As the group was sitting on the roof chatting, a huge blanket of fog swept through. Ren didn't notice anything at all. But all of his friends suddenly frowned and looked up.
"Ren," Ryuji said.
"Ren, take off your glasses and look up," Morgana whispered.
"Like in the TV World?" Ren asked before his eyes widened, and he took the glasses off as fast as he could.
"Shadows will come. This is not good."
Rukia stood up, unable to take it anymore! So what if she got revealed?! Something weird was happening, and her friends were in danger!
But suddenly, a gentle voice rang out. It was singing a tune familiar to Ren, but unfamiliar to everyone else.
The gentle Aria of the Soul he heard in the Velvet Room.
Rukia and the group fell asleep.
No one noticed, but so did Yu, Yosuke, Yukiko, Rise, Kanji, and Naoto, who were all visiting Yu and intending to visit Ren.
---
Ren awoke in a movie theater on a cushioned bench.
A strange girl was peering down at him.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Her voice was familiar to Ren. But he couldn't place it. Hearing it made him sad. Like he wasn't supposed to see her now.
"I'm Ren. Who are you?" he asked.
"I don't know." She shrugged.
Huh?
"I have amnesia," she said with a dopey grin.
"You're screwing with me," Ren said in dismay.
"Nah. I actually do. All I know is that I'm seventeen. And I think I have a brother, maybe?"
---
Ren checked on his friends. What shocked him was that Rukia was somehow there! She had a katana and a black robe. Had she been in the Metaverse before?!
He checked on the others after catching his breath and saw they were all asleep.
"Dear Guest," he heard a high, teasing voice say loudly.
Just from listening, he could hear how mischievous she was.
Ren spun around with a snap. Backing up, he suddenly panicked.
"Oh shit, you're involved too?"
"Oh my, are you not happy to see me?" she asked with a playful pout.
"Don't prank me. My heart can't take it right now."
The nameless redheaded girl began to laugh.
"You two know each other, huh? That was funny."
She blinked and asked, "Do you know the people in the other room too?!"
Elizabeth just put her finger to her lips with a smile and vanished in a flash of light.
Ren stood there dumbfounded.
What the fuck is going on?
---
"So we got an amnesiac new friend, Ren's childhood crush or whatever is here, and some unknown people in the other room," Ryuji said in exasperation. "Can we catch a break?"
"I didn't have a crush on that chaotic woman," Ren said in disgust.
"Not unknown. Though severely weakened," a voice rang out as a young man with silver hair approached.
"And you absolutely did, Renny!!" a young, mischievous voice rang out.
Ren's mouth fell open.
"HOW ARE YOU GUYS SO YOUNG?!"
Before him stood Yu, Rise, Yukiko, Chie, Naoto, and Yosuke.
Except—
"I am seventeen years young forever, thank you very much!" Rise said smugly.
"RANGIKU, I'M TRYING TO SLEEP, YOU BITCH!"
Ren blinked. Rukia was sitting up, rubbing her eyes and blinking. When her eyes finally focused, she went pale.
"Oh shit."
"Oh shit indeed." Ren facepalmed.
"Uh. Well. I, uh..."
Ren raised his hand to stop her, then began to rub his temples in frustration. She thought she could even see an anger mark, like in those human TV shows she had been watching while she was here.
"Are you going to kill us?"
"No," Rukia answered.
"Then I'm not dealing with the semantics. Just... listen and pitch in if you can." He sighed.
Yu raised his thumb in approval.
"Good leader moment."
"Eat shit, asshole." Byakko partially materialized to insult Yu, much to Rukia's shock.
---