Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

XXXXX XX 20XX

It was dark and quiet, an alley that once was so busy during the day was easily forgotten at night. He usually took this way to avoid most of the crowds, especially other Ravens and Crows. It was a risk for his kind to be even walking around alone like this but he had to stay late at school to finish an important project, grades to him were the only way he was able to show something for himself. Wasn't his fault for trying to make something with himself, despite the black feathers that constantly plague his life, to his future in society. Shifting his weight as he rested against some side of a building, he had already been walking for the last twenty minutes and needed a break, at least he was almost home. Kicking rocks by his foot as he looked up at the stars that twinkled above him, the wind calling him for his wings to glide against it. Flying would have taken less time but he could have been spotted by Flight Patrols that survey the sky during the night, and that would have started a whole new situation that he wouldn’t want to get involved with. Sighing as he pushed the hair from his face back and ruffled it, the hair falling back down. Rolling his shoulders as he pushed himself off the wall and started his journey back home, not making a sound as he crept along the shadows. Way to keep the creepy factor that he set for himself. Not his fault entirely… It wasn’t his fault for being born a Raven, he didn't pick that for himself. He just wanted to be like everyone else, to belong. Shaking his head.

“No use getting pity...” Mumbling to himself as he shoved his hands in his pocket, hears footsteps nearby getting louder.

“P-please let go!” A cry could be heard from the end of the alleyways, the voice sounded like it came from a woman. She sounded like she was in danger! His heart tugged as another cry rang out, he started to sprint in the direction, was it another Raven? No, they keep their heads down when things go wrong. It had to be some other species that needed help.

His feet moved faster than his brain, taking sharp turns as he ran to the voice. The textbooks in his backpack were jumbling around, the sound of pencils banging up against each other. Turning the last corner from the voice, he saw a smaller woman and some man. She was struggling against him. With the moon only giving enough light to see, she had some beautiful colored wings while the man had far larger ones. A Hawk? He should leave, this will be bad for him. He needs to leave, he needs to leave, he needs to le-. 

“Hey! Leave her alone, asshole.” Ren's voice shouted out of his chest before he even knew what he was doing, adrenaline was making his mind fuzzy. All he knew was that he needed to protect someone innocent. Was he about to do something incredibly stupid? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes…

“Oh please hel-.” Her begging was cut off by a hard strike to her face, the older man's hand was wide open. The sound sliced through the tension of the air as she cried out and held her face, she cowarded down as Ren stepped closer.

“I told you to stop bitchin’ and get in the car!” The words sounded slightly slurred, had he been drinking? A drunk hawk beating and assaulting some woman, something police would turn away from. He was trying to push her into the car. It didn’t have a license plate on it.

“And you! Nothin’ to see here Raven, go back to your little flock. This ain’t a show!” Those words were directed at Ren, seeing the evil in the man’s eyes now that Ren was far closer than before. When did he start advancing towards the scene? When was he able to smell the alcohol that was poured on the ground?

His eyes shifted over to the woman who was weeping, her face broken out with tears as her hands covered her cheek that was hit. There was no way he was going to leave her, she needed his help and he knew that. Her eyes were begging for him, begging to have him stop this man from doing worse to her. Her mouth opened again to beg, to say something. Already seeing the older man once again about to hit her, that wasn't going to happen! This time, Ren stopped the next hit as he pushed the man away from her and watched as he fell back, hitting his head right on the brick wall. Fuck, he didn't mean to do that. But the woman’s eyes widened as she watched the man’s eyes fixated on Ren.

Up close, Ren knew the man was indeed a Hawk once he got up and was all puffed up, broad wings were far larger than his own. Stumbling to Ren with such fury, even Ren’s narrow wings fully spread out wouldn't be able to discourage the man from doing something. But Ren was going to protect her, even if it cost him everything. His wings spreading to protect her, he wasn't going to let this predator get away with hurting anyone he wanted to. She wasn’t going to fall victim to society blaming her for this. Squinting at the man, challenging the Hawk. His eyes locked in on the man's. His jaw was held tight and his fists clenched, he never felt so passionate about protecting someone who may betray him in the end. He was so, so, stupid. How was a Raven, a species who was under the lowest, supposed to win against a Hawk, the highest on the society’s hierarchy?

“You have no idea the hornet's nest you just poked, kid.” Were the words before the sound of police sirens blared through the air, turning his head back and seeing the woman holding a phone. His body went cold.

April 9th, 20XX

Ren’s eyes snapped open as the Subway jolted on the tracks, his vision focusing on the cart full of people. His neck hurt as he sat back up, his head was still groggy from the dream. His eyes lazily looked around, there were people who looked like they were in school uniforms. Uniforms that were like his own, he would have to remember their faces sooner or later if he wanted to start a new life here. And the other people around were men in business suits, women in business wear with some other people in casual clothes with their kids. Bringing his hand to rub his eyes, ruffling up his hair as the television in the train was playing some host show with a teenager on the screen.

He tried to look from another Raven or even a Crow but it seemed like he was the only one in the cart, shifting uncomfortably as his black slender wings were tucked tightly behind him. No one seemed to be near him by choice, all their backs turned away while most of the students were talking to each other. Looking over to catch gazes with a kid no older than eight, her eyes widened as she went to hide behind what he presumed was her mom. ‘So this is how Tokyo is, no different. At least they aren’t actively bothering me.’ Shaking his head as he listened to the announcement about Shibuya being the next stop. If things were different, he would have felt excited instead of dread flooding his veins. Would this be any better than Inaba? More people lived here but that also meant more Crows and Ravens that could cause him trouble, he was avoiding joining a Conspiracy and Tokyo would probably have many of them, he needed to be careful during his probation.

His eyebrows furrowed, getting lost in thought as he picked at the skin by his nails. The singing pain didn’t stop him from picking, chewing the skin on the inside of his cheeks. His probation… He couldn’t do anything or he would be sent to jail, he would be like how everyone thought he’d be. Those thoughts looped in his mind until one of the students near him spoke a bit too loud.

“What?! Are you for real? A mental shutdown?” The voice peaked in his ears, ‘Mental showdown?’ Tilting his head off to the side as he continued to listen in on their conversation, keeping his gaze down to not cause any suspension. 

“It’s the truth, Maya! You saw the story about the two sisters right?”

“To a person through? It’s gotta be a joke. You really love all that occult stuff, don’t you? Those are just accidents.” She teased the other, poking at her classmate’s forehead. The other student seemed to not disagree as she giggled. 

Ren stopped listening on the two Doves as he felt the subway slow down, he was getting closer to where he was supposed to stay for the next year. Looking out the windows as he watched the air traffic being far busier than his town, so many different kinds of species all in the heart of the city. How was he going to keep to himself? The amount of Hawks already threw him in a loop, along with the Falcons and Eagles that seemed to take the subway for fun made his head hurt. Rubbing his palms against his eyes as he stood up, the doors opening and the flood of people took him outside with them. The feeling of bodies so close to him made his skin crawl, keeping his head down as he continued to his destination.

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

After struggling to get through the crowds of people and finding the next train, he finally made it to the alley of Yongen-Jaya. Breathing out as his skin felt like each nerve in his body was prickling, he never was surrounded by people like that. His stomach sank as he realized that every day he is going to have to go through that, to go through on getting in the subway and the crowds of people. Biting his bottom lip, he needed to get his flight permit soon for Tokyo, but he knew that no one would ever let someone with a criminal record get one. It wasn’t like he wanted to feel like this, it was his nature to keep away from other people, even his own kind… Glancing down at his phone as he walked past stores, he should probably ask for help instead of looking suspicious. Looking around as it seemed like some stores were empty right now, a sign on one that had marked down items and electronics said ‘Out for Lunch’. Frowning as he continued to cautiously walk around, the people that passed him seemed to pay no mind. They seemed to have places to be and a Raven being alone wasn’t entirely suspicious, his kind only stayed with their own in very small groups. Glancing down back at his phone as he tried to zoom into the alleyway more, why did his phone have to start glitching out now? He could feel his eye twitch as stress started to get to him, he just needed to find where Sojiro Sakura lived. 

“Hey you!” Someone shouted, his head jerking up. Seeing a police officer walking over to him, they seemed to have a friendly smile until he looked at their wings. A Golden Eagle, the wings shined in the sunlight that wasn’t blocked by the buildings. Ren could feel his body going cold, he could feel himself getting paler as the police officer got closer. He couldn’t run, that would be bad for him. All he could do was freeze in place, his eyes trying to not dart around for an escape. Trying to fold his wings tighter against himself as he gave a weak smile to the officer, hopefully his fake glasses will make him look more innocent.

“Are you talking to me, sir?” His throat felt dry, his voice cracking as the police tilted his head.

“Yeah you, you look lost? Not up to any trouble, right?” 

“N-no. Of course not, I was just looking for a man that lives at this address.” Showing his phone to the police officer, trying to hide the fact that his hands were shaking. Seeing the older man smile and pointing off the backside of the alley. Even gesturing with his wing, why did the police officer do that? To show off?

“Keep going straight and take a right and you’ll find it. His house is hard to miss with the nameplate.” 

“I see, thank you very much.” Ren's voice wavered, keeping calm to hide his rising anxiety as he bowed his head before trying to walk past the office. Stopping in his tracks as he felt a hand grab his wrist, the police officer who was so friendly to him at first had a stone cold stare. The officer’s face was far closer to his now, he could see the sweat that was building up on the man’s forehead. Ren’s feathers puffing up at the tops of his wings, his wrist started to hurt as he felt the officer squeezing it now. His eyes locked with the officers, how did someone who was so kind to him suddenly change? The officer’s wings blocked people from behind them from seeing what he was doing, it wasn’t illegal to stop someone but it wasn’t normal to be actively hurting a teenager. He knew this was going to happen, how would be been so careless.

“I’m only helping because you go to that school, next time, you won’t be so lucky.” The voice was quiet enough for Ren to hear as all Ren could do was nod before feeling the grip disappear and the police officer walking away. The threat sounded like it was dripping with venom, he wasn’t safe here either. Bile burned at his throat as he briskly walked to the house, shoving his phone in his pocket as he rubbed where the office had grabbed him. He ignored the way his eyes burned with the threat of tears, he just wanted to go to sleep and deal with tomorrow. Turning the corner as he saw a gate with a nameplate, letting out a breath that he didn’t even know he was holding in. His shoulders slouched as he rang the doorbell, tapping his foot as he waited. Brushing back the hair that was in his face as he went to ring the doorbell again. 

“Delivery… Sakura-San? He usually is at his cafe by now. Might as well head to the back alley after this then.” Someone who wasn’t in the alley seconds ago spoke, the sudden voice had Ren jolt back. It seemed like the man was just talking to himself though. Ren walked back out of the side alley, keeping closer to the corner as he saw the police officer was talking to another person that was facing away from him. He stayed close to the wall as he passed by quickly, his wings getting scraped up by the bricks but he ignored the weird feeling of his feathers being pushed in the wrong direction. As long as he kept quiet, the police wouldn’t catch him again. Turning another corner as he found the cafe, the door chimed as he opened and walked in. The smell of coffee and curry filled his nose, it made the nerves in his body calm down. He could feel himself relax as he glanced around before seeing an older Barn Owl look up from his word puzzle by the sudden noises Ren made getting in. 

“Oh they did say that was today huh.” A gruff voice was something Ren wasn’t expecting, watching as the crossword puzzle carelessly was tossed on one of the cafe booths. ‘They?’

“So you’re Ren.” The older man stood up, facing each other. Ren could see the gray in the man’s wings, how some of the feathers no longer grew in certain spots. ‘Was this who was going to watch over me? Some old dude.’

“I’m guessing that makes you Sakura-San?” Ren asked, his head tilting to the side.

“Sojiro Sakura. I was wondering what kind of unruly kid they were sending me but you? Didn’t think a Raven would be so clean up, wings look big enough to not get confused with a Crow.” The old man stroked his beard, his arms crossed. Ren raised an eyebrow, he couldn’t tell if that was an insult or a compliment. He usually never got compared to a Crow since of his very reclusive personality, Crows by nature were much more… outgoing.  

“Uh.. thank you.” Ren mustered up, seeing how Sojiro seemed to just stare at him emotionlessly.

“You’ll be in my custody for this next year, follow me to see where you’ll be staying.” Sojiro continued as he turned to walk up the steps in the far back of the cafe, Ren had no choice but to follow the aged Owl. The steps didn’t sound very safe as some of them creaked when he put a small amount of weight on. He was staying in a cafe? That only had a bathroom? How was he going to shower? At least the place had a kitchen, he wouldn’t be starving here. Frowning as he reached the top of the stairs, living here was not going to be easy.

Ren stared at the dusty and cluttered attic, there was a ladder and other things that he really didn’t need littered on the floor. It looked as if a tornado had blown through, it was an absolute mess and Ren knew he was gonna be the one to clean this all up. At least he had a bed in the corner, even if it really didn’t look all that comfortable. This was going to be his room for the next year, might as well figure out decorations. Looking around, seeing the ceiling had nice rafters, maybe they were strong enough for him to sit on. Pushing up his glasses as Sojiro turned to him. 

“I found some sheets for your bed, but it’s on you to clean the rest of the room.” Sojiro wasn’t going to make this easy on him, was he punishing Ren more than the police already did? 

“I see, this room is very… big.” Ren chose his words carefully as he walked further into the room, seeing some of the boxes that his parents sent him tucked under the bed. His name is written in large letters, and what was in each box. At least he had some things to put away. Turning back to his guardian. 

“I’ll be locking up each night so you’ll be alone here, but don’t do anything stupid. I’ll throw you out and call your probation officer the moment you cause any trouble.” Sojiro didn’t seem like that threat was a joke, his lips were pulled taut as he didn’t have warmth in his eyes. All Ren could do was nod, he already knew what predicament he was in. He didn’t need some wise owl to remind him. He could only grumble out a quiet ‘Yes sir’ before Sojiro kept talking.

“I was given the gist of what you did. Protecting a woman from some Hawk that was forcing himself onto her, he got injured, and you got arrested. Can’t say I’m surprised. That’s what happens when you start sticking your nose in a matter between two adults, especially being a Raven. The hierarchy has been around for hundreds of years and you thought that you could break it.” Sojiro repeating his past didn’t make Ren feel any better, shuffling a bit as the man continued. He wouldn’t be able to prove himself innocent, not that Sojiro seemed to care if he was innocent or not. All Ravens and Crows were the same, all criminals since the day they were born. Being berated over and over for the last few weeks, being told that he was nothing but a lowlife just kept adding fuel to the fire. Biting the inside of his cheeks to keep himself from saying anything he would regret. The man was nice enough to let him live here, he needed to be appreciative.  

“The court had ordered you to be sent away and your parents seemed to approve without a second thought, it seems like they wanted to get a pain out of their ass. Can’t say I blame them, no one really wants to take care of your kind.” Ren looked away, rolling his eyes once Sojiro couldn’t see him. If this was how it was going to be for the next year, Ren was going to need to buy something to release his anger on or at least invest in some earbuds. Maybe an online therapist might help, someone he could talk to. But would they be unbiased? ‘My kind? I never did anything wrong.’ 

“We’ll be going to Shunji Academy tomorrow, a waste of my Sunday but we need to introduce ourselves to the staff. They already know about your record as well but the school graciously is keeping it away from the students. You’re lucky they agreed for you to study there, they usually don’t accept people like you.” Sojiro headed towards the staircase, letting his words seep into Ren. 

“Clean up if you want, just keep it down. I still have a business to run, I didn’t get enough money for taking you in.” Those were his parting words, leaving Ren alone in the dusty room. 

Sighing as he sat down on the bed, his head in his hands. Ignoring how musty it really did smell up here, he had packed some incense that he could just burn at night with the window open. Groaning as his fingers played with his curls. The person that was watching him already left a bad taste in his mouth, a whole year to be near someone who thought of him as a criminal… The bell above the door downstairs chimed, it was a bit surprising someone like Sojiro actually had customers. He will have to get used to people walking into the cafe now, he won’t ever have peace and quiet until after closing. 

“Stupid ass shit… Grouchy ass Owl.” Grumbling as he kicked his shoes off, not caring if they thumped against the floor too loudly, serves Sojiro right for being an asshole right off the bat. Owls were known for having good hearing, hopefully he didn’t get caught for what he said… Looking down at his clothes, cleaning in these probably wasn’t a good idea. He might as well get into something comfortable before cleaning up. Standing up as he grabbed and pulled one of the boxes out from the bed, ‘Clothes’. Pulling out some pajamas as he stripped out of the school uniform, pulling the shirt from the bottom and over his head, being careful with his wings as the slits still were new in the top and haven’t fully adjusted to the tightness. Being as careful as humanly possible with the uniform, he even used his wing to brush off one of the dusty shelves to put his uniform on. It saved him from that police officer earlier, hopefully his luck won’t run out anytime soon. It was a plain black halter top, easy and cool to sleep in during the spring and summer. He put his legs through the shirt and pulled up, luckily the neck was attached in the back with two donut buttons, not needing to clasp them together. Thankfully this one had sleeves since it wasn’t that hot out, the cafe was more than just a little cool too. Fixing his shirt, his wings are able to stretch and move freely. Brushing the dust off of them as well, letting himself just take care of his feathers while he got lost in thought. It felt nice wearing something from home, it still smelled like his bedroom. Frowning to himself as reached back down on the bed, slipping in some black joggers. 

How would his life be if he never tried to save that woman? Did her life change at all? She defended the man who was hurting her but still betrayed him, was her fate changed at all? No point in thinking of that now, he was already sent hours away from the only home he knew and he was stuck in this lonely attic for the next year. Looking around the room, rubbing his forehead as he started dusting off the shelves. He was able to move the larger items on the other side of the attic and seemed to have bags of… something in them. He wasn’t ever going to use this side so might as well clean it up so that Sojiro might be a little nicer to him. Cleaning also kept him from thinking about everything that had happened, from earlier today to that night. The justice system failed him more times than he would have known was possible.

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

“I heard a bunch of noises up here but I didn’t think you actually cleaned up.” Sojiro appeared behind him quietly which caused Ren to jump and hit his head under the table, groaning from the throbbing pain. Crawling out from under the table as he rubbed where it hurt, he couldn’t help but glare at the man. He was just finishing up cleaning the floor under the table, the rest of the attic was as clean as he could for today and the floor was the easiest thing to tackle. Sojiro seemed to not care that Ren hurt himself nor was glaring as he walked around, inspecting the progress. 

“I’m locking up for tonight, I don’t care if you stay up too late and get sick. I’m not going to take care of you like your parents so you’re gonna be on your own.” Sojiro waved his hand, brushing Ren’s existence off. Ren nodded, trying to not scoff as Sojiro had already told him multiple times that ‘he is on his own’. Rolling his eyes as he stood up.

“Thank you for taking me in, Sakura-San.” Bowing his head as Sojiro walked back downstairs, he could hear the light switches being flipped and the front door bell chimed. He was finally alone. He loved the feeling of being alone, the quiet that it brought. It was safe to be alone. Sighing as he stretched his wings out, it felt way better to stretch out without all the dust floating around. It was pretty late, he needed to go to bed if he was supposed to meet all his teachers tomorrow. Teachers that knew of his criminal record, a record that wasn’t even all of the truth... Walking to the staircase as he flipped the light switch, the room instantly became dark, the moonlight that shone through the blinds on the windows made it so he could walk around without stubbing his toes on the boxes that he didn’t fully unpack. Cautiously he moved to his bed, the floor creaking under his feet. ‘I really should get a carpet in here.’ Thinking as he stepped up on the bed, opening up one side of the blinds and then the window. Sitting down as he listened to the noises of the surprisingly busy night city life of the neighborhood. Crossing his arms on the window sill, laying his head down on them, his black wings lazily draped over the edge of the bed. Watching a constant of large pairs of wings flying above him, they had to be some sort of Hawk or Eagle or even Falcon. But also some smaller ones appeared too, doves and pigeons? He saw them on the subway here too. ‘So many doves and pigeons live here, is that how it is in the city? Seemed like more variety here…’ Thinking, seeing Flight Patrols also flying around, they had flashing lights on them and a reflective vest. Best if he went to bed now, he shouldn’t let the urge of flight get him in trouble. 

Moving away from the window as he fixed the sheets to lay correctly on the bed, his pillows from home were still flat from being cramped up in a box. Exhaustion made him not care enough to fluff them up, he can deal with that tomorrow. Flopping down on his side as his eyes stared at the dark corners of the attic, pulling his comforter from home up to his neck, his wings cocooning his body for comfort. His fingers gently brushed each of his flight feathers. How he badly wanted to rip them out, maybe if he did, they would come in as anything else. He hated his feathers, he hated his wings, he hated his nature, he hated…himself. ‘The school doesn’t accept my ‘kind’… Why did they? Maybe my old grades caused them to accept me? But anyone could have good grades. Did my parents have more power than I thought? If so, why did they so easily give up on me? Sure they adopted me but they had to love me…Right? They didn’t raise me to prove a point…They chose to save me… Did they?’ 

His thoughts cut short as his phone notification pinged through the quiet room, sighing as he reached into his pocket and pulled it out. Squinting from the screen brightness as an ominous icon of an eyeball sat in the middle of his screen, ‘What the hell?’ Frowning as he pressed on it, nothing happened. It just remained motionless on his phone, he knew that his phone did not freeze up as holding his finger down did bring up the prompt to uninstall it. He decided it was best to do that, did the government finally put trackers on certain phones? Seeing the app vanish without a second thought, he’ll deal with it in the morning. He had an alarm set.

“Tomorrow will be good… I know it will.” Yawning, the feeling of the comforter and his wings laying heavily on his body wasn’t helping how tired he actually felt. Closing his eyes as he whispered to himself the phrase over and over, one hand tucked under his pillows as the other mindlessly petted his feathers. The sounds of outside and his own breathing finally let his body relax, his muscles were so tense earlier from everything that had happened that he didn’t realize how exhausted he actually was. The calmness slowly seeped into his bones, his breathing slowing down as he fell asleep. 

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

The sound of chains filled the air, gasping as he shot up. The sound of water dripping, chains, and his own breathing flooded his ears. The weight of… handcuffs, bulky large handcuffs on his wrists made his heart race. What happened? Where was he? Was he in prison? How? The stripped pants and shirts didn’t help him from not freaking out, what happened in the span of not even a few minutes? Sweat building up on his forehead as his breathing quickened, his heart raced. He didn’t notice the audience till a chuckle rang out through the cell, his head snapping towards the sound. Two little girls in blue stood at the door, were they supposed to be prison guards? Each one had only one wing, matching pure white ones. Frowning as he got up, his feathers puffed up as his hands grabbed onto the bars to keep himself steady. His ankle finally felt the chain as well, looking behind him quickly to see he was chained to a large ball of some sort of metal. In the middle of the circular room, was a man with an extremely long nose. He couldn’t help but snort which caused one of the ‘guards’ to hit the door with her baton.

“Don’t laugh at our master!”

“It’s alright Caroline. Welcome to the Velvet room, Trickster.” The man spoke with a gruff voice, Caroline seemed to just nod as both twins went to look up at him. ‘Trickster…? Velvet room?’

“The real you is currently asleep, you are only experiencing this as a dream.” The one he didn’t get the name of spoke, she was much kinder and soft spoken.

“Stand up straight, Inmate! You’re in the presence of our master!” Caroline, the more aggressive one, shouted at him. Causing him to involuntarily scoff as he looked back up at the ‘Master’.

“I am delighted to make your acquaintance, we have a lot to discuss. But surely you want to know what this place is?” The man gestured.

“Yeah, where am I exactly?” Ren asked cautiously, seeing Caroline glare at him but she seemed to not do anything since the ‘Master’ did ask a question.

“Here exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. A room by only those bound with a ‘contract’ may enter. We call it the Velvet Room, and I am Igor, the Master of this place.” Igor continued to speak without stopping for Ren to catch up, his head hurt with all this new weird information. ‘Between dream and reality? A contract?’ None of it was making sense and Igor wasn’t stopping to explain any of it.

“I don’t unde-” A clash against the bars, Ren jumped back as Caroline had her baton again. He wished that he could just kick that stupid thing out of her hand, but the bars weren’t big enough for that.

“Don’t interrupt our Master, Inmate!” 

“I summoned you here to speak of important matters, one that concerns your life as well.”

“Important matters? My life?” Ren tilted his head from the man’s words, seeing Igor looking around the room. Trying to get even an ounce of any explanation out of the wingless man.

“Still, this is a surprise… This room reflects the state of your heart, feel like a prisoner of fate?” The voice was almost teasing, was this man trying to get under his skin? Gritting his teeth as he just listened to the spiel. 

“In the future, there is no mistake that ruin will await you.”

“Ruin? What the fuck do you mean by ruin?” 

“The end of everything. However, there is a way to oppose fate. You must undergo ‘rehabilitation’. Rehabilitated towards freedom. This is the only way to avoid ruin.”

“You’re not making any sense.” Ren muttered under his breath, his eyes shifting around. There isn’t any way out of this, he had to do whatever this man told him to do…

“Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of this world?” 

“If it’s to avoid whatever ruin is, do I really have a choice?” Spoke up, seeing how Igor grinned and held his hand out. Was the man trying to be friendly? Ren didn’t sense any malice from him but something was still uneasy about the aura of someone who is wingless. 

“Allow me to observe the path to your rehabilitation.” 

A familiar alarm rang through the jail, Igor tapped his fingers against his desk. The creepy smile never leaves its face, watching Ren. 

“Seems like night is waning, Caroline and Justine will be here to help you. Don’t be afraid of them. Take your time to understand this place, slowly. We will meet each other again very soon.” 

“Wait! Fuck. I still have que-” A sharp pain split open in his head, it felt like something was ripping behind his eyes. Gasping out as he kneeled to the ground, his head pounded as nausea flipped his stomach. Holding his head as the sounds of chains started to distort, his eyes squeezed shut. A painful whimper left his throat, his conscious fading. The pain continued to grow until his body finally gave out, the pain stopped once his body became limp on the floor of the cell. He could hear chains and Igor’s chuckle like a distant memory. 

April 10th, 20XX

Ren spit the toothpaste in the sink, scooping the running water from his hand to wash off his chin and face. Getting the last of his face cleanser off and the bit of toothpaste that globbed on the corners of his mouth, using his own hand towel to wipe his mouth and face dry. Turning the water off as he used the towel to finally clean out the sink so that Sojiro wouldn’t throw a tantrum about toothpaste being in the sink of his business, he could already hear it now. Throwing the towel into a corner where Sojiro probably won’t check. Standing up as straight as he could in the cramped bathroom as he fixed his blazer, staring at himself in the mirror. He looked innocent, just an innocent Raven that didn’t do anything wrong. His glasses helped with the delusion as they seemed to soften up how piercing his eyes were, he started wearing them ever since his parents would have the side comments that he looked at them like he ‘wanted to kill them’. They stopped saying that once he became reclusive and quiet, he grew his hair out longer and wore glasses. They never really cared that much, he had to learn how to preen his own wings as they never touched them. Learning by himself, he still wasn’t the best and struggled with the feathers close to his spine. But from an outsider's view, he would be the model of a perfect kid that anyone would want. He should be proud of himself, he wasn’t thrown right into prison, he had a second chance. That had to mean something… Unless this was his fate, his fate to be a prisoner to society. His head was annoyingly full from his dream last night, he felt like he didn’t even get that good of a sleep. What did that man mean? ‘Rehabilitation… Ruin… Challenge distortion…?’ There was no use standing here and thinking about it, he needed to leave before Sojiro starts getting even more upset at him.

Opening the door to see Sojiro leaning against the counter for him, the man looked annoyed. Tapping his foot impatiently as Ren shuffled over, his hands buried in his pockets.

“Are you finally ready? You’re lucky I’m driving you today, you’d already be late if you had to get there by train and the transfers are a real hassle too. I doubt you will be allowed to get a permit to fly in the city.” He spoke as they left the cafe, Sojiro locking the door behind him. 

“How was your first night, kid?” The question surprised Ren, did Sojiro actually care? Or was this some sort of small talk? He didn’t feel awkward with the man, just mildly uncomfortable since he wasn’t used to being around strangers.

“It was more comfortable than a jail cell would have been, thank you for taking me in Sakura-San.” Ren spoke quietly, his shoulders hunched over a bit as they walked past where the cop from yesterday was standing. The police officer watched him but no attempt to grab him like yesterday happened, as long as it seemed like he was with someone, he wouldn't get bothered. Sojiro grunted in response, his face unchanging as they went to his car that was parked along the street. 

They didn’t speak to each other again until Ren sat down on the passenger side.

“Sheesh… Men aren’t usually allowed in my passenger seat.”

Ren griminced, his nose wrinkled up as he looked over at Sojiro. ‘Ew…’

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

The car ride there was uneventful, car traffic didn’t seem that bad since Sojiro looked calm the whole time. Air traffic was far more than his small town but it probably was ‘normal’ for Tokyo, the car radio went on a tangent about the mental shutdowns that recently happened. ‘Same thing those girls were talking about.’ Ren thought, his head resting back as his wings tried to get comfortable in the cramp car. He didn’t understand the appeal of getting one other than getting places faster than the train. He didn’t have the biggest wingspan but it was bigger than Sojiro’s so this car brand really wasn’t made for him. Shifting before giving up, sitting on his wings was less painful than them being bent in weird directions. It felt like a lifetime before the car finally stopped and was put into park. Ren took no time unbuckling himself and getting out. Stepping out of the car was a breath of fresh air, he stretched his arms back and fluttered his wings to have the feathers lay back down. He should have never taken the packed train for granted, it was far better for him. It felt so good to have wind between his feathers, he just wanted to reach for the sky, just for a second…

“You should put those away before you draw attention to people you don’t want.” Sojiro cocked an eyebrow, Ren swiftly folding his wings back up. Sojiro was right, he had to be more careful.  

“Do me a favor and just behave yourself, alright? I don’t care what happens to you but don’t cause me any trouble.” The tone was of a warning, seeing how Sojiro gave him a blank expression before they made their way into the highschool. The hallways made no sense but that was expected, at least Sojiro knew where he was going as they made it to the principal's office. Seeing a woman and the principal already waiting for them, this was going to be a long day.

Ren stayed quiet as everyone talked, barely listening at this point. Sojiro was signing papers while his new homeroom teacher just stood and kept watching him. ‘I shouldn’t be here…’ He thought as he looked around the office, seeing trophies and awards in the cabinet off to his right. He couldn’t really read what was on them by the angle. Photos on the walls of the sports teams, news articles on how great the school was. It was mildly uncomfortable to look at all the propaganda. Picking at the sides of his fingers as all eyes went to him, he hadn’t been listening for the last twenty minutes they been in the room.

“To reiterate, you will be expelled if you cause any trouble. To me you're nothing but a liability, but we had our circumstances to consider. Whatever you Ravens seem to try and get away with, those days are over. We will keep close eyes on you, Amamiya.” The principal, his wings were all puffed up. They were ones that weren’t used for flying, more for running and balance. Seeing how easily irritated the man got for Ren just standing there, being an ostrich wasn’t surprising in the least. His homeroom teacher had smaller wings, they were a bright yellow with black tips. A Goldfinch, fits being a teacher. Hierarchy never seemed to surprise him. Ren’s attention was brought back to his principal as the man started to rant again.

“If you’re thrown out of our school, there will be no place for you to go. And don’t think about looking to join a Conspiracy, I’m sure that will be grounds for the police to get involved.” All he heard was threats over and over, when will he just be talked to like a normal person? All he could do was nod and act like he cared so much about their words.

“Here is your student I.D.” His teacher finally spoke up as he handed him it, something pink was poking out from under it. Raising an eyebrow as she quickly snatched whatever was under his I.D and shoved it into her pocket. Her cheeks had a shade of red, what was she about to hand him by accident? Something odd enough to embarrass her. Clearing her voice as she began to lecture him.  

“Be sure to read all the rules, if you violate any of them. You’ll be sent to the guidance counselor, and I won’t be able to help you at that point. Your actions are your own.” She continued to speak, her hand deep in her pocket as she didn’t look at Ren’s eyes anymore. 

“We should be going, I still have a business to run.” Sojiro interrupted the tense atmosphere, it still was somewhat early in the day so the cafe could be opened. Seeing his teacher nod and look back at Ren.

“Come to the factuality office tomorrow, I will be able to show you to your classroom.” 

“Understood, thank you Ma’am.” Bowing his head as he swiftly left the room, he hated how the two stared at him like some freak. It made his skin crawl, he just wanted to go back home. Back to his actual home. Ren’s nails scraped along the sides of his fingers, catching the dry skin right by the nail beds as they walked down the stairs. His skin was itching to get out and just relax, being around people always felt unnatural. He didn’t understand why everyone thought Crows and Ravens were in Conspiracies together, that was only Crowns and desperate Ravens. Most Ravens stayed alone and found comfort in only one other. So many misconceptions about his kind…

“Guess that's what happens when you have a criminal record. Constant cold shoulders. This is a new start, if you get expelled from this school. I will have no problem kicking you out. Got it?” 

“Of course sir, I’ll be careful.” Ren mumbled out, this was the fifth time he heard those words. They stung less and less each time, more of a promise than a threat. Didn’t help that he was also getting more annoyed that no one actually wanted to speak to him like he was a person with feelings. He was just an outcast that made a mistake. He wasn’t even a criminal…

“Good,now let’s head back. Still can open business for a few hours.” Which never happened.

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

Ren sat down at the counter, Sojiro was finishing plating the curry. He forgot to eat breakfast and lunch, and with how bad the traffic was. The cafe wasn’t able to open the whole day, not that the older man was mad about it. The news station on the television was talking about the accident that happened today, one that caused them to get home later than Sojiro hoped.

“Thank you, Sakura-San.” Ren mumbled as the plate was placed in front of him and a small cup of juice. An odd combination but he couldn’t complain, not like he really had room to do so. It was free food and his stomach growled. Scooping a spoonful into his mouth, his eyes widened as he continued to devour the plate. It was so complex and had fairly bold spices, it wasn’t enough for him to say that it was too spicy but it did seem to have a kick. His parents were decent at cooking but this was a whole new level. Glancing up to see an amused smirk on Sojiro’s face. 

“Can’t say I’m not feeding you, though it seems like your folks weren’t either.” Sojiro turned to his word puzzle that he didn’t get to finish yesterday. The conversation ending was welcoming as Ren ate, listening to the news. Eight people were involved, two in critical condition and one that died.

“Sakura-San, you said something about an accident that happened right before I came here. Do you know what happened?”

“If I remember right, she was fifteen. She was with her sister but her sister survived what happened. Her parents just gotta be…” 

“I see…” 

A somber feeling filled the air between the two as Sojiro stopped talking, Ren felt a bit guilty for having Sojiro to tell him but curiosity got the best of him. Placing his spoon down as he picked up the cup of some juice. Sipping on it before realizing it was just some apple juice, weird for a cafe to have this. But also an even weirder combination that seemed to fit together. 

“Thank you again, the curry was very good.” Ren smiled at him, he could still try to keep on somewhat good terms with the man. 

“I know, it’s my signature recipe. I expect you to wash after yourself.” Sojiro spoke, finishing the crossword puzzle finally as Ren nodded and went to do just that. Handwashing his plate and cup, leaving it on the rack to drip dry.

“Before I forget, I need you to write in this book every night. Keep it up to date, I’m obligated to report on you weekly so this will help me. Surprisingly, under your prohibition, you have no limitations other than following the laws.” Sojiro handed him a small black journal, it was plain but the cover was made of leather. It wasn’t cheaply made either, Ren observed it as he opened it up. The spine was nice, and the pages were pretty strong. Ren couldn’t help but smile, a real gift. He couldn’t help the smile that made its way on his face, he felt like a child.

“Don’t think it’s a gift or anythin’ like that, I’m making you write in it so that I don’t have to do more work than I already am.” Sojiro sounded unamused. Though their conversation seemed to have ended when Sojiro’s phone started to go off, he swiftly answered and a voice on the other side piped up though Ren couldn’t really hear what the conversation actually was. The voice sounded like a teenage girl. Did Sojiro have a kid? Or was the guy actually creepy? 

“Mhm. I’m locking up now, I’ll be home soon.” The sound of the call dropping, Sojiro walked to the front door.

“I don’t care what you do at night, just don’t go through any of my stuff. If I see a single cup missing, I’m handing you to the police.” Another threat, careless words that had no meaning. He just let it roll off him, not much he could do anyway about it.

“Understood, good night sir.” Ren spoke, but Sojiro seemed to not care. Sighing as he looked down at the book, he might as well write down what happened yesterday and today. Do what he was told for now, it will keep him from being in trouble. Walking over to the television and shutting it off, along with the lights in the cafe. Sojiro really expected him to look after the cafe as well? Maybe he will be in good standings with the Owl if he cleaned during the night too, first he should probably get permission before touching anything though. The steps creaked as he walked up them, there was nothing left for him to do tonight. He had to wake up early if he was going to take the train and all the transfers. His parents gave him money for this but he was going to need to get a part-time job if he was gonna be able to attend school, if he misses school then he gets kicked out. Groaning as he took off his glasses and placed them near his backpack on the table, his new life was just starting and things already felt wrong. The velvet room, the fact the school he goes to also hates him, even his own guardian right now hates him. 

Changing into his pajamas helped him relax, though he was a bit uneasy from the fact that he wasn’t able to unpack more today and that a lot of his stuff still was in boxes and the floor was cluttered. He liked collecting things but unruly messes were mildly infuriating. Collapsing on his bed, laying on his stomach as one arm hung off the side to be on his phone. Looking at the route he had to take, hopefully the accident today wasn’t going to affect the timetables tomorrow. Though the new channel earlier said it was going to. 

“I might need to wake up earlier than i’d want to.” Mumbling as he tabbed out of the maps to set an earlier alarm than todays but stopped at the homescreen.

“What the hell?” Questioning out loud as the ominous app was back, it was taunting him as clicking on it still did nothing. ‘Didn’t I delete that??’ He went to delete it again, maybe he should reboot his phone tomorrow. Frowning as the app made him feel uneasy, it didn’t seem like a government app so he didn't have to worry about that. It felt like he knew what it was, it couldn’t be related to his dream. It was only a dream… right? Closing his eyes, a full stomach really did do wonders. Stretching out as the feathers of his wing touched the floor, he really needed to invest in a new bed. Yawning, feeling how heavy his body felt. He couldn’t fight back the need to sleep anymore. 

A dream of him laying in a dark subway with someone, their face was covered with a skull looking mask. The person seemed to be trustworthy as Ren could feel fingers touching his hair, playing with his curls. Who was this? Why was Ren letting someone touch him? This was just a dream right?

“R̷̤̼͙̗̎͐̉͝ė̵̲̘͍̞̪͜n̴̠̈́́̈́̈́͋̄͒Ŕ̶̟͐͊e̷̚ͅͅn̶̘̭͐̊̇̓.”

Chapter Text

A metallic mask. Silver. The shape of the top part of a human Skull. A toothy grin across the person’s face. Yellow leather gloves, they looked smooth to the touch. Large Hawk wings, strikingly beautiful white on the inside with rich deep brown accents on the feather panels. He could see the continuation of the brown continued on the other side of the wings, with black peaking in. Ren watched the stranger grin at him, his eyes squeezed closed as his cheeks pressed up into them. Who is that? Why did he feel like he knew this grinning blond? A hand was stretched out for him, an invitation to get him off the cold subway ground. Cold subway ground? Why was he on the ground? Looking down at his own hands. Why did he have red gloves on? His eyes glazing over his outfit that was fuzzy to see, why couldn’t he focus on what he was wearing? He could only see that he was wearing something black with long tailcoats, what was he wearing? Maybe it was too dark. Glancing back up at the yellow gloved hand, directly in his face now. His voice seemed to not work as he felt his lips move but nothing came out, his eyebrows furrowing as he accepted the offer. The glove was smooth to the skin of his palm, addicting… His body felt lifeless as he grabbed the other’s hand and was pulled to his feet, the blond was surprisingly strong. In only moments, the large wings wrapped around him protectively. The tips of the other’s wings grazing against the back of his own, their feathers loosely intertwining. Pulling him further into the personal space of the Hawk,

“J̶̠̚o̸̟̎k̷͈̉e̸͉̍r̴̯̐.” The voice was gentle but with a roughness from the excitement that he possessed. What did he say? His brain waves in and out, only certain senses felt like they were working. Why did he feel so vulnerable? Why didn’t he push away the feeling of fingers grazing his jaw? The smooth leather left him to crave more, more senseless touches that felt like they meant something. His cheeks felt warm as the blond stared at him with such softness in their eyes, able to clearly see the deep brown irises. His brain felt so fuzzy as it felt like he wasn’t truly existing, new sounds flooding his senses as he heard the echo of a subway train going by. Why was he in a rest stop? Alone with this person? Why was it so dark? Red? Why didn’t he run from the Hawk? It felt like another part of him was forcing him to stay, like a part knew who this was. It was someone who touched him differently, gingerly. Like he was a delicate flower. His thoughts abruptly ended when he felt arms wrap around his waist and the head buried into his neck, he could feel himself become stiff at the sudden touches. The skin on his neck tingled as he felt the hot breath from the other, bleached hair tickling his cheek. Hands spread out as they rested on his lower back comfortably. Why wasn’t he pushing this away? Why was he returning the hug? One of his gloved hands shakily held their head, his other on their shoulder. He could feel how snug the gloves on his hands were as he could feel the other’s hair, soft… Closing his eyes as he inhaled deeply, the smooth scent of what he could pick up as maple flooded his nose. The silkiness of gentle toffee and hints of caramel. He couldn’t help but bury his head into the scent, the aroma of the other’s wings made his body want to… relax.

“Ryu….” A name mumbled out of his own lips, instinctively. Ryu?

R…y…u…j 

April 11th, 20XX

His phone’s alarm blared through the room, the peaceful dream ripping away from him as his consciousness seeped in. The warm feeling of someone’s arms around him, the ghostly breath on his neck faded away as the alarm continued to wake him up. Groaning as he stretched out his limbs, sometime during the night he had curled up under his wings. His feet hung off the end of the bed as his right wing draped off the side and the other was folded up against the wall, did he fall asleep on his stomach again? His neck felt sore from being at an angle all night, he thought that he had stopped the habit. The phone’s alarm continued to increase in volume, patting around his bed sluggishly as he attempted to find it without having to open his eyes. Still able to envision the Hawk from his dreams, he didn’t want to lose it. He just needed to memorize their face, he needed to. Finally he found the phone, swiping swiftly on the screen to turn it off. Silence in the room was immensely welcoming, he finally could smell the scent of curry and coffee wafting from downstairs. He needed to get ready for his first day of school. He would be lying if the thought of going to that school didn’t make an icy chill up his spine, as long as he could get there without getting lost he would be fine. 

A quivering sigh left his lips as he moved to sit at the edge of his bed, touching the cold floorboard and his wings slouch on either side of him. His neck and left shoulder felt stiff and sore from being on his stomach all night, groaning as the muscles were forced to move. His fingers wiped the accumulated sleep crust from his eyes, how he wished he could just go back to bed. His eyes fluttering open, the world around him coming into focus. The sunlight that lit up the attic previously seemed to not fully be there today, the sun seemed to be hidden behind clouds.  Starting at the pile that he never finished cleaning up, why was he struggling to get up? The Hawk was nothing more than a distant memory now, he couldn’t remember what those wings looked like, and it made his heart throb sadly. Shaking his head as he rubbed his neck, exhaling a breath that he was holding in. ‘It’ll be okay, this will be different.’ Telling himself as he finally stood up, grabbing a new set of his school uniform that was neatly folded up. 

It took him a few minutes to fully wake up, his body sluggishly moving as he got changed into his uniform. Racking his brain at all the possible ways he could make it to school if anything happened, he can’t be late on his first day. Grabbing his phone from off his bed, he shouldn’t leave this behind. Walking to the staircase as he grabbed the shoulder bag and his glasses, looking back one last time with a mental list of all the things he needed to do. Ren wasn’t trying to avoid the inevitable, but standing at the top of the staircase with his fingers tapping on the railing didn’t help. How will this new school be? What would his classmates think about a Raven in their school? A kind that doesn’t get accepted unless in rare cases like his own. Would there be anti-zones for his kind that make him late? Places that Crows and Ravens wouldn’t be able to enter? Would he even make it there without a police officer… Squeezing his eyes shut as he tapped on the railing rapidly with no set rhythm, his breath getting caught in his throat. Swallowing hard, what was there to be scared of? Police were supposed to be safe, they were supposed to protect him. So why was he so damn afraid? Why did he feel an icy chill claw its way into his heart? Why did he want to hold himself like a kid? His wings encasing him as he spiraled, his legs felt like they were frozen in place. He couldn’t go anywhere, he was trapped, he was going to get caught. His chest constricted as he struggled to breathe.  

“I-it’s okay, it’s o-okay…” He whispered to himself, his hands started trembling as he grabbed his biceps. He wasn’t scared… No, he wasn’t… He wasn’t… He… He was so damn scared. Scared about being seen, scared about how his life was changed so fast. He never had time to adjust and now he was thrown into a school that he was going to be all alone with the threat of being expelled and thrown out. He needed to stop thinking, he needed to get to school, he needed to stop, stop, stop, s̷̳͈̾t̷̰͋̍o̷̪̒͆- 

A sharp pain spreaded throughout his left wing as a feather was clutched in his fist, hissing between his teeth as he opened his eyes. He had to stop thinking, he had to stop letting those thoughts from happening. The quill of his black feather had bubbles of blood on it, breathing heavily. It was over, he was okay. His head hurt, a dull throbbing. But at least his thoughts were clear, he knew what he had to do. His hands gradually stopped trembling as he stuffed the feather in his pocket, he will throw it out later. Time for school. Shifting his shoulder bag more snuggly as he walked down the staircase, seeing Sojiro behind the bar as a plate and a cup waited at one of the seats. The Owl glanced over at him, a surprised glint in his eyes.

“So, you’re actually going to school, huh?” 

“Yes… Before my arrest, I was an honor student.” Ren said as he sat down on the stool before shoveling the curry into his mouth. Sojiro didn’t have a response other than a huff, but he could see the smile Sojiro was trying to hide from him. Ren continued to eat, surprisingly enough not biting his tongue as he was rushing a bit to not be late. He already wasted enough time. Reaching to the mug, it was black coffee of some kind. Ren usually didn’t drink coffee but a cup in the morning wouldn’t hurt, raising the cup to his lips as he blew gently before taking a sip. It was bold, very bold, but had flavorful notes of chocolate and caramel. Humming as he finished his breakfast, an unusual breakfast for himself but it was amazing nonetheless. 

“That was amazing Sakura-san, thank you.” Ren bowed his head, hearing a grumble of some sort of ‘you’re welcome’ but it was too quiet for him to fully pick up. 

“Hurry over to school now, you’ll end up late if you get lost.” Sojiro grabbed his plate and cup to wash, no customers have entered yet thankfully so Ren was able to enjoy the peacefulness for now. Ren opened the door before Sojiro called out to him. “Flipped the sign to ‘Open’ for me.”

“Yes sir.”

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

Students ran from the subway, the sound of the rain pouring surrounded him. He didn’t bring an umbrella nor wing covers, his feathers were already dripping wet along with his hair. Wiping his false glasses with his shirt as he stood under the canopy of a building, trying to somewhat dry himself off before he had to continue making his way to school. He was surprisingly early so he had time to relax, he didn’t realize how much energy being on the trains actually took out of him. The unpleasant feeling of other people and their wings pressing up against him, the way some of their species smelled. It just made his skin crawl, an itch that he couldn’t scratch. Tapping the tip of his foot on the ground, brushing back his damp hair from his face as he looked down at his phone. He might as well continue, getting lost in his own thoughts wouldn't be a good idea, despite having the map open the ominous app stared at him. ‘Why is it back?’ Scrunching up his nose, it covered almost all of the screen and made his phone ever so slightly vibrate. He was about to try and delete it again, tempted to just smash the damn thing. 

His gaze was caught by a trance of beautiful colors, an intense red at the top with the gradient of yellow to blue by the tips of her feathers. He stared at her, watching how she wiped the rain off from her jacket and her hood coming off to show… long blond hair that was tied into pigtails. He couldn’t help but stare at her, how her wings fluttered to get the raindrops off them, how she looked at the busy street in front of them with a somber expression. He didn’t realize how badly he was staring until she looked at him, her eyes were a far lighter blue than her wings. She didn’t look afraid… Her lips offered him a small warm smile, no words were exchanged but it was comfortable. She didn’t even move away, did she purposely stand next to him? Taking his gaze off her as he had a shy smile wobble on his face, she stood next to him even though he was a Raven. Someone of her ranking, being so close to him. He usually hated the feeling of someone so close to him but he was enjoying her company, it didn’t feel draining or forced onto him…

The feeling didn’t last long as a man walked up to them, an umbrella in hand.

“Good morning Takamaki, you’ll be late if you try to wait out the rain.” The man’s voice was rough, an unpleasant amount of testosterone. Ren regrettably glanced up, an Eagle. Not just any, the way the man’s flight feathers were a dusty brown and longer than most, a Bald Eagle. Not surprising that a Macaw would know an Eagle, the higher parts of society intertwined with each other. Scoffing quietly as he stood farther into the corner. As long as the man doesn’t make a scene, Ren will be fine.

“Ah, thank you.” She spoke as she walked under the man’s umbrella, uncomfortably close for Ren’s taste. He didn’t like how the man’s wing wrapped around her. An older man should never do that with a teenager, only people of close relations wrap their wings around each other. He caught a glimpse of her face, a grim expression. Why? The man looked over at Ren, a disgusting smile on his face.

“Sorry, not enough room. Should hurry up or you’ll be late.” The words leaked with some sort of false pride, he hated how spineless that kind can be but have so much authority over nothing. It made his stomach twist as he gave a fake smile, holding back his tongue as he couldn’t get into a fight with an Eagle. His gaze turning into a glare as the two walked off, he gave her no room to leave even if she tried. It disgusted him, why was an adult all over a teenager like that? A knot in his stomach turned, only horrible thoughts could be guessed. Thankfully the sounds of splashing past him as someone ran past him stopped Ren from guessing what the relation of those two were. A boy, he was also wearing a school uniform but fairly incorrectly. Suspenders that hung and an obnoxiously yellow shirt, something a kid would wear. They had rich deep brown wings… Ah, perfect… A Hawk.

“Damnit, screw that effin’ pervy teacher.” 

“...Pervy… teacher…?” Ren’s voice seemed to startle the other as the boy whipped around, glaring at Ren for just being there. Why was this dude so vulgar for being a Hawk? And now mad at him?! Ren flared up his wings as the Hawk advanced towards him with malice, a small limp in their stride. The boy’s eyes sharply stared at him and then his wings, his nose flaring up. It gave him a wave of uneasiness, he couldn't go against another Hawk. Why did he always find trouble? Why… did this Hawk look familiar?   

“What do you want? Plannin’ on rattin’ me out to Kamoshida?” A tone that could only be taken as confrontational, what was this dude’s issue? Ren scoffed, which made the blond’s eye twitch. Seeing the Hawk’s feathers start to ruffle up, Ren could tell that their wingspan was far larger than his own.

“Fucking excuse me? I wasn’t planning on doing anything.” Ren rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. Why couldn’t people just leave him alone?

“What? You weren’t going to?” The Hawk snapped, Ren could see their hands being balled up into fists. They were lucky that no crowd was around them.

“No, I don’t even really know who that is!” Ren could feel his patience wearing very thin now, first he had to deal with some self-righteous Eagle and now an immature Hawk’s temper tantrum!

“That asshat that was just here, doing whatever the hell he wants. He acts like he is the king of a castle.” The blond boy went on his rant, it seemed like nothing could stop him now. Ren just watched as the boy tapped his foot rhythmically, what was wrong with this dude? 

“King of a castle..?” Mumbling as he was trying to figure out what the other was on, drugs?? That was the only explanation of their crazy talking, no way a normal Hawk would act like this. A moment of silence as the boy just stared at him, the aggressive and angry demeanor was gone as he finally understood Ren had literally no idea what was going on.

“... Wait, you actually don’t know Kamoshida? Are you for real?”

“Am I supposed to…?” Ren tilted his head, his wings relaxing once the boy did. His eyebrow raised, still felt mildly annoyed but it seemed like the Hawk was calming down.

“You go to Shujin, right?”

“Well-”

“You’re a second year too!” The sudden rowdiness caught Ren off-guard, stepping back. The boy got way too close for comfort to look at the collar of his shirt, he couldn’t help but get a bit red in the face as the Hawk had no awareness of personal space. Not most people got in his face for good reason, especially not ones that were mildly good looking.

“I-”

“Never seen you before though… Wait. Oh shit, you’re the new transfer student. Now this makes sense. I've never seen a Raven there before!” The boy didn’t give him room to talk, each time Ren opened his mouth he got interrupted. “I heard that we were getting a Raven from some rumor but I didn’t think it was real….”

“Rumors?”

“Oh shit, we are gonna be late. Come on, let's hurry up. I’ll tell you about it later!” The boy spoke so quickly that Ren couldn’t even process anything that happened, the Hawk already turning on his heels. One step in before both their heads pounded, Ren groaned as he closed his eyes. A hand clamped over his eyes as it felt like they were pulsing. A deep ripple of throbbing pain in his head, it felt familiar but from where. “Ugh, my head hurts. Dammit… I wanna go home…” The other boy groaned, walking away as Ren followed him with no other choice. 

The boy moved so swiftly, taking turns in alleyways that Ren would have never touched if he had a choice in the matter. It seemed like no crows or police were in them though since the boy, without a care in the word, kicked cans and other garbage that was in the way. He wanted to ask why to taking this way but his voice was stuck in his throat, an uneasy feeling sat in his chest. He wanted to ask about those rumors that the Hawk mentioned, to know if they were good or bad. A rumor spreading around the school already though? Did someone see him walk into the school yesterday? Did one of the teacher’s slip up? But he went there on Sunday, no one was in class… Unless… How? But judging how the Hawk was so nice to him, it had to be good! The rain slowly began to stop, fluttering his feathers as the uncomfortable feeling of water was coating them. Not watching where he was walking as he stepped into a puddle, the sounds of chains rattled around him faintly. Furrowing his brows as he looked around, stopping in place to listen again for the sound. Nothing, just the sounds of droplets from the roofs of the buildings hitting the ground.

“Wha-?!” A sudden yell rang through the alley, Ren frowned and followed the voice but what he was expecting was… Not this.

“We didn’t… come the wrong way.” The boy spoke, looking back as Ren gaped at the giant castle that wasn’t there yesterday when he came with Sojiro. It was huge! ‘What the fuck??’ Looking at the stone wall, it did indeed still say ‘Shujin Academy’ in bold writing.

“What’s goin’ on here? Why is there a castle?” The boy asked, looking at Ren who could only give a small shrug. How was he supposed to know??

“This is my first day so… Maybe we should go in… and ask?” Ren offered the idea, tapping his fingers on the side of his leg. Something about this just didn’t feel right, they should just turn back and go home. Who would care? Sojiro was just waiting for an opportunity to kick him out and Hawks don’t even need school to be worshiped like a god. But he couldn’t get kicked out, he needed to prove he was innocent…

“This is so effin’ weird…” The Hawk muttered, he looked indecisive of going inside. Without much of a choice though, Ren was the first to walk up the steps, seeing the Hawk hesitant but ended up following him in the end. Maybe the school just had a mass reconstruction during the night, that had to be the only explanation. Right?

The inside of the castle was huge, the large doors opening into a grand hall. A chandler hanging from the ceiling, this really wasn’t the school… was it? Ren observed the statues of armor that held large swords in front of them. There were at least twenty in the main room alone, multiple by the door they entered from and more throughout the rest. Something was very unnerving about them… At least they didn’t have eyes that followed them. The other boy was scratching his head, confusion plastered on their faces.

“This is ‘effin weird…This is the school, right?” The boy mumbled quietly to himself, Ren chewed on his bottom lip. He was going to be real late, shit.

“Did we make a wrong turn somewhere?” Ren asked, seeing the boy shake his head.

“I take this route every day, we definitely should be at the school…” 

“I hate to break it to you… But dude, this isn’t a school.” Ren tried to joke, trying to lighten up the mood as the Hawk just rolled his eyes but also smiled. At least the vulgar Hawk was much nicer now to him than earlier, Ren wouldn’t say it but it did make him comfortably warm if it weren’t for the fact of the school being turned into a creep castle.

“Yeah yeah, I know we took the right way. Don’t be an asshole.” The Hawk huffed, looking around the unfamiliar room. Ren opened his mouth before seeing one of the armor ‘statutes’ start to move, backing up towards the blond boy. Loud clanking sounds of the armor coming to life, hauntinly moving towards them. It advanced with the sword drawn, something about it wasn’t human.

“Geez, you freaked him out. Whoever is in the suit, this ain’t that funny. New guy is already nervous enough bein’ a Raven and all.” Ryuji calmly spoke, his wings in a relaxed fold behind him. The suit of armor said nothing, it just stood in front of them. The Hawk even walked up to it, his finger poking the sword. Ren’s breath hitched, his heart racing as this didn’t feel right. Something was wrong, very very wrong and they needed to go! Swallowing as he called out to the Hawk. 

“Hey-”

“Man, this is impressive! It feels almost real.” The boy sounded far too excited for the situation they were in. Maybe thinking the other was on drugs was actually true, no sane person would be like that in this kind of situation. Ren crossed his arms, his hands gripping on the sleeves of his uniform. His wings twitched, the feeling of fleeing was taunting him. He should run, flee from this, let the Hawk deal with whatever was happening. It didn’t help when another suit of armor started to clank to life, it also started to move towards them. 

“Oh shit.” A whisper came out. Finally the Hawk stepped back, aware of the situation they were in. Ren could see how their wing’s fluttered, they both knew that they should run now. The Hawk bumped into him, their feathers brushing up against each other. Ren stared at the Hawk who’s eyebrows were knit tightly, a thin line resting on his lips. 

“I don’t think this is a joke anymore…” Ren whispered, his eyes darting around.

“T-this isn’t good…” Fear, there was fear laced in the Hawk's voice. More suits of armor seemed to come to life from their dormant state, there was no way these were people. No room for their wings to fit and the armor seemed to move with jitters, this was not right. Ren's heart tugged, he needed to protect this Hawk with his life. Counting how many surrounded them; two in front, two coming down from the staircase that was off to their right, four walking towards the door of the entrance. They were trying to block them from fleeing…? They needed to go, now or they will die here!

“We need to go, now!” Ren yelled, swiftly grabbing the Hawk’s hand as he dragged them towards the door. The Hawk had a limp in his run, shit that’s not good. They were able to get a few feet in before more suits of armor block the door to create a wall formation, their swords crossing each other. Stopping in their tracts as his eyes snapped to any possible exits, but all doorways looked like they went into more hallways.

“Shit what are we going to do?!” The Hawk’s voice sounded strained, panicked. 

“J-just let me think.” They needed to get out, he could get them out. He can keep the Hawk safe. Ren’s eyes widened as he noticed the back of the suits didn’t have wings, an idea spurred in his head. There was a way they could get out! “Fly! They can’t!” Ren ordered swiftly without a second thought, his narrow wings spread out as he took off with ease. 

The sudden rush of adrenaline filled his body, he craved how the muscles in his shoulders pulled with each flap. The Hawk behind him also got off the ground with powerful loud gusts, they could actually get away and nothing can stop them now! All they had to do was get out. Before Ren got far, a yell and a loud bone-crushing slam could be heard behind him. Turning back to see a Suit was standing over the Hawk who was on the ground, how did they grab him from the air!? The large wings laid on the floor carelessly, contorted at angles that wouldn’t be normal. The blond boy gasped out air as he was winded by the slam, their face was riddled in pain. Ren’s eyes widened as he hovered, he could escape now but…

“Y-you’re gonna break my bones!” The Hawk cried out, watching as two suits had stepped on his wings thoughtlessly, feathers sticking up in sickening angles. Ren’s breathing quickened as all he did was watch the scene unfold in front of him, he wanted to run away. He was a coward, he wasn’t strong like a Hawk or brave like a Falcon. He was just a Raven. He was a coward…

“F-fuck! Fuckin’ stop! Please!” The Hawk begged, tears running down his face. Their hands were clawing at the ground, their nails scraping against the cold floor. Ren couldn’t watch this anymore, he couldn't leave the Hawk alone in this horrid place. Diving down, straight for one of the armor suit chest. If he could knock one over, the Hawk could struggle free and they could get out. Adrenaline stopped him from thinking rationally as his only thought was to save the Hawk, he had to save him. His instincts burned deep into his bones. Ren didn’t anticipate the speed of the suit’s reflexes, because in moments a hand was wrapped around his neck as he hung. His body jolted from the sudden stopping, limbs snapping forward. He could feel a sharp pain by the base of his wings down to the tips, the sudden stopping snapped his wings forward as well and it hurt.

“Agh!” His legs kicked the air, his wings desperately flapping. The sound of feather’s snapping in the air, trying to gain any effort to free himself but the armor didn’t even budge with how strong he had been flapping. Each flap of his wing shot stabbing pain throughout his body, it felt like his joint was being pulled apart each time. His teeth gritting as the suit tightened the grasp on his neck, Ren coughed and gasped as his fingers clawed at the hand. His lungs burned as air couldn’t get to them, it felt like he was suffocating.

“S-stop you’ll kill him!” The Hawk’s voice echoed in his brain. His vision wavering as his attempts to free himself started to become sluggish, his hands slipping off the metal as his wings could only twitch. Ren’s head started to get light, he couldn’t focus his muscles to move anymore. A heartbeat pounding inside his ears, ‘Am I going to die?’ Seeing the tunnel of his vision grow smaller as more yelling rang, the Hawk was yelling. What was he saying? Why did he feel so cold…? ‘Why is it cold…Why…’ His eyes rolled back, his arms finally going limp. 

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

“...H…He….” The voice, it was so gentle. In a void of nothing, the voice brought him warmth. It smelled sweet… Maple… Maple sweet… The Hawk… Where was he? Home? Safe in the arms of the Hawk from his dream? The feeling of a warm hand on his shoulder, brought him comfort. He wished he could bury into the heat and hide forever in it… The hand was shaking him, desperately to wake him up. ‘I don’t want to wake up..’ 

“...Hey! Wake up!” Ren’s eyes shot open at the yell, his head was pounding with each heartbeat. The sounds of chains and metal flooded his senses, his stomach felt like it was being twisted with bile burning the back of his throat. Groaning weakly as he pushed himself up, his arms trembled. Why was he on a wooden bed? Where was he? His vision lagged behind his own thoughts, his eyes wandering without a reason. His wings felt like they could barely move without protesting in pain, the muscles on his shoulder and back felt like they were overused and sore. He couldn’t have sprained his wings, right? The Hawk was kneeled next to him, his eyebrows knitted together as he watched the Raven move around. The hand gently letting go of his shoulder as Ren was fighting his own body for consciousness.

“W…What happened…?” His voice was raspy as he sat up, closing his eyes as he held his head in his hands. Shuddering as his heart rate made his head pound harder, swallowing back the bile that was raising in his throat. Leaning his elbows on his thighs, his memories felt discombobulated. Why couldn’t he remember what happened? Something about a castle, they were in a castle.. Fingers clutching at his curls, trying to remember. Slowly he stood up, staggering as he opened his eyes. His hands moved to his own neck, hissing out as it was sore. He definitely had a bruise, how was he going to explain this to Sojiro? Finally able to focus on where he was, it was a… medieval jail cell. Not like the blue room, there was an old iron door and chains on the walls. 

“You alright? You got bruises on your neck, dude.” Someone’s voice, it startled Ren. Jolting as his eyes were wide, staring at the Hawk before relaxing. Damn, he was on edge. He knew the Hawk was there, why did he feel so scared though? It’s okay, it’ll be okay. Letting his muscles relax again, the Hawk seemed nervous too at least. Their eyes were darting around the cell that the two were locked inside, the sounds of water dripping from the ceiling and the sounds of chains rattling didn’t help their nerves. 

“Yeah…sorry, this place is freaking me out.”

“Don’t worry about it, dude. It’s for real an eyesore.”

“Are you okay though? They stepped on your wings pretty bad.”

“Yeah, more or less. Nothin’ I can’t deal with, y’know.” The Hawk rolled their shoulders in a circle, their wings looked in rough shape despite what they said. Feathers sticking in weird positions that couldn’t be comfortable, those Suits really did a number on them. Ren frowned, how he instinctively wanted to reach out and run his finger’s down those rich feathers… They have other things to worry about right now, he couldn’t think about that. Watching the Hawk pace around the room. Standing by the bars before shaking it, trying to push it open. They didn’t budge, it was most definitely locked.

“Hey! Let us out, I know someone is down here! Assholes!” The Hawk yelled, waiting a few seconds before scoffing and walking back over to Ren. The Hawk slouched, their hands shoved deep in their pockets.  

“Guess this ain’t a dream then… Are we on a movie set?” The Hawk looked at him, they shared a grimincing look. No, this would be one fucked up movie set if so… Ren felt like he knew where they were, it was an eerie feeling like that dream from before… 

“This would be one fucked up movie then…” Ren mumbled, and it seemed like his words didn’t help the situation either. Before they could question their situation any further, a painful scream filled the air. It was muffled but loud enough for both Ren and the Hawk to snap their heads towards the door. It sounded like someone begging for help.

“Th-the hell was that just now?!” The boy stuttered out, Ren felt a chill down his spine. The scream was bloodcurdling, there was something wrong with this place. Was torture happening here? Were they next? The thought of his feathers being pulled out one by one flooded his thoughts, holding himself for comfort. 

“I… don’t know… We aren’t the only ones here.” Ren tried to see if there were other people in the cells across from them but it looked like those ones were empty. Was there more than just where they were? How many people have been tortured here?

“This is real bad, we need to find a way out now!” The Hawk eyes were wide as their wings were folded tightly to their body, there was no use to acting all tough now. They both were terrified and had to work together to get out, every second wasted would cause their deaths. Ren nodded as he started to investigate the cell more closely, pulling at the strange chains on the walls and under the bed. The Hawk was trying to find something to pick the lock, any metal that could be bent. 

“Maybe there is a hole somewhere? This place can’t be that secure right?” Ren suggested, seeing the Hawk looking behind some barrels. Ren pushes up against the gray bricks, to find some sort of hidden room. Anything to give them a small amount of hope.

“No holes down here, I would have found them by now. Maybe check up there?” The Hawk pointed up above the rafter, there could be… Ren looked up as he crouched down before spreading his wing, something in his body told him to not do it but he ignored the throb deep within his muscles. A quiet hiss leaving his mouth as he flinched, it felt like he was putting something apart that wasn’t made to be pulled. But to save the Hawk, he could care less. His wings pushed off with enough force to get onto one of the rafters but as soon as his feet lifted off the ground, an excruciating pain burned through his back and wings. Gasping out as it burned from deep inside his muscles, something was terribly wrong. His body collapsed on his knees and hands as the Hawk ran over and placed their hand on his back. Whimpering out, the hand was so gentle on the painful muscles, they were trying to find what hurt him… Ren’s fingernails dug into his palms as the fingers prodded on his back.

“Are you okay dude?! What hurts?”

“S-sorry…” Ren whispered, feeling the Hawk’s fingers slowly brushing up his feathers to see if they could see anything. If this was under different circumstances, Ren would have enjoyed the feeling of someone’s hands on him but right now it was anything but enjoyable.

“Dude I think your back is swollen, can you still fold them up?” The Hawk pulled away, still crouched down next to him. Their hands were placed to help fold up his wings without forcing the Raven. Ren whimpered out even with the light touches, it felt horrible. Taking a few deep breaths and his wings slowly folded, having to only pause a few times with the Hawk’s help. They still haven’t found a way out and it felt like time finally ran out for them, the sounds of metal armor clanking down the hallway. 

“Shit!” The Hawk hissed as he helped pull Ren up to his feet, the sudden movement caused Ren to wobble on his feet while the Hawk had their hand on his lower back for stability. They watched as six suits of armor appeared at the door, some with shields and others with swords.

“Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon. Your charge is ‘unlawful entry’.” Punishment? Unlawful? “Thus, you will be sentenced to death.” One of the suits of armor spoke without a mouth, the voice echoed as the two stepped back with wide eyes. Stunned from the words that were just spoken. There was no way this was happening…

“Say what?!” The Hawk yelled out, Ren’s words were trapped in his throat. Death. They were going to be sentenced to death?! His hands trembled, this couldn’t be the end. He couldn’t think, his body felt like it was frozen. His heart was pounding so loud that he couldn’t even hear his own breathing. A familiar Eagle appeared behind the suits and made his way up to the bars… in an entirely distasteful choice of clothes. 

“No one’s allowed to do as they please in my castle.” A voice that had other tones mixed in it spoke, a crown on the Eagle’s head and was wrapped in some sort of royal…bathrobe.  

“Huh? Wait… Is that you, Kamoshida?” The Hawk questioned, his eyebrows furrowed. Ren stared at the Hawk, surprised. This couldn’t have been the man that was with the Macaw, no way this could be him. The sounds of chains faintly rattled around him, there was nothing there that could make that sound… 

“I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it’d be you, Sakamoto. Are you trying to disobey me again? It looks like you haven’t learned your lesson at all, huh?” Kamoshida smirked at the Hawk in some sort of self-righteousness, before looking over at Ren with his lip raised in disgust. “And you brought some Raven? Didn’t think you’d stoop so low for a friend, can’t do anything for yourself.”

“This ain’t funny, you asshole!” The Hawk barked, his feathers fluffing up as one of his wings rose up to be in front of Ren in a protective manner. Sakamoto’s eyes were sharp, his nose was flared out. 

“Is that how you speak to a king? It seems you don’t understand the position you’re in at all.” The Eagle shouted, “Not only did you sneak into my castle, you committed the crime of insulting me - the king!” The Eagle moved his arm, revealing wearing nothing but some panties underneath. Ren’s nose wrinkled as Sakamoto made a gagging sound. Their reactions only seemed to make Kamoshida enraged, his foot stomping down.

“It’s time for executions! Take them out!” The cell door slammed open, the suits of armor funneling in as Kamoshida stood outside with a twisted smile. Ren and the Hawk were as far back in the corner as they could go, their path of exit slowly fading away.

“... Goddamnit.” Sakamoto muttered, they were getting blocked in the cell. Ren watched as the Hawk’s eyes shifted around, what was he planning? There was nowhere to go, they were trapped… A determined expression rested on the Hawk’s face as he rushed at one of the Suits with his shoulder to hopefully knock it over, which he did successfully, looking back at Ren. “I ain’t down for this shit! C’mon, we’re outta here!” Ren nodded as he went to follow but watched as another Suit appeared and slammed the hit of its sword into Sakamoto’s stomach in split moments. The sound of the Hawk moaning in pain echoed through the jail cell, the blond boy folding in on himself as he plummeted to his knees. Ren stepped back as his spine pressed into the corner, his breathing rattling his chest. Sakamoto caught his eyes, a grim expression was plastered on his face. “Just go! Get outta here! These guys are serious!” Genuine carelessness the Hawk had, caring about some Raven than himself.. Didn’t help when Ren tried to move, Kamoshida’s head snapped over at him. 

“Oh? Running away, are we? What a heartless Raven you brought here.” Kamoshida laughed, “See what happens when you pick a Raven as a friend, Sakamoto.”

“He ain’t a friend.” Those words oddly felt like pins and needles stabbing into Ren’s chest. Especially when their eyes looked at him, Ren knew this Hawk from somewhere but... “C’mon! Hurry up and go!” The voice was begging but Ren couldn’t find himself the ability to move at all, this was all too much for him. He was terrified that if he moved, the other would be killed. That if he moved, he would be killed. That if anything happened, they would die. His lip quivering, he just didn’t know what to do. He was just a kid, he wasn’t supposed to be here… Shaking his head. 

“What’s the matter? Too scared to run away? Don’t have a flock to cry to? Your pathetic kind isn’t worth my time.” Kamoshida mocked Ren, entering the overcrowded cell. The Eagle’s eyes watching Sakamoto struggle to get up, ”I’ll focus on this one’s execution first.” One of the armor suits had pushed Ren onto the other side of the cell, a sword under his chin to keep him there as two other suits forced Sakamoto to stand up. Everything happened so fast, how fast the suits moved and how fast Kamoshida stood in front of the Hawk. Balled up fists slamming into Sakamoto’s face over and over, the sound cracking through the air. Blood dripped from their chin as the man continued to beat him.

“Take this! Lowly scum!” Each word combined with a crack, the Hawk coughing and gasping breaths. “Useless pest!” Punch to the stomach. Over and over, the man kept beating the Hawk until Sakamoto was on the ground, blood pouring from their nose and busted lip. The sides of their cheeks were swollen, Ren couldn’t imagine what their stomach looked like after the horrid beating. He wanted to tear his eyes away from the scene, to save the Hawk but the cold sharp metal under his neck kept him from moving. He had to stand there and watch as the Eagle kicked Sakamoto’s stomach, laughing as the Hawk breathing became labored.  

“Where’d your energy from earlier go?” Kamoshida laughed at him, spitting on the beaten down Hawk. He seemed disappointed as Sakamoto didn’t say a word, flicking his wrist at one of the Suits. The Suit grabbed the base of the Hawk’s neck to lift him up, no reaction. Seconds later it tossed him against the wall, Sakamoto’s limbs didn’t put up a fight as he laid there motionlessly. Kamoshida shook his head, “A disappointment like you isn’t worth a beating, better for society to have you killed right now.” No, no, no, no-

“Have you lost your fucking mind?! Leave him alone!” Ren’s voice finally broke out, he couldn’t stand back and watch any more of this. This all had to be one sick joke… The blood on the ground, the twisted sounds, it had to be a joke… He knew what he had to do, he wasn’t heartless. Ren wasn’t going to let this man win, not to this man, not to someone who uses people for his own power. The Eagle’s head snapped back towards him, a head tilted as he walked over to Ren with his wings flared out. The suit that had the sword under Ren’s neck moved away, giving the ‘King’ space.

 “What? Don’t you dare tell me you don’t know who I am, Raven?” Kamoshida’s face inches from his own, enough for Ren to be able to feel the man’s breath on his face, Ren’s glare sharpening as his own wings creeped out. Flaring out his wings, they screamed in protest but Ren wasn’t going to back down. He was afraid earlier but now, he wanted to punch the stupid grin that was on Kamoshida’s face moments ago. His eyes never faltered as Kamoshida sneered, “That look in your eyes irritates me!” A swift kick to his stomach sent Ren falling back, hitting his spine against the wall with a grunt. 

“Hold him there… After the disappointment, it’s his turn to die.” Kamoshida commanded two of the suits, they closed in on Ren as he tried to dash at the Eagle. Two gloved hands slamming him into the wall, he couldn’t fight against the strength of something that wasn’t human. Ren thrashed around, the fear in the Hawk’s eyes as Kamoshida got near him… Ren never wanted to see that look ever again.

“No… No… I-I don’t wanna die…” The Hawk’s voice babbled weakly, tears streaming down his face. Spit and blood on his chin. Kamoshida laughter echoed through the jail cell before everything went silent. 

“This is truly an unjust game… Your chances of winning are almost none.” A feminine voice echoed through his head, if felt like he knew but didn’t know who it was.  He swore he saw a blue butterfly cross his vision in faint moments before disappearing, it yearned for him to realize what he needed to do. “But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you.” A possibility? His eyes staring at the scene in front of him, his head pounded as another unfamiliar voice rang through it.

“What’s the matter? Are you simply going to watch?” Ren’s eyes widening as his breathing quickened, he couldn’t see who was talking to him but he could feel it. Somewhere close, somewhere deep inside him. “Are you forsaking him to save yourself? Death awaits him if you do nothing.” Staring at the Hawk that had swords pointed at him, their wings being held up as if they will be trophies afterwards. “Was your previous decision a mistake then?” Him saving that woman? He never regretted it, maybe the outcome wasn’t desired but he knew what he did was right. 

“No… It wasn’t.” He could only whisper, his eyes set on Kamoshida. He was going to save the Hawk, he was going to get them out of here! He struggled, pushing against the suits of armor who only gave a little before slamming him back into the wall. 

“Very well… I have heeded your resolve.” The voice chuckled, searing pain blossomed in his head. It felt like magma being poured onto him, every single nerve being set ablaze. Gasping as his head hung, his eyes squeezed shut as each second was excruciating. Sweat beaded up on his face as his mouth hung open, gasping for anything that didn’t burn his senses. His lungs felt like they were on fire, his heart felt like it was pumping the pain directly into his skull. His head slamming back against the wall as he cried out, not noticing the other two winged watched him. “Vow to me.” The voice commanded, each word caused his wings to jerk. Tears burned down his cheeks, his eyes felt like they were being stabbed by hundreds of needles. Sobbing out as his shoulders shook, he couldn’t do this. It hurt, it hurt so bad… 

“I am thou, thou art I…” Each word caused his body to jolt, he wanted to scream. “Thou who art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice!” Ren couldn’t hold back, his head thrashing around as his hands balled into fists. “Call upon my name, and release thy rage!” Spit and sweat dripped from his chin, his joints felt like they were being contorted without even moving. His wings flapping as the Suit’s slammed him against the bricks, feathers bringing stabbing pain as they bent upwards. “Show the strength of thy will to ascertain all on thine own, though thou be chained to Hell itself!” His mission was clear, his eyes fixated on Kamoshida. The pain suddenly stopped, his body buzzing. 

“What was that act for? Trying to distract me from executing Sakamoto?” The Eagle seemed to have watched what happened as his head was cocked to the side, unamused how Ren disrupted his execution. “You desire to be killed that much? Fine.” Kamoshida looked at one of the armor suits that held Ren and gave it a nod, the next thing he knew was a metal hand knocking the glasses off his face as he snapped to the side. The sound of glass shattering as his glasses bounced off the floor, Kamoshida smirked as the Raven’s wings went limp.

“Though you’d have more fight in you? What a shame, all that act for nothing. Oh well, not like anyone will miss you so what’s there to fight for.” One of the suits of armors advanced towards him, their sword raised. 

“I’m… not going to die, asshole.” He whispered with venom dripping from his words, Ren’s eyes widened as a gust of wind engulfed him. The sword flung outside of the cell and the guards that once held him were pushed in different directions, Kamoshida gasped out in surprise. Ren’s hands sluggishly reached up to his face, an unbearable itch that he couldn’t scratch buzzed. His fingers traced the sides of a… mask, hooking onto the top part as he felt like he had to pull. The first tug made him want to cry, but he kept going. The itch burned worse and worse, but he just kept pulling. The sound of skin ripping echoed through the cell, even as his body protested the onslaught of pain, Ren continued to pull. Crying out as he finally ripped the mask off his face, blood gushing down his face and onto his school uniform. The sound of a demonic cackle left his lips as blue cold flames engulfed his being, the flames licking away the blood that was on his face. Ren could feel power rushing through his veins, the power of being able to change their fates. 

Kamoshida staggered back, Suits following as well as all Sakamoto could do was watch the Raven’s flames turn into a monster behind him. Ren chuckled as a smirk was plastered on his face, he was able to see just how terrified the Eagle actually was. Iron chains rattled around him. Opening his arms and wings as a burst of wind threw multiple suits against the wall along with the worthless Eagle who whimpered in fear, crawling away. 

“Wha… What the…?” The Hawk’s voice trembled, his swollen cheeks made it hard for him to see but nothing could hide the fact that the Raven was in a black tailcoat with a terrifying demonic monster behind him. The way the Raven’s eyes gloved yellow in the darkness, fear paralyzed the Hawk from running away. Even when Ren walked towards him, the Hawk couldn’t run. The way the Raven’s gloved hand gently touched his cheek caused him to flinch, not from the pain but the fear of being hit again. Ren’s brows furrowed as he glanced over at Kamoshida, who was pressed up against a corner of the cell. Pathetic. 

“I am the pillager of twilight- Arsène.” It spoke as Ren looked down at his hands, the… red gloves. “I am the rebel’s soul that resides within you. If you so desire, I shall consider granting you the power to break through this crisis.” It stared at him, the large wings on his… rebel’s soul mirrored his own.

“Give me your power.” Ren’s words left his lips without a moment of hesitation, his eyes locked onto his soul’s. 

“Hmph, very well…” It sounded impressed by Ren’s quick decision.

“Who the hell are you?!” Kamoshida’s pathetic voice rang through his ears, seeing how the Eagle managed to get up and acted like he was in authority. “Guards! Start by killing that one!” A finger was pointed at Ren, causing the Raven to smirk as he watched the Suits contort into two odd floating Jack-o-Lanterns, a heavy feeling of a dagger made appearance in his hand. Ren smirked, spinning the dagger as his wings flared open. 

“This power of mine is yours, kill them however you want! Run wild to your heart’s content!” Arsène’s voice beckoned him, his heart was unusually calm as he watched the two monsters close in on him. He couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled in his chest as he felt his legs dash towards the monsters, his dagger felt like it belonged in his hand as he slashed one of them open. Disappointment clawed its way into his twisted mind as he wished it to bleed, wishing that blood dripped from the dagger as it sliced through the skin of the Jack-o-Lantern. It fell to the ground in seconds as he spun around, dodging the other guard that tried to attack him. His hand instinctively went towards his face as the glow of the blue flames engulfed where his weightless mask sat, Arsène appearing behind him. Its hand reached outwards as the darkness twisted the Guard's body. He couldn't help but mimic Arsène’s laughter as the monster contorted in horrid positions, the limbs snapping in unnatural ways. His chest shook with each burst of laughter, the power was like a high that Ren never knew he craved. After moments of enjoying what was happening, the ability slowly faded as did Arsène. His mask reappeared on his face as both the enemies disappeared into a cloud of black smoke, it was as if they never existed. 

The heat of the battle caused Ren to not realize how close Kamoshida got to him before a powerful wing slammed him into the wall, gasping out as it winded him. 

“You little…-” Not able to finish his sentence before Sakamoto rammed into Kamoshida, causing the Eagle to drop the cell keys as he tumbled to the ground. 

“You like that, you son of a bitch?!”

“He dropped the keys!” Ren called out, seeing the Hawk nod and swiped the keys off the ground as they both ran out. Kamoshida frantically tried to get up but Sakamoto slammed the cell door in his face, locking it.

“Damn you! You bastards!” The Eagle yelled as the Hawk threw the keys into the stream of water before both of them ran, their hearts pounding as they could hear the man’s yells echo off the walls. Ren’s heels clicked against the ground as they ran without looking back. 

Chapter Text

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

“Dude, w-what… the hell… was that?! And what’s up your effin’ clothes?” The Hawk panted out, leaning down with his hands on his knees as they were pressed up against a corner to not be seen by the passing of the Guards. It was a bit difficult since Sakamoto’s wings are huge but Ren used his own to blend them in with the darkness of the shadows. His wings were opened enough for the dull throb to not make him wince in pain, he needed to get them checked out later… Ren’s arms were on either side of the Hawk’s as he was catching his own breath, his head still pounding as he was nearly shaking with fatigue. What just happened? He awakened his Rebel soul, Arsène. The sheer power that the being had must have put a strain on Ren’s body somehow, and running afterwards was probably not the best idea either. Ren’s wings barely could stay up without a tremble in his muscles, but the Guards seemed to not have been able to still see them despite that.

“I… have no…. idea.” All he could do was heave out, his mouth agape as he groaned from another spike of pain that ran through him. His hands slipping against the bricks closer to the Hawk’s shoulders, the urge to collapse and not care about what happens to them clawed its way through him. Shaking his head to keep his eyes open as exhaustion was forcing them to try and close.  “Fuck… Let’s just focus on getting out of here for now.” His clothes flickering between his school uniform and the other rebel self with a cool blue flame licking at different spots of the fabric, it felt like he had control over what happened but also not. His mask weighed heavily on his face as he felt like he could hear another voice but it was too dull in his head to understand anything it was saying. 

“Dude, you for real don’t look good.” Sakamoto sounded worried, his brows furrowing as he was staring right up at Ren. Their faces were too close for comfort but when it came to life and death there really wasn’t room to complain. “We should just bunker somewhere until you’re okay.” 

“I’d really love that, but we don’t have time to waste.” Ren couldn’t help but have a pink tinge on his cheeks at how the other was concerned about him, it felt nice. Even if it was a little embarrassing how a Hawk cared about a Raven, truly out of the norm. “We need to get out of here before that… ugh, disgusting pervert finds us.” Ren muttered with a grimace at the thought of Kamoshida, seeing the Hawk’s lips form a smirk from his words. Quirking an eyebrow at the Hawk, about to question what that was for until the other spoke up.

“You could say he is a… Pervy teacher?” 

“Oh- shut up. That’s what got us in this mess to begin with.” Ren let out a chuckle, this was no place to joke but here they were, laughing over those stupid words that got them to this horrid castle. “I’ll be fine once we get the fuck out of here. After that though, you’ve got to tell me about those rumors you heard.” 

“Alright, deal dude. I owe you for saving my ass back there anyway.” The blond nodded as Ren’s wing folded up, the sounds of the metal armor suits were long gone by now so they had time to figure out how to get out. They slinked around the dungeon, listening to the screams and cries of other possible prisoners echo against the walls. Each time a cry or scream happened, they both looked at each other with worried expressions but didn’t lose track of finding a way out. They had to just deal with whatever happened now and worry about the other prisoners later, even if it hurt hearing how blood curdling some of the feminine screams were…They pushed open a large door, hoping it was the exit but it turned out to be more of the jail cell. This time though, there were other students hanging from cages. Those were the voices they had been hearing earlier…

“H-Hey dude… Look…” Sakamoto pointed at the swinging cages of the students with helmets on them. It  “We really did hear people screamin’... How many people has that shitbag hurt?!” The blond voice rose as his hands clenched into fists, his wings fluffing up. It made Ren’s stomach twist as the cages swung with the people shaking at the bars, seeing… ringball inside the cage. Why? Why did they also have helmets on their heads? To not be able to see anything? “This is so effed up!” Sakamoto kept raising by the minute, Ren understood their anger but this was not the place.

“Let’s just focus on getting out of here… We can’t save them, not like this.” The Raven gently held the other’s shoulder, feeling just how tense the muscle was under his gloved hand. The Hawk really did have a temper, but at least it came from a good place in their heart. Watching as the Hawk sighed and nodded, they both knew that they couldn’t save these people right now. Passing along the cells as the people cried and moaned, begging for them to save them. Begging for the pain to stop, begging to stop being used like objects. It made Ren’s eyes burn with each passing of the cells until they got near the end, the guilt was eating him away but he knew there was nothing that they could do. A voice peeped up to shake him out of his own thoughts.

“Blondie! Frizzy hair! Look over here!” It called out, but from where? Causing both of them to look at each other before going to the last cell they didn’t check, stopping in their tracks once they saw it was some sort of… cat-thing shaking at the cell door.

“What the eff’ is that thing?” Sakamoto was the first to react as Ren just stared at it, it looked different than the rest of the prisoners. One eye blinking after the other as he tried to wrap his head around why there was a two-legged cat talking to them and shaking a cell door.

“You’re not soldiers of this castle, right?! Get me out of here!” The cat-thing begged, the ears pinned down against its skull. Something about the prisoner made Ren want to believe it, biting his lip as the Hawk seemed less inclined to trust.

“We’re trying to get the hell out of here! You obviously look like an enemy too!” The Hawk glared, Ren knew better than to trust some stranger in a place like this but something about how the cat actually looked scared made him believe otherwise, this couldn’t be a trap since the cat didn’t look like anything from out of this castle. 

“I’m locked up here, so how can I be your enemy?! Help me out! Please, I know the exit!” The begging continued as the two looked at each other, they had no plan of actually escaping other than just poking their head around. 

“Think it’s tellin’ the truth?” 

“How am I supposed to know?” Ren shrugged, though it wasn’t like they had many options. Weighting it as Ren nodded at the Hawk, waiting to see if the other wanted to agree to the plan. No words exchanged but it seemed like Sakamoto knew what Ren was asking of him. The Hawk finally nodded as he gave Ren the keys, standing back as the Raven placed the key into the cell door and unlocked it.

“Don’t let me regret this.” Ren warned as the door swung open once he pulled back the key out of it, the cat-thing strutting out with their ‘arms’ stretching. 

“Ahhh… Freedom tastes so great.” It purred, acting like this was time to mess around.

“Alright, now where’s the exit, monster cat?!” 

“I am not a cat! My name is Morgana!” Morgana’s tail puffed up, instantly snapping at Sakamoto. It acted like it didn’t care that the blond was a Hawk, treating him with disrespect… This thing wasn’t human at all. 

“Shuddup and take us to the exit. You wanna be locked up again!?” The Hawk threatened which instantly caused Morgana to back down in fear, Ren threw a daring glare towards the Hawk’s direction. He couldn’t help but be annoyed a bit from the bickering that the two seemed to instantly start doing even though they were still in danger of possibly dying.

“Enough you two. There is no point in fighting each other, we need to work as a team to get out of here.” Ren spoke up, seeing how the Hawk’s wings folded back up from being fluffed up. “Or have we forgotten that Kamoshida wants to kill us.” Ren glared at the Hawk, Kamoshida and Sakamoto had some past together and it wasn’t safe for him to be in this castle. Sakamoto didn’t seem happy by being called out but Ren was right, might as well be as friendly as possible in a place of nothing but enemies. 

“Spoken like a leader.” Morgana looked up at Ren, nodding their head. For something so small, it did have a lot of confidence at least. “With two Persona users, we’ll be able to get out of here!” Morgana sounded so chipper, almost excited. But what was a Per…sona?

“Per-what-a? Y’mean that thing that came out of this dude all dramatic-like?” 

“I can tell you more about it later but right now we need to get out of here in one piece!” Morgana was already walking from them, they had no other choice but to trust a strange… creature with their lives. The cat was waving its paw for them to follow. Nodding to each other as they followed the cat through the dungeon. Ignoring each prisoner once again, even when the Hawk swore he recognized some of the people… But he didn’t know where. Walking into a room that had no windows, was this where they could escape from? Ren glanced around the room, seeing some sort of mess on the wall.

“Where are we supposed to get out from here?! There aren’t even any windows!” The Hawk yelled out in frustration, a little too much to Ren’s liking since he didn’t want to get caught again. Leaning against the wall as his outfit fully shifted back to his school uniform, his hand over his eyes as he groaned. He was feeling worse and worse by the second, it felt like something was draining him. They were so close, he needed to focus. His eyes shifted around to find something they could escape from, his vision flickering into monochrome as the ventilation shaft grate was highlighted in a pure gold. Shaking his head as his vision went back to normal and walked up to it.

“Ugh, amateurs. This is the most basic of basics.” Morgana huffed out, its arms crossed. Were they being tested? 

“We could use that ventilation shaft. It should lead to the outside.” Ren guessed, pointing up at above the bookcases. Sakamoto and Morgana turned their heads to where he was pointing. Morgana gave him a smile, almost as if the cat was proud.

“That’s right! You’re a natural at this type of thing.” Morgana purred happily, though the cat’s smile didn’t help Ren from frowning as he didn’t like being told he was a natural at sneaking into places. Though Morgana probably didn’t know the implications that they were saying since it wasn’t human. Sakamoto was already trying to climb the bookcase that was in front of it, using his wings for balance as he climbed up on it.

“Hey Morgana, I would really appreciate it if you could possibly tell me more about this place? We were heading to school and suddenly we were here. Any information at all could be a really big help.” Ren spoke up as his eyes casted down towards the creature. 

“You still never figured it out?” The cat almost sounded smug, seeing Ren shake his head caused the creature to pearl up. “Well… I guess if I have to. This is a Palace, a manifestation of a person’s twisted desires. Think of it like a ‘second reality’ that reflects what they believe. The master of this Palace views the real-world school as his personal ‘Castle’.”

“So someone thinks a school is a castle and it turns into one?” Ren questioned himself as he held his chin, and the Persona had to be the opposite then. He had a rebel soul that counteracts the twisted desires, maybe because he… accepted his own? He wished he could fully remember what Arsene said but so much had happened that he was more worried about getting the Hawk out since they had nothing.

“Hey dude, stop chattin’ and help me out here!” Calling out as he pried off the metal mesh, holding it so that Ren could bring it down gently. Though it was a bit too heavy for him and it still crashed to the ground with some loud crash, causing Ren to back up so his foot wouldn’t get crushed by the metal. “Shit, you don’t think anyone heard that right?!” Sakamoto panicked, looking down at Ren.

“I don’t think so, we’re leaving anyway.” Ren started to crawl up the bookcase, turning back with his hand out for the cat to come with them. Morgana shook its head, before walking to the door.

“I still have something to do. I’ll see you soon though!” It was a promise. 

“Don’t get caught again, we are gonna need you. Mona.” It didn’t feel right leaving him behind but there was no time to argue, they had to get out of here before Sakamoto could get even more injuries.

“Come on dude! Hurry up!”

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

“D-did we make it?” Sakamoto groaned, his hands on his knees as he leaned over. Ren’s eyes still shut from the way that leaving the castle brought nausea, whatever caused them to return to the busy street wasn’t for the faint of heart. A hand covering his eyes as his glasses seemed to be back on his face, at least he didn’t have to worry about them being broken.

“Yeah, we made it out…” Ren grumbled, blinking a few times before pulling out his phone to see just how long they had been in that castle. It was long enough for the rain to finally stop, that wasn’t a good sign.

“You have returned to the real world. Welcome back.” His phone chimed. Both of them looked at each other with confused expressions, their brows furrowed and a frown on their lips.

“I guess we really did… How did we even get there?” Ren spoke to himself, seeing the Hawk shrug at his question. They missed almost half of the school day, Sojiro was really going to chew his ass out later and hopefully not kick him out.

“Dude, your neck got a huge ass bruise on it still.” The blond pointed at it, Ren quickly pulled up at the collar of his uniform to at least cover as much as possible. He didn’t need any more unnecessary gawking, especially since he still had to worry about what rumors were spreading around. Brushing off his pants and jacket as the Hawk shook themselves off, it was best for them to get to school even if he would have to think of a lie about being late. 

“We really should hurry up. I don’t think the school is gonna like us being late, especially since it’s my first day.” Ren said as he grabbed his bag off the ground as the Hawk nodded, “Let’s take that alleyway again, I don’t think the castle will be back. And less people would see us, rather not get caught by the police for skipping.”

“Good idea, dude. Gives us time to talk about what just happened. The castle, Kamoshida practically naked, and that weird freakin’ monster cat thing. None of it makes sense still, I been tryin’ to think but damn that shit hurts my head.” The Hawk ranted, their shoulders bumping into each other as they walked to the entrance of the alleyway before two unfamiliar voices appeared behind them.

“Cutting classes, are we?” One of the officers spoke up, causing both Ren and Sakamoto to look over their shoulders in surprise. Ren instantly backed up as the cops seemed to have snuck up on them without a sound, trying to not be suspicious as he subconsciously hid his hands in his pockets. 

“Looks like the Hawk lost a fight with someone.” The other cop smirked, finding it funny how Sakamoto had a mildly busted lip and a bruised cheek. Ren hid behind Sakamoto as it would be more unlikely for them to do anything irrational, he was close enough to the alley to book it. Two Blue Jays, an aggressive kind that worked in the police force due to their nature… They were also swift flyers which could cause a problem for Ren.

“Damn, Shujin letting in Corvids now? They really have gone down hill from being the best in Tokyo.” One officer whistled while the other laughed like that was the best joke of his damn life, Ren rolled his eyes before opening his mouth to tell the other that they should just leave but the Hawk had other ideas, Ren didn’t think Sakamoto was about to say the dumbest shit he’s ever heard… Right? 

“Hey! We ain’t purposely cuttin’ class. There was a huge ass castle and we got locked up in it.” Sakamoto snapped at the officers, Ren’s jaw dropped as he just stared at the Hawk. The urge to smack the other upside the head was very tempting without the police there, as they just stared at the Hawk before laughing like Sakamoto said the funniest joke in the world. Even wiping their eyes, Ren could tell this wasn’t going to end well for him.

“Oh yeah? A castle? If you got drugs, it’s best to just hand them over. No need to lie over something like that.” The officer demanded, lookin at Ren with his hand out.

“We know you got some Crow, hand it over. Your kind is nothing but a disease.” The other officer spoke up as he walked closer to Ren, he should have seen this coming but it still caused him to think irrationally. Ren stepping back caused the officers to place their hands on where their guns were, a breath hitching in his throat as his eyes widened.

“Don’t think of running now, dragging a Hawk into your dealings isn’t unheard of. Just drop the bag and turn around, don’t have to make this hard.” Swallowing as his heart pounded inside his throat, his breathing quickening as he had nowhere to go. There were no escape routes, he was stuck. His arms crossed over his chest as he held himself, his nails digging into the fabric. Sakamoto instantly raised his wing in front of Ren, protecting the Raven from the officers.

“He ain’t no crow you dumbasses, and we weren’t doin’ shit with drugs. We were headin’ to school before y’all interrupted up!” The Hawk glared at the officers, and it seemed like that Hawk wasn’t only just vulgar to people his age . 

“Kid you got a lou-” The officer started before his partner raised a hand and pointed behind them, seeing they had gathered an audience with Sakamoto’s outburst. Bystanders with their phones pointed at the scene, Ren was extremely thankful that Sakamoto’s wing was covering his face from everyone other than his own wings possibly poking out from the side. There was an long and deafening pause between the four of them before the two Blue jays looked like they backed down, one clearing its throat while the other was turned towards the bystanders to calm them down.

“Hurry up to school, we best not find you two out here again.”

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

Ren shuffled his way into the school, it was different when students were roaming the halls and not giant suits of armor coming after him. He wished Sakamoto didn’t get sent somewhere else, being surrounded by all these new people without him was mildly terrifying. Biting his bottom lip as whispers filled his ears.

‘‘What if you get in trouble because of him? Better to just stay away.’’

Who were they talking about? Was it him? But no one knew he was transferring here so how was there already… unless, this is what the rumors of what Sakamoto was talking about… Shit.

“So you’re the Raven that this academy just had to transfer you in? Late on the first day too, your kind is far too much trouble to have in society. Nothing but troublemakers for the rest of us.” The sudden sound of someone clearing their voice caused Ren to flinch, he didn’t even realize someone was in front of him. A Late middle-aged teacher scolded him, another Barn owl acting like they were hot shit. Their eyes were glaring coldly at Ren, it was like him being in the vicinity was making the man disgusted. The man crossed his arms over his chest as Ren tried to find the words to deescalate the situation. 

“That was just a misunderstanding. I just g-” Ren wanted to argue, he was tired of stuck up people thinking they were so much better. 

“I could care less about your excuses, we all heard you were trying to drag a Hawk into your Conspiracy. I bet this is a sign of what you’ll be like here. You aren’t allowed to talk to any of these students without supervision, got it? This academy is creating futures, not letting you destroy them.” The venom in the man’s words, it was really pissing Ren off. If only he could explain what happened, everything would be different. But this man already sees him as the scorn in society. “Get out of my sight, you have places to be.” The teacher spat at him, Ren nodded weakly and left the situation before it actually caused him to get in more trouble than he probably already was in. Walking down one of the hallways to hear more whispers.

‘‘Sakamoto-kun was late again. Maybe he’ll get expelled soon?’’ Why did they hate the Hawk so much? That dude saved him! Was it because… No, it had to be something else. 

‘‘I can’t believe he’s still behaving like this after what he did to the Flight team. A disgrace to Hawks. He’s lucky Kamoshida’s covering for him.’’

‘‘Kamoshida is too nice to be covering a Hawk like this, he’s truly an Eagle.’’ The two girls gushed over Kamoshida, it made Ren sick.

‘‘I hear he hides a bunch of dangerous stuff in his bag…’’

‘‘Did you know, Senpai? Some criminal Raven is transferring to our school!’’

‘‘I heard about him, all the second-years are watching their backs now. I heard he drugged someone in his last school so no other school wanted him!’’

‘‘Why does he have to come here…? I hope he doesn’t try anything funny with the girl’s Ringball team.’’ 

Ren felt sick to his stomach each whisper that flooded his ears, what the fuck? They thought he was some sort of monster, something to be terrified of. He should have known this was going to happen, someone had to have seen him and then spread it like wildfire with false accusations. Walking up the stairs as more whispers taunted him.

‘‘Isn’t he a criminal that’s gotten into all sorts of stuff..!’’

‘‘Why did they allow a… Raven here? They're nothing but trouble.’’

‘‘Maybe he is waiting to kill someone, he already assaulted a woman...’’

‘‘I heard he joined a Conspiracy with Sakamoto.’’

‘‘So he’s the Raven that was transferring here that I heard about online.’ ’

‘‘I think he was watching you, Maki! We should tell the teacher.’’

‘‘We should go before he starts targeting us. Oh god, his eyes are even terrifying.’’

“Drinking, smoking, theft, assault, even killing! I heard this guy’s done it all.”

Ren walked past each of the students that were speaking near him, their gazes burning deep in his soul as they turned from him with their wings blocking their faces. If he was even in a Conspiracy, he wouldn’t do anything in the only school that’d accept him. Shaking his head as he made his way to the facility office, his homeroom teacher probably was still in there waiting for him. Hopefully she was still there… Opening the door as he saw her sitting at one of the desks, relaxing his shoulders as he walked over to her. She was on her laptop, writing something that he didn’t get a good look at before she slammed it closed.

“Unbelievable.” She sighed as she glanced over to him, “Being over half a day late? You’re just asking to be expelled, you were given fair warnings yesterday.” 

“I’m sorry, Miss Kawakami, I got… lost.” It wasn’t fully a lie, he did get lost but inside a huge castle. Though his white lie didn’t seem like it convinced her as she crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow.

“How could you have been lost for this long? It’s almost lunchtime.” She accused him, “Even if you’re not used to the area, you’re way too late.” Anything and everything he could say will make her upset, even him shifting uncomfortably on his feet caused her to scoff. His fingernails picked at the sides of his fingers as she stood up and started to pack up her workspace. “I heard that you were caught along with Sakamoto-kun. We don’t need you being near him, he is already struggling with his delinquency as a Hawk. He doesn’t need to be tainted with someone like you.” Sakamoto… He needed to find him to talk about what they went through but how was he going to find the Hawk with all these teachers watching him?

“I understand Ma’am.” Ren just needed to keep his head down, even if it meant to be pushed around.

“Follow me, break is almost over and you need to introduce yourself to your classmates.” 

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

“When you introduce yourself, be serious about it even if you’re lying to the class, okay? Do NOT say anything unnecessary, I will report if I hear anything close to keywords of a Conspiracy.” She glared at him, her tone was threatening as if anything could and would cause him to get into some sort of trouble. Nodding at her as they made their way into his class, noticing another student passing him with her eyes staring at his.

“... You think that’s him?”  

“Huh? The one in the rumors?”

Those words didn’t stop, as soon as he stepped foot into the classroom the chattering happened. All the students turned to each other and words continuously got louder as if they were trying to speak over each other.

“Being super late on his first day? Think he was drug dealing?”

“He might slug us if we look him in the eye.”

“I’m telling my parents about this, a Raven here is only going to bring more.”

“Settle down everyone.” Kawakami spoke up, causing the class to quiet down minus some whispering in the back but Ren kept his eyes down as his classmates seemed nervous around him. His hands shoved in his pockets, tucking his wings as tight as he could so that they wouldn’t be the other they stared at when talking about him. “I’d like to introduce our transfer student: Ren Ayanami. Today, we… have him attend from the afternoon on since he was still learning the area.” She glanced over to him, nodding her head as he cleared his throat. Being at the front of the classroom, in front of everyone, it made his hands tremble. He always hated public speaking, even in smaller groups, the way everyone stared at him didn’t help his heart pounding in his chest.

“I-... Hello. I’m Ren Ayanami, I hope we can have a good school year.” Giving a shaky smile, hoping acting overly kind would make people think the rumors weren’t that horrendous. But that idea was shot down instantly as his classmates started chattering to each other again.

“He seems quiet… But I bet when he loses it…”

“I mean, he was arrested for assault, right?” 

“Your seat will be… Hmm… Over there. The one that’s open.” She pointed over behind… Takamaki. She was kind to him by the station, maybe she will be just as kind in the classroom. “Everyone open your textbooks, we’re starting with…” 

Ren shuffled his way through the classroom, avoiding the stares that he would feel crawling along his skin.

“... You liar.” Takamiki whispers under her breath right as he passes her, glancing over to her as a student whispers to her friend.

“...Did you see that? He’s already trying to traffic her.”

“Like she’d cheat on Mr. Kamoshida with him.” 

“This is Takamaki-san we’re talking about, she probably already sells her body.”

Ren opened his bag to pull out one of the textbooks that were sent to him earlier, though he barely payed attention as his thoughts wandered. ‘So these were the rumors that spread online, doesn’t help that I can’t explain what happened. Saying I went to an alternate reality and getting nearly killed by Kamoshida in a robe with a speedo doesn’t seem believable..’ His hair fell in front of his eyes as he played with the bit that sat on his nose, it was already hard to adjust to a new school but now with this Palace stuff. Ren could only guess that this year wasn’t going to be easy for him…

“Oh, right! The Ringball rally’s in two days.” Kawakami announced to the classroom. “Everyone’s just changed classes, so make sure you use that time to get to know each other. But let’s get class started with.” 

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

The final bell rung through the building, Ren grabbed his bag and swiftly got out of the fairly overcrowded classroom. It was only twenty students but it felt like far more, ‘I need to get used to classrooms…’ Walking into the hallway gave him a throbbing pain in the back of his eyes, reaching up to cover them as he saw the hallway shift from the school into what probably was part of the castle. ‘The otherworld is still here?’ Having to blink a few times before the hallway went back to normal but his actions seemed to have already caught his teacher’s attention.

“It seems like everyone is already talking about you, but I’m not the one who told them. You coming in so late didn’t help with your rumors so I would suggest you head straight home, we aren’t able to protect you in case any students have other plans.” Another lecture… “And don’t go and finding Sakamoto-kun, he doesn’t need an-”

The Hawk turned the corner from the stairwell, a scowl resting on his face as his teacher rolled her eyes.

“Speaking of the devil... Getting caught for cutting classes with the police?” Did all the teachers know about their little accident? 

“Ugh… It was nothin’.”

“And you haven’t dyed your hair back to black either. Do you know how bad this makes the school look? Having blond hair and a split lip doesn’t make your mom any prouder, Sakamoto.” 

“Sorry ‘bout that.” He didn’t sound sorry in the slightest, not with him rolling his eyes at her. Getting closer to Ren as he whispered, “... I’ll be waitin’ on the rooftop.” A smirk was playing on the Hawk’s lips as he walked off, knowing Ren heard what he wanted. His teacher shook her head, frowning at the interaction.

“This is why we don’t want you to be getting involved with him. He’ll start thinking about being part of a Conspiracy.” He wanted to ask how that would be his problem, how a prestigious school is not able to control one of their students from going rogue. It seemed like it was less of his issue and more of the school’s. Nodding as she went back into the classroom, now where was the rooftop? Looking around as he saw the sign by the stairwell, might as well keep going up? Barely any students were using it as most were in their after school clubs, walking up the first few steps before hearing Kamoshida on the other side of the wall.

“Why did you allow Raven to transfer here? He’s already started associating with Sakamoto? At this rate, it’d be pointless how much I contribute to the school.”

“Now, don’t be like that. This school counts on you, Kamoshida-kun. You are our star.” The other voice belonged to the Principal. How pathetic that man was for letting Kamoshida walk all over him and Sakamoto like this. It was disgusting. Ren scowled as he continued to listen in, acting like he was playing on his phone. “Letting a Raven in is necessary behind such brilliance as well.”

“All right, I understand. I’ll continue to do my best to answer your expectations of me.” The conversation ended there, letting him in was for what? Something the teachers had to be planning most likely but what? Shaking his head as he walked up the stairs, his main goal was seeing what Sakamoto wanted. 

He found the Hawk leaning back in a school chair with his legs propped up on a desk, the embodiment of delinquency. At least the other looked comfortable for being somewhere that students aren’t allowed to be.

“Sorry for callin’ you up here like this. Bet all the teachers gettin’ on your ass for just talkin’ to me, huh?” The Hawk seemed genuine, at least Ren could finally relax as sighed out a breath that felt like it had been held in for a while. He sat on one of the desks and dropped his bag next to him, his phone rested next to his thigh as his wings hung off the edges.

“Yeah, they’re thinking I’ll somehow taint you.” Rolling his eyes, hearing the Hawk chuckle from it though did make him feel a bit better.

“Heh, as if I needed a Raven’s influence. I been like this for the better part of a few months, teachers actin’ like their tough shit. ” The Hawk wiped his nose with his thumb, it totally didn’t catch Ren’s attention.

“Guess birds of a feather should stick together?” Ren smiled at the Hawk, seeing the other nod. Ren was mildly surprised how easy it was to talk to someone who was far different than him, but it was someone who understood what it felt like being an outcast. 

“Hell yeah dude! Just ignore all those rumors. Me, I don’t believe ‘em at all. Though hearing that you got a criminal record makes sense from how gutsy you were in that castle.” The last part sounded like a joke, and it did make Ren smile as he heard that the Hawk didn’t believe the more outrageous ones. 

“I wasn’t gutsy… I was scared you were going to get killed.” Shrugging as he rubbed the back of his head, seeing the Hawk frown.

“Shit, we really were really that close to dyin’, huh...What was all that about anyway? It was like we… teleported y’know?”

“I’m… not sure. I think… It might have to do with this app that keeps appearing on my phone. I deleted it more times than I can count at this point.” Shrugging, he didn’t understand anything but at least someone else was in the same boat as him.

“Maybe that cat-thing knows more, none of that shit made sense anyways but you still did save me from Kamoshida. So, thanks Ren.” The Hawk grinned, his cheeks pushing up into his eyes. Maybe it was the way the sun was lower in the sky that made Sakamoto have a halo around him, how the wind breeze was softly ruffling up the feather’s of the Hawk’s wings. How the heat of the day made Sakamoto’s cheeks have a tinge of pink, contrasting against the brightly colored clothes. Or the fact Sakamoto was already using his first name… Ren couldn’t help his mind wondering, the blond had an ethereal beauty of something pure…  

“I-It was nothing.” He stumbled out, looking away from the sight as he used the tips of his feathers to block the other out of his sight. Which didn’t help much since could still feel the Hawk’s gaze on him. 

“He says ‘It was nothin’ like some cool dude, you literally saved me from being killed, bro.” Playfully rolling his eyes, he mocked Ren’s voice but in a way that didn’t bother the Raven. The blond stood up to get in front of Ren, hunched over so his face was back in Ren’s view. “You know, we might be pretty similar actually. I feel like we’re gonna get along just fine as ‘troublemakers’~.” 

“O-oh really? I don't even know your name.” Ren jokes, his shoe lightly tapping the other’s knee that seems like it wasn’t on the bad leg. Seeing how ruffled the other got from embarrassment as he laughed, a deep chested laughter that didn’t make Ren’s heart skip a beat.

“Ah shit, my bad. Ryuji, Ryuji Sakamoto. Hear lemme give you my number.” The blond pulled out his phone as he grabbed Ren’s from the desk. “Now you can’t ignore me at school cause I’ll just blow up your phone.” Winking as he gave back Ren his phone, the Raven just stared at him. Ryuji looked up and whistled, “It’s gettin’ pretty late, I’ll see you later dude!” 

It didn’t take long before the blond flew off, leaving Ren alone on the rooftop, who wasn’t a million different shades of red as he finally made a friend… Someone who understood him… ‘Oh shit.’

»»———ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ 𓅰 ˎˊ———««

Letting out a deep breath as he opened the cafe door, the chiming made Sojiro aware of his appearance. ‘Here it comes…’

“Hey, I got a call from the school.” It was starting, the man wasn’t even looking at him but he had a deep scowl on his face as he was finishing drying some of the coffee cups. “I hear you ditched half of the day.” Finally, the Owl’s eyes locked their gaze with his own, feeling chills up his spine as Sojiro gave him the same look that his parents would. ‘We aren’t mad, just disappointed.’ 

“I’m sorry…” Is all Ren could say, something clawing its way in his throat that made it hard to swallow. “It won’t happen again…” The last part was nothing louder than a whisper as Sojiro just shook his head.

“Just when I was thinking you had it together this morning… Look, you need to behave yourself. One wrong step and your life is over. You do know what probation means, right?” Scolding him like a child, thinking he didn’t know better.

“...Yes, sir. I do.” Mumbling, it was enough for the other to just seem like he gave up the conversation. 

“Good.” Their chat cut there as Sojrio’s phone started to ring, no point for him to be around for it as he made his way through the empty cafe up to the attic.