do right now. The cops are never gonna take the side of the defendant. Especially not some teenager's word against a politician. Why do you think the prosecution rate here is almost 100%? It's just not something I could get out of."
"Well maybe we can just make the best of the situation," Shiho suggested. "It's not often you get to live in Tokyo like this so why not take advantage of it?"
Ren was thankful for Shiho's kind nature. It helped fuel his motivation to make sure what happened before never came to fruition. She had never deserved the treatment that she faced at the hands of Kamoshida. No one did.
Yet he knew that he couldn't control her. He knew that something was bound to happen. She cracked under the pressure last time. There was no telling what would happen this time.
Whatever the case, Ren believed in her. Shiho Suzui was tough, that he knew. From the stories he heard from Ann to the experiences she faced in physical therapy, Shiho Suzui was nothing if not resilient.
"Enough about me," Ren smiled. "What about you, Suzui? Anything you'd like to say?" He wanted to start now in making her feel needed. Ren knew that Shiho's downward spiral was due to Kamoshida's constant harassment and assault, yet he had to do something to make her feel appreciated.
"Um, just Shiho is fine," she said meekly. "I mean, I'm on the volleyball team for starters…" Shiho began to open up to Ren with the comfort and reassurance that Ann was by her side. She seemed to talk a lot about Ann, though who knew how much of it was conscious thinking.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ren noticed a sight that he wasn't yet ready to see. A head of auburn and another of red, walked through the courtyard. For a moment, he was stunned. Seeing Sumire and Kasumi walk side by side seemed like fantasy. Yet when Shiho saw his gaze, she told him the words he had never thought he would hear.
"Oh, those are the Yoshizawa sisters. They're twins from the first year and they're both super good at gymnastics!" She exclaimed. She was empathetic to her fellow athletes. Something about going to the same school as them brought her a sense of pride seeing how both of the sisters were some of the best Shujin had ever seen.
"Are they? Gymnastics huh…" Ren feigned ignorance. Truth be told, he wanted nothing more than to walk up to Sumire and thank her for her change of heart, though he knew it wouldn't make any sense.
"We should do this again sometime," Shiho suggested, much to Ann's shock. She hadn't expected her to open up so much in such a short time. Especially not to someone she had just met.
"Yeah, I think that'd be great," Ren replied. "I look forward to getting to know you guys more," he said with a sincere smile. As their lunch break ended, Ren took a glance up at the roof where everything had happened.
'Never again,' he thought to himself.
The school day ended without any excitement. The real thrill lied within what Ren had planned. He stepped into the alleyway that had started it all. Suguru Kamoshida's palace. He knew he had to get Morgana out somehow. It was the least he could do for the one that taught him the workings of being a Phantom Thief.
Although he had prior experience and the proper weapons, Ren didn't want to risk running into any shadows. He snuck into the palace, opening the ventilation shaft that they had originally used to escape. Even though his memory was a bit hazy, he remembered where he needed to go.
Joker evaded every single shadow that he could, while quickly and silently dispatching any that he couldn't. All the while, he had a single goal in mind: Morgana. As he got closer, he heard the shuffling of feet as Morgana went to see just who it was that approached.
Upon noticing the lack of shadows, he quickly called out to Ren who was already on the way.
"Hey! You're not a soldier of this castle, right? Get me out of here!" Morgana pleaded. "The key is right there, hanging next to the cell."
As Ren unlocked the door, Morgana took the time to actually see who was helping him. "Woah, you've already got your metaverse outfit, huh? Can you use a persona already?" He asked.
"Yeah, but so far I haven't really needed to," Ren explained. "Let's get out of here. I know the way out, but I can't guarantee that we won't run into something on the way."
"What? Why? You just got here, didn't you?" Morgana asked. Something was clearly up, and Ren hadn't covered well enough. Morgana was immediately suspicious of his reasoning, yet was still thankful for being saved.
"Look, I-" Ren blanked. He couldn't come up with any sort of excuse as to why he had come in here just to save Morgana and leave immediately. The manifestation of his metaverse clothing was proof that he had control over his persona, so there was no way he could claim that he was trying to escape too. He had to have willingly come in here, fought or snuck his way through, and coincidentally come straight for Morgana's cell. "I'll tell you later, okay? Right now we just have to get out of here."
"Wait, we? Why am I going with you? I'll have you know I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, you got that? I don't need your help," Morgana huffed.
"Now's not the time…" Ren said with a facepalm. "I'll put you back in that cell if you really don't need my help."
"Ah-" Morgana instantly realized the fault in his words. He had needed Ren's help with getting out. In a sense, he owed him already. The least he could do was oblige his request. "Fine, I'll go with you."
As the two made their way through the winding halls of Kamoshida's castle, Morgana was growing more and more antsy. He wanted to see just what his savior was capable of.
Luckily for him, their exit was blocked by a lone, powerful shadow. The lack of patrols had left the other shadows on edge. It was clear that someone was in the palace, yet they had no definite cause to be on alert.
Yet as Ren and Morgana entered the room that Ren had arrived from, they were face to face with a large shadow. Eligor of the Emperor arcana. A knight clad in shining red armor, armed with a spear.
Morgana watched as Ren swiftly went to action, ripping off his mask and calling forth his persona.
"Arsène!" Ren called as he approached the shadow. Arsène Lupin, the gentleman thief. Ren's metaverse manifestation was that of Maurice Leblanc's novels. Clad in red and black, he was a very unique persona versed in curse attacks.
As expected, Arsène immediately shot forth a small dark flame, Eiha. Just as it connected with the shadow, Ren had already closed the distance, slashing with his knife as the knight swung his spear in an attempt to counter against the nimble phantom thief's own attacks.
Yet Ren simply rolled under it, taking a stab at the knight's horse. Although connected, Ren and Arsène were still two separate entities, capable of acting independently of one another. As the horse stumbled, Arsène reacted with a cleave of his own, heavily damaging the stunned knight, and leaving him vulnerable to one final attack. As Ren's knife exited the knight's back, Eligor turned to black ash.
"That was incredible!" Morgana shouted. He had never seen such synchronized fighting before. Well, to be fair, he had never actually seen anyone else fighting before. Until now, he had been on his own. Or had he? His past was murky. Something seemed to prevent him from thinking about it too clearly.
"Thanks, but we should get going," Ren said as he pointed to the open grate. The two jumped up and swiftly exited the palace proper, leading into the school's entrance. As they arrived at the point of entry, the world shimmered around them as they returned to reality. Unsurprisingly, Morgana's cat form had once again manifested much to the cat's chagrin.
"Wha-!" He started as he realized just how short he was. "What the heck is this?" He asked. To anyone nearby, it would have sounded like nothing but a cat's meows.
Ren couldn't help but look amused, chuckling at Morgana's reaction. He hadn't been there when Morgana first exited the metaverse, but he was glad that he had been now.
"Don't just laugh at me, help me out!" Morgana demanded. Despite wanting to watch Morgana struggle to come to terms with his furry body some more, Ren had to help him. He picked him up and placed him in his bag, much like he always had. A wave of nostalgia seemed to rush over him at the sight of it. It hadn't even been that long since he had last seen Morgana like this, yet seeing Morgana freak out like this made the moment so much sweeter.
Ren checked his phone, a couple notifications from both Ann and Ryuji, but nothing out of the ordinary. It was about time he headed back home.
"Um," a voice behind him froze him in his tracks. "Where did you just… come from…?"
Ren had absolutely not expected Shiho Suzui to still be around the school, nevermind anyone.
"Oh, um, hey Shiho! Haha, what brings you here?" Ren asked. He knew he was caught. He knew she saw him. He just didn't know if he could get out of this.
"Um, Mr. Kamoshida has me stay late for… e-extra practice so I was just leaving now. Why did you just… appear?" She asked.
"Shiho…" Ren shook his head at the mention of Kamoshida. "To answer your question, I promise I'll tell you in due time. I know what Kamoshida is doing. It's not worth it, Shiho," Ren said.
"Wh-what do you mean? There's n-nothing-" Shiho stuttered before being cut off.
"Please take care of yourself, Shiho. I promise you, you won't regret it. There's nothing in the world as important as your life, okay? Promise me you won't listen to Kamoshida's unreasonable shit. No matter what threats he makes. We both know he couldn't afford to not have you on the volleyball team."
Shiho could do nothing but stare in silence, stunned by Ren's sudden change in attitude.
"I know what he does to you and the rest of the volleyball teams. I know that no one will try to do something about him. Stay strong, Shiho. Something will come his way, I promise you that," Ren said, clenching his fist.
"...okay," Shiho said as tears began to fall. "I- I can't take it, Ren," she cried. "I'm- I was so close to just… I can't do it."
The two shared a hug as Shiho cried into his shoulder. Under the setting sun, a new bond was formed between two unlikely students, both misunderstood by their peers.
The Fool and a new branch of the Moon.
As Shiho calmed down, she realized just what position the two were in and separated. "Sorry about that…" she whispered.
"Whatever you need," Ren assured her. To be honest, he surprised himself. Never in his time coming back to the past did he ever think he would be comforting Shiho Suzui in the back alley where his infiltrations took place.
Perhaps it was for the best that he was sent back. Although the future was never set in stone, he could at the very least prevent some things from happening once more.
"Never again."
As I said in the previous chapter, don't expect updates to come quickly. This is the only exception. I had already been around 3/4 complete with the draft for this when I uploaded the first chapter of this fic. This is just a warning to let you know not to get comfortable with how frequent updates are.
At the time of uploading, I've gotten a couple hours into Persona 4 Golden and after seeing how Rise is canonically in Persona 5, I honestly might be open to adding some of those characters in whenever I have a full grasp of the game and its lore.
As always, feedback is highly appreciated. Thank you for reading!