This story is meant to tie into the Jojo New Universe I'm writing. Basically, it's a prequel of sorts for Part 12, Vanishing Act. Please note that if you want details for any Stand that shows up here, you can find it in Jojo New Universe. One chapter here counts for one chapter in Stars Are Eternal, so keep that in mind. Also, this story will include a particular detail from Persona 5 The Royal. Disclaimer: I don't own the Persona series or Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.

Heist 01: Light and Dark Intertwined

Just on the edge of a small rural community in Japan, there was something out of place. A large, bustling casino, filled with patrons. However, as the people were gambling away, something broke up the normal atmosphere. A sudden alarm, trigged as guards in black suits entered the room. Up above, to figures dressed in black leapt across the light fixtures hanging from the ceiling. "They're here," one of the guards noted. One of them reached a balcony as the two figures wound up near it. One was a young man with ruffled black hair, wearing a black jacket a dress shirt underneath, matching pants and shoes, and red gloved. There was a blue bird mask covering most of his face.

The other was a young lady with a revealing leotard under a similar jacket, dark leggings and high-heeled boots, white gloves on her hands. Her face had a wider black mask. 'Remember the gift given by our master,' said a voice over the guard's earpiece, 'Use it now.' The guard nodded. "Sacrificial Pyrekeeper!" A giant creature resembling a humanoid bull with a tail appeared. The young man chuckled. "So it's the same guy as before. We ready for this, Violet?" The girl, Violet, nodded. "Definitely, Joker." The two of them raised their hands. Joker called out, "W Boiled Xtreme!" Violet called out, "Be The One!"

From Joker came a crimson clad male figure with a top hat and horns, black bird wings growing from its back. Violet manifested a blue female figure, almost robotic in appearance. These two people were Stand users, and their powers were particularly versatile. W Boiled Xtreme scrapped its long, sharp claws along the ground, extending the nearby shadows and striking at Sacrificial Pyrekeeper. Be The One lifted its arms and drew in the local ambient light, firing a powerful blast that struck at the creature, knocking the guard down. 'You're useless!,' came the voice from the earpiece, 'Perhaps another will be more compatible with this being!' The creature disappeared, letting the duo escape through a nearby door.

After sneaking through a few winding hallways, they quickly dove out of a nearby window. At the bottom, they were confronted by numerous police officers. "Don't move Phantoms!," a sergeant called out, "We have you surrounded!" Joker chuckled. "Who has who surrounded? W Boiled Xtreme!" To the officers' shock, Joker vanished into the ground, merging into the shadows of the night. Violet smiled sweetly. "Better luck next time. Be The One!" The officers got another shock as he she seemed to change into pure light and leap away using their own warning lights.

The sergeant slammed his hand on the hood. "I thought we had them this time!" Inside the car was a young man with auburn hair. "You shouldn't expect them to be cornered so easily," the man said, "And it looks like we won't be getting their quarry either." The sergeant turned and was surprised to see the casino had vanished, leaving only the bewildered customers. "Just what the hell in going on in this city?" The young man, Goro Akechi, frowned. 'I knew the Phantoms would escape, but I was hoping to at least capture the one behind that casino manifesting. Seems he's even more slippery.'

The two thieves met up on a nearby roof. Joker opened a briefcase he had hidden using his Stand's power. "We managed to steal the last piece," he noted, "Now we can mail it to the client. But it looks like the one behind the casino escaped." He pulled off his mask, as did Violet. They were in fact a young couple named Ren Amamiya and Sumire Yoshizawa. Over the last few months they had been using their Stands to steal priceless artifacts belonging to certain family clan on behalf of an unknown client. All the individuals who had these artifacts were criminals of some kind, and the duo took great pleasure in stealing from them. It made them feel like true master thieves.

But they had overheard some things during this final job. "It seems whoever was behind that casino appearing out of nowhere works for someone with designs on Tokyo," Sumire noted, "And probably all of Japan as well." Ren thought for a moment. "Our client said he could offer us anything in exchange for these pieces. I think we need to deal with this new threat. After all, we do have the power. We'll ask our client to arrange a transfer to a high school in Tokyo. I'm sure he has the connections to do so. My parents know a few people in the city, so finding a place to live shouldn't be an issue." Sumire nodded. "All right then. Looks like we're in this for the long haul."

It took some string pulling, but both Ren and Sumire were able to get arrangements to transfer to Shujin Academy in Tokyo on April 09 of 2017. Neither of them could move their entire family, but lucky Ren's parents new someone in Tokyo who was willing to take them in. Soon enough the train pulled into Yongen-Jaya. "So," Ren said, "We're looking for the home of Sojiro Sakura. One of my dad's friends is a regular at the cafe Sojiro works at with his wife." "We should be able to find it if we ask around," Sumire noted, "After all, I'm betting his cafe is pretty popular around the neighbor."

The two were in more civilian garments, and Sumire had let her hair down with both of them wearing reading glasses. It wasn't long before they found a small house tucked away in an alley. Ren rang the bell, and a young girl about two years younger the couple, with long red hair and glasses wearing a green jacket over her clothes. "Hey there," the girl said, "Can I help you?" "We're looking for Sojiro Sakura," Sumire explained. "Oh, sorry," the girl said, "Dad's not home right now. He should be working at the cafe at this hour." She signed off on a package brought by a delivery man before heading back inside.

It didn't take long to find the place, known as Leblanc. Inside, a middle-aged man was busy doing a crossword while a similarly aged woman was cleaning up the counter. On the news was a report of a bus careening out of control. "Lots of public transport being attacked as of late," the woman noted, "At this rate we may have to rethink Futaba's Akihabara schedule." The man just nodded before spotting the couple. "Ah, I forgot that was today." "I'm guessing you're Sakura then?," Ren asked. The man nodded. "Yeah, Sojiro Sakura. This here is my wife Wakaba."

"Pleasure," Wakaba said, "Now unfortunately we only have one spare bedroom, but I convinced Sojiro to spruce up the attic here in the cafe as well. Sumire, was it? How about I show you our home?" She walked out with Sumire. Sojiro sighed. "She always gets me wrapped around her finger easily. Anyway, Ren right? Follow me upstairs." The attic looked rather spacious. A few bits of clutter, but otherwise livable. "Sorry if it's a little cluttered," Sojiro said, "This was kind of last minute. If you don't mind me asking, why move out to the city like this?"

"Well, Sumire felt she could have a better chance of catching up to her sister in gymnastics if she was in a different school," Ren explained, "And while it wasn't easy convincing my parents to join her, I did suggest that I could get a better education at a larger high school." It was the cover story Ren and Sumire had thought up to explain their transfer while looking into the mysterious Stand user that created the casino. It was believable, easy to prove, and not even those who might look into the transfer because they felt threatened could say otherwise without looking suspicious.

"I see," Sojiro said, "I was told Sumire has a father in this city, but apparently her parents have been separated for some time now. Surprised they haven't finalized the divorce yet." "I don't think there will be a divorce," Ren noted, "It's not like they don't still love each other, they just wanted different things. Sumire's father has his talk show and her mother prefers living out where it's mostly quiet. But Sumire didn't want this to turn into a tug of war between her parents, so she sought alternative lodgings." Sojiro nodded his head in understanding.

"Sounds fair," he said, "I think Futaba might be the same in that situation. Anyway, tomorrow the both of you get registered at Shujin Academy. It's no Hope's Peak, but Shujin is one of the most prestigious high schools in Japan. The students may not be Ultimate quality, and if they were they'd likely be snatched up by Hope's Peak, but they are some of the most talented in Tokyo. It turned out to be pretty easy to get the both of you enrolled, what with you being a top ranking honor student and Sumire having gymnastic skills. Trains can be a pain to transfer through, so to start me and Wakaba will simply drive you there. But you'll have take the train afterward."

That night, as Ren slept, he felt his consciousness drift into shadows. As he awoke, he found himself in a velvet colored bar. Seated across from him was a gangly man with an elongated nose. This was the Velvet Room, a mysterious place between reality and dreams. Ren had a connection to this place thanks to W Boiled Xtreme and its ability which let him move through shadow, and he frequently found himself inside this room while drifting off to sleep. The man in front of him, Igor, was the caretaker of this mysterious room, and was a good source of information about the real world. Walking up to the table was a young girl with long blonde hair and wearing a blue dress.

"A new servant, Igor?," Ren asked. "Indeed," Igor replied, "Margaret felt she wanted to stay in Inaba, to observe the lives of those living there. But right now events are centered on Tokyo, are they not? So I felt a new assistant was in order." "My name is Lavenza," the girl said, "It is a pleasure to meet you. Master speaks quite highly of your skills as a Stand user." "So Igor," Ren said, "We suspect the Stand user we recently swiped the last piece from is working for a larger organization." "Indeed," Igor replied, "As it happens, all of them are Stand users like yourself. In fact, their leader possess an ability that can give pseudo-Stands to other people, each with its own powers and abilities. And these can be taken away freely to be given to other individuals."

"Likely because the one who created the casino has no fighting ability of his own," Ren theorized. "To fight such a large group will take more than two," Igor noted, "You'll need a few more friends to pull this off. But that's the beauty of Stand users. Fate dictates that Stand users are drawn to each other, so finding allies may not be so difficult. Some good muscle, a tactician, perhaps a hacker given the modern times. I'm sure if you get the chance to explore Tokyo, you'll find plenty of skilled Stand users that can offer you plenty in terms of finding these mysterious individuals. Ah, but it seems the night is waning. We'll speak another time, should your dreams bring you here once more." Ren nodded as his vision started to fade."

April 10. Ren and Sumire were brought to Shujin. Sumire was taken to one homeroom, while Ren would be placed in the homeroom of one Sadayo Kawakami. The principal, Hideki Kobayakawa, nodded as the papers were properly signed. "Now I don't want to put any undo pressure on you," Kobayakawa said, "But your intelligence does precede you, Mister Amamiya. We expect that to be reflected in your grades. We here at Shujin do set a certain standard after all." "Not a problem," Ren replied, "I've found myself excelling in a number of courses. I believe this fact was reflected in the initial classes I signed on for."

"Yes, it certainly does set a good first impression," Kobayakawa admitted, "Miss Kawakami, make sure to take good care of him. See to it he gets well acquainted with your class." "Sure," Kawakami said, "But why my class, though?" "Our school is highly sought after by young and promising students," Kobayakawa pointed out, "That we were able to get two without needing to denying someone else enrollment is a lucky break. Don't worry, this won't wind up like the last school you taught at." Ren raised an eyebrow, but decided this was a private issue and didn't ask any questions.

Later, Kawakami was meeting another teacher, the volleyball coach Suguru Kamoshida. "So I heard about the new students being enrolled here as transfers," Kamoshida said. "Yeah, an honor student and a gymnastics prodigy," Kawakami replied, "The girl, Sumire I think, said she was doing this to get out from her sister's shadow, since said sister is supposedly even better." "Well, this is certainly the best school to find your future," Kamoshida noted. Kawakami chuckled. "I'd have thought you'd be concerned about the volleyball team losing prestige."

"Hey, anything that takes the pressure of me is welcome," Kamoshida said indignantly, "Don't get me wrong, I'm still trying to make the team the best it can be. But between all the honor students, this new gymnastics expert, and our star on the track team, I can't but feel like Atlas if he got some help from other titans. And a good thing too… I'd hate to think what would happen if that pressure got to me." Neither of them noticed a figure within the school, grinning. "So, control of the city starts with control of the future. That coach is the perfect scapegoat. Now… My Castle Stands!"

The drive home was incredibly congested as traffic was built up along the road. Over the radio, Sojiro overheard about a sudden subway accident. "Good grief, that's the third public transport that had a serious accident." "How does this keep happening?," Wakaba asked, "The official inspection showed no problems with either the busses or the tracks. This has to be a clear case of sabotage. But what's the motivation…?" Ren and Sumire looked at Wakaba just stared in surprise as Sojiro chuckled. "This is her when she's in her thinking mode. She'll snap out of it by the time we get back."

As it happened, the Special Investigations Unit was also concerned about the recent event. "None of the commuters still on the platform were seriously injured," SIU Director Toji Aizawa noted, "But eighty passengers are in critical condition. Fortunately, it seems their lives will not be lost. Still, these cannot be coincidences." He turned to the young woman next to him. "Niijima, I'm trusting you on this case." The young woman, Sae Niijima, nodded. She then walked out of the office, meeting Goro as she did. "So," she said, "Feel like taking your attention away from a pair of thieves to help me find some information?"

"For the time being," Goro said, "I was just calling in about finding a partner. Since the two Phantoms work together, I think I'll need an extra brain to pull this off." Sae chuckled. "I know why you think you can catch them as opposed to normal police, but you must admit you don't have nearly the right amount of experience. You've only had your Stand for two years." Goro shrugged. "You never know… I may just know a few good tricks after those two years. Anyway, what was this new case you were talking about?"

Back in their respective rooms, Ren and Sumire got into a chat room on their phones. 'Sumire Yoshizawa: So did Igor have any advice?' 'Ren Amamiya: Just trust in fate to lead us to allies with Stand potential. I got a chance to feel the school out, it definitely has the tell-tale signs of Stand energy present. We might be able to find some good candidates.' 'SY: Sounds perfect. We'll start our search tomorrow then? After classes, of course.' 'RA: Definitely. One other thing… I'm sure you noticed the rather large presence lurking in the background of the school. I believe we felt something similar to it when we found that casino.' 'SY: So you think it's someone similar? Then we should keep an eye out.'

April 11. Sojiro offered the couple a small breakfast. Ren was a little surprised to find it was just curry, but the flavor was so good he ultimately didn't care. Futaba was there too, enjoying several plates of the stuff. As Ren and Sumire headed to school, Sojiro and Wakaba got their first customer of the day. "Huh," the man said, "It's raining outside." Sojiro looked concerned. "Did those two remember to get their umbrellas?" "No," Wakaba said, "But most of the trip is underground. They should be good." "Actually," the customer said, "I heard some of the subway is closed for repairs around the Shibuya area, right on the way to Aoyama-Itchome."

The news was giving another report on the state of affairs involving the subway crash. "Jeez, my coworker got caught up in that accident and is now in the hospital. You know, I heard that someone somehow snuck their way into the conductor's room and knocked out the poor guy, taking over the train to wreck it directly." Sojiro looked surprised. "Why would they want to do that?" "Probably to discredit the Minister of Transport," Wakaba suggested, "After all, elections are coming up by the end of the year. Maybe someone's trying to make a statement."

Meanwhile, Ren and Sumire had been forced aboveground and in the middle of the rainstorm. "Jeez, we need to check the weather reports a little closer," Sumire noted, "I can't believe I forgot to get our umbrellas." A young girl in a hoodie ran up next to them as they took shelter under an awning. She lowered her hood to reveal her platinum blonde hair tied up in two pigtails. She looked at the duo. "Oh hey. Are you guys trying to escape the rain too?" Ren and Sumire nodded as a car pulled up. The window rolled down, revealing Kamoshida in the driver's seat. "Hey, you kids need a ride? You'll be late otherwise."

Ann took the offer and hopped in the back, while Ren and Sumire declined, noting the rain was starting to let up. Another student, this one a young man with dirty blonde hair, walked up as Kamoshida drove off. "So much for getting a ride… Oh well, the rain seems to be letting up, I can just run the rest of the way." He then spotted the duo. "Oh hey, you guys are second years too, right? I don't think I've seen you before though…" "We're the new transfer students," Ren explained. "Oh right, I heard there a couple of new transfers," the man said, "Anyway, we should get going if we don't want to be late."

In a dark room, a lone figure received a video call from a male individual. 'Things are proceeding well with my plan,' the man said, 'I already have followers gifted with the shards you provided. Already our force is using their powers to grant us power across Tokyo.' "Good," the figure said, "Control Tokyo, and you control Japan. And to do that we need to attack the Japanese government on a number of levels. Imagine the scandal if a former Olympic gold medalist turned high school coach was suddenly suspected of illicit actions. Wouldn't exactly look good for the Minister of Education, now would it?" The two figures laughed at their plan.

Little did they know something was about interfere with their plans. The trio made their way to the school, but got a complete shock. "What the eff?," the young man, Ryuji Sakamoto by name, asked in shock. Where the school should have been, was only a giant castle. "Okay, pretty sure this place is supposed to be a school," Sumire noted. Inside, things got even more confusing. The place looked way too well decorated to be some of sort of facade. "I'm sure I saw the sign out front say Shujin," Ren noted. Just then, a couple people dressed in armor approached. "You there, you are under arrest for trespassing."

The man raised his shield to strike. Ryuji took a fighting stance. "I don't know what this is about, but I'm pretty sure you're the ones trespassing here, buddy." However, he got clocked on the back of the head by another soldier, Ren and Sumire getting the same treatment. They finally woke up inside a cell. "What the heck happened?," Ren asked. "That's what I'd like to know," came a male voice. A man dressed in royal garments entered the cell, accompanied by one of the soldiers. "I am Toshiro Ishishiro," the man said, "And only those whom I grant permission should be able to enter this place. This makes four who have somehow snuck in… The system is supposed to be foolproof…"

"System?," Ryuji asked. "Never you mind," Toshiro said curtly, "I can't have anyone knowing what is going on behind the scenes." He turned to the guard. "Execute them." The guard nodded. "Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniac!" The trio looked shocked as a small floating creature with a jack-o-lantern for a head and dressed in robes and a pointed hat appeared, holding another lantern. "Just like the one in the casino," Ren noted, "Sumire, get ready!" Sumire nodded. Toshiro looked confused. "Ready for what?" The couple placed their hands on their faces. "W Boiled Xtreme!" "Be The One!"

Both the guard and Toshiro looked shocked as the couples' Stands appeared, the two of them dressed in their Phantom Thief outfits. "The heck…?," Toshiro said, "I'll go for backup, try and stall them." The guard nodded. Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniac launched some small flames from its lantern, but Joker smirked as he used his Stand to become intangible before counterattacking, striking the pseudo-Stand and causing it to crack. The assault caused the guard to be knocked out. Ryuji blinked. "Wait… You guys have Stands? And those suits."

"So you have it as well," Violet noted. "Yeah, but I haven't really used it much," Ryuji said, "I mean, I use it to train my muscles so I can run faster, but that's about it. I don't pick fights to avoiding adding to people's perception about me because of my hair. Anyway, we should get out of here before more of those guys show up." The trio hurried through the various dungeons until they reached a small cell just past a raised drawbridge. Inside was small creature that almost resembled a cat. "Could this be the other intruder Toshiro mentioned?," Joker asked.

"Ah, you met the guys behind this then," the cat said, "I was investigating this strange phenomenon when I was captured. The key is right there, so could you help me out." Violet got the key and let the cat out of the cell. "Thanks," the cat said, "My name is Morgana, by the way. It may not seem obvious, but I'm a real cat. It's just that I happen to posses a Stand which let's me alter my appearance. It also let's me have my own voice. I could tell you guys are Stand users too." "Don't suppose you know the way out of here," Ryuji said. "I can help you out with that," Morgana replied.

Meanwhile, Kawakami was looking at the clock, concerned. It was almost lunchtime, and Ren hadn't shown up to school. In fact, two other students were also surprisingly tardy. "This isn't like Ryuji… And I didn't get the impression from either Ren or Sumire that they would skip classes. Mister Sakura called to say they left for school… Could the trains be more behind schedule then we thought…?" She sighed. "I can't believe this is happening so early in the year. What did I ever do to deserve this?" She hoped the trio would make it before class let out. She still needed to make introductions.

"So this entire castle is a Stand?," Ryuji asked. Morgana nodded. "From what I've seen of the Stand user, it's called My Castle Stands. In actuality it's just a dimensional overlay, everything we're seeing isn't part of reality. In fact, most people can't even see it. Only Stand users seem to have that ability, and even then they have to be actively looking for it. I had only recently awakened to my Stand, and felt the same energy from the school, so I got curious and… Well, now I know why you humans have the saying 'curiosity killed the cat'."

"Me and Violet were also looking for Stand users to help us out with something important," Joker noted. "And I've always been curious if I was the only Stand user in school," Ryuji admitted. "What about the others?," Violet asked, "We saw a bunch of people in cages on the way here." "The only people here who are real are us and those that the Stand user invited into his castle," Morgana noted, "Giving them power to act as guards. I think the one giving them these powers is a separate Stand user, since it's a different energy from the castle. Anyway, we can't waste time here. Come on, I'll show you the way out."

He ran over to a statue near a raised drawbridge and pulled on the jaw. This activated a mechanism which lowered the drawbridge. However, as they got past, they heard the guard from before calling out, "Stop right there, intruders!" This drew in another guard from a nearby room. "That's not good," Joker noted. The second guard called out, "Bedside Brute!" This summoned a small, winged demon wearing a pointed codpiece. "Let me deal with this," Morgana said, "Come forth… Anything Goes!" A large male figure with a barrel chest and huge mustache, wearing a bandana and carrying a rapier, appeared behind Morgana. "This is my Stand," Morgana explained, "In addition to the powers I mentioned earlier, it can also manipulate the wind. Allow me to demonstrate!"

The Stand waved its rapier in the air, creating a sudden air current that slashed through Crypt-dwelling Pyromaniac. "Not bad," Violet said, "Let me give this a try. Be The One!" Her Stand appeared and fired a light ray through Bedside Brute, causing serious damage and forcing the two guards to retreat. "Why did they run?," Ryuji asked. "Too much damage and the pseudo Stand they were given will break and be revoked," Morgana explained, "And then given to someone else. They can only remain guards in this castle if they have those pseudo-Stands, otherwise they are at the Stand user's mercy."

"I think we met that guy earlier," Joker noted, "He called himself Toshiro Ishishiro." Morgana nodded. "Yeah, I think some of the other guards were calling him 'Lord Toshiro', or something like that. I'm still getting used to having human intelligence." As they kept moving, Ryuji noticed another student in a cell. "Hey, are you sure this guy isn't real?" "He's probably feeling the effects of whatever did this to him in the real world," Morgana admitted, "But this is just a mental projection created by the Stand user." Just then, the nearby drawbridge lowered to reveal another guard. "Great," Ryuji muttered, "More of them."

"Beguiling Girl!" The guard, who sounded more female, conjured a tiny pixie woman in a blue leotard. "We don't have time for this," Joker noted, "W Boiled Xtreme!" He summoned his Stand, who lashed out with its claws, striking the pseudo-Stand and knocking the guard aside. "Nice," Morgana said, "Let's go, the entrance isn't too far from here." He led the group to a small hallway off the side of the main entrance. "They'll likely have the entrance blocked," he explained, "But I know another way out." He opened a door to a side room and pointed out a large vent in the wall. "This leads outside. Let's hurry before anyone else comes."

The trio found themselves outside, accompanied by a small black cat. Ryuji blinked. "Morgana?" "Who else?," the cat replied, "I returned to my normal form once we escaped. And look, it seems we're able to use the outer layer like normal." Sure enough, the castle was missing, leaving only the school. Ryuji then checked his phone. "Ah shit, we're super late! How long were we in that place!?" "What place would that be?," a counselor said as he approached the trio. Ryuji thought fast. "Oh, we wound up getting caught up in subway repairs. Apparently the inspectors wanted to make sure there no further accidents."

The counselor didn't seem to buy it, but before he could say anything Kamoshida showed up. "Now now, it's only a first offense. I realize it might look bad if our school's star runner turns up late, but it'll look even worse if this winds up on his permanent record. As for the other two, well, they just moved in from out of town, didn't they? I'm sure they got confused trying to get used to Tokyo." The counselor sighed. "Very well, I'll overlook it this time. But try not to let this happen again." He walked off. "Thanks," Ryuji said, "I better go explain myself to the others." He walked inside. Kamoshida then noticed the other two. "Say, have we met before?"

"Earlier today," Ren explained, "You were offering us a ride to get out of the rain?" "Oh yeah," Kamoshida realized, "Guess you should have taken the offer. Anyway, you should head to the faculty lounge. Sadayo is pulling her hair out wondering where you are." Sumire headed for her own class, while Ren was lead to his classroom by Kawakami. Along the way, a couple of girls were whispering. "Is that the new transfer? He looks cute." "Don't bother," the other girl said, "I heard the other transfer, that gymnast girl, is his girlfriend. He's way out of your league."

Meanwhile, Aizawa was going over various notes about Stand users brought to him by the Speedwagon Foundation. "Releasing information that suggests these attacks were terrorist action is helping lift from pressure off of the Minister of Transport's shoulders," he noted, "But soon enough things will get out of hand. I hope Akechi knows what he's doing. Bringing in more help would certainly be welcome, but we also need to find out who is causing these events. Sooner or later, we need to take the fight to them instead of just doing damage control."

The mysterious figure, known as the Mastermind, got a call from Toshinori. "You can't possibly be finished so soon." 'We have another situation,' Toshiro replied, 'My Stand's been infiltrated. It seems there were Stand users hiding right under our noses inside the school. Some of my chosen guards identified Joker and Violet, the Phantom Thieves who targeted our other agent a few days earlier. And I think they have a new member, as well.' The Mastermind narrowed his eyes. "This is an unexpected development. Keep an eye out for them. I don't want any complications as our plans unfold."

Ren caused quite a stir as he was introduced to the class. "Guy must be pretty confidant of his intelligence if he's willing to skip classes," one student said. "Maybe he just got lost," another suggested, "Tokyo is a big place, after all, and he's just transferred here." Ren was offered a seat right behind the girl from before, whom he overheard the others calling Takamaki. Later on, he was invited to the roof by Ryuji, with Sumire joining him. "So I was thinking about it," Ryuji said, "And I think we need to deal with whatever that castle is. The first thing I wanna know is what this guy hopes to gain by doing this."

"Does it have something to do with Kamoshida?," Sumire asked, "I saw some of the volleyball team sporting injuries like the ones those mental projections had." "It might," Ryuji replied, "Suguru Kamoshida is an Olympic gold medalist. He's got shades of his prime, but he chooses to use it to spearhead the next generation. He's not bad as far as teachers go, taking the team to Nationals. He's hoping to get them into the Olympics in 2020. His own way of preserving glory for the future. But after seeing his team with unexplained injuries, he's been giving them bigger and bigger breaks. The pressure might be getting to him." Ren looked thoughtful at this statement.

Sojiro wasn't happy when he heard that Ren had showed up late, but he was more worried than angry from the look of it. That night Ren was drawn back into the Velvet Room. "So," Igor said, "It would appear we are starting to grasp the nature of the problem surrounding Tokyo. And I suspect our Mister Ishishiro is part of the organization we discussed earlier." "And there's another one behind the scenes," Ren noted, "Giving these people hired muscle." "I was able to determine the nature of that Stand," Igor admitted, "But I don't know its name or who the user is. I was able to determine something important however."

Ren raised an eyebrow in interest. "You see," Igor continued, "If you should wind up completely breaking one of these pseudo-Stands, it is gone permanently and will weaken the main Stand. That could come in handy should you find him and confront him. But it's not as easy as it sounds. The shards' durability is impressive, and they can be healed by the main Stand. It may take several tries to pull off." "We did find a possible new ally," Ren said, "Though I never thought a cat could be a Stand user." "A Stand is just one's fighting spirit made manifest," Igor pointed out, "Whether that be one's strength of will or excelling in a profession. Animal instinct would definitely fall into that category. Ah, but the night is starting to wane. We'll speak again before long."

April 12. People on the subway were still talking about the subway accident. Other than that, the trip to school was uneventful. Ren was soon in social studies class, the teacher there being Mister Ushimaru. "Before we begin on studying society's rules," he said, "I think it best to start by teaching you the concepts of being a decent human being. Mister Amamiya, let's see if you know this question." Ren looked attentively. "The Greek philosopher Plato described the human soul as being divided into three parts," Mister Ushimaru explained, "Two of these parts are appetite and spirit. What is the third part?" "Logic," Ren answered almost immediately.

Mister Ushimaru smiled and clapped. "Yes, that's correct. Incidentally, Plato's teacher Socrates said that evil is only born from ignorance, not individuality. Such ignorance is likely behind the actions of the ones trying to disrupt the public transport system." That made Ren a little thoughtful. 'Every philosophy has its flaws, but could it be possible that these people don't even realize what they're doing to others? I guess it does make sense. I should bring this to Sumire's attention after school's done.' They had agreed to return to Toshinori's realm after class, to see what they could glean from it.

As Ren left for class, he saw the same blonde girl again, this time talking with a girl who was dressed like someone from the volleyball team. Outside, he met with Sumire and Ryuji in a nearby alley. "Okay," Ryuji said, "So we need to actively be looking for a Stand user to perceive this Stand. Let's wait until the school starts to clear up a little bit." After a few minutes, with the school yard cleared, the three of them focused and before long the castle manifested once again. Morgana was there in front of the main gate. "So you guys decided to return as well. I must admit, I was hoping to figure something out."

"Our main concern is trying to understand why Toshiro is targeting the school," Joker noted. "As it happens," Morgana said, "I found something underground that might answer that question. Follow me." He led the group down to the dungeons. Ryuji noticed the cells were now empty. "Where did those guys go?" "Probably transferred," Morgana suggested. His ears then perked up at some distance sounds. "Guards coming! Quick, in this door!" He lead the trio through a nearby door. Violet pressure and ear to the door. "The guards are outside, but I don't think they can see this door, even though they're talking about looking for us."

"Something I've learned recently," Morgana explained, "This Stand is anchored to reality using very specific points. Ironically, those anchor points are a blind spot. If I focus my Stand, I've found I can render the door to this room invisible via light refraction, and keep our voices from reaching people's ears. It's all tied to my gift of wind manipulation." "That's some extreme precision," Ryuji admitted, "Speaking of alternate uses for our Stand's, I managed to buy these yesterday." He got out a few weapons. A dagger and pistol for Joker, a rapier and rifle for Violet, a slingshot and short sword for Morgana, and a pipe and shotgun for himself.

Joker looked at the tools. "Aren't these replicas? I mean, they look real, but they can't really harm anyone." "True," Ryuji admitted, "But I figure we can channel our Stands' power through them, allowing us to harm a Stand without harming the user." "That's not a bad idea," Morgana noted, "And the realistic appearance will throw our enemies off-guard. Seems like things are clear outside, so let's put these to good use." Just down the nearby stairs was another guard. "This is a good chance to try these new tools," Violet noted. She channeled her light energy through the rifle and fired, knocking into the shoulder of the guard.

"The hell?," the guard said, spotting the group, "Gallows Flower!" A humanoid root-like creature with a flower for hair appeared. Joker smirked as he charged his shadow energy through the dagger, slicing through the pseud-Stand and causing the guard to run off quickly. Eventually, the group reached the lower dungeons. Inside, they saw several guards without their helmets on, torturing projections of members of the volleyball team. "This explains the unusual injuries some of the volleyball members have sustained," Ryuji noted, "And those guys beneath the helmets… I recognize them. Members of a local bully clique. The faculty have cracked down on them numerous times, only for them to try new tactics. Recently it seemed like they gave up altogether."

"Looks like they were given a brand new means of being able to torment their victims," Joker realized, "With Toshiro giving them the perfect ticket to do so." "And using Kamoshida as the perfect scapegoat," Violet noted. Ryuji memorized the individual faces. "I think we can use this somehow. Maybe get a sense of Toshiro's plan." They headed back up the main hall, only to run into Toshiro himself, along with two more guards. "So you interlopers returned," Toshiro noted, "I really would have preferred to avoid trouble. After all, the second people start talking about supernatural happenings, it's a countdown to how long it takes for a Joestar to show up."

He sighed as he shook his head. "But there's always someone out there ready to try and mess up your plans. All I wanted to do was create a scandal by using my friends here to plant suggestions into the minds of students so they'd their favorite volleyball coach was abusing them and no one would help them. Of course, the school takes its students seriously, so eventually the whispering would get the attention of most of the faculty, and then they'd inquire into Kamoshida's actions. And I've been setting things up so that no matter what he says, he'll look guilty. The scandal could easily go all the way to the Minister of Education, for allowing this travesty."

Ryuji started to turn livid. "You'd go that far!? All for a power trip!" "I don't expect you to understand," Toshiro said with a shrug, "Not that you'll need to in a moment. Take 'em out!" The two guards nodded. "War-hungry Horseman!" "Dirty Two-Horned Beast!" One of them manifested a knight in crimson armor atop a similarly colored steed, the other summoned a horse-like creature with two curved horns. Ryuji scoffed. "You know what…? I'm not normally the resort to violence, but the way you're treating everyone's lives like their your personal playing pieces… Is absolute bullshit!"

His body crackled with electrical energy, shocking everyone in the room. He ultimately manifested a biker outfit with a skull mask and yellow gloves. "I've had enough of you assholes! Switch On!" From behind him appeared a humanoid pirate with a skull for a head and standing astride a miniature pirate ship like it was a surfboard. Ryuji aimed his shotgun at Dirty Two-Horned Beast and fired, launching thunderbolts from the barrel which blasted the beast. The other guard tried to intervene, only for Morgana to come in and strike War-hungry Horseman with his sword.

Toshiro scoffed. "Not bad. I underestimated you. I didn't think you had the same drive as the others. But I have a little trick with this castle." He raised his hand, and to the group's surprise, he disappeared along with both the guards and the castle. The team was left with their civilian clothes standing inside the school entrance hall. "I should have realized he could do something like this," Morgana said, "Oh well, we'll get a better chance next time. He has to keep his Stand active whenever possible to enact his plan, after all." "I know one thing," Ryuji said, "Tomorrow at the volleyball rally, I'm intending to ask some of the volleyball team if they've had any experiences with those bullies lately."

"Sounds like a good plan," Ren admitted, "I think we can help as well." Sumire nodded. Morgana stretched out. "Well, I'll look around the school myself tomorrow and see if I can't find Toshiro in reality, or maybe figure out how to target him directly." Ren's stomach started growling. "Huh," Ryuji said, "Well, for now we should get something to eat. I mean, right about now it's rush hour on the subway, so it's good to kill some time before heading home. Come on, I know this great beef bowl place." The trio walked off for their meal as Morgana went his own way.

Meanwhile the girl Ren had noticed earlier, Ann Takamaki by name, was speaking with her best friend Shiho Suzui. "So how's practice going?" "Everyone's eager," Shiho said, "But the bizarre injuries that seem to come out of nowhere are getting to us. Not to mention they're not normal for volleyball practice. Like that sudden leg injury I had the doctor check out. According to his report, the only thing that should cause that is someone deliberately trying to break it. Anyway, I need to speak with Kamoshida about the starting lineup soon." Ann nodded, a little concerned about what was going on.

Sojiro noticed Ren entering the cafe as he worked on his crossword. "Oh hey. So you actually went this time." "It was only a one-time fluke," Ren pointed out, "I don't plan on making a habit of it." Sojiro smiled. "Don't worry, I don't plan on holding it over your head. Anyway, you look like you're in a better mood." "Well, I made a new friend today," Ren explained, "Two in fact. Anyway, I'm beat after today. I'm going to bed early." "Alright," Sojiro replied, "I'll just lock up for the night." Ren flopped on the bed, and his dreams took him back to the Velvet Room.

"It seems you have a new ally to work with you," Igor noted, "And, as it happens, I might be able to assist as well." "How so?," Ren asked. Igor chuckled. "I too have the capacity for a Stand, and it will be quite useful to you." He brought a small red card. "This is a manifestation of my Stand, called Bleeding Secrets. Write something on the card, and my Stand will insure it is stolen. Applied to a person, it can even steal aspects of a Stand. While it cannot steal an actual Stand, it can render a Stand dormant, leaving them open to be dealt with by more conventional means."

He handed a few to Ren. "With Lavenza's help, I should be able to produce a system that we can use to weaken the one behind all this." Ren smirked when he saw the cards. They reminded him of classic calling cards. "This should be just what we need." "You will likely encounter other Stand users that can help you in some way. But I don't recommend forming a superficial relationship. It must be one of trust and on equal terms. We have been working together for so long that I could definitely consider us true friends. This is the sort of experience I am speaking of. I'm sure you'll find others before long." Ren nodded, before feeling his vision fade again as he started to return to reality.

April 13. The big volleyball rally was happening, with Kamoshida overseeing the two student teams playing each other, calling out advice at key points. Sumire noticed Ryuji was distracted by Ann. "Someone you know?" "Just a friend from middle school," Ryuji said, "That's Ann Takamaki. She's famous around the school for her modeling career." Just then, one young student with dark blue hair got nailed in the face by a badly-aimed spike. Kamoshida was quick to rush to his side and get him to nurse's office. That got some of the teacher's talking. "I wonder if his plan will really work they way he thinks it will," Ryuji noted. "We can't take that chance," Ren said, "Looks like there's a lull in the action. Let's use this chance to speak with some of the volleyball team."

As luck would have it, some of the members of the team did have a few things to say, largely how the bully clique seemed to be more smug than ever. Most of the team found themselves developing bruises and injuries not consistent with heavy volleyball training, even for the national level they were striving for. "Speaking of that clique," Sumire said, "I haven't really seen them around school." "Bullies are cowards by nature," Ren noted, "And they know our faces and what we can do. They're probably taking steps to avoid us."

"Who's avoiding you now?," said a young woman's voice. It was Ann. "Oh, hey Ann," Ryuji said, "What are you doing around here?" "I could ask you the same thing, Ryuji," Ann pointed out, "I heard you were late the other day alongside the new couple. That's really not like you." "Trust me," Ryuji said, "Even for people like us, you'd have to see my explanation to believe it." Ren and Sumire looked at Ryuji, confused. "Ann's a Stand user too," Ryuji explained. "Let's just say I give a whole new meaning to the phrase 'that girl is hot'," Ann joked. "Anyway," Ren said, "We have reason to suspect the local bullies are involved in a plot to scandalize one of the teachers."

"You mean those mysterious bruises on the volleyball team?," Ann asked, "You know, Mishima from our class always suddenly sports massive bruises across his body. He says he keeps getting visions of men in armor suits attacking him in those same areas." "Men in armor suits…?," Ryuji muttered, "Could it be possible…? Where is Mishima right now?" "He should be heading home right now," Ann replied, "Kamoshida suggested he head home to avoid aggravating his injuries after that nasty spike earlier." The trio hurried to the front entrance. Sure enough, Mishima was there.

"Hey, Mishima!," Ryuji called out. Mishima looked at the group. "Oh, hey Ryuji. And… Ren, right? And Sumire too." "We heard about the strange visions you got before getting those injuries," Sumire said, "How guys in armor were beating you up." Mishima nodded. "Yeah. It was in some kind of stone castle, like the ones in medieval fantasy. Some of the other guys felt the same thing, only hazier. I'm not sure why it's only me." "I might have an idea or two," Ren muttered. Mishima might have had a Stand of his own. While most of the school was growing concerned about Kamoshida, the volleyball team was more or less in a healthy mindset. Clearly, something was keeping them safe from Toshiro's influence beyond the physical.

Each chapter here will include six calendar days, and the schedule I use will be based off of Vaelis' Persona 5 walkthrough on GameFAQs, with some changes later down the line due to the Death Confidant's Rank 10 being at a different time depending on whether or not you choose to pursue a relationship (it kinda threw me off for a while, but I've got it all under control now). Read and review.