Chapter Text
"So, did you end up finding your sister?" Ren asks as they walk at a quick pace.
"Yeah, but she wouldn't listen to anything we said." Makoto sighs "It was like she was..hearing something different or thought we were just telling jokes."
"That doesn't sound like your sister at all. She's always so serious." Ann frowns.
"I don't know. She's not usually the type to party but perhaps she had a few drinks?" Makoto didn’t seem convinced even of her own words.
"No way? Sae-san? The prosecutor's star no nonsense officer?" Ryuji makes a noise with his mouth.
Ren gives a concerned one of his own in the back of his throat. This has the witch's magic written all over it.
"She couldn't have helped us anyway." Ren suggests. Getting more people involved only puts targets on more people's backs. Which is why they were headed to one place guaranteed to be empty right now. The school.
Ryuji leads them around the back of the property where the sports teams often go in and out. He presses on one of the door handles and heaves his weight into the corner of it. A scraping click sounds and it pops open just like that. He holds it open for the group with a grand wave of his arm. "Ladies first."
"And you're sure there's no alarm?" Makoto asks warily.
"Nope! We use this door all the time for after hours practice so it's never armed." He explains looking pleased as a pirate with his treasure might be.
"And the trick with the lock?" Yusuke asks, looking equally impressed.
"Eh we've...got locked out a fair share of times too. One of the volleyball players bent the handle trying to open it once and well..." He gratures to the doorway. "We found a work around."
"Nice going!" Futaba praises jumping to high five him as she passes into the school after Ann and Haru. Ren follows after leaving the last two boys to shut the door behind them as they go.
"So let's go over the plan." Ren says as they walk the long dark hallways. The red glow of Exits signs and dimm classroom lights all there is to lead the way. Ren can see just fine with his feline eyes but he doesn't know the layout well enough to lead.
"We lure the witch here." Haru answers confidently.
"And catch him by surprise!" Futaba is quick to add on delighted at their sneaky idea.
"And trap him!" Ryuji fist pumps the air and Ren can only smile and shake his head at their enthusiasm.
"Alright, but how exactly are we doing those things?" Ren shakes his head, unable to completely hide the grin on his face. He scans the group and when no one speaks up he points to Yusuke who looks pleasantly surprised to be called out. "We need something strong enough to hold the witch when he arrives. You said there was a room with a large lock on it."
"Yes, the pottery kiln in the art department. It's like a reinforced closet with a large metal lock on the door. More then one student has been locked in there as a prank before." The look on his face says that he may have been the victim of such things before.
"Lead the way then." Ren gestures into the darkness of the school hallways.
Yusuke takes a few slow steps towards the front of the group and then with a bit more confidence lifts his head and strides onwards. The others follow suit behind him passing classrooms and office doors so pitch black it's hard to tell if something isn't lingering right behind the glass of the little inset windows.
Makoto is clinging to Haru's arm as they go, spooked by the atmosphere and the echoing of their footsteps in the silence. Futaba and Ann seem unbothered but Ryuji pulls at the felt of his costume, worrying at a seam of it in his fingers as he speeds up to squish himself between Ren and Yusuke. Ren obliges and allows the two a few feet of room looking them over with a curious eye as he settles into a pace a step behind them.
Then he feels Futaba running up to him, her shorter legs padding fast to make up for the distance they've all spread out over. She jumps and Ren automatically leans forward to catch her on his back, giving her a ride.
"Hi Ho SIlver!" She declares wrapping her arms around his shoulders before resting her chin there as well to watch where they are going.
"I'm a cat not a horse." Ren reminds her through an amused grin.
"And I'm an Alien." Futaba gives a positively gremlin-like laugh pointing in front of them at the two boys leading the way and lowering her voice. "And they're a pair of love sick puppies."
Ren grins wide enough his teeth show. "I had a feeling there was something there. Give me the scoop." He encourages her as they take a turn down a different hallway. Cases of Sports trophies give way to more studious decorations on the painted brick walls.
"Symptoms started a few months ago. They started walking home together after school. Then they started grabbing food together on the weekends alone. Without us!" Futaba tells him as if she's stunned by the audacity of not being invited along.
“If you want food that bad I'll go with you." Ren offers with amusement.
Futaba gives him a kick to his side, "Well, now you have to since you offered; but no, the food isn't the point."
"What is the point then?" Ren asks, watching the two ahead of them. Ryuji's hand bumps Yusuke's and the artist pulls away.
"The point is they have no idea what they're doing. Just look!" She pinches at Ren's cheek to get him to focus as Ryuji reacts to the perceived rejection. Hand, still free, coming up to rub at the back of his head nervously. "God how can they be so bad at this!"
It finally dawns on Ren as he watches Yusuke close the gap that had opened between them again, the taller boy leaning down to speak quietly into Ryuji’s ear that turns a pointed shade of scarlet.
"They both don't realize how the other feels." Ren mutters.
"No duh, and it's so frustrating to watch. The worst kind of TV drama." Futaba sighs, shutting her eyes as Ren walks.
"Don't fall asleep on me now." Ren jostles her teasingly and she holds onto him tighter. It's getting increasingly late into the night. He's sure the others are tired too. "So, tell me what’s your big master plan to get them together then?" He encourages her to keep talking.
Futaba groans at her ride refusing to allow her to nap, "I think they just need a little push ya know? Yusuke is too oblivious and Ryuji's too much of a coward to do it on their own."
"A push...alright I'll see what I can do." Ren promises.
"You're the best cat ever." Futaba grins, reaching up to ruffle Ren's hair and ears with a laugh.
"What are you two whispering about?" Ryuji calls over his shoulder to them. He points to a door down the hall they seem to be crawling to a stop at, "We're here."
The door to the art room makes it very obvious the types of activities that go on inside of the classroom. There are ancient looking paint splatters on the glass of the door’s window. Pencil and Marker doodles on the once polished wood. Layers of peeling colored masking tape, one still hanging on by a thread declaring the inside 'A creative Zone'.
Yusuke produces a key from his bag and unlocks the door with a practiced turn of it.
"I am honored to be a trustee of the classroom key. So please do not make me abuse the privilege." The tall student tells them earnestly as he holds the door open for the group.
The inside very much matches the door. The room, despite its large size, is crammed with every kind of tool imaginable. A pottery wheel in one corner, blocks of wood half carved set out on a table in another. A rack of canvases lining a wall. Still life exhibits for sketching and lots and lots of paint on shelves.
Then, in the far back of the room, a large metal door with a solid looking latch across it. All eyes from the group set on it. It's perfect. Surely, even the witch couldn't break out of something like that. At least for long enough that Ren can maybe talk some sense into him.
Ann approaches the door running a hand over the solid metal surface of it knocking her knuckles to hear it make a dull thud of a sound. "So how do we get him in here? It's not like he's gonna just waltz in on his own?"
Before Ren can answer Makoto jumps in for him. "The book! He wants the book right? We throw it in there like bait on a mouse trap." She is excited to have figured it out with Ren’s approving nod.
At mention of the spellbook they had stolen from the haunted house Yusuke pulls it from his satchel bag having to use both hands to balance the heavy leather binding. His long fingers run over the aged striped cover with the single red jewel, like an angry eye staring up at them. Ren barely has time to see Yusuke tucking fingers underneath the edge of the cover before he springs up and yells, "Stop! Don't!", But it's too late. Yusuke has already cracked open the book to peek inside of its pages.
The binding flings itself open, paper and pages fluttering like bird wings beating to escape Yusuke's hold, nearly lifting the boy off the ground in the process until Ryuji wraps arms around his waist to weigh him down. Ren is quick to go into damage control grabbing the cover and snapping it shut, holding it there with Yusuke’s help until Haru slips her belt off to tie around it securely.
The room looks like a brief whirlwind flew through it as sketch papers settle to the ground and bottles of paint roll and drop off their shelves.
"So much for not making a mess." Ryuji mumbles looking apologetic as he stands back up straight.
"We've got bigger problems now than the mess." Ren warns taking a slow deep breath. The others all turn their focus to him, their leader, waiting for him to tell them what to do. Ren is both honored and nervous from it. "That will have signaled the witch to our location. We're gonna be short on time now. I hope you're all ready."
~~~
The Yoshizawa sisters have their work cut out for them trying to keep Goro Akechi together as he leans against the brick alleyway of some dark shopping center.
Sumire is holding him up by the shoulders as the witch keeps trying to lean over; racking his hands over his face, teeth gritted tight to hold in muffled sounds. His white costume streaked dark red with drying blood.
Kasumi is pacing fast back and forth next to them. "I can't believe you did that! He's our friend!"
"You knew it might come to this when we were raised up to help.", Her sister reminds her.
"How did this go so wrong? We were supposed to survive...together." Kasumi looks near tears herself and Sumire takes a breath trying to handle both of them.
"And we will. After we get the book back and complete the spell to keep us and Goro alive maybe...maybe we can find a way to raise Ren properly too."
That pulls the witch from his spiraling, lifting his head to look up with a wicked cracked smile. "No! Ren had his chance. I won't give him the opportunity to choose those disgusting humans over us a third time."
He picks himself up from where he's leaning, grime sticking to the back of the once white outfit as he lifts his eyes up towards the sky. Something like hope in them as he seems to fixate on a point there. "And we've just got a stroke of luck. Those idiots have opened Loki." He points and the twins follow his gaze seeing a bright spotlight in the sky, illuminated a sickly red against the dark clouds.
The girls look up at it marveling and clinging to each other tightly while the witch smiles showing teeth and starts off in the direction of the guiding light.
"We're going get that book before sunrise, finish the spell to make us permanently living again and then I'm going to do what I should have done in the first place to this village."
Kasumi looks unnerved, "and what's that Goro?"
"Well, they want a witch. They're going to get a witch. I'll cast every spell I've ever wanted to try and make them all bend to my will."
~~~
Ren sits on one of the desks of the art room fidgeting with a pencil he's picked up, twirling it between his fingers in nervous energy. It's quiet. Too quiet with just the three of them in the room. Ryuji is flipping through the drying canvases on the racks pointedly doing anything to not look at Yusuke who seems to be happy to study the contents of the spell book. With Ren's permission carefully peeking into its pages and sketching replicas of some of the pictures inside.
"Hey, that stuff isn't dangerous is it?" Ryuji asks, not looking up from the canvas he's inspecting. Ren notices the subject matter and style of it look familiar. He has a feeling it's one of the other boy’s paintings.
"All art is dangerous." Yusuke replies also without looking up. "For example, the fumes off those paints can give one a right terrible headache if you're not careful."
"I don't mean the paint. I mean that shit." Ryuji finally turns around gesturing at the rabid book lying on the table. Ren swears it glares back at him.
"Ren has assured me it's fine as long as I don't let it...bite." Yusuke places his pencil down looking at him for confirmation and Ren nods.
"Magic itself isn't bad. Despite what some would say. It's more what you do with it." Ren tries to explain with a frown. He had always stood by that.
"Like Art." Yusuke smiles.
Ren just chuckles. "Look for yourself if you don't believe me." He says, leaning to rest his chin on his palm watching the two of them. Ryuji inches closer coming up behind Yusuke to get a better look at what he's doing. The blonde rests his arm against Yusuke's shoulder as he leans in close.
"Oh my God guys you should see this!" The walkie-talkie sitting on the table springs to life. Its buttons blinking with signals as Futaba’s voice comes through suddenly.
It causes all of them to jump and Ren is pretty sure he saw Yusuke startle into leaning back against Ryuji. He picks up the walkie, fiddling with the buttons she had shown him how to use pressing and getting beeping noises in return until static comes over the speaker on it.
"What do you see?" Rens voice is serious and even.
"Is it the witch?" Ryuji whispers loudly enough that it picks up and Futaba's next response is a long sigh. "No. No sign of him yet."
"Then don't scare us like that!"
Sounds of shuffling and static going in and out before Ann's voice comes next. "We just had to share with you what we found!"
"And that is?" Yusuke asks carefully.
"Our yearbook photos from elementary school."
A round of noises from all parties ranging from laughter to groans.
"Ugh, please unfind them!" Ryuji pleads, following just as closely by a, "I'd like to see them actually.", From Yusuke.
As fun as the banter is, Ren clears his throat to get everyone to focus. "You're sure there's no sign of anything else?"
"Negative, the hall by the library is secure." Futaba confirms.
"And what about the student council hall? Makoto? Haru?"
Another crackle and Haru’s voice enters the conversation with a breathy tone. "Only good signs here."
Ren let's out a little sigh of relief. So far so good but it was only a matter of time until their next confrontation. He gives Yusuke a soft look and nods to the spell book. "We should go ahead and bait our trap." He suggests.
Though sad to see it go, Yusuke moves to get up understanding.
The spell book is placed inside of the kiln, as far back as they can manage sitting on a shelf wedged between some lopsided works of pottery left behind by students that had deemed them not good enough. Chalky and dry the space is quick to cover the edges of the pages with a fine powdery clay residue. Yusuke wipes his hands on his pants as he exits the room almost solemnly. As if this was a tomb to be sealed. He adjusts the door so that it stays wide open with a space to hide behind so that they can swing it shut as soon as the witch enters their trap.
Ren moves a few desks out of the way, pushing them towards the corners of the room to make a clearer path to lead him down. It's only when he's done that he looks up and sees Ryuji thoughtfully staring at a large button on the wall, framed in caution tape.
"Hey, Ren." He pipes up, "I think I had an idea."
Ren tries to humor him even though he can guess what the other boy will say. "Yes, Ryuji?"
"What if we just burnt the book. It's dangerous. Without it the witch can't finish this weird spell he needs to do by morning, right? So let's just get rid of the thing already. Problem solved!" He sounds almost proud of himself for coming up with this idea. His hand reaches out close to the button just waiting for Ren's approval. A hope in his eyes.
Ren reaches out to pull Ryuji's hand back gently. "We can't do that." He replies almost too quickly.
"Why not?" Ryuji asks just as snappy.
A stalled response as Ren opens his mouth but he seems to be searching for the words this time, holding back something either in fear of disappointing his new friends or himself. "You've seen how powerful he is without it. It's our only bargaining chip."
Ryuji's expression sours but he nods in understanding. "Of course. Yeah. What's stopping him from just burning the town down or something if he has nothing to lose right?"
"Right." Ren replies, still squeezing his friend's hand. "But hey, keep those good ideas coming alright? We need all we can get.”
Ryuji gives him a half smile and takes his place on the other side of the art room door ready to toss whatever he can get his hands on at their target just as the walkie talkie goes off again. This time Makoto speaks, sounding all business as she puts into simple words her message.
"The witch has entered the school on our side of the building."
Ren scoops up the device and replies, "Have you been spotted yet?"
"No, but he's moving fast, like he knows where he's going. Do we need to slow him down for you?"
"No, we're ready but I think I'll come greet him myself. Give him something else to think about so he doesn't catch on to what we're planning." Ren explains.
"Ren, please be careful." Haru tells him before he cuts their conversation short by handing the walkie talkie to Yusuke for safe keeping. The artist tucks it into his pocket with a graceful nod. "Go, we know what to do here."
Ryuji is already waving him out the door. "Go get his ass!" He cheers and with that how can Ren say anything else. This time he is going to show Goro that two can play these games of trickery.
The two boys watch him go, running down the dark hallways, tail up and alert but swishing almost excitedly. Like a cat going after a toy.
Ryuji bats away Yusuke's fingers trying to frame the moment and they tangle coming to hold hands as their arms drop between them, lacing together and squeezing.
"We got this." Ryuji says trying to be supportive but it almost seems like he needs the support more than Yusuke does at the moment. So the artist turns to give him a soft smile. "And when we're done perhaps I could persuade you to trick or treat me to some ramen from that place you like so well?"
"Yeah! Yeah, first thing in the morning when it opens. Just you and me?" Ryuji asks with a voice full of nerves.
"Just you and I." Yusuke confirms.
Goro isn't hard to find. Following Makoto's instructions Ren goes to the wing of the school where the girls were waiting. The previously locked door to the school has been torn open, swinging on its metal hinges making an eerie sound as it creaks back and forth uselessly now. He doesn't see the twins but he does see the witch marching straight down the hallway with intent.
Ren thinks that if he sticks to the dark corners of the school he can get by him unnoticed, perhaps even pounce on him to knock him over. Oh that would be fun to wrestle him to the ground, let out some frustration much like their little matches they used to have in the wheat fields in a previous life.
He can fall into memories later. He shakes his head to focus, the action rolling through his body sending the fur on his ears on end.
He slinks up the side of a wall of lockers perching himself on top of them and waits. The witch walks right by him with no notice and Ren grins. He had always been the better one at finding hiding spots. He waits until the witch rounds a corner to drop down and pace quietly after him, watching him take the very same path that Ren had to get there, as if he was following some instinct directly towards his beloved spellbook. Clothes still splattered with the remains of their previous fight earlier that night, his hand gripping the hilt of his rusty looking sword ready to use it at the first obstacle he sees. Ren hopes the others are smart enough not to jump in the path of it. This was supposed to be strictly his job after all.
Then, the witch pauses and Ren freezes in place, hunching down on all fours for balance. The witch glances around and mutters something that causes a light in his hand, holding it up to look around. Ren barely escapes its glare by pulling back and jumping behind a well placed recycling bin.
"I know you little thieves are here somewhere.", The witch speaks, calling out to the darkness, "You're going to try something to stop me but it's going to be pointless. You should just hand over the book and make this quick and painless or the same thing is going to happen to you that happened to him."
When no answer comes to his words he continues on, pace a little faster then before. Ren waits counting the seconds in his head before he slips out from his hiding spot and catches up to his target. He's able to get closer this time, sneaking right up behind the witch, claws reaching out as another memory hits him.
Golden sunlight framing golden hair, sneaking up on Goro in the middle of the town square, jumping onto his back and covering his eyes as he whispers into his ear. The man tried to buck him off before realizing what was going on and shifting to hold his weight. The barely meant scolding he received, the laughter and complaining from both of them. The way Goro carried him if he whined about it enough.
The glare of the witches light catches his eyes and Ren is brought back to the present just in time to leap. He springs and wraps his legs around the witch who stumbles forwards from the sudden weight. One claw digging into the witch’s shoulders while the other goes to cover his eyes. A smirk plays on the cat’s face as he leans in and whispers, "Surprise, Goro."
That's when all hell breaks loose.
The witch thrashes trying to throw him off but Ren sinks his claws in holding on tightly like riding an angry bull. The ball of light goes out and the witch falls to his knees reaching up to grab ahold of his attacker and throw him over his head.
Ren lands on his back with a hard thud against the tiled school flooring, limbs slipping to scramble himself up but the witch crawls on top of him just as quickly trying to pin him there. Yellow cat eyes meet blood red ones and time seems to stop as the witch bears down on him looking him over like a phantom come back to life.
"You." He whispers in disbelief and awe. "I should have known you'd find a way to cheat even death."
A retort is on the tip of Ren's tongue but he doesn't have time to vocalize it as a sword comes striking down right where his head had been a moment before. He continues squirming and kicking until he slips free rolling to his feet on a low crouch. "It's a second chance, Goro. You can do the right thing this time." He tries to talk to him, leaping with every swing of a sword aimed at him. The school's lockers and walls quickly become covered in large deep slice marks, the edges of which burn red hot.
"There is no right! There never was!" The witch snarls at him, temper long past the boiling point, "We tried to play the game your way! You preached fairness and empathy and what did we get for it! PITCHFORKS AND FIRE!" A hand rears back and casts a jagged bolt of lightning at him that zips through the hallway. Only Ren's agility allows him to avoid being hit. It's hard to talk and dodge at the same time and besides he has a prison to lure the witch into.
So he runs, assured that he has the focus on him now. Running towards the art hall, whizzing by displays that are set alight in blasts of fire just as he passes them. Good, that's right, give chase. Don't think about why just follow.
Just follow. Just like the first time, during a chance meeting. Late at night just like this in the dark dark woods. Ren had never been afraid, not even when he had stumbled into the garden of what he thought was an abandoned cottage in the woods. Not when its owner had given chase after him, not when said owner turned out to be the rumored wicked witch. How could he be when it had been so much fun?
Ren shakes off another memory as the Art room doorway comes into view. He's almost there. He looks over his shoulder to make sure he's still being chased and nearly catches a fireball right to the face, the heat grazing his cheek and blistering flesh as it passes by to smash into a corner of a student's attempt at the Mona Lisa.
Everything moves so fast from there. Ren makes it through the art room door and slides to a stop in front of the kiln doorway. He turns just in time to see Goro follow suit, eyes blinking between him and the spellbook visible from his position just as planned. Ryuji slams the door to the classroom shut behind them and Ren can tell Goro is trying to calculate the reasoning, the how, the why and the catch but with his goal so close at hand and Ren the only thing standing in his way he lashes out again.
"I don't have time to waste with you, trash." He laughs, a crazed quirk on his lips as he takes one final swing at Ren, who side steps out of the way easily from the wild arch of the blade. "If you think some locked door will stop me at my full power your little friends are stupider than they look." So with all the confidence of a man with nothing left to lose the witch takes the last few steps into the kiln and grabs the book from its place on the shelf. It opens on its own, pages flying until it snaps to one section, the ink glowing dark red.
Yusuke is quick to push the Kiln door shut, twisting the large circular handle on it to lock it in place. "Are you sure this will work?" He asks Ren, voice slightly wavering. The small window showing the inside of the device gives them a view of the witch, loud laughter muffled by the thick reinforced walls.
"I just need to talk some sense into him." Ren breathes, "Keep him still long enough to explain."
All three of them jump as the witch slaps a hand against the door, metallic and reverberating, peering back at them like a hungry lion waiting for its chance. "There's nothing left to explain, Ren. I'm going to curse everyone in this town. You. You're friends. Every last one of them for what they did to me. TO US!"
Ren goes to the door, placing his hand over Goro's from the other side of the glass. "It doesn't have to be like this." He pleads softly.
"Don't give me that cliche bullshit!" Comes the sharp, angry response. "I've had enough of it for all our lifetimes." The kiln behind the witch slowly filling with an eerie red and black flicker, like a bottled lightning storm.
"Um..Ren." Ryuji pipes up behind them but the cat isn't listening. This is his chance, he has to get through to Goro. The cloudy magic slowly obscures the witches face on the other side, Ren presses himself against the tiny window pleading.
"Please believe me! It was all a terrible accident!"
"Ren!"
A crack slithers across the glass.
"Ren!"
A rumble erupts followed by an ear splitting buzzing sound makes Ren crumple back and cover his sensitive ears. He twists and turns to find the source of the sound and sees Ryuji, standing by the caution taped button on the wall. His hand pressing firmly into it. A red light blinks into existence over it declaring. 'Kiln on. Danger: Fire'
"No...nonono!" Ren leaps up and throws himself at the door, The lock is stuck and already he can feel heat seeping out of the crack in the glass, warm to the touch. Goro isn't at the window anymore but Ren can hear, hear something inside struggling. The sound of smashing clay pots and howling, frantic chanting. Worse than all that though is the smell of smoke.
Smoke that sends him reeling into his memories yet again. Fire. Torches. So many torches. So many angry voices, getting closer and closer. A cracking of bones and pain as his back is bent and his body transformed. It's not supposed to be like this. They're supposed to run away together.
They're supposed to escape together.
One night.
It was supposed to be one more night and then everything would be fixed.
Chapter 5 Preview:
"Ready for tonight?" Ren asks, practically dancing around Goro as he works away at a cauldron over the fireplace of the cottage.
"Calm down, Kitten. It's only breakfast time." Goro sighs scooping a ladle full of soup into a bowl and handing it to the overly energetic man who takes it, getting away with the briefest of good morning kisses before he's chassed away with the ladle.