(A/N: Hello, guys. And sorry if the updates became less and less, it's all due to college and the approaching mid-terms. Soooo, mom cut my online time even more than usual... hopefully you'd understand. Onto the chapter now!)

Music: Persona 5 OST 08 - The Poem of Everyone's Soul

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PLAY THE VIDEO NOW!!!

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

Nothing could ever be seen around. It was only pitch black with nothing but blackness. Silence enveloped the area around except for the faint sound of water dripping in the distance and the clunking sound of metal. It was so quiet, and what a peaceful quietness it was. So perfect, so tempting to remain like that, and so desirable--a world of nothingness where nobody can be a source of bother in any form.

But...

"Wake up, Inmate!"

"........!"

A loud gasp escaped from her mouth as her dark brown eyes fluttered open. Heavy pants came out from her lips due to the aftermath of waking up like that as she adjusted her seat, held her aching head, and shook it ever so slightly. Emiko darted her eyes around her to see herself locked in a small room and sitting on a wooden plank as a bed and noticed that she wore a striped black and white suit and no longer had her glasses on her face. Both of her arms and legs were cuffed in chains making her limbs feel numb. She tried breaking free from them much to her shock, but to no avail.

"Wh-What is this...? A prison cell?"

There, at the door of the cell, stood two young girls with platinum blonde hair and yellow eyes. The first one had a long braid, while the other had two hair buns who both wore black eye patches, a blue prison guard outfit, brassards on their left arm, and matching black ties.

"So you finally woke up, Inmate?"

"Inmate...?"

"You're in the presence of our master. Heed his words."

"Master?"

"Titania, welcome to the Velvet Room."

That voice came from a bizarre old man with a long nose pointed ears and bulging, bloodshot eyes who wore a black suit with white gloves sitting at a table in the center of the room. His eyes were fixed on Emiko which caused her to feel a little uncomfortable and alerted.

"Welcome, Titania. I am quite pleased to finally make your acquaintance."

"Titania? What is this? What's going on here? What is this place? And more importantly, who are you?"

"Ah, pardon me for not making any introductions yet. I am fully aware of your confusion, so I shall explain everything to you. I am Igor, the master of this place. And those are Caroline and Justine; they serve as wardens."

"This is a place between dream and reality, mind and matter, and only those who signed a contract may enter this room." Caroline explained.

"You have signed your contract with us when you have awakened your powers; the Persona."

"My Persona...?"

"It is the strength of your heart and the will to rebel against society. The world is not how it should be. It's filled with distortion, and 'ruin' can no longer be avoided." Igor added.

"Those who oppose fate and desire change from time to time, they were called Tricksters." Caroline began.

"You are a Trickster yourself, Titania..." Justine finished her sister's sentence.

"Now is the time to rise against the abyss of distortion in this world!" The twins spoke together.

"Me? Heh, what kind of a sick joke is that? I am no Trickster or whatever you just called me, and I don't even understand how and why I awakened that power." Emiko chuckled angrily.

"You sure do talk big, Inmate, but someone really needs to shut that mouth of yours. How about you just shut up and listen to what we have to say to you?"

"You--"

"Caroline, please. My deepest apologies regarding her behavior. Caroline tends to be aggressive to new guests here."

"Tends to?"

The sarcasm.

"Watch it, Inmate. You don't want to mess with me."

"Try me."

"Titania, it is not appropriate to act in such a manner. Our master is offering you great power."

"What do you mean?"

"You hold the power of the Wild Card; the ability to wield more than one Persona. That power holds infinite possibilities. We will assist you in nurturing that potential."

"Huh...? But why me?"

"It is your destiny, Titania. You cannot run away from it; it chose you to oppose ruin and fight alongside the Trickster."

"There's another Trickster beside me? Who are they?"

"That's an answer you have to discover yourself." Caroline scoffed.

"Ah, allow me to add that you cannot fully wield the power of the Wild Card just yet. You must be rehabilitated first, rehabilitated to your future. Your situation is little... unique from the Trickster."

"Different?"

"It seems as though there is a picaresque journey waiting ahead of you. I am aroused to see how you will conquer the difficulties along the way."

"Your time's up, return to your world at once!"

"Wai--"

Along with Caroline's scream, the sound of a bell rang which made Emiko's body unexpectedly heavy. Her eyelids were no longer able to keep themselves open as her numb body fell on the floor after dizziness got the upper hand of herself seeing the image of Igor and the twin wardens fading before her eyes and turning to pitch-black, diving to the depths of darkness.

"We shall meet again in the near future... Titania."

*******

-------Next Day Shujin Academy: Lunch Time------

Ren would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous, tensed, or on edge. Yesterday, they successfully managed to steal Kamoshida's Treasure and his Shadow's final words seemed to be truly sincere, and yet the consequences were still unknown. Will he undergo a mental shutdown and die? Ren had no idea, and he certainly hoped that wouldn't be the case. But something still lingered on his mind... Emiko Hayashi. The power she showed after her awakening was extraordinary and wasn't like anything he had seen so far. The way she handled the gun wasn't normal for their age, and her amazing hand-to-hand combat skills weren't normal either. There was a secret behind that for sure.

But much to Ren's surprise, Emiko was absent that day since her seat behind him was empty, and so he concluded that she must've been still tired due to the aftermath of her awakening. Between Ren's thoughts and worries, the bell rang announcing the beginning of lunchtime at last. Ren quickly packed his stuff and headed towards the door to buy something from the school canteen, only to see Ryuji standing outside in the corridor with a worried expression on his face.

"Hey."

"What's wrong?"

"Have you seen Kamoshida?"

"Surprisingly, no."

"You really think he changed?"

"I hope so."

"Well, yeah..."

"Oh, perfect timing!" Ms. Kawakami approached the two, "Study hall will be held instead of PE today. I'm letting you know just in case you haven't heard. Mr. Kamoshida has taken the day off."

"He ain't here...?"

"Why? Something's wrong?" Ren asked.

"Don't tell anyone that you heard this from me... but we received word that Mr. Kamoshida is placing himself under suspension. It's such an important time before the tournament too... principal Kobayakawa went to talk to him about it, but he supposedly wasn't making any sense..."

"Wait, a suspension?!" Ryuji shouted the last word.

"Not so loud! The talks about your expulsions may be put on hold too... I don't know too much about it though.... anyway, I've relayed what's going on to you."

After that sentence, the brown-haired teacher left the two teenagers in surprise, shock, and disbelief. They weren't expecting that Kamoshida would be absent today and during that time they needed to know the most about what would happen with him. With that, their concerns increased even more, but their expulsions might be put on hold, so that will be a good thing at least.

"Looks like something happened..." Ryuji trailed.

"At least it sounds different from a mental shutdown."

"I guess all we can do is wait..."

Yes, wait... for the worst, or best? No one of them knew.

*******

------The Next Day: Shujin's Gymnasium------

Surprisingly the next day, the principal called the students to the gymnasium for an urgent morning assembly much to the annoyance of many students. The gym was crowded to its fullest bombarded with endless murmurs and chatters from the students. And there, between the crowd, stood Ann looking around her in worry and anticipation. She had rather mixed feelings about the reason regarding this assembly, and thus tension started building up inside her. While Ann's eyes were darting here and there, they laid upon Emiko who was also standing among the crowd with a blank expression on her face. She also noticed that students were stealing uncomfortable and disapproved glances at her before whispering among themselves again.

"What's with the sudden morning assembly...?"

"I bet it's about the girl that jumped the other day."

"They don't have to tell us not to commit suicide."

"There was that weird calling card too, so I guess the teachers are freaking out?"

".........." Ann stayed quiet.

"But man, I'm so scared of being in the same room with Hayashi-San."

"I know, right? She killed her own father so who knows what she might do?"

"I heard that she carries a gun with her everywhere. Maybe she's waiting for the right opportunity to shoot on us."

".........." The brown-haired tried her best to ignore such meaningless chatter.

"Let's begin this school-wide morning assembly." Principal Kobayakawa spoke on the microphone, "As you all know, a tragic event took place the other day. Thankfully, we have been informed that she has pulled through, but it will take time until she recovers. Everyone here has a bright future ahead. I implore that you rethink the importance of life and--"

Suddenly the door was bust open fully which caused Principal Kobayakawa to pause his typical clichéd speech. The students also jumped in surprise upon seeing the scene of Kamoshida slowly making his way inside the gym with an unreadable look on his face.

"...Ah!" Ann flinched.

"Mr. Kamoshida, what's the--"

"I... have been reborn. That is why I will confess everything to you all..." He walked to the stage.

"...Huh?" Ann widened her eyes in shock.

"I have repeatedly done things that were.... unbecoming of a teacher. Verbally abusing students... physically abusing my team, and... sexually harassing female students. I am the reason why Shiho Suzui tried to kill herself!" Finally, he collapsed on his knees and started crying and wheezing by the time students were shocked upon what they just heard, "I thought of this school as my castle... there were even students that I sentenced to expulsion, simply because I didn't like them... I will, of course, rescind those... I am truly sorry for putting innocent youths through such horrible acts... I am an arrogant, shallow... and shameful person. No, I'm worse than that! I will take responsibility and kill myself for it...!"

The students were even more shocked and started murmuring among each other even more and more than before. Shock rose on Emiko's face as a cold sweat rolled on her face. She had her own suspicions regarding Kamoshida and the volleyball team but was never able to prove any of them to be true, and hearing him confessing them by his own mouth was just... unexpected. The scene of the Palace and his Shadow appeared again in her mind as she thought more about it; the school as a castle, the beaten-up players... it was all finally starting to fall in place to her.

"Mr. Kamoshida! Please get off the stage for now!"

"Everyone return to your classes!" A teacher in a suit announced.

"I--" Kamoshida was about to speak.

"Don't run, you bastard! Shiho's still alive even after all the things you made her want to die! You have no right to run from this!"

"Ann..." Ryuji mumbled sadly who was also standing between the crowd.

"You're right... you're absolutely right... I should be punished under the law and atone for my crimes... I did horrible things to Takamaki-San, as well. In return for giving Suzui-San a position on the team... I tried to force her into having relations."

"Asshole--" Ryuji clenched his fists.

"I'm... also the one who started the rumors regarding Hayashi-San and spread them on the internet. I had... forced Shinohara-San to tell me about it since... she witnessed what happened that night..."

"........!"

Emiko's eyes widened fully upon hearing the last confession while covering her mouth with her hand. She believed that it was Ann who started them under his pressure but knowing that it was her neighbor Mayu was something she never expected. Emiko felt as if she was running short of breath and her mind grew blurry while murmurs regarding her increased even more after the light was shone on this new fact.

"As of today, I will resign from my position as an instructor and turn myself in. Someone, please call the police!"

"YOU SON OF A...!" Ryuji barked angrily, wanting to attack Kamoshida when Ren was holding him to stop.

"Calm down."

"Wow..." Even Morgana couldn't hide his shock.

"This morning's assembly is over! Return to your classes immediately!" The teacher in suit ordered.

"Isn't this just like what that calling card said...?"

"Does this mean the Phantom Thieves thing was for real?!"

"Was something done to Kamoshida?"

"C'mon, there's no way you could steal someone's heart!"

"But why else would he start saying things like he'll kill himself or turn himself in?"

"Maybe because it almost got him leaked? Don't they go easier on you if you turn yourself in?"

"I wonder what happened..."

"Who knows? But man, Kamoshida turned out to be one sick bastard."

"Return to your classrooms at once!" The teacher in the suit shouted again.

"The Phantom Thieves..." Konno mumbled to himself.

The assembly was over after that note especially since two teachers escorted Kamoshida out of the gym. Students were shocked and disbelieved now that Kamoshida's true colors were fully exposed--the teacher who they once adored so much turned out to be a sick bastard, molester, and abuser. They were returning to classrooms, but their chatter never ended along the way. After all, they have just found the new hot topic of the school. Hence, even the Phantom Thieves were shocked at this surprising turn of events. They never would've imagined it would turn out the way it did, but they were happy and glad nonetheless since Kamoshida was safe and sound from any mental shutdown, so that was a huge relief to them.

"His heart did change..." Ann trailed.

"Seems like it. But, was that really for the best? Yeah... it's gotta be for the best... but things're happenin' way too fast... especially now after knowing the truth behind Mikki's rumors..."

With that sentence, Mishima walked towards the group along with two female students, one of them was notably tall, and the other was dark-haired. The three of them had rather sad and remorseful expressions on their faces.

"Huh...? What the...?" Ryuji widened his eyes.

"Takamaki-San... I'm sorry!" Mishima bowed.

"Huh...?"

"We all knew... but we pretended we didn't."

"Takamaki-San, I had you all wrong... I'm sorry that I spread rumors about you!" A tall girl apologized.

"I didn't know at all... Kamoshida was forcefully pushing himself on you... it must've been so hard for you!" A black-haired student said.

"I'm sure there's a ton of people who want to apologize to you. We're so sorry...!"

"No, It's okay. The same goes for me too... besides, that's all in the past now."

"Hey, you there! Return to your classes at once!" The teacher in suit warned them.

"W-Well, see you later then..." The tall student said and left along with the black-haired and the teacher.

"I can't apologize enough for what I did to you. I swear that I'll make it up to you someday." Mishima bowed to Ren before leaving himself.

"Looks like Kamoshida wasn't the only one who had a change of heart." Ren spoke.

"Man, I'm glad for you, Ann. Looks like those weird rumors are gonna go away."

"My thing doesn't matter. We made Kamoshida apologize about Shiho... that's more than enough to me. And at least we now know the truth about Hayashi's rumors."

"You should hurry and tell her about it then."

"...Yeah." Ann nodded slowly.

Emiko wasn't standing so far away from the group and listened to the whole conversation. She knew about the rumors regarding Ann and thought that she spread the word about her killing her father to shift away from the spotlight from her, but now after knowing the truth... she didn't even know what to think anymore.

"Hayashi?" Mayu approached Emiko slowly looking visibly shaken up.

"Ah, Shinohara?"

"I-I'm sorry...! I didn't want any of this to happen, b-but... Mr. Kamoshida threatened to r-rape me if I didn't tell him what I saw that night... I'm really sorry!"

Mayu couldn't speak anymore as heavy tears began rolling down her rosy cheeks and loud sobs came out as well. Emiko was visibly taken back by Mayu's apology as confusion and hesitation aroused on her face. Her shaky hand tried reaching for Mayu while taking it back a few times but finally decided to embrace her neighbor and pull her close into a calming and soothing hug.

"I-It's fine, Shinohara... I'm not mad at you at all. I... kinda understand your situation, so please stop crying."

On the other hand, Ryuji and Ann were long gone out of the gym heading out and left Ren with Morgana behind them to witness what it seemed like to be Emiko's first sincere and genuine emotion she had shown to anyone. Ren thought of her as an emotionless and heartless human being, but seeing her in such a state made him second-guess everything he had ever thought about her.

She may have looked cruel and cold on the outside but on the inside, she was fragile and had a kind heart of her own. Her words managed to calm Mayu down who thanked Emiko with a big tearful smile on her face before walking away. Taking a deep breath, Ren made her way towards the brown-haired girl who was still trying to collect herself after everything that happened. He stopped his track exactly on her left and both of them were facing the opposite direction.

"Meet us at the rooftop after school."

After that whisper, Ren quickly walked away from her without even giving her the chance to reply or say anything in return. He left the gym as Emiko stood in her place with a skeptical look on her face and couldn't help but to wonder about the reason for Ren summoning her so secretly like that.

"Amamiya, you..."

*******

------After School: Shujin's Rooftop------

"I totally freaked out... he really did have a change of heart. And we were lucky his mind didn't get messed up either! This was an A+ job!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"Does this mean that they won't have a mental shutdown even if their Palace disappears...? I see... so we need to persuade the Shadow without killing it, and then send it back to its real self. Our targets won't undergo a cognitive collapse if we do that." Morgana explained.

"So, we can get 'em to confess with no bad stuff? Hey! That works to me!"

"Do you have to be so loud?" Ann came along.

"Don't worry about it. So... how'd it go? With Suzui, I mean..."

"She's regained consciousness...!"

"For real?!"

"Those are fantastic news!" Ren grinned.

"It was only for a little bit, but I got to talk to her!" Ann collapsed on her knees, "I was able to tell her that Kamoshida admitted to what he did! Shiho, she... she told me she was sorry... looks like she found out that I was flirting with Kamoshida for her sake..." She stood up again, "And here I was, wanting to apologize to her."

"Kamoshida's at fault for all this." Morgana said firmly.

"I know... Shiho's mom is thinking of transferring her to another school after she recovers. The whole sexual harassment and attempted suicide... people will label her after that. Sounded like Shiho had the same idea too."

"It's gonna get lonely..."

"But, I think it's for the best... I'm sure it'll be hard if she stays here."

"She's alive. You can see her anytime." Ren remarked to Ann as she nodded.

"That aside, I was surprised you could hold yourself back against Kamoshida's Shadow." Ryuji told Ann.

"It wasn't like that... I just wanted Kamoshida to apologize himself."

"You're so kind, Lady Ann."

"No matter how much of shit bag he was, finishing him off woulda left a bad aftertaste, huh?"

"Huh? That's not it. I think revenge is better served if I make him repent. Realizing what he's done, he'll grovel for forgiveness for the rest of his life, you know? I just believe there are fates worse than death."

"But you know, there was one more thing I was wonderin' about that castle. Why was Kamoshida the only one who had that Metaverse thing?"

"It isn't necessarily limited to him. It's something anyone could have if their heart became warped from their desires." Morgana replied.

"Anyone..." Ann repeated.

"Wanna check it out?" Morgana asked.

"N-Not right now. We better lay low for a while. People are still gonna be talkin' about Kamoshida. Then again, it's totally impossible for someone to find out what we did at his Palace."

"Yeah, about that... weird rumors about you guys are already going around." Ann spoke.

"Rumors...?" Ren questioned.

"Stuff like, you got together and threatened Kamoshida with something close to physical violence..."

"The hell?!"

"People aren't going to easily believe that phantom thieves really exist. The calling card's being treated like it was a prank by someone who knew what Kamoshida was doing."

"Makes sense..." Ren trailed.

"We're the ones who did it, and I still don't completely believe it myself." Ryuji spoke.

"Let's wait for things to settle down for the time being." Ann suggested.

"Anyways, let's check how much this medal can be sold for. It'd be better if we pawned it off ASAP." Ryuji pulled his phone out, "Got a hit!"

"What does it say?" Ren asked.

"...Wait, thirty thousand yen?! That's all a gold medal's worth?!" Ryuji gasped.

"Remember that time in middle school? I lent you some money." Ann sang.

"There's no way I borrowed thirty thousand yen from you!"

"Wouldn't it be around that much with compounded interest?"

"Interest my ass!"

"I'm not saying that I'm taking all of it. I mean, it's your fault for not paying me back all these years! It's just common sense!"

"Dammit..."

"I agree on laying low and keeping an eye on the situation. However, you dragged me into this. It would be nonsense not to celebrate a successful mission." Morgana pointed out.

"I suppose we can blow this dirty money on something fun." Ryuji grinned excitedly.

"Discussions among phantom thieves are to take place over luxurious food. How about it?" Morgana suggested.

"Hey, wait--" Ann cut her sentence, "...Nah, I guess it's fine. There's somewhere I want to go then."

"Where's that?" Ryuji asked.

"It's a place Shiho and I have been wanting to go for a while."

"I owe money, so I can't complain... you good with that, Ren?"

"Fine by me."

"It's decided then!"

"I'll leave it to your discretion as well, Lady Ann."

"I'll call and check the prices later then."

"When should we go? Wanna do it soon, like tomorrow?"

"Why don't we go on the last day of the holidays? It'll help energize us when school life starts up again the day after."

"Then... the 5th, on Children's Day."

"So, who's going to sell this?" Ann pointed at the medal.

"Leave that to us. We know a store that'll buy anything. Don't we, Ren?"

"Okay, I'll leave that to you guys."

"Leave what to who?"

That sudden feminine voice caused all the group to look in horror at the roof's door which was already open with Emiko making her way in.

"Dude, how the hell we didn't hear her come in...?"

"It's because we were so busy talking, Ryuji."

"Wh-What is she doin' here...?!" Ryuji raised his voice.

"I asked her to come." Ren blunted.

"Why?"

"I think Hayashi-San deserves to know what's happening here."

"Good call, Amamiya. Now, can anyone explain what the hell is going on?"

"Emiko, was it? We know that you have a lot of questions, and we're willing to answer all of them." Morgana spoke.

"Your name was Morgana, right? I still can't believe that I'm talking with a cat..."

"I am NOT a cat!"

"Uh, you clearly are one."

"I said I'm NOT--"

"Sooo, what do you want to know, Hayashi?" Ann sang.

"First off, what was that world?"

"The Metaverse. And the castle you saw was Kamoshida's Palace; a manifestation of 'distortion,' strong negative and corrupt thoughts that warp the perceptions of people into a hazard for themselves and others. It's like how Kamoshida viewed the school, and that view took a touchable form in that world." Morgana explained.

"And that monster?"

"That was Kamoshida's Shadow; the true self that is suppressed--a side of one's personality they don't want to see hidden deep in the depths of their souls. Shadows are malevolent manifestations of one's inner thoughts and are born from humans, and carry with them human emotions, which are mostly negative."

"The Persona, what is it?"

"It's your will of rebellion, your alter ego that masks your heart. It's a manifestation of your inner thoughts, but tamed and trained, unlike Shadows."

"I remember you all mentioned something about a 'Treasure' after we escaped the castle, right?"

"Yes, it's the core of the person's distortion. It appears as a formless cloud of rainbow energy, as the Palace's host is not focused on how they could lose it. However, if the host feels 'threatened' of having a secret exposed, their Treasure takes on a physical form, usually something related to the source of their ego. Which is why we sent the calling card, to make the Treasure turn into a touchable form. And by stealing the Treasure..."

"...The source of the host's distorted desire vanishes which causes the destruction of the Palace, and them... confessing their crimes."

"Precisely."

"Holy shit, she understood it all?!" Ryuji widened his eyes.

"Oh please, any idiot would've caught that, except for you."

"HEY--"

"I like her already. I don't understand why you hate her so much, Ren." Morgana giggled.

"Huh?! No, wait. I don't--"

"Let him think whatever he wants of me because I honestly don't care."

"........." Ren couldn't say a word.

"We answered all of your questions, Emiko, and now it's your turn to answer ours. That'd be just fair, right?" Morgana asked.

"I guess."

"The question that I want to ask you the most is: How did you learn how to use a gun so skillfully? And your combat skills, where did you learn how to fight like that?"

"...Can you ask me anything else but that?"

"I can see that you're uncomfortable with talking about that, so I guess that's a sensitive subject to you. All right, the next question is..."

"How did you enter the Metaverse?" Ren interfered.

"Yeah, she wasn't around when we activated the nav. I made sure no one was within the radius." Ann added.

"Remember the day you posted the calling card? Back then, I got a notification on my phone and when I checked it out, I saw this weird app that looks like an eyeball."

"The Metaverse Navigator."

"Right, it was a navigator app, Amamiya. When I opened it, it asked me to enter a name, location, and distortion. There was also a history log that said 'Kamoshida,' 'Shujin Academy,' and 'Castle.' And when I entered those words, I found myself in front of that castle and guards spotted me dragging me inside."

"The app just appeared on your phone out of nowhere?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Weird... it appeared on my phone after I awakened my Persona. Same goes with Ryuji too."

"Well, that sure does explain how you ended up there." Morgana remarked.

"Is this everything you wanted to know?"

"For the time being, yes."

"Wait, how about we invite Hayashi to our celebration party?" Ann suggested.

"What?!" Ren and Ryuji shouted at the same time.

"Party?"

"Yeah, Amamiya-Kun's going to sell the medal we got and celebrate our victory. You should come too."

"B-But, Ann. This was supposed to be OUR party."

"Hayashi has helped us a lot in defeating Kamoshida whether you like it or not, so she deserves to celebrate with us."

"I agree with Lady Ann. Our situation was hopeless had she not helped us. She was a key factor in our victory."

"So, what do you think, Hayashi?"

"It's not like I have anything better to do, so I guess I'll go..."

"Excellent! We'll go on Children's Day. I'll tell you more once we agree on the details."

"Suit yourself."

"Welp, let's go home now. See ya guys later."

Ryuji waved before walking out from the roof along with Ann who was chatting on the way out. Before leaving, Emiko stopped her tracks and gave Ren a quick blank stare before leaving the area on her own. The dark-haired adjusted the position of his bag after Morgana jumped into it to make his way home.

*******

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

Feeling satisfied with today's outcome, Ren returned home in such a good mood. It was a glorious and joyful day indeed seeing how their efforts paid and Kamoshida has been taken to custody after confessing all of his sins and nor undergoing a mental shutdown. Ren was more than glad knowing that the nightmare was finally over and the volleyball team would finally be free from his tyranny, and the bonus was that Shiho Suzui awoke from her coma at last which lifted a heavy burden from his shoulder. And the better thing was that a party was waiting for them...!

Then again, Emiko Hayashi would be in it. Thanks a lot, Ann and Morgana.

As soon as Ren walked inside the shop, Sojiro asked him to wash the dishes for him before closing up. Unable to refuse, Ren found himself forced to help him out of gratitude for having him in; he owned it for him, after all, and even agreed to help out. He walked to the kitchen in the back and started washing the pile of dirty plates with Morgana standing close watching his movements and while working, his phone buzzed from IMs from his new friends which caused him to dry his hands so he can respond quickly.

Ann: Is that gold medal real? When did it get inside his Palace...?

"No, that one is a fake. It's just a by-product of his cognition. The real medal should still be in his possession." Morgana explained.

Ren: I think this one's a fake.

Ryuji: What...? You're tellin' me Kamoshida's still got the medal?

Ann: Who cares? What matters is that we changed his heart.

Ann: And anyway, if we had taken the real thing, that'd be stealing!

Ann: I don't think he'll be proud of that medal anymore regardless.

Ren: You have a point...

Ryuji: You let go of stuff pretty easy, huh? Wanna forget about my debt?

Ann: That's different. Five hundred yen is a lot of money for a middle schooler, you know.

Ann: Do you even still have that dolphin anyway?

Ren: Dolphin...? What are you talking about?

Ryuji: Stop diggin' that up!

Ann: Back in middle school, we went on a field trip to the aquarium.

Ann: But Ryuji had to spend all his money on a souvenir, so I lent him some for the train fare.

Ryuji: I said I was sorry... that was for my mom.

Ann: Well, I guess I can call it even after all we've been through.

Ryuji: ...Thank you.

Ren: You're so kind, Takamaki-San.

Ryuji: Anyways, we don't gotta worry about selling that medal off if it's a fake!

Ryuji: End of story!

"Kamoshida will never be proud of that once-in-a-lifetime gold medal ever again. Depending on how you look at it, that punishment might be even worse than death for him." Morgana pointed out.

"You're right. But I'm still a little worried.."

"Heh, sorry I kinda pressured you into doing this." Sojiro chuckled.

"And now to our next topic... fall from Grace: The story of a dishonored Olympic medalist. Just recently, a high school coach admitted to his school that he had been perpetually abusing students. Given his prior Olympic achievements, this has caused quite a stir. What caused this habitual offender to suddenly confess these heinous crimes to his entire school? The police are hoping that the upcoming interrogations will bring light to this question." The newsman said.

"Wait, that's...!" Ren widened his eyes while mumbling quietly.

"Hmm? Isn't this...?" Sojiro looked at the TV with a shocked look on his face.

"My friends would come back from practice with bruises all the time... it was scary, but I'm relieved that the abuse is finally going to end now."

"He would touch me and stuff all the time... I'm glad that I don't have to deal with that sexual harassment anymore..."

"There were always rumors, sure. Not many people believed them though. Like... I'm totally shocked they were actually true. At least now I can go to school without worrying."

"I knew it. This is your school, isn't it?"

"Seems like it."

"...Things might be getting turbulent at school, but you need to just keep your head down, all right? ...More importantly, keep those hands moving. I've got some more stuff I need you to do."

"Y-Yes, understood!" Ren replied nervously while continuing his work.

After he finished washing all the dishes, he exchanged good nights with Sojiro who locked the shop behind him and left home. Ren rushed up to the attic along with Morgana wanting nothing but to sleep deeply and peacefully at that one particular moment. He threw his body on his bed desiring nothing but to shut his eyelids and drift himself to the realm of dreamland.

"I'm beat..."

"The chief really worked us hard..."

And just when he wanted to sleep so badly, those two just had to message him again.

Ryuji: Did you see?! It was on the news!

Ryuji: No way the school's gonna be able to play dumb after that.

Ren: I hope so.

Ann: I saw it too.

Ann: Shiho's name didn't come up, right?

Ren: No, they didn't. I guess the school wanted to keep this a private issue.

Ryuji: Not that I saw. I'd bet they wanted to keep that part quiet.

Ann: I'm so glad...

Ryuji: It's finally over then...

Ryuji: All we gotta do now is eat some tasty shit and put all this crap behind us.

Ryuji: I'm totally looking forward to this celebration party.

Ann: I'll try not to let you guys down!

"All right, we need to sell the gold medal tomorrow. Even if the chief wants your help, make sure to turn him down, okay?"

"Believe me, I'd be more than glad to."

Shortly after that, Ren changed into his pajamas, turned off the lights, and laid on his bed with great satisfaction about today's outcome and what's going to happen soon. It didn't take much until his eyelids were fully shut as he drifted into the realm of dreams, peace, and quietness. His chest moved upward and downward in sync with his calm breathing, and yet he was also smiling calmly in his sleep. Soon enough after both Morgana and Ren were asleep, trails of sparkling light appeared in the air as a shiny blue butterfly showed up roaming around Ren's face, and its calm and soothing voice pleaded desperately.

"Trickster, please if you can hear my voice, I'm begging you."

"Emiko Hayashi, she needs help. Her heart has sunk in the depths of the abyss of darkness."

"When she awakened her powers, she also awakened something very dark and dangerous inside her that's waiting to come out."

"You're the only one who can save her from herself."

"Please, save her...!"

*******

Word count: 6162 words

A/N: Wooohooo, I finally finished this chapter!

Oh, Mikki's actually a softie on the inside? Interesting~ *Imitates Jay's voice*

Hopefully, you guys enjoyed reading this chapter, and please wait for the next one soon!

Published on: Mon/Dec 21/2020