Chapter Text

There was a church in Kanda, and it was hosting a holy war.

Hifumi Togo’s fist was beneath her chin. Her normally composed face was all wrinkles from contemplation, her brow sweaty. She was feeling uncharacteristically vulnerable as she found herself without many of her pieces. Damn, she thought to herself. If he’s nervous, he isn’t showing it. She glanced over at her opponent, Ren Amamiya. His customary smoothness was on full-display, his eyes glinting with cunning behind his glasses. He gave a smug smile and checked his watch. “Can we hurry this up, Hifumi-chan? I’ve got a hot date tonight.” Hifumi snorted. “Your psychological games may work on a lesser opponent, Trickster. But you’re up against a queen tonight!” With dramatic gusto, Hifumi slammed down her bishop, entrapping Ren’s king. His smug smile gave way to an ashen expression. He glanced around the board, desperately looking for another move he could make. Seeing none, he conceded defeat.



“You win again, Hifumi.” He was back to his usual self: cool, calm, and polite. He extended a hand in respect. “It’s always a pleasure to play against you. Even if I always lose.”

Hifumi blushed and found herself torn back to reality as well. “Oh, please don’t be discouraged, Ren!” She said, affecting her usual graceful self. “I quite enjoy playing against you. You always offer a significant challenge. You could probably go pro yourself if you wanted.” Ren let out a warm laugh. “I think my life is kind of full even without shogi. Thanks again!” He gathered his backpack and prepared to leave the church. He was then stopped by Hifumi, who grabbed his arm.



“Eh?” said Ren. “What’s up?”



“Oh, it’s nothing too much. It’s just, ummm…” The shogi queen paused, gathering her thoughts. “It’s just that… I really enjoy playing shogi. But, as of late, I’ve been quite enraptured with other games as well. And I was wondering…” She paused. Hifumi was someone who wasn’t ready to speak unless she had the exact proper words she wanted to use. “Ren, do you enjoy tabletop role-playing games?”



“I’ve dabbled. Why?”



“Well, I’ve been studying the rules of Dungeons & Dragons lately. It… it seemed like it might fit my more… dramatic side.” She giggled slightly. “I have few friends at Kosei who are interested in playing. I figured you might be interested, however.” She gazed into the boy's face. Warm eyes and a kind smile gazed back at her.



“Yeah. I think that sounds fun.” He said. “You mentioned you didn’t have many friends at Kosei?”



“Not many who are interested or available, no.”



“Mind if I invite a few?”



---

Ren: Hey, everyone.



Ren: Quick question: anyone here play D&D?



Futaba: Oooh! Mememememe!



Ren: Besides Futaba, I mean.



Ann: D&D? What’s that?



Yusuke: I believe it stands for Dungeons & Dragons.



Makoto: Dungeons & Dragons? Doesn’t really sound like my thing.



Ryuji: Why, Makoto? You scaaaarrrrreeddd?



Makoto: Don’t be ridiculous! It just seems a bit out of my wheelhouse is all.



Haru: I have heard of it somewhat. You have someone called a Dungeon Master who comes up with a fantasy story and setting. You and a few other players create characters to act out an adventure together.



Haru: I must say, it sounds quite fun!



Makoto: An adventure together? Like when we were Phantom Thieves?



Futaba: Yeah! I’ve played some games online. It’s a blast! ^_^



Yusuke: It does seem like something that requires quite a bit of creative expression.



Ann: When would it be?



Ren: This weekend. Are we all free?



Ann: Oh, man. I have an all-day photoshoot, and I have a date afterwards.



Ryuji: A date? Who with?



Ann: That’s a secret.



Ryuji: LLLAAAAMMMMEEEE



Ren: What about you, Ryuji? You interested?



Ryuji: Sorry. I got a job with weird scheduling. You’re gonna have to count me out, too.



Ren: Anyone else?



Haru: I have no plans this weekend!



Yusuke: Neither do I.



Futaba: And I’m always down to do something geeky!



Ren: Makoto?



Makoto: …



Makoto: Yeah, why not? It sounds fun.



Ren: All right, then. Yusuke, Futaba, Makoto, Haru, and I will be joining Hifumi Togo for a game of Dungeons & Dragons.



Futaba: Hifumi Togo? The shogi champ?



Ren: She’s our DM.



Futaba: Aw, man. This just keeps getting better and better!



Yusuke: I shall be seeing you all this weekend.



Haru: As will I. I’m so excited!



Ryuji: Have fun you guys!



Ann: Same!



Futaba: I get to watch crappy movies with you tonight and go play D&D this weekend? You spoil me, pretty boy!



Futaba: (>3<)(>3<)(>3<)

Ren blushed at Futaba’s text. Damn, that girl’s so cute I might die, he thought to himself. “A weekend of D&D…” Ren said out loud. “I wonder what that’ll be like.” He glanced at Morgana in his bag. “You didn’t say anything the whole time I was texting. Any thoughts?” Morgana glanced up at him. “I’ve had enough of monster hunting in Mementos and treasure hunting in Palaces.” He yawned. “As it stands, I just want naps and sushi. You go have fun tomorrow.” Morgana curled up in Ren’s bag and fell to sleep.



“This thing’s harder to navigate than the Meta-Nav,” Makoto muttered to herself.

Though she prided herself on her sense of direction, the fastidious honor student still had trouble following her phone’s guidance. When the group was debating where to hold their first session, Haru kindly offered her services. “We’ve opened a Big Bang Burger in Koshigaya. We can have the upstairs to ourselves if we want. Plus, we get free food when we’re hungry!”



“Sounds perfect. How can we find it?”



“Oh, you’ll know it when you find it. It’s a little fancier than the other ones.” That is, if I find it. Makoto thought to herself. Despite being much smaller than Shibuya, she had a much more difficult time navigating this city. It didn't help that according to her Big Bang Burger app, there were at least four different restaurants in the area. The first two were fairly typical restaurants. The third had been closed down. She sighed. “If I can't find it soon, I'm calling it quits.” She was resting in front of a museum when she idly checked her phone. It said that she was at the final Big Bang Burger. “This museum?” Makoto said to herself. “But...” Makoto glanced up and widened her eyes in shock.



What Haru called “a little fancier” was an understatement. This Big Bang Burger was built in a classic architectural style, looking less like a fast food restaurant and more like a temple. The roof was built in a hip-and-gable style that gave the building an air of dignity. The white facade practically shimmered in the moonlight. The massive glass windows on the top and bottom floor gave a view into the eating quarters. Just from the outside, Makoto felt that her casual white dress left her massively underdressed.



“It's still just a Big Bang Burger,” Makoto said to herself. “It's not Sukiyabashi Jiro. I won't be cowed.” When she entered, Makoto did, in fact, feel cowed. The tables were walnut and adorned with candles. The leather chairs looked so cozy that they would kiss you good night. A massive mural depicting The Creation of Adam adorned the wall in the distance. Makoto heard soft music playing, and glanced over to... “Is that a piano player? In a Big Bang Burger?!” she said out loud. At that moment, she realized something. This wasn’t a restaurant. This was a shrine built in honor of the gods of fast food. She made her way to the maitre'd (A maitre'd! She thought. What?!) and cleared her throat. The maitre'd, a slightly bored-looking woman in her mid-twenties, glanced up at Makoto.



“Can I help you, miss?”



“Ah, yes. I’m here for the Togo party?”



The maitre'd offered a quizzical look. “Who?”



Makoto sighed. She'd only met Hifumi once, and she seemed like a kind person, but she was already ruing the young woman for making her do this. She massaged the bridge between her eyebrows and pulled out her phone, checking the text she had been sent.



“I mean, 'I’m here to pay my respects to the Dungeon Master.'”



The maitre'd grinned slightly. “Ah, yes. The tavern is just up the way, miss.”



The maitre'd had Makoto follow her to the back of the restaurant, behind a red curtain, where she gestured to a spiral staircase. The maitre'd gave a slight bow.



“The dungeon master will see you shortly.”



Makoto sighed as the maitre'd let out a laugh. This is so ridiculous, she thought to herself. Once she arrived at the top of the stairs though, her thoughts immediately changed.



The top floor of the restaurant was reserved entirely for the party in question. Yusuke sat quietly in his chair, his hands pressed against his mouth in contemplation, while his fingers would occasionally fish out a French fry from his order. Futaba was gazing lovingly into Ren’s eyes, both of them laughing as Ren brought her hand up to kiss it. She kissed Ren's lips and turned her attention to her order: a large burger, large fries, an order of chicken nuggets, and a milkshake. “How does someone so small consume so much?” Makoto asked herself as Futaba quickly began the work of devouring her food. She quickly turned her gaze over to Haru, who was excitedly peppering another girl with questions. “So, we're all adventurers? Do I get to do whatever I want? Can I wield all manner of deadly weaponry? Oh, this all seems positively splendid!” Makoto saw that the girl Haru was interrogating was Hifumi. As always, a beautiful, graceful woman, she had seated herself at the head of the table behind a Game Master’s screen. Even in this quite geeky setting, she projected an air of authority.



“Oh, my, fellow adventurers. Gaze yonder. Our final traveler has arrived.” Hifumi stated. Her voice, while soft, was rich and confident. Immediately, all of the other members snapped to attention. Even Makoto found herself on the spot, thinking that this young woman took to the role of commander even more naturally than she did.



“Hi Mafofo!” Said Futaba, her mouth full of cheeseburger.



“Sorry, I was held up by cram school.” Makoto said.



“It’s quite all right, Makoto. Idle chitchat is the spice of life.” Yusuke declared.



Makoto took a vacant seat and cleared her throat. “So, uh, how do we get started?”



“Oh! Yes. I took the liberty of printing all of these out for you.”



Hifumi passed several sheets of paper to each of the attendants. Makoto pored over the paper, which was much more detailed and painstaking than she had previously thought. Levels, names, skills, and…



“What does it mean by ‘race’?” asked Yusuke.



“It means that you choose the race that would best suit your playstyle.” responded Hifumi.



“I see. Then should I choose black, white, Latino…”



A palpable silence descended over the party. It was going to be a long session.

