April 12th
Tuesday
Cloudy
Makoto stood near the entrance to Shujin academy, patiently waiting for Akira to show up.
To be honest, he scared her a bit. Sae told her all about his time in Juvie. Apparently, he had been a troublemaker. Her movies had made it clear what being a troublemaker meant. In a dumb move she had rewatched one of her old favorites where a member of the Yakuza goes to prison and has to fight to survive. It was a huge action thriller, but it made her think of the fights Akira must have got in, and that scared her.
Juvenile halls were supposed to be well regimented. How'd he become a troublemaker?
He had been arrested for assault too, which didn't help quell her thoughts.
Sae had warned her to keep her distance, but kinda hard to do when they were going to be living together. She didn't tell Sae that.
However, she was the student council president and had been asked by a teacher to help him. She couldn't say no to helping a student, that was her job.
This whole thing was easier before he made friends with the biggest delinquent in Shujin on day one. She didn't like to think the worst of anyone, but he wasn't making it easy. He hid himself well, but she had seen the real him on that first day, just for a second after they met the principal. She saw a fire in his eyes that scared her.
She breathed out as students passed by her and entered the school. Considering the crowd, she was able to easily spot her new "study buddy", and his new friend. He was taller than any of the students around him, and with Ryuji's bright hair, they were pretty noticeable.
There he was. Clearing her throat, she walked towards the front of the steps as the two of them approached her.
He's big. Makoto blushed to herself. She shook her head.
Ryuji's face had on a giga watt smile as he chatted at Akira. He seemed to be doing all the talking as Akira just nodded his head every few seconds. They noticed her looking expectantly at them.
"Yo, Prez! What's happening?" Ryuji called out while doing a mock salute.
"Sakamoto. Your shirts undone. And will you ever take that dye out of your hair?" Makoto sighed and gripped her books tighter as the two of them walked the rest of the way up to her.
Ryuji pulled his shirt closed, but made no actual effort to fix it. "Yeah, I'm getting around to it." He laughed to himself, placing a hand behind his head.
He had said the same thing every time she asked. It had been like this for months now, no teachers could do anything.
"Please do. It's technically not a dress code violation but the school would appreciate it. Could you please give me and Kurusu-san a moment?" Makoto asked politely.
Ryuji gave another quick salute, clasped Akira on the shoulder, and walked into the building.
Here he was, the deranged Criminal, as her fellow students had called him.
"Niijima-san, is something the matter?"
"No, nothing's wrong, I just wished to talk with you about something before school." They scooted to the side as people passed by them. She could overhear some of their chatter, it wasn't polite.
She restarted, "I'm just making sure you found the school today." She joked. He didn't laugh. Comedic timing wasn't her strong suit. "Well… um… seeing as you found it. Are we still on for tomorrow?"
Wow, this was more awkward than she could have ever imagined. Replaying it in her head, she could see how she might have come off as rude or condescending. Oops.
He looked down at her. She couldn't see his eyes due to a glare on his glasses. Should have angled myself better. She chastised herself.
"Yeah, we're good. I'm behind on a few subjects. I'm looking forward to it" He smiled.
Woo, Makoto felt better. He wasn't upset at her comment.
Akira scratched the back of his head as her silence continued. She could see a good deal more muscle on his arm then most Shujin students had.
"Umm, I'm going to go to class now. I'll see you tomorrow." He started to walk away.
"Yes. Good. I'll see you in the library tomorrow!" She called out.
He stopped and called back. "Yes, tomorrow."
"Good."
"Good, goodbye." He muttered.
"Did you say something?"
"No, uh, I just said good, goodbye."
"Oh, yes, goodbye. See you tomorrow" He sped away before she could finish saying tomorrow.
She took a few breaths to collect herself.
Oh. My. God. She had to go around the corner and find a quiet spot where she was alone. That was. The. Most. Awkward. Experience of her entire life. It was painful it was so awkward. Why had she forgotten how to talk like a normal person? Jeez, she didn't have many friends but she wasn't… That!
This was worse than when that boy had asked her out last year. When she was with Sae. That was bad for everyone.
But for this, she had no real reason. He was intimidating, yeah, but also tall, muscular, and he had an intense look in his eye. He would have been cute or good looking if she didn't know his past. She didn't think she was that intimidated by him, so why was she so awkward just then!
Whatever, it happens. Everyone's awkward sometimes. Especially with new people. New people she had been specifically warned not to get close to.
She wasn't, like, terrified of him either. Just a little off put. What a mess. This wouldn't be fun.
What would she do if Sae found out? Oh, jeez, that COULDN'T happen.
She didn't want nearly as much interaction with this new transfer student as she had. But life had other plans it seemed.
Makoto calmed herself outside for a moment longer. Akira was already friends with Sakamoto. That didn't spell well for him.
Sakamoto was a mystery. He seemed nice, but he had tried to assault Kamoshida near the end of his first year. He barely made it to his second year here.
Near the end of last year, he had dyed his hair a bright yellow too. He had no friends, he ate lunch alone every day. Makoto felt bad sometimes, but she had her own problems to deal with.
She couldn't solve everyone's issues.
Jeez, why even take Akira in? Sae had told her that his grandfather praised him, and begged her endlessly before he died, to do so. Sae never said why she respected the man enough to accept this. Makoto never met the man though, so she just had to trust Sae, which she did with all her heart.
However, Akira seemed like he could become a problem down the line.
Lunchtime
Akira walked through the crowded Shujin hallways. Everyone gave him a wide berth.
"You hear he killed someone?"
"I heard he crippled someone in Juvie."
"I think... Oh shit look away!"
That last group scurried off as Akira looked their way. He didn't mind the rumors anymore. It was kind of funny how extreme they were. He'd learned quickly in Juvie that it was better to be seen as a threat than someone that could be walked over.
This wasn't Juvie, but using that reasoning was making him feel better. On another upside, nobody would be messing with him anytime soon, on account of him murdering at least a dozen people apparently.
Akira found his way to a patio in the center of the school. There were vending machines lining both walls. A few students were sitting at the only table there, but a quick stare had them all shuffle off. Finally, alone, he went to the nearest vending machine to look what he could get for lunch.
"Yo, buddy, what's up?" Ryuji's voice called out.
He had made it.
Ryuji clasped him on the shoulder. "Whatchu got for lunch?"
"Whatever these vending machines have." There weren't many food options either.
"For real? Here, take some of my bread." Ryuji took a seat and tore his moist loaf of bread in half.
Nodding thankfully, Akira sat at the small table with him. He downed his entire half in less than a few seconds. The food didn't fill him up much.
"So, look dude I really appreciate you going back in for those guys, even though you don't know them. I feel like I need to tell you some more about Kamoshida."
Akira sat up straighter. He had been going at this just for personal revenge, it was time to find out what the man had done to others.
"Guy's a monster." Ryuji whispered, "Look, he got hired here a few years back right? So, he comes in and is pretty normal from what I've heard. But, he revolutionizes the volleyball team. Within two years we were second at regionals and in his third year we made it to nationals! Last year the girls squad came in second too, second in nationals! Second! They are supposed to win it all this year, and the guys team is good too."
So what? the guy was a good coach, how did he get so much control over the school?
Ryuji continued, "So, he's this great coach and now Shujin is on all these lists as THE up and coming school to go to. Like, we shot up like thirty spots in the national school rankings since he got here! We weren't that low on the list before either. People love him for that, and the principal lets him do whatever as long as it keeps happening."
Ryuji leaned back and let out a breath, "Now, here's the bad part. Again, he was a normal guy it seemed at first. The 3rd years I knew last year said he was a good dude. I actually looked up to the guy at first, just like everyone in this school does. A little background on me too, I got into Shujin on a track scholarship. I was actually zoned for a different school, but they didn't have a good program there."
Akira was surprised, Ryuji didn't seem like much of a runner with his awful posture.
"So, midway through my first year here, Kamoshida took over the track team. Apparently, our old coach had been stealing money from the school, but I don't buy it. He was an amazing coach who was one of the nicest guys I knew. But, that's another story though. Basically, when he took over, life went to hell. His training sessions were brutal. They were insane. Nearly everyone dropped out, it was like me and maybe ten guys left by the end. Something happened between me and Kamoshida and the track team was disbanded. They let me stay here cause Kamoshida said it was a mistake and my mom moved apartments to be closer to the school."
"Thank you for that, Kamoshida's awful huh?"
"You don't even know, I just want you to understand why everyone loves him, and why they ignore the things he does. There's rumors everywhere about the awful, terrible, things he does to the volleyball team now too. Worse than what was going on with the track team. Dudes a charmer so he's allowed to abuse students daily and still have a job, right? If you don't fall for the fake smile, then you love the recognition. If you don't fall for either, you don't have the power to do anything. Guy's an absolute monster. We have to take him down."
"Is that why there was a student in a gym uniform in the castle? Is that a member of the volleyball team?"
"Yeah dude! That's right! I don't know how he got there, or what's really going on, but those guys play a part. Look, he's a scumbag of a human being. We need to stop him. I just wanted you to know what he was doing that made him such scum."
"Yeah, there's something off about him. I noticed it when we met on the stairs. Do you know what he does during their training?"
"No, sadly it's kept under tight raps. But, try to look around, when you see a student covered in bandages, with bruises everywhere and maybe a broken bone, they're probably on the volleyball team."
They continued talking but, across the way, Makoto noticed the two of them chattering at the table.
Oh god she thought This could be trouble.
She had nothing against Ryuji personally, but rumors and history did mean something. She didn't think him and Akira spending time together would be good for Shujin.
"Kurusu-san." She chimed in before Akira could ask Ryuji anymore questions.
Makoto, the cute student council president, had come to join them. She strode up to their table.
She put on a small, strained, smile. "We're still on for tomorrow, right?"
Ryuji's jaw dropped, "Wait! You have a date with the president!" He bellowed and shot up from his seat, pointing an accusatory finger at them. "Dude! I can't even get a date, and I've been here for a year!"
Makoto's face lit up a bright red. Phrasing stupid. She thought.
"No, I mean are we still on for studying later today. After school, nothing intimate is going on. Trust me." She blushed even more and began to fidget with her hands.
Akira laughed, "Yeah, we talked about this a few hours ago. I'll meet you then, I want to learn don't worry."
Makoto's small smile slid down her face. "Yes, I just saw you and wanted to make sure. Lunch period is ending soon so you two should go back to your separate classes."
Akira's smile dropped too. He caught what she was trying to say, she wasn't very subtle.
It was clear to see she wanted them not to be talking to each other.
"Yeah, let me grab my stuff."
Makoto nodded and looked down to unruffle her skirt. Akira took that moment to meet Ryuji's eyes. Ryuji nodded. They would talk more later.
Akira grabbed his bookbag and got up. He passed by Makoto and made his way back inside.
God that girl was awkward. He hadn't had any good interactions with her, but he would have to push through it. He would be living with her soon and needed her help if he wanted to pass classes.
He just wished she wouldn't try to stop him from seeing Ryuji. He didn't like people trying to tell him what to do.
They had made it back to the grand hall of the castle. The Cat, Morgana, had met up with them at the entrance. He had heard their commotion and investigated. Luckily, the guards were too stupid to check it out too.
Ryuji had raised a fit at Morgana's arrival. Akira didn't trust the creature fully either, but he was glad to have him there. Having backup here would be helpful.
Ryuji had been helpful too. He had brought a toy gun for a stupid reason. Why would he think that Akira would use a toy gun to hold up monsters shooting fire and lighting at him? Maybe it would work once or twice, but Akira didn't want to take the risk of the monster getting mad and leaving him wide open.
The fact that the gun actually worked surprised all of them. But it was going to be incredibly useful.
This pistol, it felt… right in his hand. Like they had been made for each other. He had felt the same way about his knife, but that had literally been formed from his consciousness for him.
He was good with it too. Almost every shot he was taking was on the money. He had never used a gun before either. This level of control and precision was amazing.
They weren't easy shots either. The Shadows, as Morgana called them, moved around quickly once they took their true forms. He had to aim carefully to hit some of the flying jack o lantern ones.
Today got even weirder after one of the fights, the Jack-o-Lantern went down and Morgana told him to interrogate it, saying he could get money or items from it. That was useful as he had already made more than enough money for groceries this week just from killing shadows, so why not get some more.
But then, halfway through the interrogation, the thing said he wanted to join him, then it flew straight at him and into his skull. It terrified him at first. Arsene calmed him down and explained what was happening. Apparently, he could now use the skills of the creature when he fought.
And it worked. He could use fire based attacks now. The Jack-o-Lantern didn't speak much, it just made wild noises of encouragement sometimes.
It seemed to be able to share its raw emotions with him, which he didn't understand it, but when it got bloodthirsty, it made Akira more bloodthirsty. And when he felt cautious, Akira was put on edge. All conversation ran through Arsene though, who translated most of what it was saying.
Fighting was making more sense too.
When Arsene got hurt, Akira didn't physically get hurt, but he started to feel more and more physically drained after every hit. He got sluggish after a lot of hits, and even almost passed out at one point. Morgana used a healing spell on Arsene and he felt reawakened.
Also, when he used too many spells in a row he felt drained. It wasn't the same kind of drained as with physical hits, his movements weren't affected, but he just felt an emptiness that was hard to describe. It was like, a well inside of him had dried up. He would have to take a break after a fight to rest up and drink a soda and it normally fixed him up a bit.
Switching between Arsene and Jack-o-Lantern was tiring too. He had to be careful not to make unnecessary changes too much. It affected his stamina and pulled from that indescribable well. Maybe with more training it would become easier.
But he also couldn't have the two out at once. He had tried for a second and it felt like his head would explode. He was forced to vomit in a corner while Morgana had to beat both enemies by himself. The migraine he got after it was still hurting him, his head pulsed with a vicious beat.
Morgana explained to him that having more than one Persona was unheard of. It was actually supposed to be impossible. Morgana had never seen anyone have more than one persona, or ever seen a Shadow join forces with a Persona user. But after some prodding Morgana did admit he had never met another Persona user, so Akira didn't know what to believe.
Physically, he felt amazing. He was faster, stronger, more agile, more balanced. Everything about him was improved, and he couldn't wait to push the limits of what he could do. Just how strong could he be here? Maybe strong enough to kill shadows with his bare hands? The thought excited him. He could feel his bloodlust rise.
He had to be careful though. He had almost made a few key mistakes. He was stronger, yes, he was strong enough to take a fire blast to the face that had terrified Ryuji. A move that should have killed him only left a few mild burns and some red marks. It hurt like hell, but a quick heal from Morgana got rid of all the pain. He was happy to have the Cat around even more now.
But it did leave him knowing that, even as strong as he was now, he still had to be cautious. His body could take hits when he went in to fight. When Arsene took damage, it would affect Akira mentally. But when Akira went took damage, he took damage physically.
Morgana said that if Arsene took enough damage, Akira would faint. But Akira doubted that he would just pass out if his own body took too much damage.
Overall, there was a lot more to test out in regard to his abilities. With more training, who knows what he could do? How strong could he get? Enough to tear down walls? How fast could he get? How agile? And what about with his other abilities? Could he get good enough to use more than one persona?
He was getting more and more excited. He would be coming back soon to push the limits of what he could do.
But not everything was going well. They had found more students getting tortured in various prison cells. It was brutal. It made him feel disgusted.
The students in there in no way deserved what was being done to them. Especially the ones who had… failed to survive the torture. Thinking back to their mangled bodies made him want to vomit, Ryuji had vomited. Akira didn't know if he could hold himself back next time he saw the real Kamoshida.
Morgana had explained that these were all just figments of Kamoshida's cognition. None of them were real. The ones being tortured must be current members of the volleyball team, while the... dead ones must have been students who weren't on the team anymore. Ryuji memorized their faces. He would know them better than Akira would.
Even if real life wasn't as brutal as this, it still confirmed that Kamoshida was torturing students. He needed to fix this. He would never forgive himself if he let people suffer like that, even if he didn't like them. They hadn't committed any gross crimes, they just didn't like him.
His rage at Kamoshida drove him forward. How dare the man stand there, smile, and charm people when inside, he was a monster. The two-faced snake needed to be dealt with.
Morgana had explained distorted desires and how the palace came to be. If this was how he viewed the world Akira knew what he had to do. He had to stop this man before anyone got seriously, irreparably, hurt.
"You knaves again?" Kamoshida's voice called out.
Ah, there he was. Akira saw the man as he turned around. It sent waves of fire coursing through him as the voice in his head, he assumed it was Arsene, began screaming. There was another, higher pitched, voice in there too. Probably Jack-o-Lantern.
This time though, Kamoshida wasn't taking any chances. The man had ten guards surrounding him.
That was bad. Akira was getting better, and with the gun he now had a lot of options to fight with. But he had only fought up to three Shadows at once this trip.
That powerup he got when he first awakened his Persona seemed to be a onetime thing. The insane amount of power that poured out of him hadn't happened again, no matter how hard he tried. It was probably just a onetime thing.
Akira took a few steps back. They had to get out of here, they couldn't fight this many in the open. And not with Ryuji here either, any blow would kill him.
"To think you'd come back. You'll die here for your assault on the king." Kamoshida moved towards them.
Ryuji stepped forward, out of Akira's reach, "You're not the king of Shujin Kamoshida! We're gonna take you down!" He took another step forward.
Akira moved towards him to try to cover him, standing behind him. He was ready to move if the guards did.
"I memorized the faces of your victims. When we get out of here we're going to end your reign." Ryuji said seriously.
Kamoshida laughed, "It seems it's true when they say, 'barking dogs seldom bite'. You're not going to do anything." He snapped his fingers and the guards moved towards them.
Akira went to jump in front of him when something slammed into him from behind. What!? He rolled onto his back but before he could get up a heavy boot slammed onto his back and held him down. He grabbed at the boot but a second soldier came in and held his arms down too.
They had snuck up from behind. He hadn't even thought to look behind him. What a rookie mistake. He had been so focused on the ten soldiers behind him a few got behind them.
Looking to the side it looked like Morgana was down too. One of the guards had grabbed him from behind and was holding him still.
Ryuji was still standing though. The guards were leaving him alone as Kamoshida started pacing towards him.
"How far have you fallen from your track days? Up and coming tack star, leading the district in your first year? Popular, well-liked? Now look at you." Kamoshida laughed. "Your only friend is that Criminal over there, you're alone every day, you're going to fail out of Shujin, and you're about to die? How much worse can it get?"
Ryuji looked absolutely pissed, but he made no moves. They met eyes for a moment before Ryuji looked away, ashamed.
"You had so much potential. Then you go and mess it up by messing with me." Kamoshida was standing directly in front of Ryuji now, smirking down at him. In a flash of movement Kamoshida hit him with a swift backhand that sent Ryuji stumbling back.
Akira could see Ryuji better now. His eyes were alight with rage. They reminded him of… himself.
"It's not really your fault though. I was going to destroy the track team one way or another. You were just the easiest to mess with, you always had that temper. Then, you did me an even bigger favor. You tried to fight me. I got complete justification for breaking that leg of yours. It was cathartic. Finally, to be done with you and your-"
"Shut up."
"What did you say-"
"SHUT UP!" Ryuji's breath was coming out in heavy pants.
Was he? Yes! He was! The same blue fire started to come out in waves from Ryuji. The Shadows holding him down were close enough to Ryuji to be consumed by the fire, freeing Akira.
Akira took the opening to stab the guard holding Morgana before it could recognize what was going on. The two of them nodded at each other, and began to work on the other two Shadows that had come in from behind them.
Ryuji, meanwhile, was raging. The fire coming from him was keeping any shadows from even trying to approach him. The boy was screaming at the top of his lungs.
Kamoshida couldn't move, he was frozen in fear. The wind whipped at him, pushing him onto his back and on the ground.
Quickly finishing the guards behind them, who were too distracted to make any real defense against an angry Akira, he looked back towards Ryuji.
A mask, in the shape of a skull, had formed on his face. The boy grabbed at it and, in a sickening display, he pulled the mask loose tearing the skin from his face. It made a bloody mess that would disturb most people. It was affecting Kamoshida, who had been blown to the ground but still hadn't run away.
At his angle he could see bits of muscle in between the massive amount of blood pouring down his face. Oh god, was this what Akira looked like?
In a flash of fire all of it disappeared. In its place, Ryuji now stood wearing a wicked looking, solid black ensemble. The main design was the skeleton theme that ran along the whole thing. His mask was a skull, while along his back was a dangerous looking metal spine. It made him look menacing. On his chest was a bright red tie resting on top of his solid black armor.
Completing the look were bright yellow gloves that were holding a metal pipe. It wasn't nearly as intricate as Akira's knife, but it still looked deadly. He had seen the kind of damage blunt weapon, like a metal pipe, could do.
On his back rest a large shotgun. That was weird, Akira hadn't formed with a pistol so why did Ryuji have a shotgun? Maybe something to do with his cognition of what he was supposed to look like? It was only a guess but Akira wouldn't complain.
Before Kamoshida could move, Ryuji stepped in towards him. He bashed the man across the face with his pipe, sending him spinning across the ground. When Kamoshida looked up he was holding a clearly dislocated jaw between his fingers. Blood was pouring out between them.
Akira was happy.
Behind Ryuji was a massive floating pirate ship. Standing on top of its skeletal pirate captain. The thing had on a stereotypical pirate's outfit, with a hat with skull and crossbones and an eye patch over its right eye. Finally, it had a large cape flowing down from its back.
It looked monstrous. It had a clawed hand, like Arsene's, on its left arm but the other arm had a massive cannon attached to it. It had an intense and intimidating glare with a look in it that seemed to spark like lightning.
"CAPTAIN KID!" Ryuji screamed and pointed his pipe at the assembled guards.
A massive lightning bolt came flying out from the canon, crashing into the uniformed guards. A few went down instantly, turning into mist, while the others took their true forms.
Looking over, Kamoshida had been escorted out of the room by a few guards. That left only three guards to fight the three of them.
Ryuji jumped in with an unexpected level of ferocity. He was swinging the pipe around like a maniac, catching a flying devil in the side and sending it to the ground. Ryuji bashed its head in before it could get any spells out. Taking the opening, Akira and Morgana jumped in to help, killing the pixie and flower thing quickly.
"Well, it looks like you survived." Kamoshida's voice called out above them.
Looking towards it, there he was. He was massaging his jaw, but otherwise it looked okay. He must have had a healer on his side too.
From behind him, a familiar blonde girl came walking out, clad in a revealing bikini. She looked gorgeous. But her whole outfit, with the cat ears resting on top of her head, made him feel uncomfortable. He felt wrong looking at her.
"Takamaki! What're you doing here!?" Ryuji asked.
Right. Ann Takamaki. She sat in front of him in class.
"Woah… Wha.. What a meow-velous and beautiful girl!" Morgana added in.
Apparently, cats could be attracted to humans. Who knew? Maybe it had something to do with the cat ears.
"What's… what's going on?" Ryuji asked.
Something felt off about this whole thing.
Kamoshida grabbed Ann by her chin and pulled her face closer to his.
"LET GO OF HER YOU PERV!" Ryuji was getting angrier.
"How hard is this to understand? This is my castle. I own it. I can do whatever I want to in here, and everyone accepts it. They all want to be loved by me."
"Takamaki! Say something!"
"Ryuji! It's no use. She's not real, she's a figment of his cognition just like the other people in here." Morgana cut in.
That seemed to calm Ryuji down slightly. He wasn't any less likely to jump in recklessly now though.
"You jealous? I bet it's hard for a punk like you who's probably never even kissed a girl."
Ann completed this by kissing Kamoshida on the cheek, a move that enraged Ryuji. He would have jumped in right then if Akira hadn't grabbed his shoulder.
Akira never thought that he would be the voice of reason. He was getting more and more pissed watching this man take advantage of Ann. But, he didn't know her well, and apparently Ryuji did so he had to be the logical one. It was making Ryuji much angrier than it was making him, something rare.
"Ah, looks like this isn't going to work." Kamoshida said, disappointed.
A half dozen guards came pouring out from behind him, sprinting out from the hallways. So, it was a trap. Get Ryuji mad enough to jump in, and surround him. Good thing Akira had stopped him, or they could all be dead.
Even more guards came out of the hallways near them. All in all, it must have been fifteen guards in the room now, way too many to handle.
Kamoshida grabbed the fake Ann by the waist, and walked back down a hallway, leaving them behind.
"We're outnumbered! We need to get out of here!" Morgana advised.
Akira agreed. They would gain nothing from fighting this out. He pulled on Ryuji's shoulder, who still looked like he wanted to go after Kamoshida, and they sprinted away.
Making it out of the castle was easy after that. A few quick fights, he had gotten a horse called Bicorn to join his forces, and they were out. After leaving, Morgana had told them that it was their turn to help him. He needed to find his lost memories and they needed to pay him back for his hospitality.
The way he said it kind of pissed Akira off, the cat was bratty. Ryuji made it known that he had never agreed to anything though.
Akira felt a little bad, the creature was right. He did owe him for his help, both in explaining what was going on and for all the healing that he had done. Akira wasn't sure if he would be alive without him.
He told Morgana that he needed time to think about it, and the two of them left. He did owe the creature, but he also didn't know just how involved he wanted to get in this whole separate world. There was a lot of danger there, too much danger in some cases.
After getting out Ryuji had apologized to Akira, saying he was sorry for dragging him into this. Akira refuted that, he could have left at any time and not cared. He wanted to be there. He wanted to take down Kamoshida.
Both for personal reasons, and to help others. Mostly personal at this point.
Ryuji looked extraordinarily happy. They both talked more and agreed, they would take some time to prepare up before they went back in again. Fighting like that was exhausting, they would both need a long break before they could try again. It would also give them time to get better gear with all the money they had made.
That money could buy better melee weapons, better guns from that store Ryuji told him about, and more medicine that could save their lives. They needed time to prepare.
?
?
?
His ears were ringing.
What day was it? Where was he?
God, everything hurt.
His vision swirled.
He lurched forward and rested his head on the edge of a table. It felt like he was going to vomit. It took a while, but he managed to refocus on the beautiful silver haired woman sitting in front of him. Sae. That was her. He lived with her.
Right?
She looked concerned, but made no motions to help him.
"Acting as a Phantom Thief would've been more efficient alone. You could've gone about it that way, but you must have seen some use in allies? Tell me. Am I wrong? Who did you pull into your crimes?"
She paused for a second.
"Did you try to pull me into some of those crimes?"
He could focus now. She cleared her throat and kept speaking.
"I need to know who you got involved, names, reasons, everything. Tell me more about Kamoshida, did his hospitalization have anything to do with the Phantom Thieves."
He restarted his story.
Ryuji's stomach started growling wildly. He grinned and scratched the back of his head.
"Looks like fighting Shadows takes a lot out of a guy huh? I'm starving, why don't we got get some ramen from a place nearby! I know a good one, my treat!" He asked.
Akira couldn't refuse a free meal.
They walked for a bit to a small, out of the way, ramen restaurant. It didn't take long for them to get seated and to put in their orders.
Ryuji was smiling, "This place is good, but I'll take you to the best place in Tokyo next time!"
Huh, next time. It was weird to think about going to lunch with a friend.
"So… uh, dude. I don't mean to pry or anything, but we've both almost died a few times and so I feel a sort of connection to you, and uh I just need to ask you something-"
What? Was this?
He cut in before it could go any further, "I'm sorry Ryuji, I didn't know, I'm not, you know, into dudes or anything. Like, you're cool and -"
"NO! DUDE! LISTEN TO ME!" He shot up and yelled anxiously, then realizing that everyone was listening, he sat back down and started whispering. "That's, that's not what I was trying to say. I was trying to ask, what did you really go to Juvie for?"
Oh. That. That might be worse than if Ryuji was coming out to him.
He was somehow less prepared for this. He hadn't been asked about his sentencing in months. People always shared what they did and while his was one of the lighter punishments to have been assigned to that detention center, he always spiced up the story to make him seem intimidating.
He doubted that Ryuji wanted to hear the lie about how he assaulted five armed men because they looked at him wrong.
When was the last time he even claimed his innocence? It must have been his first day in Juvie. That's right, he told a guard in a desperate attempt to get any acceptance. He still remembered the man's words.
"No one gives a shit."
That had ended any attempts to try to tell people the truth. Who would care? It's not like anyone had believed him in the first place.
God, at least he'd seen a few sitcoms about what to do when your friend comes out of the closet. There wasn't a sitcom episode about explaining the innocence to your incarceration.
"Well, all right, listen closely."
Ryuji leaned in and kept quiet.
"Look, this is going to sound ridiculous. I don't expect you to believe me, but this is what happened. I'm innocent." Akira held his breath after that.
Ryuji didn't move. He just kept looking at Akira.
"It was over a year ago, I was walking home and I heard a woman screaming for help. So, I ran over and there was some drunk guy harassing her. Before I could even see what was going on, he fell over and cut his head open." Akira took a breath. "Everything was a blur at that point. He started screaming about suing, and then the cops arrived and he got the woman to be on his side and then everything just went downhill from there."
Ryuji looked serious, more serious than Akira had ever seen him. "Wait, is that it? Really? So, you didn't do it? How did he get the woman on his side?"
"I don't know, I asked myself that a lot, I guess it was he had something on her. I don't know how he got the cops on his side too. Maybe he bribed them. Look. I know this all sounds insane, I somehow didn't do it, but everyone else involved lied continuously until I was sent to Juvenile Hall, but it's the truth."
"So, who was the guy?"
"I don't know. They never said his name, said it was for his safety from the insane defendant. That was what they actually said. My whole trial was a kangaroo court to be honest. I was in and sentenced in under half an hour. I spoke once and they prosecuted me."
Akira didn't like telling this story. He had cut out many of the details about his personal life leading up to the trial, and everything after the trial as well. It was hard to talk about the most miserable time in his life. He looked down at his hands. He was twiddling his thumbs. A nervous tick he used to have. Old habits die had he guessed.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, Ryuji was smiling at him.
"Dude, if there's someone that understands no one believing you, it's me. I've only known you for a bit, but I trust you. You say a shitty adult ruined your life, well a shitty adult ruined mine. I'd be an asshole if I expected you to believe me and I didn't believe you."
That… that meant a lot.
Akira looked into his eyes. As far as he could tell, he wasn't lying.
That... that was the first person who had ever told him that he believed he was innocent.
Akira had to wipe at his eye, giving a fake reason about dust and pollen.
"Ha, dude, don't worry about it. You're a good guy. In my case, the shitty adult is Kamoshida again. I told you about the track team, but I didn't tell you everything. I tried to tell the school constantly about him, but no one believed me. They all told me to suck it up, so I did. But then he started getting worse. He started talking about my personal life, he was saying things about my mom, and I saw red dude, you know?"
Akira knew all about that.
"So, one second, he's making fun of me and my mom, and the next I'm punching him. But, I was some small, scrawny, first year. He had more than a foot on me and like, what one hundred, one hundred fifty pounds? It didn't even phase him. No one was around so he literally picked me up, like over his head, and threw me down the stairs."
Jesus, what the hell? Who does that in normal life?
"I broke my leg pretty bad, and by the time someone came to help, it was too late. I don't like to talk about the specifics, but I can't run like I used to. So, I got kicked off the track team, and then it got disbanded when Kamoshida told everyone I had tried to punch him, missed, and fell down the stairs. I was barely conscious and didn't make it back to school for a week, so when I got back no one believed me. Not, my old teammates or my old friends. I was alone man, cause one shitty adult."
Huh, so Ryuji had gone through something similar to him.
Ryuji continued, "So I understand you. We're kinda the same you know. A shitty adult lied about us and ruined our lives. Kinda lucky we met on the first day huh."
Ryuji shoulder bumped him, and they fell into a kind of silence, as Ryuji was anything but silent as he loudly slurped up his ramen.
Akira felt awful for judging Ryuji so harshly the first day they met. He had been the nicest person to Akira in a year, and the guy barely knew him.
Akira wouldn't let that go ignored. He would get revenge on Kamoshida for everything. For Ryuji.
This guy was his first friend, his first real friend, he had in years. Possibly ever.
He was feeling an intense loyalty. He wouldn't let Ryuji down.
They made small talk for a bit, discussing future plans and when they would go back. Apparently, there would be a volleyball rally the next day, from Kamoshida's advice.
Akira was strongly considering skipping school tomorrow.
They both had to leave soon and, after saying his goodbyes, Akira went home. He ate another quick meal that Sojiro supplied, once again thanking the man for his hospitality. He was starving even after that ramen, and went to sleep.
He dreamt of a blue prison.
April 13
Wednesday
Cloudy
Making it to school was easy now. He could phase out entirely on his way there. He was there in record time, and regretting it.
The day wasn't off to a good start. The volleyball rally started almost immediately and he was forced to go.
Who even cares about volleyball? Was the sport really that popular in Tokyo? Where he was from, it was more of a casual thing rather than the most popular sport.
He thought baseball or fútbol would be the more popular sports. Maybe even basketball. Not Volleyball though.
He met up with Ryuji before the matches started and they found a spot off to the side. No one sat near them.
He could see Makoto, also sitting, across the way. While they were on the ground, she had found a chair somewhere. President's privilege he guessed.
God, he was bored. Him and Ryuji were running out of things to talk about.
Even looking at Kamoshida wasn't making him unbearably angry. He was just so bored. This thing had been going on for nearly two hours now, and almost all of it was just a celebration of Kamoshida, masked in a "support Shujin Sports" thing. But the only sport there, or even mentioned, was volleyball.
The girls looked good when they played. Wait, phrasing, they played well. Like, they were good at volleyball. They were cute too though, so his first thought wasn't entirely wrong.
The first match was the guy's team against the girl's team. One girl, who Ryuji told him was called Shiho, was amazing. It made sense why they were so good, every move she made seemed graceful and fluid. Ryuji said that she was going to lead them to Nationals, and she could even make the National team. Watching her play was by far the most interesting part of the day.
The guy's team had won in the end though. When they got down ten points, Kamoshida joined them and kicked some kid, named Mishima, off the court. Akira thought the guy was in his class.
Kamoshida turned it around quickly, and soon the guys won. Everyone cheered, saying how amazing he was at volleyball and how impressive he was.
That frustrated him. What adult, a former Olympic athlete, needed the vindication of high school students that he was good at his sport. A win he got by beating high school girls. What a douchebag.
A few matches happened in which students were encouraged to join. A lot of people played, Shiho and Ann played a match together. Makoto even joined in as well. Ryuji and him never joined though.
At the end Kamoshida picked the best players he saw, played against them, and then beat them.
How did no one else see this guy had a massive ego?
Now, it was the faculty versus the guys team. The guys team was getting trounced.
Kamoshida had the ball. In a second he spiked it and the ball flew over and smashed into Mishima's face.
Akira shot up, like everyone else did. This was exciting. He moved in closer with the crowd.
Kamoshida shouted "Can someone take him to the nurse?" The look of concern on his face looked almost sincere.
This was an opportunity. Akira wanted to get out of here.
"I'll take him."
Everyone quieted down. They all looked at him. No one had expected that.
He walked over and helped pick Mishima up. The guy was tiny. Jeez, he must have been only 5'4 or 5'5. Akira couldn't really drape Mishima's arm over his shoulder comfortably, he had to crouch down to even make it work slightly. It looked awkward, but they were out of there before anyone thought to say anything.
How hurt was this guy? Did a volleyball to the face really hurt that much? They walked most the way there.
"Uhhh… thanks, thanks for the help." Mishima fumbled out.
The guy was afraid of him, that much was certain, but who wasn't at this school?
"Yeah, no problem, to be honest I just wanted to get out of there you know? Sitting for two hours straight isn't fun."
That got a chuckle out of him. Akira let go of his arm and they walked in silence for a bit.
"So… uh… how do you like Shujin?" Mishima asked.
Bad question.
"It's fine. Kawakami-Sensei is a good teacher. I feel like I'm learning a lot."
"That's good, I'm not sure what your old school, I mean, I know you don't have an old school, I mean uh… yeah that's good."
God people in Shujin were awkward. Akira nodded at him.
Akira wasn't saying that he wasn't awkward too. He hadn't talked to a girl in a full year, so he was sure he wasn't going to be good when he had to have a full conversation with one. His little talks with Sae and Makoto weren't really a good base, somehow Makoto was even more awkward than him and Sae had spent most of the time threatening him.
He wasn't this bad though. He could at least have a short conversation.
They arrived at the nurses and Mishima seemed to disappear inside. Guy seemed terrified. He must have been one of those people that believed everything he heard.
Akira started heading back, taking the long way to get some extra time away.
"There you are."
Turning around, Kamoshida was there. Looking around, they were the only two in the entire hallway.
"You took a weird way back to the gym." Kamoshida said as he kept walking towards him. His normal smile wasn't on his face.
"Yeah, I got lost, I've only been here a few days."
"Got lost huh, you seem to get lost a lot. Not good with directions? That's fine, neither am I."
Kamoshida was a foot in front of him now, staring him right in the eyes. He towered over, the already tall, Akira.
He hated this man.
Kamoshida moved fast. He grabbed Akira by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the lockers.
Akira didn't react. He knew it wouldn't help to fight back.
"Look. I don't like you. I don't want you here. I don't know what you were planning with Mishima, but I don't want to see you with him again. Got it? I take care of my players. If I see you near him again, I'll have you out of here before you can blink." He slammed Akira's back against the lockers. "Got it?"
Akira nodded. He was having a hard time holding himself back from knocking the man's head off.
Kamoshida lowered him down and let go of his shirt. Then he punched Akira in the gut.
The air left his lungs as Akira doubled over.
"Good. We understand each other. Keep your head down or there's more to come. Watch yourself." He left.
Akira watched the man leave. It was pissing him off. He had been forced to sit there and accept the abuse. It had been a long time since he had been put in that position. He always fought back. The feeling of helplessness was enraging. He wanted to wipe that man off the face of the earth.
Kamoshida had, somehow, made Akira hate him more.
"Hey! Are you alright?"
Kawakami came from the other direction and approached him slowly over, watching the retreating Kamoshida.
She put a hand on his back and tried to help him straighten up.
"What was that about?"
She seemed shocked.
"It was just a warning from him. You know, one of those 'You do anything and I'll kill you' kinds of warnings."
His tongue was loose. He was too mad to try and lie, even if it would probably be better to deny the whole thing.
Kawakami looked torn, she seemed to not know whose side to take on this. She would most likely say that he had started it if anything came up.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." And he was after catching his breath.
"Well, uh, let's just ignore it then?"
Typical. She probably loved Kamoshida just like the rest of them. He couldn't help the angry glare he let loose on her as pulled himself away from her abruptly and sharply, leaving her hand floating in the air.
She looked ashamed and incredibly embarrassed.
Who cared though? He didn't. She was just another person who thought he was some animal, and Kamoshida a king.
He walked away, in the same direction as Kamoshida. He could faintly hear her curse to herself as he rounded a corner.
Akira walked back to the rally in time to see it ending. Everyone was pouring out and heading to the locker rooms. Akira followed them.
He changed out of his gym uniform. He didn't see Ryuji, but he'd meet back up with him later.
Now he just had to get through the day and study with Makoto.
Finishing the day was hard. He couldn't stand the looks that Kawakami kept sending at him. If she really felt so bad, why didn't she do anything? He nearly had to leave after they made eye contact and she teared up. As soon as class was over, he was out the door before anyone could say anything to him.
People cleared the way as he walked. Good. With how he was moving he would likely have bowled them over.
He made it to the library after some delay. He had taken a wrong turn on the way here and had gotten lost. Makoto was already there. The library was silent, but everyone's eyes were on him as he walked in.
"Uh… do you need a book sir?" The librarian asked.
She looked extremely hesitant to even talk to him. Terrified that he might do something in response. Why did everyone have to be so afraid of him!? He was getting madder by the second.
He calmed himself. It wasn't helping his image.
"No. I'm here to study. If I need one I'll ask, but thank you." He dipped his head in thanks and went to sit with Makoto.
She was already hard at work somehow, considering that class had only gotten out maybe ten minutes ago it was impressive. Without saying a word, she pulled out a binder full of notes and handed it over to Akira.
"Here's my work from my first year. The first few pages are the table of contents. There's basically every English word you will need to know, and many of the common phrases. We can work our way through that over the next few weeks."
She pulled out a thick, heavy, book. It was in pristine condition.
"Here's the book I used when I took pre-calculus three years ago. Math hasn't changed much since then," She laughed to herself, "You guys don't use this book in your class so the problems won't be on any homeworks, but I thought this book has some really good explanations on how things work. We can catch you up quick."
Akira was dumbfounded. She had really put in a lot of work for this.
Wow, she actually did want him to succeed.
The feeling that someone cared about his success motivated him. He thanked her for the books and put them off to the side.
"Let's start with English, we can do that for an hour, then Math for an hour. Then I have to go home."
Right down to business, no small talk or anything. Akira didn't mind. He needed to get this stuff done right away if he wanted to pass.
They quietly studied for the next hour. Makoto had him do exercises from another book she brought that had a bunch of English word problems. Whenever he had an issue he would ask her, and she would know the answer immediately.
It made him realize how far behind he was.
He had tried his best in Juvie, but his motivation wasn't there near the end of his imprisonment. When Shujin had offered to take him in he worked his ass off to try to catch back up, but there was only so much he could do in the month before his placement test. The fact that he managed to pass it and get into Shujin was mind blowing.
He was never stupid. He was at the top of his classes before his imprisonment. Something that his 'parents' forced on him. He didn't like thinking about them.
It was because of how well he did in his old school that he was even placed in these classes. If none of the last year had happened he would already be done with pre-calculus and English one.
He was picking English up quickly though. They managed to get through all the material in the subject that she had planned for the day in 45 minutes.
Math was harder though. Luckily, they had the extra time to use as it took them the rest of the two-hour block to get it done.
After finishing they packed their bags and left together.
The library had been quiet the entire time they were there. The most he heard were a few whispers directed at them, but a glance here and there stopped those. It had been a little awkward being the only ones talking, but Makoto never seemed to notice or care.
They made it to the steps in front of Shujin.
"Thank you for the lessons Niijima-Senpai." He really appreciated them.
"It's no problem, can't have you failing out now can we." She gave a weak smile but didn't meet her eyes.
It was still awkward between the two of them, but Akira wouldn't do anything to fix it. He didn't want to mess up the delicate balance they had as he needed the help.
"It's getting late, I can walk you to your subway if you want." It was going to be dark soon.
"No, no, it's fine. My stations just down the block. We can meet up again tomorrow, same place same time?"
"Yeah. That's fine. I'll see you then."
They walked down the stairs and went opposite directions. Akira's subway station was actually the way she went, but he didn't want to awkwardly walk next to her the whole way there. He found a different station the other direction and was soon on his way 'home'.
April 14
Thursday
Clear
Akira got up early that morning. Kamoshida getting physically aggressive with him reminded him that he hadn't worked out since he left Juvie. He needed to fix that.
With how much violence, both in the real world and the cognitive one, he was facing, he would need to be stronger.
He did the body weight exercises he had learned over the past year. He supplemented them by doing pullups on a study bar going across his ceiling. He would need to find a good weight room to really start training again, but this would do.
He took a quick shower and was off to school.
The train ride was normal. Packed like a sardine and incredibly uncomfortable.
His instincts were screaming at him to get out of there. His paranoid brain informing him that anyone could attack him and there was nothing he could do. He swallowed his inner panic for the ride, got off, and walked to his next subway line.
He waited behind the bright yellow line.
The world exploded. The only warning was the high-pitched screech of metal on metal.
Metal came flying out of the tunnel before the car arrived. A metal pipe slammed into the top half of the head of the woman next to him, decapitating her from there up. She hadn't had time to even move.
Akira was frozen as the gore splashed on his face.
The crowd panicked, they threw themselves backwards shoving everyone around them trying to escape. He joined them as pushed his way to the back. His height and strength allowing him to get closer to the exit.
The train barreled into the station, sending even more metal flying. A piece of sheet metal slammed into the couple next to him, killing the two of them instantly.
The train careened over the edge of the platform on his left, slamming into and crushing people.
The screams in the crowd grew louder. It was terrifying the way that large patches of voices just stopped.
The metal and rocks flying from the crash points were shredding people, sending more and more blood flying everywhere.
Akira could barely breathe.
Every person within a five-foot radius of him was dead.
It was horrifying.
So much death. He couldn't even breathe anymore.
He looked to his left.
The end of the train had whipped around and coming straight for him.
He saw something in the window of that final car.
A pair of bright yellow, evil, eyes.
The train car hit him.
Boom, everything was normal. There was no blood, no pain.
He gasped.
He grabbed at his body to feel for anything wrong. He was okay, nothing was damaged.
He couldn't stop himself and he vomited in his mouth. Swallowing it, he tried to stand up straight.
People looked at him as he felt himself up, but no one moved. He let out a sigh of relief.
What was that.
Wait. No. It couldn't. But, if he focused. Yes, it was getting louder. That screech.
"GET BACK!" Akira roared at the crowd and began shoving everyone around him backwards. People resisted and shoved him back, forcing him to stumble as the screech grew louder.
He could see it coming now. A bright light coming at him. He could feel the eyes resting on his back.
He grabbed the woman next to him, threw her down, and dove on top of her. The spot above her head was eviscerated by the same metal pipe. It still hit someone, but this time it was only a glancing blow. It was still a vicious hit. The businessman might live with proper treatment though.
He jumped to his feet and pulled the woman's hand with all his might. They tore through the stunned crowd in a second, as debris started raining on them.
"GET BACK!" He screamed again at the crowd.
This time they listened. The severity of the situation seemed to reign on them.
Everyone tried to move back as the train car spilled onto the side of the platform again.
This time, it killed less people.
"KEEP GOING!" People sprinted from the platform, rushing up the stairs and to safety. He wasn't even sure if people could hear him over the roar of everything else.
He let go of the woman's hand and began to look around, people were still hurt.
Wait, what was that boy doing!? He wasn't moving!
The boy was frozen in fear.
Every adult around him had abandoned him.
Looking around, Akira realized that the boy was in the direct path of where the train car would whip into. Where he had been killed. Where was this boy's mother!
Akira turned towards him, but froze.
If he went for him, he would die too.
He's going to die. He's going to die. He'S GOIng TO Die. HE'S GOING TO DIE!
The thought consumed Akira. If he moved he'd most likely die. If he didn't the child would die for sure.
Where was anyone else! Why was he the only one paying attention! A quick glance around revealed, people were only thinking of themselves.
Everyone was storming out of the building, shoving people around them to the ground if need be. Trampling over others in a rush to survive.
They're going to leave him to die.
The thought made him feel sick.
Akira moved. He rushed forward, mind blank.
Vaulting over a piece of rubble and sliding under a hanging piece of rebar, Akira moved.
What was this? How was he moving so swiftly? He had always been faster than most people in high school, and training in Juvie had made him stronger too. But not like this.
He was so agile.
He moved like the wind.
He reached the crying child faster than he thought he would. It had only taken seconds to get there.
He only had a few precious seconds to get out of there.
Twenty seconds had passed since he had started screaming for people to leave.
He ducked as a piece of rubble flew past his head. His reflexes were faster than they had ever been. Not questioning it, he picked up the boy, held him to his chest, and turned around.
Faster. Faster. He needed to be faster.
Turning his head, Akira saw what he was afraid of. The train had whipped around and was now on the move towards the two of them.
Shit. Akira threw the boy higher on his chest, resting most of the boys holding him with one hand. He ran faster.
The boys hat had blown off, but looking backwards Akira saw that he was out of the direct path of the train. He didn't stop though. He was one of the few individuals alive still down there.
He leapt up the stairs in a blur. Adrenaline was fueling his body. He got across the street before he could take a breath and put the boy down.
His body stung, more than it should. Looking down he finally realized he had some pretty bad scrapes from this whole thing.
His shirt was a nightmare. Most of it had been yanked off by different items that snagged him. He had several deepish wounds, he might need stitches for at least one of those. Letting out a breath Akira sat down and leaned back.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" A feminine voice called out. he leaned back farther to see it was the woman he had jumped on top of earlier. She had a short, black, bobbed-style haircut. On top of her head was a pair of orange sunglasses that were missing one of the lens.
Dusting himself off, Akira stood up. "Yeah, a few wounds here and there but I should be okay."
The boy was still standing right where he left him.
The woman made her way over to him, mouth agape. She placed a hand near the deepest visible cut on his body, as if to touch it, before stopping herself and pulling away. "I wanted to say, thank you, you saved my life."
Akira scratched the back of his head, "It was nothing, don't worry about it."
The woman's jaw dropped even further "That was nothing! That wasn't nothing! I owe you a life debt! I should be dead!" She grabbed his hand to stop him from refuting.
"Wait! Sir! Sir!" A young woman came up to him, interrupting the first woman. This new woman was rather pretty for her age. Grime, sweat, and blood notwithstanding.
She had a boy pulled into a hug as he lightly cried into her side. Looking at the boy closely, he saw that he had on a blue t-shirt with the word NOOBS posted on the front.
The woman let the boy go and stood up straight, only to drop into a bow, the deepest one Akira had ever been given. It nearly seemed reverent, and then it was. The woman dropped to her knees and put her head against the floor. "Thank you. Thank you so much, sir. I owe you more than you could ever imagine."
The boy seemed flustered, but didn't stop her. He was still crying but began to bow repeatedly as well, continuously muttering out thanks.
"Please, may I have the name of our savior?" The woman asked as she picked herself up with her son's help.
"Kurusu Akira."
The woman bowed again and put a hand on her son's shoulder.
"Thank you so much, please let us thank you for this. I can never truly repay you, but please, please come over for a dinner and let us thank you, I swear it will be worth it." The woman bowed once more along with her flustered son.
"Oh! Excuse my manners, my name is Oda Aki, and this is my son Shinya."
Akira could only gape slightly at the two of them. He had never had someone so thankful for his assistance. At a loss of words, he nodded slowly and exchanged contact information with the mother. She bowed her head repeatedly before excusing herself and shuffling away.
"Well Mr. Hero, how are you feeling now?" The other woman was still there. The woman had a teasing smile on her face that seemed to fit her well. "I'm Ohya Ichiko."
Ohya, the woman he saved. The whole street was filled with the sounds of police sirens as relief workers flooded the underground, looking for people who could still be saved. Seeing as they looked relatively unharmed, and not on the ground dying, the workers passed by them.
Akira made to leave, as Ichiko yelled after him and followed him out. He had to go back to LeBlanc now. He needed to bandage himself and change cloths. If he hurried, he could make it to school by lunch.
Ohya caught up to him, matching pace and moving down the street with him. "I know a doctor around here, they can fix you up for cheap. I'll even cover any costs."
That made Akira pause. That was great, because Akira had no money for doctors anyways. He was only a few moments away from just walking to school and trying the nurse there.
"So, Akira, how did you know to move back?" The woman's tone was questioning, but not accusatory.
"I just had a feeling. I heard something bad and I saw in the news recently about something like this. I just felt a little paranoid, which I guess worked in this case." He lied. No point in explaining his vision.
The woman nodded her head as she lead him down the street.
"Lucky me, that paranoia saved my life. I'm a reporter, by the way, I mostly do human interest pieces nowadays, which is a nice way to say gossip, but, would you mind doing an interview about this sometime? I'd love for everyone to know about your heroics." She looked genuine while saying that, she was excited to tell people about what he had done.
He couldn't do that. He needed to keep a low profile.
"I'm sorry, I don't feel comfortable right now being in the news over something like this."
She nodded understandingly.
"Yeah, I feel that, don't want to be a center of attention in this tragedy. I'd probably do the same. Well, I'm sorry for asking."
"It's no problem."
They made it to the small clinic in less than ten minutes. They made small talk the whole time about her career and his classes. When he made a joke, she would laugh and brush his arm with a wave of her hand. The slight contact would make him blush brightly, which embarrassed him greatly. She seemed to notice that, which only increased her laughter and touches.
When they got to the clinic, it only took a few minutes to get into a private room and get prepped for stitches. The nurse said he only needed one set of them, the others would be fine with just bandages.
Ohya was still with him, standing next to the bed. It was only the two of them in the room now, the nurse having just left. Her hand was resting on his shoulder.
"Well, thank you again for saving my life. I don't know how I'm going to pay you back yet, but, here, let's trade numbers. I'll think of some way soon to pay you back, even if it's just a drink." She laughed to herself.
She was very cute. In a more mature way than the other girls he'd met so far. She was also very touchy, and a little flirty, as her hand lightly brushed his shoulder as she pulled away. He was getting very flustered.
"Yeah, I think Mr. Hero deserves his first drink after that." She teased, "I'll message you soon, if you don't mind getting a drink with an older woman."
"How do you know it's my first drink?" He tried to tease back.
It was. But he didn't want to admit it.
She laughed and patted his shoulder again, "Cause you ask questions like that. Come on kid, I'm not stupid."
He probably should say no. But, getting a drink with a pretty older woman did sound like a good night. He had never drank before, and it had been over a year since he had flirted with a girl.
He decided to push the limits.
"Alright then, we'll make it a date."
That seemed to freeze the woman's teasing smile, if only for a second. She snorted and rubbed his shoulder a bit. The contact felt good.
"So, Mr. Hero's got jokes huh? Alright, you're not gonna catch me off guard. Call it whatever you want."
"Who wouldn't want to brag to their friends about having a date with an older woman."
Ohya snorted again, and then burst out laughing.
"God kid, I'm liking you more and more. Alright, but don't tell anyone about this. Can't have people knowing I'm buying an underaged student any drinks."
A knock at the door interrupted them.
"Looks like the doctors back, I gotta go kid, sorry. I'll message you though. Sayonara." She saluted him, and passed the doctor on the way out.
He liked that woman, she made him feel more confident for some reason. Her self-assured body language and teasing nature made him feel more comfortable around her.
He felt extremely embarrassed about all the date stuff though. He hoped it didn't come off as too awkward. He was thinking with his dick in that moment and couldn't stop himself. But, she had laughed, so it couldn't have been all bad.
The doctor helped him out of his shirt and began his procedure.
A/N
Jesus Christ. This chapter is longer than the last. I thought I didn't want super long chapters, but I guess I was wrong.
This chapter took so long to write and put out for 3 reasons. Number 1, I had a TON of tests and quizzes the last week or so. Number 2, it was just so long. Number 3 I had some big family problems that just destroyed my motivation to write.
I said at the end that the real changes would start happening this chapter, and that was the plan. The train crash and the introduction of Ohya, and Shinya, were both planned for this chapter.
What wasn't planned, was Ryuji's awakening. In my chapter layout I never included that. But, when writing this chapter, I felt I couldn't leave it out.
There was too much I wanted to go over about the Metaverse. I plan on expanding the rules and regulations of that world as the story goes on, adding more based on things in game and things that can be inferred. There will still be a lot of mystery and not understanding what's going on, but I hope to set some rules that can be used in the storyline.
There was a big info dump about how Akira's body understood in game mechanics like HP and SP, stuff I needed to go over and explain. As well as personas joining him and so on.
In the same way that Arsene is cognitive, all the damage Arsene takes is cognitive as well. But any damage Akira takes, is physical. It is an important separation.
I'm happy to introduce later game characters in so early. I don't really want to have to wait for months to introduce them, so this was good. Expect more late game characters to be introduced before their time.
On Akira and Ohya, and Akira asking Ohya on a date as a 'joke'. That was a spur of the moment thing that I thought would be funny. But it also makes sense for the character I want to write.
And because a lot of people do care, and so do I, will that affect the final pairing? Probably not, because I don't know it yet.
Don't take anything as the final pairing. I don't like fanfics where the story starts and two characters are in love from the very beginning, eternal love at first sight. I think it's a lot more fun if the characters flirt, gain a repertoire, and get to know each other first.
Like in Naruto, everyone knows that story where two 12-year old's look into each other's eyes and love each other forever. It takes out so much fun where the main character can flirt and doesn't just dote on one girl for the entire story.
And Persona 5 lets you do a lot of flirting/ romancing with many girls. So, I plan on keeping that going.
It should be pretty fun.
But back on the scene, he's a teenager. An older, good looking, woman says she's going to give him his first drink and he's thinking about how she's interested in him. Of course, that excites him and he says something dumb about it being a date. He's thinking with his dick. Luckily, Ohya's cool, and from in-game, is cool with dating a high schooler, so she's fine with it.
I think it will just be fun to see the two of them share a drink, something I wanted to do all game but was always cock-blocked by Lala-chan.
There's a lot more to come for this story as it's now going to have several things different from the main story. I don't like writing Canon scenes, but sometimes I have to. Ryuji has to awaken his persona, they all have to meet. But once I get out of the tutorial days, it should be a lot easier to really take some deviations.
So, thank you for reading! Please be sure to review and tell me what you think! I'm always happy to hear!
The next chapter should be out within a week or two, depending on my schedule, so see you then!
Extra A/N, because I've already gotten a review about this. Akira isn't the kind of guy to just let someone hit him, but he couldn't do anything this time. He didn't expect the punch this time, he knew Kamoshida was evil, but he didn't expect such a blatant show of it. In any other situation, where he isn't in school and this guy isn't his superior, it would have gone a lot different.
That's not to say he would ever let the man get away with it again. Once is already too much for a guy with anger issues like Akira.
