Ren’s vision slowly faded back into view, she was standing somewhere very familiar… a large rusted building stood just across the street. This had to be Madarame’s shack! As soon as she realized this just like every time before her vision shattered and suddenly she was standing there in her girl body, alongside Ryuji and Ann.

“It will take some time though, doing everything by myself in front of Madarame would be impossible” Morgana’s snide tone was the first thing she heard, “If only there was someone who could distract him for a while…”

“...huh?” Ann asked when Morgana looked at her

“Oh… oooh!” Ryuji smirked and also looked at Ann, “Man, how are we even supposed to get into his house? We’d get reported for sure if we force ourselves in…”

“What” Ann sounded annoyed and crossed her arms

“I guess the only way is… havin you go nude” he grinned

“WHAT?!” Ann nearly jumped back

“Fancy you say that Ryuji, I was just thinking the same thing” Morgana sounded all cocky about it

“This isn’t funny!” she yelled back at them both while Ren just watched

“We’re not sayin you should really get naked” Ryuji sighed

“It’s simply the best excuse for you to enter Madarame’s house without raising suspicions” Morgana explained, “So, we’d like for you to play the role of decoy, Lady Ann”

“This is way too sudden! Do I have to be the bait?” she was clearly a bit panicked.

 

Ren thought to herself for a few moments before looking sternly at the others, “I can do it”

“Huh?” Ann gasped

“Lady Ren?” Morgana looked surprised

“Would that really work though? He seemed pretty committed to havin Ann as his model specifically” Ryuji asked

“He can’t afford to be picky, right? Madarame will require another piece of art soon” she answered calmly, “He just wants to paint a nude girl, right?”

“W-well I guess our builds are sorta similar” Ann looked her up and down, “but a-are you really ok with doing this?”

“I don’t really mind at all, we just need to get Madarame to see the door open, right?” she looked at Morgana, who was standing on her shoulder

“Th-that’s right but… hhmm… we’ll have to convince Yusuke that you’re good enough” he sighed, “It would be easiest if Lady Ann would do it”

“I’ll make sure he’s fine with Ren doing it!” Ann immediately yelled

“Alright, let’s do it tomorrow then” Morgana nodded, “We’ll be counting on you to get it approved Lady Ann, and we’ll be counting on you to trick Yusuke, Lady Ren”

Both of the girls nodded in unison.

“So while she’s doing that and you’re unlocking the door, what should Ann and I do? Should we wait out here?” Ryuji asked

“No, the two of you will need to be waiting inside the Palace, once the security lowers in the courtyard you’ll have to sneak further in and make sure it can’t be brought back up” Morgana explained

“Alright then, we’re countin on ya Ren and Mona!” he grinned.

 

The memory jumped forward until after school the next day, she was standing in front of Madarame’s shack waiting for Yusuke to come and open the door.

“Alright, you just need to get him to follow you to the locked door, and remember we need Madarame to see it open! Otherwise this is all for nothing” Morgana explained to which she just nodded

After a few more moments the door finally opened with Yusuke waiting at the other side.

“Welcome” his calm voice was as soothing as ever

She followed him inside and over to the same room they were in the other day when Ann was modeling for him. Morgana meanwhile slipped out of her bag and wandered off towards the locked door with a hairpin at the ready to unlock it.

“I must admit… I wasn’t exactly expecting this” Yusuke sounded unconvinced, “Takamaki-san said you volunteered for this in her stead, but you are not her… will this painting really be worthwhile without my ideal model?”

“Am I not pretty enough?” she raised an eyebrow at him

“N-no it’s not that… hm… but Takamaki-san did also ensure me that you were willing to try a variety of expressive poses for use in a dynamic composition, that could certainly make up for not having the ideal model” he smiled genuinely

“R-right” as she said that she was unbuttoning her uniform jacket

“Ah, yes… I’m not sure if Takamaki-san told you or not, but sensei will be returning soon, so um… sorry if that causes any anxiety on your part” he sighed while digging through his art supplies to get everything ready

“Don’t you think we could… move this somewhere with a bit more privacy?” she removed her jacket now, starting to reach for the buttons of her blouse while trying to speak in a more sultry tone, “A room with a lock would certainly make me feel better”

“But the only room with a lock is… sensei’s room…” Yusuke’s voice sounded dismayed

“That would work” she looked intently into his eyes, slowly unbuttoning one button at a time, she intentionally wore a blouse with buttons instead of her usual uniform today for this very reason

“I-I can’t intrude… besides I don’t have a key…”

“Come on, surely he’ll understand if it’s all in the name of art, right?” she gave him as good of a sexy smile as she could

“It might make for a better picture if I can brighten my model’s mood…” he crossed his arms and thought about it for a few moments but shook his head

“Then let’s go” she turned around and walked out of the room

“Wait, we really can’t use any other room!” he called after her, seeing her blouse land in the hallway just in front of the door, “Amamiya-san, please wait!”

Yusuke followed behind her while she was walking in just her skirt, tights and bra. She went where she thought Morgana had left to and started walking down a hallway when Yusuke caught up.

“Please, can you just wait and-” he started

“What room is down past here?” she cut him off

“That’s… a storage area for old paintings” he was clearly flustered

“How about we do it in there?” she asked as she rounded the corner, seeing Morgana still working on the lock

“Sorry… it’s hard to do this with cat paws… distract him for a bit longer!” Morgana groaned while repeatedly failing to pick the lock

“I told you we can’t go in there!” Yusuke was growing more flustered by the minute

She had to think on her feet, and the only thing she could think of that wouldn’t come off as suspicious was to remove her skirt. After it dropped to the ground she was just left with her bra, tights and panties, dangerously close to actually going nude which was not at all the plan.

“Come onnnn, there’s gotta be a spare key around here, right? Can’t you tell how embarrassing this is?” Ren was certainly trying as best as she could to be seductive while shyly covering her largely exposed body with her hands, “I don’t want your sensei to see me like this, you know?”

“I… well… it…” he turned away from her

“If you can’t ensure my comfort, then maybe I’ll just leave” she crossed her arms, “this is way too embarrassing”

“No wait! Th-there has to be something…”

“Open up that door and then I can do all the poses you want” she turned back on her seductive tone

“Y-you’re way too good at this” Morgana whispered, still picking at the lock

“What do I do…” Yusuke bemoaned.

 

The sound of a door opening made both of them fall silent

“I’m home” the voice of Madarame called out from the entrance

“S-sensei?!” Yusuke turned to face the voice

“Yusuke?” Madarame slowly approached the pair

As if on cue, Morgana finally got the lock off of the door and it immediately slid open. Without missing a beat Ren ran inside of the storage room with Yusuke following behind, once he saw that the door was open though he gasped in surprise.

“What are you doing there?!” the stern anger of Madarame’s voice was unlike any tone Ren had heard coming out of him before

“I-it’s not what it looks like!” Yusuke tried to explain, Ren quickly grabbed ahold of his hand and pulled him inside of the room as well

“Not in there!” Madarame’s yell was the last thing she heard before she slowly began to return to reality.

Her eyes slowly fluttered open to the sound of the usual text alert sounds of her phone.

 

Ann: Ren really saved me in that memory

Ryuji: How did it all go? My dream was just discussin the plan

Makoto: And what plan would that be?

Yusuke: It was when they were against Madarame

Yusuke: I had asked Ann to model for me in the nude

Yusuke: In this revised memory, Ren went in her stead

Futaba: Wait, she actually modeled nude for you?

Futaba: Do you still have the painting???

Ren: I didn’t actually get fully naked

Ann: How did that part of the memory go?

Ann: I assume that also was revised

Ren: the plan went off without a hitch

 

“Remember what I said about your boldness being kind of scary? That whole ordeal was one of those instances” Morgana sighed

 

Yusuke: She certainly had me fooled, she was quite persuasive

Ryuji: What did she seduce ya or somethin?

Ren: Something like that

Haru: How bold! You’re so brave Ren

Ann: Seriously!

Makoto: So does that mean in the original reality, Ann had to go instead?

 

“That’s most likely… though given her acting skills? I’m not sure how we succeeded” Morgana grinned

 

Ren: Morgana said probably

Ren: and that I’m a better actress than Ann

Ann: Hey!

 

“Don’t tell that to Lady Ann!” Morgana yelled

 

Ryuji: Well that ain’t sayin much

Futaba: It’s almost like the stars are aligning for Inari to finally get his nude model

Yusuke: I would appreciate it if you would actually model for me Ren

Yusuke: I believe I could bring true beauty to the canvas with you as my subject

Ryuji: Dude

Ren: Let me think about it

Ann: Don’t tease him like that, he’ll believe you

Yusuke: Of course I’d also be happy if Ann were willing to as well

Ann: No way!!

 

“Thinking about it, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you’re so brave, it’s only fitting for our leader” Morgana grinned, “You’re really amazing Lady Ren”

“Nah, I’m nothing special” she smiled and shook her head before standing up

“Now then, let’s go and see Takemi today” Morgana said while he jumped into her bag

Ren got changed and left immediately as opposed to helping around the shop. Of course with Takemi’s clinic so close by she arrived there in just a few short minutes. She approached the counter while the punk doctor was reading something off handedly.

“Oh, how can I help you, my little guinea pig?” she smiled at her

“I’m just looking for a checkup” she said back

“Are you feeling ill?”

“Uh…” Ren thought for a moment to think up a good excuse, then looked around, “I sort of collapsed after my last thief outing”

Takemi sighed, “You really shouldn’t push yourself to that point, alright, head into the exam room”

“I’ll kill some time outside while you do that” Morgana said while jumping out of her bag, leaving the clinic.

 

Once she was in the exam room Takemi measured some of her vitals, took a look over her and examined her eyes, ears, nose and throat, a standard typical check up. Ren did feel slightly nervous, it was her first time being examined so thoroughly in this form, but she didn’t let her nerves show.

“Well, I’m not seeing any obvious symptoms, if anything I’d say you’re as healthy as you’ve always been” she said while writing down some notes, “if I had to guess you probably fainted from exhaustion”

“That makes sense… I was out for a full day”

“Hm, didn’t you have me check on a girl who had a similar problem a few months back? A girl with long orange hair?” she asked

“Oh, Futaba? Yeah, she was wiped out from exhaustion but eventually recovered” Ren answered, while thinking to herself after like two weeks of sleep

“That seems like the most likely case for you as well, are you experiencing any pain?”

She shook her head

“Well, you should be fine then, of course you can always come back if you start to develop any worrying symptoms” she smiled at her, “you know my door is always open to you guinea pig”

Ren smiled back and nodded before leaving the clinic, Morgana was standing nearby and jumped up into her bag.

 

“So? Any issues?” he asked

“Nope, she said I was in perfect health” she answered while wandering around the area

“Well that’s a relief, so what should we do for the rest of the day?” Mona asked

She just shrugged so the two of them went to go and watch a movie and wander around afterwards for the remaining daylight. She noticed that she did get a few stares while walking around Shibuya, something she couldn’t remember ever happening as a guy.

“Don’t worry Lady Ren” Morgana came out of her bag, “if any guys try to approach you I’ll handle them!”

“I think I can handle pretty much anything, I did kill a god” she said back plainly

“W-well you’re not wrong” he sounded dejected, “Still, I’ll keep a look out for you”

“So you noticed the stares?”

“Of course, I’m ever vigilant back here after all” he grinned, “I’ve gotta make sure our leader stays safe!”

“It… is definitely pretty creepy” she sighed, “I didn’t realize just how common it was to get stares like that, is this what the others have to go through every day?”

“I have no idea, though I’d assume so… didn’t you help Yoshizawa handle a creepy guy a long time ago?” he asked

“What? Oh, before the clean up event?” she said and then nodded, “Yeah, I suppose that’s true… Then there was that time we went to the beach as a group, a few guys were trying to pick up Ann and Makoto”

“Sounds like it’s tough being a girl” Morgana said in a concerned voice

“It’s nothing I can’t handle” she shrugged

“Even so, you should try and stay cautious”

She just nodded and continued walking

“Well, either way it’s starting to get late… we should probably head home” he said while going back to hiding in her bag.

 

She did just that and walked back to the station to go back to Leblanc.

“Ah, you’re back” Sojiro said, “Oh and Futaba wanted me to remind you that all of your friends are coming here tomorrow night for New Years”

“Oh yeah! I totally forgot we were having a get together” Morgana grinned

“Hope we’re not intruding too much, I know you usually close the store for us” she said

“It’s not a problem at all, it’s not like I have a lot of customers that late in the day anyway” Sojiro chuckled, “Alright, I’m gonna head out, make sure you lock up”

Ren nodded and did so right after he left, getting changed into her pajamas

“We have a big day tomorrow, so you should probably go to bed right away” Morgana jumped up into bed

She nodded and also laid down, slowly falling asleep to another waiting revised memory.

 

This revised memory began much more recently, she was in her male body and standing in the school’s gym next to Makoto. This had to be during the post-festival party at the school, the MC was talking about the sharing special when the image shattered and she was standing in her girl body now.

 

“All right, who has something to say? Anyone, Anyone?!” the MC was calling out to the crowd, “No? I’ll just have to pick someone then!”

“Oh he’s choosing from the crowd? The MC this year is actually somewhat capable” Makoto said

“Ooooh, how about the transfer student! I’m sure everyone’s dying to know more about you!” he called out in their direction, with them both having a shocked reaction

“Is… he talking about me?” Ren looked around, “What do I do?”

“I… guess there isn’t really much of a choice” Makoto seemed as dismayed as she did

“Come, come, everyone’s waiting!”

 

With little other choice Ren eventually went up onto the stage and stood in front of the microphone.

“And your name is?” the MC was enthusiastic as ever

“...Amamiya” she answered quietly into the mic

“Ah, Amamiya-san! You seem like quite the shy one!” he teased while she was thankfully maintaining composure pretty easily, “Ever since your transfer to our school all kinds of things have happened around here! So much so that almost nobody has gotten to really know you! So, what would you like to share with us today, Amamiya-san?”

She didn’t say anything, she just stared down at her feet

“Uh… Amamiya-san?”

Ren was completely frozen, sure there were things she could have said and that she thought would be funny but… for some reason there was a hint of stage fright keeping her from opening her mouth. 

“Um… excuse me?” the MC sounded a bit disappointed before his tone completely flipped, “Hm, how about I provide a question for you to answer then! I’m sure plenty of people are wondering, myself included, would a cute girl like you happen to have a boyfriend?”

“H-huh?” she gasped, her composure erased by that question

“What?” Makoto gasped as well

“Hm? Seems our class president sure is intrigued by that question!” The MC laughed, “Though I can’t say I blame her! Come to think of it though, you both entered the gym together didn’t you?”

Ren had an idea where this was going but was powerless to stop it

“Tell me Amamiya-san, what is your relationship with our lovely class president? Could this be a blossoming love between girls?” he asked excitedly

She completely froze up, not entirely certain of what to say

“Would you look at that? She’s still as a statue!” the crowd laughed along, “But I’m a gentleman, it hurts my heart to bully such a sweet girl!”

Ren breathed a small sigh of relief

“Well, did you all enjoy our adorably secretive guest? Thank you very much, Amamiya-san!” with that she finally left the stage.

 

Ren and Makoto escaped to the roof as soon as she was off the stage.

“It felt like I was up there for years” she sighed deeply

“I know what you mean” Makoto sighed with her, “I never imagined seeing you at a loss for words”

“His question did come out of nowhere”

“You’re not wrong there, I think I would have fully panicked were I in your shoes” she looked at her

“I… feel like he just wanted to know for his own sake” Ren sighed again, “but I’m glad I at least didn’t have to answer that last question”

Makoto blushed slightly, “I-it was certainly a shocking question to be asked…”

“I think that was the point” Ren laughed a bit awkwardly and then went silent, “it was a strange question though… to ask what the relationship is between two girls”

“A-a… re-relationship between two girls” Makoto blushed even more than before, “I… um…”

The two looked around and avoided eye contact for a few moments before moving on swiftly without addressing that part of the conversation at all, Makoto shook her head as if to try and get those thoughts out of her head before speaking.

 

“Still, even with everything that happened today, I’m glad that my last post-festival party turned out to be quite the unforgettable one” Makoto smiled at her, “even with the embarrassing questions”

“That’s a good enough silver lining for me” Ren giggled

“How about we get some food on the way home? It’ll be my treat since you had to deal with all of that” Makoto giggled with her

“I’d like that a lot, thank you” she smiled and then the two of them left together to go and eat before going home.

Ren awoke to no waiting messages so she decided to send one to the group herself.

 

Ren: Way closer to the current day this time

Ren: It was at the post-festival party awhile back

Ryuji: Oh yeah, that was where we got trapped by that bastard Akechi right?

Ann: Ryuji!

Ryuji: Oh! Right… sorry…

Yusuke: That aside, any clues as to what had changed?

Makoto: Ren and I were together

Makoto: She got called up on stage for the sharing special

Ryuji: They still do that?

Futaba: Standing in front of a crowd, huh? No thanks!

Ren: It was a little nerve racking

Ann: It’s surprising to hear you say that

Makoto: You handled yourself well though, Ren

Ryuji: Woah, Renren got nervous? That can happen?

Ren: I was completely unprepared

Yusuke: Even the strongest of wills can be useless if one is ill prepared

Futaba: As poetic as always, Inari

Haru: That was a very fun festival, I had a lot of great memories with you all there

Yusuke: Indeed, in spite of the stress of our situation at the time

Ryuji: It wasn’t all bad I guess, we did get to see Akechi eat that spicy takoyaki!

Haru: It’s a shame that it was mine and Mako-chan’s last one

Ann: Maybe you can come to next year’s! Ryuji and I will still be there

Haru: I would like that, we could all go together again!

 

“You got called up on stage huh? If I had to guess maybe you blended in too much before to get called up” Morgana snickered

“That could be, the MC did really seem to enjoy picking on me” she shrugged 

“Picking on you?” he asked curiously

“Just… he was teasing me about relationship stuff, that’s all” she said quickly and went downstairs to help around the shop before Morgana could ask anymore questions.

 

After a few hours Ren’s phone began to go off so she went back up to her room quickly to answer it.

“Ren? I’m glad to hear that you’re recovering well” the voice of Sae Niijima was on the other end

“Niijima? I wonder what she has to say to us…” Morgana wondered quietly

“I have some news that I believe you’ll want to know, firstly after you all finished your last job I had originally intended to ask you to turn yourself in to the police” she explained

“What? Why?” Ren asked back, sitting down on her bed

“It would be difficult to prove Shido’s guilt unless a connection between the metaverse and the mental shutdowns is made” Sae explained, “but it would seem that you no longer need to turn yourself in”

“And why is that?”

“Because while you were unconscious I started looking into more leads and you were out for so long that I even checked in with quite a few outlandish ones” she said, “but I got a hit, I found Goro Akechi”

“Akechi?! He’s alive?” Morgana exclaimed

“So he survived…” Ren’s voice was practically a whisper

“Apparently he had stumbled into a rehabilitation center with a bullet wound, he’s agreed to turn himself in and confess to all of his crimes on one condition” she sighed, “He wants to speak with you first”

“Where is he at?” Ren was already getting up and getting ready to leave

“I have him with me right now, we will be stop by Leblanc so he can speak with you, then I’m taking him straight into custody” there was a hint of unease in her voice, “so just wait there”

“Right…” the phone call ended immediately after and she sat back down on her bed

“Akechi… I wonder what he wants with you” Morgana looked at her, “Any ideas?”

She just shook her head

“Yeah, I figured… he’s a tough guy to figure out” he sighed, “I guess all we can do now is wait for him to show up”

Ren nodded and went downstairs to explain to Sojiro, thankfully there were no customers around.

 

“That detective?… didn’t he try to kill you?!” Sojiro crossed his arms with a very concerned look on his face

“Twice… but… I think I need to speak with him” she explained, sitting at the counter

“Hmm… what could he possibly have to say to you?” he thought deeply about it for a moment

“He’s turning himself in, so I don’t think it’s anything bad” she reasoned

“Alright, fine, once they show up I’ll close up the shop for a little while so the two of you can talk” he sighed, “just be careful, alright?”

“I will… thank you” she said before getting up and going back upstairs to wait for Akechi’s arrival.

 

Shortly after noon the door to the shop opened, she went downstairs and saw Akechi standing in the entrance. He looked relatively unharmed but he was likely still recovering from his wounds.

“Ah, there you are” Sae said before looking at Akechi, “You’ll only have a short time to talk, then we’ll need to leave”

He just nodded and walked past her, at the same time Morgana came down the steps, “I’ll wait outside while you two talk”

Sojiro didn’t say anything, he just had a concerned look on his face but let it continue all the same

“Lead the way” Akechi said calmly when he reached her

The two walked back up to her room where he sat down on her couch and she stood nearby. There was an uneasy silence in the room, they could both hear Sojiro and the others leaving the shop just a few minutes after they got upstairs. She didn’t know what to say to him though, and for his part he just looked at her with a rather intense look on his face.

“So, am I correct in assuming that this is what you wanted to do with Mementos?” he finally spoke up

“So you remember?” she crossed her arms, maintaining a casual tone of voice

“Yes, it was a bit of a shock when I discovered that the great leader of the Phantom Thieves had apparently been a girl this whole time” he sighed, “So you wanted to warp all of reality for something like this?”

“I didn’t do it intentionally…”

“Is that supposed to be an excuse? You twisted all of reality just so you could live in your own little fantasy” he lightly grabbed at his side, “Even if you didn’t do it intentionally, it’s still what you wanted to do for whatever reason, right?”

“Yeah… it’s a long story” she responded quietly

“Yes I’m quite sure it is, well… no matter, it’s no concern of mine” he scowled slightly, a slight twitch shot through his arms

“What’s wrong?” she took a step towards him

“Don’t, it’s nothing critical, I just haven’t fully recovered yet” he sat back on the couch, “It seems that you got very lucky”

“What do you mean?” she stepped back

“Sae-san was quite desperate, from what I can gather you being asleep had really twisted her plans” he chuckled slightly, “I don’t know how in the world she found me… but this will make it far easier to repay my debt to you”

“Your debt to me?” 

“You kept our promise… you handled Shido” Akechi looked up towards the ceiling, “and now it will rest on me to ensure that bastard spends the rest of his days in absolute misery”

“We had our own reasons for targeting him, you don’t owe us anything” Ren shook her head

“Heh, so should I go tell Sae-san to send me back to the rehab center then? Afterall one of us must turn ourselves in” he started to cough softly

“...thank you, for doing this” she looked away from him

“Well, I have my own reasons for this as well… I may not have been able to kill Shido myself, but getting him behind bars for the rest of his life? I can make do with that” he paused for a moment and looked down, “even if I have to serve a life sentence as well”

“A life sentence?!” she gasped and looked back at him

“Use your head Joker, I did Shido’s dirty work for him… mental shutdowns, psychotic breakdowns, I’m the one who committed them all” he kept looking down at the ground, “They may be more lenient due to my age… but I doubt it will affect my sentencing that much”

She didn’t know how to respond

“Don’t pity me, I don’t want it, I will do what I must for the sake of my justice” he looked angrily at her

“But still… you’re a victim in this too!” she snapped back

“How naive of you…” he sighed

“I’m not wrong, he used you to do whatever he wanted, he manipulated you!” her voice rose a bit

“Enough! I still committed the crimes, don’t make excuses for me” he narrowed his eyes at her, “I told you, I don’t want your pity! I’m not some child for you to save!”

“...You’re right, I’m sorry”

“...I truly don’t understand you” he grimaced, “No matter what I do, I just can’t wrap my head around you”

She didn’t say anything in response

“I tried to kill you, I framed you, I fought against you and your little friends, I’ve been your enemy from the very beginning” he glared at her, “So why? Why do you even care about what happens to me?”

“Because you’re my friend” she said back immediately

He laughed in response, “I’m your friend? Don’t be absurd”

“Laugh all you want, you aren’t as hard to read as you think… you enjoyed our time together just as much as I did” she responded plainly

Akechi didn’t respond for a moment, he just looked away from her with a disgusted look on his face, “I won’t deny that I enjoyed our time together, but I would hardly consider us friends… maybe in a different reality, or if we had met sooner…”

Both of them sat in silence for a few moments while Akechi checked the time.

 

“Humor me with one last question, what would you have done if I had just come here to kill you for good, everyone else left already, I could take you out before you had a chance to scream” his piercing gaze felt like it had bored straight through her head

“I knew you wouldn’t” she shrugged

“Oh? And what could have possibly given you that idea?”

“You’re not satisfied with how our last fight ended either… you wouldn’t kill me like this, not before our rematch” she stared back at him with her own piercing gaze

Akechi started to laugh and cough in tandem, “Right… well, you can believe what you want”

“And until we can have that rematch I’ll hold onto this” she held up Akechi’s glove, he had issued her a duel a while back with this very glove, “I’ll be waiting for you, as your rival”

Akechi didn’t say anything in response, he just sighed and slowly got back up to his feet.

“Well… I better leave, Sae-san is probably getting restless”

“I’ll see you again” Ren said while putting the glove away

“...If you insist” he smirked and started to walk towards the stairs, “Ren…”

For a moment it looked like he wanted to say more, but he shook his head and just started to walk down the stairs slowly. 

 

She followed downstairs once she heard Akechi opening the shop door, he didn’t do so much as look back at her, he just left without saying another word. Immediately after, Sojiro and Morgana came back into the shop.

“What did he have to say?” Sojiro asked

“He just… wanted to say goodbye” she said solemnly, looking at the floor

“Hm… is everything alright?” he responded, noticing how sad she seemed

“I’m just… conflicted is all” she looked back up at him, “I know he’s a criminal… he killed so many people, but still… I wanted to save him from Shido, we all did”

“Well, I don’t know much about how all of your phantom thief things worked, but if he’s turning himself in? That’s the first step he can take towards atoning for what he’s done” he explained

“Yeah, you’re right, this was the right thing for him to do” she nodded

“You’re so kind Lady Ren… you can’t help but want to save everyone, can you?” Morgana said softly

She slowly walked over behind the counter, “I think I’ll help out back here until everyone else gets here, it’ll help to take my mind off of this”

Sojiro just nodded and opened the store for business again.

“Lady Ren…” Morgana said quietly and then looked back at the door, “Akechi…”