Chapter Text
“Oh? Welcome back, you two,” Ace greeted Ren and Deuce as they entered the kitchen with the groceries. “You sure took a while.”
“There was a… road block,” Ren lied. He didn’t want to destroy what little ounce of dignity Deuce had left. “But it’s all been handled. Right, Deuce?”
Deuce, however, looked completely unresponsive and gloomy. No matter how Ren pushed, he couldn’t get the boy to talk or utter any words.
“What’s his problem?” Grim questioned, raising an eybrow.
“Uh… Let’s just say he’s just had the most groundbreaking realization he has ever heard in his entire life,” Ren answered calmly. “He’s currently in a state of shock right now, so just leave him be for a while.”
“Geez, I wonder what you told him to make him completely silent?” Morgana thought, tail slowly wagging in curiosity. “It’s almost like you rained on his parade.”
“More like egged on it.”
“Huh?” His companion looked at him, confused.
“Anyways, let’s just continue making the mont blanc”
“Now, we have to dust it with powdered sugar,” Trey said as he carefully dusted the numerous mont blancs that they all made. He let out a sigh of relief before announcing to the group. “And now we’re done.”
“Finished!” Grim and Ace cheered with enthusiasm.
“Finished…” Deuce cheered in monotone and depression.
Ace took notice of Deuce’s lack of energy. He looked at Ren and asked. “Did something bad happen while you were out? Why is this guy all mopey?”
“Chick shock.” Ren deadpanned, staring at the boy with no further explanation. “Just leave him be for a while.”
“For sixteen years… I’ve believed that fact…” Deuce quietly muttered.
“There, there,” Ren gave the boy a few pats to the back. “It’s alright. You didn’t know.”
Ace took this as a sign to shift his attention toward something else. “Making desserts are exhausting,” He sighed. “I’m so tired…”
“Ooh? Are you guys finished with the tarts?”
With absolutely perfect timing, Cater entered the kitchen and greeted everyone inside. He had a look of awe when he saw the numerous mont blancs beautifully laid on the counter for consumption and piped well for the decoration. Cater 0-immediately took out his phone from his pocket to take a picture of the desserts.
“They look so good! It’s totally Magicam material,” Cater beamed. “Lemme take a quick pic.” He tapped on his phone as a quick flash lit up the room. He looked at the photo with satisfaction.
“What are you even doing here?” Ace asked, annoyed with his senior for arriving at such a time.
“I just came to visit my cute underclassmen! You all must have worked so hard, you’re all tired!” Cater giggled.
“Is he making fun of us or something?” Morgana asked Ren with a puzzled look. The boy shrugged as a response.
“If you do things that your body isn’t used to, you’ll be completely tired,” Trey explained. “That’s why whenever you’re tired, you should eat something sweet to energize yourself.”
“Go ahead, everyone. Try the mont blanc we made.” Trey smiled, expecting them to grab a sweet treat.
Everyone cheered in unison.
“Looks like you came here at the right time, Cater-senpai.” Ren mused.
Cater laughed before saying. “Just think of me as a taste tester.”
Everyone grabbed a mont blanc from the counter. Ren and Morgana looked at the dessert that he was holding. He could already smell the sweet taste of chestnuts off of it already before he could even take a bite.
“This looks amazing,” Ren remarked. “I bet it’s going to be delicious too.”
“Hey, let me take a bite out of it too!” Morgana said as he jumped on Ren’s shoulder.
“Are you sure it won’t make you sick?”
“It won’t, I assure you. I had wilder things enter my stomach before.”
Ren stared at his companion with slight horror in his eyes. “I’m not going to ask… Let’s dig in. Thank you for the food!” He said before biting into the mont blanc. His eyes widened as he chewed into it. “Woah…! This is…!”
“Extremely good!” Cater voiced, completely taking the words out of Ren’s mouth but ultimately explaining what he had been thinking.
The mont blanc was professional level good.
“It’s like something out of a fancy bakery!” Deuce commented. “It’s really good!”
“Wow! This isn’t anything beginner! It’s a pro’s work!” Morgana purred in delight as he bit a piece off of Ren’s mont blanc.
“It’s not overly sweet but it still has a richness to it!” Grim said, giving surprisingly accurate commentary to describe the flavor. “It’s like a garden of chestnuts in my mouth!”
Trey chuckled. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
Cater swallowed the contents he was chewing before giving a few taps to Trey’s shoulder, which caught the latter’s attention. “Hey, Trey. Do the thing.”
“The thing?” Trey looked at him as if he had no idea what Cater was suggesting. It was until he had a moment of realization. “Oh! You mean that?”
“That?” Ace looked at them, confused.
“Before I show you, I must ask everyone, what are your favorite foods?” Trey questioned the juniors.
The group looked at each other with no idea what was happening. Ace was the first one to speak out.
“Uh… Mine’s Cherry Pie and Hamburgers.” Ace answered.
Grim, at the mention of food, lit up with his ears wide up. “Well, my number one is canned tuna. As well as cheese omurice, grilled meat and pudding.”
“If I have to pick, I guess it’s also omurice.” Deuce answered.
“Sushi! No doubt about it.” Morgana purred. Ren looked at his companion, giving a small laugh in response.
“And mine is grilled lamb with some diablo sauce.” Cater answered.
Trey nodded before pulling out his magic pen from his pocket. “Alright, then. Now, Paint The Roses!”
With one chant, a small magical light that came from his pen lit up the room. Everyone looked at Trey stunned, meanwhile Cater and the spellcaster himself looked unfazed with what occurred.
“What just happened?” Deuce asked, confused.
Trey simply smiled at them. “Why don’t you take another bite of the mont blanc and see for yourself?”
Perplexed by the answer, Ace decided to take another bite out of the mont blanc. “HMNM!?” He uttered as he took a bite, eyes going wide. “It tastes like a cherry pie!”
Everyone (besides Cater and Trey) looked at Ace in shock.
Grim took a huge bite out of his own tart. “It tastes like canned tuna!” He exclaimed as he kept biting and biting the tart. “Now it tastes like cheese omurice!” He said with crumbs flying out of his mouth as he spoke.
“Try not to speak with your mouth filled with food,” Ren lightly scolded the monster. He stared at his mont blanc for a few seconds before giving it to Morgana. “Why don’t you try it out for yourself?”
“If you say so,” Morgana took a few bites out of the tart. He let out a huge gasp. “Woah! This tart tastes like high-quality sushi now!” He exclaimed before he continued eating Ren’s sushi-flavored mont blanc.
“Is this… a Signature Spell?” Ren wondered as he looked at his seniors.
“Yep! This is Trey’s Signature Spell!” Cater responded. “Pretty cool, right? If you did this with someone during a tea date, they’ll be surely impressed!”
He then looked at Ren and noticed something missing. “Where’s your tart, Ren-Ren?” Cater asked.
“Ahh, I gave it to Morgana. He enjoyed it a lot though,” Ren replied, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck. “Don’t worry, I already witnessed it for myself how it works though.”
“That won’t do!” Cater exclaimed. “You won’t get the feeling unless you try it for yourself. Here, have a piece of mine.” He said as he offered his already-bitten mont blanc.
Ren stared at Cater. “Are you sure?” He asked.
“I’m fine with it!” He assured. “I swear it’s not that bad tasting.”
Ren hesitated for a few moments before sighing. Without any warning, he leaned down to Cater’s tart and took a small bite out of it.
“It’s good!” Ren said with surprise. “It tastes savory. You have nice taste for food.”
Cater, without any misstep, replied back. “Right? It’s impressive!” He said. “But next time, can you not suddenly do that? I really wasn’t expecting you to do that all of the sudden.” He admitted, letting out a chuckle. Ren merely smiled as a response.
“What an amazing spell,” Deuce complimented. “Is this how your Signature Spell work, Senior Trey? Changing the flavors of certain things?” He asked.
“Actually, it’s much more complicated than that,” Trey answered. “My magic overwrites the characteristics of certain things. I can change taste, color, smell, or whatever things I put my mind into.”
“But it doesn’t last for long. It’s kind of like covering a doodle on the wall with paint. Hence the name, ‘Paint The Roses’.” He added.
Morgana looked at him with an o-shaped mouth in awe. “Woah. So, that’s how it works. How does it work when it’s in combat?”
Trey hesitated for a moment, before he answered. “I… never tried it before. To be honest, it’s not the best spell out there.”
“Eh? If I had that type of magic, I’ll be eating canned tuna for days!” Grim commented. “It’s much better than Riddle’s collar magic!”
“Compared to my magic, it’s mere child play.”
“I disagree,” Voiced Ren. “Your spell is powerful on its own.”
“You don’t understand. My spells are much more behind compared to Riddle’s,” He answered, crossing his arms. “After all, he’s far more trained than me…”
Ren and Morgana could see that Trey had an odd look when he talked about Riddle’s magic. The two looked at each other, as if they were thinking about the same thing, before turning back to Trey who went back into his usual demeanor.
“Anyways, it’s getting late. Let’s go back to our dorms and give the mont blanc to Riddle tomorrow. After all, it is the Unbirthday Party.” Trey said as he puts the tart inside the kitchen’s fridge. He also left a little note that said ‘For Heartslabyul Unbirthday Party’ in case someone tried to eat it.
“Yeah, yeah, rest sounds good n’ all but I can’t enter the dorm ‘cause rules are rules apparently,” Ace said grumpily, giving Cater a harsh side eye while the senior giggled slightly as he scratches the back of his neck. “Can I stay over Ren’s place for the night again?”
“You’ve been at Ren’s place for two consecutive days now,” Deuce sighed, squinting his eyes at Ace. “I’m pretty sure Ren must be tired of seeing you there. Stop abusing his kindness.”
“It’s alright for me,” Ren explained. “Besides, it’s not in my nature to complain when it comes to helping someone.”
“Geez, you are way too nice that it makes me sick,” Grim groaned. “For me, Ace should pay us some sort of rent! Ooh, I know! Maybe he should compensate by paying us tuna cans!”
“…Do you even know what rent is?” Morgana looked at the blue creature with a deadpan expression and voice to match.
“Hey! Don’t look at me like that when you probably like the idea of being paid in tuna cans, right?
“…I plead the fifth.”
Ren chuckled at Grim and Morgana’s banters before looking back at Deuce. “If you’re worried about Ace causing me trouble, how about I also invite you to stay the night over? Perhaps I need a little help in making sure Ace behaves properly.” He flashes Ace a playful smirk, to which the latter looked at him with a sour look on his face.
“I agree with Ren,” Trey said, looking at Deuce with a smile. “Maybe you should stay at his place for a night to watch Ace in case he gets into any trouble. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t mind making another sleepover permit for you.”
“Aw, that’s so cool!” Cater said happily as he looked at Trey as if he was expecting something. “Hey, hey. Can I stay over at RenRen’s place too?”
Without any hint of faltering, Trey looked at Cater and replied. “No.” He said with a smile on his face.
“Brutal…” Cater moped. “When will there be a time where I properly hang out with you, RenRen?”
“Maybe someday,” Ren said in assurance. “You two are already busy with the Unbirtday Party, I’ll invite you over when you aren’t busy.”
“Yay~! How nice of you~!”
“You really are generous, aren’t you Ren?” Trey mused. “Take care of those two. I hope they aren’t causing you too much trouble.”
Ren chuckled at his senior. “You’re making me sound like I’m Headmaster Crowley all of the sudden. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure they won’t burn the entire place down.”
Ace, who was silently plotting his revenge, finally spoke. “This collar is definitely going to come off! Just watch, Prefect!”
It was the middle of the night inside Ramshackle Dormitory. Ren silently stared at the celling with no feelings of drowsiness whatsoever. He looked at the people who were already fast asleep, with Ace and Grim snoring on the couch, Deuce silently snoozing while tucked in his blanket, and Morgana who was softly purring while sleeping next to him and not on top of his chest as per the usual sleeping routine.
“Morgana’s going to kill me for not sleeping,” Ren thought to himself, softly chuckling as a response while looking at his sleepy companion. “I don’t feel tired enough… Maybe I should go out for a walk?”
Ren slowly rose up from his blankets, trying not to wake up his friends in the process of doing so. He slipped on his bed slippers and made his way outside. It didn’t take too long for him to realize that he was grateful that he was wearing long sleeved nightwear, as the cold air bristled his neck causing him to shiver slightly from it.
What month is it in this place? He thought sadly. Considering that this was the first week of school in this place, it was most likely the middle of the year.
He would check on his phone to see what date it was to bury his thoughts.
But he decides not to. He doesn’t want to get reminded of things that he didn’t want to even know.
Ren looked down and frowned to himself, as he decides to sit down at one of the steps of the stairway to the dorm.
When was the last time he properly collected his thoughts about this whole situation? It’s been an eventful first week and from the looks of it, it was going to get even more eventful in the long run.
But how long is the long run?
Everything just seemed way too confusing in this world. From the Personas, new confidants, and the MetaNav returning on his phone like its mere existence and background behind it didn’t even matter in this world, Ren didn’t know what to make of this whole thing.
The worst part of it all, he’s all alone and clueless about everything that’s happening. He had no way of contacting the Velvet Room, where Lavenza or Igor most likely know what was happening and he doesn’t have any contact with his companions. What if they were also in a situation like this? What if they get hurt and Ren couldn’t be there? What if…
“Breathe, Trickster,” Arséne calmly said, which brought a sense of comfort to him. “You’re panicking.”
Ren didn’t even realize how tense he was, how shallow his breathing got, and how cloudy his thoughts were all of the sudden. Upon his Persona’s instruction, he took a deep breath and let out a big sigh. “Thanks, Arséne.” He said slowly inside his mind where only he and his other self could hear.
Arséne hummed softly inside his mind.
Ren sighed once more. Had he really been thinking about this situation too hard? He never properly spoke to Morgana about the full extent of his worries and what was on his mind. He didn’t want to worry Morgana, knowing that he too was feeling the same worries and restlessness that he was having.
And a good leader doesn’t burden his teammates…
He’ll figure everything out, one way or another. If this were truly another big threat, then he has to be prepared at all costs. He needs to train Deuce as well in case something happens.
“It’s alright, Ren…” He said to himself in an attempt to calm down. “You’ve done this once before, what’s one more potentially dangerous trouble going to do to you now? You’ve experienced worser things already…”
Not even Arséne could speak when he said that.
“Ugh… I should probably go to bed,” Ren groaned tiredly while he slowly stood up from his seating. “This hour is making me think of useless things that make me feel sad.”
As Ren was about to start walking up the stairs, Arséne’s voice immediately flared up in his mind, causing him to go on high alert.
“Trickster, stay vigilant. I sense something nearby.”
His eyes suddenly raised as his Persona spoke. He quickly turned his head from left and right where he saw no one in the distance.
However, he hadn’t checked behind him.
He gulped the lump inside his throat as he slowly turned around, only to be greeted by light green coming from a vest. It was then and there he realized that there was indeed a person behind him and the person was most likely taller than him after figuring out that he was only staring at what he assumes was his torso. Ren slowly tilted his head up to come face-to-face with the person in front of him and felt his breath hitch upon locking eyes with the person.
The first defining feature that made Ren froze was how strong and intimidating the person’s aura and stare was when he looked at their eyes, as the emerald green felt like it was radiating some sort of glowing energy and was petrifying him to stone like Medusa’s gaze. The person was pale, looking cold even, and their long hair was as dark as the night sky above.
What caught the boy’s attention was that the mysterious person had horns extruding from his head, which added more to his already tall structure.
Ren didn’t know what it was, but he could tell that he was in the presence of someone completely strong.
The tall person looked at Ren. Instead of immediately attacking or whatever Ren had thought the person was going to do, the horned person tilted his head while looking at him strangely. “How peculiar…” The deep voice that the horned boy let out made Ren jump by how low and deep it was, especially with the short distance they had that it made him shiver more than the cold air. “For the longest time I’ve been visiting this abandoned dorm, I never thought it would gain inhabitants.”
Ren took a few steps backwards, realizing how uncomfortable their space was becoming. He took the time to fully compose himself before answering. “…Well, there’s a first for everything. And besides, I was only forced to live here because there was no other place on the campus that could house me.”
“How interesting,” The horned boy uttered with widened eyes. “Pray tell, Child of Man, why did you end up here in the first place?”
“It’s a long story…” Ren sighed as images of the events that transpired played in his mind. “But the basic gist of it is that I’m not supposed to be here and they had to make me find a place to stay.”
The horned man blinked at him, before turning his head to look at Ramshackle and all its rundown glory. “Well, you certainly have the guts to reside in this place. I usually take leisure walks in this place. This is the only place where you could find a sense of solitude inside this institution.”
Ren looked at the dorm he currently resided in and back at the horned individual. “Well, the place has seen its better days. But it’s not going to be abandoned now when I’m here.”
The latter nodded and sighed. “A pity it is… That would mean I need to find another place to seek refuge in to be alone in my thoughts.”
“You know you don’t have to,” Ren said to the boy which catches the horned individual’s attention as he stared at the taller person’s widened eyes. “You can stay here for as long as you like. I don’t really mind it. And besides, we’re all usually asleep there so just wander around whenever you feel like.”
To his surprise, the individual gave him a small smile despite his momentary shock and disbelief. “A brave soul you are, Child of Man. Do you have any idea who you’re casually idling with?”
“Is that supposed to be important?”
The taller man looked at him once more as if he was an alien. “You… don’t know who I am?”
“Not really, other than the fact that you popped out of nowhere right behind me.”
“…Are you even scared of me?”
Ren shook his head. “Is there something I should be afraid of other than your scary yet devilishly attractive face? To me, you’re just some ordinary person like any other person out there. Despite the, uh, y’know…” Ren made a gesture by pointing the top of his own head. “Horns.”
The horned individual was silent for a moment, contemplating on Ren’s words. He lets out a small laugh. “Haha. You are a peculiar Child of Man.”
A light chuckle left Ren as well. “I get that a lot. By the way, I’m Ren Amamiya. But you can just call me Ren. I’m not really one for formalities.”
“Ren…” The horned individual thought of the foreign word that left his lips. “What an interesting name. As for me, I am…”
He stopped for a moment, which made Ren look at him, completely clueless. “…Actually, it’s best I not tell you. It’s for your own benefit after all.”
Ren didn’t know what to think of him other than one thing. Weird. But knowing how completely vague the person in front of him was being, he can assume why he refuses to disclose his name. “Right, I understand. But what do I even call you? If we were to ever meet again, it’ll be rude of me to not call you by anything.”
The individual placed a hand on his chin, thinking for a moment. “Then you may call me by anything your heart desires.”
He then lets out a light chuckle, giving a playful smirk to Ren. Ah. He has fangs. “Although you may regret it once you know who I am.”
The two stayed silent for a moment before the boy with horns let out a deep sigh. “It seems that I need to look for somewhere else to stay in for the time being. Farewell, Child of Man.”
“Wait—” Before Ren could stop him, there was a flash of sparkled light which caused him to momentarily flinch. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the tall boy was no longer in front of him, as if he drifted like a leaf in the wind. He frowned as he stared at the spot he once stood. “What a weird guy… I was about to ask when I’ll be able to meet him again.”
A yawn left Ren’s lips, realizing he’s starting to get tired and staying up too long was not the best option considering that the Unbirthday Party was tomorrow, or rather in a few hours. He walked back to the dorm and went back to his blankets, lucky that Deuce and Morgana didn’t take his spot while he was away. He stared up to the celling one last time before drifting off to sleep.
That meeting, certainly that wasn’t a dream?
“Clover-senpai! Diamond-senpai! Thank the Seven you’re here!” In the middle of the night, a panicked Heartslabyul student approached the two third years in a panic, prompting the two to approach him and ask what was the matter.
“There’s been ten students that were punished for breaking the 256th rule of the Queen of Hearts: ‘After 8 PM, one must drink lemonade with honey,” the student explained, shivering when he spoke once more. “A-And all ten of them got their heads chopped off by Prefect’s magic…”
Trey and Cater silently listened to the student, though it was clear to the minds of both of them that what was happening had become more serious than they had initially thought.
“I don’t wanna’ live like this anymore!” The student cried, pleading to the point of tears. “Forced to follow rules that I can’t even understand… I want to move to another dorm already…”
Trey approached the distressed student. He felt awful just by listening to what the student said. It felt like watching his siblings breaking down in front of him and it tugged at his heart strings when he looked at his junior and get reminded of their distressed looks. He slowly gave light pats on the student’s back in an attempt to comfort him. “There, there… Everything’s going to be alright, okay? I’ll talk with the Prefect about it. For now, you should go to your room and rest for the night.”
The student weakly nodded and went back to his room. When the student left, Trey let out a heavy sigh as he casted his gaze onto the floor thinking of the events that transpired only throughout the first week of the school year.
“With ten students collared by Riddle,” Cater began, crossing his arms and letting out a deep sigh as well. Trey assumed that he was also thinking about the same thing. “That’s a total of 100 students collared for this week… Man, when are we ever going to get some sort of peace in this dorm? Feels like everyday we’ve been talking to distressed first years about how to make sense of Riddle’s ways. Not only that, there’s probably more students in different dorms that were unfortunate enough to anger Riddle.”
“Yeah…” Trey slowly nodded. “But they have to listen somehow… The following the rules, general laws or the laws by the Queen of Hearts herself, are a symbol of Heartslabyul’s tradition and it’s Riddle’s task to enforce them and make sense of them.”
But they don’t have to follow the rules that don’t even make sense in the first place. It’s nonsense. Trey thought of saying, but immediately bit down the thought.
Cater shook his head. “Welp, don’t wanna’ bring in some more bad vibes. If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen busy making tea to win Riddle’s graces.” He chuckled awkwardly.
“Oh, before you go Cater,” Trey stopped Cater before he could leave to the kitchen. The boy looked at him, tilting his head in confusion before Trey finally answered. “Make sure to prepare herbal tea instead of the usual black tea. Pretty sure it’s based on Rule 153 about evening tea.”
Cater stared at him with a weird look on his face. There was a silence before he replied with his usually pep. “…Will do. Thanks.”
Trey looked down the moment Cater left. “Sorry, Cater… You just have to understand the reason he’s doing this.” He silently said before he left to tackle on the last minute preparations for the Unbirthday Party.
This needed to be perfect.
Because Riddle wants it to be perfect.
There will be no room for unnecessary nonsense.
Ren’s eyes shot wide open as he found himself back at the garden he once stood in a dream. What happened in that dream again?
Right… They were painting white roses red…
As he walked while staring at the white roses painted white, he hears a commotion coming from the distance which prompted him to run to the source of it. There, he saw the three playing cards from before on the ground splattered in paint. In the middle of the trifecta, the girl with the blue dress silently watches as a looming figure grabs the rose bush, ripping it out from the roots, and angrily looks at them as if they had committed a devious crime and a cardinal sin at the same time.
The figure was a woman in a giant dress of red and black colors. Her black hair was tied to an intricate bun with a golden crown to pair with it. She stared at the roses as one look of the artificially polished ‘red’ rose made her face color into a similar red out of anger.
Ren didn’t even need a second thought to realize who it was.
It was the Queen of Hearts in all of her glory.
“You sullied all my roses!” The Queen yelled, pointing at the group consisting of the three cards and the girl. “Prepare yourself for punishment!”
The Three of Clovers pleaded, stammering as he tried to explain his case. “I beg your forgiveness, your Highness! It was their fault!” He said, pointing at both the Ace and Two of Clovers accusingly.
“It wasn’t me!” Cried the Ace. “It was the Two of Clovers!”
“Huh!? It wasn’t me!” Also cried the Two. “It was Three!”
The Queen grew tired of this nonsense. “Enough!” She yelled, ushering to the Soldiers of the Heart Suit to take the Clover Suits away. “Off with all of their heads!”
As the Clovers plead for mercy and scream while they were being taken away, Ren could hear the chatter coming from all of the other card soldiers witnessing the event unfold.
“…Of course they’d lose their heads for planting the wrong color of roses…”
“…I can’t believe someone would actually mix up white and red…”
Ren felt useless for not doing a thing or even protect the card soldiers. Why would the Queen do such a thing? And for what? Just a single mistake of planting white roses? Someone shouldn’t be punished for something as trivial as this and for making such a simple mistake. And to have their heads chopped off because of it? This isn’t the punishment a just ruler would make.
No. In fact, it was the punishment of a cruel tyrant.
As he thought about the matter, he locked eyes with the little girl in blue.
But before he could say a word to her, his vision began to ripple as everything faded into nothingness.
He could’ve sworn that he saw a hint of flame radiating off the girl’s eyes…
“…Ren? It’s morning. We need to get ready…”
Ren groaned in his sleep as his eyes slowly opened. He rose from his makeshift bed, rubbing his eyes to get whatever chunk of crap in his eyes before he was fully functional. He turned to whatever woke him up and it was Deuce who woke up fairly early.
“Deuce…?” He mumbled. “Why’d you wake me up…?”
“Have you forgotten already? It’s the Unbirthday Party,” Deuce reminded. “Had to wake you up early because punctuality is a rule in Heartslabyul, otherwise we’d have our heads chopped off.”
“Would that be a general rule or a Queen of Hearts rule?” Ren mused. Though the mention of the Queen made him think about what happened last night.
Was everything about last night a dream? Even his meeting with a strange boy?
“Ren?” Deuce’s voice managed to take him out of his thoughts. “Are you still sleepy?”
“…Honestly, I may be am,” He joked, looking from behind him to see Ace still sleeping soundly as well as Grim and Morgana who were still asleep right next to him. “But I’m physically awake compared to these two.” He chuckled.
The two heard a knock from the door, which prompted Deuce to answer it instead of Ren since he was still trying to stand up without trying to disturb his two sleepy companions. But the knock was loud enough that it woke the sleeping trio who responded with numerous groans and yawns.
“…Who’s knocking the door so loudly?” Morgana tiredly questioned.
As Deuce opened the door, he was greeted by an energetic Cater. “Oh, hey, Deucey! Mind if I come in? Is the owner still sleeping?”
Deuce, who wasn’t expecting someone to be this lively early in the morning, turned to Ren due to not wanting to deal with his senior first thing of the day. “He’s awake, if you’re wondering.”
Ren approached the door, greeting Cater giving him a small wave. “Morning to you too, Cater.”
“Heya, RenRen!” The senior greeted with a smile. “Accidentally dropping the formalities, I see?”
“Ah, sorry,” He eyes widen in realization but Ren simply laughed it off. “Guess I’m too sleepy that I forgot.”
“That’s alright,” Cater said in assurance. “Cay’s isn’t one for formalities, so just call me with whatever you like.”
“Speaking of which! How about I treat you with some breakfast! Cay’s feeling nice today!”
“Ah, I was thinking about making some actually.”
“Woah! You cook Ren? I totes hafta’ see it for myself!”
“Haha. Maybe I’ll whip something up today?”
Unknowing to them, Deuce was staring at the two boys as if he didn’t know what they were talking about. It wasn’t until Ren noticed his look, which was an in-between of confusion and horror, that Ren decided to mention him. “Sorry, Deuce. Did we scare you?”
“I-I’m fine!” Deuce uttered and coughed to hasten himself. “I didn’t think you two would be that close.”
“I guess we hit it off well?” Ren asked Cater with amusement in his voice.
Cater went silent for a moment, trying to digest what Ren had said before he replied. “Yep! We’re close!”
They were interrupted by a big yawn, which prompted them to look at an annoyed Ace who had abruptly woken up due to their chattering. “…S’um’one’s up n’ lively…” He mumbled.
“Good morning to you, Ace,” Ren chuckled. “Did we wake you up?”
He groaned as he ruffled his ginger hair, fixing the stray strands of bed hair. “Wasn’t that obvious enough?”
“Sorry, we’ll keep the noise down next time,” Ren said, scratching the back of his head. “Are you hungry or still sleepy? I know Grim is. I’ll be making some breakfast and coffee if you’d like.”
“…Sounds good. Wake me up when you’re ready.” Ace said before laying back down on the couch.
“But aren’t we going to be late?” Deuce asked, to which Cater simply laughs as a response.
“You sure are diligent, Deucey! But the Unbirthday Party is still in the preparatory stage, so to speak. They’re just setting up the venue to make it magicammable basically!” Cater explained. “So, you’ve still got the time to unwind a bit before your first Unbirthday Party ever!”
“That means more time to eat Ren’s cooking!” Cater ended with a toothy grin.
“My cooking skills are average at best,” Ren looked at Cater, impressed that the senior was expecting his cooking. “Don’t expect something… Magicam worthy, as you may.”
“Wow, you speak like a boomer,” Cater joked. “But I won’t judge! Honest!”
Ren was starting to feel confident. He walked to the kitchen, putting an apron on himself and started to get to work. He mentally thank himself that he was able to get stuff he needed.
Perhaps he’ll try something simple, like an egg dish.
“Waaaah! This looks good!” Grim looked at the omurice Ren had prepared with starry eyes. “Can’t believe my henchman is able to cook this well!”
Ren smiled at Grim while he was tying the tie on his uniform. “It’s just a simple recipe, I didn’t do anything too special.”
“Dude, you’re being modest!” Ace commented, feeling his own mouth water while looking at the breakfast Ren prepared. “This looks good and it will certainly taste good!”
Cater nodded. “I agree! Oh, and thanks for offering breakfast by the way!”
“No problem,” Ren responded. “You can start eating, need to chat with Morgana a bit. Have to feed him as well, y’know? Hope he doesn’t mind the last canned tuna in the cabinet!”
Grim looked up from his food and cried out. “Aw! That was the last tuna can and it’s supposed to be mine!”
“I’ll buy you another one,” Ren said, before looking down and sighed. “If I find a way to make income.”
He walked back to the kitchen where he checked one of the cabinets to grab a tuna can, the last tuna can as Grim stated, and opened the can. Morgana entered the kitchen and hopped onto the counter expecting his breakfast.
“Something tells me you have other reasons for coming here other than to feed me,” Morgana states, eyes perking up when he gets handed the tuna. “Nice excuse by the way!”
The boy watched as his companion happily eats his food. He grabs his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it with a serious expression. “Right on the mark, Morgana. It’s time we properly discuss this.” He says, gesturing to the MetaNav on his phone.
Morgana frowned as he looked at the Navigator. “Is it really true? Did Yaldabaoth affect this world too?”
“I don’t know… Might as well check to confirm our suspicions,” Ren said, activating the Navigator how he usually does and speaks a word that he wishes wasn’t the case. “Mementos.”
To the surprise of both of them, the Navigator’s automated voice replied.
“Candidate not found.”
“HUH!?” The two of them said in unison.
“Hey! Is everything okay in there?” Someone yelled from the other room. It was most likely Ace.
“U-Uh, we’re alright!” Ren stuttered a response. “Just the ghosts again!”
“Alright! Your food’s getting cold by the way! Better eat up before Grim gets any ideas!” Ace yelled, which sparked an offended ‘HAH!?’ from what he assumes was Grim.
Ren turned back to face Morgana. Though he attempted to stay calm and collected, there was a hint of panic on his face that seemed paler than usual. “So, Mementos isn’t in this place… At least we know that Yaldabaoth isn’t doing something. Which should be a given already, since we already defeated him,” He thinks, relaying to Morgana of everything. “But then that leaves us with one problem. Why is the MetaNav in my phone? Was it Igor that gave the app to me then?”
Morgana shook his head. “Not sure… Haven’t gotten a word from him or Lady Lavenza about it. With no contact with the Velvet Room, we aren’t getting any explanations or answers most likely…” He said, grimly.
“What’s going on…?” His companion looked at Ren with fear in his eyes.
“I don’t know… There’s got to be a reason this is here. Why we’re here even,” The boy thought, but ultimately he realized that they really aren’t going to get answers any time sooner. “Well, this leaves us no choice. Whether or not something big is being in play is something we aren’t aware of. However, if there’s one thing we do know. We know how to use the MetaNav. And since we’re already well experienced of it, that only leaves us with one option I think we’re supposed to do with this.”
“Ren, you aren’t thinking…?” Morgana questions, though it was clear that he already knows the answers himself.
He smirks, the familiar smirk that the leader of the Phantom Thieves wore. “Morgana, I believe it’s our time to steal hearts in this place for the time being.”
The fellow phantom thief looks at the leader in disbelief. But soon, he too shared the same smile. Morgana chuckled. “You sure have a wild way of thinking. But honestly, I’m going to have to agree. Judging by the nature of this world we’re in, I guess it needs a little visit from the Phantom Thieves.”
“You know me so well, Morgana,” Ren smiled. “But first, let’s lay low for a while. We aren’t too familiar with the world and all its politics, so it’s best we get acquainted with it until it’s our time to shine.”
Morgana nodded. “Right. When we settle with the target, we need to show Deuce the Metaverse. He’s still new to being a Persona user and since using our Personas out in the open is still to dangerous, the Metaverse is a good way to help him train.”
“A phantom thief in the making,” Ren idly mused. “I like the idea.”
“Now, now, Joker,” Morgana reasoned, even going far as to bring up his codename. “He hasn’t agreed to anything yet, don’t get to hasty.”
“Right, right. We need to ask him first if he’s willing to join us,” He lightly giggled. “But from the looks of him and his awakening, I feel like he’ll fit right in as a part of our group.”
“…Just wished that the others had the chance to meet him. I feel like they’ll like Deuce.”
There was a tense silence between the two.
Morgana hopped down and nudged his head on the boy’s head. “We’ll see them again. You don’t have anything to worry about. We’ll find a way to get back home, Ren.”
“…Thanks, Morgana,” Ren said calmly with a hint of warmth in his voice. “I’m sure that we’ll get back home.”
“Hey, Henchman! You still alive back there! I’ll eat your food if you don’t get back out here!”
“Ah, coming!” Ren yelled from the other room. He didn’t realize that their conversation took a while. “Looks like our talk was way longer than I expected. C’mon, let’s go out.”
The two of them walked back to see the three boys and creature still chatting away. They immediately bombarded him with questions about why he took so long and he casually made up an excuse that he had to chase down the ghosts because they had stolen Morgana’s tuna can.
Thankfully they believed it. Ren thought to himself as he sat down on his seat and took his first bite of his breakfast. His thoughts drowned out most of the conversation the others were having and kept thinking about the Metaverse and Twisted Wonderland.
What will this place have to offer for him? Are there really people that need their hearts to be change? Only time will tell.
“I can’t believe I didn’t win at Old Maid! I thought I had it!” Grim complained as Ace and Deuce gave him a harsh side eye.
“Don’t let me begin with the piss poor play you did during that,” Ace groaned at the monster. “You didn’t even know how to play properly.”
“And the fact that you have a poor poker face… You were grinning when you got the Joker.” Deuce chimed in with a double kill.
Grim made an angered noise as he looked at the two appalled. “Henchman! I’m being bullied by these two!”
“There, there. I’ll just teach you next time.” Ren tried to comfort the blue monster.
“You’re going to have the patience of the Buddha to have to teach him.” Morgana said sarcastically, sticking his tongue at Grim when he growled at the not-cat.
“Why am I surprised that you know who that is,” He laughed lightly as he watched the two creatures tease each other. He looked at Cater who was finished eating. “Oh, are you done Cater-senpai?”
“Yep! That was a pretty good breakfast,” Cater cheerfully said while happily rubbing his stomach. “Compliments to the chef for the tasty meal!”
“The chef is complimented,” Ren smiles. “But the chef also thinks that you’re here for a reason, which is not free breakfast.”
“Aww, busted…” Cater laughed before confessing what he really was here for. “The breakfast was just a bonus. I’m just here to say that I need a little help with something.”
“What for, Diamond-senpai?” Deuce asked.
“Well, there was a bit of trouble yesterday. I’ll explain it to you a bit, but the gist is that I need more man power and with the Unbirthday Party today, I’m really in a tough position,” He admitted. “So~ I was wondering if you could help your senior with this?”
“Well…” Ace hesitated.
“Pretty please with a cherry on top~?” Cater pleaded with puppy eyes.
“Fine…” Ace sighed in defeat. “But that’s the last of all the request, you hear?”
“Yay!” Cater cheered. “If you’re done, let’s go to Heartslabyul. I’ll go on ahead. Bye-bye!”
The freshmen watch as the senior walked out of the dorm. They looked at each other, wondering what they have gotten into.
“You know, I feel like there’s been an ongoing theme of us getting roped into weird things,” Grim bluntly commented on the ordeal. “And frankly, I don’t like it!”
“Let’s just deal with it for now,” Ren said in an attempt to reason with him. “But first, let’s grab the tart we made yesterday.”
“Right! The tart!” Ace jumped out of his seat. “Get the tart to the prefect, apologize, and I’ll this collar will be out of my head. Sevens, I’m sick of not being able to use magic…”
“Someone’s being dramatic.” Deuce flatly said as he took a sip of his coffee.
“What did you just say!?” Ace grunted but Deuce only rolled his eyes.
Morgana stared at the two bickering. He looks up at Ren. “These two… Will there ever be a day where they stop bickering?”
“At this point, my opinion on them being an old married couple is still the same.” Ren deadpanned as he watched the two share back-and-forths with one another. “They’re really close. Won’t be surprised if they’re actually together.”
“NO, WE’RE NOT!” “HELL, NO!”
Just another typical day in Twisted Wonderland.