Accomplice no more
17 April
Sadayo Kawakami had spent the last few days in a funk. Her mind kept replaying the video of Kamoshida's attempted rape on Shiho and the bitter taste of shame hadn't left her.
How could she? How could she still call herself a teacher after that? She had let this man, that monster abuse her students for so long! And why? Why had she remained inactive? Why hadn't she opposed the man when the abuse began? Why hadn't she brought the matter to Kobayakawa? She should have done something. Instead, she had simply stood and watched.
The memory of Takase came back. The boy had needed help, and she had given him help. She remembered her pride at the teen's improvement, to see his efforts rewarded and his situation getting better… until they had accused her of "playing favorites" and forced her to stop tutoring or resign as a teacher. Her decision had cost the boy his life. She had blood on her hands.
If Kamoshida had succeeded in raping Shiho, would she have tried to commit suicide? Would she have died? This would have been another student death that she could have avoided, had she done the right choice. But Shiho had lived, saved by the actions of another student.
She saw Kamoshida greeting students at Shujin's entrance. Cold rage brewed in her chest. Before she knew what was going on, her hand was stinging and the PE teacher had stumbled back.
"Kawakami-san, what was that for!?"
"You know what it was for." Sadayo said coldly. "Tell me, do you still have trouble sitting or has your ass recovered from being clawed by a cat? Yes, I know what you did. No need do play dumb, Suguru. And I hope you rot in hell."
From afar, Ryuji, Ren, Ann and Morgana had missed nothing of the scene.
"That was beautiful." Morgana purred.
"Dude." Ryuji grinned. "I have a newfound respect for your homeroom teacher."
Ann balled her fists.
"I wanted first blood."
Ren shrugged.
"About time the adults decided to do something about him. This doesn't change our plans. After school, we hit the castle. I retrieved the guns from the shop on the way."
"Yeah, they're in our bag. Best not have an inspection 'cause we're in trouble if the teachers find them. Those things look more real than the original."
They didn't have an inspection, and nearly everyone had caught Kawakami decking Kamoshida in the face. It was the talk of the school. Sadayo felt oddly satisfied with herself. She wasn't one to advocate violence, far from it. But everyone had a breaking point, and she had reached hers. Idly, she wondered how Ryuji and Ren were doing. If the video was anything to come by, they were gathering evidence on Kamoshida's abuse. She was curious to know how far they were into their plan.
So, quite naturally, as soon as classes were over, she decided to find them. She didn't expect them to gather in the alleyway facing the school, nor did she expect the air to shift when she got too close.
Then she turned to the school and gasped.
Gone was the school. The building before her was a castle, and three teens with a cartoonish cat had snuck in by the airshaft.
None of the thieves noticed their homeroom teacher had followed them into the Metaverse. Instead, as they headed to the airshaft, they explained to their new comrade how they worked and tried to find a code name for her.
"Let's see." Ren hummed. "Your costume is cat-themed."
"It's also neon red. So much for stealth!"
"Yes. That's going to be a problem…"
"It's also skin-tight and with a large window above the chest. Dayum…"
"Ryuji!"
"Sorry."
Ren smiled at the banter.
"Joke aside, you need a cat-themed codename. Or, at least, something based on felines…"
"Panther."
Ryuji and Ren looked at Ann.
"Panther?"
"Yes. I am not a cute kitty-cat, that would be Morgana. Panthers are huge, they are vicious and ferocious."
"I agree with the last two." Ryuji gulped. "I still remember how you roasted those Shadows when you got Carmen."
Morgana smiled.
"Alright, that's decided. Joker, Skull, Panther, let's infiltrate Kamoshida's castle."
As it turned, for someone with a bright red cat suit and high heels, Ann was surprisingly furtive. They crossed the armory, took their breath in the safe room, crossed the kitchens and went up a floor through a ruined staircase, going unnoticed all the way. Ren would lie to say he didn't enjoy it. Ryuji would lie to say he didn't like pulling a haymaker on the Shadows they couldn't avoid.
Morgana followed them with pride in his heart.
'My little thieves, they are growing so fast.'
As for Ann, she took her fun times robbing anything that looked remotely valuable and wasn't nailed down. Fortunately, their outfits' pockets were bottomless.
"What are you gonna do with that junk?" Ryuji eventually asked.
"I'm gonna pawn it, of course. More money's always welcome, right?"
"Right." Ren nodded. "Iwai, the owner of the airsoft shop, said he'd buy some of the loot we got. He didn't ask where it came from when I showed him, just how much he'd give."
"Then it's settled. Joker, once we're out, you sell back the loot."
They eventually stumbled upon a particularly precious treasure: a map of the castle. Ryuji took a cursory glance.
"Well, that settles it. The castle and Shujin got different layouts."
"The map is incomplete." Ren noted. "Bah, this will do for now. I don't expect to find the Treasure today. It's not like we're on a deadline."
"But the more we do the better." Ann retorted. "I'm itching to rip into Kamoshida."
Yes, Carmen echoed. This lustful monster treats women like outlets for his urges. Let us see how much he enjoys it when his victims strike back. Let him burn from a different flame than desire!
Ann grinned. She wholeheartedly agreed with her Persona. Captain Kidd must have heard her because his voice echoed as well.
Revenge is a dish best served cold, but a little heat is always welcome. Still, patience. It will do us no good to get hasty. Kamoshida will get his due, but we must be thorough in its preparation, least it doesn't become enjoyable enough.
Carmen meowed in annoyance, but didn't argue. Arsene chuckled.
I say we step aside and watch the show while they deal with Kamoshida. They have a personal grudge against him. Seeing them deliver sweet justice after working so hard for it shall be a sight for sore hearts.
In Morgana's head, Zorro sighed and smiled.
Kids. At least, they're fast learners.
"Let's explore until we find the next safe room." Ren compromised.
"Okay."
They found themselves on the second floor of the Central Hall. The path was blocked, but Morgana noticed a path up the rafters and on the chandeliers. Ren couldn't help but question the architecture.
"If he's trying to stop us from stealing his Treasure, he's doing a poor job." He noted as he found a new access point. "This castle is a sieve, in security and in design."
Ann grinned.
"His loss."
They found a safe room shortly after. The three teens stretched.
"So far so good. We found a new access point close to the safe room, so coming back there will be easy."
"Still." Ann hummed as she watched the map. "We got a whole wing to explore. You're sure you want to stop now?"
Ren closed his eyes, weighting the pros and cons. On one hand, he wanted to be cautious and pace himself. They had time. On the other, he didn't feel tired. In fact, he was even eager to dive further into the castle. He hadn't managed to free any of the Shadows he'd met, being forced to slay them as they swore their allegiance to Kamoshida, and it saddened him greatly.
He was about to make his mind when he heard a scream of pain. The voice was familiar, somehow…
"You… monster…"
He and Ann looked at one another.
"Sensei!"
Down the Hall, Sadayo was still not regretting her decision. The moving armors had given her a beating and the golden-eyed alter-ego of Kamoshida was towering above her, but she had no regret. She had explored the castle as well, stumbling upon the volleyball slaves and the room with the female volleyball players. She didn't know how it was related to her coworker, but it disgusted her to no end. She glared at the man.
"You are a monster, Kamoshida. I said it before and I will say it again. Kobayakawa made a mistake when he hired you."
"Silence, wench! I am the king of Shujin. I do within its walls as I see fit."
"You are not a king! You barely even deserve to be called human. I don't know what this place is to you but – Gah!"
The teacher held her stomach. Kamoshida had violently kicked her and the strength had sent her reeling.
"Kill that eyesore. Anyone who contests my authority shall die."
"Die…" Sadayo winced. "As Sakamoto did?"
"Yes. The foolish monkey got in my way and I killed him for it. Such is the fate that awaits all those who cross my path."
Sadayo struggled to rise.
"Then I shall die as well… but not without a fight. I already lost a student out of cowardice. I refuse to let my students suffer without doing something to protect them!"
An armor went to her, sword in hand. She took one of her shoes. No matter how flimsy the weapon felt, it was still better than her bare hands. She prepared to strike…
A bladed heel tore through the armor, turning it into red and black goop. A teenager in black longcoat jumped to her side.
"Sensei, are you alright?"
The voice was familiar. She looked at the teen's face. Messy black hairs, grey eyes… Even though he was wearing a mask, she could still recognize her student.
"Amamiya-kun?"
Ren turned to his Persona.
"Arsene, ravage them! Show no mercy!"
Arsene grinned dangerously. An armor exploded into a two-horned horse, only to be dissolved into goop by a burst of lightning from a boat-riding pirate.
"Blast off, Captain!" Ryuji roared as he jumped to the floor.
Captain Kidd went to Arsene's side. The pair began methodically shooting down Shadows, soon joined by a cat-woman in black. Ann leaped to the boys' side.
"Dance, Carmen! Burn them to ashes!"
Carmen laughed. Sadayo watched as a cartoonish cat joined them, calling the power of a top-heavy swashbuckler.
"Slice and dice, Zorro!"
Sadayo recognized them. The boy in the longcoat was Ren. The skull-masked biker was Ryuji. The cat burglar in red was Ann. The three teens were fighting the Shadows with reckless passion as Kamoshida backed away, growing more and more scared. The teacher shook her head.
"Once again, my students are doing my job for me. And, once again, there's nothing I can do about it. This is starting to get old."
"Except, this time you're genuinely powerless, Sensei." Ren dryly noted. "At school, you can do something. Not here. This place isn't the school, not really. This place is where we work to make Kamoshida pay."
Sadayo balled her fists.
"Well, I have enough of it."
Ren was about to retort something when he noticed the blue flames surrounding the teacher.
"Everyone, back off! She's Awakening her Persona!"
"What?" Ryuji turned to the teacher, taken aback. "Kawakami-sensei's got one too!?"
Sadayo didn't hear him. All she heard was a voice in her head and the violent pain that shot through her body, as if her very nerves were on fire.
About time you stopped telling yourself lies, the voice echoed harshly. How long were you going to let this stand? You knew what he was doing was wrong, yet you said nothing and watched, watched as he tore your students apart, as he broke their bodies and their hearts. All the while telling yourself stories about being powerless, about it being the way of things. Do you still believe it?
"No…" Sadayo panted. "Not anymore."
Good. Now that your eyes have opened, we can finally make a deal. I am thou, thou art I. No more standing on the sidelines making excuses for yourself. You have the means to end it, the means to atone for the student you lost. No more telling stories. It is time you faced the truth and took matters in your hands, as you should have done from the start!
A veil of bronze scales appeared on her face, covering her now-golden eyes and her nose. She ripped it off, taking the time to feel the thick red liquid cover her face.
"I have blood on my hands… Takase, forgive me. My being passive ends today."
A blue pyre engulfed her. When it faded, rather than her yellow shirt and denim skirt, she was wearing dark brown pants and leather sandals, with a black bolero that showed her midriff and covered her arms and thorax. Her gloves were an ochre color.
In her back, her Persona was sitting lazily, a book in hand. She looked like a Persian princess, with her long ponytail, oriental slippers, white top and beige hammer pants. Her face was covered below the eyes by a scale veil, the same that served as Sadayo's mask.
"I won't be accomplice by inaction anymore." The woman said coldly. "From now on, if I have the power to protect someone, I will. Now, Scheherazade, let us stop this monster of a man."
Scheherazade laughed.
Right. Enough chit-chat. Time to let your fists do the talking!
Sadayo drew her weapons, two swords sheathed in her back. The sound of metal ringing echoed across the room. She didn't say a word as she walked toward Kamoshida. She didn't speak when a Shadow stood in her path and was cut down without a flinch. Another tried to get her from behind, only to be impaled by a stone pike. Scheherazade grinned, a hand extending from her book. More Shadows came and were pierced by the stone spikes the Persona summoned. Finally, the teacher reached the Shadow king. Kamoshida gulped…
Sadayo sheathed her swords and punched the entity as hard as she could.
"Let's get out of this place. I'm starting to feel tired."
"Awakening your Persona is always exhausting, Sensei." Ren explained. "Come with us. We know the exit."
They left the castle by the airshaft. From there, they left the Metaverse altogether. Sadayo fell in the first bench she found.
"What was this place? And who was that golden-eyed Kamoshida? I knew he was horrible, but what I've seen in that castle…"
"Is how Kamoshida perceives Shujin."
Sadayo turned to Ren.
"What?"
The teen explained.
"The place you visited is called the Metaverse. It is a realm parallel to ours, shaped by the hearts of all of mankind. When a particularly strong heart becomes twisted by desire, it creates a Palace, a place akin to the castle we visited. The Palace is ruled by the Shadow of the man who created it, the darker, nastier side of a person they keep hidden or that they are unaware of."
Sadayo nodded.
"So… that golden-eyed Kamoshida was in fact Kamoshida's dark side, so to speak."
"Pretty much."
Sadayo bit her lip.
"I knew it. This man is a monster. How do we take him down?"
"That's what we were working on." Ann sighed. "We need to steal the source of the corruption, the thing in Kamoshida's heart that keeps twisting his desires. In a way, it's like cancer, except it corrupts the heart rather than the body."
"Once the source of the corruption is stolen, Kamoshida's heart will stop being so twisted. He will feel intense guilt for his actions and surrender himself to the authorities."
The teacher nodded.
"This sounds like a plan. If it works, Kamoshida will give himself on his own. I like that thought."
"Still." Ryuji crossed his arms. "It doesn't explain how Sensei got into the Metaverse. You used an app, or…"
"I was going to ask what you had in mind to deal with Kamoshida. Ren-kun showed me the video about Shiho's rape attempt. I guessed you were planning something and, now I'd set my mind, I was going to find you and ask you how I could help. I noticed you standing in an alleyway, but when I got close, the air shifted and I found myself in this place."
"You got too close." Ren understood. "The same happened to Ann. I'm sorry we didn't notice you sooner. We were a bit too excited about exploring the castle."
Sadayo nodded.
"I did a bit of exploring on my side. There was something off with this place and I wanted to get to the bottom of it. I got into the dungeons… I saw the members of the volleyball team, and the girls as well. How much of this is real?"
"Did you try to interact with them?"
"No. I remained hidden as long as I could. They only found me when I spent too long being shocked at the sight of the volleyball girls being so indecent."
"I see. Well, for your information, we and Kamoshida's Shadow, his dark side, are the only "real" people in this Palace. Everyone else is sort of an illusion. They are how Kamoshida perceives the others to be."
"They are how he sees them… Slaves and whores. This man is absolutely disgusting. Scheherazade was right, I should have acted sooner."
Ann smiled kindly.
"You can act now, Sensei. You have a Persona, your True Self, so to speak. You can accompany us without fearing the Palace's threats."
Sadayo closed her eyes.
"Stealing Kamoshida's desires to force his guild and drive him to confess…. I like this plan."
"We were originally going to record his abuse and post it online." Ryuji admitted. "We still got the idea, just in case. But, right now, the Palace's our priority."
The teacher nodded. The teens had a backup plan in case things went wrong. This was clever.
"There's more to it, but we will explain the rest tomorrow." Ren offered. "Right now, you must be tired, Sensei. Let's go our way and take some rest."
"When's the next meeting?"
"Tomorrow, after school. We have a hideout on the rooftop, but when we go exploring the Palace, we begin in the alleyway. We just found an entry point close to the area we haven't explored yet."
Sadayo nodded.
"Then we will meet again tomorrow after class."
18 April
Ren and Ann had a test with Mr. Hiruta, the biology teacher. The man gave them an optical illusion, something that almost made Ren laugh. He had an entire book on the matter at home, with said book including stereogram. He had always loved the way the pictures created three-dimensional scenes on a simple paper sheet.
Class ended, and the thieves gathered in the alleyway. Sadayo had found the strange red and black eye-shaped app, the Meta-Nav that allowed the teens to enter the Metaverse. As she watched them gather, she noticed the cute cat peeking from Ren's bag. The boy turned to her.
"Ready, Sensei?"
"Ready."
The air shifted around them and the thieves found themselves before the castle. Ryuji looked at her.
"Sensei sure looks nice in these clothes. Reminds me a bit of the Arabian princesses in movies."
"According to the tales…" Sadayo explained. "Scheherazade was the author of the Arabian Nights, and a princess who prevented her demented husband from killing her by telling him a story every night. This is why another name for those tales is One Thousand and One Days and Nights, because this is how long it took her to run out of stories. By then, her husband had truly fallen for her and chose to spare her life." The teacher sighed. "A Persona based on a character known for telling tales. Quite fitting for someone who lied to herself for so long!"
Ren smiled.
"She tricked her husband into sparing her by telling him stories for a thousand days and nights. Your True Self is clever and courageous. Now… you need a codename."
"A codename?"
"The Palace is Kamoshida's subconscious." Morgana explained. "He isn't aware of what's going on in it, but best be cautious and not mention our names. This is simple safety."
"Asura, then."
The thieves turned to the teacher.
"Asura? Why that?"
"In Buddhism…" The teacher explained. "Asuras are the reincarnation of people who, in life, had good intentions but ended harming others. Just like them, I wanted to help students but ended hurting them through my actions."
Ann nodded.
"I didn't know you were knowledgeable in religion, Sensei."
"I had an interest when I was young. I'm not much of a believer nowadays, but some things I still remember. So, shall we go? And what is that strange creature?"
She looked at Morgana, who crossed his arms. Ren explained.
"This is Morgana, codename Mona. Outside the Metaverse, he appears as a regular cat and lives with me as a pet. In the Metaverse, he serves as our guide and teacher."
"Oh. That's why he was in your bag. His Earth form is cute…. and wait, he's the one who rescued Shiho!"
"Yes." Morgana licked his lips. "I am quite proud of how Kamoshida screamed when I bit his rear. The bastard."
Sadayo smiled.
"Clever kitty. Alright, shall we go?"
"Yes." Ren smiled. "Skull, Panther, Mona, Asura, this way, please."
And so, Sadayo found herself sneaking in her colleague's subconscious alongside three of her students, all the while being taught the art of stealth and fighting by a magical cat. It was so surreal she wondered how it would sell as a novel.
Their target for the day was the West Wing. They walked the corridors until they reached a dining room. Sadayo had to admit, the place was pretty. What was less was the looks of some of the Shadows. They managed to catch one by surprise, a green-haired lady that Ryuji knocked with a burst of lightning. The thieves stood around her, gun in hand.
Sadayo had been given a crossbow, the shape of the bolts reminding Ren of Scheherazade's earth spikes. He had first wanted to go for a bow, but the airsoft shop sold firearms, and crossbows stood halfway between bow and gun. So, the teacher held her weapon at the Shadow's head. The creature begged.
"Please, spare me! I will do anything you wish!"
"I'll consider it." Ren said, thoughtful. "Who are you?"
"I… don't remember. I have always lived in this castle, serving lord Kamoshida. Why do you ask?"
"I wanted to know. How devoted are you to your lord?"
The Shadow groaned.
"I hate the way he looks at me, like I am some piece of meat! Lustful bastard! Wait… Lust…"
Ren grinned. The Shadow's eyes widened.
"Lust… I remember. A strong desire for women, like the glow of a lighthouse. It… lured me there…"
"Yes. You don't come from this castle. You were lured and trapped."
"Yes… Yes! I remember! I was wandering the Sea of Souls when the powerful emotions of this place lured me there. Then the power of the ruler trapped me and twisted me! But not anymore. I am Silky. And you… You are a Wild Card. I heard about people like you. Thank you for freeing me, Wild Card. My power shall be yours from now on."
In a flash of blue light, the spirit merged with Ren's mask and joined Pixie and Arsene. The teen breathed.
"At last."
Sadayo looked at him. Ryuji explained.
"Joker's a Wild Card, someone who can use spirits for partners alongside his Persona. To spirits, a Wild Card's a pretty important person. Also, because spirits are sentient like we are, we try to talk them down and free them from the Palace's corruption whenever we can. But some… They're too twisted. They can't be reasoned with. So we're forced to off them."
"We tried to do it when we snuck in yesterday, but none of the spirits responded." Ann sighed. "Silky is the first spirit we manage to free from the Palace's corruption."
Sadayo nodded. She understood, and was even impressed by Ren's ability.
"It sure is a useful trick."
They managed to free another spirit shortly afterwards, Kelpie, as they crossed the kitchen. The door in the cellar was locked, but Morgana noticed an airshaft atop some shelves. It led past the cellar and into a corridor that took them to the third floor. They caught their breath in a safe room.
"Of course, a classroom is safe." Sadayo dryly noted. "Kamoshida is a PE teacher. This is the place where his influence is at its weakest."
The corridors led to an assortment of small libraries. Arsene immediately sensed some of the books were special.
Take these. I sense a feeling of relevance from them. They mean something to Kamoshida.
Ren didn't argue. Arsene was a part of him. He had everything to gain listening to him. So he took the book, titled the Slave Book, and found two others, the Queen Book and the King Book. They also found a switch that required a key to activate.
"I played video games before." Ryuji grinned. "I bet the key's hidden in a secret room in another part of the castle."
"Like… a library?" Ann offered. "Because we just found one."
"Yeah, like a library. There's always stuff like hidden mechanisms and the likes. And besides, we found weird books earlier."
Sadayo frowned.
"I read them a little. The Slave Book is about the students of Shujin, the Queen Book is about the girls and especially Ann while the King Book is about Kamoshida. For the sake of your sleep, I'll spare you the details."
The three teens looked at one another, pale.
"Okay, Sensei. We trust you."
They looked at the bookshelves, searching for anything that might serve as a clue. Eventually, they did.
"Here!" Ann called. "I found an empty spot in the shelf dedicated to the girls."
"Try putting the Queen Book there." Sadayo suggested. "I got a hunch."
They put the Queen Book in the section dedicated to girls, the Slave Book in the section dedicated to students and the King Book in the section dedicated to Kamoshida. The teacher's hunch was right. A bookshelf slid to reveal a new room. The group took a look… and jumped in reflexive horror.
"A stalker shrine!?" Sadayo gasped. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Because that's totally in-character for that bastard." Ren growled. "By the looks of it, it is dedicated to Shiho."
He turned to Ann, who was frozen like a deer in the headlights. Ryuji took her hand and massaged it gently.
"We'll make him pay. Don't worry, we'll make him pay."
"Yes." The girl uttered between breaths. "We have to."
Morgana shook his head.
"This man is truly despicable. I have no regret for what we are doing."
They found they key they were looking for, as well as a map. Sadayo looked at the item.
"A gold medal. Kamoshida is a former Olympic medalist. Of course, a medal would make a fine "pass" to move in his castle."
Along with the medal, the map showed the rest of the castle, including the place where the Treasure was held.
"We're halfway there." Morgana noted. "By the looks of it, the Treasure's atop a tower."
Ren looked at the group.
"How does everyone feel?"
"We can keep going."
"Then let's."
The next area they visited was a chapel. As they stepped in, the real world and the Metaverse superimposed, revealing the place to be a gym. Sadayo shook her head.
"The gym is where Kamoshida's influence is at its strongest. This, more than any other place, is the area most under his authority. Of course, it would be sacred to him."
Ren grabbed his knife.
"A sacred place to him and no enemy in sight? I have a bad feeling about this. Everyone, be on your guard. Something tells me trouble's on the way."
Every thief drew their weapon. They didn't have to wait long. A voice echoed in the air.
"So, you are the ones who tempered with the library. It seems my time waiting here has paid off."
An armored angel with red wings appeared. It towered above the ground, green eyes glowing threateningly.
"As the wench said – Gah!'
They didn't let him finish his sentence. Arsene, Zorro, Captain Kidd, Carmen and Scheherazade unleashed their magical might, pummeling the Shadow into submission. Ren finished it with a bullet in the head.
"If it was to call us names and belittle us, thank you, we know. It's always the same tune, so let's not waste time with that. We have a Treasure to find."
"I say we start with looking for an exit." Morgana suggested. "The chapel looks like a dead-end."
Once again, it was Ryuji who found the way out. There was some climbing to do and the thieves had to hold the urge to demolish the statue of Kamoshida that stood proudly in the room, but after jumping atop pillars and on platforms high above the ground, they finally found the way to the tower in which the Treasure was located.
The sole problem was a large section of open ground that was patrolled by armored guards. Zorro frowned.
Their power is great. I advise we proceed with extreme caution and avoid fighting as long as we can.
"We'll go until we find the next safe room." Ren offered. "Afterwards, we'll call it a day."
"Good." Sadayo smiled. "At least, you know how to pace yourselves. Making Kamoshida pay is important, but don't forget you have a life outside of sneaking in Palaces. Save some energy for that."
"What are you? Our mom?" Ryuji grumbled.
Sadayo crossed her arms.
"I am an adult, Skull. You kids may have motivation, but I have experience, especially when it comes to organization."
Her tone and glare left no room for arguments. The teens were forced to obediently nod.
"Why don't you take leadership role, then?" Ann asked.
"I've never been much of a leader, more of an advisor. I am a teacher, after all. Helping kids to do things properly is what I do for a living."
"Point taken."
It wasn't easy, far from it. Only Ren and Morgana didn't seem to have trouble avoiding the guard. While the feline was small and dark, the teen had trained in his hometown's forest. Ryuji, Ann and Sadayo had more trouble and suffered from a few close calls. They reached the tower's entrance, only to find it locked.
"Of course, the front door is never open. Looks like we'll have to enter by the windows."
So they climbed on the rooftop and scaled the tower until they finally found an entrance.
"Safe room." Ryuji panted. "Where is the next safe room!?"
"Forget the safe room. Is this place stable!?" Ren gasped as he saw the inside of the tower.
"The Treasure is definitely close." Morgana frowned. "The tower is heavily distorted due to its presence. It seems Kamoshida doesn't have a tight grasp over his desires."
"Given what he did, I'm not surprised." Sadayo frowned. "In fact, given his character, I am surprised he has a Shadow at all. If a Shadow is really the side of a person they don't know about…"
"It must be utterly and positively disgusting." Ann finished. "It's hard to get any lower than rape."
"Yes."
Ren weighted his knife. The tower didn't feel remotely safe to him. It also clearly felt like the innermost part of Kamoshida's psyche, with most decorations being of female chests that emphasized their breasts and rear and wore white bustier and red underwear. Ryuji stayed close to Ann, fully aware of how disturbing the place was to her. Ren kept looking left and right as the floor rose and fell around them.
They found the safe room in one of the tower's corners. The team breathed.
"Let's call it a day and go back. Between the sneaking, the fighting and the décor, this place is getting wearying."
No one argued. Ann turned to Ren.
"Speaking of, we need to take Sensei to the Velvet Room, so she learns the whole story."
"Right."
Sadayo turned to the teens.
"The Velvet Room?"
"There's more to the Metaverse than just Palaces and corrupted desires. I'm going to tell you now: once Kamoshida's Palace has been dealt with and you know what's truly going on, you're free to quit. We won't blame you. Panther actually reconsidered after hearing the story."
Sadayo raised a brow.
"This isn't suspicious at all…"
"Just enjoy the fact you have a choice, Sensei." Ann retorted. "Because Joker doesn't."
The teacher turned to her student.
"Just what is going on, exactly?"
"We'll tell you tomorrow. Right now, we're too tired."
"Alright. Tomorrow during lunchtime. Does the time sound good?"
"Yes."
Sadayo nodded.
"Also, how easy to reach is the place?"
Ren grinned.
"I got the key. Any door will do."
"Alright. Tomorrow, then."
And the thieves gains an unexpected teammate: their homeroom teacher. Of course, after Ren's little speech in the previous chapter and her own guilt over Takase, she would be hard-pressed to stay idle. End result: one more Persona User. Here is the information regarding her.
Sadayo Kawakami / Asura
Arcana XX: Temperance
Persona: Scheherazade, the legendary teller of the Arabian Nights who tricked the mad sultan into not killing her by telling him stories. She appears as a belly-dancer holding a book
Ultimate Persona: Anansi, the African spider-god of storytelling and trickery who appears as a multi-armed woman in cobweb robes holding a book
Weapons: two swords and a crossbow
Magic: Earth (Magna spell line)
Appearance: her mask is a chain veil covering the upper part of her face. Her attire is reminiscent of desert raiders and Arabian princesses, but with a scale veil instead of a turban.
Role: the Caretaker of the Phantom Thieves
Victory quote: "Next time, behave."
See you soon ^^
