Chapter Text
"Know this one?"
Ren shifted his attention to the slow, sad song playing quietly in the jazz club. There was no live performance today, so instead they were listening to a recording of a female singer crooning English words. Ren couldn't quite understand what they were, but they had a mournful quality. It wasn't a song he'd heard before, and he said as much to Akechi.
"Really?” Akechi said smilingly, as if he found Ren’s ignorance amusing. It was a little grating, probably because Ren was used to comfortably wielding the power of a home-field advantage at Leblanc. The jazz club, in contrast, was Akechi’s spot, a part of his world that he’d allowed Ren into. Ren could admit to himself– although grudgingly– that the smug familiarity Akechi displayed here probably wasn’t entirely unlike the kind Ren showed him at the café.
Still annoying, though. “Go ahead," Ren said.
"Hm?"
Ren made a loose gesture with the hand that wasn’t holding his mocktail. "I know you like explaining things to me. So…?"
Akechi gave him one of his tight-lipped little smiles that said if I wasn't putting on an act, I wouldn’t let you get away with that. "All right, then.” He folded his hands on the table. “This isn't jazz. It's a famous singer's take on an American song that was popular during the second World War. Translated, it goes…” He paused. “ I'll be seeing you, in all the old familiar places … in every lovely summer’s day, in everything that’s light and gay. Something like that. A sad ode to a longed-for old lover.”
"Huh," Ren said. "Pretty."
"It is, isn't it?" Akechi replied. “Everyone can relate to missing someone. The sentiment is expressed beautifully by the singer.”
“Do you like it?”
“Hm?”
“Do you like the song?” Ren repeated.
For a second Akechi still looked like he didn’t understand the question. Then he said, in a mild-mannered voice, “Well, yes. It is pretty, like you said, and the meaning’s nice. I’m sure this song has touched many over the years. Imagine all those wives waiting at home for their husbands fighting in armies overseas.” He smiled. “When I think of how some of those people must have felt, it makes me think my own burdens aren’t very heavy at all.”
"Huh," Ren said. He took a sip of his drink. Akechi might have unwittingly showed his hand too early, but Ren had to give him credit. He really was a good liar.
A long while later, at the entrance of Maruki's Palace, Ren looked at the team– his team, standing before him, waiting for him to make a call.
"This is it,” he said. He had never been much for speeches, and today was no different. “No going back, no more time to prep. Are we ready?"
For a moment there was an expectant silence. Then Futaba said, "As we'll ever be,” forced lightness straining her voice.
Ren glanced to his side. "Crow? Violet?"
"Let's get moving already," Akechi said.
Sumire just nodded.
Ren nodded back before turning around with a swish of his tailcoat. His shoes clicked against the floor, and the footsteps of his teammates sounded quickly afterwards as they followed him.
He liked being Joker, especially at times like these. With a mask on, he felt as if there was no way for anyone to see his uncertainty– and if it was invisible, it was like it wasn’t there at all.
Soon enough they were back in Eden, gazing up again at the tallest tree, the confounding Treasure. Something about it was starting to set Ren’s teeth on edge.
“I see you made it.” Maruki’s amplified voice suddenly rang out through the garden. “Come on up– I’ll meet you at the center of paradise.”
A golden light flashed, and when it faded, they saw that it had altered the tree. Now, a large staircase that looked like it had been woven from light wound around it, beckoning them upwards in the same way Maruki’s words had.
“What a laughable announcement,” Akechi said, but he looked far from amused. “Anyway. It’s like he laid out a red carpet, isn’t it? How gracious.”
“Let’s go,” Ann said firmly.
The journey up the stairs took longer than Ren had expected.
“This is a little anticlimactic,” Makoto muttered as they all hurried upwards.
“It’s just getting me more pumped!” Ryuji said. “We’ve come this far. No way we’re going down now– right, Joker?”
“Right.”
“Watch your step!” Ann cried. “Sorry. Oracle almost tripped.”
“N-No, I didn’t!”
“Um, yeah, you did.”
“Can we cut the chattering?” Akechi said tightly. “Look, we’re almost there.”
“He’s right,” Sumire said. “I can see the end!”
Their footsteps slowed as they emerged at the top of the platform a moment later. Against an ominous backdrop of winding tendrils, Dr. Maruki was waiting for them in his white coat.
“Nice to see you,” he said. His face held a rueful expression. “It looks like I have your answer.”
“I’m sorry,” Ren said quietly.
“Don’t apologize,” Maruki returned. “You’re fighting to see through something important– something you feel you can’t allow to fail. I’d say that’s admirable.” He looked squarely at them. “Let’s review the terms. If you win, my heart will be changed. And if I win, my reality becomes the true reality.”
The air was tense with expectation. Maruki swept his eyes over the team, pausing to gaze at each of them in turn.
Ren remembered all the hours he’d spent in that little office. He’d been wary at first, and hadn’t bothered to hide it. He’d responded to Maruki’s questions with sarcasm, with remarks that made his distaste clear… but even then, Maruki had been patient. Slowly but surely, he’d won Ren’s trust. The office had started to feel safe, in the way few other places had since Ren had gotten to Tokyo.
Remembering all of that, a sharp sense of sadness overtook Ren, and then the sting of betrayal, again.
“I’m no longer holding back,” Maruki declared. His gaze had intensified. “No matter what happens to me in the end, I want to fix the world. That’s my own form of rebellion!”
Another flash of light. For a moment, Ren almost thought it was an Awakening. But it was over too quickly, and after it, Maruki looked–
“His outfit changed!” Morgana exclaimed.
Akechi sighed. “Of course it did.”
Without missing a beat, Maruki said, with quiet gravity, “Persona.”
Reality seemed to break for a moment as the air around Maruki shifted and warped. And then, an intimidating Persona was towering above them. A second ago it hadn't been there, and now it was– or maybe it had always been here, had been waiting for them since the beginning of time– Ren’s mind struggled to process the sight of something so cold and robotic, writhing and alive, sorrowful and blissfully happy, all at once–
“It’s time, Azathoth,” Maruki said, looking almost unrecognizable in his new headgear, and somehow radiating an even stronger aura of sad nobility. “This is our final battle.”
Sumire looked stunned. “Dr. Maruki…”
“Get ahold of yourself! He has some nerve, putting on the self-sacrificial act even now,” Akechi hissed. “Let’s finish this!”
Ren came back to himself, his grip around his knife tightening, just as the battle began.
The team quickly went on the offensive, engaging in a flurry of blows, passing batons and charging up until they’d done a good bit of damage.
After a while of that, Maruki cried out as one particularly tough Nuclear attack from Makoto hit him hard. He collected himself and looked at them. “Not bad.” His gaze sharpened. “But we’re just getting started.”
Azathoth seemed to recover– and then some. Suddenly he loomed largely before them, like they’d never weakened him at all.
Futaba’s desperate voice crackled in Ren’s ear. “Why’s it getting stronger?! Ugh… just watch out!”
During the next phase of the fight, resisting Azathoth’s brutal onslaught of attacks was difficult enough without making their own offensive moves. Ren struggled to hold his ground while barking commands at his team and keeping up his energy. Maruki was right– things were just beginning; he couldn’t afford to get tired now. It felt as if every blow Akechi didn’t manage to dodge was hitting Ren, too, but he just grit his teeth and ignored the pain. If anything, knowing Akechi was hurting just filled him with the determination to finish this faster.
They did finish it, eventually. When Maruki looked to be at his weakest, Ren dealt the final blow, and Azathoth flickered, as if phasing out of reality. Then he fell to the ground– a toppled statue of a god abandoned by his worshippers.
“Azathoth,” Maruki whispered. With difficulty, he made his way over to the Persona and knelt over him, breathing hard. “Is this it?”
Something shimmered into existence in front of the team.
“The Treasure,” Haru said, wonder in her voice. “But what is it?”
“A torch,” Akechi said. “It’s a light to guide people. It shows you how he sees himself– as a guide for the whole world.” He glanced at Ren. “We’re changing his heart, aren’t we? Go on and take it.”
Ren stepped forward and took the torch. He could feel the warm, comforting heat it gave off through his glove.
“Wait,” Futaba cried. “Ren, watch out!”
Her warning came just in time– suddenly the ground was collapsing beneath them. Ren threw himself out of the way.
“We have to go!” Morgana yelled as everything began to crumble.
One harrowing Monabus ride and several close calls later, they were facing a different foe. Maruki wasn’t done yet. It made Ren’s hair stand on end to even look at Adam Kadmon, but somehow, exhausted as they were, they managed to defeat the new Persona, too.
Even then, Maruki refused to give up. There was nothing they could do but watch as he allowed his Persona to absorb him before Adam Kadmon’s gigantic fist slammed down on the ground, sending the team reeling.
They withstood the attack, but only barely. Ryuji emphatically voiced a series of expletives as they collected themselves. Ren stared up at the gigantic armored figure of the Persona and felt his mind go blank.
"Hey!" A voice snapped him out of his reverie. Akechi had grabbed his arm. “Could you focus on–” He stopped when Ren raised his head and he saw his face. “Hey…”
“I don’t know how I’m going to do this,” Ren said. He wasn’t scared, not really, not even hopeless– he just felt lost: out of straws to grasp, out of solutions to improvise.
“Stupid,” Akechi said tightly. He took Ren’s hand. “We’re going to do this.”
It made Ren smile; he couldn't help it. "Hey," he said. "Being stuck with you wasn't really that bad."
A puzzled expression overcame Akechi’s features for just a moment before he smiled, too, just barely, with a curve of his lips that anyone else might have found imperceptible. “Speak for yourself,” he said quietly.
Maybe he was still smarting from the wound Maruki and Akechi had inflicted last night, or maybe it was just that looking oblivion in the eye was putting things in perspective, but Ren felt suddenly convinced that he'd put up with years more of the actualization link pulling them together if it meant Akechi got to keep his life.
Suddenly, Adam Kadmon bellowed a wordless battle cry. It felt like it was heralding something deeply important. Akechi's eyes met Ren's, holding a look of recognition.
And then, the world faded away.
How many days and nights had it been since Ren had fought this battle? Sometimes it seemed almost like a dream, and sometimes it was like he had always been here– but if that were true, why was he mourning, like he'd lost something that he could never again regain?
He had always been a warrior proud to fight. But this time when victory came– if it came– there would be no glory in it. All these days and nights the battle had raged between him and his foe, and every night each shed their own tears by their own fire. It was the proper honor to pay to a blood-brother, such a one who had shared everything with him: the exaltation of victory, the bitterness of defeat, a companion’s bed…
Time shifted and moved like an inconsequential afterthought, and then Ren was on his knees. His iron armor and his helmet had once served him well. Now they only encumbered him, heavy instruments of immobility that chained him to the solid ground.
He looked up, into the face of his opponent, a face twisted with pain and grief. In his hand he held the weapon that had run Ren through: Gae Bolg, the dreaded spear.
Yes, Ren realized. Through the sorrow, inside he felt something like peace. His beloved was Cu Chulainn, and today Ren would die at his hand.
A thunderous voice rang out, suddenly– a voice that seemed simultaneously to come from within him and from far away– centuries away. “At one the survivor and the vanquished,” it said, sounding deeply mournful. “At once the redeemer and the damned. How will you meet the challenge before you?”
The words came to Ren easily. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”
“Yes,” said the grave voice. “Your answers are the same. One vow is shared by two. Call upon the strength of thy connection. Take my power. Speak my name.”
The voice faded away, and slowly Ren returned to himself. He raised his head.
“I will be light that guides mankind!” Adam Kadmon roared.
"Yeah, yeah," Akechi said. There was a fierce glow in his eyes. "It's too bad for you that I love to fight. I'm taking you down." He turned. "Ren."
"Yeah," Ren said. He could think clearly now. Something had changed. "Yeah, I'm ready."
“No way,” Morgana whispered, his voice small. “No way…”
“What is it?” Futaba yelled. “Morgana! What’s happening?”
Morgana seemed as if he barely heard her. “Two Persona-users– no, two Wild Cards– with a strong bond, augmented by a power that warps reality… an emotional link…” His eyes were wide. "I guess in theory it's possible, but…"
Akechi and Ren turned to look at each other.
There was a feral grin on Akechi’s face. Pronouncing each syllable deliberately, he said, "I am thou."
"Thou art I," Ren returned. He faced forwards, knowing which name to call. "Ferdiad!"
Akechi laughed wildly. "Come!"
A burst of light flashed around Ren and Akechi, blinding them for a single moment before it faded.
A new Persona loomed above them, seated on a giant horse. His head, covered by a crested helmet, was bowed, and he had flowing hair and thick, rough skin that looked almost scaly. His black chain-mail armor gave him the look of a mourner, but even then, he radiated the aura of a proud warrior, with a spear in his hand and a sword hanging from his belt. The horse whinnied, an intimidating sound that was ghostly and distorted.
Ren felt himself smiling. An intoxicating surge of power flooded his whole being, making him feel reborn.
“I can’t believe it,” Morgana murmured. “They awakened the same Persona. The bond must have done it. It’s a single one, shared by the two of them.”
"Holy fuck," Ryuji whispered.
"What does that mean for the fight?" Makoto said sharply. "Morgana!"
“Right now, it’s like Crow and Joker have the same soul," Morgana said nervously. "If one of them... falls here, then the other might just–"
Ren cut him off. “Won’t happen."
“Definitely not," Akechi said. "Let's finish this."
“Guys!” It was Futaba's voice. “His weak point is his head– we can’t hurt it normally, but at the moment he attacks, he concentrates all his power in his fist. Effectively, his head's defenseless!"
As if on cue, Adam Kadmon geared up to strike again.
“Joker! Crow!” Futaba yelled. “Target his head as he strikes! The rest of you, defend!”
Before Ren could respond, Adam Kadmon slammed down his fist again. It seemed to defy all logic that something so large could move so fast.
This time, Ren was better prepared– he’d already leapt out of the way. But his teammates had prevented the attack from connecting, using all of their power to guard.
“C’mon, Joker!” shouted Ann. The rest of the Thieves called out to him with the same encouragement.
Ren knew what to do. He could feel Ferdiad's sorrow, but just as clearly, he felt his resolve.
"Ferdiad–" Akechi shouted.
"–Last Stand!" finished Ren.
Ferdiad lifted his helmeted head. His horse whinnied again and reared up on its back legs before charging forwards, picking up more and more speed until it leapt into the air. At the same time, Ferdiad lifted his spear and threw it in a powerful arc.
The weapon made contact, hitting the center of Adam Kadmon’s forehead. The effect was immediate. With a last roar, the Persona fell, and Maruki fell with him.
When the dust cleared, Maruki was kneeling in front of them, his eyes blank. “Why…”
A huge, ominous cracking noise sounded suddenly from all around them.
“The Palace is collapsing!” Haru shouted.
“Dr. Maruki!” Sumire yelled.
The next few moments were a breathless fight to survive, but eventually Ren found himself hanging by a thread from the Monacapter.
Just as he began to congratulate himself on a stylish escape, someone shouted, “Wait!”
It was Makoto. “If Ren’s down there,” she yelled, “and Akechi’s in here–”
Despite the chaos, everyone was speechless for a moment.
Ren suddenly understood. As Maruki’s power was fading, the link was, too. He was about to say something when suddenly, the helicopter’s upward climb was abruptly halted by one last tentacle.
As his teammates panicked and started shouting over each other, Ren turned to look down at the ground.
It took him a moment, but he saw Maruki, standing in the middle of the rubble of his dream, meeting Ren’s eyes with a defiant stare.
They were eyes that held an invitation. Ren knew what he had to do. He looked up and saw Akechi looking down at him. He couldn’t hear him– there was too much noise now, and he was too far away, but Ren could read his lips and the single word they imparted– go!
So he let go of the rope and let himself fall, plummeting down to meet Maruki for what might really be the final time.
It felt odd to wake up in the Velvet Room again. At least this time he wasn’t wearing the prison uniform. He’d fought Maruki again, with his fists… but he was here, and that meant it was finally over.
He came out to speak to Igor and Lavenza. As usual, one was smiling, the other solemn.
“Thank you for ushering reality back to where it was supposed to be,” Lavenza told him, looking prim and austere. “You have reaffirmed our reason for existence.”
“What happens now?” Ren asked.
“The past will be rewritten,” Lavenza replied. “Reality will now be shaped by the events that should have happened.”
“What about Akechi?”
A sad look fell on Lavenza’s features. “Everything will return to how it should be. There are no exceptions.”
“No,” Ren said lowly. “We never even…”
They had never even said goodbye. How had it happened so fast– how could it be that one moment he was looking in Akechi’s eyes, and the next, he was gone?
Ren swallowed hard. “During that fight, me and Akechi had the same Persona.”
“Yes. That was an exceptional event.” Lavenza hesitated. “While the actualization link was artificial, it facilitated a close, genuine bond between you and Goro Akechi that resulted in the awakening of a new Persona. For a few minutes, you and he shared one soul.”
“What does that…” Ren struggled to keep his voice level. “What does that mean?”
“This… has never happened before,” Lavenza said softly. “We have no way of knowing what the consequences will be… or, more accurately, what they would have been, if Akechi had not perished. But there is no longer any danger to you.”
Igor spoke up. “You’ve suffered greatly. But now your work is done. Are you ready to return to the true reality?”
Ren looked up at the ceiling. “Can I stay here? For just a little longer?”
Lavenza frowned. “That’s–”
Igor stopped her. “You may,” he said. “Rest. You need a calm mind to face the world.”
“Thanks,” Ren said quietly. His eyelids suddenly felt heavy. A wave of drowsiness hit him. He hadn’t realized how tired he was.
“Sleep.” Igor’s voice sounded far away. “When you wake, you might have regrets. But never forget that your decision restored the world to its rightful state. Thank you, Ren Amamiya.”
Somehow, somewhere, Ren was staring down at a plate of mushy-looking food.
No, that couldn't be right. He paused to reassess, glancing around at his surroundings. Wherever he was looked like his old cram school, back home– gray walls and long tables. But people were eating here. A cafeteria?
Who were they? Boys, none of whom he recognized, were standing or sitting or talking amongst themselves, some jovial, some sullen and still. They all wore the same clothes: what looked like jumpsuits, colored dark blue. Ren was sitting, too, and when he looked down he saw he was dressed identically. He reached up unconsciously to touch his head. It felt like the whole world had changed in the microsecond between eye-blinks.
Someone tapped his shoulder.
Ren spun around, almost falling over in his haste. "Akechi?" he said automatically.
But it wasn't Akechi. It was a tall guy with a skeptical look on his face. "My name's Tachibana, new guy,” he said. “You better remember it next time. Are you gonna eat that?"
It took Ren a second to process that he was looking at the piece of bread on Ren's plate. "Uh. No."
"Cool. Thanks." The tall guy leaned over and swiped it off Ren's tray.
Ren watched him start to walk away, deeply confused. "Wait," he said, when the boy's back was turned.
The boy named Tachibana stopped, sighed, and turned around. "What?"
"What day is it? I mean, what's the– what's the date?"
Tachibana looked suspicious. "Are you screwing with me or something? It's February 3rd. Any more questions?"
Yes. "I guess not."
The boy made a grunt of acknowledgement and left. Ren looked at his plate again. He was starting to remember what had happened, and what he’d been told in the Velvet Room. He had shifted seamlessly into the true reality, and he was where he was supposed to be.
A rush of feedback sounded suddenly through the loudspeakers that Ren now saw were installed around the room. “The lunch period is now over,” said an amplified voice. “Proceed to your afternoon classes.”
There was a rumble and swell of noise as the others got to their feet and grabbed their trays, chatting and laughing as they did.
Ren stood up, too, joining the crowd of boys headed in the same general direction. He hoped he could figure out what he was supposed to be doing. He didn't want to think about Akechi, or any of the other things he couldn’t change. Good thing there were plenty of other things to occupy his mind, like learning the ins and outs of juvenile detention.
Akechi probably wouldn’t have liked it here, anyway. Blue wasn’t his color.
He wasn't at the facility for long, but it felt like forever. Ren hated the long stretches of boredom, the barely-veiled disdain of the counselors and teachers, and the complete absence of freedom. It wasn't as bad as being kicked around by the cops after being arrested outside Sae's Palace, not nearly, but it was more than enough to wear on him.
He had never been more grateful to anyone than he was to his friends for trusting him, fighting for him, saving him from spending any more time than he had to in that place. Ren never wanted to feel so powerless again.
After his release, a month passed in a blurry, strangely banal haze. It was all over, they’d stolen Maruki’s Treasure, but it was hard to get used to the link being severed. He still caught himself looking around for Akechi. The bed in the attic seemed too large.
Ren felt a little like he was missing a limb. It was strange to be back in the right place and still feel so wrong.
The thought of going home made him miserable for more than one reason, even though Morgana deciding to go with him eased the pain a little. He hadn't told anyone about it, but part of him was still holding out hope that Maruki had been wrong, that Akechi had been, too, that somehow, Akechi was still…
Leaving Tokyo would be like leaving that last bit of hope behind to die.
The day before he was set to leave came too quickly. He'd spent it saying goodbye to his friends, and at night he had a lively dinner with Futaba and Sojiro. Their conversation continued even after the food was finished, and might have lasted even longer if Sojiro hadn't finally announced that it was time for bed.
“No fair!” Futaba cried. “It’s his last night! And Mona’s, too!”
“Yeah, so he needs to get some rest. As do you. You’ll see him before he leaves tomorrow.” Sojiro stood up. “Come on, now, say goodnight.”
“Bleh! Fine.” She got up, reluctantly, and hesitated before giving Ren a quick hug. "I'm gonna miss you guys."
"Heh, of course you will," Morgana said, but Ren could hear the slight tremble in his voice.
When they left Ren put himself to work cleaning up, which always helped to clear his mind– and now, as Morgana napped in a corner, it distracted him from how empty and silent the café was.
Just as he was finishing up, there was a knock on the door. Ren frowned, wondering who it could be. Maybe Futaba had forgotten something.
He walked over and opened the door, but the person at the entrance wasn’t who he’d expected. Sumire was there, smiling sheepishly. “Hi, Senpai.”
“Hi,” Ren said, confused, moving aside so she could come in. “It’s late.”
“Yes. Sorry. I wanted to get out of the house, and I just… ended up here. I'm not bothering you, am I?"
"No, you're fine. I was just about to start getting ready for tomorrow.”
"Oh– well, don't let me stop you. Is there anything I can help with?”
“You'd be helping by keeping me company," Ren told her. "Packing's not very entertaining."
Sumire smiled. "I'd be happy to."
They went up to the attic. Sumire sat on the futon with her hands folded on her knees. Meanwhile, Ren put clothes into his suitcase on the floor. When he got to folding his underwear, she looked away quickly. Ren smiled to himself.
They shared a companionable silence for a few moments, listening to noises from the street outside, before Sumire said, “Senpai. I was thinking about Akechi.”
Ren couldn't say he hadn't suspected that this was coming. Part of him, the wounded part, almost wanted to snap at her, to refuse to talk about it, but he made himself say, “Yeah, I know.”
“He’s just gone,” Sumire said, her voice low. “Just like that. I can’t…”
Ren couldn’t think of how to respond. He was afraid of what he might say if he let himself speak.
“I realized,” Sumire said, after a while, “that nobody else really talked to him like we did."
Ren stared down at a faded sweatshirt he realized he was clutching tightly in his lap. "Yeah," he said quietly. "You're right about that."
"I guess that's why they don't understand when I say I miss him. I can see them try– but it's not the same." Sumire seemed to shrink a little, folding herself into a small parcel on the futon.
Ren looked at her and remembered how often Akechi had sat in the same place. "I think I might have been in love with him," he said.
He regretted it as soon as he said it, if only because Sumire's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Oh, Senpai," she said, and the next thing Ren knew, she was across the room and had wrapped her arms around him.
Taken aback, Ren couldn't stop the small oof of surprise that escaped him, but Sumire wasn't letting go. Finally, he hugged back, cautiously, when he heard her sobbing quietly. He closed his eyes and hoped that eventually he'd be able to cry, too.
Ren never thought he’d say it, but he was starting to miss having a boring life. He couldn’t even get his friends to drop him off at the train station without a car chase and a run-in with a counselor-turned-taxi-driver he knew particularly well.
In contrast to the drive he was pretty sure the others were having, his trip with Maruki was quiet and uneventful. After a few traffic lights, Maruki finally said, “How have you been?”
Ren glanced out the window. “If I tell you, will I regret it?”
“Little chance of that,” Maruki said mildly. “The Metaverse is gone.”
“What about everything you were working on?”
“I started over,” Maruki said. His eyes met Ren’s in the rear-view mirror. “You always can, you know. You should remember that.” He paused. “I know how it feels to lose someone you love.”
Ren didn’t reply. They drove on in silence, until eventually, he asked, “Does it ever stop hurting?”
“No,” Maruki said, without hesitation. “But it gets a little easier to bear the pain.”
He slowed down and pulled the car over to the curb. They were at the train station.
As Ren stepped out of the car, Maruki said, “Maybe I’ll see you again the next time you’re here. Take care, won’t you?”
“Yeah,” Ren said. “You too.”
He watched Maruki drive away and turned to enter the station, bracing himself to say goodbye to Tokyo and the memories of everything he’d gained and lost in the city. But before he could, he stopped in his tracks.
“Ren?” When he didn’t move for a moment, Morgana poked his head out of his bag. “What’s wrong?”
Ren didn't reply right away. He felt like he’d hit a wall. A familiar sensation was overcoming him, so suddenly powerful that it almost left him breathless. He was just barely conscious of his jaw going slack– he must have looked like a gaping fish.
He remembered what had happened the day before, when he’d stopped by the jazz club. The owner had greeted him and listened with interest to his question.
“Oh, that song? Yeah, that's an old pop standard,” he’d said. “It's called 'I'll Be Seeing You.’ Recorded in 1944, I think. Why do you ask?”
“Ren,” Morgana said timidly, bringing him back to the present. “Are you okay? What Maruki said… Are you thinking about Akechi?”
"Akechi's not dead," said Ren.
Morgana yowled in surprise. “Huh?!”
His glove was still in Ren's pocket. "He's way too stubborn for that to be true,” Ren said calmly. “And I'm going to find him again. I know I am."
"Don't tell me," Morgana said in disbelief. "Can you… sense it? Is there still a connection between you two?"
Ren knew this feeling, this energy that had been palpable in the air as soon as he’d gotten here. Something about it felt new, a little different from being under the spell of the actualization link, but there was nothing else it could be, no other person’s essence but Akechi’s. He nodded.
"What does it feel like?" Morgana whispered.
Ren smiled slightly when he thought of the right words.
"Like gravity's working again,” he said.