Chapter 2: The High Priestess.
May 9th, 2009
The Dark Hour had come once again. Plunging the city into its eerie green glow. Everywhere, electronics fail, and lights are extinguished. Pools of blood form on the ground, and black coffins line the streets. All the while, the moon hung ominously above, giant and green. Inside the Iwatodai Dorms, the only room that had any power running inside was scanning the city for any activity.
The blue screen displays readouts and changes in the city as Mitsuru looks over a transmitter nearby. Standing near a window, Oracle was busy looking over her screens, adding to the scanning ability of the area, but found she could only help in a localised area. As the two continued on, Akihiko entered the room. Seeing the two hard at work he lets out a chuckle.
"Are you two still at it?" He asks, walking to Mitsuru's side.
"Yes. You never know when an enemy might appear." Mitsuru replies, giving him a glancing nod before glancing over to Oracle. "How about you, Saku—I mean, Oracle."
"Same as last night. Nothing unusual in the area." Oracle replies, closing her screen. "Then again, I'm only picking up the area around the Dorm. Everything seems a bit hazy outside of it for some reason."
"Still, having someone able to scan outside of Tartarus is better than nothing." Akihiko remarks, sitting down next to Mitsuru. "Before you arrived, Mitsuru always seemed to struggle."
"And it is still an area I struggle in, even with Oracle's help." Mitsuru admits, playing with the transmitter. "Penthesilea was more combat-focused than scanning, after all. Having you be able to travel with the group as we advanced through Tartarus has been a boon."
"Still can't believe your Persona is a UFO of all things…" Akihiko remarks, shaking his head. "And we haven't even seen the others' Personas yet either."
"I'm just happy there is enough space for me to manoeuvre in Tartarus. Who knew that when engaging in a fight, the area would enlarge to accommodate us all? Just like Mementos." Oracle remarks, flicking past a few screens. "Still, we haven't really shown how we fight yet. Maybe on the next Tartarus run we can show you how we do things? Might help speed it up."
"If you believe it could make our trips easier, then by all means." Mitsuru replies, leaning back towards the transmitter as Oracle does a fist pump in victory before turning back to her own screens.
"Well, I'm not picking up anything around the Dorm. Want to try to widen the range?" Oracle asks, playing with her screens. Before she suddenly comes to a stop, blinking her eyes behind her mask. "Wait… I'm picking up a reading. It's a Shadow!"
"What!?" Akihiko shouts as Mitsuru leans in on her transmitter. "You picked one up!?"
"She's right… I'm picking one up as well!" Mitsuru replies, eyes narrow. "This reading… is it coming from the station?"
"That's what I'm getting as well!" Oracle shouts in growing alarm. "And it looks like it's a big one! Larger than those floor bosses we encountered!"
"A large one? Could it be the same as that Shadow that attacked us last month!?" Akihiko asks with wide eyes.
"If what we are picking up is correct, then that would be the case." Mitsuru replies, standing up. "Call the others. We have to stop this Shadow before it does something irreversible."
"Already on it." Akihiko replies, rushing out of the room as Mitsuru walks up to the main monitor. Not long after, Akihiko comes rushing back, with the rest of the team falling in behind him. All dressed for a fight in the S.E.E.S case or in their Thief attire for the Thieves.
"We're here. What's the problem." Queen asks, going straight into business.
"Where is it!? We'll rip it a new one!" Junpei shouts eagerly.
"We've detected a Shadow outside of Tartarus near the train station. We don't know for sure, but it appears to be just as large as the one from last month." Mitsuru informs with a serious face.
"You mean that giant walking mass with countless hands holding swords?" Minako replies, remembering their fight with that particular Shadow. "So we're dealing with another one that's similar?"
"That's what it looks like." Mitsuru agrees, turning back to the screen. "We must defeat it as soon as possible before people's lives are lost. If parts of the city are destroyed during the Dark Hour, inconsistencies will be left behind."
"I can imagine." Fox interjects, striking his chin. "A building that is standing before you one minute is suddenly razed in the time it takes one to blink? That would be more than confusion to witness."
"And everyone will be left in a panic about it happening again, with no one able to find out how it happened in the first place." Yukari adds, shaking her head.
"Well then, let's head on over there already." Akihiko comments eagerly, bashing his hands together. Yet, Mitsuru caught the tiniest hint of a wince when he did that, making her let out a sigh in response.
"Akihiko, you wait here for the chairman to arrive." She abruptly tells him. "And before you argue, I saw you wince. You're not fully recovered yet from last month. The way you are right now, you'd only be a hindrance." Akihiko narrows his eyes at her, unhappy at being put on sentry duty back at base. "Have faith in them, Akihiko."
"Don't worry. We'll be there." Joker replies, hands in his pockets. "If things get out of hand, we'll jump in to help." Akihiko glances around, seeing the looks of determination on their faces before letting out a sigh.
"Dammit… okay, I'll stay here. Just don't do anything reckless out there. All right?"
"We will." Minato replies, not catching how Junpei had let out a small huff of irritation. Too quiet for anyone to notice, apart from one person, as Mona looks at him with a curious expression.
"In that case, we'll meet at the station. There is something I need to bring first." Mitsuru remarks, the group nodding at her as one before turning to leave.
"Let's get this show on the road!" Minako shouts with her usual optimism as the team leaves the building. It didn't take long for them to reach the station, the cold, dead silence of the air hounding their every step. Yet as they reached the station, they found Mitsuru had yet to arrive, leaving them hanging around waiting as they wondered where Mitsuru was.
"Where is she?" Yukari asked with some slight impatience in her voice as Mona tapped his foot.
"I'm sure she'll be here soon." Noir comments, leaning on a pillar before glancing up at the sky. "A full moon… it is usually a lot more beautiful at night, yet the Dark Hour makes it seem so… sinister."
"It was the same last month when that giant Shadow attacked." Yukari comments, shaking her head. "I was scared stiff that I couldn't even use my Evoker. It was knocked out of my hand and landed next to Minako's feet. That's when she picked it up and used it."
"I didn't know what came over me at the time. I just picked it up and used it." Minako replies, shaking her head. "It was the same with Minato. When Akihiko got back, he dropped his Evoker, which my brother picked up without thinking. Thinking on it now, we both acted like we were in a trance that night." The team let her words hang over them in silence until the familiar roar of a bike grabbed everyone's attention.
"Isn't that a motorbike?" Skull asks, pushing himself off the wall just as Mitsuru arrives on her bike, surprising some of them.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." She tells them, taking her helmet off.
"Isn't that the same bike we saw you use in Tartarus?" Panther asks, looking at the bike. "And, how can it work in the Dark Hour?"
"I'll explain about that later, we're on a time limit." Mitsuru replies, getting off. "I'll provide long-range support from here. Oracle will go with Minato's group and provide short-range support. The Shadow is located on a monorail, not too far from the station, so it will be tight."
"Just like our trip through Tartarus." Minato comments before glancing at Joker. "Who will you take with you?"
"I'll take Skull. If it's on the monorail, having too many of us will make it hard to manoeuvrer." Joker replies, nodding his head at Skull, who joins him. "Everyone else will remain on standby, just in case we need help."
"Sounds good to me." Minako agrees, nodding her head as she turns to Yukari and Junpei. "Let's get started!"
"Okay."
"Yeah! Let's do this!"
Running along a monorail was certainly not something anyone would do voluntarily. Yet, here and now, the group of six found themselves running along the monorail high in the air. A sight that made Junpei feel a little queasy on the side.
"That's… a drop… I think I'm gonna hurl…"
"Chill out, man. You'll be fine." Oracle calls out from above as a gleaming silver UFO hovers above the team. Lined with neon green ruins and five lowing orbs along the bottom and topped with a gargoyle statue, Necronomicon hovered like a guardian angel over the team. "But I've got a sight on the monorail. It looks like it's around 200 meters from where you are."
"Got it." Minato replies, leading the team forward as Joker and Skull take up the rear. Ready to jump in, just in case something unexpected happens. Approaching the corner, they find the monorail resting not too far from them, with a view of the island holding Tartarus right before them across a literal sea of blood.
"Dang… that's certainly a sight." Skull remarks at the view, seeing Tartarus being framed by the moon. "Anyone else noticed how the moon looks so large tonight?"
"Probably a result of the Dark Hour." Minako suggests as they approach the monorail. "Having said that, nothing looks out of place around here. It just looks like a normal monorail."
"Look's like it's hiding inside." Oracle comments hovering above them. "Somewhere near the front."
"Then let's head inside and beat it! My Persona is itching for a fight!" Junpei remarks with a grin, already climbing inside the monorail as Yukari lets out a long sigh of resignation, watching as Minato follows after him.
"Just as long as you don't do anything stupid…" She comments, following after them as Minako, Joker, and Skull follow after her. Finding a very empty monorail car with a single coffin standing near the window.
"Hard to believe that these coffins are just ordinary folks." Skull remarks, looking the coffin up and down. "And they're just sleepin' in that? Freaky."
"And they won't remember any of this, yeah?" Junpei asks for clarification, Yukari nodding at him with a serious face. "Probably better for them that way." Before anyone could reply, the door behind them suddenly closed shut, trapping them inside the monorail.
"Huh!?" Yukari shouts as Joker runs up to the door, trying to pry it open. But the door refuses to budge.
"It won't open!" He calls back, watching as Skull, Junpei, and Minato try doors of their own, only to get similar results.
"What's wrong? What happened?" Mitsuru's voice echoed from the comms as Oracle lowered Necronomicon down to look through the windows.
"The doors just locked on us. We can't get them to open." Minako replied back, glancing at the others with weary looks.
"Looks like it's on to you guys. Hang on, I'll see if I can hack the doors open." Oracle replies from outside, already working away in her own little bubble. Until the entire train car jolted, almost sending everyone to the floor as the monorail started moving forward slowly.
"What the!? The trains moving!?" Junpei shouts in alarm, feeling the monorail start to move.
"This is bad, you guys! The Shadow has complete control over the monorail! I can't hack the doors or controls until you take it out!" Oracle shouts through the comms as the severity of the situation dawns on them all.
"We can't stay here! We need to get to the front now!" Joker shouts, instincts kicking in until the sound of a shadow spawning grabs their attention. A floating head with long wild hair and a strange crown that was designed like a giant pop hat with a book floating in the middle. At its side was a sentient hand with a blue mask for a face, as well as a set of scales behind them, one-half blue and the other half red.
"They're trying to block us!" Yukari shouts in alarm as Joker and Skull glance at each other and nod in unison.
"You guys go on ahead! We'll deal with these freaks!" Skull shouts, jumping ahead of them and ripping his mask off. "Let's do this, Captain Kidd!" At his call, Skull's Persona forms behind him. A skeleton pirate dressed in light blue with black pants, large shoulder guards painted in black and a billowing cape of red. Two leather belts stylised like swords frame his face as an eyepatch covers his right eye with a large pirate hat on his head. One hand ended in a yellow glove with silver spikes on the fingers, while his right hand was a golden canon. All the while, Skull's Persona was surfing on a black pirate ship with a sark face painted on the front, the mast broken near the base, and the rigging flying in the breeze. "Mazio!"
Aiming his right arm at the group, Captain Kidd unleashes the storm of lightning on the foes, blasting them with lightning and stunning the foes. While Minato and the others would have loved to stop and look over Skull's Persona, they were on a time limit. So, using the opening presented to them, they rush past the foes as Joker fires his gun at them.
"Don't stop for anything!" Minato shouts to the others as they rush through the cars, brushing past more coffins as they run for the front of the train. Only for a second, rumble to shake the monorail as the environment outside starts to fly by faster.
"No way… is the train getting faster!?" Yukari shouts in alarm, seeing Necronomicon outside the window as it races to catch up.
"This is bad guys! There's another train at the end of the track! At this rate, we've got a major accident on out hands!" Oracle's words echo through the headset, worry filling her words as the group rushes to the door leading to the driver's cabin. And noting the frost that covered it.
"We're just outside the driver's cabin! Entering now!" Minako shouts into the headset as Junpei kicks the door open. Where their target was waiting for them. Sitting on the ground was a large shadow in the shape of a woman. Their entire body took up the entire back wall of the driver's cabin, split down the middle in black and white with a red mask over their face. Their hair fluttered around them wildly while the initials of B and J were on their chest.
"Whoa… what the hell is this?" Junpei asks, seeing the large shadow look down at them as it licks its lips. Almost anticipating the incoming battle.
"That's our target." Minato tells him, eyes locked on the figure as they are ready for battle.
"What are we even supposed to do here?" Junpei asks, not noticing one of the hairs of the Shadow lashing out at him until Minako pulls him to the side. Avoiding the strike.
"We fight! That's why we have Personas, right?" Yukari tells him, and despite the fear that was clearly evident in her eyes, she is ready to fight this Shadow.
"Here's something that can help! The Priestess is weak to Fire attacks!" Oracle chimes in through their headsets as Junpei's eyes widen in realisation.
"Priestess?" Minato asks in confusion, watching as the Shadow lets out a blast of icy wind at them.
"That's what it is called, apparently." Oracle replies through the headset, although she herself was taken aback by the name.
"If it's weak to fire, then I have just the thing!" Junpei shouts, taking his Evoker out. "Let's go, Hermes!" Firing his Evoker, Junpei summons his Persona to his side. A warrior dressed in dark black with two golden wings stretched down from his hands to his legs, connecting them. While his head was a golden helmet with small wings coming off from the top. "Agi!" Channelling a small orb of fire, Hermes lobs it towards the Priestess, slamming her right in her chest as Minato and Minako follow-up behind them. Evokers out and aimed at their heads.
"Eurydice!"
"Orpheus!"
Firing as one, the twins summon their Personas at the same time. Mechanical doll in appearance, one with a male appearance and the other with a female appearance. Both with large white arms and legs connected to the main bodies with mechanical limbs. But that was where the similarities end, for Orpheus had a blue chest, while Eurydice had a yellow chest. While they both had red scarfs as harps, the hair of both of them resembled their summoners. Orpheus has pure white hair, and Eurydice has long, lightish brown hair. As for the harps, while the one behind Orpheus was classical in design, the one behind Eurydice was in the shape of a heart.
"Agi!" The twins shout as one, blasting the Priestess with fire as she roars in pain, blasting back with a harsh ice storm that sends shivers down their spines. Seeing Minako take a harder hit than the others, Yukari quickly takes out her own Evoker. Aimed right at her forehead.
"Io! Dia!" Not wasting a second, Yukari pulls the trigger and fires, releasing her Persona. Forming behind her in a cloud of blue, Io takes shape. The form of a woman in a pink dress, chained to a seat of a cow's head with long pull horns. Her long hair flowed upward. The moment she arrives, she heals Minako of her injuries, who nods back at her with a thankful nod.
The Priestess, seeing this, roars in annoyance, her hair lashing out at the team and striking some of them in the arms while others slam into the ground. The moment they did, the shaking of the train started to get worse, with Oracle's panicked cries coming in soon after.
"Uh oh! The train just accelerated! You better take it out fast!"
"Working on it!" Junpei shouts, lashing out with a Cleave. "This thing isn't making it easy for us!" As if to prove his point, the Priestess summons minions to its side. Three distinct Tiaras that all glared at the team. "Aw, come on!"
"We don't have time to deal with this!" Yukari shouts, blasting Loathsome Tiara with Wind. "We're running out of time!" Minako grimaces, blasting the Priestess with more fire, just as the Sceptical Tiara jumps at him. "Minato!"
"Zio!" Skull's voice shouts as a bolt of thunder strikes right into the Tiara. Wiping it out in one blast as he and Joker rush into the control room. "Sorry we're late! Had more shadows blocking our way!"
"Glad of you to join!" Junpei shouts, slashing the Despairing Tiara with a Cleave. "This thing is tough!"
"And we're running out of time!" Minako shouts just as the Priestess slams her hair into the train again. Once more increasing its speed to dangerous levels. "At this rate, we'll cause a major accident!"
"Arsène!" Joker shouts, summoning his other self to the field. The black wings sprouting from his back, having to scrunch up in the confined space of the train, his demonic horns and top hat graving the roof. "Eiga!" With little room to manoeuvre, Arsène forgo his usual stylish method of attacking and simply slammed a hand onto the floor. Sending a blast of Curse energy into the Priestess, eliciting a shriek of pain from her. "Now!"
"Agi!" Minato, Minako, and Junpei all shout as one. Blasting the chest of the Priestess with fire magic as she once more screams in pain. Her body instantly turned into dark smoke as she dissolved on the spot. Leaving behind a card on the floor.
"Alright! You did it, guys!" Oracle cheers as Necronomicon struggles to keep up with the train. "As for the train…" No sooner does she say that does the train starts to come to an abrupt halt. Sending everyone to the floor as the brakes activate, bringing the train to a sudden stop. Even if such a sudden stop was abrupt.
"Couldn't you have given us a warning, Oracle?" Yukari asks, standing up and brushing her skirt.
"Sorry, didn't have time." Oracle replies before Mitsuru's voice echoes over the comms.
"Do you read me!? Is everything alright!?" Mitsuru's voice echoes in the headsets, prompting a few of them to take them off and rub their ears at how loud she was.
"We're fine. The target has been eliminated." Minato replies, glancing at the spot where the Priestess once sat. "And Oracle stopped the train as well. It might confuse everyone onboard that it's a lot farther along than they remember, but it's better than a crash."
"Understood. Apologies for the silence. There was some interference in the way. And I'm glad you are all alright. I'm detecting no more shadows on my end. How about you, Oracle?"
"Same here. Looks like they all cleared out the moment we took down the big one. We should be safe to head back."
"About that… can you unlock the doors?" Junpei asks, glancing out the window at Necronomicon. "They are still locked."
"Oops. I'll get on that." Oracle replies sheepishly while Skull and Joker shake their heads in amusement. While in the twin's eyes, they could see that their bond with both the S.E.E.S team and the Thieves had increased in rank. Going to three and two, respectively.
"Anyone want to grab a bite to eat on the way back? Nothing like having a good meal after a job well done!" Skull suddenly asks with Junpei jumping at the suggestion. Wrapping an arm around his shoulders with a grin.
"Sure! So long as you are paying."
"For real?" Skull asks as Minako chuckles at the two of them while Yukari shakes her head. While they did that, Minato picked up the card left by the Priestess, finding it to be the High Priestess Tarot card, just like the Fool card and Magician card he had on him.
"What's that?" Joker asks, walking to his side. "A Tarot card? And the High Priestess one as well?"
"Yeah…" Minato replies, looking it over as he flips it around. "What does it mean?" Joker frowns as he folds his arms. Thinking but coming up with no answer. It was strange that a shadow called the Priestess would drop the High Priestess card of all things. This was only leaving them with more questions than answers…
Back at the Dorm, Akihiko and Ikutsuki were in the control room waiting for an update. It had been radio silence ever since the team left for the station, and they were starting to get worried. Just when Akihiko felt he had to go out and check on them, the comm link chimed an incoming call. One that he was quick to answer.
"It's me. What's the situation?" Akihiko reports, waiting with narrow eyes.
"The shadow has been defeated." Mitsuru reports, earning a sigh of relief from Akihiko. "We're just finishing up here at the scene at the moment. No noticeable damage has been done to the monorail it had hijacked. Although it has been moved from its former location, the people onboard won't notice."
"A job well done, Kirijo-kun." Ikutsuki praises. "I'm glad I won't have to worry about tomorrow's headlines talking about a sudden monorail accident."
"How did the team do?" Akihiko asks curiously.
"They did a fantastic job. They managed to hold their own against the shadow while Joker and Skull took care of the smaller ones. Minato and the others have learned a surprisingly lot in such short a time span."
"That is great to hear. I am glad that our new members are proving their worth." Ikutsuki remarks with a grin.
"But what is up with the shadows? They've never done anything like this before." Akihiko asks, folding his arms. "I mean, hijacking a train of all things? This is getting out of hand."
"I'll be looking into the matter." Ikutsuki replies, his face a serine calm. "But let's not jump to any conclusions just yet. It is still too early to tell. For now, we should just study their behaviour for patterns or clues. Until then, bring our members back for some well-earned rest. Talking about our new members, I take it they are still doing part-time jobs?"
"They are." Akihiko replies. "Why do you ask?" It was with that question that Ikutsuki put on a mischievous smile. One that made Akihiko suddenly nervous. "What did you do…?"
"Nothing much. Just… a small favour for them. One I'm sure they will appreciate."
September 15, 2017.
"He enrolled us into Gekkoukan High School?!" Ann asks with wide eyes. Minako and Minato nod their heads in unison as Ann lets out a groan. "So much for trying to stay out of the way…"
"How did he do that? How did he convince the school to take on seven random students?" Makoto asks in disbelief.
"He never told us. Only that he 'pulled some strings' to get it done." Minato replies, shaking his head. "Not that any of you asked for that. You even tried to deny it the following day when he told you, but he wouldn't budge."
"Urgh… I can already tell I would have been a shivering mess…" Futaba groans, leaning backwards on her stool. Just as her head hit the back of the board, the door to Leblanc opens. Revealing Yukari as she enters the small café.
"Sorry I'm late. Got held up by traffic." She tells them before spying the picture on the table. "You're already telling them, huh?"
"Minato started before I even arrived." Minako replies as Yukari sits next to her. "We have just gotten to the part where we defeated the Priestess."
"I struggle to imagine that such a monster as called that." Yusuke admits, shaking his head. "The way you described it, this Priestess sounded like the reverse of the High Priestess."
"That's what it was called when you scanned it, Futaba." Yukari replies before glancing at Minato. "That, and it did drop the High Priestess card as well. Just like how the shadow from before dropped the Magician card."
"Moving past that, what happened when we were enrolled?" Ren asks, leaning back. "Did we all end up in the same class?"
"Some of us did. Futaba ended up finding herself with the first years, while Makoto and Haru were with the third years. They both ended up being in the same class with Mitsuru and Akihiko." Yukari reveals. "As for the rest of you, you guys ended up in the same class as us. Although, Morgana was left back at the Dorm."
"For real?" Morgana groans, letting his head slam onto the bar. "Then again, I'm guessing Gekkoukan has a much more sticker policy on animals than Shujin, huh?"
"Like you wouldn't believe." Minako replies, shaking her head.
"But I have a question." Haru suddenly asks, grabbing her eyes. "If we were enrolled, why didn't Shujin or Ren-kun's old school identify us? Or any of our old schools?"
"Simple. You guys went with different names." Yukari tells them, bringing a leg up. "You also changed up your hair colour as well, added or removed accessories to differentiate yourselves."
"But… didn't Ikutsuki know our real names? Why would he go along with that?" Ryuji asks, rubbing the back of his head.
"At the time, we didn't know." Minato replies, shaking his head. "There was a lot about him, we didn't know." The heavy words from Minato words echoed around the café as the thieves felt their weight.
"So, what happened during our time at Gekkoukan?" Ren asks, folding his arms. Minato glances at him before looking towards Ryuji as the ghost of a smile forms on his face.
"A few things throughout the year…"
May 11th, 2009.
Minato didn't know what to expect when he went back to the track today. Other than hanging out with his Chariot or Strength confidant, there wasn't much point in him hanging around the track. Not to say he didn't enjoy it. He did enjoy pushing himself to go as fast as he could. It was also why his sister hung around the tennis club as well with her own Chariot. She did say she initially thought about Volleyball, but her opinion on that soured after hearing about Kamoshida.
And the less he thought about the track team, the better. But speaking of the track team, he had a curious guest with him today.
"I dunno, man… would they take me in?" Ryuji asks, feelingly slightly uncomfortable. His blond hair was now instead jet black. "I mean, my leg is still out of it."
"I'm sure they'll take you in. Think of it as primitive therapy." Ren tells him, patting him on the back. His fake glasses were gone, and his curly hair had been straightened out. "If not, then there are other options you can try."
"It never hurts to ask." Minato agrees as the trio enters the track. Before them, watching as fellow classmates run past, Kazushi Miyamoto and Yuko Nishiwaki watch the track members run past with calculating eyes before turning to watch the trio approach them with familiarity.
"Minato! Glad you could come!" Yuko calls over before turning her eyes to the newcomers. "And who are they?"
"These are Denki Miyano and Kaze Fukuyama. They are looking to join the track team." Minato introduces Ryuji and Ren respectively, using the fake name they enrolled with.
"IS that so?" Yuko asks, looking at the both of them before putting on a smile. "The track team is always open to new faces. We'd be glad to have you."
"Thanks for having us." Ren replies with a grin while Ryuji rubs the back of his head.
"Yeah, thanks… just, um…" He looks at his injured leg, giving it a shake. "Thing is, I used to run a lot before comin' here. But, I got into an accident that broke my leg, and I haven't done any runnin' since. So I might be a bit out of it."
"Don't worry about it." Kazushi tells him, walking up and patting his shoulder. "We can help you get back into it." Ryuji blinks in surprise, before letting out a chuckle as he returns the pat before a couple of kids runs up to them. One of whom made Ryuji's eyes widen in surprise.
"Hey Yuko! You going to run again today?!" One of them asks with excitement, earning a chuckle out of her.
"Not today. I'm only keeping watch." She tells her, getting dragged into a conversation with the kids while one of them stands off to the side. His eyes locked onto the track with a distant look, one that Ryuji easily recognised.
"You want to be a runner, huh?" He asks him, walking up to the boy. While surprised at Ryuji talking to him, the boy nods back before returning his gaze to the track.
"Yeah… I want to be a famous runner to help my mom."
"Helpin' you ma, huh? I feel that." Ryuji replies, kneeling. "If it's what you want to do, then don't let that dream out of your sight. Keep chasing it, no matter what. You hear?" The boy nods at him, with Ryuji rubbing his head. "Keep that in mind, huh? By the way, my name is Denki Miyano. What's yours?"
"Ryuji Sakamoto." The boy replies, the name almost sending Ren and Minato into shock at hearing the name come from the boy. "Are you wanting to be a track runner, too?"
"Maybe one day, squirt." Ryuji replies, rubbing his head before looking at the other kids. "Well, been nice talking to you. Cya ya round, huh?"
"Yeah!" The kid Ryuji replies, rushing away to join the other kids as the future Ryuji rejoins Minato and Ren. Both of them giving him knowing looks.
"Was that…?" Ren asks quietly.
"Yeah… that was me." Ryuji replies, looking back over at his younger self. "You know… I feel bad. I told him all that stuff, despite knowin' what Kamoshida will do to me…"
"If you ask me, I think that's what will help him." Ren replies, glancing at Ryuji. "You already had more than enough reason to rebel. Now you have even more of a reason." He pats Ryuji on the back as the trio head to the changing rooms. "At least, that's how I'm looking at it." Ryuji blinks in surprise before returning the grin and patting Ren's back.
"Yeah, you're right. It all works out in the end." Ryuji replies, following after Minato. "It all works out in the end…"