"Compared to yesterday, this day has been nice and uneventful." Ren thinks to himself, distracted by his thoughts, but he doesn't notice as he bumps into someone sending paper flying.
"Ah," A girl's voice rings out.
"Oh crap." Ren thinks to himself, hurriedly picking up the papers the person dropped before handing them back to her.
The girl he bumped into has brown eyes and black hair tied into a ponytail, which seems held in place with a pink elastic band. She wears a beige Shujin turtleneck alongside the standard uniform skirt and black shorts. She also has elbow braces and a knee brace on her right leg.
"Ah, thank you," She murmured.
"Ryuji was telling me about her. She's friends with Takamaki, Suzui?" Ren thinks to himself before responding with a quick
"No worries, I'm sorry. I should've been looking where I was going." Rubbing the back of his head as he says this.
"No, I shouldn't have been just standing in the way," She mumbles before taking a closer look at Ren.
"You don't look familiar. You wouldn't happen to be that new transfer student, would you?" Suzui questions
"Ah, you caught me red-handed," Ren says jokingly.
With a soft chuckle, Suzui continues, "This might not be any of my business, but don't let the rumours get to you. Shujin can be pretty harsh with them; My best friend is also often misunderstood because of her looks."
"She must mean Takamaki." Ren thinks
"Ah, I shouldn't drag this conversation on; I need to get to practice," Suzui says, rushing off before Ren can say anything else.
"I hope she stays safe. That bruise on her face looked bad. Anyway, I should meet up with Ryuji." Ren thinks to himself.
Walking out to the school courtyard, he sees Ryuji punching the wall beside the vending machines.
"Damn it!" Ryuji yells out.
"I take it no one said anything," Ren says, worried about Ryuji's outburst
"It's all the same bullshit Mishima said; at this rate, we'll have to go face-to-face with Kamoshida," Ryuji says, face downcast
"Is there nothing else we can do?" Ren questions
At Ren's question, the two hear someone chuckling before a familiar boyish voice calls out.
"And that's where I come in,"
The two boys look around for where the voice came from but see a cat jumping onto the table between them.
"I finally found you two; I hope you didn't think you could get away with not helping me" " the cat says
"Talkin' Cat!?" Ryuji yell outs
"Is that Morgana?" Ren thinks to himself, Identifying the familiar voice.
"Im not a Cat! It's me, Morgana." The now-identified Morgana says before continuing
"This is just what happened when I came to your world. Finding the two of you took me a lot of time."
"Wait, if you came here, does that mean you have a phone?" Ryuji asks, confused.
"Ha, as if I'm just that good that I don't need a phone." Morgana puffs out his chest as best as he can as a cat as he says this.
"Ren, you're hearin' this too, right?" Ryuji asked.
"Meow?" Ren says jokingly.
"THIS IS NO TIME FOR JOKES!" Ryuji yells.
"I was being honest when I said I could help you two, but maybe we should talk somewhere more private," Morgana says.
"Good point, I don't want people seein' us and thinkin' we are crazy," Ryuji says.
"Well, at least think you're crazy. It's too late for me," Ren thinks bitterly.
The three of them made their way to the roof. Closing the door behind them, they continued their chat.
"Okay, so you said you could help us, Morgana?" Ren askes
"Yeah, the solution is simple. You need to punish the king!" Morgana says dramatically.
"You mean that other world." Ren less questions more states
"Exactly, that castle is how Kamoshida views the school. While he might not realise what's happening there, it's connected to his heart, so if you can make the castle disappear, it will have a massive effect on Kamoshida."
"Wait, so what'd happen," Ryuji asked.
"A Palace is a manifestation of a person's distorted desires. So, if that castle disappears, he should become an honest man." Morgana says.
"Wait, but if you take a person's desires, won't he become like a husk?" Ren asked.
Suddenly hesitating, Morgana lets out a small sigh and says, "If something goes wrong, that is a possibility.
"Wait, so if we take his bad desires, the castle will disappear, and he will confess, and no one would know we were involved?" Ryuji says sceptically
"Yes, exactly!" Morgana says excited
"So, how do we go about that?" Ren askes
"By stealing his treasure!" Morgana exclaims.
"Stealing?" Ryuji questions
"Treasure?" Ren thinks to himself.
"I'll tell you more once you guys agree to proceed. After all, it is meant to be a secret plan."
"Our luck's runnin' dry. I think we have to go along with it, Ren." Ryuji says, looking a little anxious.
"Yeah, I think you're right."
"Still, if we do this and he dies, doesn't that make us just as bad as him goin' around and doin' whatever we want with no one able to stop us." Ryuji questions
"He's right; we can't do this if he will end up dead." Ren thinks to himself.
"Morgana, can you promise us that this will work without Kamoshida dying," Ren says seriously.
"It doesn't matter, does it? It's your only option; I'll return once you decide." Morgana says before running off.
"Shit man, are we just gettin' worked up over nothin'?" Ryuji asked.
"No, this is a human life we're talking about. No matter how vile he is, we shouldn't play executioner," Ren says seriously.
"You're right. I'll try and see if we can find another way, but if not, we should at least try if there's a chance he becomes a better person," Ryuji says, walking off.
"I should make my way home." Ren thinks to himself, looking up at the setting sun.
As Ren got off the train at Shibuya, he was making his way to the other line when.
"I told you already I'm not feeling up to it today, so please just give it a rest!" Takamaki's Voice rings out
Glancing up, Ren realises that Takamaki is about 10 feet away from him, talking on the phone and looking angry.
"What!? That's not what you said! And you call yourself a teacher! This has nothing to do with Shiho or her starting position." Her voice is venomous.
"Oh shit, is she talking to Kamoshida?" Ren wonders as he sees Takamaki drop to her knees in the middle of the subway.
Walking up to her, Ren tries to say something, only for Takamaki to notice him rush to her feet and step back.
"Wait, did you hear that!" Takamaki says panicked.
"Only parts of it. Is everything okay?" Ren says honestly
"It's nothing, Nothing at all," Takamaki says, wiping tears away from her eyes before running away.
"Yeah, nothing, I'm sure." Ren snarks mentally before following after her, eventually spotting her stopped by a green column. He walks over as Takamaki notices him.
"Stop Following me… Just leave me alone!" She yells at Ren.
"I can't do that. Are you okay?" Ren says, trying to comfort her.
"Why do you care!?" Takamaki responds sobbing.
"C'mon, let's go talk somewhere a bit more private," Ren says
Feeling a bit hungry, Ren takes her to a small diner. As the two of them settle down, Takamaki speaks.
"There's nothing to talk about. It was just an argument."
"With Kamoshida?" Ren questions
"She seems anxious. I'll try not to be too aggressive with my questioning." Ren thinks to himself
Takamaki seems to look anywhere but Ren before talking.
"You've heard the rumours, I'm sure, about Mr Kamoshida and I, But they aren't true. I avoided giving him my number for the longest time; he told me to go to his place; if I turned him down, he said he'd take my friend off as a regular on the team. I've been telling myself it's all for Shiho's sake, but I can't take it anymore. I've had enough of Him. I hate him, but Shiho's all I have left at that pathetic school; what am I meant to do…" Tears stream down her face, letting out so many emotions that she's held back for who knows how long.
"We will stop him, so no one else has to feel like this like there's nothing they can do." Ren thinks to himself, his grip on his pants tightening as his anger starts to swell.
Wiping away her tears, Takamaki speaks again.
"Im sorry," Her apology comes out with a slight chuckle. "It's funny I barely know you, and here I am telling you my deepest feelings."
"Maybe that's why?" Ren offers
"I didn't think you were as bad a person as the rumours made you out to be."
"I'm bad to the bone," Ren says deadpan Takamaki, staring at him for a second before the two burst into laughter.
"Thank you for this. I'm feeling a lot better. I think I'm going to head home. I just hope Kamoshida will change his mind, although I doubt it."
"Who knows, you might get lucky," Ren says
Takamaki lets out a mirthless chuckle before waving goodbye as she exits the diner.
As she leaves, Ren's stomach growls as he remembers how hungry he is. Ren decides to get something to eat before heading back to Leblanc. As he's walking the streets, he realises how late it is.
"Shit, Sojiro is gonna be pissed." Ren thinks to himself as he opens Leblanc's door and sees Sojiro sitting on a stool with a newspaper, sighing. Sojiro speaks.
"You're late; where have you been."
Deciding it best to be somewhat honest, Ren responds.
"A friend needed someone to talk to."
Sojiro looks him in the eyes, almost like he's trying to find hints of deceit.
"Huh, they gotta be pretty strange to hang around you; just be careful, okay? I don't want you making a friend that will end up ruining your life."
"That was almost nice. Maybe he's warming up to me." Ren thinks hopefully
Stretching and letting out a yawn, Sojiro continues.
"I'm heading home next time you plan on being so late. Send me a message you have my number, and I'll recognise yours."
As Sojiro leaves and Ren heads upstairs, Ren's phone rings.
"Ryuji? What does he want so late at night?" Ren questions before answering the phone
"Ren, I'm torn about what Morgana said. On one hand, if Kamoshida confesses, that would be great, but on the other hand, he could end up brain dead." Ryuji's voice comes from his phone, clearly stressed.
"Hey Ryuji, I'm good. I just got home. What about you." Ren snarks internally.
Remembering his conversation with Takamaki Ren finds his response easy.
"We need to do it. We will make sure we don't mess up; we can't let more people suffer." Rens' Conviction is clear.
"Yeah, you're right, Ren. If we can help, we should. We won't let that bastard Ruin any more lives. Thanks, Ren. I needed to hear that." Ryuji says before hanging up the phone.
"Good night, Ryuji," Ren says to the dial tone, shaking his head slightly.
Lying down on the bed, Ren is left with his thoughts.
"I thought today was going to be uneventful, but I guess not. Maybe tomorrow I can catch a break," Ren thinks to himself as he closes his eyes.