37 The First Study Session.

Ren spent most of the next day slightly exhausted, with every yawn reminding him of the lack of sleep he had gotten the night before. For some reason, he couldn't get Shiho's words out of his head. As he had tried to fall asleep, his mind kept wandering, keeping him awake far later than he had hoped. Yet, as the school day ended, he shook away some of his tiredness as he saw a familiar face outside the school.

Ren saw the determined and focused face of a girl with fluffy hair maneuvering a wheelbarrow filled to the brim with bags of soil. Since her first stop at Leblanc, she had been dropping by somewhat regularly, and though Ren was often away when she did, they continued to cross paths from time to time.

"Do you need a hand with that, Haru?" Ren's voice broke through the busy exterior, earning him a glance from the girl.

"That would be wonderful! These bags need to go to the roof," she explained, her tone as light as the breeze, even as she hefted a bag onto her shoulder with a grace that contradicted its weight. "I'm starting a small garden there, the one I have at home is already full." she added, her excitement bubbling through her words.

Grabbing a few of the bags, the two of them went up and down the stairs of the school. As they carried the things, the two of them engaged in an idle conversation, and before the two of them knew it, they had finished. The once barren roof was now filled with soil and different garden tools. 

Once they had finished setting up everything, Haru wiped some sweat off her forehead before smiling.

"Thank you. This would have taken forever by myself. I'll ensure you're the first to enjoy the fruits and vegetables I grow in this garden." she promised, her laughter light and infectious.

Well, I'd never turn down free food." he joked, barely stifling another yawn.

Haru's expression softened with concern at the sight. 

"Did you stay up late?" she inquired, her voice laced with empathy.

"Yeah, sometimes I just get caught up in my thoughts, and last night was one of those nights," Ren confessed, drawing a gentle laugh from Haru.

"I've noticed." She said with a warm tone. "When you work at Leblanc, you sometimes space out, and the only way for you to come back is if someone talks to you. But you know, I get it. I actually started gardening to give myself something to focus both my mind and body since I kept getting lost in my own head. It's a good way to give yourself time to think."

Ren's smile grew, touched by her understanding. 

"Yeah? Maybe I should try it out," he mused, more to himself than to Haru.

Her response was immediate and enthusiastic. 

"I would love that! Having a gardening buddy would be wonderful!"

Though his suggestion had been made more as a joke, Ren found himself considering it more seriously in light of Haru's excitement. However, a glance at the clock brought him back to reality.

Even though he wasn't serious when he made the comment hearing her excited tone of voice, he decided to give it a chance, though after checking the clock, he couldn't help but be surprised as he said.

"I'm sorry, I gotta head out. I had forgotten I had already promised I would help someone later today."

Haru nodded, understanding. 

"That's okay. Thank you for helping me today. Tomorrow, I'll bring you some of the tea I drink to help clear my mind. It's a bit sour at first, but it's quite pleasant once you get used to it. And it helps, really quickly too." She assured him, waving goodbye as he departed.

The time he had spent with the little ball of positivity had helped to refocus Ren. So he found himself traveling through the crowded trains more focused than he had been this morning. Eventually, he arrived at Takemi's clinic, and thankfully, he had made it just in time. Makoto had not been able to make it since she already had a plan, but the rest of the Thieves were all huddled in the small clinic.

Surprisingly, unlike the reactions Ren had with the current version of the medicine, Shiho and Ryuji had a harder time. The two of them could be considered the most resilient physically but both of them were currently fighting back the sudden nausea, which only made Ann more glad she had skipped the test. As Takemi saw this, she let out a few nods as if she had been expecting it before diligently starting to take notes.

"Dude, I thought you said it wasn't that bad." Ryuji managed to say between him drinking water trying to flush out the taste from his mouth. 

Takemi looked up from her notes before speaking.

"It probably isn't for him." She remarked, her attention briefly shifting from her notes to Ren. "His body reacts differently to the medicine for some reason. He is a medical anomaly." She added with an excited smile

"Is that a bad thing?" Shiho asked with some concern.

"No, it's actually the opposite." Takemi clarified. "His body is adapting and creating antibodies at an unusually rapid pace. It's a good thing I caught this early, because otherwise, the medicine would have been far too strong for my patient."

The revelation prompted a collective turn of heads towards Ren, their expressions a mix of surprise and intrigue. Ren, however, seemed to drift into his thoughts. His last visit to the clinic had sparked a theory in him. That the reason the blood test had caught Takemi off-guard was because of the changes brought about by using the chisel Igot had given him. Now, her comment had all but confirmed it in his mind.

"Does that mean I won't be able to help with the medicine anymore?" Ren asked with some curiosity

A warm smile spread across Takemi's face as she reassured him. 

"On the contrary, you've become even more valuable to my research. I'll just need a few extra people to test the medicine." Her gaze then shifted towards Ryuji and Shiho, her request earnest. "I realize it's a big ask for little in return, but this medicine means everything to me. I'd just need you to come in for occasional testing. Something similar to today."

Ryuji and Shiho exchanged a few glances, their initial reluctance fading under Ren's encouraging nod. Their silent agreement didn't go unnoticed by Takemi, whose smile deepened as she silently thanked Ren.

After thanking the group once again and spending a few more minutes doing some small tests, Takemi said.

"That concludes today's session. You're all free to go," Takemi announced, her voice imbued with gratitude.

After finishing their test, the group wandered to Leblanc. Since it was somewhat filled with customers, the group wandered up to Ren's room to begin their first study session.

Ann and Shiho quickly took the most comfortable place, the bed, before spreading their books all over the place. Mona, who had been lazing about in Ren's room, took the chance to sit closer to them in order to get the occasional scratch to the back of the head. A funny thing to see from a person who denied that he was a cat with all of his heart. Ryuji and Ren were left to take the couch and the floor. 

"Dude, you should get one of them big foldable tables up here. If Makoto had been able to make it today, we would have nowhere to sit in." Ryuji suggested.

Looking up from his history book while sitting on the floor, Ren nodded his head.

"I could run and get one." He suggested, but honestly, he was just trying to get out of studying the book. 

Ann, quick to see through Ren's thinly veiled attempt to dodge studying, chimed in with a teasing tone.

Yeah, yeah, your face looking at that book was the same one you had at the beginning of the photo shoot. I can tell you don't like it…" She said with an infectious smile, prompting a few lighthearted chuckles before she asked. "But wait, I thought you liked studying?"

He couldn't help but let out a tired sigh as he threw the book to the side with a yawn before saying.

"Anything but history. Honestly, I'd rather learn it by going to Mementos and adding some more mythological figures to my soul. I bet they could teach me a thing or two." He mused before adding. "Wait, that's actually a pretty good idea."

Ryuji couldn't help but say as he recalled his own bizarre experience.

"I don't know, dude. Your Anubis doesn't act at all like they should. I still remember them trying to prank me in Mementos by telling me I would be going to hell since my heart was heavier than a feather," He said, shaking his head at the memory but unable to hide a grin at the absurdity of it all.

Ren's response was quick, a mix of defense and amusement at the memory.

"She was just messing with you," he said, shaking his head with a smile. "Trust me, Anubis is a bit of a special case."

The study session, initially focused on the impending exams, had seamlessly transitioned into a discussion that was uniquely theirs, their personas. It was something they had never really discussed as a group before, but since most of them didn't want to study, they all began talking about their experiences with them.

"It's weird. Circe speaks cryptically, but I can tell she is pretty protective of everyone." She mused, her voice trailing off as she got lost in thought.

"Captain Kidd is a bit weird, but he is pretty straightforward. He doesn't really say much, to be honest, but he likes to charge forward during battles." Ryuji said.

"What's your persona like?" Ann asked with curiosity as she looked at him.

Ren thought for a moment before answering.

"He's… strange." Ren began as he recalled Tartuffe. "Honestly, I am not quite sure how to describe him, but he's quite cautious. I can tell there is a hunger in him, but I don't think that is a bad thing. I think it's mainly a drive to survive." He said absentmindedly.

The thieves all began to talk about their personas for some time with curiosity before Ryuji asked a question that caught the attention of the group. 

"Do you think we could summon our Personas out here, in the real world?"

The question spurred the group to close their eyes and focus. Each of them is trying to reach out to their personas. For a fleeting moment, they could each touch the edge of the bond with their personas, feeling their presence within them. Yet that was all they could do.

Ren, on the other hand, had a different experience. He felt the faint connection to Tartuffe and the other personas within him. Yet the thing that he could vividly feel was something different. The scalpel that Igor had given him trembled for a moment inside of him. As he focused on it, he suddenly felt the cold metal in his hands.

The ornate scalpel had a golden handle that resembled the wings of an angel, with a blue blade that shared the colors of the velvet room. Its blade, however, appeared to be somewhat ethereal, different from the solid metal it was inside of the Metaverse.

Ren saw that the rest of the group still had their eyes closed with concentration. So, with a thought, the scalpel vanished. Just in time, since Ryuji opened his eyes and complained a second later.

"I don't think we can." Ryuji said, a note of disappointment in his voice.

Shiho, still immersed in her own attempts, added softly.

"I can feel her, but that's about it." Her words, spoken with eyes closed, reflected the thin veil of connection they all felt but couldn't breach.

The group spent a few more minutes trying without making any process until Ann spoke up.

"Maybe we should try lying down to focus more." she suggested with a hint of optimism in her voice. 

The group rearranged themselves accordingly, with Ann on the bed, Ryuji on the couch, and Ren on the floor. Shiho, on the other hand, had volunteered to keep an eye on them in case there were any changes they didn't notice while they were focused.

The room settled into a quiet stillness, starkly contrasting the energy it had before. Minutes turned to hours, and as Sojiro was getting ready to close up the store, he walked up, holding a couple of bowls of curry. A strange sight greeted him, books scattered all around the sleeping figures. He had to suppress a chuckle as he saw the sleeping group, with even Shiho asleep over a book on the small desk Ren would use to craft the infiltration tools.

~Confidants~

Haru Okumura (The Empress) Rank 1