Captain Blues: And I am back on the Persona ship. Sorry I've been away for so long but I hit a bit of writer's block with this. So, let's get to it!

Persona V: Reversing the Wheel of Fate
Chapter Thirty – Four

[Opening Scene: Shibuya – Niijima Residence (Evening)
Theme of the Troubled: Seven Sisters High School B from Persona 2: Innocent Sin]

"What are you going to do?" Makoto asked softly.

Ren stared at his phone with an unsure expression, and that made Makoto frown.

Admittedly, she knew he was in a tough spot. The girl who betrayed him and shattered his heart, and instilled the fear of love in him reached out to him because she needed help.

His help.

"A part of me…Desperately wants to say no," Ren admitted. "I do not owe her anything. She's the one that hurt me and betrayed me like everyone else…" Ren took a deep breath. "And yet I can't…If I were to abandon her to this…I would be no better than her or anyone in my town…" Ren sighed out.

Makoto stared at him for a moment. At this moment, Makoto was painfully reminded of her father. Always willing to help, always ready to put aside his turmoil to help others, even when it was a detriment to himself.

Makoto leaned forward and took his hand in hers. Forcing down the blush she felt when his intense gray eyes looked at her, Makoto told him, "It's okay to be selfish once in a while…You don't always have to play the hero…."

"This girl, she hurt you bad, right? It is not your responsibility. You did not cause this pain in her. You did not hurt her in any way. You should not have to push aside your pain and feelings to accommodate someone who hurt you," Makoto continued.

"If you want to help her, I'm not going to stop it. I have no reason to interfere in your life in that way…But just remember that you do not always have to be the hero who sacrifices himself and his feelings for others. You can care for yourself too sometimes…" Makoto told him.

Ren looked down again and said, "I just…I made her promise always to be there when she needed me…Even after her betrayal…I feel like if I don't go, I'll be breaking my word. Someone I looked up told me that my word meant everything, and if I promised something, I should always keep it…."

"Was that your dad who told you that?" Makoto asked curiously.

Ren gave a bitter laugh. "No…My father wouldn't know how to keep his word, let alone give me advice on keeping mine…It was…."

The image of a girl with auburn hair and red eyes appeared in his mind, and it filled his heart with both longing and somberness. "Someone near and dear to me," Ren murmured.

Makoto watched as a warm smile appeared on his face, seemingly remembering this mysterious person. "Tell me about them," Makoto said.

"Not much to tell. She was a great person. Taught me more than my father ever could," Ren explained. "Nothing more than that…" Ren then smiled then looked at the phone and said, "I'm going to see her…But I will make it clear that I don't forgive her for what she did. I'm just doing the right thing…."

Makoto nodded.

"And that is what makes you a good person…." Makoto said as she took his hand into hers.

He smiled.

And it made her heart soar.

[Change Scene: Shibuya – Okumura Residence (Evening)
Theme Of Okumura Residence: Have A Short Rest From Persona 5]

"Thanks for coming by on such short notice, guys," Haru said as Shiho, Ann, Morgana, and Ryuji waltzed inside her place.

"No problem Haru-chan," Ryuji said with a large grin as he plopped down on the couch. "What's up?" Ann sat down across from Ryuji and held her arms open for Morgana, who leaped into her arms where she started to pet him.

Shiho sat on the lone lazy boy and folded her legs as Haru stood in the middle of the room. "Okay…I've been talking to someone…" Haru began with a frown. "And they…They've been going through something…Something Shiho and I are familiar with…."

Shiho's eyes widened in surprise. "No…You mean that?" Shiho asked.

"What?" Ann and Ryuji asked.

"She's been interacting with her Shadow," Haru said with a frown.

[Theme of Tension: Mystery 5 from Persona 2 Eternal Punishment (PSP Ver)]

Everyone tensed at this reveal.

"Her shadow has been taunting her since after she and I met," Haru explained. "It's been ramping up, and I'm worried that it will continue or become more extreme if we're not careful."

"Who is she?" Morgana asked.

"Togo Hifumi," Haru answered.

"Hm…So her shadow has been antagonizing her?" Ann asked.

"The bigger question is. You have a shadow that has been tormenting you?!" Ryuji shouted.

Shiho watched as Haru flinched. "Yes…"

"Since when?" Morgana asked.

"I'd rather not get into that…." Haru told them.

"Um, how about fuck that and answer the question," Ryuji said.

"Ryuji!" Ann exclaimed.

"No, we fight shadows and help those in need. That is the Phantom Thief way," Ryuji argued. "If Haru is having some shit happening to her, we need to help her and anyone who suffered from this."

"Ryuji is right," Morgana asked before he looked at Shiho and said, "If that was happening to you too, there is no telling how serious this is."

"How bad was it, Shiho?" Ann asked.

Shiho let out a sigh and said, "I had that shadow every day of my life…She was the dark voice I would hear all the time…But I always fought against it. It wasn't until him that made it worse…." Shiho took a deep breath. "The shadow would egg me on to take my own life…Every day, but on the rooftop that day, I was going to step down, but the shadow pulled me off…."

Alarmed expressions appeared on the faces of her friends at this reveal.

"You see my point?" Ryuji said as he looked back at Haru. "Her shadow nearly killed her…You want your shadow to do that to you?"

Haru lowered her head. "I have it handled…" she whispered.

"Fuck that noise," Ryuji said as he stood up sharply. "I bet Shiho had it handled to before she was nearly was murdered by it!"

Haru flinched.

"We can't help Hifumi and ignore the bullshit going on with you, Haru. You need to tell us what is going on!" Ryuji said. "We nearly lost Shiho, and I will be fucking pissed if I lose I nearly or outright lose a friend to this!"

"Ryuji…" Haru whispered.

"This is a new facet to this…." Morgana said with a frown. "But we cannot do this without Ren…."

"Yeah, where is Ren?" Ann asked, trying to deflect from the ongoing tension between Ryuji and Haru.

"He had an important affair to deal with but said he would be available once it's done…He also mentioned that we need to have a team meeting regarding someone who needs help as well…" Haru quietly said.

"I know tension is high," Shiho said as she looked to Ryuji. "But for now, let's wait until we have our team meeting…We still have to deal with Madarame. We cannot have a lot of things on our plate…."

Ryuji scoffed and looked to Haru and said, "Fine, but this conversation is far from over…." And with those words, he stormed out of her house.

"A pissed-off Ryuji…This will be fun…." Morgana sighed. "But he has a point. You should not have hidden this from us, Haru. Because now, we need to factor in that this could be going with Kitagawa Yusuke as well and who knows who else…."

"Either way, our job just got a lot tougher…." Ann sighed out.

[Scene Change: Shibuya – Construction Site (Nighttime)
Theme of the Troubled: Seven Sisters High School B from Persona 2: Innocent Sin]

"You didn't have to come with me, Makoto-chan," Ren stated as the two stood at the construction site, the location where Sumire requested to meet him.

"If you're going to do this, I might as well mediate in case things get rough," Makoto explained.

"What about your sister?" Ren questioned.

"She already told me that she wouldn't be home tonight," Makoto said with a glum tone. "She's pulling another all-nighter at the office, and after her rant, she wouldn't want to be home with me anyways…."

Ren frowned at this, but before he could comment on it, Sumire walked out of the shadows, which caused him to freeze up.

[Theme of Heartache: Reminiscence (Sorrowful) from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PSP Ver)]

"You came…." Sumire whispered.

"Against my better judgment, I came…." Ren said.

"Y-You did not have to…." Sumire told him.

"Oh, I know," Ren said heatedly, but he dialed back his anger. "But you know me. I can never turn my back on people who need it. No matter who it is…."

"Ren…I…" Sumire began, but she then noticed Makoto and said, "Oh, you didn't come alone. Hello, Niijima-senpai."

"Good evening, Yoshizawa-san," Makoto said with a nod.

"W-Why did she come with you?" Sumire questioned.

"To do what you didn't do, and that was to support me," Ren said.

Sumire flinched hard at this and clenched her shirt.

"Anyway. I'm surprised your parents allowed you to come here," Ren said. "Considering how protective they are of you."

"They know I am here," Sumire admitted. "My dad is in the car over there," Sumire said as she pointed at the car. "H-He wanted to make sure things went smoothly for our talk."

Ren felt that familiar stab of hurt in his heart. There was a time he looked up to Sumire's father as the standard of what fathers should be, but that all changed that day.

"Why did you want to see me?" Ren asked the red-haired girl with strained anger.

"I-I…." Sumire started before she bowed her head and asked, "You hate me, don't you? You have every right to hate me, of course…." Sumire whispered sadly. "What I said that day…It was selfish and cruel…You needed me, and not only did I deny you help…I abandoned you…."

"You did a lot more than that!" Ren sharply exclaimed.

Makoto placed a hand on his shoulder, which helped Ren calm down. "I'll ask again. Why did you want to meet with me?" Ren slowly asked.

"I need you," Sumire answered, which caused Ren to scoff. "I-I know. I have no right to want that. But I do. Ami-kun, I-"

"It's Ren," Ren corrected with venom in his voice. "Only those I trust can use that nickname."

"I-I deserved that…." Sumire whispered.

"No, you deserve a lot more than that," Ren hissed out. "How dare you, Sumire? How dare you come back into my life after you, my parents, and our friends walked out on me and say that you need me? I needed you, and you left me broken!"

"I-I'm sorry, R-Ren," Sumire whimpered.

"Ren. It would help if you calmed down," Makoto whispered as Ren took a step away from Makoto and towards Sumire.

"No," Ren said to Makoto without looking at her. "She needs me, right? Well, let me show her how much I needed her!" Ren turned back to Sumire and said, "Three weeks, Sumire. Three weeks of being beaten, humiliated, and lied on with no else to turn to, no one else to save me!"

"Three weeks of having my character shredded by everyone. My parents betrayed me, the ones who gave me life. My friends, the people I went to bat for, the people I helped protect, left me," Ren told the girl with tears in his eyes. "But despite that, I knew I could count on the girl I promised my heart to, the girl that I cared about. The girl I thought would have a future with me would believe me and stand by my side. And I thought as long as she stood by me, I could face anything."

Sumire had tears falling down her eyes as Ren said, "But you didn't. You, like everyone else, betrayed me. You all looked at me, the person who protected everyone he could, the person who saved you before you even went to Gorin Academy from those knuckleheads and called me a liar and a criminal and tossed me away as if I was nothing!"

"I'm sorry," Sumire whispered.

"No, you're not sorry," Ren said. "You weren't sorry when you walked into that cell collaborated a lie. You weren't sorry when you said I wasn't the person you fell in love with anymore. You weren't sorry when you told me that you had bigger things to worry about instead of the low-life criminal you said I was. You weren't sorry when you falsly said your parents were there. And you weren't sorry when you compared me to the man that murdered your sister!"

Both Makoto and Sumire's eyes widened at that reveal. "I-I…" Sumire began as she fell to her knees, her body trembling as Ren stood above her with a heartbroken expression.

"I loved you. And I trusted you, and you just threw it away. You and everyone else hurt me beyond repair, to the point that I can't even allow anyone in my heart again. You took the stand that day and destroyed my life with my parents, your parents, and that lying woman against me. And now you need me?" Ren asked as Sumire stared at the ground beneath her.

Ren turned around and said, "I could deal with everyone turning their backs on me. But you? You did what the police couldn't do, and that was break me."

"R-Ren…." Sumire whispered as she reached out to him.

"We may go to school together, and we may be on the student council, but I don't ever want to talk to you again, Sumire. Lose my number and forget our past. I'm through with Aoharu City, and I'm through with you," Ren told her before he started to walk to Makoto.

"Why?" Sumire brokenly whispered, which caused Ren to stop.

He turned around and saw Sumire, still on her knees, her eyes empty with tears streaming down her face. "Why must everyone I love leave me?" she whispered. Ren felt his already broken heart splinter into more pieces at how empty she sounded, but he turned his head and continued to walk, his body trembling as he panted shakily.

"Please don't leave," the haunting voice of Sumire whispered behind him. "Don't leave me behind….don't leave me behind….don't leave me behind…."

Ren clenched his chest as the tears grew heavier at hearing her broken pleas. "Stop it…" he whispered helplessly, the pain in his heart growing to unsafe levels.

"Don't leave me behind….don't leave me behind…." Sumire continued to whisper.

"Stop it!" Ren yelled as he looked at Sumire sharply. "You left me behind in that hell!" Ren screamed. "Y-You don't have the right to say that!" Ren gasped out as he stared at the Sumire. "Please stop this torture!"

Ren fell to his knees as Sumire continued to whisper, "Don't leave me behind….don't leave me behind…."

Ren suddenly found Makoto in front of him, his face in her hands as she said, "Ren, I'm here. It'll be alright.."

"W-Why does this hurt so bad?" Ren brokenly whispered to Makoto as he saw Sumire's father carry her to their car to drive off. "She hurt me. Broke me, and yet I'm s-still…."

"Oh, Ren," Makoto whispered as she hugged him tightly. "It's okay, Ren. It'll be okay. I promise…."

Makoto knew that Ren needed help, and there was only one person that could help her now.

She pulled out her phone and said to Ren, "Hold on, I'm getting you help."

[Change Scene: Shibuya – Okumura Residence (Nighttime)
Theme of Heartache: Reminiscence (Sorrowful) from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PSP Ver)]

At the sound of intense knocking at her door, Haru shouted, "I'm coming!" as she walked to the front door.

After Ryuji stormed out, Shiho, Ann, and Morgana had gone to bed, with the trio opting to let the punk simmer down, but Haru had felt both too angry and too guilty to sleep.

She was the reason Ryuji was angry.

She knew he was right, but. Hifumi was the concern right now, not her. Why couldn't he see that? She opened the door and found herself gasping when she saw Ryuji and Makoto standing in the doorway with an unconscious Ren hanging from their shoulders.

"W-What happened?" Haru stammered.

"Look, I know I'm supposed to be hella pissed at you right now," Ryuji began. "But wake everyone up. Ren needs our help."

Captain Blues: Yeah, this chapter vastly different from the previous version.

So, before anyone comments on Ren's rant to Sumire, I kind of hinted at it when she was explaining what was going on to Ryuji and Shiho on the roof that day. On her portion, I purposely put it in her POV and then switch over to Ren crying to Ann.

That is because her version of events was not the full version that happened. Why is that? Simple, the good doctor helped Sumire out with this, as he did with everything else in her life. And this is part of the reason why Sumire broke down so badly. This is the start of her waking up to her true self.

This chapter was damn angsty, and I'm sorry about that, but the angst is not over yet. Until then…