Friday, 8/5
The van slowed, yet no one said a word. Their mostly wordless drive seemingly continued until the very end near Shibuya Crossing. Ren appreciated the silence quite a bit, managing to sleep through the entirety of the drive. He figured that the others probably did the same, or else they would have faced an ostensibly endless wave of boredom.
As it finally sank in that GRAVY arrived back in Tokyo and the drive concluded, doors slowly began to open, legs began to stretch, and exhausted groans were released as GRAVY stepped out of the car. They filed out on either side, all eventually coming around to the curb where the Haru parked the van.
I'm guessing it's time to say our goodbyes?
"Thanks for the trip, Haru," Ryuji said before giving the heiress a hug. She looked more than a little surprised at the embrace but matched it before responding.
"Mhm… I hope everyone had at least a little fun…"
Did I have fun? ...Hm… let me think. Well, the drive up to Iwatodai was pretty boring. Didn't help that I'm gonna half to deal with the milf thing later and that I saw Iori during the drive. Next, on our day touring the city… the shrine was fine. Ryuji and Yusuke's antics could've been contained, but it is what it is. But that night… with Makoto… I'd consider that fun. More than fun. So yeah, I guess I did have fun. Things did end on a bit of a sour note yesterday, but Haru's been taking it well. While she wasn't acting normal this morning or during the drive, she wasn't totally depressed. That's a good thing.
Ren attributed Haru's positive mood to her receiving closure with her mother, even if the circumstances created more questions. Curiosity for those questions surely existed within Haru, but Ren didn't want to assume. It would make an ass out of him.
"Yeah, I had fun," Ann said before matching Ryuji's gesture and hugging Haru. "If you need anything, Haru, we're all here for you."
"If you need anything at all," Yusuke said as he took his turn hugging Haru, "do not hesitate to ask."
Good for Yusuke that he can hug Haru. He's never really seemed like a hugger. Oh… is it my turn?
Ren hugged Haru, hoping that everyone else repeated the sentiment enough. He added words of his own just to make sure. "Anytime, Haru. Just call."
Makoto concluded a series of hugs and considerate words with her own, echoing the statements of the rest of GRAVY. Afterward, Haru helped them get their bags from the back of the van before saying her final goodbyes and getting back into the van. GRAVY watched as the van rejoined the Shibuya traffic, quickly disappearing around the next corner.
Time to go home, I guess?
"I… I'll see you guys later," Ren said awkwardly. His conversation with Makoto from the previous night helped his deplorable feelings on the Aika Okumura situation, but it didn't fully mend his thoughts on the situation. It also pulled new fears and worries to the surface, but Ren didn't want to think about that. "Sorry if I was distant yesterday… I had a fun trip, and I hope you guys did, too," Ren said before he turned left. He didn't even realize what he forgot with the rest of GRAVY.
Ren heard Makoto quickly saying goodbye to GRAVY, yet continued to walk, still not remembering that they lived in the same building until she caught up to him and matched his pace as they continued through Shibuya. "Ren, you could've stuck around a little longer for everyone else's goodbyes," she said.
"Sorry. Tired." Ren's genuine excuse seemed to satisfy Makoto, if only slightly.
"Yeah, I'm feeling the same way," she said with a yawn. "We may have taken a bit too much time on the beach last night."
At that moment, Ren regarded their moment on the beach as an important thing that he should feel great about. It showed that Makoto cared for him, along with Makoto actually helping Ren get his head out of the ditch that he put it in. It also opened up a new possibility, one where Ren would use the visions granted by the clinical trials to try and help people.
Awful lot of responsibility for a supposed delinquent who eats nothing but bagels and school-bought bread.
To Ren, that level of responsibility brought fear. Ren could just as easily interpret a vision incorrectly and screw things up even more as he could get something right. The guaranteed risk directly opposed Ren's lack of a desire to gamble. Not even twenty-four hours after his conversation with Makoto, Ren didn't think he could follow through on what they discussed.
But he wouldn't tell Makoto that. It would lead to her sitting him down for another talk, him agreeing to the same outcome, and then coming full circle by chickening out. Ren recognized the cycle before it even began.
"I guess," Ren said. "I was talking about napping during the car ride, but we were out pretty late, too. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me."
"And thank you for actually opening up, Ren. It means a lot that you trust me enough to tell me something like that," Makoto said as they continued walking towards their building, which grew closer and closer.
I guess I don't trust you enough to tell you about all the other weird shit, but it is what it is. Maybe I'll get around to it.
Ren didn't reply, but he did keep up with Makoto's pace. Within minutes, they made it to the apartment building. Ren and Makoto took the same elevator up, only parting ways once they reached Ren's floor.
"Thank you, Ren," Makoto said, giving him a hug as he stepped out of the elevator. "Text me if you want to talk. And you can come over anytime, even if you just want to hang out."
Yeah… maybe.
"Oh, and speaking of coming over, would you want to come over for another dinner with my sister anytime soon?" Makoto quickly added.
Er… I don't know. I'm on better terms with Sae than before, but I have very good reasons to still be afraid of her, especially now that Makoto and I are advancing. I should go over there, but not now… I want to at least be in a decent mood for dinner, and definitely not tripping balls. That's never happening again.
"Maybe. I have a lot to do, but I'll let you know when I'm free."
That's actually not a lie. I have to make sure Ryuji doesn't fuck up his shot with Hifumi, I need to hang out with Kasumi, I need to check in with Chihaya, and, in the last possible spot, I should go to Tae's clinic. Fuck.
"Great," Makoto said as she stepped back into the elevator. "Bye, Ren." She waved as the elevator doors closed and left Ren alone on his floor.
Back to the same old shit.
Ren walked down the deserted hallway to his apartment door, unlocked it with his trusty key, and went inside to find that it hadn't been touched since he left a few days prior. From Ren's bag that hung at his side, Morgana meowed excitedly.
Home sweet home… good thing I have the night off from Leblanc because I do not have the energy for that. Time for a little rest and relaxation.
Sunday, 8/7
"Take five!" the shoot organizer called, signaling Ann to break her pose and step out of the camera's view. She accepted the many congratulatory words coming from the shoot workers with a bright smile as she walked off the set.
Ann arrived at the corner of the room where she left her bag and other possessions. She took her phone from her bag and opened it up to see an empty notification wall.
Ugh… Ann thought to herself. Is nobody in GRAVY able to say anything? Ann expected at least a text or two in the group chat, but nothing came through all weekend. Even Saturday, when she expected plans for Sunday to come through, had nothing to show. More than wanting to hang out with her friends, Ann wanted to hear from Haru but received nothing from the heiress. I should check on her.
A minute into her five-minute break, Ann dialed Haru's number and held the phone up to her ear. It didn't even take Haru two rings to answer the phone, surprising Ann.
"Hello?" the familiarly upbeat voice said from the other end.
That's weird… I didn't think she'd sound this normal by now, but I don't know Haru's process. I don't know how well Haru could fake being happy, but this sounds pretty genuine… so did I even need to call her? Ann asked herself before proceeding to chastise herself for that question. Of course you did, Ann! She's your friend! Even if someone's in a good mood, talking to a friend can't hurt.
"Hey, Haru!" Ann said, instinctively trying to one-up Haru's enthusiasm. "I'm just calling to say hi. How's your weekend been?"
"Thank you, I appreciate it," Haru began before answering Ann's question. "I haven't mentioned anything to my father, or anyone at the house, so life has been proceeding as normal for everyone."
"How's it going for you ?"
"Um, well, fine… it's hard to explain. I learned something that weighs down over my very name, yet I don't feel burdened by it when I should be… do you think that's wrong, Ann?" Haru's concern for herself reminded Ann why she enjoyed their friendship. Ninety-nine percent of the time, Haru could be trusted as the voice of reason in a situation because of how well she understood herself and other members of GRAVY.
"No, of course not!" Ann looked at the clock on the wall. Her five minutes were running out. She would've liked to talk with Haru for longer, but duty called. "It's great that you're not letting it get to your head… if it does, let me know, okay?"
"I will, Ann."
"Look, I gotta go because of work, but I just wanted to let you know that you can call me for anything, even if it's just to get lunch or something."
"Mhm, I know. Thank you for calling. Good luck with work!"
"Bye!" Ann hung up and put her phone away in her bag, which she then set back down in her private corner, before returning to the main set.
However, none of Ann's coworkers could be seen. She surveyed the set, trying to find someone without success. After a few more seconds of confusion, another facet of Ann's senses picked up on something.
Ann heard voices coming from her left. Curious, she walked over, seeing that the voices were coming from around a corner that led into another hallway. Ann peeked around the corner, discovering everyone working on the set that day huddled in a circle with their backs to Ann.
"Guys! Whatever happened to a five-minute break?!" Ann stomped towards them. At her job, Ann considered herself the model model, always trying to stay efficient while doing her very best. When others didn't adhere to the same standards as her, it upset her quite a bit, but not enough that it would ruin her day. Ann knew that she would forget about it in a few hours, especially after getting some food in her system.
"Sorry, Ann-chan," one of the photographers said. "But this new CosmoPollination cover is amazing!" The photographer took the magazine out of the circle of coworkers, turning around to show it to Ann.
Oh, thanks! That was such a fun shoot, huh? Everyone at CosmoPollination is really, really nice, even if their whole gimmick is getting girls to dress up in bee costumes. I wonder if the- wait, that's not me on the cover! Ann felt her jaw drop to the ground. She considered herself in danger because the person who was on the cover was drop-dead gorgeous. Long, slender legs that perfectly reflected light back to the camera. A sly, enticing grin that could be innocent and devious. Perfect black hair that Ann could pick out of a crowd of a billion with the same hair color. She's perfect… but why didn't they choose my photos?! We did the shoot, they paid me, and everything!
Hurt, Ann turned away from the photographers so they couldn't see her (definitely not) jealousy, or her negative reaction to the model. CosmoPollination just pulled my cover without telling me?! Those assholes. I'm never working for them again… Ann locked her vow into her mind as she turned back around to face the photographers.
"O-oh… these are g-great… who is she ?" she asked, trying to contain her frustration. Letting any anger slip into her words risked her reputation as someone kind and easy to work with.
"You don't know?! It's Mika!" the photographer asked. His shock at Ann's ignorance towards the model did not go unnoticed by Ann. "She's an up-and-comer in the Tokyo modeling scene! She's really taking off!"
Ann took the magazine, looking Mika directly in the eye. "Taking off, huh?"
Mika, even if you don't want the competition, I'm sorry. Blame CosmoPollination. This means war, Ann thought determinedly. Just you wait…
Monday, 8/8
Ren's weekend of nothing concluded when he left his apartment Monday evening for something he did not look forward to work. It meant that he would be speaking with Futaba.
At least, that's what he thought. A slim chance of not speaking to Futaba still existed, though Ren hated that he staked his night on the chance. Speaking with Futaba would probably leave him in a bad mood.
At least I learned about statistics in the Spring. There's a chance that I visit Futaba, as a well dependent chance that things go well with her. See, Ren, look at you! Statistics isn't the most worthless area of math; geometry is!
As usual, the deserted Leblanc booths and Sojiro greeted Ren as he walked into the coffee shop. Sojiro sat at the bar, reading the newspaper, looking up to greet his only employee. "How was Iwatodai?" he asked simply. Emotion didn't come through Sojiro's expression. Ren didn't know whether his boss meant to hide something or nothing went wrong during Ren's trip.
"Fine…" Ren wanted to be vague because of the trip's ending. Still, he owed his boss at least one fun tidbit or two. "We somehow got into this club, and Ryuji, the guy with the dyed hair, spent the whole time kissing this woman who's twice his age."
"Hah!" Sojiro got quite the laugh out of that. "I didn't think that kid was up to it when he was here that one time… say, why weren't you the one with that woman?" Sojiro asked, setting his newspaper down. He went around the counter and began preparing some coffee. "A protégé of mine letting a bachelorette go? Unacceptable."
Ren sat at the bar, across from Sojiro who continued fixing the cup of coffee. For the first time since the middle of the Iwatodai trip, he actually felt excited to talk about something.
Never thought that I'd be eager to tell Sojiro about me and a girl… that's some father shit. "Every young male needs a father-figure…" blah blah blah. That probably doesn't apply to me, but I guess Sojiro could fill the role if the need existed.
"I'm a committed man, boss," Ren said with a genuine smirk. His still vivid memory of Makoto's kiss, as well as their conversation on the boat, justified his pride.
"Ah, so you really aren't my protégé." Sojiro chuckled as he finished the coffee and set the cup down on the counter for Ren. "Oh well. I guess I'll just have to hire that kid with the dyed hair."
As if Ryuji could stomach a shift lasting longer than an hour. I'm out here doing four per shift, while Ryuji's probably devoting that time to videogames or practicing his bird mating calls in the mirror.
Silence settled as Ren took the first few sips of the scorching coffee. Not content to stand around, Sojiro got to work washing dishes, finishing a few plates before the next words were spoken. "How about you visit Futaba tonight?"
Uh…
Sojiro must've noticed Ren's lack of eagerness. "She wouldn't stop bugging me about when you were coming back, you know," he said with a chuckle. "And you're in for quite the surprise when you do see her."
The smile on Sojiro's face felt strange to Ren. Sojiro never looked this happy at Leblanc, especially when referring to Futaba's circumstances.
I gotta ask.
"What?" Ren asked curiously. "What'd she do?"
"Oh, nothing," Sojiro said, wiping the smile off his face. "You'll have to find out for yourself."
"'Get… shit on… dickwad… I could fuck… your mom… while playing against you… blindfolded… and still kick… your ass...' Yeah, that's perfect!" Futaba muttered to herself as she typed out the insults into the chat bar. Her one-V-one match against another player ended heavily in her favor, leading Futaba into her usual gloating.
The pinging sound of a player quitting the lobby went straight through Futaba's headphones, bringing a power-tripping grin to her face. Futaba laughed as she swiftly queued up to find the next victim of her skills and profanity. A knock on her door made her cancel the matchmaking and swivel her chair around to face the door.
"Futaba?" a familiar voice said. "It's Ren. I'm back from my trip, but I guess you probably already knew that…"
Futaba did. She tracked his phone for the whole drive back. It felt like the right thing to do after how depressed everyone sounded the day before the drive. Futaba hadn't listened in on GRAVY's conversations much on that specific day, mainly because of how out of it everyone sounded. Futaba didn't know what happened, but she knew that some boundaries needed to be respected.
"Hey, Ren," Futaba swiftly replied. "How was the drive back?"
No response. Did I say something wrong? Ren is usually pretty quick to reply… so what's taking him so long? Futaba gave him a few more seconds before she reminded him of their conversation.
"Hello? Earth to Ren? You still there?" Futaba said to the door. The door had to stay closed, which did suck, but Futaba understood its necessity. The door just had to be closed, for whatever reason.
"Uh… yep. Still here…" Ren said from the other side. The barrier always muffled him somewhat, but Futaba still picked up on anything he said. She made sure to be careful, not wanting to miss any of her newest friend's words. "You… you talk now?"
What kind of question is that?! Futaba thought before she remembered. Oh… shit, my bad. I was too scared to talk to Ren for a bit. Eh, no biggie. I'm sure he's happy to hear my voice, right?
"Yep!"
"And, uh… did you start talking because of that therapist that Sojiro brought in?"
"Who? The doc? Yeah, he's really nice. He helped a lot," Futaba said. Maruki scheduled their next session for a few days from then, leaving Futaba with a lot to look forward to. His sincerity had been what placed him ahead of the pack of therapists that Futaba saw over the years.
"Cool, cool…" Ren awkwardly said.
Weird… he's got less to say now that I can talk and I'm not sending replies to his phone… eh, maybe he's just a little confused. Fine by me, he'll get used to it, Futaba thought as she spun her chair back around to face her computer. Hah, I wonder what he'll think when he sees me in person for the first time… hey, when is that gonna be? I need to open the door for that.
But she couldn't. Even if Futaba wanted to see Ren face-to-face, the notion of opening the door didn't particularly motivate her. She felt no desire to do so, and her thoughts dropped the idea rather quickly.
I'm sure I'll be able to look him in the eye eventually, right? Futaba asked herself. The question went unanswered and would go unanswered as Ren soon left Futaba alone yet again. He'll be back in a few days. Maybe I'll be able to open the door then.
Tuesday, 8/9
Ren awoke to his phone beeping with a new message. He groggily rolled over, disrupting Morgana's peaceful slumber atop his chest, and grabbed his phone off the nightstand. He checked the notification with tired eyes.
Tae Takemi:
-I hear you're back in Tokyo, my guinea pig.
I know that I committed to going to Tae's because I want to know the future… but do I really need to go? It's too much. I can't take that responsibility. I could get it wrong. Maybe I'm just going crazy, and trying to help others would just drag them into my insanity. I know that I'll have to go to Tae's eventually… but not today.
Ren Amamiya:
-You heard wrong.
Tae Takemi:
-That's not what our mutual friend, the coffee connoisseur, said.
Well fuck, Sojiro. Thanks for selling me out.
Tae Takemi:
-Just come down to the clinic, okay, Ren?
I don't even know why I bother complaining.
Ren Amamiya:
-As you wish.
"Could I at least get a kiss for my services?"
"Daring today, aren't we?" Tae laughed at Ren's joke, though she still shot it down rather quickly. "You had a girlfriend, last time that I checked."
"And she wanted me to go here, so I'm not sure how current your information is."
"Dumping the class president because she wants you to help a struggling, local business?" Tae said with a smirk as she finished preparing the mixture and walked over to Ren. Like always, he sat atop the examination table. "You don't want to end up on the wrong side of history, Ren."
"Yet I'm about to drink mystery liquid X."
Tae smiled at Ren as she handed him the cup. Eager for things to be over with, Ren chugged the mixture.
Just a few visions of death and destruction, then it's all done. Easy-peasy.
Ren put his legs up on the examination table and laid his head back. Maybe falling asleep naturally would help the process. He closed his eyes and told himself that his courage would be rewarded with a painless hallucination.
"Do you feel anything yet?" Tae asked from her swivel chair, scooting it towards Ren. Her notepad sat on her lap, ready for whatever observations she would make.
"Every time I come to one of these trials and you ask that, that's when I start feeling it."
"So…?"
"Nope. Not yet."
"Maybe a stronger dosage…" Tae mumbled loud enough to give Ren a chance to intervene.
"Fuck-" Ren sat up with a jolt, "-tha… what the hell?" No longer in the safest of doctor's offices, Ren found himself in what looked like a kitchen. It had a modern aesthetic, with white countertops and glass decorations around him.
Decorations weren't the only thing around him. People, who Ren knew, littered the room around him. In their hands were cups filled with omnipotent-being-knows-what, probably gravy, but Ren didn't plan on finding out. With all his looking around, Ren remembered what he was doing.
He sat up even more when he noticed that he had been laying on the countertop of a kitchen island, directly in the center of the room. Unfortunately, his sudden movement got him noticed.
"Braid my ball hairs and call me Franz Ferdinand! It's Ren Amamiya!" someone yelled, receiving a bunch of cheers in response. Ren shyly smiled at the horde of people looking at him as he tried to scoot himself off the table without bumping into anyone. As soon as his feet dropped onto the hardwood floor, he stumbled into the person in front of him.
"Er, sorry…" Ren mumbled. He tried to walk away, but the person spun around and grabbed his wrist.
"This is your party, man!" the person yelled over the loud music as Ren realized that the person had a name that he already knew. "Everyone's here for you!" Ryuji said, making Ren actually consider the possibility. He glanced around the room full of moving bodies. Faces he recognized were mixed with faces he didn't. Every member of GRAVY and most of the other people Ren met in Tokyo within the past few months were dancing with hallucination-generated people.
"Cool," Ren said. He shook off Ryuji's grip, trying to walk out of the party, but Ryuji grabbed him by the shoulder just as he thought he could escape.
"Oh no you don't!" Ryuji spun Ren around. His devilish grin told Ren that something idiotic, funny, or just plain lame would follow. "You haven't signed the contract yet!"
"Contract?"
Ryuji held his cup in front of Ren's face. "Razmataz, hibaglaz, supsamazz!" The cup incinerated before Ren's very eyes. As its ashes aimlessly floated towards the ground, Ryuji waved his fingers at the falling ashes. They flew up into his hand, swiftly reforming as paper while sparkles danced down the sheet. Ren could see typed lettering covering both sides of the sheet.
Ryuji's a sorcerer now? Great. Wonder where that came from.
"Get that shit out of here," Ren said as he took the contract, ripped it in half, and tossed the remains over his shoulder.
"But-"
"As you said, it's my party. No legal paperwork allowed at my party, okay?"
Ryuji said nothing, but he did disintegrate into thin air. Ren would've thought it strange but the hallucinations no longer surprised him like they used to.
I've seen worse. Not going to lie, this one is kinda lame. The worst my shitty mind can come up with is having to sign paperwork?
"Ren, heeey!" a girl said as she walked up to Ren, her cup raised in the air to celebrate something . "You want a drink?"
Good to see you too, Ann.
"Nope. You know where the exit is?"
"Ooh, yeah!" Surprisingly, she wanted to help. She pointed behind Ren. "Just walk through the hallway that leads out of the kitchen, and you'll be at the front door!"
"Great. Thanks, Ann."
"No problem, Ren!" Just as he started to be on his way, Ann called after him. "But they told me to tell you that you can't leave until you sign the contract!"
Fucking hell.
"Can I call my lawyer?" Ren said as he turned back around to speak with Ann. Unfortunately, she too disintegrated along with her drink. Taking her place, Makoto stepped up to bat with Ren as she emerged from the dancing crowd of people. Unlike the previous two hallucinated members of GRAVY, Makoto held no drink in hand. Instead, she cradled Morgana with both arms.
"Hey, Ren! So glad you're finally here!"
"Lemme guess," Ren said with no compassion for his hallucinated girlfriend. "You want me to sign a contract."
"Contract? What do you mean?" Makoto quickly overcame her confusion and moved on to her point. "I-I was just wondering if, um… you wanted to go outside with me?"
"Better than signing contracts. Let's do it," Ren said before going with her. "You bringing Morgana?"
"Hm?" Makoto forgot about the cat, but Ren watched as she looked down and jumped when she remembered that she carried the feline. "Right." She looked up and around the kitchen that she and Ren reentered. "Haru!" Haru, not in her usual executioner garb, stepped out of the dancing crowd. The hallucinated version of Makoto smiled as the hallucinated version of Haru approached. "Could you heat this up for me?" Makoto said as she held Morgana out by the armpits.
"Heat this up." Uh… what does that mean?
"No problem, Mako-chan!" Haru took Morgana from Ren with the same grip on the cat. She walked over to the wall and-
Oh. That's what that means. Definitely not what I expected.
Haru opened the oven and put Morgana inside. Despite the assumedly terrible situation, Morgana looked quite pleased with the arrangement. "Who's a good god-cat?" Haru teased as she scratched Morgana's neck before slamming the oven door.
"Come on, Ren!" Makoto flirtily pleaded, lightly tugging on his arm. Ren looked on in horror as Haru started the oven with Morgana sitting inside. "We're gonna miss the fireworks!"
Fireworks? No way, that's incredible. I've completely forgotten about the live fucking cat in the oven! Everyone, give it up for fireworks!
Still, Ren knew the status of his brain.
Just a hallucination. Go with Makoto, maybe she'll kiss you or something. That'd be a nice way to end the hallucination, right? Makoto kisses me while Yusuke raps just before Haru beheads me. That's always how I wanted to go out.
"Sorry," Ren muttered before following Makoto out a sliding glass door and to a cold, empty patio. Ren looked off the edge, only seeing the lights of a distant, unrecognizable city. Dark silhouettes of trees lingered over the deck, and the only light came from the other side of the sliding glass door Makoto had closed.
Makoto snapped her fingers and two lawn chairs materialized before her on the patio, both facing the city. She took the one on the right, leaving Ren to take the other. Slowly laying down, Ren looked upwards at the stars.
Very nice. At least my brain can recreate those correctly.
"Ren, I want to talk…"
But Fake-Makoto has to ruin the stars, I guess.
"About?"
"Why do you hate me?"
"What?" Perplexed, Ren tried to figure out why his brain would produce a hallucination of Makoto that would say such a thing. "Makoto, how could I hate you?
"For one, you don't look at me the same way you look at her ." On her lawn chair, Makoto stared upward at the stairs. Even if the hallucination meant nothing, Ren desperately wanted eye contact.
"Who's her ?"
"You know. Her ."
I really don't, but alright.
"Makoto, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever met, and I definitely don't hate you."
"Then why do you lie to me?"
Christ, this is getting exhausting. Never thought I'd hallucinate a domestic argument, but here I am. Makoto, if anyone's lying, it's you. You said there'd be fireworks, but I'm looking at an empty sky. What a shame.
"I don't lie to you." As soon as Ren stopped worriedly looking over at his girlfriend and up at the stars, he heard her let out a sob. Ren jerked his head back over. "Makoto, come on…"
"You really do hate me, don't you?" she said as tears streamed down her face. Ren got up to go over and comfort her, but he stopped when he heard her next words. "If you really love me, why won't you sign the contract?"
Oh, you bitch!
"You know what, Makoto? I'm going inside." Ren turned to leave his fake girlfriend, but he stopped soon after.
"Wait! Just hold on for… seventeen seconds!" Makoto pleaded, still with tears down her face. Ren curiously eyed her. Something wasn't right. That became even clearer as Makoto began to count down from seventeen. As soon as she reached one, Ren heard cheers erupt from inside the house. "He is summoned," Makoto blankly stated before disintegrating.
Man, I really can't trust anyone here.
Ren went back into the house to see what the commotion was, but that was the exact problem: the previously filled party had been reduced to just one person standing in front of the oven: Yusuke Kitagawa in his Bob Ross getup, now with some glasses that looked exactly like what a certain member of The Bootles would wear.
This is really weird, but I can't keep lying to myself: Yusuke with the round-lens glasses is fucking great.
Attempting to break the ice, Ren used his always-successful charms."Uh… did you come out of the oven?"
Does that mean that cooking Morgana creates Yusuke? The more you know.
"Follow me," the artist said instead of answering.
Yusuke walked down a hallway that Ren didn't see earlier in the hallucination, but he still followed him. At the end of the hall, a singular door awaited the pair. Knowing Yusuke's past habits during hallucinations could be unpredictable, Ren kept his wits about him as he followed Yusuke through the door. A plain, undecorated brown room did little to keep Ren interested in whatever Yusuke had in store.
"Have a seat, Ren," Yusuke said as he gestured to a leather armchair that sat directly across from another armchair. Given Yusuke's god status within hallucinations, Ren figured it'd be safer to obey than to challenge Yusuke's command. Both of them sat down. "You know why you're here, correct?"
"No."
"You came here to sign a contract, Ren."
"No, I came here because I'm actually sleeping in some clinic and my brain is tripping balls."
Unimpressed, Yusuke shrugged. "Believe what you want. You came to this party, to this room, to sign the contract," he reiterated. "You did go to the clinic to hopefully glimpse the future. Correct?"
I mean, it makes sense that he knows that because he comes from my mind, but… it's still kinda creepy.
"Sure, why not."
"To do that, you need to sign the contract." Yusuke waved his hand, and a large wooden table appeared in between them. On Ren's side, the same contract as before patiently waited for his signature. Ren chuckled as he noticed the quill resting in ink.
Never used one of those before.
"I didn't need to sign the contract for the previous hallucinations," Ren said, not even considering picking up the quill.
" Now is when you matter, Ren. You've failed to take responsibility for your actions, therefore I must ensure that you are aware of the consequences you will create," Yusuke said, with light from nowhere—the room possessed no windows or light—glinting off his glasses and obscuring his eyes.
"And why're you responsible?" Ren asked before realizing the more important question. "Actually, who the hell are you?"
"Just a figment of your hallucination combined with someone you perceive as mysterious. Nothing more."
Would a hallucination know that they were hallucinated? Would it depend on me knowing that they're a hallucination? I gotta ask Tae how this shit works.
"You're lying."
"I say whatever you want me to say."
"Well, I want you to burn up this contract, but you haven't done that. I know you're lying to me. Who are you really?" Yusuke just stared at Ren, leaving the GRAVY leader completely in the dark. The fact that light from an unknown source still obscured Yusuke's eyes didn't help Ren's attempts to read the hallucination either. "Fuck, fine. You win the staring contest," Ren said as he broke eye contact. "What happens if I don't sign this shit?"
"You fail in what you came here to do."
"And what's that?"
"Clairvoyance," Yusuke said. His monotone and unending gaze persisted, driving annoyance into Ren. "If you do not agree to be responsible for your actions, how can I trust you with knowledge of your own path?"
So I can't see any of the future shit if I don't sign the contract? That means that I can't help my friends without signing that contract...
"Correct," Yusuke answered, alarming Ren.
"The fuck do you mean, 'correct'? I didn't say anything."
"Your conscience asked the question, Ren. It is only natural for me to understand your thoughts, as we are deep within your conscience," Yusuke explained. Finally, after what felt like an hour of staring, Yusuke nodded down at the contract, reminding Ren of its presence. "Sign the contract or don't, Ren. You may accept the gift or reject it."
"What happens if I sign it?"
"You acknowledge that your actions from now until the end of your days are your own. Oh, and you will not be able to-"
"My actions until now weren't mine?"
"We didn't need a contract until now," Yusuke said. He gestured towards the paper. "It is time to make your decision, Ren."
Ren looked down at the wooden table. He eyed the cracks in the wood, trying to find an escape in them. He looked back up at Yusuke just before he scooted his chair towards the table. Ren, quill in hand, signed the dotted line at the bottom of the paper. Using his finger, he spun the paper around on the table and slid it over to Yusuke.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Ren," Yusuke said. He rolled up the paper and put it down his shirt. An uncomfortable silence sank into the room.
"Uh… now that I've signed your contract, who are you?" Ren asked, hoping that this time his question would be answered.
Yusuke took off his glasses and wig, incinerating them both in the palm of his hand. He turned his hand sideways, letting the ashes fall onto the wooden table. "We've already met," he said before looking away from Ren and at the door. "Okumura! Now's the time."
The door burst from its hinges, landing where Yusuke would've sat if he hadn't disintegrated just in time. Haru, in her standard killing clothes, charged towards Ren, kicking him in the chest and flipping the chair backward.
Well at least she's quick about it.
"The slow, crushing emptiness of the abyss consumed his soul, now a gash through the eye will end the high!"
Ren's vision went black as the axe came down.
A/N: And I'm back. Took a break, dealt with some shit, started another fic, and pulled together this chapter. Because of how limited my available writing time is at the moment, I had to use the scraps from when I originally wrote this chapter instead of rewriting them. The only thing written from scratch for this chapter is the clinical trial. Because of these changes to the chapter, I changed the name to something that better reflects it's rough nature.
I'm excited to be back, especially now that I have two ways to write. If I don't feel like writing TKOSA, cool, I can go write the other fic. If I don't want to write that other fic, I can write TKOSA. It should work out nicely. Next thing that I upload will be a chapter of my other fic.
Thank you guys for waiting, even if this chapter is a bit meh. I didn't have time to do a full rewrite of it, but I think that what happens within the chapter is insignificant enough that it doesn't need to be my best work. It's best to just move on to the next chapter.
Thanks for reading. Have a great day.