CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of sexual and physical abuse and attempted suicide. While not graphic, this content still may be difficult or upsetting to read, so please take breaks or skip sections as needed. Stay safe.
4/22 – Friday
After School
Kamoshida's Palace, Throne Room
Kamoshida's throne room was spinning, Ren's heart was racing and his gut felt heavy – he barely even registered when Panther placed her hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked.
He screwed his eyes shut to dislodge the static, and then nodded. "I'm okay," he clarified. "I think. Uh, everything kinda...hurts? But I think I'm fine."
"Man, what the fuck was that?" Skull asked. He'd struggled to his feet, one hand on the enormous golden Treasure for balance. As soon as he lifted his hand, the crown shrunk, rapidly diminishing until it was the simple, human-sized garment it had been in the Shadow's grasp.
"Did you know that was going to happen?" Mona stared at Ren with an expression that seemed like half curiosity, half suspicion.
Ren opened his mouth to respond, but the fog rolled over his tongue, the hurt and the confusion and the lingering panic filling up his throat until he could barely breathe, let alone answer.
Panther gave him a long look. "We'll talk later," she said, firmly. "Right now, we need to get the Treasure out of the Palace. That's the next step, right Mona?" Ren sent the girl a million silent thank-yous.
Mona nodded, but before he could say a word, he flinched, turning towards the Treasure and dragging the others' gazes there as well, just in time to see Kamoshida's Shadow grab the crown off the floor and bolt towards the entryway.
"Hey!" Skull moved to follow, but froze, a wince eclipsing his expression. "Not now, come on–"
But the Shadow didn't make it to the door. It was closed, shut tight by the cognitions that had long since vanished, fleeing and melting back into the dark. Kamoshida glanced back towards the Thieves, his expression panicked, and then he looked out towards the open balcony. The only way out, and a hundred feet down.
"There's nowhere left to run," Ren said, his voice sounding so unlike him. Low, and angry. "Give up."
"This is...this is my world," Kamoshida said. Feigning at confidence. Pretending to be brave. "I'm king. I'm..."
"It's not yours any longer." The fur on the back of Mona's neck stood up, hackles raised. "Your heart belongs to the Phantom Thieves! We're taking what we came here for!"
"I don't owe you anything!" Kamoshida replied, his voice breaking on the final word, grasping onto that crown like his life depended on it.
"I can't believe I was ever scared of you." Skull's voice caught Ren off guard. He'd expected fury, something overwhelming and loud as Ryuji had ever been, but the young man was quiet. Not quite relaxed, but tensionless, the way exhaustion feels like gravity. "You're just some asshole throwing a temper tantrum in his fucking undies. You're pathetic."
An instant of anger across the Shadow's face. "Don't you talk that way to your elder, you–"
Skull's warm brown eyes burned cold. "Shut it." Steady, and furious. There was the anger, that bubbling wrath. "You know, I was proud to get into track. First thing I ever did right in my whole damn life, and you took that away from me." His gaze traveled across the gaudy pillars, golden rafters, the chandelier. "I was gonna make her happy. My mom was gonna be happy because of me, I was gonna show her I was as good as she always said I was, that I wasn't a failure, and then you came along and had to be king of the fucking world!" His voice echoed through the throne room.
Ren wanted to say something. He wanted to say anything , wanted to...ease that pain that shone so clearly in Skull's eyes. That anger bordering on tears, that debilitating helpless frustration. Ren knew it. He knew it better than his own name.
"You took away the one good thing I had going for me." Skull swallowed hard, hands shuddering by his sides. "The only thing I had back then that made life worth living, you know? And I'm never gonna get it back. It's gone, and I'm never getting it back."
His gaze wandered. A quick flick of vision towards the other Thieves. Towards Ren . "But you know what? I've got something else now. Something so much better than track ever was." His gaze returned. His anger returned. "But that doesn't mean you and me are done here. You still owe me for every bit of the shit you put me through." He stared down Kamoshida. "I'm not leaving this place without that crown."
Kamoshida flinched away, wilting towards the balcony.
"Are you going to jump?" There was almost a laugh in Panther's voice, and Ren glanced towards her to see her face unobscured, mask held loose in one hand. "You're probably seeing the same thing Shiho did. That same view."
Her voice was unsteady, eyes down, like she couldn't bear to look at him. "I've known her since middle school. She saved my life then, she was always this...this light. Like there was life in her that couldn't ever go out. Do you know what you did to her? What you did to me? " A horrible little laugh slipped out of her. "She would have rather died than be hurt by you again, and you know what? If she'd only waited a few days longer, I might have thrown myself off that roof instead."
Ren felt cold, in a way he hadn't before. Like something was freezing the blood in his veins. His left hand twitched, and he swallowed the urge to grab his wrist to keep it steady.
Panther's mask cracked, but did not shatter. Her fingers tightened around it until that material splintered and screamed. "I'll give you a choice. The same one you gave Shiho." She looked up at Kamoshida's Shadow finally, tears streaming down her face, and her mask exploded in her grasp. Fire, like twin torches, ignited into existence in two ethereal hands. That woman in the rose dress, holding them aloft. " Jump . Throw yourself off that balcony, or stay here, and burn for what you've done."
The Shadow's fearful eyes glittered with reflected flame. And he fell to his knees. "I..." He looked like a child, small and afraid, eyes brimming with grubby tears. "I lost. When you lose, you're nothing. You kids...aren't old enough to get that." And before anyone could say a word, he tossed the crown. That gilded thing, bouncing and rolling until it came to a stop in front of Mona. "You win. You get to take whatever you want from me. That's the way the world works."
Panther's breath shook, so furious that it was almost deafening. "Panther..." Mona was quiet for a moment. "If Kamoshida dies here, he'll lose his desires. Not just the distorted ones, but all of them. Even the desire to keep living. If that happens–" The not-a-cat cut himself off. "It's your call. Whatever you decide, I'll back you up."
Would Ren? He...he wasn't sure. He wasn't a murderer, he didn't want to be one, right? But if Ann was, would his opinion of her change? Would she still be his teammate, his friend?
And he took one look at Panther, at that fear and anger and pain rolling across her face, and his heart set. "Yeah," he said. "Same here."
Panther raised a hand, her palm towards Kamoshida. Her fingers curled around the air, and flame leapt from Carmen's grasp.
Ren flinched despite himself, and Ryuji's voice rang out. "Ann!"
The fireball slammed into the ground. Black scorch marks, smoke. Barely a foot from the Shadow's crumpled and whimpering form.
"I'm..." Panther lowered her hand. The flame faded. The remaining fireball snuffed. "Ryuji, I'm sorry." A shuddering breath escaped the girl. "I almost lost control, I..."
"It's not that," Skull protested. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look, it's like...I've got your back, if you wanna off this fucker. Not like he doesn't have it coming." Skull sent a murderous glare towards Kamoshida before turning back to her. "But if he dies, you might spend the rest of your life listening to people talking shit about you and Shiho both. That shit ain't right."
He smiled, soft but skewed. "You're my friend, you know? Yeah, he fucked up my life too, but not like changing his heart's gonna fix my leg. One thing it might fix is all those rumors. You deserve better than having that hanging over your head, both of you do."
Panther was quiet. Like she was taking all that in. And she turned back towards Kamoshida's Shadow. Blue flame, and her mask formed on her face, Carmen fading from view. "Don't think we're done here. You still need to answer for what you did. But at least I don't have to walk away from here with your scum blood on my hands." She swallowed, biting back what might have a sob. "Go back to reality, Suguru Kamoshida. Go back and tell everyone what kind of a man you are. Go back and tell them everything ."
4/23 – Saturday
After School
Shujin Academy, Rooftop
"When you said we should all meet up," Ryuji said, spinning a pencil on the desk, "I thought you meant to do, like, Phantom Thief stuff. Not study."
Ren shrugged. "I missed a few days of homework because of our infiltration. Don't wanna get kicked out of Shujin for bad grades."
Ann chewed absent-mindedly on her pencil, staring down at the worksheet in front of her. "Either of you remember how to solve for 'x' when there's still a 'y' in the equation?"
"You're gonna ruin your teeth," Ryuji teased.
She glared at him, taking the pencil out of her mouth. "You remember or not?"
Ryuji shook his head.
"Figures," Ann chuckled. "Hey Joker, you..." She paused, catching her own slip-up. "Sorry, Ren."
"I understand," he said, gaze tracing the same sentence over and over without recognition, "I can't stop thinking about it either." If he closed his eyes, he could see Arsene Dusk's blue flame dancing, burned into his memory like a particularly persistent sunspot.
"Okay." Ryuji dropped his pencil on the desk. "Can we, like, talk about what went down?"
Morgana popped his head out of Ren's bag, not saying a word but clearly as eager as the other two.
Ren sighed. He ran a hand through his hair – sort of greasy, he noticed, probably from forgetting to shower after the infiltration. He hadn't even bothered to change last night, just dragged himself up the stairs and collapsed into bed. "I don't know. I mean, sure, we can talk about it, but I don't understand what happened any more than you guys."
"I don't believe that," Ann said. "I know you can use multiple Personas, but each one is still part of you, right?" She brought her hand to her face, as if trying to touch her absent mask. "When I was in the Palace, it felt like Carmen was always there alongside me. I didn't need to say anything, she knew what I felt, and she responded to it."
"Yeah," Ryuji said, "and when I was kicking ass, Captain Kidd was always in my chest or whatever, hyping me up. And when he took a hit, I felt that hit too. So..." He trailed off, seemingly struggling to articulate his thoughts.
Ann picked up the slack. "You stopped using Arsene after I joined. Morgana said he was your first Persona, but besides for the night I got Carmen, I never saw you use him."
"And then," Ryuji butted in again, "he pops out of you all black and white and full of himself, and it didn't look like you could control him? What the hell was up with that!?"
"I don't know!" Ren said, perhaps a little too forcefully, he saw Ryuji and Ann both start at his tone. "Sorry, I...sorry. I don't know. When we went back to the Palace on Thursday, I...lost Arsene. I couldn't call him anymore, I don't know why. He wouldn't answer. It was like he wasn't there anymore, like he died..." Ren's voice cracked, and he took a deep breath before continuing. "Until we fought Kamoshida. Then he answered. But, it was like it wasn't even him, like it was a completely different person. He didn't even feel like my Persona, really. It was more like I was chained to him, holding him back or something." He shook his head. "So, I don't know, okay?"
Ryuji's hand on Ren's shoulder made him jump. "Yeah, dude, of course it's okay. I'm not trying to come down on you or whatever, just, I'm your friend and shit ya'know?"
Ren nodded, finding the edges of a smile creeping onto his lips. "Thank you." He placed a hand over Ryuji's, and the blond coughed.
"Annnnyway." He took his hand back, looking beyond sheepish – for whatever reason. "I gotta run, actually. Mom said she needed me to, uh, pick up some stuff for dinner." He snatched his notebook, stuffed it in his bag, and darted towards the roof door. "See ya later okay bye!"
Ann snickered. "Weirdo."
Ren chuckled, and nodded.
"Um..." She started, then stopped again. Ann frowned. "Just, like...it's okay if you can't, or don't want to tell us everything right now." She adjusted one of her hairbands, probably just looking for something to keep her hands busy. "If you want to keep something to yourself, I won't pry. But just don't lie to me, please."
Ren felt Morgana brush against his leg. "I..." He couldn't tell her. As much as it pained him to admit to himself, as much as he wanted someone else who bore this burden, he couldn't bring himself to tell her. There was too much to explain, too much he still didn't know or understand. Wouldn't it be easier to just lie, say he wasn't keeping secrets? Then she wouldn't...no, idiot, not a goddamn chance. "Thank you. There's parts of...all of this that I'm still figuring out. Once I do, once I understand what's going on, then I'll tell you everything. Ryuji too."
Ann nodded, and smiled. "That's okay by me." She put her elbow on the table, leaning over and putting one hand up. "Promise?"
"I promise," he said, and mirrored her, taking her hand. "And I won't lie to you."
"That's all I needed to hear."
Ann
Apparently, Kamoshida didn't show today.
He called in sick.
Ryuji
fuck right off
for real?
Ann
For real.
Ryuji
holy shit
i mean i hadnt seen him today but its not like ive been looking for the guy
thats like
good
right?
Ren
Morgana says it is
He's not 100% sure, but he's confident
It's very likely that Kamoshida's heart is in the process of changing
Ryuji
what kinda percent sure are we talking about then?
Ren
87
Ann
I'm fine with 87%.
Ren
He also says it'll take some time
If he hasn't confessed by next week, then we can get worried
Ann
Got it.
Thanks Morgana!
Ryuji
yeah yeah thanks too
back to normal teenager shit i guess
uh
anyone wanna hang out tonight?
Ann
Still studying.
Ren
Same
Ryuji
booooo
4/23 – Saturday
Evening
Cafe Leblanc
Ren groaned and smacked his forehead directly into the table, slightly crumpling the English worksheet he was halfway through filling out. "If I have to write another sentence about where I live or what my favorite color is," he grumbled, "I might scream."
Morgana chuckled, his front paws up on the table, tail flicking back and forth. "Well, I'm getting pretty restless myself. I think I'll go for a walk, wanna join me?"
He turned his head to the side, cheek against the table, watching Sojiro work. The man was struggling to multitask, between keeping an eye on the counter – where a fresh pot of coffee was brewing – and a stovetop pot, full of what smelled even from there like his signature curry. "You go ahead, I'm gonna see if Sojiro needs any help."
The feline hopped up on the table, stretching out his entire body and then each leg in turn. "M'kay. Catch you later Ren."
"Stay safe," Ren said. He patted Morgana's unreasonably fluffy head. "Don't get in any fights with stray cats or anything."
Morgana snorted. "Like I'd do something so stupid. I happen to be an expert at escaping dangerous situations."
"Ah, yes, like when you 'escaped' the cell in Kamoshida's palace," Ren teased.
Mona bopped him on the nose. He hopped off the table without another word and leapt as snootily as possible out the nearest window.
"I swear," Sojiro said with a chuckle, "sometimes that cat seems more like a teenager than you do, kid."
Ren shrugged. "Could I help you out with anything?"
He raised an eyebrow, stirring the pot of curry. "Shouldn't you be studying?"
"I've been studying all day," Ren said, "and I've got time."
Sojiro waved his hand dismissively, crossing from stovetop pot to countertop pot. "Sure, sure. Oh, and I still owe you for taking care of the cafe the other night, yeah? Come on, I'll teach you how to make coffee."
"Easy," Sojiro warned, "pour it nice and steady. The grounds should be at the bottom, you don't want those to – no no no, keep pouring. If you stop and go, it'll spill all over the counter."
Ren bit his lip and did his best to follow the man's instructions. The pot's handle was starting to dig into his hand, but he didn't dare adjust his grip, he didn't want to risk spilling the boiling hot liquid on himself. Or, worse, on Sojiro's counter.
"Atta boy!" Sojiro grinned, arms crossed, slowly nodding. "Get ready to stop pouring...now." Ren pivoted the pot back to level with as much grace as he could manage, which was thankfully enough to keep from spilling. "Cup's a little too full, not much room for milk or sugar. Next time you want to – you can put the pot back now, kid." Ren put the pot down onto its stand, massaging his aching hand. "Next time start easing off a little earlier, about half the angle? Then when it's time to stop pouring, you can just snap your wrist up. Got it?"
Ren nodded. "Got it."
"You picked up the technique pretty fast though, I'm impressed." Sojiro picked up the cup, breathing in the steam. "Anyone ever tell you that you're a fast learner?"
The ethereal smirk of a particular yellow-eyed bastard in the back of his mind. "Not that I can remember," Ren said, "guess it doesn't usually come up."
The cafe owner raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's a shame. You seem like a pretty bright kid, honestly." He took a loud sip of Ren's first cup of coffee. "Hm. You definitely over-stirred this, the flavor doesn't come out as strongly when you keep agitating it."
"I'm sorry," he said.
"What're you apologizing for, kid?" Sojiro chuckled. "I didn't expect you to ace this right off the bat. Everyone messes up their first few cups, that's part of learning." He took another stip. "Texture's pretty much perfect though. Not bad."
Ren couldn't help but smile. "You drink it black?" he asked.
Sojiro laughed again. "Sure do. With as much of this stuff as I drink every day, I'd give myself diabetes if I sweetened every cup." He stood, pushing the cup across the counter. "Gotta get back to my curry. If you're staying up late anyway, you should try your creation. Just don't drink too much, don't want you sleeping through the whole weekend."
Ren brought the cup to his lips, blew away the steam, and took a sip. It was indescribably bitter. And yet, he kind of saw what Sojiro enjoyed about it. There was a faint flavor there, underneath the bitterness. Ren took another sip.
4/25 – Monday
After School
Takemi Medical Clinic
Doctor Takemi seemed a bit impatient. She didn't even finish taking the blood pressure cuff off Ren's arm before shining a light in each eye and checking under his eyelids. "Blood pressure's on the high end of normal," she said, almost to herself, "but you look better rested. How's your stress?" She wheeled over to her computer and started to type away.
Ren shrugged. "About the same? School's still difficult, I'm...uh..." He trailed off, watching her type at an unreasonable speed, her eyes darting between his chart and the screen. "...managing?"
The computer toned out an error message, Takemi starting and then glaring at the screen before tapping the backspace key. "I wouldn't have been typing in the wrong field if you weren't so goddamn clunky," she grumbled.
"Should I–" Ren began, cut off by Takemi raising one finger, a signal to wait.
"You or your friend had any significant side effects on the A-slash-LL pills? Dizziness or light headedness, increased fatigue, stomach pains?"
Ren shook his head. "I got kinda dizzy after standing up too quickly a few days ago."
A quick glance his way. Clack clack clack. "Do you feel it's been effective at lessening your aches, cramping and/or lactic acid buildup after physical activity?"
Ren shrugged.
Takemi sighed. "On a scale of one to ten."
"Six?"
Clack clack clack. "Your friend still limping?"
"Less than he was, I think, but yeah."
Takemi nodded. "Seems about right. I started you off on pretty low-dose pills, since I wasn't sure how often you'd need to use them. But, if you're willing to take them exactly as I prescribe, then I'd be willing to give you something stronger."
"I promise," Ren said.
Takemi snorted. "A bit dramatic, but okay." She pulled open her desk drawer and fished out another orange-tinted bottle of pills. "These use a different catalyst than the A-slash-LL, your liver will use a lot more of the active ingredients instead of filtering them out. Also comes with a much lower risk of catastrophic liver failure, in case that was something you were worried about."
He hadn't been, but he couldn't help but be a little worried about it now.
"Don't take more than three tablets in a 24 hour span of time, you need to give me advanced notice before any X-rays, and if you eat any grapefruit you will regret being alive."
Ren nodded. Seemed reasonable enough.
"I'm not sure if you're taking any vitamin supplements at the moment, but you should stop. If you're worried about any deficiencies, let me know and I can find something that won't react–"
The phone rang, and both of them jumped. "Crap. I hoped they'd call later...excuse me a moment." She put down the pill bottle, cleared her throat, and picked up the receiver. "Doctor Takemi speaking." Pause. "Yes, thank you very much for getting back to me so soon." She turned to her computer screen, clicking away from Ren's file to another window, scrolling across some sort of list. "I understand you had some inquiries about Revivadrin? Yes, absolutely."
She bit her lip, thinking over something. "That particular medication is very time-consuming to produce, I have maybe a dozen vials currently in stock, but if you're planning on..." Takemi trailed off, her brow furrowing. "I'm not in the business of entering exclusivity contracts. I understand that, but I run my own clinic. Any working relationships as a supplier come second to ensuring my business runs smoothly and functions as it's supposed to. Which includes keeping all medication stocked, in the event that it's needed for one of my patients." Pause. "I'm very sorry you came to that assumption. If you change your mind about Revivadrin, you have my number." She hung up the phone. "Stuck up, arrogant, shit for brains–"
Ren interrupted her string of expletives. "What's Revivadrin?"
Takemi stared at him, either amused or irritated by his curiosity – Ren couldn't tell which. "It's a quick-acting mild resuscitation agent. It's for patients who are delirious or unconscious, but might have an averse reaction to adrenaline or are already in shock. Wakes them up and keeps them focused."
"You should get some!" came a feline whisper from Ren's bag. "If one of us gets knocked out by Shadows, or collapses from fatigue, it might be helpful."
Takemi glanced at the schoolbag by the boy's feet. "Uh...your bag is...meowing."
"Sorry, that's my ringtone," Ren said. "How much?"
It took Takemi a moment to process his question. "Normal 2'000 yen fee for the visit, and another 3'600 for the V/LL." She brought back up his file on the computer, and typed some notes near the bottom of the window.
"What about for the Revivadrin?"
Takemi stopped typing. "Kid, you're going to have to come up for one hell of a reason for needing a cardiac stimulant. And don't tell me it's for your exams or some bullshit like that, we're not talking about Ritalin here, this stuff is designed to jumpstart your whole nervous system."
Ren's brain spun in his skull, trying to formulate some sort of excuse, some sort of reason why it might make sense for him to need as potent medicine as that. "I...it's dangerous being a teenager in this day and age?"
She stared at him, stone-faced, before bursting out into laughter. "Alright, alright, I suppose you'd know better than me." She rolled a pen between her fingers. "You understand this is an informed consent clinic, right? Even if you walk in here high as a kite, the only thing I'm going to do is make sure my prescriptions don't react to whatever you're on. I'm obliged to disclose to the authorities if you tell me you're planning on hurting yourself or others, but that's it. You're aware of that?"
Ren nodded. She hadn't mentioned drugs previously, but the word "overdose" clicked in his mind. Pretty sensible reason why someone might need their nervous system kicked in the ass.
"Good," she said, and turned back to the computer. Fingers flying across the keys, she added another line to the notes on his file. "One shot of Revivadrin will put you back 18'000 yen. That okay by you?"
This time, it was Ren who needed a moment to process. "That's fine. Thank you."
4/26 – Tuesday
After School
Shibuya, Underground Shopping Mall
The music store, for a place that sold sound, was surprisingly quiet. The speakers in the ceiling had been turned down so low that Ren could barely make out an actual melody, let alone any words.
"Come on Ren," Ann said, "I don't want to have to keep waiting for your meandering ass." She turned her head to grin and stick her tongue out at him.
"Sorry, sorry," Ren said. He hurried to catch up with her, between the shelves of rock albums and a wall covered of vinyl records with exorbitant price tags. "There's...a lot."
"I getcha, just teasing." She plucked a CD off the shelf. "So, what do you normally listen to anyway?"
Ren shrugged. "Can't say I stick to only one genre, or artist. I just find stuff that appeals to me."
Ann laughed. "Oh yeah, that totally seems your style." She handed the album to Ren. "You listened to any of her?"
"Aizumi?" Ren said. "I don't think so."
"Well you should check her out," she replied. "I'm not really into rock – that's more Shiho's thing than mine – but I'm a fan of hers." Ann started humming as she scanned the shelves.
"What is your thing?" Ren asked, tucking the album under one arm. "Music wise, I mean."
Ann laughed. "Believe it or not, I actually just listen to soundtracks a lot. Stuff from movies or shows I like."
Ren nodded. "I believe it." Something clicked in his head, he wasn't sure what. "Any shows in particular?"
"Oh, older stuff mostly." She pulled an album out, frowned, and put it back. "Uh, Phoenix Ranger?"
"Isn't that still going? I dunno if it'd qualify as 'older.'"
"For your information," she said, raising a finger pointedly, "PRFR's been on the air for, like, forty years. I'd say that's more than a little bit old."
"Alright, alright." Ren raised his hands in surrender, almost dropping the album he was carrying.
"I started watching the sixteenth season when I was a kid," Ann continued, walking slowly, still looking over the shelf. "Back when they had the regular returning villains and everything, and didn't change everything for each new season."
"Oh, yeah, I remember that. I think I watched a few episodes when I was..." Returning villains. Ren's attention lapsed for a moment as memory smacked him in the face. "Wait, Panther."
Ann gave him an odd look. "I thought we weren't supposed to use code names in the real world."
"La Pantera."
Ann blanched. "Uh."
Ren couldn't help but grin. "You named yourself after a Phoenix Ranger villain?"
"No!" She scrunched up her face. "...yes."
"No kidding," Ren said. "Uh, any...particular reason why?"
"I just...!" Ann sighed, reaching up to adjust her ponytails, looking off to the side to avoid Ren's gaze. "I always thought she was so cool, when I was a kid, you know? She was strong, and proud, and fought to get what she wanted. The Phoenix Rangers beat her a lot, but she always managed to save herself, get out of trouble on her own. Guess that's what I felt like a rebel was."
"Well, it's a good name," he said. "And it fits you very well." What a rebel was, huh? What exactly did Ren think a rebel was? He wasn't really sure.
Ann stared at him for a silent second. "If you tell Ryuji," she said, "I'll shave your head in your sleep."
Despite the eccentricity of the threat, Ren felt legitimacy behind her words. "Yes ma'am."
She snickered, and turned her attention towards Ren's bag. "That goes for you too Morgana."
Ren felt the feline squirm his head out. "Your secret's safe with us, Lady Ann."
"Good." Ann reached over and scratched behind Morgana's ear. "And...thanks, Ren."
He smiled and nodded as Morgana's purring radiated across his side.
"Come on," she said, turning her attention back to the shelves. "Shiho's favorite band just released a new album, and I'm gonna make sure she can listen to it when she wakes up."
4/26 – Tuesday
Evening
Cafe Leblanc, Attic
It must have been past midnight when Morgana's voice drifted through the unlit room. "Ren, are you still awake?"
"Yeah," he said,
A pause. "I'm worried," Morgana said, finally.
"About Kamoshida, right?" Five days left until Ren and Ryuji's impending expulsion, and the coach hadn't as much as shown up to Shujin since they'd stolen his treasure.
"Yeah." He felt the feline adjust against his side. "We still don't know for certain if his heart was changed, and we're starting to run pretty short on time." The not-a-cat sighed. "He might end up having a mental shutdown."
"We knew that could happen," Ren replied. "And I'm not exactly going to be sorry for the bastard if it does. I know Ryuji and Ann feel similar."
"But you'll still be kicked out of Shujin," Morgana said.
And his probation would no doubt be revoked. Ren closed his eyes. "If that happens," he said, "I'll hide the parcels before I go."
Morgana was silent for a moment. "Why? Why not take them with you?"
"They're meant for Joker," he said. "Not me. I can't exactly be a Phantom Thief from juvie." He felt around in the dark and pet Morgana's head. "You can show Ann where I hid them. If she still wants to be a Phantom Thief after all this...I trust her with them."
"It won't be much of a team without you and Ryuji," Morgana said. "Well, mostly you."
Ren laughed. "You're still the wise and handsome leader, right? You two will do fine."
Morgana didn't answer, but Ren could feel him purring softly against his hand.
Credit to RabbitTankSparkling for indirectly inspiring the Kamoshida scene at the beginning of this chapter.
