11/8 – Tuesday
After School
Fool Card: Blank
Makoto
Any issues?
Akechi
None. Shido not only took the bait, he did so eagerly.
We are clear to proceed.
Futaba
Heck yeah!
Point: Phantoms!
Ren
Alright then
Everyone's still got their assignments, and we're 11 days out
Keep on track, we can do this
(Sorry if that sounds dumb I know we're talking about doing a me-based plan here, just trying to keep morale up and stuff)
Haru
Ren! Relax! (^∇^*)
You're doing fine.
Ryuji
focus on breathing and shit dude!
scary doesnt mean were not getting through this
Ren
Right, sorry
Thanks ️
Haru
(´▽`ʃ ƪ)
Ren
Taba, Ryuji, are we still on for Sunday?
Ryuji
you fucking know it!
ya boy's always ready
Futaba
Uhhhh I just started the new meds your doc gave me and I'm like all distracted right now.
She said it'd get better in a week so I shouuuuld be good to go by Sunday but just
Warning: Space Cadet Girl.
Kasumi
Warning: very cute space cadet girl! :)
Is the medication helping at all?
Futaba
Gosh gosh.
I think so? It's only been a few hours.
Kinda nervous because new scary new but she was really nice
She did say we might have to do more other meds if this one doesn't work
Ann
Oof yeah brain chem stuff can be a hassle.
I've had to stop taking head meds cause they made my ED worse.
Yusuke
My condolences.
Ann
Thanks Inari.
But I've got people helping me now with both of those things, so I'm good.
And speaking of! Hey Taba!
Me or Ren could check in on you over text to see how things are going if you want to?
Like every day or so, just see how you're feeling.
Futaba
Ohhhh.
That sounds nice.
Ren
I'll defer to you on that for the most part Ann
My only meds experience is hormones, so
Ann
You should talk to your doc about anxiety stuff! Might make you less jumpy.
There's like specific PTSD meds Shiho's trying to get on, I'll have her text you the name.
Ren
Sure, sure, when I can
One more thing for Mona to remind me about haha
Akechi
As riveting as this is, it seems I'm no longer needed.
Kasumi
Oh! Wait actually!
I have a question.
Is that okay? X|
Akechi
I can't think of any reason why not.
Please, ask away.
Kasumi
Do you know if Shido knows who Ren is?
Like, does he know what he did to him?
Ren
Shido doesn't know
Sorry, Anachronism memory
He didn't know in that world, and I assume it's the same here
Akechi
Hm.
I would say that's an accurate assumption.
He's had ample opportunity to comment on the irony of this situation.
...and considering the lengths of his bragging when I identified Okumura as the Thieves' next target, it would be distinctly unlike him to keep quiet about Amamiya.
Makoto
The bastard.
Akechi
Quite.
Though, of course, this does come with a rather substantial upside.
Ren? Wish to enlighten your friends on that?
Ren
I'm guessing
"We get to beat it into his fucking head"
Something like that?
Akechi
We are on the same page yet again, dear leader.
What dividends this alliance is bringing us.
11/8 – Tuesday
Evening
Cafe Leblanc, Attic
Fool Card: Blank
Ren's heels were threatening to jitter their way through the floor. He could only hope the sound of his constant tapping didn't bother Sojiro or his guests. Though, if that didn't, the phone call might. "Can you both hear me?" he asked, and reached up to fiddle with a lock of hair.
"Loud and clear," Mitsuru responded, the speaker on Ren's phone making her voice sound almost tinny, but still resonant enough to carry across the attic.
"As can I," Naoto said, a similarly tinny echo. Figuring out the conference call function of Ren's phone had been...a hassle, but the success of the call was its own reward. "Kanji is currently in the room with me, should I send him out for this?"
"No, it's-it's fine, he, if he, I mean, he can listen," Ren said, almost yanking the hair from his head. "Uh, Morgana's here with me too, if that's, I mean, he's here. Just so you know."
"Breathe," Mitsuru laughed, and Ren breathed. "What do you need to tell us?"
In and out. In and out. Morgana headbutted his arm with a resonant purr. "Naoto probably knows this next part," Ren began, reaching over to scritch behind his cat's ears. "But Shido, uh, like...he overplayed his hand. Some other politicians are pissed at him, and now he's trying to cover his tracks by getting Akechi to capture a Thief." Another breath. "Or, kill one of them. Us. So we're too freaked out to distrust him."
"That is..." Mitsuru cut herself off. "I see." Even through the phone, he could hear the strain in her voice.
"Akechi did tell me as much," Naoto said. "And I'm guessing this is to brief us on how you plan on avoiding that?"
"I, uh, well, yeah," Ren said, momentarily thankful they couldn't see his sheepish smile. Okay. He straightened up, breathing in. Say it confidently. Sell them on his competence. "We're going to be faking my death. Akechi's going to pretend to kill me in the Palace, and we're going to pull some strings with Sae, uh, Sae Niijima, to get paperwork saying I was in, like, so that there's someone with my name in a foster home that got adopted by Sojiro right after I died, or like, uh, Amamiya died. They'd know me by my legal name anyway, so, uh, yeah."
Silence.
A tentative clearing of throat. "Mitsuru, I do have some questions for Ren, but if you would prefer to ask yours first..." Naoto trailed off.
Another empty second before she responded. "This is rather self-evident, I think, but to be sure: you'll reach out if there is anything we can do to assist that process?"
Was there another shoe about to drop, or... "Of course," Ren said. "I mean, right now we're just doing logistics, and I'm telling the people–" The front entrance bell rang downstairs. Ren paused, just in case, waiting for a familiar voice that never came. "I'm telling everyone I trust. Ryuji and Futaba and I are going to investigate the Palace a little more this weekend, and we're planning the whole fake change of heart and me dying the Friday after next."
"Understood." Pause. "I've...said it often, but as a reminder–"
"Your resources are at my disposal?" Ren grinned.
"...yes." He could hear what might have been a smile in her voice. "Naoto?"
A long breath out through the speaker. "Not to nag or trip anxiety, but I want to make sure you're prepared for the risks."
Mogana perked up, hopping to the edge of the bed and raising his voice to be heard. "Ren's going to be in hiding until we take down Shido's Palace! The police aren't going to be looking for him, because Shido's going to make sure the case goes cold! We're protecting him! This is Morgana!"
"Thank you, Morgana," Naoto said, chuckling through the words. "That's good to hear. Just, please, don't forget that if anyone who knew you from Shujin sees you walking around while they think you're dead..." He trailed off. "What is the story your classmates will hear?"
Ren plucked his notebook off the table next to his bed and flipped through the pages. "Ann and Makoto are taking care of that one. Oh, and Mishima; but, uh, no, wait, she's making the announcement about the leader of the Thieves being dead to help fool Shido, we're..."
He bit his lip to stop from giggling out of embarrassment. "She's going to call for a wake at Shujin, make a big deal about that. And after the weekend, Ann and Makoto are going to start spreading rumors that I failed the year. So if anyone recognizes me next semester, it's just...yeah, I transferred schools. And I'm going to probably dye my hair for the next year, until it's been long enough for everyone to forget."
"You're selling two narratives simultaneously," Naoto said. Quiet, thoughtful. "It's not likely that the police and random Shujin students will discuss you, but...it's always a possibility that someone connects those dots." A little pause. "The safest possible option would be for you to move out of Tokyo." Ren's stomach lurched. "But I think you can pull this off mostly safely without needing to entirely uproot your life. Honestly, I think you and your friends are anxious enough to mitigate those risks."
"Right," Ren said. He closed his notebook and put it on the bed to his right as Morgana returned to his side as well, plopping down on his left side and shifting into a loaf. "Futaba's going to try and hotwire a panic button to our Meta-Navs, so worst case scenario, you can...smuggle me out somewhere safe from Mementos."
"Fuuka might be able to help with that," Mitsuru said; Ren had almost forgotten she was there. "I'll have her message Futaba."
"I might have a former client who can help Miss Niijima with her documents," Naoto added. "Once she's on board, you can give her my number and I'll connect them."
Morgana hummed contently, the vibrations echoing into Ren's leg. "I love it when a plan comes together," the cat said. Ren scritched behind his ears again.
11/9 – Wednesday
After School
Ueno
Fool Card: Blank
"It's pretty cool that your mom has an art shop, Yusuke," Mishima said. She shifted, adjusting the folding chair currently tucked under her arm. "But, uh, why...did you invite us to hang out on the roof?"
Paint Brave's rooftop was fairly uninteresting, all things considered. Ren hadn't been on any business rooftops before, but this...sure was one. It was unadorned, with only a dusty radar dish and a large box-like air conditioning unit that rumbled out a steady, quiet ambience.
"Serendipity," Yusuke replied. Rather than the folding chairs Miss Masumi had bustled into Ren and Mishima's arms, Yusuke had carried an entire easel and palette of paints up the stairs, and was currently in the process of setting both up by the edge of the roof. "Come, friends. Sit with me."
Ren threw a glance towards the visibly perplexed Mishima, shrugged, and did as he was told. "When you said you wanted to 'share your muse with me,' I kinda assumed you were going to ask me to model for you again," he said, opening the chair and carefully ensuring it was balanced before settling down in it. The view probably would have been a lot better, if it wasn't blocked by another, much taller office building half a block down.
Yusuke chuckled. "Perhaps another time, Ren. At the moment...I am seeking inspiration elsewhere." His easel established at a slant angle, Yusuke arranged his fingers into a frame, squinting through it, clearly and carefully framing the view down towards a nearby alleyway. "And I have a feeling you both could use the momentary distraction, overworked as you are." Ren could definitely agree there; he wasn't complaining one bit.
"You've modeled for him before?" Mishima asked, adjusting in her newly established seat next to Ren.
Ren nodded. "Under false pretenses, kinda? We were investigating Madarame at the time."
Mishima frowned. "I, uh, I mean...why you and not Ann? I mean, not that, I, I mean, just, Ann's a professional model and stuff, right?" She scrunched up her face with a huff of frustrated breath.
"Ryuji and I would have been there anyway," Ren replied, reaching up for a strand of hair, then deciding against it and lowering his arm again. "It would have been weird for me to say no and then refer a friend and then show up with said friend." Which was definitely accurate, and did handily sidestep–
"And I'm gay," Yusuke added, still squinting through his framed fingers.
Yeah. That. "And he's gay," Ren said, adamantly refusing to look at either of them.
"Oh," Mishima said, and he could hear the laughter in her voice.
"Yeah," Ren said. Silence. "So, Yusuke, are we waiting for anything in particular, or–"
A far-off clatter. Movement. Ren squinted, leaned forward slightly, and craned his neck to catch a glimpse of two people, both wearing hoodies, slipping out into the alleyway beneath them. Even from afar, the two visibly differed in height, with the taller's sweater purple and the...other's a very familiar...blue...
Ren whirled towards Yusuke, who was half-hiding a coy smile behind his hands. "My mom's neighbor in business," and Ren had to stifle a splutter at hearing a word like 'mom' leave Yusuke's mouth, "who operates out of that building, is currently falling on hard times. He's helped her a great deal, so she and I thought...well, a new piece of art by the King could draw in some customers for him."
"Oh shit," Mishima mumbled. Ren glanced back down to see the blue-hooded figure – to see Shinya staring up at them, wearing a plain white face mask to cover his mouth and nose. The boy waved, and Mishima waved back. Shinya rushed over to Daisuke's side, the two both digging into a large duffel bag on the latter's shoulder. "So she asked them a favor?"
"Commissioned," Yusuke said, a hint of mild offense in his tone. "And if I'm not mistaken, has invited them to join us for dinner. You two are invited as well, of course. Oh, and I believe..."
The hiss of a spray can stifled his further speech. Daisuke and Shinya were beginning to paint. Wide swaths of blue at first, older brother tackling the left side while younger addressed the right, sweeping arcs of jagged water, or...flame. A porcelain mask tickling behind Ren's eyes.
"Daisuke, it seems...asked my mom for advice..." Yusuke's eyes were locked on the scene, mumbling his words as he picked up his palette. "He is interested in attending...an arts college, when he is...price is an issue, of course." He plucked a paintbrush from his shirt's breast pocket and spared only a glance at the palette before dipping the brush's tip in deep blue, scooping globs of paint into the center. "My mom has an eye for talent, and...she's offered to help...connections, you see...painters need paint, and she sells it."
Seemingly satisfied with the amount of paint he'd centered in the palette, Yusuke reached up and wiped the end of the paint-covered brush somewhat aggressively on his dress-shirt sleeve. "She shares my disdain for galleries...but there are other positions..." His mumbling lowered further into incomprehensibility, and he tipped the now clean-enough tip into his white paint, extracting a glob and mixing it with the centered blue. Mix, wipe, scoop, mix, wipe, scoop, mix.
After a silent minute, he'd approximated the color of the flames that Shinya was currently covering the wall in, while Daisuke had traded blue for black, partway into painting a silhouette emerging from that fire. Ren had a sinking, cheek-warming feeling he knew who that silhouette was supposed to be. Yusuke once again wiped his brush on his shirt – which was looking far closer to an actual painting than the still-empty easel – wet the tip in his azure concoction, and finally pressed paint to the easel. First came the twisting flames, seeming at Yusuke's brushtip far more like outstretched hands, fingers curling in towards the empty center space that the silhouette would eventually fill.
Three artists simultaneously applying their craft. Ren's only complaint was that he couldn't watch them all at the same time.
"Ren?" Mishima's voice, and he glanced over to see her similarly enraptured, hands fiddling idly in her lap. "In case I don't get to say it later, or I forget or something..." Her shoulders scrunched up by her ears. "I'm gonna miss you. I know you're not actually going anywhere, but it's still going to, I mean, harder to hang out in person and stuff. So, yeah." A wobble of a smile. "Shujin really sucks, but I'm glad I got to go to school with you."
Ren's cheeks started to hurt before he realized he was smiling. "Right back at you, Mishima," he said. "And, uh, I..." Right time? Fuck it, right enough. "I mean, I'm going to offer this again later probably, and the rest of the Thieves still need to sign off on it, but I'd really like to have you stick around as part of the team. An honorary Thief. If you'd like that."
The clatter of Daisuke switching colors again, shaking the new can before painting out a bright red at the end of the silhouette's left arm. Yusuke had shifted the angle of that silhouette's arms, not reaching out and down but out and up, as if in offering or prayer.
"I'd like that," Mishima said. "I like you all a lot, even though I don't know everyone that well yet. And I...uh, I mean, I, uh..." A little nervous giggle. "Remember a while back when you said to tell you if I ever figured out a name that feels like me?"
His heart was a skipping record. "Yeah?"
She took a long breath in, and Ren echoed it. The air smelled like two kinds of paint at once. "Natsuki," she said. Her voice was quiet and frail and full. "That's what I'd like to go by. When it's people you trust, I mean."
Natsuki. Ren rolled it around his mouth and anchored it to the memory of her smile. "That means a lot," he said, and his voice almost broke on the words. "It's good to know you, Natsuki."
"Right back at you, Ren," she said.
11/10 – Thursday
After School
Cafe Leblanc
Fool Card: Blank
"So," Ren finished, interrupting himself with a sip of water. "Again, sorry to spring something this big on you, but I'd...it'd help a lot if you could cover for me so the guy who controls the police thinks I'm actually dead. And so no one else from Shujin comes looking for me."
Kawakami stared at him from the other side of the booth. She opened her mouth. She closed her mouth. She glanced towards Sojiro, who was currently sitting behind the counter, playing chess against the tag-team of Futaba and Morgana, each on their own stools. "So, to be clear, you," pointing at the man, "signed off on him," motioning to Ren, "faking his death!?"
"Keeps him out of prison and away from a man I know to be exceptionally paranoid," Sojiro replied, eyes still locked on the game. "I was planning on having the 'how about you move in forever' talk during the holidays...so I guess I need to look for another gift now, that's a little irritating."
"Oooh." Futaba offered a playful wince. "Better luck next time, Sojiro. Thieves got plans. No more adoptions for Christmas." She tutted her tongue in faux sympathy.
Sojiro chuckled. "So, to answer your question: yes, I signed off. Might be able to get both of these two rascals into the same school if I play my cards right." Futaba let out a mild splutter of protest. "I know, I know, I'm not enrolling you behind your back, I promise. Just..." He waved a hand. "Putting it on the table for later." While she continued her protest with a series of harrumphs, Sojiro moved one of his knights across the board. "There. Your turn."
"About time!" Morgana grumbled, craning up farther on his stool to examine the board.
"Sorry," Ren said, offering an apologetic smile to Kawakami. "I know it's a lot to spring this on you." An apology he didn't fully feel, but he'd rather suck up to the woman a little than be stuck without her help.
Kawakami leaned back in her chair and massaged the bridge of her nose. "You know," she said. "It's funny, this isn't even the weirdest parent-teacher meeting I've had."
"I can make it weirder if you want!" Futaba offered, with a bright gremlin grin.
Kawakami laughed. "I'm alright, thank you." She took a breath in. "Just to be clear, Amamiya. I submit a police report or two that you're no-showing, but when Takamaki or anyone else asks where you went, I tell them you failed and dropped out."
"Yeah," Ren said. "And, I guess, warn me or Ann or Mishima," the woman raised an eyebrow at the lattermost name, "if anyone starts asking a bunch of questions."
"I see." Another long breath. She tapped two fingers on the table in a rhythmic fidget. "I'll need to tell the school board you no-showed your way into a failed semester. They don't really care that much about how your grades are, but I do get emails every couple weeks about if you've gotten into any more trouble." More trouble, of course. Couldn't even trust their charity case to keep his head down, huh? "They might submit their own police report, that'd actually probably help you."
Kawakami hummed a thought. "Tell Takamaki to change her story. You didn't fail and then drop out, you just skipped town out of nowhere. I'll ask her in the hallway where you are, we can get in an argument, students can overhear. If anyone sees you around Tokyo next year, just tell them you got arrested again, and now you're on parole again."
Wow. That was...way better, yeah. "Thank you," Ren said.
"Don't look so shocked, Amamiya," she said, with a little smirk. "It wouldn't be the first time I've helped a student with something like this." She dug into her purse, tearing out a piece of paper from a small planner within and starting to write on it with a ballpoint pen.
"Fake their own death?" Futaba asked, glancing over as Morgana pushed a pawn towards Sojiro's back line with one careful paw.
"Something like that." Kawakami clicked the pen and slid the piece of paper across the table. "Here's my number. You should probably get a new phone, but when you do, text me every couple months so I know you're not actually dead." She slid out of the booth. "And at least try to do your homework next week. Turning something in is better than nothing."
Ren nodded. "Sure. Uh, thank you, again, thanks."
She adjusted her purse with a chuckle. "You can thank me if I don't muddle your paperwork."
11/11 – Friday
After School
Shibuya Underground Mall
Fool Card: Blank
The necklace had a thin silver chain with a little heart-shaped pendant.
Ren ran a hand back through his hair. "It's probably too much, right? I mean, we're friends, this is...I mean it's literally –" He motioned to the paper sign marking this section of the jewelry store as 'for a special someone.'
Shiho snorted. "Dude. She has repeatedly , without any prompting, complained to me about being too gay to date you." She was half-reclined in her wheelchair, resting her chin in her left hand and her left elbow on the arm of the chair, while her right hand kept the right wheel from moving. "Just saying, she wouldn't be weirded out if you went a bit lovey-dovey."
" I'd be weirded out!" Ren protested. "I mean, okay, if she got something like that for me, I wouldn't be bothered, but it's not really the same if I get it for her."
Shiho's unconvinced expression was response enough.
"Okay," Ren sighed. "Just...what are you getting her?"
Shiho jerked her head farther down the mall hallway. "Music shop." A little smirk. "When we actually make it that far."
Ren groaned and buried his face in both hands. "I promise I'm not doing this on purpose."
"I know, dude, it's cool," she laughed. "I know how much you mean to each other. If she was gift shopping for you, she'd be just as indecisive." And, after a second. "Now that I think about it, when is yours?"
"January 5th," Ren mumbled into his hands.
"Oh, cool," Shiho said. "I'll need some reminders, but just make sure Ann knows and she'll handle that." A jangling sound, and Ren parted his hands to see the necklace dangling from Shiho's fingers. "Here you go. If you're really freaked out about it, just get her two things."
"Sure," Ren sighed, cupping his hands to accept the necklace.
Shiho laughed. "You knew what you signed up for when you invited me to go shopping with you, dude." After a quick glance behind, she wheeled herself back into the walkway and then headed down towards the music store. "Catch up with me when you're done paying."
"Thanks! You suck!" Ren called after her, and she seamlessly flipped him off and kept on going.
11/12 – Saturday
After School
Cafe Leblanc
Fool Card: Blank
Ann stared down at the silver necklace with its heart-shaped pendant sitting in its little white box in her hands. She took an unsteady breath and wiped at her eyes, her bottom lip sending a wobble into her smile.
"If you hate it, I can always return it," Ren said, shrugging even as his heart was doing cartwheels.
She burst out laughing. "Shut up!" Ann leaned forward on her stool to pull him into a tight and precarious hug. "Dumbass. It's perfect and I love you so much."
Ren hugged her back, spotting Shiho over Ann's shoulder flashing two thumbs up and a huge grin from underneath the mess of party streamers they'd hung across Leblanc's entrance. "Love you too, Ann," he said. "Happy birthday."
11/13 – Sunday
Afternoon
Sae's Palace
Fool Card: Blank
Skull placed two fingers against his ear, throwing a glance up towards the metal ceiling inches above his head. "Yo, Oracle, can you pull back to us for a sec?" He waved at the ceiling.
"I've had an eye on you the whole time, Skull," came her slightly irritated voice through the comms. "So, uh, don't pick your nose on an infiltration. It's gross."
Skull flinched his hands up, scoffing towards the ceiling. "The fuck is this, 1994?" He pointed a finger at the metal. "If you start thought crime-ing me, I'm coming up there and kicking your butt."
The comms flicked on for just long enough to capture a long raspberry before flicking back off.
Ren laughed and put his own fingers to his ear. "What's the plan, Oracle? Where do we go from here?"
"Uhhh," she said, and delayed her response behind a series of melodic hums. "I'm not seeing any Shadows near you, you should be safe to just keep on going."
Ren blinked and turned his attention back down towards the thick metal wall at the end of this particular access hallway. "We...can't, exactly. It's a dead end here. Or, I mean, we could just retrace our steps back, or–"
"What?" Another hum through the comms. "Oh, shit, yeah. That's a wall. Uh. That's not on the map."
Skull raised an eyebrow, walking up to the wall and kicking it tentatively with an outstretched foot. It echoed back with a loud and resonant enough sound to make Ren jump. "Well, it's here. So, double back?"
"I guess?" Oracle mumbled something to herself. "No, sorry, stay put, let me look for an alternate route." The comms clicked off.
Ren caught his breath. Calm. Breathe in, breathe out. Just a loud bit of metal, nothing to...hm. Wait, no, that didn't seem right. Ren reached out to the nearest wall and rapped his knuckles against it twice. Thunk thunk. Then, he walked over to the wall in their way, and did the same to it. Clang clang. Almost a gong, more than twice as loud.
"I think it's hollow," he said, running his fingers against the metal. He could feel its coolness through his gloves, and it almost seemed to bend slightly inward at his touch. "I think there's air behind it. Like...someone just put up a fake wall."
"Woahhh," Oracle said. "Secret bonus area. Very cool."
"Shit, if it's fake, there's gotta be a switch somewhere? Or, uh..." Skull dug his fingers into the corner of the wall, clearly trying to pry it open by force.
"Hey!" A hushed whisper from behind them, and the sound of tiny claws scraping against the metal floor. "Quiet down! I could hear you guys from all the way down the hallway, you almost alerted the whole Palace!"
Skull winced over his shoulder, still trying to pull open the wall. "Sorry Mona. I think we found...I don't know, something ."
Ren pushed on the wall again, a little harder. It was definitely buckling a little bit. "Okay. Let's try this." He pulled Anachronism's dagger from its sheath and placed the tip against the wall, bracing the handle with both hands. One. Two. And with one quick motion, Ren shoved the dagger into the wall with as much force as he could muster.
The screech of metal was deafening and instantaneous.
Reality pitched to the right.
Ren blinked. His hands were empty. His hands were bare . There was a concrete wall about four feet in front of his face. He wasn't wearing his mask.
"Uh." And a glance to the side showed a very confused-looking Ryuji standing in the alleyway with him, with an equally confused-looking Morgana by his feet.
Ren took a wide-angle look around the alleyway. It smelled faintly of nicotine, and he spied a few cigarette butts next to a dumpster, along with a sizable stain on the concrete whose origin he decided not to speculate on.
"Anyone know where Futaba is?" Ren turned towards the wall behind him just in time to catch sight of a blur of green fabric and orange hair burst out from it and slam directly into his stomach full-tilt. "Never mind," he wheezed. "Found her. Ow."
Futaba bounced away from him, brushing herself off repeatedly while glancing quickly around at the alley. "You're real. I'm real. Why happened?"
"I think," Ren said, catching his breath mid-response. "I think we found our emergency exit."
11/14 – Monday
After School
Jazz Jin, Kichijoji
Fool Card: Blank
Akechi swirled his drink around in the martini glass it had come in. "How close is that to the Palace's primary exit-point?"
Ren delayed his answer behind a sip of his own drink. It was sharp and sour, like particularly strong lemonade. "It's line of sight across the street once you leave the alleyway. It's pretty close, but if I need to leave the Palace early, I can always–"
The sound of a particularly loud sip through a straw, and Ren sent a quick glare towards the brown-haired boy sitting with the two conspiring Thieves. Ken lowered his glass and offered a sheepish smile.
"I can always hide behind the dumpster until you guys give the all-clear," Ren finished.
"That'll have to do," Akechi sighed. He sent his own glare towards Ken as well. "Remind me why Naoto sent you to liaison this conversation for him?"
"Cause he thinks you should hang out with more people your age," Ken chirped. At Akechi's further intensifying gaze, he raised his glass and mumbled into it. "Uh, I mean cause Kanji's busy and stuuuuuuff, totally that." And took another loud sip.
Akechi sighed again, this time far more irritated. "Well, you're certainly making a delightful second impression."
11/15 – Tuesday
After School
Cafe Leblanc, Attic
Fool Card: Blank
Ren put his phone down on his bedside table. "Can you still hear me?" he asked.
"Loud and clear." Ann's voice on the other end. "What's up?"
Ren sighed, tempted yet again to reach up and fiddle with his hair despite it being combed back. "Sojiro doesn't know how to tie a tie, so I'm trying to figure it out from this online tutorial, but," he gestured at nothing, laughing breathlessly, "I can't keep my fucking hands steady for long enough!" He was otherwise fully dressed in the suit jacket and slacks he'd bought back in May, along with a new dress-shirt, but the red tie was still loose and mocking around his neck.
"Right," Ann said, and he could hear the mirth in her voice. "Alright. Starting from the top?"
"Please."
"They love you." The firm, unyielding tone he'd come to expect – and love – from her. "You could show up in your pajamas and they'd still think you were the handsomest guy they'd ever seen."
Ren laughed. "Okay, sure."
"So, are you really freaked out about the date?" Ann asked. His laugh dried up in his throat. "I mean, come on, Ren. What do you actually need to talk about?"
He flicked one fingernail against another. "I don't want this to go wrong. Not the date, just... this . The whole plan."
Ann hummed a little confirmation. "You've got eight other Thieves covering all your angles. Plus Kasumi, plus Mishima, plus Sojiro–"
"Plus the SRU."
" Plus the SRU!" She huffed into the receiver.
Ren smiled, and the gesture stung at the corners of his mouth. "I know that. I promise, I know that. I think...I mean I might be totally wrong here, but I might be freaked out because of that." A pause to let her respond, but she didn't. "If things go wrong, if I mess up or do something reckless, it's not just me who gets screwed over by it. Everyone's putting their faith in me and stuff, and that's...I mean, it's a lot."
"Is that how you feel?" Ann asked, quietly. She sounded more concerned than hurt – he hoped she did, at least.
Ren shrugged, knowing the motion wouldn't carry. "It's what I'm scared of." He fiddled with the loose end of the tie. "But I know it's not real."
"It's not real," she agreed. "Cause, Ren? We've been ride or die with you since, like, always ."
"It's big and scary right now," he added.
"Big and scary, yeah," Ann said. "You're making a decision you can't really back out of easily. But like...it's the right decision, isn't it?"
"Is it?" he asked.
"It is!" Ann huffed again. "Like I know you don't know what you wanna do when being a Thief isn't a full time thing, but whatever it is is gonna be easier without having a felony on your record, right?"
"Right." Ren leaned back, his hands on the mattress to keep himself upright. "I guess I haven't been thinking that far ahead, but...no, yeah, you're right." A little smile, and this one came with ease. "I've just got to steer clear of any job with a background check."
She snorted. "Come on, those were off the menu anyway."
"Fair, fair," Ren laughed. Hm. He took both ends of the tie in each hand. Wide end over narrow end, then under and across again. Over one more time, then up across his throat. Down through the hole in the knot. "Uh. I think I got it?"
"The tie?"
"Yeah." He adjusted it, tightening the knot slowly and carefully to his neck. "Yeah. Got it."
" That's my guy, nice work!" He could hear Ann grinning through the phone.
He smiled back. "Thanks Ann. And, uh, thanks for the help."
"Anytime, dude. And I mean that. Literally anytime."
Ren laughed. "I'll keep that in mind next time anxiety keeps me up late or something."
"If you didn't wake me up, I'd be offended," Ann said, both sweet and sharp.
11/15 – Tuesday
Evening
Wilton Hotel
Fool Card: Blank
Ryuji plopped down in his plush chair, bouncing slightly on the cushioned set. "I didn't know this place had, like, an actual restaurant and shit." He turned to glance out towards the main hall, where the buffet still sat – suspended there, permanent, as if nothing had changed since May – and itched at his collar with one finger. To Ren's surprise and delight, Ryuji had actually dressed up for the occasion, a simple suit with a clip-on yellow bow tie. It might not have been his usual forte, but...he looked great in it. Slouch and all.
"Oh?" Haru settled into her own seat, smoothing out her dress – pink, the same color as the sweater she normally wore, with a soft-looking white scarf to match. Very, very gorgeous, and seemed to treat this all as something natural, as if fancy was her second nature. "Haven't you and Ren been here before?"
"Only to the buffet," Ryuji said, jerking his head towards it.
Ren shifted in his seat. The cushion was extremely, almost uncomfortably soft, seeming to buckle away into nothing beneath him, as if any second he'd fall right through it. "We came here with Ann and Mona back when it was just the four of us."
Haru beamed. "How lovely." The cadence of her voice alone ignited a new round of jittering palpitations across Ren's ribcage.
"You, uh, I mean," Ryuji's vocal stumbles drew a glance from Ren. Seemed like the two of them were equally flustered. "You said you, I mean, when you suggested..." Ryuji scrunched up his face in a wince.
As adorable as it was to see him floundering... "Have you been here before, Haru?" Ren asked; somehow, the words came far easier when it was for Ryuji's benefit than his own.
"I have." Haru's gaze wandered away and Ren's own followed across the impossibly clean furnishings. "Only once before. Not of my own volition." She took a long, careful breath and adjusted her scarf. "Last week, after some thought, I decided I wanted to again visit all the places my father and Sugimura would force me out to, and I would make better memories in every single one." Haru's fingers found and fiddled with the hem of her dress. "I thank you both for the opportunity to do so here; and apologize that I didn't make my motives clear first."
"Uh," Ren said, and cleared his throat. "I mean, I can't speak for Ryuji, but...getting to be your happy memories sounds like a good surprise to me."
"No, yeah, I mean, ditto here," Ryuji added, tapping his fingers against the table with frenetic rhythm. "Like, I mean, I was already psyched about getting to spend a night with my favorite guy and favorite gal, but, like–" He interrupted himself with a quick bark of a laugh. "So, like, don't apologize! Own it!"
Haru's smile was soft and honest and beautiful. "I see. Thank you. I'll do my best." A little flick of a gaze towards Ryuji. "Though, it is news to me that I'm your favorite gal." She interlocked her fingers on the table, addressing him directly; Ryuji immediately leaned back into his chair until the soft back support seemed to swallow him. "Is there something you want to tell me, Yuyu?"
Yuyu . Ren's cheeks were starting to hurt from grinning. Ryuji opened his mouth, closed it again, and sent a desperate glance towards Ren that almost knocked a laugh out of him. "Sorry, Sunshine," Ren chuckled, hands up. "I love you, but I'm not bailing you out here."
Ryuji slowly turned back to Haru's unyielding gaze. "Uh. I mean, like..." He reached up and scratched at the side of his nose. "Can I answer after we eat?" His voice broke across the plea.
Haru burst into gleeful giggles. "Oh, of course you can." She reached over to pat his leg sympathetically. "Take your time, Yuyu. But, I will expect an answer by the end of the night."
"Gentlemen don't leave pretty girls waiting," Ren added.
"Never said I was gentle," Ryuji grumbled, making his way back to something resembling an upright seat. "But, uh, yeah. I still don't wanna do that."
"Well, I would have to disagree with you there, Yuyu." Haru gave him a wide, sweet smile before raising her menu between herself and the two of them. "I think you're one of the gentlest men I know. And, easily one of the handsomest, if I might add."
And Ryuji's dumbfounded grin lasted for nearly the entire rest of the night.
Ann
Sooooo how'd it go?
Ren
Is it possible to fall in love with someone twice?
Ann
LMAO that good huh?
Ren
I still have no idea how she did it
But uh
Haru got me and Ryuji to impromptu ballroom dance in front of the hotel
To note: neither of us know how to do that
We couldn't stop laughing
Haru was clapping out a beat and we were just wobbling in circles
Ann, we got so many dirty looks AND I DIDN'T CARE
Ann
Holy shiiiit omgggggg.
Please tell me one of you took a photo or video or something.
I NEED to see you flop a ballroom dance.
Ren
No dice
Sorry
Ann
BOO
Ren
We were having a moment
Ann
BOOOOOOOOO lol
Anyway make it up to me sometime, take me dancing.
Ren
If the world doesn't blow up, I'll rent a whole ballroom
Ann
Aww you fucking sap ilu.
Ren
Love you too
11/16 – Wednesday
After School
Penguin Sniper, Kichijoji
Fool Card: Blank
Ren kept his breath steady and his eye on the eight-ball. He knew how to follow through. The pool cue was an extension of his arms. And...
Clack!
The cue ball spun off the side of the eight, sending them both careening in completely unexpected directions. Ren held his wince back as the cue shifted towards a corner pocket, but released it as a sigh when it bounced safely off the edge. Both balls settled on the table, and Ren straightened upright again.
"An admirable attempt," Sumire said, accepting the pool cue when he handed it to her.
"It would have been more admirable if I'd sunk it," he replied, offering a shrug and a smile.
"Yes, it would have," she said, and Kasumi across the table burst into a storm of giggles. "But you are still carrying our team, and I appreciate that."
"Don't sell yourself short, Sumire," Akechi said, taking position in front of the cue ball. "Amamiya has been training his hand-eye coordination in the Metaverse for months now. His skillset is as applicable to this sport as mine is."
Sumire nodded sagely.
"Nothing wrong with calling me Amamiya out and about right now," Ren said, crossing his arms as he watched Akechi set up his shot. "But don't get too used to it."
"I'll get as used to it as I wish," Akechi replied, his tone smooth and sharp. "After all, Amamiya –" He thrust the pool cue forward halfway through the word.
Clack!
The eight-ball rolled cleanly into the corner pocket, as the cue ball spun its way into a far wall where friction took its toll.
Akechi stood, smirking towards Ren. "You aren't a Sakura yet."
Kasumi bustled around the edge of the table, reaching into the pockets to retrieve handfuls of pool balls at a time. "That's one-and-one!" she chirped. "Do we have time for a tiebr-br-tiebreaker?"
Ren just shrugged. "Sure."
"Always," Akechi said.
Sumire hummed. "I do think you're a little wrong, Akechi." She spun the pool cue between her fingers, rolling it against her palm. "Ren might be better than me, but if he was just playing against me or Kasumi, he wouldn't be trying so hard. Or showing off how good his aim is."
"Hey, I'm not–"
"He wants to show off because you show off a lot," Sumire continued, paying no mind to Ren's protest. "But you don't always try, because you're better than almost everyone already." A little glance towards Ren that stilled his heart in his chest. "Ren always looks happy when you're really trying."
Ren couldn't find a word to say in his own defense, his gaze once again drawn to the now-silent Akechi. A caustic quiet was spreading in the air between them. "A compelling analysis, Miss Yoshizawa," Akechi finally said, extracting the tension from the room like air from a popped balloon. "And yet, you seem to be the one goading me far more at this moment than he." A little plastic smirk. "Should I read an unspoken rivalry into that as well?"
"Not really," Sumire said with a shrug. "I like you, but you're also really smug." She spun the pool cue again, this time tossing it slightly up and then catching it. "I don't care if you try or not, but I'd like you to lose. No offense."
Akechi barked out a quick involuntary laugh. "I see. Your honesty is...appreciated." A hesitance. Maybe he'd meant it to be pointed at Ren, but that would have been awfully hypocritical, wouldn't it? Another quick glance, and then Akechi turned his attention back to the table. "But I do wonder: which of you will get what you want tonight? Will I lose..." Akechi tapped the pool cue twice against his palm, fingers white-knuckle around the handle. A grasp that reminded Ren momentarily of Crow's jagged red sword. "Or will I try? "
Sumire hummed. "I hope lose."
"I hope try?" Kasumi offered, seemingly unbothered by the intensity of the competitiveness radiating off her friend.
"I guess I hope both," Ren sighed.
"And perhaps you'll all be disappointed," Akechi chirped. "Now, let's play."
11/17 – Thursday
After School
Shujin Academy, Library
Fool Card: Blank
Ren reached up to twist a lock of hair between two fingers. "What exactly does a 'goodbye tour' entail?" he asked Makoto.
A lurch of motion on the nearby chair, and Morgana popped his head out of Ren's bag. "It's when you go look at places before you stop going to them!" he said.
Ren managed to resist the temptation to point out he was familiar with the concept, but judging by Makoto's quick and knowing glance, she probably caught his unspoken drift. "Thank you, Morgana," she said. "And as for what this particular tour entails...that's up to you, Ren." She shifted in her seat, smoothing out her skirt. "Is there anywhere on campus you'd like to go before this weekend?"
The word 'forever' lived somewhere in the way she said that, and Ren swallowed his anxiety at the thought. "Anywhere, huh?" He leaned back in the uncomfortable library chair, made of cheap wood cheaply assembled, and the thing creaked at him.
Makoto held up a small key ring and waved it back and forth. Mogana's pupils dilated immediately at the resonant jangling. "Anywhere that isn't staff-only," she said.
Ren nodded and let his eyes trace up to the ceiling and waited for epiphany to come. It did not come. "No idea."
"Really?" Makoto sounded genuinely taken aback. "There isn't... anywhere that comes to mind?"
Ren shrugged, and she spluttered.
"We did a few of our earliest Thief meetings on the roof," Morgana said. "What about there?"
Doing homework with Ryuji and Ann on the spare tables left up there for storage. Shiho and Ann embracing through the blur of secondhand tears. Sitting next to Haru and watching the sunset.
Where else in Shujin was more special than there?
Where else to give his final goodbyes to the school?
Where else but the same heights he'd watched a friend tumble from?
"I won't miss a damn thing about this place," Ren said. "Not a single inch. Just you guys." He glanced down to meet Makoto's perplexed gaze. "I mean, the only good thing this school ever did was let me meet you. Kawkami's been helpful, but I already talked with her. Ditto with Maruki, I'm stopping by his office tomorrow. It's..." He ran a hand back through his hair. "This school hurt too many people I care about for me to miss it, I think."
A silence over the table, just long enough that Ren was tempted to apologize. "I'm sorry," Makoto said. "I didn't realize...but I probably should have. It wasn't right of me to ambush you with this."
Ren shook his head. "I'd be surprised if you knew that about me, considering, I mean, I just found it out about myself right now." He offered a sheepish smile. "I just can't think of anywhere here that only has good memories. And all the good memories I do have, well, I mean, it's just being with the Thieves – and Mishima and Kasumi and stuff, obviously."
She nodded. "And if you started to feel nostalgic for any of those moments in a year or two?"
"I'd just invite Ryuji and Ann to hang out at a cafe, I guess. Or go watch the sunset with Haru." Ren found himself smiling, genuine this time. "Fuck, both of those sound great. I should probably just do that once we've got some more free time."
Makoto burst into quiet laughter. Barely a sound escaped her, but her shoulders shook with it. "I see," she said, a chuckle beneath her breath. "Well, I've got the whole afternoon, how about...I've been meaning to stop by Shinjuku, I hear there's a good bookstore there."
"Sounds like a plan." Ren reached for his bag, only to find Morgana glaring at him. "What? You don't like books?"
"I want to do a goodbye tour," the cat said.
"Oh!" Makoto blinked. "I'm sorry Morgana, I didn't realize. Where were you thinking?"
Morgana paused, tilting his head to the side, clearly considering his options. "The roof," he said. "I want to say goodbye to Haru's plants." And with that, he ducked back into the bag.
Makoto pursed her lips in the way she did when she was trying not to laugh. "Alright," she said. "Roof it is, then. Ren, I hope you don't mind."
"For Morgana?" He hefted the bag onto his shoulder. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Thank you so much to Jane for beta-reading this chapter, and supporting me making it through a very emotionally taxing week.
