Persona: The Phantom Masquerade.

"Thanks for coming in early. I was kind of worried that you were going to ditch school, if I am being honest." Kawakami said with a relieved sigh as she gathered the papers on her desk.

"Miss Kawakami, I think we might have gotten started on a misunderstanding. While I do have a criminal record, it wasn't as if I had gone out looking for trouble. A lady was getting harassed by a drunk man. When I went in to separate them, the drunk man tripped and fell to the ground. He then called the police on me and, well, you know the rest. I genuinely do not wish to cause any trouble, even when everyone in this school expects me to."

Ren started his story with a somewhat sad expression before changing it to a determined look. Kawakami's eyes widened for a second before her expression softened.

"Is that true?" She asked before shaking her head.

"Well, if you are telling the truth, I owe you an apology. I am sorry for treating you like a criminal. You do seem like a good kid, and you have been nothing if not respectful to me this whole time. It's going to be a bit rough for you at this school since someone leaked that you had a criminal record. But I will try my best to give you a clean slate."

She gave a beautiful smile, turning over as she heard the school bell ring.

"Come with me. It's time for your first class."

Entering the classroom for the first time. Ren was greeted by a large wave of muttering. All across the classroom, there were people talking about him being a delinquent. Some students whispered that he would probably beat them up if they looked him in the eyes before Kawakami loudly slapped her desk, quieting everyone in the class.

"Alright, everyone, settle down! I'd like to introduce our new transfer student. Unlike all of the rumors going around, he isn't a troublemaker. So you all better treat him nicely, alright?"

The students exchanged glances with each other for a few seconds, turning back to pay attention once Kawakami resumed.

"Alright, please say something to the class."

Quickly adjusting his hair and fake glasses his previous self had bought to look less intimidating, he put on an innocent expression before giving a small bow.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Ren Amamiya. I am not used to living in such a big city, so please do watch over me while I adapt to this new environment. I hope I can make lots of friends during my time here."

Almost as if in shock, the entire class didn't say a word in response. 

"Your seat will be the one over there." Kawakami said as she pointed to one of the seats next to a window. "We haven't fully gotten all of your school books ready yet, so you will have to share with some of the students next to you."

Giving her a nod, Ren walked over and sat down, ready for his first lesson. It would be exhausting having to be a goody two shoes, but he would have to try to keep it up until the rumors around disappeared. Clearly, something big was going to happen soon. Or else Igor wouldn't have called him to the Velvet room so early. He wasn't sure what kind of play he would have to put on. But until he gets a good idea of the show, this would be a good start.

When he passed by to sit, he noticed that Ann was in his class. So he gave her a friendly smile and wave, which she returned. Kamoshida was the only person other than Igor he had seen who had the strange illusory mask, so he was probably someone to keep an eye on. From what he had seen, Kamoshida and Ann had a weird relationship. So he would have to become close to her if he wanted to piece out the mystery fully.

'It really can't be as simple as Kamoshida being a creep that's into his students. Is it?' Ren thought to himself as he heard the whispers going on around him after his brief exchange with Ann.

'The next best thing I can do is look into the Volleyball team. They are probably the ones who know the most about him.'

Before he even knew it, the bell rang once again, indicating the end of the day. The students swarmed him like flies after it had ended to ask him all sorts of questions. But after answering a few, he was able to break past them and wander around school on his own. His first target was the student in his classroom who was covered in bruises and had a downcast expression.

"Hey there! It is nice to meet you!" Ren said with a friendly smile, catching the attention of the student. "I noticed you looked quite hurt and wanted to ask if you were ok. My aunty is actually a nurse, so whenever she visited our house, she would give me a few tips on how to take care of injuries. Maybe I can help out a bit!"

The boy widened his eyes in surprise before shaking his head.

"Ah, no, don't worry about it. I just got hurt by accident. I wasn't paying attention during practice and accidentally crashed against another student… I am just a bit clumsy." As the boy answered his question, he wasn't even able to look him in the eyes, indicating that he was probably lying.

"Ah, I see. Well, let me know if you ever need some help. I am not a professional, but I do know a thing or two."

Walking away, he eventually met with more and more students with bruises. All of them telling him crappy lies about how they got them. And all of them, pointing their fingers in one direction, Kamoshida.

'So you want me to play the hero Igor?' He asked himself as we walked around before stumbling upon a girl sitting in a bunch with a bruise above her eye. Her eyes looked at the floor, almost lifeless, and her body slightly trembling in fear as she clenched her fists tightly.

He was used to seeing people like this before, but when he looked at her, he couldn't help but clench his fists, too.

'That's not the look of someone who is simply getting beat up.' He thought before buying two sodas and sitting next to her.

"Here, take one."

His voice must have shaken her out of her thoughts as she looked at him with confusion.

"What?"

"You look like you need it. Are you ok?"

The girl with black hair looked at the soda in her hands for some time without saying anything.

"Thanks… And yeah, I am ok…" She said as she placed the cold soda on her forehead to soothe the bruise.

"I don't get it." Ren said in frustration as he sat back and looked up at the sky. If he was supposed to put on a show, then he wasn't going to waste time doing it. He was going to rally the school against Kamoshida. And the best way to start would be by planting a seed.

'I swear, the dude is terrible at this. It's embarrassing to have someone so careless causing such a mess so close to me. Everyone with half a brain cell can figure out what he is doing to the volleyball students.' Ren thought to himself before speaking out in frustration.

"Everyone here is acting like Kamoshida is the scariest man in the world. But if they all just gathered together and reported him, it would all be over. He's a dude who had his fifteen minutes of fame, and now he is using it to act like this whole school is his castle. Just because he played volleyball well doesn't make him immune to the law."

The girl's eyes opened in shock, and her mouth dropped open.

"What, how did you?"

"It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that it is kind of suspicious that everyone on the volleyball team is injured. I felt he was kind of weird when he offered me and Takamaki a ride this morning, but this is ridiculous. The dude doesn't even hide the perverted looks! I can't be the only one that thinks this is ridiculous."

The young girl beside him was frozen as she stared at his sudden outburst. Still trying to figure out how to react. She was also getting tired of it. The times Kamoshida would touch her body with the pretense of trying to fix her posture. The times she would be hit for slightly messing up. The guilt of having her friend date Kamoshida in order not to lose her spot on the team. The fear of being worthless if she got kicked out.

She had been called over to Kamoshida's office for a special lesson today, and she had run away to avoid it for as long as possible. Kamoshida sounded really angry today, and she was scared about what would happen to her. And now, some random student had sat beside her and complained about the person she was running from.

She opened her mouth to try to say something until she heard a strange female voice.

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