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Persona: Wings of Liberation

Chapter 11

The Fake Prince

4/18

Shujin Academy

Morning

Kamoshida was just standing outside the entrance, greeting the students as they were coming into the school at the start of the new week. As he did, he caught Kazuya and Shiho walking together. As they passed him, he didn't say a word to either Kazuya or Shiho. He was about to say something to Ann as she was walking by, but she just glared at him, so he kept silent. Then Ren and Ryuji walked past him without even making eye contact.

'Yeah… keep acting like that while you can. It won't matter when you're expelled.' Kamoshida thought.

Classroom 2-E

Morning

Ushimaru was teaching the class. Ren, Ryuji, and Shiho were on their phones participating in a chat room.

Ann: We have up until May 2 to pull this off.

Ryuji: That leaves us with two weeks.

Ren: We have to steal the treasure by then.

Sophia: You don't have to remind us. I'll mark it on Kazuya's calendar so he doesn't forget.

Kazuya: As if I would.

Shiho: We have to get this right! It's our only chance!

"Hey! Yanagisawa! Are you listening?!" Ushimaru called out Kazuya.

"Huh?"

"In this class, you pay attention to me!"

Ushimaru tossed a chalk stick at Kazuya. He got sniped in the head by the chalk stick.

"Dang! That must hurt!"

"Serves him right for slacking off."

"Ha!"

'I really gotta watch out for that.' Kazuya thought.

"Yes, fix your proficiency." Sherlock said, "It's abysmal."

Kazuya sighed. He noticed that Shiho was giggling. It made him blush. He shook his head. He didn't have the time for it.

After School

Kazuya was about to head up to the roof before Shiho tugged at his uniform.

"Hold on," Shiho said, "I think we'll need one more person."

"One more person?" Kazuya asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well…" Shiho scratched her head, "You have to hear me out on this one."

Kazuya scratched his head.

"Alright, go for it." Kazuya said.

"Thanks." Shiho said, "His name is Yuuki Mishima. He's on the volleyball team. He's the one Mr Kamoshida physically abuses the most. He's in Ann's class."

"I see…" Kazuya said, "What is he usually like?"

"Well… he's sorta nervous and scared." Shiho said.

"Hm…" Kazuya said.

He felt a sting in his heart. It made him feel nervous.

"Why would you want him to get him mixed up in this?" Kazuya asked.

Shiho looked down with a hand to her chest. She looked up at Kazuya with determination in her eyes.

"Because I want him to be able to fight back." Shiho said, "I know it sounds silly, but I can't stand seeing him being abused anymore."

"Shiho…" Kazuya said.

"Please, do it for me." Shiho said, "I'll even help you if that's what it takes to convince him to help us."

Kazuya began to consider Shiho's request and her feelings. She became his first friend when no one else would become his friend. He thought about it as hard as he could. He considered all the facts, all the hypotheticals, and now he had arrived at his verdict.

"Alright, let's take him with us." Kazuya said.

"Yes!" Shiho said, "I knew you'd listen!"

Kazuya and Shiho left the room and went to room 2-D. Shiho pointed to one student who was sitting at his desk. He was of average height or shorter, with spiky blue-tinted black hair, black eyes and a relatively "average" face with almost no bruises, probably from the lack of activity from Kamoshida as of the incidents leading up to the attempted suicide and the suicide attempt itself being leaked out to the public. He wore Shujin Academy's standard winter uniform without the blazer and with the shirt untucked, sleeves rolled up to his elbows and suspenders off his shoulders. He also wore white tennis shoes with green accents as well. He had bandages over his left arm.

"That's him." Shiho said.

"Yuuki Mishima…" Kazuya said.

Kazuya went over to Mishima.

"Hey, Mishima, right?" Kazuya asked, "You mind coming with me and Suzui-san to the entrance?"

The boy looked at him with a downtrodden face.

"Oh… Yanagisawa-san, correct?" Mishima asked, "What do you want with me?"

"Me and Suzui-san just want to talk with you in private for a moment." Kazuya said, "Just come along."

The boy sighed. He stood up.

"Alright…" Mishima said.

The three left the classroom and they went down the stairs. They got out to the entrance of the school and walked past the gate. Kazuya and Shiho turned to Mishima.

"What is it that you want from me?" Mishima asked.

"We want you to see something." Kazuya said, holding his phone out, "Tell me, have you ever wondered what the inside of a person's subconscious is like?"

"Huh?"

Kamoshida's Palace

After School

Ren, Morgana, Ryuji, and Ann were at the Palace, just outside the gate.

"Damn…" Ryuji said, admiring her costume, "S-Still, you look cool in that outfit."

"Please stop talking about the outfit!" Ann said, looking embarrassed.

"If we're all done admiring Lady Ann's gorgeous appearance, we should probably call each other by code names now." Morgana said, "As phantom thieves, it would be uncool if we just called each other by our real names."

"Huh… good point." Ryuji said, now looking enthusiastic, "Ok, I'll be called Skull 'cause I'm wearing a skull mask."

"Seems straightforward enough." Ren said.

"So what should we call you then?" Ryuji asked.

"I'm thinking… Joker." Ren said, "Since I can have multiple Personas, it makes me a jack of all trades."

"That makes sense." Ann said before she looked at Morgana, "And we could just call Morgana… Mona."

"Mona?" Morgana asked.

"It's a cute name after all." Ann said.

"C-Cute?" Morgana asked, his eyes shrinking.

He looked determined.

"Very well then, Mona it is." Morgana said.

"I knew you'd say that." Ann said, "So what should my code name be?"

The boys put their thoughts together. Out of all the names they could come up with, they had three likely options. Kitty Woman, Catgirl, or Sexy Cat. The boys smiled on that third idea.

"How about Sexy Cat?" Ren asked.

"Hell yeah! Sexy Cat all the way!" Ryuji said.

"What?! No!" Ann exclaimed, now scowling, "I am not going to be called by some cat burglar name and no way in hell am I going to be called Sexy Cat!"

Morgana looked peeved with the boys and hopped a bit, bending over as he stretched his arms to the ground. Before assuming an upright position as he landed on his feet.

"She's obviously a panther!" Morgana said.

"Oh yeah… her mask is shaped after a panther." Ryuji said.

"And panthers are deadly." Ren said.

"Panther… Huh. That'll work." Ann said, "Still, what's taking Kazuya, Shiho, and Sophia to come along?"

They heard a loud scream coming from where they had just crossed. They went over to the scream and found four people there.

Kazuya, Shiho, and Sophia were there…

… and so was Mishima.

And he looked like he had just been jump scared.

"Mishima?!" Ryuji exclaimed.

"Ok Kazuya, I get it." Ren said, "He was abused by Kamoshida and you definitely had to bring him along because you think he'd make a good Persona user."

"Um… about that…" Kazuya paused as he scratched his head.

"Actually…" Sophia spoke up, "... Suzui-san was the one who convinced him to take Mishima to the Metaverse."

"SHIHO?!" Ann exclaimed before she looked at Shiho. "This was YOUR idea?!"

She looked angry at Shiho.

"Look, I can understand you and him being victims of Kamoshida's abuses, but don't you think it's a bit crazy to bring him into this?!" Ann said, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"W-Wait… that voice... Takamaki-san? Is that… Is that you?" Mishima asked, "And Sakamoto-kun… The transfer with the criminal record…"

He looked at Morgana.

"And an animated stuffed animal toy?" Mishima asked.

"Hey! I am not a toy nor an animal!" Morgana said, "I am a human! Human! Got it?!"

"And it talks?" Mishima asked.

He looked at Sophia.

"And where did this girl come from?" Mishima asked.

"I am an artificial intelligence that exists within Kazuya's phone." Sophia said, "I'm also everyone's best friend."

He chuckled before he began to whine and whimper.

Oh my god… I think I'm going insane…" Mishima said, "None of this is real, right? This is all a dream, right?"

"No, Mishima-kun… it's real." Shiho said, "All of this is real."

Mishima looked at Shiho in shock.

"Suzui-san?" Mishima asked before he looked to Kazuya. "Yanagisawa-san? What is all of this? How is this all real? Where in the world are we? And what just happened to the school just now?"

How were they going to explain all of this to Mishima without making him go crazy? It wasn't like they could just tell him that they're basically inside Kamoshida's head. They definitely can't just tell him that they were in some other world. None of it would make sense if they just tried to explain it to them in full detail either. Mishima could only look on in disbelief.

"This is what we call the Metaverse." Kazuya said, "It is a world that is essentially how we perceive the real world around us using our cognition."

"Cognition…" Mishima said, "Wait, you asked me if I was interested in the inside of someone's subconscious. Is… is this what you meant?"

"Exactly." Kazuya said, pointing to the castle. "That castle over there is how Kamoshida thinks of the school. It is also a manifestation of the distortions that corrupted his mind and twisted his behavior."

"Wait… hold on a minute." Mishima said, trying his best to take this all in without having a migraine.

He put a hand on his head and closed his eyes for a moment. He takes a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He opens them again.

"Are you saying that we are inside his head right now?" Mishima asked, "Everything that I am seeing is just how he sees everything? Every person? Every object? Just… everything?"

"Yes and not all of us are part of his cognition." Ren said, "Since we came in from the real world, we're different from whatever we happen to see in there."

"Wait… but wouldn't he know that—"

"We're in his head? Nah." Ryuji said, "It's like uh… he doesn't know that his Palace exists and he doesn't know what the hell we're doing. His Shadow on the other hand definitely knows who we are though."

"So… it's really his subconscious then…" Mishima said.

He perked up an eyebrow.

"Shadow? Palace?"

"They are the manifestation of our innermost thoughts as well as our basic desires of eating, sleeping, and even falling in love." Kazuya said, "Palaces, like this castle, are basically physical manifestations of things like negative thoughts and distorted desires that corrupt our mindsets by making us entrench ourselves in our distorted beliefs."

"So… let me get this straight… Kamoshida's mind is basically corrupted because of this castle and he doesn't know that it even exists…" Mishima said, "And as long as it's there, he'll continue to be the way he is…"

"That is until we destroy his desires of course." Kazuya said.

"Huh?" Mishima asked, "It can be destroyed?"

"Exactly." Ren said.

Mishima began to look inquiring into the idea. Of course, everyone else knew it was possible.

"But… how?" Mishima asked.

"Simply put, we remove the core of his cognitive world out and cause it to collapse." Kazuya said, "The resulting collapse will flush out all of his negative thoughts and desires."

"And this is where the best part comes in!" Ryuji said. "Once his desires get stolen, he'll be a completely different person!"

"He'll feel guilty about all the terrible things he did and then confess his crimes." Ann said.

"And after that, he should be on the path of being reformed." Kazuya said.

Mishima looked in awe at the whole idea of it. Kamoshida confessing to everything… getting him discredited and arrested for physical abuse and sexual harassment, and for his attempted rape on Shiho. He'd be gone from the school and things would start to get better. He wouldn't have to put up with the abuse anymore. He could finally be free from Kamoshida at long last.

Shiho came to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We can finally take him down without having to worry about any repercussions." Shiho said, "We'll finally be free from Kamoshida and everyone will know what he did. We'll finally have justice for what he did and get revenge against him."

"And we'll use his confession against the principal and expose his ass." Ryuji said, "Then we can change his heart too."

"This is… I… wow…" Mishima said, starting to like the idea.

"So how about it? You in or not?" Ryuji asked, "Since you already know what we intend to do and all of that, why not help us out?"

"I…"

Mishima stopped and looked down.

"N-No… I… I can't." Mishima said.

"HUH?!" The whole group, save Kazuya, Ren, and Sophia, exclaimed in shock.

"It's not like I don't want to help," Mishima said, "it's just… I don't think I'd be of much use to you guys…"

They all began to look sympathetic.

"Mishima-kun…" Shiho said, "You… you don't have to be here to help us out, you can—"

"No." Mishima said. "I wouldn't be as much use in the real world either. I'd just… slow you guys down even more…"

He looked to Kazuya.

"And I'm the reason that all the guys, including me are going to get expelled… and I'm the reason there are so many rumors about you guys..." Mishima said, "All because of what I did..."

"Huh?" Ann asked, "Wait, what do you mean?"

Mishima looked at Ann with regret over his face. He sobbed as tears began to fall out from his eyes.

"I was the one spreading those nasty rumors about you, Takamaki-san." Mishima said.

Ann and Shiho recoiled in shock.

"It was you?" Ann asked, "You were spreading those rumors?"

He got on his knees and bowed before her, crying before her.

"I… I did it on Mr Kamoshida's orders!" Mishima cried. "Please! Don't hurt me! I didn't want to, but he said that if I didn't, he'd…"

"So… it's just as I suspected, he wouldn't want it all leading back to him, so he made you do all of his dirty work for him." Kazuya said, "Is that true?"

"Yes…" Mishima confirmed, "I was even forced to leak that guy's criminal record and Yanagisawa-san's disciplinary record. He got me to start a bunch of terrible rumors simply because he didn't like you…"

He looked at Kazuya before he looked at Ann.

"He even wanted me spread rumors about you attempting to rape Suzui-san!" Mishima cried before he banged his head into the ground.

"That monster!" Ann said in anger, "He wants to make everyone think Kazuya tried to rape Shiho when we all know Kamoshida was the one who tried to rape her!"

"He'd go that far to get rid of Kazzy-kun?" Shiho asked, "But why?"

"Jealousy." Kazuya said, "Jealousy and resentment for me."

"Huh?" Morgana asked.

"First, I call him out on one of his habits, then I humiliated him at the rally, and then I stepped in to save Shiho from his little 'training' sessions." Kazuya said. "He must think I'm out to usurp him and get him fired so I could have all the female students, including Shiho and Ann to myself…"

"I knew his mind was warped, but this goes way beyond what we've seen already." Ren said, "He'd go that far out of jealousy and hatred alone? Just for one guy who stood in his way and made him look bad?"

"He is so going down!" Ryuji said. "Come on! Let's go!"

"Hold on, we haven't thought of a code name for Kazuya, Shiho, or Sophia!" Ann said.

"Code names?" Shiho asked.

"If we're gonna be phantom thieves, we'll need to hide our true identities with code names." Morgana said, "And I'm thinking yours should be Maiden, Lady Shiho."

"Maiden?" Shiho asked.

"Because you still have your virginity intact." Sophia said.

"WHAT?!"

"Wait, that's not what I meant!" Morgana said, "I said her code name should be Maiden because she has the beauty of a maiden!"

Shiho's face turned red and Ann glared at Sophia while Morgana was shaking his head.

"You don't just say it out loud!" Ann said.

"I wasn't?" Sophia asked, "But aren't female virgins usually called maidens?"

"That still doesn't—ugh! Forget it! We'll go with Maiden!" Ann said, "I guess you should just be called Sophie."

Sophia's eyes changed into upward arrows.

"Very well. Sounds simple enough to be a code name for me." Sophia said.

"And I guess we can just call Kazuya 'Detective'?" Ryuji asked.

"That is a little on the nose, don't you think?" Kazuya asked.

"Yeah, but it fits." Ryuji said, "You know, you being a detective and all that mystery stuff."

"But what do we do with Mishima?" Ren asked, "We don't want him to get hurt or anything."

The group looked at Mishima.

"Why did you even bring me here?" Mishima asked.

"Because now's the time to change your fate!" Shiho said, "Kazuya did it for me and I want to help change your fate too!"

Mishima shook just from hearing that.

"Shiho…" Ann said.

"You're not just going to let Kamoshida do whatever he wants to you for the rest of your life here, will you?!" Shiho asked, "Your life is your own! It's not his to live for you!"

"Suzui-san…" Mishima said.

"You know what? We'll move on ahead, we'll wait by the front." Ryuji said.

Ren, Ann, Ryuji, and Morgana moved on ahead. Ann looked back.

'Shiho must really care about Mishima…' Ann thought, 'Even if he was forced to spread all those rumors about me… no. He was forcedby Kamoshida. Kamoshida is going to pay for everything.'

"That's it. Steel your resolve. Steel your vengeance." Carmen's voice flowed into Ann's ears.

"I will." Ann said silently.

Kazuya looked upon Mishima. He could sympathize with Mishima.

"Mishima, you may not realize it, but you're a special person." Kazuya said, "You just have to open your eyes to what you truly desire and grasp it."

"What I… truly desire?" Mishima asked.

"Yes, you want freedom, don't you? Freedom from Kamoshida…" Kazuya said, "... but also from being a nobody."

This made Mishima gasp. He looked at Kazuya.

"You know… it was like that for me." Shiho said, "I was so desperate in trying to get away from Mr Kamoshida that I didn't realize that there was no way I could ever get away from him. The only real option I had was to stand up against him, and I did that."

"Suzui-san…" Mishima said.

"You want to be free from being a nobody, is that what you desire?" Kazuya asked.

"I… I…"

Mishima began to suddenly feel a shift in his mind. He felt a surging feeling flowing through his body. He stood up and scowled as he stood.

"I do." Mishima said.

"Mishima-kun…" Shiho said.

"I… I was bullied before I ever went to Shujin, before I was abused by Mr Kamoshida." Mishima said, "I always thought of myself as some "zero", some nobody. But now… now I don't have to feel like that. Not anymore."

He balled his hands into fists.

"I won't be a zero any longer!" Mishima said.

"Mishima…" Shiho said.

"So you've finally decided to wake up."

'Huh?'

He felt a huge migraine as his eyes turned golden. He fell onto his knees, holding his head. He grunted and growled as he held his head.

"Mishima-kun!" Shiho said out of concern.

"No. It was like this for you as well." Kazuya said, "Give him time."

"You allowed yourself to become some worthless nobody because you didn't have any friends and you were always preyed upon by some vultures." The voice in his head spoke, "They shoved you in a cave, hoping that you'd never find your way out. Too bad they forgot to cave-in the entrance."

He had begun to roll all over the ground.

'It hurts! Why does it hurt?!'

"Oh come on, what that man did to you is child's play compared to the pain you're feeling." The voice said, "Why don't we just light fires of rebellion on the lamp? The other you within your heart thinks so too, so let's make our vows."

'Vows? What vows?'

The feeling began to intensify.

"I am thou. Thou art I. Now that you have the lamp in your hands, it's time to light the flame on it." The voice said, "Light the flame of rebellion and let it be your light to stand against the darkness of imprisonment. Burn away the darkness of oppression with the light of rebellion!"

A golden mask appeared over Mishima's face. The headaches stopped. He looked up and saw Kazuya, Shiho, and Sophia looking at him.

"I knew it. You had the potential in you after all." Kazuya said, "Now all you have to do is take the mask off. Do that, and you'll gain the power to fight against the distortions in the hearts of men who have become corrupted by their desires and negative thoughts."

"My… mask?"

He felt his face all over.

He felt the mask over his face.

"Go on, take it off. Finalize the contract."

He felt egged on to take it off. He began to pull on it, but then felt pain on his face. He saw blood flowing from his face as he attempted to take the mask off.

"It hurts!" Mishima said, stopping himself from taking the mask off.

"I know it hurts, Mishima-kun, but you can do it!" Shiho said, kneeling down to him. "Just rip it off with all your might!"

"She's right. Pain is temporary. Freedom is eternal." The voice said, "The price of freedom is always paid in pain and the path to that freedom is always riddled with strife. Brave them both, and the justice and freedom you seek shall be yours."

He tore the mask off with every ounce of strength.

And as he did, he roared out.

Then a bright flash of light consumed his vision as the feeling of burning flames and warmth consumed him.

Then he had done it.

He obtained the facade to deal with life's hardships.

The Fake Prince.

Aladdin.

They saw a rising pillar of flame out from where they walked away from.

"Hey… do you think Mishima did it?" Ryuji asked.

"It's pretty obvious that he did." Morgana said, "Of course, only a monkey wouldn't notice."

"Hey!" Ryuji said.

They were just going to check until they saw three—no. They saw four people coming to them.

And Mishima was one of them.

He was wearing some different clothing. He had a keffiyeh over his head with a golden mask. He had a light yellow shemagh scarf around his neck. He wore a yellow vest with a white shirt underneath the vest. He had a lemon-yellow sash around his waist, punjabi pants, and some shoes. He had light red fingerless gloves.

Most of the group seemed impressed.

"Damn, Mishima!" Ryuji yelled, "You're totally rocking that outfit!"

Mishima smiled with a snicker.

"I know, it looks awesome." Mishima said before he sighed. "It's a shame that it's not like a high suit or anything…"

Morgana stepped up to Mishima.

"Well, looks like we just got ourselves one more thief in our entourage." Morgana said, "Let's see what kind of Persona you got."

Mishima looked at Morgana with brimming confidence.

"Whatever you say, strange cat plush toy that's talking to me!" Mishima said.

"You just had to add the cat part, didn't you?" Morgana asked, "As if being called a toy wasn't enough to peev me already."

Mishima reached for his mask.

"Alright, say hello to Aladdin!" Mishima said.

He took off his mask and out came a Persona that emerged from a burst of flame with chains surrounding it.

The Persona was a humanoid being with a turban on its head with a feather on a jewel. It had yellow glowing eyes. There was an arabic oil lamp that was held in the being's right hand. Attached below the lamp's elongated nozzle was some straight-edge razor. The blade came out of the sheath. It was shaped like a curved scimitar. The blade was retracted back into the sheath. The being itself was clad in white a top with a yellow vest, white cloak, a black belt, and white punjabi pants. The being held up the lamp and pointed upward as a flame was lit on the lamp.

The group was amazed by the Persona itself.

"Wow!" Ann said, "It looks great on you, Mishima!"

Morgana looked at Ann with a nervous look in his eyes. He shook his head and looked at Mishima.

"It's quite an interesting Persona." Morgana said, "But it's a bit too flashy."

"It looks freaking amazing! Who cares if it looks gaudy?!" Ryuji said.

"Not only that, it totally has that sort of charming look to it." Shiho said, "That and fire is his element."

"Well duh, it has an oil lamp as a weapon." Morgana said.

"Aladdin…" Ren said, "What is it supposed to mean?"

"Aladdin, a once impoverished ne'er-do-well who used a magical lamp that called forth a genie who would grant whatever wish Aladdin desired." Kazuya said. "With the help from the genie of the lamp, he became a wealthy and powerful noble who then married a princess, all while no one knew that he was really a street rat."

"A street rat turned prince thanks to a lamp?" Mishima asked, "But how does that relate to me?"

"Because he, much like you, were once nobodies." Kazuya said, "You were both tricked by promises made from terrible men and were betrayed. But then you rose back up and rode all the way up to the top."

The whole group was silent. Not one person understood a word Kazuya said.

"In short, it represents Mishima's desires to change himself." Sophia said, "Just as Aladdin became a prince, Mishima wished to become, in some sense, "valuable" to society."

"Oh yeah…" Ryuji said.

"That makes a lot of sense when you think about it." Shiho said.

"Yeah, it does." Ann said.

"I get it now." Ren said.

"Ok, you can put it back now." Morgana said.

Mishima's Persona faded as his mask reformed itself. He pulled out a pair of daggers.

"So… is it weird that I happen to know how to use a pair of daggers?" Mishima asked, "Like, have any of you ever thought it would be weird that you already know how to use a weapon despite not being taught how to use it?"

They all shrugged. Mishima put the daggers away and pulled out a magnum.

"And… you guys didn't happen to have a gun in your pants, right?" Mishima asked.

The group just looked at each other before they started pulling out their firearms. Ann pulled out an SMG. Ryuji pulled out a shotgun. Ren and Kazuya pulled out their pistols. Shiho pulled out a crossbow. Sophia pulled out a laser blaster and Morgana pulled out a slingshot.

"Oh my god, you guys came strapped." Mishima said.

"Yeah… I don't even know how I ended up having a twelve gauge myself." Ryuji said.

"I wasn't expecting an SMG." Ann said. "I am jealous over Shiho having a crossbow."

"Do we even need ammo?" Shiho asked.

"Nope. This is a world of cognition." Morgana said, "The magazine will be reloaded after a battle."

Mishima puts the magnum away.

"So… now that I'm one of you guys, what should I be called as a thief?" Mishima asked, "I was thinking something like Admin—"

"Pfft!" Shiho struggled to contain a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Mishima asked.

"Dude, that name is not gonna go with that outfit!" Ryuji said, "Why not Bandit?! It totally works!"

"Do I look like one?" Mishima asked.

"Uh… maybe?" Ann asked.

"Why not Drifter?" Kazuya asked, "Like a drifter in the desert."

"Oh… oh dang. That sounds cool." Mishima said, "Yeah… we can totally make that work!"

"So how about it, Drifter?" Morgana asked. "Ready to steal someone's heart?"

"Sure! Let's do it!" Mishima said, "Time to knock the front door down!"

"STOP!" Morgana said, "We do not go through the front door!"

"Huh?! Why not?!" Mishima asked.

"Because I did that once and I almost died for it." Ryuji said.

"It'll alert the Shadows to us." Kazuya said, "Thankfully, we have another way in."

"Huh?"

"We'll explain on the way." Ann said, "Just keep up!"

"R-Right!" Mishima said with a nod.

The group headed to the castle.

'And so another one joins my brother.'

Naoya had been watching.

And so was a being standing behind him.

It was a humanoid being that had a mostly black colored body complete with white suction cups with blue outer rings. The top right side of its body was covered in white bandages. A single red eye could be seen on the left side of its face along with a mouth with exposed teeth. The digitigrade legs had wings on the calves. There was a stilt on each ankle.

Kazuya

Social Links

Fool - Ren Rank 2

Magician - Morgana Rank 2

Chariot - Ryuji Rank 2

Lovers - Ann Rank 1

Strength - Shiho Rank 1

Hunger - Naoya Rank 1

Hope - Sophia Rank 2

Aeon - Philemon Rank 2