Author's Notes: Hey there! I'm back here again to drop off another revised chapter~ Continuing on from the last one, this was also first published last May, 14, 2018 being the last part of the former Chapter five- which frankly was the longest of them all before this story's revision. Gosh... It got cut into three chapters...! It's still somewhat long as it is now- but imagine how long that was before. :P
Moving on from that, Let's proceed to the story now, shall we?
~~~ Twist of Fate ~~~
[ Arc III: The Castle of Lust ]
Chapter Eleven: Breaking Out
- 04/11/20Xx ( Monday - After School ) [Kamoshida's Castle - Underground Dungeons] -
Ren slammed the side of his body to the iron door he went through earlier to no avail, 'It looks like the guards sealed this door shut thanks to that outburst earlier...' He thought as he massage his bruised shoulder.
"It ain't openin'!?" Sakamoto said in panic, "Dammit! Let's try and find another way through!"
Ren nodded at that suggestion before his gaze went to the side and saw a broken, wooden bridge.
Noticing that the ledge wasn't that wide, he quickly figured they could jumped across it with ease.
And Ren did just that in and in an instant, he was now on the other side beckoning the blond to do the same.
Sakamoto grinned at the other's showmanship and jumped across the ledge easily enough as well, "All right! It looks like we can keep goin' this way!" He said before both teens ran towards the opened iron door.
They proceeded on making a run for it... and soon let out a groan as they reached another dead end at the pathway on the side.
But with a quick look to their left, the ledge between the sewers were wider, but fortunately enough, there were a series of iron cages floating just above the surface that they can seemingly use to jump across and get to the other side once again.
Ren of course, was quick enough to demonstrate that such a feat was possible and he jumped to the first cage in ease while the blond mumbled, "Dude, you better not fall...!" Before following right behind him as well.
Once both of them were safely across, they quickly proceeded on making their way forward.
While they ran, Sakamoto then finds himself wondering out loud, "All that execution shit... Is that bastard serious?"
Ren briefly made a side glance before replying, "Whether or not he's serious, I'd rather not stick around to find out..."
Sakamato nodded at that, "Guess you're right."
Then he overtook Ren's pace and quickly rammed into the closed iron door at the end- only to find out that it wouldn't open no matter how hard he tried. "Dammit, it's locked again."
Despite that setback, Ren was quick to notice an opened cell to their right and he saw a suspiciously large hole on the side of its walls and as he bent down to take a quick look.
He then figured that they could use that way to get through, "Let's push on through here." And with a sharp inhale, he soon crawled through the hole slowly yet surely.
Sakamoto quickly followed suit in turn, but unfortunately got stuck mid-way, "Crap, my bag's stuck!" He pulled on it and let out a groan as he noticed that there was now a slight tear on it's side, "Mom's not gonna like this..."
But the blond let that matter go with a sigh and soon continued his way to emerge out to the other side of the hole.
When Ren noticed that the blond was now beside him, he then made his way outside the cell and was immediately greeted with a large drawbridge, "Huh, this wasn't lowered earlier..." He muttered before he felt that Sakamoto passed by behind him and continued running towards the end of the path below.
He was about to follow suit- but stopped short as he saw that the blond was quickly making his way back.
"No go! There's some guys in armor over there that's headed this way." Sakamoto warned as he stood in front of Ren, panting as he added, "They'll prolly call for back up if we try and take 'em on."
Then the blond straightened himself before suggesting, "We should go some other way."
Ren nodded at that, "All right." He replied before turning back to lead them towards the drawbridge and went across it.
"Wow, this drawbridge is huge...! Then again, I still don't know what the hell is up with this place, so anything goes... " Sakamoto uttered before following after Ren just in time to see the guards from the other side make their way towards their direction.
They briefly hid in the shadows of the boxes and didn't make a sound to not arouse suspicion.
After a moment, Sakamoto looked at Ren and whispered, "Over there... They're lookin' for us, right?"
Ren nodded at that, "One more reason for us to find a way out of here, fast." He said in response before both teens stood up from their hiding place and made their way further down.
Entering the lone door at the end, they were glad that they finally found some stairs leading back up.
"If this goes up, you think it heads to the exit?" Sakamoto asked when they were midway up the stairs.
Ren briefly glance down at him, "Hopefully." He replied with a pant and once they were at the top, he pushed open the door...
...and Sakamoto groaned in disappointment as they were once again greeted with a dead end, "Dude... you gotta be jokin'..."
Then he took a deep breath to regain some of his stamina before exclaiming, "Just how big is this place?"
Ren let out a couple more pants to catch his breath before shaking his head, "No time to wonder about that, let's just press on for now." He replied before dashing through the opened cell- but soon stopped short as he saw something quite dreadful.
"Hey... Look...!" Sakamoto gestured towards the cages hanging from the side and saw some Shujin students were trapped on it, screaming for help.
"What the hell...?" The blond could only look on with disbelief, "Guess we really did hear people screamin'... So we ain't the only ones that were captured!"
He then made his way towards the edge of the ledge and muttered, "Is, uh... is he okay...?"
The blond then tried yelling to get their attention, "Yo! You guys know where the key is or if one of the knights have it?" But the other students seem to be oblivious to their presence.
"Dammit." Gritting his teeth in frustration, Sakamoto turned back and noticed that there we're other cells on the side and they were all occupied too.
"Tch! Even here..." As they proceeded on forward, he quickly noticed in one room that there was, "Wait... why's there a volleyball in the cell?"
Before the blond could wonder more about that thought, he saw that Ren was on the other cell beside him and he told him that, "The guy on the back that's slumped over the bed doesn't look too good..."
"Dammit, I'm telling you that bastard is sick!" Sakamoto said with a glare.
Ren then looked back in an attempt to calm him down- but something else caught his interest as he was drawn to the weird statute behind the blond.
Sakamoto turn back to his direction as well and he immediately groaned as he noticed something, "Dammit, the bridge's up! Ain't there some way to lower it!?"
Then his gaze fell to the weird statue beside it, "What a creepy-ass statute. Just looking at that is enough to give anyone nightmares."
With a sigh, the blond soon decided to let the matter go and continued onward to the path below...
Only to find out that it's another dead end, "What the...!? How the hell're we supposed to get outta of this place!?"
Before Ren could respond, an unknown voiced called out to them; "...Hey, you there...!"
That prompted him to look back in confusion, "Where...?"
Then the mysterious voice called out louder. "Blondie! Frizzy hair! Look over here!"
Upon moving closer to the the side, both teens could only stare at the strange creature that was confined to the farthest cell.
Sakamoto shook his head, "What the hell is this thing!?" He exclaimed as he and Ren could only watch as the creature was waving at them with it's paws to get their attention.
"You're not soldiers of this castle, right!? Get me out of here!" The strange creature said as he continued to reach out to them with his tiny paws for a moment. Then he pointed on the far end of the wall, "...Look, the key's right there!"
"We're trying to get the hell outta here too...!" Sakamoto muttered before scoffing at the creature, "I mean, you obviously look like an enemy too!"
Hearing that, the strange creature's eyes looked on in shock, "I'm locked up here, so how can I be your enemy!?" He replied to the blond before looking at Ren's direction and asked him to, "Help me out!"
Ren didn't know what to say to this situation- but as he continued on looking at the strange creature in the cell, waving his tiny paws at him, he couldn't help but mutter, "...A cat?"
That response seemed to have riled up the creature who then loudly yowled, "I am NOT a cat! Say that again and I'll make you regret it!"
As soon as that moment passed, all three accounted for looked back as they heard a series of footsteps seemingly heading towards their direction.
"They're catching up already...!" Sakamoto muttered before taking out his phone, "Shit. There's still no service. Ain't there any way to contact someone outside!?"
Ren took out his phone as well and up till now, it seems like that weird app is still occupying his phone.
Then he finds himself wondering how long had they been here? He can't help but worry that Makoto would be concerned on where he is by now...
Ren let out a sigh at that and placed his phone back just in time for the blond to exclaim, "How the hell do we get out...!?"
The strange creature decided to use that to his advantage, "Hey, you two!"
Only when he got both teens their attention did he continued, "Wanna know where the exit is? Let me out and I'll take you there."
Then he added convincingly, "You don't want to be caught and executed, right?"
Ren looked at the cat suspiciously and asked, "Can you really help us?"
The strange creature looked back up to him and replied, "I never go back on my word!"
"This thing sounds like it's all talk..." Sakamoto muttered as he looked back to Ren who seemed conflicted on the matter as well.
Hearing that, the strange creature narrowed his eyes and said, "If you guys think you can get out on your own, then be my guest!"
Sakamoto shook his head at that and asked, "Whadda we do...?"
Then all of them were surprised to hear that the footsteps were seemingly getting closer.
Rattled, The blond then looked back to the cat desperately, "Are you seriously not messing with us!?"
The strange creature looked at him in the eye and said, "If you don't hurry, they'll catch you."
Stuck with no options, Sakamoto first looked at Ren for a moment and he saw him nod.
The blond in turn scratched the back of his head and soon conceded, "F-Fine, we'll all be screwed if those knights caught us here anyway..." And with that, he opened the cell himself.
The strange creature happily skipped out of his prison and let out a contented stretch as he mewled, "Ahhhh... Freedom tastes so great..."
Sakamoto was too riled up to be patient and spoke accusingly, "Now, where's the exit, you monster cat!?"
Hearing that, the cat in question looked up to the blond with a glare, "Stop calling me a cat! I am Morgana!"
"Shuddup and hurry it up! You wanna be locked up again!?" The blond exclaimed.
Morgana dropped the glare, "A-All right, sheesh!"
After that, he looked back up to Ren before saying, "Follow me!" Then he turned to the blond, "...And stay quiet." before leading the way.
Sakamoto sighed, "Oh well, guess we just gotta follow it." He said before he and Ren followed right after the strange creature.
With that, all three of them soon bounded towards the drawbridge nearby and Morgana stopped in front of the creepy statue.
"What're you doin'?" Sakamoto uttered disinterestedly.
Morgana looked up to the blond with a questioning look, "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm lowering the bridge." He said before looking at the other guy, "You Frizzy Hair. It seems like you pick up on things faster than our Blondie over here. Try checking around the mouth of this statue, OK?"
A brief frown formed on Ren lips upon being called that, but soon let the matter go without saying anything and did what the cat suggested.
Instinctively he pulled down the creepy statue's mouth and both teens watched in awe as the drawbridge quickly lowered right after.
"For real!?" Sakamoto exclaimed, "How were we supposed to know to do that!?"
Morgana looked up the blond, "Hmph, slow indeed. Come on let's keep going!" He said before all of them started going through the drawbridge.
Then they stopped on their advance as they encountered some knights appearing from around the corner,
"A-AAh! Shit... Shit it's them!" Sakamoto said exasperatedly before his knees gave and fell back to the ground in panic while Ren was quite surprised to see his change of wardrobe again after the bright blue flash pass him by.
Morgana quickly jumped protectively after the blond, "Tch... You amateur!" He said with a whip of his tail before standing straight and ordered the Sakamoto to, "Stay still!"
After that, he looked back up to Ren, "Hey, you! You could fight, right?"
Then he looked towards the knights that were advancing towards their location before yowling, "Let's go!"
With another jump up front, Morgana called out, "Come...!" A bright flash not dissimilar to Ren's show of power appeared from behind him as he added, "Zorro!"
And with that, a large, muscled figure with a pointy mustache soon stood proudly behind the cat with a sharp rapier in hand.
Seeing that all too suddenly, the blond was taken aback, "Y-You got one of those things too...!?" Sakamoto exclaimed in shock before he looked back with a yelp towards the knights that quickly transformed to their other forms;
'Another one of those Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniac again and... a Bedside Brute?' Ren could only blink a couple of times at the latter's monster's appearance before muttering, "Huh."
Morgan crossed his arms, "Hmph. We will promptly shut them up!" He said confidently.
Ren then nodded back at him, "All right." Before he and the cat jumped forward as the battle quickly began.
"Damn Shadows... They've taken up intercept positions!" Morgana said before jumping another time and a saber soon appeared on his paws, "It means they're holding nothing back and are serious to kill us!"
Then he looked at his battle companion, "I'll back you up, so fight like your life depends on it!"
After a quick nod in agreement, Ren let out a grunt and looked towards the enemies with a glare the enemies before them, "Persona!" He screamed as he pull of his mask and used a curse attack on the Bedside Brute and he frowned when he noticed that his attack didn't inflict enough damage to kill it.
The cat seems to have been expecting something like that would happen if he's contented look was any indication, "Hmph. I knew you were still a rookie." Morgana said as he jumped to pump himself up, "This is how you fight!" He muttered as he glared at the Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniac and yowled, "Zorro!"
And upon that command, a small gust of wind soon sent the pumpkin flying down hard to the ground with a scream.
"Strike at an enemy's weakness to knock them down! Then use that opening to strike again!" Morgana explained before promptly demonstrating how it's done as he annihilated the toppled Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniac for good with just a single strike from his saber.
Then Morgana jumped back up to Ren side and spoke, "C'mon, let's hurry and get through this!"
Ren nodded at that, "All right! Thanks for that advice." And with a dash, he intercepted the Bedside Brute's advance and countered with a fast slash with his knife and muttered a cold, "You're mine."
With a scream, the Shadow quickly disperse in burst of black mist upon impact.
After the battle, Ren closed his eyes and felt like the experience he gained from this fight made him a little bit stronger and Arsene had seemingly learned a new technique to use in battle as well.
By the time he opened his eyes, he felt the blond approached them while he casually placed his gloved hand to his coat's pockets.
"Oh, Not bad. Your Persona's pretty powerful." Morgana said to him, looking quite proud at the discovery.
Sakamoto was confused by that statement however, "Persona...?" Then he crossed his arms, "Y'mean that thing that comes outta you guys all dramatic-like?"
Morgana looked to the blond before replying, "You could say that. I mean, you did see how Frizzy Hair here-" That certain someone groaned his name and the cat then quickly corrected himself, "...Ren, ripped of his mask when he summon it, right?"
Then the cat continued to explain, "Well, everybody wears as mask deep within their heart. By removing that..." But it was again cut short as another burst of light flowed through Ren and in an instant, he was back to wearing his school uniform again.
"Huh...? He turned back to normal..." Sakamoto said in surprise.
Morgana looked back to Ren with a mild look of concern, "Hmm... It looks like you don't have full control over your power yet..." He soon gave a reassuring glance, "But I guess you'll grasp it in time. Once you're used to it, the transformation wouldn't disappear like that again. After all-"
Then Sakamoto suddenly let out a frustrated groan cutting the cat off, as he complained "Rrgh, that's enough! This crap doesn't make any sense!"
Morgana then jumped angrily at the blond as he scolded him with a yowl, "Can you please stop interrupting and try to listen for once, Blondie!?"
The blond in question moved a step back in surprise at that outburst, "Ah, sorry bout' that."
Then his anger seemingly came back as he noticed, "But stop calling me Blondie!" He clenched his hands to fist before adding, "My name is Ryuji...!"
Morgana shook his head, "Actually, there's no time for me to lecture you! You wanna escape this place in one piece, right? Then let's go!"
Then the cat look back up to Ren, "Oh, but before that... take these." He said before handing out three packs of medicine, "Use them carefully, OK?"
"I will." Ren replied as he gave a nod, before he hid the items somewhere in his pockets.
"Come on, we should hurry. It's not much farther to the exit." Morgana said before making his way further into the path to where the stairways leading up could be found with the two students following close behind.
Once they reached the middle of the room, the cat had this concerned look on his face and he turned back towards Ren and suggested, "By the way, there may still be a chance that we'll end up having to fight in here so let me heal your wounds. Always keep your health up, OK?"
Ren nodded at that, "All right." He said before instinctively leaning down a bit so that Morgana can reach him.
Then with a quick flick of his paw, Morgana quickly cast a restorative spell, "Dia"
Soon enough, Ren was surrounded by a soft burst of warm light and with a sigh he could feel a sudden rush of relief flood to his veins. After the spell was done, he looked down to the cat with gratitude, "Thanks. So you have healing powers too?"
Morgana nodded at that, "Along with wind attacks, it seems my Persona is also support oriented." He said with a proud grin, then he looked towards a confused looking blond, "Here let me heal you too, Blondie." He added before bounding up to him.
Ryuji scratched the back of his head and closed his eyes before muttering, "I said stop calling me, Blondie...! My name's-" But it was cut off as he suddenly felt a very soothing sensation throughout his body that seemingly relieve most of the pain he was in, "Holy shit! It's for real!? I feel a lot better now!" He exclaimed and looked back up to the cat in surprise.
Morgana grinned, "I'm amazing, aren't I?" He said proudly.
Ren snickered at that and he couldn't help himself as he leaned down to pet Morgana's head and said, "Yes, you're one amazing cat."
"Hey! Let me hold 'im too." Ryuji said before leaning down to ruffle the fur on the strange creature's back and added. "Whoa. He looks suspicious but he does have soft fur like a real cat!"
Morgana glared at the two of them, "Stop this nonsense! I am not a cat! And we don't have time for-" His declamation was cut short and he couldn't stop the purr that escape him when Ren scratched behind his ears.
Then upon regaining his composure, Morgana let out a yowl before jumping back to get away from them, "Let's just go, OK? We've wasted enough time as it is!"
The grin on Ren's face grew wider but soon chose to not comment on the matter further.
Then he shook of his head, "You're right. We should go now." He said as his more serious demeanor resurfaced.
And with that, Ren took the lead in making their way up the stairway with the two trailing not too far behind.
As they walked further, Ryuji noticed that there were still some cells to his left, "How long have those guys been in here...?"
Then the blond stopped to a nearby cell and saw that there was a student slumped down to the ground, 'He ain't movin'... I-Is he still a-alive?' He thought with a dreadful look on his face.
Morgana noticed him and he soon bounded up to him with a scold, "What are you doing standing around like that for!? We need to hurry!"
Ryuji grunted, "But shouldn't we also help 'em!?" He protested, pointing towards the people locked up on their cells.
Morgana jumped before yowling, "Gah! There's no time to explain! We need to escape before any soldiers show up!"
The blond wanted to complain on the matter further- but he finds himself looking back up to Ren when he suddenly spoke, "Huh, there's a Shujin volleyball member here..."
Ryuji quickly made his way towards the furthest cell and immediately recognize who was held captive inside, "Hey. This is that dude who was sent to the clinic earlier!" He gripped the iron bars and looked down to the fallen jersey-wearing student,
"Dammit. This is that bastard's doing!" The blond hit the iron bars once and looked back towards the two, "We need to do somethin'!" He muttered angrily.
"Do you really think you have time to worry about other people right now!?" Morgana scolded as he looked up to Ryuji with a glare, "Besides they're- " But he couldn't finish that as an armored knight had spotted them.
"They're over there! " It called before the drawbridge before them was lowered and a couple of armed knights came marching straight to their location.
Morgana shook his head at that, "You should've just listened to me...!" He said dejectedly.
Ren quickly stood by his side, "Let's fight." He said to Morgana and as he strengthened his resolve, he felt his power came rushing through him once again.
Morgana smiled before he looked up to his battle buddy proudly, "I'm glad you stick to your guns!" Then he grinned wider as he noticed that, "It seems you're getting used to this quite quickly too."
"Is that so?" Ren said before he conjured up his knife with his right hand and pointed it to the knights as they transformed into two Shadows called; 'Beguiling Girls...?'
Once he locked on to his target, he immediately ripped of his mask with a scream, "Persona!" And upon his command a dark surge of energy flow through his fingers and straight to the first target- effectively hitting it's weak point was enough to kill it.
Ren then saw the shock look on it's companion and he used that opening to strike once again with the new skill he has learned, "It's Over!" He called out to Arsene and it cleaved the Shadow down hard and with a scream, the remaining Beguiling Girl soon dispersed into a black mist as well.
Once the battle was over, Morgana happily made his way towards Ren, "I didn't even need to do anything." He said before grinning, "Not bad for a Rookie."
Ren snickered at that, "Hmph. I'm a quick learner." He said to the cat before lightly patting it's head again.
...And Morgana didn't like that. "Nyahh! S-Stop doing that!" He yowled as he swatted his hands with his paws.
Then after a short chuckle, Ren turned around and saw that Ryuji was still looking towards a nearby cell door with a frown.
He quickly went towards the blond and place a hand to the his shoulder and spoke reassuringly, "Now's not the time. We'll come back for them some other time, Okay...?"
Ryuji let out a sigh before he looked back to Ren and gave a nod, "...You're right." He said with a resigned look on his face.
"Guys, we should go now before any guards show up again! If you don't want to follow, be my guest." Morgana said before making his way across the bridge.
"Dammit, cat! We're goin' so wait up, will ya!?" Ryuji exclaimed as he and Ren hurriedly crossed the bridge to catch up.
Morgana was waiting for them at middle of the stairway, "This way! The entrance hall is right above here!" He said and first watched as the two teens took their first step on the stairs before leading the way once more, "The exit's close... So keep it up!"
As they entered the room above, Ren quickly noticed that they were back to where they were earlier, 'Huh... We were actually near the exits, earlier..?' He thought as they passed by the large stairway in the middle of the room.
"I still hate that painting..." Morgana muttered angrily with a glare as he looked up the grand stairway.
And for once, Ryuji seemed to agree with him, "You and me both." He said with a scowl.
Ren shook his head at the look of them- but quickly decided to not to say anything either as he looked towards the painting himself.
"It does look unnerving." He soon added in agreement.
After a few more steps, the three now find themselves in the far end of this castle's unfamiliar hallway. "We're here!" Morgana said as he looked up to the two.
"Finally! We're saved...!" Ryuji said after he caught his breath, he then immediately made his way to the door to his right and twist the door knob to open,
Only to find out that it was locked.
"Hmph! ...It's not openin'!" The blond exclaimed before he glared at the cat, "D'you trick us, you jerk!?"
Morgana jumped at that accusation, "Oh be patient and don't jump to conclusions!" He responded before turning back to the other door, "Over here!" He added before easily pushing the door to the left open and went inside.
"H-Hey, wait up!" Ryuji called out before he and Ren quickly followed right after Morgana.
Once they were inside, the group then quickly find themselves in a small room with a number of shelves filled of books sprawled on the walls while some books also littered the ground.
Ryuji then looked back down the cat and saw an infuriating satisfied look on its face much to his chagrin, "Where are we supposed to get out from here!? There aren't even any windows!"
Morgana looked to the blond with a disappointed look on his face, "Ugh... amateur. This is the most basic of basics."
Ren wanted to make a quip of blowing the wall up just for laughs- but he quickly realized that he was too tired to even make a bad joke.
And that was already alarming in itself.
Then with a sigh, Ren quickly surveyed the small room they're in and found a curious place as he looked up, "...A ventilation shaft?"
Hearing that, Morgana looked up to him with a smile as he liked his response. "That's right! As I thought, you're starting to become an expert in this." He praised before looking to the ventilation shaft in question with squinted eyes, "...And that leads all the way outside."
Ryuji scratched the back of his head before nodding, "I see..."
Then he looked up to the ventilation shaft and rolled his shoulders to release tension before he grinning as he got an idea, "Then we just gotta get that metallic mesh off, right?"
And with that, he dash towards it and jumped high into the shelves and pried the metal off with his hands, "And a one, and a- Whoa...!" He let out a scream as the metallic mesh accidentally slipped his grip and as he tried to catch it, he loss balance himself and both of them fell hard to the floor with a crash.
Ryuji then let out a groan, as he landed directly on his back, "Oww... Crap!" He then tried to quickly stand right back up before adding, "Those knights didn't hear us, did they?"
"I'd rather not stick around to find out..." Ren said with a shrug.
Ryuji looked back up to him and nodded, "Seriously, we're finally gettin' outta here...!"
"You should wait on celebrating until you actually get out of here..." Morgana said to the blond before looking to Frizzy hair, "Now, get going!"
Ryuji frowned at that as he wondered, "But... what about you?"
Morgana looked back to the blond and replied, "There's something that I still have to do so we're going on our separate ways."
"Thanks, Morgana." Ren said with a quick bow.
Morgana looked up to him with a thoughtful expression and replied, "Heh. You've got manners." Then he smiled before adding, "Be careful on your way."
Both teens nodded back at that and Ryuji was the first to make his way back up the shelves.
Before Ren followed suit, he looked back to the cat and couldn't help but tease, "Don't get caught again." He said with a snicker.
Morgana easily returned that with a grin of his own, "I'll keep that in mind."
Then he silently watched as the two teenagers made their way out to the Palace in ease.
Morgana waited for a moment before muttering to himself, "...Those two seem useful."
Then he crossed his paws, "Especially the frizzy-haired one, if my judgement is right..."
- 04/11/20Xx ( Monday - After School ) [ Shujin Academy ] -
A moment later, both Ren and Ryuji find themselves thrown out from seemingly out of nowhere into a brick wall of some sorts.
"Oww..." The blond muttered before pushing himself off the wall.
Once he got his bearings, Ryuji managed to ask, "Did we make it?" Then he shook his head, "And where are we?"
Ren looked towards him and shrugged his shoulders, "Beats me... But I think we're in some shady alleyway or something."
He then proceeded on looking further down the block, "...I think I could see our school at the end of that corner." He added, pointing towards the direction before shaking his head in an attempt to stave of his dizziness.
But as soon as he did that, Ren felt a trickle of blood fall down from his face. "Wait... I'm bleeding?" He uttered in disbelief as he looked back to the walls, 'But I didn't hit myself too hard on them right...?'
Ryuji turned to his side and he quickly notice that there was a cut on Ren's face and gestured at it, "Yeah, there's a cut just above your brows, dude..."
"Huh. But why? I thought that Morgana had healed my wounds...?" Ren's muttered in disbelief and his right hand immediately went up to his face- and before he hits his bruise, he soon came to realize that something was missing, "Eh?"
Ryuji looked at him in worry, "What's up?" He asked as he noticed the transfer student's distress.
Ren then looked back to the blond with a sheepish look, "...I'm not wearing my glasses..." And as he said that, he soon recalled that during that fight in the underground dungeons, a knight attacked him on his face and that send his specs flying to who knows where.
Then his eyes grew wide as he realize, "I got this cut from that fight!"
That concerned the blond, "W-Wait... Are you tellin' me that what happen'd earlier was real and we might be still in that shitty castle?" Ryuji said before he instinctively took out his phone, "...Wait, my phone's finally gotta signal...! Maybe we can call for help now!"
Ren did the same and he was surprised to see that the weird app on his phone finally shrunk back to it's icon size on it's screen and he was further taken aback when a sudden navigation voice chimed from his phone;
? ? ?: |You have returned to the real world. Welcome back.|
Ryuji was surprised to hear that, "Huh? Returned...?"
Then he placed his phone back to his pocket and looked at Ren with a confused look, "...Does that mean we got away?"
Ren shrugged his shoulders, "Probably..." He replied before closing the app and just a second later after that, he could only looked on in shock as he immediately received a dozen of messages and missed calls notifications from his phone.
He let out a curse as he saw who send out most of them;
MAKOTO: |Ren-kun, where are you? By the time I was done meeting with the Principal, you weren't in the Student council room anymore. |
|But since you've left your bag, I figured that you just went to help out Haru-san with her garden...|
|...And then I found out that you haven't stopped by there either. So where are you?|
|Haru-san offered to help me looked around the whole Academy and we couldn't find you anywhere. Ren-kun please respond.|
|You aren't answering my calls either. Please don't do this and don't do anything reckless...|
| Ren-kun. Please. Please tell me where you are...!|
|Amamiya, Ren...! It's almost been two hours and I still haven't heard anything from you!|
|TELL me where you are NOW or else...!|
Ren shook his head incredulously at his phone and he visibly paled when he read that it's almost been two hours since they were sent to that castle and then, he hadn't really received this messages till now, so he couldn't respond to any of her messages- even if he could though, he was unsure on what to say about the matter either.
But what really worries him the most was the fact that he now also has to show up with an injury on his face. "...This is bad!" He muttered out unknowingly.
Hearing that and seeing the rattled look on Ren's face, got Ryuji worried, "W-What's wrong this time!?"
Ren then finds himself rambling in panic, "We've been missing for around two hours with no trace whatsoever so of course, she'd be worried! And then, I wasn't able to respond to any of her messages since we've been to the castle so she's furious...!"
After exclaiming all that, he send a quick message to his friend;
REN: |Makoto-san, I'm so sorry for replying just now.|
|Something happened, but I'm fine and I think I'm in an alleyway near the school entrance.|
It only took a few seconds till he received a reply;
MAKOTO: |Thank god, you've finally responded Ren-kun!|
|Do NOT move from that spot and we'll be right there.|
Before Ren could respond back to the message, he was taken aback when Ryuji exclaimed, "We've been gone for around two hours!? I thought it was only for a few minutes!"
Both teens then briefly turned to look to the sky and noticed that the sun had indeed just set.
Ryuji scratched the back of his head, "No wonder, Mom's been worried on where I went... I mean school did end early for today 'cause of that train accident..."
He then placed his hands to his pockets and looked back up to the transfer student curiously, "But wait. Who's furious at you, again? Didn't quite catch that..." He asked.
"My friend is and to make matters worse, I even have a cut on my face..." Ren replied before he shook his head once more, "Makoto-san is not going to like this one bit...!"
"Makoto...? Do you mean Miss Prez!?" Ryuji asked incredulously.
Before Ren could respond to that, he involuntarily cringed when he noticed that his friend in question was quickly making her way towards them with Haru close behind her and even from a distant, she easily looks upset.
"Ren-kun where were you!?" Makoto asked angrily as she stood in front of him and her eyes immediately saw the blood lightly trickling down on her friend's face, "...And why are you injured!?"
"I..." Ren didn't know what to say to her and he looked down sheepishly as he noticed that Haru looked just as disappointed
That outburst however, got Ryuji rattled and he blurted out waving a hand defensively, "Wait- It's not his fault, Prez! We were stuck in this weird castle and if it wasn't for that strange cat we met on the way, we couldn't have gotten outta there-"
Ren lightly elbowed the blond on his stomach to cut him off. "No one would believe that...!" He hissed.
But Ryuji was insistent, "But dude! You got the cut when one of that bastard's knights hit ya on your face, earlier! Despite the cat's healing, you still got that wound since that ain't done by those Shadows- but your effin' glasses- that you ain't wearing- So it had to have happened!"
"So let me get this straight... First, you two were stuck in a castle, then a knight supposedly hit Ren-kun's face and his glasses was the cause of his injury. You met a cat that heals wounds done by those Shadows and the same cat supposedly helped you escape...?" Makoto repeated before shaking her head as she didn't know what to make out of that statement.
Ren tried to redo the damage, "...It's just a mobile role-playing game that he's seriously into earlier. There were a lot of rumors about me on the hallways when I was on my way out to meet with you in the Principal's office and Sakamoto-kun here saw me frowning and showed me that game to cheer me up. Also, my glasses just broke by accident, that's why I got this cut."
With that, Haru looked at Ryuji and said, "You have a very vivid imagination, Sakamoto-kun."
Ryuji looked to Ren in shock, "What!? That ain't true...!" Then he shook his head, "Well, yeah, I did hear some rumors 'bout him, when I was in the courtyards earlier, but...!"
"...You didn't pick a fight with Mr. Kamoshida didn't you...?" Makoto finds herself asking offhandedly.
Ryuji glared upon hearing that name, "Speaking of that bastard, he was that effin' King beatin'-" But stop short when he was cut off upon receiving a quick jab to the side of his stomach from Ren.
'Please take a hint.' Ren thought before he elbowed the blond a little harder and said, "We'll talk about that Castle Raid game some other time, Sakamoto-kun... It's getting late."
Ryuji gave him a look- before he sighed in resignation, "Fine."
Makoto still have some suspicions on the matter- but chose to not comment on that further and decided to wait once She and Ren are alone to speak more privately.
"Are you all right, though?" She soon asked in concern before she raised a hand up to Ren's forehead to assess the wound.
Seeing the worried look on her eyes made Ren looked down sheepishly again, "...I'm fine, Makoto-san. I'm really sorry for worrying you." He said softly.
Makoto then let out a sigh, "...Just don't do something like this again, okay?" She said with a small smile before she got out her handkerchief from her skirt pocket to clean up the dried blood on his face.
Ren raised his glance to her eyes and returned a smile as he nodded, "...I will."
"You'd better keep that word Ren-kun. Mako-san was nearly at tears when we couldn't find you anywhere and she got even more worried when she heard some rumors that you were supposedly in a fight." Haru reprimanded.
Hearing that, Makoto looked back up to her classmate and defensively responded with a frown, "...I wasn't crying."
Haru smiled at her knowingly, "I said you were just about to."
Makoto let out a sigh when she heard Haru softly chuckled after that.
Moving on pass that, she looked up to Ren and offered, "I'll go on ahead to the infirmary to get a first aid-kit to properly dress your wound myself just in case some other students are still around. We can't have them see you injured like this lest' we get more unnecessary rumors to come with it."
Makoto then gave a quick look towards the blond before looking back up to her friend to add, "Come to the Student Council room once you're done speaking with Sakamoto-kun regarding that game."
Ren nodded and smiled gratefully at that, "Okay."
Makoto returned his gesture before making her way back to the school.
"I'll come with you, Mako-san. I left my bag in the Council Room too, so we might as well have some girl talk along the way." Haru said cheekily as she followed right after her classmate.
Makoto looked at Haru with a skeptical glance, "...What kind of girl talk?" She asked.
Ren then saw Haru say something to Makoto that seemingly made her uncomfortable- but since the girls were already some distant away, he sadly couldn't hear what's it about.
"Uh-huh." Ryuji didn't know what to make of the scenario that went by him- but there is something he was meaning to ask, "So... Since when had you been close with Miss Prez...?" He pressed, a grin slowly forming on his face.
Ren looked to the blond and frowned upon seeing that look on his face, "...It's not what you think."
"You don't know what I'm thinkin'..." Ryuji bantered, feigning innocence.
Ren then let out a sigh before looking down to the ground, "Let's just say that we're childhood friends and we've just recently reunited." He said to get it over with.
"That's sweet. I'm jealous. " Ryuji responded teasingly.
Hearing that first made Ren frown- but upon looking back to the blond, he saw that Ryuji now had this sad look on his face, "...What's up?"
Ryuji shrugged his shoulders, "Nothin'. Just remembered that I used to be friend's with someone since middle school... but lately, she's giving me the cold shoulder." He said with a frown.
Then after a moment, a grin slowly came back to his face, "...But since I owe her money and she doesn't seem to remember it, I guess it's fine."
Ren snicked at that, "Maybe that's the reason why she hasn't been talking to you. You mooched of her."
"No. I don't think that's the only reason..." Ryuji said before shrugging his shoulders once again to let the matter go, then he looked at Ren and added, "But enough about that, we have to talk about the "game" remember?"
Ren nodded to that but also quickly suggested, "Yeah. But can we talk more about that tomorrow? I really don't want to keep Makoto-san waiting for long again..."
This time, Ryuji was the one who snickered at his response, "I totally don't believe the rumors 'bout you anymore. I mean, a girl has you wrapped around her finger."
Ren shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "Oh, Makoto-san ain't just any girl. Did you know that she won a lot of gold trophies on tournaments in Aikido? I really don't want to make her angry and I suggest you do the same."
"Our prim and proper Student Council President knows Aikido?" Ryuji muttered incredulously, "For Real!?"
Ren couldn't stop the chuckle that came when he heard how the blond sounded so unnerved about that statement.
"You're lying right?" Ryuji asked suspiciously.
Ren shrugged his shoulders and lazily replied, "I wish I were. But it's true."
Hearing that made Ryuji both impressed and rattled at the same time, "Damn."
Then he looked at the transfer student and regarded him, "You know... you're pretty gutsy yourself. I mean, you did saved me from Kamoshida at that castle. So yeah... Thanks, dude." He added with a grateful look on his face.
Ren smiled at that, "Your welcome." But his smile nearly fell when he notice that a familiar-looking, ripped mophead was standing in the school's entrance with a scowl on his face as he looked to their direction.
Then he watched as that man quickly made his way back to the school without a word.
Ryuji noticed his slight change of expression, "What's up...?" He asked in concern.
"It's nothing..." Ren started with a brief shook of his head, "I just thought that we haven't properly introduced ourselves." He added as a smile quickly resurfaced.
"I'm Ren Amamiya. It's nice to meet you." He said, extending his hand to the blond.
Ryuji eagerly shook his hand and returned his introduction, "Ryuji Sakamoto and with what we've been through that weird castle- I think we can consider ourselves friends, right?" He grinned wide at that before adding, "That said, feel free to just call me Ryuji, Renren."
Ren snickered, "All right, Sakamoto-kun." He teased and he was then rewarded with a light shove in the shoulders from the blond.
"You ass." Ryuji said with a grin still on his face, "Just go and see Niijima-senpai already and I'll meet ya tomorrow during lunch break at the rooftop, to talk more about the 'game', all right?"
Ren nodded at that, "Got it. See you tomorrow, Ryuji." He said with a smile.
Ryuji grinned wider and nodded back, "Later, Ren." And with that, he soon passed by his new friend and went towards the opposite direction to head back home.
Ren watched the blond leave from a distant before he head back towards the school and a frown soon resurfaced from his face, 'If I'm not mistaken, I think I just saw that Kamoshida person, earlier...' He thought with concern written all over his face.
Now inside Shujin Academy once more, Ren briefly had another dizzy spell and for a moment, he swear that he could make out that castle again.
He then blinked his eyes a couple of times to stave of his slight stupor and after a moment more, he saw that the school was back to normal.
"Oh, Amamiya-kun, you're still here?" Kawakami asked as she suddenly came down the stairs and soon approached him with concern apparent on her eyes when she noticed that he looks a bit disoriented, "Hey, you all right?"
Ren looked to her direction and silently hope that the cut on his face wasn't that noticeable anymore. Then he inwardly cursed as he remembered his glasses were gone-
...But soon realize that he could use that to his advantage as well. "I'm fine, Ms. Kawakami. Just got a little dizzy since my glasses broke when I was at the courtyards earlier because a loose volleyball hit me on the face..."
"Frankly enough, I heard that has happened more than once so I advice you to avoid hanging around there whenever there is a volleyball training in session." Kawakami said as she finally noticed that cut on his brow,
"Better have that check with the nurse while she's still here too..." She said gesturing to the bruise, "Do you know where the infirmary is?"
Ren nodded in response, "Niijima-senpai showed me where that is earlier, but I was asked to meet with her in the Student Council Room first."
Kawakami nodded back, "Looks like, she has everything under control then. I saw Niijima-san and another girl walking around the school hurriedly earlier- but I guess they're just doing Council stuff. You said that she's waiting for you, right? Go on right ahead." She said before stifling a yawn, "See you tomorrow, Amamiya-kun."
Ren gave a brief bow, "Take care, Ms. Kawakami." He said, watching his homeroom teacher made her way out to the school before he head towards the stairway and quietly climbed up to the second floor.
But he soon stopped on his tracks when he suddenly heard a familiar voice;
"Why did you allow a student like him to transfer here? I saw him down that alleyway near the entrance and he's already started associating himself with Sakamoto. To make things worse, a handful of rumors already spread throughout the Academy claiming that he's a student with a criminal record and the culprit of an assault case. At this rate, it'd be pointless how much I contribute to the school."
"Now, don't be like that... This school count's on you Kamoshida-kun. You are our star." Principal Kobayakawa said before looking contemplatively at a corner,
"Though the leakage of his record was indeed not part of my plan to help in improving our school's reputation- but despite his criminal offense, he has an outstanding sports track record and he has the smartest student in the Academy as his friend. Add your guidance into the mix, then I have faith that rehabilitating Amamiya-kun to become a model student is still possible. A steady build-up like that is necessary behind such brilliance after all." He added before looking back to the coach.
Kamoshida scratched the back of his head and spoke in resignation, "Your troubles never seem to end, do they, Principal Kobayakawa?" Then he suddenly gave a over hopeful smile, "But I understand your cause. Rest assured that I'll continue to do my best to answer your expectations of me."
Ren then quietly made his way back to the middle stairway and loudly step on it on his way back up so that it'll appear like he just arrived and with a feigned look of surprise, he finally revealed himself to the two adults, "...Good evening." He said as formally as possible.
"...So with that said, I'll overlook what I saw for today. See you tomorrow." Kamoshida said to the Principal who quickly made his way back to the office while he approached the newcomer.
Standing intimidatingly at Ren, the coach carefully regarded him, "You're that new transfer student, right?" Kamoshida asked.
'Looks like he doesn't seem to remember me...' Ren thought as he looked him in the eye and nodded, "I am." He replied before giving a quick bow, "My name is Ren Amamiya. It's nice to meet you, sir."
Kamoshida raised a brow at that, "Hmph." Soon after that, he placed his hands to his hips and grinned unnervingly, "I'm coach Suguru Kamoshida and I managed the school's Volleyball team."
Then he regarded the student before him again, "Heard you're good in sports from the Principal and coincidentally, there's a volleyball rally coming up and I hope you'll be looking forward to it."
Ren decided to continue playing along, "...I will." He said.
With that, Kamoshida then pass by him, "Oh and by the way..." He briefly looked back at him with a grin, "Welcome to Shujin Academy and good luck trying to enjoy your new school life."
Once Kamoshida began going down to the first floor did Ren clenched his hands to a fist and looked down to the coach with a glare, 'He's definitely that guy in that weird castle who's acting like a King earlier...' He thought before he shrugged his shoulder's once and silently made his way up to the third floor.
Ren then saw Haru walking in the corner and he looked up to her with a smile as she neared. He watched her return the gesture and he said his thanks when she told him that Makoto was waiting for him.
A few steps more, he now stood in front of door leading to the Student Council room, Ren took a deep breath and let it out sharply through his nose and wondered, 'But who would believe me if I told them about all that?'
**** [ Interrogation Room ] *****
"So you're telling me that Shujin Academy turned into an old castle late in the afternoon...?" Sae said incredulously and she had silently wondered if her ward was still in his right mind.
Though in his drugged state, Ren could still see the doubt in her eyes so he sighed and looked down to the table, "It's all right to think that I'm hallucinating from the drugs since I'd once doubted anyone would believe in that story myself..."
Then he looked straight to his guardian's eyes, "...but even if my memory is sometimes getting a bit hazy, I can guarantee you now that I am telling the truth." He added with more conviction.
Sae let out a sigh of her own before nodding, "Fine, I believe you're still in your right senses. So continuing your story; During that time, did you traverse and escaped that "castle" by yourself?"
Ren thought about that question for a moment and find himself replying, "...I was joined by a couple of prisoners. A guy around my age and a strange talking cat."
"..." Sae was speechless for a moment, "A talking cat...?" She asked with disbelief apparent on her face as she whispered, "You're not saying that "cat" is our pet Morgana aren't you?"
Ren shrugged, "...He's just a cat." He replied as straight-faced as possible.
It tickles him knowing that Morgana will not like hearing that as he usually does- but he still had to protect everyone's identities just in case this room is bugged to the enemies favor.
"...All right then. Moving on," Sae took out a file from her bag and spoke, "Whether you still remember him now or not, The first one who received a "calling card" from the Phantom Thieves was an Olympic medalist..." She paused and opened the file to Ren's direction revealing a familiar face, "...An alumnus from Shujin Academy- the PE teacher, Suguru Kamoshida."
"It's true that what he did were deplorable crimes from... giving in to his desires. He confessed to it all. But there should've been no connection between the two of you since you had just transferred. So why had you targeted him? You and my sister never told me the full story."
Ren briefly scowled once again as he glared at the person on the picture, "There's a reason for that."
Sae saw the look of contempt on his face and she soon crossed her arms and spoke, "This time, I asked you to not hold anything back. Now, tell me; What were the circumstances that lead you to come to the conclusion on why you have to change people's hearts."
~~ End of Chapter Eleven: ~~
( ARC III: The Castle of Lust: 3/? )
Author's Notes: Another chapter down as scheduled without any major hitches apart from a few paper cuts and he he, that's a relief. Thanks again for reading and as usual, if you have any other questions regarding this story or anything in general that I could reply to, feel free to leave a review or a PM, okay?
Hope to see you this Saturday for the next update~ *Salutes* Have a nice day/night and take care everyone!
=Next Chapter: XII: Rising Tension=
