Chapter Text
"Rennnnnn Im hungryyy." The cat bemoaned while prancing around in his adorable yellow sweater. The employees in the shop found it to be the cutest thing to happen in the store and asked the teen if they would be able to take some photos. The fur-ball didn't notice as he was stuck in his own thoughts.
"Lady Ann has to like this!" And other similar thoughts were revolving in his brain.
"We'll grab something small for now. We still have a lot of other stuff to do before the plan, remember?" The teen leaned down and plucked the cat off the ground. He stayed on his shoulder as they left the store and then entered the bag, with a protruding head as usual.
"What's first on the agenda?" The cat questioned as they were walking away from the mall.
"Some general supplies for the trip. I think some gear from Iwai would be a good stop and then we can drop by the clinic for some concoctions. We should probably drop by Leblanc to make some coffee for later tonight but I don't know if Sojiro would let us."
"Yeah but there are like two customers in there at most!" The cat argued.
Ren chuckled but then he brought up another reason.
"Wakaba and Futaba are probably there too knowing the time though."
He really didn't want to see her. How do you talk with someone you don't know that's supposedly been there? Furthermore, how was Futaba still the same? Her entire journey was to be able to interact with people other than Ren, Morgana and Sojiro. She had to fight her own inner demons and he had never felt prouder when she accomplished her goals. It almost felt like he was seeing a younger sibling grow up. But now…
It didn't make sense.
"Oh right. Jeez, I don't think I know how to go about it now either. Do you think they'll understand me now that I'm back to normal?" He pondered.
"That's a good question. Let's hope we don't have to test it though. Maybe they'll be having a family dinner at Wakaba's or Sojiro's. But I have a feeling that Maruki is trying to grant some paternal link between Sojiro and I. Maybe even trying to make us all one happy, inseparable family." He reasoned.
The cat gave him a concerned look. "How much power do you think he has? He brought back all these people that were long dead and he got into all of our heads to find out our desires… I'm worried Ren."
The cat's eyes looked spooked as he glanced up to the boy that seemed confident as ever.
"I don't think we've seen the full extent of his powers to be honest." He paused.
Although honesty was one of Ren's charming features, he was aware that sometimes it would be easier to lie for reassurance. But, he was sure that they could do this.
"But, I do know that we can stop him. Instead of swarming us with violence, he's trying an emotional approach to coerce us. Honestly, I can't say that I prefer the emotional approach over the hack and slash one we had but we'll get through it. We've made it this far after all." He continued.
The fur-ball took in the information and thought about it in silence. He was mulling over asking the boy another question but for the time being, he waited as they made their way to the airsoft shop.
Ren bought equipment for the two of them, getting vast upgrades on the guns they used along with some better armour. He was tempted to use the Velvet Room for the equipment and to fuse some better personas, but that wasn't a possibility still. Where were they?
That was another question Ren had no answer to whenever it rang in his head. Actually, he was struggling to remember just what happened after he shot god. Everything happened so fast really.
But, he still remembered talking with Igor and Lavenza after his journey had concluded. But another threat arose which meant that it wasn't finished, no?
"Hey kid ya done? You've been zoning out for five minutes already." Iwai grumbled while changing lollipop sticks.
He snapped back to reality and nodded.
"Good. Make sure you don't do anything stupid with that stuff." He remarked while going back to reading whatever magazine he had.
The teen and cat walked outside the shop after securing their belongings.
"Hey Ren… " Morgana's voice was barely audible, which worried Ren. The only time he remembered the cat being like this was when he was feeling insecure about his use and place in the team. It usually meant that he was worried about something.
"Do you think Maruki rewrote some of our-" Morgana's words were cut off by Ren's phone ringing.
The cat mused down and the teen picked up the phone.
"Hello?" He asked. It probably wasn't the best idea to never check the caller ID but bad habits stick true through everything.
"Ren! My son, my offspring, my favorite criminal! Ah it's so good to hear your voice, these last few weeks have been boringggg. Your mother's been so emotional about leaving the house and moving but she's also pretty excited about the city life. Personally, I can't wait to see all the bars!"
Ren laughed at his dad's antics. His humor and zany personality certainly hadn't changed.
"Dad you don't even drink."
"Oh, of course not! But do you know how fun it is to see people get absolutely wasted? Imagine I run into one of your teachers and hear all the dirt they have on other ones!"
"Is this another one of your social experiments?" He questioned.
"No, I did have to test something with cognitive-behavioral science though. But that was an experiment hmmm." His father stopped for a moment to think.
"Actually… you might be onto something. I'll need some help though, how would you like to help me with?"
"As long as mom approves." Ren remembered how his mother had absolutely ripped into his dad after involving him with some of his dad's attempts at "changing science as we know it". The result was a broken microwave and a car crashing into a lampost.
"Ah, you see…. If she never finds out about it, she can't stop us. Do we have an understanding?" His dad tried to sound serious with the question but it didn't work.
"She's going to football tackle the both of us, isn't she?"
The two shivered when remembering that incident. Who knew that reading books and teaching made someone a powerful tackler?
"Oh god, that's why we don't let her find out Ren. In other news, I hear you have a girlfriend?"
He groaned, was everyone assuming that he was in a romantic relationship this week?
"No dad. Where is everyone finding this information? The source does not seem credible at all."
"Oh you know, just heard it through the grapevine. Darn, your mother was really looking forward to it. Regardless,she mentioned you spoke very highly of your friends and I joked that some of them might be criminals too. She didn't take that too kindly though." His father sighed with that remark.
"She tackled you." Ren deadpanned.
"Yup! But besides all the teasing and jokes, your mom and I are really looking forward to seeing you again. Stay safe kiddo, maybe if you get arrested again it'll get cancelled out!" He joked at the end but then looked both ways to make sure his wife didn't hear. She was still bitter about everything that went down.
"Thanks dad, I can't wait to see you guys again." The call ended and Ren had another positive to his day really.
"Your dad sounds so cool, a little crazy though." Morgana remarked, clearly engrossed in the conversation.
"He's a bit chaotic but he means well." His grin painted the soft features of his face in a better light as they made their way across the streets.
The cat didn't have too many opportunities to see the boy at ease, in fact ever really. He was always thinking, planning out things, and having such a mature and calculating aura around him that it was surreal to see him genuinely happy. He was always the ear to everyone's problems but the cat realized something else, was anyone ever the shoulder for him to lean on?
Well, Morgana considered himself to be one of those said persons. He felt like he understood Ren but there was a lot that he didn't know about him, like how close he was to his family. He figured he should ask since he couldn't recall what he was saying earlier.
"Say Ren, what did your parents say to you when you got charged with assault?"
He stopped walking when his mind took in the question. Thinking about that day…
It made him.
Not angry.
Not sad.
But disappointed.
It felt like the entire world swallowed him up and spit out a skeleton of his former self. At least, that's how it felt at first. Through time and trials, he grew as a person that didn't have any regrets about what he did back then.
Ren went back to the question he was asked by his sweater wearing fur-ball.
"I don't recall but I think it was mostly because everything happened too fast." He inferred.
Morgana seemed downcast. "I see."
The cat had a growing hunch but he couldn't place his finger on what it was exactly.
Within time, the two entered the clinic and bought some pills from their friendly neighborhood drug dealer. They had gotten the base supplies out of the way which meant that they only had one thing left, to appease Morgana's appetite.
But the cat still scoured his mind for more details to try to complete his hunch. His mind was mired in unnecessary thoughts but he resolved to uncover this mystery.
"Hey Ren... when was the last time you spoke with your parents? Before this week, specifically." The fur-ball asked. The teen had never heard from his parents ever and it was a strange coincidence that they suddenly called out of nowhere. The cat was reluctant to ask because he didn't want to confront whatever may lie ahead if his suspicion was right.
"Well… I don't recall them ever picking up when I called them during the year." He trailed off thinking hard about any events that might have contradicted his words.
"I remember how down you were when they didn't pick up… But they called you, out of the blue and they-"
"Sounded exactly like how I remembered them." Ren concluded the cat's sentence. He said the words slowly, trying to make his mind register them as the disbelief tried to overcome the common sense within the conclusion. How had he overlooked this?
The fur-ball nodded.
"You're right, it is pretty suspicious.” He went deep into thought about the situation and tried to be as pragmatic as possible.
“Do you think this is the doctor's attempt at granting my 'dreams'? It would make sense. Restoring the family dynamic I had with my parents, along with all the love I could ever want." He remarked, shaking his head with a slight hint of indignation.
"Everything my parents said sounds exactly like they would say… No actually, everything they said were things that I wanted to hear. I really fell for it though." His lips curled into a frown. The emotion felt foreign after his elated mode but it seemed to be ephemeral.
"I'm sorry Ren." Morgana realized that he put the teen in a bad mood from it, even if it was unconfirmed.
"It's not your fault Morg, I'm glad you talked to me about it. Now that I know that my parents are being brainwashed, I should be wary."
"Maybe they had a change of heart and just have been busy?" The cat fancied a theory.
The ravenette had a sad smile.
"Maybe. But everything lines up too perfectly, don't you think?"
The cat agreed with a slight nod.
"We'll confirm our suspicions sooner rather than later but let's grab something light at Leblanc. Hopefully, we won't run into the usual occupants." The leader concluded.
The fur-ball opted to let silence linger as they made their way back. The teen's face had a mix of emotions as Morgana concluded that he was delving deeper into the conversations with his parents. Analyzing each word, the tone of their voices, and the way they spoke, Ren thought that it sounded exactly like them.
But, were they brainwashed into caring for him? He wasn't able to speak even a word with them after the arrest. The court case was brief and unfair, and before he knew it, he was shipped out and "dealt with".
Did they… care about him after the incident?
He realized that he wouldn't be able to tell until he confirmed it in Maruki's palace as whatever brainwashing was done, most likely affected them as well.
But at the same time, it felt too real to be anything else.
While the raveling of his mind took place, Ren and his favorite clock arrived at LeBlanc. The lights were still on as he stopped outside. Peering inside, he spotted the trio he was not looking forward to seeing. Futaba seemed to be playing a video game and Sojiro seemed to be cooking dinner while talking with Wakaba. They really did seem like a married couple in those instances. They held nothing but affection for one another while also treating their orange gremlin as model parents.
Perhaps in another world, this is what would've been best for them.
But that's not where they lived.
Even if they did, Ren didn't want a part in it nor did Morgana. The latter took a deep breath after popping out from the cozy bag that he had gotten so used to.
He pushed the door open with the bell's chime sounding their arrival. Futaba was still entranced at her video game but looked up and smiled at the pair before going back to button mashing on her laptop.
The pseudo-married couple smiled warmly at the two as Sojiro gave his trademark "Ah, you're back."
"It's good to see you Ren. Would you like to help with dinner? Maybe you can cook better than this old kook, he tends to focus more on impressing me than the content." Wakaba remarked.
He had to laugh at that one. Even if she made him uncomfortable after everything that happened in Futaba's palace, he did have to admit that Futaba did take after her in a lot of ways. The sincere sometimes snide remarks were always welcome. Perhaps he could pretend to be content with the events, but he still had a different focus than dinner with the Sakuras.
"What time is it?" He asked while taking a seat at the bar and placing the bag down next to him. Morgana fully emerged from the bag with his yellow sweater in full view before Futaba spotted him.
"You dressed him up?! All right Mona, get over here!" The orange haired teen went to chase the cat who tried to escape her dangerous hands of pinching.
Meanwhile, Sojiro answered the boy's question.
"It's about to be 9 and don't tell me you're going out this late if you decline dinner." He remarked while getting to brewing some coffee. He had a feeling Ren could use some and he was correct. The teen observed the brewer as he held his usual elegance and poise in crafting it. Meanwhile, Wakaba went to inspect her formula for the curry and follow it accordingly.
"It isn't that late yet." The boy quietly remarked.
"Oh my, don't tell me Ren is going out late at night to do some suspicious activities. I think all of Sojiro's history lessons of him 'wooing' girls may be influencing your young mind. Remember Ren, the story tellers are the ones that can decide the details heard." She said while stirring the pot.
Ren gave a questioning look to Wakaba while Sojiro was sweating profusely for a reason that he was unaware of.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked.
"Oh let's just say that his stories don't include some, more so many, of the times when he didn't succeed. Did I ever tell you of his attempt at trying to get my attention?"
Suddenly, Ren felt like this wouldn't be as bad as he thought it would have. He could get through pretending if it meant he could better understand someone and this may help him understand how important Wakaba was to Sojiro and Futaba. Perhaps he could put in some slight reminders or hints that things aren’t the way they seem.
"This sounds like the perfect dinner topic." The teen responded with a small smile. It was one step at a time, he could adjust for this ephemeral period.
"I, uh, don't know what she's talking about." The cafe owner tried to play it off.
"Oh and don't even get me started on when he started using 'hoo boy'." She concluded and they all laughed at Sojiro's expense.
"REN HELP SHE'S HURTING MY CHEEKS!" The cat pleaded while being attacked by the girl.
"Hehehe kitty go meow~" Futaba had him in her snares.
"I suppose we do have some time to kill and this would keep things less suspicious. " The ravenette thought before he joined in preparing dinner. The curry looked mostly done except the final touches which Ren had memorized after learning from Sojiro for so long. Wakaba went to stop the cat from being tickled and inspected his new sweater.
"I wouldn't have expected you to pick this out for Morgana. Did you have some help with picking it out?" She asked, with equal bits curiosity and laughter.
He nodded.
"Hey wait I wanna help with picking Mona's outfits next time!" Futaba complained before trying another attempt at Morgana's face.
"Nooooooooooooo!" The cat yelled while running to Ren's legs as a makeshift cover.
After similar Futaba shenanigans, things had finally settled down and the four, plus a cat, were sitting at the table.
The curry's aroma had a wonderful smell to it and it looked as great as one would expect from their cooking. They all had smiles on their faces, except the pair that were aware that things weren't right.
"Can't believe it's almost been a whole year since you came here kid. I expected a criminal but instead you arrived." The cafe owner remarked while looking at the boy, in respect and a sense of pride.
"Ah yes, I think you called him an unruly kid before tossing him into the attic. You certainly took a while to warm up to him." Wakaba remarked while eating a spoonful of curry.
"Hey now, I was just trying to be careful for you two. I didn't expect him to be so…" Sojiro attempted to figure out the best word to describe the boy without being too soft, especially with Wakaba around. She would have a field day if he was being too emotional.
Ren had an idea of what he first called him and opted to finish the sentence for him.
"Unruly." He stated, causing the two girls to laugh at Sojiro's expense.
"That was one time." He grumbled and laughed after some time.
"To be fair, you were quite determined to do anything you deemed necessary. Heck, nothing can stop you when you're sure of doing something." The cat affirmed before taking a bite out of the portion of curry set out for him.
"Mona's right! You didn't even follow the curfew Sojiro set for you hehehehehe."
"Rules are meant to be broken." Ren added before realizing he sounded like Ryuji.
"Is that what you said before getting arrested?” The gremlin quipped before her mother reprimanded her but Ren waved it off as it wasn’t really a sour topic to him now. Wakaba and Sojiro went to talk about a different matter which gave Ren some time to talk with their daughter.
“Hey Futaba, do you still have the list of all your goals?”
“Of course! I still have it with me actually, but uhhhhhh” She looked perplexed as she tried to recall what her list was for.
“What’s wrong?” Morgana asked, with a bit of curry on his fur which Ren cleaned up while they awaited her to answer.
“Uhhh do you remember why we went through them? I can’t remember why I was scared of doing things on my own. It’s not like I’m that weird right?” She laughed thinking at the possibility of her being scared of anything. She was Futaba Sakura, and she could do anything with the support of her loving family, which obviously included the cat and the teen.
Ren gave a quiet sigh as he smiled on and gave a forced shrug. “Maybe it was just something in the moment.”
It hurt.
To feel as if the journey you went through with someone was for naught, because they never had a problem to overcome. Without hardships, people remained stagnant and comfortable in where they were. To hear that Futaba couldn’t recall what her troubles were, was a blow to Ren’s heart. He had felt so happy at seeing her grow over the large fear, and seeing her go somewhere all on her own was surreal.
Morgana was concerned as well. He recalled how the girl had always needed Ren and Morgana there to do anything but seeing her overcome that reliance was a special moment for him as well. Even if she did attack his cute cat self, she was still caring for him and treated him well, even if her methods were strange.
“Yeah maybe you’re right! Anywaysssss, Inari told me that he’s been really busy lately with his painting stuff but he wanted you to help him with some sculpting thing tomorrow. He wanted to text you but he sacrificed his phone in the name of art or something like that. Speaking of, did ya lose your phone or something?”
“Did your trackers tell you that?” He smirked seeing that she was keeping track of his cellular activity. It was a smart call to let Goro take care of that just as a precaution.
“Hehehe you know me too well. But for real though, you didn't lose it or anything right?”
He quickly came up with the fastest lie he could’ve made in the moment.
“I think I left it in my locker by accident. I’ll get it tomorrow and try to contact Yusuke for whatever help he needs. Do you know what exactly he needed?”
“I dunno, something about nudity probably though. He’s probably gonna be like “YOU MUST STRIP, FOR I MUST DEPICT BEAUTY” or something like that.”
“Hey what are you guys talking about?” Sojiro interjected after hearing some bits of their conversation. Hearing nudity and strip from your daughter certainly wasn’t a great sign.
“Uhh nothing!” She exclaimed before going back to her food, causing a sigh from the cafe owner.
“You kids worry me, you know.” He remarked before collecting some of the finished dishes.
“You’re starting to sound like a grandfather, Sojiro. Before you know it, you’ll start ranting about things back in your day.” Wakaba added before helping him collect the dishes.
“He already does that mom!” She added to further the attack on the man. Within a few moments, everything was relatively cleaned up and the happy family trio seemed in a whole different realm while organizing some things. Being with the people you loved certainly gave a certain air off, one where everything seemed so positive and time seemed to move faster than anything you could expect. You could appreciate the amount of time you spend with them and feel content with whatever came after, no matter what it was.
While the three were conversing, Ren and Morgana looked at one another. Their eyes sharing the same pained look as they realized that whatever they would try, wouldn’t have the effect that they hoped for. At least, it wouldn’t work right then and there. They were too happy to be pulled out into reality, overjoyed at the prospect of having what they loved so dearly. Futaba didn’t remember her overcoming her issues and wanted this, more than anything else. Sojiro had the woman he loved so dearly back into his life and it seemed perfect for them, wasn’t it?
Ren should’ve been happy for them, they were able to fulfill what had been missing from them for so painfully long. But he couldn’t.
It wasn’t right but what constituted right anymore?
“Wait Neo-Featherman is on! Mom, Dad, we have to go home to watch it!” Futaba bustled her way into the exit of the cafe while waiting for her parents to follow.
“All right all right, just hold on a second.” Sojiro said while setting down the plates into the sink and then had his hand tugged on by Wakaba.
“C’mon, we can’t keep Futaba waiting can we?” She said, their hands locking while Sojiro seemed to beam a smile that Ren had never seen before.
“He really loved Wakaba.” He thought in his head, seeing the awestruck look on his face as the couple went to follow their daughter home. Old love was certainly something he hadn’t seen. The way their eyes seemed to be only for one another as they went through so many stages of their lives. That’s truly what Sojiro wanted, wasn’t it? A normal life shared with people he cared so dearly for. A simple yet elusive goal.
“Hey kid, mind washing the dishes?” The older man asked, which he nodded to before being dragged off.
“Thanks, and feel free to stop by if you want to watch, whatever show Futaba was talking about, with us.” He said warmly, before they were at the door.
“Don’t be a stranger Ren, we all care about you two. You and Morgana are an important part of this family.” Futaba’s mother added, before the two left completely.
~transition thingy~
The air felt more normal with their departure. The lights remained fixated on them as the cold, wind breezed in with the brief opening of the door. Morgana was sprawled out on the table after eating too much and could finally have the table too himself, his yellow sweater making him feel far too comfortable to just sleep again.
While the cat tried not to let Hypno’s clutches consume him, Ren contemplated the events of the dinner. Breaking the reality for them… It seemed impossible. He could force them to realize but it would leave such a bitter taste to his mouth. It would be like denying their happiness, even if it wasn’t real. Taking Futaba away from her mother…
It made him feel malevolent and selfish;so for now, he’d leave them to enjoy this for as long as it lasted but he couldn’t live like this.
“Have you ever seen Boss this happy Morg?” He asked while scratching the fur-ball’s head.
The cat shook his head no.
“Let’s leave them be for now. I think we’re better off trying to get the others slowly, maybe by the order they joined.”
“Do you think there’s a relationship between that? I mean, you and Akechi were the first two to awaken your personas and were the ones against Maruki. Then it was me and I came back to my senses thanks to you. Maybe we should go in order?” The cat pondered.
“It might be something like that. Regardless, we’ll keep trying to reach out to them by talking.”
“Sounds good. What time is it anyways? Maybe a little cat nap will help me prepare for our mission!’
“So you admit you’re a cat now?” The teen laughed.
“The best of the best, I’ll have you now!”
The ravenette went to go wash the dishes while the cat lied around to gain some rest. After going to his old room, he got some infiltration tools and some other general supplies. The only nagging thing in his mind was that he couldn't fuse personas which was always a downside to missions. But with Morgana, he and Goro could focus on attack while he provided support.
After getting everything ready, he gently placed Morgana into his bag and went to the meet-up spot in Odaiba. He arrived there slightly early, seeing that the detective hadn’t arrived yet. He leaned against the wall, taking solace in the silence of the night.
He heard footsteps approaching and straightened his position, lightly tapping on Morgana’s head to wake him up. The cat grumbled about before popping out his head.
The brunette arrived with his briefcase in tow and glanced at the two before giving a small, somewhat malicious, smirk.
“Here.” He handed the leader his phone and adjusted his hair.
The brunette then detailed what he had done exactly with his phone.
“You shouldn’t have any issues with tracking as long as Futaba doesn’t get her hands on it. Specifically, if she tries to track your whereabouts and messages, you can send dummy things to appease her whims. You know, there would be a much simpler way of dealing with her.” He remarked, looking at the palace they were going to enter within moments.
“Yeah but I don’t think arresting her is what any of us want Akechi.” Morgana quipped.
“That’s not what I was….” He sighed, while the other two smiled at the detective’s chagrin.
“Let’s just enter this damn place. I need it after today.” He remarked while biting his lip in excitement of killing shadows. It was a badly needed stress reliever after pretending to be so docile and innocent in front of everyone. He loved being able to express his true nature here and with certain people. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was somewhat amicable with the two here. Obviously he could work with his rival without an issue, but the cat wasn’t as insufferable as some of the other phantom thieves. If he ever heard that blonde idiot say “FOR REAL!”, he might have to bash his head against a lamp post.
For now, he could deal with whatever antics they usually were up to.
“Bad day?” Ren remarked while placing his phone in his pocket after pressing the navigation app.
“More so clamoring from idiots that don’t know when to stop blabbing their mouths. Nijima-san and his daughter are painful to be around. Who knew that talking with people who are supposed to be dead would prove to be so tiring.”
“Right, Makoto’s father is alive in this reality.” He thought out loud.
“Yes, and everything is barfing rainbows made of happiness in every given moment. I hate each second of it.” He remarked coldy.
They entered the palace and wore their outfits, as Morgana took another look at the palace. It was just like he remembered from the time they helped out Sumire after she accidentally entered it so long ago. But, it still was noticeably darker as it was late. The pitch black exterior with the dim lights provided an establishment that masked their dark outfits quite well, but felt ominous nonetheless.
“This place gives me a bad feeling.” The fur-ball remarked, looking at the place in closer detail.
“It certainly isn’t mundane, so I’ll give the good doctor credit for complexity. I hope we don’t have to bear through any more pointless flashbacks.” Goro cracked his neck before Ren gave the basis for their plan.
“We’ll use the safe room to navigate back to where we left off yesterday. I don’t think we’re even close to the end of this palace so we should try to progress as much as we can. We don’t have Makoto for in-battle tactics nor Futaba for analyses but I think we’ll manage.”
“Got it Joker.” The cat agreed and the three climbed back up to the last safe room and made their way to the hallways. They took out several stray shadows without any issue and Morgana’s support skills helped pay dividends to their consumption of items. Similarly, Ren didn’t have to use energy for healing all of them and was much more focused on the fights.
Their mission was going well until they stumbled onto a large door that was engulfed in red flames at the top of it. It had a cross onto it and ashes of some kind at the floor leading up to it. Ren gave it a slight push to see if it would open, resulting in it being ajar.
“This place looks different than the rest. I don’t think it's a safe room but it doesn’t seem to have any enemies inside it. It does lead to the next part of the palace though. Do you know what it could be?” Morgana pondered, looking at the door to see if he could understand what it was. It had two tails of fire as a symbol of sorts. It felt familiar but he couldn’t place his paw on what it could be.
“I think so. Crow, stand guard outside of the door. Mona and I will investigate and see if it's a clear path.”
“Hmph, all right.” He understood the reasoning without a second thought.
“This might be similar to what we saw with Ryuji, so stay alert Mona.” The fur-ball nodded at his advice.
The two opened the door completely and it was pitch-black except the bits of light escaping from the previous room. After about five steps in complete darkness, the door snapped shut with a loud thud. Morgana jumped up while Ren slowly turned back and sighed.
The room brightened as soon as a bright ember flashed from the middle of the room. It stayed alight in a glass setting as they were able to see the room for themselves. It was littered with clothes on the floor and sugary treats, along with some things on the wall. At first glance, one would assume it was some strange wallpaper on the red backdrop of the room. But, Ren’s senses could tell something was amiss.
Morgana looked around the room, and felt his heart drop. Everything reminded him of Lady Ann, and he recognized a lot of the sweets she ate on the ground. All the clothes and outfits she wore were ones that he remembered seeing in the magazines Ren had gotten from her. Was this… her room or something? He was taken back but tried to be as firm as Ren with his resolution.
The flames eventually stopped roaring but it remained there, illuminating the room as the lighting stayed consistent finally.
The two looked around for a door of some sort but failed to find one at first glance.
“I think we have to look through the room and try to find a way out. Do you think you can do this Mona? I think this might be a cognitive version of Ann with all the details in here.”
“Of course! What kind of gentleman thief would I be if I didn't save the beautiful Lady Ann” He tried to be brave and stand up tall, but his voice betrayed him. Truth be told, he was scared of what he’d find here. That he’d be too weak to accept any new information he learned. After hearing the details of what Ryuji went through, he was frightened to see the painful experiences of everyone in explicit detail.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to see all of this. It’s hard, knowing what they went through.” He remarked, nuzzling the cat’s head with his hand.
He took the silence and saw the look in his friend’s eyes. They were focused and ready, but they still showed warmth and understanding that never failed to ever leave his figure. He wanted to be like Ren, and show him that he could rely on him as well.
Ren moved forward to see what was exactly on the walls that caught his eye and Morgana followed shortly after, making sure to look up at the scenes. The first thing they saw was a photo of Ann, but it was her when she was much younger. She and Shiho were playing at a playground and Ann still had her trademark pigtails while Shiho seemed a lot happier.
The pair hadn’t seen Shiho with that expression. One that didn’t have bags under their eyes and eyes that suggested scars that would never heal. One that had her enjoying life instead of vacant expression that found it hard to breathe at every given moment. One that didn’t have her life changed by the abuse of an adult that knew no wrong.
The pair felt cold looking at the photo. It seemed so far back in time and Ren went to see it closer, bit by bit before he realized that the photo was making some sort of sounds.
“There’s voices coming out of the photo.” He noted to Morgana.
“Is this how we enter the flashbacks?” He questioned.
“Maybe. Let’s reach into it and see if we’re sent anywhere.” The cat jumped up onto Ren’s shoulders and he reached into the photo, slowly arching himself inch by inch towards it. The voices got louder and eventually they were sucked into the memory.
They were seeing the playground scene and Ann seemed to be building a sandcastle of some sort.
“Shiho look! It’s a sandman!” The blonde built a square instead however, but her best friend laughed.
“I think that’s a house Ann!” She giggled and her friend pouted in childish sadness.
“Awww but I worked so hard on it!” She puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms.
“Don’t worry, I think it looks cool!” Shiho said before adding some more sand on top of it and adding more detail.
“Really?” The blonde had a spark in her eye with those words filled with kindness. She wasn’t used to people ever being nice with her so every time she was Shiho, she felt relieved that she wasn’t being called names and objectified.
“Mhm! Let’s make it even bigger though, so it’ll look even prettier!” Her raventte friend added while two got to work on it.
“So, this is what Lady Ann was like back then.” Morgana said, somewhat cheerful that Ann was still so upbeat and positive. But in the back of his mind, he felt downcast that she and Shiho didn’t have that same relationship. Shiho had moved elsewhere and could rarely ever see her best friend, least of all revert to her old self. She was battered, emotionally and mentally to a point where she could rarely find happiness even with her closest friend.
Ren agreed with all of those but remembered how the volleyball player had been able to go to the roof with Ann and hug her in relief that she could go back to the roof where everything took place. He remembered Ann’s determination when she said she was going to make Shiho proud and him proud as well. Her eyes were so bright and focused on that goal, it always warmed his heart then but that was in the past. This was the present.
The memory ended after another minute and the two found themselves back into the room again.
The flames seemed to get even stronger, pushing themselves to a more glorious blaze.
“Let’s check out the other photos. My senses tell me that an important one is the one over there.” He pointed to the photo on the other side of the wall, seeming to be darker than the other sides of the room. His third-eyes gave him a premonition by highlighting said importance.
The next photo was of just Ann but it was one from her photoshoots, striking a pose that was quite casual but still had her radiant smile. The pair reached towards it but they weren’t sucked in this time. Instead, the voices just seemed to get louder. At first, it was just one voice.
“Didn’t you hear? Takamaki is a slut and she’s easy to get. C’mon, she’s just asking for people to get with. She’ll let ya do anything.” The words disgusted the pair with the slimy tone and its message. Ren dealt with his rumors without any care but they still stung at first. Everyone called him untrue things but Ann had it so much worse. She was targeted so often and found it hard to have any support, especially after what happened to Shiho.
The voices kept getting louder.
“Eww, I heard Takamaki got it on with Kamoshida to make sure she could still attend Shujin. Did you really think a girl like her would earn things with hard work?” A girl with a bitchy tone added while laughing pretentious.
“Why are they saying such hurtful things about her? None of them are true!” Morgana yelled in frustration.
Another one added something.
“Oh she got in the ‘hard way’, probably with anyone that raised their hand. She’ll do anything if you just call her pretty. What a stuck up bitch.” Another added.
“Ugh, she really latched onto that new transfer student as soon as he arrived. Of course, she would be all over a criminal like him, she’ll do anyone. Maybe Mr. Kamoshida threw her away after he found out how many guys she’s done. “
“Maybe that’s how she got into Shujin. There’s no way someone like her has anything of value besides her body.”
More and more added onto the clamor that eventually became a mess of words, voices, and echoing. They screamed insults, degrading Ann and even the photo had her smile slowly turn into a frown.
Morgana shivered as he heard all of it. How could anyone deal with this much abuse and still function? Words couldn’t enter into his mind, nothing was registering as he placed his head down. Eventually, the voices panned out like the photo of Ann’s now somber face burned itself.
The pair didn’t share any words but felt a pain in their hearts about the matter. They couldn’t have known how much of this she dealt with, the voices constantly belittling her more and more.
They slowly made their way as Joker led to the next photo but what they saw was something they didn’t expect. A picture of the volleyball team with Kamoshida at the front, with a hand right next to Shiho. His hand wasn’t exactly next to her, as in on her shoulder or hovering over, but it was hidden by her body. At a glance, one wouldn’t notice. But as the two leaned in closer to it, they saw the expression on her eyes. A look of fear and concern for her wellbeing as the hand was clearly making her uncomfortable. Where could he have placed the hand? Somewhere that a teacher shouldn’t have placed it, seemed obvious.
“You don’t think….” Morgana trailed off as he tried to interpret what memory they would be placed in or what they would see, only knowing that it wouldn’t be pretty based on this.
“Cover your ears and close your eyes as soon as I say so and don’t open them until I tap your shoulder,” Ren instructed. He knew what they would see but he didn’t want Morgana to see this but he knew he couldn’t deter him from going with him. The cat nodded, and with a worried expression now evident on his being.
The teen let a hand in and saw that they could enter, nodding to his partner and in they went.
~ transition thingy but serious stuff~
Shujin had always been a large, pristine building on its outside appearance. Oh, the place was so pretty, shiny, filled with students that seemed to have an amazing reputation and success. The sports teams do well, but wow isn’t the volleyball team something? Why, they even have an Olympic coach training them to be the best in the world! That is what society regarded Shujin Academy as, a place where things were elegant, clean, and successful. Of course, no one would know what would be going on in the training, the meetings and the practices. No one would know what they went through daily, as long as they succeeded. No one would know the vile creature preying on the students, eagerly licking his lips waiting to dine on his next target.
The adults knew, but no one stopped them until the monster was forced to admit his crimes and end his rule over the vile place that Shujin was.
As soon as they entered the photo, they found themselves in the room where Ren, Ryuji, and Mishima were threatened with expulsion in, Kamoshida's faculty office. Every detail of it gave Ren bad memories, especially the teacher’s smirk after goading Ryuji to yell and almost attack him, giving him enough reason to attempt expulsion on people he deemed nuisances.
But, the pair didn’t find just the vile creature they had expected. They found Shiho too.
She sat uncomfortably, across from Kamoshida as he eyed her down with a vile look and like an animal sizing up his prey with anger after hanging up the phone. It seemed like his plan A wouldn’t help satisfy him, so he’d just have to settle with her best friend. Perhaps she could be an appetizer if he forced her hand hard enough. They’d have to give them what he wanted, he was the only reason the damn school was anything. Similar sinister thoughts went through his mind as he licked his lips.
“It looks like Ann doesn’t want to help you succeed Suzui. That’s a shame, isn’t it? She’s not here right now to help you. It’s just me and you.”
The girl was petrified as she couldn’t do anything but quiver.
“Morgana, close your eyes and ears,” Ren ordered, and Morgana did it without a second thought. He knew by the way he commanded the words that this was going to be painful. The teen knew that no one should have to see this, and tried to cover his eyes/ears as well but as soon as he tried it, he could still see every detail. It seemed like someone wanted him to see and hear every moment of this. There wasn’t an escape.
Ren heard the door click, signifying that it was now locked. No interruptions to stop what the teacher had in mind. Shiho couldn’t move. She couldn’t escape. He towered over her, looking down at her figure and he gave a malicious grin. He only said two words as he hovered over her like a predator.
“Stand up.” He demanded. Her body forced up, showing all of the bruises placed on her body by him from practice and meetings like this.
“Good girl. You’re gonna listen to what I say right? You wouldn’t want your best friend to get hurt, would you?” He asked, giving a sarcastic laugh after as she did the motions without any life in herself anymore. It was clear what he was going to do after she gave up trying to resist. He placed his hands on her body.
The teen wanted to scream and hurl, attacking the man and forcing him to stop. But everything froze then. The scene ended but he found himself in a different scene entirely. Morgana was still there but he was down on the ground with eyes and ears closed.
But a voice caught his attention.
“Ren.” The sing-song like voice still sounded so kind and warm, he knew it was her . Or at least, the cognitive version of her but it felt too real for him to think it was anything other than the real Ann.
He turned his body to see her. She stood there, with her posture being so open and inviting but with a tiny smile as she stared into him. She spoke, hoping that she could make him understand.
“She’s been through too much Ren. Please, just let us have this…” She stopped, waiting a brief moment to try to get more words out.
“No one deserves to go through that, and that monster doesn’t exist in this world. No monsters or bad guys can ever hurt us. We can be… happy.” She smiled while making herself more open, hopeful that he’ll close the distance and accept. Everything could be what they wanted if he just let this happen.
He doesn’t move.
“I know Ann. But this isn’t Shiho. That’s just someone there to make you happy.” His words pleaded back a different response. One that said that this isn’t real and that he couldn’t accept anything other than the truth.
“No! This can be the real world if you just accept Ren! Why do you want to go back to the world where we’re going to suffer without any reason?” She shot back, her eyes ripe with emotion and a fire that he remembered so fondly. He never thought he’d see those green orbs against him in disagreement like this.
“Because it’s real Ann.” He couldn’t bear to wear his mask any longer. This wasn’t dealing with Joker, this was an issue with Ren and he took it off. He looked at the soft features of her face, while she began to tear up. The small wet residues covering her cheeks.
“You don’t know what’ll happen…” She trailed off, her eyes locking to the ground to try to stop the tears from flooding her face. She couldn’t look at him any longer.
“Whatever happens, we’ll get through it.” He replied simply, but he didn’t have any confidence after saying them.
She scoffed at his response. “You’ve never seen someone close to you hurt, have you? You haven’t seen them so scarred and in pain that they can’t do the things they used to love doing. But this doesn’t have to be that way. Didn’t you say that you’ll always be there for me? Why can’t you be there for me for this?” She asked, taking a step closer to him. Their bodies were only separated by a few feet.
He couldn’t answer her.
She stepped closer.
“Why Ren? Why are you doing this?”
Another foot closer.
“Talk to me. Say something.” She cried out, but he couldn’t get the words out. He couldn’t even look at her, he was so scared to see her angry at him. But it wasn’t anger, she was in pain.
She wrapped herself around him. Perhaps it was desperation or need for comfort but she kept crying, pleading with him to say something. He managed to say something, but it wasn’t an answer to her question exactly.
“I’m sorry.”
She knew he wouldn’t change his mind. His firmness, kindness, and tenacity for things were always what made him so charming and open. She loved him.
Ann pulled away and tried to smile the best she could, even with the tears streaming down her face.
“I understand. Once you have your mind set on something, you’ll never give it up.” She sadly chuckled while trying to wipe the wet droplets away.
“Ann…” Saying her name felt so painful at that moment. He remembered saying it with so much vest and excitement whenever they talked. He remembered she was the first person to smile at him in that blistering rain. That first day of school was the one that marked the start of his journey, and he remembered that moment as something upbringing. It felt so good to have anyone show any expression of happiness at the sight of him and he needed it so badly after the arrest. They became quick friends, seeing so many sights and doing so many things that everything else might have paled in comparison. But seeing her help Shiho go to the roof where it all happened and seeing her hug her best friend was one of the happiest moments he’d have.
Ann started to slowly disappear, starting from the bottom in a slow process that Ren didn’t notice as her next words caught him off-guard.
“Do you ever wonder… what could have been?” She asked sadly, giving that same smile that enchanted him back then. The warmness of it suggested that it was okay if he didn’t share the same affection or the same wants as she did.
“I-” He stumbled on his words while she faded, her warm spirit never leaving the vexing lock it had on his vocal cords. He couldn’t say what he wanted to. Her body kept disappearing as his soul pleaded for more time to say what he wanted to.
While it finally reached her face, he spoke the remainder.
“I do.”
She smiled sadly. Knowing that in another time, they would have been…
Ann disappeared.