Chapter Text
The gates of Shujin Academy loomed above them, casting a dark shadow as the sun set. Ren adjusted his bag on his shoulder, ducking his head as a couple of students passed him (shooting him dirty looks and whispering to each other the entire time).
“You sure about this?” he murmured.
The bag on his back shifted, and Morgana poked his head out. “I’m telling you, Joker. I have a bad feeling about that call Takamaki got. I think her friend, Suzui, might really be in danger.”
Ren slowly walked up the steps to the main building. He kept to the side, out of the path of the students leaving, ignoring their questioning glances and muttered comments. “Looks like everything’s about to shut down.”
“Clubs are just getting out, so the building should still be open. C’mon, hurry up! We might not have much time.”
He’d never seen Shujin Academy this empty. Ren kept his head down, his hands jammed in his pockets, as he followed the route that would lead to the teacher’s offices. Empty schools always seemed a little eerie to him. He’d been in a club in his old school, and by the time they got out the janitors would be ready to lock up.
...but he didn’t want to think about that. He still felt a pang in his chest when he thought about his old school, and his old life, and everything that had brought him here.
“Blood!” Morgana’s hissed warning pulled Ren out of his thoughts. “Joker, I smell blood!”
The cat thrashed until he could throw himself out of the bag, landing neatly on the floor. “It’s this way!”
Ren followed the cat, down the hall toward the teacher’s offices. He could see the door to Kamoshida’s office—shut tight, with a light showing under it—but his attention was fixed on the figure half-collapsed against the wall.
“It’s Mishima,” Morgana called, but Ren had already seen that.
He crouched beside his classmate, taking in the bruises on the other boy’s face and the blood smeared on the front of his turtleneck.
“Mishima?” Ren called softly. Mishima flinched away at his touch and tried to climb to his feet, but his legs clearly weren’t holding him up. Ren pulled one of Mishima’s arms around his neck and supported his back as he slowly stood up, lifting his classmate to his feet.
“He doesn’t look so good,” Morgana commented.
Ren hummed in agreement. Mishima’s body was tense, almost stiff, and his complexion was nearly green. Ren gently guided him down the hall to the bathroom and helped him kneel in a stall, just in time for Mishima to start retching.
He crouched down and kept an arm around the other boy’s shoulders to support him as he heaved. He wasn’t bringing anything up but bile, and Ren winced when he felt how badly the vomiting was tearing through Mishima’s body. He was shaking and crying, his face swollen and bruised and his arms wrapped around his stomach.
Morgana appeared with a paper towel held in his jaw, and Mishima shakily reached for it.
“Th-thanks,” the boy managed to stammer.
“That’s Morgana,” Ren explained. “He was worried about you, so we came back to check.”
Morgana sneered, sitting back and licking one paw. “Bet Kamoshida did this.”
Ren gave a short nod—they could talk about this later. Mishima had reached out, like he wanted to pet Morgana, but hesitated.
To Ren’s surprise, Morgana leaned forward to press his head into Mishima’s hand. Mishima almost smiled, then he turned to look at Ren and his face went pale again.
Ren stared at him for a few long seconds. Was Mishima afraid of him? The other boy had always avoided him at school, and he figured that was because of the rumors...but was he really that scary? “Are you okay?” he finally asked.
Mishima slowly nodded, but there were tears in his eyes again. “Sorry,” he mumbled, bringing up an arm to scrub over his eyes.
“What happened?” Ren asked gently.
The other boy didn’t answer. He just shrugged and stared down at the filthy water in the toilet, flinching a little when Ren reached up to flush it. Morgana had gotten another paper towel and managed to get it wet, and Mishima took it to wipe his face.
“Did Kamoshida do this?”
Mishima flinched. He covered his face and curled in on himself, like he was trying to make a smaller target.
“It’s not your fault,” Ren said, shifting to his knees beside his classmate. He rested a hand on Mishima’s shoulder, but the other boy flinched away. “Are you hurt?”
“He looks pretty bad,” Morgana commented.
Ren grunted in agreement. “Come on,” he said, climbing to his feet and pulling Mishima up, supporting him when his knees started to buckle again. “I know a doctor. She won’t ask too many questions.”
“Take him to the cafe,” Morgana said, jumping up to grab onto Ren’s bag and settle himself inside it. “He might feel safer there.”
He huffed out a laugh, grinning at Mishima’s incredulous expression. “Morgana says we should just take you home. The boss won’t mind, and Dr. Takemi can make a house call.”
“Okay,” Mishima finally whispered.
Ren nodded as they slowly worked their way out of the bathroom. “Don’t worry, Mishima,” he murmured. “We’ll make sure that bastard can’t put a hand on anyone ever again.”
Kamoshida’s office door was still closed, but the light was off this time. Ren breathed a short sigh of relief—obviously the teacher had left while they were in the bathroom. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the man, but he wasn’t sure what would happen if Kamoshida caught him and Mishima together. He’d probably claim Ren was the one who beat Mishima up, to get him expelled (or worse).
It was late enough that there weren’t many other students on the trains, and the adults didn’t pay them any attention. Ren kept his head down and blocked Mishima’s body as much as possible so they didn’t raise any questions, and they made it back to Yongen-Jaya without incident. Then it was just down the street to Cafe Leblanc, through the door, and…
“What the hell?”
Thankfully, the cafe was empty of customers, but Sojiro practically loomed over the counter to stare at them. “What the hell?” he repeated, when Ren didn’t answer.
“I’ll explain later,” Ren replied, risking the man’s wrath as he guided Mishima through the cafe to the stairs. “Do you have a first aid kit?”
“No, you’re explaining now.” Sojiro’s hand was heavy on Ren’s shoulder, and Mishima flinched against him on his other side. “What did you do?”
Ren sighed. “Can I take him upstairs first?”
Sojiro hesitated, his eyes on Mishima’s bruised face. “All right. But come right back down and explain yourself.”
“Thanks.” Ren shrugged Mishima up a little higher, maneuvering him up the stairs to his bedroom.
It took a few minutes to get Mishima settled on the bed, then to call Dr. Takemi and convince her to make a house call, but Ren finally traipsed back downstairs to face Sojiro.
The man was waiting for him and, before Ren could say a word, seized him by both wrists and dragged him forward. Sojiro held his arms up, staring at the backs of his hands, then gave a satisfied grunt and released him. “Well, you didn’t do it,” he commented. “So who did?”
“He won’t tell me,” Ren said. It wasn’t technically a lie, since Mishima hadn’t actually said it was Kamoshida...but they all knew who it was. “But he’s scared.”
“He’s been beat to hell, of course he’s scared,” Sojiro replied. “Is he from your school?”
Ren nodded. “We’re in the same class. We’re not...we’re not really friends, but I couldn’t leave him.” He hoped that would change. Mishima had been victimized by Kamoshida, just like Ryuji and Takamaki and countless others. He could probably use a friend...and they could use an ally against Kamoshida.
Sojiro’s expression almost softened at that. “You know what I said about bringing trouble under my roof...but I guess I can let this one slide. It’s not like you caused it. This time.”
“Thanks.”
“You call the doctor?”
He nodded again. “She should be here any minute.”
Sojiro grunted. “I’ll start closing the shop, then. Hey, don’t make this a habit, all right? You already brought a cat in here; there’s no room for another stray.”
Ren shoved his hands in his pockets, watching the man walk back behind the counter to start wiping everything down.
“The boss is really a big softy, isn’t he?” Morgana commented from the stairs. He leapt onto Ren’s shoulder, sinking his claws into his turtleneck to hold himself steady. “Think Mishima will talk to us?”
“I hope so,” he replied, climbing up the stairs to where his classmate was waiting. “We’ve gotta take Kamoshida down before he does something worse.”
“You said it, Joker.” Morgana’s tail flicked Ren on the nose. “We’ll expose him once and for all!”