~ 4-11, 20XX: After school ~
As the world finally stopped distorting, Shizu opened her eyes and noticed the abnormality in front of her. Shujin Academy was replaced by an actual castle, complete with a moat and drawbridge. There were a few knights visible inside the castle, but Shizu had the distinct feeling to not talk to them.
'Is this what Sakamoto-san and Kurusu-san were talking about? Is this Kamoshida-sensei's' castle?' She hastily stuffed her phone in her pocket as she began to explore. As the class rep looked around the building, she noticed an open hole in the building a few feet higher than she was. 'I don't want to go through the entrance, so I guess that's my only option.' She backed away from the possible entrance point and took a deep breath, before running towards it. When she approached the hole, she jumped and grabbed the sill, pulling her body up into the castle's interior. The inside of the castle was dark even with the small torches illuminating the hall. The floor had a checkerboard pattern and there were flags with Kamoshida's face everywhere.
'This must be Kamoshida's castle. His ego is very big…' As she explored the castle more, the brunette heard voices approaching her location. She quickly looked around and found a table. Rushing, Shizu crawled underneath the table, covering her mouth and tried to slow her breathing and heartbeat. The feet of several knights and the bottom of a cape were visible from Shizu's view.
"Where did those intruders go!" Kamoshida's voice, although slightly distorted, was easy to recognize. "I want them brought to me!" Anger was clearly evident in his pompous voice.
"King Kamoshida! We'll tighten up security so we'll find them!" One of the supposed knights answered, wanting to appease his ruler.
"Good. I'm going to 'entertain' myself with some of my subjects. Don't disturb me." Shizu didn't like the way he said 'entertain' and tried to move as far back as possible, trying to get away from the dangerous group. The feet began to walk away in separate directions; Kamoshida moved away from the knights while they dispersed throughout the castle. After what felt like hours, Shizu slowly crawled out of her hiding spot and sighed. 'The knights have tightened up security. How will I get out of here?' Her question was soon answered as the sound of small footsteps appeared. A feline-like creature snuck into the room, trying to explore.
"Are you with Kamoshida?" The words came out of Shizu's mouth before she even realized it.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed? Keep quiet!" The creature rushed to her spot and covered her mouth, effectively shutting her up. Although after a minor struggle, Shizu removed the being's paws off of her mouth.
"Who, or better yet, what are you?" Shizu got a better look at the creature that tried to silence her. It? (Shizu didn't know if it was male or female) appeared that thw creature was a humanoid-like black cat with a white muzzle and white paws. Its blue eyes stared straight into her green eyes before answering.
"My name is Morgana and I'm a human! I think…" The newly introduced Morgana pondered for a second after responding. Shizu doubted that Morgana was truly a human, but nodded her head to the cat-like creature, eager to find a way out of the new world. As Morgana led the confused girl out of the door, she decided to ask a question.
"Did a Akira Kurusu and Ryuji Sakamoto come here? Kurusu-san has black hair and wears glasses while Sakamoto-san has blonde hair and wears bright colors. I overheard them speak about a castle and I'm sure that this is the place." She needed Morgana to confirm her suspicions.
"Oh? I know them. They came around here earlier. Did they really speak of the Metaverse out loud? Idiots... Is the Metaverse opening up for every stupid person now?" The yellow bandana wearing feline shook their head and sighed.
"I came here through an app…" Her response fell to deaf ears as they continued to sneak to the entrance. As the duo approached the entrance, Morgana pushed Shizu out of the area, causing the world around her to distort. She barely heard Morgana's final words.
"It's dangerous here! If you want to help, then help in the real world!"
The voice grew faint as the castle disappeared before Shizu's eyes and shifted back into Shujin Academy. The whole process made Shizu feel sick as she tried not to throw up her lunch. Stabilizing herself, the brunette noted that some time must have passed since the sky grew darker and darker. "How long have I been in there?" She was taken out of her train of thought when a familiar robot voice spoke through her pocket.
"WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD." The app on her phone droned. As she exited the app, her phone displayed the time, instantly making her panic.
'It's this late?! I don't have any time left today! I have to go to the train station quick! The train should still be open!' She dashed to the train station, not even daring to look behind her.
~ 4-11, 20XX: Evening ~
"Dad, I'm home!" Shizu shouted into the well-furnished apartment. A deafening silence was her response. It was always the response. As she dropped her bags next to the door and walked to the kitchen, she spotted a note attached to the refrigerator. It was another note saying that her father would be late. The teen sighed and opened the fridge, finding dinner. After eating her meal alone, she went to her room. Laying on her bed after finishing her school work, she blankly stared at the ceiling.
'Help in the real world? How can I do that? I can barely say what I what to say out loud…' She soon fell asleep thinking about said questions and hoping that the next day will be better than the last.
~ 4-12, 20XX: Early Morning ~
Because of her class rep duties, Shizu had to arrive at school earlier than most of the students. As she began to walk towards the entrance of the Academy, she peered at the gates. In the other world, it was the limit to the castle. Very symbolic for Kamoshida. Behind the gate, everyone treated him as loyalty and obeyed his every command. But outside the school's reach, he was just an everyday citizen. The brunette glanced at the gate for one last time before entering the school and preparing the classroom for her fellow students.
~ 4-12, 20XX: After school ~
Compared to the day before, classes were extremely dull. After the hours slowly passed by, class was dismissed for the day. Students eagerly left their respective classrooms as they prepared to do their after school jobs or return home to study. The hall was full of buzzing students when Shizu entered. She noted that near the stairwell, Kamoshida was speaking with Ann Takamaki, a half-japanese girl that apparently modeled during her free time. It was obvious that the blonde didn't want to be near the gym teacher, so the class rep decided to rescue the model from the unwanted conversation.
"No thanks, I have plans for today." Ann answered with hesitation. She really seemed desperate to leave Kamoshida and escape his grasps. Kamoshida didn't seem to notice the model's distress and appeared to try to coerce Takamaki into doing something she didn't want to do.
"I'm sorry Kamoshida-sensei, but I promised that I helped Ann today with her math. We're supposed to meet up for a study group right after school." She beamed and leaned on Ann's shoulder, silently urging Takamaki to get the hint.
"Oh right! I almost forgot. Sorry, Yukimura-san!" Her acting and tone were really hammy, and Shizu hoped that the volleyball coach would overlook it. But it appeared that he did with his next response.
"It's okay, Class Rep-san. Things do happen. You can come to me if you guys have any problems, alright?" His face grew softer as he spoke to the brunette. He then turned to face Takamaki-san. "I guess that I'll talk to you later, Takamaki-san."
Shizu firmly grasped Takamaki-san's wrist and pulled her away from the imposing teacher. After walking far enough that the gym teacher was out of sight and earshot, Shizu let go of the blonde's wrist.
"Are you alright, Takamaki-san? You didn't look okay near him." Her eyes were full of worry for the blonde and she didn't want to think about what would have happened if she left the teen alone with the teacher.
"I'm alright now, Yukimura-san. And thank you. You got me out of a… complicated conversation. So you don't have to call me Takamaki-san. It makes me feel old. Call me Ann." Takamaki-sa… no… Ann was relieved that she didn't have to be near the gym coach for at least the rest of the day.
"If I can call you Ann, then can you call me Shizu?" The brunette whispered, somewhat afraid of hearing Ann's response.
"Sure, Shizu." Ann's grin made Shizu let out a sigh of relief. There were now two people she could truly be herself around.
"Can I sit next to you for the rally tomorrow? Shiho, my other friend, is on the team and can't be with me." It looked like Ann didn't have many friends. Maybe her foreign appearance pushed people away? And the rumors about her and Kamoshida did paint her in a negative light. But Shizu knew better than to believe rumors and judge people based on the opinion of others.
"I'd be happy to, Ann. I don't want to be alone either." The other girl quickly agreed and the pair escorted each other out of the building, making sure that if Kamoshida was watching, then he wouldn't know about their lie.
~ 4-13, 20XX: Early Morning
'Today's the volleyball rally. Or another way to inflate Kamoshida's attitude.' Shizu sighed as she approached the school. 'Why do class reps have to come to school early for rallies? It's at the end of the day, so why do we set up now?' As she internally complained, she helped the other reps set up the gym for the event. They erected the twin poles, attached the net to said poles, set up the score boards for each team, set up the chairs for members of the volleyball team, and aligned the platform for the referee to stand on. Luckily, preparations ended before class began. So the class reps tiredly walked to their classrooms to set it up for the rest of the students. After that boring process of setting down chairs and making sure the classroom is clean, Shizu plopped down in her seat and yawned. She was not ready for the incoming day.
~ 4-13, 20XX: Volleyball Rally ~
As the students of Shujin Academy shuffled into the gym, Shizu spotted Ann waving her hand and patting the chair next to her. With a small smile, Shizu approached the teen and sat down next to her.
"Are you ready for this unfair tournament? It's obvious that the staff will win." Shizu asked to Ann. The brunette really didn't want to be there. She'd rather he in the principal's office explaining why Sakamoto-san skipped another class period then be stuck cheering on Kamoshida.
"I know, right? It's like the only purpose for these rallies is to stroke Kamoshida-sensei's already inflated ego before the tournament!" It seems like Shizu wasn't the only one in the school that noticed Kamoshida's personality.
As the game began with the staff easily beating the students with the help of Kamoshida, Shizu spotted Sakamoto-san and Kurusu-san on the opposite side of the gym. It seemed that they also weren't interested in the game. The game itself was just as one sided as Shizu expected it to be. Of course the staff was winning while the students were being crushed. Shizu would have almost blanked out if it wasn't for what happened next.
After being egged on by the staff after winning a point for their team, the gym teacher decided to serve again, not noticing or caring about the students he was playing against that were obviously fatigued. Kamoshida served the ball again, but he spiked it with an intense ferocity into a student's face. Blood flowed from the student's nose as he went down. The gym was filled with gasps of concern as Kamoshida crossed the net to inspect the student lying prone on the ground. Without a moment of hesitation, Kamoshida handed the boy to another student and continues the game without pause. But not before turning to her and Ann, leering with possessive eyes. Anger bubbled inside of Shizu as she clenched her fists.
'He didn't even stop the game… Does he really not care about the wellbeing of his students?' She angrily asked to herself, already knowing the answer. 'He doesn't care about them. He only cares about himself. And no one else would raise the alarm about it. So his ego gets bigger and bigger...'
After the rally, Shizu said her goodbyes to Ann and rushed to the nurse's office, hoping that the injured boy was still there. As she entered the nurse's office, she saw the injured student sitting up in a cot, looking rather dejectedly. The school nurse was nowhere in sight. Shizu wanted to snap the poor boy of his trance quickly.
"Are you okay? You were hit quite hard." Her words did in fact cause the teen to notice her, but he responded him a brief manner.
"I'm fine." He didn't seem fine. He really didn't want to speak with her. So she decided to try to get him to open up more.
"I haven't seen you around school. What's your name?" Basic question, but then it can open into more complex ones.
"My name is Yuuki Mishima… And I already know about you, Yukimura-sempai. You're a class rep for 2-E. And there are many rumors about you. I'm sure that they aren't true, though." She cocked an eyebrow, curious about what the other students thought of her.
'Great. More rumors that I haven't heard of. But I am curious to know what they are about…' Yuuki obviously knew more about them and no matter how uncomfortable it makes him, she would make him tell them to me.
"Can you tell them to me? I don't know of them. I'd rather you tell me now then someone giving me a back handed insult that I wouldn't understand." The two students stared at each other. One mentally coaxing the other to reveal the hidden sayings. After what felt like hours, the latter student broke first.
"Well… the rumors say that the only reason that you're a class rep is because Kamoshida persuaded the other teachers to let you be one." That wasn't too bad, but Yuuki seemed reluctant to say the second part of the rumor. He looked around the room, avoiding eye contact. "And that you sleep with him as payment… More rumors say that you sleep with your other teachers for good grades..."
Shizu's face grew red. But not from embarrassment, but from near-blinding anger.
All those jeering gazes from some of the other students and Kamoshida's smug smiles finally made sense. There was no doubt in her mind that Kamoshida himself spread those rumors. If everyone stayed away from her, then the only person that she could be able to approach would be him. And he would let her in with open arms. The thought of Kamoshida doing this so he could get her made her sick to her stomach. She reached for an ice pack and handed it to him.
"Thanks, Yuuki-san. You helped me today. I hope you fully recover." She thanked him and exited the sterile office.
As she walked out of the room, Kamoshida appeared from a corner. 'The staff must have won the match.' She noted. 'As if the students even had a chance…' He looked surprised that she even visited the boy. Like he was sure that no one would attempt to see the injured student.
"Oh. You went to see Mishima-kun? That's so nice of you. I bet he enjoyed your company." While he was smiling, his eyes told a different story. They seemed angry, as if she wasn't supposed to be there.
"I just wanted to make sure that he's okay. He didn't seem fine when he left the gym." She needed to get away from Kamoshida. Now.
"He's taken harder hits in practice. He's fine." He placed one of his hands on her head, as if coaxing her to believe his lies. She internally grimaced as he began to stroke her hair. No one was allowed to touch it. Not after that incident... She jerked away from his touch and quickly bowed.
"Sorry Kamoshida-sensei, but I need to report for my duties. I'll see you later." She walked in the general direction of the stairs and waited for Kamoshida to enter the school clinic. After hearing the door close, she quietly rushed towards the door, leaning her ear on the door so she could hear the conversation.
"I thought I told you and the rest of the volleyball team to stay away from them!" Kamoshida's voice could be heard through the door. "Did you tell her anything?" Yuuki-san's response was muffled, but the resulting slap was clear as day. She flinched at the sound and almost backed away from the door, but she owed it to Yuuki-san to help him anyway she could.
"Not that she, or anyone else for that matter, would believe you. Just one word from you and I can boot you from the team. And your parents wouldn't like if you couldn't put this team on your college application." That was all it took for her to back away from the door. She quietly walked to her class and began to clean, not noticing the stares from other students. She blankly cleaned the classroom as she thought about the situation that she uncovered. Blackmail and abuse could be a deadly combination. And she wasn't going to allow anyone to fall victim to it. She just needed proof.