Persona 5: Crusade – Chapter 4: New Student Life
Disclaimer: This is a non-profit, fan-made story. Persona 5 belongs to Atlus, SEGA, Cloverworks, Madman Entertainment, Aniplex USA, Katsura Hashino, and Hisato Murasaki. Support the official release by buying the game, buying the manga adaptation, or watching the anime on Crunchyroll.
Monday, April 11, 2016
Morning(?)
Ryuji stooped, out of breath, while Akira and Fritz stood on either side. Akira looked around and saw that they were, indeed, in Tokyo. They had escaped the castle.
"Did we make it?" Ryuji looked up, having caught his breath.
"You have returned to the real world." Akira's phone said as he pulled it from his pocket. "Welcome back."
"Huh?" Ryuji looked at the phone in confusion. "Returned?"
"So, they are related…" Fritz said, narrowing his eyes.
"Does that mean we got away?" Ryuji looked to Akira, who only looked at his phone with curiosity.
"I wonder…"
"I dunno what to think anymore…" Ryuji said. "What was all that anyways? That castle, and Kamoshida, and that weird cat! The hell's goin' on?!"
"Kurusu-san," Fritz said, in a clipped, even tone, "did you happen to check the time on your phone?"
Before Akira could respond, however, the students were approached by two police officers, one of whom had a bicycle.
"What's with the yelling? Are you students of Shujin?" the cop with the bike said.
"Cutting classes, are we?" the cop's partner said.
"Huh? No!" Ryuji said, without thinking. "We were tryin' to get to school, and we ended up at this weird castle!"
"Gott im Himmel, why'd you word it like that?" Fritz muttered.
"…What?" the bike cop scratched his head.
His partner sighed. "Hand over your bag. You better not be doing any drugs."
Ryuji refused. "Why would you think that?!"
The bike cop turned to Akira and Fritz. "Are you his friends?"
"We just happen to have the same homeroom class." Fritz said.
"Something like that." Akira said.
"Then you should be on your way to school." The bike cop said. "Take him with you."
"Will do that, officer." Fritz said, grabbing Ryuji and dragging him away before he could say anything more stupid.
Akira followed after them. As he did so, he realized what Fritz had said once they escaped the castle. He had made a connection between Akira's phone and the castle. Jogging his memory, Akira recalled that, after he tapped on that weird app under the awning, he heard it beep three times: once when Fritz was talking with that girl, Anne, about Shujin; then, when Fritz turned down an offer for a ride; finally, when Ryuji ranted about Kamoshida.
"I've gotta check out that app." Akira thought.
This time around, the three made it to Shujin Academy with no incident. The school looked normal, not at all like a castle.
"Is this for real…?" Ryuji was stunned. "I'm sure we came the same way… What's goin' on here…?"
"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you."
The school counselor showed up to greet them, scowling. "We received a call from the police."
Ryuji cursed. "That damn cop snitched on us after all!"
"I would've," Fritz muttered, checking his phone and realizing that it was lunchtime.
"It's rare not to see you alone." The counselor continued. "Where were you roaming around this time?"
"Uhh… a ca—a castle?" Ryuji said.
Fritz pushed him aside. "I encountered Sakamoto-san, and he looked incredibly sick. I tried getting him to a nearby clinic, so I enlisted the help of this transfer student. The doctor gave him some medicine, and he's been incoherent since then. The medicine's only now just wearing off."
"Really?" the counselor wasn't happy, but he seemed to have bought it.
"What's this about a 'castle'?" a familiar face, the teacher who offered Fritz and Akira a ride, walked up to the counselor, now wearing a white jersey with a stopwatch attached to a lanyard around his neck.
Ryuji's eyes widened, the memory of the castle still fresh in his mind. "Kamoshida?!"
"You seem so carefree, Sakamoto." Kamoshida said. "Quite a difference from when you did morning practice for the track team."
Ryuji scowled. "Shuddup! It's your fault that—!"
Fritz discreetly stepped on his toes, but the damage was already done.
"How dare you speak that way to Kamoshida-sensei!" the counselor harshly chided the vulgar student. "There's not much leeway left for you, you know?"
"What happened?" Akira thought.
Ryuji thought about snapping back, but he decided not to give Fritz a reason to crush his toes into powder.
"Come now." Kamoshida said, putting on a friendly façade. "I should have been more considerate, too. Let's just say that we were both to blame."
"Well, if you say so…" The counselor nodded, then turned his attention back to Ryuji. "Still, you're coming with me. It's undeniable that you're extremely late."
Ryuji sighed. "Fine…"
The counselor turned to Fritz. "You'll have to come along too, Yamamoto-kun."
Fritz deflated. "Yes, sensei."
"By the way," Kamoshida continued, looking at Akira, "you're that new transfer student, correct? Kurusu Akira…"
Fritz and Ryuji followed the counselor, leaving Akira with Kamoshida.
The coach examined the transfer student closely. "…Have we met somewhere?"
Akira realized that he didn't remember, or know, what happened in the castle. "Nope."
"Really?" Kamoshida scratched his head in mock confusion. "'Cause, if I'm remembering correctly, I saw you at the station. Well, I'll overlook this just for today."
"Thank you, sensei." Akira said.
"I'm sure you've heard this from the principal," Kamoshida scowled, "but if you cause any trouble and you'll be expelled. Understand?"
"Can you overlook more?" Akira nervously chuckled.
"Is that supposed to be a joke? I'm not laughing." Kamoshida said, then jerked his head towards the door. "At any rate, hurry up and go to the faculty office. I'm sure Kawakami-sensei's tired of waiting." He turned to enter the school building, but chose to give one last fake smile. "Good luck trying to enjoy your new school life."
"What a dick thing to say." Akira thought as he went up the stairs.
As soon as he walked into the school, Akira overheard the whispered conversations of the other students. Most of them appeared to be about him.
"Isn't he a criminal that's gotten into all sorts of trouble…?"
"I hear he hides a bunch of dangerous stuff in his bag…"
He noticed a first-year girl and a second-year boy by the nearby staircase, both wearing gym clothes.
"Did you know, Senpei?" the first-year girl, with shoulder-length light brown hair and silver eyes, told the second-year boy. "Some crazy second-year student is transferring to our school."
"Yeah, I heard about him. All the second-years are talking about it." The boy replied. "Apparently, he's such a problem student that no other schools will take him."
"Why does he have to come here…?" the girl pouted. "I hope he doesn't try anything funny with the volleyball team, especially Suzui-senpai."
"It's fine, Kobayashi-kun." The boy reassured his kouhai. "Kamoshida-sensei's on our side. The transfer student won't do anything to us."
He also overheard two girls talking about Ryuji.
"Sakamoto-kun was late again. Maybe he'll get expelled soon?" a timid female student said.
"I can't believe he's still behaving like this after what he did to the track team." Her carefree friend replied. "And he's still not expelled because Kamoshida-sensei's covering for him, right?"
"Kamoshida-sensei's too nice for not abandoning a punk like that…"
Akira became more curious about Ryuji. He'd try talking to him, or Fritz, later.
He also wondered how everyone at school found out about his criminal record. He brushed it off, then made his way to the faculty office.
Kawakami turned to see Akira walk in, then groaned.
"Unbelievable…" she said. "Being over half a day late on your first day…? Can you explain yourself?"
"My train was late." Akira thought that, with the accident the other day, this would be a good excuse.
Kawakami scoffed. "It's lunchtime, you know? You would've gotten here sooner if you had walked from your place. It's true the train schedules have been a mess due to the accident, but you're still way too late." She sighed. "Will you pull yourself together? You were given fair warning yesterday. More importantly…"
"Yes?"
"I heard that you were caught with that Sakamoto-kun?"
"I didn't have much choice." Akira said, then gave a brief summary of the excuse Fritz told the counselor.
"It was nice of you to help," Kawakami said, shaking her head, "but don't get involved with him, okay? He's nothing but trouble. He wasn't like that when he was devoting his time to track and field, though… Anyway, break's almost over. Classes will end after fifth period because of the subway accident. I'll have you introduce yourself when class resumes." She stood up. "Follow me."
"It's not like you to be late at all, Fritz. The lunch break just ended."
Fritz sat at his desk and turned to Shiho, who sat next to him by the windows. "Some… complications… happened this morning. I'm sorry for worrying you."
"'Complications'?" she said, glancing back to where Sakamoto was sitting. "Did they involve Ryuji?"
"Yes," Fritz said, "and the new transfer student."
"You met him?" Shiho was curious. "What's he like?"
"He seems quiet and socially awkward." He shrugged. "He didn't seem like the type to have a criminal record."
Shiho sighed. "I hope the rumors don't get to him."
"He can take care of himself." Fritz said. "Try not to worry too much about others."
"Still," Fritz thought, "what is Kurusu-san's story?"
He resolved to look into it.
When Akira and Kawakami reached class 2-D, he could already hear the whispered rumors floating around.
"Being super late on his first day? He really is insane…"
"He looks normal though…"
"But he might slug us if we look him in the eye…"
Kawakami stood behind the lectern at the front of the room. "Settle down."
The whispers ceased, allowing her to continue. "…Well, I'd like to introduce a transfer student: Kurusu Akira. Today, we… had him attend from the afternoon on since he wasn't feeling well." She turned to Akira. "All right, please say something to the class."
"I'm Akira Kurusu." He said, bowing slightly.
The whispering picked back up.
"He seems quiet… but I bet when he loses it…"
"I mean, he was arrested for assault, right…?"
"…Uhh, so…" Kawakami ignored the whispers. "Your seat will be… Hmm… Over there. The one that's open."
She pointed to a window seat near the back. Akira noticed that the blonde girl from the station, Anne, was sitting in the desk in front of his.
Kawakami continued. "Sorry, but can the people nearby please share your textbooks with him for today?"
"This sucks…"
Akira walked to his seat, wondering how best to address some of the rumors. Though, he realized that the students probably wouldn't even want to hear an explanation.
"…Lies."
Akira looked down at Anne, who just whispered to him. "Huh?"
She scoffed, turning away from him. As Akira sat down, he overheard a new bout of muttering.
"…Did you catch that? Do those two know each other?"
"Does that mean he hit on her before transferring here?"
"That means she's cheating on him with Kamoshida-sensei. Then again, this is Takamaki-san we're talking about."
"For real. That side of the room is totally awful."
Akira frowned, disgusted at what he just heard. It seemed that, because of her looks and proximity to a 'skeevy' teacher, the other students pegged Takamaki as a total slut.
At the front, Kawakami was making announcements. "The volleyball rally is in two days. Everyone's just changed classes, so make sure you use that time to get to know each other. Well then, let's get class started. Who's on duty today?"
A student near the front stood up. He didn't wear the blazer, opting for the sweater instead, and he had raven hair. The most notable feature about him, though, was the abundance of bruises on his face, along with a bandage under his right eye.
"Everyone," he said, "please rise…"
Once classes were over, Fritz made his way to class 2-D. He'd already told Sakamoto to meet them on the roof, and he wanted Kurusu to join. Fritz wanted answers to a few questions: he wanted to know more about the castle incident from earlier, he wanted to know why Kurusu had transferred to Shujin, and he wanted to know about the scandalous rumors floating around. He was missing out on an opportunity to ask Shiho out, so he wanted some good answers.
He saw Kurusu emerge from the classroom, then clutch his head as though experiencing a migraine. Kawakami walked out and saw him.
"What's wrong?" he overheard her ask.
"Nothing, just a migraine." He heard Kurusu respond.
"Take some meds if it gets too bad." She scratched her head. "Also… it seems like people are already talking about you, but I'm not the one who told them."
Kawakami muttered something to herself, while Fritz decided to walk over to them.
"You should head straight home without stopping by anywhere." She said. "Sakura-san sounded pretty angry. Oh, and about Sakamoto-kun. Don't get involved—"
"Kawakami-sensei." Fritz greeted as he walked up to them.
"Oh, hello Yamamoto-kun." Kawakami replied. "I heard that you and Kurusu-kun ran into Sakamoto-kun on your way to school."
Fritz shrugged. "Yes, Kawakami-sensei. That idiot can't do anything by himself, and I, as his class representative, felt a responsibility to help him."
"I notice that he's still dyeing his hair." Kawakami sighed and gave a sad smile. "I notice you still haven't darkened your hair."
"I refuse, on principle, to put dye in my hair." Fritz bowed. "My sincerest apologies, Kawakami-sensei, but I'm keeping it this way."
Kawakami shook her head. "I'm not your homeroom teacher, so I won't trouble you too much."
After she left, Fritz turned to Kurusu. "Meet Sakamoto and I on the rooftop."
Fritz went up to the rooftop, where he saw Sakamoto sitting at one of the broken desks. Fritz pulled up one of the chairs, pulled Im Westen nichts Neues from his bag, and resumed reading from chapter four.
"Will he show up?" Sakamoto, always impatient, asked.
"He'd better," Fritz said, "I need to go downstairs and clean the classroom because of him."
"Why're you blaming him?"
"Before we got sent to the castle, I heard his phone respond to three keywords: 'Shujin Academy', 'Kamoshida', and 'castle'. I said the first two, but you said the last, giving you some blame." Fritz didn't look up from Kat's prediction of an English bombardment to see Sakamoto scowl at him. "His phone also talked when we escaped. I want to talk to him about it."
"Whatever."
Just then, Kurusu entered. Fritz put a bookmark in his novel, and gently placed it in his bag.
"There you are." Sakamoto said.
"Sorry for calling you up here like this." Fritz said. "I know, Kawakami gave you the 'don't get involved with Sakamoto-kun' advice, but hear me out."
"Yeah," Kurusu replied. "She said he's trouble."
"So, we're pretty much in the same boat." Sakamoto snickered. "I heard you got a criminal record. Everyone's talkin' about it. No wonder you were so gutsy."
Fritz threw a glare towards Sakamoto, then turned back to Kurusu. "In any case, I want to talk about the 'events' of this morning."
"What was all that that happened?" Sakamoto interrupted. "You know, we were almost killed in a castle. It wasn't a dream… right? You guys remember it too, yeah?"
"How can I forget?" Fritz said, while Kurusu nodded. "What's more, Kamoshida didn't know what happened. I'm thinking, sometime in the future, we mount another exploration, with proper precautions—"
"Go back?!" Sakamoto stood up. "We nearly died!"
"What about those powers me and Kurusu got?" Fritz said.
"You mean the 'Personas'?" Kurusu asked.
"Precisely," Fritz stood up as well. "Anyway, we did save you from Kamoshida."
"Akira saved me from Kamoshida," Sakamoto folded his arms, "you begged and cried all the time."
"Not now, you two." Kurusu got between the two students to prevent a fight, then turned to Fritz. "Why do you want to go back?"
"I'll fill you in, since you just transferred over here." Fritz said, then sat on one of the desks. "There are some rumors floating around about Kamoshida right now. The first of these, which you may have already heard, is that he's engaged in a lurid affair with a student in your class."
"You mean Takamaki-san?"
Fritz nodded. "Yes. Takamaki Anne has a friend on the volleyball team, who I don't simp for, which leads nicely into the second rumor: the members often show up to school beaten up after practice; they say it's just intense training, but we saw prisoners in the castle with gym clothes and volleyballs, remember?"
"No one says anything against him 'cause he's some medalist who took the volleyball team to the nationals." Sakamoto interjected. "The way Kamoshida was king of that castle felt crazy real 'cause of that…"
"So," Fritz said, getting his hopes up, "what say you to another adventure, Sakamoto-san?"
"Ugh, forget it." Sakamoto stood up. "Must've all been a dream! It has to be!" He left. "Seeya tomorrow, Akira. I look forward to us getting along as 'troublemakers'."
Fritz frowned, then turned to Kurusu. "What about you, Kurusu-san?"
Kurusu raised a hand and smiled awkwardly. "I-I'll think it over. And please, call me 'Akira'."
"In that case," Fritz pulled out his phone, "would you like to exchange contact info? If you need any help, or anyone to talk to, you can call or text me."
"Sure," Akira said, pulling out his phone. Once they finished exchanging phone numbers, they went back into the class building.
Fritz barely tolerated his classmates, with the exception of Shiho. Some of them were ignorant, others were simple jerks, and Sakamoto was…Sakamoto. All of them, however, shared one thing in common: a disdain for the school desks. Much of Fritz's time spent cleaning the classroom was devoted to scraping gum from the bottoms of desks. Given how Sakamoto acted, the half-German suspected that he deliberately put all of his gum under the desk, just to piss him off.
Fritz tried to find ways to take his mind off of plans to torture Sakamoto as he made his way home, and he found it when he ran into Anne at the Shibuya train station. As soon as she made eye contact with him, she walked towards him with a warm smile on her face.
"Hey there, Fritz." She said. "You're leaving school a little late."
"I got stuck with class-cleaning duty for a week for being late." Fritz replied. "What about you? Why are you here?"
"Well, I just finished a photo-shoot," Anne occasionally modeled after school, as Fritz recalled, "and you did say you'd loan me that anime."
Fritz pulled three blue plastic cases from his bag, thankfully undamaged from his foray into the castle, and handed them over. "I'd like them back by the end of the month, if that's all right."
"Thank you, Fritz." Anne put the cases into her bag. "Anyway, I was wondering if you could walk me home. Maybe tell me why you were—?"
"Okay, stop that."
Anne was confused. "Wha?"
"Shiho's not here, so you can stop pretending to be genuinely happy to see me." Fritz said. "Seriously, what the hell is going on with you?"
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"Ever since…" Fritz looked around the station and noticed a photo booth, "absolutely nothing happened that one time, you've been acting like you're not disgusted by my very existence!"
"Fritz," Anne narrowed her eyes, "where is this conversation going?"
"I'm serious!" Fritz continued. "When we met a year ago, you looked at me like something you'd step in, wait to dry, then scrape off your shoe!"
"Stop. Fritz."
Fritz scoffed. "I mean, what, do you like me or something?"
Anne grabbed the front of Fritz's uniform and pulled him in until their faces were inches apart. "Dammit, Fritz! Did you ever consider that I wanted to be friends with you?! Give you a chance to stop being an insufferable asshole?!"
"Okay, okay!" Fritz raised his hands in surrender. "Thank you for clarifying your position, Anne."
A second later, Anne released Fritz and backed away, her cheeks tinged with pink. Fritz was about to break the awkward silence, possibly ask if she knows more about Akira, given that they were in the same class. However, he was interrupted when he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out, looked at the screen, and cringed.
"Yeah, I'm going to have to turn down walking you home, Anne." Fritz said. "Aunt Rizu just texted for me to get home immediately, so she's probably angry that I was late to school."
"Ouch," Anne winced, then waved goodbye. "Well, see ya tomorrow."
It was early evening by the time Akira returned to Leblanc. Sakura was standing behind the counter, and he gave his ward a stern look as soon as he walked in.
"Hey, I just got an interesting call from your school today." Sakura said. "It's only your first day and you're already showing up hours late?"
"It was an accident." Akira said. "I got caught up helping these other students I met along the way."
"Yeah, that's what everyone says." Sakura said. "Look, just behave yourself. Your life's forfeit if anything happens. You understand the meaning of probation, right?"
"I do."
Sakura sighed. "OK then."
Just then, Sakura's phone started ringing. He answered it, while Akira just stood there.
"Hey, what's up? …Yeah, I just closed up shop. I'll be there in half an hour." Sakura said, then noticed that Akira was still there. "Hey, what're you standing around for? Go hurry on up to bed." He went back to his phone. "…No, I just hired a part-timer."
Akira made his way to his room, while Sakura called after him. "Don't forget to lock the door and turn all the lights off, OK?" The café owner returned to his phone conversation. "…Yup, I'm leaving right now. I told you, he's a part-timer…"
As soon as Akira sat down on his bed, he felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out, and saw that Fritz had texted him.
FY: Hello, Akira.
FY: You make it home okay?
Akira decided to reply before going to bed, keeping an eye on the time so as not to stay up late.
AK: Yeah
FY: Good!
Akira thought that'd be good enough, but then Fritz sent him a flurry of texts.
FY: Hey!
FY: When I opened my phone to text you,
FY: I noticed this weird-looking app on my phone.
FY: I don't want to accuse you of anything,
FY: But it showed up after going to that castle.
FY: And I know your phone was acting up before we went to the castle.
AK: You're talking about the app that looks like an eye?
AK: It showed up when I arrived in Tokyo
A few seconds of silence followed.
FY: Keep an eye on that app, Akira.
FY: Like I said on the roof, we're probably going back to that castle.
Akira set his phone down, only for it to start buzzing again.
FY: By the way…
FY: Don't mean to get too personal…
FY: But why DID you transfer to Shujin?
As soon as Akira saw that, he started genuinely reflecting on his situation. He hadn't had a lot of time to do this, given the hassle of transferring to a new school. He felt quite bitter with his parents; his dad was furious when he came to visit him at the youth detention center, and his mom could only calm him down while offering empty consolation. What few acquaintances he'd made at his old high school weren't any better, though they mostly just ignored him. Akira took a few deep breaths, then replied to Fritz's question.
AK: That's kinda personal.
FY: Sorry!
AK: Well, maybe we can talk more tomorrow after class.
AK: Meet up somewhere at Shibuya?
FY: I've got class-cleaning duty for a week because of you and Sakamoto, so I may be a little late.
Akira remembered some of the other whispers he heard.
AK: By the way,
AK: Do you know anything between Ryuji and Kamoshida?
FY: Well, Sakamoto was on the track team last year…
FY: Somewhere along the line, their coach was replaced with Kamoshida…
FY: There was some kind of fight, and Sakamoto was kicked off the team, which folded shortly thereafter.
AK: Anything happen with his leg?
AK: I just realized, his running was off in the castle.
FY: He broke it last year.
FY: TBH, I never really paid attention to him.
FY: So, you'll have to ask him.
AK: Thanks anyway.
AK: See you tomorrow.
FY: You too.
Akira turned out the lights then laid back in his bed, exhaustion from the castle catching up to him.
When Fritz stepped foot inside his aunt's apartment, he was immediately greeted by the owner. She seemed rather peeved, and she wasted no time in telling him why.
"I got a call at work that you were late to school today," Rizu worked at a bakery as a pastry chef, "and Suguru-kun told me that he caught you hanging around that Sakamoto."
"I'm his class rep, and I got roped into helping him." Fritz cringed immediately when he heard Rizu mention the teacher. "Anyway, could you please not call him that when I'm around."
"Don't be so damn squeamish about it, Fritz." Rizu said, hands on her hips. "Why are you so bitchy about us dating?"
Fritz shuddered. "I just don't like the idea of him being over here."
Last year, sometime in August, Fritz heard some… disquieting noises from his aunt's bedroom. Apparently, Kamoshida had decided to help Rizu test how thin the apartment walls were, and how much noise could pass through those walls. Thankfully, for Fritz, the coach had taken offense to Tomoe chewing on one of his shoes, and he hadn't been around since.
"Well," Rizu said, "whether you like it or not, we are a couple."
"I understand, Aunt Rizu."
"Good,"
After a quiet dinner, Fritz went to his room, texted Akira for a bit, then fell asleep.
Akira could tell immediately that he was in the prison cell. He sat up and saw one of the girls from earlier, Caroline, glaring at him.
"About time you've come to." She said, then whacked the bars with her baton. "On your feet, Inmate!"
"Our master wishes to speak with you." Her twin, Justine, said. "It's for your own sake that you take his words to heart."
Igor was sitting at his desk, as usual. "First off, let us celebrate our reunion. You've awakened to your powers. And special ones at that. Your rehabilitation can finally begin."
"Rehabilitation?" Akira asked.
Igor waved him off. "There is no need to understand it all for the time being. You will be training the power of Persona, which you have awakened to. Personas are, in other words, a 'mask'—an armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters. I have high expectations for you."
"What do you mean?"
"There is no need to worry. You will learn when the time comes." Igor said, then changed the subject. "By the by… have you come to appreciate the Metaverse Navigator? Using it will allow you to come and go between reality and Palaces."
"What's a 'Metaverse Navigator'?" Akira wasn't sure, but he could bet that he was talking about the weird eye app.
Igor continued. "I bestowed it to you as a means to train you as a thief."
"The Metaverse Navigator is a gift from our master!" Caroline said. "You better take care in using it, Inmate!"
"Our master has also given it to your friend, the Anomaly." Justine said, possibly referring to Fritz. "Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief."
"It must be disheartening to make use of the Metaverse Navigator alone." Igor said. "Should there be others who would prove beneficial to you, like the Anomaly, I will grant it to them as well. This is all for you to grow as a most excellent thief…"
Before Akira could say anything more, he heard an alarm go off, signaling the end of his visit.
"Hmph, it's time." Caroline said. "Go back and enjoy whatever rest you might have…"
Tuesday, April 12th, 2016
Morning
The next morning, Akira managed to bring an umbrella with him. This was an excellent decision, given how it ended up raining all the way to school. He had initially decided to put off Igor's advice for now, focusing on schoolwork. The more he thought, however, the more he found himself agreeing with Fritz: they had to investigate the castle again.
Meanwhile, his social studies teacher had taken to the front of the room. "I'm Ushimaru-sensei, and I'll be teaching you the rules of society this year."
While Akira glanced out the window, Ushimaru talked down to the students. "You all look like you've been spoiled growing up. Before we learn society's rules, maybe I should start with the rules of being a decent human being." He saw Akira glancing out the window. "Hey, new kid."
Akira sat up, and Ushimaru continued. "The Greek philosopher Plato divided the human soul into three parts. A soul is composed of appetite, spirit, and what else?"
"Logic," Akira answered, confidant that he was correct.
Ushimaru confirmed that he was, indeed, correct. "Plato's teacher, Socrates, said that evil is born from ignorance. People who've been babied, taught that evil is due to individuality, can only become society's scum."
Meanwhile, some of the students whispered among themselves.
"Wow, he got it right… Is he really a delinquent?"
"He seems like a punk, but maybe he's actually serious about studying?"
"Bizarre incidents have been occurring frequently." Ushimaru continued. "Those are but the actions of such scum. We don't need crude people like that in this school. Understand?"
After classes ended, Akira left the classroom, intending to meet up with Fritz at Shibuya. However, just outside class 2-D, he saw Kamoshida intercept Takamaki.
"You looking for a ride home?" he asked. "Things have been pretty dangerous lately with all those accidents."
"Sorry," Takakami replied, with nearly no sincerity, "I have a photoshoot today. It's for the special summer issue, so I can't afford to miss it…"
"Hey, now," he seemed to switch over to a 'concerned teacher' façade. "Being a model's fine and dandy, but don't work your pretty little self to the bone. You mentioned you weren't feeling well, right? Something about appendicitis?"
"Yes." She said, though Akira could feel that she was making an excuse not to be near him. "I keep planning to go to the hospital, but I've been too busy. Sorry to worry you."
Akira found it odd that he bought that paper thin excuse. Still, he was glad that Takamaki was doing her best, given what Fritz had told him.
"You must be lonely too." Kamoshida continued. "I feel bad for keeping your best friend at practice so often. That's why I asked you out in the first place."
Akira couldn't believe this guy was being so bold about how creepy he was being, while the coach continued. "Be careful around that transfer student. He's got a criminal record, after all. If something were to happen to you…"
"…Thank you." Takamaki cut him off, then walked away. "Please excuse me."
Kamoshida watched her walk away, an annoyed expression on his face. Akira kept perfectly still, trying to be discreet, until the coach walked away too. After he was gone, the transfer student made his way downstairs.
At the entrance of the school, he was intercepted by Fritz and Ryuji, the latter of whom looked peeved. "Hi,"
"Yo," Ryuji replied.
"What's up?" Akira asked, noting that the two students normally hated each other's guts.
Fritz pointed to Ryuji, smirking. "He wants to talk about that castle from yesterday."
"I can talk for myself, asshole." Ryuji muttered, then turned back to Akira. "I tried tellin' myself it was all just a dream, but I couldn't do it. I can't act like nothing happened. It's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida after all."
"Then, let's go to the castle." Fritz said. "We're bound to find something there."
"I wanna find out what's up with that place, no matter what." Ryuji continued. "And, Akira, you're the only person I can rely on for this stuff. So, you in?"
Akira thought back to the conversation he overheard outside class 2-D. "Sure,"
"I'm in, as well." Fritz added. "Someone needs to keep you two from dying."
Ryuji said nothing, though frowned, allowing Akira to continue. "What's next?"
"I think we should just try and retrace our steps from yesterday." Ryuji said. "In the meantime, let's go to the station together. You're walking there, right?"
"Yeah," Akira replied.
"Lemme know if you guys notice any other weird buildings on the way."
"Let's get this done quick, I have cleaning duty." Fritz said, then followed the two on their walk to the station.
"If a huge castle like that really exists, I'm sure we'll find it in no time." Ryuji assured his partners. "…When'd they build something like that though?"
Akira noticed that Fritz had a look of disapproval. He must've disapproved of Ryuji's methods. Akira recalled the strange app.
The trio walked, in search of the castle, and ended up at the entrance of Shujin Academy. The school looked completely normal, however.
Ryuji was confused. "Huh? We're at school…"
"So, it would seem." Fritz said, irking his vulgar classmate.
"There wasn't anything out of place along the way, right?" Ryuji asked Akira. "I didn't see no castle either…"
"Me neither." Akira said.
"We must've made a wrong turn somewhere."
"If we made a wrong turn," Fritz had some snark at the ready, "we'd be at the castle."
"Hey, why don't you shut—?!"
"Guys!" Akira interrupted what would surely degenerate into a fight. "I think I've got an idea. I'll check my phone."
"Phone?" Ryuji asked, before realization hit him like a bokken wielded by a half-crazed, half-German high school student. "Yeah, didn't you have a navigation app thingy on, back then? I heard something like that comin' from your phone."
"I've still got it." Akira said, pulling out his phone and showing the screen to his fellow conspirators.
"What's that eyeball-lookin' thing?" Ryuji asked.
Fritz scrutinized it. "It showed up on my phone, too. I think that's the navigation app."
"Yeah, and I can't delete it." Akira pointed out, prompting interest from his blonde/faux-blonde schoolmates.
"The plot thickens."
"What a weird app…"
Akira opened the app, while Fritz and Ryuji looked at the screen over his shoulder. Ryuji pointed out the first feature that caught his eye.
"Look!" he said. "There's even your search history!"
"What're we waiting for, then?" Fritz said. "Let's use it."
Akira hesitated. "But I don't know how."
"Karl Benz didn't know what he was doing when he demonstrated the first automobile (True)." Fritz replied. "Let me do it."
Hesitantly, Akira gave his smartphone to Fritz, who wasted no time in finding what they needed.
The phone started speaking. "Kamoshida…Shujin Academy…Pervert…Castle…Beginning navigation."
Ryuji coughed. "What happened to Karl whatever-his-name-was?"
"Oh, he crashed into a brick wall." Fritz replied with as cheery of a tone as he could muster. "He survived that, though."
Omake
FY: By the way…
FY: Don't mean to get too personal…
FY: But what kind of Manga/Light Novel do you like?
FY: Just curious.
AK: Well, I've always been into Naruto
AK: Got any suggestions now that it's over?
Fritz looked over the collection he had in his bedroom, and then texted a couple titles he owned.
FY: Fullmetal Alchemist's pretty good…
FY: Rosario + Vampire's pretty decent…
FY: And I would wholeheartedly recommend Girls und Panzer…
Fritz suddenly became overwhelmed by the urge to protect Akira from the debilitating illness known as 'Shit-taste'.
FY: But DON'T listen to ANYONE if they offer Sword Art Online!
AK: Is it bad?
FY: It's atrocious!
FY: What really kills it for me is the "hero", Kirito.
FY: He's just an OP asshole who picks up women like a magnet and wears a stupid black coat…
FY: …Mein Gott!
AK: What?
FY: You're an Isekai protagonist!
AK: Is that bad?
FY: Well, you may want to take notes on these videos:
FY: [Isekai Anime Survival Guide - Public Service Anime] - Mother's Basement
FY: [How to Survive a Harem Anime - Public Service Anime] - Mother's Basement
AK: Thanks,
AK: I think.
A/N: I know, the videos are from 2018, and the story's set in 2016. I just could not resist pointing out how similar Joker looks to Kirito (and other Isekai protagonists).