#and Fushimi's getting more and more possessive too

[banzaitaka]

Autumn Troupe‘s Kisses

Banri Settsu, Juza Hyodo, Taichi Nanao, Omi Fushimi, Sakyo Furuichi x gn! reader

Continuing this series because they all deserve love

Spring Troupe‘s Kisses

Summer Troupe‘s Kisses

Banri Settsu…

…kisses mainly to tease and to claim. You‘re reactions to his sudden kisses are just too good to miss out on. Wether it‘s a simple gasp, a squeak, or one of your cute flushed faces; he loves them all. Don‘t pretend to be upset, he‘ll use it against you one way or another. That smug bastard. In addition, he‘s somewhat of a wholesome possessive. He doesn‘t actually get jealous and tries to keep you all to himself in a toxic way. He does, again, as a teasing way. Give him a little smack and watch his playful side crumble with his laugh, leaving a genuine smile on his lips, as he gazes at you as if you were the only light he‘s ever seen.

.

Juza Hyodo…

…kisses with much hesitancy. If it was anyone else in his position, he‘d probably say something like „How much can ya do wrong in a kiss anyways?“, but it is him in his position…Suddenly he wonders if he could hurt you if he puts too much pressure on your lips. As if that would ever be physically possible with how he melts into a puddle during a kiss. He turns completely into mush, mumbling out a little „thanks“ for no other reason than not knowing what else to say.

.

Taichi Nanao…

…kisses with accidental force. Excitement and endless nervousness come together to overload the poor boy. He‘s trying his best to stay leveled, but more often than not you two end up bumping into each other. It‘s not painful or uncomfortable, just enough to notice.

.

Omi Fushimi…

…kisses you casually, and with a warmth and softness that makes you fall for him once again. This gentle giant is just filled with unconditional love and admiration for you, and it shows in absolutely everything he does for you, kisses are no exception. As much as he‘d love to capture every kiss you share in a photograph, he much rather captures them in his mind and heart instead.

.

Sakyo Furuichi…

…kisses you in moments of passion and emotion. As a yakuza, he has to follow certain protocol to keep up appearances, safe to say it has molded into his personality over those many years. Thus, physical touch was not something he was that well acquainted with. Every time your lips meet his, it‘s like everything inside of him explodes in a gigantic firework. It leaves him speechless for just a moment, before he manages to regain his posture. With every kiss, he hopes he can make you feel just as incredibly loved as you him.

#x reader #x gn reader #a3 #a3 x reader #a3 x gn reader #sakyo furuichi #sakyo furuichi x reader #sakyo furuichi x gn reader #omi fushimi #omi fushimi x reader #omi fushimi x gn reader #taichi nnao #taichi nanao x reader #taichi nanao x gn reader #juza hyodo #juza hyodo x reader #juza hyodo x gn reader #banri settsu #banri settsu x reader #banri settsu x gn reader

[ridiasfangirlings]

Sarumi “dead person possessed by a demon or god”

Possibly not what was intended but I’m kinda imagining an AU where little Saruhiko dies young and gets resurrected as a demon, and then that demon falls in love with Yata. Like imagine AU where maybe one of Niki’s pranks goes too far, like say he finds this book of demon summoning and thinks hey wouldn’t it be fun to scare my little monkey with this. What actually ends up happening though is Niki really does summon a demon and Fushimi decides to make a deal with it, giving his life and his body to the demon just so he can get revenge on Niki — Fushimi’s not terribly attached to his own life after all, and there’s no one he would miss if he was gone, so why not at least insure that Niki dies too.

The whole thing is written off as a terrible unforeseen accident and covered up by Kisa, who just thinks her husband got killed doing something stupid and has no idea that her son is now a demon. The demon is maybe somewhat influenced by Fushimi’s personality and also currently too weak to do much but play at being human, biding his time for his powers to come back and then planning to suck the life out of a few humans and basically run wild in the human world. Kisa continues to totally ignore her kid and so demon!Fushimi thinks this is just as well, like so humans really are the true demons huh.

Then in middle school he meets Yata and this is the first time the demon’s met any humans that actually don’t suck. He finds himself pulled into Yata’s orbit and begins to think of himself less as a demon and more as being really ‘Fushimi Saruhiko,’ an amazing person who Yata thinks is the greatest. Meanwhile Fushimi’s powers have started coming back but now suddenly he isn’t that thrilled about it, because what if Yata learns what he actually is and starts to hate him. Imagine in this AU when the surprise party happens Yata turns out to be the one in trouble and Fushimi has to secretly use his demon powers to save Yata, like sucking some of the life from the guys in masks so that they faint — but then Mikoto shows up at the same time and Yata thinks Mikoto saved him, and now Fushimi’s all bitter that this human showed up and stole Misaki’s gaze.

After this things get complicated, imagine Fushimi has trouble accepting Homra’s powers because he’s a demon and he has to hide it and fake that he really received power. Mikoto’s aware that something is weird with the kid but doesn’t know what, and Fushimi’s certain that Yata’s going to find out and hate him. When Fushimi betrays Yata then imagine him revealing his true form with like demon wings appearing on his back (and somehow Munakata has already figured this out, and is more than happy to make a deal with the demon that he wants to join his clan). Yata is stunned and speechless, which Fushimi takes as a rejection. He decides to embrace his demon side after this but somehow he still can’t access his full powers, Fushimi tells himself that it’s just a matter of time while Munakata idly suggests that perhaps the issue is Fushimi has developed a human heart. Fushimi states that isn’t the case, demons don’t have hearts and can’t love, and his continued attachment to Yata has nothing to do with his inability to become a true demon.

#sarumi #Talking K #this as maybe not precisely what you were thinking sorry #but it just came into my head #imagine Saru slowly losing his demon powers #bc he keeps becoming more and more human due to his love for Misaki #no matter how much he keeps denying it #in the end when Yata comes to save him from Sukuna #maybe Sukuna almost gets in a fatal hit on Yata and Fushimi uses the last of his demon powers to save him #and then suddenly gets clansman powers bc the demon part isn't in the way anymore

[trashexplorer]

BLCD Review: STAR★NYAKS

Title: Takane no Hana wa, Chirasaretai (高嶺の花は、散らされたい)

Author/Artist: Sakyo Aya

Release Date: 2021/02/26

Cast: 

Tadokoro Hinata x Terashima Takuma

Ishiya Haruki

Tada Keita

Watai Kanato

Fushimi Haruka

Watanuki Kaho

Shimano Hana

Nanase Ayaka

Miyake Marie

Nagatsuma Juri

Synopsis: Yukishita Hana, the kind Alpha working at Starnyaks Coffee. Renjaku, the arrogant Alpha who is a regular at said cafe, whose flower studio is located nearby.

At least that’s what the clients perceive, but Yukishita is actually an Omega with a crush on Renjaku. He couldn’t hide his gender anymore when his first heat came unexpectedly…at age 26!

Review Proper

IT’S 2003, FOLKS!!!

Can I just stress that “nyak” means something similar to “ew” in the Filipino language? It’s just so funny to me. They omitted the k in the BLCD, but I will never let it go. It’s STAR★NYAKS to me until the day I die, Sakyo Aya. Also, idk if my memory serves me right, but this, surprisingly, is the healthiest Sakyo Aya pair to date? They’re not exactly that dumb for each other, and I loved how Hana was only in it for the underwear the first few chaps, while Renjaku-san wasn’t overly possessive, unlike most of the Kuroneko Kareshi tops. Hana also wasn’t an annoying tsundere! Hallelujah! Nakamura Shungiku character development when? Renjaku-san turning domestic was such a shocker to me too! The very first time I’ve ever wanted a Sakyo Aya top since Ei. 

Anyway, enough about the plot. This review’s highlight is, of course, the VAs ‘cause this was undoubtedly ROBBED in last year’s awards.

I will never get tired of saying this, but

MY RINTAROU-KUN IS BACCCCKKKKK!!!

I wasn’t too keen at first, as his voice was a little too high for Hana, but he quickly grew on me. You really gotta give it to Shinshokan when it comes to casting. 👏👏👏 Hearing Takuma in a Sakyo Aya was just such a blast to the past, man. I couldn’t ask for more. If y’all wanna hear what old school pron sounds like in a modern setting, look no further. I’m sorry, SatoTaku and Sonna ni Iu, but this is Takuma’s best performance of 2021, and it’s with none other than rookie TADOKORO HINATA!

YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND! IT’S BEEN NINE YEARS SINCE WE’VE EVER HAD SOMEONE OF THIS RANGE DEBUT AS A BL SEIYUU!!! The last was Hamano Daiki in 2014, and he’s not even that active outside Yarichin nowadays. 😩 And, I know that I have a bad habit of looking for a rookie’s soundalike senpai, BUT TADOKORO DOESN’T HAVE ANY!!! HE A RARE BREED! A GIFT FROM THE GODS!!! He’s like a deeper TsudaKen with a clear diction like OnoYuu with a side of Suwabe suave~ YA KNOW WHAT I MEAN??? But that’s just diction and range! HE REALLY DOESN’T SOUND LIKE ANYONE I’VE EVER HEARD BEFORE!!! AAAAAAAAAAAA

JUST LISTEN TO THE TRAILER:

I’m just so proud. I’ve been supporting him since his first official supporting role in Memento Scarlet and have always expressed my wish to see him in a lead role in every review since and here we are now. 

And how was his performance in his debut role, you might ask? Fucking perfect ✨ It can’t get any better than that. He really saw that wig and snatched it! Listen, Takuma’s a Gen 2 veteran who has his own rhythm that can swallow you whole if you’re not too careful. Nakajiki fell victim to that back in Hidoku Shinaide, and he was a top there, so it was going to be harder on Tadokoro here ‘cause bottoming was Takuma’s forte! He not only stood his ground, but he owned that Takuma ass so well. 😭 Granted, Tadokoro has some experience in the anime industry, but he’s honestly done better than the recent Takeuchi Ryouta, Matsuda Kenichirou, and Hamada Kenji comebacks when they’re supposed to be more experienced. UGH. SO MUCH POTENTIAL WITH THIS ONE. I DON’T GET WHY HE DIDN’T GET AN AWARD!!! HE WAS ROBBED ISTG!!! He doesn’t have anything lined up for 2022 yet, but I’m gonna eye his profile like a hawk and have a fund ready just for him. He’d do great in a Haji! If they only adapted their works

We have stellar plot execution, AMAZING VOICE WORK AND CHEMISTRY, and overall faithful following of the manga. I read PCB’s scans before this was licensed by SuBLime, and I’m not sure if they used the magazine or tanko raws, but there was a bit of a jumble with the sequencing of the events in the BLCD. I’m leaning towards the former, though, so I highly suggest getting a copy of the SuBLime version if you plan to have a read-along. If you’re a fan of this series, I implore you to listen to this. It’s one of the best adaptations of 2021. Don’t listen to chil-chil. AND TO EVERY TADOKORO, VETERAN, AND WHALE TRASH OUT THERE, GET THIS. GET THIS!!! 

#blcd reviews #blcd 2021 reviews #takane no hana wa chirasaretai #shinshokan #tadokoro hinata #terashima takuma #ishiya haruki #tada keita #watai kanato

[inkreservoir]

The Devil’s Food

Chapter 2 | I Scream, You Scream

Fandom: Ensemble Stars!

Characters: Wataru Hibiki, Eichi Tenshouin, Keito Hasumi, Tori Himemiya (briefly), Yuzuru Fushimi

Relationships: Eichi Tenshouin/Wataru Hibiki

Links: AO3 | First Chapter

Summary: After a particularly difficult performance, fine celebrates with sundaes. Keito finds out and has an unexpected problem with it.

Status: Complete

Wataru is stretching his quads by the mirror when an angry student council vice president storms into fine's dance rehearsal, flanked by the little princess who looks at once smug and distraught, and the butler, of course, following not far behind.

"Hibiki!" Keito bursts with a force that could perhaps shatter the glass of the academy's gym if he really put some effort into it.

"Ah, the right hand man!" Wataru greets him. straightening up from his lunge.

"Oh, you're here for Wataru?" Eichi asks, sounding relieved (a little traitorous of him!). "I thought I was about to be lectured."

If he were here for you, Eichi, our princess wouldn't be looking so pleased with himself, Wataru thinks, but he doesn't say it, because that would shatter Eichi's illusion that his intuition is magical.

"Oh, you're next, don't you worry," Keito sneers at him and Eichi pouts, folding his arms.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Wataru asks sweetly, which is befitting for what he's pretty sure he's in trouble for this time, unless one of the many, many booby trap pranks he has set up in the student council room went off. According to Eichi, mere possession of ice cream is expressly contraband, and consumption is practically a federal offence. But Wataru knew Eichi wouldn't be the one to take the fall, despite the right hand's empty promises, and he can hold his own just fine against such a non-threat.

"It's apparent you've made a full commitment to living up to your title of Masked Pervert," Keito begins his scolding, pushing his glasses up and marching over to Wataru to stand within what he assumes Keito would consider to be an intimidating distance, but not so close that he has to be over-aware the two of them are breathing the same air.

"I admit I favour the Masked Freak translation, myself," Wataru counters, and motions a hand to set up his levitation trick. This is going to be a long conversation, and there's nowhere else to sit but the floor.

"Stop doing that!" Keito demands. "Your exhibitionism is incorrigible!"

"Ah, but isn't it so impressive how he casually breaks the fourth wall?" Eichi defends him, earning a glare of his own.

"No it is not!" Keito insists. It's apparent he's made a full commitment to never having fun or letting anyone else have fun ever.

"Do tell me more about my exhibitionism," Wataru tries not to roll his eyes, returning to the subject. It's fun to be lectured by Keito for things he actually does to Keito. Less so to be lectured for ruining Eichi's life and health and et cetera because he suggested getting ice cream and Eichi agreed.

Keito stares at him and for a moment seems at a loss. Anger and disgust twist his lips and wrinkle his nose, and Wataru can see the gears turning in his head as he tries to find words for the repulsive and audacious acts he's about to punish Wataru for, which is... slightly confusing, actually? Is Eichi lactose intolerant or something?

No, that's impossible. He drinks milk tea just fine.

Finally, Keito parts his lips.

"You ordered him an aphrodisiac sundae."

"What?" Eichi bursts into giggles, and Wataru says, "I beg your pardon?" before he can think of a witty reply.

"You heard me the first time," Keito folds his arms, pushing his glasses up carefully with one hand, but Wataru wishes Keito would for once care to answer someone else's wish because the words that just came out of his mouth are too ridiculous to comprehend.

Not wanting to appear too confused to the audience, he clears his throat. "I must confess I haven't the faintest idea what you're talking about." Well. At least it sounds rehearsed.

"Chocolate," Keito hisses. "A full-fat chocolate sundae with brownies and hot fudge, you debaucherous loon."

He can't possibly be serious.

But Wataru has never known the right hand to have a sense of humour.

He wants to shoot Eichi a panicked glance but he might as well just throw himself in the trash if he's going to be that much of a traitor to his act.

The right hand has left him with no choice but to... find some way to play along.

But his brain is like an old TV with scrambled signal.

"What a sad life you must lead then," Wataru offers weakly before his mind finally latches on to Willy Wonka, and he pushes that energy forth with as much force as he can muster. "A world in which chocolate is reserved only for those who are depraved enough to taste it! I take it the good right hand has never indulged in the pleasure?"

"That's completely different," Keito fumes as if expecting Wataru to understand.

"If I recall correctly," Wataru goes on. "Does our very own Yumenosaki Academy not honour the day of our old Saint Valentine with festivities involving idols handing chocolate directly to our fans~? Ah, it's a seminary of temptresses! You could call it an orgy, even!"

"Enough, Hibiki!" Keito shouts, and Wataru sneaks a casual glance at Tori, who, to his relief, looks just as lost as Wataru feels. "That isn't the same at all and you know why."

"I fear the Right Hand overestimates my talents," Wataru casts his gaze to the wood floor sadly. "Unfortunately, incredible though I am, I am simply a magician, not a psychic. So please, do enlighten us." He gestures dramatically to the little princess, taking advantage of his bewilderment. "It appears the audience is struggling to follow this contrived plot."

Keito's face changes for a moment as he registers that Tori is still here, and he gives Yuzuru a pointed look. "Out, both of you."

Tori complains but looks relieved to scurry out of the room with his butler, and Wataru wishes a little that he could go with them. He's a touch too out of his depth to find this funny, although he's still possessed of enough faculties to know it's objectively hilarious.

"It's different," Keito seethes slowly once the other two have left the room, his teeth clenched and dutiful in their role of guarding his tongue. "Because Eichi's a slut."

"Keito?" Eichi shrieks, and grasps outward for anything nearby to hold onto before realizing there's nothing and falling into a cross-legged position on the floor, his entire body shaking with silent, incredulous laughter.

"Am I wrong, Eichi?" Keito challenges, but Eichi seems unable to breathe, and Wataru runs to his side.

"Look what you've done," Wataru reprimands Keito, feeling conflicted between guilt and smug gratification at for once being the one who gets to fret over how the other hand is affecting Eichi's health. "Are you all right, Eichi? Of course such preposterous assertions could result in episodes of laughter so all-consuming that even my lungs may not be able to handle it, and they are powerful, strong things!"

Eichi waves his hand desperately in Wataru's face before grabbing onto his arms and burying his nose in Wataru's shoulder, releasing a stream of hysterical sobs.

Keito is unmoved, planted firmly where he stands with his arms tightly crossed.

"See?" he points at their embrace accusingly.

"Ah - yes -" Eichi sputters. "H - how slutty of me -"

There seems to be more to Eichi's thought than that but he can't get it out between his gasps for air. Wataru actually is a little worried, grateful for the inhaler he keeps up his sleeve during their dance practices, but not quite concerned enough to bring it out yet.

"I assure you, Right Hand, I had no such deviant intentions," Wataru says, but the fact Keito would even accuse him of this makes firm that he'll never believe him. "I merely wanted to share a common celebratory delicacy with the precious members of my unit."

"Then why did you insist on ordering for him?" Keito retorts.

"That was for the humble reason that that sundae is my favourite item on the menu, and I thought Eichi would enjoy it," Wataru explains, absolutely certain now that, regardless of what anyone else says about him, he is the most patient person in the universe. The thought of trying to explain this situation to Rei nearly makes him shudder.

Eichi hiccups, his laughter subsiding, and at this point he's just hugging Wataru for the sake of making Keito feel justified, perhaps.

Wataru sighs.

"Can you get your hands off him?" Keito growls, and Wataru reluctantly levitates himself out of Eichi's arms.

"You're so mean, Keito," Eichi whines, and Keito presses his lips together.

"The two of you are absolutely exhausting," he declares.

"I think we have more of a right to be exhausted right now than you do, Keito," Eichi protests. "Everything you just said was so insane I felt like my heart was about to stop."

"I wish it did," he snaps.

"I must say," Wataru offers. "I'm impressed that someone who appears on the surface to be so straight-laced and predictable can be so full of surprises. You are truly a wonder to behold, Right Hand! In spite of my unflattering nickname that you so shrewdly brought up at the start of this conversation, even I could not have predicted that such a ludicrous and fantastic accusation would ever be made of me! Amazing!"

Eichi sighs, lying back on the floor and massaging his chest. "I think I prefer your surprises, Wataru."

"Don't say that," Wataru warns him. "I fear the imaginative and jealous sister-in-law will read all manner of innuendo into it..."

"Everything the both of you do or say is innuendo," Keito grumbles. "You can't convince me I'm crazy, everybody knows this."

"Touché," Wataru grants him. "But aphrodisiac sundaes are a bridge too far, even for the two of us, I'm afraid."

"Not Eichi," Keito snorts. "You're not off the hook, Hibiki. You know how he talks about food."

"To be fair, he probably assumes I'm being metaphorical," Eichi says, and Wataru is suddenly struck by the reminder that this room has two crazy people in it, not one, and that neither of them are him.

He licks his lip.

"Have you ever perhaps considered that your view of others' intentions is, ah, coloured by the people with whom you keep company?" Wataru suggests to Keito as politely as he can.

"That's a question to ask Eichi," Keito rolls his eyes, and Wataru is overcome by the urge to hit him with something. Something large and hard, preferably. (Is that what she said? Ugh, Keito's going to have his brain doing this all day...)

Some fights, you just can't win.

"Perhaps we should call the princess and his butler back in for our dance rehearsal now, Eichi?" Wataru suggests, and Eichi raises a hand toward the ceiling for a moment before letting it drop to his side.

"Ahh, I'm in no condition for a dance rehearsal now," he laments. "This is all your fault, Keito, you ruined our practice with your conspiracies... I can still oversee the rehearsal for the three of you, though, of course."

Eichi doesn't need to oversee their rehearsal, Wataru is definitely sufficient, but he knows Eichi just doesn't want to be left out and nods. "I shall go retrieve them, then!"

Keito opens his mouth, but Wataru disappears in a puff of smoke before he can throw him any further off his rhythm.

What did I get myself into? he wonders, not for the first time, but never for the reasons the Oddballs would expect.

#ensemble stars #enstars #wataru hibiki #eichi tenshouin #keito hasumi #eiwata #wataei #fanfiction #ao3 #enstars fanfic #enstars fan fiction #my writing #ramblings

[nkakeru]

☆。*。☆。 Dating Fushimi Saruhiko would include:

sfw | 613 words

anime: k project

➤ be prepared; this guy is a tease

➤ loves to make fun of you, but he’s careful to not go to far or to mess with something you are sensitive about;

➤ but if he does, and you get upset - you better not be waiting for a straight up apology;

➤ Fushimi will apology by buying you coffee/ tea or even your lunch;

➤ he is not a loving guy and doesn’t do PDA - but he will put an arm over your shoulder or a hand in your waist if he is feeling possessive. 

➤ when he kisses you, it’s rough and he normally lefts your lips bruised;

➤ even if he’s possessive and might get jealous easily, most of the tinr he can hide it very well;

➤ he can’t cuddle for long, he starts to sweat and feel uncomfortable, what he hates;

➤ Fushimi shows love through actions rather than words; he’ll do grocery shopping and buy some extra stuff he knows you like, he’ll stay working late with you (if you are also in Scepter4), and he’s always watching and protecting you;

➤ everybody in Scepter4 (and maybe even in Homra, depending on how long you are dating) knows not to mess with you;

➤ he prefers staying at home, so most of your dates are like this. he might agree to going out if it’s not too hot or too cold.

➤ saruhiko doesn’t talk to much, but he’s a good listener - what doesn’t make him good in giving advice;

➤ in the start, he doesn’t open too much and barely talks about himself; but as time passes by, he will open himself and get more attached to you;

➤ even with this, it’s still hard for him to talk about his feeling (talking about it makes him feel weak) and problems (and doesn’t want you to worry about him, he can handle himself);

➤ basically, you will have to learn to read him and understand that sometimes he needs space and sometimes he needs you to lay down with him on the couch and let him rest his head on your chest. 

➤ the first time you heard him saying “i love you”, you were laying next to him in his bed and he fought you’re sleepy;

➤ he prefers to be called by his name (saruhiko) than pet names, mainly if you are in public;

➤ don’t do that “baby voice” with him, it really bothers him and he will be grossed if you do it;

➤ he calls you stupid, but nobody is allowed to do that.

➤ fushimi can’t cook to save his life, but if you are tired from work he will ask food for both of you so you won’t have the extra work of cook - but don’t saying nothing, because if you as much as imply that what he did is sweet, he won’t do it again for a month and will a pain in the asking you to cook for him during this time;

➤ he acts as if he hates how munakata is always asking him and you if he’s treating you right, but at same time he kinda likes the reminder of not letting you relationship get as messed up as his mom’s and dad’s was - but he will die before saying this out loud. 

➤ if you get sick, he will get you medicine and food, but will keep his distance saying that he doesn’t want you to contaminate him - even if he still sleeps right by your side, just as close as to make sure you still there, by his side, that you did not leave him.

#kproject #k project #fushimi saruhiko #fushimi #fushimisaruhiko #i love this boy since i was 10 #headcanon #k project headcanon #fushimi x reader #fushimi saruhiko x reader #fushimi saruhiko headcanon #anime x reader #imagine #scenario #anime scenario #fushimi saruhiko imagine #fushimi saruhiko scenario #k project x reader #k project imagine #k project scenario #dating fushimi saruhiko #sfw

[hunterartemisanime]

KnB Commentary: Midorima Shintarou--The Paradox of a Character: An Astro-psychological Analysis

Midorima is perhaps the most compatible character to be discussed with astrology, but I will bring some psychological angles to his analysis as well. Being the favorite character of Fujimaki sensei “to draw” he must have gone through some trials and errors when he was made. But on the surface, he seems like a stereotypical cool megane guy who thinks everyone is beneath him. So why is Midorima the way he is? let’s dive in with Oha-Asa style

Let’s talk his name first. Midorima’s surname is written with two kanjis: “Midori” (緑) and “Ma” (間). The first one obviously hints at his hair colour and overall color scheme: green, a colour associated with intelligence, fertility, wealth and youth. The latter character means “space” which hints at his playing style: the high arching 3 pointers. So overall, his name indicates an overachiever, perfectionist to the teeth and serious person. If his name was to indicate “Green Space”, then should he not be a visionary and imaginative person, close to Akashi or Kuroko--but he is much controlled than others. Is it a conscious character design choice, a psychological aftermath or something supernatural involved in it?

Both Midorima’s name and playing style are very Jovian in the Astrological sense. Jupiter in Eastern Astrology is the Advisor of the Gods and he signifies Space and expansion of everything good on the physical plane. Thus, he is often called “giver of great wealth, family, children and intelligence”. Jovian people are also big-hearted, generous, affectionate people. Coincidentally, Midorima is a Cancer, a house where Jupiter is exalted. However, Midorima is not a Cancer Jupiter, but Cancer Sun and his sun is placed in Pusya constellation (the Constellation of Nourishment) a constellation ruled by Saturn: the exact opposite of Jupiter in nature. While Jupiter expands everything from wealth to imagination, Saturn limits. Saturn signifies death, discipline, hard work, limitations and coldness. The juxtaposition of expansive style of play with a very controlled character kind of symbolises the conditions of Jupiter’s exaltation in Cancer. Jupiter is not only exalted in Cancer, it is exalted only when it is placed in Pusya, the constellation of Saturn. Space itself has no shape, it is unfathomable and infinite and to make it usable in the terrestrial level, limitation is required. Midorima’s counteracting character and playing style describe exactly that: in fact his controlled demeanor is the reason behind his excellence.

There is a surface dispassion and control on Midorima’s character. He tries to control everything around him: his chances through lucky items, disruptive behaviours of others and other normal things which are really common for teenagers. It’s typical Saturnian quality to restrict and control but why in such an extensive way? I think, deep down Midorima is easily afraid and fear is something he struggles with all the time. Saturn is also the lord of fear, which further feeds into the restriction side of the character. In a type A character like Midorima, who wants everything to be perfect all the time, the fear actually stems from his lack of confidence for not being good enough. He may appear that he is cool and confident, but he is not: he does have an abhorrence towards confrontations and taking things head on and face to face, which also translates well to his playing side: shooting from far. He is always afraid of something being wrong, which also makes him cling to the “lucky items”.

The child-like hoarding habit of lucky item is an adorable quirk in Midorima’a character, whose interpretation can get considerably dark. This sort of “possessiveness” are the result of dysfunctional childhood. In K-project: Return of the The Kings, Saruhiko Fushimi is a character that had dysfunctional childhood which developed into a twisted possessiveness towards his ex-best friend Yata Misaki. Midorima is not nearly as dysfunctional as Fushimi, but things are somewhat apparent. Midorima appears to have a very sheltered childhood, too lavish and sheltered that overlooked his inner insecurities with his outward brilliance. He had doting, perhaps  overprotective parents who incubated their brainy child to a sanctuary of order and discipline, thus discouraging and curtailing the caprices of a natural child. This developed a chronic dependency on “lucky items” that are supposed to make the day better, like the toy teddy is supposed to protect from the monster under the bed. It is both comic and pathetic to see Midorima from such an angle: the parenting he has been under must have been overcontrolling disguised as affection. Inshort, Midorima is the less comical version of Handa Seishuu, the young calligrapher from the anime “Barakamon” [both voiced by Daisuke Ono]

This also hints that Midorima must also be most emotional of all his peers. Japan is very conformist nation and boys are raised in a very specific ways, showing emotions is considered feminine and therefor is frowned upon on men. Kise may appear emotional on the surface because firstly he is very expressive and extroverted, secondly he is heavily impacted by his elder sisters and has healthy feminine impression on his psyche. Midorima on the other hand is a first born boy in a upper-middle class Japanese family and his emotions were in check frequently so that he could be a stalwart guardian for his decade younger sister. While Kise is shown crying in public after losing match to Touou, Midorima cries in private for more than twice. He is either shameful of his outburst of emotions, or he wishes not to show his vulnerable side. The repression of his abundant emotions creates even tougher outer shell that portrays Midorima with a “Higher than thou” outlook. Aside from feminine, he also has very delicate tendancies like “to file” nails instead of “clipping it” which could have been faster and easier, taping nails with slow pace instead of slapping them hurriedly. Although Kise is the model and works in a domain of Art, it is Midorima’s sense of delicacy that comes out in subtle manner.

Tags

: @sidd-hit-my-butt-ham @yanderebakugo @kurokonbscenarios @kurokonobasket @kurokonoboisket @art-zites @idinaxye @sp-chernobyl @strawbe3ryshortcake @reservethemoon @rilnen @a-shy-potato @thirsthourdemon @animebxxch @edagawasatoru @akawaiishi-blog @reinyrei @chloe-noir @theswahn @ahobaka-trash @jeilliane @trashtoria  @scarlettedwardsposts @quirkydarling @ghostieswaifu @levihan-freaks @hope-im-spirited-away @yves0809 @marshiro1101 @bubziles @heartfullofknb @kit-kat57 @akichan-th

#kuroko no basket head #kuroko no basket headcanon #kuroko no basket gom #knb midorima #midorima shintaro #midorima shintarou analysis #knb commentary #oha asa #anime psychology

[queen-ofsunflowers]

Literal Theatre Kid Ren, Act 3: Autumn of Fate

Please note that, as always, times given in each game have been messed around with a little to make things work out. Especially concerning A3 and the dates for Autumn Troupe and their performances. Also like before, relationships between characters have been messed around for some plot elements to work.

Contains minor spoilers for Persona 5 Royal. I haven’t touched upon it for the most part because these summary posts are meant to cover major plot events. This also ended up being way longer than the other parts, so heads-up about that, too.

Chapter 1: My Portrait, I

This one starts out a little... differently compared to the other acts. It’s time for that time-flashback fuckery from the majority of P5, with a lot of the stuff crammed into this first chapter.

It starts out with Ren handcuffed to a chair in the middle of an interrogation room. It’s the usual song and dance from the beginning of the game, Ren getting the shit kicked out of him by the police despite ya know... still being a minor. He signs a confession to being the leader of the Phantom Thieves and a confession to all their crimes: obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons... and manslaughter.

Eventually, he’s moved to a more secure location. A prosecutor comes to interrogate him about his actions as a Phantom Thief... and this is Makoto’s older sister, Sae. She is understandably pissed off when she sees the state that he’s in, but she has a job to do. She’s the prosecutor in charge of handling the Phantom Thieves’ case after all. She’s going to talk to their leader, search for motives and ask questions about what really happened.

And so, the interrogation begins. Ren recalls the script he had written out for this with some help from a few friends of this -- Tsuzuru, Makoto and a third one that he doesn’t quite name yet. They prepared for everything that he might be asked, and Ren’s able to answer her questions that Sae’s asking him. He tells his story with a certain performance he recently did lingering in the back of his mind as he does so. Though Sae might not fully believe him about the Metaverse and what the Thieves have done there, she’s still willing to hear him out. All the while, Ren is careful to not mention any of the Phantom Thieves true names (if he absolutely has to, he’s been using codenames), to not mention a connection to the Mankai Company... to not give away the names and faces of his accomplices. To him, Sae must think that he’s acted alone.

He gets up to the end of summer and how the Phantom Thieves actually didn’t do anything to Medjed when Sae calls him out on the beginnings of a particular incident that caused him to be in the position he is in now. It was their next target where they made a grave mistake. Ren leans back and thinks about what happened at the end of summer to cause the dominos to fall where they did.

...and it all started with the auditions for Autumn Troupe, right at the end of summer break.

Chapter 2: Autumn Auditions

Time rewinds to the day in question. Ren and Ryuji had to go help Futaba out after she had gotten a bit overwhelmed while she was out. Normally, she would’ve called Kazunari, but she had done so well at the beach and with closing night that she didn’t want to disappoint him. That’s why she texted the group chat for help. Ren reassures her that needing help isn’t something to be ashamed of as the three of them head into the Mankai Theater to meet up with Izumi and the Summer Troupe.

Auditions for Autumn Troupe are today, and initially the troupe thinks that Ryuji’s there to audition after Ren mentions that he reached out to someone, but both boys are quick to blow that notion away. Ryuji wasn’t the one that Ren asked to come.

The first two people to show up are Omi Fushimi -- the photographer who helped out the Summer Troupe -- and a boy with bright red and black hair named Taichi Nanao. Omi is the one that Ren invited to audition after seeing his love of theatre a few months back. Taichi, on the other hand, makes a first impression by trying to flirt with Yuki and Futaba.

The next to show is a boy with slicked back hair named Juza Hyodo. This is one person that Muku apparently seems to recognize, but one word from Juza is enough to stamp that out. Still, it is a bit suspicious. Before anyone could ask what was up with that, there’s a small scuffle from outside.

It’s Ann trying to shove someone through a door. This is the final auditionee that she introduces as her cousin, Banri Settsu. Apparently, she got the idea to convince Banri to audition for Mankai.. okay, she doesn’t convince him, but she did drag his ass down there. This argument lasts the whole way to the theater. Seeing Juza and Ren there is the only thing that gets Banri to shut up and agree. He has beef with both of them, Juza more so than Ren. He still just hasn’t gotten a fight from Ren yet, remember?

Ren thinks this is a bad idea, especially with Juza and Banri nearly start fighting each other. Ann really doesn’t care. They need five troupe members, and he can’t do it because of his stage fright. She claims Banri can do it, but after seeing his attitude... yeah, that’s up in the air for now.

...it looks like Autumn Troupe is already starting to become a handful...

Chapter 3: The Last One

Everyone’s lead towards the stage to audition, with Banri and Juza still looking like they’re about to fight each other at any given moment. Izumi’s prepared to start, although she’s still waiting for the person she invited to show up.

And as if on cue, Sakyo shows up to audition, surprising the rest of the company and the Thieves present outside of Ren since Morgana had already let him know about this. He’s still confused about why Sakyo actually showed up -- even after Izumi explains that despite threatening to shut it down, he still cares about the place, but it’s five people. As long as they pass the audition, it’s all they need. 

And so, the auditions begin.

Chapter 4: Serious about Acting

Everything goes... fairly well, actually. It’s apparent that Omi and Juza are new to this, but Taichi seems comfortable on stage and Banri and Sakyo are really good at acting. The latter ends up surprising Ren (and gets an ‘I told you so’ from Ann) since Banri had no stage experience. Although even she has to agree with the others that his attitude could use an overhauling when he makes fun of Juza’s wooden acting.

Possibly because they need all the actors that they can get, all five of the auditionees pass. Though, Ren still thinks that Banri needs to get his head out of his ass. It’s like Tenma was during his audition, but worse since it has no grounds. He’s just trying to start shit for the sake of starting shit.

The troupes and the Thieves split off there, with the former heading back to the dorms. Ann reminds Ren to be careful. Banri still wants a fight. Ren can’t make any clear promises, but if worse comes to worse, he’ll convince Morgana to shred something.

Chapter 5: Room Splitting and More

As Ren expected, the members of the Autumn Troupe agree to move into the dorms tomorrow. And as such, he tells them about his probation to get it out of the way, giving them the abridged version of what he told Summer Troupe. This makes Taichi a bit nervous while surprising Omi and Juza since ya know... Ren really doesn’t look like that kind of person (he’s not, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time). The only ones who show no reaction are Banri and Sakyo.

With Banri, Ren understands. They go to the same school, and Ren’s record was leaked there back in Spring. He already knows. The question is why the hell Sakyo didn’t react. The only conclusions Ren can come to are that he’s just that good an actor that Ren can’t read him, or he already knew ahead of time. Maybe Izumi told him...?

Speaking of which, while Ren isn’t going to say it to his face, he has to agree when Morgana says that Sakyo is crazy for suggesting Banri and Juza room together. Unfortunately though, despite the protests, this is the combination that the go with. Ren thinks it’s crazy, and he’s just waiting for the moment that a fist fight breaks out. It’s not going to take long, but at this rate, Sakyo’s not going to be able to keep them in line forever.

...irony is that Banri and Juza are both older than him, too.

So pretty much at this point, the only ones from Autumn that Ren gets along with are Omi, Juza and Sakyo for the most part. He and Taichi are kind of on the rocks because Taichi takes rumors Banri’s brought up and the thing about Ren’s criminal record too seriously. And Ren thinks Banri’s just an ass. Likewise, Banri is still calling Ren “Brat” rather than his actual name because of a lot of the shit that Ren’s been commenting on. Boy does not hold back.

Chapter 6: Sparks Fly

The next day marks the end of summer vacation, and the students of the groups have to return to school. And Ren didn’t realize how much the whole thing with Medjed over the summer seemed to rock the boat. It seems like all that everyone at school is talking about are the Phantom Thieves. Their popularity has skyrocketed overnight (or over the past few weeks, everyone was mostly too focused on Summer Troupe’s show and helping out Futaba to notice). This is something that Ryuji gets really excited about, even going as far as revealing their identities at the meeting after school. This is immediately shut down.

Right now, with school starting up again and the Autumn Troupe show not until November, the Phantom Thieves are looking for two things: a new possible target (not a problem thanks to the rankings and a poll on the Phan Site) and the mystery culprit behind the mental shutdowns. They conclude that the best way to go about the latter is by getting data from the source... aka Sae Niijima. She’s the one investigating the cases, so she’s bound to have something on her computer. With a little program that Futaba has written, the task of getting said data is left with an apprehensive Makoto.

The Thieves who attend Hanasaki (basically everyone at this point excluding Futaba, Morgana and Yusuke) are also heading out on their class trip next week, so that needs to be done pretty soon. Ren’s still kind of surprised that the location is Hawaii of all places, but he’s really not going to complain about it. 

Please take note that Banri can’t go on the school trip due to rehearsals. Yes, he’s pissed off about it. Ren decides it would be best not to bring it up on Saturday when Autumn Troupe moves in. He urges Yusuke to keep his mouth shut about his own class trip to L.A. too, just in case as the pair of them help the new troupe members move into the dorms.

Everyone’s moved in by the time dinner rolls around... but not everyone shows up for dinner. So, Ren is sent to check on the missing two -- Juza and Banri -- with Omi and Taichi tagging along. As Ren expected would happen sooner or later, the two of them are fighting each other... and not just verbally this time, either. Fist involved and everything.

Ren... really doesn’t think before he acts in this case. While Omi manages to restrain Juza and pull him back. Ren’s body kind of moves on its own and Joker takes over. It’s like he’s ambushing a Shadow in the Metaverse when he manages to knock Banri to the floor and keep him there. It takes Ren a second to realize what he did, and with Taichi’s help, they eventually force Banri out of the room.

While Ren hopes that move he pulled off will keep Banri from trying to fight him for some time, it did come with a downside. Taichi is more nervous around him.

Later that night in a video chat with the other Thieves, Ren is reassured by Makoto and Ryuji that Taichi’s not gonna be scared of him forever. Ren’s only terrifying when fighting Shadows. Outside, he’s like a cat. Using Morgana as an example helps, especially since everyone in the troupe seems to love him.

On the plus side, Makoto also managed to snag the data from Sae’s laptop. Over the next week while they’re all on their class trips, Futaba will be going through it all to see what she can find out that will be helpful to them.

Chapter 7: My Portrait, II

Time returns to the interrogation room when Ren’s story is brought to a halt by Sae. Ren’s partially slipped up in terms of telling Sae how they swiped the information that they had. The woman is smarter than she looks, easily figuring out that it was Makoto who did the deed. When questioned further, Ren says nothing.

He’s thinking about his team, his friends, his...

He’ll do anything he has to protect everyone that he cares about -- whether they be from the Phantom Thieves or from the Mankai Company. They trust him, after all. He has to believe in that trust or the show will be ruined before the final act.

He dismisses the notion, remembering what one of his friends told him while they were writing out the script for this little performance. He turns the question back on Sae, wondering why -- if Makoto really was a part of this -- she didn’t notice it at all. They do live together, don’t they? They are sisters. Sae falls quiet. This wasn’t something that Ren wanted to do, but if it’ll help him protect them, then he’ll do it.

Seeing the point his story has come to, Sae asks him about what happened the week of his class trip. Ren begins to recall what lead up to the school trip, and what exactly she’s talking about... and how despite what the police all concluded... the Phantom Thieves had no hand in it at all. How they weren’t responsible for his school’s principal’s death.

Chapter 8: The Economist’s Dictatorship

As Ren and Yusuke are packing for their class trips later that week, they and the rest of the Mankai Company are called down to the common area for an all-troupe meeting. Everyone is confused as to what’s going on, including Izumi. She wasn’t the one who called the meeting.

It was Sakyo, who’s kind of taken the reins from Izumi in terms of being in-charge. The dorms rules are being revamped due to the debt that the company is in. Every little bit counts, and Sakyo has made that very clear with the new rules he’s laid down. They’re even being timed for baths...

...Ren won’t admit this out loud to Yusuke, but there’s the possibility that Sakyo could help him with his own budget... seriously, he spends all his money on art supplies. It’s kind of concerning at this point. ...that would be if the rules he’s put in place weren’t as unreasonable as they were. Cutting the breakers at lights out? That’s pushing it.

Even if he is a part of the troupe now, there’s no way Sakyo is going to forget about their debt. The previous shows had brought it down a little, but it’s still not enough.

A ten million yen debt, changing society one heart at a time and trying to find a mysterious culprit behind the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns. ...this isn’t something for teenagers to worry about, but here Ren and Yusuke are.

It is also during this conversation that it gets brought up what the Autumn Troupe thinks of the Phantom Thieves. Taichi thinks that they’re pretty dang cool. Juza only shrugs (Muku’s a fan of the Phantom Thieves, remember? He doesn’t wanna disagree), and Omi’s just one the fence because while they are helping people, he doesn’t like that no one knows how they’re doing it. Sakyo thinks they’re reckless morons. And finally, because of the stuff that happened at school (and with Kamoshida especially), Banri can’t say much about it. He’s neutral on that matter but refuses to admit that he is grateful for what they did to Kamoshida a few months back.

Say what you will about the Mankai boys in general, but we all know that they chug that Respect Women Juice. Banri included. He took no shit from Kamoshida, especially when it came to Ann and by extension, Shiho.

Chapter 9: Kame Buns

While Autumn Troupe starts their rehearsals, the group of Ren, Masumi, Ann and Ryuji head out on their class trip with Makoto and Sakuya there to supervise. Apparently some third years got roped into the trip this way because of all the drama going on around the school. The remaining members of Spring, Summer and Futaba are doing a pretty good job at keeping the rest updated on what’s going on back at home.

futaba primarily because she has bugged both kazunari’s and tsuzuru’s phones. only tsuzuru knows, but he’s not sure how to get rid of it.

So when they land and Ren gets the text that Banri was chosen for the leader of the Autumn Troupe, he is so glad that he’s currently in Hawaii. Dealing with that argument would’ve been a headache. Ann assures him that he is a decent guy under all the attitude. To her, maybe. Ren’s still only “Brat” in his mind. 

He’s just kind of shoved all of that in the back of his mind. This is a trip, they’re supposed to have fun as a lot of people remind him. So. they spend the day on the beach. And even though they’re supposed to not be working, Ren’s mind wanders to the Phan Site when Kazunari sends him some screenshots about the latest rankings. Masumi and Ryuji do not help this at all.

Chapter 10: A Disinterested Man

The next day, a couple of things happen. Ren gets a bit concerned with how focused Ryuji is on the Phantom Thieves’ popularity because apparently that’s followed them here.

The next is that Yusuke shows up. Apparently, there was a storm over Los Angeles that wasn’t clearing up, forcing his class to land there. Which means that just about everyone’s together for this part of the class trip. Sakuya even tries to pull in another third year to join their group when he sees that she’s by herself, but that fails. and yes we’re talking about haru

That night, Masumi and Ryuji -- who is spending the night in Masumi’s and Ren’s room that night after being locked out of his own -- keep talking about the rankings on the Phan Site. The current #1 is a CEO by the name of Okumura who exploits his employees by doing things like underpaying staff.

Ren listens, but he really wishes that they would stop. At least Ann -- who was also locked out of her room and is now bunking with the boys -- seems to be on his side. It’s a trip. It’s a break from everything. They should worry about work when they get back. Thank you, Ann.

The last major thing is that Masumi ends up getting sick after drinking the tap water by accident. Never change, Masumi. Never change.

Chapter 11: A Mismatched Buddy Pair

Third and final day of the trip. I am not sure who Ren is going to spend this day with. At all. In the game, it’s either the guys or one of the girls that he has a confidant with. But I’m still not sure about if I’m gonna do a ship with Ren at this point.

So for fun, I’m just gonna say that he does spend time with someone. Yusuke repeatedly calls it a date that multiple people grill and tease Ren about a little. Ren refuses to say anything about who it was. Because I can’t make up my mind.

And so, the class trip comes to an end and the gang returns back to Japan. And yes, they did bring back souvenirs for just about everyone. Ren has a whole bag of them from Ann that he deposits on Banri’s lap. The only person that Ren can’t find is Tsuzuru, who has begun holing himself up in his room to write the script. Ren’s a bit excited to get a look at it and see what he’s planning since he was out while the discussion for it was going on.

Unfortunately, all that excitement flies out the window the next day when the Thieves return to class and receive some dark news: their school’s principal was killed. The current investigation leads police to believe that it was a suicide, but the circumstances surrounding it have the Thieves on edge. The whole thing played out exactly like a mental shutdown. Needless to say, they call a meeting and meet up at the dorms. They had too, anyway. Futaba has the data from Sae’s computer to show them.

It seems like luck that no one suspects that the Phantom Thieves are behind it, so that’s good at least. But it does seem like a lot of people are rooting for the Phantom Thieves to do something similar, aiming to fix society’s problems when they’re just a bunch of teenagers doing what they can to help people. 

Trying to forget the weight of all that for just a moment, the meeting turns to the original topic at hand: the data concerning the mental shutdowns and psychotic breakdowns that Futaba mined from Sae’s computer. Most of the cases are believed to be tied back to the Okumura Foods Company, namely its CEO Kunikazu Okumura. This is the man who’s currently at the top of the poll on the Phan Site. While everyone was away, Futaba had put his name into the MetaNav and ended up getting a hit. He has a Palace. 

For Ryuji, that’s good enough, but the rest of the thieves aren’t so sure. Just because the public is calling for it, doesn’t mean that they should follow. Besides, the comments that most people are making online are a bit concerning to most of them. They’re hesitating and nervous about what to do now.

And causes something inside of Morgana that Ren hadn’t noticed was there to snap, a lot of resentment and anger that the cat hasn’t let out before exploding outwards. And the target of it all is Morgana’s usual target for insults -- Ryuji.

Despite everyone -- Ren especially -- trying to calm the pair down, the argument they end up having just gets worse and worse. Morgana hasn’t just been insulting Ryuji, it’s been returned in kind whether Ryuji realizes it or not. And a lot of it has been coming from making Morgana feel like he’s becoming useless every time a new member joins the team.

Basically it’s a lot of shit that has been building up for a while that no one noticed finally getting out in the open in the worst way possible because neither Morgana or Ryuji are listening. Morgana eventually just gets fed up with it and leaves, saying that he’ll take care of the Palace by himself. Despite everyone’s calls, Morgana’s gone.

When Ren wakes up and Morgana is still nowhere to be seen, the first thing that he does is check in with the others and their dorms. He even searches the empty ones to see if the cat has retreated inside of them. No luck. The Spring and Summer Troupes help search for Morgana that afternoon along with most of the Phantom Thieves, but no one can find him anywhere. Ren is absolutely distraught by the whole thing and has stopped speaking to Ryuji altogether because of how upset he is. Ryuji thinks Ren is blowing this out of the water and Morgana will be back in no time.

Ryuji brings this up while he’s out looking for Morgana with the Summer Troupe. It’s not that surprising, as few of them note. Morgana’s almost always by Ren’s side or in his arms when he’s not prowling around the dormitory. He brings him to school for god’s sake. The troupe wonders why Morgana ran off in the first place, since while Ren does let him wonder, he never has left the dorms. Ryuji tries to explain the best he can since Kazunari’s the only one who probably would be able to get the whole truth. Needless to say, it comes down to “you had an argument with a cat”.

Ryuji is also reminded of something he told Tenma just a few weeks ago: yelling isn’t going to do anything. Talking things out will, and Ryuji did the exact opposite of that because of the Phantom Thieves popularity getting to his head... Ryuji’s starting to regret a lot of what he said, and that turns to a lot of regret when no one can find Morgana anywhere.

And yes, he’s gonna face the consequences of his actions here. Morgana will too, but in due time.

Meanwhile, someone breaks into Okumura Foods main office building. It doesn’t take long for the Phantom Thieves to realize that this is Morgana. So, the next day, they go to investigate. Luckily, the building is also Okumura’s Palace and Futaba figured out the keywords while everyone was gone. The thieves dive into the Palace -- a space station this time -- and begin their search for their missing member.

Along the way, they see that maybe the rankings on the Phan Site weren’t unfounded. The Palace is filled with burnt-out robots that are meant to represent how Okumura sees his employees in reality. They are tired and broken but keep on working until they literally fall apart. It’s a shitty situation, but the Thieves have a different mission right now. They need to find Morgana before making any other moves.

It doesn’t take them very long to find Morgana... or rather, for Morgana to find them. The Thieves are barred from going on any further by a door that has a biometric lock to it. Only those registered in the system can get passed it. While they try to figure out what to do, a voice calls out to them. It’s a girl in a Phantom Thief costume like theirs and wearing a black mask.

At first, they suspect that she’s the one who’s been behind the mental shutdowns due to the fact that they only clue they have so far is that they’ve been wearing a black mask. But then Morgana shows up alongside her. Apparently, this is his new partner that he introduces as “Beauty Thief”. Much like the Phantom Thieves, she is a Persona User, too (though Futaba notes that her Persona isn’t very strong compared to theirs).

It’s quickly made apparent that this girl... really has no idea what she’s doing. She’s primarily repeating what Morgana has told her for the most part. The one thing that does surprise the Thieves, however, is that the girl is able to get through the biometric lock blocking their path. There’s no time to ask about that, as the team has to split up when it’s revealed that a horde of Shadows was waiting for them on the other side. Everyone returns home for the day with the promise to talk about what the heck just happened once everyone is at their homes again.

When Ren and Yusuke get back to the dorms, Ren explains their absence as them going out to look for Morgana again after school with the Thieves. It’s not a total lie, since that’s what they were actually doing. But no one needs to know exactly where he was looking.

Unfortunately, while everyone accepts that and understands that, there’s one person who’s confused about what the hell Ren keeps looking for Morgana so much.

“It’s just a cat,” says Banri without thinking about what he’s saying, “I don’t see what the problem--” Bam.

Ren’s finally snapped and has punched Banri in the face. Yeah, he’s not taking any of his shit today. Banri does get the fight he’s been wanting, but at what cost? ...to be honest, it’s mostly just Banri trying to get a hit in and Ren’s Joker instincts taking over. He’s mad enough that at this point, if he could, he would’ve summoned Arsene in the real world.

It takes Omi, Juza and Yusuke prying the two apart for Ren to calm down. He’s pushed out of the dorms by Taichi and Yusuke, who suggest taking another look around to see if Morgana’s wondered home. Ren knows that he hasn’t. He doesn’t know if he ever will. But this is mostly an effort to get Ren to cool off. He’s just so done.

Ironically, two good things come out of this fight. The first is that Banri finally got the fight that he wanted, and realizes “holy shit, what the fuck is this kid?” Banri also gets smacked upside the head and lectured about the whole thing. The company is pissed over Banri’s comment, not just Ren. Morgana’s been at the company since Spring Troupe, so a lot of the members have become used to the cat’s presence and have grown to care about him, too.

The second good thing is that Taichi starts to relax around Ren. As Izumi explains to Banri and how Yusuke & Ren explain to Taichi, Morgana was a stray that Ren had taken in and had been with him since his probation started. Ren loves Morgana, which is why he’s so upset that Morgana is gone and why he’s not talking to Ryuji -- who is responsible for it and is trying to make things better. It’s that story about Ren adopting Morgana that gets Taichi to let his guard down around Ren. Maybe the rumors were wrong after all.

Once everyone has calmed down, Taichi, Ren and Yusuke head back to the dorms. Before the latter two head upstairs to the attic to call and talk to the thieves about what happened in the Palace, though, there's the little matter of Banri's and Ren’s fight to deal with. They're not going to get out of it so easily and there's one other person who has had enough of their crap.

Needless to say, the handcuffs get pulled out slightly earlier than they do in canon, as Sakyo handcuffs Ren and Banri together as punishment for their actions. Banri and Juza are bad, but Banri's ability to get under Ren's skin like he has been is a major issue. Sakyo has the slightest bit of mercy to release them in the mornings for school, but that's it. The moment that both boys are back at the Mankai dorms, the handcuffs are going back on.

So the entire "meeting" has to take place over text because Banri can't know about the Phantom Thieves. Ann drives this point home, saying he would lose his shit if he knew she was involved. The whole situation with Kamoshida made him fairly protective.

Ren is dragged down to Room 104 (Banri’s and Juza’s room) since Banri refuses to sleep in the attic. Over text, there is one thing that they can agree on: most of them have seen Beauty Thief before. Specifically at Hanasaki. They’ll deal with it tomorrow because Ann stop laughing about the handcuffs, it’s not funny. I can’t pick the lock, IT’S NOT FUNNY--

Meanwhile, Hell begins. Ren and Banri are butting heads even more since Ren drags him out of bed that morning for rehearsals against his will. It is not fun, Izumi’s starting to think that this was a mistake because of how different the two are when it comes to acting. Banri lacks a passion for it -- initially auditioning to prove that he was better at something than Juza. Ren, on the other hand, is passionate despite having stage fright.

When Banri finds out about Ren’s stage fright during rehearsal that day, the idea of sticking them together only worsens. Banri doesn’t understand Ren’s fear of criticism and being torn down because of how easy things have been for him. Ren’s ready to call him out on this shit without hesitation. Like I said, he’s lost all fucks when it comes to Banri. They start fighting about it, getting under each other’s skin because Ren has been working on his stage fright with using the Metaverse as a stage and the others Thieves as his audience. But there’s nothing he can say about it. Their argument continues to get worse when Banri calls Ren a coward for getting upset about something that’s so easy to do. They are both freed and sent out the door to school before the fight could get worse.

During lunch that day, Ren, Ryuji, Ann and Makoto search through the student records to find the face that closely matches their Beauty Thief. With the unique hairstyle that she has, it doesn’t take long to find her: one third year named Haru Okumura, Kunikazu Okumura’s daughter.

Ren and Banri both accidentally run into her outside of the school after classes end (Ren was waiting for everyone else so they could walk home together and possibly confront Haru there as well). The two boys avoid talking to each other the whole time, still on thin ice after last night. Ren feels lucky that Banri quickly leaves, having enough of being around Ren at the dorms that he doesn't want to deal with him at school (which confuses Haru a little bit, he’s helped her with her gardening supplies before). Now alone, Ren takes the opportunity to ask Haru about what happened last night. And so, Haru explains.

The night that Morgana had left, Haru had found him out on the street. She followed him towards the office building and accidentally got pulled into the Metaverse with him. He gave her the chance to change her father’s heart and possibly make her relationship with him a little better. When Ren suggests that maybe they could do that together, Haru declines. The Phantom Thieves are too much in the public eye, and to her, they seemed to be focused more on that then helping their own teammate (Morgana).

Ren, though hurt to hear that, steps down. It doesn’t seem like Morgana is going to come home at this point. All he says before leaving is to take care of Morgana for him, and that to let him know that the rest of the troupe misses him, too. Not just the Thieves. Haru is a bit confused by this since right now, she doesn’t know that Ren’s a part of the Mankai Company. She knows about it because of the publicity surrounding Romeo and Julius and say what you will, but I can see Haru going to see plays and the like from time to time. Because Mankai is such a small company, she has to sneak out to see their performances because they’re frowned upon. But she really enjoys seeing them. She just doesn’t know that Ren is a part of it, unlike Makoto who figured it out herself from small context clues.

Anyway, back to the situation at hand. The Phantom Thieves are at a lost as to what to do now, and Ren is notably upset during Autumn Troupe’s rehearsals that afternoon. Banri thinks its girl troubles when it comes up since he saw Ren talking to Haru earlier, but Ren just says that it’s not something that he’d be able to understand, bringing it around back to Morgana. Banri goes quiet. He still doesn’t get why the hell Ren’s so upset about the cat when cats are meant to wander like that. There are a lot of them on the streets, anyway. Ren says nothing. Morgana’s more than just a cat. He's a friend. A friend that Ren is deeply worried about.

The next day is when things take a turn. The Thieves have noticed that someone’s completing Mementos requests on the Phan Site, and quickly deduce that it’s most likely Haru and Morgana. They want a chance to talk with Morgana to make things right (mostly Ryuji, who at this point realizes how much he’s fucked up), as well as to warn Haru to be careful when it comes to dealing with heart changes in Mementos. Taking them all on like this could draw unwanted attention, too.

This actually works when they find them, but Ryuji’s apology... not so much. It leads to a goose chase with the Thieves trying to track down and talk to Morgana, as well as Ren and Ryuji finally talking to each other again and Ryuji admitting that he really did fuck up and apologizing for letting things going to his head. By the time that happens, Haru and Morgana have already left Mementos.

The Phantom Thieves leave shortly after, trying to figure out what to do and if they can still catch up to Haru and Morgana in reality. ...they’re able to, but only when they’re drawn to a side street by the sound of Morgana’s whines. They race over to find Morgana laying against a wall and Haru being accosted by some rich-looking man that introduces himself as Haru’s fiancé when the thieves try to step in. Haru eventually manages to pull herself free and the man leaves. He wasn’t lying about their relationship, but Haru is also shaking and on the verge of tears. Morgana’s also injured, as the man had kicked him into the wall when he tried to defend Haru.

It’s decided that the best course of action is to take both back to the Mankai dorms to regroup, as well as take care of Morgana’s injuries. It’s the least likely place that they’re going to be found, anyway.

When they get there, the Hana High boys are surprised to see Haru, but the switch is swiftly flipped into panic mode when they realize how upset that Haru looks.

Ren goes to pull Izumi to the side to talk to her about something while Sakuya immediately tries to figure out what’s going on and make Haru feel better, but Sakyo gets to him first. Dragging Banri behind him, Sakyo locks the pair together again or at least tries to because right now, it’s a meeting with the Phantom Thieves that needs to happen and Ren’s not doing it over text again. It's Haru's turn to be surprised, but the handcuff thing is explained quickly to her as the more familiar troupe members (i.e. Sakuya and Masumi) and Izumi help her calm down. Morgana, who is hearing all this, now realizes how much Ren actually cares about him. He regrets running away now.

The whole time, Ren is dodging Sakyo like he’s a Shadow in the Metaverse. He has no found a way to pick the lock on the handcuffs, and he is not letting Banri in on the Phantom Thieves’ meeting, so “let me just go this once, come on!”

But the need to take care of Morgana’s injury and talk about what had happened is really, really great right now. And with Ren having not found a way to break the handcuffs or pick the lock (he has tried multiple times and failed to), there’s kind of little to no choice. Ren apologizes before sprinting up to the attic and locking the door behind him, promising that he’ll put them on in an hour if Sakyo just leaves him alone “please this is important, get away from the door!”

It takes a few minutes for Izumi to get Sakyo to leave Ren alone long enough that the Thieves and Haru can get up to the attic. It’s there that they can finally talk about what happened.

Morgana has realized that there’s no way getting around the fact that the deal he made with the Thieves is no longer fair. There’s no guarantee that he’ll get turned back into a human like he believes, so what’s the point? They should split up. It’s then that the Thieves remind him of something: that’s not all they’re fighting for. Everyone’s joined the team for different reasons. 

Thanks to Haru’s words about how she really feels towards her fiancé (she hates him with a burning passion to be precise) it comes out that Morgana wanted to be acknowledged by the others so that he could stay. He’s welcome no matter what, though. He’s a part of their little circle. And what happened that week only proved that. It’s here that Ryuji actually apologizes for what happened and vice versa. Morgana wants to stay with everyone if they’ll let him. And they will. Their deal is remade and the team is back together, and this time with one more added to their ranks.

The second that Ren’s back down is when Sakyo slaps the cuffs on him again, much to his dismay. Banri tries to get under Ren’s skin again to find out what the hell the whole escape/acrobatics act was all about, but Ren’s keeping tight lipped on this one, confusing Banri a little. The hell was so important that he needed to slip out like that?

...kid’s got balls, he’ll say that much, but this pretty much is perfect material in Banri’s eyes to keep calling him a brat. Even if he manages to talk Izumi into letting Haru spend the night because she doesn’t want to go home after what happened with her fiancé (he doesn’t say that specifically out of privacy, just that there was some stuff going on).

With Morgana back, he does sleep in the same bed as Ren again. Ren wakes up holding back snickers when he sees Banri sort of curled around Morgana in his sleep, despite his protests about the cat getting anywhere near him last night. He takes a picture of it before waking both up that morning.

The rest of the day goes on as normal, with Haru returning home and the Thieves trying to figure out through text conversation what their next move is: if they should definitely choose Okumura as their next target or not. However, as the day goes on, that choice is quickly made when Haru calls Ren asking if she could come back to the dorm. In the chat, he soon sees why. After last night, Haru’s father has decided to send her to live with her fiancé without regard for what she wants, as well as knowing full well what Haru would be subjected to if that happened. Concerned for Haru’s safety, Okumura becomes their next target. The only issue now is Haru’s Persona -- unlike the others, it is incredibly weak and doesn’t even have a physical form. But she can fight with the weapons that they use. Ren just has to go and get them... as soon as he’s not handcuffed to Banri anymore.

When Haru turns up at the dorms again, so do Ann and Futaba to try and help her get her mind off of what’s going on, and after last night, there’s very little room for the company to argue. But that doesn’t stop Ren from snickering when he overhears Citron, Itaru and Banri getting their asses handed to them by a few players in their game that go by the usernames “Carmen”, “Alibaba” and “Beauty Thief” (coincidentally, Ann and Futaba are snickering every time the boys meet with trouble and Haru’s finally smiling again).

When Taichi enters the room, Ren takes notice that he quickly tries to backtrack when he spots Haru. However, it’s a little too late and Haru has already noticed him. She looks a bit confused and asks Taichi if they've met before, but he stutters over his words and waves it off as a no. Ren is curious, but before he can ask about what that was about, Tsuzuru stumbles into the room with the finished script in hand... and collapses promptly on the floor, making the Phantom Thieves (excluding Yusuke, Ren and Futaba) and Autumn Troupe concerned. They’re relieved to find out he’s just exhausted from non-stop writing for the entire week, and it hits Ren that holy crap. This has all just been one week. But with the script done, they get into The Roman Episode.

Ren’s a little surprised to learn that the play -- an action pact story about two gangsters -- has Banri and Juza as the main leads when neither can get along like their characters do. When this point comes up, it leads to Juza and Banri arguing once more. And once again, Sakyo is left with no choice.

Next thing they know, Sakyo has handcuffed Banri and Juza together in order to make them work together. So now, the situation is like this: Ren is handcuffed to Banri’s left hand and Juza's stuck to him on his right. The situation has gotten worse.

...And Ann finally falls out of her seat in a fit of laughter. Ren wishes he could laugh as well, but seeing as he's stuck here, too... oh boy. This is gonna be harder than he thought.

If they're to tackle Okumura's Palace, Ren’s gonna need to either tell Banri and Juza about the Phantom Thieves or hope that the brief time he has away from them after school will be enough. Either way, he's in trouble.

Chapter 12: Jailhouse Rock

The day is hell. Ren had just gotten his life back together and now it is hell again thanks to two people who shall remain-- it’s Banri Settsu and Juza Hyodo. Ren is trying to plan a heist while getting pulled around by these two. He’s not sure who Banri is worse with -- him or Juza. Either way, this whole thing is a mess and Ren just wants to be done with it. But no matter how hard he (or Morgana) try, they can’t pick the lock. The lock is supposed to be easy to unlock, why isn’t this working?! 

Because he’s stuck with them, he sends the others into Mementos to train up a little and help Haru get the hang of Shadows (and maybe find a weapon type that she could possibly use) while he heads out to pick up first aid supplies. That’s the least suspicious thing he can do, anyway. It’s harder than he expects to drag those two out of the house with him, but since he’s the troupe’s gofer most of the time, all it takes is pulling the Izumi Card to convince them to go with him.

Speaking of Izumi, the boys run into her just as they’re prepared to leave as well. So they end up going with her for the most part. Hey, whatever gets things to go easier, Ren’s willing to do at this point. ...or at least, they’ve would’ve gone with her if it weren’t for someone swiping her bag the second that they step out into the street. Both Juza and Ren take off after him, dragging Banri along with them.

It doesn’t take long for Banri to start arguing with Juza, though. Because of the situation, Ren tells Banri and Juza to get their heads out of their asses and move. Instincts have taken over and now Joker's leadership has started to come out. He even calls them codenames that he made up on the spot... which honestly, aren’t really codenames, Ren’s just calling them by their characters’ names. It does work, though.

The three are soon able to work together to head off the thief before he can get too far. When the thief throws a punch at Juza, though... all bets are off. Ren’s not really able to fight back here because of his probation, but he does go with the flow of Banri’s movements to keep him unrestricted, and Banri does actually take into account that Ren can’t take part in this fight too.

By the time Izumi -- as well as Omi and Taichi -- have caught up to them, the thief has already been dealt with. Ren returns to the purse to her, claiming that the thief had wiped out on his own by the time that they caught up to him.

When they get home and tell Sakyo what happened, he finally gives in to the boys’ demands to remove the handcuffs... especially seeing as all three finally worked together. It is a relief to have use of both of his hands again and not have to worry about Banri or Juza looking over his shoulder anymore.

Though... despite the fact that they can work in sync now, Banri and Juza still take to butting heads with each other. However, all it takes to clear that up is another threat of using the handcuffs again. Ren is just happy to be free... and to be able to sleep in his own bed again.

Chapter 13: A Source of Change

Thanks to the trip into Mementos the day before, Haru is hyped and ready to go. And while they haven’t been able to plan out the chance for her to get a better feel for the Metaverse... that and to see if they could awaken her Persona’s full potential. While the former goes off without a hitch, the latter... yeah, they’re going to need to work on that. Luckily, Haru’s found that Ryuji’s weapons seems to handle really well in her hands. For the time being, they’ll be switching off until Ren can take her to Untouchable to get something that suits her best. 

That, and Haru wants to fight on the front lines when they get into her father’s Palace. It’s hard to argue with her. Plus, while going through, they finally pick out a codename for her, too. Things go pretty smoothly with their infiltration so far... that is, until the team runs into Okumura’s Shadow, as well as the cognitive version of Haru’s fiancé.

It’s here that Haru is faced with the truth about her father -- what he is really like. How he only thinks about his wins and losses, sees people as tools for his own personal gain... and how he sees her as nothing but a tool, either. He doesn’t care about her feelings at all, willing to leave her to her fiancé to do whatever he wants with.

And as the cognition steps forward, something inside Haru snaps. This was it. This was the push that she needed. Before the cognition can even lay a hand on her, Haru’s Persona awakens to its full potential. Milady comes to her User’s defense, unleashing a massive amount of hellish gunfire on the enemy. Haru manages to take it down by herself, stunning the team. Holy shit, that is a tank.

Despite not being an awakening like a majority of the team’s, it still does take a lot out of Haru because of the massive amount of power she just put out. The Phantom Thieves are forced to retreat for the time being to allow her to recover.

The next morning, before practice, Ren makes plans to go on a supply run with Haru that afternoon, giving her a little more time to take a break and possibly to pick up weapons of her own so she and Ryuji won’t have to bounce back and forth with his anymore. With her Persona now ready to go, things should be smoother for her, and possibly having her own weapons to use would help that.

When rehearsal starts, Banri is a no-show. For the time being, Ren steps in to fill his role. This is partially because there’s no one else to do it, and partially because Ren is determined to show Banri what-for and get over his stage fright. He isn't a coward, he's got this.

Banri only really gets up out of bed just as everyone’s eating breakfast that morning. He needs to pull his act together. He might be the best now, but that’s not going to last long.

Later that night, after a quick supply run and picking up Haru’s weapons (Ren is still stunned that the two she chose were an axe and a grenade launcher, but she was comfortable with them, and he wasn’t going to argue), Ren returns to the dorms just after dinner. He’s not at all surprised to find Juza in the courtyard trying to rehearse his lines, especially since his roommate is... well, Banri.

Juza’s also the one most passionate about acting among Autumn Troupe, even though his skills could use a lot of work. Ren offers to help Juza with his lines. He had done so for the other troupes as well -- Ren bringing up Muku as an example and Juza going suspiciously quiet. Ren gets that passion and drive that Juza has and wants to see it.

Chapter 14: His Name is Kamikizaka

Palace infiltration continues, and Ren thinks that this might be the toughest Palace yet. Seriously, those Shadows are rarely giving them peace and seeing what they do... yeah, Okumura’s mind is a messed up place.

That afternoon, after they finally make it through the Palace and have their route set, Ren and Yusuke walk home with Haru, as both are going the same way and Yusuke wants to discuss the calling card with Haru. It is here that they run into the Autumn Troupe and Izumi out and about doing some streets acts for rehearsal... and Reni Kamikizaka and Haruto from God Troupe. Their last encounter still has a sour taste in Ren’s mouth.

It’s also here that the God Troupe members finally learn Ren’s full name. It is also revealed here that Haru’s family is one of the sponsors for God Troupe -- she’s been to see their shows before. Though the productions are expensive looking and decent, she openly admits to preferring Mankai’s shows better because of how much they put into their storytelling and how much fun they seem to be having.

Ren, Yusuke and Haru walk back with the rest of the company. Unfortunately, though, everyone’s steering clear of Autumn Troupe because of their outward appearances. Omi included, which Ren finds a bit weird because he knows that Omi is one of the sweetest people in the whole company. Not even Haru can make them look better. though that might be because of the axe that she’s trying to conceal. Ren would suggest putting Yusuke at the front, but considering how he MET Yusuke... yeah, that might be a bad move overall.

Chapter 15: On Love, Autumn Edition

With Haru’s help, Yusuke and Ryuji both manage to make the calling card in record time and get it deliver straight to their target’s desk. They dive into the Palace after school. As expected at this point, the Phantom Thieves are confronted by Okumura’s Shadow. While he tries to appeal to and manipulate Haru and Morgana to some extent into betraying the Phantom Thieves, neither are willing to have their minds changed.

Thought the battle is long and difficult as hell, the Phantom Thieves are triumphant by the end of it. As the Shadow breaks down, the Thieves manage to get a little out of him about their mysterious Black Mask: whoever they are, they’re a mercenary that Okumura had been contracting in order to wipe out his competition via mental shutdowns. And that’s all they’re able to get as they swipe the Treasure and the Palace starts to fall. Haru, unlike the others, is worried about her father’s Shadow and is lingering behind, hesitant to leave.

Ren urges Haru not to look back and hurry as the Palace collapses around them. Her father and his Shadow will be fine, but they have to go now, or they won’t be. Though hesitant, Haru nods and the Phantom Thieves rush out of the Palace. Ren, in the coming weeks, will come to greatly regret the decision to do this.

When they return to reality, they give Haru the Treasure’s true form to hold onto for the time being. They also have a bit more information on the mental shutdown culprit, especially since Okumura did reveal that he knew who it was. All they have to wait for now is for him to spill the beans. Things are actually looking up.

So when Ren, Morgana and Yusuke get back to the dorms, they’re in a pretty good mood... until they’re chastised by Sakyo for getting home so late. He’s already in a bad mood for arguing with Yuki about costumes, which the middle schooler refused to budge on the budget and Ren really wished he could’ve seen.

As the boys relax and Ren lets Morgana out of the bag, the topic on conversation turns from the costume budget to their first crushes, as they were talking about how Yuki reminded Taichi of his first crush just before the three Thieves arrived. Ren teases Taichi a little about this until the question gets turned on him.

If Ren is in a relationship or crushing on someone at this point (i have yet to figure out what exactly i’m going to do with that), Yusuke won’t hesitate to say something on the matter. The company takes all the chances they can to tease Ren. Ren is not amused. Morgana calls it karma for him teasing Taichi.

The conversation continues, with Yusuke even getting pulled into the Q&A, though his answer isn’t as pleasing to the group because his is more related to works of art than anything. Ren finds it interesting though, that Sakyo actually does answer the question, albeit partially since he never revealed who it was.

The next morning, the good nature in the air from last night is quickly dissipated when a letter is found outside of Mankai’s mailbox. Someone’s sent them a note saying that if they don’t call off Autumn Troupe’s show, then something bad will happen. Ren briefly wonders if it was the work of someone that he made his enemy as a Phantom Thief. However, he’s quickly reminded that that’s impossible. He made sure to keep those two lives as separate as possible to avoid things like this happening. He wants to protect Mankai, after all. It’s the least he can do after all they’ve done for him.

No one seems to be that worried about the letter, too, which helps put him at ease. With how it was made, it looks like nothing but a prank. When Ren asks if Morgana saw anything, the cat can’t reply. He wasn’t prowling the dorms; he was up in the attic with him all night. Still, if someone tries something, the rest of the company can easily knock them down. Just to be safe, Ren asks Morgana to keep an eye out and report back if he sees anything suspicious.

Chapter 16: One-Man Shows

With the Palace no longer being an issue and all that the Thieves really have left to do is waiting for Okumura to have his change of heart, Ren’s free to attend afternoon rehearsals again.

Yuzo decides to swing by and check out the new Autumn Troupe, much to Sakyo’s annoyance. Seeing as he helped with Spring and Summer, it only makes sense for him to keep doing the same for the rest of the troupes.

And like the troupes that came before them, not even Autumn is free from getting torn apart by Yuzo. The roles were written specifically for these five, but with the way they’re acting, there’s not a trace of them in their characters at all. In order to fix this, Yuzo suggests having them doing portraits -- a short, five-minute biopic on themselves that they write themselves. Once they’re done, they’ll be performing them before an audience at the troupe that Yuzo runs. And the topic? Their biggest regrets. To up the ante, the audience will also be voting on who put on the best show. They have two weeks.

Later that night, Ren gets pulled down from the attic by Juza to help out with his portrait, eventually getting joined by Sakyo and Omi outside in the courtyard. As they discuss the topic that Autumn Troupe was given, Ren is asked what his biggest regret is, or if he even has one. Before, Ren would’ve said that it would be getting put on probation. But looking back on it, that’s what lead him to where he is now. Honestly, though, it comes back to his stage fright. 

The fact that he lets other people dictate how he sees one of the two things that he’s most passionate about... that he lets their thoughts take grip like that... if he could change it, he would. If he could let go of the grip that other people’s words have on him, he would, but it’s something that he’s having difficulty getting over. Letting his nerves keep him quiet is the one thing that he regrets the most... for now.

Chapter 17: My Portrait, III

In the interrogation room, Ren takes a pause with his story. His head has begun to hurt, and he’s figured out that it’s not because of the beating that he took. Especially since Sae has figured out that something is up, too.

Ren’s beginning to pause randomly and wince as if in pain, and his words are starting to slur. He had been drugged with something prior to the interrogation, the only thing that Ren can recall it being was something that was to make him tell the truth. Everything was a blur, really... his vision was starting to distort, and he’s having a hard time recalling the script that he had studied for weeks up until this moment.

But after all... as Ren has learned, the show must go on. He has to get through this if everything’s to turn out right... and if he’s to protect those he’s grown to hold close to his heart. And so, he reassures Sae that he is fine and continues his story.

Chapter 18: Progress Report

The next couple of days fly by with rehearsals and Autumn Troupe working on their portraits. Eventually, it’s become October and Ren swears that the last month has felt much longer than it actually seemed to be. Yuzo’s coming around that afternoon to check up on everyone’s portraits, seeing as now they were being performed in almost a week.

However... life likes to screw Ren over, as is obvious by now. He meets with Sumire, the first-year gymnast that Ren had met back in May, outside of the subway station. She seems upset about something and had dropped something earlier, but before Ren can return her belongings, the boys and her are both suddenly pulled into the Metaverse and Mementos 

Ren double checks his phone for the MetaNav. His phone never turned it on, leaving on Sumire to be the culprit. Unfortunately, he and Morgana have been separated from her. They dive into Mementos and eventually find Sumire. When they do, there’s a figure standing in front of her. It looks fairly similar to Sumire herself with golden eyes. It’s her Shadow -- one that by the looks of it, is ready to step up and become the ruler of a Palace.

The Shadow taunts Sumire to some extent, calling her a ‘fake’ and how she’s made her whole life up to be a lie just be like ‘her’. Be someone that she could never be, blaming herself for things that were out of her control and trying to fill in a void and only making it grow bigger. Ren watches in horror as Sumire argues saying that it’s better this way. That she should’ve been the one to die instead and not ‘her’. Recalling from previous conversations that he’s had with her, Ren guesses that ‘her’ is Sumire’s sister, Kasumi -- a gymnast like her who shared the same dream but died in a car accident back in the beginning of spring.

Sumire is plagued by her own intrusive thoughts about not being good enough, not being Kasumi and blaming herself for her sister’s death since Kasumi wouldn’t have died if she hadn’t pushed Sumire out of the way. Shadows rise up to attack them, and Ren can recall what happened in the case of Futaba’s Shadow and her Palace as he and Morgana go to fight, Sumire’s Shadow doing the best it can to protect the real Sumire.

Ren’s able to talk to her. He’s willing to argue that if they got another chance to replay the day, Kasumi would still save her. And this is something that the Shadow knows. Kasumi had loved Sumire and was willing to sacrfice herself for her. Pretending to be someone that she’s not is clearly hurting her. This is something that Sumire already knows. She wants to see their dream become a reality, that’s why tried to make herself more like Kasumi.

With the help of her Shadow and Ren’s encouragement, Sumire breaks. She knows that she could never be like Kasumi, and that’s because she’s not. People have been trying to get her to act more like Kasumi from the pressure that’s been put upon her. But she’s not. She’s Sumire Yoshizawa, and that’s who her sister would want her to be. Much to Ren’s surprise, she awakens a Persona of her own upon accepting her Shadow -- Cendrillion.

Together, the three of them manage to take down the Shadows and get out of Mementos quickly -- mostly because Sumire just awakened and is drained. After making sure that she’s okay, Ren makes a mental note to bring this up after Okumura’s change of heart.

Morgana tries to persuade Sumire to join the Phantom Thieves, seeing as her help would be a great asset to them. However, Sumire declines. She wants to focus on her gymnastics for now, and make sure that her dream and Kasumi’s both come true. Ren understands but assures her that the offer still stands if she changes her mind. He walks with her to the station before heading back to the dorms.

Chapter 19: A Distinct Gap

And by the time that Ren gets back to the dorms, it’s... late. Like, rehearsal is almost over, and Ren missed everyone’s portraits but Banri’s and Taichi’s late. He apologizes quickly and admits that he got caught up in a little... something... on his way home from school. He’s only lucky that no one asks any further questions.

He watches Taichi’s and Banri’s performances with Yuzo and Izumi, and after seeing those two, he hopes that the other three have done better. Taichi’s felt like there was something missing, and Banri’s... According to the other two with him, Ren’s right. Banri ranked the lowest out of all three, with Juza’s so far being the best one. The primary reason for that?

It was easy to tell that the story Banri told was fake. It was rushed, and there wasn’t an ounce of truth to it. It honestly made Ren want to smack Banri with the script if he doesn’t get his ass in gear soon. When it comes to performing these, he will lose. Ren just wants him to take this as seriously as the rest of them do. It isn’t a game like he thinks it is. At this point, if Banri can see that, well that would be good enough for him.

Chapter 20: My Portrait, IV

With the point that Ren’s gotten up to in his story, there are still questions that are left unsolved for Sae. Where they responsible for what happened to Okumura? And what about their next target? Why did the Phantom Thieves target that person of all people?

Ren wants to explain, he wants to, but it’s getting harder. Whatever he was shot up with is starting to wear off and fatigue is getting to him. But he’s still pushing onward and answering Sae’s questions. Seeing him push himself like this is worrying the prosecutor. But Ren is determined to finish his story. He needs to do this, after all. And besides... they’re getting the part that Ren needs to tell Sae about the most.

And it all leads up to Ren’s biggest regret... not opening his eyes up sooner to the truth.

Chapter 21: Move-Out Notice

The day starts normally, but things start to look up when Haru tells the Phantom Thieves that her father is planning a press conference that night. It appears that he’s finally had his change of heart, planning on confessing his crimes to the public. In order to celebrate, the Thieves make plans to watch it from an amusement park that Okumura had previously rented out for a cancelled party, as well as to have a more intimate one during their school festival at the end of the month. However, this is als ot he same day as the portrait performances.

Ren manages to talk his way out of this one, since this technically counts as a rehearsal and not a show. The only condition is that he makes a quick prop run to get the model guns that Yuki and the Autumn Troupe need for the show after school. Ren quickly agrees. Sakyo, though, sends Sakoda with him to get them saying that Ren could use the extra help (really this is to get Sakoda out of his hair, but details.) Ren tries to protest since Untouchable is shady and he doesn’t want anyone knowing that he’s been there but arguing with Sakyo is like arguing with a brick wall half of the time.

Ren has no idea about Iwai’s connections to the yakuza at this point, but he gets the hint that something might be up when Untouchable’s manager is on edge around Sakoda.

As expected, Sakoda does rat Ren out to Sakyo about where he had gotten the models. It raises a red flag for Sakyo, who starts to get suspicious about what the fuck Mankai’s resident troublemaker is doing in his spare time. However, that is to be dealt with later. Because right before Sakyo can grill Ren as the boy is getting ready to leave in order to meet up with the rest of the Thieves, Banri announces that he’s leaving the Mankai Company with bags packed and everything.

There’s nothing that the Autumn Troupe can say to change his mind (not like Sakyo is even trying). Ren, frankly, is kind of stunned. Banri seemed so set on beating Juza at this... even though he’s confident that he already won, it seems like he’s just giving up. He doesn’t seem like the type to half-ass anything, and after getting to know him this past month...

That, and when Banri leaves Ren free to take his role, it leaves a sour taste in Ren’s mouth. After all, at this point, he’s pretty sure that Ren knows the lines better than he does. And that’s it for Ren. The roles at Mankai are written specifically for the actors. Switching roles isn’t as easy as it sounds.

And so, Ren follows after Banri as he leaves out of the dorm.

Chapter 22: Rekindling

When Ren catches up to Banri, the latter is confused about why the hell the brat is following him and trying so damn hard to get him to stay. He gets to finally prove that he’s not a coward and stand on stage. Ren refuses to let this get under his skin and tries to direct it back at Banri by asking why he wasn’t seeing things through to the end. After spending a month with the guy and handcuffed to him for a couple of days, Ren can tell he’s not really the type of person to leave things only half-done.

...that, and he had tried for months to get Ren to fight him until he finally accomplished that. When Kamoshida was still a teacher at their school, he stood in his way and never once backed down despite the risks. He was hellbent on beating Juza, and now he’s just decided that he’s won without really trying? It doesn’t sound right.

Ren actually provokes Banri a bit, thinking that the latter is just afraid that Juza might actually beat him again when it comes to this, too. Ann had told him about their fight a while ago when he asked her why they didn’t get along. Banri’s avoiding trying to get beaten in public again. It’s a matter of his pride, his hubris and Icarus is getting closer to the sun by running away rather than staying.

Barni doesn’t even try to argue. He takes it as a challenge. And, seeing as Ren doesn’t really need a ticket to the portrait performance, he gives Banri his. If Banri is going to see this as a challenge, then Ren’s going to play it like one. If after seeing Autumn Troupe’s portraits, he still wants to leave, Ren won’t try to stop him again. Banri takes the deal.

When Ren later tells the Thieves about this while they wait for the press conference to start, some of them finds it amusing that that was what Ren chose to get into Banri’s head and get him to listen. Haru even giggles a little. Ann’s just glad to see her cousin and her friend finally starting to get along. Ren... didn’t realize that they were, but thinking about it in hindsight...

Before Ren can think about it anymore, the press conference starts. Futaba boots up the stream on her laptop and the Thieves gather around to watch. Okumura confesses to his crimes against his employees and his unethical business practices. But when it comes time for the man to confess to contracting mental shutdowns, something... happens.

Okumura doubles over, clutching his chest as his eyes roll into the back of his head. Black goo, much like what made up the Shadows, start to drip from his face. The camera gets knocked over there and the feed is cut off.

Ren feels a pit drop into his stomach. No...!

Chapter 23: An Open Relationship

The Phantom Thieves stare at the now static-filled screen, absolutely stunned by what they just witnessed. This... This wasn’t right. This wasn’t right at all. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Why did that happen?! They did everything the same as they had done before, so why...?!

Haru hurries home, and Futaba is left in shock, still staring at the screen as the Thieves try to figure out what happened. She tells them that this was the same as what happened to her mother right before she died.

A mental shutdown. That’s what happened. Okumura suffered a mental shutdown. And there’s... there was nothing... It was--

Ren’s immediate thought is that it was their fault. They were the ones who targeted Okumura. It was his fault that they rushed out of the Palace so fast. They should’ve stayed to make sure that he actually did fade to rejoin himself back in reality, not... Maybe if they stayed it would be different... Maybe... Fuck.

Ren, Yusuke and Morgana head back to the Mankai dorms in relative silence, with Ren’s mind stewing over what just happened and thoughts only repeating that it was their fault, their fault, their fault, his fault--

Ren immediately heads upstairs to the attic, not saying a word to anyone for the rest of the night. He doesn’t even realize that what he said to Banri actually got through to him, and that the leader of Autumn Troupe is staying. Or that the “Brat�� nickname he seems so keen on calling him has gone from derogatory to platonically.

When they get up to the attic, they’re confronted by Masumi and Kazunari confront the team about this, especially since the mental shutdown has lead to Okumura’s death. Ren and Yusuke quickly assure them that they don’t know what happened. The process was repeated the same way as it always had been. Nothing else was changed, so they don’t know what went wrong. Kazunari is quick to believe them, but it takes a while for Masumi to be convinced they weren’t responsible for Okumura’s death. He proposes the question of if they didn’t kill him, then who did?

And Ren doesn’t know how to answer.

Chapter 24: Ultra Yo-Yos

Things are getting better for Autumn Troupe. Banri’s finally giving a 100% to acting and to The Roman Episode. He’s even started coming to morning rehearsals. But things for Ren... not so much. That day at school, Haru doesn’t come in. And no one can get in touch with her, either. It’s cause for worry. All the comments that Ren has been hearing about the Phantom Thieves at school are not helping either.

It’s not until the next morning during rehearsals that Ren hears from Haru. She wants to have a meeting after school to discuss things. He sets it up easily just as Yuki comes in with the costumes for Autumn Troupe to try on. Normally Ren gets excited about costumes, but this time... Izumi takes note that some thing’s up, but Ren quickly dismisses the notion. He’s fine. He’s absolutely fine. Why wouldn’t he be?

Along with costumes, props get brought out as well. Sakyo takes the opportunity here to grill Ren on why they look so realistic and where exactly he got them. Ren just shrugs, not really wanting to answer. He really isn’t paying that much attention and gets smacked in the face with a yo-yo by Taichi. He... doesn’t even remember buying those. Apparently, Sakoda snatched them up with the leftover money after Ren had left him alone.

Ren’s kind of zoned out the rest of the rehearsal, even after Taichi apologized profusely for hitting him. He’s just kind of... gone. Not even the threatening letter that the company receives can snap him out of it. If anything, it makes Ren’s mental state a little worse. And it starts to worry Izumi and a couple members of Autumn. Just what the hell happened last night to change him so much?

Ren’s just lucky that no one questions the fact that he’s stopping by the theater for his meeting with the rest of the Phantom Thieves. They need to talk about what happened, there’s no avoiding it. Especially when the public has begun to blame the Phantom Thieves for Okumura’s death, calling them all murderers and changing the previous attitudes that they had of them pretty quickly. To make matters worse, there was a calling card found in Hanasaki’s principal’s office. Now they’re being implicated for his death, too. Haru knows they weren’t responsible for her father’s death; she was there after all when they stole his heart. However, it takes some reassurance for her to believe them about the principal. He was never even on their radar, so why...?

It hits the team then. They were set up. The other Metaverse User -- whoever the hell their Black Mask was... the one responsible for causing all the shutdowns and breakdowns in the first place. They had fallen right into their hands without even realizing it.

And thoughts start churning in the back of Ren’s mind. There was one thing that he had overlooked that he sincerely wished that he didn’t. He feels stupid and really wished that he had paid more attention to it in hindsight. And he starts blaming himself. If he had just figured it out sooner, maybe none of this would’ve happened. He was just so stupid and blind and it’s his fault. His fault, his fault, his fault, his fault. Why didn’t he see it sooner?!

For now, the Phantom Thieves must remain in the shadows and not draw attention to themselves until they can decide on their next move. For Ren, that’s easier said than done.

Chapter 25: A Midnight Lesson

Once again, Ren’s mentally gone during rehearsals that evening. It’s starting to get concerning now that he’s barely there. He brushes off all questions that ask if he’s fine, because he is. Why wouldn’t he be? Everything’s fine, don’t worry, I’m okay, let’s focus on rehearsals. Juza’s still struggling to get this move right...

It all comes to a head that night. The continuous loop of what Ren’s been hearing about the Phantom Thieves online and at school and even in the dorms because someone just had to bring it up at dinner has been playing in his mind, all with the ever-chanting chorus of things being his fault because he was too stupid and too naive and too much of a damn coward to realize that things were heading where they were.

And he can’t sleep because of it. Not wanting to bother Yusuke or Morgana with his issues (he’s their leader, he can’t let them see him falter, he has to be the example, he can’t break--), Ren gets up to try and clear his head about everything, but all he does is get in his head even more. He heads to the courtyard, trying his best to remain silent as to not wake everyone else. But he doesn’t realize that someone already is awake.

He runs into Banri and Juza in the courtyard, where Banri had been helping Juza get down some of their action sequences that he was struggling with earlier. When the two question him on what he’s doing awake at this hour, Ren begins to panic. He is just trying not to break down in front of Banri and Juza, but it’s difficult. He badly fucked up and he can’t tell them about it because they don’t know that he’s the leader of the Phantom Thieves or even that his friends are the Phantom Thieves. It’s hard to help the kid when he can’t even tell him what’s wrong.

And so, the bottle Ren’s kept everything sealed up in for the past few days starts to come loose. He’s struggling to keep a lid on it all, they can’t see, they can’t know, he can’t let them see him break, he’s supposed to be the strong one, just a crack could...! Ren does the only thing he can think of to do. 

He runs. He just takes off. He pushes past Taichi and Omi at the door, ignoring the calls from Autumn Troupe for him to stop and come back. Ren runs and just keeps running until his legs give out. He ends up in the middle of Mementos, having gone there without thinking. It’s the only place that he can truly be alone with his thoughts. ...unfortunately, those thoughts aren’t the best right now and Ren’s never truly alone. He always has his Persona -- in this case, it’s primarily Arsene -- by his side.

And it’s lucky that not even in the one place where Ren can think that he’s alone that he is alone. There’s someone there to talk sense into him. Arsene manifests in front of him, both to protect Ren from any Shadows that would dare to try and attack him right now as well as to calm him down. He is the manifestation of Ren’s heart, after all. While Ren’s plagued by these thoughts and not thinking straight, his Persona is able to to some degree. It takes Maruki -- Ren’s school counselor that he accidentally runs into when Arsene gets him to calm down enough to leave Mementos. It’s him that he walks back to the dorms with and helps kind of calm him down. Ren then tries to enter the dorms alone, but the moment he’s visible from the dormitory’s windows, Ren is being tackled by a super worried Izumi and Morgana, with Omi and Sakyo not too far behind her.

Apparently, after Ren had bolted, the Autumn Troupe boys woke up the entire dorm. The entire company is out looking for him, as well as the Thieves thanks to Yusuke and Futaba. Ren’s tears refresh anew as he’s taken back inside while Izumi thanks Dr. Maruki for bringing him back safe and sound. But because of their talk, Ren realizes that he can’t really keep this hidden anymore... can’t keep his lives separate anymore. Not after that talk with his own psyche... and counselor. I haven’t touched upon this, but Ren has been talking to him during his lunch breaks every Friday. That’s it. That’s the Confidant. It’s necessary for future plot.

So while they’re waiting for everyone else to get back to the dorm, Ren finally opens up about what’s been bothering him and that leads to telling the three of them about the Phantom Thieves and his identity. It doesn’t take long for the three adults to figure out who the rest of the Thieves are as well.

To his surprise, they... take it well. Sakyo had figured something was up with Ren’s strange behavior following Okumura’s death as well as small slip-ups he made throughout the year. Izumi is stunned, but now Ren’s absences are making sense. And Ren is having a hard time reading Omi’s expression at all. Everything’s out in the air with his guardians now, and Ren’s just kind of thankful that they’re understanding of things when he explains. It could’ve honestly gone a lot worse.

And yes, I did mean to say guardians. It also comes out that Sakyo was meant to be Ren’s original guardian. He owed Ren’s mother a favor (why though, he doesn’t say and Ren’s wondering why the hell the yakuza owes his mom a favor) and this was how she cashed it in. Ren had gotten the wrong address when he arrived, and because of Sakyo’s work he thought Ren would be safer at Mankai. But obviously, trouble likes to follow Ren around.

Ren manages to reassure them that they weren’t responsible for Okumura’s death and that they’ve been careful (except for with Masumi, but with Kazunari they didn’t have a choice). That’s about all he gets out before the remaining troupe members and Yusuke return to the dorms, Ren getting tackled again by notable members such as Sakuya, Citron, half of Summer Troupe and Taichi. Yeah, he worried a lot of them, especially with the way that he ran out.

Eventually after getting lectured again by the other troupe members -- Banri surprising Ren by being part of that and making him realize that maybe he did get through to him -- everyone returns to their rooms for the night... almost everyone anyway. Ren and Omi remain downstairs. Ren is still kind of worried because Omi hasn’t said anything. It takes a moment or two, but he does get Omi’s opinion on the matter. He’s more worried than anything else.

Because Ren didn’t see his portrait, Omi tells him about it. He tells him about the gang that he was in, about what happened to his best friend. All of it. It all comes back to one point: he sees the same reckless teenager that he used to be in Ren.

Omi warns Ren to be careful going forward. Considering what happened to Okumura, the Thieves pissed off some pretty dangerous people. Those aren’t the kind of people that kids can deal with. If he does this alone, he could get himself and the others seriously hurt. Ren promises he’ll do his best. That’s all he really can do at this point.

Ren tries to figure out what to do about the situation, and he knows that he could use the company’s help or at least warn them to be careful with everything that’s about to happen. He tried to keep them separate so they wouldn’t get hurt, but that’s not gonna happen.

Later, when Ren tells the Thieves that there are more people at the company that know, it’s... mixed results, but given the circumstances... yeah.

Chapter 26: Staged Bonds

The next week goes by fairly quickly, especially since midterms take place this week, too. Soon the Phantom Thieves regroup to discuss their next course of action. Futaba’s taken the past week to figure out that they were right and there was someone setting them up. The Medjed that provoked the Phantom Thieves during the summer wasn’t part of the organization at all.

Whoever provoked them used the situation they created to make the Phantom Thieves famous. They even hacked the Phan Site to mess with the rankings to put Okumura at the top. The timing and the target... they were all set up by one mastermind. Even if Ren’s suspicions about who’s involved in it are correct, then they still are missing the bigger picture. They have the puppets, but who is the puppet master?

Meanwhile, Sae is given full lead on the Phantom Thieves case. However, with recent events, there’s a lot of pressure from her bosses for her to capture the Thieves no matter what it takes, and if she succeeds, there’s a promotion in store for her. When Makoto is told about this, she quickly realizes that’s why Sae is aiming for, rather than to do what’s right. And she’s willing to do whatever it takes to bring the Thieves in -- unknowingly targeting her own sister. Things are getting bad. Even the students of Hanasaki are interrogated.

So, in order to keep themselves from drawing attention, Makoto has the second years and Haru help her with the school festival. This includes helping with the special guest panel that they’ll be doing. Unfortunately, the guest that the student body has voted for Detective Prince Goro Akechi... the person who is working against them and the only one who could possibly persuade him to come is Ren. I should note, he is the last person that Ren wants to see right now, despite him starting to defend the Phantom Thieves in the media as he claims that they didn’t kill Okumura.

Even so, at first, all Akechi tells Ren is that he’ll think about it and ghosts him for the next few days. Ren is still irritated about it when Izumi takes him and Autumn Troupe to pass out flyers that afternoon. Normally he would’ve gone at this with Yusuke, but Yusuke’s way to focused on painting something -- whether on canvas or wood, Ren doesn’t know -- today that it is impossible to draw him away.

So, Ren is out handing out flyers with Morgana when he gets accosted found by the one person who hasn’t been talking to him for the past few days -- Akechi. They talk for a bit while Ren takes a break. Ren is honestly surprised a bit that Akechi has begun siding with the Phantom Thieves, considering how against them he was before. He also seems fairly confident that the Phantom Thieves are innocent... in the matter of Okumura’s death, anyway.

Akechi also considers Ren’s offer to visit Hanasaki for their cultural festival and finally gives him his answer: yes. In hindsight, perhaps running into him was a blessing after all... Akechi snatches one of Ren’s flyers before taking his leave, promising to be there closing night. It does seem like an... interesting show, after all.

Ren immediately tells the rest of the Phantom Thieves the good news.

Time goes by quickly, and the festival arrives. The Hanasaki students are joined by those from Ouka High School -- so in this case, Taichi, Tenma, Juza and for AU purposes Yusuke -- alongside Futaba. (Izumi’s excuse for sending the boys there was primarily to give them a bit of a break since they had been working so hard).

Either way, the guest panel begins with Makoto running the show with carefully chosen questions. All of them leads to Akechi revealing one fact: through his investigation, he has figured out the Phantom Thieves’ identities. Before he’s able to announce them, Ren acts quick, pulling away from his friends and calling Akechi’s phone to cut him off. Even though this was to stop him from saying anything, Akechi actually does request to meet with Ren and his friends in private. With Masumi’s help, as the rest of the Mankai troupe members present don’t know who the Phantom Thieves are yet, Ren’s able to separate actor from Thief.

In their little meeting, Akechi reveals that he has identified them as the Phantom Thieves as he had seen them enter the Metaverse outside of Okumura’s Palace. It was also here that he supposedly followed them into the Palace where he fought with the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns, resulting in his own Persona -- Robin Hood -- awakening as well. He wants to cooperate with the Phantom Thieves to bring this real culprit to justice, otherwise Sae would bring them all in no matter what it takes, even if it means using false evidence. If he is allowed to join their ranks, he’ll turn a blind eye to all that they’ve done...

It’s difficult, but the Thieves have no choice but to work with the detective for the time being. Ren accepts the deal. With the situation laid out before them on the table, Ren makes another decision -- one that needs to be enacted as soon as they make it to the theater.

I should put a side note here involving the post-festival scene with Sumire. It happens mostly because after regrouping, Ren and Taichi get separated from the rest of the group. Ren sees the way that Taichi is looking at Sumire dancing. How red he’s gone and how he’s mesmerized. after it’s all said and done, Ren invites Sumire to come see one of the Autumn Troupe’s performances, an arm looped around Taichi’s shoulders and a hand over his mouth to keep him from stopping him. Sumire accepts and is gone before Ren thinks about letting Taichi go.

Chapter 27: Passion Torn Asunder

Ren can no longer hide his Phantom Thief activities from Mankai Company. Not with what’s going on, and not with the problem looming over the horizon. And so, he asks the actors in their group as they walk back from the festival to gather everyone and meet him at the theater. Though they’re confused, they agree. It buys the Thieves a little time to think of what to do. Yusuke suggests doing what Autumn Troupe had done not so long ago: a portrait. 

Though the others are quick to bring up Ren’s stage fright, Ren... honestly believes that the idea makes sense. Even the topic does. While Ren’s biggest regret might be his stage fright, now he has something new to take its place: letting himself become blind to the truth until it was too late and someone else had to pay the price. How he didn’t trust those around him with his biggest secret when he knew that said secret could endanger their lives if he wasn’t careful. ...how he kept everything from the people who had taken him in and accepted him despite all the baggage he carried. It was time to clear the air. No more secrets and no more regrets. No more fear.

When the company arrives, they’re a bit confused to find Ren standing on the stage. The Thieves are waiting behind him to help support and tell the story, but the spotlight’s all on him. He can do this. Ren draws in a breath and once everyone’s seated, he begins. He tells the entire troupe everything, starting from the very moment he arrived in the city up until now. They are quiet throughout his performance, though Ren can clearly read the shock, confusion and relief on their faces. When he’s done, the other Thieves stand by his side and Ren has a single question to ask the Mankai Company: will they trust him?

The next day, the news comes out that there’s now a bounty on the Phantom Thieves’ heads. They’re just lucky that the company took the reveal fairly well. Now they have another group backing them, even if most don’t agree with their methods, they do care about these kids.

The Thieves eventually end up meeting up with Akechi at the theater to discuss the details of their little deal. Their chosen target is the same woman who is targeting them: Sae Niijima. Her own heart has become twisted because of all the pressure that has been piling on top of her to the point where she doesn’t care who the culprit is, she’ll falsely convict someone if it brings the case to a close. Changing Sae’s heart would also protect her from the same fate as Okumura. If the true culprit can’t get to her Shadow, they can’t cause a mental shutdown. Without little room for argument, the Phantom Thieves agree and begin their Palace infiltration -- the courthouse this time, taking the form of a grand and rigged casino.

It takes them a good few days to get through the Palace, and Ren’s lucky that they make it just before dress rehearsals, too. He hasn’t missed a show yet, and it looks like he’ll be able to keep up that streak this time. Unfortunately, though, Akechi trips that up when he suggests sending the calling card at the last possible moment in order to ensure that Sae -- ever on guard -- will actually have the calling card work on her and have her treasure manifest. ...that is the night before closing night for The Roman Episode. Given the circumstances, the Thieves have no choice but to agree. Hopefully Izumi isn’t too mad about them missing one night... (She’s upset, but after they explain things out a bit more to her, she understands.)

So, with him possibly being out of commission during the tail-end of the show run, Ren puts his all into the remaining rehearsals. Even the Phantom Thieves get in on this -- all of them, Akechi included -- sit in on the stage rehearsals to help Autumn Troupe get used to performing in front of a live audience. Futaba’s even started helping out in the tech booth to get things flowing smoother... she’s also having a blast positioning everyone during tech week.

So, they’re all present for the final tech rehearsal before dress rehearsal when Yuki runs into the theater in a panic. The costumes that he had worked so hard on are absolutely torn apart, with another threatening note left behind at the scene.

side note: the thieves are kind of surprised that akechi actually has nothing to do with this. he seems to be as in much shock as the rest of them are. there was a sneaking suspicion that he was responsible for the threats, but that just got proven wrong.

Everyone is pissed. Dress rehearsal’s tomorrow and they don’t have any costumes. So, it’s time to band together and haul ass.

Chapter 28: The Final Warning

Under Yuki’s direction, Autumn Troupe and even the Phantom Thieves work hard the next day, sacrificing dress rehearsal in the process, to make sure that the costumes are ready for opening night.

But, even with that in mind, they manage to get everything done in time. The costumes fit and the audience won’t be able to notice the stitches on them. From the closest distance, they still won’t be able to tell.

Akechi takes Ren aside later while everyone is passed out in the common area after their rush to tell him that there might be something that Taichi knows that they both don’t, considering his quiet reaction to the costumes’ destruction. That wasn’t a face of shock that he had like the rest of them. It was of guilt. And he has been wearing the same expression for a while now. So something’s definitely up.

And it’s that thought that lingers in Ren’s mind as they reach opening night. He keeps a close eye on Taichi, having Morgana follow him around when Ren can’t keep an eye on him. Taichi is only grateful that Morgana seems to be worried about him, having tears in his eyes whenever he thanks the cat.

Even without dress rehearsal, opening night goes off without a hitch. Though the actors are tired and everyone excluding Sakyo is found passed out in the dressing room. Ren takes note that Morgana is purring on Taichi’s chest, something that he realizes that Morgana does for Ren when he’s stressed or worked up about something.

Unfortunately, Ren doesn’t have much more time to think about it as another threatening note rears its head. Morgana once again doesn’t know where it came from. He admits to losing track of Taichi at one point, though. That, combined with the rest of the evidence that Ren’s gathered the past few days tells him to be on lookout for something going wrong.

Chapter 29: A Curveball Conundrum

Things proceed the same way that they do in canon, right down to the props going missing mid-show. Like before, Ren has Morgana keeping an eye on Taichi, but it’s been difficult to do with the show going on. Technically, Morgana’s not allowed to be backstage. He only gets a pass because Izumi like to play favorites. That, and Taichi’s gotten pretty good at giving Morgana the slip lately.

However, the situation’s solved fairly easily because of Ren’s quick thinking. With Makoto’s and Yusuke’s help (as well as a favor from Sakyo to get them a car), he’s able to get the stash of his own model pistols that he has been using in the Metaverse to use as props for the show. It takes a while for the pair of them to actually make it to the theater, so Juza still has to do the finger-gun thing during one of the scenes. Ren is still stunned that this actually works.

Chapter 30: A Shadow... The True Self Sakyo, Playing for Keeps

Everything goes smoothly for the rest of the show (aside from one line that Sakyo messed up, but given the situation, it’s not surprising that someone did) thanks to Ren not getting rid of his Metaverse weapons just in case. (though its not for props, though, it’s mostly just in case he loses or breaks the one that he’s currently using somehow).

As everyone settles in for the night, there are still thoughts weighing heavily on Ren’s mind. And that still guilty look on Taichi’s face. Every time Ren has tried to ask if something was up or there was something he wanted to talk about, Taichi’s brushed it off. But thanks to Morgana’s recon and the fact that nearly everyone at Mankai trusts the cat, Ren knows there’s something Taichi is hiding. But not even Morgana could get that from Taichi. It’s almost like... like...

On a whim, Ren takes a look at a name in Mementos, and it turns out to be a hit. He heads out on his own, telling the others that he just wants to make a quick run before they send their calling card in a few days. Ren wants to keep this quiet since it’s personal, and if he’s right, it’s a similar situation with Futaba’s own Shadow.

Or at least he wants to keep it personal but ends up running into Akechi down in Mementos as well, who had the same suspicions and decided to investigate (whether this is true or not, Ren has no idea.) The two of them travel into the depths of Mementos. 

In a small pocket of the mindscape, the two come face-to-face with a scared boy with dark hair, golden eyes shining with tears and dressed in one of the costumes for The Roman Episode with the exception of the visible tears. It’s Taichi’s Shadow. While Akechi immediately goes to fight it, Ren decides to take a different approach and holds him back. It isn’t acting like the Shadows that they’ve normally confronted in Mementos before. He’s not lashing out or anything. Actually, he looks scared as shit. Akechi thinks is just a ruse, but Ren is willing to take a chance. 

It takes some persuading (and getting called an idiot), but Ren carefully approaches the Shadow, calling it by his counterpart’s name. The Shadow honestly gets even more scared when he sees Ren and actually threatens to lash out. But this is also Taichi. Ren’s gotten to know him over the past few months, and his Shadow seeing him might just have made things worse. Ren takes his mask off, trying to put the Shadow at ease.

Taichi’s Shadow is absolutely terrified of something, and when Ren asks what and finally gets it across that they just want to help (recalling what Futaba’s Shadow did for her), Taichi’s Shadow completely breaks down and spills everything that Taichi had been burying.

After all is said, Taichi’s Shadow believes that Ren’s gonna hate him for what he’s done, but that’s not true. Ren cares deeply about all of Mankai, Taichi included. He hates seeing them hurt like this. And he’s willing to bet, that if he didn’t get kicked out for being a member of the Phantom Thieves, that they’re not going to kick out Taichi for all that he did. Ren’s left holding the Shadow as it fades to rejoin its counterpart in reality with the promise to set things right as soon as possible.

This is also where Rank 8 of Akechi’s Royal Confidant takes place if anyone’s interested about that, so there is actually a Mementos fight that takes place but the set-up is different. It’s more so Akechi being frustrated and confused with Ren’s approach to things and goading him slightly into agreeing to the fight in the first place by questioning whether he’s strong enough or not to do what needs to be done when it comes to stealing Sae’s Treasure. 

A lot of feelings are out in the open with those two by the end of it (and knowing what’s going to happen in a few short days, it also hurts like hell), and with Taichi’s situation as well. Ren can only hope that talking to the Shadow worked, and that Taichi will be able to do the right thing in the end.

Chapter 31: The Truth

Taichi is quiet for the next few days, but Morgana says that he seems to be a bit more at ease now. It eventually makes it to the night that the casino heist is to take place. As Ren gathers everything that he and the other Thieves that live at the dorms will need, he becomes the subject of Omi’s mother henning. Given what they’re about to do and what’s about to happen, Omi has a right to be worried.

They’re heading towards the common area, double checking Ren’s supplies when they find Taichi in the middle of the courtyard on the phone with someone. Some of the stuff that Taichi is saying is very incriminating. Ren and Omi carefully confront him, worried about what’s going on though Ren has a sneaking suspicion that he knows exactly what just happened.

It’s here that Taichi finally breaks down, unable to keep things bottled up much longer. As he sobs, he finally admits to being the one behind everything that went wrong with the show. He was the one who wrote the letters. He was the one who tore up the costumes. He hid the props.

These are things that Ren already knew and admits as much. Taichi’s Shadow had already told him everything. When Taichi asks if Ren stole his heart like he did to a lot of other people, Ren can only shake his head. He just sort of... nudged things in the right direction. This was all Taichi’s own repressed desires that are finally getting aired and him accepting them. What I’m saying is that Taichi’s Shadow was more along the lines of Persona 4′s Shadow Selves rather than Persona 5′s.

Omi comforts Taichi as he cries, believing that he’ll have to quit the troupe and acting now, despite wanting to stay at Mankai with everyone else. The two of them take Taichi inside once he’s calmed down. Ren reassures him, much like he did his Shadow, that everything will be alright.

Chapter 32: Confession

Omi and Ren take Taichi inside, where Autumn Troupe, Izumi, Morgana and Yusuke are waiting -- the former for their final meeting for the night, and the latter two waiting for their leader before they head out. But before they do, Taichi has something to tell everyone.

Taichi openly admits to being behind the sabotage and explains why. Prior to joining Mankai, he used to be a member of God Troupe. Under Reni’s instruction, Taichi was sent to spy on the company. If he could ruin their show, then he would be able to get a lead role in God Troupe’s shows, something he now regrets accepting.

When no one is sure what to say or do, Banri suggests doing their portraits. He was the only one who saw all of them, after all. It would help clear the air between everyone... and since Taichi’s felt incomplete, he can finally tell the whole story now that there’s no more secrets. Only the truth.

Unfortunately, Ren can’t stick around to see how this will turn out. The clock is running out for them. He wishes Taichi luck, reminding him that if they didn’t kick him out for being a Phantom Thief, then they won’t kick Taichi out for being a spy.

Izumi wishes the boys luck before Ren, Yusuke and Morgana head out to meet with the other Phantom Thieves and steal Sae’s Treasure. Only she, Sakyo (who had been the third person responsible for the script that Ren’s following in the interrogation room), Omi and Tsuzuru know what’s going on. Everyone else... doesn’t. They only know that the Phantom Thieves are going to be stealing Sae’s Treasure that day. Ren only promises the troupe that he’ll be waiting at the dorms for them as soon as the curtain falls on closing night.

As everyone’s confessing their biggest regrets, the Phantom Thieves begin a performance of their own. In the casino-like Palace, the Thieves confront Sae’s Shadow and defeat her. As Ryuji snatches up the Treasure, the team manages to convince Sae to change her ways much like Ren had done for Taichi only a few days before.

All seems fine and dandy until Futaba picks up on a few... okay, a lot of extra readings in the Palace. Somehow, the police manage to infiltrate the building and they’re looking for them. In order to keep his Thieves safe, Ren takes the Treasure and splits off from the rest of the team. He becomes a decoy, stashing the Treasure away and putting on a show to keep the police distracted while everyone else escapes.

Unfortunately, the plan doesn’t work out like everyone expects. While escaping the Palace himself, Ren is caught and arrested. In police custody, Ren is beaten and drugged and forced to sign a false confession to all the Phantom Thieves’ crimes. 

And that brings us to the present.

Chapter 33: My Portrait, V

Sae has been given the full story up until now. But as stated before, one thing has been clear throughout everything: Ren has refused to give the real names of his accomplices. Nothing that Sae says can goad Ren into giving away who helped him, who he worked with, the members of his team and anyone associated with him. Doing so would mean giving up his... his...

Ren’s mind starts to clear as the drug wears off. He knows what his role is, and he’s playing it rather well. He manages to get Sae to take his phone and convinces her to show it to Akechi on her way out. With time up, Sae leaves and the performance’s finale has begun.

Ren’s head starts to grow heavy as adrenaline fades and fatigue starts to take over. His head hurts like crazy... everything is starting to hurt. But through it all, as the minutes pass... he grins. It worked. Their plan actually worked.

And just as the show comes to an end, Ren passes out from exhaustion. The door to the interrogation room opens...

Chapter 34: The Night Before Full Bloom

Meanwhile,  the Mankai Company is preparing for thier closing night performance. All the Phantom Thieves -- excluding their leader -- will arrive to watch this one, as they usually do with their heists. It’s revealed that as Ren said, Taichi wasn’t kicked out of the troupe. He was accepted as a member fully. After all, the Mankai Company would never abandon one of their own, and that is what Taichi became when he stepped through the theater’s doors to audition. The troupe protects each other, no matter what the case. That point has been made pretty clear already.

And they thought that all would be well... that was until Ren didn’t return with Morgana and Yusuke late that night/early that morning. They claim that they don’t know what had happened, that Ren had acted as bait to keep everyone else from getting caught. But this is Ren that they’re talking about. He’ll be fine. ...right?

The thing is... Yusuke and Morgana aren’t sure. And they won’t be until they see Ren again. All they can really do now is wait.

It’s hard to sleep that night without Autumn Troupe’s Brat safe and sound in the dormitory’s attic.

Chapter 35: Parting Ways

It’s that worry from last night that’s sticking with everyone as The Roman Episode’s final show draws nearer and nearer. They know that Ren said he’d be waiting at the dorms for them after closing night, but... it’s weird not having him here. They trust Ren, they really do, but...

But it doesn’t erase the nerves. It’s when Taichi needs a shoulder to lean on the most because while taking a breather before curtain, he’s confronted by Reni Kamikizaka, along with Haruto and a silent Tasuku. They came to watch the performance.

Remembering the deal they made and then the fact that Taichi has broken it makes Taichi more afraid than anything else has in the past few days. But luckily, he gets bumped into by Morgana winding around his legs and hissing at two of the three God Troupe members. And its Morgana that draws in Banri and Juza to his aid. It gives Taichi the courage to stand up and finally quit God Troupe in order to stay with Mankai. He’s found the place where he belongs, and that’s where he’s going to stay.

And as they’ll find out much later, Taichi’s not the only one who quit God Troupe that night either.

Chapter 36: High Five

Izumi has to pull Sakyo and Omi aside before they step on stage to remind them to not let their nerves over what their boy is currently doing get to them. If Banri, Juza or Taichi -- or even the troupe members that are in the audience -- pick up on their nerves, it could throw off the show and give away that they know what’s up and something’s wrong. It will make the others worry. So, despite how concerned they are, they stomach that worry to keep up the charade that they’re in the dark.

So, the men steel themselves, and the show goes on. Despite the worry and concern in the back of their minds, they’re able to play their roles perfectly (in more ways than one) and make it the best run of the show by far. The curtain closes to the standing ovation of the audience.

Chapter 37: A Series of Encounters

Autumn Troupe is tackled by the remaining members of Mankai, as the Phantom Thieves (excluding Yusuke and Morgana, since they live at the dorms as well as Ann since she is related to one of the actors) have gone home to avoid raising suspicion.

Why Muku recognized Juza when he came to audition is revealed here, too. Much like Ann and Banri, they’re cousins as well. Juza wanted to keep quiet about it so that his reputation wouldn’t affect Muku in anyway.

Taichi also tells Yuki about how he shredded the costumes, and as punishment, gets roped into helping Yuki with the wardrobe for the Winter Troupe’s show and every show after that. All in all, not a bad punishment.

Everyone’s riding high on that closing night adrenaline that a certain fact slips their minds entirely until they bring up the situation with the props. It now that they remember that the Autumn Troupe’s Brat is waiting for them back at the dorms like he promised.

That is, until a notification pops up on someone’s phone. A new announcement has gone out that the leader of the Phantom Thieves has committed suicide while in police custody.

Chapter 38: Smoldering First Love

After reading the news, most of the Mankai Company is freaking out because that’s not a criminal. To them, that’s their bratty assistant director and a member of this - - - - - -. It’s Ren Amamiya, not just the leader of the Phantom Thieves.

Everyone books it back to the dorms in a panic, wondering what the fuck is going on because certain people yusuke and morgana didn’t say anything about Ren getting arrested. The only ones who aren’t freaking out and keeping everyone from doing something stupid are Izumi, Omi, Sakyo, Tsuruzu and Yusuke since they know what’s going on.

However, they start freaking out too, once they get to the dorms. Ren is barely even awake on the common area’s couch -- beaten black and blue, with obvious bruises from too-tight handcuffs around his wrists. Sae is also there, having just brought him back. She was doing her best to keep an eye on him since there was no one else present when she arrived. She had gotten in thanks to a spare key Makoto had told her was hidden under the mat.

Sae only can explain so much herself, but she has to leave in order not to draw any more suspicion than she already has. She leaves Ren in the director’s care. While getting Ren upstairs to his room, the company is in a panic over what happened. But not even those who knew what Ren was doing can’t explain it since they don’t know the why. And Yusuke’s only one piece of the puzzle, it’s going to take more than him to say anything.

So, the conversation that Izumi and Sakyo have takes place in the dorms rather than in the theater like in the game while the former takes care of Ren’s injuries.

There’s something looming in the shadows... on both the Phantom Thieves’ front, as well as the stage’s... 

...Ren has a lot of explaining to do when he wakes up.

Act 1 | Act 2 | Act 4        

#persona 5 #persona 5 au #a3! #a3 act addict actors #a3 au #literal theatre kid ren #ren amamiya #akira kurusu #ryuji sakamoto #ann takamaki #yusuke kitagawa #makoto niijima #morgana #futaba sakura #haru okumura #goro akechi #izumi tachibana #banri settsu #juza hyodo #taichi nanao #omi fushimi #sakyo furuichi #harugumi #natsugumi #akigumi

[itsuki-minamy]

FOUR SEASONS OF K: “UNCLOUDED BLUE”

Translation: Naru-kun

Raws: Ridia

"Can you recruit new recruits?"

"Scepter 4". In the captain's office, Fushimi shook his eyes as he listened to Munakata next to Awashima.

"What are you talking about? Captain, you can't install anymore."

At the end of January of this year, the Dresden Slate that chose Seven Kings and gave them strength was destroyed after the battle with “Jungle”. As a result, the Kings lost Damocles' sword, a symbol of their power and much of their power.

The power that only the "King" possessed, the power to perform the installation as his own clan member, is gone.

"That's right. I still call myself the 'Blue King', but I can't get any more Clansmans."

"If that's the case. For logistical support, you can use the police."

"Captain, I also wonder. Certainly, in January, humans around the world temporarily became Strains, and many people still retain their power, and it is a fact that the number of Strains related cases has increased dramatically since last year. However, it is too dangerous to hire an ordinary person as a member of "Scepter 4" because it requires personnel. As Fushimi says, strengthen cooperation with the police.''

"No, they are average people."

Gently obstructing Awashima's words, Munakata said. Fushimi and Awashima open their eyes.

Munakata got up from the office desk and went to the window. Gaze at the outside world, filled with bright spring light.

"As Awashima-kun says, the number of Strains in the world has increased significantly in January. The existence of Strains, who had long been under wraps for control of the information of the Golden Clan, came to light, and the Strains' case became familiar to people. However, are all the talented people and survivors the cause of the incident? The answer is no. There are many people who want "the order to be an appropriate member of society by controlling the extraordinary power that has arisen over themselves". Don't you think giving them a sword of justice helps us and helps to form an orderly society?"

Fushimi widened his eyes.

"You mean, trying to get Strain as a member of Scepter 4?"

It is common to find Strains and make them a member of the clan. Good examples are Anna Kushina, the Red Clan, and Miyabi Ameno, Neko of the Silver Clan.

But when it comes to accepting Strains without being able to install, the story is completely different.

Awashima was also confused.

"Physically, it would be possible for a compatible Strain to physically act as a member. However, it does mean that those who do not belong to the Captain's blue power are called members of "Scepter 4" and a member of the Reisi Munakata clan. The definition of clan will be broken."

"You can collapse."

Munakata replied in a low voice.

"I no longer have a Damocles sword in my head. The definition of "King" has already collapsed. Although the responsibility for "Scepter 4" has increased, the support of the organization "Scepter 4" is being lost. We have to change."

Awashima took a deep breath, then hardened her expression to change something inside of her, and corrected her disposition.

“A person harboring the Captain's cause, even if the Captain does not live, is called a member of the Blue Clan. "Scepter 4" will change to such an organization.”

Munakata is deeply framed in Awashima's words.

"That's right. The new members are no different than the "Scepter 4" members. I think our blue doesn't even have a single cloud.''

"Okay."

Awashima stretched out her back and saluted. Munakata's line of sight turns to Fushimi, who remains silent.

"…I get it. Well, originally, I'm not in a position to call different people.”

In response to Fushimi, Munakata laughed.

++++++++++

The registration ceremony was held in early April, as was the general opening ceremony.

It seems that the star of the human eye drawn as a member was already attached when I speak to Fushimi and Awashima. Three days after Munakata went to the scout and Fushimi and his friends spoke, they were all there.

The new members, dressed in brand new blue uniforms, are now meeting at the barracks with Strains. There was a burning air that flowed between the members of the special body of "Scepter 4" that watched over there.

"How will we deal with the Strains members?"

Kamo crossed his arms with a difficult face. He laughed because Domyoji was empty.

"I think it's okay to do normal. Right?"

"Oh, yes. We will serve as a role model for young people doing our job as usual."

"Well, there are probably a lot of boys with different types of abilities than us, so I have to think about how to teach for each boy."

Akiyama and Bensai make serious comments about each other. Fuse asked the new members to be vigilant.

"Wouldn't you put your ability out of control...?"

"Fufu. I wonder if you didn't come in so it wouldn't happen. It's an orderly clan, so it's just a matter of teaching how to control."

"As Goto said, at least coming here is a guy with guts trying to control his power and help the world."

"They are the right people for the Captain's glasses."

On the side of Goto, Hidaka, Enomoto and others, Fushimi was reviewing the resumes of the new members with a tablet. They have a variety of backgrounds, but they are all young people who have been tense due to the January madness.

"Oh!"

One of the new members rushed in and made a strained voice.

A young member who looks like a child. However, when he reviews the resume, it was older than Fushimi. Although he decided on a job offer for a major company due to a new graduate of four top graduates, the job offer was canceled due to the effects of Strain. After that, he called Munakata and decided to join "Scepter 4".

Fushimi looks at the new member with some pity. He blushed slightly on his cheeks and bowed to Fushimi in a quick posture.

"Fushimi-san. Do you remember me?"

"I do not remember you."

"Oh, yes! Well, Fushimi-san saved me!"

The new member had a shocked face for a moment, but immediately recovered and smiled.

“In the case of the Strains in January, my power got out of control, luckily I didn't hurt anyone, but I was shopping, so I did a lot of damage to the store at the time. I was not supposed to be arrested or claimed for damages because the property damage caused by the outburst of powers could not be dealt with.''

The government promulgated from the beginning that "criminal punishment would not be necessary for the damage caused by the outbreak of powers", due to the swift action of Isana Yashiro, the Silver King and the Golden Clan.

He thought that it would not be so if he were grateful, but the new member laughed with a slightly bitter look.

"But I didn't lose my ability even after that day. So, the eyes of the people around me saw me as a dangerous person when I was wrong, even the company that gave me the job offer told me that they couldn't run the risk and they couldn't hire me. If I was lost, it was because I was confused and the powers exploded. I was wondering what to do, what should I do when the overflowing power destroyed the surroundings, and Fushimi-san rushed towards me and grabbed my hand to stop the insurrection of the powers."

There was such a thing when told. Fushimi frowns as he recalls the story of a passionate new member.

"Think of a sword. Drop the image that power is runaway. It is not something you can handle. Think of a sword that you can control and put in your scabbard." You told me to try to imagine my power to spread like a single sword, and then the power would fall within my will and the sword would fit into my scabbard. As you can see, the power has stopped coming out. After that, Fushimi-san gave me a valuable tutorial.”

The new member smiles with a big smile. In the background, Domyoji yelled, "Hey, Fushimi-san!" It made him want to hit.

"Then I started to think that my power was not just a nuisance, but something that, if controlled, could do something. At that time, you helped me and I never got lost. Thanks to Fushimi-san. I am very grateful to you!"

The new member tilted his hips at a right angle. Fushimi inadvertently clicked his tongue due to the situation.

"I was just doing my job."

"And during the January paranoia, there were many people who were helped by people dressed in blue. I wish I could be one of them..."

In response to Fushimi's naive response, the new members raised their heads and turned bright faces towards Fushimi and the members behind them. Fushimi, who became troublesome, left Akiyama's place behind him and pressed the newcomer's response.

Akiyama steps forward and touches the new member's shoulder with a refreshing face that Fushimi cannot.

"Our job is to keep order with the cause in mind and help people. Now you can become someone who helps."

"Yes."

Awashima, who was reviewing the saber to be delivered at the enlistment ceremony, giggled a little as she looked at Fushimi and approached the edge of the floor while listening to the heat sensitive exchange on her back.

"You did a good job."

"I don't remember saying that."

It is uncomfortable. Fushimi is not good at teaching people things. At that time, he feels like I've been thinking about how to lead him. He was really cursing.

Munakata, Awashima, narrowed their eyes and looked at Fushimi, then they looked at the sky. It was a clear blue cloudless sky.

"The sword will no longer float in this sky, but the path we have taken, led by the Captain, will be the mark of "Scepter 4" in the future."

Awashima briefly closed her eyes longingly for Damocles' blue sword.

They can hear the sounds of Munakata's shoe.

Recognizing Munakata walking slowly from the barracks building towards them, Awashima shouted out loud, saying, "Line up!"

++++++++++

Although he was unable to empower the clan member, the enlistment ceremony was carried out as before.

The new members are called one by one, and they walk in front of Munakata to kneel down. Awashima hands the sword to Munakata, and Munakata releases it from its scabbard. Munakata places the sword on the new member's shoulder and speaks quietly.

The saber is clad by Munakata and presented to the new members.

"Promise to act with the pride and belief of a swordsman, and take up the sword."

The new member vows and receives the sword to wield it. Until now, at that time, Munakata's blue power was bestowed with the sword, and blue light was transmitted from the sword to the entire body, but now that phenomenon does not occur.

This ritual has no special meaning; it is only one way. However, Fushimi knows that Munakata values ​​"form". He believes that for a human being it is worth the formal weight and makes clear the will of a person.

After the sabers had been awarded to the new members, Munakata slowly looked at each of the new aligned members.

"As of today, you are members of "Scepter 4". One day, suddenly, you were given some powers, unlike the other members who had the ability to be prepared and willing. Fufu, in that sense, you can be more like a "king"."

The new members are looking at Munakata.

A breeze blew and the lined cherry blossoms scattered petals across the ground.

"You who have gained power regardless of your choice, however, have decided to obtain a sword of blue order by your own choice. Not a sword to hurt, a sword to control and protect. You are like-minded, members of the Clan. Blue. Get ready."

At the same time that Munakata slightly admired, Awashima ordered.

"All the staff, Batto!"

The members draw the sword one after another. New members do the same. The blades shining in the sunlight received a forest and turned towards the sky.

"Control the sword with your sword. In our cause, there is no cloudiness!"

Under the clear blue sky, Munakata's voice sounded high.

#K #k project #k fan clan #k stories #scepter 4 #Saruhiko Fushimi #reisi munakata #awashima seri

[the-currian]

I don't know if you do requests, but I really loved your yandere winter troupe headcannons, they sent chills down my spine, and I was wondering if you'd be open to doing a yandere headcannons for autumn troupe?

I don’t really consider my blog a request blog, but I will accept most requests that are sent my way!! Ask, and you shall receive lol I hope you like this one, too!!

--

A3! Autumn Troupe Yandere Headcanons

(No Azami because I’m only playing the English version and don’t have a good grasp of his character yet)

Banri Settsu

This guy is used to getting everything he wants – definitely a possessive-protective type.

Thus, unconsciously or not, he views you as his toy – a pretty little doll thing to do with as he pleases. Refers to you as his babydoll.

Intent on keeping his tough-guy image, but still with a need to keep you, his hand grips harshly against your waist when in public, his face contorted into a menacing scowl to let everyone know you belong to him. If anyone even looks at you the wrong way, a growl will reverberate from him through your body, followed by some curses as he glares at the offender.

If the offender is particularly aggressive and refuses to be driven off, he throws back the aggression tenfold by a passionate and heated assault on your lips until the goddamn person gets the memo and leaves.

In private he’s much more openly affectionate. If you try to leave his embrace, he won’t relent, only allowing it to end on his terms, scoffing at you because did you forget who he is and what he is capable of?

Sakyo Furuichi

Probably the most dangerous of the whole troupe – if not the whole company.

Sakyo is busy with yakuza-related business but has the power and resources to watch over you. Through this, he is able to learn anything and everything he can about you.

He used this to give you gifts offhandedly, saying things like “It seemed like something you would like.” when giving you things that were exactly what you wanted. You find it intriguing at first, wondering how he always seems to know what’s exactly on your mind.

Really good at manipulation. “I know I can’t be with you that often, but I’m really trying here. Going into this relationship you told me you didn’t mind my profession. What’s changed? Are you disgusted by me now? About my lifestyle?”

Stages a kidnapping with his gang to make you become dependent on him. He takes you to a hideout secluded from your normal day-to-day life. Whenever you probe a bit too much, he brushes you off with “It’s just until the danger passes.” “It’s for your own safety.” “I don’t want to see you get hurt. I just love you so much.”

And it works. You believe him.

However, that doesn’t mean that you don’t get antsy while in seclusion, and you end up attempting some things that Sakyo would definitely not approve of. Somehow, your plans always get thwarted by one of Sakyo’s associates or Sakyo himself dropping by at inopportune times. To be honest, he finds it adorable that you think you can escape him.

Sakoda is the tattletale. He shadows you whenever Sakyo himself can’t. Doesn’t mind the Sakyo’s behavior at all; as long as the boss is happy, right? Is definitely Sakyo’s worst enabler.

Omi Fushimi

The two of you start out as friends. Gradually you spent more and more time together until you grew closer. Both of you became attached to one another but you hadn’t realized just how attached Omi would be.

He asks you to be the subject of his pictures for his photography club. His members sung their praises, but Omi didn’t care for them much as he realized he didn’t like that the other guys in the club were talking about you. When they ask him if you could be their subject he gives them a flat ‘no’, storming out of the club room.

((lol as soon I finished writing that bullet I realized it’s literally this but in a more sinister context:))

It becomes an insidious obsession for him. Having impromptu photo shoots with you, taking candids of you on dates, until one day…

When you get back home you discover pictures of you in some quite intimate situations when you were all by yourself. Sometimes, they are accompanied by notes on the back. Never let anyone else see you like this. You’re mine. You should be more careful with your windows, darling.

Does not tolerate admirers at all. Does not engage. Picks you up like a potato sack or a blushing bride, depending on his mood, to carry you away from those villains.

Treats you like a queen. Truly, madly in love with you. He sincerely just wants to love you. Showers you with love and affection.

He is incapable of blaming you for anything you say or do against him.

He’s usually calm and collected, but if you intentionally draw out his anger to the breaking point, he may just strike you (he’s not called the Mad Wolf for nothing)

After that incident he closes himself off from you for awhile, apologizing on a daily basis. Even when you reassure him that it’s alright and it wasn’t his fault - it was yours - he doesn’t accept that; it haunts him for a long time.

Taichi Nanao

 At first, Taichi is content with watching you from afar – watching from the sidelines. He never felt worthy enough for you. He’s always dreamed of romance and doesn’t want to screw it up.

That all changed one day when he noticed someone was taking up too much of your time for you to be comfortable, so he decides to confront them.

You just so happened to be passing by, stopping out of curiosity when you heard your name come up. You come across what seems to be Taichi reprimanding a guy that’s been approaching you a lot lately.

‘Serves him right,’ you think, ‘The poor guy doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.’

“Stay away! They’re mine, not yours! I love them, but even I wouldn’t dare take up too much of her time like that, you creep!”

In hindsight, perhaps you should have seen this coming.

Oblivious of the future to come, you break up the fight and pull Taichi aside, confessing your feelings for him, thanking him for standing up for you.

“R-really?” Taichi beams, tears coming to his eyes. “I promise to never let you go! You’ll see, I’ll become a man worthy of you!”

When you start dating he stops stalking you in favor of bombarding you with texts and calls – he always wants to know where you are, who you’re with, when he can see you next.

This boys craves attention – he’s like a puppy, really. He desperately seeks opportunities to be physically close to you.

Manipulates you into staying with him by sabotaging your image in public, causing a scene. (Hey, if he could sabotage the Autumn troupe, what’s stopping him with you?)

“That was really low of you to use me like that just so you could get in with the Mankai company.” “W-what are you talking about? I didn’t use you!” “Why would you do that? Am I not good enough?” Taichi chuckles ruefully. “Then again, I should’ve expected this, huh? I’m never good enough. It was sill of me to think that maybe you would be different–“ “Taichi, I do care! Please, please don’t say that!” “Really? Actions speak louder than words. You’re gonna have to do better than that. Show me.”

Juza Hyodo

Ordinarily chill. He just wants to see you happy. Whatever you need, he’ll go lengths for you. …Anything.

Physically rough with outsiders. If you’re ever threatened he will become ruthlessly protective. No amount of you pleading or crying will stop him from exacting revenge on the perpetrator. And at the end of it, he’ll pull you into his arms, stroking your hair, ignorant of the fact that he’s smearing blood in it because all that matters is that you’re safe.

He won’t restrict you from going outside but he makes sure that you’re firmly at his side, having you in his grip to keep you protected but more to let everyone know that you’re his.

Boy has a terrifying aura and he definitely knows how to use it.

If you ever confront him about his behavior, he’ll simply stare at you with a piercing gaze, getting you to drop it. If you are particularly persistent he’ll tug you into his embrace, hoping to distract you.

If you still refuse, pushing him away, he will give into his anger. Although he would never physically harm you, he’s not against threatening you into submission. His tall frame looms over you and he growls your name in a commanding voice as he traps you between a wall and his threatening stature, practically crushing you against it. Still, any crying or pleading from you is met with a threatening silence, and despite your stammers of fear he continues this until he is able to calm down.

#reply #ask #a3! #a3! actor training game #a3! act! addict! actors! #yandere #yandere headcanons #autumn troupe #banri settsu #a3! banri #sakyo furuichi #omi fushimi #taichi nanao #juza hyodo

[inrainprose]

7.

First – Prev – Next – Masterpost

They settle in the kitchen to eat – the parlor is for guests to use, if they want to eat their own food or drink some tea, but the kitchen is off-limits. Kushina seems peculiar about her kitchen and spends a long time explaining to Sasuke what he is and isn’t allowed to touch. There is a yamaoroshi living in one of the drawers that is best left undisturbed, but she shows him another perfectly functional grater he can use instead.

Oden is her specialty, she says, and is her got-to dish to welcome guests. Sasuke is starving, and the stew is a wonder – it settles warm and heavy in his stomach and his anxiety and doubts quiet down with each mouthful, not banished but soothed, tamed. He compliments the fox – she beams, pleased.

This is when the kitchen door slides open with a bang, and in comes another fox, and the first thing they say is “I can’t believe you didn’t tell him your name,” followed by “this is why I’ll get my fifth tail before you do.”

It quickly devolves from there. Naruto jumps to his feet, red with embarrassment and indignation, and starts to chase the other around.

It’s a girl, as far as Sasuke can tell, with Kushina’s red hair, albeit shorter, and thick glasses perched on her pointy nose. Her appearance looks about the same age as Naruto and his and she has, indeed, four tails, like him.

After a few minutes of bickering and leaping through the room, Kushina points out to the girl that she didn’t introduce herself either.

“Haha!” Naruto said, triumphant, as if he was the one to call her out. “Sasuke, meet my younger sister Karin, who is as rude as me!”

“Younger sister? I’m older than you!”

“You don’t know that!”

“If we count by maturity, I have century on you!”

They start fighting again. Kushina keeps eating, wholly unperturbed, so Sasuke decides to imitate her. It must be a usual occurrence.

He supposes neither of them knows when they were born, hence the argument. They must not be blood siblings, as Kushina is not their mother. From what he knows of kitsune, the older ones, who can take human form, take under their wings foxes that have just grown a second tail and are thus on the path to becoming yokai themselves. They teach and nurture them until they can form a third tail and gain wisdom and a will of their own. Kitsune sometimes stay with the ones who raised them into spirits, but they don’t tend to form clans, unlike tengu.

“If you two are finished,” Kushina says calmly when there is a lull in the argument, “please eat.”

She is the picture of serenity yet the two foxes scurry to comply. Sasuke swallows around a sudden weight in his throat thinking of his own mother, smiling with eyes promising great retribution when she caught them throwing pebbles at the ippondatara that hopped around the stream at the foot of the temple.

“How was your day, Karin?” Kushina asks once they dive back into their bowl. The girl shrugs.

“Same as usual. Lots of idiots.”

“You must feel right at home then.”

She elbows Naruto in the ribs.

“Karin is a tour guide at the Fushimi Inari Taisha,” Karin supplies when she catches Sasuke’s questioning gaze.

For a moment he thinks she is going to laugh, to tell him it’s a joke. She doesn’t.

“That’s… really?”

“Have to keep a look on the place,” Karin says with a shrug before going back to inhale her oden – she seems to be competing with Naruto about which one will finish faster. She must feel Kushina’s stern look on her head though, because she sets her bowl down and stands straighter, pushing her glasses up to look more serious, but they are fogged up by her bowl’s steam, so the effect is quite lost.

“There are a few of us working in the staff or living among the priests. We make sure the restricted areas are respected, that the spirits living around are left in peace, or are driven away if they cause trouble. Plus, if I can get the humans to offer a quick prayer or an offering to Inari, it’s always nice.”

He can’t imagine having people swarming their temple all day long every day, and theirs is far from being a main shrine.

“Does it… does it still enshrine? Are they… still there?”

He doesn’t know if it’s intrusive to ask, but Karin answers willingly enough, so he supposes it wasn’t too big a misstep.

“Sort of. Inari just seldom comes to this plan anymore. But it is still their home and still ours to protect.”

She seems to be taking her job very seriously. He imagines the foxes have fewer messages to pass on their god’s behalf now. Most of them have retreated from earthly affairs over the years, leaving the humans to their own device and the care of their faithful servants.

They all wonder, if the human’s world is degrading because the gods left it, or if it's the other way around, if their bitterness at the way the humans treat it is corroding it even further. Either way, there is not much to be done, as long as humans don’t want to change. Not turning to resentment, that is all them messengers can do.

“We’ll take you, one of these days,” the girl says, though she only looks mildly enthralled by the idea. “I’d like to tell you we’ll choose a day that isn’t too busy, but there’s no such thing.”

He does want to visit the famed shrine and pay his respects to Inari, but he can’t say he looks forward to the crowd.

Notes : A yamaoroshi is a possessed metal grater. I told you, any object can become a yokai! And an ippondatara is a one-eyed one-legged yokai that looks kinda funny.

Fushimi Inari Taisha is the main shrine dedicated to Inari, god of harvest and agriculture, industry and business, among other things. Kitsune are said to be their messengers. This shrine is one of the most famous views of Kyoto, with the thousand torii path you've probaly seen pictures of at least once (it inspired this piece of mine too btw).

#naruto #naruto au #yokai student exchange au #yse #yse au #sorry for the long post #i'm on mobile and cant find the cuts... #let it be known that making post on mobils sucks #indulging in a bit of naruto n karin sibling dynami here #just to be clear i won"t get into #religious considerations or what #nor human ar bad bad kinda thing #its not the point of this #but well #hope you enjoy!

[chilly-territory]

K Case Files of Blue 2, chapter 4 (part 2 out of 2)

Case Files of Blue 2 by Miyazawa Tatsuki

Chapter 4 (part 2/2) (volume 2, pages 224-246)

†

The one to make contact with her target first was Awashima Seri. When she opened the door to a big hall meant for wedding ceremonies and such, on the other side of the door she found Nakamura Gouki sitting cross-legged in the middle of it, drinking sake from a bottle and making no attempt to be shy about it.

Recognizing her, the giant man said, "Oh, so it's you who came for me, eh? How about a drink?"

He turned and held his bottle up in Awashima's direction. Awashima let out a small sigh.

"I'm on the clock. But even if I weren't, I'd only drink with people I have rapport with." "So with me you don't?" Nakamura Gouki asked after barking out a short laugh. "You," Awashima replied icily, "are somewhat lacking in delicacy." "Hmm," Gouki intoned, stroking his chin. "I personally like you quite a bit though. Like your strong will so atyical for a woman. Your brute strength, too. You shattered that cage all by yourself, without any help, right? For what it's worth, it was made in such a way that even a gorilla wouldn't be able to break it. Which makes you stronger than a gorilla, ain't it ri---" "I suppose I am," Awashima interrupted in a powerful tone, making Gouki bite his tongue. Her expression tightened and she drew her saber. "Against you, I have no slightest intention to pull my punches. I'm sorry to say but there is no room for that. For that reason, if you make a bad move, you might wind up getting severely hurt. Thus, I sincerely urge you to surrender."

Awashima took her signature battle stance with one leg bent in front, the other extended behind her and the tip of her raised sword pointing downward. Gouki narrowed his eyes at her.

"Good gracious. In the end, we both can only settle this by brute force, eh." Still relaxed, he kept sipping his sake. "But before that, mind telling me just one thing?" "What is it?" Awashima kept staring down her opponent, not letting her guard down. "What kind of man is Munakata Reishi? What is he to you?" Gouki's face when he asked that was earnest and serious, and one that Awashima had never seen him make before. "C'mon."

Awashima flushed a little.

Gouki went on. "At first, I only thought of him as nothing more than a man Zen'ichi is weirdly obsessed with. But you know, as this whole story unfolded, I started finding myself taking interest in him, too. Just like with you, I sure want to share a drink and a talk with him. So..." he repeated his question again in the same very serious tone. "What kind of man is Munakata Reishi?"

"..."

Technically speaking, Awashima was under no obligation to answer that. But, being a honest and serious person that she was, she couidn't help giving the question some careful deliberation.

"Let's see," she finally spoke up. "To me, he is my king." "What I want to hear is not a shallow general description like that..." "No," Awashima cut him off flatly. Relaxing her stance, she elaborated, "To me, that person really is my king. And to me, that's everything. This is the only way I can find to describe it." She looked Gouki straight in the eye.

Hearing the weight and gravity in her tone, Gouki refrained from saying anything. Awashima suddenly smiled.

"Captain and I met before he had his awakening as a king. The plane we both happened to be on was hijacked by terrorists, and I helped Captain suppress them. It was like something straight out of movies. But some explosives we didn't know about blew, opening a big hope in the plane's airframe and sending it plummeting down. It was at that moment that he had become a king. All to save the passengers who were on that plane with him. And I witnessed it with my own eyes." Her every word was permeated with strong conviction. "For a long time, Captain searched for an answer to the question of who he was, and in that instance he'd had a realization that becoming a king was his destiny. If that's how it was, then I thought that my destiny must have been to support and help him. So I became his first clansman." "..." "Nakamura Gouki. Now, it's my turn to ask you something. Why do you support Kounomura Zen'ichi?" "Hmm." The giant scratched his bald head. "Sadly, unlike you, I don't have any special reason. It's just..." He flashed his pearly whites. "To me, Zen'ichi is a friend I have rapport with. If I must name one reason, that itself is the reason," Gouki asserted. "...I can't believe you..." Awashima breathed out a sigh. "I had my suspicions, but you really are one strange person, just like Kounomura."

"My oh my, what an honor!" Gouki's shoulders vibrated as he laughed. And then he added, "It's never boring around him." He looked like he was having fun. "...Thanks to that, I even awakened this amusing power."

Getting up slowly, he took the front double biceps pose that bodybuilders do, flexing said muscles. Following the swell of both sets of his well-developed biceps, Gouki's power spiked. In the air between the two tension hung.

"Something's been bothering me for a while. Initially, you were simply Kounmura's friend who became a strain only after Kounomura had started scheming to usurp Captain's throne, isn't that right?" "Ain't you well informed?" Gouki took a side chest pose next, putting his perctorals on display. "That's right. While participating in that grand plan of Zen'ichi's, at some point I had an awakening as a strain. And that fact itself backed up Zen'ichi's theory." "...What theory?" "That the Slate has a uniform response to a person's will. If you want power, you will get power. That is..." Gouki finished his performance with the abdominal and thigh pose. "If you want to become a king, you just might steal that seat and become one if you wish for it strong enough."

For a while, Awashima contemplated his words. Then she let out another long sigh. "You're beyond help." Quietly, she moved to take her battle stance properly again. "That's nothing more than a conceited and self-serving wild delusion. I shall correct it for you." "Oh well," Gouki grinned, "I guess that fits me just fine. Now, c'mon!" he rushed towards her. "Time to talk with our fists!"

Awashima met his dash with a battle cry.

†

About the time the fierce clash between Awashima and Gouki unfolded, Fushimi encountered Marumoto. This run-in, however, didn't escalate into anything as passionate as Awashima and Gouki's.

If anything, it was more of a game of tag where Marumoto, throwing lines like "Why do you resist opening up your heart so much?! Just become my friend! I know you're lonely!", "Eh? You don't have any social network accounts? Then how do you call out to your friends when you have a barbeque party?" and "I'm gonna chillax at a hole-in-the-wall bar with a group of good friends who chase their dreams together, wanna come too?", specially designed to get on Fushimi's nerves as much as possible, tried to run away and hide, while Fushimi did the chasing, clicking his tongue tirelessly.

Marumoto may not have possessed a sliver of fighting prowess in a direct physical confrontation, but he didn't specialize in reading minds for nothing either, excelling in seeing right through Fushimi's thought processes and hiding in his blind spots with exceptional dexterity. Changing hiding places from behind a fire fighting panel to inside a ventilation fan to beneath a sofa, he ran screaming out throwaway lines in the same vein as those mentioned above.

And each time the shutter of his camera clicked, taking yet another photo, it grated on Fushimi's nerves immensely. Fushimi swung his saber, chasing after him.

"Tch!" Tongue-clicking was only a natural response.

Fushimi had a sickening feeling that all he did lately was being dragged into these stupid games of tag. Except, both he and Marumoto knew that it was coming to an end. Through ingenious positioning, the Scepter 4 operative managed to block Marumoto's escape routes and drive him into a dead end. Of course, Marumoto knew what his opponent was trying to do, but through Fushimi's strategic maneuvering that looked random at a glance, he was running out of places to escape.

Marumoto's voice sounded strained with panic. Trying to find a way distract Fushimi, he'd resorted to alluding to Fushimi's family and the clan he was affiliated with previously, but ultimately it proved useless as, despite Fushimi's face turning bitter, his steps never faltered.

'I already was going to punch him once, guess I'll make it 2 or 3 times now,' those were about all Fushimi's thoughts on the matter. That is, for all intents and purposes, he was not rising to Marumoto's bait.

Until one particular statement from Marumoto.

"Why don't you respect your boss more? You should be more of a team player, you know!"

When he heard that screamed out at him, for the first time Fushimi paused in his steps.

"Say," surprisingly enough, Fushimi sounded thoughtful, "why do you follow someone like Kounomura?"

Silence fell.

After a short while, an answer came from a shadowy corner of the hallway.

"Well, because I respect him a lot. Kounomura-san is a great man!" "..." Fushimi sensed something in his tone. Marumoto continued, as if enraptured, "You see, until a little while ago, I was a volunteer at an orphanage that Kounomura-san operates. Kounomura-san is a very busy man, yet he finds time to remember the names of each kid and is always very kind to them. I look up to him and dream to be a person like him some day." "Then you're being tricked," Fushimi cut off bluntly. "Eh?" "Mooooron." Fushimi smirked mockingly. "Do you really believe a guy like him who's only interested in achieving his own dream would give a damn about some kids?" "Wh-what?" Reading his opponent's state of mind like an open book, Fushimi cut to the quick, "You're just being used as a handy tool. As if he'd so much as glance at you if you weren't a strain." "T-Take that back." "I'll say it as many times as it takes. You're being duped by him, dude. Poor schmuck." "Take that back, this instance! Kounomura-san is not that kind of man!"

Suddenly, Marumoto's form emerged from a shadowy nook of the hallway. In his indignation, he left his hiding place without thinking. By the time the realization of what he'd done hit him, plastering the expletive of "Crap!" all over his face, it was already too late.

Kicking off the floor, Fushimi covered the distance between them in one mighty leap and tapped the handle of his saber against the back of Marumoto's neck lightly once. The blow that could be described as gentle and almost soft didn't fail to hit the vital spot with precision.

"D-Damn it!"

Tears in his eyes, Marumoto collapsed on the spot, out cold. Fushimi sneered.

"Is it really that much fun to dream up an idol, put him on a pedestal and worship him blindly?" Then, in a dry mutter, he added, "...That's probably why I disliked you from the start."

With that, Fushimi slouched, taking his leave.

†

Awashima and Gouki clashed violently. These clashes of absurd power and speed repeated again and again. As far as raw power went, Gouki was winning by a small margin, but in speed Awashima held an overwhelming advantage. Both dispensed of tricks and tactics, fighting fair and square and only relying on their skills. Gouki wasn't holding back despite his opponent being a woman, and Awashima, in turn, put all her might into the slashes she unleashed at him.

"Nhaa!"

Lariat that Gouki launched at Awashima along with a throaty shout was blown away.

"Ha!"

After gaining splendid acceleration in midair, a backspin roundhouse kick landed on Gouki's cheek, sending his kicked-in molars in the air. He lost his clothes, Awashima lost her saber, and the battle came down to hand-to-hand combat.

"And theeeere!"

Easily gathering Awashima into his arms, Gouki threw her violently against the floor.

"Ugh!"

Twisting her body like a cat to absorb the force of the impact, she swept her leg, catching Gouki just below the knee.

"Gha!"

He hit the back of his head on the floor.

"And there!"

Still, he reached his thick arms to try and catch her, but Awashima managed to leap from the spot and avoid his hold by a hair's breadth. Then both put some distance between them, watching each other fixedly.

"Fufu." "Haha."

For some reason, they both chuckled.

Their faces were sweaty, they both were breathing hard and bruises and minor hemorrhages blossomed here and there on their bodies as a sort of decorations. Despite that, the two's fighting spirit wasn't dampened in the least. An unspoken understanding that the time to settle this once and for all was upon them was shared between them.

"If I may be so bold."

With a gesture betraying deep respect, Gouki stepped forward. Awashima came a step closer as well.

"Haaaaa!"

Gouki threw a right straight punch with all his might. Awashima's movements were free of hesitation. Resolved to the possibility of getting hard-punched in the face, she dodged to the side only at the last possible moment. Only, it was a feint.

"Gotcha!"

Gouki grinned and elbowed the crown of Awashima's head now that it was perfectly within his range, hard. The downward jab was like a blow of a giant hammer and packing enough power to be instantly lethal for a normal person.

Except in the end it was Awashima who emerged victorious in the contest of predicting the opponent's moves. The elbow attack was well within her expectations. She had confidence she could weather it and made her calculations based on that. Crossing her arms, she took that bone-shattering killing blow head-on. Unable to absorb the whole force of it, her legs trembled and a grimace of anguish crossed her features.

And yet, despite the pain, that was where her ultimate chance lay.

Gouki's expression changed, reflecting a "Oh, crap!" reaction. Awashima didn't pause. Taking one more step forward that brought her infinitely close to her opponent, she tensed bodily, gathering all her spirit and strength and putting it into a piercing blow to Gouki's solar plexus. If Gouki's attack was like a falling hammer, then Awashima's like a sharp stab of a saber.

"Ugh!"

It managed to pierce even through her opponent's thick abdominals.

"Bah!"

Gouki's eyes rolled back, and his body folded down. Awashima didn't let that momentary opening go to waste. Setting Gouki's head that, until now was too high for her to reach, on her shoulder, "And with this..." she said and lifted the body of her opponent up. His massive giant body.

"Orryaa!"

The throw she executed was so-called Brainbuster from professional wrestling. It was a power technique that you normally wouldn't see outside the ring where you lift your opponent upside down high overhead and then throw them right down.

"Ghaaaaa!"

Landing on the floor on the crown of of his head, Gouki screamed. He tried to get up but it was beyond his ability.

"Fu, fufufufu." His shoulders shook. "You really are strong," he said to Awashima who was breathing hard but stood over him as the winner, looking down at him. "It's such a pity that you're a woman."

Awashima snorted coldly. "You were pretty strong yourself. For a man, that is."

The snapback made Gouki chuckle again.

"Listen," he said when he was done, "I've got a request. You and Munakata Reishi. And me and Zen'ichi. Can we share a drink together some day?" "Well," Awashima replied as she was searching for her saber and then returning it to its place on her hip. "I don't mind giving your request some thought. But asking Captain about his wishes comes first." "I see."

Once he'd heard her reply, Gouki closed his eyes, seemingly content. "Can't wait then... Really."

And with that, he was out cold.

Awashima took a deep breath, wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand and turned away from Gouki, intending to head to the hall.

Her dashing profile was a testament to the strength of her resolve.

†

Kounomura Zen'ichi was in the wedding chapel on the top floor. Seated on the altar for taking the oath, he was swinging his legs as he talked to his wife.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh," he was saying into the PDA. "That's right. That's how it is. Yeah, I'm serious. No, I'm telling you," he persuaded in a soft voice, "I can't come back for a while longer. Yes, right. Yes. Yeeees."

Carefree as ever, he hung up the phone. Spinning around, the short man faced the other side.

"You were gracious enough to wait for me to finish, eh, Munakata-kun?" he called, grinning all the while. "You seemed to be busy with a call."

Munakata Reishi who smoothly appeared in the spot of light, too, had a smile on his lips. His frame, clad in a blue uniform complimented with a sword, was set off quite nicely by the special atmosphere of sacrality reigning this particular space. On the other hand, Kounomura Zen'ichi, not blessed with height or dignified stature and looking quite dull in an oversized jacket and tawny slacks, was out of place there.

The two's appearances couldn't have been farther apart: Munakata with his clean-cut features, well-formed and perfectly-proportioned frame and the undeniable air of refinement and elegance, and Kounomura, with a bulky body of a penguin and plain though not without a certain charm features, who couldn't be called attractive by any standard.

Nevertheless, the two men had something about them that made them similar.

In was in their gaze that observed all phenomena of the world with utmost attention, more carefully than anybody else yet for some reason remained distant and detached as if they weren't watching at all, and in their free way of life that transformed sadness far removed from the realm of normal into amusement. But what made them seem alike more than anything else was a calm smile always playing on their lips. That was what the two men so different had in common.

"I have to say it is quite strange. This is my first time meeting you face-to-face, but it does not feel like it," Munakata spoke up unhurriedly. Tilting his head to the side slightly, he continued, "The reason may be the fact that I've gone through massive amounts of information related to you in the course of this affair." "This is my first time meeting you in the flesh, too, I guess?" Kounomura spread out his hands. "But y'know, I made a poster out of one of the photos of you that I'd taken secretly and pinned it up in my room." He closed his eyes. "So if I just shut my eyes like this, I can see your image in all its minute details in my head right away. All your data are etched into my brain, y'see."

Munakata answered with a wry smile. Kounomura opened his eyes.

"I did it because I wanted to become you so bad, Munakata-kun. Because..." he was not shy about his word choices, "Blue King, I thought you were beautiful." "Please tell me just one thing," Munakata asked. "Why did you choose this particular method to dethrone such a king?" "Hm?" "Why did you choose to trick and trap my subordinates instead of going after me directly?" "Hmmm," Kounomura took some time to think this question over. "Why, to tell you the truth, I didn't put much thought into it. It's just when I wondered what it was that made one king, I thought maybe the answer was one's retainers." His face suddenly turned serious. "No matter how much one claims to be king, so long as no one recognizes and acknowledges that claim, one remains but a naked emperor, y'know. So I thought maybe the Dresden Slate would revise your status if you were to be cut off your followers. Then again, it was just one out of currently 12 strategies that I'd come up with, and from now on I'm planning on testing out the other 11. And rest assured, among them there are some that involve cornering you specifically."

Munakata chuckled. "So you're set on trying again, I take it?" "Yup." Kounomura's reply was flat as a child's. "I totally am."

Munakata heaved a sigh, still smiling. Kounomura made a serious face again.

"Munakata-kun, I think you've already realized this without me telling, but..." His voice sounded low. "The Dresden Slate. It's very dangerous." "..." Munakata said nothing to that. Pushing up his glasses with a finger, he changed the subject. "You cannot escape any more, and I trust you are aware of the fact, yes?" "..." This time it was Kounomura who kept his silence. And then he said peevishly, "I've prepared a few means of escape. But the decisive factor that got in my way and prevented me from making use of them is this awful weather." "Your friend," Munakata spoke calmly, "said one interesting thing to me. According to him, apparently, when you get down to it, all coincidences are but inevitable. So wouldn't you say your running out of moves is some sort of fate at work?" "Munakata-kun, you..." "You do realize already, don't you?" The way Munakata said it reeked of eerieness. He was slowly drawing closer.

That was the first time when a shadow of fear slid across Kounomura's face.

All of a sudden, he did an about-face, dashed to hide behind the altar where he took a detonator out of his pocket and pushed the button.

With a thunderous roar, the chapel blew up.

†

When Kounomura made it to the roof, the sky was covered with dark clouds twisting like dragons as far as the eye could see. From time to time, flashes of lightning pierced them.

The torrential downpour, cutting and violent, beat his body mercilessly, and the accompanying gale made him stagger. His face was a sticky mess of sweat and dirt. His hair, thin even under the best circumstances, stuck to his forehead, and his clothes showed tears. Having crawled into the emergency exit made beneath the altar, it took him quite some time to get out.

Kounomura turned to take a look at the rubble that only a few minutes ago was the chapel, and the expression that crossed his face then could be interpreted as despair, fear or maybe even delight.

"...I knew it, Munakata-kun, you're simply..."

There stood no other than Munakata Reishi. Around him the blue globe of a barrier was projected, and despite being in the immediate vicinity of an explosion, not even a hair was out of place on him, to say nothing of injury. Munakata was getting closer, step by step, smiling with grace and refinement all the while.

Kounomura felt fear seizing him. And as Munakata was drawing closer, indivertible in his approach, the reason for this fear dawned on the short man.

For the first time in his life, Kounomura Zen'ichi and his carefully made plans were about to fail. Here, at this very moment.

There were things forever out of his reach, and he was made to realize he could never become someone like the person in front of him no matter how he tried. Between the two men there existed a wall that could never be scaled. In that instance, both Kounomura and Munakata sensed it.

'So this is what destiny is, huh? In the end, I never even stood a chance.'

The moment he thought that, a wave of exhaustion swept over him so bone-deep that he could barely stay upright. His long past its prime body had hit its limit long time ago, and the spirit that kept it going just barely after it had broke that instance.

Kounomura was ready to collapse then and there. But just then...

"That wouldn't do, Kounomura-san."

A quick and strong yet gentle arm suddenly caught him. The wind and rain stopped. Kounomura realized he was drawn inside the barrier projected around Munakata. When he looked up, he found Munakata smiling at him from above.

"He who aspires to be king must never take a knee."

That determination was overwhelming.

Kounomura's first ever failure triggered another strong reaction, and another feeling, new to him, was born on the heels of it. On instinct alone, Kounomura groaned. And then...

"It's okay."

Freeing himself from Munakata's supporting arm, he took a knee before the other man, of his own will this time, and said reverently, "I admit my defeat. You are the true king, Munakata Reishi."

In that instance, he found a new goal for himself, a new someone who he wanted to become.

Munakata, though almost imperceptibly perplexed, kept on smiling, and Kounomura, as he looked at him, couldn't help thinking of him as 'beautiful' once again.

#k case files of blue #k project #project k #k translation

[yandere-romanticaa]

Yandere Saruhiko Fushimi.

💙 When Fushimi first met s/o, he didn't think much of them. He saw them as just another stranger in the street, nothing special really. But when they started working at Sector 4, he got a real kick out of teasing him. Fushimi is often very bored and having a newby on the team made him feel a bit more powerful.

💙 He loves calling them all sorts of nicknames just to make them mad. He loves the attention he gets from them when they are mad, he finds it both adorable and amusing. Munakata will eventually find out about Fushimi's new hobby, and just for kicks he puts the two on the same team.

💙 But in all seriousness, Fushimi's work has significantly gotten better ever since s/o joined Sector 4. Fushimi is still a giant grump, but he at least smiles more often.

💙 Fushimi will soon become obsessed with s/o. He never lets them out of his sight and he is very touchy feely. He likes to just take a lock of s/o's hair and twirl it in between his fingers, mess with their paperwork, whisper in their ear just to scare them. He wants s/o to pay attention to him, and only him. If s/o ignores him, or even worse, has their attention elsewhere he will become extremely quiet but in his head he is completely bitter and furious.

💙 Fushimi is a stalker. He needs to know where s/o is going all the time and with who they are with, and he even added a GPS tracker on their phone. And if s/o posts too often on social media, he'll most likely hack in to their accounts just to mess with them.

💙 Even if Fushimi really likes s/o, he will still be a somewhat douche towards them, if not even worse compared on how he treats others. He will constantly tease them for every little thing and all the while he will have that damned smirk on his face.

💙 Fushimi doesn't really care if s/o loves him or hates him, the only thing that matters is that they give him their undevided attention. I mean of course, it is preferd that they love him but still. And God forbid if s/o spoke to Yata, especially in front of Fushimi. He will lose it right then and there, and he will horribly injure them both.

💙 Fushimi has a mentality of "If I can't have you, nobody will". He will definitely kidnap his s/o and he doesn't feel sorry at all. He actually really likes the idea of taking and hiding his s/o away from this cruel world.

💙 Fushimi will often put death above s/o's head, but he wouldn't actually kill them. He is too obsessed to let them go. He needs them like he needs air. But that doesn't mean that he isn't sadistic. He loves to leave bruises, hickeys and all sorts of marks on s/o's body, just to claim his territory.

💙 Fushimi is a really dangerous and possessive yandere. He will often hurt his s/o in so many different ways but he will always come back to help their wounds heal. Fushimi is desperate to have his s/o and if anyone dares to separate them, there would be serious Hell to pay.

#k project x reader #k project #k project x reader saruhiko fushimi #saruhiko fushimi x reader #saruhiko fushimi #yandere saruhiko fushimi #yandere headcanons #yandere saruhiko fushimi x reader #yandere k project

[ridiasfangirlings]

Fushimi possesses the rational justice of blue, the destructive desire of red and the hatred of boredom of green. In a world where everyone has only one color, a colorful person like him seems to be betraying the world. I wanna see people understand more about those aspects of him and love him more (the plot is up to you pleaze 🥺🥺🥺).

I imagine this being one of those post-ROK moments where Fushimi is just being sent absolutely everywhere to handle various situations and everyone accompanying him gets to see him being competent. Like maybe initially Kusanagi asks for his help for something similar, like there was a power outage at the bar which screwed up the computer system on the cash register and Kusanagi knows Fushimi should be able to fix it. Fushimi is a little hesitant agreeing, feeling awkward still after everything that’s happened, but Kusanagi just smiles at him when he comes in and promises him a free drink for helping. Fushimi ends up under the bar with his PDA plugged into the register, Anna and Yata watching him as his fingers just fly over the PDA. There’s some small spark from the electrical wiring and Fushimi deflects it with a Blue shield without even thinking, being very methodical and focused. Yata mentions that Fushimi really is skilled at this kind of stuff and Fushimi just shrugs, it’s not hard to make code transform into what you want it to be.

As he’s finishing up he gets a call from S4 about a Strain incident and Kusanagi suggests Yata go along with him, maybe Anna decides she wants to come too. Yata is hesitant but Fushimi says for them both to stay out of his way, Yata’s like hey don’t tell me that. They meet up with the rest of the S4 alphabet squad and the Strain is causing all kinds of mayhem in the background. Yata is ready to jump in but Fushimi tells him to stay back, taking charge and giving orders. Except then during the fight maybe Hidaka accidentally steps into danger and Fushimi uses his knives to block an attack. Fushimi notes that Yata and Anna are still nearby and imagine him switching from Blue to Red as he attacks the Strain head-on, and behind him Anna quietly smiles and tells Yata that Saruhiko’s Red is beautiful. 

Once this is finished they get another call this time from Shiro, some rogue jungle member has hacked into Ashinaka and the virus is causing the cleaning robots to go haywire. Yata and Anna tag along and so do a couple alphabet boys so Fushimi now has a whole entourage. He ends up in Shiro’s dorm happily defeating a computer virus, grinning wickedly as he’s like what an amateur this is too easy to defeat. Shiro laughs and says Fushimi-kun certainly enjoys a challenge huh, Fushimi just clicks his tongue but imagine there’s the smallest hint of Green electricity as he’s typing on his PDA. Yata leans over his shoulder and finds himself thinking that Saruhiko really does fit more than one color doesn’t he — Yata can’t imagine himself in any color but Red, but Saruhiko has bits of Red, Blue and Green and somehow they all manage to fit him.

#Fushimi Saruhiko #Talking K #imagine him using each color in turn #everyone watching and noticing how he uses different ones for different situations #because Fushimi is someone who contains many colors and can fit in more places than he thinks

[ghosthunthq]

Memento (Part 2 of 2)

For: @seoulsborne123

By: @csakuras

Mai stood on the wooden platform of Kiyomizu-dera, overlooking the surrounding wooded hills.  Fall foliage lit up the landscape in red, orange, and green, with a view of the city beyond. But sadly, the scenery was almost spoiled by the constant droning voices of tourists crowding the platform.

“Wow, it’s packed, huh?” Keiko said, beside her.  At the moment, Kiyomizu-dera’s veranda was at nearly full capacity.

Mai laughed.  “Yeah…Naru would hate it here.”

Michiru nudged her with an elbow.  “Oooh Mai, why are you bringing up Shibuya-san all of a sudden?”

“Do you miss him?” Keiko teased.

“Yeah, right.  Besides, I only just saw him yesterday.”

A cool breeze wafted through the treetops.  Mai leaned on the wooden railing and took a breath of fresh air.

“It really is a beautiful view though.”  She raised her camera, taking a picture.

The bulk of that day had been devoted to group tours of several popular tourist sites: Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion; Ryoan-ji and its famous Zen rock garden; Sanjusangen-do, with its main hall filled with 1001 statues of Kannon.

At each location, Mai couldn’t help but wonder.  Did Gene come here too?

——

The next morning, Mai woke up at the hotel, and let out a deep sigh.

Last night, when she went to bed, she had foolishly hoped that Gene might appear in her dreams.  As if just the energy of this place could summon him to her.

Of course, she saw nothing.  Maybe if Naru was here, and they had a case, she might have had a chance.  But Gene didn’t tend to appear only for her sake. The only time she could recall that he did…it was right before his body was discovered.

She knew, Naru was probably the reason Gene still lingered.  That was fine. She wasn’t jealous or anything. Not like she could even come close to comparing to a twin brother anyway.

Not like she’d even known him when he was alive.

But she couldn’t mope forever.  That afternoon, the class was free to go wherever they liked within their groups.  Mai managed to convince Keiko, Michiru, and the others in her group not to tell the teacher that she would be slipping out on her own for a few hours.

She had called Suzuki earlier in the week, explaining that she was an Investigator from SPR and would like to speak to him in regards to his meeting with Gene.  Suzuki had suggested they meet at a teahouse in the Gion entertainment district.

And so she went.  The address he’d provided led her to a quiet side street.  Mai found the teahouse and waited outside. The surrounding buildings looked ancient, though well-cared for.  This whole street looked like it had barely changed in centuries. Standing there, Mai almost felt like she’d slipped back in time.

A few geisha passed by and she blushed.  She’d never entered this kind of establishment before, and she wasn’t sure it was really a place for teenage girls to hang around.  She probably should have mentioned her age to Suzuki on the phone. But even then, why did they have to meet here? Why not a cafe or something?

Soon, a middle-aged man walked up to the teahouse.  He had long, graying hair and a goatee. He was a bit handsome too.  Mai wondered if Bou-san might look like this someday.

“Excuse me, are you Suzuki-san?” she asked.

He blinked at her.  “Ah, you must be Taniyama-san.  It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

He spoke with a (now familiar-sounding) Kyoto dialect.  Though, John’s version of the dialect tended to be comical.  Somehow, the real thing sounded much more elegant.

They entered the teahouse, where a kimono-clad hostess welcomed them.  Suzuki mentioned a reservation, and they were promptly led down a long hall.

The hostess opened a screen door and motioned them inside a room.

The interior was traditional, with tatami flooring.  The two of them sat on cushions with a low table between them.  Screen doors opened to a courtyard with a beautiful garden; there were Japanese maple trees, moss-covered rocks, and a small pond where koi fish swam, shimmering red, white, and gold in the dappled sunlight.

Shortly, another woman in a kimono came and served them green tea.

Mai fidgeted, feeling out of place in her school uniform.  Masako would fit into this kind of environment much better, with her beautiful kimonos.  Then again, Masako said she wore a uniform to school too, so would she also be in a uniform on her school trips?

Whatever, that wasn’t important right now.  Mai shook her head.

Once they were left alone, Suzuki spoke up.

“So, Taniyama-san.  You are quite young to be an Investigator, aren’t you?”  

She laughed nervously.  “I know it’s surprising.”  

Suzuki smiled.  “Well, after meeting both of the Davis brothers, I suppose I’m not as surprised as I perhaps ought to be.”  

“You didn’t think I might be an imposter?”  

“I had my suspicions.  Out of precaution, I called the number Oliver had left for me last time and confirmed beforehand that you are indeed who you say you are.”  

She blinked.  “You talked with Na— I mean, Oliver?”  

“Yes.  If I understood him correctly, he seemed to imply that Eugene was very important to you as well.”  

Mai clenched her hands in her lap, gripping the hem of her skirt.  Naru.

“I…yes.  He is. But…I’m sorry, I’m not here for anything nearly as important as Oliver was.  I just wanted to know what you talked about with him…with Gene.”

Suzuki smiled kindly.  “It’s no problem at all.  But, I do apologize if you feel uncomfortable.”  He gestured to the room around them. “There is a reason why I thought it appropriate for us to meet in this establishment.”

“O-oh?”

Suzuki took a sip of tea.  “I think it may interest you to know, that I have been coming to this teahouse for over twenty years.”

Mai tilted her head slightly.  Why would that interest her?

“This is where I always prefer to have my meetings, you see.  I’ve become such a regular, that the owners have this same room reserved for me every time.”

She finally caught on.  “D-do you mean, this is…?”

“Yes.  This is where I met Eugene, two years ago.  And where I met Oliver as well.  They both sat in the exact spot you’re sitting in now.”

A shiver ran down her back.  Two years ago.  Gene was alive.  And sitting right here.

Suzuki nodded to himself.  “Eugene was a remarkable young man.  Truly an expert in his field. And very open and friendly.  He was also quite taken with the geisha,” he laughed.

“Oh…was he…”  Mai didn’t know how to take this information.

“His brother, on the other hand, was very…business-like.  Straight to the point, you might say.”

She laughed.  “Yeah, that sounds like him.”

“It was the honor of my life to meet them both.  Despite the…circumstances.” The man’s smile faded and he sighed.  “It’s truly terrible, what happened. I wish I could have done more to help.”

She nodded.  They lapsed into silence.  Mai sipped her tea.

After a moment, Suzuki resumed talking.  “Taniyama-san, is there anything you wanted to know in particular?”

“Um, yes.  Did Gene mention anything about what he did in Kyoto?”

Suzuki put a hand to his chin in thought.  “Yes, he seemed quite impressed with a number of tourist sites.  Fushimi Inari, in particular.”

“Fushimi Inari…”  She made a mental note to visit there later.

“He claimed to have seen a fox spirit there, and attempted to capture it on camera,” he smiled.

“Oh wow.”  Mai leaned forward.  “Did it work?”

“Unfortunately, no.  He said he would have to resign himself to taking ‘regular’ scenic photographs instead.”

She laughed.

But then Suzuki sighed, smile falling again.

“…Suzuki-san?”

“I’m sorry, that just reminded me of something.”  He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Toward the end of our conversation, I got the impression that he was becoming quite homesick.  He began reminiscing about road trips his family used to take when he was younger. He also mentioned that he and his brother had grown apart in recent years, and that he was starting to miss the closeness they once had.”

Oh no, Mai thought.

“He wished his brother could have been here to see the sights as well.  However, he thought Oliver wouldn’t appreciate the crowds. So he was planning to take plenty of pictures instead, so at the very least, Oliver could get some idea of it.”

Mai swallowed against the lump in her throat.  “I…see.”

They fell into silence again.  This time, the atmosphere remained heavy.

Unwittingly, her eyes drifted to the garden.  A scarlet maple leaf drifted slowly to the surface of the pond, causing silent ripples.

Two years ago, in the summer, Gene was in this exact spot, admitting that he missed his brother.  

One year ago, in the spring, Naru was also here, searching for leads on Gene’s location.

And now, it was Mai sitting here, looking back on the brothers’ separate journeys.  

Though the seasons were all different, time still seemed to overlap in that moment.  She could almost feel them there with her, gazing out into that garden together, both thinking of the other.

Where was Gene’s camera now?  At the bottom of the lake? Abandoned on the side of the road?  Or in his killer’s possession?

Gene had wanted to show Naru the beauty of Japan.  But in the end, all Naru saw was his brother’s death.  

Tears welled in her eyes.  

“Um, did you tell Oliver about this too?” she asked quietly.

“Yes.  And I did suggest that he do some sight-seeing while he was here.  However, he respectfully declined.”

Mai nodded slowly.  “…Even if he wanted to, I think back then, he would have been too preoccupied with finding Gene to appreciate any of it.”

“Yes.  I’m sure you’re right.”

And in that moment, Mai decided.

She had to do something.

——

Two days later, Mai returned to SPR carrying bags of souvenirs.  The gifts were modest, but she had fun picking them out. The Irregulars gathered at the office to hear stories from her trip, and they had a little party, eating snacks from Kyoto.  (Of course, Naru only made a brief appearance to complain about the noise.)

But once everyone had left, and she and Yasuhara had cleaned everything up, Mai slipped into Naru’s office with a paper bag.

“Hey, I’m going home soon.”

“Oh,” Naru said, not looking up from his computer.

She gathered her courage.  “By the way, I got you something too.”

Mai reached into her bag and pulled out his gift.  But unlike the others, this wasn’t a simple souvenir.  It was a small photo album.

She placed it on his desk, and Naru looked at it, perplexed.

“Open it,” she urged.

He opened the cover.  Fall colors immediately sprang off the page.

“This is…?”

“What it looks like.  Photos from Kyoto.”

“And you are giving this to me, why?”

Mai took a deep breath.  “Gene took a lot of pictures on his trip too.  He wanted to show them to you when he came home.  But he never got the chance.”

She pointed to herself.  “I’m kinda similar to Gene, right?  Personality-wise. That’s what Mori-san told me, anyway.  So, I pretended to be Gene for one day. To do what he couldn’t.”

Naru frowned a little, but returned his gaze to the album.  He turned a page.

She had spent all the rest of her free time in the city hunting for picturesque locations.  Among the pictures in the album were ones she’d taken at Kiyomizu-dera, as well as from the Gion district, Fushimi Inari Taisha, and the Philosopher’s Path, a tranquil stone path running along a canal.  The lighting in the pictures reflected the fact that she had been taking them from morning until sunset.

“You sure went to a lot of trouble for Gene’s sake,” Naru said off-handedly.

“I did it for you too.”

He looked up and blinked.

Blushing, she pushed on.  “Before, you gave me a picture of Gene, right?  So in return, I’m giving you pictures from Gene.  Or…something like it, anyway…”

He stared.  Mai averted her eyes.

When he told her about Gene’s desk.  And when he asked why she wanted to meet with Suzuki.  She’d thought Naru just didn’t understand why such things would matter to people.  She’d thought he wouldn’t care to even try to understand.  But in reality, he’d helped her every step of the way.

She’d misjudged him.  If he didn’t understand the value of a memento, he wouldn’t have given her that picture of Gene in the first place.  If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have stayed with her that day while she cried.

She took a deep breath, forced herself to look at him straight on again.  

“I know you’re not really interested in looking at travel photos.  But, if you could just…keep it on a shelf somewhere. Maybe look at it once every few years…I think it would make him happy.”

Naru raised an eyebrow.  “Him? Or you?”

Mai sucked in a breath.  What was with him and these heart-stopping questions that had no easy answers?

He looked at the album again, flipping through more pages.

“…You’re right,” he said at last.

“Huh?”

The corner of his mouth turned up just slightly, half-amused, half-nostalgic.  “This seems exactly like something he would do.”

Mai let out a sigh of relief.  “Really?”

“Yes.  He was always sticking his nose into other people’s business, doing things no one asked for.”

She winced.  “Yeah, well…that’s just who we are, I guess.  Learn to live with it.”

He shut the album.  “Unfortunately, I already have.”

#Ghost Hunt #GHW2019 #Mai Taniyama #Oliver Davis #Naru #seoulsborne123 #csakuras #submission

[beastreign]

Character sheet.  repost. do not reblog.

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

FULL NAME.    shinjou. NICKNAME.     jou  ( don’t call him that if ur not his brother, he’ll kill you ). GENDER.     male. HEIGHT.    180cm  /  5′11″. AGE.     530. ZODIAC.     aries  ( april 4 ). SPOKEN LANGUAGES.    japanese, english, italian, spanish, russian, german, korean, chinese, jsl.

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

HAIR COLOR.      white. EYE COLOR.     violet. SKIN.      pale, yellow undertones. BODY TYPE.     mesomorph.  hourglass figure, with prominent hips.  lean, veiny arms. DOMINANT HAND.      ambidextrous. POSTURE/BODY LANGUAGE.     proud, arrogant;  high and mighty, straight-backed.  unlike his twin he’s not very expressive with his body, he tends to be eerily still, the best one can get from him are quirks of his brows or ear twitches.  often had his hands on either his hips or crossed over his chest. SCARS.     brand on his left inner wrist, various smaller scars, nothing too distinctive. TATTOOS.     full-body yakuza tattoos, mostly made of various tribal shapes.  the only symbols that stand out are the snake on his left arm, and the lotus on his spine. MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S).     vulpine features if visible, hair, eyes, tattoos.

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 !

PLACE OF BIRTH.     the fushimi inari shrine, kyoto, japan. HOMETOWN.     kyoto. SIBLINGS.     younger twin brother, shinzou. PARENTS.    ren & chou, both deceased.

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 !

OCCUPATION.     yakuza boss, deals mostly with the formal side of it;  paperwork n such, but also the more stealthy stuff  ( hacking, sniping ).  acts as a ceo to a cybernetics company as a front. CURRENT RESIDENCE.     vast and expensive yakuza compound in kyoto. CLOSE FRIENDS.     his brother. RELATIONSHIP STATUS.     dating?????  abigail  ‘medusa’  denali  ( @skyhunted ).  but also multiship. FINANCIAL STATUS.     rich.  steals from the goverment. DRIVER’S LICENSE.     has one, but fake. CRIMINAL RECORD.     boi VICES.     pride, wrath, lust.  drugs, alcohol.

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION.     bisexual. PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.     submissive  |  dominant  |  switch  |  top |  bottom |  vers.  depends a lot on his partner’s gender. LIBIDO.     very high, though he seems to have better self control over it than his brother. TURN ON’S.    bloodplay, knifeplay, bondage, petplay, choking, finger sucking, hair pulling, biting, scratching, edging, denial, praise, degrading  ( giving only ), public sex, spanking  ( receiving ), body worship  ( receiving only )…  vore. TURN OFF’S.    tail  /  ear pulling. RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES.    toxic and manipulative.  at this point i don’t think he’s capable of genuine romantic feelings towards anyone, even if he stays with someone long-term.  they’ll be his  favorite,  he’ll get possessive  ( obsessive almost )  over them, but he’s unlikely to develop actual  feelings  towards them.

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬  !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG.     temposhark  /  don’t mess with me. HOBBIES TO PASS TIME.     calligraphy, meditation, torturing  /  experimenting on people, training, tinkering with cybernetic stuff. MENTAL ILLNESSES.     antisocial personality disorder, narcissistic personality disorder.  sleep paralysis. PHYSICAL ILLNESSES.     none. LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED.     left. PHOBIAS.    love and intimacy, failure, abandonment, sleep, dying. SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL.     very high.  this boi thinks he’s god. VULNERABILITIES.     his brother, his father.  fragile ego.  self-conscious about his feminine figure.

TAGGED BY:     my damn self TAGGING:     @skyhunted  bitch

#◟shinjou ( TYRANT KING )◝ trivia. #( R U CONTENT U FOOL ) #long post /

[sambart93]

2018.09.22 Ensemble Stars ‘EnStage’ Live in Yokohama [Report]

Official Website here Official Twitter here Press Coverage 1, 2, 3, 4 PreOrder DVD (Strangely they haven’t released any Animate Online or Amazon dvd preorder even though I’m sure they had DVD Reservations at the venue...)

CAST and CHARACTERS

TRICKSTAR

Ozawa Ren as Akehoshi Subaru Yamamoto Ikkei as Hidaka Hokuto Tanimizu Riki as Isara Mao Matsumura Taiichirou as Yuuki Makoto

UNDEAD

Konami Koji as Sakama Rei Chihiro Okutani as Hakaze Karou Akazawa Ryoutaro as Oogami Koga Akira as Otogari Adonis

FINE

Maeyama Takahisa as Tenshouin Eichi Yasui Kazuma as Hibiki Wataru Watanabe Takaki as Fushimi Yuzuru Hoshimoto Yuzuki as Himemiya Toori

2WINK

Yamanaka Kenta as Aoi Hinata Yamanaka Shouta as Aoi Yuuta

RYUUSEITAI

Saeki Ryou as Morisawa Chiaki Hori Kaito as Takamine Midori Fukazawa Taiga as Sengoku Shinobu Konishi Seiya as Nagumo Tetori Murakawa Shoichi as Shinkai Kanata

RA*BITS

Oosaki Natsuki as Nito Nazuna Sakurai Keito as Shino Hajime Miyazaki Kiyuu as Mashiro Tomoya Okui Nagato as Tenma Mitsuru

AKATSUKI

Higuchi Yuta as Kanzaki Souma Komatsu Junya as Hasumi Keito Ueda Kandai as Kiryu Kuro

KNIGHTS

Hashimoto Shohei as Tsukinaga Reo Takasaki Shouta as Sena Izumi Kitamura Ryo as Narukami Arashi Aramaki Yoshihiko as Sakama Ritsu Kitagawa Naoya as Suou Tsukasa

*

REPORT

Long story short: It was not worth the 12,000 yen I paid for an arena seat but it had some nice moments...

Let’s just get the crappy parts out of the way okay? BUT if you wanna skip it just CTRL F to ‘the few good parts’.

First, the massive mess up about the goods! If you didn’t hear, they announced about 3 days before the show starts that we would have to APPLY for a LOTTERY for a CHANCE to buy goods! And that the event venue and the goods venue were going to be at least 30 minutes apart (depending on your mode of transport). So we had people not hitting for the goods lottery meaning they couldn’t get any goods even though they might’ve been seeing it that day, so they were going without penlights, tshirts etc. So naturally people were pissed. It got worse when 8 minutes into the goods starting; penlights were sold out. And they were not going to get a new batch in until about 3 hours later. So again, people were losing their shit. There were people who could ONLY get goods at 10am because they were going to the afternoon show but within MINUTES one of the main wanted goods was sold out? Again, people lost their shit. It just got worse as the day went on... By the time the shows actually started, no one gave a shit about anything the official EnStage twitter had to say, everyone had lost their trust in the staff and company. Luckily, I had smooth sailing; I hit for goods, I got all my goods. But just imagining people who didn’t even HIT for the goods lottery but were going to the shows, just broke my heart. It made me just as angry as those who were being left out. OH and they did NOT prepare any trading area this time; why the fuck are you selling RANDOM and TRADING goods if you’re not going to provide a fucking trading area? Idiots...

The second mess up was, when the first show was about to begin, lots of tweets came out saying ‘there’s been a mistake in the seating plans, first row has NO seats, and they’re moving people’ well what a fuck up that is. How can you not have enough seats?! You know how big the room is, you know how many tickets you sold, you know how many people are coming; how did you fuck up the seating plan, not have enough seats and then have the audacity to MOVE a front row ticket holder to other parts of the room?! What the fuck. Again, I was lucky, I had a seat and there were no such problems at the night show I went to.

The next one is more to do with me personally. I am barely 159cm and I never wear heels to any events, even concerts, because I know how tiny some Japanese women can be and if one is behind me, I don’t want to be blocking them more than I should be. But because of this, I could not see the main stage AT ALL. The entire show I had to WATCH the screen even though I was to the left of the front stage. I could not see the main stage at all! So I was pissed! But also that meant that not only me, who paid 12,000 yen for an arena seat which should be one of the best seats, but others too weren’t able to see the stage. What’s the point paying 12,000 yen if I can’t see the whole fucking stage? GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK! I seriously think those in the stands and second floor had the best view for any of these performances. It was easy for them to see the stage, sitting or standing.

The next part, which is apparently my fault again, but apparently (no matter who I talk to) it’s ‘COMMON KNOWLEDGE’ that every stage/musical concert/live that you go to is lipsynced. Well I’m sorry but I DID NOT KNOW and they didn’t tell us it would be And if I HAD KNOWN, I wouldn’t have bothered paying for a ticket at all, let alone a 12,000 YEN SEAT(!). But apparently ‘everyone else knew it was going to be lipsynced’. WTF?! I realised straight away (during TRICKSTAR’S first song) that they were lipsyncing, so it wasn’t even GOOD lipsyncing! It really rubbed me the wrong way. Like A LOT. What did I pay 12000yen for? What did EVERYONE pay 9000+ yen for?! If you’re not going to PERFORM?! I did not pay a ridiculous amount of money to watch people LIPSYNC for 2 and a half hours. I paid that much money to be entertained, to be able to see everything, to enjoy myself, to hear the beautiful voices that people like Ikkei, Kandai, Kazuma and Yuzuki possess(!). To hear the booming voices of RenRen and Shohei who are SO damn loud, there’s no point giving them a mic - but again, because their voices were strangely the same volume as the melody when they were ‘singing’ was also obvious proof that they were lipsyncing -, to hear bad singers like TakaChan and KitaMu sing badly (because I fucking love hearing people live REGARDLESS of how shitty they are!). That’s what I want! I want a LIVE concert performance, and they gave me..... Higuchi barely trying to lipsync in time, for example ---- seriously he BARELY moved his mouth!!!!! 

OH and they didn’t even sing ALL the songs. WTF?! You just play the group songs and... why?! Judge of Knights was such a success and you’re not even going to put in any battle or Knight Killers songs?! Oh please fuck off. I’m sorry but that is NOT a performance! That is 30+ people barely putting in any effort and getting paid for it. Oh I was SO PISSED for the entirety of the show when I figured it out STRAIGHT away. No wonder I sat down for most of the concert; I couldn’t see the main stage whether I stood or not, they were lipsyncing so I don’t really need to watch them, I can just listen to them like I’d listen to a CD because that’s what they fucking were anyway! Again, why did I pay 12,000 yen to listen to a CD recording of them?! what the fuck....

Yeah, I’m still going! At this point I might as well let it ALL OUT. But the audience sucked as well. The cast was trying to get us to ‘oi!’ and yell chants at some of the songs but EVERY TIME, as soon as the boys stopped yelling it out, the audience went quiet again and I’m like ‘FUCKERS CONTINUE!’ it was obvious we could still keep cheering along, they wanted us to continue. The audience fucking sucked. OH god and every time KNIGHTS came out..... FYI I fucking HATE KNIGHTS at this point. I fucking hate Ritsu with a passion and ALWAYS have <<< feels so nice to finally admit how much I can’t stand and have never stood Ritsu. But the audience volume change and the squeal change when KNIGHTS came on compared to the REST of the groups is just so fucking bias and I am so fucking over it. OH and another part that really pissed me off, Rei and Ritsu did the ‘15 minutes before the show rules announcement’ and it started with Ritsu yawning but apparently everyone in that room was dumb as fuck because I knew that was Maki straight away, but it wasn’t until he spoke an actual line that everyone else realised it was Ritsu and then everyone started to lose their shit and scream -______________- . It was obvious it was him. -____________- idiots.... <<< like I said,  I might as well let it all out.

Also, fucking hate UnDead. Hate their songs too. You’re welcome to like them and everyone was super yelling and into their songs (the audience actually yelled and cheered during their songs which was nice) but ugh... just no for me.

New Yuzuru was so robotic whenever he spoke his lines. He didn’t really get a good reaction from the audience the night I watched. But he has time to improve, I think he’s a newbie anyway and he wasn’t on stage long enough to give people an impression really.

No Encore... seriously? No Greetings/Curtain Call... seriously? Ugh....

*

Sigh.... I think I’m done ranting.. let’s get to the few good parts...

The actual ensemble cast were a dream! The actual ensemble cast were so good and they were all so good looking! I spent MORE time watching them than I did with the actual cast. They were so much fun! Their dances were great, I loved how they tried to encourage the audience (but were obviously being ignored by everyone else) with claps and cheers constantly, they were good looking, they were just a great ensemble cast! I really, really liked all of them!

There was about 50% live singing when it came to the new FINE, Akatsuki and All Cast song. Knights Escort was 50% live too. But everything else was not. The two new group songs were good. BUT they were obvious goodbye songs and their lines before their songs were obviously scripted ‘graduation’ lines which just made me sigh. If it’s scripted then it just ruins their actual graduation if I’m going to be honest. Making them do the same ‘goodbye / graduation’ lines every show just ruins it. Okay, I’ll stop complaining now.... maybe...

There were so few interactions between people (as in groups mixing and interacting), it was just group song, after group song, after group song. BUT I did enjoy the few interactions that did happen; Ritsu running away from Rei, Ritsu falling asleep on Mao, Ra*bits hugging each other during their songs. But, looking at twitter reports, it was ALL scripted so again, it just cheapens it. BORING.

EVERYONE LOVES KNEW MITSURU! EVERYONE! When he first came out for his group songs, everyone was yelling ‘kawaii / cute’ and cheering for him and when it was his ‘singing’ parts, everyone gave him so much support! It was absolutely adorable and so great to watch. I’m glad everyone was already so ready and welcoming for him!

Rei messed up his line just before their first UnDead song and everyone died laughing and Kaoru started making fun of him and pointed it out ‘you messed up’ and Rei tried so hard just to ignore it xD

I really liked when it got emotional with FINE and Akatsuki towards the end, there was great (scripted) timing from Reo when he finished writing his song on the floor and popped up like ‘I DID IT!’ and it helped break that tension and sadness and brought laugher back to everyone, which was a nice touch.

Kandai made SUCH an effort even during the lipsyncing parts. You could tell he was actually singing even though his voice wasn’t going to come through the mic. You could tell in his neck movements and his throat and his neck veins were popping out. He really gave it his all even though he wasn’t going to be heard. But I appreciate how much effort he put into it regardless! He’s a star seriously. He looked the most legit out of everyone ‘performing’.

During the final song, Keito was near my side of the blocks and gave everyone attention as he ‘sang’ the end of one of the Shooting Star chorus’, everyone around him sucked it all in.

TakaChan took his moment to congratulate Ritsu on his birthday and Maki replied ‘oh you say it HERE?!’ and we all yelled happy birthday to him.

*

And I think that’s all. Like I said, NOT worth the amount of money I paid but I’m glad most other people seemed to enjoy it.

#ensemble stars #enstage #ensute #review #report #aramaki yoshihiko #kitamura ryo #takasaki shouta #kitagawa naoya #ozawa ren #yamamoto ikkei #tanimizu riki #ueda kandai #higuchi yuta #sakurai keito