(A/N: It's my honor to present to you the first chapter of my Persona 5 Royal fan fiction! In the honor of the game's release in the west, I loved to publish the story on the same day it came out! Now then, let's make this an unforgettable experience, shall we?)

Music: Persona 5 OST Encounter - [Extended]

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DON'T PLAY THE VIDEO YET!!!

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".........!" A light gasp escaped from a young boy who woke up from his deep slumber.

He had wavy unkempt black hair, dark gray eyes, and a set of black glasses. His clothes consisted of a school uniform that had a red-buttoned black blazer with an emblem on the pocket, a white turtleneck shirt with chevron detailing on the collar, red plaid trousers, and black shoes. Shifting the gaze of his dark grey eyes around him and catching the glimpse of the crowd of people around him, he recalled that he was on a train away from home. A sigh escaped his lips as he massaged his temples while lowering his face down, exhaustion was written all over his features.

"I must've fallen asleep..." He mumbled to himself.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving at Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line. Please transfer here for all subway lines. The doors to your left will open."

The boy looked down with a frown planted on his face as if an unpleasant memory came back to him to haunt him once more.

*******

A drunk middle-aged man forcefully grabbed the wrist of a young woman against her own will.

"Whoa, whoa! What's going on here?" He asked.

"Please, help!" The woman pleaded.

The raven-haired walked towards the man and grabbed him by his shoulder to spin him towards his face, but the drunk man tripped and fell backward which caused him to injure his forehead. The woman stood behind the teenager gasping in fear while he looked at his own hands while the man stood up.

"Damn brat. I'll sue...!"

Before he could even know it, two police officers held him by his two arms dragging him towards the car.

*******

He stared on his lap while narrowing his eyes and frowning at such an unpleasant memory that he really didn't want to remember. What brought him back to reality was the gossip of two female students next to him.

"What? Are you for real? A mental shutdown?

"It's the truth!"

"To a person though? That's gotta be a joke. You really love all that occult stuff, don't you?"

"A mental shutdown, huh...?" The raven-haired mumbled to himself before staring at the window behind him, "This is my stop, Shibuya..."

"Isn't Akechi-Kun awesome?" A female student suddenly exclaimed.

"A famous detective, and still in high school! It's like he's living in another world!" Her friend also exclaimed while watching the news on YouTube on her phone.

"Goro Akechi solves another case, following Naoto Shirogane being billed as 'the second coming of the Detective Prince,' and--" The newscaster was talking.

".........?!" The two girls looked puzzlingly at the boy who was watching the news from the girl's phone.

"A-Ah! Excuse me!" The boy apologized nervously.

*******

------Shibuya------

After the train finally reached its destination in Shibuya, the raven-haired boy walked outside the station toward the street, staring at the screen of his phone. He lifted the gaze of his grey eyes to see the crowds of people walking in the roads, non-stop... the area was crazily crowded and looked on a whole different level from what he heard and saw online. Life was buzzing in every inch and corner of the area like it was the Japanese version of the city that never sleeps.

"So, this is Shibuya..." He mumbled under his breath.

What caught his attention back to his phone was the sound of a beep but when he looked at the screen, his eyes were met with an ominous-looking red eyeball app. He frowned while trying to click it, but it wouldn't open and he had no memory of installing such an app anywhere... huh, strange. When he looked at the road once, everything around him froze in place as if time itself had stopped... nothing was moving around him at all; no car, no human being, no nothing.

"Wh-What happened here...?" The raven-haired looked around him shockingly.

He looked at the distance to see a light blue flame burning and taking the form of a demonic face, followed by an eerie laugh that rang right through his ear. Then, he swore that he caught the glimpse of a figure grinning darkly at him and staring at him with those golden eyes, a figure that looked just like... himself. At that moment, everything returned to normal and moved like they used to again, not giving the boy the slightest chance to question anything. It all happened so fast, after all...

"What was that all about...?"

The teenager looked around him in confusion about what he just saw, then he decided to delete that weird app that appeared on his phone out of blues. He continued his way to head to the subway station to ride another train to Yongen-Jaya, so many unanswered questions arose in his mind. The moment he set foot out of the station, a lot of strange events were occurring to the teen.

What was going on exactly...?

*******

------Yongen-Jaya-------

The raven-haired teenager arrived at the wanted destination to the extremely narrow backstreets of Yongen which proved to be quite challenging to find even if he had the GPS on. Looking around him once more, he couldn't help but notice how narrow the streets were and how amazingly they were brimming in life. The shops were all wide open and the movement of residents there didn't show any sign of stopping any time soon either.

"Starting today, Sojiro Sakura will be taking care of me. His house should be in the backstreets of this residential area..." The raven-haired murmured.

But where exactly he needed to go? He was still lost there.

"Excuse me...!" He ran towards an officer who was standing just a few feet away from him.

"Yes?" The unfriendly officer replied.

"I want to ask for directions." The boy showed him a paper with an address scribbled on it.

"Hm? You want to get to the residence of that address...? It's in an alley a bit further back. Take a right after that apartment with the stairs."

"Thank you, sir."

He walked in the direction given by the police officer to an even narrower alleyway that showed a residential house with a delivery van parked outside.

"The nameplate here says 'Sakura.' It looks like this might be Sojiro Sakura's house..." The raven-haired told himself before ringing the doorbell.

He waited for a couple of minutes, looking around him but even after ringing the doorbell. It didn't look like anyone will answer the door.

"Maybe he's gone out..." The raven-haired trailed while scratching his hair, "Such trouble..."

"Looks like no one's home..." A parcel deliveryman spoke up.

"Do you know where he could be?"

"Oh, yeah... Sakura-San's usually at his café around the time. Well, Leblanc's in the back alley so I should make my other deliveries first..." The parcel deliveryman explained, "Mmm, next I need to take this package to..."

"Leblanc... a French name, I see..." The raven-haired mumbled, "All right then, thanks."

The teenager walked away from the house toward the back alley as he heard, looking for the café which shouldn't be hard to find given how unique its name was. He reached the narrow alley and stopped his tracks when he saw a café that had the name "Leblanc" which he murmured written in elegant cursive letters. Not only it served coffee but according to the sign, they had curry in there too. Hesitantly, he opened the door after taking a deep breath to get welcomed by the aroma of coffee and the retro, yet soothing atmosphere of the shop.

He took a few steps inside, inhaling the delicious smell of freshly-brewed coffee and admiring the interior decor in awe before spotting two elderly customers sitting on a booth and the manager reading a newspaper. The manager had slicked-back dark hair with a receding hairline, a chinstrap beard with a goatee that flared out, and wore glasses. His clothes were a pink dress shirt that went up to his elbows, a black striped apron with white vertical lines, and two buttons at the top, khaki capris, and white shoes.

"A public transit bus was driven down an opposing lane with its customers still in it! The citizens can't live in peace if this keeps up." A tabloid show host said on TV.

"........?" The raven-haired had a puzzled look after hearing the news.

"How frightening." An elderly male customer commented.

"What could be going on? Didn't something similar happen just the other day?" An elderly female customer added.

"And down is... the name of a shellfish used in pearl framing..." The manager was mumbling to himself before he noticed the presence of the teenager, "...Oh, right. They did say that was today." He left the newspaper on the counter.

"Um..." The boy trailed.

"We'll be going now. The payment's on the table." The elderly male customer stood up.

"Thanks for coming." The manager said.

"This place is in the back alley, so there are no worries of a car crashing in here." The elderly male customer joked.

"A what now?" The manager asked shockingly.

"There's been a string of those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope that none happen around here." The elderly male customer explained.

"It's none of my concern." The manager simply said.

"Haha, we'll see you next time." The elderly male customer said before he and his wife walked out of the café.

"...Four hours for just a single cup of joe." The manager sighed deeply, "So, you're the one, huh?"

"I'm Ren Amamiya. I appreciate this." The teenager bowed.

"...Uh-huh. I'm Sojiro Sakura. You'll be in my custody over the next year." Sojiro introduced himself, "I was wondering what kind of unruly kid would show up, but you're the one, huh?"

"Huh...?"

"Have you been told? A customer of mine and your parents know each other, and--- well, not that matters... follow me." Sojiro took the stairs up towards the attic.

Ren blinked several times at the unbearably messy state the attic was the first moment he set foot there. Not only was it horribly dusty, but a lot of objects were thrown aimlessly here and there, and the furniture was covered as well. It almost looked like a tornado flew there and wrecked everything.

"This is your room. I'll at least give you sheets for your bed."

Ren looked around him once more and opened his mouth to say how much the room was cluttered and looked like a garbage dump but respecting Sojiro's hospitality, he shut his own mouth and decided against it.

"You look like you wanna say something."

"Umm... It sure is big."

"It's on you to clean up the rest." Sojiro seemed to buy it, "I'll be leaving after I lock up each day. You'll be alone at night, but don't do anything stupid. I'll throw you out if you cause any trouble."

"I understand..."

"Now then... I got the gist of your situation. You protected some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he got injured, then sued you. Right?"

"........?!" Ren gasped softly, "You have the wrong idea. I just..."

"I don't wanna hear it. I won't ask you about it either. Just don't get me involved."

".........."

"That's what you get for sticking your nose in a matter between two adults. You did injure him, yeah? ...And now that you've got a criminal record, you were expelled from your high school. The court's ordered you to transfer and move out here, which your parents also approved."

"That's pretty much it..."

"In other words, they got rid of you for being a pain in the ass."

"..........."

"It's best you do not talk about anything unnecessary. I am in the restaurant business, you know. Behave yourself for the year. If nothing happens, your probation will be lifted."

"Probation?" Ren questioned.

"Your sentence lasts until next spring, right? That's why you're gonna be here for the coming year. Cause any problems, and you'll be sent straight to juvie." Sojiro threatened, "We'll be going to Shujin tomorrow."

"..........?" Ren blinked in confusion.

"Shujin Academy. We'll introduce ourselves properly to the staff there. There's rarely a place that'll accept someone like you, you know. What a waste of my Sunday..."

"Okay." Ren said obediently.

"Your 'luggage' arrived a little while ago. I brought it up here for you." Sojiro pointed at a box left on the floor before walking down the stairs.

"Great. I'm being looked down on already, even by my own guardian. Just great." Ren sighed deeply before looking at the box.

"It's the cardboard box sent from back home..." Ren knelt down, "I could really use some more comfortable clothes now instead of this uniform."

Ren had spent that night a lot more than simply being lonely, filling his time by cleaning the room from the dust, mopping the floor, wiping the windows, and getting his luggage sent from home from a box. He even ate instant ramen all by himself after using some boiled water from the kitchen... huh, no wonder why he was so skinny and thin-built. Feeling exhausted from all the work he'd done alone, he changed his clothes and laid down on the bed while looking at the ceiling, a frown forming on his face once more.

"Arrest... trial... criminal record... Still, I couldn't let that go..."

"That day... I had to go home early..."

*******

Ren was running back to his home after buying some groceries from a nearby store as his father asked him to. But on his way, struggling voices caught his attention and caused him to stop his tracks to listen carefully.

"Just get in the car!"

"Stop it!"

"Hm?" Ren hummed to himself.

He swore that he heard a man and woman arguing just right ahead of him.

"How dare you cross me!"

"Stop it! Let me go!"

Running toward the scene, all of his suspicions were proved to be true... and even worse.

"No...!" The struggling woman cried out.

"Don't give me that shit..." The drunk man said.

"Ow! P-Please, stop...!"

'I have to save her. I can't ignore this!' Ren thought to himself.

"Tch... what a waste of time." The drunk man clicked his tongue, "You think you're worth causing me trouble? Huh?"

"I-I'll call the police!"

"Heh, call them if you want! The police are my bitches. They're not gonna take you seriously."

"No... stop...!" The struggling woman pleaded in despair.

What caught their attention was the voices of the police sirens drawing near the spot.

"Someone called the cops, huh? Get in the car! Incompetent fools like you just need to shut your mouths and follow where I steer this country!" The drunk man said.

"Hey!" Ren called angrily not taking this anymore.

"...What're you looking at? Get outta my face! This ain't a show. Get lost, kid." The drunk man said.

"See? This is all because you're so damn slow! Get in the car!" The drunk man said to the woman yet again.

*******

Ren was so deep in his awful memories to the point of running his hand into his head furiously. Before losing his sanity, he decided to take a book that was next to him on the bed and occupy himself with some crosswords.

"'Oyster,' is it?" Ren spoke to himself.

While Ren was thinking of the solution, the voice of his phone buzzing made him snap back to reality and grab his phone. He had a puzzled look on his face when he saw the same eyeball app popping back again on his homepage.

"Hm? It's the same weird app that somehow ended up on my phone... but I thought I deleted it..." Ren murmured to himself.

He deleted the app once again and stared back at the ceiling with his dull and tired eyes as he narrowed them the more he thought about that incident. Suddenly, his eyelids were feeling extremely heavy and were struggling to keep themselves open, thus he ended up in a deep slumber not knowing what waited for him. It felt like his body betrayed him and was acting on its own and disobeying him, yet he allowed it to carry him away from the reality he lived in and into the realm of dreams.

*******

------?????-------

"..........!"

A light gasp came out from the raven-haired boy as he snapped his eyes fully open before getting up to notice himself wearing a prisoner's black and white striped suit, and that both of his hands were completely cuffed. He sat down, placing a hand on his head to try to gather his thoughts before looking around him in confusion, realizing that he was inside a prisoner's cell... a place he knew too well that made him sick. So many unpleasant memories were in such a similar place once in the past. More importantly, why was he in such a place, and how he ended up there in the first place?

"Fufufufu."

Upon hearing that one anonymous chuckle near him, he looked at the cell's door to see two girl twins walking toward the entrance. The twins both wore a black eye patch with the letter "V" over one of their eyes and a blue prison guard outfit. One of them had a long braid and a hat with the letters "O-Y-O-O," while the other had hair buns and a hat with the letters "X-M-R-N." The letters appeared to spell "OXYMORON." They wore a brassard on their right arm. They also had matching black ties.

He got up from the bed to see the twins blocking the entrance away from him, much to his confusion, before trying to walk toward the door, yet he felt like he's being held back. Ren looked to see that his left leg was also cuffed with a gigantic metallic boulder, preventing him from moving as he wanted and limiting himself within the radius of a few feet only. When Ren finally managed to get to the door after some undeniable effort, he gripped its bars tightly as the twins stepped aside for the boy to see what laid ahead of him. The teen let out a gasp of shock when he saw that there was a table that stood in the center of the circular room, and on the table sat a bizarre-looking old man with a long nose, pointed ears, and bulging, bloodshot eyes, wearing a black suit with white gloves.

"Trickster... welcome to my Velvet Room." The old man with the long nose extended his gloved hand to the teen.

"Wh-What's going on here?!" Ren asked while shaking the cell's bars.

"So you've come to, Inmate." The malicious girl nearly spat.

"The you in reality is currently fast asleep. You are only experiencing this as a dream." The quiet girl added.

"You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!"

"Master...?" Ren trailed.

"Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter. I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well. I summoned you to speak of important matters. It involves your life as well."

"Important matters?" Ren asked.

"Still, this is a surprise... the state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. You truly are a 'prisoner' of fate. In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you."

"Wait, ruin?"

"I speak of the end to everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be 'rehabilitated.' Rehabilitated toward freedom... that is your only means to avoid ruin." Igor added, "...Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world?"

"...Wait, what?".

"You didn't decline, hm? Very well, that is enough. Allow me to observe the path of your rehabilitation." Igor finished when the two twins stepped in front of the cell.

"Ah, pardon me for not introducing the others. To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."

"Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like." Caroline scoffed.

"The duty of wardens is to protect inmates. We are also your collaborators." Justine stated, "...That is if you remain obedient."

"I shall explain the roles of these two on another occasion. Now then, it seems the night is waning... it is almost time. Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually..."

And just when Igor finished his sentence, the sound of an electric bell rang through the whole room, catching Ren completely off guard.

"Time's up. Now hurry up and go back to sleep." Caroline dismissed him.

Before Ren could even say anything, his body felt heavier than ever and was slowly collapsing on the ground after all the strength left his body entirely. The last thing he ever saw or heard was the blurry image of Igor and the twin wardens as well as incomprehensible words that faded like an echo in the distance in his eyes. Away from the world of dreams, he was forcefully being pulled back to the harsh reality that awaited him.

*******

------The Next Day------

Waking from his sleep drenched in sweat, Ren looked around him with horrified eyes before he sighed deeply to himself to see that he was back in Leblanc's attic. It was all just a dream, just one hell of a weird dream... that was what Ren kept telling himself as he got to and changed into his school uniform. Still, if it truly was just a dream, why did it feel so real and lingered in his mind? Seeing how his hand was shaking from the impact of such a night, his other hand gripped into his shaky wrist tightly while mentally chanting to himself to get a grip on himself. He couldn't afford to look weak at all in front of others, otherwise, they'd eat him alive-- he was a teen with a criminal record, a fancy prey for judging eyes.

"What a strange dream... ruin... rehabilitation... what does it mean...?" He thought while buttoning his black blazer.

"Looks like you're up." Sojiro had a slightly shocked look on his face as he walked into the room, "Well then, let's go introduce ourselves properly to the staff about your transfer. The school you're attending is in the Aoyama district. It'll take a while to get there by train. The transfers are a real hassle, too. I'll drive you there, but just for today. Let's go."

With that, he left again.

"Sheesh... men aren't usually allowed in my passenger seat." Sojiro sighed while he was walking down the stairs.

He thought that Ren wouldn't hear it, except he did... loud and clear.

"It's not like you're getting any ladies in the first place..." Ren mumbled to himself before following the man.

Ouch.

*******

------Daytime: Shujin's Gate------

Stepping out from Sojiro's car, Ren's eyes were immediately locked at the exterior of the school building with slightly wide eyes that looked at it in awe. It was huge! Nothing compared to his old high school back at his home, and it looked like a rather elite and fancy institute as well. And that was when the smallest smile on Ren's face was immediately replaced with a frown as many thoughts began swirling in his mind... why would such a prestigious school like that accept a low-life loathy scum like him? Sojiro seemed to notice the change in Ren's expression and even caught a glimpse of how his fingers dug deeply into his trousers which made him knit his eyebrows in suspicion. Was that kid really... nervous? Huh.

"Do me a favor and behave yourself, all right? Don't get me wrong--I don't care what happens to you. Just don't cause me any trouble." Sojiro stated while walking inside the gate.

"Fine, douchebag..." Ren mumbled while sticking his tongue out of his mouth.

Following his guardian into the school's premises, Ren made sure to observe his surroundings as much as possible to memorize whatever he could so he can move around at ease starting from tomorrow. The first floor has a co-op selling bread and three vending machines; one near the co-op and two at the practical building, he made sure to take a mental note to go there if he ever wanted to get a snack. And on the second floor, they stood their tracks at an office that had the sign "principal office" written on it, so Ren quietly cleared his throat as Sojiro knocked on the door. Hearing a sound that allowed them to walk in, the two stepped into the office and were welcomed with the sight of an overweight and bald man who wore a beige suit, white undershirt, and red bow tie. That was undoubtedly the principal... the plaque placed on his desk read as "Kobayakawa."

"To reiterate, just so we're clear, you'll immediately be expelled if you cause any problems. In my opinion, you're nothing but a liability, but we had our circumstances to consider... whatever you might've gotten away with in your hometown... those days are over. If you are thrown out of our school, there will be no place for you to go. Keep that in mind."

"I understand, sir..."

"Good. This is the teacher in charge of your class." The principal pointed at a woman standing on his left.

The teacher was a youthful-looking woman of medium height and a slender build. She had dark brown unkempt hair, dark brown eyes. She wore a yellow long-sleeved shirt striped with white and red horizontal lines, a blue denim skirt, and white kitten heel shoes.

"I'm Sadayo Kawakami. Here's your student ID." She handed the ID to Ren.

However, as she was giving him the ID, a small piece of paper fell down from her, briefly showing a maid's picture, yet Ms. Kawakami picked it up quickly before Ren could see it. But he did catch a glimpse of it.

"Be sure to read the school rules. Any violations will send you straight to the guidance office. And, if by chance you cause any problems, I won't be able to protect you at all." Ms. Kawakami stated before looking at the principal, "...That IS your promise, yes, Principal Kobayakawa?"

"He is responsible for all his actions."

"But really though, why me? There should've been better candidates."

"It was a sudden transfer, and your class was the only one that had an opening."

"If you're done explaining things, mind if we get going? I got a store to get back to." Sojiro spoke after finishing the transfer papers.

"Sakura-San, please keep a close eye on him. Don't let him cause any trouble outside..." The principal reminded.

"Well, I'll be sure to have a serious talk about the situation he's in."

"Come to the faculty office when you arrive at school tomorrow. I'll show you to your classroom." Ms. Kawakami spoke.

"Yes, ma'am." Ren bowed.

Well, that wasn't as bad as he initially thought... maybe?

Sighing deeply to himself after stepping out of the principal's office, Ren followed his new guardian down the stairs once more toward the first floor. That time, every little sparkle he had in his eyes completely vanished and was replaced with a dull and tired gaze that only looked ahead in an empty way. It was all too hard on the poor boy... all those disapproved gazes and wary tones. Again, Sojiro stole a quick glance at the boy from the corner of his eye to witness his nearly-dead gaze as he followed him--a complete change from before which made him pursue his lips before deciding to speak up.

"Everyone's giving you the cold shoulder. That's what having a criminal record does to you. Turns out your past follows you wherever you go."

".........." Ren grunted under his breath.

"By the way... if you get expelled now, I won't hesitate to kick you out. Got it?"

"Don't worry. I'll be careful."

"Hmph... school never changes, huh? Come on, we're going home."

Yeah, home... what home exactly? The one he was forced to live in for the next year? Yes, that home.

*******

------Meanwhile: Shujin's Courtyard------

In the outdoors of the school, Ms. Kawakami massaged her temples while leaning forward on the passageway that split the main campus and the practical building from one another. Even though she had just met the rumored transfer student, she felt tired and exhausted all of a sudden... talk about a stressful way to spend her weekend. Still, there was something about that boy's aura that she couldn't place a finger on now, something that didn't seem... right. Then, she heard footsteps approaching her which caused her ears to perk up and look that a male teacher was walking to her who had long black unkempt hair and thick eyebrows--his jawline was broad and square. He wore a white sports T-shirt and black sports trousers with double white stripes.

"What a troublesome situation." The jersey-wearing teacher had a troubled look on his face.

"I can't believe they pushed someone with a record on me. A male teacher would be better suited for this..." Ms. Kawakami trailed.

"Why in the world was someone like that admitted here?"

"Who knows? It was the principal's decision. I was told it's for the school's reputation."

"I would've thought that my volleyball team has contributed more than enough to cover that."

"That's certainly true."

"Be careful, okay? Then again, if anything were to happen, I'd kick out a student like that right away."

"I keep wishing that he'd just end up not coming to school. Still, that isn't something I should be saying as a teacher..." Ms. Kawakami sighed.

"Well, I should be returning to practice."

"Oh right. The tournament's coming up, isn't it?"

"Hehe, having such high expectations placed on you by others is quite a problem in itself. We'll have to work hard to make up for the track team too."

"Yes... that's true." Ms. Kawakami agreed before the male teacher walked away.

"Why'd it have to be my class?" Ms. Kawakami sighed to herself once more.

Huh, strange.

*******

In Sojiro's car, Ren was zoning out of this world, staring at the window to see the heavily crowded street with endless cars not moving at all. His cheek was buried in his open palm as his dark grey eyes were darting here and there aimlessly as if nothing mattered for him anymore... because that was somehow correct. Soon, his attention was drifted to Sojiro after hearing his angry and frustrated voice as if the end of the world was drawing very near.

"Uuugh. Traffic's not moving at all... you're taking the train starting tomorrow." Sojiro growled.

"Yeah, I know..."

"...So how was it? The school, I mean. Think you can manage?"

"We'll see."

"Now listen up. Still, you were expelled once already. To think you'd re-enroll at a different one. It's not like anyone will be sympathetic with you."

"I'm not expecting that anyone would... I'm the trash of society, after all." Ren admitted.

Even such a harsh response caught Sojiro slightly off-guard before shifting himself.

"...If that's what it was like at school, people might say stuff about me in the future too... what a troublesome kid I've taken in."

"Why did you take me in then?" Ren suddenly asked. The light reflecting on his glasses' lenses was hiding his eyes entirely.

"I was asked to do it, and I just... happened to agree to it. I've already been paid for it too, after all. Anyway, don't get yourself involved in any nonsense. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. And no matter what happens, pretend like you didn't see it. Got it?"

"Yes." Ren clenched his fist angrily.

"Again, a subway derailed at Shibuya Station, greatly affecting the timetable all across the--" The newscaster was talking on the radio.

"...Another accident? So that's why it's so crowded. There's been a lot of those lately. In fact, there was a real sad one just last month... it happened before you came here. If I remember right, the girl that passed away was only fifteen. Her parents have gotta be just..."

"Fifteen?!"

"...All traffic around Shibuya Station is being redirected due to the accident, so drivers should expect jam-packed streets." The newscaster continued.

"Oh, come on!" Sojiro tapped on the steering wheel impatiently.

*******

------Meanwhile------

At the subway station, there was a train that was moving at an abnormal speed, causing the passengers to scream in panic and banging on the driver's door to make him stop. Some were tripping and others were holding into one another or the train's pillars for dear life like everything depended on it... because it was just like that. Horror was written all over the passengers' faces while some were shrieking in their places and calling for the driver, begging him to stop... but all of their prayers fell on deaf ears.

"Hey! What's going on?!" One of them banged on the door harshly

The driver never moved an inch despite all the cries and calls from behind the door--black goo was dripping from his mouth while his eyes were rolled backward. Every sign of life was gone from him.

"We're experiencing technical difficulties in the lower line."

"I don't have a visual yet. Oh, f--"

The train reached the station and flipped on its side, causing severe damages to the railway to the point of being destroyed, but luckily people moved backward quickly. All the trailers piled on one another, crashing against each other and creating clouds of smoke and thus, earning the horrified screams of people who once stood on the platform. It was a true genocide that no one had to see.

"That was direct footage from the accident. According to the police, the engineer's life was not in danger despite his injuries. After questioning, even he could not explain his high speed when approaching the station. No further comments were made. Police are still looking for a possible motive." The news reporter said on TV.

"It's less of an operating accident and more of a crime to the company and the government. Site inspectors apparently reported all of this six months ago-- and deterioration of its tracks and the ATC. Seems the railway company and the Ministry of Transport both turned a blind eye to the truth. There's no way they can hide. This will go all the way to the top." A bald man wearing glasses spoke.

"Now on to our main story, with this derailment accident, as well as other incidents of unknown motive, the concern is spreading among the general public. Just what could be causing such a drastic change so suddenly in these people?"

"Everything's linked--that's what you're thinking, correct?" The bald man asked a gray-haired woman stood next to him, "...Ah well. Are you free? You and I haven't gone for a drink in a while."

"Thank you, sir, but I have another meeting to attend. I must be going." The gray-haired bowed before exiting the office.

While she was walking the stairs down, she met a shaggy brown-haired high schooler with reddish-brown eyes in the middle of the way. He looked up at her with a bright smile while adjusting the position of his attaché case in his hand.

"Did you ask for me? Is it a case?" The brown-haired asked.

"Not quite. I want your opinion on something." The gray-haired replied.

"Sure. Your judgment is quite often correct, though. Can we discuss this over sushi, perhaps? You are making a student work late, after all."

"Conveyor belt only." The woman continued her way downstairs.

"Aw..."

*******

------Evening: Leblanc------

The trip back to the café proved itself to be a lot longer than it was supposed to with the traffic movement being so goddamn slow. It took Sojiro hours to be able to drive away from the area around Shibuya Station and back into Yongen, the jam-packed roads were worse than he originally thought. And through the whole trip back, Ren was awfully quiet and didn't even open his mouth all the way and kept staring out the window quietly which made Sojiro steal a few glances at him back at the passenger's seat to make sure he was fine, knitting his eyebrows in the process--it was indeed quite the difference in the mood for the young boy.

"Damn, to think there'd be that much traffic... what a waste of time. I wasn't able to open the café today..." Sojiro sighed.

".........."

"...Whatever. Just head upstairs. Talk about a gruesome accident... eighty people were involved." Sojiro read the news online when his phone rang, "Hey, what's up? ...I'm about to leave right now. Don't worry I'll be there in no time. Uh-huh. I'll see you soon." He hung up.

"Well, I'm off. I'll lock the place up, so do whatever you want for the rest of the night. Oh, but don't mess up my store. If something goes missing, I'll hand you right over to the cops. You got school tomorrow... you better head off to bed, all right?" Sojiro said before he went out of the shop.

After he closed the door behind him, Ren's frown only grew more visible on his face as his fingers dug deeply in the fabric of his trousers while clenching his jaw tightly. He thought that he'd get used to all the threats, all the stares, all the looks over time... but they were only getting worse for him.

Damn...

*******

------Time Skip: The Next Day------

That morning, Ren woke up feeling as dull as the previous night. He was supposed to start attending his new school from that day but wasn't looking forward to it in any way, not after the meeting with his principal and teacher. His only consolation was that no one besides the faculty knew of his history, so he hoped he'd finish his year as quietly as possible without making any scene or causing any trouble.

"I have school starting today. Hopefully, I can get here without getting lost... and I really don't want to be late for my first day..." Ren mumbled to himself while grabbing his school bag and walking downstairs.

"Oh, so you actually are going to school, huh? Here, I'll feed you. Just make sure you finish it before customers start coming in." Sojiro placed a dish on the counter.

"Curry...? That's my breakfast?"

"Don't complain. Just eat."

"All right..." Ren sighed while sitting on the counter and started eating his breakfast.

But the moment he took the first bite, his eyes widened at the delicious and spicy flavor that exploded in his tongue before he started digging in quickly and devouring it like there was no tomorrow. He had nothing but instant noodles for the last two days, so such food was a luxury to him, and seeing his reaction at the food, Sojiro couldn't help himself but smile for a brief moment upon seeing how Ren's eyes lit up and went back to life again.

"It's time for you to go." Sojiro took the empty plate.

"Thanks for the meal. It was delicious." Ren bowed politely.

"Huh, turns out you do have manners after all." Sojiro smiled briefly, "...Hurry over to school. You'll end up late if you get lost on the way."

"All right."

"Oh yeah, and flip the sign outside to 'Open' for me."

"Okay, got it."

"Don't forget to do that for me, all right? Now, you better hurry on out. You're gonna be late if you get lost, country boy."

"Well then, I'm off."

After Ren exited the shop with the smallest smile on his smile and Sojiro started cleaning the counter before him while watching the news after he saw from the door how the boy did flip the sign as he took off. After a little while, the door's bell rang and a customer walked in who was a regular, so Sojiro served him what he'd usually order and watched TV together.

"Oh man... did it say it was going to rain today?" A man in a suit asked.

"Huh? It's raining outside?" Sojiro dumbfounded.

"It just started all of a sudden... this is why I hate the early spring."

"That reminds me... did he take an umbrella?"

"Hm? Who're you talking about?"

"Don't mind me. So, what'll it be?"

"One house blend, please."

"The effects of yesterday's subway accident continues on today as various lines suffer delays and--" The newscaster said on TV.

"There's been a lot of nasty accidents lately. You know... I mean the subway accident that the news is talking about... my coworker got caught up in it and is in the hospital now... but that aside, it's kinda creepy. The people who caused these accidents supposedly went crazy all of a sudden. I heard that some of them suffered from nervous breakdowns during interrogation." The man in the suit said.

"Huh..." That was all what Sojiro said.

*******

PLAY THE VIDEO NOW!!!

*******

All the students were running in the streets under the rain and heading toward school while grabbing their umbrellas, creating splashes as they stepped on puddles on the way. Unfortunately, Ren didn't even think that it'd rain on his first day, so he took shelter under a shop while listening to the students talking while running past him. He looked up at the sky once more, noticing how the rain didn't show any sign of letting up any time soon.

"What's the first period again?"

"I don't know!"

Then, he pulled his phone out to look again at the map to make sure that he was on the right path to school, but he noticed the same eyeball app popping again on the homepage out of nowhere.

"Hm...?"

Ren sighed again as a hooded figure of a girl walked toward him and stood right next to him while wiping the rainwater away from her blazer. She pulled her hood down to reveal her bright blue eyes and platinum blonde wavy hair styled in bushy pigtails, with parted side bangs on the right side of her face. She accessorized with a single yellow hair clip above her left ear, as well as small circular earrings on both ears. Her school uniform was modified; the standard black blazer over a white varsity-like hoodie worn long to cover most of her short plaid skirt. Her hoodie had a zipper, a red stripe between two blue stripes at the bottom, and an S symbol near the front bottom on one side, and a green four-leaf-clover symbol on the back of the hood. She wore red tights and brown boots with yellow laces.

The platinum blonde-haired girl looked around her before noticing Ren staring at her in awe for no reason. However, she decided to brush it off and give him a friendly smile of her own after seeing how his overall aura never gave any malicious intentions, only a boy looking at her with curiosity and awe.

"There's..."

And out of nowhere, the platinum blonde-haired girl shifted her gaze to the boy and pulled her arm to Ren's face which caused him to stiffen from her sudden action. However, she only just intended to reach a single cherry blossom petal that was stuck in his hair in order to remove it.

"I hate this rain. It scatters pretty blossoms everywhere." The girl said while fiddling with the petal.

She looked back at the road with silence filling the air between her and Ren, neither daring to make eye contact or start a conversation. And for a once, that silence was very much welcomed to Ren.

"Uwaaaah...!"

A male student who was running ahead of them, fell on the road since his foot slid due to how rainy the streets were, causing an audible plop as his body collided with the concrete. He groaned as he rested his hands on the road, his bag flying from his hands and falling into the water... his entire uniform was soaked since he fell strongly on his stomach and chest. He didn't have an umbrella on him either and was using his bag as his only resort of protection. Without much thinking, Ren sprinted away from the little temporary shelter he had with the platinum blonde-haired girl toward the boy after covering his head with his own school bag as well.

Ren extended his hand to the boy who was somewhat short, his round face was framed by a short mess of fluffy dark-green hair which stuck up at odd angles around his head, casting noticeably dark shadows onto itself. His eyes were large and somewhat circular, their irises were the same green color as his hair, giving him an innocent appearance, and had a set of four symmetrical freckles in diamond formations, one on each cheek. He wore the same uniform as Ren that consisted of a red-buttoned black blazer with the school's emblem on the pocket, a white turtleneck shirt with chevron detailing on the collar, and red plaid trousers. But instead of the plain black shoes, he had oversized red boots with thick white soles, laced up to the top.

The plain-looking student had a stunned expression on his face upon seeing a complete stranger offering help to him while others were passing by them as if nothing happened. Throughout the entire time, Ren never wiped the small and gentle smile he had on his face while looking at the green-haired, only causing his curiosity to grow.

"Looks like you could use a hand." Ren offered his hand.

"A-Ah, thank you!" The boy took Ren's hand, standing up on his feet.

"No problem."

"Oh no, my uniform's all soaked...! Everyone's going to laugh at me, and on my first day too..." The green-haired gasped upon seeing his uniform before looking back at Ren, "Sorry, I shouldn't bother you with my problems."

He grabbed his drenched bag from the road, smiling shyly at the dark-haired in the process.

"Thank you so much for your help, I really appreciate it."

Before Ren could even open his mouth to say something, the green-haired bowed to him before dashing away with the wet bag on his soaked head and almost tripping on his feet again, causing Ren to sweatdrop. With a small smile of his own, he returned back to where he left that girl standing alone only to see that her eyes grew wide in horror and almost turned pale, catching his attention. Before them stood the figure of a girl, standing still without making any movements at all whatsoever. Her face wasn't clear since it was covered by her umbrella, but it was clearly a girl since she was wearing the female Shujin uniform-- her hands moved the umbrella away from her face making her features clear.

She had thin dark brown hair tied in small ribbons by the sides of her face, with the back cut short, and had black eyes. She also wore a pair of half-rimmed glasses with oval-shaped lenses, and her skin was pale. The look she had in her eyes was demonic and piercing. She eyed the ash blonde-haired deadly as if she was preparing herself to kill her. Ren noticed that too and felt shivers running down his spine from the girl's gaze alone only. That was when a car drove nearer to the spot revealing its driver as the jersey-wearing teacher from Shujin making the brown-haired walk away.

"Good morning. You want me to give you a ride to school? You're gonna be late." The teacher said.

"Um, sure. Thank you." The girl with pigtails rode the car.

"Do you need a lift too?" The teacher asked Ren.

"Nah!" Ren kindly declined the offer with a smile and a small wave.

"You sure? Well then..." The teacher paused his sentence.

The girl with pigtails put the seatbelt on and had a sad face for a reason before the window closed as if she was silently asking for someone's help--anyone's. The car drove away, leaving Ren all behind and that was when a blonde vulgar boy ran toward the spot before stopping once he saw that the car already drove into the distance.

"Dammit... screw that pervy teacher." A vulgar boy growled.

He had short spiky blond hair and dark brown eyes. He wore his Shujin's uniform a bit modified. It consisted of the standard black blazer, unbuttoned to reveal a yellow t-shirt with a comic style star symbol, and the word "ZOMG!" He had plaid trousers rolled up to reveal his ankles. His pants had black suspenders that hung down instead of being worn on his shoulders. He had a white belt. His white sneakers had a rising sun flag motif.

"...Pervy teacher?" Ren repeated.

"...What do you want? You plannin' on rantin' me out to Kamoshida?" The vulgar boy asked suspiciously.

"Kamoshida? What do you mean?"

"Huh? In that car just now. It was Kamoshida. He does whatever the hell he wants. Who does he think he is--the king of a castle? Don't you agree?"

".........?"

"What's with you? You ain't being very talkative. You don't know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You're from Shujin, right?"

"You mean Shujin Academy?"

"What...? No other high school's got a uniform like this." The vulgar boy scratched his head before looking at Ren's uniform, "A second-year, huh... we're in the same grade then. Never seen you before though. What class are you in?"

"I don't know yet." Ren replied.

"You don't know? Oh! Are you the new transfer student?"

"Yeah."

"Then no wonder you don't know him." The vulgar boy cooed, leaning close to Ren's face, "So you're the guy, eh?"

"Um, 'the guy'?"

"This rain ain't too bad. We better hurry up, or we'll be late." The vulgar boy took a few steps forward.

Then all of a sudden, their surroundings flashed and were colored with a deep shade of purple for a quick moment.

"Ngh...?!" Both of the boys held their heads.

"Uuugh, my head hurts... dammit... I wanna go home..." The vulgar boy whined.

Both the boys walked into a narrow alleyway after the blonde-haired decided to continue his way and show the new kid a shortcut. The raven-haired stepped into a puddle of water, the liquid splashed in a slow-motion as it returned back to its previous state, making Ren look behind him as he got the feeling that something wasn't right.

"Wha--?!" The vulgar boy's voice caught Ren's attention.

The dark-haired quickly sprinted toward where the scream came from, wondering what could've possibly happened... did something occur to the vulgar boy? When he ran out of the alley, he saw the other boy looking at something with wide eyes, dropped jaw, and trembling voice. When Ren looked in the direction the vulgar boy was looking at, he understood the reason behind his reaction... for what stood before them wasn't Shujin Academy anymore, but a castle instead.

"What...?"

*******

Word count: 8738 words

A/N: I'm going to end the first chapter here!

Welp, I've already watched full playthroughs of Royal in both Japanese and English since it came out a week earlier in Australia, lucky bastards. XD

So no spoilers for me~

I hope you'll be excited about future updates and how this story will turn out.

Either a great success or a great fail...

Published on: Wed/Apr 1/2020