April 18th, 20XX
"It wasn't me, Amamiya-kun, I swear!"
"Huh?" Ren was confused by Mishima's exclamation after school on Monday. Had something happened over the weekend? He slept in that morning and almost didn't make it to school on time.
"I didn't post the video, I had nothing to do with it!" He looked anxious.
"What are you talking about?"
"The- Haven't you seen it?"
"I don't know, seen what?"
Mishima quickly pulled out his phone, and tapped frantically at the screen. He carefully held it out to Ren. A video started playing, with a strange caption.
GAIJIN BITCH CHOKES ON A BURGER.
Ren probably would have laughed at the absurd title, if it wasn't him and Lavenza in the video.
"What the hell?"
The video continued, from outside the window of a Big Bang Burger, looking in on Ren stopping the attendant from choking.
"Who the hell would record this?"
"The account is anonymous. They just post whatever is relevant to Shujin. I get information from there sometimes. Someone could have sent it in."
"Anonymously."
"Yep."
Sigh.
"Damn. School won't do anything about it either, they can't."
"I'll try to stem the flow, but look at the comments."
Mishima scrolled down the page, showing dozens of comments.
"Why is that idiot hanging out with Amamiya?"
"Bet she's a whore, just like Takamaki."
"Just look at her! She's definitely foreign."
Ren closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.
"...So, who's she?"
"I swear to god-"
"I'm joking, I'm joking! Sorry."
"Whatever. I'm going to get some fresh air." Ren felt sick. "Something's wrong with this place."
There was a girl with fluffy, light auburn hair on the rooftop, tending to some stems in a planter box. She didn't seem to notice him opening the door. He looked away, walked next to the rail, and took a deep breath.
This is getting out of hand.
Lavenza's existence was now out in the open, and he would surely be getting questions about that from his friends. Would that be the end of it? People just thinking he was dating some strange woman?
Would the rumors go further? Would his activities in the Velvet Room, or the Metaverse be discovered?
Am I overthinking this?
Ren's breathing quickened...
"Excuse me, are you alright?"
Ren glanced at the brown-haired girl. He forced a smile.
"Yeah, don't worry about it."
"..."
"..."
"You look stressed. Would you like some coffee?"
"Coffee?"
"I have some spare cups. It's a nice foreign blend, relaxing like tea, but energizing."
So Ren was drinking luke-warm coffee out of a gardening cup on the rooftop. It was cleaned beforehand, obviously. The girl was sitting upright on a desk, drinking from the thermos.
"This is good. Tastes like a Guatemalan SHB variety."
"Yes, it is!"
"Heh, Boss talks about it whenever he's making coffee."
"Oh, you work in a cafe?"
"Live in the attic of one."
"How exciting."
"..."
"..."
"Aren't you going to ask if I'm "That transfer student, Mamamiya?""
"Oh, I didn't wish to pry!" Ren laughed.
"Don't apologize, it was pretentious of me to ask."
"I'm sorry…"
"Seriously, don't worry about it. Thanks for the coffee. Did you brew it yourself?"
"Hm? Oh no, I'm afraid that my father prefers me to stay away from the kitchens..." She had a disappointed look on her face.
"I was just thinking, it doesn't taste like a store-bought brand." Her smile brightened.
"It isn't! I purchased some from a nice cafe early this morning."
"Really? Where? I might stop by."
"You might not find it, it's very small. But you might have heard of it..."
"What's it called?"
"Cafe LeBlanc."
The girl was concerned, to say the least, when Ren collapsed in a fit of mad laughter.
He got back to class in time for class.
He also got a lot of weird looks.
Jealous ones from guys, and…
Girls are weird.
That's a lot of yellow…
Maybe the student council should hear about how many female students had suddenly bleached their hair over the weekend.
I mean, really sudden.
I think some of them had brown hair this morning.
Wonder what the deal with that is.
Must be a new fashion trend.
Dumbass.
Ren decided to work out his frustrations that afternoon.
In the metaverse.
Get your mind out of the gutter.
He was on his way to the overpass in Shibuya, and passed that same geezer on a soapbox.
"Look at these mental shutdown cases! Our society needs strong leaders, of the people, and for the-"
"Shut up, No-good-tora!" Heckled a passerby.
Ren suppressed a chuckle, seeing the old man sputter, as he continued on his way.
He leaned against a dumpster in an alleyway, listening to Morganna prattle on about combat basics.
"Use your Persona when physical attacks are ineffective, your SP is limited, so-"
"What's SP?"
"You know, Spirit Points."
"This isn't a video game."
"Well, that's what they're called."
"That's stupid. Why can't I call it mana, or spiral-"
"Because it's not and you can't, so suck it up, and let's go."
"Alright, fine, I was planning on it." Ren tugged his cell phone out of his pocket.
Soon enough, the world bled into the cognitive realm, and Ren's fluttering coat and drill returned. Luckily, there were no whispers of chains traveling in the stale wind.
"Good, now go down the escalator."
"How do you know what escalators are?"
"I dunno. Probably because I'm so awesome." Magician through and through, then.
"Whatever. Let's go."
Ren looked deep into the train tunnel. He could barely make out the opposite wall, which was hundreds of meters away.
"...How the hell am I supposed to get around here?
"I'm glad you asked. Ahem!" Morgana bobbled away from Ren and made a star with his body.
"...Mooooorgana," He waved his arms around, "Transform!" Ren jumped back.
"What the hell! You're a bus!" The black cat-bus rumbled around.
"I kid you not, Ren, I turned myself into a bus! Funniest-"
"How?" He yelled.
"The public apparently thinks about cats turning into buses often; does it matter?"
"...Of course, the monsters turn into references too, why not…"
"What was that?"
"Nothing. Let's go." Ren climbed in the back seat. Wonder how having a side door that was made of your body being opened felt.
"..."
"..."
"I need someone to drive me, you know."
"Right, right."
To quote a great man who's name rhymes with "Tatsuya"-
VRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
"Ah! Watch out! Don't you know how to drive?"
"Yeah, the faster I go, the better my score is, right?"
"This isn't a video game!"
"Spirit Points."
"Shut up- Oh, there's a shad- OW!" Ren almost slammed his head into the steering wheel. The cat-van flew through the air after the huge bump in the road. He lightly kicked the door open and got out, while rubbing his forehead.
Two pumpkins with lanterns and cloaks floated in the subway tunnel. They had crooked grins carved into their faces.
"Hee!"
"Ho!"
"Hee!'"
"Ho!"
Ren and now bobblehead-Morgana watched the two shadows, as they continued to yell without attacking.
"...Should I attack?" Ren gestured to the floating pumpkins with his drill.
"I don't know. I've never seen shadows act like this before."
"..."
"Hee!"
"..."
"Ho!"
"You know, this place isn't as action-packed as you said."
"Be quiet. You can learn a lot by observing shadows."
One of the Hee-ho'ers approached Ren. It didn't seem intent on attacking.
"Me Jack O'lantern! Boss Jack sent us to talk with you!"
"Sure?" He glanced sidelong at Morgana, who somehow shrugged. "What's the deal?"
"Boss Jack says you friends with da Shadow of da Universe, and dat makes you a friend of da Jakkai!"
"The who?"
"Y'know, da Jacks! Frosts, O'lanterns, Knifes-"
Now, Ren had no idea what those names meant, but it would probably be better to go along with it.
"Sure. Wait, Jack Frost? Like the mascot?"
"Yee-ho!"
"...Okay."
"See, youz get it! Dat reminds me, da Boss Jack told me to go with you!"
Whoever that is, they're probably important-
The shadow melted into a shining blue light and slammed itself into Ren's face.
"Ah!" Ren tripped backward.
He felt his mask become… stronger, somehow.
The other Jack threw a bead at him and floated away.
"Wait! What do you mean, 'Boss Jack'?"
It faded away into the distance. Ren flicked the lights on his goggles on and off a few times. They shined brighter than before.
"...Is this that Wild Card thing that Igor was talking about?"
"Seems like it." Morganna transformed back into a car. "Daylight's burning. Let's get going."
Ren rammed the car into another shadow and watched it melt into ooze as he exited the bus. It took the form of a small, flying redhead woman in a blue leotard. Glittery dust fell around her as she flitted around in front of him. Ren glanced at Morgana
"Okay, so how should I start?"
"Well, obviously, you have to take me to dinner first, don't you have any manners?" The Pixie giggled.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...Are you a shadow or are you like this guy?" Ren pulled off his mask, and Jack O'lantern hovered behind him, waving at the girl in the leotard. Well, close enough to waving, with a lantern in his only hand.
"Hm, no."
That doesn't answer my question.
"Okay… I need to get stronger, so if you're a demon, you'll be fine, right?"
"Demon? Why would I- Oh! I remember now! I'm not a demon! I'm from the sea of souls, just like you! I'm Pixie! And I'm coming with you!"
"Hey, wait!"
She melted into blue light, ignored Ren's attempts to prepare himself, and slammed him onto his back.
That sounded a lot more suggestive than it should have.
"Dammit, I'm not going to kill anything around here, at this rate!"
"Then maybe you should have used the gun. Now get up, you need training."
They did actually manage to get some training done. Jack O'lantern and Pixie would tell him the weaknesses of any shadows that looked like them, and he made quick work of the shadows.
Apparently, his model gun- Er, bolter- worked like an actual gun in the Metaverse. It didn't do as much damage as you'd expect, but it was better than nothing. Still fairly tiring, though, so they resolved to head back after getting a few floors down.
It wasn't the safest journey, however.
Because chains started rattling.
"Damn it. I'm tired out, and I don't think I can go as far this time. Morgana, how quickly can we make it to the stairs?" Ren barely spotted a station at the far end of his vision.
"A couple of minutes, even as a straight shot."
"Not fast enough. Can you keep your engine running without me in here?"
"Sure, but I won't be able to turn. What do you have planned?"
Ren hooked himself on the window and pulled himself onto the roof. He pressed a trigger on his drill, causing it to whir and dance with blue flame. He pulled his mask off, summoning Arsene in front of him, between him and the quietly approaching Reaper.
"I sure hope this works like it did for Simon!" He stabbed the drill into the persona.
Suddenly, his vision shifted forward, from Arsene's perspective.
"Ren! Where'd you go? Did you fall off?" Morgana shuddered to a stop. Ren tried to speak, but his voice wasn't his own.
Arsene spoke.
"I'm fine, Morgana, keep going! I'll catch up!" The voice was layered with demonic power.
"What? I can't do that, Lavenza would kill me if I left you behind!"
"Shut up and drive, dammit!"
Morgana hesitantly kept moving towards the station, as the Reaper raised his twin bolters.
"I SAID DRIVE!"
The bus sped up, Arsene still latched onto its hood.
"Reaper! Death! Whatever the hell you're called! I'm gonna kick your ass!"
"You presume yourself to be more powerful than I. Pathetic. And I had believed this would be a challenge."
"Ren, you can't fight the Reaper, it's a death sentence!"
"I've done it before, I'll do it again! Persona!" Arsene's form solidified, it's red long coat replaced with black, and it's flames turning a velvet blue.
"Morgana, get to the stairs and wait for me. You don't have a persona, so wait there."
"What about you?"
"Just do it! I'm not taking you with me when I go down!"
"I can't- Look out!"
Arsene dodged over the bullet, somehow.
Oh, right, he has wings.
A crack echoed from the wall where it struck, piercing the concrete, forming a large crack on the wall. Arsene smirked.
"I got this."
They reached the station, with the Reaper right behind them, barely avoiding a few more volleys that struck the same wall. The crack grew larger and larger.
Morgana transformed, just in time for Arsene to grab him with a clawed hand and chuck him onto an escalator.
"Hey, wait!"
"Eiha!"
The cursed flame struck the damaged wall, causing it to decay, melting into dust and gravel.
"What a pathetic attempt. Are you attempting to create more runway? You can't run forever, Fool."
"I don't need to run. Eiha!"
Arsene's fire struck the corners of the station, causing the two walls to melt as well. He flew back just in time to avoid the massive ton of concrete that collapsed onto the Reaper.
"..."
"..."
Arsene melted off of Ren, reforming into his mask. He dropped to the ground in a crouch.
The two stared at the massive pile of rubble. Morgana looked puzzled.
"Did we kill it?"
"Who is we?"
"It's foolish to assume I can be defeated so easily." The voice echoed from the walls of Mementos. Ren flinched, his hand flying to his mask. "But I do prefer to play on even ground. I concede for now." The voice slowly faded.. The menacing aura of the station disappeared. Ren heard something like a whisper in the stale wind. "...I was defeated by a similar trick long ago. I look forward to our next match…"
"..."
"..."
"Screw this, I'm going home."
"Yeah, I could use a nap, maybe some milk."
"I didn't buy any for LeBlanc. Go ask Lavenza."
"But she spikes it with alcohol!"
"..."
"I'm serious!"
"..."
"..."
"...Fine, I'll buy you some on the way back. Made some money off the shadows." Ren shuddered. "Let's just get out of here."
Ren almost didn't notice the echoing spooky voices.
I am thou
Thou art I
Thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall become the wings of rebellion that breakth thy chains of mortality.
With the bond of the Magician Arcana, Thou will obtain the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power.
Oh, son of a-
April 19th, 20XX
"...The video title was a bit harsh. And who was that girl, anyway?"
"Some foreigner, probably."
"He's clearly into that kinda thing."
"I know! I even bleached my hair, and he hasn't even looked at me!"
"Maybe he likes the body type…"
"You think? I asked that girl what her routine was, but she didn't answer, said she didn't have one!"
"What a liar."
"I know, right?"
Ren felt like bashing his own skull in on a vending machine.
Well, it's only Tuesday morning, might take a bit longer for the rumors to die down.
"Yo, Ren." Of course, Ryuji ignored the gossiping girls and stepped into line next to him.
"What's up?"
"Nothing much, 'bout the same."
"Yeah. Hey, have you noticed anything weird going on lately?" Ryuji scratched his chin, before replying.
"Well, Prez was complaining about dyed hair yesterday afternoon, but I dunno what the deal with that is."
You wouldn't, would you?
"Ren, who's this?"
Ann shoved a screen in his face, while she put a fist on her hip. Hopefully, the latter wouldn't end up in his face.
...And sure enough, it was the video.
God dammit.
"Friend of mine." Ren prayed that he would make it out of this day alive.
"Mhm. You do know what everyone is saying, right?"
"Some of it. Rest assured, I do not have a thing for foreigners."
"Aw, you don't?" Ann looked crestfallen.
"No! Well, yes, no, I mean, uh-" He was interrupted by her laughing.
"I'm just kidding! I haven't cared what people thought about me for years."
"Right. Ha ha ha…" He was relieved by his death no longer being imminent.
"But seriously, are you two dating, because I gotta know where she got that hair clip!"
"..."
"What?"
"Of course that's your priority…" Ren sat stock still as Shiho approached.
"Aw, but don't you think you'd look great with it?" Ann asked her, showing her the phone. Shiho looked like she was fighting off a blush.
"That's not important, Ann…" She turned to Ren.
"So, what's this I hear about your thing for blondes?"
"I just said I don't have a thing for blondes!" Ren noticed the suddenly silent classroom. He looked around, and spotted multiple boxes of black and brown hair dye being passed around and between bags.
"Oh you have got to be kidding me!"
Ren ate lunch with the info-broker.
"I gotta say, I'm glad I stocked up on hair dye since this weekend. I'm making a killing right now!" He flicked through a large pile of Yen, as another female customer walked away.
"Damn you, Yuki Mishima, and your genius business strategies." Ren raised a woeful fist to the sky.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
Nothing that won't boost your ego, that is.
"I still can't believe how crazy everyone is going because of you. Like, Shujin's been messed up for a while, but the show's getting really good now."
"Well, believe it, because I'm the one who has to deal with it."
"That's what I'm betting on. Say, do you think I should stock up on red hair dye?"
"Why's that?"
"Because that first year is coming this way, and we're in the middle of a very visible courtyard."
"And people might get ideas."
"Yep. Which is exactly why I'm going to go buy out the entirety of the closest pharmacy's dye stock before lunch is over. Later." The boy hopped up and nearly ran towards the school's entrance. Ren just stared after him, and tried to wrap his head around the student population's state of absurdity.
"It's not true, Ren-senpai, is it?" He turned to Kasumi, and remembered he was still in that situation, and mentally cursed to himself.
"I'm not dating anyone. She just works for a friend of mine."
"You take your friends to love hotels?" The girl looked hurt.
Wait, what?
Ren took a moment to register the question, before terror rendered on his face.
"NO! He-e-e-ll no!" He jumped off the bench, tumbling backwards.
Onto the bare concrete.
Ren woke up in the nurse's office, with a bandage wrapped around the back of his head, and with Kasumi staring down at him. He felt sluggish, and still half-asleep.
"...Ouch." He barely slurred out the words.
He couldn't see Kasumi's blurred face.
"I'm sorry…"
"...Don't…"
He slowly realized that while his torso felt like it was on a bed, his head was not. And so realized why she was looking down at him.
Soft…
"I was really worried about you. After you fell, there was blood, and-" She choked.
"It's… fine…" Hell, he'd be happy to fall again.
"I told the teachers, and I thought you wouldn't wake up, so I moved you-"
"And I… woke up…"
"Mhm..." She sounded like she was about to cry.
"Don't worry… Be happy… Eat Russia sushi…" Ren's brain felt scrambled.
Hey, Pixie, can you hit me with a Dia?
No can do, boss, you're still wearing a mask.
But I'm in the real- Oh. Do I really have to?
Yee-ho!
You gotta take it off, boss.
...Fine.
Ren's vision cleared slightly, and Kasumi's vague outline sharpened. Only now did he appreciate the form of-
Hey, don't get too comfortable.
He tried to push himself up, but Kasumi pushed him back down.
"Please don't get up, you're injured."
"Stop mothering me. I need to go to class." He pushed her hand as he tried to sit up again. She wrapped an arm around his chest, trying to pull him back.
"Please! If you're hurt, you could collapse, and if that happened-"
"I don't care! If I don't go, the teachers will think I really am a delinquent!" Ren didn't care about the girl's gasp. "That's right, I'm a criminal, and I'm only in the shithole because I'm on probation. Bet you're not interested anymore, huh?" He ignored the stinging effect his words had on the girl. He walked toward the door
"That's not true- Please, stay!"
"NO! Dammit, listen to me, I get you're an honor student, but I'm not!" He whipped around and scolded her, as he felt the skin and bone on the back of his head begin to mend. His usual self hated him for it, but he knew he couldn't hold up the facade right now. "We're completely different, so stop bringing yourself down to my level!" He tried to leave again.
The girl stood up, trying to pull him back with both of her arms.
"Ren! Please!"
He turned around and shoved her off him. She fell on the medical cot. He pressed his hands on her cheeks, and kneeled close to her face, with utter rage on his face.
"Listen to me! We are not the same. You have all the chances in the world, and I'm a damned criminal that no one cares about. Get that into your pretty little head!"
She looked like she really was about to cry, but had a steely determination in her eyes.
"No. I won't let someone get hurt again."
"I'm less than someone, you idiot! Nobody cares about me, and they shouldn't! Why do you think I hate all this rumor shit so much? Because it's completely wrong!"
"Is it? Do you really think you don't deserve anything?"
"Yes! I'm worthless, and you're the only person that can't tell." She lifted her face, knocking her forehead against his.
"You're lying to yourself. Takamaki, Suzui, Mishima, I know they-"
He pressed her head down into the cot with his forehead.
"Shut. Up."
"Make me."
Their gazes locked as Ren's fury grew colder and colder. The determination in her eyes only grew in response.
He pulled himself off the cot, shrugging his anger off for the time being.
"Whatever. I have class."
"No, you don't. The teachers said you're excused, because of your injuries."
Ren's anger returned like a tsunami, crashing over him.
"And you… didn't… lead with that?"
"You need to stay here, even if you don't have classes."
"Fuck that."
Ren approached the cot, and looked past Kasumi, toward the window. He would never admit it, but they had opened up to each other, that moment, in a strange way.
Thou shalt have our blessing when creating Personae of the Faith Arcana.
Rumors would soon circulate that the transfer student jumped out of a third-story window, and kept on walking.
These were completely true, as well.
Access to flying Personae might do that for you.
AN: Okay, two steps-
1. Imagine Morgana doing the orange shirt kid dance before he transforms.
2. Laugh.
Oh, dude, what if I made the same "ha ha teenager horny" joke again, wouldn't that be hilarious. Totally. Definitely. Nah. Joker is maybe level 2/3 at the beginning, because he did kill a couple of shadows when he awakened, so maybe it fits with persona-getting rules in canon. If you think it's weird how demons discovered Ren so quickly, go back and carefully reread Ren's awakening. If you can stand my shitty writing twice, that is.
By the way, when I said I'd like to write something like Minato's Long Date, I was not implying that Lavenza would be the canon girl, because I really don't know who will be yet. Might put it to a vote, but I do like her character a lot. So probably will not be the official pairing.
NoRoleModelz, I'll be honest, I was hitting a dry point in the writing, so the review really meant a lot. Thanks. Realized that my writing makes other people happy, even if I think it's shit, haha.
No, it's not normal for relationships to be founded on physical violence, but I don't think this is quite that. It's more symbolic, I guess. And Ren's not feeling the most normal either. And it's not too violent, and making it violent probably would have made me feel sick. I'm no white knight, or whatever, but it's really difficult for me to stomach gratuitous violence towards women. So no, not The Fools Tournament. No shade though.
Anyway, masks, personae, hope that made sense. Minato could do it too, but he needed a gun. Note, he's not actually summoning in the real world yet, he's just taking on some Persona attributes, like quicker healing from Dia or slowed fall from Arsene.
I read that thing by Eliezer Yudkowsky or whatever, the guy who wrote harry potter and the methods of rationality, about intelligent character design. I hope that makes Ren's character seem more real down the line. Had a lot of fun with the mementos segment of the chapter.
Review if you've got the time for it, feedback is what makes the world go round, and what keeps my ego intact- wait whaaaaa? Huh?
Two chapters each week for winter break, hope y'all appreciate it.
Merry Christmas, folks. Or whatever you celebrate- just have a good time, yeah?