Forgot to mention this last time, but I decided not to use Sabito and Makomo's kitsune masks because I felt like 1: That would be lazy and 2: Those masks weren't really descriptive of them so much as they were associated with Urokodaki's students in general. By the way, Sabito's armor is brigandine armor, and Makomo's is gambeson. Similarly, Sabito's sword is the longsword or German longsword, while Makomo's is the arming sword or knightly arming sword. The longsword was used throughout Europe, it wasn't a German-only weapon.
One of Tanjiro's teachers had been gone for the past 2 weeks, but today, Tuesday of the third week back, the substitute wasn't there. After five minutes of waiting, a short woman walked in. She was wearing a dark purple sweatshirt and a long purple skirt, with a white coat over the top. Her hair was black, and mostly tied back with a butterfly shaped hairpin, except her bangs, which fell to either side of her face and were purple at the tips. Her eyes were purple, too.
"Good morning, class," she said. She had a soft voice and smile. "I apologize for my absence. I had some family business to attend to. I'm Shinobu Kocho, and I'll be your biology teacher this year. Now, first thing's first, I'm guessing the substitute didn't teach you much."
The lesson passed by fairly uneventfully.
After school, Tanjiro went straight back to Takiashi's apartment. He got out his phone, being sure to tell his mom 'I'll be out for a bit' to avoid what had happened the previous night, then he opened up the Metaverse Navigator. In a menu on the side was an option reading 'Bookmarked Palaces'. The only item in the menu was 'Yoshihara Takiashi's Zoo'.
Tanjiro tapped it, and the world around him blurred and distorted until he was once again across the street from the zoo. The gate was closed now, and Sabito and Makomo were there leaning on it. They looked up when Tanjiro arrived, and waved as he crossed the street.
"Welcome back, Flare," said Sabito. "They closed the gate a few minutes after you left yesterday."
"That quickly?" Tanjiro asked.
"Palace rulers will often close off their palace when they feel they're in danger," said Makomo. "That's actually the same reason your clothes change. When you're acknowledged as a threat, your mind puts up a sort of barrier to protect you from distortions."
"Hm... So, how do we get in?"
"We did some scouting," said Sabito. "There's a way we can sneak in. Come with us."
"Right!" Tanjiro replied.
Sabito and Makomo led him to the right along the sidewalk until the fence met with a small cobblestone building. It had a flat roof, and a tree with low branches was nearby on their side of the fence
"We're just gonna climb over?" Tanjiro asked.
"Yup," said Sabito. He grabbed two of the tree's branches and pulled himself up. Makomo was too short for that, so Tanjiro gave her a boost and Sabito helped her get the rest of the way up. Tanjiro climbed up last, and they jumped the short gap to the building's roof. Some boxes stacked to the right gave them some easy steps down. To their right, a bit ahead, was the entrance to the 'Life in the Cold' building from yesterday.
"I didn't even notice this," said Tanjiro. He walked around to the other side. There was a scratched wooden door and a small dusty window. "I guess it's just a storage shed of some kind." He turned back to Sabito and Makomo. "Hey, why don't we go somewhere else? I don't really want to go back to those 'Life in' buildings."
Sabito nodded. "I concur," he said. "Lead the way."
"Me?" Tanjiro asked.
"Mm-hm," came a sound from Makomo. "You're the one who saved us. And besides, we can tell there's something special about you."
"Really? But aren't you two more experienced with this?"
Sabito and Makomo glanced at each other.
"Um... Well, you see..." Makomo began.
"We've never actually infiltrated a palace before," Sabito interrupted. "This is all three of us's first time. Now that we've explained palaces and the metaverse, you're as knowledgeable as we are."
"...But...how do you know all that, then?"
"Never mind that," said Makomo. "For now, we're naming you our leader, got it?"
"Still, aren't you better fighters than me?" Tanjiro asked.
"The two of us got captured, while you on your own didn't," said Sabito, "and you didn't even know about the Metaverse at the time."
"...
"A-Alright," said Tanjiro.
"Okay then, Flare, lead the way!" said Makomo.
They went back to the gate. There was no shadow there any more, so they passed by it, going down the left path, the only one of the four by the gate they hadn't taken yet. It went down a small hill and ended at the short side of a long building. Two glass doors met the path.
Tanjiro peered in. The inside seemed to be a simple hallway with windowed exhibits in the walls, but he couldn't see what kind of animal they were. It also bent slightly at the middle, so the end was out of sight. Another of those bulky zookeepers with severed hands clutching their faces was walking up and down.
"There's a shadow in there," said Tanjiro.
"Just wait until its back is turned," said Sabito.
"Right."
The shadow came all the way up to the door, but didn't seem to notice them, as it turned back around.
"Do you think it's the mask, or are their senses just terrible?" Tanjiro wondered aloud.
"Who knows?" Said Makomo.
They swiftly went through the door and snuck up on the shadow. Tanjiro jumped up and pulled its mask off. It exploded into smoke as two figures emerged. One of the shadows didn't look particularly special, but the other was holding a burning torch in its right hand.
Makomo moved first, ducking under the first shadow and spinning around, her sword slicing right through its neck from behind.
"Nice job, Azure!" said Tanjiro. He approached the second shadow with a rising cut from his right, but it stepped to the side and deflected with its torch. Sabito was behind it, though, and cleanly severed its left forearm. It hissed, and swung its torch at tanjiro. Tanjiro tried to block, but wasn't fast enough. He felt like the fire didn't hurt as much as it should have, though.
"D'Arc!" Makomo shouted. Her mask burned away in blue flame, and above her appeared the body of a knight in plate armor, With a huge white flower blooming where the head should have been. It was holding a spear, which it spun around as the air around the shadow grew cold.
Tanjiro and Sabito jumped back as crystals of ice formed around the shadow. They broke almost instantly, but the shadow was stunned. Tanjiro decapitated it.
The group sheathed their swords, and looked around. In the walls, behind windows of varying sizes, were different species of snakes. A ways down the hallway was a window that spanned the wall. They walked up to it. The plaque nearby read 'Boa Constrictor.' Inside was a faux habitat with branches and stones, and a huge snake, almost as wide as Tanjiro's head, was winding around. The head was curled up underneath another part of the body, but it seemed to notice the newcomers, as it stirred and rose.
It had the face of a girl.
"So, this is how he sees one of his victims..." said Tanjiro. "How disgusting."
"We should keep moving," said Sabito.
"Yeah..."
Out of the snake building, they walked only a short distance to a tall, long, circular fence made from thick wooden stakes, like something from a picture book about medieval Europe. Stairs led up to a small platform nearby, although it was only half way up the fence, and there was no way someone could see over..
They climbed the stairs, finding that there were windows cut in the fence adjacent to the platform. They were covered with a wire mesh. The group looked through to see that inside the fence were several elephants.
"None of them have human faces," said Tanjiro.
"Not yet," said Sabito. "If he were to kidnap someone that he thought of as an elephant, it's likely one of these would take on such a form."
"Damn..."
They got down from the platform and continued onward, their path leading to a sandstone arch reading 'Lost Kingdom.' Beyond it, the path expanded into more of a courtyard. There were two more sandstone buildings, one on either side. There was a sky bridge between them, not keeping up the sandstone look and instead being metal and glass, but it was short—in the height sense—supposedly for the animals and not the people.
"Let's be careful, Flare. I don't like how empty this is," said Sabito.
"I feel you," said Tanjiro. He placed his hand on his sword handle and crept forward.
The door to the building on the left, the one closer to them, opened, and Takiashi's shadow came out, followed by two other shadows, these wearing khaki shirts instead of green ones. Black and red smoke was drifting off of them, even as they still had their masks on.
"They look tough," Makomo whispered.
"Mm," Sabito and Tanjiro agreed.
Takiashi approached them, scowling. "So you're back, and you've got those foxes with you, too," he said.
"You asshole! Where's my sister!?" Tanjiro yelled. It was the first time he'd truly swore. "Where's Nezuko!?"
"Tch. At first, I thought you'd make a nice pet, but after the trouble you've caused me, I just want you dead," Takiashi replied. "I hope you never find your sister, brat."
Tanjiro gasped, and his eyes widened. "You bastard!" he shouted, gripping his sword tightly. He almost lunged forward, but Sabito grabbed his shoulder.
"Flare, no!" he shouted. "I understand but you have to stay calm."
Tanjiro loosened his grip. "You're right, Lion," he said. "Sorry."
Takiashi flicked his hand toward the group. "Deal with them," he said. "I want them out of my sight." He turned around as the two shadows began shaking.
They exploded, from each emerging two enemies. Two of them seemed to be nothing special, just grey with claws and fangs. One of them had long, ragged black hair and was holding a club in its right hand. The last one was especially veiny and bulky, with blood around its hands and mouth.
The one with a club rushed at Tanjiro, and he only barely got his sword up in time to block a very nasty blow. Makomo tried to sneak in an attack on it, but she only cut its hair as it ducked away. One of the normal ones went after Sabito, who decapitated it without an issue, but it was followed by the bulky one, and Sabito narrowly rolled out of the way of a forceful punch.
The second normal shadow entered Tanjiro and Makomo's confrontation when it jumped over its companion, lunged at Tanjiro, and tackled him, trying to bite him.
"Jimmu!" Tanjiro shouted. His persona shot a small ball of fire at the shadow, which thrashed and let go of Tanjiro. He rolled away as the other shadow's club almost crushed his skull. Makomo sliced off the normal shadow's head.
Sabito tried to attack the bulky shadow with his wind, but it barely flinched as it sliced its claws at him. Makomo blocked an attack from the club-wielding shadow, allowing Tanjiro to get up. "Sorry, Azure, hold it off for me!" he said. He ran to where Sabito was, thinking he'd sneak up on the shadow, but it whipped its head around when he got close. It tried another punch, but Tanjiro sidestepped and cut a gash in its arm.
"Go help Azure!" he told Sabito.
Sabito nodded, dashing over to Makomo's fight. The club demon swung at him, but wielding a two-handed sword, he blocked it. Except, then the shadow lunged forward, ducking under the blade and slashing at Sabito with its left hand. Sabito's armor absorbed much of the blow, only leaving a few scratches, but the shadow wasn't done. It didn't stop moving and instead rushed head first into Sabito, knocking the wind out of his lungs and bringing the both of them to the ground. Makomo tried to take advantage of this and attack, but the shadow rolled over so Sabito was on top.
The bulky shadow was surprisingly quick, and it took all of Tanjiro's effort just to dodge its attacks. A punch, a kick, a stomp, a slash. The thing was coming at him with everything it had, but Tanjiro eventually spotted an opening. He dove and rolled under the shadow's legs, then turned around and slashed it in the back. He summoned Jimmu, who shot out a short burst of fire with both hands.
The shadow turned around, but Tanjiro was already running to help Sabito. He and the shadow were wrestling on the ground, until the shadow kicked him away and prepared to swing its club. Before it could, its arm was severed, and tanjiro was standing over it. He grabbed the shadow by its hair and pulled it up, preparing to finish it, but it kicked him and got back to its feet.
"Godfrey!" came a shout from Sabito. Wind wrapped around the shadow, and while it wasn't totally stunned, it gave Tanjiro an opportunity to finally sever its neck.
Makomo had been distracting the larger shadow, dancing around it and making small cuts, and when she saw the other was defeated, she unleashed D'Arc's ice. The shadow was stunned, and Sabito jumped up and swung at its neck. The blade went about a third of the way through, and Sabito landed back on the ground. The shadow turned around, enraged, and began to attack him with even more relentlessness than before.
"We'll have to kill it the hard way!" said Tanjiro. "Azure, hit it again!" Makomo did as told and used D'Arc's ice on the shadow, stunning it once again. "Lion, its arms!"
Tanjiro and Sabito each—with tremendous effort—cut off one of the shadow's arms. Before it could recover, Tanjiro shouted "Now, Azure, finish it!"
"D'Arc!" Makomo shouted. Her persona manifested, and drove her spear through the shadow's chest, leaving the armless beast to slowly disintegrate.
Tanjiro watched as he sheathed his sword. "Such fanatic loyalty..." he said, somewhat disgusted. He placed his hands together and bowed in respect.
Sabito and Makomo sheathed their swords as well. "Only a palace ruler's most loyal subjects will be given forms distinct from the rest. There may very well be more intelligent and less bestial shadows, like these, who are willing to negotiate for their lives," said Sabito. He glanced around. "Takiashi's gone."
"Looks like he is," said Tanjiro. "I guess he thought those shadows would finish us off."
A voice rang out as if from an intercom. "Attention all zookeepers! The intruders are alive! Proceed to the Lost Kingdom and kill them immediately!" It was Takiashi's voice.
"Huh!? I don't have the energy to fight a whole army of those things!" said Tanjiro.
"Both we and our personas are exhausted. Let's find a place to hide!" said Sabito.
"Right!"
They ran into the building to the left, the one Takiashi had come out of. Inside, to the right, there was a fully glass wall with a tiger exhibit, while to the left, there was a strange door reinforced with vertical metal bars.
"In there," said Sabito, pointing at the door.
"Huh? Why?" Tanjiro asked.
"I'll explain when we're inside."
Tanjiro opened the door and the group went inside, where there was a circular wooden table with three small wooden chairs. On the wall was a grey sofa.
"Hey, this looks like Takiashi's apartment," said Tanjiro.
"This is a place where the palace's distortion is weak," said Makomo. "The shadows can't enter here. We call it a safe room."
"So, we can rest here while we wait?" Tanjiro asked.
"Precisely," said Sabito. "But also, we can go back to the entrance or any other safe rooms from here."
"...How?"
"Ahehe, we don't quite know how it works ourselves," Makomo said, scratching the back of her head. "I think it's different for every palace, but if you think about the entrance, you should come out somewhere near the entrance."
"That's important, because going home is going to be your most reliable way of recovering," said Sabito. "I imagine they'll be on alert here for some time, so it's better to come back tomorrow."
"Really...?" Tanjiro thought about the gate at the zoo's entrance, and hesitantly pushed the door open, revealing a concrete wall across an alley. He looked to the left, and saw the zoo entrance across the street. "Whoah..."
"We'll be waiting for you," said Makomo. "See you tomorrow"
"Right," said Tanjiro. He waved to them, and stepped outside.
Many of you probably know this, and I'm actually surprised there wasn't already a persona named after her, but Joan of Arc, or Joan D'Arc, was a French peasant woman who, during the Hundred Years' War, supposedly was called by god to lead in battle against the English. She helped her country avoid surrender, but was burned at the stake by the English for wearing mens' clothing.
By the way, I decided not to bother with the 'multiple personas' thing because it's a gameplay thing and it doesn't have much impact on a story that's purely written. Hope you're enjoying so far.