5/21 – Saturday
After School
Near Shibuya
True to Morgana's description, the locked door in Madarame's shack was a near mirror of the enormous one in the Palace, though far darker and of course smaller, depicting a far less extravagant avian plume.
Click. Ren pulled the lock off the door. "You sure you're ready for this?" he asked.
Yusuke didn't look ready, not in the slightest. He looked rather like he was going to be sick. "Yes," he said. "No more pretending. I need to know."
"Don't dawdle," Morgana warned. He kept adjusting himself in his bag, anxiety no doubt keeping him from settling fully.
Ren took a deep breath. "Well, let's find out what Madarame's hiding, then." He pulled open the door.
The window behind them cast a beam of light into the cramped storage space, falling on very little of distinction. Ren instinctively scooted towards the right wall, feeling around for a light, momentarily jealous of Morgana's feline night vision. His fingers brushed against a switch and he flicked it.
The overhead lamp within that room buzzed to life. Wooden shelves against the left and right wall held a frankly unreasonable number of paintings, squashed together with reckless disregard. Some were even simply stacked on the ground, piles of finished canvasses left to gather dust. For a man with an apparent love for art, he sure did seem to treat it like trash.
"These," Yusuke said, almost breathlessly. "That...that's my painting."
Ren started. "It's what?"
Yusuke picked one of the paintings off the ground – a depiction of a star falling into a dark meadow – and brushed the dust off of it. "I painted this. Sensei...he said it was a good practice, but that I should try again instead of settling. Why...is this here?"
Ren's fingers curled into fists. He'd expected a stockpile of Madarme's work, kept hidden to reinforce the image of a man struggling to paint, but this? This was a new low. "I think he's planning on selling them. Maybe if you ever stop being his student, so he can still make money off your work. Off of you" The indescribably greedy bastard.
Yusuke just stared at the canvas. He looked stunned beyond words. Too stunned to weep, though Ren saw his eyes well with tears.
Ren wanted to comfort Yusuke, but he forced himself to focus on the task at hand. There was a canvas against the far wall, covered by a cloth sheet – that looked as good a place as any to leave a calling card. It was in full view of the door, after all. Ren took hold of the sheet and slid it off.
The sight of a woman in a red dress, black hair and a somber expression chilled his bones. "Yusuke," he said. He couldn't keep the fury out of his voice. "I think you should see this."
Ren heard Yusuke drop the canvas he'd been holding. "Sayuri," he said. No other words left his lips. The so-called stolen painting, hiding away in Madarame's storage space. Stifled.
"No way," Morgana muttered from inside Ren's bag. "He said it was stolen, but he's had it this whole time?"
Ren pulled the card from his pocket and placed it on the stand in front of Sayuri. "Come on," he said. "We should go, before Madarame comes back."
Yusuke nodded but said nothing. What was there for him to say? His whole world shattered, what words could he have found? Ren took a deep breath. Okay. No time to linger on pain. There was a heart still needing to be changed.
Yusuke followed Ren silently out of the shack, around the block, like some sort of empty machine.
"You locked the door, right?" Ren asked.
Yusuke nodded.
"I don't know if you and Madarame, uh, like text each other? But if you do, you should let him know that you're heading out. I invited you to an arcade, and you'll be back later."
Yusuke pulled out his phone and began to type.
"So," Morgana whispered from inside Ren's bag, "we send Yusuke to Shibuya and head into the Palace?"
Ren took a long look at the young man, at the dazed expression across his face, at the defeated droop of his shoulders. "I don't want to leave him alone," Ren muttered back. "Ryuji and Ann can handle themselves, I'd rather make sure Yusuke is somewhere safe first."
"Somewhere safe?" The feline let out a little thoughtful hum. "Like Leblanc?"
Ren blinked. "Huh. Yeah, that actually sounds like a really good idea."
Yusuke raised his gaze. "Did you say something, Ren?"
He almost jumped at the boy's sudden ability to speak again. "Oh! Uh, no, just talking to myself. Sorry."
"Ah," Yusuke said. He looked back down at his phone, and frowned. "That's odd."
"What is it?" Ren's heart almost skipped a beat at the thought of some unforeseen complication. "Something with Madarame?"
"No, not at all." Yusuke tapped at his cell's screen. "I simply don't remember downloading this app."
Ren deflated. He was about to chastise the young man for scaring him like that, but...his words caught on something in Ren's mind. "Yusuke. Weird question, but that app you don't remember downloading; does have an icon that looks sort of like a red and black eye?"
"Oh!" Yusuke exclaimed. "It's an eye, I see. I thought it was some sort of star–"
Morgana burst out of his bag, paws on Ren's shoulder, causing him to jump. "A Meta-Nav!?"
Yusuke jumped as well. "A cat!?"
"Shh!" Ren demanded, and both cat and young man quieted immediately. "Sorry, just...give me a sec to think." Well, of all the inexplicable developments that could have occurred, this was probably the most welcome. But...this did make the plan a little more complicated. Ren hadn't yet seen a cognitive version of Yusuke in the palace, so there was no telling if the young man could help them at all. But he couldn't risk Yusuke accidentally wandering into Madarame's Palace and getting hurt, or worse. "Yusuke," he said, finally. He extended his right hand to him. "Would you like to change Madarame's heart with us?"
Yusuke stared down at Ren's hand, then at Ren. "What...exactly, are you asking me?"
"We're taking him with us?" Morgana asked. "That's really dangerous, he could slow us down or–"
"If," Ren cut him off, "you agree to it, then I could take you with me." It wasn't only Yusuke's approval he was asking for, and he hoped Morgana would understand the implication. "I can't say for sure right now, but having you with us would probably help us a great deal. I'm not asking you to join the Phantom Thieves, but..."
Yusuke nodded. "I'll do it." He grabbed Ren's hand, and Ren started. "If I can help further, I will. Whatever you need from me."
Morgana sighed from Ren's shoulder. "Well, guess that's that." Ren felt a small paw against his cheek. "I'm not letting you put me on babysitting duty, though."
5/21 – Saturday
After School
Madarame's Palace
It was a little difficult trying to blindly navigate through the winding pathways between the gaps of Madarame's cognition. Up to a certain point was familiar, of course, but Skull and Panther had opened up a new tunnel, which meant a new bout of odd twists and turns that made Ren feel rather disoriented. The flashlight app on his phone worked, thankfully, and that made the journey far easier than it had any right to be.
"You holding up okay, Yusuke?" he called over his shoulder.
Silence. "Ah, right, um," the young man replied, "I am holding a thumb up. You cannot see it, because it is dark."
Ren laughed. "Gotcha. Good to hear, thanks."
"Keep your eyes forward, Joker," Mona grumbled from somewhere behind Yusuke. "I don't want us getting lost in these tunnels."
"I'll be careful," Ren said.
It thankfully wasn't long before Ren was found the door to the new Safe Room. He closed the app, pocketed his phone, and slowly pushed the door open. The soft neon glow of artificial light from the Safe Room nearly blinded him.
"Yo!" came Skull's voice from somewhere within. "Nice to see you finally showing up, Joker."
"Sorry for the delay." Ren stepped into the room – eyes not quite adjusted yet – and shook some of the dust off his coat. "I had to make a few unexpected adjustments. Nothing too drastic, I think. We should be able to proceed as planned."
Panther laughed. "Guess it was nothing our leader couldn't...handle..." Her voice trailed off. "Joker. What the fuck."
"Oh, uh," Ren said, "Yusuke's going to be joining our infiltration." He blinked his way into a clear vision of Panther seated on the Safe Room table and Skull leaning against the far wall, both staring at Yusuke with slack jaws.
"Hello," Yusuke said. "It's Ryuji and Ann, yes?" Before either could respond, he continued: "If I might say, Miss Ann, your outfit is phenomenal! That rose pattern, the contrast of red against black, with that little dash of green to complete the aesthetic; you have excellent taste."
Panther laughed, seeming almost involuntary. "Thanks?"
"Ouch," Skull muttered, "insulted by proxy."
"Ah, um," Yusuke added, "well, I think you look quite dashing as well, Ryuji." He squinted at Skull, forming a frame with his fingers. "That ascot is a wonderful flair."
Skull waved a hand, but Ren thought he saw the slightest of blushes beneath his mask. "Hey, no worries, dude." Then, he started. "Wait, no no no, why are you here!?"
"I..." Yusuke seemed lost for words.
"I invited him," Ren cut in. "I don't know why, but he has a Metaverse Navigator. There's a chance he'd end up in the Palace by accident anyway, so we might as well keep him safe. Plus, there's always a chance he could help us out here."
"He is Madarame's son, after all," Panther mused.
Mona pushed past Yusuke and hopped up on the table next to Panther. "Well, for now, he should stay here in the Safe Room." He shook himself off, then began to paw at his ears, brushing away some lingering dirt. "The Shadows won't find him here, and I don't like trying to fight while protecting him."
"I could fight as well," Yusuke offered. "I...I don't know much, but I've taken kendo training. I'm not defenseless."
Skull shook his head. "Sorry dude, kendo ain't enough. Without a Persona, you can't do shit against the Shadows in here."
Yusuke's hands balled into fists. He looked desperate, trying to come up with some excuse, some reason, something that would convince them to take him with. To not leave him behind. "Please," he said, finally. "Please, let me help."
Mona sighed, seeming to soften at the young man's tone. "Joker, it's your call."
Ren didn't want to leave Yusuke. But it was worrying, the thought of placing the guy in greater danger, putting him in harm's way. If Ren couldn't protect him...he didn't want to think about that. There wasn't room for doubt. It would help if Yusuke could defend himself though. Maybe Ren could give him his pistol, or...he blinked. "Hold on a sec." Ren opened his bag and rifled through the contents. He should have kept in here, somewhere, he didn't remember removing it...ah! He pulled a small knife out of his bag, the same one that had manifested in his hand when he donned Arsene's power for the first time.
"Oh!" Mona said. "That's the knife you awakened with, isn't it?"
Ren nodded. "Yep." He flipped it around in his hand, holding it by the blade and extending the handle to Yusuke. "Here. It's not much, but it still should have some power. Better than nothing."
Yusuke took the knife with a reverent expression. "Thank you. I will treasure it."
Ren laughed. "Alright, group up. Let's get everyone up to speed."
Skull and Panther had described the surrounding area of the Palace as some sort of studio, or back room. The description hadn't prepared Ren, and his very first sight reignited his fury towards the vain master of the Palace.
A long room stretched between the Thieves and their goal, an enormous space that seemed almost miles long. There was a single path, flanked on either side by dozens upon dozens of what appeared to be art studios within human-sized cages. Exhausted cognitions toiled away at paintings and sculptures, at looms or desks, silent and obedient and dedicated to their tasks.
"I know it's awful," Ren said to Yusuke, who was staring into one of the cages with an horrified, pained expression on his face. "We need to keep moving, though."
"I know her," he said. "Her name is Miyuki." Yusuke put his hand against the cage, watching the cognitive girl paint, watching her sisyphean work. "She..." His voice caught. "She died. They said it was fatigue, that she'd overworked herself."
Ren had to force himself to breathe, to speak normally and not simply scream a single furious note until his lungs bled. "It's not her, here. It's just how Madarame remembers her. We–"
"Can't stay," Yusuke finished. "I know. I'm sorry." There was a newfound stoicism in his voice, a layer of determination Ren hadn't heard from him before. "Lead and I will follow...Joker."
"Thank you," Ren said, and smiled. "Let's go." He turned to catch up with the rest of the Thieves, and found them standing still in the center of the walkway. "Guys? What's the..." Then he saw it too. He saw him too.
"The Phantom Thieves, I presume," the Shadow of Madarame said. All pretense of humility had been abandoned, his kimono here was pure gold, his hair was wrapped in a single long ponytail and his eyes shone a cold yellow hue. "You have a lot of guts to storm into my museum. You seem to have forgotten who owns this world." He snapped his fingers, and the overhead lights appeared to flicker. Darkness swarmed across the walls and the floor, and then peeled off, and shadows became Shadows. The Thieves, surrounded in an instant.
"Crap!" Skull pulled out his shotgun, glancing in every direction.
"Back to back!" Ren commanded. Both Skull and Panther jumped to his side, Yusuke stumbling to join them. But Mona stalled. The feline stared at Madarame's Shadow, his head slightly tilted, sword down. "Mona? What's–"
"The Treasure," Mona said, in a quiet voice. "He's got it. Madarame has the Treasure."
"What?" Panther whirled towards the Palace's owner. "Where is it?"
Mona shook his head. "I don't know, but...I can smell it on him! I know it's there!"
Madarame's Shadow smirked. "What on earth could you be talking about?" he asked in a mocking tone, feigning ignorance. "Treasure? What treasure?"
Out of pure instinct, Ren's offhand flew to his pocket, and his fingers closed around the pair of broken glasses Yu had given him. He raised them to his face. The one lens might have been cracked, but through it, Ren could clearly see Madarame. His form was dark, distorted, and there was some immense...thing, behind him. But Ren's attention was drawn instead to the Shadow's kimono, to the outline of a shimmering golden rectangle against Madarame's chest. "Mona's right," he said, and pocketed the glasses again. "Our calling card must have been more effective than we thought. Madarame brought his Treasure with him, hidden in his kimono."
The Shadow scoffed. "Oh, so clever, little thief. Not that it'll do you any good." He waved a hand, and his underlings tightened their circle around the Thieves.
"We've gotta break through!" Mona said. "It's now or never, we can end this right now!"
Now or never, huh? As his teammates readied themselves to fight, Ren raised a hand to his mask. Was this enough for him? Enough of an opportunity, enough of a bounty? The response was thunderous, a pulse of joy and bloodlust that washed over Ren like a tidal wave. This was more than enough. "Panther," Ren said. "Grab Yusuke. Keep him safe, both of you get behind one of those cages and sit tight. Skull, I want you on damage control, keep the small fry down and out of my way. Mona, get ready to rush Madarame and grab the treasure."
"Well shit," Skull said, and Ren heard both anxiety and excitement in his tone. "That time again, huh?"
"What's going on?" Yusuke asked.
"You'll see," Panther said, and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Ready, Joker."
"Ready, Joker," Mona echoed, at Ren's side, tensing to rush towards the Palace ruler.
Ren grabbed hold of his mask. "Descend," he commanded, "Arsene Dusk!" And azure flame eclipsed the world. Ren felt the anchor around his heart, the chains binding Arsene to him, felt it strain as the monstrous pillager manifested. Black bat wings burst from the blue inferno.
And Arsene laughed. It was haunting, deafening, Ren felt that laughter echo in his bones. "Greetings," the great thief said, "Azazel."
The flame cleared, and Ren watched the Shadow Madarame's lips curl back around his teeth. "Careful–" Ren tried to say, but the words were knocked out of his mouth by a particularly sharp pull of the anchor in his chest.
"You should have more confidence in me, Joker," Arsene said, his tone low and warning. "I am aware of the item that demon clutches to his chest. Worry not; I will cut out his heart without so much as scratching the Treasure."
Ren grit his teeth. "Go ahead. I'll give you everything I've got!"
Arsene laughed again, bellowing his amusement. "Very well!" He released his cane, letting it float in midair, and extended one claw, black sparks crackling between his talons.
"Shadow, incoming!" Skull shouted. A blur of yellow from the corner of Ren's vision, and he turned to see a huge Shadow like yellow grizzly barreling towards him.
Arsene sighed. "Miserable insects," he muttered. And he raised his other hand, a blue sphere sparking into existence, warbling some unstable melody. "Megidolaon." He crushed the sphere. Ren's ears popped. His vision went white for a single instant. The yellow Shadow froze in front of him. Then, it broke. Like sugar in water, it seemed to dissolve, to break apart and then simply cease. The Thieves were no longer surrounded; the Shadow guards had been utterly obliterated. Most of the cages were wrecked too, the wire walls compressed or torn or simply crushed completely, cognitions either gone or scrambling to escape.
"Dude," came Skull's voice, breaking through a faint tinnitus. "I don't think I'm ever gonna get tired of seeing you kick ass like that."
Arsene once again focused his attention on Madarame. "Now then, Azazel, where were we? Ah, yes! Assassination." The sparks across his palm intensified, and he snapped his fingers.
All light in the room dimmed at once. And Madarame was engulfed by a shrieking burst of unholy energy, a dark torrent that blocked him from view completely.
"Is he down?" Panther shouted over the din.
The horrid sound quieted, and the lights overhead flickered back on, perfectly illuminating the unharmed Madarame, who was in the process of digging his pinky into his ear. "Are you quite done?" he asked, distain clear in his voice.
"He resisted it?" Mona wondered.
Arsene merely growled, his entire right arm tensing. His hand began to glow, a soft orange engulfing his digits. "Riot," he said. And the glow left his talons as a bolt like lightning, straight towards the Shadow.
Then, Ren saw it. Madarame pulled something – a paintbrush – out of the sleeve of his kimono and swept it across the air. It was a quick motion, practically instantaneous, but still was barely finished by the time the bolt reached him. A flash, a sound like thunder, and Ren blinked to see Madarame, still untouched. "A barrier," Ren whispered, realizing only as he spoke how hoarse his voice had become.
He could feel the fury and bloodlust radiating off Arsene in equal measures. "A clever trick, Azazel." Arsene took his cane in both hands, unsheathing its hidden blade. "But how many walls can you erect? And how quickly?" The Persona laughed. "Let us dance."
Ren didn't see Arsene moved, but he felt it, felt the blade clash against yet another barrier, then another. Flashes of steel, black wings flickering across reality, and Madarame's brush swept back and forth to match each one. Ren's head spun, his legs gave out and he dropped to his knees, breathing hard. A faint green glow, Mona's worried mewling, but he couldn't make out words. He could feel the blade slowing, feel Arsene's arms beginning to tire, feel the exhaustion pull Ren's heart taught against his chest.
"I do believe," the Shadow of Madarame said, "that you have nothing left."
Arsene above him, wings drooping, the Persona near motionless in the air. His blade practically slipping out of one limp claw.
"A shame," Madarame continued. "I was almost starting to work up a sweat." And he laughed. "Begone, ugly thing." He flicked the brush like he was shooing a fly, and Arsene shattered.
Ren heard the crack in his chest before the pain reached him. He had no breath left with which to scream. He tasted blood. His vision swam with green, and started to fade into black. Vaguely, through it all, he thought of Ryuji. Simply the boy's face. Some sort of hope he could not put to words.
"That's enough!" And a fair voice cut through the haze.
Ren gasped, and his vision cleared. His chest hurt. He was alive. His chest hurt very badly. He was alive.
"You...stupid..." Mona panted, standing in front of Ren, his black fur slick with sweat, a chartreuse aura around his paws. "Making me...worry."
"We're not letting you up and die on us," Panther added, her own green-glowing hands on Ren's shoulder, mask flickering across her face as she channeled Carmen's healing magic. "Not a chance."
Ren opened his mouth to apologize, purely by instinct, and someone shoved a small tablet between his lips. "Swallow," Skull ordered from his left.
He swallowed. Almost immediately, the sharp agony faded, diminishing into merely a dull ache. Then, Ren remembered Madarame and his gaze shot up.
Yusuke was standing between Ren and the Shadow of his own father, facing Madarame, both hands wrapped around the hilt of the knife Ren had given him."I won't let you hurt them," he said. And Ren heard the fear in his voice.
"Yusuke, Yusuke, Yusuke." Madarame shook his head, a wicked smile on his lips. "What makes you think you can stop me?"
Yusuke held his ground. He said nothing, and he did not move.
Madarame's expression soured. "Pathetic boy," he grumbled. Then, his tone became mocking. "Are they your friends, Yusuke? Do you love them? Do they love you?" Madarame laughed. "Seems the apple doesn't far fall from the tree. And here I thought I could have weaned you of your mother's pathetic inclinations."
Yusuke lowered the knife, ever so slightly. "What are you..."
"Toshiko stood against me too, did you know that?" Madarame stroked his chin. "I put up with her lifestyle when we were in school together, I would cover for her each and every time she would sneak back into the dorms after galavanting around with some woman or other." The Shadow spat. "And yet, when I told her – as her friend – where that sort of behavior would leave her? She laughed in my face." He sneered. "And look where she is now. Exactly where I said she'd be: burning in–"
"Shut up," Yusuke said. A cold chill down Ren's spine at the tone of his voice, at the unmitigated fury dripping off every word. "You dare to pretend you were ever her friend? That you were ever my father!? You dare to say her name with your vile fucking lips!?" A silence, Madarame's Shadow staring at Yusuke in shock. Then, the young man laughed, a frigid sound. "I see the truth, finally. My eyes are clear: I know you for the bastard that you are. And know this, Ichiryusai, I will never rest until I have buried you as you buried her!"
Have you finally come to your senses?
The young man stiffened completely. Yusuke's posture rigid, he did not so much shudder as convulse, mumbling some horrid cry through chattering teeth.
Ren tried to call out to him, but he could not find the words, could not find the breath.
How foolish you were to assume you could avert your eyes from the truth. Will you forsake yourself once more? Will you abandon your passion for a chance at safety?
"You know...my answer..." Yusuke said, his voice so very strained.
A cold laughter. Very well. Let us forge a contract.
Blood dripped onto the floor from between Yusuke's fingers, the knife's hilt digging into his palms.
I am thou, thou art I. This world is twisted and wicked, but you have found that which is worth protecting with thine own life.
Ren could see his own breath. Frost skittered across the floor, forming with enough force to crack and splinter the concrete.
It is your hand that will guide the blossom of your heart. It is your blade that will cut down those that threaten your beauty!
Yusuke looked over his shoulder at Ren. His face was...no, not his face, his mask, the visage of a fox resting on his features. Then, he turned back towards Madarame's Shadow. "Bellow," he said," Goemon!"
For an instant, all heat left Ren's limbs. His hands numbed, every muscle in his body froze at once. Then, he felt strangely warm. It filled him up, this odd comfort. He became acutely aware that, despite the heavy snow now inexplicably falling within the hallway of cages, the Thieves were not so much as chilled. Frost in every direction, but not an inch of it near them, as if unable to cross some invisible circle drawn around the quartet.
"Panther," Ren said,"is this...?"
She shook her head. "It's not me."
"Yusuke?" Skull called.
Ren squinted into the snowfall, trying to make out where Yusuke was standing. He could see only his faint outline.
"You can leave this to me," Yusuke said, "Phantom Thieves. This time, I'll protect you."
And the snow stopped falling. Ren saw, clearly, the young man standing before him. The Thief in the fox mask, the collar of his dark jacket popped, a fluffy tail clipped onto the back of his belt. A sheathed sword held in one hand where previously he had clutched Ren's knife.
"Sensei..." Yusuke began. "No, Madarame." He slowly unsheathed his sword, the cold steel shining brilliantly in the snow-covered hall. "I cast off the yoke you have shackled me with. I will no longer obey your teachings. Not now. Not ever!"
The Shadow Madarame scoffed. "Did you learn nothing boy? How can you hope to–" He held his brush aloft as he spoke, surely preparing to paint another barrier into existence. And the brush snapped. No, not snapped, it was cleaved, cut in one clean motion, leaving only a dull stick in Madarame's hand.
"I'm sorry," Yusuke said, and brushed a bit of wood fiber off the end of his blade. "I know how you hate being interrupted, and yet I seem to have cut you off." He pointed the katana at Madarame. "Please, continue. What is it I cannot hope to do?"
Ren watched the Shadow's expression curl in on itself, a fury reaching a boiling point. "Guards!" Madarame shrieked. And from four separate points on the ground, the snow exploded. A quartet of raven-winged winged Shadows rose, each with a pointed mask like a beak and a scroll around their necks.
"Watch it!" Skull shouted from behind Ren, and he felt the boy tense to fight.
"No need," Yusuke said, plainly. "Goemon, if you please?" And Ren saw Yusuke's Persona then, a towering kabuki in blue and red, taking a deep breath from a four-foot-long pipe. Goemon lowered the pipe and exhaled, a billowing cloud of white bursting from his lips, engulfing the Shadows before they had a chance to move. When that cloud cleared, there were not so much four Shadows as four ice sculptures, flash-frozen avians standing in stunned stasis.
"Shit," Skull said, and let out a low impressed whistle.
"Shit," Panther muttered, "Madarame got away." The man had vanished, no doubt fleeing as soon as he'd summoned his guards.
"It's fine," Ren said. He glanced towards Yusuke, towards the young man with the black coat and fox mask, and he couldn't help but smile. "This is a win for us."
5/21 – Saturday
Evening
Shibuya Diner
Yusuke was mostly quiet throughout the meal, staring into his salad as if questioning the lettuce's purpose for existence.
"Are you–" Ren began, but the young man cut him off.
"I'm so sorry Ren!" He clapped his hands together and bowed his head, almost dipping his forehead into some lingering ketchup on an empty plate. "If I had only come to my senses earlier, you wouldn't have been hurt. I am so deeply, truly sorry."
"No no no," Ren hurriedly said. "Yusuke. You saved my life. You've got nothing to be sorry for."
Yusuke straightened up again, a sheepish look on his face. "I still...feel quite bad." He paused. "I think I might have turned your knife into a sword, also. Sorry."
Ren shrugged. "It's not like I was using that thing anyway."
"Cheer up, Yusuke!" Ryuji said, seated next to Ren. "All's well that ends well." He grabbed Ren by the shoulders and pulled him into an awkward seated embrace.
A sharp pain from his sore abdomen. "Ow!" Ren squeaked.
"Oh!" Ryuji instantly broke the embrace. "Shit, sorry bro."
"It's 'kay," he replied, trying to breathe through the pain as it dulled into a faint ache. "Ow."
Morgana poked out of Ren's bag, putting his paws up on the table. "Well," he said, "it's not all good news. Arsene was our trump card up until now, but..." He hesitated, as if realizing how his words might affect Ren.
Arsene wasn't infallible. Powerful, but not omnipotent. Ren had always figured the thief would have his limits, but to have it thrown in his face like that? It made him feel deeply, unfathomably powerless. Maybe if Ren had been stronger, if he had possessed some additional wealth of stamina, Arsene could have lasted long enough to land a lucky blow or break through Madarame's defense. But, maybe not.
Ann broke the silence. "I think it's okay. We've got a new teammate now, after all." She grinned. "And he can kick some major ass!"
Yusuke turned and gave her a confused look. "Are you...asking me to join the Phantom Thieves?"
"Uh, I mean," Ann stuttered, "I sort of assumed you'd want to join, considering everything, but I totally understand–"
He shook his head. "No, no, I mean..." Yusuke's gaze swept across the four Thieves. "You would have me? As a teammate?"
Ren couldn't help but laugh, even as his bruised ribs protested. "Yusuke, we'd be honored to have you."
Morgana nodded. "We were kind of lacking in refinement anyway," a pointed glare towards Ryuji, "so a gentleman like you would be a perfect addition to the team."
Ryuji didn't notice the feline's verbal jab. "Hey, you showed you've got crazy guts when it counts. That's good enough for me."
Yusuke seemed at a lost for words. "I am in your debt," he said, finally. "For this...for everything." His eyes were brighter and warmer than Ren had ever seen before. "I will do everything in my power to repay the life you've returned to me."
"There's no debts here," Ren said. "We're friends. And we'd do it all again."
Yusuke smiled. And then, he was crying. "I'm sorry," he said, wiping at his face with the back of his hand, stifled sobs between breaths, "I'm sorry."
"Hey," Ryuji said, his voice so soft, so kind. "It's all good dude, let it out."
Ann gently patted Yusuke's shoulder. "You don't have anything to be sorry for."
Ren didn't know much what to say, so he just reached over the table and placed his hand over Yusuke's. The table's edge dug into his ribs, but he stayed there. For Yusuke's sake. For his friend.
