---
The walk through Shibuya was silent. Not the comfortable kind either.
Ann hadn't said much of anything, maintaining a hollow look. Were it not for Shiho watching out for her, she may have been injured from not paying attention.
They were headed towards Yongen-Jaya on the train when Ann finally reacted.
"What? Huh? Where are we going?" She said in confusion.
Ryuji, ever the suave gentleman, said with his mouth full,
"weref yon nat lisfenin'?"
"Ryuji, swallow." Shiho groaned.
"We're headed to my guardian's cafe to talk. It's quiet and out of the way." Ren explained evenly, as Morgana began to fuss, asking Ann if she was alright.
What Ren didn't tell the group was that he was actually quite nervous. What would Sojiro say when he arrived with two delinquents and two upset women? Hopefully he wouldn't think the worst.
"It's called Leblanc. I really like the atmosphere there." Ren continued, shaking the discomfort from his heart.
As they exited the train and began their walk towards the cafe, it was still fairly quiet, but Ann seemed to be doing better — gritting her teeth, glaring. At least her shock had worn off, though anger wasn't exactly great either.
The narrow streets of Yongen-Jaya were thankfully quieter than Shibuya. The late afternoon light was warm and soothing, the scent of clean laundry drifting through the air, distant sounds of children's laughter.
As they approached the cafe, a woman walked past the group smoking a cigarette with a stressed face. Short dark blue hair. A lab coat worn open over what appeared to be a band shirt with mesh. Together with her stockings, bracelet and choker, it was apparent she was confident in herself. She glanced at the group as she stopped at the vending machine in front of her.
Her eyes lingered on Ren for a second, then moved between Ann and Shiho, before settling on Ryuji's limp.
Returning her gaze to Ren, she scrunched her brow.
"You look terrible," she said. "Thank you," Ren replied.
"That wasn't a compliment." She took the last drag of her cigarette before stubbing it out. "You're the kid from Leblanc, right?"
"Yes."
"Hm." She looked at the others briefly. Ryuji's impatience and frustration. Ann and Shiho's righteous anger. Shiho's bandages.
"Sakura is a master of his craft," she said offhand. "I am Doctor Takemi. My practice is around the corner. Come see me if you get sick or injured. I'll give you a check up."
"Uhm, thanks?" the group said in confusion. "Sure, sure." She waved as she walked away.
"Well, she seems nice enough..." Ren muttered, glancing at Morgana, who met his eyes and nodded.
"She was a doctor? She was smoking." Ann said.
"Maybe she was stressed?" Shiho barely answered before Ryuji cut in with,
"Stressed? She was hot!"
SMACK
Ren heard a slap from behind as he opened the door to Leblanc — Ann punishing Ryuji, which seemed to be more common than he thought.
---
The bell above the door chimed, catching Sojiro's attention.
Looking up from the counter, he took in the group. Ren's resolved face, though with hints of nervousness in his eyes. Ann doing a poor impression of fine that wasn't convincing anyone. He listened as everyone was introduced.
"Head upstairs," he said to Ren.
"Boss…"
"It's fine. I'll send some coffee up. Go."
He was already turning to the machine when Ryuji nudged Ren, causing him to notice Shiho's worry and Ann's awkward expression. The cafe was empty, at least.
Ren headed upstairs.
The loft felt smaller with four people and one cat. But they managed to arrange themselves comfortably — Ryuji lounging on the couch, Ann and Shiho sitting on the bed, Morgana perched on the windowsill behind them.
Nobody spoke for a moment.
Then Sojiro's footsteps creaked on the stairs and he appeared with a tray — four mugs and a small plate of tuna. He set it down without comment and nodded to them before heading down.
"Thank you! (Meow!)" they called out to him as he left.
"Alright, we have to talk about this now, don't we?" Ann exhaled deeply, holding her mug with both hands.
Shiho rubbed her back in confirmation.
They talked for a long time. Shiho filling everyone in on how everything had started, long before Ren had arrived. How Kamoshida had shown interest in her, pulling her aside to tell her she had potential. How she felt proud, briefly. Before it stopped being about volleyball. How he would 'correct her posture' — the other girls got the same. Finally she explained the punishments. How they were neatly calibrated to avoid sending anyone to the hospital, but enough to ensure everyone kept silent. How most of the players' parents were more than aware of what was happening, but the seduction of a 'bright future' was strong enough for it all to be 'worth it'.
She talked about Mishima, and how his situation was probably worse than they believed.
"He told me," Shiho said, "he always mentioned that Ann was taking care of me." She looked at the ground, her voice filling with guilt. "I didn't know what he meant. I convinced myself he was trying to use it as an excuse to talk to me. Of course Ann takes care of me — she is my best friend. Eventually I figured out you were doing something to protect me. I was too scared to ask what it was, so I lied to myself. Telling myself if I just tried harder, endured more, Ann would be left alone…"
"Shiho," Ann muttered. "It doesn't work like that. We should have talked."
"Yeah… I see that now. With Scáthach by my side, I've been thinking more clearly." Shiho smiled, hearing a Gaelic chant in her head. "I'll have to tell you about her sometime — she's a real badass."
The boys exhaled a breath they didn't know they were holding.
"Holy emotional whiplash," Morgana muttered in awe.
Ryuji sat quietly for a moment, his face shifting from confusion into something almost enlightened.
"Ah. I understand. I will never understand women."
Clapping his hands, Ren got everyone's attention. Morgana gracefully leaped over the girls and landed on Ren's shoulder, bowing his head slightly.
"Show off," Ren grinned.
"So, I'm guessing we all want to do something about this?" Morgana began.
"Well of course — Shiho and Ann are in danger, and Ren and I will probably be screwed too!" Ryuji said, snapping everyone into a serious mood.
"I think I get the Metaverse from what Shiho told me, and now that I've been there. Daydream is the easiest way to explain it, but it feels a bit different from that too..." Ann said.
"It is, but Morgana and I will get distracted if we get into the cognitive bullshit right now." Ren said offhand.
"Speak for yourself," Morgana stated rolling his eyes.
"Anyways — so Kamoshida has his own Palace where he is the king. And I'm some kind of... bimbo?"
"Yea—" Ryuji began before Shiho shut him up with a glare.
'Did she learn some kind of killing intent anime stuff from her Persona?!' He screamed internally.
Morgana, ignoring whatever was happening with Ryuji, began to explain their options.
"So, remember how I told you that a palace is created by the distortion of the ruler?" Morgana began. "How do you define a distortion in someone?"
"I don't know. Some kinda evil shit or something?" Ryuji suggested
"No, having a distortion shouldn't make you evil. A distortion is closer to a delusion from what I've noticed." Ren corrected.
"Yeah that makes sense. If you think about it, its just some sort of metaphor isn't it?" Shiho said
"Because of, as Ren so eloquently put, 'cognitive bullshit'. A distortion can manifest within the palace. I call it a treasure." Morgana explained proudly. "I believe that if we were to map a route to the treasure, we can steal it. And as the treasure is the representation of the disortion… with its core gone, the delusion collapses, and the ruler is filled with guilt for their actions."
---