9/18 – Sunday
Afternoon
Untouchable Airsofts
This was a colossally, indescribably, entirely stupid fucking idea. Absolutely idiotic. Harebrained beyond hope of description. "Excuse me," Ren said, standing in front of the counter, in front of the man that Ryuji had intermittently described as 'sketchy,' 'terrifying' and 'a pretty rad guy.'
Iwai lowered the magazine he was reading, and raised an eyebrow. "Huh. If it isn't Ryuji's boyfriend, finally showing his face around here again." Ah. Right, Ryuji did say he'd tell the man about the two of them. Iwai straightened up, folding the magazine and putting it aside. "Ren, wasn't it?"
Ren nodded. "I was wondering if you could help me out with something. I found a picture online, and the guy who posted it says it's an airsoft gun, but I've never seen one like it." A majority of the guns in Untouchable – minus the few Ryuji had customized himself, and the handful of science fiction replicas – were mimicries of real firearms. There was a high likelihood that the pistol he'd received from the parcel had been similarly replicated. And if that was the case, Iwai would probably know about it. "Would you mind taking a look?"
Iwai raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Sure, kid. Lemme see."
Ren pulled up the photo he'd taken earlier that day and handed his phone across the counter.
The store owner adjusted his hat, squinting at the cell. A chuckle bubbled out of the man, and he glanced up at Ren for a moment. "Whoever said it's airsoft is either an idiot or a liar."
Ren blinked, trying to keep himself from sweating. "How do you figure?"
Iwai put the phone down on the counter, motioning to the barrel of the firearm. "The slide here is a different part than the body, probably custom-made. Companies like putting their names on their products, but that slide is smooth – looks like it's customized in some other ways, probably to limit recoil or prevent jamming. The guys who replicate guns this accurately don't do minor mods like that. Depending on who you ask, it's either taboo or sloppy. If you wanna make a high quality pistol like that, you go 1-to-1 or do your own unique thing."
Ren nodded slowly, trying to keep up with the man's quick-paced logic. "Do you know what kind of gun it is? Like, the model?"
"Why's a kid like you need to know that?" Iwai asked.
"Curiosity," Ren replied, instantly.
Iwai snorted out a laugh. For a moment, Ren was eclipsed with a concern the man would throw him out of the store, or worse. Not that he much expected Iwai to call the cops on him, but it was always a possibility. Always a risk, always a looming threat in the back of Ren's brain. One slip up... "Looks German," Iwai said, finally. "Minus the slide, probably P230. Got discontinued a while ago, but some prefectures still hand 'em out to cops."
A police handgun? But it was customized, that couldn't possibly be allowed for an officer. Oxymoron had given it to Ren, did that mean it was her who had customized it? Why? If he was meant to use it, what difference would that sort of alteration make with a single bullet?
Iwai snapped his fingers, and Ren jolted back to reality. "Sorry," he mumbled, "uh, got distracted."
"No kidding," the man chuckled. He handed Ren's phone back. "Tell you what, kid. If you can find out more 'bout that gun from whoever posted it, I'll see if I can't track down a good replica for you. On the house."
Ren blinked. "You sell fake guns," he said, "why do you want to know so much about a real one?"
Iwai laughed again. "Curiosity," he replied.
9/18 – Friday
Evening
Crossroads Bar
"I heard the cops have been combing Shujin for the Phantom Thieves," Ohya said, as soon as Ren sat down. "You hanging in there?"
Ren nodded. "Can't say it doesn't suck, but I'm managing. Fingers crossed they'll be done soon."
"Fingers crossed," Ohya agreed. She slipped the curtain closed, and then steepled her fingers against the table. "I don't want to get my hopes up, but you wouldn't happen to have brought any more juicy info about the Thieves' next target?"
He shook his head. "Sorry. I haven't heard much, and the site's been busy but not that many changes of heart."
"Yeah, that sounds about right." Ohya leaned back in her seat, letting out a long sigh. "I'm not trying to put pressure on you – or them, I guess – but you know what kind of picture that paints, right? Thieves going silent as mental shutdowns are on the rise." She ran a hand through her hair, sighing out a breath. "Not a very pretty headline."
"I know," Ren said, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice. Not like he really had an excuse for that. It'd been almost two weeks before they'd even stepped into Mementos, let alone hinted towards their next target. Okumura's heart took priority, but the silence was definitely putting more pressure on Mishima than she deserved.
Ohya just shrugged, breaking into a little smile. "But then again, I've done a whole lot with a ton less. I'll probably be able to spin that into something believable." She glanced towards the ceiling, humming in the back of her throat. "What do you think about pointing to the lulls in Thief activity before the previous changes of heart? A longer pause must mean something big on the horizon, something like that."
Ren blinked. Oh. Okay. That was true, and it made logical sense, even if the infiltration process itself was hardly common knowledge. It seemed...sellable. "Yeah, that sounds pretty good."
"Alright." Ohya grinned, cracking her neck. "That's probably not enough for a full article though. But throw out some speculation about Medjed, a bit of fact-checking on that kid detective's latest spiel..." She nodded, almost to herself. "Yeah. Yeah I can stretch that into an op-ed."
"Hm," he said. As much as Ren appreciated Ohya's expertise, he couldn't help but feel just a little unnerved by the way she treated something this careful, this important. "It almost sounds like you're planning another tabloid article."
She smiled at him, but there was something a little less polite about it. "I just know how to get people's attention. Sometimes just a little underhandedness goes a long way towards getting eyeballs on a good cause." Ohya shrugged. "You need more boots on the ground, right? More people rooting for the Thieves. Can't do that if no one ever sees their side of the story."
"You can't sell it, either," Ren shot back.
Ohya just chuckled. "Kid, the fact that I have a financial stake in this is the reason you should trust me."
"I'm pretty sure it's the reason I shouldn't." Ren wouldn't budge. He refused. He fucking refused.
"No one ever does anything for free." She sighed in a distinctly condescending way. "If they don't look like they're profiting, that just means they're doing it under the table."
Ren thought of the Thieves, of his friends, of the people who'd put their lives on the line over and over again to help others. His hands tightened against the table. "What about me, then? You think I've found a way to profit under the table from helping the Thieves?"
Ohya laughed. Ren probably could have punched her if it wouldn't have gotten him arrested again in a heartbeat. "You're basically an outlier. Kids like you can get away with a whole lot of caring without having to worry about paying the bills."
He couldn't stifle the scoff that bubbled out of him, not that he even wanted to. "Or maybe you're just trying to pretend everyone's like you so you don't have to feel bad about it."
She blinked at him, eyebrows raised. Silence fell between them, she did not speak and he did not budge. Then Ohya smiled, a little. "Anyone ever tell you that, for a stupidly polite kid, you can be a real asshole sometimes?"
"Once." He scooted towards the edge of the seat and pulled back the curtain. "And I still kept my promise. I still helped her."
9/19 – Monday
After School
Okumura's Palace
Panther made a little sound in the back of her throat, leaning back against one of the makeshift barricades. "Gotta say, feels pretty weird to be filling in a new Thief on all our plays and not having to come up with a codename for them."
Noir giggled, sitting cross-legged between Queen and Skull, with Mona in her lap. "I'm thankful Mona had the patience to figure mine out with me. Otherwise, we'd all be stuck here for a lot longer." She ran her fingers across the cat's head as she did, and the resulting purr almost echoed through the Palace's entrance.
"I understand," Queen said, smiling softly. "It was a struggle to settle on mine, as well. Coming up with ideas is always a difficult thing."
"Try too many ideas," Mona said, in between purrs. "I think Noir had...something like ten that...all sounded good."
The young woman in question laughed a little sheepishly. "Guilty as charged."
"Hey, uh," Ryuji said, "I'm kinda curious: why 'Noir?' That's like that detective shit, right?"
"The French word for 'black,' assigned most often to the genre for its morally ambiguous tones," Fox added. "But perhaps Noir here is in reference to her Persona?"
"Milady de Winter is French in origin," Noir confirmed, "but Skull's guess is actually closer." Her eyes seemed distant, unfocused. "I'd prefer to act as a heroine of justice, like the characters I admired as a child, but I can't help but admit that the Phantom Thieves – and now myself – operate on the darker side of that justice. Changing hearts isn't quite what I imagined for myself, when I was younger. And it fits more with the moral ambiguity of such stories than heroism I had originally planned."
"Maybe so, but there are far better ways of accomplishing such a thing without a cognitive assault. It's an invasion of privacy at minimum, and utter brainwashing at worst."
"I seriously doubt anyone would want a stranger exposing every dark and secret thought that might permeate their subconscious."
"I might turn the question back at you, Amamiya. If someone threatened to peel open your soul and thrust your every impulse to the world, would you be scared as well?"
Akechi's words in the back of his head. Ren's fingers stalled against his playbook. He found himself shifting slightly closer to Skull, as if proximity to the boy would grant him some comfort he couldn't find farther away. In a way, he supposed it did. Skull might have noticed, or he might have felt the exact same way, but regardless he scooted similarly closer. Shoulders bumping against each other. Something like love in the quiet air between them.
Oracle broke the silence with a strained noise, stretching her arms out to either side. "Done!" she exclaimed, with enough excitement to seemingly startle the distracted Violet next to her. "I finally plugged Noir and Violet into Necronomicon's parameters. Soon as Joker calls a play, I'll just pull it up and run it, no issues." She grinned. "I am stupid excited now. Can't wait to try it out, this is gonna be so sick."
Ren couldn't help but match his sister's smile. "Sounds good. And I'm pretty sure we've covered everything we need to, here." He snapped his playbook closed, and slipped it into his bag. "Just one thing left...here we go." He fished out the axe-head, and handed it to Noir. "New weapon for you. Courtesy of Anachronism."
"Oh!" she said. "Thank you." She leaned forward, careful not to displace Mona from her lap, and took the blade. Noir's eyes traced the black metal, that sharpened blade that seemed much more wicked than her own. "It's beautiful." Not at all the word Ren would use to describe it, but the awe in her tone was a definite bonus. She carefully slipped her own axe off her back and set about detaching its current head.
Fox started. "Ah!" He stood, digging in his own bag. "That reminds me. Violet, if you would."
"Um?" Violet stood as well, though she looked absolutely perplexed.
All eyes turned towards the pair. "I didn't quite have the opportunity for measurements," Fox began, "but I do believe this should do quite nicely." And without further ado, he withdrew a pale, thin object something like two feet long from his bag, and presented it to the girl in both hands. "Welcome to the Phantom Thieves, Violet." Ren had to stand himself to see it properly, but once he did, he found himself beyond impressed at the work Fox had accomplished in a mere week.
It was a sheath, similar to the one Violet wore on her hip already, but far more intricate. It was primarily silver, but covered in pale red and grey stars, and the twisting spirals that gave Fox's own sword such potency. The recipient gasped, slowly taking the sheath as if accepting something indescribably holy. "You made this?"
"The accents, yes," Fox said. "I procured the object itself online – delayed a few days in shipping, but I managed to finalize the design before it arrived." He smiled proudly.
"Dude, that looks awesome," Skull said, leaning on Fox's shoulder. "Yo, Vi, try it out."
She nodded, clutching the sheath carefully with one hand and drawing her rapier with the other. Blade slipped within, and it locked there with a little click. Violet grinned at Fox. "It fits perf-perfectly! Thank you so much."
"Don't thank me yet," Fox chuckled. "You've yet to draw the blade."
A confused little tilt of the head, but Violet complied, withdrawing the sword from its new holder. And it must have taken her breath away the same way it took away Ren's, since neither of the two could muster as much as a gasp.
The blade of Violet's rapier shone. Like stardust or the radiance of distant celestial bodies, swirling brilliance suspended in shimmering metal. Not a static light, but an eternally shifting one, dappling against walls and floor and ceiling. It was beautiful.
Violet snapped the sword back into its sheath and gaped at Fox. "How did you do that!?"
"You didn't tell me you were a fucking magician!" Oracle similarly yelped. "What the hell, Inari!?"
Fox burst out laughing. "I believe Mona would explain it far better than I would."
"It's the cognitive effect," the cat said, bounding out of Noir's lap and stretching out. "The same way more realistic firearms have a bigger punch in here; the design Fox got from Anachronism had some cognitive power in here. Looks like he managed to replicate it perfectly."
"It wasn't too difficult," Fox chuckled. "Though I did have to spend more than a few hours sitting in the entrance of Mementos."
"You're a miracle worker," Ren said.
"Nothing of the sort," Fox retorted, sounded almost insulted. "I'm simply a man of many talents."
Panther snorted. "Dude, no, I'm with Joker here. You're fucking incredible."
"Yep!" Violet beamed at the young man. "Very incredible."
Ren could see Noir finally stand up behind the Thieves now crowding together, facing away from the group, towards the path leading farther into her father's Palace. He carefully extracted himself from his friends, slipping around and closer – but Queen reached the young woman first.
"We don't have to rush to change your father's heart," Queen said. "If you need time–"
Noir giggled. "I'm sorry. It's just rather amusing; Joker told me the same thing a few days ago."
"Ah," Queen said. "I see." Was that bitterness in her tone? He wouldn't have blamed her if it was. Ren's habit towards privacy must have rubbed her the wrong way more than she let on.
"I know you're just concerned for me," Noir said, her voice softening just a little. "But I am...ready." She stared into the dark, as steady as a skyscraper.
"I just know I wouldn't be." Queen sighed. "I know you're strong, probably stronger than me."
"I wouldn't bet on that–" Noir attempted.
"But you don't have to pretend that it isn't hard," Queen said. "Or that it's painless. None of us would judge you for that, Noir, I promise. We've all struggled, being a Thief isn't easy. It almost never feels as simple as it should be."
"And do you feel I could trust you with that vulnerability?" Noir asked. The coldness in her voice almost made Ren want to turn around and walk right out of the Palace. "Would you ask someone in my position to expose my own heart for the sake of easing your concern?"
Queen winced as if she'd been struck. "Haru..." Whatever she wanted to say, she couldn't find the words. But Ren could. Ren absolutely could.
"You don't owe us anything." Both young women turned to face him: Queen surprised, Noir still cold. "Not your vulnerability, not your heart, not your blood or your pain or your strength or your friendship. You don't even have to like any of us." He stared her down, locked his eyes into hers. "But we at least deserve the common respect to be told to fuck off nice and clear, rather than sucker-punched like that. Queen's your ally, same as Mona, same as everyone else. We all have sympathy for boundaries here, and I'll happily respect if you need space for whatever reason. But pull that sort of bullshit against one of the Thieves again, and we're done."
Noir blinked. Her defenses still up, her expression still closed, but something shifted. Like an honest shame leaking through that careful mask.
"Joker, it's alright," Queen protested. "I promise, I overstepped, it's–"
"Queen." There was no sharpness in Noir's voice now. A simple thing, almost like a request buried beneath the stoicism. "Joker is quite right. It was quite cruel of me to lash out as I did. Neither my own boundaries nor stressors are any excuse for that sort of treatment. I apologize, sincerely." She met neither Ren's gaze nor Queen's, but somehow that made the apology feel all the more genuine to him.
Queen blinked, hesitated. Like she didn't quite want to accept the apology, like she didn't feel she deserved it. "Okay," she said. "Thank you. I'm okay though, I really am. You shouldn't beat yourself up."
"I agree," Ren said. "And...to be clear, I'm not planning on ejecting you from the Thieves, or cutting off support. We're still teammates, one slip-up doesn't change that. There's some growing pains right now, and that's fine. Just, something to work on."
"Alright." Noir didn't seem quite convinced. Like she wanted to linger in that guilt, that responsibility. Ren knew the feeling, even as it tore at his chest. "I suppose we shouldn't stay here much longer, should we?"
"Yeah." Ren adjusted the mask on his face, the odd material as cold as it had ever been. "Alright. Noir, take point. Let's storm on through."
"Watch it!" Oracle said. "Just one Shadow, but it's a tough one. There's no shame in retreating."
Skull growled out a curse and kicked the door that had shut behind them. "Doesn't look like we can!"
The Thieves were grouped up tighter than they could reasonably afford to be. Trapped at one end of a large room, staring down an advancing Shadow: both humanoid and distinctly pachyderm.
"Joker and I have fought one of these before," Mona said, thankfully not filling the Thieves in on the precise circumstances. Ren couldn't offer much more than a hope the sight of the Shadow didn't bring back too many memories of Futaba's uncle for her. "It doesn't have any weaknesses, but we can hit with an ailment and knock it down that way."
"Not when we're all grouped up like this!" Panther protested. She took a step out of formation, trying to break from the group, but a quick swipe from the Shadow sent her scrambling back.
"I'll draw its attention," Ren said, pulling his pistol from its holster. "When it focuses on me? Everyone break to either side." He aimed for the Shadow's single eye and pulled the trigger.
Crack.
The smell of gunpowder hit him first, then the impact sent him stumbling backwards into one of his teammates. Judging by the cant of their surprised yelp, it was probably Fox. "Okay," he wheezed. "Never mind. Bad plan."
The Shadow chuckled, deep and dark.
"It deflects gun attacks?" Oracle said. "It didn't do that last time! Maybe it's got weaknesses we don't know about now, too."
"We don't particularly have time for experimentation," Fox said, almost stumbling over his words.
A frustrated breath, and a Thief broke from the ranks. Rushing towards the Shadow with grace to spare, drawing her glowing rapier from its sheath. The Shadow took a single step backwards, widening its one eye, and the sight of its surprise immediately set Ren's nerves alight.
"Break and encircle, now!" The Thieves dove apart; it wasn't quite a proper play, but it hardly needed to be.
Violet let out the closest thing to a war scream that Ren had ever heard from the girl, and lunged for the Shadow. Her blade cut through dark flesh with barely any resistance, in and up and out with surgical precision. And one of the Shadow's tusks snapped cleanly off as a deep gash leaked black ichor down its chest.
Their foe bellowed with rage, swinging its offhand back, that one eye glowing with black fire. A pearl of darkness slipped through the air towards Violet's chest, distorting the air like a heat wave. She couldn't so much as dodge out of the way, backpedaling, her eyes wide.
"Violet!" Oracle's panicked voice.
But it never reached her. Something like a pane of glass between the spell, that unholy curse, and its intended target. The dark smacked up against it and bounced off, wavering as if dizzy and then flickering out of existence.
"Please be more careful in the future, Violet," came Noir's voice, and Ren glanced over to see the mask forming again on her face.
Violet nodded. "I will be! Th-thanks, Noir."
"Bless attacks look effective," Oracle chimed in, her relief clear even over the coms. "Joker, do your thing!"
He grabbed his mask, focus centering back on their singular foe. "Anubis!" The scales tipped, and a burst of radiance slammed through the Shadow. It toppled, off-balance, then fell. "Violet, tag in!"
"Cendrillon!" she invoked, without missing a beat. The ethereal woman rose, and then brought a single hand down, slashing through the elephantine foe like so much paper. It wasn't laughing anymore, nor did it make even a single noise as it faded into dust.
Ren found a groan settling in the back of his throat as he glanced around the corner at their next obstacle. "Anyone here afraid of heights?"
Queen immediately looked queasy, but Noir merely tilted her head. "Why do you ask?" She peeked past him, and her confusion fell away. "Ah."
The current section of the cognitive space station came to an abrupt end, with jagged chunks torn out of the metal walls and ceiling of the hallway beyond, leaving only an unsteady-looking catwalk suspended above a yawning void.
"I guess that confirms there's no actual 'space' in here," he said. "Otherwise we wouldn't be able to breathe. Nice to know we don't have to worry about a hull breach or something."
"And at least it has safety rails," Violet added. "Not much of a cons-consolation, though."
"Oracle, is there another way around?" Queen asked.
"Doesn't look like it." The girl swiped her hand over an invisible display and frowned. "If Mona's right about the Treasure being in that section of the ship–"
"My nose never lies!" the feline said through the coms, sounding distinctly put-off by the implication.
"–then we've gotta cross this thing." Oracle gave a sympathetic smile. "Sorry."
"Let's go single file," Ren said. "Eyes forward, try not to lean too much on the railing. Be careful, everyone."
"I'll go first!" Violet chirped. "I've got really good bal-balance."
"Gymnast training finally paying off," Ren quipped, and she stuck out her tongue at him before slipping around the corner.
"Queen," Noir said, "you should go next. I'll be right behind you. And I'll catch you if you fall." She punctuated the playful statement with a little giggle.
Queen blinked at the young woman, and just sort of idly nodded. "Okay," she mumbled. "Sure. I can do this. No problem. Just...yeah." With a little unsteady breath, she followed after Violet.
"I'm after you, then." Ren took a breath. "Uh, Noir–"
"Don't offer." She gave him a firm look. "If I fall, you should let me. There's no point risking two lives for one person's sake."
Ren felt himself wilt back. "I, uh, um, I mean...I was just gonna say good luck."
"Oh." She blinked, then gave a sheepish smile. "Thank you. Ah, sorry." Noir laughed, a little awkward and strained, and then headed towards the catwalk.
"Smooth," Oracle teased, bumping him with her shoulder.
He rolled his eyes. "Wait here for the rest of the Thieves to catch up. Then you can probably beam yourself over with Necronomicon." At her playful salute, he stepped onto the catwalk as well. The first few steps weren't as difficult as he expected, but he could feel the moment he was out over open air – or space, or whatever. It ripped the breath from his lungs, tightening his chest with such force that he was almost concerned they really were standing in a vacuum. He focused on Noir in front of him, eyes locked on the feather in her hat, taking one step at a time. It might have been meditative, if it wasn't so fucking terrifying.
She was running her fingers through his hair, her gaze distant, somewhere else. "That was a pretty stupid thing you did, today."
"Better I risk my life than everyone's," the Trickster said. "If we didn't get off the ship when we did, I'd be dead anyway. But at least if it's just me–"
His moon cut him off with a long sigh. "That doesn't mean I have to like it. Or that I don't get to be scared about losing you." She met his eyes then, smiling sadly. "Just because it's easier for you to think of yourself as a martyr than a hero, doesn't mean it's easier for me–"
The railing snapped. His vision was upright and blurry one second, and tilted and sharp the next, and then his foot slipped on the metal and gravity slammed panic into his lungs and he couldn't move but to fall and couldn't breathe but to scream–
And he jolted into stillness. If it hadn't been for the sheer emptiness below him, Ren might have assumed he had landed on something. Dangling from his collar, still breathless but no longer falling. Someone's fearful voice drifting through the haze. Then he lurched back upwards, hands grabbed his arms and pulled him back onto the catwalk. Back onto solid ground.
"Fuck," he gasped, shoving fearful breaths into his lungs, grabbing at his inexplicably too-tight collar. "Fuck. That was...holy shit." His eyes refocused, darting to the worried faces of Queen and Violet, the latter next to him and the former supporting Noir – half-crumpled on the catwalk, breathing heavily, clutching her right shoulder at the joint. Ren's brow furrowed. Why was she...oh. Oh fuck. "You grabbed me." His own voice sounded hollow in his ears.
She nodded, clearly trying to force a smile through a wince. "You're heavier than you look," she said, voice strained. "And you were the one who said...not to lean on the railings." She laughed, and it sounded awful.
"It's not dislocated, is it?" Queen asked, her eyes wide.
Noir shook her head. "I don't think so. Just...hurts a lot."
Okay. Okay, close call aside, he was still the leader. It was no time to lose his head. "Let's get to solid ground," he said. "Then we should probably take a breather." His eyes fell on the broken-off section of railing, at the death he'd barely avoided. One more scar against his heart.
Noir let out a little sigh, relaxing into the green-glowing hands against her shoulder. "That feels much better, thank you. You're a lifesaver, Panther."
Panther snorted out a little laugh. "This coming from the girl who just stopped Joker from falling into a black hole?"
"That's how you know I mean it," Noir teased, giggling.
The Safe Room felt a little more like its namesake now, with Ren having more relief in him than blood, not to mention how the other Thieves kept sending him glances that said far more than words ever could. Skull hadn't let go of his hand since he'd gotten to the other side of the catwalk, Oracle had spent more time by his side than in Necronomicon for the few minutes it took to find their way here, and he'd nearly tripped on Mona with the cat's insistence to ram his head into Ren's leg at every opportunity. He was safe. He almost hadn't been, but he was now.
And safety gave him time to think. Time to question what adrenaline hadn't let him. 'No point risking two lives for one person's sake'; but Noir had risked hers for his. If she'd misjudged, or if he'd fallen farther, she could have easily gone over the side as well. And if she'd so much as hesitated, she never could have stopped him from falling. For all her insistence the Thieves were her teammates and nothing more, for every cold glance and colder smile and wall between her and them...Noir hadn't hesitated.
Ren reached up to idly massage his throat.
"You good?" Skull asked, a little nervousness leaking into his tone.
Ren nodded, smiling at the young man. "Just a little sore," he assured. "Noir did catch me by the collar, after all. I promise, I wouldn't put you all at risk if it were worse." But, speaking of, he glanced towards Noir. "I owe you, by the way."
"Yeah, me too!" Skull added, grinning towards the young woman. "Thanks for saving my boyfriend."
She just nodded, giving a polite smile. "You're very welcome, but I promise neither of you owe me anything. Your continued help will be repayment enough." Noir laughed again. "I don't think I can swing my axe much more, at least for the rest of today. I'll likely need to limit my usage of Milady as well."
Ren nodded. "Gotcha. Then, we'll rearrange formation. We can probably shift to a longer range strategy if we bring Panther up to the front." The young woman threw a thumbs-up to confirm. "Violet, that means you're on cleanup with Skull, Mona and Fox."
"Okey doke," Violet chirped.
Noir blinked at him. "I don't quite understand. Wouldn't it make more sense for me to join the backup?"
"I'm with Noir on this one," Queen said. "We don't want to risk exacerbating her injury."
"If that's your choice," Ren said, "I'll respect it. But it's your dad's Palace. This is your fight more than it is any of ours. If we can find a way to keep you in the vanguard without straining your shoulder, then I'd much prefer that over benching you. And if we can't, I'd honestly recommend calling the infiltration here for today."
"I see," Noir said. She was silent, probably taking all that in. "It wouldn't be too much hassle?"
He couldn't help but smile. "Sometimes doing the right thing is worth a little hassle."
She matched his smile. "Then, please allow me to continue fighting, leader. I won't let you down."
Panther stretched her arms over her head and yawned. "I can't wait to get home and pass the fuck out." The desolated entrance of Okumura's Palace had never felt quite so welcoming before.
"Not me," Oracle said. "Bis got me hooked on a drama she's super into, and we're gonna watch the new episode tonight. Oh and I'm pretty sure two of the girls in it are gonna kiss at some point, but I'm not getting my hopes up."
Fox nodded. "I shall cross my fingers for you. I know the sharp sting of similar disappointments all too well. With any luck, your optimism shall pay off!"
"Tell me about it." Skull sighed, shaking his head. "Like, shit, half the stuff I watch nowadays is all about a couple of guys palling around talking about being each other's soulmates, and they don't even try to have 'em end up together. The fuck is that about?"
"Oh, Oracle!" Violet scooted closer to the girl. "I've been meaning to ask you, since you know so much about anime. Someone rec-recommended a show to me, and I was wondering if you might–"
"Um, excuse me?" Noir's voice from behind the Thieves. Ren stopped, turning to see the young woman with her hands clasped in front of her. "I'm sorry to be a bother, but...I had something I wanted to say, before we left, if that is alright."
Ren took a glance around the Thieves, but no one seemed the least bothered – not that he expected them to be. "Of course. Go ahead, Noir."
"Thank you." She smiled, then it fell away into a more somber expression that looked absolutely alien on her, gaze falling towards the ground. "My father...taught me to act kinder than I was, and to hide my anger. He did quite a thorough job training such habits out of me."
A tense breath next to him, and Ren glanced over to see Panther nearly white-knuckling, glaring – but not quite at Noir. He placed a hand on her shoulder, some silent solidarity, and she seemed to relax somewhat. A little glance, an unspoken gratitude, and then they both focused on Noir again.
"There are times," she continued, "when I nevertheless have to be honest with my feelings. I feel rather confident in saying that I deserve that honesty, that I owe as much to myself." She smiled again, somewhat sadly. "But I believe I may have forgotten there are times where I owe such honesty to others, as well." Noir took a breath, and raised her eyes to the Thieves, gaze firm. "You've all shown me a great deal of trust, more so than I perhaps deserve, and I have rarely shown that trust back to you. I'd like to change that, starting now."
"Haru–" Queen said, before catching herself. "Noir. Thank you. I know firsthand how hard it can be to trust, I still..." She trailed off. "There's quite a lot I still can't be fully open about, even though I've been a Thief since June. But none of the Thieves has pushed me to share, and I promise that we won't push you either."
"I'm grateful," Noir said, with a little smile. It may have been just as fake as before, but something about it felt almost indistinguishable from the real thing. As far as Ren was concerned, that smile was genuine. "And I'd like to ask for your patience, if that is alright. Old habits are hard to break, and I may not always be as forthcoming as I wish to be. I hope that isn't too bothersome."
"You're one of us," Mona said. Firm and confident. "I trust you, Noir. You're not ever a bother, even if you're never forth...whatever! And if anyone gives you any crap for that, I'll claw their face off!"
She burst out laughing. "Thank you very much, Mona." Noir crossed the distance and bent down to ruffle the feline's fur. "You really are a little gentleman."
For the second time that day, Mona's purring echoed through the Palace's entrance.
Huge enormous thanks to Jane for slamming this beta-read out in record time.
Empress Rank 0 – Empress Rank 1.
The Haru confidant begins now.
Similarly to how I adjusted the Futaba arc to include a large chunk of her confidant with Ren, before the Okumura arc reaches its conclusion, we will see the full scope of Haru's primary confidant. She will have room to develop in further arcs and between them, but her bond with Ren will reach its apex before her father's heart is changed. It's all uphill from here.
