Chapter Text
"La li lu le lo..."
"Stop joking around, the doctor is examining you." Makoto said.
"You're no fun." Kotone pouted.
"It's alright, her being this energetic can be seen as a good sign." The doctor appointed by the Kirijo family spoke, quickly jotting things down on his clipboard. He turned to Mitsuru, who was also accompanying him. "Everything seems good, we just need to do a few more tests. I'd guess she'll be discharged by tomorrow."
"I see. Thank you, doctor." Mitsuru said.
"Don't mention it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I shall take my leave. You must have important matters to discuss. If you need me, just call." The doctor left the room, leaving the three of them there in silence.
Makoto and Mitsuru remained silent, only adding to the awkward atmosphere.
"Geez, I only took a long nap and you two already look like a couple who've been fighting."
"I knew she was going to make a joke about that..." Makoto muttered to himself.
Mitsuru gave a slight smile. "It's nothing like that. I believe we both have a lot on our minds at the moment."
"Ehhh... So you had fun without me."
"Not in the slightest. No."
An awkward silence hung in the air for a moment.
"I'll leave you two alone for now. Yuki," She looked at Makoto. "Would you mind if we talked later today?"
He studied her for a moment. Even though Kotone possessed a Persona, he was at least grateful that his Senpai hadn't brought up the subject with his sister in the room. She wouldn't have been involved if he could help, but he knew her too well to know she'd accept any proposal almost immediately. And he could already see the kind of lame joke she and Ren would pull together.
"...Sure. No problem."
She seemed pleased with the answer. "Thank you. I shall see you later then."
The brother and sister watched her leave the room. Makoto sighed; he could finally relax, even if just for a momen-
"What are you doing?" Makoto asked, stuck in place.
"What does it look like? I'm hugging my brother, duh~" Kotone's voice came muffled from behind him. She was snuggling against his back.
Makoto found himself sighing again. It seemed to have become a habit with everything that was happening, and judging by the way things were going, he was only going to do it more and more.
"At least don't do it behind someone's back," he commented.
"'Kay, turn around then."
He turned around silently. Kotone continued to hug him, this time facing him.
"How is it now?" Kotone asked.
"Now it feels like a normal hug." He said, returning the hug. "Welcome back."
She squeezed even tighter. As if it had been a long time since they last saw each other. "It's good to be back."
They stood there in silence for a while before Makoto tried to pull away.
"What are you doing?" Kotone asked.
"At this rate, I'm going to be late for school."
She pouted. "What's more important, your dear sister or a stupid lesson?"
Makoto placed his hand on Kotone's face, pushing her away from him. "Get off me."
"Nooooo! I don't wanna!" Kotone said, imitating a desperate child. "I spend some time in a coma and you've already replaced me? It's another woman, isn't it?"
"Get. Off." Makoto spoke with a final push, this time causing his sister to detach herself from him.
Kotone fell onto the bed with a dramatic "Oof." She began swinging her legs back and forth. "So, what are we going to do now?".
Makoto straightened the coat that Kotone had crumpled from her hug. "You're going to stay here and do what the doctor tells you. I'll come see you later."
She pouted. "But he said I'm fineeee~"
"If you're really okay, then don't cause unnecessary trouble for the staff here. You heard what the doctor said."
"Party pooper..." Kotone said, sounding more disheartened at having to follow doctor's orders. "Being stuck here is boring... I must have a ton of homework piled up and- Wait, how long was I out? What day is it?"
Makoto looked at his cell phone. "It's the fifteenth."
Yuuki woke up surprisingly without any pain. It seemed that what Morgana had said about him recovering quickly after awakening his Persona was true, after all. He got out of bed and followed his morning routine with the same laziness as always, but when he looked at himself in the bathroom mirror, it was as if he were seeing a different person. Nothing had actually changed physically, but he could feel different than usual.
"Oh, dear. You seem more cheerful than usual today. I didn't even have to wake you, what happened?" his mother asked, sitting down with him to have breakfast.
"Nothing much, I just went to bed early yesterday," he said.
"Well, either way you look great. How's the volleyball team doing?" she asked innocently.
Yuuki contemplated for a moment before replying with a smile. "I think I'll give up on that, I think I've found something that interests me more."
"Is that so? Well, if you're fine with that, then there's no problem. Just be careful that it wasn't a decision made because of bad influences. I've heard that several delinquents are enrolling in other schools around here."
Yuuki couldn't help but chuckle. "Don't worry, I made some really good friends."
Yu suddenly sneezed while on the way to school.
"Are you okay?" Nanako asked.
"I'm good." He said.
I just hope I don't catch a cold later...
"What's up!" Junpei spoke, putting his arm around Makoto's neck. "A little bird told me that you're going on a trip today, and of course you wouldn't leave the great Junpei behind, right?"
"Get off me," Makoto murmured. "And be quiet, we don't need the whole room to know."
"Oh yeah." Junpei whispered. "Ninja style, huh?"
Yukari slapped him on the head. "Be serious, you idiot. You better not think we're kidding. You saw that we could really screw ourselves over there!"
"I'm just trying to lighten the mood a bit. It feels like we're going to a funeral..." Junpei spoke dejectedly.
"It could be ours if we're not careful." Makoto warned.
"Don't say such a thing!"
"Man, I'm starting to get a little nervous..." Yosuke said.
"Huh? Why?" Yu asked.
"And you're still asking me why?! Seriously, man!"
"We haven't even gone into that damn place yet. Calm down." Morgana said from inside Yu's bag. "But you're actually strangely calm, do you have nerves of steel or something?"
"I don't know. Getting nervous about this kind of thing won't help, and besides, if I do something wrong, you guys got my back."
"Dude, you sure this is a good time for emotional talk? You're raising a massive death flag over your head..."
"What are you talking about?"
"You know, like... like a soldier in a war movie who says, "I'll get married when this war is over," and then dies right then and there..."
"..Huh?"
"Make some sense, Yosuke..." Even Morgana was confused.
"Huh?! I must not be the only one who noticed that, right?" Yosuke asked dejectedly.
"What nonsense are you talking about this time, Hanamura?" Chie interrupted, sitting down in her seat.
"Listen to this, Satonak- Whoa, why the grumpy face?"
Chie sighed, resting her head in her hands. "Yukiko had to stay home to help at the inn. I'll be alone all day..."
"You can hang with us if you want." Yu suggested.
"Don't worry about it, I know you have a lot to do."
"We're not going to do anything until the end of classes, so-"
"Shut it, Hanamura." Chie paid him no attention whatsoever.
"What- Why do I get the short end of the stick?!"
"...I still haven't forgiven you for what you did to my DVD."
"That's it?!"
"Shut you damn traps! Class is about to start!" Morooka announced.
Ren sat in his seat without much of a care. He remained in his usual position, gazing out the window. He noticed that as soon as he entered the room, everyone fell silent. He actually had to restrain himself from bursting into laughter upon discovering this.
Fucking hilarious if I say so myself.
"Morning."
He let the words hang in the air. Most likely, they weren't meant for him anyway. He heard someone clear their throat right after. This time making him look away from the window. The girl sitting in front of him was looking at him.
"Morning." She repeated.
He looked back to make sure she was the one he was talking to. There was no one there.
"Good morning, Takamaki-san." He replied, trying to hide his smile. "Quite bold of you to come and talk to that infamous delinquent; rumor has it that if you even look at him the wrong way, he'll stab you."
"Oh, really?" she asked, sarcasm dripping from her tone. "I heard he also goes around grabbing girls at train stations. Do you know anything about that?"
He shrugged. "Can't say I do. But really," He leaned closer. "You shouldn't talk to me. People will start talking badly about you for getting involved with me."
She scoffed. "You really don't pay attention to what people say, do you?"
"Only the funny stuff, Like, I've heard people say that I make a living as a drug dealer."
"Seriously? So?" She asked curiously.
"Oi. If I did that kind of thing, I sure as shit wouldn't be around here listening to this kind of crap from these people."
She giggled. "I guess not."
"Yeah. Now scooch back to your place." He gestured with his hand. "I need my alone time so I can look out the window some more."
"Pfft. Yeah, right."
She waited there long enough for Ren to notice. He looked at her again.
"What's up?" He asked, this time in a more serious tone.
"Thank you for yesterday."
He smiled. "Sure."
The lunch bell had already rung. All the students had returned to their respective classrooms. The school hallways were empty. Mostly empty.
Ren ran desperately down one of the corridors, looking from side to side. He didn't even blink during his stupor, ignoring even Yuuki's desperate calls.
"Amamiya-san! It's over here!" Yuuki shouted, pointing to another hallway.
Ren didn't question it; he turned around, skidding slightly due to the momentum, and sped off again. Yuuki followed him.
"I just warned the others, they must be coming too!" Yuuki warned.
"Fucking hell!" Ren cursed.
"This way!" Junpei said, gesturing for Makoto to follow him."What the hell is going on? Mishima isn't messing with us, is he?"
"I doubt it. It's worse than I thought it would be," Makoto said.
"Then let's speed things up! Damn it, who designed this school to be so long?"
"I'm telling you, if we go this way, we'll get there faster!" Morgana complained.
"Any direction is faster for you! You have four legs!" Yosuke said.
"Save it for later!" Yu shouted.
All the boys nearly bumped into each other at a crossroads. They paused to catch their breath for a moment before all looking at Yuuki.
"It's better... you're not making fun of us... Mishima..." Junpei said through heavy breathing.
"Dude... This is way too serious to be a joke... come on..." Yosuke said.
"Seriously..." Yuuki said, almost stumbling toward a room at the end of the hallway. "It's here." He said, lowering his voice.
"Hey!" A familiar voice came shouting down from the corridor. "My bad I took so long. My leg is killing me... What the hell are you doing?" Ryuji asked.
Yosuke gestured with his hand. "Be quiet and pay attention."
They remained silent, waiting for any noise to come from the room.
...
"...Maybe he's teaching somewhere else? I don't think he'd have the nerve to do something like that in his own office, would he?" Junpei suggested.
"Is there anywhere else he usually stays, Mishima?" Makoto asked.
"N- No, he told me to call her to come here, I don't know of any other place." Yuuki said.
"Then maybe he's already gon-"
A muffled scream could be heard from the other side of the door. Everyone's eyes widened in surprise.
Ryuji started. "Hey, don't tell me-"
Yu rushed out without warning, bumping the door with his shoulder and forcing it open.
"What do you think you're doing!?" He shouted, going further into the room.
Everyone followed.
Makoto was the last to enter the physical education office. He found Kamoshida on one side and a girl on the other, both now separated by the boys who had entered the room.
"Suzui-san, are you alright?" Yuuki asked, crouching down to try and calm the trembling girl.
"What the hell were you planning to do with her, you piece of shit?!" Ryuji yelled angrily, moving closer to the teacher.
Junpei held him back. "Calm down, man!"
"How do you expect me to stay calm in a situation like this?!"
"You'd better listen to your friend, Sakamoto. You wouldn't want another self-defense situation to happen, would you?" Kamoshida scoffed. "And what the hell are you doing here? You should be in class!"
"Don't try to turn this against us and tell us. What the fuck were you trying to do just now?!" Ren shouted.
Kamoshida clicked his tongue. "This has nothing to do with you." He then turned to Yuuki. "All this commotion is your fault, Mishima. If you had just done what I told you and stayed quiet as usual, it wouldn't have come to this."
"W- What do you mean by that?" Yuuki asked.
"I will report all of you at the next board meeting. Without a doubt, you will be expelled."
"Huh?!"
"But we didn't do anything! That doesn't make sense!" Yosuke spoke in a mixture of confusion and despair at the sudden announcement.
"Ah, so that's how it is then?" Ryuji said, cracking his knuckles. "Then at least I'll make sure this expulsion counts for all of us!"
Heading toward Kamoshida, Ryuji pushed past everyone as he approached him. The teacher remained in place, a faint smile on his face. Ryuji raised his fist, ready to go in with a punch, but someone grabbed his arm. He turned and saw Makoto holding him.
"Why are you stopping me?! Didn't you see that he-"
"We have more important things to do right now," Makoto said, gesturing towards Shiho. "We have to get her away from him," he whispered.
Ryuji looked at her for a moment before relaxing his arm. "Shit..."
Kamoshida grimaced. "Enjoy the remaining time you have here. And Suzui, I hope that this small... setback doesn't prevent your performance at the national competition. I will contact you soon."
"Let's... Let's get out of here, Suzui-san." Yuuki said, helping the girl to her feet and stepping out the door.
"We're done here," Yu said. "Let's go."
They all turned their backs on him and started to leave.
Kamoshida clicked his tongue, dissatisfied with the group's lack of reaction.
"Ah." He began to speak again. "I recently learned that your sister woke up from her coma, Yuki."
Makoto's heart skipped a beat when he heard that.
"I was thinking of paying her a quick visit. You know how it is, right? I was starting to get worried~"
Yu turned around, anger escaping his tone. "You-"
Makoto ran past him without making a sound. It wasn't even half a second before his fist met Kamoshida's chin with a sound that seemed like bone clashing. They both fell onto the chair, which couldn't withstand the momentum and brought them both to the ground. Grabbing the teacher's collar, Makoto raised his arm again, ready to deliver another blow.
"Don't you DARE touch her!" Makoto yelled, punching him again. "If you get within three meters of her, I'll break your—"
Junpei grabbed one of his arms, interrupting him. "Are you crazy, man?!"
"Let me go!" Makoto yelled, trying to break free.
Yu grabbed his other arm and pulled him off Kamoshida. "Calm down!"
After some struggle, they both managed to pry Makoto off from over Kamoshida. The teacher stood on the ground, laughing with a hand over his face. "I've got to admit. You have a good punch for someone who looks as skinny as you." He stood up, reaching for support on the table. "Don't forget what's at stake here, Suzui."
"For fuck's sake- Thank god we're leaving so we won't have to listen to you talking shit." Ren said.
"Tsk tsk. No respect at all. No surprise coming from a delinquent such as yourself."
Ren flipped him off. "Eat a dick, asshole." He left without much of a care to see the teacher's reaction. He could hear a faint "You little-" coming from the room before he made some distance from the room.
"Dude. That's bad..." Junpei said.
"To say it's bad is an understatement. Do you know how screwed we are?! We might as well kill the guy." Yosuke stated.
"You all look like a bunch of crying children. Ugh." Morgana said, stretching out on an empty table.
Yosuke turned to him. "Hey! We have to find a way to fix this! Holy shit, my dad's gonne be livid if he hears about this..."
"We do have a way to make him change his mind. Just need that treasure from his Palace~" Morgana teased.
"It seems like we've really reached a dead end. I honestly don't see any other way out." Yu said.
"We were going there today anyway. Does anyone know when that board meeting is?"
"Shit. Beats me..." Ryuji said, looking at the other boys. No one seemed to know.
"...It's at the beginning of May." Makoto, who had been silent since arriving on the roof, spoke. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have exploded like that." He lowered his head, looking at his own injured hand. "The moment he mentioned my sister, I..." He sighed. "I lost control. I'm sorry."
They all stared at each other in silence for a moment.
"Dude, if it were up to me, you would have given that bastard a few more slaps," Ryuji said.
"Yeah, I grabbed you without thinking, but it's like Ryuji said." Junpei smiled.
"And he mentioned our expulsion before you went after him, so it's all good." Yosuke chimmed in.
"Anyone would be furious if a teacher said that kind of thing," Yu said.
"And I doubt anyone could get you off him, Yu," Morgana said.
"Are you calling me fat?"
Everyone chuckled.
"...Do you think the girl will be okay?" Junpei asked.
"Who, Suzui? I don't know, man... When Ann- Erm... Takamaki finds out, I think she's gonna be livid." Ryuji said.
"Do you know her?" Yu asked.
"I knew her from middle school. But I guess that's about it."
"Wouldn't it have been better if you had gone with her instead of just Ren and Mishima?" Junpei asked.
"Shit, for real? I didn't think about that..."
"It's not like you're going to make any difference anyway. Let the two of them handle it." Morgana said, jumping up from the table and looking at Makoto. "We're going to stick to the plan, aren't we?"
"Yes. I was too lenient, and now someone almost got seriously hurt." Makoto turned to the rest of the group. "Let's go all out this time, no holding back. What do you think?"
"Yeah!" They all said, sharing a smile with each other.
"A possible homicide case was reported this morning. A body was found on the outskirts of Shinjuku with multiple gunshot wounds in the ba-"
*CLICK!*
"Who do you see, when you look at me? The boy whose shoes you used to tie every morning, the teenager you drove to his fist date? While you are here every-"
*CLICK!*
"Instead of messing with our futu-"
*CLICK!*
With a final press of a button, Kotone turned off the TV, sighing in boredom.
"He told me to be quiet, but what am I supposed to do all day?"
According to her, she had already done everything possible in that room, including considering jumping from the second-floor window into an unsuspecting bush, but she thought better of it. So the next choice was obvious.
She casually opened her room door and began walking through the hospital corridors. It was very different from what she had imagined. The hustle and bustle she saw on TV programs had been replaced by mostly empty and calm corridors. She even wondered if anyone would actually reprimand her for leaving her room unsupervised. She continued exploring until she reached the hospital lobby. With the exception of the receptionist, only a few visitors were waiting, seated, and the man Kotone assumed to be a doctor, judging by his lab coat, was sitting with his arms crossed, a newspaper covering his face, clearly asleep. An alarm sound woke him up; he got up and looked at his wristwatch.
"Guess rest time's over. Hmm?" He looked at Kotone for a moment. "Patients shouldn't be wandering around like that. Well, at least it saves me the trouble." The doctor picked up a clipboard from the counter and went over to Kotone, flipping through it. "What was her name again... Shiomi? No. Arisato? Strange family name if it is— Ah, here it is. Yuki." He handed her the clipboard.
Kotone looked at the clipboard and then at the doctor. "What is this?"
"This is your release order. Normally it's supposed to be signed by a relative or legal guardian, but... Anyway, you were discharged a few minutes ago, I was just going to your room to give it to you."
Kotone beamed at the news. "Really?!"
"Yeah. You just need to-"
Without giving the doctor time to even speak, Kotone quickly signed her name on the first blank line she saw and shoved the clipboard against the doctor's chest. "Thanks, doctor! I'm off!"
"Wait a minute! Aren't you going to get your things?" He asked in vain. Kotone had already passed through the front door and disappeared from his sight.
"Strange girl..." The doctor said, as he picked up his cell phone. He dialed a number and called. Only a few seconds passed before the call was answered.
"It's me."
...
He looked at the paper Kotone had just signed. "Everything's fine. She just left..."
...
"Hopefully it was worth it. Having someone like the Kirijos on my tail isn't going to be very pleasant, considering I work here."
...
"Ah, I see. You have more power than I imagined for someone your-"
The siren of an incoming ambulance caught the doctor's attention.
"Sorry, I think I'll have to hang up now. Duty calls."
He quickly put his cell phone away. "Time to go to work."
The walk back to Shiho's house was strange, to say the least. The only sounds Ren could hear were his, Mishima and the girl- Suzui's footsteps on the mostly deserted street and the girl's sniffling. Fortunately, they didn't have to explain to her parents why she had come home early from school with her face swollen from crying. They sat down at the table in a deafening and strange silence.
Shiho shifted in place. "I- I'm sorry, I-"
"Hey, you don't need to apologize. You're not to blame for anything." Ren tried to calm her down.
"He's right, Suzui-san. The only one to blame for all this is Kamoshida-sensei." Yuuki continued. "Good thing I noticed that he seemed strange today."
"Strange, you say? How so?" Ren asked.
"He seemed stressed, angry."
Ren grimaced.
Son of a bitch— He was pissed because of ME! Well, not exactly me. But shit.
"He..." Shiho began to speak, but hesitated for a moment before continuing. "He said that... if I didn't do what he told me, something bad could happen to Ann... I couldn't let her get hurt, so..."
"Takamaki-san?! What does she have to do with this— Wait, does this have to do with the rumors that she was going out him?" Yuuki asked.
Ren slowly rested his head on his hand, his mind racing.
Ann Takamaki. She's the girl who sits in front of me. If what she told me yesterday is true, then she was also doing what he ordered, but it was to prevent Suzui from being removed from the team. And now Suzui has also fallen into his schemes to try and protect Takamaki. There was no way out from the beginning.
"Suzui-san," Ren began to speak. "Could you take some time off from school? Just until we sort this out."
"Huh?" The girl was surprised. "But how can you-"
"We have a method," Yuuki continued. "W-We can't say how, but I can guarantee—" He looked at Ren, seeking confirmation. He nodded to him. "I guarantee it will work!" He said, with renewed conviction.
"W- What about Ann? Will she be safe?"
"Mishima and I are in the same class as her. We can keep an eye out," Ren assured. "And she's strong. I bet she can put Kamoshida in his place if she wants." He joked.
Shiho chuckled. "Yeah. She really is..."
"So, can you do this for us?" Ren asked.
"I think I can do it, yeah." She replied. "But seriously, what are you going to do?"
"Don't worry about it. For now, just make sure you're okay, alright?" Ren looked at his phone. "Damn. We're running late, Mishima."
"Wait, what?!" Yuuki spoke desperately. "How much?"
"About thirty minutes, more or less." Ren spoke, standing up. "The circumstances weren't the best, but it was good to chat with you, Suzui-san. Take care."
"Okay. Be careful too." Shiho said, bidding them farewell.
Yuuki stopped at the entrance, turning around one last time before leaving. "I-If anything comes up, just let us know, and we'll come running, okay?"
Shiho couldn't help but smile. Looking at Yuuki, she could see that behind that scared face, he was being sincere.
His expression looks so different. I wonder what happened to make him change so much in such a short time...
"Hey, Mishima. We're kind of running on the clock, man. Pick up the pace."
"R- Right, sorry!" He nodded to Shiho before running off.
Shiho chuckled. "He's still a bit timid."
"I realized something when Suzui spoke to us," Ren said.
"And what was it?" Yuuki asked.
"That son of a bitch Kamoshida is trying to get his hands on Takamaki, Suzui was just a consolation prize for him."
"Huh?! But... Wait... Damn, that makes sense, considering how much he's been chasing after her recently. But why did he change his target all of a sudden?"
"He didn't, and I'm kind of to blame for that."
"Why?"
"I ran into Takamaki on the subway yesterday. She was almost crying, probably because of some shit he said to her. I told her to tell him to go to hell, and she kind of did." Ren grimaced. "Maybe this thing with Suzui wouldn't have happened if I had stayed out of it..."
"But then it would happen to Takamaki-san, and there would be no one to help her," Yuuki said. "If nobody had done anything, everything would be 'fine,' swept under the rug... I don't want to be a part of this anymore, never again."
Ren looked at Yuuki, surprised by what he said. "You're right. If I had wanted to let things go as they were, I wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess from my first day here. Neither I nor the others." He chuckled. "I can't stop meddling in other people's problems, even though I've caused myself more trouble than it's worth. Weird, isn't it?"
"Not at all. That's why I managed to find the courage to go against Kamoshida, even if only a little. So... thanks."
"Stop, you're going to make me blush~"
They both laughed.
"But what about Takamaki-san? She'll find it strange if Suzui-san doesn't show up at school without a reason."
"Ah, that's simple. We won't tell Takamaki anything." Ren said nonchalantly.
"You're not going to tell me what, exactly?" A familiar voice came from behind them.
Both Ren and Yuuki frowned as they looked at each other. They turned to greet the voice that had spoken to them.
"H- Hey, Takamki-san..." Yuuki spoke nervously.
"Fancy meeting you here. Whatcha doin'?" Ren asked with the most brazen face he could muster.
Ann looked at them silently with a raised eyebrow.
"Geez. Tough crowd... Anyway, we're in a bit of a hurry, so-" Ren turned his to her
"Not so fast, you two." Ann gripped him firmly on the top of his head.
Ren sighed. "Fine. What do you want, Takamaki-san?"
"What happened to Shiho?"
Damn. She doesn't beat around the bush. Ren thought.
"Who the hell is Shiho?" Ren asked, feigning ignorance.
"I saw you guys leaving her house, smarty pants."
"Fuck." Ren cursed under his breath. "Look, we found her feeling unwell and we thought it best to bring her home. That's all."
"Bullshit. If it were serious enough for her to have to leave school, she would go to a hospital."
Ren ran a hand over his face. Indignant at having to deal with the situation. "Look-"
"Was it Kamoshida's doing?" Ann didn't let him speak.
"Takamaki-san, calm down-" Yuuki tried to calm her down.
"Just tell me already!" Ann spoke angrily, approaching Yuuki.
Ren blocked her path. "Easy there."
She looked at him. Her eyes were brimming with anger. From Ren's point of view, he was probably just a few wrong words away from getting punched.
"Oh! Is that Ren-chan?"
The three looked towards the owner of the voice. A certain girl was approaching them cheerfully.
"Yuki-san?" Ren asked.
"Yep yep! Just got out of the hospital and..." Kotone, who had arrived out of nowhere, glanced at the others for a moment. "Whoa... Bad timing?" She gave a cheap smile.
"Not really." "Kind of, yeah."
"Hey, that was kind of rude." Ren said, poiting at Ann.
"Whatever." She scoffed.
"Gee. No need to be so grumpy. Who bit you?" Kotone asked.
Ann sighed, clearly having difficulty remaining calm. "It doesn't matter. I'll go to Shiho's house then."
"I... wouldn't do that if I were you." Ren warned.
Ann turned to him, this time unable to contain the anger on her face. "Can you stop being so cryptic for at least a damn moment?! I know something happened! Do you think nobody heard the commotion on his office? The whole school is talking about it!" Her eyes, which were already brimming with tears, began to cry. "Then why did she want to hide this from me...?" Ann gripped Ren's coat with trembling hands. "Why did she go to you?"
"Takamaki-san..."
Ren held Ann's hands. "She didn't come to us by choice, Takamaki-san. Both you two and we were pushed into a dead end."
"W- What do you mean?" The girl asked.
"Kamoshida wasn't just after you. But thanks to Mishima here, we were able to prevent something worse from happening."
"You mean that he—"
"Yeah." Ren nodded.
Ann lowered her head. "It was my fault... If I had agreed..."
Ren could feel Ann's grip tightening on his coat. "That... That bastard!"
"Wow. Now she's motivated," Kotone commented.
"Oh, For the love of— You're not helping, you know?" Ren said.
"It seems what he heard yesterday wasn't enough. I'm going to call him right now and give him hell... Huh? What's this?"
"Something wrong?"
"My phone has something weird on it." Ann showed her phone to the others.
Ren and Yuuki felt a chill run down their spines when they saw the pulsating eye icon on Ann's screen.
What the actual fuck?! I thought only persona users had this app installed. Is she one?
"Amamiya-san, isn't that...?" Yuuki asked in a whisper.
"Sure is." Ren whispered back.
"What do we do then?"
"Shit. I don't know. We'll have to ask if Morgana knows anything about it. For now let's-"
"Hmm... What a weird icon. Is it a game?" Kotone, who didn't seem to share their concern, decided to poke her finger on the screen.
"Now why the hell would you touch it-"
"Now beginning navigation."
Ren didn't have time to react. The headache that came with being transported to the Metaverse had already taken hold of them.
After waiting for the rest of the classes to end on the roof, without any response from either Ren or Yuuki, the group of boys had already shifted from impatience to concern. To try and calm things down, Junpei proposed a game of rock, paper, scissors, with the loser going to buy drinks for everyone. He didn't expect, however, that his plan would backfire on him.
He continued to lose every round. The strangest thing being that Ryuji hadn't lost a single one. "I'm lucky with this kind of game ever since I was a kid..." he said as he continued to win against everyone there.
Feeling sorry for him, Yu offered to help him carry the drinks. "But you'll still have to pay for them."
They were now in the school hallways, passing between various students who were leaving.
"Thanks for lending me a hand. Even though it wasn't that much of a can, I still ended up in the red financially..." Junpei said.
"Are these drinks really that expensive?" Yu asked.
"Not if you only bought one. That bastard Ryuji made me bring three cans of that purple stuff. Besides being expensive, it tastes awful."
"It's still strange that he won all the rounds."
"Right?! He must be cheating! Although he doesn't seem to know how to do that sort of thing..."
Yu chuckled. "Let's go back soon. Two missing people is enough—"
"True... Hey, don't you think it would be better—" Junpei was interrupted by the sound of cans falling to the floor. "Hey, are you okay—!"
He saw Yu making a shocked face. He could also see, for a brief moment, his eyes shining.
"What the— Hey! Are you okay?" Junpei asked.
"We have to go," Yu said.
"What? Go where?"
"Now!"
Hurried footsteps could be heard descending the stairs. Makoto led the rest of the group, running desperately.
"Hey, Makoto! What the hell happened?" Yosuke shouted. Makoto didn't answer; instead, he kept running. Everyone followed behind him.
"What the hell is going on?" Junpei asked, now following the rest of the group.
"Makoto just shot off without saying a word. We have no idea, man!" Ryuji said.
"Ren," Yu said. "He entered the Metaverse, and Makoto's sister is with him."
"What?!" Yosuke said. "How the hell do you know that?"
"I'm going to kill those two!" Makoto shouted angrily.
Sumire quietly packed her things to leave.
"Look over there. She's one of the gymnast sisters. I heard they're honor students."
"It must be nice, having the whole school fawning over them. Even the teachers don't bother them."
"Funny that they don't even study in the same class. They must have their limits, even for people like them."
"Hey, be quiet. If she hears and tells some teacher, we're screwed."
With a sad sigh, Sumire quickly left the room. The only special treatment she and her sister received, if she could call it that, was being allowed to skip classes, but in return, they received merciless training from their coach. There were days when she would come home and just collapse exhausted on her bed. But it was all for the sake of their dream.
Yes, our dream... Or was it Kasumi's...? I've followed her every step of the way since I was a child. Was this really what I wanted?
She walked slowly down the school hallways, her cell phone in hand, scrolling through her sister's messages.
Kasumi Yoshizawa: I'm tied up with something in class, so you can go ahead. Since there's no practice today, you can go home, okay?
Sumire Yoshizawa: I can wait if you want.
Kasumi Yoshizawa: Don't bother. I think it's going to take a long time ;-;
Kasumi Yoshizawa: If you want, why don't you go talk to Yuki-senpai? I heard his sister hasn't been around lately, he must be feeling so lonely, you know...
Sumire almost dropped her phone in shock when she read the message. "W- W- W- What is she saying?!"
Sumire Yoshizawa: Stop teasing me! I guess I'll just go home then.
Kasumi Yoshikawa: Your loss ;)
Sumire started typing again, but her cell phone began acting strangely. "Huh? This is a new model, how come it's already malfunctioning?" She fiddled with the device, but it seemed hopeless; it had completely shut down. "Now this is happening on top of everything else..."
"Hey! Wait a minute, Makoto!"
Sumire heard a familiar voice coming from the top of the stairs where she was. Turning around, she—
*VOOSH!*
In a blur, Sumire saw someone rush past her. Judging by the person's speed, he didn't descend the stairs normally; he took a great leap. She could barely discern that the person in question was Makoto before he vanished.
"Senpai...?"
"Damn, he's fast!" Another voice came from the top of the stairs; it belonged to a boy in a cap. He quickly went down the stairs and started running again.
"He's going to end up killing himself with this whole 'killing them both' thing!" Yet another voice. This time, it belonged to a boy in orange hair, with a headphone dangling from his neck.
Sumire saw even more boys going back and forth from the stairs quickly.
"What's going on?" Sumire wondered. She had never seen Makoto seem surprised by anything, much less run off saying he was going to kill someone. Something was definitely not right. She looked at her malfunctioning cell phone for a moment, then made the decision, following the group.
...
A figure had been observing everything that was happening there. They pulled out a cell phone, looked around to see if anyone was coming, and quickly touched the screen.
"Now beginning navigation."
They vanished in plain sight. Only the empty corridor remained.