By the morning after Madarame's confession, the Phantom Thieves' request site was barely usable.
People had argued about their intentions since Kamoshida confessed. Madarame's confession made the argument much larger. Most people who believed the Phantom Thieves existed considered them vigilantes. Others insisted the confessions had to be caused by blackmail, hypnosis, or a publicity stunt.
Nobody could explain how they were doing it.
Then someone posted the request site on social media. Visits increased immediately, and new requests appeared every few seconds.
Ren had expected the enormous calling card to attract attention. He hadn't expected to sit there with Morgana and watch the number of requests continue to increase.
"I guess that calling card really boosted our notoriety, huh?"
Morgana leaned over Ren's arm as he scrolled through the newest submissions.
"I knew visits would increase, but this is ridiculous."
The site had always attracted a few selfish requests. One of the first had asked whether the Phantom Thieves could give someone distorted desires rather than take them away.
Now those requests were arriving by the dozen.
Some wanted the Thieves to force a crush to fall in love with them. Others demanded revenge over breakups, arguments, or petty insults. A few accused their targets of blackmail and worse, but provided so little information that Ren couldn't tell whether any of it was true.
They couldn't treat every anonymous accusation as a potential mission. Changing someone's heart was too dangerous for that.
Another row of requests loaded before Ren reached the bottom of the page. Ren leaned back and stared at the ceiling while the counter continued to increase.
"Before we take another request, we need someone to moderate this site."
Morgana's ears flattened as more requests appeared.
---
School passed quickly. After classes ended, Ren went to Takemi's clinic with Ryuji.
Ren needed to restock the medicine they used in the Metaverse and complete another clinical trial. He had also promised Ryuji that he would ask Takemi to examine his leg.
Takemi finished the examination and looked through Ryuji's old medical records again.
"There's no sign that the damage will be permanent," she said. "Some of the improvement in your pain may be psychological. Knowing the man who injured you is finally being punished can have a real effect."
She tapped her pen against the records before looking at Ren.
"But that doesn't explain the healing itself. Sakamoto's healing rate is close to yours. Both of you are recovering much faster than I would expect."
"So there's nothing wrong with my leg?" Ryuji asked.
"Not exactly. There's still some nerve damage, but it's minor and already healing. At this rate, it should be gone within a year, possibly sooner. It shouldn't permanently affect your posture or gait."
Ryuji looked down at his knee.
"Then why does it still hurt when I run?"
"You've spent the past year compensating for an injured leg. You also stopped doing your physical therapy, didn't you?"
Ryuji scratched his cheek and looked away.
"...Maybe."
"That's what I thought."
Takemi tapped beneath his kneecap with a reflex hammer. His lower leg jerked forward.
"Your posture changed to protect the injury, and the muscles around it are weaker. Both problems can be corrected. A few months of strengthening and gait training should help."
She placed the hammer aside.
"If you keep doing the work, you should be able to run track again."
Ryuji didn't answer immediately. He bent his knee, placed his foot on the floor, and looked back at Takemi.
"You're sure?"
"Based on your examination and medical records, yes."
Ryuji lowered his head.
"Thank you, Doc."
After the examination, Ren followed Ryuji into the waiting room and placed a hand on his shoulder. Ryuji remained quiet until they reached the clinic entrance.
"I can run again," he said.
Ren nodded.
"You can."
Ryuji smiled and looked down at his leg again.
He agreed to take Morgana with him so the cat wouldn't have to wait through the clinical trial. Ren watched them leave before returning to the examination room.
Ryuji's good news made Ren less nervous about the trial, but the next hour was still exhausting. Takemi tested several compounds, recorded the physical effects, examined him, and drew more blood.
She checked his results twice before speaking.
"Your recovery is still abnormal. The same applies to Sakamoto, though I don't have enough information to tell you why."
"Do you think they're connected?"
"Two cases aren't enough to prove that. I need more data."
By the time Takemi allowed him to leave, Ren wanted to sleep.
He thought about Yoruichi during the short walk back to Leblanc. She understood spiritual bodies and had already noticed that his Reiatsu was increasing. She might know whether that could affect physical healing.
He needed to ask her the next time they trained.
'You haven't checked your tarot deck in a while, Trickster,' Pixie reminded him.
She was right. Ren decided to check it when he returned to Leblanc.
The clinic was close, so the walk didn't take long. The bell above Leblanc's door rang when he entered.
Sojiro was preparing the day's curry, and several customers were still sitting in the café. Ren greeted him, kept his voice low, and went upstairs.
---
Ren closed the door to his room and placed his bag beside the desk. He removed the tarot deck from its box and spread the cards out.
Most of them were still blank, but there were more completed images than the last time he checked.
Several of the older images were still crossed by red and black chains. One length of chain had broken. Ren remembered hearing one snap after Yusuke called him a peerless devil and everyone rejected the idea, but he still didn't understand exactly what had happened.
The reversed Fool remained bound.
It showed the false Igor sitting inside the prison version of the Velvet Room. Touching it brought back the damaged pull Ren had noticed after the real Igor returned.
The false Igor was gone, but the bond was still there.
Ren placed the card away from the others and continued.
The Magician still showed Morgana standing before an altar in ceremonial robes, pointing a wand above his head.
The Chariot depicted Ryuji dressed as a Roman centurion on a war cart. A black horse pulled in one direction while a white horse pulled in the other.
Takemi sat on a throne of bones on the Death card. She held the Rod of Asclepius in her hands, with a scythe above her.
The Tower showed Shiho's face with a collapsing tower reflected in her eyes.
Those cards had not changed.
The Hierophant now showed Sojiro standing behind the counter of Leblanc and pouring two cups of coffee. A pair of crossed keys rested near the bottom of the card.
Ren didn't remember seeing the completed image the last time he checked the deck. He might have missed it, or the card might not have been finished yet.
The Lovers depicted Ann standing between two mirrors. One showed her as a doll with strings attached to her wrists. The other showed Panther standing in front of Carmen. Ann faced forward without looking at either reflection.
A line of static remained in one corner of the card. It had probably been left by whatever interrupted the formation of their bond.
'Ann is the Lovers!' Pixie said happily.
Ren smiled and placed the card beside the Magician.
Orihime appeared on the Faith card. Six golden petals floated above her while she held a light between her hands. Flowers grew along the bottom of a cracked wall behind her, with the sun visible through the opening.
Phoenix spoke inside Ren's mind. It was one of the Personas he had fused but had not summoned yet.
'Orihime Inoue is the Faith.'
Ren placed the card beside the Lovers.
The Star belonged to Yu. One large star rested above him, with seven smaller stars surrounding it. A path crossed the water beneath him and continued into the fog.
Ren already knew the bond wasn't limited to Yu. He could feel the rest of the Investigation Team through it. He still didn't understand how one bond could include an entire group.
The Aeon was another group card. It showed the Phantom Thieves standing together with their masks in their hands. A broken zero rested in the center of the card, with blue fire passing through the opening.
The bond had first identified itself as the Fool before changing to the Aeon. Igor had explained what the Aeon represented, but Ren still didn't know why the Arcana had changed.
Maruki occupied the Councilor card. He sat beneath a white apple tree with his notebook on his lap. Several roots had grown around the legs of his chair.
Ren didn't know what the roots meant, so he moved on.
The Hanged Man showed Iwai hanging upside down from a rifle strap tied around one ankle. His arms were crossed, and the rings of a shooting target were positioned behind his head.
Yoruichi stood on a stone column on the Devil card. Violet lightning filled the background, and broken chains rested near her feet.
Her shadow was shaped like a black cat.
'Yoruichi is the Devil,' Incubus said.
Ren already knew that. The cat was the part he didn't understand. Yoruichi had never mentioned having any connection to cats.
He would ask her later.
The Moon showed Rukia walking along a frozen path between two gates. Sode no Shirayuki rested in her hand, while two shadows followed her. One was dressed as a schoolgirl, while the other wore the robes of a Soul Reaper.
'Rukia Kuchiki is the Moon,' Succubus said.
Ren understood the two shadows. Both identities belonged to Rukia, even if the people at school only knew one of them.
The World was not in the deck.
The yellow card Yu had given him had stopped Shadow Shiho before she awakened Scáthach. It later dissolved into light and merged with Ren's mask.
It had never returned.
Ren still didn't know what it had done.
One of the cards near the bottom of the deck had also started to change.
The Roman numeral XIV had appeared at the top, with Temperance written beneath it. The card showed part of a woman pouring water between two cups. One foot rested on stone, while the other was in the water. Her face and clothing were still blurred.
The image was further along than the blank cards, but it wasn't finished.
Ren touched it and noticed the beginning of a bond. It was too weak for him to identify the person connected to it.
Temperance represented balance, patience, and moderation. Ren tried to think of someone he had recently met who fit those traits, but nobody came to mind.
He waited for Byakko to speak. Byakko belonged to the Temperance Arcana and should know who the card represented.
Byakko said nothing.
'You know who it is,' Ren said.
There was still no answer.
Ren returned the cards to the box, leaving Temperance near the top so he could check it again later.
When he went downstairs, the last customer was leaving. Sojiro had removed his apron and was putting on his coat.
"I need to head out for a while," Sojiro said. "I'm going to lock up a bit early."
Ren nodded.
"And don't invite your whole school again."
He added with a chuckle
"I'll try, boss."
Sojiro left, and Ren checked the curry before sitting behind the counter.
Once the café was empty, he remembered Kawakami.
The last time she came to Leblanc, she dusted the attic, sat down, and fell asleep until one in the morning. Ren and Morgana had agreed that they should call her more often so she could get some rest.
Ren hadn't called her again.
Madarame's Palace, the Hollows, school, and everything involving Soul Society had kept him busy. Those were real reasons, but Kawakami was probably still working the same schedule while he kept forgetting about her.
With Sojiro gone, she could rest without having to explain why she was there.
Ren called the number from Kawakami's note. A receptionist answered, and Ren waited for her to finish the greeting.
"I'd like to request Becky."
The receptionist checked Becky's availability, took down Leblanc's address, and confirmed the price. She told Ren that Becky would arrive within the hour.
Ren thanked her and ended the call.
He checked the curry again before opening the request site at the counter. The number of submissions had increased while he was upstairs.
Ren began reading through them while he waited for Kawakami.
---