A/N: This chapter contains a really intense scene towards the end. I don't want to spoil it, but if you are sensitive to those kinds of scenes, skip everything after Wednesday, 9/6.
Also, because the range of symbols I can use in a title is limited, the actual title is 'Love/Paranoia.'
Monday, 8/29
Ren brushed away at his teeth, his motion being so vigorous that his arm always ended up sore. There was no decent reason behind his unnecessary speed, just that he had a personal challenge for himself to see how fast he could do it.
Just as he spit into the sink, he heard the apartment door open. He'd left it unlocked for his special guest. Ren washed his mouth out, turned off the bathroom light, and stepped out into the living area.
Makoto, now in pajama bottoms and a gray t-shirt, walked into the apartment. She and Ren had momentarily parted after arriving back at their apartment building so that Makoto could change out of her beach clothes and get her overnight things together Now, setting her bag on the kitchen counter, the night was ready to begin.
In actuality, this was the night's end. Both were exhausted at this point, as the long day in the sun had been extremely draining, even with Ren getting a few naps while on the beach.
"Did your sister ask any questions?"
Makoto shrugged as she walked over to Ren. "Wasn't home." As she finally got to him, she pecked him on the cheek. "Are we going to stay up? Watching a movie sounds fun."
Well, my balls are killing me, so I think I'm gonna go to bed.
"Nah, I gotta get to bed. I need to have a semi-reasonable sleep schedule for school."
Makoto smiled at Ren. "That's what I like to hear. I'll let you get to your room, while I stay out h-"
"Hm? Whaddya mean? You're the one who gets the bed."
"But it's your house, and you got hurt at the beach, and I'm just a gue-"
"Exactly. You're my guest. You deserve the bed."
"But what about your back?"
"Back, schmack. It'll be fine in an hour."
It definitely won't. I can't decide what hurts worse: my back, or my balls.
"Ren, I refuse to take your bed from you in your own home."
"Makoto, I refuse to let my guest sleep on the couch," Ren said, thinking of the irony of his words, given how many times Ryuji was stuck on the couch without Ren giving it a second thought.
Makoto took Ren's stubbornness as an excuse to get petty. "I'm your girlfriend. I get the final say. You're sleeping in your bed, I'll stay on the couch." Ren saw the imminent onset of a Niijima Death Stare and knew he needed to end the argument soon.
"Okay, okay, how about a compromise?" Makoto raised an eyebrow. "What if we both took the bed?"
"B-but…"
"But what?" Ren said, giving Makoto several seconds of silence to answer, only for her to say nothing. He proved his point. "Exactly."
"Morgana, this is the last time I'm gonna tell you," Ren said to the cat. Makoto was in the bathroom, and Ren had to make sure his room was absolutely perfect for his girlfriend. "If you sleep on the couch tonight, I'll order you sushi." Morgana narrowed his eyes, reminding Ren that the cat could talk at one point. "Yes, I swear I will. I swear on… GRAVY."
Morgana nodded, then hopped off the bed. He trotted out the open door into the living area to do who knew what, but Ren didn't really care. He immediately got to work on tidying up his room. He made the bed, cleaned off his desk, and, no matter how much pain he felt in his back, cleaned his dirty laundry off the floor, tossing it into the corner of his closet.
Shit. I'm going to be a bit limited on clothes for tomorrow. I'll have to do laundry. Fuck. Laundry's easily the worst part of living on my own.
Most of Ren's neighbors were nosy elderly, therefore the exact group of people that Ren preferred to stay away from. Not because they were rude, but because of all the conversation that they typically expected from him. Ren usually went to do his laundry in the after-hours to avoid them. He hadn't run into Makoto because she was surely more organized and timely than him.
Ren heard the bathroom door open and close. Makoto knocked on the open door before entering. She glanced around Ren's room. "It's… cleaner than I remember." Makoto closed the door behind her, reminding Ren that this really was happening. He and Makoto were about to share his bed. He was quite excited about what that would mean for the short-term future of their relationship, but he'd be damned if he risked that with a joke about sleeping in the same bed.
What was the last time she slept in here? June? Damn, time flies. That was in the middle of the first semester. Now I'm about to start the second. I didn't even think I'd make it this far.
"I take great pride in my cleanliness, you know," Ren said. He went to the bed, getting under the covers and scooting towards the wall to give Makoto space.
Makoto took a few hesitant steps forward, but still copied Ren. She got under the covers of the king bed with Ren. Continuing the conversation, she turned onto her side to face him. "When's the last time you cleaned the couch out there?" she asked.
Ren turned on his side to look her in the eye. "I replace the cushions every morning. Ninety-nine percent of my money goes towards that, the other one percent goes towards Morgana's food."
Makoto smiled. "You know that the student council has access to the school bread sales figures?"
Oh no.
"You've spent sixty-thousand yen on jam bread, alone."
Ren tried to distract Makoto from his poor dieting with a joke. "I like supporting local businesses."
It worked, and Makoto laughed. "Relax, I wasn't judging you. Just something interesting to think about." She pushed her head up the pillow a bit more and settled her right arm under it for support.
"Relax." She's definitely right about that. I've had a headache for the past hour. I need some sleep.
Ren's drowsy eyes closed on their own, cluing Makoto in. "Want me to get the lamp?" she offered. Ren said enough just by keeping his eyes closed. Makoto turned over, pulled the cord, and the room went black. In the darkness, the faint noise of the air conditioning and Makoto's breathing stood out.
"We can talk more, if you want…" Despite Ren's offer, his eyes remained closed and his body exhausted. Even if Makoto did want to talk more, Ren knew he would fall asleep in the middle of it.
"What about?"
"Anything, really."
"Hm… what about you?"
When I said "anything," I meant anything that wouldn't stress me out.
When he couldn't see Makoto's face, or those dead-serious eyes staring into his soul, it was easier for Ren to lie to her. "I'm an open book."
"You told me in your last… um, vision from the clinic that you signed a contract…"
Fuck. Why'd you have to remind me? I'd rather not have to go back. I know that I have some degree of responsibility now that I know that the hallucinations mean something, but… I'm not the one for it. I'm lazy, irritable, and scared. I can't do it.
"I think I know what you're going to ask," Ren said into the darkness. "No, I haven't gone yet."
"Ren, it's hard to believe you about, you know, the visions when you won't go back."
"The visions are why I don't go back. I don't want to have to deal with whatever they show me."
"But they could help people, you said so yourself! You could've saved Haru from the grief if you knew what to do, and now, you know what to do."
"I…"
"Please, just try again. The contract you signed has to mean something, right?" Makoto really gave her all in trying to persuade him, even scooting closer to him and putting a hand on his cheek. "Just go for me, at least."
Just for her… I can do that. I'll go, see what the future holds, talk to Makoto about it, and make a plan. We'll figure it out together.
Ren caved. "Alright," he said, pausing before he lightened the mood. "But I'm waiting till school starts again because I'm gonna be sleeping for the rest of summer."
Makoto laughed. "If you say so, Ren." Ren felt her weight shift towards him, then felt her breath on his skin. She kissed his forehead. "I love you."
…For real?! Oh my god, I'm turning into Ryuji. This is- dammit, Ren, pay attention. The hottest girl you've ever met is your girlfriend and just told you she loves you!
"Love you too."
Thursday, 9/1
"Sakamoto-kun!" Ushimaru yelled. "It's your turn!"
Eff me, Ryuji thought as he scooted his chair back from his desk and stood up. The first day of school always sucked, but his first class of the day hadn't been too bad. All the class had done was share what they did over the summer, going student by student. Now, Ryuji walked up to the chalkboard. I could talk about Iwatodai… nah. They're gonna think I'm some rich douche. What about the beach? That's just one day, so I couldn't get away with that. Hmm… what could I talk about?
As he went through his all too short summer vacation in his memory, Ryuji recalled what he did nearly every day towards the end of it.
"So I spent a lot of time working at Lil' Putters Golf Class." Ryuji paused as a few expected chuckles came. Ushimaru unamusedly spectated from his desk, his feet kicked up and his hands behind his head. "I was an assistant, so I would mostly just make sure the kids were being safe and shit, like-"
"Sakamoto!"
Ryuji almost swore again in surprise, but he held his tongue and nervously apologized. "Sorry!" he said. "But anyway, I would also help the kids collect the golf balls we hit when we went out to the driving range."
Ushimaru chimed in with a question. He did it for every student thus far. "Do you enjoy playing golf?"
"Hm? Oh, nah… bit of a boring sport if you ask me."
One kid in the second row raised his hand but didn't wait for Ryuji's permission. "So why were you teaching kids to play golf?"
I effin' hate that kid. He's on my shitlist, Ryuji thought.
"Well, ya see, it paid well and didn't require any experience, so I just kinda went for it," Ryuji continued. The numerous interruptions had thrown him off, forcing him to take a few seconds to remember the rest of the story. "At the end of the summer, I kinda got fired, but it was super stupid. Anyway, I showed up for work and-"
Friday, 8/26
"Ya know… you just hold the putter like this," Ryuji said as he demonstrated his grip for the five kids watching. "And you go back and forth like a pendulum." Ryuji didn't know what a pendulum was until the camp leader told him to use it as a way to teach the kids.
Ryuji lightly tapped the golf ball, hoping it would go straight ahead into the hole. Instead, it went wide left by a whole meter. "You're not very good at putting, mister," one of the kids remarked.
Don't 'mister' me, you little shit, Ryuji thought to himself as he walked over and picked up his ball.
Ryuji held out his pole, lightly tapping the kid in the chest. "It doesn't matter how good I am, it matters how good you are. Give it a try."
As the kid walked over to the putting spot, Ryuji heard a man yell. He and all the kids looked over to the left to see Hattori-san, the camp leader, on the ground clutching his arm. Ryuji trotted over to the camp leader just as the other assistant arrived. Without even analyzing Hattori's arm, the assistant stated the obvious. "It's broken. Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary," the assistant said as the kids of the camp began to crowd. Their poor whispering abilities were on full display.
Ryuji helplessly watched as the assistant helped the teeth-gritting Hattori up. Just as they began to walk towards the main building of the camp, Hattori turned back with a furious look to Ryuji. "Well, give them some snack time or something!"
Shit! Ryuji turned around to see all the kids eagerly watching him.
"Uh… so… you guys hungry?" They all shook their heads. Ryuji took a few seconds to deduce what to do. He didn't know nearly enough about golf to teach the kids anything, and they weren't hungry. The only option he had was to have them play a game. "Whaddya guys say we have a little competition?"
Managing a small class of kids, especially in scorching hot weather, was no small task, yet Ryuji did it. He got them in line behind one driving mat, which the camp would use to teach the kids how to drive the golf ball down the range.
From then until the day ended, Ryuji planned on having the kids see who hit the ball the farthest. Kids loved competition more than anything, and they always focused more on winning something rather than an actual lesson.
One kid would step up to the mat, hit the ball down the range, then the next kid would be up. After everyone had gone once, they would all go out into the range to see who hit the farthest ball.
Ryuji stood on the opposite side of the driving mat from each kid that was up, giving out bullshit tips on their technique. They were young and inexperienced enough that they weren't aware of Ryuji's advice being completely useless. He thought he'd get away from what should have been a rough day at work by doing the bare minimum, but things never went exactly right for Ryuji.
The fact that kids are inherently restless slipped his mind. It didn't help that ninety-two-degree heat bore down on everyone. As kids do when they're given objects that could even be compared to swords, one of the kids in line challenged his friend to a friendly battle with the back ends of the golf clubs. Ryuji heard the conversation but dismissed it as just a friendly exchange. He remembered doing similar things during his childhood.
Unfortunately, the friend declined. Ryuji shook his head as he watched another kid tee off, pathetically hitting the ball six meters from the tee. It wasn't like Ryuji could do any better, but seeing simple chip-shots was boring. Ryuji desperately wanted something interesting to happen.
He got his wish. Just as the next kid placed his golf ball on the tee, Ryuji heard one of the kids shout in pain. He looked over and saw one kid with a golf club raised in the air, and another kid with his hand on the side of his head, tears streaming down his reddening face.
Thursday, 9/1
Yet again, interruptions waylaid Ryuji. "The highlight of your summer is a kid getting a concussion when you were supposed to be taking care of him, and then getting fired for it?" Ushimaru asked.
Ryuji shrugged at his teacher. "I didn't get fired for the kid getting hit over the head. Now, as I was saying…"
Friday, 8/26
"My son is still crying!" the mom shouted in Ryuji's face, a finger pointed. "I demand answers!"
Frankly, Ryuji was sick of this woman. He'd told her over and over that it happened behind his back, but she didn't seem to care. "As I said, I had my back turned, and another kid hit your son over the head with the golf club. Accidents happen."
"Accidents happen, lawsuits follow," the mom muttered before raising her voice to a shout. "You know who I am?" Ryuji shook his head. "Yeah, you'll find out soon!" Finally, after nearly ten minutes of being grilled, the woman stomped off. She'd made Ryuji miss the subway ride home, so he'd be stuck at the camp in the outskirts of Tokyo for at least another half hour.
Thursday, 9/1
"And then, ya know. They fired me because that woman turned out to be some big-shot lawyer."
Stunned at the incredibly, anti-happy ending, the class looked up at Ryuji in silence. Not even Ushimaru had criticism for Ryuji. The calm only ended when Ryuji moved to go back to his desk, but one of the students raised a hand. "What happened to the boy who got hit on the head?" she asked.
"Just a bump on the head. Nothin' serious."
"And what happened to the camp?"
"Oh, they're getting sued shitless!"
Ryuji heard just two words before he realized he messed up. "Dammit, Sakamoto-kun!" Justice arrived swiftly when the chalk smacked Ryuji in his right temple.
The first day of school after break was always tough for Ren. His poor sleep habits left him with little energy, though that was his plan. He would be tired enough to go to bed early the next night, and hopefully get himself on track.
At least the day had been easy so far. Kawakami had the class sum up their summer in a sentence, to which Ren said, "It was cool." Kawakami seemed satisfied that he didn't tell the class she slept at his apartment, but Ren wouldn't be asking her to make sure.
But now, during lunch, the real tough part of the day arrived as Ren climbed the stairs to the roof. The imposing concept of speaking with Haru awaited him, yet he didn't know if he could do it. How could he offer her help or encouragement when he had none to give?
Maybe if… I don't know. I could see Chihaya and Tae, try to determine what's up next for the group, and use that to talk to Haru. It would give me a little reassurance, and there's no rush to talk to Haru, right?
Ren stopped taking steps up the stairs, leaving him halfway between the door to the roof and Shujin's third floor. He knew that Haru was on the other side of the door, caring for the plants, ignorant to him being so close.
Ren took advantage of that and turned around.
Saturday, 9/3
Ren maneuvered through the crowd of people. Always busy, Shinjuku provided a navigational challenge, but Ren persevered. He managed to get to Chihaya's table in a reasonable time, though the seer remained in a session with a customer.
Ren kept his distance and watched as Chihaya flipped the woman's cards over. Though unable to see what lay in the cards, Ren could guess based on the woman's reaction. She laughed, breathing in a deep sigh of relief before profusely thanking Chihaya. The fortune teller just smiled and sent the woman off.
Ren took his cue. He approached the table as Chihaya stacked the cards into a deck. "Hi," Ren said as he took a seat.
Chihaya began to talk before she even looked up to notice that her customer would be Ren. "Hi, would you like-" She stopped when she finished stacking the cards and looked up. "Oh… Ren. I wasn't expecting you."
"Even though you made a deal to help me with your…" Ren waved his hands around, searching for the right word, "skills?"
"I wasn't expecting you because I haven't seen you in a month and because the last time we spoke, you said you'd text me when you were next coming."
Oh… my bad.
Ren shrugged. "Sorry. Busy summer."
"I'm sure," Chihaya said. "But enough of the chit-chat. I'm guessing you're here for a reading?"
"A good one, too."
"The future rarely holds what we want, Ren. You should know." Chihaya beckoned for Ren to place his hand on her own. As he did so, she laid the cards out on the table. "Let's see…"
"I see many voluptuous thighs in your future, Ren…" Yeah, you wish. This isn't the time for jokes. Get serious.
Chihaya flipped one of the cards over. "Judgment." Chihaya's deep purple eyes met Ren's own. "You will be reborn, in a sense. Your true self will emerge to conclude your personal reckoning."
That doesn't really help me or any of my friends, but damn, that sounds badass.
Chihaya flipped another card over. "Death." Ren recalled the last time Chihaya flipped that card and tensed up. This had been what he'd come for, but he still hadn't been ready for it. "In your personal evolution, your old self dies. It is very much the end of something, but the beginning of fulfillment."
"That's not nearly as grim as I thought," Ren joked, but Chihaya didn't even react. Eyes closed, she gripped Ren's hand and hovered her other over the cards.
Chihaya flipped over the last card. "The Lovers. You will-" Chihaya's eyes widened as she began gripping Ren's palm like a husband to his wife during childbirth. Her free hand swung across the table, only stopping to hover over an already flipped card. Carefully, Chihaya kept the card facing upwards but turned it to face her. "D-death… reversed."
Sweat set in upon Ren's hands as Chihaya's death grip continued.
"Someone who loves you will die."
I… that has to mean what I think it means.
Ren stopped caring whether he hurt Chihaya or not, jerking his hand out of her grip and standing up. His chair toppled over backward as the table shook. Chihaya flinched, looking up at Ren with worried eyes.
"Ren, please just stay so I can-"
"Can't," he said as he walked off. "I have somewhere to be."
Ren reread the sign to himself over and over to make sure he wasn't already hallucinating.
I'm in Kyoto for a week to assist with a panel, so all appointments will have to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday. XO, Tae Takemi.
"Fuck!" Ren kicked the clinic door and walked away.
Tuesday, 9/6
"Let me get this straight," Tae said, her formerly bored eyes questioning Ren as she propped her head up with her hand. "You want an impromptu trial?"
"I need one."
"Why?"
"I dunno, I hate myself? Is that good enough?" Ren said. His patience ran thin. "Just gimme the stuff and I'll take it home."
Tae raised an eyebrow. "No can do. We've been scraping against the law for your trials so far, and if I let you take a drug that hasn't even undergone full testing…" Tae picked her head up and sat up straight. "Poof. You can say goodbye to me and the clinic."
"Fine. I'll do it here. Just gimme the fucking cup."
"Tell me why, first."
"I'm going through withdrawals."
"No, you're not."
"Tae, please. I know you're bored, and I know you need data. You just said that the drug isn't fully tested!" Tae looked past Ren at the door. Paranoid, Ren looked back only to see nothing. He spun around and faced Tae. "Please. I need it."
"Fine, but you owe me."
Ren hoped that Tae would consider his silence as agreement. From behind the counter, Tae went into the examination room, to which Ren followed. He knew the procedure, so he sat atop the examination table as Tae hurriedly got together the mix.
"And none of that long-lasting stuff, okay?"
Tae paused her action and looked over at Ren. She clearly didn't give a shit about his request, reminding him that she was in charge with just a look. When Ren dodged the eye contact, she resumed the mixing.
Ren sat in his own world as Tae worked away in the corner.
Someone who loves me will die. Someone who loves me will die. Someone who loves me will die.
The newfound mantra had been all he could think about since Chihaya's fortune three days prior. All he wanted was to know what would happen next and how he could use it to uplift Haru. Instead, he feared for the person he cared for most.
But he wouldn't give up. Chihaya had only given him a new objective. By going to Tae's, Ren planned on determining how he could save Makoto. The vision would tell him exactly how to do it, and Ren wouldn't accept anything else. Perhaps the only person to tell him that he was loved was in danger, but Ren was done with sitting idly.
Tae finished the concoction and brought it over to Ren. Her plain expression hid whatever she felt towards Ren at the moment, but he didn't care. He stared through the transparent liquid into the bottom of the cup.
This is what you're here for, Ren.
Ren began the chugging of the mixture, his head leaning further and further back as the viscous, bitter mix traveled down his throat. He was relieved when the stream stopped, but he knew that his trial had only begun. Tae took the empty cup and sat down at her desk, readying her clipboard for notes.
Ren subconsciously tapped the heel of his foot against the base of the examination table, his nerves tingling in suspense. The effects never kicked in when he was ready or when he wanted them to, so he knew it would be a bit.
"So, Ren, are you excited for Hawaii?" Tae asked from her chair, expectantly looking up at him.
Ren had been, but he'd been more than preoccupied the past few days. He'd barely managed to pack his suitcase for the flight, which would be early in the morning of the seventh.
Assuming that Tae wanted to make small talk until Ren started his descent into madness, Ren went along with it. "Yeah. I think I'm just going to take the opportunity to relax, maybe get a bit of a tan." His previous attempts at the beach hadn't paid off, but that didn't mean Ren would quit. He would be getting that tan whether the sun god liked it or not.
Ren looked up at the clock. Three minutes came and went since he drank the mixture, and he felt nothing.
"How do you feel about the fact that Hawaii is the end?"
That didn't sound like Tae… welp, here we go. Get the fuck ready, Ren.
For once, Ren wasn't caught off guard when he turned to face Doctor Ryuji, thighs thicker than ever and with an enticing smile. "You're here for your prescription?"
"What prescription would that be?"
Ryuji's smile grew to an inhumane level, both ends of it creeping past his jaw and up the side of his head.
I would be scared of this, but Ryuji isn't Haru, therefore he can't kill me. Besides, there's still shit I gotta see.
Doctor Ryuji looked down at his clipboard, flipping several pages over. "It says here that you need… two moon tickets." Ren gave Doctor Ryuji a questioning look, only for Ryuji to shrug him off. "Don't ask me, I got no effin' clue."
"Well, go down the hall. Your… moon tickets should be behind the first door on the left."
What hall is he ta- oh.
Instead of the regular closed door, a hallway with no end formed, perfectly fitting the clinic aesthetic. Bright lights, sleek, metallic silver, and many, many doors laid the way for Ren to begin his short walk. He waved goodbye to Doctor Ryuji, who he'd grown rather fond of for not making this trip too difficult.
Thankfully, Ren didn't have far to go in the hallway. Taking a deep breath, he gripped the cold metal of the door handle and swung it open. To say Ren was surprised by what was on the other side would be an understatement.
That's literally just the moon. Where are my damn moon tickets? I demand a refund!
The door opened directly onto the moon, allowing Ren to step out and gaze into the void of space. As he closed the door behind him, it dissipated in a shine of light, stranding Ren.
This has definitely been the most relaxed hallucination. Even if I'm here in bad circumstances, I can at least appreciate that.
Ren walked across the dusty surface, though his lack of footprints was a bit odd. Maybe he hadn't paid enough attention to his physics in the universe classes from a few years prior, and now his subconscious was unfit to replicate the moon properly.
The walk continued, with several minutes of nothingness passing by. Ren didn't mind. He had the best view in human history, being able to look up and see Earth. It was quite beautiful when he didn't have to be a part of it.
But all things must pass. Ren's walk concluded when he arrived at two familiar leather armchairs, one with an occupant.
Ren turned the corner on the unoccupied chair and looked over at his newfound company. Yusuke sat in silence in the leather armchair, his unmoving, unblinking eyes staring up at the floating ball of rock above them.
Ren took a seat in the free leather armchair. Instantly, he recalled how comfy it was from one of his hallucinations earlier in the summer. "You know why I'm here, right?" he asked as he shared the view with Yusuke.
"I am you. Of course I know."
"I get the feeling that you haven't ever told me the truth, and that you're not me."
"Then your emotional center must be corrected."
Ren shook his head, but Yusuke didn't see or care. He just continued looking at Earth. Ren, growing frustrated, turned to his hallucinated friend. "Fine, whatever. I have a request for you." At that, Yusuke actually turned his emotionless, dead eyes towards Ren. "Show me what's going to happen to Makoto."
"You needn't ask. I planned on showing you anyway."
"Because it's actually going to happen?"
Yusuke extended his arm towards Earth. "Because it is a necessary correction," he said before he began navigation. Using his hand, he spun Earth around like one would use a touch screen. He zoomed in on Tokyo, specifically on Shujin. Using his god-powers, Yusuke pulled him, Ren, and the moon through a window to the interior of a small, cramped room with a single table in it. Cabinets of records, stacks of paper, and other school supplies filled out the room.
"This is…"
"Yes. This is the student council room." Ren desperately took his eyes from object to object in the room, hoping that he would find some blunder. For him, that would invalidate Chihaya's fortune and whatever the fuck Yusuke was about to show him. "Before you witness this, I must remind you of the contract that you signed."
"I don't give a fuck. I need to see what happens…" Ren sat forward, his fingers tapping against his pants. Moist spots formed from the sweat of his hands. "I need to know what to do."
"But the contract states-"
Ren's locked eyes weren't deterred from the empty room. "Fewer fucks have never been given. Show me!" he yelled at Yusuke without even looking.
"So be it."
As the first sign of life in the empty room, the door opened. Makoto walked through, her school uniform on and her bag in hand.
So this is sometime in the middle of the school day.
Makoto set her bag down on the table before pulling a chair up. She got to work on reviewing papers of some kind, though Ren couldn't see what. He and Yusuke mutedly viewed the quite monotonous event. Makoto continued looking over the papers for the next ten minutes, occasionally writing something on them, only stopping as there was a knock on the door.
Ren… this is the important part. This is where Makoto d- …Take a deep breath. Stay calm. You need to know what to do. If you get things right, Makoto will never have to go through this.
Makoto pushed the papers towards the middle of the table, stood up, and walked over to the door. Hesitating before she opened it, Makoto shook her head and followed through.
Yoshiro Takata, with a full, complete smile across his face, walked into the student council room. Ren could practically feel Makoto's discomfort, noticing how she gulped as he walked past and the constant pinching of her thumb and index finger.
It's Yoshiro. Yoshiro's going to kill Makoto. I can… I can stop him. I don't know how, but I'll do it. I have to. I don't know how he got to this point, but I don't fucking care. I'll get to him before he gets to Makoto.
Ren turned to his hallucinated guide of sorts. "Okay, Yusuke, I don't need to watch anymore. I've got what I need." He attempted to stand from the armchair, but his knees wouldn't move, as if they'd been locked to the armchair.
Like watching a movie, Yusuke motioned towards the student council room before them. Yoshiro and Makoto froze in place. "You must witness all of it or none of it, he said, turning to Ren.
"But I don't need to. Let me fucking leave! Makoto's gonna die!"
"In the real world, yes, but you have time, and time is currently relative for us," Yusuke explained. "Besides, your execution isn't scheduled until you've faced this," he said as he gestured towards the student council room.
With no choice, Ren sat back in the leather chair. Yusuke resumed the scene.
The student council president and the former volleyball player took seats across from each other, with Yoshiro flipping the papers to face him.
"Thank you for joining me today, Takata-san," Makoto began, using her hands when she spoke for emphasis. "As you know, the student council conducts our beginning-of-semester interviews for third-years. Just a few questions about your e-ex… erm, excuse me." Makoto stopped in her tracks. She sat up, stiffened her back, and rested her hands beneath the table on her lap. "Like I was saying, I just have a few simple questions for you regarding your experience at Shujin and your plans for the future."
Yoshiro sat back in his chair, resting his hands across his broad chest. "No problem, Makoto."
She eyed him for the first-name callout but didn't say anything. "I understand that you're applying to Tohoku University to study business. Tell me how your academic experience at Shujin has impacted your choice of college."
"Well, as you know, the volleyball team disbanded. That was my ticket to whatever college I wanted, but not all things work out, ya know?" Yoshiro laughed, but Makoto didn't share in his joy. She just stared at him.
Ren's eyes remained deadlocked on Yoshiro, trying to find the exact moment when it began. Every twitch, every scratch of the hand, every blink was analyzed.
"But I've really committed myself since then, and now I'm really proud of my grades. I think I could continue that through college."
"Got it…" Makoto said as she wrote down Yoshiro's answer on a paper of her own. Her writing soon stopped and she looked back up at Yoshiro. "And what do you hope to accomplish in your remaining time at Shujin?"
Yoshiro's casual, laid-back demeanor continued. He spoke to Makoto like he never planned on giving her life away. "I think everyone leaves her with some stones left unturned," he said, laughing even more than before. He really was doing his best to be friendly, but Makoto didn't reciprocate any of it. "But not me. I want to make sure I've said all my goodbyes and, well, flipped over all those stones."
As Makoto got to work on transcribing Yoshiro's answer, she pressed for detail. "And what are some of those stones?"
"For one, I need to make sure that I snap your fucking neck before I graduate."
Instinctively, Ren yelled at the two from his position on the moon, but he knew that they wouldn't hear him. "Get the fuck out of there!" Locked in his seat, he could only watch Yoshiro's grin grow into the demented, twisted one that Ren knew. It was the same one he'd gotten the last time he saw the volleyball player, with Maruki at the nurse's office.
Makoto got the right idea, immediately dropping her pen. She stood up, her chair slamming backward into a cabinet, and ran to the door, only for it not to budge.
Yoshiro rose to his feet, calmly pushing his chair back. Makoto backed into the corner, just next to the door. "Nice try, but our mutual friend Dai is on the other side of that door. Say hi if you want, but you have no chance of getting out." He moved towards the window, just in case Makoto got any crazy ideas. "Oh, and nobody's getting in either."
Makoto readied herself in a martial arts stance, her knees bent and arms held close. "They're going to hear! Y-you won't even get a chance!" While her body was ready to fight, her voice was not. Yoshiro laughed at her shaky words.
Yoshiro shrugged. "I'll see what happens, but we both know that you won't get there." Taking one step towards Makoto, he ramped up his provocations. "After I'm done with you, I'm going after your stupid fucking boyfriend. I'm gonna drag him through the god damn halls, on display as the pussy he is for everyone to see. And, at the very end of his tour, he gets to see you, already dead!"
Tears were forming, but Makoto's stance remained. Her legs shook, her fists looked like they might explode, and she seemed like she was about to pass out.
I… I can't do this. Please… don't make me watch this…
Ren felt tears in his own eyes forming. He tried to close them, but it just wouldn't work. The subconscious muscle movement that he'd used every second of his seventeen years failed him when he needed it most. With his eyes forced open, presumably by Yusuke, Ren watched in horror.
As terrified as she was, Makoto didn't give up. As soon as Yoshiro was in range, she tried a spinning punch to the head, only for Yoshiro to easily block it with his forearm. "I knew you'd try some of your aikido bullshit. Why do you think I waited until I had you in this tiny room?" Yoshiro relished in Makoto's fear, standing right in front of her. The six inches he had over her only made his goal easier, as Makoto shrank into the corner even more.
As a last resort, she tried to knee him on shaky legs. Yoshiro easily noticed and turned to the side, taking it in the thigh. Makoto tripped, falling into the corner, but she was backed up enough that it barely affected her positioning.
Tears had fully arrived for Ren at this point, blurring his vision, but not enough to save him from the sight. With one last attempt to get out, Makoto screamed her fucking lungs out, but that would be her final moment of full consciousness.
Yoshiro grunted at the ear-shattering scream, but he didn't give up. Not even going for the punch, his right hand grabbed the side of her head, savoring Makoto's surprised silence only to take advantage of it a second later. He slammed her head into the wall, leaving only a bloody mark behind.
Ren tried to scream, but his mouth wouldn't open. The hallucination had frozen his whole body. His nails ripped into the leather armrests, sending pain spiking through his fingertips.
Makoto crumpled to the ground, only for Yoshiro to straddle atop her. "This is for Kamoshida," he said as his fist dropped into her face, sending out a spatter of blood. It pooled in her nose, so every breath only made things messier. "This is for the volleyball team." Another punch, more blood. "This is for Kaneshiro." His list went on, punch after punch landing. Ren's tears had come in full force, just enough to rescue him from the specifics, but he could still hear and vaguely see Yoshiro on top of Makoto. "And this is for making me see that stupid! Fucking! Counselor!"
He jammed his hands to her throat, gripping as if his own life depended on it, rather than someone else's. Screams died in Ren's closed mouth as he served as the witness to Yoshiro's murder. Yoshiro pushed down harder and harder, putting his full weight into forcing the life out of Makoto's bruised, bloodied, paling face.
Ren couldn't even hear a sound from Makoto. If there were any, Yoshiro's unrestrained, animalistic grunts killed anything else in that room.
Kill me… please. I want to die. Let me fall asleep in this vision and never wake up…
Ren couldn't even cry properly, as the hallucinated invisible restraints kept every muscle in his body under their control. Ren feared that the vision had only just begun, and Yoshiro would make things even worse, but solace arrived.
The grunting stopped, Yoshiro's brutality halted, and Yusuke stood up. Taking long, unfeeling steps towards Ren, Yusuke spoke. "That is the conclusion of your program for today," he said. Once stopped in front of Ren, looking down at the mentally exhausted teenager, he clapped his hands. "Okumura!"
Haru popped into thin air next to Yusuke, her battle axe over her shoulder, and mysterious pink garb was worn. Executioner Haru usually smiled at Ren, but not for this trip. Her dead serious yellow eyes burned into Ren's, forcing her gaze through his tears.
I can't even talk… Can't do anything… Just end it…
"Please conclude our friend's visit, Okumura-san," Yusuke said, disintegrating molecule by molecule until Ren and Haru were the last two people on the moon.
Ren felt something around him pop, and his mouth finally opened. He gasped for breath, finally closing his eyes from the terror of the world around him. He couldn't even beg Haru for death, only sit forward in his chair and cry.
I wish it never happened. I should never have pushed that drunk asshole that night, I never should have come to Tokyo!
Ren truly regretted every breath he took in Tokyo at that moment, fully wanting it all to be over. He didn't want to worry anymore, he didn't want to see Makoto, and he certainly didn't want to go to sleep every night and remember what he'd sat through.
"Trickster, we continue to take pity on you," Haru said, still standing motionless before Ren. He didn't look up at her. "But you remain idle in our master's plot."
Ren barely managed to interrupt his own sobbing. "W-what?" he asked, not daring to raise his head.
"Our master has restricted your power, and the door will remain forever closed, but we pity you. We will continue to help," Haru continued, her emotionless monotone starkly contrasting Haru's typically cheerful demeanor.
"I don't understand…"
"The Priestess has until the nineteenth, Trickster. You must save her in any way you can, else your world will be forfeit."
"Please… I n-need more than that…"
"Continue watching over your friends. The fate of everyone rests with you all."
"I…"
"Do not despair, Trickster. Trust in Tokyo's reckoning."
At this point, Ren was out of tears or any form of questions. Only compliance remained. "Okay… j-just send me back now."
"Very well, Trickster," Haru said. Ren heard the impossible air of the moon shift around the battle axe as Haru raised it. The moment it swung down, Ren sat up in the clinic, heaving for breath.
Tae looked at him from her desk. "Was it worth all the complaining?"
"I would rather kill myself than do that again."
Tae raised an eyebrow. "The capacity for… upsetting hallucinations is there, but it's unlikely. I'm sorry for-"
"Nah, fuck that. I need some sleeping pills, then I'm never coming back."
Wednesday, 9/7
Like a zombie, Ren watched TV to numb himself. At two-forty-five in the morning, the last thing he wanted to do was sleep, even with the limited sleeping pills Tae had given him out of pity. The fear of seeing Makoto die all over again scared Ren out of his bed and onto the couch where he channel surfed into oblivion.
It's better if I don't sleep now. I'll be tired for the plane, so then I can sleep through it, right?
Ren had never gone on a plane, and he certainly couldn't see the excitement in doing so. The possibility of crashing in the middle of the ocean and being left to the waves terrified him, and it wasn't even the most troubling thing on his mind at the moment.
To drown it all out, he continued surfing TV until a familiar woman appeared. As always, Ren had perfect timing to witness the newest development in national news.
"We interrupt your previous program with breaking news," the woman said, holding her notes in front of her. Always well, spoken, she continued, "Four more deaths have been tied to the Prince. Similar calling cards were found within each of the victims' personal belongings." The woman continued to go over the basic details of the murders, giving the public exactly what they wanted. Eventually, she passed off her screen time to someone different. "While this news is troubling to many, many in Tokyo have considered it to be a breath of fresh air. This morning, I'm here with serial killer analyst, Bill," the woman said as the camera zoomed out to show the pair sitting next to each other with the view of lit-up Tokyo in the background.
"Thank you for having me."
"Now, Bill, what do you think of the recent string of deaths that police consider to be tied to the Prince? What do they mean for Tokyo?"
Bill shrugged at the anchor then turned to the camera. "The Prince is here to remove the rot from beneath our feet. He is here to cleanse Tokyo. He is our reckoning."
"Wow… thanks, Bill. Insightful, as always, that was Bill," the woman said before the camera refocused back on her. "Adding on to our report, we…" Ren stopped paying attention as soon as the camera had refocused, as something else stuck in his mind.
The Prince is our reckoning… he's Tokyo's reckoning! I can use the Prince to save Makoto!
Ren pulled his phone out, opening the website that Akechi showed him over the summer. Front and center was an empty textbox, labeled 'Suggestions.' Ren spelled out the first half of Yoshiro's full name, only hesitating for a moment.
Ren, Yoshiro will die if you do this. You will be responsible.
Ren recalled the unfortunately vivid memory of Yoshiro atop Makoto, pressing everything he had into her neck. The pounding, throbbing sensation of stress in Ren's head, heightened by his exhaustion, only made it worse.
Makoto will die if you don't do this, Ren. In the hallucination, Yoshiro said that he needed to kill her before he graduated. He needs to die.
The moment of Makoto's head bouncing off the wall with an alarming thud looped itself in his head. Ren, breathing deeply, typed out Yoshiro's full name.
No longer with a hesitating bone in his body, Ren pressed 'Submit.'
A/N: Got this one done surprisingly quickly. I'm happy with the chapter, but the clinical trial wasn't a lot of fun to write. However, it does needs to be excessive, because it really needs to provoke Ren.
After that nightmarish ending, I want to assure people that Hawaii is still going to be fun. Because Ren has a lot on his mind, I'll be switching around character perspectives a lot. Obviously, he's still the main character, but things will be light-hearted in Hawaii.
Fuck the Packers, 49ers are gonna win it all.
Thanks for reading. I hope everyone has a great week.