FeMC Scenarios [Persona 5 Royal]

RYUJI SAKAMOTO [Romance Route | Rank 9/10]

We've been to that restaurant before, but there is something special about it today. I can't put my finger on it though. Maybe it's that Ryuji's been oddly quiet ever since we arrived—for being Ryuji, anyway.

We eat our portions in almost unbroken silence. I can't help but eye him, trying to ascertain what could be wrong. He's not one for shutting up, and when he does it is rarely a good sign. I'm about to break the silence myself and ask—this is my first and closest friend I've made in Tokyo and I'm not about to let him go through whatever's on his mind alone—when he puts his chopsticks down.

"Man, I'm stuffed!" he exclaims with a big and honestly startling grin. "Pretty damn good, huh? This one's on me. Don't expect it to happen too often though."

I automatically return his smile, though I'm still searching for a sign of whatever's off in his once more cheerful expression. Just when I'm about to tell him it's nonsense, and that I can pay for myself, his face falls.

"Wait... Where's my wallet...?"

I cannot suppress an amused snort. Don't ever change, Ryuji, I think, and watch him turn his pockets inside out for it. An odd warmth creeps up in my chest.

"... Eh, whatever." He shifts in his seat and is suddenly not meeting my gaze anymore—again. I tug at my skirt, then shove my glasses up. This is beyond odd. I don't remember things ever being anything close to, well, awkward—that may be the best word to use—with Ryuji since we first met. And now...

"Oh by the way," he grins again, "I got a text from Takeishi... He said the track team's gonna try n' ditch Yamauchi. They wanna start practicin' without him. They're trying to get their old coach back too... The one from before Kamoshida. Looks like they're finally walkin' their own path."

I give him the most sincere smile I can muster. I feel genuine happiness, hearing this—his efforts are paying off, and he won't have to feel guilty about the track team anymore—but I cannot shake the feeling that his smile is more forced than his happy news imply.

> "Are you satisfied now?"

"Not running!"

He has to be. Isn't this what he always wanted?

"Hm... Yeah, I guess so." I frown at the lackluster response as he shifts back. "Oh, and uh... they asked me to come back to the team."

For some reason, the words hit me like a bucket of icy water. My mouth opens but a whole second passes before I can bring myself to speak.

"What did you say?"

"Do you have any time for that?"

> "Don't do it."

The words slip from my mouth before I can stop them. Horrified, I raise a hand to my face. What if he was looking forward to it? What if he invited me here to tell me he'd already accepted? What if saying such selfish things makes me the worst friend I could have been, in this situation?

"Dude, I wasn't gonna."

I am inundated by guilt for the imminent relief that washes over me.

"It felt kinda bad, but that's not where I belong now."

Something bubbles in my gut at his words, something warm and comfortable. I give him a smile, and he smiles back. Not his usual enormous, shit-eating grin, just a normal, sincere smile.

"When you first came to Shujin, people were talkin' so much shit about you. But you took it in stride. You just did whatever you thought was cool, and didn't care what other people said about you."