Persona Trinity

by IIIIIIIIII

Six months have passed since the defeat of Yaldabaoth and the disbandment of the Phantom Thieves. Ren Amamiya now enjoys a normal high-school life, hard-won though it may be. For once, normalcy started to feel normal. However, the whims of fate would set the Wild Card User on another path. And he would be far from the only one fate would call on. Pairing: Pseudo RenxHarem YuxHarem

39. Spotlight

A/N I got this done a bit sooner than I was expecting to, so that's at least good. Next chapter should also be coming same time next week.

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona, or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this.

Chapter 39

September 1st – Shujin Academy: Outside the Gymnasium

In the early hours of the school day, the Shujin Academy gym was packed with students who were busy looking at what events they were assigned to take part in for the sports day. Futaba stood just outside its doors where she waited nervously for at least one of her three friends at school to show up so she wouldn't have to be alone anymore.

'I knew I should've left later,' Futaba groaned in thought. 'And this wouldn't be a problem if Ren moved back in to Leblanc already! Geez, tomorrow can't come fast enough!'

Just then, Futaba caught a glimpse of light blonde hair from the corner of her eye. She knew that had to be Ann, especially since literally no other person in Shujin had that hair color. She turned excitedly and saw Ann headed down the hallway towards her, but that faded in an instant when she got a good look at her new senpai's appearance.

Yet again, Ann looked dead tired, but somehow, she seemed even worse than yesterday. As she walked right up towards Futaba, she tried, and failed, to keep down a heavy yawn.

"Morning," said Ann.

She yawned again and rubbed one of her eyes as if she were still half-asleep, which probably wasn't far off from the truth by the look of things.

"Rough night's sleep?" Futaba inquired.

"Pretty much," Ann sighed.

A worried look started to show in Futaba's eyes. "That makes two nights in a row, right? And you've looked a bit sleepy in the mornings when we go to the gym from time to time, too. Is… is everything okay?"

"Huh? Wait, no-no-no, everything's totally fine," Ann quickly replied. "I've just had a few rough nights recently, it's no big deal. This is the first time it's happened back-to-back though, so… it's just bad luck, I guess."

Although she was skeptical, Futaba nodded all the same. It didn't seem like Ann was lying, at least.

"Alright, if you say so," Futaba said.

They suddenly heard a commotion coming from down the hall. At first Ann and Futaba were confused and wondered what could've possibly been happening, but when they realized that it was just Ren walking down the hallway, they realized it was just another repeat of what happened the previous day.

"O-Oh, good morning, Amamiya-kun!"

"Hey there, Amamiya."

Similar greetings sounded off almost every other second, or at least it felt like it.

It also seemed like most of them came from girls, too.

"Oh brother," Futaba sighed. "This is still going on?"

"Looks that way," Ann uttered with a half-glare.

"But he looks exactly the same as yesterday! Haven't they all freaked out enough?" Futaba groaned.

That wasn't entirely true; like both Ann and Futaba, Ren was dressed down for the sports festival. He was wearing a simple gray hoodie and a pair of long non-dress pants. Still, it wasn't much of a real difference.

"Morning," Ren greeted as he made his way up towards his friends. "Oh, and as a heads up, Ryuji messaged me saying he was running a bit late today."

"For real?" Futaba asked mockingly, earning a chuckle from both of her friends.

"Nice one," said Ren.

"I thought so too," she replied proudly.

"Anyway, he sent that a little while ago, so he should be here soon."

"Then the waiting game continues," mused Futaba.

Things got quiet for a bit as they went back to waiting patiently for the last member of their group. At some point though, Ren casually decided to take off his hoodie, revealing the black t-shirt with the word 'DANCE' printed right across the chest overtop a large stylish zero.

It immediately caught Ann's attention since she recognized it as the very same one she'd picked out for him some time ago, and she was clearly happy to see it suited him just as well as she thought it would.

"Nice shirt," Ann said, eying his appearance with a satisfied smile.

"Thanks," Ren replied, giving her a sly grin. "I can't take all the credit though. A friend of mine with way better fashion sense than me picked it out. They did a pretty good job, don't you think?"

Ann's smile only widened. "Oh, c'mon, you've got great fashion sense. Buuut I'm sure your friend wouldn't mind hearing you say that again~."

"I'm sure she wouldn't," Ren said through a laugh. "But thanks again for picking this out, it really does look good. I wore it today because I figured it would look good with the red armbands, but to be honest, I think I was just looking for an excuse to finally wear it."

Futaba watched the conversation quietly, her eyes darting back and forth between the two as they continued to talk. She almost felt awkward trying to cut in.

'They're flirting, right? This is flirting?' Futaba wondered. 'Oh who am I kidding, I've got no idea. More observation is needed.'

She wouldn't get the chance to see much of anything more as a second later Ryuji suddenly came running towards them from down the hallway. He stopped directly in front of them, gasping for air and sweating as if he'd been running for the past half hour.

"Phew, made it," Ryuji said, grabbing onto his knees. "Sorry guys, I missed my train this mornin'."

"…you didn't run here from home, did you?" Futaba asked.

"Hell no," Ryuji immediately responded. "I hopped onto the next train that had a stop close by Shujin and ran from there. My legs would fall right off if I ran here from home."

"Well, what's important is that you made it," Ren stated. "Come on, let's go get our armbands and see what events they put us in."

"Sounds good," Ryuji replied, sporting a toothy grin.

They started to walk forward, but as they did so, Ren intentionally stayed towards the back-half next to Ann while the other two went ahead in front of them. He lightly nudged her arm, and it was clear by the look on his face he wanted to talk about something serious.

"W-What's up?" Ann asked quietly.

Clearly, his expression caught her completely off guard.

"You're looking pretty tired. You know, for the second day in a row," Ren explained, keeping eye contact with her as he spoke. "I just wanted to know if everything was okay."

Before Ann even said a word, she recognized the look Ren was giving her. It was the same concerned look he always gave her whenever he was worried about her and wasn't going to just let it go.

"…come on, it's nothing serious. You don't need to give me that look," Ann replied, offering her friend a soft smile. "I'm fine, really."

"Good, glad to hear it," Ren said, matching her expression. Even if he was still a bit worried, he believed her when she said it wasn't serious.

Both he and Ann entered the gym behind Futaba a few seconds later before all of them filed into one of the lines for the Red team. They were moving forward pretty quickly, but evidently, not quick enough.

"Man, this is takin' forever…" Ryuji groaned.

"You know we've only been here for literally a minute, right?" Ann asked.

"Pfft, more like five."

"With a sense of time like that, it's no wonder you hate school, Ryuji," Futaba joked.

Ren chuckled. "Actually, he—"

Suddenly someone bumped into him from his side. It was barely even that, actually, but the girl who'd done it immediately started waving her hands around frantically as if she'd accidentally tackled him.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying close enough attention!"

With just one look Ren was able to recognize the girl as Akane Fujiwara, who was one of his fellow-third years and also a student in his homeroom.

"Don't worry about it, Fujiwara-san. It's no big deal," Ren stated reassuringly.

The girl was immediately confused by his response. At first, she had no idea how he even knew her name.

"Hm? Have we…? O-Oh, it's you, Amamiya-kun," she stammered, her cheeks going a bit red. "Sorry, I didn't recognize you at first. I'm still not used to see you without your glasses."

"You're not the only one," replied Ren.

His charming smile made an appearance, causing the dark-haired girl's face to go even redder. When that happened, Ann turned her head away with a slight frown marking her lips. She didn't want to see what was going to come next given that she knew it'd just annoy her.

"You, um… you look good, by the way," said Akane, still clearly a bit nervous. "A-And I really like your shirt! It really suits you!"

"Thanks, I think so too," Ren replied.

'Oh for the love of…!' Ann inwardly groaned. 'I mean, it does look good on him, but still!'

Thankfully, things got quiet from that point onward. Akane had to go off to do whatever it was she was doing before she bumped into Ren, and the others continued to move up in their line.

After a short while, the four Phantom Thieves of Shujin had gotten their event assignments, after which they made their way to the far side of the gym away from the lines so they could regroup.

"Let's see…" Ryuji muttered to himself. "Oh, hey! Looks like us third-years are all in the baseball game!"

"The three of us are together in a pretty good number of events, actually," Ren said, sounding as if he were pleasantly surprised.

"Yeah! We're together in almost all of them!" Ann chirped.

"Ugh, what? I'm not in any events with you guys outside of the four-person relay race!" Futaba groaned. "This is BS. I knew I should've hacked in and rigged the assignments."

Ann gave her an encouraging smile. "Hey, come on, don't be like that. You and I are in two events together! You've got one with Ren, and then the relay race with both Ren and Ryuji! It's not like you're all on your own the whole time, right?"

"…yeah, I guess," sighed Futaba. She pouted, adding, "But it's still BS. Also, who's the genius who put me in the relay race? Do I look like a runner to you?!"

"Attention, Shujin students and faculty," boomed the intercom. "The sports festival will begin shortly. If you've not done so already, please retrieve your armband as well as a list of your designated events from the gymnasium, and then report to your assigned first event areas within the next fifteen minutes. That is all, thank you."

"Guess that's our cue," Ren mused.

"Yep, we've got the tug of war first, right?" Ryuji mused.

"Yep."

"Futaba and I have volleyball, but then I'll see you two right after since all three of us are in the baseball game," Ann mused.

"We'll catch you later then," said Ren. "Good luck, you two."

"Same to you!"

Tokyo – SIU Headquarters: Third Unit Offices

"Here are the files you asked for, Yu-san."

A kind young woman placed a folder onto Yu's desk, and he looked back to her with an appreciative smile.

"Thanks, Shizuna-san. If it's not any trouble, could you also give a copy of these to Himika-san? I'd like for her to be involved with the discovery process in this case."

"Sure, will do," she replied.

"Oh, and before you leave…" Yu began. He reached into his desk, then taking out a folder of his own before handing it over towards his colleague. "I reviewed the files you asked."

"A-Already?" Shizuna asked in shock. "But I'd only given these to you a few hours ago…"

"The fact that you did such a great job made it go a lot faster," Yu replied.

He gave the young woman an effortlessly charming smile that caught her completely off guard. She cleared her throat and turned around, clearly a little embarrassed.

"Yes, well, um, thank you. I'll… I'll take these to the second unit's office, then."

Even as one young woman left, another came rushing in seconds later. This one was far more panicked, though.

"N-Narukami-senpai, we've got a problem!" a brown-haired girl exclaimed worriedly. "The Shibuya Police Department forgot to hand over a key piece of evidence in the Kotaro case! I-It looks like it was incorrectly processed, so it wound up tagged to a different case, and they've only just now figured it out!"

"Relax, Nayumi-san," Yu said reassuringly. "That's not a big deal. We haven't formally filed it yet, so we still have a few hours. Talk to Takasugi-san, he'll help you amend the paperwork."

The relief that showed in the girl's eyes was as clear as the light of day. It looked as if she'd seen an agnel come down from heaven to tell her everything was going to be okay.

"Right! I-I'll get right on it!"

With that final interruption out of the way, Yu went back to overviewing a few documents he'd recently been sent. However, before he could get further than a paragraph or two, a familiar voice cut in.

"You look like you're handling your position well," Naoto remarked.

The former Detective Prince could be seen leaning against the doorway where she sported a proud smile. When Yu turned towards her, she moved up to his desk,

"It's really more of an administrative role half the time, so it's a lot less hard than it looks," Yu humbly replied. "Well, that aside, I didn't know you were coming over. Did I miss a text?"

"No, not at all. I was just nearby and figured I'd check in with you on 'that item' we discussed the other day…"

With the meaning of her words clear, Naoto stepped into the office and closed the door. She made certain no one was trying to listen in from the other side, at which point she gave her silver-haired friend her full attention yet again.

"So," began Naoto. "Have you managed to talk to Ren about those portals we found in the Metaverse?"

Yu nodded. "I talked to him about it last night and sent him a few of the pictures we took. He said they look pretty similar to what they're used to seeing in Mementos, which is about what I expected."

"As did I," said Naoto. "Did he mention how long it takes for them to mature?"

"He doesn't really know since he's never seen smaller ones like these before."

"Hmm, I see. Thankfully, Akihiko-san has told me there aren't any changes in the portals that he can see right now, which means we're fine for the time being."

"Although we should probably catch everyone up to speed sooner rather than later," said Yu. He then took out his phone to check the time. "I've actually got to head out now, but if you could, would you send a message to the group asking when they can meet up this weekend? I know you were holding off until we had more information, but…"

"No worries, I'll take care of it," Naoto replied with a smile. "So, where are you headed? Do you have a meeting regarding an important case?"

"No, I'm just headed out for lunch," Yu explained. "Although it's a lunch I can't really afford to be late for, so I've gotta get going. I'll see you later."

He started to move out surprisingly fast, earning a curious look from the blue-haired detective as he did so. Whatever kind of lunch he was headed for, clearly it was important.

'What was that about?' Naoto wondered.

In the end, she chose not to dwell on it.

---

"Ugh, my arms are sore already," Ryuji groaned as he rolled his right arm back. "Who knew a damn tug of war could get so competitive like that."

"At least we won though," Ren stated.

"Heh, true," said Ryuji with a grin.

The pair made their way over to the baseball field that had been set up for the match between the Red and Blue teams. When they got near the field, they ran into Ann, who smiled and waved as soon as she spotted them in the distance.

"Hey there," Ren greeted. "How'd volleyball go with Futaba?"

"Oh, our team dominated," Ann replied proudly. "Futaba actually did super well! She even scored a few of our points and made a couple of big saves! It was actually pretty adorable since she wound up getting so excited she could barely stand still."

"I actually wish I got a chance to see that…" Ren thought aloud. "Well, as long as she had fun."

"Don't worry, she did. For sure," Ann said reassuringly. "Anyway, how'd the tug of war go?"

"We won," Ryuji answered. He jokingly added, "I almost lost an arm during it though. Heh, no big deal."

"Both arms, actually. I myself almost lost a leg," Ren added in a deadpanned tone. "Also, a giant bear came out of nowhere and started to help the other team halfway through. It was a tough fight."

Ann rolled her eyes, but was smiling nonetheless. "I'll bet it was."

"Anyway," chuckled Ryuji. "Let's get goin', yeah?"

It didn't take long for them to find their way over the to the baseball field where they searched for the teacher that was supposed to take attendance for the event. He stuck out like a store thumb as he was the only person on the entire field wearing a suit.

"Yo," Ryuji greeted as the trio walked up.

"Ah, Sakamoto," the teacher uttered plainly as he went back to his tablet. "And I see Amamiya and Takamaki are with you. There, all set. Go ahead and join the others over by the dugout. Blue team is at bat first, by the way."

Near the dugout they could see both the Red and Blue teams gathered up. Each was a mix of third, second, and first-year students, both girls and boys, and while both were supposed to be twenty-six people in total, it looked like only about fifteen or so had shown up for both teams so far.

As the trio walked up to join them, a funny thing happened. Everyone on the Red team perked up and everyone on the Blue team started to look a bit nervous for some reason.

None of them commented on it, though.

"Yo," greeted a cheerful brown-haired young woman. "Make yourselves comfortable. We're stuck waiting until the rest of the other students show up."

The person that had addressed the trio was another third-year student by the name of Kanon Inazashi, who at the moment was the captain of Red's baseball team for the match. All three of them knew here somewhat since she was always friendly and energetic, which was probably why she was chosen to be a captain in the first place.

"Looks like we won't have to wait that much longer," one member from Blue remarked.

The brown-haired teen pointed off at a large group of approaching students with both red and blue armbands. At the forefront was a cheerful third year student that quickly explained why they were all arriving together.

"Sorry if we're a bit late. We were all stuck in an event that went overtime."

"No problem," said Kanon. "Alright, by my count, everyone should be here, so we should get started, yeah? Red team is in the outfield first, and the match ends whenever two innings of play are done, or when a team scores four runs. So, with that out of the way, let's all have a good match!"

A few smiles were and nods were exchanged before the two teams went their separate ways. The Red team huddled up near the pitcher's mound to discuss who'd go where, and of course the leader of that conversation was once again the captain.

"So, anyone have any preferences for what position you play?" Kanon asked. "The catcher is provided for us though, so no need to worry about that. As for the pitcher… Amamiya-kun, how do you feel about it?"

"Hm?" Ren uttered curiously.

"I was hoping you'd be our pitcher," she simply replied. "You up for it?"

"Sure, unless anyone else would prefer to do it instead," Ren answered.

"Glad to hear it," Kanon stated with a wide grin. "Anyone else have a preference?"

When no one said anything, the brown-haired teen gave out all the assignments and briefly explained the rules to anyone that was completely unaware. Within a few minutes, everything was set up with Ren taking the pitcher's mound, Ryuji taking second base, and Ann taking first base.

The umpire, and one of the third-years on the baseball team that had volunteered to officiate the game, threw the game ball over to Ren when everyone was in place.

"Play ball!" the young man exclaimed. "Heh, I've always wanted to say that."

The catcher, also a member of the baseball team, rolled his eyes. "Dude, get a grip."

Ren waited patiently for the batter to step up to the plate, although he seemed weirdly nervous for some reason. Still, he didn't think much of it and pitched the first ball straight down the middle.

The batter swung, and of course, missed. Then the ball came back, and the same thing repeated two more times in a row until the batter was struck out.

"Three strikes!" the umpire announced. "Out!"

"Nice!" Ryuji exclaimed. "Keep it up, Ren!"

"Yeah, you've got this!" Ann cheered from the first base.

As the next batter came up, she could hear a bit of chatter coming from the dugout nearby.

"Holy crap! Amamiya struck out Tsukasa like it was nothing…!"

"Doesn't surprise me," another replied. "I heard that over the summer, he took on half of Teiko Academy's baseball team with a bunch of middle-schoolers and his older brother! And he crushed 'em!"

"I heard that rumor too! I guess it's true after all…"

"Oh, for sure. I mean, look at him—he's not even breaking a sweat!"

"I didn't know Amamiya-kun had this kind of side to him."

"H-He seems so cool…!"

"So, like, what's his deal? Is he single, or…?"

'Okay, this is getting ridiculous,' Ann thought in annoyance. 'And he's not even on your team, you know! Why the hell are you practically rooting for him?!'

When the next pitch was a strike, she heard a few impressed gasps from the dugout, all of them sounding as if they came from girls. Ann gritted her teeth, knowing that she was again going to be in for a long, long day.

---

Futaba found herself dodging all over the place as if her life depended on it. Colored ball after ball flew by her body for what felt like forever, some almost slamming right into her.

'A friendly game of dodgeball they said. It'll be fun, they said. We're lucky to get THIS event, they said…!' Futaba groaned in thought. She was forced to step off to the side to evade another ball headed for her arm. 'Geez, if I'd known high school was going to be this much of a death trap, I'd have thought twice about enrolling!'

She breathed a sigh of relief when everything seemed to stop, although when she stood up, she soon found another ball coming straight for her head.

"Gah!" Futaba yelped, ducking just in time to avoid the hit.

"Nice dodge, Futaba-chan! Waita go!"

"Yeah, you've totally got this!"

A few of her actual classmates were cheering her on from the sidelines, and while she appreciated it, she in no way believed that she 'had this'. She was the only member of her team left against three on the other side. Although she was great at dodging, she had one very big problem…

The fact that she couldn't really throw.

"Spread out! Don't let her get any easy pick-offs!" one of the Blue players shouted.

As Futaba gathered herself, she noticed a ball near her foot and started to come up with a plan that might actually give her a chance at winning. She put her foot on top of it and gently started to roll it over towards the other side, and then did the same with a few of the other balls nearby as well.

She knew that with so many headed over, at least one of them was going to be greedy enough to take the bait, and of course that's exactly what happened.

'Yes, gotcha!' Futaba thought.

The orange-haired teen threw with all her might at the person closest to her that was going for one of the balls she'd rolled over. Sadly, she missed. Instead of hitting her actual targets, she hit the ground right in front of them.

Seeing that, the three opposing players, who now had one ball each, moved up like sharks that smelled blood in the water.

"…crap," Futaba muttered.

All three of them threw their dodgeballs directly at her as fast as they could. For a second, it looked like all of them hit their mark, as each slammed into Futaba at point blank range.

The impact was strong enough that Futaba fell backwards, but as she hit the floor, thinking she was out, she suddenly realized that she was holding on to several of the balls.

In fact, she'd managed to catch all three of them. Two were pinched between her arms and her torso while the third was caught literally right between her legs.

"I don't know how this happened, and I don't care," Futaba told herself with a firm nod.

The teacher officiating could barely keep himself from bursting out laughing. "Well, that's a first. Looks like that clinches it—Red team wins!"

Hearing that, Futaba let go of the dodgeballs and was so excited that she literally jumped up into the air. As she landed, several girls who were on her team, and at the same time her classmates, instantly swarmed around her with bright, energetic smiles beaming from ear to ear.

"Oh my god, Sakura-san! That was amazing!" one of the girls cheered.

"We knew you had it!"

"O-Oh, um… t-thanks!" Futaba stammered in response, trying her best to keep herself calm. "It was just dumb luck, b-but still, a win's a win."

Even though she was clearly nervous and a bit awkward, the girls didn't seem to pay much attention to it. They kept up the same cheerful expressions regardless.

"True facts," one of them replied with a laugh. "But even if it was luck, that was totally awesome! I mean, what are the odds, right?!"

Another perked up. "Oooh, you know what we should do? We should totally get a pic with Sakura-san posing with the three dodgeballs fixed up just like how she caught them!"

"Aw, that's a great idea! You up for it, Sakura-san?"

"Y-Yeah, sure thing," replied the orange-haired teen. "Oh, and um… I prefer to go by Futaba. You don't have to use my last name if you don't want to."

"Okay, Futaba-chan," another replied. "You can feel free to call me Kaori too. I'd feel a bit weird calling you by your first name if you didn't do the same."

"Same here," said another. "Mine's Ayumi."

"And mine's Fuuka."

"Cool, I'll remember that," Futaba replied.

Even as they posed for the picture, the orange-haired teen could still feel an inward sense of anxiety. Outwardly, however, all she could do was smile.

Tokyo – Central Shibuya, Some Time Later…

In the early hours of the afternoon, Yu was walking the streets of Shibuya in search for a restaurant he'd been invited out to. However, since he'd never actually been there before, he found himself checking his phone every once and a while to make sure he was actually headed in the right direction.

'Ah, guess while I'm at it, I should text Ren about dropping off his things,' Yu mused as he went into his open chats.

Yu: Hey, just wanted to let you know I should be able to bring you your stuff later this afternoon. You sure you don't want me to just bring it to Leblanc myself?

Ren: Nah, I'd feel bad making you haul all of it from your apartment. Honestly, I would prefer you not have to bring it anywhere at all, but you were pretty insistent… So just think of this as a compromise.

Yu: Fair enough.

Yu: Just let me know where you want me to drop it off. I'll be at work until around five.

Ren: Alright, will do.

After a minute or so more, Yu had finally arrived at the restaurant—a fancy cafe-style place with a nice modern feel to it. He walked up to the hostess at the front, giving her a friendly smile.

"Hello sir, do you have a reservation?" she asked pleasantly.

"Yeah, it should be under 'Nijima' for two," Yu replied.

"Ah, yes. Right this way."

"Oh, before that…" Yu began. He reached into his wallet and grabbed a credit card and held it out towards the hostess. "It'll be easier to take care of this now. I'm sure you understand."

She giggled. "Yes, understood."

The young woman took his credit card before coming to show him to his table where he saw that Sae was already seated. That didn't surprise him, though. She was always the type of person who believed that if you weren't early, you were late.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting," Yu said as he took his seat.

"There's no need. I haven't been here long," Sae replied, sporting a small smile.

"And I take it by the fact you're not looking at the menu that you've already decided on what you want to eat, right?" reasoned Yu. "Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if you knew what you were going to get before you walked through the door."

"You know me so well," Sae said with a laugh. "This restaurant makes the most amazing minrin salmon. I order it almost every time I come here, and I highly recommend it if you're interested."

"I am, especially if you of all people are the one making the recommendation," Yu replied.

"Excuse me," said the waiter as he approached the due of lawyers. "May I get you anything? Perhaps some drinks."

The two didn't waste any time and gave their orders straight away with the waiter jotting them down before walking away. They asked for the check to come with their meal, knowing that both of them didn't have all that much time to spend at lunch in the first place.

"So, how has your day been so far?" Sae inquired.

"Busy, but good," Yu replied. "A few annoying things have come up with a few cases, and since I'm the acting lead for our unit, everything kinda rolls up to me…"

"I'm sure you bear that responsibility admirably," Sae stated.

"Well, I think I've done a pretty good job so far," admitted Yu. "So how about you? How's your day been?"

"Good," Sae replied. Her lips curled into a smile as she added, "Even better now that I get to enjoy a meal with you."

The expression on her face and her tone set off alarm bells in Yu's head, though in the end they continued to talk normally for a time.

Their conversation took a pause when the waiter returned with their food, placing the dishes in front of each of them. He also placed the bill at the center of the table, though after he'd done so, he looked over towards Yu and held out his credit card.

"Sorry, sir, but it appears she beat you to it," said the waiter apologetically.

The Wild Card took one look across the table and saw that Sae was trying to hide a smug smirk by taking a drink from her glass of water. He just put his credit card back in his wallet, knowing he couldn't really do much else.

"Always one step ahead," Yu said with a chuckle.

"And don't you forget it," replied Sae playfully.

"You'll have to let me pay for something eventually, you know."

In response, Sae closed her eyes, tilted her head, and smiled in what was a telling sign that she was trying not to let her annoyance show.

"Oh, I already have," Sae replied, earning a confused look. "At the beach, remember?"

Yu only became more confused. "What do you mean? I… Oh, you're talking about when you won the volleyball match."

"The match you intentionally lost, yes," stated Sae pointedly.

"I don't know what you mean," Yu said innocently.

"Wipe that look off your face," Sae stated, fighting back a laugh. "There's no way you're that bad at lying, so don't think I don't know you're doing that on purpose."

"That obvious?" asked Yu rhetorically.

Sae just rolled her eyes and the two took a pause to start digging into their meals. When they'd finished up a good portion of their meals, the conversation picked up again.

"So," began Sae. "Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

For a moment, Yu paused to stop and think. For the time being, he technically didn't, but he also knew that was going to change pretty quickly. In fact, their entire group of friends was one-text from Naoto away from having their weekends booked up.

"Not for now, but I'm almost expecting something to come up," Yu answered.

Sae nodded. "Well, if nothing does, I was wondering if you'd like to make plans to do something together."

"You're actually free for a weekend?" Yu asked half-jokingly.

Sae chuckled in response. "Astoundingly, yes. Although you still haven't given me an answer."

"If I'm free, then of course," Yu stated as if the answer were obvious. "So, what'd you have in mind?"

"Nothing in particular, actually," Sae replied.

Her answer had the Wild Card giving her a curious look.

"That's surprising."

"Yes, it is," Sae admitted through a laugh. She then looked at him with a small smile and a confident look in her eyes. "The truth is that as I was thinking about the weekend just now, it occurred to be that I'd prefer to spend some of it with you. That's really all there is to it."

Realization hit Yu in that moment like the summer heat after walking out from an air-conditioned building. He knew Sae was, more or less, asking him out on a date, and even if she was trying to be a bit sly about it, he felt stupid for not realizing that sooner.

"In any case, just let me know if you're available," Sae went on, snapping the silver-haired lawyer back to reality.

"You'll be the first to know," Yu replied.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it," said Sae with a smile.

The both looked at the time on their phones, and as if they were of one mind, they wordlessly got up and headed for the door. When they were outside, they walked down to the main street where they were set to split off.

"My office is in the opposite direction, so this is where we'll have to say our goodbyes for now," Sae stated. "Thank you for lunch, Yu. I had a lovely time."

Yu smirked in response. "You can thank me for lunch when I actually get a chance to pay for it."

"I'm sure you'll manage to eventually," Sae replied cheekily. "At the very least, I'll make sure you get plenty of opportunities to try."

It was on that playful note that the two went their separate ways. However, when they were finally separated, Yu wasted no time in letting loose a deep sigh he'd kept in for about the past five minutes.

'I really shouldn't be so surprised. In fact, I should've seen this coming a mile away,' Yu thought to himself. 'When Sae sets her mind to something, there's no stopping her one way or another.'

Still, he did feel a bit guilty about not telling her about what was happening in the Metaverse. It wasn't that he didn't want to, though. He just t knew it was going to be much easier to have the conversation with everyone as a group given just how much they'd needed to discuss.

Chat: Meta Chat

Naoto: There's something important that's come up that I wished to discuss with everyone. I'd like to meet up at some point this weekend as a group, so I'd like to know what time works best for each of you.

Futaba: I'm good whenever.

Yusuke: As am I.

Rise: I'm actually pretty busy on Saturday…

Chie: Same here. I'm on duty the whole day.

Chie: :((

The Wild Card was a split-second away from responding to Naoto's message in the group chat when his phone started to ring. It was the SIU director himself, and had it been literally anyone else, Yu might not have picked up—but if he of all people was calling, then it was urgent.

"Hello, Director Tachibana?" said Yu after accepting the call.

"Ah, Yu. Good, I've managed to get ahold of you after all," he stated in relief. "Sorry for butting in to your lunch break, but Hasegawa just gave me some bad news regarding the Arataki case. I'd like your eyes on it, if your schedule permits."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Yu replied. "What exactly happened?"

"Improper evidence collection, otherwise known as the police being bad at their jobs and simultaneously making ours harder. You know, the usual."

"I'm on my way back now. I should be there in about ten minutes."

"Not to put any pressure on you, but if you can make it in nine, make it in nine. The judge presiding the case wants to discuss this screw-up in an hour."

"Got it, I'll be there soon," replied Yu.

"Good. I'll see you then."

The silver-haired lawyer quickly put his phone away and started running as quickly as he could. His only real thought at that point was getting back to the office alongside a hope that he wouldn't ruin his dress shoes.

Tokyo – Shujin Academy: Track Field, Some Time Later…

Just about every student in the school had gathered around the track for the final and possibly most important event of the day: the four-person relay race. Each of the actual participants was currently changed out of their casual clothes and wore their gym uniforms, which was required for all runners in the last event as if to make sure everyone was set to take it as seriously as they could.

The runners for each team were huddled out on separate sections of the field before things were set to kick off, and near the southeast side was the Red team consisting of Ren, Ryuji, Futaba, and a second-year student by the name of Suzune Shinobu.

"Ready for the last event my dude?" Ryuji asked, throwing his arm around his best friend as he often did.

Ren nodded. "You good to go, too?"

"Hell yeah I am, let's get it done!" Ryuji cheered.

"Just, uh… just don't keep your expectations sky-high," Futaba uttered.

"Oh, are you not a strong runner, Sakura-san?" asked Suzune.

"Define 'strong runner'…" Futaba replied.

"It's okay, I'm not a strong runner either. What matters is we do our best, right?" Suzune replied.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," agreed Ren.

"Easy for you to say. You're super-fast," Futaba replied, her arms now crossed.

"True," Ryuji said with a confident grin. "But he's still right. All we gotta do is our best, and I'm sure we'll come out on top!"

"That's the spirit, Sakamoto-senpai!" Suzune cheered.

"Wow, you guys are getting pretty hyped up, huh?" Ann said with a giggle.

All eyes turned to the blonde as she joined up with the group, appearing as cheerful and energetic as she always did. Ren, Ryuji, and Futaba each found a bit of relief in seeing that she didn't seem as worn out as she had in the morning.

"Stopping by to wish us luck?" Ren said, showing off a knowing smile.

"Of course!" Ann chirped. "I'm sure you've got this, though."

"Attention, all runners," boomed a voice into a megaphone. "Please take your positions on the track. The relay race will be starting in five minutes."

"Looks like that's your cue," said Ann. "Good luck out there!"

Although the blonde was the first, she wasn't the only or the last to say those words to them. All around, their other teammates wished them the same. The four walked towards their positions on the track, with the order of runners being set up according to year. Futaba was first, Suzune was second, Ren was third, and last was Ryuji.

Near the final stretch, Ryuji looked around the packed crowd with a nostalgic smile. This was the first time he'd seen anything like it since his injury almost two years ago. They were already going crazy, and the sounds of their cheers were like music to his ears.

'Damn, I'd always tell myself I didn't miss it,' Ryuji sighed in thought. 'Guess I know that ain't true anymore.'

"Feeling nostalgic, Sakamoto?"

The question came from the runner on the Blue team that was set right next to him. His eyes went wide when he saw that it was Tatsuya Hirota, an old teammate of his on the track team and also one of their three best current runners.

As far as their relationship went, it was actually quite good compared to the rest of Ryuji's old teammates. That only meant Hirota didn't hate his guts, though they still never really talked to each other.

"Hirota? Damn, man, it's been forever," Ryuji uttered in amazement.

"Yeah, it has been," he stated with a friendly smile. "I've heard rumors you haven't exactly stopped running even after all this time. That true?"

"Hirota, why are you even talking to him?" another third year on team Yellow asked from down the line. "Sakamoto's a waste of your breath. Just focus on the damn race."

That speaker was also another one of Ryuji's former teammates that went by the name Tomura Igayashi. He was still one of the few people on the track teams that was still an absolute dick to him no matter what he did.

'Great, this asshole,' Ryuji sighed inwardly. "Nice to see you too, Igayashi."

The mentioned black-haired teen just turned his head away and didn't bother to give a response.

"…shithead," Ryuji muttered under his breath. He turned his attention back to the more friendly of his former teammates. "Anyway, you asked if I've been runnin' still? Meh, sorta-kinda."

"That so? I'm actually pretty glad to hear it," Hirota replied. He donned a confident smirk, saying, "Although you'd need to be at least as good as you used to be to stand a chance against me."

Ryuji's eyes went wide once more. "Smack talk? For real?"

"Sorta-kinda," he stated cheekily. "Just try to keep up, okay? It'll be a nice surprise if I can get a good challenge out of you."

"You're barking up the wrong tree if you're expecting that from him of all people," Igayashi remarked.

It was at that point that Ryuji felt a spark light up inside him. Even to this day, it didn't take much to push his competitive buttons when it came to running, and both Hirota and especially Igayashi had done exactly that. He started doing a few stretches, a look of electric determination shining in his eyes.

'Nice, my leg's feelin' great today,' Ryuji thought, a confident smirk curling onto his lips. 'Alright, I'm winnin' this if it's the last damn thing I do.'

---

Over by the starting line for the race, Futaba was doing a few stretches that she'd picked up from her times at the gym with Ann. She had no idea at all whether or not it would be effective, but at least it made it look like she knew what she was doing.

'Okay, you've got this! Believe in yourself!' Futaba thought.

"Runners, on your mark… get set…" the announcer began. "Go!"

The sound of the starting buzzer echoed and each of the four teams' runners were off. Right out of the gate, the Yellow team took the lead, although the other three teams were following closely behind.

'I'm doing it! I'm actually keeping up, so either we all suck or I'm not half-bad!' Futaba exclaimed inwardly. 'Wait, don't go getting cocky! Stay focused!'

About half-way through the first stretch, the race was still close, and shockingly so. Futaba was keeping pace with the others to the point that every-so-often it almost looked like she was about to take the lead.

"Waita go, Futaba-chan! You've got this!"

"Keep it up, Futaba-chan!"

"We're cheering for you! Gooooo!"

Although Futaba couldn't actually turn her head to look at who was cheering for her, she could tell they were her classmates. It was Kaori, Ayumi, and Fuuka, and they were all screaming loud enough that she could hear them even over the booming crowd.

She'd been starting to run out of energy a little, but hearing their cheers strangely woke something up inside her. The orange-haired teen felt a sudden burst of energy, and while she didn't understand it in the moment, she more than appreciated it.

'Come on, keep it going! Just a bit more!' Futaba thought.

After a few more seconds, she passed the baton to the next runner. Even though she was panting heavily and grabbing onto her knees just to prevent herself from falling to the ground, she'd managed to do her job.

Against even her own expectations, she managed to stay even with the others.

"Mission… complete…!" Futaba said in-between gasps of air.

---

Ren waited patiently at the third stretch as he watched the second runners fighting for first place. Sadly, it looked like the other three teams' runners were far ahead of his own.

It didn't look like Shinobu was slow, either. The other runners were just that fast.

"Looks like Yellow team's got this in the bag! Our next two runners are both members of the track team!"

"What? No way, Green team's got this!"

"Pfft, in your dreams!"

"Hey, hey, Blue's still got a chance!"

'Well, not like I can blame them for thinking that right now,' Ren thought. 'Time to prove 'em wrong, I guess.'

As the Yellow, then Blue, and then finally Green teams all got their third runners off on the third stretch, Ren just stood by and got himself ready. After a few seconds, a breathless Suzune Shinobu handed over the baton.

"S-Sorry, senpai, I fell be…" Suzune began.

Before she could even finish her sentence, Ren took off like a bullet from a gun. He shot away so fast that each and every one of the second-round runners could only stare off with wide eyes as he raced ahead.

"…hind," Suzune blankly finished.

As Ren stared ahead, he could see that the runners in front of him looked closer and closer with each passing second. He smirked, knowing that as things were, he was going to pass all three of them before the final stretch and put Ryuji in a good position to seal the deal.

"W-Woah, holy crap! Do you see that?!"

"God damn, is he really that fast?!"

"Amamiya can seriously move! Who knew?!"

"Wait, wait, wait, is Red team seriously coming back into this?!"

The moment that Ren finally passed the other three runners, the crowd of Red team members started to go crazy, while of course those cheering for the three teams couldn't believe it. When the time for the final handoff finally came, he was more than a few steps in front the others.

Both Ren and Ryuji locked eyes for just one second, and it was clear by the knowing smirks on their faces that they had absolute confidence on how this would end. With the baton pass completed, Ryuji faced forward and ran with everything he had.

"Shit," Igayashi swore annoyedly.

Shortly thereafter, the Blue, Yellow, and Green runners got their own batons and sped off as quickly as they could. However, both Igayashi and Hiroka showed themselves to be on a whole different level when they blasted past the runner on the Green team and started to quickly gain ground against Ryuji.

'Dammit, they're comin' in fast,' Ryuji thought.

Just as they were on the last bit of the race, it got to the point that he could literally hear their footsteps pounding against the ground almost right next to him. Igayashi was running with a vengeful fury, and Hiroka was no less dedicated.

However, Ryuji wasn't about to let the win slip away. He put all his heart and soul into his legs and ran with everything he had—just like he always used to. In the final moments of the race, he started to pull ahead, moving in front of the other two runners in second and third by just enough that it was clear he was just barely in the lead.

And then he simply zoomed past the finish line.

"That settles it! First place goes to the Red team!" the announcer boomed. "Second is Blue, then Yellow, and in fourth is Green!"

At first Ryuji had to focus everything on slowing himself down, and he was so dead tired that he nearly fell over on himself. However, after a few seconds of gathering himself, that's when he heard it; the crowd was going ballistic.

"Waita go, Sakamoto!"

"That was amazing, Sakamoto-senpai!"

The constant cheering from the crowd at his win washed over him like a tidal wave. Ryuji stared off into space for a moment, trying to remember the last time he'd even felt this feeling.

The truth was that it had been so long he honestly couldn't remember.

But hearing it all again then and there, he smiled brightly and shyly rubbed the back of his neck as he faced the crowd.

"Hehe, piece of cake!" Ryuji stated, holding up a v-sign with his fingers.

Suddenly, both Ren and Ann wrapped their arms around him from behind almost as if they were tackling him, which of course took Ryuji completely by surprise. However, when he saw the bright smiles on their faces, it immediately brought one to his own.

"Waita go, Ryuji!" Ann cheered.

"You did awesome out there, Ryuji!" Ren exclaimed happily. "We knew you had it in the bag!"

His cheeks quickly started to turn pink, though he tried to turn his head away in the hopes that he could shake it off.

"G-Geez, it ain't that big of a deal. You're makin' me all embarrassed," Ryuji replied.

"Awww, he's blushing," Ann cooed.

"Should we see if we can make it worse?" Ren asked.

"Let's."

"Oh for cryin' out—would you two just get off me? Please?" Ryuji asked through a laugh.

The pair did exactly that, though even after they did, they looked no less happy for their friend's win.

"Sakamoto…" Hirota uttered from off to the side.

"Hm? Yeah, what's…" Ryuji trailed off.

When he turned towards his former teammate, all he could see was a friendly smile and a hand being extended towards him.

"Good match," Hirota simple stated.

Ryuji didn't hesitate for a second. He shook his fellow runner's hand, and for a moment, it felt exactly like from back when they were teammates almost two years ago. Neither of the two of them said a word after that; then again, they didn't really need to. Hirota just silently waked away.

Off to the side, Igayashi watched the entire thing with disgust written all over his face. He just stormed off without saying a word, though of course Ryuji didn't care. If anything, he was almost happy to see it.

"Looks like you're still a hell of a runner," Ren said, flashing a wry grin. "Although I can't say I'm surprised."

"Me neither," Ann added with a smile.

"I know, right?" Ryuji asked with a grin.

Ann rolled her eyes. "Well, there goes his humility."

"Can't lose what you never had," Ren joked.

"True," giggled Ann.

"…I liked it better when you two were giving me props," Ryuji stated.

"I'll bet you did," said Ren.

Ryuji sighed amusedly. "C'mon, let's just get going already. I wanna see what team won overall."

"Red," Ann answered immediately.

Ryuji blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah," said Ren, raising curious brow. "Winning the relay race locked us in first place. Why do you think the crowd was so into it?"

"Wait, for real? Oh hell yeah!" Ryuji exclaimed, pumping his fist. "Damn, then that win was a super big deal! Wo-hoo, waita go me! Go mee~ Go mee~ it's my birthday~!"

Both Joker and Panther ignored him completely and looked at one another amusedly.

"Welp, we lost him," Ann stated. "How long until you think he's done?"

"Tough to say," said Ren. "I'm sure he'll snap out of it eventually."

"Aw yeah, I'm the greatest!"

"…maybe," Ren added.

Ann giggled cutely in response.

Tokyo – Shujin Academy: Front of the School, Some Time Later…

Both Ren and Ryuji had finished changing out of their running clothes and were dressed in their casual attire yet again. They were headed to the front of the school to meet up with Ann and possibly Futaba if they were done changing. However, along the way, they were walking a bit slower than normal.

"Nice work out there, Sakamoto," one of their female classmates said as she walked by.

A mix of compliments had started to be thrown at both of them, though only one of them let it get to their head.

"Dude, if this is a dream, don't wake me up," Ryuji stated, a wide grin showing on his features. "Also, she was pretty cute, don't you think?"

Ren gave him a cheeky smirk. "Which one are you talking about? You've said that so many times I've kinda lost track."

"Heh, it ain't my fault most of the girls callin' out to us are cute," Ryuji said with a chuckle.

Another one of their female classmates walked by, giving the pair a wave. Ryuji waved back, eliciting a playful if not flirty smile that had him laughing a bit nervously.

"Another one?" Ren asked knowingly.

"I guess I can't help bein' so popular," Ryuji replied jokingly. "I mean, I know it ain't gonna last, but damn is it nice while it does."

They walked out the doors to the school and saw both of their fellow Phantom Thieves already waiting for them at the bottom of the staircase just outside the entrance.

"You two sure took your sweet time getting here," Futaba remarked

Ryuji grinned. "Hey, it takes time to look this good."

"About a minute and a half, actually," said Ren, eliciting a few laughs from the girls. "Anyway, we're good to go now, so where are we headed?"

Futaba rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. "Uh, so here's the thing, I maaay have made other plans. A few girls from my class invited me to hang out after school, so…"

"Sooo, you're ditchin' us to go hang with them," Ryuji uttered plainly.

"T-That's putting it a bit harshly!" Futaba exclaimed. She slumped her shoulders, quietly adding, "But yeah, pretty much."

"Don't sweat it," Ren said, sporting a reassuring smile. "Go ahead and meet up with your classmates. It's no big deal."

"And for the record, that's what I was gonna say," Ryuji stated.

"See?" asked Ann knowingly. "I told you they'd understand, didn't I?"

Futaba smiled cheerfully. "Yeah, you did. Thanks you guys, you're the best! Just make sure you have fun without me so I don't feel as guilty for ducking out."

"I think we can manage that," Ren answered.

On cue, her newest friends spotted Futaba down near the school's gate.

"There she is—hey, Futaba-chan! Over here!"

"Yeah, I see you!" Futaba replied, waving back energetically at her classmates. "I'll be right over!"

She gave one last smile towards her upperclassman before she took off. Each of them watched silently, but with proud looks on each of their faces as they saw what was just another reminder of how far she'd come over the past year.

"Anyway," Ryuji said, clearing his throat before he spoke. "What do you two feel like doin'? I'm down for pretty much anything."

Ann nodded. "Well, I was—"

"Excuse me, Amamiya-senpai, Sakamoto-senpai."

The polite-sounding voice came from a second-year student who'd walked right up towards them from the opposite end of the courtyard. She was a cheerful-looking girl with a slim figure, long shining black hair, and deep brown eyes. She smiled respectfully, and yet as she looked at the trio of third year students in front of her, she didn't show even an ounce of fear or hesitation.

Behind the girl were another group of third year students, though they looked just the opposite; they were all clearly nervous. Some of them were even blushing.

"Sorry to cut in. My name's Shizune Kashizawa; I'm a second year," she said, once again politely. "I just wanted to say that the two of you were amazing out there today in the relay race. Nao-chan was even saying she could barely keep her eyes off of you in the final stretch, Sakamoto-senpai."

"S-Shizu-chan!"

"What? It's true, isn't it?" the girl coyly replied, still keeping the same smile. "In any case, you were incredibly impressive. Both of you."

Although Ann's eyes just about rolled out of her head, both Ren and Ryuji smiled warmly at the compliments. Ryuji in particular tried to play it cool, but of course it came across so fake it was almost funny.

"Impressive? I dunno, maybe a little bit," Ryuji said with a shrug. "It's not really a big deal. Totally."

"There's no need for you to be so humble," the girl replied.

"Well, if you insist…" Ryuji replied with a grin.

"That's his way of saying he's open to a few more compliments," Ren said jokingly.

Ryuji shrugged. "And he aint' wrong."

Even though their comments hadn't been that funny, they'd gotten more than a few laughs out of the girls. It was probably fake, but it didn't seem like either of them picked up on that. Well, at least Ryuji didn't.

"I didn't know you were so funny, Sakamoto-senpai."

"I think Amamiya-kun's funnier, personally~."

'Oh for the love of god…' Ann internally sighed as she fought the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose. 'Now this is just getting painful to listen to.'

"You two are a lot less serious than you look," Shizune said, stifling a giggle as she spoke. "Still, I was being genuine when I said you were impressive earlier."

Ren abruptly spoke up. "Either way, thank you. We appreciate the compliments, Kashizawa-san."

"It's my pleasure," she replied cheerfully. "I actually wanted to ask if the two of you might want to come to karaoke with us. We were about to head out, and I was wondering if you'd be interested."

Hearing this had Ann's eyes narrowing in no-time flat. Being ignored during conversation was one thing, but now it was clear the second-year was trying to let her know she was doing it on purpose.

"Sorry, but we've already got plans with our friend," Ren replied.

Ryuji seemed to deflate a bit. "Right, yeah. We do… kinda."

"…you don't have to say no if you don't want to, you know," Ann uttered, her arms crossed as she spoke.

Although it was obvious how she was going to feel about it, Ryuji instantly turned towards Ren and gave him a begging look. He clearly wanted to bail out of their after-school plans, so much so that it couldn't have been more obvious if he tried.

"Ah, wait a second, you two were going to hang out with Takamaki-senpai, right?" Shizune asked in an upbeat tone.

That the girl was playing innocent as if she'd only just noticed her only got under Ann's skin even more so.

Ren nodded. "Yeah, that was the plan, so—"

"I don't think that's a problem at all," Shizune stated. She kept the same cheerful smile as she turned towards Ann, looking at her dead in her eyes. "Takamaki-senpai is welcome to come too, if she wants. After all, Amamiya-senpai, I wouldn't want to exclude such a close friend of yours."

It wasn't clear if Ren understood it, but just about everyone else present could read between those lines. The translation was 'I don't see you as a threat, so please feel free to come along', and that it was delivered in about the pettiest, smuggest way possible nearly made it the match that set off a barrel full of dynamite.

Ann's eyes closed and she smiled warmly, but on the inside, it was clear that there was a firestorm of rage that was set to violently explode if she didn't keep it contained.

And it looked like she was a split-second away from letting it all loose.

'Holy shit,' Ryuji thought.

His jaw had nearly dropped, and he kept looking back and forth at Ann and the second-year girl wondering what would happen next. All he knew for sure was that if fists started to fly, he'd watch for no more than thirty seconds before trying to put a stop to it. Maybe a minute, tops.

In the end, the Wild Card quickly put a stop to the discussion.

"Sorry, but I'll have to pass either way," Ren stated, somewhat to the surprise of everyone else present.

Shizune looked at him confusedly. "Oh, is that so? Well, that's… too bad."

"But if it's any consolation, I think Ryuji would definitely like to go with you," Ren replied.

"And I will take that as permission to bail," Ryuji said with a chuckle. "I'm down for some karaoke. Where to?"

One of the other girls who'd been standing behind Shizune perked up.

"We were headed to a place in Shinjuku. I-It's a bit of a hike, but it's definitely worth it!"

Ryuji smiled cheerfully. "Sounds great, lead the way."

With that, the former track star walked off with the group of four girls, and it was no surprise he was smiling all the while. He waved goodbye only briefly, and then of course went back to focusing on the cute girls.

"Looks like it's just the two of us now," Ren said with a chuckle. "So, what do you feel like doing?"

"…shopping," Ann grumpily replied.

Tokyo – Shibuya: Outlet Area, Some Time Later…

Ren and Ann had hung out together in the outlets of Shibuya dozens and dozens of times before, and so when they decided that's where they were going to go after school, Ren expected it to be like most of the other times.

It wasn't.

Instead of the usual lighthearted and comfortable vibe they typically had, there was just a cold, unrelenting silence as Ann combed through section after section of clothing with an annoyed look plastered all across her face.

'She's been dead-silent since we stepped foot on the train. Is she mad about something?' Ren wondered.

He got another look at the blonde's face and quickly got his answer.

'Right, stupid question,' Ren muttered inwardly.

As the Wild Card was busy thinking on what he'd actually do to change up her mood, he saw Ann grumpily set aside a pretty big pile of clothing she'd been building up since they'd entered the store.

"You may want to pace yourself a bit," Ren said, sporting his trademark charming smile. "I know the limit was upped to six bags, but at this rate you'll blow through that before we hit the seconds store."

Once again, things didn't go as he expected.

Ann turned over to him immediately, her eyes closed and her lips curled into a forced smile that hid away her agitation.

"True, but I was thinking: why have a bag limit at all?" Ann asked, her tone so sweet it was chilling. "I mean, you've been working out a lot lately, so I'm sure you're more than strong enough to handle it. Right, Ren-senpai?"

She patted Ren on the shoulder before moving right past him to dive right into another section of clothing. He could only stand there in shock, though at least he was starting to get a clearer picture as to why she was in such a terrible mood.

"…okay, you're upset," Ren muttered, stating the obvious as he turned around.

"I'm fine," Ann answered.

The fact that she didn't even turn around to say that to his face made it obvious enough she was lying. It also helped that her tone itself sounded a bit angry even as she gave her response.

"By any chance… are you annoyed because of what happened back at school with those second-years?" Ren guessed.

After those words left his mouth, the aspiring model perked up a bit. She still didn't turn around to look at him head-on, but it was better than anything he'd gotten out of her so far.

"…why would you think that?" Ann questioned.

"Well, for starters, you probably weren't happy they tried to get us to bail out on our plans to hang out with you," replied Ren. "I know Kashizawa-san asked if you wanted to come, but I got the feeling she knew you'd say no and that she was counting on it when she asked. It bothered me how rude she was to you, if I'm being honest."

'It should bother you. She was being a bitch,' Ann thought. Of course, she kept that to herself.

Ren continued, "My guess is that it also didn't help that Ryuji bailed out immediately."

"Oh please, I expect that from him. Ryuji loses his mind whenever a girl who's even a little cute shows any interest in him. They give him one set of goo-goo eyes, and he's like a fish caught on a hook. It's just how he is," Ann replied.

"…that's a bit harsh, but you're not wrong," Ren muttered to himself. "Then it was just the thing with Kashizawa-san?"

The blonde-haired beauty sighed. She peeked over her shoulders, actually showing the Wild Card her bright blue eyes for the first time in quite a while.

"She's not what bothered me. You were," Ann stated. "I just… I just got the feeling you seriously thought about going with them. I expected Ryuji to, but when I thought you did too… it just really bugged me, okay?"

"What?" Ren uttered confusedly. "No, I never even considered it."

Ann's head turned away yet again. "Is that so? With how you looked while they were showering you with attention, it didn't seem that way. Then again, you've been eating up all the attention you've been getting lately, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised."

Hearing that was like a ray of light in a dark room from Ren's perspective. He started to understand that this wasn't just about Kashizawa and the second years that invited him out. This was about everything that had been happening the last day or so.

He had a good idea as to why that might be, too. At least he thought he did.

"This isn't just about Kashizawa-san, is it?" Ren said in realization. "Ann… does it bother you that I've been getting so much attention lately?"

Again, the blonde-haired beauty froze. The fiery rage that had been building inside of her for the past two days nearly erupted, and although she kept it from showing on the outside, the inside was a completely different story.

'Of course it bothers me!' Ann roared in thought. 'For the past year and a half, all of these girls either pretended you didn't exist or worse, and all you do is take off your glasses and style your hair just a little, and now all of a sudden they're falling all over you every chance they get! And they've been doing it right in front of me all damn day! Talking about how handsome you are, how cool you look, saying how nice your shirt is—which I bought you, by the way! How the hell am I not supposed to be pissed off?!'

The blue-eyed beauty wanted so badly to shout all that out at the top of her lungs, but she knew she couldn't.

Ann turned her head away in a pout. "N-Not really."

All she heard in response was a laugh at first.

"You're still a terrible liar, you know that?" said Ren.

"S-Shut up," Ann replied, her cheeks heating up.

"It's okay that it bothers you, you know," Ren stated. "I'd feel the same way if it were the other way around."

Ann turned almost instantly out of surprise. "H-Hm?!"

"What's with that reaction?" Ren asked through a chuckle, his charming smile showing in full force as he spoke. "Of course it'd bother me. If people started swarming you trying to hang out all the time, it'd make me wonder how I'd fit in to all that."

"…oh, right," Ann replied, feeling somewhat deflated.

"And for the record, you don't need to worry," Ren stated firmly. "All that attention doesn't mean a thing to me, so it's not like it'll change anything."

Ann eyed him skeptically. "You say that, but I'm pretty sure I've seen half the girls at our school go nuts over you recently, and you're clearly loving every second of it."

"Oh come on, you're exaggerating."

"I'm really not, Ren," Ann uttered in exasperation. She crossed her arms, adding, "And I noticed you didn't say I was wrong that you loved it."

"Well, I don't hate it," Ren admitted.

"That much is obvious," Ann grumbled.

"Like I said though, it doesn't mean anything," Ren stated firmly. He then looked at the blonde with a soft smile. "And I wasn't lying when I said you didn't need to worry. If it's a choice of being with you or any of those other girls, it's not even a contest."

Ann couldn't stop her face from heating up. Her heart started to race, and she just looked at him blankly as if she couldn't believe those words actually came out of his mouth. On some level she knew he couldn't have meant it the way it sounded, but she that was the furthest thing from her mind at the moment.

Although it took another second or so, when Ren realized what he actually said, even he started to blush. He looked away, reflexively trying to adjust his glasses even though they obviously weren't there anymore.

"I-I didn't mean that in a weird way. I was just saying I'd rather hang out with you over—"

"It's okay," Ann cut in, her voice once again holding a cheerful note to it. She gave the Wild Card a bright, beaming smile as she said, "I understand what you were trying to say. Thank you, Ren. It… it means a lot that you said that."

An awkward silence kicked in shortly after with Ren struggling to find anything to say and Ann still trying to get her blush under control. Eventually, however, the ringing of Ann's cellphone saved them both the trouble of figuring out how to change the subject.

*Bzzzzzt* *Bzzzzzzt*

She looked at the caller and recognized it to be Kiriko Kanzashi, the same set director she'd worked with just yesterday.

"Sorry, I should probably take this," Ann stated. She pulled out her phone, answering, "Hello?"

"Ah, good, you picked up quickly," said a thankful Kiriko. "I need a favor, Ann-chan. Would you be able to fill in for a photoshoot? I know it's short notice, but we really need your help on this one."

"Um, well…" Ann uttered. She looked over at her raven-haired friend, then saying, "Hang on, just gimme a sec."

Ren raised a curious brow. "What's up?"

"Someone I know from work is asking me to fill in for a photoshoot. I want to help out Kanzashi-san, but I'd also rather be hanging out with you, so…" Ann trailed off.

"You can do both," Ren said with a good-natured smile. "I've never minded going to your photoshoots before, have I?"

Ann nodded cheerfully, then unmuting herself on her phone. "Hey, Kanzashi-san—sure thing, I can make it!"

"You're a life-saver, Ann-chan," the woman sighed. "I'll message you the details now. If you can make it in the next thirty minutes, I'd appreciate it. I'm honestly not sure how much time we have to work with."

"Got it, I'll see you soon," Ann replied.

---

"…and that makes seventeen minutes flat," Ren announced as he looked at his phone. He turned over towards the blue-eyed beauty, giving her a cocky smirk. "Told you I could get us here under twenty."

"Yeah, yeah, you're great with directions. I get it already," Ann said, fighting back a laugh as she spoke. "It's not like I didn't know that before."

Ren shrugged. "Well, this was as good a time as any to give you a reminder."

"True," Ann chirped.

The pair walked past a few stagehands on their way towards the set, having just arrived moments ago. They all looked about as far from relaxed as you could get, which quickly caught their attention.

"Is it just me, or does everyone look like they're on edge?" Ren wondered aloud.

"I was just thinking the same thing," said Ann.

As the two walked further towards the stage, they ran into the very woman that had called Ann in for the shoot. Much like the others, Kiriko looked to be extremely stressed, but seeing the Ann visibly lifted her mood.

"Oh thank god," she said with a relieved sigh. "You have no idea how happy I am that you're here, Ann-chan. Thank you for getting here so quickly, I owe you one."

"Don't sweat it," Ann replied. "But, um… is everything okay? You look really worn out."

"That's an understatement," Kiriko muttered. She pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, saying, "Today was supposed to be a big photoshoot for Mika, however just as we were about to start, she collapsed right on the spot."

Ann's eyes went wide. "I-Is she okay?! What happened?!"

Kiriko sighed deeply. "I don't want to say she's fine, but at least she's conscious. We think she collapsed from exhaustion."

"…wait," Ann said, her voice oddly serious. "You didn't call me here to substitute for her, did you?"

Kiriko shook her head. "No, not at all. I called you here because Mika asked me to."

"Uh, come again?" Ann uttered in a voice of total and complete confusion.

"If you'd like to know why, you'll need to ask her," Kiriko replied, a scowl suddenly making an appearance on her features. "And while you're at it, see if you can convince her to let us move the shoot. That's what I wanted to do in the first place, but she insisted I try to get you here instead."

"Where is she now?" Ann inquired.

Kiriko pointed down the hall. "In the dressing room. Take a right down there and it'll be the third door on the left."

---

"G-Ghh…!"

Mika grunted as she tried to pull herself up in her chair, though her body felt like it was fighting her with every little movement. She then made the mistake of looking in the mirror, where she got a clear look at the dark circles under her eyes that were visible even beneath a layer of makeup. She was so frustrated she could've punched the mirror with her bare fist, and the only reason she didn't was because she didn't have the strength.

The door suddenly shot open as Ann rushed in, which quickly caught her attention. Just the sight of her took Mika's energy levels to about ten times what they'd been to the point she found the strength to stand up then and there.

"Good, you're here," Mika said plainly. "Get changed, we've got work to do."

"Like hell we do," Ann shot back. "Mika, did you really collapse on set?! What happened, are you—"

"I'm fine, and I didn't collapse. That's just Kiriko-san being overdramatic," Mika instantly interrupted. "I just didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm tired. That's all there is to it."

It went without saying that Ann didn't believe that for a second. Even if Mika was the most annoying person she'd ever met, she had to admit that the brown-haired young woman was one of the most dedicated models in the business. For her to do something as stupid as get too little sleep the day before a big photoshoot—a big solo photoshoot—was unthinkable. There was just no way that'd ever happen.

Mika clearly got the sense that the blonde knew this, though of course she didn't say anything since she just wanted to move past it. Ann, however, did not.

"…are you really not going to tell me what's wrong?" Ann asked.

The sincere worry and warmth of her voice made even Mika of all feel something deep down inside. She sighed in annoyance as she turned her head away just so that she wouldn't have to look at the blonde's frustratingly pure eyes.

"Like I said before, I'm fine. I wasn't lying when I said I didn't sleep well. It's just that something kept me up most of the night," Mika answered.

"Then, have you… have you been having nightmares recently or something?" Ann guessed.

The reason behind her lack of sleep could've been any number of things, so of course when she was asked something that specific, Mika reflexively gave Ann a strange look.

"What? No, of course not. Why would you even ask that?" Mika asked, immediately giving the blonde a raised brow.

"No reason, really," said Ann as now she turned her head away for a brief moment.

Mika rolled her eyes. "Anyway, if you're done throwing me a pity party, could you hurry up and get dressed? We've got a shoot to do."

"About that," Ann began, rubbing the back of her head confusedly. "Why did you ask for me? Wasn't this supposed to be a solo photoshoot? It's not that I mind, but…"

"Don't remind me," Mika grumbled annoyedly.

The brown-haired young woman shot up from her chair, and with more energy than she'd shown their entire conversation so far, she marched directly up to Ann and looked her straight in the eyes.

"You're right, it was supposed to be a solo set. The reason I wanted you here is because I'm dead-tired, and even if I was six-feed under and legally dead for three years, there's still no way in hell I'd ever let you of all people upstage me," Mika stated firmly. "So, if you understand that, then move your ass. I don't want to waste any more time than we already have."

Hearing that left Ann completely stunned. It wasn't like she didn't understand, though. It wasn't a secret that Mika and Ann had a strange dynamic where whenever the two of them were on set together, they'd bring out everything they had to outdo one another. In fact, they were often paired together on photoshoots for that exact reason.

However, what Mika had just said was like admitting that she needed their rivalry to power her through the photoshoot. She had so much professional pride that for her to say that out loud meant that she was as serious about it as she could be. Either that, or she was just that desperate.

Whichever was the case, it didn't change how Ann felt, Given what she'd heard, she almost felt obligated to give Mika exactly what she'd asked for. Her worry could wait until after they were done.

"Okay got it," Ann replied. "Just try to keep up, because if you collapse again, I might just take the magazine spot all for myself."

For a split-second, Mika looked towards her with appreciation clear in her beautiful brown orbs. Of course, that didn't last long, but it was just long enough to be noticeable.

"Dream on, airhead," Mika shot back.

---

A little over an hour had passed, and the photoshoot had come to an end. The stress and anxiety that had been visible on every member of the crew and the director had vanished, and instead everyone now appeared relieved. Everything had gone off without a hitch, and with Ann on the stage, Mika looked like she'd been raised from the dead. The two were shining as brightly as they always did.

After having changed back into their normal clothes, the two young models were having a quick conversation with the stage manager just outside the studio doors. She looked at them with a beaming smile from ear to ear, clearly happy with the results of the shoot.

"Great job today, you two. I'm sure this feature will be a hit," Kiriko stated cheerfully. "And thank you again for coming on such short notice, Ann-chan. We couldn't have done it without you."

Normally, that would have been the point where Mika made a snarky comment. That she stayed silent and just turned her head away with a scowl on her lips was about as close to agreeing with Kiriko as she was going to get.

"Anytime," Ann chirped.

There was a dead silence after the stage manager left, though during all of it, Ann was giving her fellow model a stern look as if she were expecting something. At first, Mika just ignored her, but after a while, she gave up entirely.

"I hope you're not waiting around for a 'thank you'," Mika stated.

"I'm waiting for you to tell me the real reason you're so tired," Ann replied.

Mika let out a tired sigh. "You're especially annoying today, you know that? Why don't you go find your boyfriend or something instead of bugging me?"

"He's not my…!" Ann began. She paused, then looking around and realizing she actually had lost track of him. "Actually, where is Ren?"

"Oh, so you actually brought him here?" Mika wondered aloud. "Nice of you to lose track of him so easily."

"I didn't lose him!" Ann exclaimed in annoyance. Eventually, she spotted him standing down the streetway as if he were waiting for someone. She pointed over towards him, saying, "See? He's right over there!"

At first, Mika was ready to call Ann out on being an idiot on account of thinking that the person she was pointing to didn't look like Ren. However, the closer she looked, the more she realized that it was him; he just looked so different that it was difficult to tell at first.

"When did he stop wearing those glasses? And did he start styling his hair?" Mika wondered aloud.

"It's a recent thing," Ann stated. "Same with his hair."

"…it's not a bad look for him," said Mika, giving a slight nod of approval. "I take it you dragged him here just to show off his glow-up?"

"For your information, he wanted to come," Ann replied, crossing her arms and glaring lightly at the brunette. "We were hanging out at the outlets in Shibuya when Kanzashi-san called, and when I told him, he said he wanted to go with me."

Just as Mika was about to throw an insult back at Ann, she saw someone walk up to Ren from down the street. He was a tall young man with well-styled silver hair, and his face was so criminally handsome that the brunette's eyes shot wide open as if she thought she were seeing things.

"Who is that?" Mika asked.

"Hm? Oh, that's Yu-san. He's… well, he's a close friend of ours," Ann explained. "Ren was actually staying with him for a while, so I'm pretty sure he's just here to drop off some stuff he left at his place."

The blue-eyed beauty had a bit of a nervous smile as she wondered exactly how to describe their relationship, but Mika either didn't notice or didn't care. She was too busy eying up the tall silver-haired young man from head to toe.

"Where have you been hiding him all this time? He's so…" Mika trailed off. A blush started to show on her face, drawing a look of disbelief from Ann. "Ehem… s-so, what does he do for a living? Is he a model? Maybe an actor? Or…?"

"No, he's works for the SIU," Ann replied nonchalantly.

Mika's eyes widened with interest. "R-Really? That's… impressive. He must be pretty driven to go that far even though he looks like he's still so young."

"I know that voice," Ann muttered to herself. "Look, if you're going to go over there to try and…!"

She turned to her left and was ready to give Mika a harsh piece of advice. However, when she did, the brunette was no longer there.

"Mika?" Ann uttered confusedly.

---

"—anyway, this should be the rest of your stuff," Yu stated as he handed over the bag. "But if you're missing anything, just let me know and I'll take another look around."

"Will do," said Ren with a nod. "And thanks again. I appreciate you saving me the trip back to your place."

"Anytime," Yu replied.

Before the Wild Cards could say anything more, the voice of a certain brown-haired model cut in to their conversation.

"Wow, you look even better up close…" Mika uttered, her eyes firmly fixed on the silver-haired young man. "You're a friend of Ren-kun's, right?"

"I'd like to think so," said Ren with a chuckle. "This is Yu; Yu Narukami. And this is Mika—a model that works with Ann pretty frequently."

"Nice to meet you," Yu said politely.

"Likewise," replied Mika. "So, I heard that you work for the SIU, is that right?"

Yu nodded. "Yep, you heard right."

"Honestly, that's hard to believe," Mika stated. She gave him a flirty smile that even a blind man could've seen. "You've got such a nice face that I honestly can't picture you working at a place like that."

"Well, I—"

Whatever Yu was going to say was cut off entirely as his phone started to ring. He answered it immediately, hearing his boss on the other side. It was clearly important enough to grab all his attention almost immediately.

"…okay, got it. Yeah, I should be able to get that sent over to you in the next hour… Uh-huh, no problem," said Yu. He hung up his phone, then turning apologetically to his fellow Wild Card and the young woman he'd only just met. "Sorry, but I've gotta run. Duty calls, I'm afraid."

"No problem," said Ren with a smile. "And thanks again."

Yu turned around and started to run off in a hurry, and as he did so Mika held out a hand as if her body moved reflexively to slow him down if even for a second.

"A-Actually, wait a second, I wanted to…!" Mika trailed off.

Of course, by the time she'd said anything, it was already too late. Yu was already halfway down the street, and seconds later out of her sights entirely. She let her hand fall to her side with a disappointed sigh.

"That's about right," Mika whispered bitterly under her breath.

After a few seconds of awkward silence, she noticed that Ren was silently giving her a concerned look. She waited for him to say something, though it wasn't long before her patience ran out.

"What?" Mika asked in an agitated tone.

"I was just going to ask if you were okay. You know, cuz' of the whole 'collapsing on stage' thing," Ren explained. "Although I got the sense you'd just be annoyed if I asked."

"You're right. It would annoy me," Mika replied.

"And yet you know I'm still going to ask anyway," Ren stated pointedly.

"Was that you trying to be clever or something?" Mika scoffed.

"No," Ren said with a shake of his head. "That was me being worried."

When she saw the look of sincere concern in his eyes, the aspiring model turned her head away. It was the same look Ann had given her just a short time ago; she hated it then, and she hated it now even when it was Ren who was giving it to her.

'Don't give me that look,' Mika thought. 'I swear, you and the airhead are both so…!'

"Ugh, there you are," Ann said as she came up to join the two. "Thanks for ditching me, by the way."

"My pleasure," Mika replied. "Wanna see me do it again?"

"If that's you trying to change the subject, I'd rather you didn't," Ren cut in, earning the pair's attention a split-second before they did just that. "I was being serious when I asked you if you were okay."

"…not that you care, but so was I," Ann piled on.

Seeing them give her the same worried look only made Mika even more annoyed, though why that was, neither of them knew. She sighed tiredly and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Do the two of you have some kind of disease that makes it so you can't mind your own business?" Mika asked.

"Kinda, yeah," Ren replied. "At least when there's a reason to be concerned."

"Like I've been trying to say, there isn't," Mika stated defiantly. "I'm going home now—and before either of you two ask, no I don't need any help walking back."

With that said, the brunette stormed off. Both Ann and Ren were a bit surprised, again having no idea why their concern seemed to annoy her so much. It just seemed way too out of place.

"She's even more… prickly than usual," Ren commented.

"That's one way of putting it," Ann grumbled. "Maybe she's worse than normal because of how tired she is. It's hard to say."

"Still, it's pretty obvious she was lying when she said she was fine," stated Ren.

"…yeah," Ann uttered quietly. "I tried to get her to talk about it, but I'm sure you can guess how that went."

"About as well as it did when I asked, I assume."

"I just hope it's nothing serious," Ann remarked.

"You and me both," Ren said with a nod. He then looked towards the blonde with a cheerful smile. "On a lighter note, you did great during today's shoot. Not that I'm surprised, though."

It didn't take long for Ann to blush at the compliment. She giggled cutely and couldn't stop a grin from taking its place across her lips.

"Thanks," Ann replied. "B-But you'd better not just be saying that just because! I rely on you for real feedback, you know? I can't have you turning into Mona."

"Don't worry, I won't," Ren stated. "Anyway, I have to head out now. I've still got to unpack all of my stuff at Leblanc."

Ann nodded. "No biggie, I'll see you tomorrow!"

With the two having said their goodbyes, Ren headed off towards the subway station, though Ann instead headed in the opposite direction. As she stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the sign to finally turn green, she couldn't help but think back on her interactions with Mika during the past few hours.

That moment when she laid eyes on Mika while she was almost passed out in the chair in her dressing room still stuck with her. Ann hadn't ever seen her look so exhausted and beaten down before, and just wondering what could've made her like that brought up thoughts she'd prefer not to have.

'I know Mika is stubborn, and I know she has a lot of pride… but there's no way she'd keep quiet if she was really going through something serious, right?' Ann wondered. 'Well, not that she'd talk to me about it of all people.'

Maybe that was it after all. Maybe Mika just didn't want to talk to her specifically about it.

'Now that I think about it, she probably wouldn't, huh?' Ann thought, feeling almost stupid for wondering why she didn't say anything in the first place.

As the light started to turn green, Ann found herself yawning heavily. She felt tired, though thankfully it wasn't as bad as it'd been earlier in the morning. Then again, it might've just felt less bad because she was comparing how she felt to how Mika looked earlier.

'It's nothing a good night's sleep won't fix,' Ann thought. 'Although… maybe that's easier said than done.'

Ann frowned and she remembered her previous nights of poor sleep that'd made her so exhausted in the first place. The images that she could still remember from her dreams were ones she didn't want popping into her head, so she pushed them away as quickly as she could and did her best not to think about it.

All she could do was hope that the same thing wouldn't happen again when she fell asleep that night. The truth was that she just wasn't all that confident things would turn out that way.

Tokyo – Yongen-Jaya: Café Leblanc, Some Time Later…

As Ren opened the door to the quiet little café he called a home, he heard the ring of the bell and couldn't help but smile. It'd been the first time in what felt like forever that he'd heard it, after all.

He looked around, seeing that it was just the same as he remembered. It might've had a new coat of paint, but it was still the same old Café Leblanc.

Although strangely, it was empty.

'Huh,' Ren thought. 'Guess Sojiro must be out. Maybe he's cooking dinner for Futaba… but wait, then why does it smell like there something cook—'

Confetti suddenly shot out from his left and his right as Sojiro popped out from the bar and Futaba from a nearby booth. It caught him completely off guard, something that made the orange-haired teen incredibly happy.

"Surprise!" Futaba exclaimed with a beaming smile. "So, did we getcha?"

"…well, I definitely feel 'got'," Ren said with a laugh as he picked a few pieces of confetti out of his hair.

"Yes! I knew it!" Futaba cheered, raising two fingers towards the raven-haired teen. "That makes twice, Ren! That's gotta be some kind of record, huh?"

"Dial it back, Futaba," Mona said as he jumped up onto the countertop. His ears stood up and his eyes smiled as he looked back towards the Wild Card. "Welcome home, Ren."

The raven-haired teen moved in to affectionately pat the cat's head, who leaned into the palm of his hand as he did so.

"Thanks, Mona. I'm glad to be back," said Ren.

"By the way, I hope you're in the mood for Sojiro's famous curry," Futaba stated with a grin. "It's almost done, right?"

"Yep, just a few more minutes," Sojiro said as he went back to check on the food. "You can thank Futaba for the perfect timing, by the way. She, uh… 'kept an eye' on you to figure out when you'd be back."

"And I was spot on. Within a small margin of error, of course," Futaba proudly remarked.

"Well, I definitely appreciate it. I'm starving," Ren admitted.

"Good, because I made plenty," Sojiro called out from down the shop. "Why don't you head upstairs? We set up a table—figured it'd be nicer to have a meal in your room and all that with it being your first day back and all."

Ren nodded in understanding before he headed for the staircase. When he reached the top, he was expecting to see the same old attic that Leblanc had had since the day he got there, however what he saw was anything but. When Ren reached the entrance to the attic, he practically froze in place.

The room had been completely restyled to the point that Ren didn't even recognize it at first. Not only did it look bigger, but its entire framing had been completely redone. The creaky worn-down floorboards had been replaced with a brand-new hardwood floor, and the ceiling, which were previously just a bunch of wooden rafters, was now mostly sealed up. Next were the walls, which were once just chipped drywall separated by a few small wooden support beams, were expanded and shored-up. Even the window by the bedside had been replaced.

Speaking of the bed, it too was brand new. Instead of the old makeshift bed that he was used to, it was a brand-new bedspread and mattress of an even larger size. The storage shelves were now completely gone, leaving room for what appeared to be a new entertainment center complete with a TV, alongside an actual desk with a real desk chair as opposed to the folding chair he'd historically used. Lastly, on the opposite side of the TV, was a brand-new couch and a coffee table, which had replaced the thinly-cushioned brown couch and the folding table that used to sit there.

"Surprise," said Sojiro, his voice full of amusement.

Both he, Futaba, and Mona walked upstairs right behind him, obviously to see how he'd react. Clearly, he hadn't let them down if their smiles were anything to go by. Even now, he still couldn't bring himself to say anything. He was still in awe of what the room looked like.

"I think I can safely say that makes three," Futaba laughed.

"I'm pretty sure this is more the boss's surprise, though," Mona remarked.

"A minor technicality," Futaba said dismissively. "So, what do you think, Ren? Pretty awesome, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Ren answered, still in a state of disbelief. "But… how?"

"Well, the insurance money ended up being more than I needed to just make the repairs. So, instead of pocketing the change, I figured I may as well make a few changes while I was at it," Sojiro stated, sporting a knowing smirk. "When they were making the repairs, I figured it made more sense to just expand the closet downstairs for storage, which made this space kidna useless. Better it be like this than empty, or at least, that's what I thought."

"I… I don't know what to say," Ren stated.

"You don't have to say anything," Sojiro said through a laugh. "All I want is for you to enjoy it. I wager that shouldn't be too much to ask, right?"

Ren smiled warmly. "I think I can manage that. There's just one thing I need to do first."

"And that is?" Sojiro asked, raising a curious brow.

Without missing a beat, Ren moved in and wrapped his arms around the coffee shop owner in a genuine embrace. It caught Sojiro completely off guard at first, but after a few awkward seconds of him realizing what was going on, he eventually returned the gesture.

The two had hardly if ever hugged one another before, and while this hug only lasted a few seconds before they broke apart, it carried heavy emotions of respect and care with it.

"Thank you," Ren simply stated.

"Don't mention it," Sojiro replied. "Anyway, why don't you two take a seat on the couch? I'll go bring up dinner."

"Need any help?" Ren offered.

Sojiro held up a hand. "It's your welcome home celebration, so let me handle it, okay?"

Although he was clearly hesitant, Ren knew he wouldn't be able to convince Sojiro otherwise. He just nodded in response before taking his seat on the couch.

"By the way, where'd you, Ann and Ryuji head off to after school?" asked Futaba conversationally as she sat down next to him.

"Actually, Ryuji had other plans, so it ended up being just me and Ann," Ren answered.

"Huh, is that so?" Futaba thought aloud, forcing her tone to be as casual as she could make it. "So, what'd you two end up doing? Anything… special?"

"Not really. Well, sort of," Ren stated. "She wanted to go shopping, so we headed to Shibuya. We were there for a while and then she suddenly got a call asking if she could come in for a photoshoot, so I decided to go with her."

"Well, that's nothing new," Mona remarked. "How did the photoshoot go? Was Lady Ann radiant? She was, right?"

"Yeah, she did great," Ren replied.

The orange-haired teen eyed the Wild Card curiously. She'd had a burning question on her mind recently, but she felt too awkward to ask it directly.

"…you two hang out a lot, right?" Futaba asked, turning her head away almost nervously as she spoke. "You and Ann, I mean."

"Hm? Well, yeah, of course," Ren stated as if the answer were obvious.

His response was of no help whatsoever.

'Okay, shoulda seen that coming,' Futaba thought. 'Does he not get what I'm trying to ask? Maybe he does, but he just doesn't want to tell me? I mean… oh, wait, Mona's right here, so maybe that's why?'

Her line of thinking was interrupted by the sound of Sojiro coming up the stairs with their food. Sure enough, he was in the room seconds later with a tray holding all their plates.

"Dinner is served," said Sojiro with a smile.

He placed the meals on the table in front of the couch before he wheeled Ren's desk chair over for his own seat.

"Thanks for the food," said Ren and Futaba in almost perfect unison.

"My pleasure," Sojiro stated. "Dig in while it's hot."

"You don't have to tell me twice," replied Futaba.

There was a pause as the three of them started to eat their meals, each of them enjoying every bite.

"…so," Sojiro began, his eyes shifting towards the raven-haired teen. "I see you've decided to drop the glasses. The hair's new, too."

Ren nodded. "Yeah, just a few changes here and there."

"I think it looks good," Sojiro stated. "You'll definitely be turning a few more heads, that much I'm sure of."

"Oh, you've got no idea," Futaba immediately cut in. "Half the girls in our school freaked out yesterday the second they saw him!"

A telling smirk took its place on Sojiro's face for obvious reasons. He nodded along proudly, though he didn't make a direct comment.

"I really wish you wouldn't exaggerate it so much," Ren said, rubbing the back of his head bashfully.

Futaba rolled her eyes. "Oh please—if anything, I'm under-exaggerating. When we were hanging out after school, Kaori, Ayumi, and Fuuka kept telling me about how all the other first years think you're insanely cool. They're, like, obsessed."

"Um… who?" Sojiro uttered curiously.

"Oh, right, I forgot to mention that before," realized Futaba. "I hit it off with a few of the kids in my class, and they invited me out today after school. I'm pretty sure we're friend now… o-or at least, I think. Probably."

"It seemed like it to me," Ren commented. "Did you have fun hanging out with them?"

"It was a blast!" Futaba exclaimed, half-jumping out of her seat as she did so. "They're all super nice people! And they all like videogames—especially Ayumi. I admit I was a bit nervous at first… but I ended up having such an awesome time that it was like I completely forgot I'd only met them yesterday."

"I'm happy to hear it," said Ren.

The two of them kept up a back and forth, and while Sojiro could hear every word, he didn't process any of it. He just looked at Futaba with a face of quiet disbelief. What he'd just heard and what he was seeing almost didn't feel real.

He'd dreamed of a day where Futaba would talk about school, about her classmates, about hanging out with her friends, and how she'd do it all with a big beautiful smile stretched from ear to ear. That's all it was though: a dream. For the longest time, he never thought it could ever come true. In fact, a year ago, he would've thought a moment like that was impossible. Beyond impossible, even.

And yet here and now, it was exactly what was happening right in front of him. He felt an indescribable sense of joy well up inside him to the point that tears started to form in the corner of his eyes.

Of course, when he went to dry them, it earned him a concerned look from his daughter.

"Everything okay, Sojiro?" Futaba questioned.

"Ehem, yes, I'm fine. The spice from the curry got into my eye a little," Sojiro replied.

"Ah, I know that feel. One word: ouch," Futaba stated. "You should probably go wash your eyes out."

Sojiro chuckled. "No, it's not that bad. I'll be fine."

"Alright then."

As the bearded shopkeeper finished drying his eyes, he noticed that Ren was giving him a knowing look. It was clear that he could tell Sojiro was lying and that he knew the real reason his eyes were watery, and it was also clear that he felt the same way.

Still, as was usually the case when it came to Ren, he was being cheeky about it.

"…smartass," Sojiro muttered with a grin.

"I didn't say anything," responded Ren.

"Uh-huh," Sojiro stated disbelievingly. He wiped his eyes yet again, quietly adding, "Today's been way too emotional for my tastes…"

Futaba blinked confusedly. "Hm? Did you say something, Sojiro?"

"It's nothing," he replied. "So, where did you end up going with your friends? Anywhere fun?"

With that being asked, Sojiro got comfortable in his chair and readied to listen. It was clear she was going to be going on and on for quite a while.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

A/N And with that, we're done. Again, next chapter will be next week. Also, thanks to the people who mentioned they enjoyed the images I made! I thought they turned out pretty well, even if they are AI-generated… Either way, I appreciated it!

Explanations:

Next Chapter: It'll be a semi-setup for a Ann-centered arc, and a lead-in to a set of flashback chapters that'll center around Ren's trip back home among other things. I'd say next 4-6 chapters will center primarily around these two characters.

Mika's Collapse: She'll be another center-point in the upcoming few chapters when we get back to the overall plot. I'm sure people can probably guess what's been keeping her up at night with that alone, but I'll still withhold any direct spoilers just in case.

Ann's Lack of Sleep: More relevant for what's coming next. I'd kinda be surprised if anyone could guess the exact reason behind this, so I'll save anything I'd say on this for when the actual reason is shown.

Chad Ren: Continuing on from before, this is Ren without him holding himself back. Whether that was in baseball, the track race, or w/e, he's definitely catching a few more eyes than before. This will pretty much be where the 'total freakout' stops from the other students, though. It'd get real old real quick otherwise.

Ryuji Winning the Race: A big part of what I've been building up for Ryuji is his return as a runner, which will be more or less his major character journey throughout the story. I also enjoyed the moment where Ann and Ren jump up from behind and hug him because I really do enjoy the three of them as a group of friends. I also had to add in the ego-trip he went on after he won though. Gotta keep him in character, after all.

Ryuji Bailing on Ren and Ann: I debated whether to put this in here, but I mean, I'm gonna be honest, I could see a few people wondering why he'd do something like that, and I will just say in advance that I don't wanna hear it. This is 1000000% consistent with his character, and as much as I love Ryuji, and I cannot stress that enough, he is still a massive skirt chaser. The dude jumps at any opportunity to chat up any variation of hoes/THOTs/sloots. It's just who he is, and that ain't changing anytime soon. Plus, look on the bright side—he earned his time in the spotlight to have an opportunity to hang out with a group of cute girls, so it works out for him just fine.

Futaba's New Friends: Obviously none of them will be big-time recurring characters or anything like that, but I did want to introduce a bit of separation in her life away from Ren, Ann, and Ryuji when it came to her time at Shujin. It also goes to show her growth over the past year since she met the PT's, so while she's still anxious as a person, it's no longer crippling, and you get to see the other characters really appreciate that growth in this chapter.

Rise and Sae: So, this is going to be more apparent in the future, but the time where Yu will be able to keep running from their obvious feelings from them is coming to a close. How will all that end up? Obviously, I can't say.

Ren's Shirt: Just in case people don't remember, Ann gave him this shirt waaay back in Chapter 14 when he helped her out with her dancing practice. It's the same one from the P5 dancing game, which is why he specifically mentions 'he thought it'd look good with a red armband'. Just a fun easter egg within an easter egg.

Ren's Baseball Rumor: Again a reference to an earlier Chapter when he hung out with Yu and both of them bitch-smacked a high-school baseball team.

Ren's New Room: I just sorta figured this was a nice thing to include here. Most people probably didn't see it coming, but in the last chapter, when Futaba mentioned 'the surprise upstairs', this is what she was referring to. I added it because it felt like something Sojiro would totally do given the circumstances.