Beginnings of a Breakdown 2

It was late when she got back to the Leblanc, but her mind was still buzzing.

So her Metaverse opponents were Shujin students—likely victims of Kamoshida. They were reckless—posting up those cards in their very own school, where there were probably only a small number of known victims, making them fairly easy to profile if the police ever got involved. But despite their recklessness they'd not go with the easy approach of killing their tormentor, instead taking the time and effort to work out how to brainwash him, and getting rid of him that way.

Now, that would suggest they had an aversion to killing, so they probably hadn't encountered the Metaverse before—nor would they be going on to cause any outright shutdowns or deaths if they could avoid it. Kind of a skewed sense of morals though. After all, wasn't being rewritten like that practically as good as death? Certainly someone like Kamoshida, a prolific predator with an ego big enough to give him a Palace, would never recover. He'd spend the rest of his days in confused, self-loathing misery. Most likely he'd commit suicide in prison as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Had these amateurs considered that? Maybe. But maybe not…

Ugh, she needed to find them.

But would they go on to do more? If they really had been victims, wouldn't dealing with Kamoshida be enough?

We'll most likely soon be informed.

Renko hadn't felt the presence of the creature in a while, but… there was no telling when it might come back. For now, though, the Metaverse interlopers could be (hesitantly) moved to the back of her priorities, now she knew a bit more about them. Yusuke and Wakaba were far more pressing concerns.

Yusuke has agreed to meet her next Saturday, regardless, and she doubts he'll break his promise. 

And Wakaba… she'd deal with that on Friday.

Until then it was one day at a time.

For now.

***

Thursday 5th May

Another day came and went with Yusuke refusing to talk to her, and Renko was beginning to think he might have gotten over it himself. It was now Thursday. That made four days of being ignored. Surely it couldn't be too much longer now?

As she strode into class that morning, she quickly spotted Yusuke staring at his desk in a now familiar stony silence… but something was wrong. He seemed to be… almost shaking? Renko darted over to his desk, and was about to try and talk to him, when Mr. Murakami had to come in and ruin everything.

"Amamiya, get into your seat, it's class time now," he called across the classroom, putting an end to any attempt to get more information about Yusuke.

Lunch… she had to talk to him at lunch.

***

When the morning's classes were over and they were free to go to lunch, Yusuke shot out of the classroom like a lightning bolt, clearly eager to get away. Renko hated to disturb him when what he probably wanted most was solitude but… she needed to find out what was going on. She couldn't let this continue unchallenged much longer.

It took a while to find Yusuke, who had squirrelled himself away in an empty classroom on the third floor.

"Yusuke?" Renko called from the doorway as she crept inside.

She heard a great shuddering sigh from where Yusuke was curled in on himself. Well, that all but confirmed it then.

"What do you want?" Yusuke called across the room, clearly trying hard to project his usual aura of haughty coldness, but being more than a little sabotaged by how much his voice was shaking. "Why do you keep bothering me?"

Renko closed the door softly behind him, and walked over to where Yusuke was sitting.

"I'm worried about you," she said, once she was close enough for Yusuke to hear.

"That's no concern of mine," Yusuke sniffed, trying to hide his face in his knees.

"It is," said Renko, calmly. "You're my friend, after all."

"Well maybe you shouldn't be," he mumbled. "Nothing good will come of it. Nothing ever does."

"What makes you think that?"

Yusuke lifted his head in surprise, then narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said," said Renko, leaning back on a table. "What makes you think nothing good will come of us being friends?"

Yusuke shook his head softly. "It's… not to do with you, it's… My life is… not mine to give away."

What on earth did that mean?

"You… think it belongs to someone else then?" asked Renko. "And who might that be?"

Yusuke closed his eyes, refusing to look at her. "Renko… you already know. Don't make me…"

"I want to hear you say it."

Yusuke let out a sharp breath.

"It's… it's—"

He cut himself off, shaking his head vigorously.

"Why am I doing this?" he whispered. "I have no reason to be upset. I agreed to this. So why…?"

Renko watched him in silence. It was hard, watching him begin to crumble like this, realisation finally sinking in, but Yusuke had to come to the answer himself. He had to be the one to say it.

Yusuke sat up suddenly, looking straight ahead, out of the window. "I'm so ungrateful," he whispered, almost to himself. "After everything he's done for me…"

"Who?" asked Renko.

Yusuke exhaled shakily. She was so close now… if he could only force himself to say it, they'd almost be there…

"It's Madarame."

Finally. 

She couldn't let the opportunity go now she had it—now Yusuke was finally in the right state of mind to listen.

"What's he done?" asked Renko, immediately pressing for answers.

Yusuke pursed his lips, raising his eyes to the window again. "It's really… nothing important."

"I'd like to know," said Renko, sitting down next to him. "Seeing as it's worrying you so much."

Yusuke shook his head again. "I have no reason to be so upset, it's stupid, really, nothing unexpected."

Such low self-esteem. But she couldn't let Yusuke brush her off—not now.

"Maybe it'll help to get it off your chest?"

Yusuke finally turned to meet her gaze, his puffy, bloodshot eyes meeting Renko's own. He looked so… achingly miserable.

"You don't have to say it if you don't want to," said Renko-for all she wanted to help she couldn't risk destabilizing Yusuke any further. "I just want to help in any way I can."

Yusuke gave a melancholy smile. "I don't deserve your friendship, Renko."

"I'll be the decider of that," said Renko, smiling gently at him.

Yusuke sighed, before finally straightening up fully. It seemed he'd come to a decision.

"I know this sounds foolish," he said quietly, his voice still cracked from tears, "but if I tell you this—can you swear no other soul will know?"

"I can." That much, at least, was a promise she could keep.

Yusuke frowned, then licked his lips nervously. Renko would have offered him water but in her rush to find him she'd left her own in the classroom.

"As part of my… living arrangement with Madarame," he began, "there are certain… terms I have to live with. A rent agreement of sorts."

He went silent, clearly not sure how to phrase whatever was coming next. Renko remained silent. He was getting there, Renko just had to wait.

"You see, for some time now, Sensei has been suffering with an… art block."

"Art block?" asked Renko.

Yusuke nodded. "Like writer's block. He puts his paintbrush to canvas and cannot think of anything to paint whatsoever. So, we, his students… we…" He paused again, swallowing hard. Almost there. "We agree to give him our work… in exchange for his tutelage."

She'd suspected as much, but to hear it from Yusuke's own mouth… So he'd had his piece stolen by Madarame, but that had to have been happening for some time now, so why… Oh. God, that man really knew no shame, did he?

"Is that the work that will be on display in the gallery on Saturday?"

Yusuke frowned, his face contorted with obvious pain. "… Yes."

"Is your work there?"

"Yes."

Yusuke was trembling again. Renko silently offered her hand, and Yusuke immediately grabbed it, squeezing it tight in his grip, still refusing to look Renko in the eyes. It was like he was trying to cling to his sanity by his very fingertips, using Renko as some sort of lifeline. It was fine. She could still do this—first of all, though…

"Do you… still want to go on Saturday?"

Yusuke let out a bark-like laugh-emotion exploding out as he tipped from misery to laughter. "Is that really…?" He turned to face Renko, his eyes brimming with tears, though from the force of his laugh or from pure, soul-crushing sorrow Renko couldn't tell. Maybe a strange mix of both. "You know, you're the strangest person I've ever met," he chuckled through tears. "Truly."

"I accept that," said Renko, with a bemused shrug. She needed to project an air of calm as long as humanly possible. "Doesn't answer my question though."

Yusuke laughed again, still gripping Renko's hand tight. "Yes. I want to go. I'll have to go anyway and… it'll be so much easier… if you're there."

Renko smiled. "I'm happy to hear that."

Yusuke nodded—then, without warning—pulled Renko into a tight hug.

"Thank you," he whispered, almost before Renko had fully processed what was happening. "I don't know what I'd have done if…"

Renko wrapped a tentative arm around him, rubbing his shoulder. "Don't think about that. There's no need."

Yusuke nodded. "Yes, I think you're right."

Then he slowly pulled away again, and Renko let him disentangle himself, wiping away his tears.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Renko," he said, forcing a smile again. "What must you think of me now? Putting you through all that?"

"I think you're very brave."

Yusuke's eyes widened. "Brave?"

"Yes," said Renko, trying to smile but unable to entirely keep the melancholy out of it. "It must have taken a lot to tell me all that, especially when you were already so upset. I appreciate it."

Yusuke smiled, though he tried to turn away to hide it. "I… Thank you, Renko. I couldn't ask for a better friend."

Renko grinned. "Come on, let's get something to eat. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Yusuke laughed. "I hadn't even realised… it's still lunchtime!"

"Then let's go," said Renko, taking him by the arm. "Futaba will kill me if I miss lunch again."

"Yes," said Yusuke, looking happier than Renko had ever seen him before. "Let's go."

It was almost time now. Almost.

The only thing she hated about emotional confrontation, other than the entire… emotions… thing, was how bone-deep exhausted it made her. She went straight back to the Leblanc after school, having no energy to attempt anything else today, be it in real life or the Metaverse.

Sojiro greeted her as she came in.

"Oof, someone's had a rough day," he said, as Renko approached the counter.

"No chance of a freebie?" she asked, looking mournfully at the coffee machine.

"While my customers are in here?" asked Sojiro, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Fair," sighed Renko, and she would have slumped off to head up to her room and get some much needed rest… had Sojiro not said what he had next.

"Huh… I think that kid goes to the school that was on the news the other day. You know, the one with the awful teacher?"

Renko blinked a few times, trying to work out what on earth Sojiro was talking about—a kid? What kid? But a quick glance at the TV screen quickly explained her confusion.

There, staring blankly out of the screen, was Goro Akechi—teenage detective… and idol of hundreds of teenage girls everywhere. Renko had been on the late-night shift at the café enough to get very used to the various inane talk shows airing on TV in the evening, and Akechi had been showing up pretty regularly on them since last year. Honestly it was a bit unnerving that someone so young had managed to get into the police force at all, but she supposed there were obnoxious high-achievers everywhere. She hadn't realised the school she went to was Shujin Academy though…

"So Akechi-kun, how does it feel to have been instrumental in the arrest of such a dreadful man?" the newscaster was asking.

"Oh, you can't give me all the credit," said Akechi, smiling in a distinctly fake manner. "I would never have discovered him without the help of my fellow students."

"Ah yes, there were warning messages posted up on the school board, weren't there?"

"Oh, I didn't have anything to do with those," said Akechi. "I would only ever pursue the proper means to get criminals in jail—though of course I sympathise with the victims in our school."

The model answer—probably similar to the one Renko herself would have given if anyone had asked her about any of her victims. Not that they ever did. She was only a high-school student, after all.

"How do you think he was able to go so long without being discovered, Akechi-kun? It surely doesn't speak well of the school faculty that they were ignorant of this for so long."

"I'm not sure it's fair to blame them for not spotting what was going on," said Akechi, quite plainly choosing his words very carefully. "Men like Kamoshida are excellent actors, after all. That's what enabled him to get away with it for so long."

"So you would assign no blame to your school itself?"

Akechi gave the most pained-looking smile Renko had ever seen, and said, "No, not at all."

Seriously? The announcer was seeing this, right? Did the school principal have a gun pointed at him off-screen?

"Poor kid," said Sojiro, not helping matters. "I feel sorry for the school though, they're going to have a hell of a time of it for employing a monster like that, even with him defending them."

"Think it's really believable that no one knew anything for that long?" asked Renko.

"Not really," sighed Sojiro, shaking his head. "But I doubt anything will be done now the teacher's gone. That's the way the world works, I'm afraid."

Renko rolled her eyes.

"Hey, what have I told you about that rebellious streak of yours?" asked Sojiro, sharply.

"That it has no place in the real world, and is in fact what got me arrested in the first place," droned Renko.

"Exactly. Now get on upstairs if that's where you're going."

Renko did as she was told, though she couldn't help sarcastically noting to herself that since most of her 'rebellious streak' was confined to the Metaverse, technically she was taking Sojiro's advice. Technically.

She dumped her bag on the table with a sigh, then fell back onto the couch.

Think that amateur celebrity could be one of the ones we need to worry about? asked Arsène.

"Doubt it," said Renko, examining her fingernails. "He doesn't strike me as a victim. Or the type to keep the Metaverse to himself if he did discover it."

True. Still at square one then? 

"Still at square one," sighed Renko.

But for now, square one of that investigation was about as far as she was willing to take things. After all, tomorrow was Friday, and then… then she'd have something real to worry about.