The decision was unanimous.
Mostly.
"We are taking today off," Ann declared.
"We took yesterday off," Ryuji complained.
"We learned about the fucking afterlife yesterday," Ren said.
Ryuji paused. "...Fair."
They were gathered in Leblanc before splitting up for the day, Yusuke sketching quietly at the end of the counter while Sojiro pretended he wasn't listening to a group of teenagers discuss their schedule like they were planning a military operation.
Tomorrow they were going back into Madarame's Palace. Not for a quick scouting trip or to beat up a few Shadows before retreating when everyone got tired. They were going in with the intention of clearing everything they could and securing the route to the Treasure.
Which meant today was the last opportunity to do absolutely nothing useful.
Ren was surprisingly okay with that.
Maybe Igor's lecture had actually worked.
Terrifying.
Rukia was less pleased with the arrangement.
"I can fight," she insisted.
"I believe you."
"I am considerably more experienced at fighting supernatural creatures than any of you."
"Also believe you."
"Then why am I not coming?"
"Because you don't understand the Metaverse."
Rukia opened her mouth, paused, then frowned.
Ren continued, "And we don't understand Soul Reapers. Adding an entirely new supernatural system to a Palace when we don't know how the two interact seems like a terrible idea."
"He's right," Morgana said. "We don't even know what would happen to her inside."
Rukia heard a meow.
Yusuke glanced up. "Morgana agrees with Ren."
"Of course he does."
"I don't!" Ryuji protested.
Everyone looked at him.
Ryuji shrugged. "I just think watching Rukia beat the shit out of Shadows with a sword would be cool."
"Thank you, Ryuji."
"You're welcome."
Shiho sighed. "He's also exactly why we're not making decisions based on whether something would look cool."
"Betrayal."
Ren drank from his horrifying red-and-black mug.
It remained his favorite possession.
That fact was going to the grave.
"We already have enough people going into the Palace tomorrow," Ren said. "You have the shutdowns, Hollows and whatever other spiritual bullshit is happening to investigate. We have Madarame."
Rukia still looked dissatisfied.
Orihime leaned toward her. "And we'll tell you everything afterward!"
Rukia glanced at her.
That was cheating.
Ren approved.
"...Fine."
"Strategic Orihime missile," Ren muttered.
Rukia pointed at him. "Do not start."
He raised his coffee innocently.
The plan was settled.
Today they rested.
Tomorrow they committed grand supernatural burglary.
Healthy work-life balance.
---
Ren didn't actually have anything planned.
That was strange.
Normally there was something. A doctor wanted to feed him experimental medicine, Iwai wanted him to help around Untouchable, one of his friends needed something, Morgana had discovered a new crisis, the Velvet Room wanted him for mysterious bullshit, or reality itself had decided to become weird.
Today?
Nothing.
Morgana had elected to remain at Leblanc with Yusuke, apparently because he wanted to make sure their newest member was "properly educated on Phantom Thief procedure."
Ren suspected this meant arguing about code names.
Not his problem.
Beautiful.
He wandered Tokyo.
No objective. No route.
He had nearly opened his phone three separate times to create one.
That probably said something concerning about him.
He ignored it.
Eventually his wandering carried him toward Shinjuku. The evening crowds hadn't started yet, leaving the streets relatively comfortable. Ren passed restaurants, bars that weren't open yet and enough signs advertising suspicious businesses that he wondered if Sojiro would somehow sense his presence here and become disappointed remotely.
Then he noticed the tarot stall.
"Oh."
Chihaya looked up from arranging her cards and smiled. "The mysterious boy returns!"
"I'm mysterious?"
"You came to my stand with a beautiful girl, denied being on a date, had one of the strangest readings I've done recently and then disappeared."
Ren considered that. "Fair."
Chihaya giggled and gestured toward the chair. "Sit. Is your girlfriend not with you today?"
"Not my girlfriend."
"The redhead."
"Orihime."
"Right."
"Still not my girlfriend."
Chihaya smiled.
Ren narrowed his eyes.
"Don't."
"I didn't say anything."
"You were going to."
"Maybe."
He sat.
Chihaya began shuffling her cards. "Another reading?"
Ren stared at the deck.
He had already been psychologically attacked by Tarot once in the past twenty-four hours.
No reason to make it twice.
"No thanks."
Chihaya stopped. "Really? You seemed interested before."
"I am. I just had another reading recently."
Her eyebrows rose. "Another fortune-teller?"
"Something like that."
"Was it accurate?"
Ren thought about the Chariot.
Strength.
The Star.
Trust his choices. Trust his convictions. Trust the people who had chosen to stand beside him.
"Annoyingly."
Chihaya smiled with satisfaction. "Then you understand."
Ren blinked. "Understand what?"
"That fate reveals itself whether we want it to or not."
Ah.
There it was.
Ren immediately disliked that sentence.
"No."
Chihaya blinked. "No?"
"No."
"You can't simply say no to fate."
"Watch me."
She stared at him.
Ren smiled.
Chihaya slowly lowered the cards. "You're serious."
"Extremely."
"But you just admitted the reading was accurate."
"Accurate isn't the same as absolute."
"It is if the future is already decided."
"No."
Chihaya stared.
Ren stared back.
They had apparently stumbled into an argument.
Wonderful.
"The cards don't lie," Chihaya insisted.
"I didn't say they did."
"They reveal fate."
"Maybe."
"Then—"
"That doesn't mean fate can't change."
Chihaya frowned. "Of course it does."
"Why?"
"Because that's what fate means!"
"No, that's what you think fate means."
Her mouth fell open slightly.
Ren continued before she could interrupt. "If you predict I'll get hit by a car tomorrow and I stay inside all day, what happens?"
"You staying inside may have already been part of fate."
"That's cheating."
"It isn't!"
"You're making the belief impossible to disprove."
Chihaya frowned harder.
Ren was enjoying this.
Probably too much.
"If anything I do was already destined," he continued, "then every possible response becomes evidence that fate was absolute."
"Because it is."
"See? Cheating."
Chihaya puffed out her cheeks.
Cute.
Ren ignored that.
Mostly.
"My readings come true," she insisted. "I've seen it happen too many times."
"I'm not saying you're bad at reading cards."
"You think I'm wrong."
"Those aren't the same thing."
Chihaya looked confused.
Ren gestured toward the deck. "Maybe you're genuinely seeing a future. Current conditions, current decisions, current direction."
"That isn't how fortune-telling works."
"How do you know?"
"Because I'm the fortune-teller!"
"Appeal to authority."
"What?!"
Ren smiled.
Chihaya looked offended.
"You're very irritating."
"I've been told."
Repeatedly.
Recently.
Mostly by Rukia.
Chihaya grabbed her deck. "Fine. You believe you can just change a foretold future?"
"Yes."
"Because you don't like it?"
"No."
That made her stop.
Ren leaned forward slightly. "Because people make choices."
The humor faded.
"Other people affect us. Circumstances affect us. There are things we can't control and things we can't undo."
His fingers tapped lightly against his knee.
"But knowing the likely outcome doesn't mean I'm obligated to walk into it."
Chihaya watched him carefully.
Ren thought of the prison.
Fate.
Rehabilitation.
All the people and things that kept placing roads beneath his feet and then acting like the road existing meant he had no choice but to follow it.
Fuck that.
"If your cards say someone is heading toward something terrible," Ren said, "then telling them should give them another choice."
"But if it's destined—"
"Then I'll prove destiny wrong."
Chihaya stared.
Ren realized how dramatic that sounded.
Arsène approved.
Of course he did.
"You really are stubborn."
"Very."
"Fate doesn't change because somebody refuses to accept it."
"Then fate can come argue with me personally."
Chihaya laughed despite herself.
Ren smiled.
Small victory.
Maybe.
She held up her deck. "Would you like me to prove it?"
"A reading?"
"I'll tell you something that will happen."
Ren considered it.
This was a terrible idea.
"I'll pass."
Chihaya nearly dropped the deck. "What?!"
"If you tell me, I'll spend the entire day trying to prove you wrong. I'm supposed to be relaxing."
She stared at him before starting to laugh.
Ren joined her.
Apparently philosophical warfare counted as relaxation.
Good to know.
They talked for almost another hour anyway. Mostly Tarot. Some psychology. A lot of disagreement.
Chihaya remained absolutely convinced that fate couldn't be changed.
Ren remained absolutely convinced that any metaphysical force claiming his decisions were predetermined could go fuck itself.
Neither convinced the other.
Ren enjoyed himself immensely.
As he stood to leave, Chihaya shook her head. "One day you're going to discover that some things truly can't be changed."
Ren put his hands into his pockets. "Maybe."
She blinked.
"But if I decide that before I try, then I've already made the prediction come true."
Chihaya stared at him.
Ren smiled.
"See you around."
He left the stall and continued toward the station, completely unaware that Chihaya was still staring at the cards in her hands.
---
CHAT LOG
---
[GIRLS CHAT!]
(Private)
---
[Panther]
Okay.
We need to talk.
[Dove]
That sounds threatening.
[Hime]
Did something happen?!
Is Ren hurt?!
[Panther]
NO
Nobody is hurt
[Dove]
Then what's wrong?
[Panther]
...
Ren.
[Dove]
Oh.
[Hime]
Oh!
...
Oh.
[Panther]
SEE?!
[Dove]
I haven't said anything.
[Panther]
YOU SAID "OH"
[Dove]
Because I know exactly what you're talking about.
[Hime]
I don't.
...
I might.
[Panther]
We're meeting.
In person.
This conversation is cursed over text.
[Dove]
Agreed.
[Hime]
Okay!
Should I bring snacks?
[Panther]
Yes.
[Dove]
Definitely.
[Hime]
Yay!
---
Ann stared at her phone.
This had been bothering her for too long.
Not in a bad way.
Mostly.
Maybe.
Okay, definitely in a bad way too.
She liked Ren.
That wasn't exactly a revelation anymore.
She liked when he was sarcastic. She liked when he got dramatic for no reason. She liked watching the difference between quiet, polite Ren and the Ren who suddenly stood straighter and smiled like Joker had wandered into the real world.
She especially liked that he never treated her like she was stupid for enjoying modeling.
Or vain.
Or just something pretty to look at.
Ren looked.
That was different.
He noticed the clothes, the pose, the lighting, why she chose something, what she was trying to express.
Then he'd make some absurd gentleman-thief comment and suddenly she could play along instead of feeling like somebody else was deciding what she was supposed to be.
So.
Yeah.
She liked him.
Unfortunately, she had eyes.
Shiho liked him too.
And unless Ann had somehow completely lost the ability to read people, Orihime liked him just as much.
Great.
Wonderful.
Fantastic.
Why did the mysterious transfer student trope have to be real?
---
They met at Orihime's apartment.
Mostly because Orihime had offered first.
Also because she had snacks.
Lots of snacks.
Far too many snacks.
"Did you buy an entire convenience store?" Shiho asked.
"No!"
Orihime paused.
"Just a lot of it."
Ann sat cross-legged on the floor. Shiho sat beside her, while Orihime placed tea in front of both before sitting across the small table.
Then nobody spoke.
Excellent start.
Ann looked at Shiho.
Shiho looked at Orihime.
Orihime looked at Ann.
"...So," Ann began.
"Yep," Shiho replied.
Orihime took a rice cracker.
Ann sighed. "We're terrible at this."
"We fight monsters together," Shiho said. "This shouldn't be harder."
"Monsters don't have feelings."
"Sometimes they literally are feelings."
"Not helping."
Orihime raised her hand.
Both looked at her.
"I like Ren."
Silence.
Orihime immediately turned bright red, but she didn't take it back.
"I really like him."
Ann blinked.
Shiho blinked.
Orihime squeezed her hands together in her lap and continued before she could lose her nerve. "I like how kind he is even when he pretends it isn't a big deal. And he lets me help him sometimes even though he's really bad at letting people help him."
Accurate.
"He listens when I say strange things."
Also accurate.
"He doesn't look at me like I'm stupid."
Her voice softened.
"And when I'm scared that hoping for something makes me childish, he never tells me that. He just... lets me hope."
Orihime smiled.
"So yes. I like Ren."
Ann's expression softened.
Well.
That was unfairly sincere.
"Okay," she muttered.
Shiho glanced toward her.
Ann sighed. "I like him too."
Saying it aloud felt significantly worse than thinking it.
Or better.
Probably both.
"He's fun. And weird. And he actually pays attention when I talk."
Shiho snorted. "High standards."
"You know what I mean!"
"I do."
"He doesn't just tell me I look good. He asks what I'm going for. He notices when I'm trying something new."
Ann smiled despite herself.
"And I like when he gets all dramatic. It's cute."
"Cute?" Shiho asked.
"Shut up."
"I'm not judging."
"You were absolutely judging."
"Maybe a little."
Ann nudged her shoulder.
Shiho nudged back.
Then Ann and Orihime both looked at her.
Shiho sighed.
"Fine."
She crossed her arms.
"I like Ren."
Ann grinned. "Ha!"
"Don't make me regret being honest."
"Sorry."
Shiho looked upward for a moment.
"He's reliable."
Ann waited.
"And?"
"And he's good in a fight."
"And?"
Shiho glared at her.
Orihime smiled.
Shiho lost.
"...He understands."
That changed the atmosphere.
Shiho rubbed her thumb against her palm.
"There are things I don't need to explain to him. He doesn't treat me like I'm fragile. If I'm scared, he notices, but he doesn't decide that means I can't do something."
She smiled faintly.
"And when everything goes wrong, I trust him beside me."
Not in front.
Not behind.
Beside.
That sounded very Shiho.
"So yeah," she finished. "I like him."
They sat quietly.
Three girls.
One boy.
Ann rubbed her forehead.
"Goddammit."
Orihime tilted her head. "What's wrong?"
"We're rivals."
Orihime's eyes widened.
Shiho grimaced. "I guess."
"Friendly rivals!" Orihime quickly added.
Ann looked at her.
Orihime smiled nervously. "Very friendly?"
Shiho sighed. "Nobody is fighting anybody."
"I know!"
"No trying to sabotage dates."
"I wasn't going to!"
Ann narrowed her eyes. "Why did you answer that quickly?"
"I DON'T KNOW!"
Ann started laughing.
Shiho joined her.
Orihime puffed out her cheeks.
Then Ann remembered something.
"Wait."
Shiho recognized that expression.
"No."
"We should call Rise."
"No."
"She has experience."
"That's exactly why we shouldn't call Rise."
Orihime perked up. "Experience?"
Ann grinned.
Shiho looked horrified. "Don't encourage her."
Too late.
---
Rise answered almost immediately.
"Hi! What's up?"
Her cheerful expression lasted about two seconds.
Then she looked at Ann.
Shiho.
Orihime.
Back to Ann.
Her eyes narrowed.
"Oh."
Ann immediately regretted everything.
"What?"
Rise leaned closer to the camera.
"Ohhhh."
"Stop doing that."
"This is about Renny."
Shiho stared. "How did you know?"
Rise gave her a look.
"Seriously?"
Nobody answered.
Rise sat back.
"Okay. What happened?"
Ann suddenly felt awkward again.
This had seemed much easier before actually calling her.
"We..."
She glanced at the others.
Shiho sighed.
"We all like Ren."
Rise froze.
Then her eyes widened.
"All three of you?"
"Yes," Shiho said firmly.
"I like him," Ann added.
Orihime nodded. "Me too!"
Rise lit up.
Not surprised.
Not horrified.
Delighted.
"I knew something was going on!"
Shiho groaned.
"Please don't make this weird."
"I'm not!"
"You sound way too excited."
"Because you're all adorable!"
"Rise."
"Fine, fine."
She waved her hands and visibly forced herself to settle down.
"Have any of you actually told Renny?"
Silence.
Rise nodded.
"Has he told any of you that he likes you?"
More silence.
"...No," Ann admitted.
"Then why are you calling each other rivals?"
The girls blinked.
Shiho frowned. "Because we all like the same person."
"So?"
Ann stared.
"What do you mean, so?"
Rise tilted her head. "Renny isn't something you win."
That landed harder than expected.
"If one of you tells him first, that doesn't mean you captured him and everybody else loses. He gets to have feelings too."
Shiho relaxed slightly.
"Obviously."
"I know it's obvious. I'm reminding you because crush-brain makes people stupid."
Ann couldn't argue with that.
Orihime nodded seriously.
Then Rise shrugged.
"Besides, you could all just date him."
Silence.
Ann blinked.
Shiho blinked.
Orihime blinked.
"...What?" Ann asked.
"All of you."
Rise said it with the same tone someone might use to suggest a restaurant.
Shiho stared at the screen. "Rise."
"What?"
"That's your advice?"
"Why not?"
"Because that's a harem!"
"Yeah."
Rise looked confused by their confusion.
Ann rubbed her forehead.
"You can't just suggest a harem as the obvious solution!"
"Why?"
"Because that's not how normal relationships work!"
Rise blew a raspberry.
"Pfffft. Normal."
Oh no.
"Look at Yu."
"Yu is exactly why you're a terrible person to ask!" Shiho snapped.
Rise pointed at herself. "I'm married."
"TO FOUR PEOPLE."
"Exactly. Experience."
Orihime had become extremely red.
Rise continued like she hadn't just detonated the conversation.
"I'm serious. If all of you want monogamy, then obviously that's different. If Ren only wants to date one person, that's his choice too. Nobody should agree to something they don't actually want."
Shiho nodded slowly.
Finally.
Something sane.
"But you're talking like you have to start fighting over him right now when none of you have even asked what he wants."
Also sane.
Ann hated how sane the insane advice was becoming.
Rise rested her chin in her hand. "Yu didn't wake up one morning and announce he was building a harem."
Ann snorted.
"Please never phrase it like that again."
Rise giggled. "You know what I mean. Things happened. People talked. It was messy sometimes. Everyone had to figure out what they were comfortable with."
She shrugged.
"Relationships aren't a tournament bracket."
Shiho went quiet.
Ann did too.
Orihime smiled slightly.
"So we shouldn't call each other rivals?" she asked.
"Not unless you want to."
Rise's grin returned.
"Although friendly rivalry can be fun."
Ann pointed at her. "Don't."
"I'm just saying!"
"No."
"Fine."
Rise leaned closer again. "But seriously. Don't start treating every time Ren hangs out with one of you like somebody scored a point."
That one hit Ann personally.
Probably Shiho too.
Definitely Shiho.
"And don't make him feel like he has to choose something immediately just because all of you finally figured yourselves out."
Rise's voice softened.
"Renny already worries too much about what everyone expects from him."
The room became quieter.
Yeah.
That sounded right.
Orihime hugged a cushion against herself.
Ann looked down.
Shiho exhaled.
"That was actually helpful."
Rise beamed.
"I give excellent advice!"
"Sometimes," Shiho corrected.
"Rude."
Ann smiled. "So we just keep being normal?"
"Pretty much."
"And eventually talk to him."
"Yes."
Orihime raised her hand slightly. "And if he likes all three of us?"
Rise didn't even hesitate.
"Harem."
"Goddammit."
"What?! You asked!"
Ann started laughing.
Shiho covered her face.
Orihime hid behind the cushion again.
Rise cheerfully continued, "Or whatever you want to call it. You don't need to put Yu's relationship model on yours. You'd have to figure out what works for everybody."
Ann stared at her.
"Why did you start with harem when you could have said that?"
"Because harem is funnier."
There it was.
Shiho sighed.
"At least you're honest."
"Always!"
That was debatable.
Ann eventually calmed down.
"So. No sabotage."
"Obviously," Shiho said.
"No getting pissed off because somebody hangs out with him alone."
Shiho gave her a pointed look. "That includes you."
"I know!"
Orihime lowered the cushion. "And nobody gets angry at Ren if he doesn't like us back."
That quieted them.
Ann nodded first.
"Yeah."
Shiho followed. "Of course."
Rise smiled from the screen.
"Good."
Orihime looked between Ann and Shiho.
"So... friendly rivals?"
Shiho considered it.
"Friendly."
Ann grinned.
"Works for me."
"And friends first," Orihime added.
"Definitely."
Rise suddenly perked up. "And if things work out, I expect updates."
"No."
"But I'm his big sister!"
"Self-proclaimed big sister," Shiho corrected.
Rise pouted.
Ann laughed.
Then Orihime, apparently having completely forgotten the danger of asking Rise questions, tilted her head.
"How do dates work with everyone?"
Ann slowly turned toward her.
Shiho did the same.
Rise's eyes lit up.
Orihime realized her mistake.
"Oh."
Shiho reached for the phone.
"WAIT! I WAS JUST CURIOUS!"
"NOPE."
The call ended.
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Ann collapsed sideways laughing.
Orihime hid behind the cushion again.
Shiho set the phone facedown.
"We never speak of this."
The phone immediately started vibrating.
Ann checked it.
[Navi]
YOU CANNOT ASK ME THAT AND THEN HANG UP!!!
[Navi]
I HAVE ANSWERS
[Navi]
LOTS OF ANSWERS
[Navi]
CALL ME BACK
Shiho stood.
"I'm going home."
Orihime burst out laughing.
Ann grabbed her wrist.
"No you're not."
"Watch me."
---
By then, Ren had already left Shinjuku.
He was sitting on the train back toward Yongen-Jaya, staring out the window while the city passed by. For once, he wasn't reading, checking messages, mentally reviewing Palace layouts or trying to solve some supernatural mystery.
He was just sitting there.
Then he sneezed.
Ren frowned.
Someone was probably talking about him.
He hoped it wasn't Rukia complaining to Urahara.
Actually, no.
That was extremely possible.
Whatever.
Not his problem today.
Tomorrow they would deal with Madarame.
Tonight he was going home, eating curry and doing absolutely nothing important.
Ren smiled faintly.
He could get used to this.
Probably.
---