---
The group gasped, even Ren was taken aback. He had done a lot of thinking after researching psychology and cognition online, he definitely wasn't an expert but he understood well enough. However, stealing the core from the mind of the ruler was something he hadn't even considered.
"But it's not without danger. Not only is the place crawling with shadows… I can't make any promises that Kamoshida wouldn't be…." Morgana trailed off.
"It could kill him?!" Ryuji exclaimed in shock.
"NO!" Morgana snapped. "But a distortion itself isn't the delusion. A delusion is the result. It's a desire. And if we remove desire from someone's cognition…."
"They'd be mindless." Shiho gasped. "Wasn't that an issue a while back?"
"Yeah, Iwatodai." Ren mentioned. 'Maybe those guys would know what's going on. But I don't really want to bring this up yet.'
"Yeah, a kid died in the end, right? Makoto something?" Ryuji said.
'MAKOTO, THAT'S HIS NAME!' Ren remembered the boy from his dream in shock. 'Take care of my sister? Kotone-neesan? I've only met her twice!… Why have I never seen a picture of him? Why did I not even remember him?'
A shiver ran down Ren's spine as he thought that.
"So are we going to take this risk?" Morgana asked gravely.
"I don't know, I don't want to kill him, but he has to be stopped… Mishima already got hurt badly, the other volleyball players as well…" Shiho said.
"And he's threatening you and Lady Ann!" Morgana reminded.
"Special training my ass!!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"So, are we all in favor?" Ren asked.
"Aye!" The group answered in solidarity.
---
Ren woke up before his alarm, which wasn't unusual. What was unusual is that he didn't particularly have anything to do.
No school. No chores. No navigation app chiming in his pocket and sending him into another dimension. Just a Saturday morning in a loft above a cafe, with a cat-shaped entity laying next to him making contented noises.
Avoiding Morgana, Ren got out of bed and stretched his body. He had always kept in shape, but his body ached in a way it hadn't in years.
'Since martial arts practice with Akihiko-Sensei….' His eyes narrowing as he remembered the boy from his dream once more. 'They were friends... Why don't I remember him?'
---
Downstairs, Sojiro had just finished the day's batch of curry when he turned to see Ren come down the stairs. Seeing the exhaustion on his face as Ren sat down at the counter and rubbed his eyes.
"Mornin' Boss." Ren said.
"You look like shit, kid." Sojiro placed a coffee and a bowl of curry on the table. "Breakfast."
"I feel like it… and thank you for the meal, I appreciate it." Ren said gratefully. "Do I really look so bad? The doctor said the same yesterday…"
"Ah, Takemi? She's a kind girl. Lots of bad rumors about her for some reason, homemade medicine or something. Every time she is here, she is very polite and professional. Even doing her work here. I don't understand it. Go see her if you need to. Most of the area goes there." He shook his head. "You should go to the bath house across the street after you eat. Just bring your own towel."
"Sounds good, thanks." Ren said once more, lost in thought about what he just heard.
"Homemade medicine, eh?" a voice echoed from the stairs. "We should use some of that in the Metaverse!"
"Morgana, good morning to you too... are you hungry?" Sojiro said with a small grin.
"Looks like the chief likes me more, he said good morning back." Morgana snarked as he began to eat his breakfast.
After finishing their breakfast, Morgana decided to 'scout the area'. Ren knew he was interested in nearby cat territories but he didn't want to challenge his dignity. Ren decided that the bath house would be best for right now. The thought of soaking in warm water alone soothed his aching muscles.
---
The bath house was exactly as Sojiro said. Small, old, the kind of place that's been in the neighborhood longer than anyone living in the area. The wooden sign looked to be repainted, but not recently. Inside, it smelled like hinoki and steam.
Ren paid, and changed. Lowering himself into the water, he exhaled slowly.
His mind, which had been moving at a continuous sprint since his arrival in Tokyo, gradually slowed and his muscles relaxed.
He thought about the Velvet Room and its mysterious inhabitants. Igor's careful phrasing, and his title were conflicting. Arsene had called him the keeper of souls. But he appeared to treat Personae as tools. After living with Arsene in his head for a few days, he fully understood what Arsene was, and was not. It was something beyond words. A connection between them can't be explained. They are the same but different.
Shaking his head, he remembered the deck of cards and how it corresponds with the people he's formed bonds with. Tarot was new to him, but seeing how the archetypes of the Arcana can explain the framework of a person's behavior. Not to mention the Fool's Journey.
Take care of my sister.
Ren was convinced that Makoto is 100% involved in all of this, but didn't think he was causing it. He was still coming to terms with the fact that he didn't even notice he knew nothing about a person so close to him, and he didn't even remember him. He knew of his existence but never thought about it at length. It was baffling to the degree he didn't even question the fact that he was already dead.
He thought about Ann's face of anger, as well as her resolve.
'She's going to burn something down if she awakens a Persona.'
'Good.' Arsene responded.
After a while, Ren realized he had just stopped thinking, and was just breathing.
---
He left the bath house feeling like a new man. Not fixed or resolved but much lighter. Ready to take on what comes next.
Glancing around the area, he decided to bring his towel home and head to Doctor Takemi's clinic. Hoping that Morgana would return from his recon mission before he left.
---
The waiting room had a few chairs, a spider plant, a water dispenser, and printed paintings framed on the wall. At the reception desk sat a young woman who was apparently the only staff member present. The very doctor that the group had met the day prior.
"You're back," she said as she looked up.
"I technically wasn't here before..."
"I know, it's to make patients feel welcome. Did it work?"
"…yes?"
"What do you want? Coming for that checkup? You look better than yesterday but not by much."
"I'm looking to learn first aid, and for medical supplies for treating injuries. Cuts, bruises, burns, blunt impact trauma."
She looked at him like he was a fool.
"How old are you?"
"I'm seventeen."
"You want… medical supplies for injuries?"
"Skateboarding and stuff."
"Burns? From skateboarding?"
"Extreme skateboarding."
She leaned back in her chair and sighed before studying him. Because of the rumors, a lot of people would come through with explanations that were either too vague or not detailed enough. Ren offered neither.
"Haaaaaa. Alright, I'm running clinical trials," she said finally. "New compounds. I need a subject that won't ask questions and will show up when I ask them to."
"What kind of compounds?" Ren asked.
"Restorative agents primarily. I'll spare you the long-winded stuff. It won't kill you. Probably."
"Probably, huh?" Ren repeated dryly.
"Medicine involves uncertainty," she shrugged. "Are you interested or no?"
Ren briefly considered the offer before ultimately agreeing. He didn't want to experience the pain of life-threatening injuries. Morgana's Dia won't be available in the real world, and it wasn't realistic to hop between reality and the Metaverse to heal someone quickly. Entrances aren't everywhere.
"I'm interested," he answered.
"Once again, Takemi. Tae Takemi. It's nice to meet you." She opened the drawer and slid a form across the desk. "Fill this out as best you can. You'll come when I contact you. You don't discuss the trials outside the office."
Time froze.
The gentle voice sounded in his mind again.
"I am thou. Thou art I. Thou hast established a new bond. It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity. With the birth of the Death Persona, thou hast obtained the blessing that leads to freedom and new power."
He heard chains rumble as if something was trying to break out of them, before unnerving silence.
Time picked back up.
"Come back in the next few days for a check up before we get started. I will call the number you have listed on the form."
"Thank you, Takemi-san."
Uncrossing her legs, she looked at him with a smirk.
"Don't thank me yet, we are going to have quite a lot of fun, my new guinea pig."
---
[Shu7thefup]
oi you free today
[J0ker]
Just got back from running an errand. Why?
[Shu7thefup]
I got a place we can go to get model weapons, shit is legit
[Shu7thefup]
also captain kidd wants a better weapon than a lead pipe
[J0ker]
Captain Kidd wants it or do you want it?
[Shu7thefup]
...
[Shu7thefup]
both
[Shu7thefup]
mostly me
[Shu7thefup]
What about a crowbar?
[J0ker]
Where?
[Shu7thefup]
Shibuya station
---