"Seems like I lost again," Ren sighed as the old man in front of him took his winnings. He was currently in one of Port Island Station's back alleys, a seedier part of the city. He had spent the afternoon going through Iwatodai Station, then Paulownia Mall, and finally finishing the day in Port Island Station. He essentially toured the city on his own. He also visited Lavenza and Igor for a quick hello.
As for the actual investigation, Ren found people affected by Apathy Syndrome everywhere in the city. A couple was in Iwatodai Station and another in Paulownia Mall. He tried to get their attention, but all they did was groan and look at him. In all honesty, it was creepy, even if he compared it to what he saw in Palaces or Jails, the manifestations of someone's distorted view of the world. Mummies and walking ATMs were creepy, but actual dead-living people are a category of their own. It made his skin crawl.
After that, he wound up in Port Island Station as the sun began to set. While the line-up for the movies wasn't new to him, they were the type of movies he'd rent in Shibuya and watch with his friends. While he did start reminiscing, he cut himself short again. After walking around, he noticed the back alley and entered it. He saw a couple of guys, and while they eyed him, they mostly ignored him. At that point, he saw two doors, one down a set of stairs and another one up 2 sets of stairs. The one up seemed to lead to Red Hawks, a place to play mahjong, but the one down didn't have any sort of sign. He asked the two what the doors downstairs led to, but the guys didn't give anything concrete. He decided to come to that one later.
With that choice gone, the only other thing to do was check out Red Hawks. That decision led him to play with a bunch of old people. While he did know how to play, courtesy of Mune and Sadayo, he wasn't a master at it. He learned it to make conversations, and, at this time, it was perfect. Play good enough that the game wasn't a wipeout but play bad enough that the other players could see a chance of winning. These two helped keep the game from being cut short and while the game played, Ren made small talk with the others. Soon enough, he already blended in with the crowd.
"Ah, my grandchild is going to be graduating this year. He's so excited to move out."
"That's good, you know. Just remind him to visit once in a while."
"Did ya' hear? Some kids were found unconscious in front of their high school."
"What is this world coming to?"
"Bet 'cha that Hokkaido team will take the series this year!"
"It's too damned early to tell!"
"Boss left damned early too! But everyone else stayed to fix his damned mess..."
Rumors, complaints, and trash talks flew through the room. Ren, taking the skills he learned working under Lala, kept conversations running when they died down, but, for the most part, there was no need. Everyone was here to unwind, and everyone was talking about something. However, a certain bit called out to him.
"What was that about the high school kids? Something about them knocked out in front of their school," Ren asked the old lady next to him.
"Hmm? Oh, that? Apparently, some people found 2 girls lying in front of Gekkoukan High School. No matter what they did, they wouldn't wake up. They had to call the hospital nearby for help."
Ren nodded as he absorbed her words. "Anything come up from that?"
"I heard that they have Apathy Syndrome," the old lady said mournfully. "Thankfully, my daughter is still fine. Seriously, it's probably just stress..."
"I see, thank you for letting me know." Ren checked the clock in the room. '8:13. Better start moving.' "It's getting late; I should get going." Ren rose from the table and said his good-byes to everyone. While the people were nice, the room was filled with the heavy smell of cigarettes. As he walked down the stairs, he started breathing a bit more deeply of the fresher air. He was relieved to get a breath of fresh air; it was heaven compared to inside Red Hawks. He'll have to find some way to wash his casual summer clothes soon, seeing as how the smell of cigarettes could have stuck to him. It was an open white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to near his elbows while underneath was a black short-sleeved T-shirt. Blue jeans and brown shoes completed the outfit. To help with the glare, he wore his glasses, though if anyone were close enough, it would be easy for them to know it was fake.
When he reached the bottom of the first set of stairs, he saw a group of people hanging around the back alley. Still, that wasn't what caught his eye; it was the group of 3 teenagers in their midst.
The first was a boy with a baseball cap. He had a goatee, an unbuttoned short-sleeved dress shirt, black pants, and what seemed to be a gold necklace.
The second was a girl with curling, light-brown hair and a pink sweater wrapped around her waist. She also wore the same dress shirt, though it was obviously for women, a black skirt, and a choker that completed her look.
The third was another girl with auburn hair in a high ponytail, though her hair was close to red. Same as the other girl, she wore the same dress shirt, though she had a red ribbon tie and red clip-on headphones.
"Check out those rags... They're from Gekkou High," one of the guys said. Seems like they forgot to change out of their uniforms. Ren let out a small smirk, remembering that time when a truant officer found him and Ryuji in Shinjuku at night. The only reason they got found out was because a police officer recognized Ryuji's uniform when Shujin Academy was getting popular. It was a night to remember.
"Come on, don't be intimidated by these scum!" Pink said.
"What was that?!" the thugs said as they started to encroach on the students.
Ren sighed. 'If you're going to be around these parts of the city, at least tread carefully. You're clearly not in your element.' The group surrounding them was getting riled up. 'Better do something here before they get physical.'
"Hey," Ren called out to everyone. Normally, Ren is a silent person. He doesn't like yelling too much, but after spending time with Yoshida, he was able to speak out with a commanding voice, even when he spoke softly. "Behave yourselves. Don't let what she says get to you, or are you just going to let a kid rile you up?
His words only riled up the group. One of the guys, a man with a ring and chain on his nose, began to approach him. "What was that? You oughta learn to shut that trap of yours!" When he was on the same level as Ren, he pulled back his right fist for a punch.
'Slow.' Ren moved to his left, grabbed the wrist of the incoming punch, got behind the man, and held the man's right arm on his back. "As for you Gekkou High students, don't go around insulting people, more so when you're so out of your element." His voice carried out through the back alley.
"And what's it to you?" Pink shot back. "Why should I listen to what scum like you would say?"
Ren sighed. She is way too headstrong. "Do you think you can get away here unharmed, with all these guys? They've got around 10 people here. You will get beaten to a pulp. These guys don't care if you came from a good school like Gekkou High. You can think what you like but be smart and assess your situation."
Pink grimaced. At least his words were finally getting to her.
"Let him go," a new voice commanded. Ren kept his hold on the man while he peeked behind him.
On the other side of the alley was a new person. He wore a maroon peacoat and kept his brown hair under a beanie. Even when he was slouching, he still towered over everyone in the alley. His sunken eyes glared at Ren.
'Definitely not a guy to mess around right now...' "Sure. I'm not here to fight anyways." He let the man go while backing away, making sure there was enough space for him to react.
The man rotated his right shoulder and growled. "Damned brat. I'll beat the shit out of you."
Damn brat, I'll-
"Wanna give it a try?" Peacoat said. Somehow, he was already halfway through the alley.
'That's way too fast! How did he get there?' Ren had never seen someone that big move so fast.
"Damn you, Shinjiro... I thought you were one of us!" one of the man's friends yelled. "That's right, you're from Gekkou High too, aren't ya?!"
Shinjiro's only response was to glare back.
"Y-you two better grow eyes behind your head!" the man yelled, before running away with his friends in tow.
Ren sighed at the threat. 'Futaba would have called that a generic NPC's final words before the game forgot about them.'
"Oh man, Senpai, that was awesome! You didn't do anything, and they still ran!" Baseball Cap praised Shinjiro.
"Hey, I remember you... You clowns were in Aki's room at the hospital. You idiots!" Shinjiro reprimanded them before turning to Ren. "And you! What were you doing, making yourself their target? You're an idiot too! Get outta here. This place isn't for you." Shinjiro began to walk away from them.
However, before he got any further...
"Wait!" Pink yelled, catching Shinjiro's attention. "We came here for a reason!" Ren stayed quiet as the rest of them forgot about him.
"Did Aki tell you to come here?" Shinjiro asked.
Ponytail responded with a laugh. "Nope! We came on our own. Pretty sure he'd get mad at us!"
Shinjiro huffed at her response; seems like he accepted it. He turned to Ren. "And what about you?"
Ren shrugged. "I'm from out of town and I'm just snooping around," he replied. "You guys know anything about the Apathy Syndrome?"
The three students stiffened at his question. Ren internally facepalmed. "You guys need to get better at your poker faces; you're too easy to read."
Shinjiro moved between Ren and the students. "What's it to you?"
"Look, I'm not here to fight; I'm just curious. I won't say anything, I'll just listen to whatever you guys are talking about. I'm not really expecting to know much anyways," Ren answered.
Shinjiro continued to glare at Ren, then slightly loosened his tension. "Fine," he answered before sitting on the first set of stairs, facing the 3 students. "What do you wanna know? About that ghost story?"
Pink glanced at Ren, before facing Shinjiro. "Yeah, how'd you know?"
"It's a rumor. Those girls who wound up in the hospital were here talkin' shit every night about all the things they'd done to some girl named Fuuka."
'Bullying? And those girls who wound up in the hospital, were they the two with the Apathy Syndrome?'
"Fuuka...?" Baseball Cap repeated the name to himself. "Wait, you mean Fuuka Yamagishi from 2-E? They were picking on her?"
Shinjiro nodded. "That's why people are saying it's Fuuka's spirit that did it."
"Fuuka's spirit...? Wait, what do you mean by that!?" Pink asked.
Shinjiro had a questioning look on him. "You guys don't know? This Fuuka girl might be dead. She hasn't been home for over a week."
Baseball Cap's mouth hung slightly open. "Are you serious!? I thought she was out sick… But missing!?"
Yukari crossed her arms as she began talking to herself. "So much for the ghost story. Mr. Ekoda is the homeroom teacher for 2-E, right? Does he know about this...?"
"Oh, I get it, Aki... Still trying to make up for the past." Shinjiro sighed as he stood up.
Pink, Baseball Cap, and Ponytail held a questioning look of their own at Shinjiro's words, only for Shinjiro to catch himself. "That's all I know. Satisfied?"
"Yep, thank you very much! You saved us today," Ponytail exclaimed before turning to Ren. "And thanks to you, nothing happened to us in the first place. We'll make sure to change out of uniforms next time."
That got a chuckle out of Ren. "Next time? You've got some guts if you want to do this again."
Ponytail huffed her chest with a smirk on her face.
"And you?" Shinjiro regarded Ren behind him. "You satisfied?"
"A bit," Ren responded. "Though, I do have a question. Mind if I ask?"
Shinjiro shrugged.
"Then, if you guys don't mind," Ren looked at the 3 students, "you mentioned some girls that ended up in the hospital. How many were hospitalized?"
"Eh? That's it?" Baseball Cap asked. "There were two of them."
Ren nodded at his response as he moved down the first set of stairs. "Thanks. I should get going. I've got a lot of things to think on."
"Us too," Ponytail said before waving at Shinjiro. "Thanks again!"
Shinjiro huffed before nodding slightly. "Don't come around here again," he said as he walked deeper into the alleyway.
Ren smirked a bit. "What a gentle giant."
Baseball Cap looked at him in surprise. "Gentle!? That guy is a walking monster!"
Pink stared at the alleyway before looking at Baseball Cap. "No, I think he's right. Senpai saved us from those punks and even gave us a hint."
Suddenly, she eyed Ren. "By the way, who are you? You look like a student, but I've never seen you before."
Now that Pink had Ren's full attention, he couldn't stop himself from freezing for a moment. 'She sounds so similar to Sadayo...' "Just a guy from out of town. Been hearing something weird, so I decided to snoop around."
"And aren't you a student? You look like you're the same age as us," Ponytail asked.
"Yes, but actually no," Ren answered. "I was a third-year, but I decided to drop out and do some soul searching. I've been traveling since."
"What!?" Baseball Cap yelled out. "How?"
"Uh, before that, aren't you guys going home?" Ren asked. "It's late."
"Oh, yea, we are!" Pink said. "We've got to get going."
"Wait! I wanna ask-" Baseball Cap said.
"Hey, which way are you headed?" Ponytail asked Ren. "You said you weren't from around here, so you've gotta be staying in a hotel, right?"
"Yep," Ren nodded. "I'm staying at a hotel near Iwatodai Station. That's just under an hour for me. You guys?"
"Sweet! We're going there too." Baseball Cap said excitedly. "You've got to tell how you did it on our way there!"
Ren chuckled softly. "You mean me living alone? Sure, why not?"