A/N As promised, here's the latest chapter, and the next one should be posted in three weeks. With that out of the way, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Persona, or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this.
Chapter 40
Ann's eyes suddenly snapped open, but she didn't feel a sense of panic whatsoever. It felt natural—almost as if all she'd done was blink. She found herself wearing her Phantom Thief outfit all while standing inside a steel cage and beyond its bars was a twisted arena within the Metaverse. It was strange; she recognized it, but at the same time she didn't. Thoughts tried to enter her mind—that she knew this place, that she knew what happened there. However, they were pushed away to the point they never truly entered her mind in the first place.
Although Ann soon tried to move, her feet felt heavy to the point she could barely stand. She started to look around, and almost immediately, her eyes landed on Ren, who she saw at the center of the room. He was just a short distance away dressed up in his Phantom Thief uniform, though his trademark coat was missing and he was clenching his right side where blood continued to pour out of what was clearly a serious wound.
Again, it was strange. She'd seen it before, but she also hadn't. A part of her knew what happened next, and though that part of her was screaming with everything it had that it didn't want to see the rest, it simply wasn't heard.
Every movement of her body, ever thought in her head, and every word that came out of her mouth were matching a scene that couldn't be broken.
"H-Hang in there, Ren! I'll…!" Ann shouted.
Seeing him with such a serious injury, Ann instinctively gripped the bars of her cage and shook them to see if by some miracle they'd just open up and let her out so she could rush to his side.
Nothing happened.
Suddenly, Eiji Sasaki came out of nowhere and landed a punch across Ren's face, causing the already disoriented Wild Card to go down on one knee. Although he'd somehow managed to keep himself from slamming into the ground, it was clear he had no way of defending himself.
It was clear by the bloodthirsty rage that boiled in Sasaki's eyes what would follow.
'Come on, come on!' a panicked Ann thought as she continued to shake the bars with even more force.
Nothing happened.
Sasaki then sent a kick straight into Ren's right side, hitting his wound dead-on. He was sent flying backwards, and all he could do in response was let loose a pained grunt.
Then came the blood. More and more kept pouring out of the gash in his side, staining the floor around him and painting it a horrifying shade of red that kept spreading further and further.
"Ren!" Ann cried out.
She felt a cold chill run up her spine, and she could feel her entire body being hit with a wave of indescribable fear. Her stomach started to tie itself in knots and everything else just went numb.
Despite how horrible the feeling was, it only worsened when she looked into his eyes.
Ren's usually cheerful, reassuring eyes were now cold and had barely even a spark of life left in them. It was as if she could literally see him dying through them as each painful second passed by.
In a fit of desperation, Ann took her hands off the bars of the cage and started ramming her shoulder into the prison's side. It didn't even budge, but her desperation was so great that each failed attempt only made her put in even more strength.
"Come on! Break! Break!" Ann shouted.
She forced her body into the cage as hard as she could, and while she felt unbelievable pain as her bones slammed against the steel, she didn't care. After all, it was nothing compared to the absolute fear and panic she felt inside.
"Break! Break! Goddammit, BREAK!" Ann cried out with everything she had.
No matter how hard she tried, nothing changed. She was still trapped in the cage, and Ren was still out of her reach laying in a pool of his own blood at the center of the arena.
Eventually, she couldn't even move her body anymore. She fell to her knees, gasping for air and clenching onto her shoulder as her body lost whatever strength it may have had.
In the end, all she could do was sit there and watch as his blood continued to flow and his eyes continued to dim.
Ann's entire upper body shot up from her bed, her vision blurry and her breathing so heavy it could've been heard all the way down the hall even through her bedroom door. An overwhelming sense of panic was shooting through every fiber of her body to the point that she couldn't even think straight or even so much as register that she was actually awake.
Her thoughts were just static. Empty static.
Eventually, when her breathing calmed down, Ann realized what had happened.
The nightmare she'd been running from had finally finished playing out.
Now, having experienced the entirety of the horrifying dream, she found herself waking up in a panic and drenched in sweat—her body shaking and her eyes on the brink of tears. It was a feeling so horrible that she couldn't describe properly even if she tried.
She buried her face into her hands.
"…I wanted to believe it wouldn't get worse," Ann thought aloud, her voice shaking as she spoke. "Why? Why did I have to see something like that again?! Why couldn't I have just woken up?! Why?!"
It was the same nightmare over and over again, though that night was the first time she'd seen all of it. At first, it only happened once and a while to the point she could hardly remember what it had been about the first time she'd had it. Other nights whenever it would start to get bad, she'd simply wake up. She wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, but she didn't have to see that.
Ann hoped that it would go away, that she'd just go to sleep for a few nights in a row and she'd suddenly be fine. She tried to deny it as best as she could, though over time, the dream had only gotten more vivid and more frequent.
It was as if the more she tried to run for it, the harder it chased after her. And that night, it had finally caught up.
'Even though I definitely slept some, I feel even more worn out than before I went to bed,' Ann thought bitterly. 'What time is it, anyway?'
When she looked at her phone and saw that it was about three thirty in the morning, she let out a frustrated sigh.
"No point in trying to go back to sleep…" Ann grumbled, speaking from personal experience. "Not that I'd even want to if it means I have to go through that again."
Just as she had the past few days, the blonde got up from her bed and looked for a change of clothes.
At that point, she wanted to do about the only thing that even remotely helped clear her head.
Metaverse – Central Shibuya
"Graaa!"
Around four Halberies charged Panther all at once. She dodged the first attacks, not even bothering to bring out her Persona. Her eyes stuck on them with razor focus as they
The red-clad Persona user brought out her whip, concentrating as best as she could into bringing an aura of fire onto its tip. When she could see the flames manifest, she held her focus, and then she quite literally whipped it out.
"Hyaaa!"
Each of the approaching lightweight Shadows were ripped to shreds upon making contact with the flame-coated whip. Of course, Panther knew it was going to be overkill in the first place; defeating them was never the point. What she was really trying to do was make sure when she pulled the whip back, she was still able to maintain the energy flowing through her weapon.
When the lash rested at her side again, the blonde took great satisfaction in seeing the tip was still lit with a bright flame.
'Alright, so far so good,' Panther thought, smiling confidently.
Another group of Halberies had started to form nearby. Seeing that, Panther flung her whip and sent it straight into the groups center, then willing the fire on the end of her weapon to let loose.
The result was a sizeable explosion of flames that disintegrated each and every one of the Shadows and turned them into little more than dust and ash.
"Nice," Panther whispered to herself.
In her heart of hearts, she knew what she was doing was a distraction. She knew it now, and she knew it all of the other times that she'd done it since her nightmare had started a few weeks prior.
'Still, even if I can't sleep, at least my time's not a total waste,' Panther thought.
There was a sudden noise that sounded like a rock hitting against a nearby building. Even if it was barely audible, Panther immediately shot around so that she was facing the direction it had come from with her hand firmly placed on her mask as she readied to call on Carmen.
'Another Shadow?' Panther wondered.
The blonde waited patiently, her eyes scanning the area like a hawk for quite some time. However, she didn't see anything except the same unmoving buildings and rubble.
"…must've been the wind or something," Panther thought aloud.
She dropped her defensive stance and decided at that point to check her phone. It was getting closer to the usual time of morning where she'd need to start her day.
And she had a feeling that, yet again, it was going to be a long one.
A short distance away from Panther was a fairly large building that looked like any of the others in the Shibuya section of the Metaverse. Behind it, however, was none other than Joker, who stood in complete silence as he waited to see just where his teammate would choose to move.
A second or so later, he could hear that Panther was walking the opposite direction, which in a way was a relief. However, the fact that he'd even seen her there at this time of the morning was not.
"Guess that explains why you've been so tired lately," Joker muttered to himself. He leaned back against the building with concern written all over his face. "It's not like I don't get it, but pushing yourself like that is a bit much."
The Wild Card looked down at his knife and chuckled dryly. In the end, he really wasn't in a position to say anything to her about it. After all, he'd been in the Metaverse doing the exact same thing. He was happy he wasn't noticed given that he was well aware Ann would give him an earful if she knew.
"…I still have to talk to her about it. There's no way I can just ignore this when she's clearly wearing herself out," Joker thought aloud. He sighed tiredly, saying, "Still, Ann's not an idiot, and she knows her own limits. I should trust her, but…"
On the inside, his senses were instinctively telling him that he was right to be worried. It didn't make sense on the surface, but it was a feeling he just couldn't shake. He resolved to broach the topic with her tomorrow, though whether she'd actually come out and tell him what she'd been doing, he didn't know.
September 2nd – Shujin Academy, Early Morning
"G-Good morning, Amamiya-senpai."
"Yo, Amamiya-kun."
"Good morning, Amamiya-kun."
Similar greetings came from all over as Ren waked down the hallways of Shujin. He smiled and waved like he would normally, but the last thing he wanted at that point was to get caught up in a conversation.
Eventually, he made his way into his homeroom, and though he tried to be subtle about it, his eyes immediately shifted over towards Ann's desk. A frown tugged at his lips when he saw how tired she looked. As she sat in place with her eyes lazily planted towards the window, she seemed half-asleep at best. It was something the Wild Card had expected to see, though he still wasn't happy to see it.
As Ren made his way over to his desk, it seemed as if Ann hadn't even noticed him due to just how tired she was. However, that wasn't true.
Though Ren clearly didn't know it, she'd noticed him the second he walked in just like she always did. It was just that this particular morning, she found herself afraid of what might start going through her head if she turned to look at him.
"Morning," said Ren as he took his seat.
"Morning," Ann replied.
She let out a yawn, which immediately drew a concerned look from the Wild Card.
"You're looking pretty tired again," Ren remarked. "Rough night?"
Ann turned her head away, answering, "Yeah, pretty much."
"That makes three days in a row now," Ren pointed out. "Is there any particular reason you haven't been able to get enough sleep lately?"
Hearing the subtly but frustratingly genuine concern in his voice only made Ann feel worse. A part of her always wanted to spill her guts whenever he got like that, but this was one time she knew she couldn't. She wasn't happy about that fact, though.
"I'm okay. Tired, but okay," Ann answered.
There was a pause in the conversation, and it was clear during it that Ren was debating if he should press any further. Either that, or he was trying to come up with the right choice of words.
"…I hope you're not pushing yourself too hard," said Ren in a soft tone of voice.
"Don't worry, I'm not," Ann replied in as reassuring tone as she could manage.
Ren nodded. "Alright, if you say so."
There was an awkward silence that took its place between the two. It was obvious that each of them had something they wanted to say, yet at the same time something just prevented them from saying it. Neither of them picked up on that fact, though. They were both too distracted by whatever was going through their own heads to notice the other felt the same.
Things didn't stay that way for long as soon enough Ryuji came walking through the door with a toothy grin shining from ear to ear. His mood was beyond good, and it didn't take a genius to understand why that might've been.
"Yo," Ryuji greeted energetically. "How're you two doin' this fine-ass morning?"
Ren chuckled. "Looks like someone had a good time yesterday."
"To put it mildly," Ann added.
"Well, I wasn't gonna say anything, buuuut since you two asked," Ryuji began in a cheeky tone. "We had such a fun time at karaoke that we hung out for a bit after. It was awesome! Oh, and your boy over here might've managed to get a few numbers."
"Impressive," Ren replied.
"I dunno about that. I did pretty okay, I guess," Ryuji replied, his fake-humility so obvious it was almost funny. "So, what'd you two get up to yesterday?"
"Well, Ann wanted to go shopping, so we hit up the outlets in Shibuya," answered Ren.
Ann nodded cheerfully. "Yep! We were only there for a little while though because a woman from my agency called and asked if I could come in for a photoshoot at the last second. Ren and I…"
Almost on reflex as she was speaking, Ann had looked over at Ren, and the split-second her eyes landed on him, she froze. Whatever she was about to say left her mind completely, and in its place all she could remember was the nightmare she'd had the previous night. She tried to push it out of her head, but it was just too much for her to handle. All she could do was turn her head away and try to play it off as best as she could.
"A-Anyway, he came with me, so that's where we ended up for the rest of the day," Ann finished.
"Oh, uh, cool," Ryuji replied. "Sounds like you two at least had fun."
As the thuggish Persona user took his seat, everything grew quiet again. Of course, Ryuji couldn't help but feel that something was off, and as he looked back and forth between his two closest friends, he all but confirmed that much. Things just seemed awkward for some reason. He could feel it in his gut and practically see it in the air between them. Maybe other people that didn't know them as well wouldn't have picked up on it, but when it came to him, he couldn't not notice.
'…did somethin' happen?' Ryuji wondered.
He was just about to speak his mind when suddenly the teacher walked into the room accompanied by the ringing of the first bell.
"Okay," the teacher said as he took his seat. "There are a few announcements I'll need to make, and then we'll get started. I'll of course ask that you keep quiet and pay attention as always."
It went without saying that the announcements themselves were boring beyond belief, but everyone was dead silent all the same. That was until he reached the final announcement.
"—and lasty, Amamiya-kun," began the teacher, earning a few curious looks. "The principal would like to see you. Takamaki-kun, too."
Both Ren and Ann were taken completely by surprised, and of course their classmates started to look over at them and whisper amongst themselves. Those whispers only got louder and louder with each second that went by, though.
"Settle down, settle down," the teacher uttered, instantly hushing the students. "He mentioned that it was in reference to the Career Survey's you filled out the other day—nothing all that major. I… probably should have led with that, now that I think about it. Anyway, he's asked to see the both of you in his office, so please head over there now to speak with him."
The pair nodded before they got up from their seats and headed for the door, all the while each of their classmates had their eyes glued to them until they actually managed to leave the room.
"I wonder what the principal wants to talk about," said Ren. "What could it be that he wanted to talk to just us?"
"No idea," Ann replied.
For what had sadly been a recurring theme for the day so far, the two of them went silent once more. As they kept on walking, Ann couldn't help but blame herself. She knew he was staying quiet because he could tell she wasn't in the mood to talk. That wasn't entirely true, but it may as well have been.
The pair eventually entered the principal's office and were quickly greeted by the receptionist.
"Amamiya-kun and Takamaki-kun, right?" asked the middle-aged woman.
"Yeah, that's us," answered Ann. "So, um, do we go in together, or…?"
The receptionist shook her head. "No, he'll be seeing you each individually. He's asked to see you first, Amamiya-kun. He's expecting you, so feel free to head on in."
Both of the Phantom Thieves shared a curious look with one another before Ren ultimately headed towards the door.
It went without saying that the past year at Shujin Academy had been hectic to say the least. Whether it was the Kamoshida incident, the former principal's murder, or the police questioning students over the Phantom Thieves—none of it painted a picture of a stable learning environment.
However, as Shujin was now, things seemed totally normal. No more teachers sexually assaulting students, no more corrupt educators, and no more Calling Cards. And the person mostly responsible for the return of normalcy was none other than Shujin's latest principal, Shinamura Yamamoto.
The man himself was an experienced educator and a former dean of a large university in northern Japan. He was well-known, and remarkably well-respected by the academic community all across the nation, and the truth was that no one really knew quite why he'd decided to take on the job as Shujin's principal. In fact, the rumor was that he sought out the job himself, which only made his colleagues even more confused.
Does he have a nephew that goes to Shujin? Is he related to one of the teachers there? Was it just plain blackmail? All of those and more were commonly asked whenever the subject was discussed.
He, however, couldn't have cared less. Even right now, he was calmly shifting through paperwork at his desk. He appeared diligent, having well-kempt gray hair and an equally well-kempt beard of the same color. His eyes, hidden behind a thin pair of glasses, were brown in color, though they had a steely look to them all the same. The man wore a black suit and a blue tie, completing what was a traditional but distinguished look that you'd expect to see from someone of his standing.
The door to his office abruptly opened, and upon realizing who it was, he tore his eyes off of his papers and greeted the raven-haired teen with a smile.
"Ah, Amamiya-kun," said the principal. "Thank you for coming. Please, have a seat."
"Sure thing," Ren replied.
As the Wild Card took his seat, he couldn't help but remember the only other time they'd met face to face, which had been quite some time ago. In fact, the last time Ren had even seen him was the day he'd talked to him about transferring back to his old high school—which by this point would've been over four months ago.
Nevertheless, the principal was smiling as if it had been just yesterday.
"It's good to see you again," said Yamamoto, his voice as stern yet somehow pleasant. "I hope this new look of yours doesn't mean you've been having a rough time since you've returned to Shujin, though."
"No, not at all," Ren stated with a shake of his head. "I just decided on a change recently. That's pretty much it."
"I see. Well, I'm relieved to hear that," Yamamoto uttered. "Anyway, should I assume you have no idea why I've called you here today?"
"No idea whatsoever," confirmed Ren.
"I had a feeling that might be the case," Yamamoto said, a bit of amusement making its way into his voice.
Yamamoto reached over towards the side of his desk and handed a paper over to Ren, who took it in his hand and started to look it over. It was the Career Survey he'd filled out the other day, though he didn't see anything in it that explained why the principal had called him there.
"Obviously, you've stated your intent to attend university, but as far as you're field of interest, you've left it as 'unsure' with no explanation whatsoever," began Yamamoto as he took another copy of the same paper off his desk.
"And that's… bad?" Ren asked, clear confusion in his voice.
"Not 'bad', just… surprising," Yamamoto replied. "You're at the top of your class, meaning it would be quite easy to get into the university of your choice. I'm sure you're aware of this, but programs for each field of study differ from university to university; one may specialize in chemistry, and another in engineering, for example. That heavily influences where you'd prefer to go to school, so I assumed that you'd put a lot of thought into it."
"Honestly, no, I haven't," said Ren.
"Hmm," Yamamoto hummed along plainly. "Let me ask you this: Do you think often about your future, Amamiya-kun? What comes after high school? How you'd like your life to go?"
Although the questions were said innocently enough, the Wild Card went silent after they were asked. He got his answer soon enough, but even he found himself surprised by it.
"I guess not as much as I should," Ren finally replied.
"I see," Yamamoto uttered curiously. "Do you remember what I told you the last time we talked in my office, Amamiya-kun? About how I wanted to do right by you to make up for everything this school put you through?"
Ren nodded. "Yeah, of course."
"And I wasn't kidding. With your grades, you'd only need to say the word, and I can essentially get you anywhere you'd like to go. You can have the best of the best when it comes to the field of study that interests you the most," Yamamoto replied. "I had thought the entire reason you came back to Shujin was to take advantage of that offer, so I was surprised to see you didn't have any preferences."
"…as kind of an offer as it was, it's not why I came back," Ren stated politely.
"And that's more than fine. In fact, I'm happy to hear it," said Yamamoto, sounding as if he were genuinely happy. "However, my offer stands all the same, though I'd just ask that you give some thought to your career path so you can take full advantage of it. Even if for some reason you don't want any help from me, you'll still need to do so for your own sake. I know it's not exactly easy, but university entrance exams and application deadlines are coming up sooner than you think. You're a third-year, Amamiya-kun, and in the blink of an eye, you'll be graduating."
For a moment, Ren's expression became solemn. It was strange how he knew how Yamamoto's every word had been true, yet at the same time, none of what he said had ever really crossed his mind for longer than a second or two.
He felt as if he'd been caught completely off guard by something so painfully obvious. It was a rare feeling for him to have, and he'd be lying if he said he enjoyed it
"Look, I know it's difficult to think about the future, but I'm sure you'll manage just fine once you put in the effort," Yamamoto said reassuringly. "You're a very intelligent and mature young man, Amamiya-kun. I have full confidence you'll sort things out soon enough."
"Thanks, I appreciate you saying that," Ren replied.
"Anytime," said Yamamoto. "Now then, please give your field of study some thought and let me know what catches your interest. No pressure, of course—you still have time. Ah, and do you have any questions for me before we finish up here?"
Ren shook his head. "No, not really."
"Excellent. Now then, please return to your classroom. Oh, and I'd ask that you send Takamaki-kun in when you leave."
The raven-haired teen nodded in understanding before he got up from his seat and took his leave
Ann seemed a bit on edge as she scrolled through her phone. She just couldn't help but wonder what the principal could want to speak to her on, let alone if it had to do with her Career Survey of all things.
She only got more nervous when Ren walked out looking like he was lost in deep thought.
"He said you're good to go in, Ann," Ren stated.
"R-Right," Ann replied.
Now suddenly even more nervous than she already was, the blonde silently walked into the principal's office. He greeted her with a friendly smile just as he had before with Ren.
"Nice to see you, Takamaki-kun. Please, have a seat," Yamamoto said politely.
With a nod, the blonde made her way to the chair right across the principal's desk. When she sat down, however, she looked as stiff as a board.
Yamamoto cleared his throat. "You seem a bit on edge."
"Well, kinda…" Ann admitted, ending with a nervous laugh.
"I promise you have no reason to be," Yamamoto stated. "If anything, I think you'll be happy by the end of our conversation. At least, I hope so."
He then handed Ann her Career Survey while he grabbed a copy for himself. As she looked over it, she seemed no less confused than Ren had been just a few minutes ago when he'd done the same thing for him.
The principal found it almost funny how similarly the two reacted.
"So," began Yamamoto, his eyes shifting to the paper. "I noticed that you intend to go to university to study fashion. I'm aware you currently work as a model, so I take it this is what you see as your next step in that career?"
Ann nodded. "Yeah, my goal is to be a top model one day. I think that studying fashion as seriously as I can will go a long way in making that happen."
"You seem fairly passionate about it," Yamamoto remarked.
"I am," Ann replied, a certain firmness to her voice as she spoke.
"It won't be easy, you know," Yamamoto went on, his tone plain as can be. "Fashion schools, particularly the top ones, are fiercely competitive as I understand it."
"I'm more than ready for it," Ann proclaimed.
"…I like your spirit," Yamamoto stated, a bit of a smirk curling onto his lips as if he were pleased by her response. He looked back at the paper, saying, "I also see that you're interested in looking at fashion schools abroad, is that right?"
The second that question was asked, the blue-eyed teen seemed to lose most of her previous confidence.
"Well, I still haven't decided on that yet," Ann replied. "I know there are a lot of good fashion schools overseas, but…"
"Are you worried your grades won't be good enough?"
"T-There is that," Ann admitted, deflating a bit as she spoke. "But the real reason is that I'm just not sure I want to leave Japan for that long. I… haven't thought about it all that much if I'm being honest."
Yamamoto cupped his chin. "Well, while your grades aren't horrible, they aren't exactly stellar either. If you show only slight improvement through the end of this year, it shouldn't be too much of an issue for me to get you into any fashion college of your choice. Whether that's in Japan or outside of it."
"H-Huh?!" Ann exclaimed in surprise. "Wait, are you serious?"
"Completely," Yamamoto answered. "In fact, I might suggest you aim for the London College of Fashion. As luck would have it, an old friend of mine works in the upper-levels of the administration, so it shouldn't' take much convincing—at least if you keep up your end and improve your grades slightly."
To say Ann was stunned was an understatement. The London College of Fashion was one of, if not the most prestigious place to study fashion in the world. However, she'd practically crossed that off her list for exactly that reason since there was exactly a zero percent chance she'd get in if she applied.
Still, while Yamamoto seemed to be totally serious, Ann still hadn't the slightest idea as to why he'd offered what he had. It was too convenient to even feel real.
There was a silence that gripped the conversation as the blonde started to wonder what could've led to this conversation, though it ended the second that the principal figured out what was going through her head.
"You're wondering why—or even how—I'm offering something like that," Yamamoto stated matter-of-factly. "You see, before I was principal here, I was the president of Tohoku University up in Sendai. I have strong connections in academic circles, both domestically and internationally. As for the why…"
The principal paused, and it was clear that he was choosing his words as carefully as he could. Of course, that only made Ann even more curious to know what he was going to say.
"I'll tell you what I told Amamiya-kun a few months ago before he briefly left Tokyo. With all the horrible things that you've had to go through here at Shujin, it's only right that the school does right by you. By that, I mean that I intend to do everything in my power to help you get to where you want to be once your days here at Shujin are over. I know that there's nothing that I or anyone else can do to truly make up for what's happened, but my offer stands nonetheless," Yamamoto went on.
Hearing that had Ann making an expression that was difficult to read. Inwardly, she was debating just how she should respond. More specifically, how she'd decline.
"Not that I'm ungrateful, but I don't exactly like the idea of getting special treatment just because of what happened last year," Ann replied. "No matter where I end up, I want to be there because I earned it. So—"
"I have more integrity than that, Takamaki-kun. I wouldn't put my reputation on the line if I thought you couldn't pull through," Yamamoto said with a chuckle. "You have your passion, and I can tell you're willing to put in the work. Still, it's not as if I'm forcing you to accept my help one way or another, so it doesn't matter either way."
The principal had interjected so firmly and with such sincerity that it had Ann at a near loss for words. He'd meant every word he said, which only seemed to surprise her more so. It was just strange how in that moment he seemed to have more faith in her than even she did in herself.
"I-I see…" Ann muttered.
It was obvious by the sound of her voice that she was a little overwhelmed with the entire conversation. Yamamoto sighed inwardly; he'd been afraid that something like that would happen. Worse, he knew there was still more to pile on.
"In any case, just give it some thought. Regardless of what you decide your plans for university are, all you need to do is let me know and I'll help in whatever way I can," Yamamoto stated. He opened his desk drawer, then pulling out another sheet of paper. "Although, if you're seriously thinking about the London College of Fashion, you may want to consider this, too."
When Ann took the sheet into her hand, she quickly realized it was information on a study abroad session that was set to take place in London during the third and final semester of the school year.
Just reading the words 'third semester' made Ann feel numb. For some reason, it felt much further away until she actually started thinking about when it would actually be.
"It's only food for thought. As I said before, there's no pressure on making a decision as soon as is possible," assured Yamamoto.
"Right," Ann replied, giving a nod of understanding. "Thanks, I'll be sure to let you know if I, um… decide on anything."
"I appreciate it. Feel free to head back to your classroom, unless you have any more questions for me, that is."
The blonde shook her head before calmly standing up and heading for the door. As she walked out of the office, she understood why Ren had probably looked as shaken up as he did.
'Did all that really just happen?' Ann couldn't help but wonder. 'I mean, that was so much all at once, that I…'
Her head was already starting to hurt after just a few seconds of thought on what she'd actually do going forward. It was so overwhelming that Ann took in a deep breath and cleared her head. With the day she was having, the last thing she wanted to do was to start stressing herself out even more than she already was.
For now, Ann pushed it to the back of her mind, though she knew she couldn't keep it there for very long.
Tokyo – Tokyo University, Later that Day…
Makoto entered her apartment, then quickly seeing Haru on the dining table as she was reading through a textbook and taking notes.
"Welcome back," Haru greeted cheerfully. "How was your lecture?"
"Perfectly fine," Makoto replied, returning her friends smile.
The brunette sat at the table and pulled out a textbook of her own to follow Haru's example. Hardly any time passed before she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket, and with shocking speed, she set down her book and took it out to see what new message had come her way.
When she realized it was just an e-mail notification from the university, she placed the phone down onto the table with a disappointed look on her face.
"…I was hoping it was the group chat, too," Haru remarked, having noticed her reaction. She put down her pencil, adding, "We've only been gone for a few days, and I already miss everyone so much. I guess that's not surprising, though. Even with everything that happened in the Metaverse, it was the most fun I've had since we started here at Tokyo U."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Makoto said with a sigh. "Right now, things feel so… quiet. I just miss hearing the sound of everyone's voice."
Haru smiled mischievously. "Well, I know one person's voice you miss more than anything else."
The red-eyed teen gave her a predictable reaction.
"D-Don't start teasing me!" Makoto said, a blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"So then, you don't miss hearing Ren's voice?"
Makoto looked away and crossed her arms. "No more than you miss hearing Yu-san's."
Almost immediately, Haru jumped up from her chair and slammed her hands onto the table. Her face went crimson in no time flat.
"For the last time, I don't…!" Haru exclaimed.
The heiress stopped mid-sentence after hearing Makoto start to laugh. She'd have continued, but the wave of embarrassment that hit her took away her ability to speak. The only thing that left her throat was a series of cute groans.
"I-I'm sorry," Makoto apologized as she got her laughter under control. "But in fairness to me, you started it."
Haru pouted. "Although at least what I said was true! I do not have a crush on Yu-san! I don't know how I can be any clearer!"
"Well…" Makoto began cheekily.
All of Haru's cuteness seemed to vanish for a split-second as she gave Makoto a heavy glare. Then, strangely, it came roaring back and she looked towards her best friend with a bright, cheerful smile.
"I think it's quite obvious that you're teasing me to try and forget how badly you miss Ren. I just hate seeing you like this, Mako-chan," Haru began.
Without hesitating for even a second, Haru then reached over and grabbed Makoto's phone. As she unlocked it and began to scroll through it, Makoto was hit with a sense of dangerous déjà vu.
Makoto's eyes went wide. "W-Wait, you're not going to—"
"Here you go."
The curly-haired teen tossed the phone over to Makoto, who barely managed to catch it. She could hear it ringing, and looking at the caller ID, she saw that Haru had dialed Ren's number.
And of course, she soon heard him pick up on the other end.
"Hey," came Ren's voice on the other end. "What's up?"
A panicked Makoto didn't say anything at first. She looked back at Haru with absolute disbelief written all over her face, but the heiress just tilted her head, closed her eyes, and gave Makoto a small, almost twisted smirk.
'You're unbelievable!' Makoto thought.
In a rare turn of events, Ren Amamiya found himself walking home without any of his friends to keep him company. Ryuji had his physical therapy, Futaba had been invited out to be with some of her classmates again, and Ann had a modeling job.
The end result was for Ren to be alone with his thoughts for his trip back home, and of course the only thing he could bring himself to think about was his conversation with the principal earlier that day.
'The future, huh…?' Ren thought.
It had been something on his mind all day, and yet it seemed like no matter how much he tried to think about it, he didn't come up with anything.
That was rare for him; in fact, he couldn't even remember the last time something like that had happened. It was starting to get frustrating—as if he were looking at a problem that he just couldn't solve, and so he was just stuck staring at it until something clicked.
Thankfully, a nice distraction took his mind off of it for a moment. His phone started to ring, and when he saw it was Makoto, he found himself smiling for what was probably the first time since he'd started on his way home.
"Hey," said Ren. "What's up?"
A few seconds went by and he didn't hear anything from the other end. He looked at his phone to see if there was a connection issue, though of course there wasn't.
"Hello? You there?" Ren questioned.
"Y-Yeah, I'm here," Makoto replied. "So, um… how's it going?"
For some reason, she sounded a bit nervous, though the Wild Card ignored it.
"It's going okay," answered Ren. "How about you? Your classes have started up again, right?"
"Yeah, they have. Mine are done for today, though. I tend to avoid taking night classes if I can help it," Makoto stated. "Oh, by the way, how's Futaba liking Shujin? She seemed happy enough in the photo that you guys took the other day."
Ren smiled, saying, "She's really liking it so far. In fact, she's already made a few friends and they invited her out after school today."
"That's great to hear! She's really come a long way, huh?"
"She really has," Ren replied.
"I'm glad to hear she's fitting in so well," Makoto stated. "Speaking of that picture though… I noticed you've got a 'new look' going for you. I-It's nice, by the way!"
"Thanks," said Ren. "I was just trying to change things up a bit—nothing too special. People seem to like it, though."
"Well, it definitely suits you."
In the brief silence that followed, a thought occurred to Ren. Suddenly, it seemed almost too coincidental that Makoto had called him when she had, and he started to think she might be able to give him some insight that'd help him out.
After all, she almost always did.
"Hey, Makoto… I wanted to ask you something, if you don't mind," began Ren, his voice becoming a bit more serious all of a sudden. "How did you know you wanted to become a police commissioner?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line, and it was clear that Makoto was giving a great deal of thought into her response.
"You know, now that you've asked, I realize that I don't exactly know the answer," Makoto replied. "It's been a dream of mine for years at this point. I guess you could say that one day the thought just crossed my mind, and it just felt… right. It's like when I knew, I just knew. I don't know how to really explain it."
Ren nodded. "I see."
"I know my answer probably isn't very helpful because it makes it sound easy, and it certainly isn't. The truth is I consider myself lucky I was able to find my passion as quickly as I did," stated Makoto. "By the way, why did you ask? Just curious?"
"Sort of. We had to do our Career Survey's the other day, and I'm sure that's more of an explanation than you need to figure out why I asked," Ren explained.
"Oh, I see," uttered Makoto. "I only wish I had better advice for you. Still, you've got a better head on your shoulders than most, so I'm sure you'll figure it out your passion soon enough. Just don't be too discouraged if the answer doesn't come right away."
"Thanks, I'll certainly try," Ren replied.
"Good," said Makoto, her voice giving away her smile. "Anyway, I won't keep you. It was good talking to you, Ren."
"Same to you."
As the Wild Card hung up the phone, he found himself going into a deep, contemplative silence yet again.
He continued walking home with thoughts of his own future dominating every thought in his head every single step of the way.
Makoto let loose a deep, tired sigh after she hung up her phone. She then wasted no time in glaring over at Haru in a way that would've made her older sister proud.
"…you know I hate it when you do that," Makoto stated pointedly.
"And yet you seemed perfectly happy while you were talking to him. It was like that last time, too," Haru replied cheekily. "So, what was he asking you about? You seemed to get pretty serious all of a sudden."
"Oh, that," began Makoto, immediately knowing what her friend was referencing. "Evidently the third years at Shujin filled in their Career Surveys the other day. Ren was asking how I knew I wanted to become a police commissioner because it sounds like he's trying to figure out what his future plans are going to be. I only wish I could've been more helpful…"
"Ah, I see," Haru said. "Well, I'm sure he'll figure everything out soon enough. It is Ren, after all."
"My thoughts exactly," Makoto commented with a laugh. "I am curious as to what university he'll decide on though. With his grades, he'll probably be able to go just about anywhere he wants."
Haru smirked devilishly. "Like Tokyo University, for example?"
"I-It's a possibility, yes," Makoto replied.
"I can already imagine what that'd be like," began Haru in a playful voice. "Hmm, but if the two of you ended up getting an apartment together, I'd have to try and find a new roommate. Then again, living on my own wouldn't be so bad."
Just the thought of that had Makoto's cheeks going red, though despite that, her lips were curling into a reflexive smile. It couldn't have been more obvious that she was enjoying the mental image.
When she realized how she probably looked, she picked up her textbook to hide her face.
"You're so cute, Mako-chan," Haru giggled.
The brunette just groaned into her textbook.
Tokyo – Shibuya Residential Area, Later that Evening…
After a long, long day, Ann sat down on the side of her bed, and though she was tired as could be, she couldn't fight back a bright smile. The reason was simple: it was almost time for one her and Shiho's usual catch-ups.
When she saw that it was six thirty, she went over to her desk and started up her laptop, She was seconds away from calling her best friend, but Shiho would end up beating her to the punch and initiated the call before she could even scroll over to her contact. Of course, the blue-eyed teen accepted without a second of hesitation, and when she saw Shiho's webcam pop up on her screen, she couldn't contain her happiness.
"Shiho!" Ann chirped. "Can you hear me okay?"
"Yeah, I can hear you loud and clear," Shiho replied. "I can see you just fine, too. Which means I can tell you didn't sleep well last night… again."
Ann's previous smile disappeared at the sight of the concerned look that Shiho was giving her. It wasn't that she didn't understand, though. Just one look at her webcam preview screen made it obvious why Shiho would say that right off the bat.
"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep," Ann admitted. "Sorry to worry you, I promise it's not as bad as it looks. I'm more worn out than usual right now since today's been kinda… stressful."
"Why's that? Did something bad happen?" Shiho inquired.
"Actually, I think it's the exact opposite," Ann replied, eliciting a curious look from her friend. "The principal called me into his office earlier today to talk about my plans after high school. We did our Career Surveys the other day, and—I mean, you know this—I put on mine I wanted to study fashion at a university after I graduate. Get this though: he said he could probably get me into the London College of Fashion if I improved my grades a bit! Isn't that totally crazy?"
"R-Really?! Ann, that's amazing!" Shiho exclaimed. "Wait, but… why would that make your day stressful? I would've thought something like that would make you so happy you'd start jumping in the air until you calmed down."
"You'd think that, wouldn't you…?" Ann muttered, her expression falling as she spoke.
"So then, why didn't it?"
Ann sighed. "It's just that… well, thinking about 'the future' kinda threw me through a loop. All of that stuff felt so far away right up until today, and now all of a sudden, I'm starting to wonder if I even want to accept an offer like that. Do I want to go to university outside of Japan? Would I rather stay here? If I do stay here, where would I even go? Is it even smart for me to stay if I have the opportunity to go abroad? It was like I had this huge bomb dropped on me out of nowhere."
"…well, I can understand how you feel. That does sound pretty overwhelming," Shiho remarked. "Still, you do have to start thinking about that kind of stuff. The time for making decisions like where you want to go for university is coming up sooner than you think. If you just pass it off, you'll run out of time before you know it."
"Yeah, I know," sighed Ann.
"You're not just running out of time when it comes to school choice, either," continued Shiho.
Ann raised a curious brow. "What do you mean?"
"I'm talking about Ren, of course. You already got your second chance when he came back to Shujin, and I'm not sure you'll get a third," Shiho replied, her voice once again a bit on the stern side. "He'll be making decisions like these pretty soon, too. If you don't make a serious move before you graduate, who's to say you don't go to different universities? What if while he's off on his own, he finds that special someone? Someone that isn't you?"
It was obvious by how Ann shifted uncomfortably in her chair that she hated even the thought of that happening. Even though it was definitely something that had crossed her mind before, hearing it said out loud definitely made it sting a bit more.
"I know you're right, but… just imaging that is kind of painful," Ann thought aloud.
"Sorry, I was probably a bit too harsh…" Shiho stated apologetically. "And you still have time, you know. It's just that if you keep waiting and don't tell him… I know you'll regret it. I really don't want that to happen, Ann. More than anything, I just want you to be happy."
"I know," Ann replied, a smile making its way back onto her features. "Thanks, Shiho."
"Anytime," she stated, matching the blonde's smile with one of her own. "Well, I have to go help my mom with dinner now. Try to get some sleep, okay? I'm getting kind of worried you're not sleeping well."
"See ya, Shiho! Good night!" Ann said in an upbeat manner. "Oh, and tell your mom I said hi!"
"Will do! Take care, Ann!"
Just like that, the call ended, and the blue-eyed beauty got up from her chair and got into her bed. She sighed deeply as she laid down on her pillow and remembered Shiho's words again and again.
'She's right,' Ann thought. 'Whether it was about what I do after Shujin, or with Ren… Shiho was right.'
Just thinking his name caused her to groan inwardly. That entire day, she'd barely been able to look at him without remembering that same horrible nightmare. Her mind would go blank, and she just couldn't keep her eyes on him.
Perhaps the worst part of it was how it caused an obvious awkwardness between them. The only time things had ever been that bad before was after she'd initially discovered her feelings for him after he first came back from Tokyo. She managed to move past it soon enough back then, but it was still far from a pleasant memory.
"How do I fix it this time? If I keep having that nightmare, do I… do I talk to him about it or something?" Ann wondered aloud. She shook her head at her own words. "Yeah, great idea. I should just walk up to him and say: Hey, Ren, I keep having nightmares about how you almost died. Oh, also they keep getting worse! 'Kay, thanks for listening! Yeah, that sounds great. Real genius idea right there."
The truth was that even Ann herself didn't really understand why the nightmares were as bad as they were. That had been the main reason she didn't say anything to Ren, or even Shiho for that matter. She hadn't been able to sort through her own thoughts, so trying to talk to someone else about it right now felt like it was just about impossible right now.
"I mean… how do I even start a conversation like that? What am I even supposed to say?" Ann wondered aloud.
She felt a coldness spread through her body as she remembered the details of the vivid dream. The only thing she really knew was she just wanted it to stop. More than anything, she didn't want to feel anything that horrible again.
Maybe talking to him about it was her best bet.
Maybe she just needed him to know how much the whole thing had bothered her.
'Maybe I just need to tell him how it made me feel…' Ann thought.
If nothing else, it was worth a shot. Ann knew she couldn't just let things stay the way they were, otherwise she could forget about confessing. Even daily conversations with him would become impossible if she kept quiet and let things continue like they were.
'But what if it doesn't work?' Ann wondered. 'What if I talk to him about that dream and nothing changes?'
The blue-eyed beauty felt the urge to curl up into a ball and she could feel her stomach start to tighten. If this was just something she'd never get over, then maybe things could never go back to the way she wanted them too.
It hurt. It hurt deep in her chest as the thought even crossed her mind.
Ann let out a deep, frustrated sigh. "Why do feelings have to be so complicated?"
She couldn't help but think how things got to this point.
About how it all started those short few months ago in the early weeks of spring.
And about how she even discovered those 'feelings' in the first place.
Tokyo – Yongen-Jaya: Café Leblanc
Everything was quiet on Leblanc's second floor as Ren laid in his bed staring at the ceiling. He'd been doing that for so long that he'd lost track of time, and it wasn't until he looked at his phone out of curiosity that he realized he'd been like that for over two hours.
That entire time, however, he'd really come no closer to answering the question of what he wanted out of the future. So even as he realized what the time was, all he did was put his phone back on his bed before he went right back to staring at the ceiling.
The sound of light footsteps echoed from the staircase, but he'd been too focused to hear them. They'd belonged to Morgana, who stepped into the room with his tail wagging all the while.
"Hey, Ren. I was just…"
He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed just how razor-focused the Wild Card seemed to be. Whatever was on his mind, it was clear that it must've been incredibly important for him to have a look like that.
In fact, he'd hoped that Ren hadn't heard his voice so he could just quietly back away without distracting him. However, that sadly didn't happen, as his gray eyes soon shifted towards him.
"Hey, Mona. What's up?" asked Ren.
"O-Oh, nothing much," he replied. "I just wanted to check up on you is all. You've clearly got a lot on your mind though, so I'll leave you to it."
"Thanks, I appreciate it," Ren replied.
With Mona heading back down the stairs, the room went quiet yet again and things returned to how they'd been for several hours by that point. Minutes passed, and eventually when Ren simply felt he couldn't take his lack of progress anymore, he let out a tired sigh.
Thinking about the future was a lot more difficult than he ever thought it'd be.
"Then again… I guess it should be, right?" Ren mused. "Figuring out the future—that is a lot to think about. Still, this is ridiculous. Why am I drawing a blank no matter how hard I try?"
The raven-haired teen started to think that maybe the root of his problem was that he genuinely had no idea whatsoever how he wanted his life to go from that point forward. He had interests, he had wants, so he really should have been able to come up with something, and yet he couldn't. There had to be a reason behind that, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why.
"I mean, the last time I had to make a big decision like this, it was a no-brainer," Ren muttered to himself. "When I decided to come back to Tokyo, I knew immediately it was what I wanted to do; I knew it was where I wanted to be. Now I'm deciding on what to do next, and… I've got nothing."
His mind started to focus on exactly that.
About how he made his choice to come back to Tokyo. Why he'd done it, and why it was such an easy choice for him to make.
Maybe then he'd understand what made things so different this time around.
A/N Alright, with that, the chapter's done, and it'll be a three week wait until the next one comes out.
Explanations:
Next Chapter: This'll be the flashback set of chapters. The first (next one to be released) will be all about Ren's return home. Then the next chapter will get more into Ann's initial discovery of her feelings for him, and a bit of Makoto and Haru will be there too.
Ann's Nightmare: This has been something that's been building for a while. Way back even in Chapter 33 where she goes to the gym with Futaba is where I started to include moments where she 'hadn't slept well' and they've been sprinkled in since then. It's also why she asked Mika in the previous chapter if she'd been having nightmares when Mika hadn't slept well, even though it obviously could've been any number of other things. The root of it is obviously her feelings for Ren and how it hurt her more than she wanted to admit to see him almost die the way that she did. There's a deeper angle there that shows up in the next arc that continues on after the flashback chapter, so that's all I have on this for now.
Ann Practicing Elemental Infusion in the Metaverse: I mentioned before I didn't want the Persona crew to easily just be able to do this without practice, but as for why I chose Ann, there are a few reasons. The main one is that it fits into a theme of wanting to get a bit stronger and become more reliable, which you can bet your ass you'll see in the future (yes, the nightmare has a lot to do with that…). There will be other characters outside of the Wild Cards that learn it, but Ann will be the first.
The Career Surveys and the Principal's Offer: So two chapters ago, they did fill in their Career Surveys, which was the setup for this happening in the first place. Some people might not have thought much of it, but it was setup for this. As for the principal's offer, I just thought it fit well for the Shujin Trio that went through some serious BS the prior year to get at least something from the school to show for it. On that note…
Ren and Ann's Future: People might be wondering why I bothered including this as a theme in this chapter alongside the reveal of Ann's nightmares. In the end, there are a few reasons, but it's difficult to list them off now without giving subtle spoilers, so I won't really touch on that here until the next arc that centers very, very heavily around Ann is done. For now, I can at least say that it's because the both of them are in a similar spot at the moment that they were moths ago before Ren came back, so it does at least set up the flashback chapters.
Why didn't the Principal Talk to Ryuji: Elephant in the room, right? If he was trying to make up for all the eff-ed up stuff that some of the students went through, why wouldn't he talk to him? Don't worry, I didn't forget about Ryuji, and neither did the principal. Ryuji's time for his 'future' will come, and there are explicit reasons why the principal didn't talk to him yet that I won't get into now.