Catch-22: The Wild Card
By: M14Mouse
Summary: It was Yu's day to hang out with Futaba. No one dies and nothing blow up. This time
Disclaimer: Don't own them.
Many thanks to AKatsinTcups for betaing this chapter.
When you allow yourself to be unpredictable, you step from the known into the unknown, where anything is possible.-Deepak Chopra
For next couple of days, Yu's phone was filled with text messages and emojis.
Ren: Well, that didn't go as planned.
Yusuke: Her action figures are posed beautifully. They were dancing through the air. I wonder if she will let me draw them.
Ren: She did take the huge mask off her head.
Makoto: I know but will she do it tomorrow with Ann and Ryuji?
He got a face with steam coming out from its nose emoji followed by a pile of poo.
The next day….
Ren: She can eat. I give her that.
Ann: She talks pretty normal and she told Ryuji off, Sensei.
Ryuji: Man, she is mean.
Ren: And she took her mask off again.
Futaba: :cookie: :donut: :cookie: :donut:
The next day, he was treated to spoon and fork emojis followed by coffee emojis.
Ren: She didn't break any dishes.
Ren: But the mask came back on as soon as she served a customer.
Ren: And…she nearly gave the poor guy a heart attack.
The third day was followed by swimsuit emojis.
Ann: We got her a swimsuit, Sensei! She looks so pretty.
Makoto: Ann has a really good eye.
Ann: Kanji-san would be so proud!
Futaba: :life saver: :life saver:
The fourth day, he arrived at the café with Ryuji and Yusuke waiting outside.
"Hey, Sensei," Ryuji greeted him.
"Good afternoon, Sensei," Yusuke said.
"Good afternoon. So, what do you two have planned today?" He asked.
"I thought about eating together since all of us are going to beach," Ryuji said.
"Sounds like a plan. Shall we…I, go and harass Sojiro?"
Ryuji scratched the back of his head and gave him a confused look.
"Man…I don't get you two."
"You aren't supposed to. Let's go inside," He said with a smile.
Ryuji mumbled softly about adults as the group went inside. Sojiro seemed busy with quite a few customers. The group slipped into one of the booths. Few minutes later, Futaba and Ren came down.
"Hey," Ren said as he slipped into the seat across from them.
Futaba looked at them, then at the table, as she slipped into the seat after Ren. She pulled her legs to her chest and watched them.
"So, I was thinkin we hang out and eat since we are going to beach and everything," Ryuji said.
"That sounds like a good idea. Were you able to get off?" Ren said.
"Yes, you will get to meet my little sister and uncle. She is a little younger than Futaba-chan, but I have a feeling that they will get along well. She is a huge fan of Featherman as well," Yu said with a smile.
Nanako was so excited when she heard that they were going to the beach. Even if his uncle was mumbling about it, he could tell his uncle was excited too.
By the expression on her face, he had peak Futaba's interest.
"Really?" Futaba said.
"Yup. She doesn't have all of them, but she has her favorite figures. I want to say that it is a red and yellow one."
"I haven't met her, but I know that she has excellent taste."
"I thought that you had a cousin. I didn't know that you also have a baby sister?" Ren said in confusion.
"She is my cousin, but she started calling me "big bro" when I lived with them. So, it stuck."
"Oh."
"That sounds rather nice. I look forward to meeting them," Yusuke said to him.
He smiled. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Ryuji get uncomfortable in his seat.
"Ryuji, is something wrong?"
Ryuji leaded over and whispered to him.
"Does they know about…this?"
"No on your activities. Yes, on the personas and shadows. My uncle has come across some cases of Apathy Syndrome during his work as a detective. It wasn't until sometime later he knew the full extent of our journey into the tv world. I might have had a few lectures on my well-being and," Yu pitched his voice to sound more like his uncle, "Stop doing stuff to get myself killed," It earned a few smiles from the others before he returned to Ryuji's question, "Why? Does someone else know about you?"
Ryuji shook his head.
"No. No! Mom just picked up on how tried I am after our run into whatever. I kept saying that I took up running again, which isn't a lie. But I think that she knows that I'm not telling the whole truth, Sensei."
"You're a terrible lair," Yusuke pointed out.
"I agree with Inari," Futaba said in agreement.
"HEY!"
He chuckled.
"If your mother is too worried, I can talk to her if you wish. My presence seemed to smooth Ann's parents and Makoto's sister worries."
"I might have you do that," Ryuji said with a nod.
"How did your uncle react when he found out?" Ren asked.
"He was angry, then he was worried, then he was angry and worried. He started to connect the dots. I could see it in his face as he realized why I was so tired on some days. Why some days I came home with some cuts and bruises. I think that he was more upset that he couldn't protect me."
"So…you guys don't get hurt in the cognitive world?" Futaba asked.
His students shook their heads no.
"Mostly we are just tired and sore, with a few bruises sometimes but nothing more," Ren answered.
Futaba looked to him in awe.
"And now, I figured out why they call you Sensei. You are a badass ninja."
"I thought that I was a knight."
"Nah…. you are a ninja."
He chuckled and shook his head.
"Onto more a more impressive topic, congratulations, Ryuji. It seems that your persona has leveled up."
Ryuji flushed as he scratched the back of his head.
"How…did…never mind, you know everything."
"Lilim told me. She was impressed. Although, Black Frost was disappointed that he didn't have a chance to ride the ship. He might take a chance on that cloud later."
Ryuji started to laugh.
Futaba turned to him with a curious expression on her face.
"Personas can change?"
"Yes, people can change…why not their personas?"
"Well, I don't want her to change." She said with a pout.
"She won't change if you don't want her too. I know a few persona users who still have their original personas."
"But…he is stronger than ever and so I am. It's kinda of awesome," Ryuji added.
"That would be very interesting thing to look forward too. I almost look forward to see what mine will look like but partly, I'm afraid," Yusuke said.
"You know it. It is kind of scary but it also kind of clicked when he charged."
"Well, she isn't changing," Futaba added.
He glanced over Ren, who was strangely quiet and looking down at the table.
Hmm…
"Ren?" He said.
Ren's head jerked up at the sound of his name.
"Sorry, Sensei. Just thinking."
He smiled.
"About?"
"Mine is gone. I have the others and they are stronger but still…he is kind of gone."
"Who said that he is gone for good? Wild Card personas do change. It is a different transition than those with one persona."
Ren frowned.
"You know, you know a lot about this," Futaba said to him.
"I should. It's kind of my job."
"Point taken."
"But back to the topic at hand, your other personas acquired have charged as well, correct?" He said.
"Well…yes, they have gotten stronger and kind of sort work together now? I explained that terribly, sorry," Ren mumbled, running his hand through his hair.
"No, it makes sense. By the company's definition, Wild Card is the ability to have and use multiple personas. I disagree."
"What is it to you, Sensei?" Yusuke asked.
"I will answer that in a moment. Question first, why do you negotiate with a particular shadow?"
"I don't know. I'm always trying to get stronger for the team. Sometimes, I think that they look neat and I want to see what they will say. Some of their responses are hilarious. Sometimes, I see myself in them."
He beamed at Ren.
"That's correct. The ability to see yourself in those shadows but in turn, they see themselves in you. That is how they remember who they are and are willing to join and grow with you."
Ren just stared at him for a moment.
"Are you sure you aren't a Wild Card? Because you sure know a lot about this ability," Futaba asked.
"Man, if Sensei was a Wild Card like Ren, we would be dead," Ryuji added.
"I agree. Sensei would be able to beat us into neat little piles while having tea. It would be a beautiful sight to see Sensei's personas in action, but we would all be dead," Yusuke said.
"You didn't see Sensei the first time. He fought without a persona. If he had multiple ones, we would have been dead and disbanded before you knew it," Ren added.
Futaba gave him a look, but he just smiled.
"Are you guys done yapping? You need to order something or get out," Sojiro said from behind the counter.
He turned to Sojiro and grinned.
"CURRY!" Futaba shouted.
"Trying to kick me out again, Sojiro? I'm disappointed in you."
"You will be the first one out the door."
He beamed.
"Never."
Next Chapter: The Beach Trip
And now we rank up to Rank 4. Whoa! Keep on smiling, Yu. Futaba is on to you…kind of. I am so proud of you guys. You guys are starting to connect the dots with Haru's dad. Good job! As for Royal, my distant plans are to do a remix of sorts. It will spin off into a separate story. Because like you, I want the counselor and Yu to meet. Chapter 50 is coming and expect a big surprise! That is all. Thank you again for the reviews and the support! Read and Review if you wish.