After the young Ren had made himself a little bit of an identity, Nanako thought nothing of it. However, she did notice that Ann, a classmate with a bit of a reputation, was more fidgety and unstable around Ren. She had thought nothing of it and recollected to herself what she'd investigated.

With how she was a Grade-A model student, she knew she did not need to devote her hours to studying. Instead, for the first few days, she spent it investigating Ren and his motley crew of friends he had assembled. The first of this bunch was Ryuji Sakamoto, a young man who was almost admirable in how he viewed the world. He did not care what others had thought of him, as long as he was living his best life. It was ironic in a sense that he would pair well with the delinquent transfer student, almost a match made in heaven.

There was another in the mix, this being a small cat who made his home within Ren's school bag. Sometimes she would eye the cat, thinking of how Ren snuck the little guy in, and where the two had met. 'I wonder.' she thought to herself as the teacher lectured on and on about some useless drivel. 'Does Ren have any other secrets he'd like to share.'

The thought was broken immediately by the class bolting out. "She's going to jump!" was what she had heard among the screams of the crowd. Being the last one to leave the classroom, she analyzed the crowd seeing if she could make out any familiar faces. Almost instantly she did, noticing Ann crying her foreign eyes out.

From what she could gather, the two seemed to have a connection, Ann and the girl on the rooftop. Never mind that, she had to get down there. Perhaps she could be of help. Immediately she saw the girl swarmed by people, trying to do the same thing she was, but to no avail. However, two curious faces stuck out for her.

That's right, Ren and Ryuji were there as well, and they look ready to fight, well, Ryuji at least. Something told her they knew of the person who drove this girl to believe that Suicide was her best option. She too wanted to know, but decided now isn't the time for this question. She snapped back to attention when she saw Ann volunteer to accompany this girl, apparently named Shiho, to the hospital.

After a few minutes, the place had cleared, and everyone resumed their normal life. Well, except Ren and Ann for her class. Ren was pulled into a teachers office, and Ann looked ready to go into a blind rage or deep depression any minute. Class ended shortly afterward, and Nanako decided to follow Ann, knowing she was headed to Ren and Ryuji.

"Let me help you" was the main thing Ann asked of Ren and Ryuji. She couldn't see, but she definitely could hear every bit of what they were saying. Ryuji kept denying Ann, saying it was too dangerous. Ren was silent and kept agreeing to what his partner in crime was saying. Eventually, Ann would have no choice but to leave, which meant it was Nanako's time to shine.

As Ann walked by her, Nanako walked alongside her. "You want to avenge her, huh?" she asked in a tone that made it sound like they were close friends. In reality, they weren't, but they did know each other from the Volleyball event a while prior. Ann blurted out angrily "What the fuck do you know about this situation?" "Not much," Nanako retorted "but enough to know how they're gonna stop this Kamoshida guy." Ann looked at Nanako befuddled. "How? I've barely seen you interact with those two." "You get to know a lot of tricks when your dad is on the front lines." was all Nanako answered with.

After a while of getting to know each other, the boys were ready for a day of Palace plundering. Ann wanted to march right up to the guys and force them to let her tag along. Nanako, knowing the stubbornness of the guys, told her that it was a bad idea. She sighed, knowing what Nanako was saying was true. "Follow me," she said, guiding Ann to her hangout spot, where she investigated Ren. When he took out his phone, she knew it was time to make her move.

After watching before there very eyes the school building metamorphosize into a glamorous castle, the girls were shocked to see the area around them. Everyone was gone, save for three figures. The first, a cat-like creature Nanako had assumed was the one that resided in Ren's bag. The other two, however, looked familiar, yet foreign.

Ren was more composed and in an entirely new outfit. This getup made him look like a vampire ready to hunt the humans that prey in the castle. For how strange the getup was, Nanako noticed her finding it cool. The cape, the mask, everything about it made the boy wearing it that much more charming. She was amazed at how much this other place made him go from a shy outcast to being self-confident and dashing.

Ryuji, on the other hand, not so much. He looked the part of a rejected Halloween costume. He looked thuggish, but thinking about how it was Ryuji wearing it, he looked the part. The boy seemed to be bickering with the mascot-like creature, almost like it could talk. Nanako's thoughts were interrupted by Ann storming up to them.

Almost immediately, Ren, Ryuji, and the cat began to try and convince Ann to leave. Nanako stepped in, hoping to at least convince the guys to aid her. "Listen, I know you guys think it's dangerous, but you can't just let her sit here," she argued, trying to win the guys over. Ann's situation reminded her of a young woman named Chie Satonaka, who went through something like this with the heiress to the Amagi Inn and her best friend Yukiko. "If you don't at least let her try, she'll feel guilty that she couldn't save her friend."

"I'm sorry, miss Dojima." Ren retorted, a voice much more confident than the meek boy Nanako had come to know. "We would appreciate her help, but the creatures of this palace know Ann and want her," he explained, drawing a response from Ann. "Why do they know me, and what do they want?" she asked, a bit scared of the things the palace knew. "Since this is Kamoshida's palace, and he is the king, that makes you the Queen. It's simple." Ryuji butted in, almost sounding smart for once in the time Nanako had known him.

"It seems we have to get them out here" the mascot piped up, and the boys knew what they were supposed to do. They were able to "escort" the ladies out of the castle, leaving them back in the alley. Ann was livid, thinking blindly with her heart. She started cursing the names of Ryuji, Ren, and Kamoshida worst of all. As Nanako calmed her down, she thought back on this new persona Ren had taken on. No longer was he a shy, weak bully fodder, but a man ready to take what was his.

Ann was still cursing their names, but calmer now. This was a backdrop for Nanako's thinking. "I can't believe of all people, that Kamoshida guy had a castle." she thought aloud, wondering about what she'd seen. "That pervert Kamoshida doesn't deserve that castle. All he deserves is a nice stay in prison." Ann stated to the girl. Almost like magic, the two began to experience a headache like the one from earlier, and the school became the castle again. There were now two parties running amok in the King's Castle. Soon, they will meet, and awaken to a new power unlike any other.

(A/N: sorry for not continuing this earlier, schoolwork swamped me and I kinda forgot over the summer because my backlog of games was so huge. Anyways I'm hoping this chapter makes you guys happy. I'm thinking of having the story centered around Ren and Nanako and their character dynamic. If it wasn't obvious, Ren is kind of Nanako's senpai, so it'll be fun writing that dynamic. Until next time!)