Hey Guys, Flipkicks here an today I bring you all is a new chapter for "Persona 5", thank you guys for checking out the story and letting me know what you all thought of the previous chapter.
Also, there will be a new Persona 5 subseries: P5 The Royal. While I don't know what the plot is yet but it features a new character and I may possibly add her into the story since she is part of the P5 story.
0: The Fool Arcana: Igor
I. The Magician Arcana: Morgana
II. The Priestess Arcana: Makoto Niijima
III. The Empress Arcana: Haru Okumura
IV. The Emperor Arcana: Yusuke Kitagawa
V. Hierophant Arcana: Sojiro Sakura
VI. The Lovers Arcana: Ann Takamaki
VII. The Chariot Arcana: Ryuji Sakamoto
VIII. Strength Arcana: Caroline and Justine
IX. The Hermit Arcana: Futaba Sakura
X. The Fortune Arcana: Chihaya Mifune
XI. The Justice Arcana: Goro Akechi
XIII. The Hangman Arcana: Munehisa Iwai
XIV. Death Arcana: Tae Takemi
iXV. The Temperance Arcana: Sadayo Kawakami
XVI: The Devil Arcana: Ichiko Ohya
XVII. The Tower Arcana: Shinya Oda
XVIII. The Star Arcana: Hifumi Togo
XIX. The Moon Arcana: Yuuki Mishima
XX. The Sun Arcana: Toranosuke Yoshida
XXI. The Aeon Arcana: Tatsuki Arisawa
XXII. The Hunger Arcana:
XXIII: Judgement Arcana: Sae Niijima
XXIII: The World Arcana.
I do not own any of the characters in the story.
Present Day
Interrogation Room
"A Persona?"
"The aspect of someone's character that is presented to or perceived by others or a role or character adopted by an author or an actor." Ichigo answers her question, "Because of me exploring that world for maybe an hour or two at best and facing cognitive versions of pass targets. While trying to get out of that world and trying to survive, my colleagues and I awoken our Personas."
Sae would end up jotting that down in her notes.
"While my friend's Personas are all based on known figures from Azrael, Captain Kidd, Johanna, Zoro, Carmen, Goemon, Necronomicon, Milday, and Adler."
Sae again jotting down all these names down and she remembers something, "Adler...that name sound familiar..."
"Irene Adler, a fictional character known in novels with Detective Sherlock Holmes." He replies to her while trying to think straight, "Again, our Personas are based on known thieves, outlaws, hell even an opera singer throughout history and fictional."
"But you say your Personas are all based on something real but yours isn't," Sae stated and continues, "Your Persona, Azrael, is more of a religious factor in Judaism. Why is that?" She actually finds this fascinating. Normally this case sounds way too nonsense but this has been going on for an entire year. This entire year has been crazy with the Phantom Thieves changing the hearts of all their specific targets.
"I honestly don't know as to why that is..." He answers her while again trying to clear his head, "I'm surprised that you know some knowledge of my Persona."
"It was something I had to look up during my earlier years when I was starting out. Some psychopaths would use religious icons to point out their source for motivation or in the matter."
"I see..."
"Anyway, continuing on, after 'exploring' the castle, you and your colleagues would return to school I presume?" Ichigo nods his head to her question, "Was everything somewhat normal?"
"Not really..." He clears his throat and continues, "After being late, Skull, Rider and I still would find ourselves 'needing' to go into the Metaverse and finding out as to why we see these cognitive selves."
"Needing?" She raises an eyebrow to his statement.
"When Skull, Rider and I saw this cognitive version of Kamoshida and how bad his influence was, we ended up going back to make sure his 'bad heart' has changed"
"The change of heart."
Ichigo nods his head and continues, "While I haven't gotten to how we change the hearts of our targets, it is important for you to know."
"Really?" She raises an eyebrow to his words, "Is this your own words or rather the truth serum?"
"Perhaps both."
She would take what she knows and try to figure out this 'metaverse' world that he spoke of just a few moments ago but then again, there isn't a piece of hard evidence that there is such world exists and is only the possible idea of someone who is deranged or drugged in this case.
"You said that Kamoshida has this Palace, within the cognitive world. Mind sharing that?"
"A Palace is a manifestation of "distortion", strong negative and corrupt thoughts that warp the perceptions of people into a hazard for themselves and others. Each of our targets has or had a palace only with the right keywords."
"Keywords?" She begins jotting what he has said so far down on her notes, "So each of your targets like Kamoshida had keywords to enter said palace?"
"Yup. Kamoshida's keywords where I believe a 'King' in the 'Castle'. Since he was a former Olympic athlete of the Volleyball team for Japan a few years back and turned into the coach for Shujin Academy. All the teachers praised him, hence the word 'King'. He was the golden star of our school before I exposed him for his lustful, overworking of a teacher that he really is. Not only did he would try to make sexual advantages towards the female students, but he would also try to expel students that he dislikes. Hell, I was on his shit list because of me being late on my first day to even having some conversations with Panther, who I will bring up in a bit."
"Seems you made quite the impression on him." She added but Ichigo waves it off.
"I was just trying to make things easier for myself for most of my school life but Kamoshida ended up spreading rumors of me so that people would try to say some nasty stuff towards my way." Ichigo stated to her, "Since there were already rumors of myself arriving at Shujin Academy as a juvenile and if I were to get into trouble, I'll be sent to jail."
"Too which you are in right now." She says with a sad smile, "I've read your file before coming here. You came here last March to start fresh and get over your record before you can go back to Karakura Town.
"So, continuing on..."
"After we got managed to get out of that cell, Rider, Skull and I would find...an interesting helper."
Back with Ichigo and Co.
With the Kamoshina(?) stuck in a cell, the trio had to Jump over streams of water in this porn loving castle wasn't the weirdest thing they had seen today. Nor was the cages of screaming captives or rather students.
"Hey!"
"You guys say something?" Ichigo asks both of them but they shake their heads.
"Wasn't me," Ryuji stated first.
"Not me either," Tatsuki replies
"Uh...here!" They turn their attention to It was a talking monster cat.
"Holy Crap!" They all couldn't believe it. Not in a million years would they be able to talk to a talking cat.
"A Talking cat!" Ryuji pointed at the 'cat'?
"I'm not a talking cat!"
"Still not convincing us..." Ichigo pointed out as they are still in shock to see and hear this 'cat' talk.
The conversation would take a couple of minutes of banter between Ryuji and "How many times do I have to tell you! I am NOT a cat!"
Correction- the talking monster that's not a cat. This first day was certainly going down in the record books for all three of them. Along the way of searching for a way out, they came across some sort of cat-like creature. It was imprisoned and begged them to release him. With incoming guards on the way, he chooses to release him in exchange for showing them out.
"Are you sure this ain't some trap cat?" Ryuji asks. He was very suspicious of the creature since they let it go, but who could blame him? They were seemingly trapped in a strange world. Everything is not as it seems. But he didn't have to keep aggravating it...
"For the last time, I am Morgana! NOT a cat Blondie."
"Blondie!?"
Morgana sighed and gave Ichigo a sympathetic look.
"I don't know how you tolerated this idiot, Orange."
"Orange?" Ichigo took offended by that nickname.
"Let's just keep moving. The last thing we need is to encounter more of Kamoshida's guards." He warned.
The two heeded his words but it was futile. By the next corridor, another hulking guard came straight towards them.
"Oh shit! It's another one of them!" Ryuji pointed out.
Ichigo stepped forward, determined to protect them. His clothes once again transformed. Morgana seemed to have other plans. He jumped ahead of the two of them without a second of hesitation.
"You amateur. Zorro!" The light blinded them as a large black figure wielding a rapier emerged above Morgana. The cat glanced at Ichigo with interest.
"You look like you can fight. Come, we shall promptly shut them up."
He nodded and followed suit, summon Azrael to aid him in battle. It was strange to see such a small creature wield a sword so nimbly, but he got the job done. His wind attacks knocked down the shadow easily so the fight didn't last too long.
As soon as the shadows were destroyed, he clothing reverted back to normal once more.
"Seems like you don't have full control over your powers yet. The transformation usually doesn't dissolve like that." Morgana said.
"What? That crap doesn't make any sense!" Ryuji groaned.
"Grrr! Can't you just sit still and listen Blondie?"
"Stop callin' me Blondie! My name's Ryuji."
Ichigo could feel the level of annoyance grow at the two. There was really no time for this nonsense.
"Hey! We have more important things to be doing." Tatsuki says to both Ryuji and Morgana.
"You're right. We need to get you guys out of here." Morgana
"Before we go, here. You never know when you'll need it."
Morgana pushed medicine into her hands, to which she immediately pocketed.
"Let's go."
The teens followed Morgana upstairs and down some corridors until Ryuji asked them to stop. He stared into the bars of one of the cages. A boy in a red uniform was sprawled on the floor inside.
"I saw those clothes before... Damn! I'm so flustered that I can't remember." He groaned.
"Come on, let's move." Morgana pushed.
"Hold on a sec! Who are these guys?" His questions seemed to irk Morgana.
"We don't have time for this. We need to move before-" Tatsuki was cut short when they heard,
"OVER THERE!" A Knight in red pointed at Ichigo and co and The bridge lowered with a thud, blowing dust towards them. Once it cleared, an armored soldier clamored towards them.
"You should've listened to me!" He yelled.
"Come on. Let's fight this thing." Ichigo said, transforming once more.
The feline grinned at the orange haired teen.
"You got guts. I like that."
Just like before, the Shadows didn't stand a chance with the combined power of Zorro and Arsene.
"Come on. Let's get out of here before more show up."
"Wait! We can't just leave these guys here."
"You really don't get it. Tch, I don't have time to explain.." Morgana sighs.
He frowned at Ryuji then turned towards the bridge.
"Do what you want, but I'm heading towards the exit."
Morgana disappeared quickly, leaving both Ichigo, Tatsuki, and Ryuji alone. He could see the conflict on his face. As much as she did want to do something, there wasn't much she could.
"Don't worry, we'll find a way to help them. But right now, we need to leave." He said.
He looked at her then back at the caged inhabitant.
"Dammit...I'm coming."
The two rush after Morgana and finally catch up to him. He wasn't too far ahead luckily. Maybe he was waiting for them? Nevertheless, they followed him all the way to the end of the hall.
"We're here," Morgana says, skidding to a stop.
"Finally! We're saved..." Ryuji sighs.
He looks around the area for a door, but when the knob turned it refused to open. His relief swiftly became confusion.
"Huh?"
He glared down at Morgana.
"D'you trick us, ya jerk?!"
Morgana didn't seem offended in the least and calmly replied.
"Don't jump to conclusions. Just follow me." Morgana pushed open the next door.
"Come on Ryuji," Tatsuki said, following after him.
"Hey, wait a sec!" He chased after the two, the door closing behind him. Inside were several shelves of books and an air duct. "Where are we supposed to get out?! There are not any windows!" Ryuji yells.
Morgana sighs in defeat. "Ugh, amateur..."
"What was that!?" Ryuji says in a ticked off tone.
Tatsuki pokes him in the shoulder then points to the air vent. "We can get out from there."
Morgana grins in approval. "That's it. I knew you were a natural." The cat praises her and so far, It's probably the only way that leads all the way outside.
"Got it. We just need to get the metal off. Hang on a sec." Ryuji climbs up to the vent and begins prying off the metal covering. In a few moments, it clanks to the ground, followed by Ryuji.
"Damn, that hurt..."
"I hope those guards didn't hear." She muttered to which Ryuji ignored her comment.
"We're seriously getting out of here.."
"You may want to hold off on celebrating until you get out of here," Morgana says.
"Right..."
They turned their attention to Morgana.
"Are you coming with us?" Ichigo asks the cat but it shook its head.
"There's still something I need to do. Now get going."
"Thank you, Morgana, don't get caught again."
Morgana looked away bashfully.
"Heh, you guys better be careful too." The Cat warns them.
"Come on, let's get out of here." Ryuji and Tatsuki nod their head and they climb up and crawls through the vent, closely followed by Ichigo. He could've sworn he heard the cat say something, but his thoughts were too occupied with escaping this strange place.
A bright light blinded her as she crawled on, and somehow she ended up standing. Beside her, Ryuji was struggling to catch his breath. It seemed they were standing in the middle of the street.
We made it out.
Before anyone could say anything, Ichigo's phone chimed in his pocket.
"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back." They all hear Ichigo's cellphone and they all raise an eyebrow.
"Huh? Returned?" Ryuji mumbled.
"So that was like another world? What was that place?" Ichigo mutters out loud and wonders about that world.
"I dunno what to think anymore..." He groans aloud.
A moment of silence passes before he explodes.
"What the hell was that!? Kamoshida! That castle! The cat!"
"Calm down, we shouldn't attract any-" Ichigo tries to calm down Ryuji but...
"What's with the yelling? Are you students at Shujin?" Two police officers strolled up to them.
"Crap." He groans as they approach them.
"Cutting class huh?"
Ichigo furiously shook his head in denial, but Ryuji seemed to have other ideas.
"Huh? No! We were trying to get there and then ended up at some weird castle!"
'Why in the name of hell would anyone believe that...' He hangs his head low. His thoughts rang true as neither officer took his words seriously. They even asked if they were taking drugs. Ichigo could only sigh as they were told nothing was different at Shujin Academy. She already had a feeling it would be like that.
"You don't want us to report you? Then I recommend you and your boyfriend hurry along to school."
"Hey! She's not-"
"Come on, let's go." Ryuji stared at ho, in disbelief as she began walking away.
"Oh come on!"
He didn't stand a chance with the cops alone so he ran after her. Once he caught up, the two made their way to Shujin. As they walked, Ryuji stole a glance at him and Tatsuki. "Is something wrong?" She asked.
"No, but..."
"But what?"
"Well you've been calling me Ryuji all this time and I don't even know both of your names..."
"Oh right." Ichigo really doesn't recall his name, "That's fine. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Ichigo huh? Well, that settles that. Nice to meet ya."
He grins at him and he can't help but have a small smile back.
Luckily, he had asked when he did. Their academy arrival was only a few minutes later. The school looked pretty normal; a stark contrast to the castle they were in earlier.
"Where have you two been?" A man in a suit quickly walked up to them. "We received a call from the police about two students skipping class."
"Damn cops snitched on us!" Ryuji frowned.
'Damn cops.'
"So where were you?" The man in the suit questions the three of them.
'Ryuji, please don't say it.' Tatsuki hoped that he wouldn't say anything.
"A castle?" He answers him unsurely.
"So you have no intention of telling the truth?" He said with a sigh.
"What's this about a castle?" The devil himself, Kamoshida, strode up. Seeing him closer now, the Kamoshida here and the perverted one were identical in appearance.
"Kamoshida?!" Ryuji yelled in surprise.
"You always do carefree Sakamoto. Quite different from when you devoted that time to the track team." The man sighed.
'Track team?' Ichigo raises an eyebrow.
"Shuddap! It's your fault that-"
"You dare raise your voice against Mr. Kamoshida!? There's not much leeway left for you." The suited man said.
'What's with this school? He's not that big of a deal. Is he?' Ichigo and Tatsuki wonder as to who that guy really is.
"He's the one that provoked me!"
"Do you really want to be expelled?!" He threatened.
'You can't expel someone for something like that!' Ichigo clutches his fists tightly at these adults trying to abuse their power.
Ichigo looked at Kamoshida. He seemed to be enjoying this little squabble. He eventually did end it, but Ryuji still ended up getting taken by the man in the suit. Leaving him and Tatsuki with Kamoshida.
His gaze was set on her.
"By the way, you're those new transfer students, right? Ichigo Kurosaki and Tatsuki Arisawa?"
"Yes, that's us."
He stood there in thought momentarily.
"You were there from earlier. I invited you both for a ride, remember?" He said with a smile.
"Oh yes, that was Us," Tatsuki answers him first.
"Anyway, I'll need both of you to head to the Faculty Office since you both arrived late," Kamoshida stated to both students and made his way towards the entrance, "Enjoy your first year here."
Present Day
He held his head delicately and looked at Sae. His face revealed all.
She doesn't believe me at all.
"So your school turned into a castle?" She glanced at her watch briefly. Her time was running. Alright, I'll let you continue your story."
She slides a file onto the table. A card, along with a photo of Kamoshida, were removed from it.
"He was your first target. While I agree ito indulge in his desires was a deplorable crime. He confessed to it all. But there was no way there was a connection between you two as you just transferred. Why did you target him?"
Ichigo mulled over the question. "I'll tell you later."
His answer was vexing enough for Sae to lose her composure. She took a breath and seated herself.
"That's unacceptable. Try harder to remember."
Ichigo nodded and closed his eyes.
Shujin Academy
Students were buzzing as she strode past them. It seems the entire school was talking about him and Tatsuki.
"Isn't that the transfer student?"
"Yeah. I heard she's got a criminal record."
"I heard she assaulted someone."
"No way. Is that true?"
'They're definitely talking about me. He sighed at the attention.
Unless there's another transfer student with a criminal record.
It wasn't difficult to find the office, but Ms. Kawakami didn't look very happy. In fact, irritated was probably the best way to describe the expression evident on her face. As soon as Ichigo walked in, she unleashed a tirade of exasperation onto her-to which Ichigo could only make feeble excuses.
Unfortunately, she saw through them quickly, and the only thing Ichigo could hope for was she didn't call Sojiro in a vain attempt to locate him or Tatsuki.
"More importantly, I heard you came in with that Sakamoto-kun." The teacher frowned.
Ichigo nodded in response. Wrong answer. Ms. Kawakami sighed and seemed to radiate a 'you just got here and you're already a disappointment' vibe.
"What do you mean by 'That Sakamoto-kun'?"
She shook her head then proceeded to warn him not to interact with him.
Why does it seem like everyone is against him? Did he do something stupid?
"He wasn't like that when he devoted himself to track and field." She mumbled.
Kawakami stood and began to gather her things.
"Anyway, lunch is almost over. Classes will end after 5th period due to another subway accident. You'll introduce yourself when class resumes."
Ichigo nodded and took a deep breath. This is what he was dreading the most. For some reason, he always hated standing in front of the class. But now it's ten times worse. With everyone already talking crap about him, if he didn't nail this he'd be a lost cause.
"Follow me."
He reluctantly followed after her. When Ms. Kawakami slid the door open, the whole class was already seated. As soon as he was spotted, conversations erupted amongst them. He stood in front of them and mulled over what to say. Kawakami had warned him in the hall not to say anything unnecessary.
'I'll just say my name and something nice.' He stated in his mind
He was so nervous that she didn't even hear what excuse Kawakami spun up to explain her absence. She barely heard her queue her to introduce herself.
"Hey, I'm Ichigo Kurosaki. Nice to meet you all."
Whispers flew around the room. He strained to listen, but he was too far. Kawakami pointed to an empty desk. To her surprise, the blonde girl from earlier sat right in front of her. Ichigo made his way down the row of seats.
"...Lies." he blinked in surprise at the blonde.
'Huh?' He then looks at her and recognizes her, 'Wait, she was from that car with him...' It was earlier in the day before he along with Tatsuki and Ryuji were in that castle.
Ichigo paid no mind and took his seat. He seemed aggravated so talking to her right then didn't seem to be the best decision. Once seated class began, but he could feel the stares of his fellow classmates. The whispers around him didn't help either.
'This is going to suck...'