Of Phantoms and Thieves

Bow Down

Haru slowly walked into the hospital and tried to reason with herself that everything was alright. She had to hold back her tears. No. Nothing was alright. After Makoto had texted her, Haru couldn’t stand it. Three of her friends were injured because of this palace. Nothing like this had ever happened before. She would first talk to Makoto, and then confront Ren.

“We’ve been negligent,” she muttered to herself. “We haven’t been checking up on him...”

After asking for directions, Haru found Makoto’s room. She took a deep breath and braced herself for something awful. Slowly, she swung the door open. And... things weren’t as bad as she thought. Makoto surprisingly didn’t look too bad. Haru sighed in relief that Makoto was awake.

“How is everything?” Haru asked.

“Boring, to say the least,” Makoto replied.

“Could you... tell me how it happened?”

Haru sat down in the chair next to Makoto.

“I remember entering the Metaverse soon after you guys. I was trying to find a way in when I found Shadows unloading a large truck. I looked inside one of the crates and found our weapons.”

“That must be for the Shadows who are putting on the play...” Haru murmured.

“What?”

“I’ll explain later. For now, tell me your side of the story.”

“Well, after that, the Shadows spotted me. I fought them off but one of them started to escape. I chased after it on Johanna but then I... crashed. The next thing I knew, Ren was there, and then I ended up here.”

“I see,” Haru breathed. “And where is Ren?”

“I haven’t heard from him for hours. It’s... a bit unusual.”

“Does he have his phone with him?”

“Yes, I believe so.”

“Let me go check in on him. I’ll be back.”

Haru left the room. Makoto sighed and laid back in bed. While glad that Haru had come to visit, what she had said also caused concern. A play? What exactly was happening inside the palace?

Haru returned swiftly and a look of panic was plastered on her face. Makoto sat up.

“What now? Haru, what is it?”

“He’s not here. He’s gone.”

<><><>

Ren sat on the railing, staring down at the water below. His reflection stared back at him. It wouldn’t be long before they realized that he was missing, and a search would be conducted. He had to act quickly. It was only a matter of time before they caught him.

Ren sighed to himself. Was this the only option? He would be leaving everything behind. He knew that his friends would miss him, but he had to forget about that. There was no other way to get rid of the palace. And while he did want the Phantom Thieves to steal his treasure, he was afraid that they would take more than that. He feared that he would no longer care for his friends. The memories would fade, and his happiness would disappear. Ren decided that he would rather live in happiness than die in sorrow.

He looked at the flow of traffic behind him. Already, worried looks were pointed in his direction. Ren looked further in the direction of the train station. Was he really doing this? He was going to miss this place. There were caring people here, and Ren couldn’t help but to feel nostalgia all over again. Was this the place that he would call home?

Ren slipped off the railing and back onto the side of the road, looking down at the water still. Would she appear to him? Would she comfort him and tell him that he was doing the right thing? Or would she scold him, and inform him to stay? Either choice sounded right and wrong. Ren thought about his friends. Yes, they would miss him. It would break their hearts, not knowing what happened to him. He couldn’t let them find him. It was the only way to protect them from his palace.

Ren pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared at it. Thirty-seven notifications... they had already found out that he was missing. Or at least, Haru had. He had to get rid of the phone before Futaba could pinpoint his location. With shaking hands, Ren snapped the phone in half and threw it into the road, where a line of cars ran over it.

Now was the hardest part. Acting. Ren sighed and sat against the railing, hugging his knees and burying his face in his arms. Again, he questioned himself. Was he ready and mentally prepared for this? Was he willing to leave everything behind to achieve something he’d only dream of?

“Tomorrow,” he told himself. “I’ll do it tomorrow. They can’t possibly steal my treasure by then. I’ll be gone.”

Ren pulled the money out of his pocket and lazily counted it, waiting for sleep to take over.