Arsene was disgusted. 

This dreary, cramped hovel was his master's home? He recoiled, but braced himself as Ren stepped through the grey painted doorway. For just an instant, the house- if it could be called that, he thought to himself- had been flooded with light, the unswept stone floors paling to clean tiles, and the distinct scent of coffee wafted through the structure. 

Yes, structure accurately described the place, Arsene decided. 

Ren shivered as a cold, dusty draft wound around him, and he clutched his box to his chest. He looked around, giving Arsene a better view of the structure. His previous judgement of it more or less covered everything. There was the occasional splash of color- a sooty pennant above the grey stove and cabinets, ceramic shards swept into a neat pile under the dark wood table, bright curtains seperating the kitchen from what he assumed was the rest of the house- but the rest was the same, overwhelming grey.

Welcome home, Arsene thought morosely. How had Ren stood it for so long?

"Morgana," Ren said, nudging the cat, who seemed frozen in fear. His tail puffed up, and violent noises he wholy agreed with escaped him. "Go walk around, alright?"

"Are you sure?" At his silence, he coiled around his leg. "You'll be alright without me, right?"

Ren didn't react and pushed the cat towards the door. Arsene caught a snippet of his thoughts. No, but I will be.

Once again the room shifted, the almost broken chairs becoming the plush, gold-tinted chairs of a cafe and the ragged curtains to rickety stairs. Arsene sensed Ren calm, but his own emotions rose with surprise. The airy design almost seemed like Leblanc, but certain details were too sharp, while others were dulled to nearly a memory. Just the way Ren remembered things.

You cannot create a lie to shape your life, he cautioned his master. It might be cruel to say after pushing his other friend out the door, but no matter how beautiful memories were, they were dangerous to linger on. Futaba Sakura's Palace was evidence they could sour and twist into something poisonous.

You worry too much, Ren replied with what he thought was forced lightness. Besides, you're my Persona. There won't be a Palace.

He was right, but Arsene still worried as his master shivered again.

"Ren!"

He jolted to attention as a burly man with snow-like skin and nighttime eyes prowled out of the shadows. The Leblanc illusion shattered, and Arsene could almost see the pieces struggling to gather in the corner of his eyes before giving up and flitting away.

This must be his master's father, he thought. Arsene decided immediately that he respected the man, but the look in his eyes inspired outright hatred instantly. His hair stuck up like one of the wolf Personas he'd fought. What was it's name? Fenris? Fenrir? He decided it didn't matter. 

Ren watched him without blinking as the Wolf prowled towards them. "Welcome home," he eventually purred. 

"Thank you, sir," he said politely. No Father, not even Dad, just sir. For a danger such as him, Arsene thought it made sense. He made a note to tread cautiously around this human, who seemed the type to be a terror in the Metaverse even before awakening to his Persona.

Then Arsene remembered that the Metaverse had been destroyed.

"You've changed," Sir said, his midnight eyes fixated on Ren's crimson ones. 

"I have," Ren agreed. Arsene felt his master's mood spike and the coffee scent soured.

Ren, he warned.  

I know, Arsene, he all but snapped. An unusual reaction, even if his suggestion had been a bit on the obvious side. Humans were a difficult bunch, but when they were aggravated, they reacted to everything strangely. Perhaps that was it.

Ren broke away from Sir's unblinking stare to glance at his mother. 

"Put your things away, then do your chores," the woman said curtly. She pushed away the curtains and floated through. "Don't disturb me."

Orders, Arsene thought. His mother gave simple orders to be followed. Sir... well, he couldn't get a reading on that human, except that he made him think of an evening in Leblanc. Ren had been pushing the coiled doorstop closer and closer together, the metal coils trembling, when a second later, it bounced out and cut his hand.

That was what Sir reminded him of. A wound-up coil about to spring.

Unlike the rest of the structure, Ren's tiny room- closet, he thought, would be a better word- was a riot of color, mainly gold and red. Pennants hung from the walls, an old desk in the corner was cheaply painted eye-meltingly orange, and the paper scattered across the room were shaded brightly with hundreds of different tones. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, as if it hadn't been cleaned since Ren was taken. From what he knew of the other two humans, it was likely that was the truth, in which case, Arsene feverently hoped that they would one day set foot in the Velvet Room so he could cut them up.

Despite how cleverly it was hidden, Arsene also noticed a small rainbow flag at the corner of his gold-brown bedposts. Of course, he'd already known Ren preferred males, but it was a surprise to find it pinned under the bed. Knowing Ren, he'd find it above his door or on his wall, so it either wasn't his decision, or he was trying to keep it a secret from the woman. It was clear the woman didn't approve, and the woman was in charge.

Arsene solidified his opinion of the place with that little detail: this town was hell incarnate.

I'm sorry, Arsene said, regretting his words a moment later. Sorry for what? The pitiful house? The lack of caring his mother, at least, had? The chores he'd have to do, despite him just returning? Sorry that Ren was forced to leave his true home, Yongen-Jaya?

He felt Ren shake his head, emotions rising so sharply that Arsene felt a stab of pain in his chest. The Thief knew what was coming and braced himself as quickly as he could.

"That I have to hide everything I am?" Ren's voice rose enough, he determined, so the rest of the house and only  the rest of the house could hear him. "That I have to pretend so I can still have a home? That, even though in a year, I'm of age, I'll never be able to leave because someone keeps taking my savings for makeup and men?"

Arsene felt a cold surge of anger. She had done what?

"Two minutes, and you're complaining?" came the inevitable shout from where his mother had vanished. 

Ignore her. She's a singleminded whore, the Persona growled. Fury rose in his chest, and he batted it out before Ren could feel it.

"Two minutes," his master mimicked the woman's harsh tones, "and you've figured her out." He smiled at a compact mirror on his desk, and Arsene smiled weakly back. 

It wasn't difficult, he said. I'm sorry you had to leave the Thieves.

He slumped down at his desk and reached for a paper and pencil. And I'm sorry you had to come here. You're stuck now.

Was Ren still on that? Being stuck with you, Arsene said honestly, is the best fate I could've chosen. Had the Metaverse not been shut down, I still would've asked for this.

In the compact, Ren's face turned as red as his room. You're not flirting, are you?

I'm being serious, he said. Do not regret a thing that's happened. We're soul-bonded, aren't we? Arsene wouldn't give the honor to anyone else.

Ren's lips twitched up in the mirror, and his volatile emotions slowed to tempered waves. He was better now, and Arsene's relief almost blocked out his master's next words. 

We are.

The room shimmered and for an instant, Ren was sitting at his workbench at Leblanc. Arsene frowned, but let him have the measure of peace. He deserved it.

What are you drawing? 

"Him," Ren said simply. He shut his eyes, cutting off Arsene's view, but the image remained branded in his mind. 

Crow. Black Mask. Missing.

Arsene couldn't quite understand his fixation on the dead traitor, but wondered it it had something to do with his last moments. Goro Akechi didn't have to shut that door. As weak as the Phantom Thieves were at that moment, they might have been overpowered and killed by the amassing Shadows. His own Shadow would've let him live.

Yet he only smiled and fired, ending his life and saving the Thieves simultaneously.

It defied all his knowledge on Goro Akechi, but as Ren had said, who was he to say he knew him? A traitor's mind, Arsene knew, was often a mystery, even to the person owning said mind. Would the Wild Card have had a third Persona as well? Not one for his lies or his hate, but his peace? That is, if he had lived. 

It was useless, he reminded himself, to think on the past. He was beginning to get caught in the same trap Ren was in, and at least one of them had to keep a clear head. He couldn't dwell on Goro Akechi.

Ren picked up his sketch, taking a picture and standing in one swift movement. Footsteps sounded somewhere in the hallway, not close, but with a definite destination in mind. He hastily shoved the drawing into a box under his bed, which was filled with countless other pictures, and flopped into bed. It was far softer than Leblanc's collection of blankets, but the dust was so thick that Arsene could almost feel it coating his hat. 

"Hey. Your cat's back." Sir's low voice went right through Ren's chest, and Arsene shivered. It was a beautiful sound, he thought, swelling and humming with its razor undercurrent, belonging to a human no less dangerous than its sound. "I'll let him in."

Ren sat up and blinked. "Thank you, sir."

Perhaps the wolf was less cruel than he'd initially thought. Morgana started scratching at the door, and he padded soundlessly to the door. 

"This place is a dump," he meowed seriously, leaping onto the desk. "Did you seriously grow up here?"

He rubbed his eyes. Arsene sensed his sudden exhaustion like a Kougan attack. "Unfortunately," Ren said. "My parents like cats, so you're safe." They like cats more than they like me, he added to his Persona, more a fact then a complaint. 

Morgana leaped onto his pillow. "You look tired. You should really-"

Annoyance swelled through the both of them. Indignant at being told what to do by a cat, Arsene growled quietly, while Ren hissed, "If you say sleep, I'll put you in the kitchen and see if Akira makes soup out of your carcass."

Akira. That was his mother's name. What a pretty name, but such a pitty it had to be wasted on a woman such as her.

Morgana slunk off his bed. "That was mean, Ren," he mumbled.

I disagree, Arsene growled. To his surprise, Ren's shoulders curled in and he sat heavily on the bed with all the grace of a large bear. 

"Sorry. I'm just worried, that's it," he mumbles, looking at the ground rather than Morgana's brilliant eyes. What a skillful liar, Arsene proudly thought. With that broken posture, the sad, scared look and his circumstances, it was perfectly believable.

Morgana sighs, but says nothing. He curls up next to Ren's foot and promptly falls asleep.

Didn't Akira mention chores?

Akira Kurusu, and Okami Amamiya.  He sounds amused. You don't miss much.

Of course I don't, Arsene said plainly, pride swelling through him. I am the Thief. And you dodged the question.

She did. Ren groaned and dragged his hands down his face. I'm so tired...

Arsene hesitated. It was well after midnight, but Akira had already demanded something from him. The woman had seemed dangerous, like a fraying rope in a pulley system. One mistake could cause a cascade of events, none of them good. What'll happen if you don't finish?

He shrugged listlessly, getting to his feet. The beginnings of a headache pulsed through their heads, and they both winced. Sharing a body had its drawbacks, especially when Ren didn't give himself much rest. Dance practice. And martial arts.

Arsene choked. Dance? To the best of his knowlege, dancing wasn't the worst punishment. It taught balance, at the very least, and martial arts was purely beneficial.

A whole day, Arsene. Ren's voice bordered on whiny as he shuffled out the door and grabbed a broom. A whole day. No rest. Bathroom breaks are limited. Martial arts with the wolf.

He took back his previous statements. Training with Sir would be useful, but if Arsene himself were training, he would likely end up with his wings bent, which would be unacceptable. Of course, he reassured himself, Metaverse or not, Sir would find himself in a world of pain if he even touched his wings. Probably.

While Ren swept, dusted, and washed the grey counters, Arsene questioned him about the area, the people, and the locations. To sum up his findings, there were several buildings in the immediate area, and the town was given the English name of Jamestown. The biggest building was the school, and the second was the office building. Cubicle after cubicle, Ren eleborated with a shudder. Arsene hadn't pushed after that. 

As for the people, his master told him, he would have to come to his own conclusions the next day. 

Arsene sensed Ren's attention waning. His vision blurred. Master, he warned.

He shook himself out of his daze. "Understood," he mumbled, wiping the last corner clean and leaning against the wall. From the clock in the corner, which Ren had draped a red-shaded paper under, it was two in the morning. "Sleeping here..."

I expect a Phantom Thief such as yourself to not sleep on the floor, Arsene chuckled. Ren muttered something back in which he couldn't quite hear, but made out to be, "shut up, Arsene." His name had been there, at least.

Ren shoved his door closed with his foot and collapsed into bed, not even bothering to change  before he fell asleep. Arsene, yet again, smelled the strong scent of coffee flowing through the room. He sat up, stretching his velvety midnight wings, and glanced around. Leblanc. 

He was about to stand up and look around, when he heard Morgana snickering. The cat casually batted at Ren's hair and and fury tore through him, his masked eyes glowing. He snapped his clawed fingers and flicked a ball of shadowy Eiha at it, and the cat yelped and collapsed.

Perhaps he'd been to harsh.

A wave of exhaustion crashed over him just as he stood, and Arsene swayed. He felt dizzy and more than a little nauseas, a purely human feeling he'd never gotten used to. The Thief stumbled over to the bed, half-blind, and fell asleep just as the coffee faded.

---

Soooo.... as you may have noticed, I posted this at 10 views on the previous chapter. If it reaches a certain amount of views before the week's up, and summer break's not over, then I'll do more. Highschool starts this year, though, so I'm trying to get as much done as I can before I have study a lot. 

Also, you all noticed how I switched to Arsene's perspective? Yeah, I'm testing some stuff out with that, and I figured it would be good to change it up. By the way, I'm thinking maybe... 20 views or a week before the next chapter???

Also, I've written this ahead of time. No words are mistakes.

Comments are appreciated, please feel free to say anything, and consider voting if you could! Anyways, thank you so much for reading!

Word count: 2669

Robin out!