It was February 15th, and Valentine's Day had come and gone without much fanfare for Ren Amamiya. Just two days earlier, he had been released from juvenile hall with the help of his closest friends (and girlfriends, unbeknownst to them). However, the evening of February 13th, he received several invitations from his aforementioned girlfriends asking him if he wanted to spend Valentine's Day with them. The problem? Ren Amamiya had been seeing ten different women, all at once, and none of them knew.

After a day of helping out his guardian, Sojiro Sakura, at the café he was staying at, Leblanc, Ren was taking it easy, going through his phone and chatting with his feline companion, Morgana.

"I have a question..." Morgana began.

"What's up?" Ren asked, looking up from his phone.

"Weren't the girls supposed to give chocolate to the guys they like yesterday?" Morgana asked, scratching his ear in the process.

"Well, yeah. It was Valentine's Day after all..." Ren shrugged as she went back to his phone; Morgana looked down for a moment before saying something else.

"Hey... are you going to be okay?"

"Why do you ask?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow.

Morgana sighed. "My gentlemanly nature is making me worry about you..."

"Why?"

Before he could get an answer, the doorbell to Leblanc chimed and in-walked high school detective/serial killer-turned-good guy (?), Goro Akechi.

"Good evening." He greeted.

"What are you doing here?" Ren asked.

"I'm here for some coffee; why else would I be here?"

" 'Cause you missed me?" Ren acted all cute.

"Oh, don't make me laugh..." Akechi sighed. "I still hate you."

"You say that, and I hear the words coming out of your mouth, but I don't buy them." Ren chuckled as he pocketed his phone.

"Even after all you went through, you still manage to keep your composure and maintain your smug, arrogant attitude."

"You call it 'smug attitude,' I call it 'debonair charm'," Ren smirked.

"Smirk all you want," Akechi began. "I may have agreed to put aside our differences, but that doesn't mean I have to like you."

"Come on, Akechi," Ren began. "Deep down, you know you like me."

"Perhaps... one house blend, please?"

"Not until you say how you really feel about me." Ren crossed his arms.

"God, you two never change..." Morgana groaned before hopping off the stool. "I'm going upstairs..." He said before disappearing and leaving Ren and Akechi alone. Ren looked back at Akechi.

"There, it's just us now; spit it out."

"He may still hear us, you know?"

"Oh, for God's sake..." Ren laughed. "Are you really so embarrassed to admit that you like me?"

"Fine!" Akechi sighed as he was getting sick of Ren's games. "I tolerate you... there, those are my true feelings, but they are dwindling the longer this keeps up. Now, may he please have a cup of the house blend, please?"

"Relax, I'm just busting your balls," Ren chuckled. "One cup of coffee, comin' right up." Akechi took a seat at the counter as Ren went to the coffee grinder and prepared him a cup of coffee.

"But I also hate you..." Akechi said.

"Don't worry, the feeling's mutual," Ren replied with a smirk.

Ren Amamiya and Goro Akechi have always had an interesting rivalry, to say the least. Though they kept it friendly, for a time, all they tried to do was one-up each other in games of chess, billiards, darts, even an arcade shooting game. Sometimes Ren won, sometimes it was Akechi, but none of them were ever fully satisfied. Their rivalry reached a boiling point in early November of the previous year, when the two faced off in a duel of Personas within the metaverse. Ren came out on top, but both men put up a fight. They likely would've gone all the way and killed each other had they not been working together on a mission for the Phantom Thieves. It was then that Akechi could no longer hold back his true feelings. While he was always friendly with Ren, he flat out admitted that he hated Ren and was envious of him after their duel. In Ren's mind, no matter what games they played going forward, he knew he was the winner.

From then on, they worked together for a time until Akechi betrayed Ren, tried to kill him, tried to kill him and the other Phantom Thieves, sacrificed himself to save the Phantom Thieves, died, came back to life, rejoined the Phantom Thieves to save the world from a fake reality, supposedly died, came back to life, now he's just hanging around with nothing else to do. Ren and Akechi have agreed to put their guns down, but that doesn't mean their rivalry has ended. Akechi is just waiting for a golden opportunity to watch Ren suffer just a little bit.

On this day, he got his wish.

"So," Akechi began after sipping his coffee. "How was your Valentine's Day?"

"Do you really care?" Ren raised an eyebrow.

"Not really," Akechi deadpanned. "I'm just making conversation."

Ren chuckled. "It was fine; I spent it hanging out with Ryuji and Yusuke." Hearing this caused Akechi to spit out his coffee all over the counter. "Thanks for that..." Ren replied with sarcasm as he grabbed a rag and wiped the counter.

Akechi wiped his mouth with a handkerchief he kept in his breast pocket. "I just didn't realize you were interested in members of the same sex as you."

"I'm not."

Akechi raised an eyebrow. "You're not?"

"You sound disappointed."

"I'm not; I'm just surprised. Why did you spend Valentine's Day with them and not with any women?" Akechi paused for a moment. "Don't tell me you don't have a partner..." Ren didn't say anything. "...huh. Frankly, I'm stunned. I would have figured someone like you would've had someone special in their life. Instead, you spent it with a vulgar ape and a socially inept freak."

"Better than spending it alone..."

"That was a personal choice of mine."

"Right..."

"Hmph."

"Besides, I-" Before Ren could continue, the doorbell chimed once again. Ren and Akechi turned their heads as Sojiro came running into the shop.

"Hey, what'd you do...?" He asked, out of breath.

"What do you mean?" Ren raised his eyebrow.

"Outside the store... i-is that..."

"What's the matter, Sakura-san?" Akechi asked. His answer came in the form of the doorbell chiming once again. Akechi leaned back to look towards the front door. "What the hell...?"

Sojiro turned around. "Woah!"

Morgana came back downstairs. "Hey, Ren. Do you think we could get sushi for din... uh-oh..."

Next thing, ten women came shuffling into Leblanc, carrying boxes of chocolate in their hands and fuming looks on their faces:

-Makoto Niijima: Student-Council president

-Haru Okumura: Rich heiress

-Ann Takamaki: Part-time model

-Futaba Sakura: Gamer-girl

-Chihaya Mifune: Fortune teller

-Tae Takemi: Doctor

-Sadayo Kawakami: Teacher

-Ichiko Ohya: Journalist

-Hifumi Togo: Idol shogi player

-Sumire Yoshizawa: Future Olympic gymnast

The list of Joker.

Akechi, Morgana, and Sojiro let the women pass as they all marched up and confronted Ren at the back of the store. One by one, they voiced their discontent with Ren about being ignored on Valentine's Day, as well as being cheated on. Akechi was mildly confused; he went up next to Ren and looked at him.

"I... thought you said you didn't have a girlfriend...?"

"I never said I didn't have one..." Ren muttered, gritting his teeth, knowing he was in trouble. The ten women did nothing but continuously glare at Ren.

"You mean..." Akechi thought for a moment; then he got it. "...ah... Ahahahahaha..."

Ren turned to Akechi and furrowed his brow. "What are you laughing-"

"HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA..." Akechi lost it; he usually only laughed this much when he was slicing up shadows in the metaverse. Fitting since his tone of voice turned psychotic. "Oh... oh, Ren... hahaha... you might just be the dumbest son of a bitch I have ever met... ahahahaha... but I must admit... the fact that you've managed to date ten... TEN... different women... ahahaha... *sniff*… ahaha..." Akechi had tears in his eyes. "...including five of your team members, a fortune-teller, a reporter, a celebrity shogi player, a doctor, and your... teacher... hahaha... your FUCKING teacher! Hahahahahaha..." Akechi smacked Ren's back. "...I may have found a new form of respect for you... you dog... hahaha... oh my god... ahahaha... this is..." Akechi stopped laughing when he opened his eyes and saw that Ren's girlfriends were now glaring at him. He cleared his throat and regained his composure but kept smirking. "My apologies to you all... this may be hilarious to me. Still, I realize that this isn't a laughing matter for any of you." He then turned back to Ren. "Seriously, what the hell were you thinking?"

Ren said nothing. The glares were back onto him. One by one, the women offered Ren their chocolate gifts, but not in a kind way (except for Haru, but her tone was more passive-aggressive and rather scary as a result.) Sojiro couldn't take Ren's silence anymore.

"Hey kid, say something..." He said in a mildly worried tone.

"And if I were you, I would choose my next words... very carefully..." Akechi added, still grinning profusely.

Ren ran through the options in his head:

*Please believe me.* "Way to sound pathetic, Amamiya..."

*I was with Sojiro.* "And the rest of the boys, but yes. Tell the truth."

*I do want the chocolates.* "NO! NO! NO! DON'T SAY THAT YOU IDIOT! FUCKING STOP!"

"I..."

Ren began stuttering.

"...I-I do want the chocolates."

You could almost hear a pin drop.

"...that's not very careful." Akechi quietly said.

"He's right; you're an idiot..." Ren's brain added.

Suddenly, the café was met with a cacophony of anger from the ten women, hurling insults at Ren, voicing their disappointment, et cetera. Sojiro saw what was about to happen next and decided to make himself scarce. His final words before exiting were letting the women know to take their time with Ren. Before shutting the door, he looked back at Akechi.

"Aren't you coming too?" He asked.

Akechi shook his head, still smirking. "Apologies, Sakura-san, but I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Sojiro shrugged and walked out with Morgana following behind him, leaving Ren, Akechi, and ten pissed-off women in the café. As the heartbroken advanced towards the heartbreaker, likely with the intent to hurt, Akechi surprisingly stepped in front of Ren.

"Wait! Wait one moment." He said, putting his hands in front of him to stop him.

"Akechi-kun! Get out of our way!" Makoto yelled.

"You won't stop us from getting some payback!" Ann added.

"Akechi-san, please," Sumire pleaded.

"Oh, no, no. You misunderstand." Akechi began. "I have no intention of stopping you; I simply wanted to offer an alternative way of getting revenge on the idiot behind me."

"Oh great..." Ren thought.

"Why? I think beating him up is good enough already, don't you girls?" Ohya said, looking around at the other women.

"I agree," Akechi began. "It's a good plan. However, things may get hectic, and I would hate for anything within Sakura-san's store to get damaged."

"Oh, so if I get something broken, it's okay?" Ren asked Akechi.

"Yes, because you clearly deserve it," Akechi replied. "Don't you all agree?" The women nodded. "See?"

"What do you suggest, Akechi-kun?" Haru asked.

Akechi smirked. "Everyone, follow me."

Ren watched as Akechi made his way up the stairs leading to his attic bedroom. He then turned around and saw the glares that were forcing him to move along upstairs as well. Ren and his girlfriends (now, more-than-likely ex-girlfriends) made their way up to the bedroom to see Akechi standing in the middle of the room. He instructed them to each put their chocolate gifts down on a nearby table. They removed their coats and stood against the wall near the plant.

"Okay, now what?" Futaba asked.

"Ren, walk over to me," Akechi demanded.

"Why?"

"You're in no position to ask questions. Get over here!"

Ren sighed. "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"As you should, now come on. Chop-chop." Akechi clapped his hands together; Ren reluctantly walked over. "Now, remove your shirt."

Ren, as well as the women, went wide-eyed. "What? What the fuck are you-?"

"I didn't ask for your pants, you idiot! Just your shirt! Do it!"

"No!"

Akechi chuckled. "It's adorable that you think you have a choice."

"I'm not doing anything you suggest. At this point, I'd rather take my chances with them." Ren gestured his thumb at the "harem" behind him.

"Frankly, I'm rather curious as to what Akechi-kun has in mind," Chihaya said.

"Yeah, me too," Tae added.

Akechi pushed Ren aside and addressed the women. "Ladies, I know you are all itching for a bit of revenge against the buffoon over there. What I offer is a way to cause Ren extreme pain without risking him breaking anything or damaging anything within the café. It's straightforward, practically effortless on your part, and I feel like it could be extremely satisfying to all of you." The women all exchanged glances. Some of them knew what Akechi was capable of, after all. After a moment, they nodded in agreement. "Excellent!" Akechi smirked and walked back over to the accused. "Ren, the jury has come to a decision. Shirt off, now."

Ren let out an exhausted huff and removed his jacket and shirt, leaving his upper half bare. "There, so now what?" He asked.

"Remove... your belt."

"What!? You said I didn't have to take my pants off!" Ren argued.

"I didn't ask you to take off your pants! I asked you for your belt!"

"Why!?"

*JUST DO IT!* The women all yelled. Their unison scream startled both Ren and Akechi. Ren removed his belt without another word and handed it to Akechi.

"Leather... perfect." Akechi deviously grinned. "Now, then, I count ten women. My suggestion is this..." He held up the belt. "Ten... belt... lashings."

"What? You want them to whip me?" Ren almost laughed at how absurd this sounded.

"I don't want them to do anything. Again, I'm simply offering an alternative form of giving you what you deserve." Akechi said to Ren before turning back to the women. "As I said, it's very simple but very painful; elementary but excruciating. An excellent way to leave your mark without causing any repercussive or permanent damage."

"Only ten?" Hifumi asked as she rubbed her chin. "Will that be enough of a punishment?"

"Trust me; even one hurts like mother..." Kawakami said. Everyone looked at her in confusion. "N-Not that I have a-any experience... b-but my friend... Becky, she's done stuff like that b-before..." Kawakami stuttered. Ren rolled his eyes; he knew full well she enjoyed a little bit of pain now and then.

"Alright then... Ren will receive ten lashings, one from each of you. Any objections?" Akechi asked around; some said no or shook their heads, but some were still uncertain. "If you're not comfortable, you may choose not to take part and simply watch. for those who do, who wants to go first?" Despite a bit of hesitation, everyone raised a hand. "Hmm..." Akechi rubbed his chin. "Whom to pick first?" He then snapped his fingers as a lightbulb switched on in his head. "Ren?"

"...what?" He sighed before responding, still standing in the middle of his room, shirtless and belt-less.

"Remember when I said you didn't have any choice in this matter?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well... you do now."

"What are you talking about?"

Akechi grinned. "You're going to choose which one of your former romantic companions has the honor of drawing first blood... and I mean that metaphorically, although I may also mean that literally."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me..." Ren facepalmed. "...and if I don't choose?"

"It doesn't matter; we don't leave until you've gotten a belt lashing from everyone you've deceived," Akechi said as he took a seat on the couch, ready to enjoy the show.

Ren huffed. "Christ..." He looked at the angry faces of the ten women he had all cheated on as he walked around in circles for a moment, trying to mentally prep himself for what was to come. "Alright, fine... Ann."

Ann let out a whispered 'yay' as she excitedly stepped forward and took the belt from Akechi. "Why did you choose her first?" Akechi asked.

"I got a feeling I know why he picked me first..." Ann glared at Ren as she stood face to face with him.

"Was she the first one you charmed?" Akechi smirked at Ren.

Ren looked at Akechi and sighed. "...maybe?"

*crack*

Ren tensed up and blinked. Ann didn't even touch him; she simply cracked the belt in his face to tease him. She stepped up to his face and looked him right in the eye.

"You're the scum of the Earth." Ann venomously said before stepping back.

"I know, you said that already, downstairs," Ren replied.

*CRACK*

The room flinched, and Ren hissed in pain and gritted his teeth as Ann whipped the belt across his chest. It stung like absolute hell; a welt was already beginning to form.

"Impressive, Takamaki-san." Akechi applauded.

"I mean, I did use a whip as my main weapon of choice in the metaverse." Ann grinned, feeling a sense of satisfaction from whipping the ten-timing bastard in front of her.

"Ann-senpai!" Sumire exclaimed.

"What?"

"U-Uh... Ann, maybe ix nay on the etaverse m-ay?" Futaba nervously pointed to the rest of the group.

"Oh, don't worry," Ohya waved him off. "We all know you guys were the Phantom Thieves." Akechi scoffed and looked back at Ren.

"So much for discretion." Makoto glared at Ren as she shook her head and clicked her tongue.

"They - argh - figured it out themselves," Ren said. "I didn't say anything about the Phantom Thieves."

"He didn't have to," Takemi began. "Him asking for the names of people who were threatening us only for those same people to apologize to us days later was enough to piece it together."

"How else was I supposed... ow... to get their names for Mementos?" Ren said, still reeling from his first lashing.

"Well, technically, I found out through a reading." Chihaya pointed out.

"Look, can the fact that I helped some of you out convince you to go easy on me?" Ren asked. The women all looked at each other.

"Can I go next?" Hifumi asked.

Akechi chuckled. "Apparently not, haha. Make your choice, Joker," He winked.

Ren sighed before beckoning Hifumi over. The shogi princess crossed paths with Ann. The blonde model handed her the belt and gave her a small high-five as if to tag herself out. Ren, seeing nothing else to do but accept his punishment, bit his lip, closed his eyes, and spread his arms out as he waited for Hifumi to take her shot.

"I-I'd just like to say..." Hifumi began. "I am appreciative of all you did for me..." She said before taking a step back and winding her arm.

Ren kept his eyes closed. "For what it's worth, I'm so-"

*CRACK*

"HM-MMmmmmm..." Ren kept his lips tightly shut as to muffle his scream of pain. Some women cringed, while some smirked. It was just as bad as the first and a little bit worse. What made it worse was Akechi laughing at him the whole time.

"Haha, what was that, Ren? I don't think she quite heard you there, haha." The pain and anger Ren was feeling made him march up to Akechi and stare him down. "What?" Akechi asked with a smirk. "If you expect me to take no pleasure out of this, you're seriously mistaken." Ren wanted to deck Akechi right then and there but restrained himself for now.

"I swear to God, I'm gonna get you back for this," Ren said, fuming with anger.

"I wouldn't worry about me right now if I were you." Akechi, once again, cheekily pointed to the group standing by the kindness plant. It turns out, 'Angelic Kindness' mattered for naught in this situation. Ren turned around and looked towards the group. "Two down, eight more to go, hehe..." Akechi chuckled.

Ren sighed and went back to his spot in the middle of the room. After a moment to think, he made his decision. "...Futaba."

"YAY!" Futaba jumped with joy as she took the belt from Hifumi. "Don't worry, y'all; I'm gonna smack him harder than a low-level raid boss, mwehehe." Ren figured this one would be easy; Futaba's not super strong, nor is she a fighter in the physical sense. As it turns out, he was right.

*Crack*

The belt kind of brushed across Ren's chest. It still stung a bit, but it was primarily due to the last two lashings. He hissed a little bit but didn't wince or flinch like the others. He mostly shrugged it off, much to Futaba's chagrin.

"Huh, gotta admit... that was kind of a fail..." She said, disheartened, before turning to Akechi. "Can I get a do-over?"

Akechi scratched his chin. "I don't see why not."

"Wh-No!" Ren adamantly said. "Why are you asking him anyway?"

"Oooh, you're right," Futaba said before turning back to the group. "Is it okay with you guys if I get a do-over, I don't feel like I did enough damage..."

"Enough? I don't think you did any." Tae smirked. "What do you gals think?" The group then looked at each other and shrugged, giving her the go-ahead.

"Sweet!" Futaba excitedly swung the belt at Ren.

*CRACK*

"ARGH! FUCK! MY EYE!" Ren yelled as his glasses were knocked, and his hand went to his right eye.

"Whoops... that... might've been too hard..." Futaba lamented as Ren stumbled across the room while clutching his eye. The women moved out of his way as Ren nearly knocked over the plant and blindly ripped the 'Risette' poster off the wall.

"I gave him that poster," Ann commented as she crossed her arms. Ren shook his head and removed his hand from his eye.

"Tell me I'm not bleeding, at least." He said, Tae looked him over.

"Nope, you're fine... for now." She huffed. "Mind if I get the next shot?"

"...sure, whatever," Ren replied, still not over the shot in the eye he just got. He went back to the center of the room as Futaba handed Tae the belt.

"Sorry, I wasn't aiming for your eye," Futaba said to Ren as she went back over to the wall with the others in an apologetic tone before switching to a more frustrated tone. "That said, I'm kinda glad I got you where I did."

"That makes one of us..." Ren replied.

"Perhaps, you and I should try another game of billiards," Akechi began. "I'm curious to see, hehe, no pun intended, if you can still make your 'trick shot'."

"With my third eye? Hehe, I bet I could..." Ren confidently admitted with a smirk.

*CRACK*

"GAH! This one caught him off-guard; Ren was too focused on Akechi that he didn't see Tae coming. She got him good; welts were growing, and his chest was becoming redder and redder. Ren turned around; he once again stumbled and fell to his knees, catching himself on his bed. He stayed on the ground for a moment.

"You okay, guinea pig?" Tae asked, twirling the belt around.

"Argh...no," Ren replied, gritting his teeth.

"Good, then that means I did a good job," Tae smirked before turning around and taking a bow as the group applauded her. "When we're done, I'll tell you how to treat those welts."

"...swell."

"Who's next, Ren?" Akechi asked, still enjoying every second of this.

"I... I-I need a minute," Ren said, still trying to let the pain die down slightly. He took deep breaths and slapped himself a few times (which amused the group and Akechi) in an attempt to psych himself up. He then stood back up and shook his body. "Okay..." He sighed. "...Sadayo." The teacher stepped forward and took the belt from the doctor. Ren stood in front of her, taking yet another deep breath and closing his eyes. "Go ahead... do it."

Sadayo was hesitant. "I-I'm not sure..."

Ren opened his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm your teacher... this is highly unethical and absolutely wrong..."

"So's sleeping with a student." Ann bitterly said as she crossed her arms. She couldn't decide what pissed her off more; the fact that Ren dated his teacher or the fact that Ren was cheating on her with several women, including their homeroom teacher.

Sadayo thought for a moment. "I'm sorry," she said as she lowered the belt. "I don't think I can do it."

Ren sighed. Who knows what he thought when he said this? "Sadayo, if you don't want to do it, that's fine by me... but... maybe you could go ask your friend, Becky, to do-"

*CRACK*

"ARGH! JESUS FUCK!" Ren shouted as he once again fell to the ground and lay on his side. Sadayo was fuming so much she nearly went for a second crack but restrained herself. She kneeled down and softly spoke to him.

"If you say a word about this to anybody..." She began in a threatening tone before Ren cut her off.

"What, you really think I'm itching to tell people about this!?" Ren replied before hissing in pain so more and getting on all fours. Sadayo huffed and threw the belt down at him before walking back to the group. Sadayo turned to Ann.

"Ann-chan, I'm really sorry about this," She began. "After the whole 'Kamoshida' incident, you must think I'm a horrible teacher..." She looked down. "But I want you to know, I never took advantage of Ren and never intended to."

Ann processed the words and sighed before turning to Sadayo, "...to be honest, I know about your 'Becky' situation, and I kinda feel bad for you."

Sadayo turned red. "Y-You do?" Ann nodded, as did Makoto, Haru, Futaba, and Sumire. "O-Oh..."

"The point is," Ann continued. "...you're lucky I'm madder at him right now." She glanced at Ren, still on all fours, clutching his chest. "So... I guess we're okay, for now."

"Thank you, Ann-chan." Sadayo smiled softly.

"Aww, isn't that adorable," Akechi mused. "Don't you think so, Ren?"

"...shut up," Ren replied as he stood back up. Akechi chuckled some more.

"Tell me," Akechi began. "Why did you coerce her into giving you a lashing? You had an easy way out, after all."

Ren went over to his desk and propped himself up. "It's called 'accepting my punishment.' Not that you would know anything about that..."

"Provoking someone into whipping you, your teacher no less; I'd say you were enjoying this, haha." Akechi chuckled.

"Says the guy who laughs every time I get whipped, you sick bastard," Ren spat.

Akechi shrugged. "Point taken, I suppose..." Akechi couldn't deny that he was having an absolute blast watching. "Alright then, you're halfway done. Who's next?"

"...Haru." The auburn-floof stepped forward and picked the belt off the ground.

"I'd just like to say," Haru began. "I, too, am thankful for all you've done for me. I'd like to believe we all are."

Ren sighed. "I admit it. I was an ass, and I probably had this coming."

"Probably? Try undeniably," Haru glared at him.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry. To all of you." Ren said to the group. The reaction was mixed; some nodded in appreciation, some remained cold. Ren spread his arms and closed his eyes. "Go ahead; do it."

Haru took a step back and readied her arm. She was about to crack him with the belt but stopped herself. Ren could still feel the air shift and flinched as a result. Haru tried again but found herself hesitating once more.

"What? What's the matter now?" Ren asked.

"I-I'm not sure... something doesn't feel right..." She pondered.

"Don't tell me his pathetic apology actually got to you." Akechi tilted his head and scratched his forehead.

"No, of course not!" She vehemently assured him before looking back at Ren and staring at him for a moment. She wasn't sure if she could do it like this. "Hmm... Ren-kun?" Haru asked.

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind... turning around for me?"

"Oooookay...?" Ren obliged and faced away from her and the group. Haru's face lit up.

"Ah, much better!" She beamed.

*CRACK*

"OW!"

*CRACK*

"OWWW!"

Haru giggled as she cracked him in the right shoulder twice in rapid succession. The women and Akechi applauded her for her ferociousness and her tenacity. Ren went down on all fours and slammed his right fist on the wooden floor several times, busting his knuckles open in the process, before lying face-down on the floor.

"I'm sorry, everyone," Haru began as she turned to the group. "I know we agreed on one each. I got a bit too carried away, heehee." She giggled some more.

"I-It's alright, Haru-senpai. It was just surprising, is all," Sumire said with a hint of a smile.

"Damn, Haru!" Futaba exclaimed. "You sure you're not some closet-sadist or something?" She joked.

Ann chuckled. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were into kinky stuff like that..."

"Maybe I am, maybe not. Not that Ren-kun will ever find out for sure..." Haru giggled some more. "It was just a 'heat of the moment' affair. It became so much easier when I wasn't looking at his face." She said as she walked back to the group.

"Really?" Makoto raised an eyebrow. "I would've thought the opposite, but whatever floats your boat, I guess."

Ren stood back up, clutching his bloody right hand in the process. "I... think I might've shattered my hand..." He exhaled. "...how many more to go?"

"Four. Two of your teammates, the fortune-teller and the journalist." Akechi replied.

"...alright..." Ren shook his hand. "...argh...fuck me..." He muttered before hissing in pain.

"I believe it's a little late for that." Akechi chuckled.

"Fuck you."

"Perhaps later..." Akechi grinned. "Now, choose."

"...Chihaya," Ren grunted. The fortune-teller took the belt from Haru and walked over to Ren. "So... did the cards predict anything like this when you read your own fortune?"

"Well, now that you mention it," Chihaya began. "When I read my fortune, the Judgement Arcana was upright..."

"And...?"

"One of its meanings is reckoning..."

"Oh..." Ren rubbed the back of his head. "...sorry I asked..."

"The World Arcana was also upright, signifying that I would achieve fulfillment and harmony."

"And...? Do you believe it to be true?"

"Turn around so that I can find out." She grinned mischievously; Ren obliged and took a deep breath. The pain was getting to be too much; his legs were made of jelly.

*CRACK*

"AAARRGGHHH! MOTHER... FUCKER!" Ren fell to the ground. He quickly crawled to his bed and bit the bedsheet and hard as he could while muffling his scream of pain.

Chihaya chuckled. "The cards were right; I do feel fulfilled. I suppose even you can't change fate every time." She winked at Ren, though he did not see it. She walked back over to the group, who applauded her and patted her on the back. The ones who had cracked Ren felt great; the ones who hadn't yet would feel the same way soon. Ren made his way back to his feet only to stumble and fall backward onto his side before lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Are you alright?" Akechi asked, standing up from the couch.

"Like you give a shit," Ren replied.

"You're right; I'm just making sure you're not dead."

"Haha... so, you do care after all." Ren cracked (no pun intended) a smile at him.

"Hmph." Akechi huffed as he sat back down on the couch. Suddenly, everyone heard the bell chime downstairs.

"YO! Ren! Anyone home!?" Ryuji yelled from downstairs.

"If it's not too much trouble, could we request some curry?" Yusuke added.

"Oh, dear God, why can't I just suffer in peace...?" Ren huffed; nobody said anything as Ryuji and Yusuke made their way downstairs.

"Yo, Ren-Ren! Where you-..." Ryuji and Yusuke froze at the top of the stairs to see Akechi sitting on the couch, Ren lying on the ground with bloody knuckles and a swollen chest, and a group of ten women, one of them holding a belt. "Ann!? K-KAWAKAMI!?"

Sadayo sighed. "...hello, Sakamoto-kun..."

"W-What the hell is this?" Ryuji said, flabbergasted.

"Good evening, Kitagawa-kun," Hifumi kindly waved at Yusuke.

"G-Good evening, Togo-san..." Yusuke bowed, but was equally confused. "It seems we have come at an inopportune time."

"No, of course not," Akechi said as he beckoned them to come forward. "Please, come on in."

Ren raised his arms up. "Since you guys are here, mind giving me a hand...? I don't think I can stand up on my own..." Ryuji and Yusuke made their way over to him and helped him up.

"Uh, can someone tell us what the hell's goin' on?" Ryuji asked as he and Yusuke sat Ren down on his bed.

"Ren's a swinger," Futaba said.

"What?" Yusuke raised an eyebrow.

"He has been dating and cheating on all of us," Makoto added. Ryuji and Yusuke looked over to the group to see their teammates, one of Yusuke's classmates, one of the teachers at Shujin, and a few other faces they didn't quite recognize as well.

"FOR REAL!?" Ryuji shouted. "You're seriously tellin' me you were datin' all of them!?"

"Something like that..." Ren replied, still clutching his hand.

"You gotta be kiddin' me!" Ryuji yelled.

"Believe me, right now; I wish I was..." Ren said before looking down at his chest.

"I-I don't understand... if you were already engaged in multiple romantic relationships, why did you decide to spend Valentine's Day having dinner with Boss and us?" Yusuke pondered.

"I don't know..." Ren began. "I figured if I didn't spend Valentine's Day with any of them, I wouldn't break any hearts...?" He shrugged.

"Well, you did... all of our hearts," Sumire said, looking down in disappointment.

"Some leader you turned out to be..." Ann huffed.

"Anyway," Akechi continued. "As a way for them to get a measure of revenge, I suggested Ren receive ten belt lashings for his sins." Ryuji and Yusuke went wide-eyed.

"What is this, some kinda effed up porno or somethin'?" Ryuji asked.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, Ryuji," Ren slammed his hand down on his mattress. "Just say 'Fuck', will you? Stop fucking censoring yourself; it's fucking frustrating."

"Hmm, and here I believed Ryuji was the vulgar one in our group." Yusuke pondered.

"Oh, shut up." Ryuji retorted.

"Perhaps, you weren't entirely mistaken, Yusuke-kun," Haru giggled.

"Alright, alright... that's enough," Ren said as he stood back up. "I have three more lashings to go; my hand is probably broken, and I'm in an unbelievable amount of pain. Can we just get this over with?" He said as Ryuji and Yusuke leaned on his desk.

Akechi nodded impressed. "I admire your enthusiasm."

"Bite me..." Ren huffed. "...Makoto, you wanna take the next shot?"

"Gladly," Makoto took the belt from Chihaya and stepped up to Ren. "Turn around; I prefer not to look at your face." She said with her trademark Niijima glare. Ren obliged; Ryuji started snickering to himself.

"What the hell are you laughing about now?" Ren asked.

"Hahaha, sorry," Ryuji recomposed himself. "But can you imagine if you had dated Makoto's sister too? She prolly would've just shot you, hehe. Hey Makoto, does your sister keep a gun around at you guys' apartment?"

"No," Makoto readied her arm. "She doesn't..."

*CRACK*

"FUCK!" Ren fell and crawled on the floor and had his head in his hands.

"...but you're lucky," Makoto scornfully continued. "My sister would've probably strangled you to death with the belt instead."

"Oh, that makes me... feel so much fucking better...argh..." Ren sarcastically said as he rolled around in pain.

"Considering his current condition, I imagine Ren must be begging for death at this point," Yusuke added.

Ren looked up at Ryuji and Yusuke with contempt. "Why... ow fuck... are you guys even watching this? Don't tell me you're getting a kick out of me getting my ass kicked?" Ryuji and Yusuke shrugged.

"I assure you, Ren," Yusuke began. "I take no pleasure in watching you suffer, but I admit, this may make for an interesting painting." Yusuke framed Ren with his fingers.

"I gotta admit... it's kinda funny, even if that sound made me cringe..." Ryuji rubbed the back of his neck. "How bad does it hurt gettin' whipped with a belt?"

"You're... argh... more than welcome to try it out for yourself, Ryuji," Ren said before hissing in pain.

"Nah... I'm good." Ryuji put his hands up. "So... how many do you got left...?"

"Two... god-damn it." Ren stood back up. "...uh... I don't know... Sumire?"

Without a word, Sumire stepped forward, and Makoto handed her the belt. Ren was barely standing; Makoto's whip-crack had pierced his skin, and his right shoulder blade was bleeding slightly. He felt like his entire upper half was on fire. He stood up and faced away from Sumire.

"I-I'm sorry, Senpai," Sumire said apologetically. "But you hurt me deeply... can you... turn around?" Ren exhaled and turned to face Sumire. She had the least angry look out of all of them thus far, next to Hifumi. To his and everyone else's surprise, she walked up and kissed his left cheek. "I hate what you've done to all of us...but I'd be lying if I said I no longer had feelings for you."

Akechi shook his head and murmured to himself. "Oh, the poor girl..."

"Oooo, a kiss of death, mwehehe..." Futaba chuckled. "Does that mean the next one will kill him?"

"I hope not..." Ohya began. "I still haven't gotten my turn yet."

*CRACK*

Ren didn't even yell that time. He silently dropped to his knees and lay face-down on the ground before rolling on his back as he writhed around in pain.

"Again, I'm sorry, Senpai," Sumire winced. "But you did deserve it..." She said before walking back to the group. With only one candidate remaining, Ohya took the belt and walked over to Ren. Akechi also walked over to Ren and kneeled down.

"Come along now. You only have one left, and then your punishment is complete," Akechi chuckled.

"How... many did... you say?" Ren asked as he raised his middle finger to Akechi's face. "One...?"

"Hmph, charming..." Akechi brushed his finger away, unamused. "Now get up."

"Ryuji... Yusuke... little help?" Ren asked; The two nodded and picked him off the ground. "Argh...thanks..."

"You okay, man?" Ryuji asked.

"Do I look okay?" Ren replied.

"Nah, dude... ya look like crap..."

"That's strange because I feel like shit..."

"Can we do this already?" Ohya asked as she tapped her foot on the ground and had her empty hand on her hip. Yusuke and Ryuji let go of Ren and let him stand on his own. "Actually, can you two hold him in steady? He's shaky, and I want to get a good shot on his back."

"...great." Ren huffed. Ryuji and Yusuke looked at each other before nodding at Ohya. They turned Ren around, leaving his back exposed to her.

"Thanks, guys. Ready, lover boy?"

"... screw it... do your worst..." Ren looked down and sounded absolutely defeated.

"Oh, trust me, I will..."

*CRACK*

"FUUUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuuu..." Ren shot his head up and gritted his teeth; though he wasn't trying to cry, his eyes were welling up with tears.

"Hold on! Keep him like that!" Ohya said as she grabbed and readied her camera. She snapped a picture of his back. "Great! Now turn him around, please?" Ryuji and Yusuke obliged, and she snapped a picture of his front. "Awesome! Thanks, boys!"

"What're those for?" Ryuji asked.

"To serve as a reminder to him not to be a sleazeball," Ohya replied before turning to the group of women. "Let's all exchange emails! I'll send you guys the pictures if you want."

"I would like to receive them as well," Yusuke politely asked; Everyone stared at him in confusion. "...purely for painting purposes, I can assure you all."

"You're weird, Inari," Futaba said.

Akechi stood up from the couch. "There we have it, ten belt lashings... well, technically twelve...actually, more like eleven and a half. Sakura-san's was a bit weak; I'm sorry to admit..."

"She got him in the eye, though..." Chihaya pointed out.

"...yeah, I guess I did. It's almost like I landed a critical hit," Futaba chuckled.

"Nevertheless, do you all feel better now?" Akechi asked; the women nodded, and some even softly smiled. "Good because I have one more surprise for you all..." He said with a devilish grin on his face.

"...fuck..." Ren huffed. "...what no-OOooof..."

Before Ren could finish, Akechi went and kicked Ren below the belt. The room winced and erupted in "ooohs" as Ryuji and Yusuke accidentally let Ren go and fall back to the ground, clutching his balls in the process.

"The hell was that for!?" Ryuji got up in Akechi's face and shoved him to defend his friend.

"That one was for me..." Akechi chuckled. "...simply because I felt like it." He turned to the group of women and could see them smiling and some of them giggling. "It seems they enjoyed it too."

"It was fun to watch; why didn't we just do ten kicks to the balls instead?" Ohya asked.

"Because that might've killed him," Tae responded.

"O-Oh, my..." Chihaya went wide-eyed.

"W-Wait... for real!? You can actually die from a kick to the balls?" Ryuji said in shock.

"Mm-hm," Tae nodded. "According to an old medical journal, sudden compression of the testicles can lead to violent convulsions which causes the vagus nerve to go haywire and, as a result, the brain shuts down from the sudden over-stimulation and trauma, which then leads to death." Everyone stared at her, stunned.

"Wow... t-that sounds... terrible..." Hifumi said.

"You really do learn something new every day," Sadayo said.

Ryuji exhaled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Man... think I'm gonna start wearin' a codpiece or somethin'..."

"What the hell is going on here?" Everyone turned to the stairs to see Sojiro standing there in shock.

"We're just teaching Ren a lesson," Ann replied.

"A lesson in how to respect women," Makoto added.

"Don't worry, Boss; we didn't hurt him too badly," Haru said with a smile.

"We tried not to, anyway..." Sadayo added.

"Pfft, speak for yourself, haha." Ohya chuckled.

"Either way... we have a feeling he won't be forgetting this one any time soon... mwehehe..." Futaba chuckled.

Sojiro sighed "...Jeez, what a mess..."

"Ironically, we did this, so we could avoid making a mess of your café, Sakura-san," Sumire said.

"Akechi-san suggested we do this." Chihaya pointed out.

"In the end," Yusuke began. "The only thing that damaged was Ren's pride...well... that and his body."

"God... unbelievable..." Sojiro facepalmed. "But he's going to be okay, right?"

"Don't worry," Tae began. "I'll patch him up," she said before turning to Ren. "But this one's gonna cost you, guinea pig. No more freebies."

Ren didn't say anything; he simply grunted. Sojiro walked over to Ren to check on him. "You okay, kid?" Again, Ren said nothing, but did give Sojiro a thumbs up. "You know... I should kick your ass for cheating on Futaba, let alone dating her in the first place without asking for my blessing... but I'll let it slide, considering your current state."

"I don't know about everyone else, but I think he's suffered enough, don't you all agree?" Hifumi asked around the group, who all nodded in agreement.

"Cheer up, here. Have this." Sojiro said as he pulled out chocolate and placed it on the shelf of souvenirs. "Alright... well...Uhm... does anyone want coffee? On the house." Sojiro, not knowing what else to do, decided to offer everyone coffee. Akechi, Ryuji, Yusuke, and the heartbroken group of women smiled and nodded. "Come on down then..." Sojiro beckoned everyone to come down. The women grabbed their coats and their chocolate before disappearing from the attic.

"Oh, by the way, I wanted to ask ya, Ren-Ren," Ryuji began. "You think the chocolate I got from my mom counts?" Ren simply glared at him.

"Perhaps, now is not the time to ask, Ryuji," Yusuke said as he and Ryuji began walking towards the stairs. "But to answer your question, no, I don't believe it does."

"Aww, man..."

"Cheer up..." Sojiro began. "In the end, you're still having a better week than he is."

Eventually, it was just Akechi and Ren alone in the attic. Akechi walked over to Ren and kindly offered him a hand up. Ren took his hand, and Akechi helped his frenemy up. Ren clutched his body as the two of them looked each other in the eye before Akechi broke the silence.

"Was that as much fun for you as it was for me to watch?" Akechi chuckled.

"I hate you." Ren deadpanned.

"The feeling is mutual," Akechi smirked.

Fin.