Chapter 14: Patience is a Virtue

{R}

Ren breathed in, and breathed out, relaxing on his bed while waiting for Aki to finish up in the bathroom downstairs.

To say that the day had been eventful would be putting it mildly. He was glad they had been prepared for what was basically a boss fight. Even if it wasn't video game logic, the instant he saw the throne room's doors open, he knew it was very likely a trap of some kind was in place. So it went relatively smoothly.

Key word: relatively.

He frowned at the memory of Aki taking charge to ki—defeat Cognitive Suzui. He had felt a surge of hot rage in his heart that wasn't his when she went after her, and that burned more when she then attacked Shadow Kamoshida. If it had been anyone else, he would've thought she mad at both the Shadow and Cognitive Suzui, but he knew she was only angry at the former and he had a guess on why she handled attacking Suzui. She had seen him after he tried, and failed, to stop Suzui's suicide. As much as he was thankful for her doing that, especially since it meant no nuke spikes from Shadow Kamoshida...he still wished she didn't need to, especially after feeling just how enraged she was.

His attention was pulled when his phone notified him and he checked to see it was a direct message from Ann.

Ann: Thank you so much.

Ann: Seriously I don't think I could've done anything without you.

Ren smiled self-depractingly.

Ren: Don't forget Ryuji.

Ren: Or Aki.

Ren: Or Mona.

Ann: Oh yeah! I should do that too.

Ann: Still it's unbelievable we stole someone's heart...

Ren: Well you weren't dreaming it, that much I can tell you.

Ann: Haha. Yeah.

Ann: That reminds me, why did Mona turn back into cat even though we were still in the Palace?

Ren startled as Mona said, "Lady Ann's sharp!" He turned to see the not-cat peeking above him. "Basically the Treasure changes the shape of things. So when it's gone, that effect stops. But the real reason I changed back quickly was because I'm skilled!"

He rolled his eyes but still typed.

Ren: He says he's amazing.

Ann: Oh yeah, I forgot Mona can see this...

Ann: Btw thanks Mona.

"Nyaha, you're very welcome, Lady Ann," he said.

Ren: He says you're welcome.

Ann: Hehe, I'm glad.

With that, he shifted to lie on his belly and look directly at him as he said, "Now shoo."

Mona actually looked shocked and said, "Huh? Why?!"

"I think you're smart enough to figure it out. Now shoo."

"Hmph... Of course I am! I was just trying to be helpful..." he said and thankfully left his side and jumped onto Aki's bed.

With that done, he looked back to see Ann had sent another message.

Ann: I think I feel better after talking to you. Thanks.

He smiled.

Ren: You're welcome. I'm glad to be of service.

Ann: Though I know we still haven't seen any results, it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders...

Ren frowned. Ann...

Ann: I hope you don't mind me talking too much.

Ren: Not at all. Like I said, glad to be of service.

Ann: Hehe, thanks again.

Ren: You're very welcome.

Ann: Well, see you tomorrow.

Ren: Good night Ann.

When she didn't reply right away, he thought she had left. But then his phone pinged and he smiled.

Ann: Night Ren.

(A)

Well, it seemed at least something happened to Kamoshida, thanks to Ms. Kawakami telling her, her brother and Ryuji in tandem with a schedule change because of the man's absence. So again, that was a good sign. But understandably Ryuji was still antsy so he wanted to run it off with Ren. Since she had nothing better to do, she just decided to tag along, even though the gap between their speeds and endurance was made very obvious. She was very tempted to push herself to catch to Ryuji's speed, even if she'd probably feel like how she did after her first proper trip to Kamoshida's Palace: exhausted to the bone.

On the bright side she could actually keep pace with her brother, more or less.

Despite Ryuji outperforming them, when they met in the courtyard between the class and practice building, all of them panting and sweating, he said,

"Ugh, damnit... I wanna move better, but I just can't..."

"Are you...kiddin' me...?" she said. "You move...a whole lot better than us..."

"Yeah, but...I was trainin' for nationals back in the day. Now I totally suck balls..."

Okay that was a good point but... "Didn't you say...that you just gotta...push yourself a bit more than before and...you'll get better in no time...right? So you...just gotta keep pushin'."

Ryuji was surprised then laughed. "Yeah, I did," he said, smiling. "When you say it like that, don't seem so bad anymore."

She and Ren smiled back. But then someone said,

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

She frowned as a bunch of guys, also in PE uniform, came up to them. From how Ryuji said their names, and their words, it was obvious it was the former track team. And it was also obvious they had a grudge against him and thus didn't like how Ryuji was doing. She wanted to tell them off since they were making their friend uncomfortable, but Ren just said,

"Let's not fight."

And Ryuji just said, "We ain't fightin'..."

"Yeah. This isn't anything like a fight. Not even close."

No it wasn't...yet.

"Which is why I don't want it to escalate."

"Huh... Wait, hold on, you're the transfer students, right? Are you really hanging out with this loser?"

Now Akira glared and said, "Why? You havin' a hard time seeing us in front of you?"

"Hey, I'm just tellin' you to watch out. He'll hit you the second he gets pissed off," he said. "I heard his dad's the same way. Like father, like son, right? Now that's some scary shit."

Snap.

"This don't got anythin' to do with this."

"Scary? I'll show scary you pieces of—"

"Aki. Ryuji. Calm down."

Akira flinched and realized she had moved forward, ready to punch, just like Ryuji. And they all turned scared. On one hand, that was what she had wanted but... Damn it... She looked away, ashamed at being looked at like that.

"You're right," Ryuji said, his words easily applying for the both of them. Then to his former teammates, "Look, back then I..."

But "Nakaoka" would have none of it and made it quite clear he felt betrayed from Ryuji breaking the team up when everyone was suffering. Akira took deep breaths to calm her impulse to rage but was glad they left before that would fail. Ryuji, however, looked at them leaving with a dejected expression. She wondered why until he said,

"I haven't changed at all..."

You ain't the only one... she thought with a sigh. She was still that same stupid girl that got them arrested...

Wanting to ignore those thoughts, she focused on Ryuji as he said,

"But y'know...you actually helped me calm down a little. I'm glad you were here. Thanks man!"

He gave Ren a high five, who smiled at the action, before turning to her and saying,

"And hey, thanks for standin' up for me too."

Akira was startled and just said, "Don't thank me for that. I almost got us in trouble..."

But the faux-blond only laughed and said, "Hey, 's fine. I prolly was gonna do the same if it weren't for your bro."

She chuckled. "Yeah, I could see that."

And so the next days were spent much like that for her and Ren, taking the time to hang out with their Confidants and, for the most part, having a good time. Well mainly with Ryuji and Sakura-san—who became the Hierophant Confidant—for both of them, while her brother had Takemi's clinical trails on top of that. And she would admit, from how Ren was after them, she was glad she ended up not being the guinea pig. During that time, they couldn't spend any time with Ann as she wanted to stay with the comatose Suzui by herself and Ryuji told her what he had already told Ren, about his parents, what the track team was like and how Kamoshida made it all crash down. To say the least, she almost wished she had punched those track members for being insensitive and stupid for having a grudge on Ryuji. And she also wanted Ren to insist on comforting Ann at this time but he told her the girl needed her space so she let that go.

But each day passed and before she knew it, it was the day before the school assembly and she couldn't help but be worried.

Other than that initial, and unintentional, report from Ms. Kawakami, there had been no other news of Kamoshida. It made her wonder if the change of heart failed somehow. Because if it did, then that would mean they would be expelled tomorrow. And then what would they do? Two expulsions wouldn't be good for their record, making it even harder to get into another high school, if they even could. It was a death sentence for any kid. Their chances of a job dwindling to near zero, if not decimal percentages. So, since she didn't want Ren to notice her worry and thus be worried as well, she declined his and Ryuji's offer to exercise together again and instead walked around Shibuya, no destination in mind.

But her feet did eventually lead her to the Buchiko statue and there...

A chuckle. "We meet again, Amamiya-san."

Akira was surprised but then smiled. "Hey Akechi. Good to see you," she said.

He returned her smile with a smaller one. "I'm glad to see you as well," he said. "I was on my way to Leblanc actually. Shall we go together?"

"Sure."

She and Akechi chatted a bit, mainly him telling her about his attaché case and the sign on it, but it eventually turned into more mundane topics and thus he said,

"So? How have you been?"

And her frowned at the reminder of why she had left her home.

"Fine..." she said.

Which was technically true, but...

"Is something wrong?" he said.

...that was also true.

She sighed as they stepped on the train to Yongen. After they settled in the carriage, standing close to each other, she said,

"It's not much, really, I'm just...worried about tomorrow."

"What is it about tomorrow you're worried about?"

"There's...a good chance I might get expelled. And my big brother."

For a brief moment, his expression hardened but it passed when he said, "Expelled? Why is that?"

Another sigh. "'Cause there was a stupid teacher who...made fun of the suicide of a student we knew and we talked back at him for that."

"What?"

Akira laughed at it all, because she wasn't sure how else to react besides crying over it.

"Yeah. That teacher said we'd be expelled for that when school assembly's started but another teacher told us that might be put on hold. So I have no idea if we'll be expelled until tomorrow."

"Of course they don't care..." And for the first time, she saw Akechi glare and his frown get worse. "If only I could help prevent that somehow..."

She stared, but then smiled and chuckled. "Thanks for the offer," she said. "But it's all right. There's not much you can do in one day, right?"

"I'm sure I can still do something. I have police connections after all, in case you forget."

Now she laughed again, but this time because she was glad he was confident and willing.

"I don't think this is serious enough to call for police, but if I need any help, I'll call you."

Akechi's frown was less enraged and more confused as he said, "Call me...?"

And she remembered. She facepalmed. "Oh right!" She chuckled sheepishly. "I forgot we didn't give our numbers to each other. Mind if we share?" Then her excitement rose as another thought came. "We can still talk even when you're not at Leblanc."

For some reason, Akechi stared, bewildered for a moment, but when the announcer said the Yongen-jaya stop was coming, that shocked expression was replaced with a pleasant one and he said,

"No I don't. But let's do it when we get to our stop, okay?"

"Sure."

As soon as the train stopped and they weren't being pushed by the tide of passengers leaving, she and Akechi shared their contact info and...

I am thou, thou art I, the feminine voice said as time stilled. Thou hast acquired a new vow. It shall be the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity. With the birth of the Justice Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power.

Akira stared.

She had formed a Confidant with Akechi.

Before she gave much stock into it though, the boy in question said,

"Amamiya-san?"

And she shooked her head. "Eh heh, sorry, got lost in thought for a moment."

There was a flicker of some emotion on his face, but this time it had been too fast to tell what it had been. "I see. Shall we get going?"

Akira said, "Yeah. Come on. I wanna try making your coffee for you this time."

"Oh? You've been practicing?"

"You bet I am!"

They soon arrived at Leblanc and she managed to have Sakura-san let her make the coffee for Akechi's order. What she hadn't expected was spending rest of the boy's free time trying to get him to be honest about her efforts so she could perfect it to his taste. It took making a bad coffee on purpose to get him to finally be honest about her previous brews earilier and told her they were rather plain, as in it was more like store bought coffee than the rich and varied aromas and flavors that Sakura-san made. Which, well, stung, but that just made her more determined and she said,

"I'll make the best coffee you've ever tasted. Just you wait!"

"You gotta a long way to go, kiddo," Sakura-san said with a smug smile.

She glared. "Think that's gonna stop me?" Then back at Akechi when he tried to smother a chuckle. "You hear me? I don't care how long it takes, I'll show the both of you!"

So when Akechi left, she spent the rest of the afternoon practicing her coffee brews, her worries for tomorrow all gone.