Author's note:

Another short chapter. I think it flows decently well at least.

Also, I'm getting some weird mandela effect, apparently Haru's fiance is Sugimura and not Sugimoto? Oops?

Either way, it is staying Sugimoto for posterity.

Enjoy,

-asdf

Chapter 26: Fight or flight

Wednesday June 29th 20XX Morning

"Could you stop fretting?" Kasumi sighed.

"Could you stop being so calm?" Sumire shot back. Pulling on her ponytail, Sumire had no idea what awaited her at school. What if Haru wasn't there? What if Haru was and…

Thoughts betraying her, Sumire pulled harder, hoping the pain would drive away her worries. Taking a glance at her unconcerned sister only served to increase her worries. She did not understand how Kasumi could remain confident.

"Seriously Sumi, you need to chill."

"Urgh…" Doing the inverse of chilling, Sumire's tugging increased frequency. Unable to help herself, Sumire's pace increased. Turning the final corner, the front gate of Shujin came into view. Standing by the gate was a cute girl with short brown hair parted in the middle. "Haru!"

Running over, Sumire came to a panting stop before Haru. Hands reaching out and then retreating, Sumire looked her up and down for signs of abuse. Besides some minor signs of exhaustion… There was nothing visibly off.

"H-Hey Sumire… Umm… Is your sister here too?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, there she is. Excuse me."

"Huh?" Making another unintelligent noise, Sumire leadenly turned around as Haru stalked past her.

"Hey, Haru." Kasumi greeted her warmly. "Doing well, I presume?"

"Y-Yeah… Umm, Kasumi… Thank you!" Rushing forward, Haru pulled Kasumi into a tight hug. "I don't know if I would have been able to resist him if you hadn't shown me the way!"

Kasumi snorted. "If you were truly shoved into a corner, you would have found the strength yourself."

"Haha, maybe." Letting Kasumi go, Haru scratched her head awkwardly. "Sorry about that, my emotions kind of took over."

Of course it was Kasumi that inspired her… Standing stock still, Sumire took in the tender moment with all the grace of a background character in an anime. Withering, Sumire understood implicitly the profound effect that Kasumi could have on someone. The way she had easily stopped Haru's fiance's slap…

"Well, let's go. Class will be starting soon." Changing the topic easily, Kasumi led them all into the school. Walking on her right side, Sumire could only take the occasional glance at Haru on the far side.

"Urgh…" Feeling completely felt out, Sumire gave a half-hearted wave to Haru as they parted at the stairs. Ascending them beside Kasumi, Sumire watched as most of the students waved to her sister. So popular.

Kasumi dealt with it with the skill of a professional. Waving and smiling, she greeted about half of them by name. Shadowing her, Sumire had not realized this was even happening… Living a separate life from her sister had generated separate lives, obviously.

"That girl walking with Kasumi…"

"They look so similar, could they be?"

"Oh yeah, she transferred here with her sister!"

"Really? Why are they never together then?"

I can hear you! Sumire yelled at the gossiping girls. Reaching the third floor, Sumire pouted.

"Don't make that expression," Kasumi smiled. "We have a hard day of training ahead. Come to the gym at lunch for some stretching!"

"…Unn. You got it." Parting ways with her sister, Sumire slumped into her seat. It was going to be a long day.

Wednesday June 29th After school 20XX

"Ahh… I wish I could bring Kasumi with me… or Ren…" Mumbling to herself, Haru stumbled out into the summer sun. Fanning herself, she began the short walk to the nearby road. Her fellow schoolmates were walking beside her. Some in groups, some by themselves. None of them were looking at her and whispering.

It was one thing Haru was grateful for. No one here knew who she was unlike Ren or Kasumi who drew tons of glances. Walking across the sunny pathway, Haru sighed as she saw a distinctive vehicle on the road.

Not bothering to try and run away, she approached the vehicle. Before she could get in, the door slid open, and someone flung themselves out.

"M-Mari-san?"

"Haru!" Grabbing Haru's shoulders, Mariko's eyes were wild. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have left you!"

"I-It's okay… Umm, so is something…?"

"Come with me."

"H-HUH!?"

Eyes focused; Mariko conveyed just how serious she was. "I have two plane tickets, come with me to Sapporo. You'll be safe from your father there. You won't have to marry that man!"

"B-But you'll be trouble!" Haru retorted.

"That does not matter!" Mariko insisted. "If I cannot protect one girl who asks for my help, how am I supposed to hold my head up high as mayor of a major city?"

"Mari-san…" Mouth gaping, Haru stumbled forward as Mariko began shuttling her into the vehicle. "Wait!"

"There isn't time!" Mariko insisted. "I have bribed the driver to not tell your father, but we will not have long to escape."

"Is fleeing… really correct?"

"Of course!" Mariko insisted.

"…Why?" Haru mumbled, more to herself than to Mari. Hadn't she been winning? What about her friends? Her compatriots?

"You are just a child Haru! No one is expecting you to stand up against your abusers. Let me protect you!"

Every word that Mariko said was correct. Under national law, Haru was still a child. She should not have to stand up to either her father, or the man her father wanted her to marry.

I can get out of this! Finally, the enormity of what Mariko was offering began to sink in. Knees buckling, Haru leaned heavily against the outside of the vehicle.

"You'll have time to process as we drive. And sorry, but we can't get any of your clothes. We'll do a shopping spree first thing in Sapporo."

"W-Wait…" Haru held up a disbelieving hand. "You mean I can escape it all? I can get away…"

"Yes… Yes, you can." Smiling warmly, Mariko offered Haru a hand. "You don't need to worry any longer. Believe in me, Haru. I will take care of you."

"Unn… Thank you… Mari-san…" Responsibilities gone, Haru slumped into the car and allowed her eyes to close. It was over. At last, after more than a year of distress, she could let go.

"Goodbye… everyone." Whispering her farewell, Haru laid her head against the glass of the tinted window and relaxed.

Wednesday June 29th After school 20XX

"Haru isn't coming again?" Ren asked the tired group.

"…I guess not." Makoto replied, frowning.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Ren resisted the urge and instead looked out at the crossing. As usual, the place was packed with people going about their lives. Thousands of stories being woven every second. Becoming momentarily fixated on the outside, Ren's overworked mind lost the thread of the conversation.

"Dude!" Ryuji yelled. "We need to find an answer to all these requests, yeah? Also… maybe recruit some more people?"

"How?" Yusuke poked a hole in Ryuji's statement. "One does not simply awaken to a persona. Plus whom would we trust with our identities…?"

"What about Kasumi?" Morgana offered. "I bet she would be even stronger than Sumire!"

"I think we will run into the same problem there as Sumire," Makoto sighed. "I don't want to say this right now but… I'd prefer to not do any thief work next week."

"The week before exams…" Ren mumbled. "So assuming we stop next Tuesday… We have the next five days or so to solve Futaba's issues."

"Is that possible?" Ann asked bluntly. The girl was biting on her nails with a sullen expression.

What happened to her? Getting another problem to solve, Ren's headache become slightly more pronounced.

"Probably not…" Makoto agreed. Shuffling abashed, the student council president displayed none of her usual composure.

"What the hell is this quitting?" Ryuji growled. "You all are alright with that girl hating herself? Thinking she deserves to die?"

"Never thought I would agree with Ryuji," Morgana scoffed. "Even an idiot like him is right once in awhile."

"Stuff it, cat." Ann growled. "I can barely walk straight, if you want to charge into a palace, go ahead!"

"L-Lady Ann, I didn't mean…"

"Oh sure, you just insult everyone and think—"

"Ann." Ren cut her off abruptly. Getting an sullen glare in response, Ren finally released his building sigh. Rubbing his forehead, he made a call. "Everyone go home and rest. I'll find the remaining words for Futaba's palace. We start tomorrow."

"…Thank you." Makoto agreed relieved.

"Very well." Yusuke nodded. "I need to paint something… anything…" Still muttering to himself, Yusuke walked away with a worried expression.

"…Ight, talk to you then." Ryuji slumped off.

"Morgana, give me a minute." Dismissing the cat, Ren walked over to Ann.

"…I'm sorry, I don't need a lecture."

We're coming apart at the seams… "All I wanted to ask was if there was something wrong. Can I help?"

"Ahh, sorry Ren. I should have known you wouldn't do something like that." Ann apologized.

"Don't worry about it. So?"

"Urgh… It is nothing. Just some stupid girl at one of my shoots."

"For your modelling?" Ren asked.

"Unn." Making a noncommittal noise, Ann kicked the ground. Even as tired and sulky as she was, the girl was undeniably beautiful. Ren was not sure he could comprehend whatever issue she may have run into.

"Did you want to elaborate on that or…?"

"…You're tired and have places to be." Ann replied after thinking for a moment. "Maybe I should have locked you up when I had the chance, and this wouldn't be happening…"

…What does she mean? Ren wondered. Her sad smile ate at his insides.

"Never mind me… Everyone is struggling… Sometimes though this world… it just seems a bit cruel. You know?"

"Yeah… Sometimes it is." Ren agreed. Unable to provide anymore support, Ren just stood there for a moment more.

"Well… See you tomorrow."

"Yeah… See you then." Parting awkwardly, Ren left Ann to her own devices. He needed to figure out the final words to Futaba's palace.

Wednesday June 29th Evening 20XX

"We're here, Haru!" Mariko opened the car door. "This is your passport, and your ticket… let's go!"

"Mari-san…" After a long car ride to the airport, Haru's mind was starting to think again. "You're scared."

"Urgh…" Mariko flinched. "I mean… No one wants to get on your father's bad side…"

"…Mari-san, I-I don't know about this."

"Huh?" Turning around, Mariko shook Haru by the shoulders. "This is the only way I can protect you! Please hurry up, Haru. I know it isn't perfect, and I know I am not your mother but—"

"Thank you." Pulling Mariko into a tight hug, Haru felt the tears began to flow down her face. "Doing this means more than you can know."

"H-Haru?"

"Fly home, Mari-san. Make Sapporo the best city possible… and when I do get married, I hope you'll help me out then."

"Haru, you… but you don't have to fight! You can leave it behind!"

"…And then what?" Haru asked. "How long can I run for? How long can you protect me for?"

"Long enough!" Mariko insisted. "Once your father's rage calms down, we can work out the rest."

The sweet words pulled at Haru's heart. However, the faces in her mind, stiffened her resolve. Ann, Ryuji, Morgana, Yusuke, Sumire, Makoto. Kasumi's strength. Ren's smirk. If Haru ran now, she would never be able to face them again. Never be able to stand beside them as an equal.

"No. I've made my decision. I refuse to be run off by father! I know he is a good person deep down. I will make him remember that."

"Kunikazu…" Kariko grimaced. "I too… did not want to believe how far he had fallen. That he would make his only daughter…"

"I'm going to save him." Haru declared. Locking eyes with Mariko, she tried to convey her absolute conviction. How Ren or Kasumi would speak. "Thank you, Mari-san, and goodbye."

Bowing deeply, Haru opened the car door once more and slid inside. Trying to close the door behind her, a hand stopped it.

"Haru… When you do need help… be sure to call me? Okay?"

"Of course. Goodbye… Mari-san." Waving through the window, Haru bid her stand-in mother farewell. As she did, a tear slid down her cheek. A reminder of what could have been.

Thursday June 30th After school 20XX

"Senpai, you… found the words?" Sumire asked in disbelief.

"It wasn't easy… but it also was not all that hard." Ren admitted after a pause.

"Poor girl…" Morgana agreed. Sitting on Ren's bed, the entirety of the thieves had gathered in LeBlanc.

Sumire felt a little awkward. She thought maybe she was imagining the sullen glares that some of them were casting her way, and Haru's as well. Haru was fidgeting but said nothing.

"What Futaba thinks her room is… is a tomb."

"W-What…?" Sumire was stunned. Even on my worst day… Was I like that? "B-But the whole palace is a tomb?"

"Should be small at least…" Ryuji muttered with a scowl. "Shit, I bet it's all those shitty adults' fault!"

"Calm down." Makoto advised. "You are right though… I can't imagine a tomb is very big."

"Full of ghosts though," Ann commented.

"G-Ghosts!?" Makoto squeaked.

"Makoto… are you scared of ghosts?"

"S-Scared? Why would I be scared of fictional beings? Souls of the undead haunting the places they died, unable to rest? W-Why would I be scared of them?"

She totally is… Sumire stifled her laugh with a hand.

"…Anyway, why don't we enter before we make wild assumptions about things?" Ren interjected.

"Hell yeah! Back into a palace at last!"

"At last?" Yusuke wondered. "It feels like we just left one."

"Really?" Haru asked, speaking for the first time that day. "I'm quite ready for another fight."

Unable to stay silent any longer, Sumire finally asked what she had been dying to. "So, everything worked out Haru?"

"Well… Not everything, not yet. But I know it will! After all… I have all of you!"

Blinking, Sumire felt blinded by Haru's bright smile. As its rays shone upon the group, Sumire could almost feel a layer of ice melting. The stiff flat expressions turned into small smiles. Tense shoulders finally eased. Sumire as well couldn't contain her grin.

"Hmmf, of course you can rely on us! We are the phantom thieves!" Morgana declared majestically.

"Oh, you don't need to act so tough," Ann teased, rubbing Morgana's head. "Haru… I'm glad you're still here."

"Ahh! Enough touchy-feely stuff, let's get going into the palace already!"

Giggling at Ryuji's words, Sumire waited as Senpai withdrew his phone and began the now-familiar transition. Standing up, Sumire waited as her attire changed to her phantom thief's gear. Placing a hand on the hilt of her sword, she felt a comfortable reassurance.

Looking up at her surroundings, Violet had to do a double take. "Sand…?" Turning in a circle, everything was the exact same. Golden dunes of sand sprawled out for miles in every direction. The sight was something she had never beheld before. Under an azure sky and scorching sun, the meaning of a desert burned itself into Violet.

"What… the hell?" Queen panted. "This is no tomb!"

"…We must be too far to see the core of the distortion." Senpai reasoned. "If Futaba has no interaction with the outside world, then everything beyond her door…"

"Doesn't exist!?" Skull finished. "That's metal…"

"But why sand?" Panther complained, walking tenderly across the surface. "If it gets under my ourfit…"

"That would be problematic," Queen agreed, paling.

"Don't worry, this world is built on cognition, as long as you believe that the sand will not bother you, it won't." Senpai assured them.

Isn't that a little…? Sumire wondered for Senpai's safety as the concerned girl's turned stiffly toward him.

"Ah, of course! We were being stupid Panther. How silly, we can just decide to not believe that the sand will act like sand!"

"Hehe, we really are stupid girls Queen!"

"…I can see that I have misspoken," Senpai mumbled to himself. Barely loud enough for Violet to catch it.

Feeling a little bad for him, Violet interposed herself. "I think what Senpai meant is that when we get to battling shadows, you'll forget about the sand which will cause it to go away…"

"Hrgh…" Panther frowned.

"Maybe…" Queen agreed, the girls not going for the kill at this moment. "But are we seriously walking there? And where is the treasure?"

"That way!" Mona pointed in one of seemingly identical directions. "It is faint, but the treasure is definitely that way!"

"Mona, can you…?"

"Heh, easy! Mona! Transform!" Leaping into the car, the cat become a bus. Once again, Violet found herself surprised at how unsurprising it was. Unfortunately, Mona's car was… a little too small.

As Queen popped into the driver's seat, Panther and Noir crowded in beside her as the men claimed the backseat. With no room left for her, Violet felt her awkwardness return.

The rumoured and infamous phantom thieves are packed into a car like sardines…

"Get in here!" Grabbing her hand, Skull pulled Violet into the backseat with himself, Fox, and Senpai.

"Eep!" Staggering, Violet collapsed across their laps.

"Skull!" Panther berated him from the front. "That's harassment!"

"I-It is no… No big deal…" Laying across their laps, Violet had no idea how to move. Twitching, she could not find out how to rearrange her positioning as the vehicle took off toward the palace.

How do I get out of this!? Hands gripping one door, Sumire's flats were pressed tensely against the other window.

"Umm, can I…?" Joker asked.

"I must say, there is something about this situation that provokes the imagination," Fox commented casually.

"Huh!?" Blushing bright red, Violet squirmed harder as she tried to figure out what to do. Roll onto the floor? Sit up onto Skull's lap? Fox's? Senpai's? Try to create a gap? Crawl over the onto the front seat?

"D-Did Fox just say that?" Noir gasped.

"Ahh, stop violating poor Violet!" Taking the issue out of their hands, Panther reached over and grabbed Violet. With a heroic tug, Violet found her body flung from the back seat onto the dash.

"Waaa!"

"My vision!"

"What the hell is happening in there!?"

Head slamming against the windshield, Violet laid there dazed. Ahh, screw it… Letting her head loll to the side, Violet decided to exist on the plastic section right behind the steering column.

"I-Is she dead?" Noir asked, with not nearly as much concern as one should have when asking that question.

"Ahh! I was too angry and threw too hard."

"…I still can't see." Queen finished off the tirade.

"Dude… We're blessed."

Huh? Returning to life, Violet stared past the front seat to the back. All three of them men were staring, mouths slightly agape at her. What is…

"Stop gawking!" Panther exploded. Turning around, she began smacking the three men.

"D-Did I do something?" Violet asked confused.

"Hehe, don't worry about it. Let's get you off the dashboard before Mako-chan has an aneurysm about hitting nothing."

Allowing Haru to move her, Violet found herself placed firmly in Noir's lap. Embarrassing… Blushing, she ducked her head.

"Ahh, so cute!" Panther gushed as she came back. "You look like mother and daughter! Noir, Noir, brush her hair!"

"P-Panther, this is embarrassing… especially in this heat…"

"Urgh…" As soon as it was mentioned, Violet felt it hit her like a punch. There was an oppressive heat in the air that sucked all moisture from her body. "This is worse than the summer heat in Tokyo…"

"Yeah…" Queen slumped against the steering wheel. "I wonder how much longer this will take…"

"We don't have all that long, do we?" Panther asked. "If getting to the palace takes this long…"

"But how is this possible?" Noir frowned. "Her room is just down the street from LeBlanc."

"I guess to her… It seems like miles." Violet answered. In the cognitive world, everything was subjective. It was why their guns worked, and so much more. It was what Senpai had been trying to say earlier about the sand, albeit slightly insensitive.

"Senpai…" Turning around to address him, Violet felt her outfit peel from Haru's as their sweat was starting to stick them together. "Do you know how much you can change things in a palace?"

"…Excuse me?"

Violet blushed as the whole vehicle turned to look at her. "I-I mean like the way things work. How fake guns work like real ones because the beholder thinks they are real… Can we change how things in a palace behave simply by believing that they will work a certain way?"

"I think… I see where you are going." Senpai replied slowly. "Do you have an example in mind?"

"Umm…" No. Not wanting to kill the conversation since she was focused on it, Violet searched desperately for an example. "M-Maybe if we believed ourselves to be stronger, we would dispatch shadows faster?"

"I see…" Senpai muttered. "Like how they believe the guns will hurt them. If they see us as stronger, they will die faster. If they see us as weak they will take less damage and be harder to deal with."

"Whoa, really!?" Skull interjected.

"I… have no idea." Senpai admitted. "The possibility is intriguing. I assume that to have a large change though, you would need to be completely disconnected from reality… or maybe completely in tune with the metaverse."

"Oh… I see…" Turning back to the front, Violet let her head rest against Noir's shoulder. She didn't really understand what Senpai was saying. Nor did she understand what this world really was.

Maybe if I close my eyes and believe that we will reach the treasure soon… Smirking at the impossibility, Violet did just that. In this kind of heat, there was nothing else that she could do. Her situation was even worse than the others being sandwiched against Noir.

Any moment now…

"What's that?" Queen asked.

"I… I don't know…" Panther replied. "It has a golden shimmer to it…"

"A pyramid!" Noir gasped. "That must be it!"

"…A Pharoah's tomb, of course."

There's no way I did that… Opening her eyes, Violet watched as the pyramid grew and took shape. The massive building stood at least 100 meters tall. The Mona car slowly came to a stop beneath the entrance archway.

Following Panther out, Violet stared up in awe at it. "This must be that the pyramid's of Giza once looked like."

"No," Queen shook her head. "Those pyramids were built with white limestone. This is a mimic of their current appearance."

"Now that truly would have been a sight," Fox chuckled. "So alien, people would deem it futuristic instead of ancient!"

"Uhh… We entering?" Skull reminded the star-struck crowd.

"…Yes," Senpai after a moment. "If I tell you to leave though, do not argue." Without explaining the odd command, Senpai began ascending the stairs.

Looking at the group to see if they were as confused as she, the girls shrugged back at her. Skull and Fox nodded as if it made sense.

"Did I miss something…?" Violet whispered to Panther.

"No, I have no idea what that was about either…"

The four girls exchanged puzzled looks, shrugged and moved into the pyramid that doubled as a palace.

"Aaahhh…" A sigh escaped almost everyone's mouth as the cool breeze of the chill interior washed away the sweat and memory of the desert.

"Dude… this is like air conditioning…" Skull commented.

"It… It may actually be." Senpai replied, looking around the vast interior of the entrance. "This palace is technically her room remember."

"…" No one mentioned the depressing situation as they slowly climbed the interior of the palace. Looking up, Sumire felt that she could see all the way to the core of the pyramid. The long staircase that they climbed up seemed to go on forever with little to no ornamentation at all, only odd doors that lined the landings.

It was an eerie progression as they ascended with absolutely no opposition. Each step bringing them closer to the inevitable treasure at the end.

"Umm, since she wants us to change her heart, do you think the treasure has materialized already?"

"Whoa, that's a pretty smart idea for you!" Mona teased Skull. "But… I would doubt it. She may want her heart changed, but I don't think she has come to understand that there is actually threat of it happening yet."

"Oh… Yeah, sure."

Skull's reply sent giggles through the group. The all-too-typical grand-standing helped ease the tension in the strange palace.

"Here we are…"

The end of the staircase. Before them was a taped off elevator. Yellow caution tape crisscrossed over a Do not enter! Sign.

From nowhere, a mirage began to solidify in front of them.

"A ghost!?" Queen yelled ducking behind senpai.

Quickly, it resolved itself into the owner of the palace, Futaba. Or her shadow at least. Bright orange hair hanging down to its waist, the shadow was wearing ancient Egyptian inspired clothes. With Futaba's glasses on it though, it looked more like cosplay than an actual Pharoah of old.

"You've come." The shadow commented.

"We're hear to change your heart!" Skull declared before Senpai could say anything. "Treasure is just up this elevator, yeah?"

"…"

"Leave." Senpai commanded into the awkward silence. "Now."

"My fault again!?" Skull whined. Without hesitation however, he turned hell and began shuffling the girls away.

"W-Wait!" Violet complained. "Senpai, what is—"

"GO!"

Grumbling about it, Violet made her way down the steps with everyone else. Senpai waving them further along until they were a good two landings lower than him.

"Can't hear anything from down here…" Fox commented.

"That's definitely intentional…." Queen trailed off, clearly lost in a thought. "You two… is there… something happening with them?"

"You mean Ren and Futaba?" Skull answered instantly. "Uhh… I guess so? She was real weird when Fox and I were around, only communicating through text, calling herself Alibaba…"

"It may have something to do with Ren actually meeting her in LeBlanc." Mona hypothesized.

"Grr…" I will not be jealous of a depressed, suicidal girl! Berating herself, Violet slumped against the wall and wondered if there was even a reason for her to be there.

Out of the corner of her eye, Violet caught sight of Joker grabbing at the shadow. Exaggerated movements betraying his anger. A moment later, shadow Futaba bowed her head. While Violet couldn't hear the sounds, the lip movements were distinctive.

I'm sorry.

"Something's happening!" Violet warned, taking a first step back up the stairs.

Clunk!

The noise of heavy machinery moving echoed from the roof at the top of the stairs. At the same time, shadow Futaba disappeared.

"Senpai!" Screaming out at him, Joker was just in time to jump out of the way as a massive boulder fell from the ceiling. With no delay, it began bouncing down the stairs at them.

"RUN!" Violet was not sure who cried out, but a hand yanked at her outfit, pulling her down and not letting her run up after Senpai. Charging down the stairs, Violet used her athletic prowess to keep her head tilted to the side, Senpai and the boulder visible in her peripheries.

Every second, the boulder gained distance on him. He won't make it! Heart palpitating with fear, Violet's legs carried her down through inertia.

Clearly coming to the same conclusion, Joker's face darkened for just a moment. Then, with a wink, he hit one of the landings and threw himself through a door.

"SENPAI!" Screaming for him once more, Violet could only continue down the staircase and reach the expanded staircase at the entrance and dive behind the raised ledge with everyone else.

Less than a second later, the boulder bounced above their heads and then crashed in the staircase, smashing open a massive hole in the middle.

Kerchunk!

With a heavy sound, that carried with it an ominous finality, a massive door slammed shut behind them. They were cut off from re-entering the palace.

"SENPAI!"

Screaming again, Violet ran and slammed her hands against the hard metal. Besides ringing, it gave no indication that it would bend to her will.

"N-No way… He… He wasn't crushed, was he?"

"N-No," Violet confirmed. "He entered one of the side doors…"

"Thank god for that," Queen sighed. "I know this isn't what any of you want to hear right now… But I think we should leave for today and come back tomorrow."

"Are you fucking joking!?" Skull exploded. "You want to leave our leader in a palace overnight!? He wouldn't leave you if you were trapped!"

For once, no one told Skull off. It was unfathomable, stupid to consider leaving. They had only accomplished in losing their strongest member, master of all personas.

"M-Mako-chan, you can't be serious?" Noir put the question more delicately.

"W-We need a plan!" Queen defended herself. "We need to calm down and make a logical next step! If we go in unprepared, then Joker is the one who will have to save us!"

"It is possible to survive alone in a palace." Mona reminded them. "I did it for quite awhile before meeting up with you guys."

"Uhh, and where did we find you? Oh right, imprisoned and doomed to be executed!" Skull continued his tirade. "This girl is incredibly fucked up, this palace may be the most dangerous one yet! That's why—"

"Why we can't fail!" Queen overpowered Skull. Stepping up to him, she poked Skull in the chest. "You think I want to do this!? You think I want to abandon him!?"

"Whoa…" Everyone stopped and stared at Queen, tears pouring off her chin from beneath her mask.

Clutching her shaking hand to her chest, Violet apologized, again and again. Senpai… I'm so sorry. "Queen is right… We return tomorrow."

Thursday June 30th Night 20XX

"I'm home…" Stumbling into the mansion that doubled as her home, Haru's mind was blank. She had been so preoccupied with her own circumstances. With trying to escape her father's plan that she had stopped considering the dangers associated with the metaverse.

Ren's trapped in a palace… That inescapable fact was like a bucket of cold water on Haru. The exit from the palace had been a miserable escape, like mice scurrying away.

"Tsk…" Clenching a fist, Haru stomped to the grand entrance room. As expected, her father was there reading the paper.

"Haru."

Slowing up, Haru tried to don a pleasant smile. "Yes, father?"

"You have been the cause of multiple conversations I've had." Kunikazu began the conversation.

And I said yesterday that I would talk to him today… Haru groaned. She hadn't expected a complete disaster to occur.

"First, I hear that Hyodo has returned to Sapporo. Without completing her duty at that…"

"Do not blame her father! Anything she could not do is because of me…"

"Let me finish." Standing up, Kunikazu, for the first time Haru could remember, stared her in the eye and addressed her as a person. "I talked with Sugimoto's father."

Swallowing, Haru froze. I'm so dead…

"It was… interesting. He laughed at how insecure his son seemed to be. How he kept asking odd questions. Guess he inferred that you were the one to teach him a lesson?"

"I… I may have…" Did I… actually change Sugimoto? Is that possible?

"Either way… It seems the marriage is being postponed for now. He wants to make sure he is capable enough to marry you first."

"Huh?"

"Good night."

"W-Wait…" Turning around, Haru stared open-jawed at her father's back as he walked away. If he was being serious… Collapsing to her knees, Haru clamped her hand over her mouth to suppress her cries.

I did it! I used my words are made actual change! With the weight of world lifting from her shoulders, Haru felt reborn. Even with Ren still missing… that was fine. They would find him tomorrow. She could do this. She could win her fights.

In Haru's mind eye, a sassy brunette girl winked once before sashaying away. "Thank you… and thank you too, Mari-san." Rising a new woman from the floor, Haru could almost feel the two women flanking her. Each one a different side of a coin. Both of them pivotal in teaching Haru how to continue moving.