FG

Fool's Gamble

Life 96

Chapter V: Two Fools of the Same Face

April 14th, 2016

Days passed by in a daze, Akira surveying the school and Shibuya for some sign of a palace, of some way he could begin the Phantom Thieves while keeping things somewhat familiar to what he knew.

Today had been the day he and Ryuji had made a deal with Morgana, who had unknowingly become the founding members of the Phantom Thieves.

Now he found himself in a strangely different Shujin Academy, and something sinister moving through halls unseen.

Something odd and extremely worrying was going on, and Akira could only watch in horror as the world was twisted once more.

He couldn't pick up on exactly what it was at first, but something was deeply wrong at Shujin, on an entirely different level than Kamoshida had been.

Whereas Shujin had been full of fear during Kamoshida's time there, it was now filled with something akin to chaos as he almost saw the fright in the eyes of his classmates as they carefully avoided each other's gazes.

Also as if they were all afraid of each other, yet also lost in their own little worlds.

Akira got a good look at what was going on, but in a way that he wished that he hadn't.

A classmate of his, Ryoko Imada, had approached him at lunch with a shy smile on her face, and he had a pretty good idea of what was on her mind as he had known her before.

She had been in his class, and had quickly fallen in love with him, forcing him to reject her and leave her hating him.

He didn't enjoy being back in that situation.

He just smiled coyly and greeted her politely, hoping he wouldn't have to dash her hopes again, as only one girl rested on his mind and she hadn't even met him yet.

"Kurusu-kun, good to see you again!" Ryoko said as she blushed a little, the corners of her lips perked up in a cutesy smile, her chest pushed forward as Akira just sighed in exhaustion and irritation.

He was prepared to let her down gently, but before he could even speak, she seemed to change almost before his eyes, the smile falling like an anvil and a dark look to her eyes forming in an instant as her hands lashed out at him like talons.

He threw his arms forward in an attempt to block, only to stare in shock and pain as her fingernails sliced straight through the sleeves of his blazer, the material falling apart like paper as red began to drip free from the fabric.

At that, with his blood staining her sharpened finger tips, Ryoko began to clutch at her skull in pain as she screamed out in agony, the rest of the students completely ignoring her as they walked right past her agonized form.

"Why can't people just leave me alone?! I don't want to be here! I want to die!" Ryoko had screamed at him with clenched fists, all infatuation gone as she stormed out of the courtyard in a shakened rush, Akira clutching at his arms in pain as he wondered what the hell had just happened and how he was meant to help…

Something was affecting the students of Shujin, almost like a virus, passing from student to student and turning them from productive teens into rage filled monsters.

It reminded Akira strongly of Loki's Call of Chaos, yet this was the real world and oddly enough the effects weren't permanent like the Call of Chaos was, they only lasted a day.

But an insane mind for a single day can do quite a lot of damage, that he had learned the hard way…

But first he had to wrap his arms up and try to find a new blazer on short notice…

This day just kept getting worse.

After he had finished for the day, Akira had made to leave Shujin, only to stop on the backstreets when he saw two boys he remembered from his last life.

Hajime Kuwata and Yoshiro Ogura, two boys that had been in the study group Kawakami had set up in November last time around

They were first years, but sharp as knives and thick as thieves, having been best friends practically from birth.

Akira had thought they were brothers at first, this strong bond between them and a cloud of affection clear to see.

Now Yoshiro was on the ground unconscious and bloody, Hajime slamming his best friend's head into the metal gate of Shujin over and over again.

The other students seemed to not even notice as the blood began to pool under their feet, bloody footprints going ignored as everyone seemed far too busy to notice such savage suffering.

Something inside of Akira snapped as he saw the broken and deformed face of Yoshiro, dark blood pouring relentlessly from the boy's ruined nose and toothless jaw as people just walked past like it was an everyday occurrence.

"HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Akira screamed out in outrage, a shadow seeming to fall on them as the sun began to dim for a moment, outraged that whatever had fallen upon Shujin would cause such blatant cruelty.

Akira would not stand for it, rushing forward and grabbing Hajime by the shoulder, the boy fighting against his grip as he kept trying to bludgeon Yoshiro.

Gritting his teeth, Akira tried to pull him off the younger boy, to no avail as Hajime seemed to have almost inhuman strength, throwing Akira backwards with ease.

"Hajime… this isn't you…" Akira managed to stutter out as he pulled himself slowly up from the ground, the crowd just parting around him as if he was nothing more than a lamp post.

At his words though, Hajime froze on the spot, his friend's broken head held firmly in his hands.

Hajime looked right at Akira, and his eyes were a shining red, like that of a horrible beast from some forgotten folklore.

However, the boy began to shake then, the vicious color in his eyes slowly bleeding away to their original haze and all the tension in his body vanishing into the wind.

Hajime looked around him, almost as if he wasn't sure where he was, and then laid eyes on Yoshiro's blood-soaked head still clenched tightly in his hands.

"What happened? What did I…" The glare of hatred seemed to fade from Hajime's eyes, horrified realization filling his face as he noticed Yoshiro for seemingly the first time, tears falling from Hajime like bullets as he clutched at his friend.

"Did… I did this, didn't I?! Oh god, Yoshi! I'm so sorry!" Hajime cried out in anguish as he tried to stem the blood flow from Yoshiro's face, the younger boy's eyes listless and despondent as Hajime tried anything to wake his friend, who only remained still and lifeless in his arms.

As the spell was seemingly broken over Hajime and the crowd around them, an ambulance was quickly called and Hajime was arrested for the assault and attempted murder of Yoshiro.

The entire time, Hajime swore he was innocent, saying that he would never have hurt Yoshiro, saying that it had to have been someone else.

Regardless, they still took Hajime into custody, not a word listened to with so many witnesses present who all claimed he was guilty.

It made the news by the end of the day, and Akira was left ignored and confused as he tried to protest that something was wrong, that Hajime wouldn't have tried to kill a boy that was his brother in all but blood.

But Akira had seen it first hand, and was left shocked and angry, clueless in what to do when he had never seen anything like this before except for when Yaldabaoth had taken power… but even Yaldabaoth hadn't turned people into monsters, preferring them meek and mindless.

Akira had come back expecting Kamoshida and his abuse, to aid Ann and Ryuji in getting their revenge on the man that had taken so much from them.

He had expected a rerun of the year, going back through what he remembered and trying to do things better this time.

But he hadn't expected this, an entirely new game where almost nothing was like it had been, and he was left adrift in a world he barely recognized.

This was worse than Kamoshida…

A Wild Card of a Different Deck:

The Fool Who Prospered

April 15th, 2016

"Senpai, do you have a moment?" Tadashi said then, the quiet of the room was disrupted as the older boy let his pen freeze on the line, his eyes looking up as the Treasurer approached him with a peculiar look to him.

Tadashi's hair was rumpled and disorderly, a scarlet stain evident on the collar of his blazer and what looked to be mud on the ends of his pants along with noticeable tears in both his blazer and sweater along with many other signs that something had indeed happened on his watch.

The collar of Tadashi's sweater was frayed, almost like it had been pulled harshly, the material being torn by the additional stress wearing it applied on the fabric. The fibers hung loosely which confirmed that it had been pulled in some force of conflict, the Shujin student emblem was completely warped by the ripped stitching and now looked more akin to a letter K, and the Shujin crest had been ripped off his blazer. Blood layered the base of the collar, easily connected as Tadashi's own as crimson droplets leaked from the side of his neck and matched the splash patterns on his collar, meaning Tadashi had been wounded in his rescue attempt.

Judging by the time and how lunch had not yet begun, an altercation had occurred on school grounds and Tadashi had been involved evidently by his state of distress, but was not the initial victim.

There was no blood under his nails, no bruised knuckles to be seen, and he winced slightly when walking, illustrating that he was injured besides the neck impact, and yet he had a proud tilt to his shoulders.

Hypothesis: A student, clearly a girl of first year, since Tadashi was proud of himself yet not gravely wounded, had been assaulted and Tadashi had interfered on her behalf.

The assailant was obviously more capable than Tadashi had expected, leading to a wounded leg, the minor laceration at his neck, and judging by how gently he took breath, at least two cracked ribs and untold injury to his lungs.

As well, judging by the ashamed nature of his glance, and his obvious reluctance to involve him, the assailant was female, likely another first year. Tadashi obviously felt ashamed at being hurt in the confrontation, but couldn't be blamed as the cut on his neck looked quite bad, though nothing life threatening.

Considering the likelihood of violence among the first year female students of Shujin being remarkably low, he assumed that this was another example of what he dubbed the "Hate Virus."

Cross-referencing the few first year girls that Tadashi would be in contact with, and willing to personally intervene on the behalf of, let alone rescue, it was simple to come to a valid conclusion.

Tadashi had gone to meet with his younger sister, Sumiko, and had found her in conflict with the assailant, and had decided to come to his sister's aid as would be expected.

The suspect was likely a classmate of Sumiko's, likely having a personal motive if not accounting for the Virus' invention of a possible motive in it's manufactured rage.

The virus itself was intriguing, as a toxicology report came back with nothing in their systems, and all symptoms vanished after twenty-four hours.

It behaved like a man-made virus, yet was unlike anything in the police database or anything his contacts had come across, and their web of information stretched extremely far.

It wasn't an injectable virus, as none of the previous aggressors had any evidence of puncture marks, which left it to either be a pathological device akin to mind control, or an airborne concoction that was completely undetectable and able to override the logical section of the brain and amplify baser instincts.

It turned petty squabbles into blood baths.

"I'm assuming Tadashi-san, that a classmate of your sister's went mad and attacked her, leading to you defending your sister from such a vicious assault." He said with a single glance to the younger boy, Tadashi's eyes just widening as he stepped farther into the room, a small smile forming on his face.

"I didn't even have to say it, you read it off my sweater, right?" Tadashi said with a smile as the Council President just stood, his own blazer hanging by the door as he felt it was a bit too warm in the Student Council-room, his eyes falling back on the stack of paperwork he had been stuck with.

Each and every student that was assaulted had contacted the Student Council for either guidance or support, but nothing could be done without his approval, which meant that he had to sign every single form of every single person that he wanted to help.

Which did wonders in cramping his hands.

"Actually it was your sweater, pants, your blazer, among other things. Everything about you screamed that you were involved and it was easy to piece together that it was the recent string of incidents to blame as almost anything that is happening lately seems to be because of this… hate virus, or whatever exactly is troubling the students of Shujin." The Council President said with a tired gaze as he looked out through the open door of the office, wondering what all he could even do here. He was desperately out of his element here, having to find an issue that he couldn't see nor explain.

For once in his life, he didn't have an answer.

But someone else might.

"Tadashi, I'm stepping out for a bit. If anyone is looking for me, tell them I'm busy." He said with a determined grin as he grabbed his blazer on the way out of the door, Tadashi just shook his head with a soft grin as his senpai walked out of the door, business all that was on his mind.

As usual.

If there was one thing he was, it was determined as hell.

As was so often said, only one man was unstoppable.

And his name was Goro Akechi.

Akira

"Mishima, good to see you." Akira said with a genuine smile as he cornered his classmate in the Journalism classroom, the other boy just getting an expectant look on his face as he set aside his laptop.

"Kurusu, let me take a wild guess friend. You're taken it upon yourself to investigate whatever the hell is happening this week in our school?" Mishima said with a cocky grin as Akira sat before him, the editor merely holding a folder up as Akira's eyes noticed the title printed on it.

"Hate virus?"

"Yes, you're not the only one that's interested in whatever this is. Those in the know are calling it the Hate Virus. However, if you want the info, you pay my usual rates. Information for information. Tell me something I don't know, and you have your file." Mishima said with a confident grin as Akira figured it'd be something like this, and he already had something perfect in mind.

"Suguru Kamoshida."

"The Olympic athlete? He's been on top of the world lately… so what do you got on him?" Mishima said with a very predatory look on his face, one akin to a cat eyeing the canary, and Akira only returned the smile.

While Kamoshida didn't have a palace in this world, he was still by no means a good person.

"Kamoshida became an Olympic mentor a year ago, and in that time he's raped four female athletes and put nine male ones in the hospital in 'accidents'. Look into a bank account in Taiwan, it's under a bank account in the name of Suri Kamoniti, and he uses it to pay their families off so they don't report him." Akira said swiftly as Mishima's eyes took on an evil glare, his grin growing wide enough that he swore it was going to devour his entire face.

That was actually something he had learned in his last life, as after Kamoshida had his heart changed and went to trial, he admitted to everything, including a bank account he had used to silence people before he retired. Then, it had only taken him confirming Kamoshida used the account in this world too, and giving a briefcase full of yen to a Yakuza dealer.

And that had been a surprise as well.

After finally opening the chest that Sojiro and he had found in Leblanc's attic, he found everything.

All the yen he had owned in his last life, every single piece of Metaverse equipment he had ever used, and oddly even the stuff he no longer had.

At the top of the chest had been a large spiked hammer, Imprisoned Mjolnir engraved into the metal, the leather of the handle worn from excessive use.

Except Ryuji had taken Mjolnir with him when he left Shibuya, Akira hadn't seen it since then, and yet now it was in the chest along with all the other weapons he had forged for his friends.

Paradise Lost R and The Tyrant were both in the box, along with every other Ultimate Weapon he had forged. Caroline had been amazed at their creation, insisting that such 'divine' weaponry had to be called Ultimate Weapons, as anything less would be a discredit.

He had collapsed into tears when he found Fleurs du Mal R within the box, the ribbons Haru had tied to the pommel of the axe still there. The red ribbon he had found in Shinjuku, and the pink ribbon that had belonged to her grandmother, tied together and mounted to the end of the axe.

Despite the fact that Paradise Lost was stronger, he knew that when he got his mask back, it was Fleurs du Mal he would wield, at least until he could give it back to who was meant to use it…

And he got off track yet again, and Mishima was just grinning far too evilly to be a respectable writer, though he could respect such a predatory view to one's work.

"I don't give up my sources, so I won't ask how the hell you learned that, but that is far juicier than I expected from you Kurusu…" Mishima said with a genuine smile then as he passed the folder along to him, his index finger pointed up then though. "Do you know Shiho Suzui? She is an oddity, figured I'd point you in her direction. She showed symptoms of the Hate Virus, but unlike everyone else, she didn't return to normal after a week. She's the exception."

Which gave him an angle to work this at, and he had a new lead to pursue now.

"Thanks Mishima."

"Don't mention it, Kurusu. This was a deal, no gratitude needed… but if you find anything else… delicious, then I will be more than glad to trade with you again." Mishima said as he held a hand out to him, Akira returned it with a happy grin as he realized this could become a very productive partnership.

"It's a deal."

I could almost feel my bond with Mishima growing.

The Moon: Rank 2

Goro

"Masami, I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Goro said with a charming grin as he stepped into the empty classroom, Masami Magatsu merely looking pleased to see him as he stood and stepped closer to the junior detective. .

"Ah, Akechi-kun, it's quite good to see you in my class again. How may I be of assistance to the magnificent Detective Prince?" Magatsu said with a sharp grin as Goro's gaze only darkened, having grown to hate that title, despite having worked so very hard to avoid it.

Goro had kept to the shadows in most of his cases, passing off the glory and pride to the other Detectives and officers, only to find a journalist in hiding when he had gone to report to his superior. From then on, everywhere he went he was considered an ace detective, despite not even having a badge yet.

"You know well that I hate that title Masami, why must you insist on using it?" Goro said with not even a hint of a smile then as the cover fell, Masami being one of the few teachers he was ever able to show his true self to, having known that he was conflicted by noticing how heavy his breathing patterns were.

From then on, Masami was his confidant at the school and the one he allowed to aid him on his cases, at least as much as a biology teacher could assist in criminal cases without breaking his confidentiality clause.

As well, Masami seemed to be one of the few people that truly understood him, Masami being his secret to closing many cases. The only condition Masami had given for his help was that his name was left out of everything. Cases, reports, documents, everything.

While Goro had initially found it suspicious, Masami was such a valuable friend of his that he would gladly overlook it, as he too understood the desire to avoid fame.

"Because it gets under your skin, little detective. Now, I'm assuming you're here about the toxicology report, or perhaps about what you suspect to be behind this calamity?" Masami said with an expectant grin as Goro nodded, the teacher turning towards the row of monitors next to the virology equipment, an image appearing on the screen.

"Now, while I didn't see anything on the report I did before, yesterday a student by the name of Hajime Kuwata was affected by the virus. Fortunately I was able to reach him before he was taken into custody, and I did find a trace of what we've been calling this virus, and I have learned much from it as well." Masami said as an image of a cellular structure appeared on the largest monitor, an oddly red tinge to the cells as they almost seemed to quiver.

"What did you find Masami?" Goro said as he noticed how the cells were almost morphing in shape, what appeared to be an extra membrane forming around the cell, like it was rapidly evolving.

He had never seen a virus like this before, and he didn't think the world had either.

This looked like a virus that had recently been created, one that was evolving.

"Well, firstly I learned that this is bad news Goro, like military grade confidential level bad. The closest thing I could call this is a smart virus, as this thing is not only designed to self-destruct in 24 hours, but it constantly evolves. From what I can see, it's effect increases with each day, as the cells have grown since yesterday. If I had to guess, with each day the virus grows more effective… It's almost like someone is testing it. I think someone is using Shujin as a staging ground for something, and whatever they're planning is bad, Goro. A single sample of this virus could destroy Japan, if not the world. Imagine what would happen if the U.S President got infected? Nuclear war would erupt within the hour." Masami explained to him the dark picture as he saw a graph listed on a monitor showing the students that they could count as being infected, along with a list of traits the virus showed and detailing the evolution of the sample.

"This is… this is a Manhattan level threat, isn't it?"

"Without a doubt."

With a breath, Goro asked a question he already knew the answer to.

"Can you synthesize a vaccine?"

"Not a chance. This is a complex formula Goro, hell I can't even tell what is in this, I wouldn't know where to start on reverse engineering it, let alone how long it would take." Masami said with an exhausted sigh as Goro noticed the bags under his eyes, and it was now clear to him that his partner hadn't slept at all that night, probably watching the evolution of the virus nonstop.

"Masami, get some sleep. I'm going to look into this, and if we can't vaccinate, we have to stop the spread. Who all was involved in Kuwata's incident? We have to isolate them." Goro said with a stern gaze as Masami grinned grimly.

"Now that's easier to manage. Only two students were in close contact with Hajime while he displayed signs of the virus. One is Yoshiro Ugura, his victim who is in intensive care and already isolated, and the student that tried to stop Hajime's rampage." Masami explained as Goro's interest peaked that someone had interfered, as all the accounts of previous infections mentioned that the other students almost seemed to ignore the conflict, almost like they could see it.

If he had to guess, there was a secondary virus that's sole purpose was to instill a misdirection factor into the students, or perhaps merely to ruin their sense of concentration.

Regardless, it was the lesser of the two viruses on his plate, so he focused on the Hate because it was far more dangerous than a virus that made people oblivious.

"Who stopped the fight?"

"The new transfer student, a second year student named Akira Kurusu."

Seems he had a new lead, and a person to watch out for, as well as to safeguard. .

If Kurusu was infected, then he was a threat.

And Goro Akechi could not allow another person to threaten Shujin Academy, even if he wasn't trying to or even wanted to.

Goro would protect his fellow students, Akira as well, even if it was from himself.

"Thanks for your help Masami." Goro said as he made his way to the door, Masami stopping him for a moment as an awful grin spread on the man's face, and Goro's blood ran cold.

"You have places to be Goro, as they say…" He said this every time Goro left for a case, and by now had grown to hate it unlike anything else.

"Don't you dare say it."

"The game is afoot."

Akira

It wasn't hard following Shiho without being noticed, as she seemed to have this odd air of confidence about her that he had never seen, her cruel eye scaring off any students that wanted to speak to her.

It was odd, watching her act like this, as it painfully reminded him of Kamoshida in all the worst ways, strutting around as if he was the king of Shujin.

Shiho was no better, pushing students around when she thought no one was watching, and he followed her all the way to Ann, his former friend sitting quietly by the front of the school.

"Ann, there you are, I've been looking all over for you!" Shiho said aloud as Ann almost seemed to flinch at the sound of her girlfriend's voice, and Akira instantly knew something was horribly wrong. Ann would talk to Shiho for hours as if she was the center of her world, like the sun revolved around Shiho Suzui.

So why on Earth did she look like Shiho coming closer was the worst thing that could have happened to her?

"S-shiho, I was going to head home soon…" Ann said quietly in a meek tone, her voice so low that Akira barely would have heard her if he wasn't straining his hearing.

"Without me? Ann, I thought we talked about this…" Shiho said as she stepped right up to Ann, her hand practically flying to Ann's chin as she forced the blond to look at her, her tone growing darker as a pit of despair began to grow in Akira's chest.

If Shiho had fallen prey to whatever this was, what hope was there to stop it, when one of the kindest people he had ever known fell victim to cruelty?

"S-shiho, it's just I'm really sore, and I was-"

"Those sound like excuses Ann." Shiho's eyes were cold then, promising punishment as Akira could barely hold himself back, a righteous fury growing in his heart as he burned inside when Ann flinched at her tone, her body cowering away from her girlfriend as if she was anticipating a punch.

"Shiho, it's not-"

And Shiho threw Akira for a loop, as she actually did punch her, Ann flying back against the wall as Shiho's fist almost left a dent in the side of her face, Ann completely knocked out as her head collided with the wall hard enough to shake the entire wall.

And yet through this all, not a single person paid attention aside from Akira.

"I've told you Ann, you're mine…" Shiho growled aloud as she kicked at Ann's still form, the blond only groaning in pain as Akira finally had enough, a feeling eating away at him as he swore his vision took a turn.

Where once was Shiho, now stood a paler version of her with golden eyes, a confused look on her face she said something silent.

And in a second, the Shiho so familiar looking to the one he had known was gone, and this horrid monster wearing her skin had returned.

As he marched over to Shiho, his fists clenched, he heard a voice within his mind that he never expected to hear again.

"Have you finally let go of your regret, regained your faith in your own justice?"

Yes, I'm sorry it took so long.

"Death awaits them all, do you understand that?"

If that is fact, then so be it may be, but I won't sit down and let it happen.

"Fate can not be averted."

Arsene's voice rang out in his mind, but different, more cynical and certainly not the voice of true rebellion. It instead sounded more like a victim of order, one that had given into the harshness of reality and refused to even attempt to change it.

And then, a new voice spoke instead, one Akira hadn't heard before, but one who's voice vibrated within his very soul as he found a warmth spreading through him that he hadn't expected.

"Trickery holds no value now, do you understand? You must be willing to destroy that which forms order in order to achieve a destiny far greater than the one set before you, do you understand?"

What am I meant to do? Who even are you?

"Your time is not yet here. This road diverges far later than the path you crossed before, but no less is the destination important. You alone may walk this road, see what lies at the end should you maintain your resolve."

What must I do?

"Stop the suffering of innocents, and refuse to accept fate's design. You now hold the key to averting true ruin, and I entrust you with the fate of humanity itself."

Who are you?

"Your true self, the one you ignored for far too long and replaced with a charlatan thief."

But, I'm not in the Metaverse, how is this happening?

"I am within you always, but the time to bear your mask is not just now. Do as those who came before you have done, and seek out the truth Akira Kurusu, no matter how difficult it may be to admit to yourself."

And with that, the voice was gone, and Akira found himself face to face with Shiho, who looked almost furious that he hadn't merely ignored her, that he looked down at Ann with care in his eyes when her eyes held none.

"You're Kurusu, if you know what's good for you, you'll forget about everything you just saw." She said with a dangerous glare in her eyes, her fists clenched as he could almost foresee that she would be completely willing to attack him, more than willing.

And yet, he could not allow her to keep doing this, virus or no virus.

It was time to prove the worth of his justice.

"Now you see, that's fair and all, but I'll tell you a bit about myself. I never know what's good for me."

And with that, he threw a punch at her face.

She threw one at his.

Everything went dark.

As he fell into a deep void, Akira swore he saw someone standing behind Shiho then, just for a split second.

A man in a dark red suit, dark and empty eyes and an equally hollow grin.

And a pair of red horns poking out through his skull, his visage all together bringing to mind the heart of a demon.

And it was then, that Akira's head hit the ground, that the creature waved at him.

He knew not it's name, but he knew the aura around it as well as his own name.

Arsène was truly gone, and this being had taken his place.

Goro

He had searched high and low across Shujin for Akira Kurusu, hoping he hadn't missed him, that the boy hadn't already gone home for the day and praying that the virus wouldn't spread even farther from Shujin.

He found not a single trace of him, only heard from some students that apparently Kurusu had taken a bad fall and had gone to see the nurse, the woman having stayed late to treat him.

Why on Earth he wasn't taken to a hospital, Goro couldn't understand since school was already out, and yet he still found himself headed to the Nurse's office, hoping that he would find the boy conscious and able to explain to him what exactly was going on.

Goro knew something wasn't right, and had looked into the details of the case again, and remembered what Masami had said.

That this was a horribly complex, smart virus, and that someone with experience had to have made it.

And wouldn't you know, Nurse Tae Takemi was not only a former doctor, but had been a researcher into experimental concoctions and serums.

She had apparently had her license revoked and her business closed after concerns raised about the ethical and moral complications involving her projects, and she had practically vanished before showing up at Shujin some months later as the new school nurse.

And Goro hated how convenient that was, that a pathological virus that amplifies hatred is unleashed on Shujin Academy, only months after a woman transfers from staff with a history of experimentation and medicine production.

As he neared the closed door, Goro steeled his nerves as he stopped before it, a familiar weight in his pocket finding it's way into his hand as he took a breath.

It had been a gift upon his introduction to the Junior Task Force, a specialty-made stun gun designed in the image of a handgun, the frame of it silver with scarlet detailing as he took in the fine engraving on the side in a brilliant gold.

He had hated it at first, as it had been a nickname that he had been mocked about ever since he was a child, but the name had grown on him over time, though he had found new heroes since then.

And yet, the name seemed to catch his eye as he reached for the door, almost like a reminder.

The Robin Hood

With a newfound strength, Goro quietly edged the door open as he stepped into the dark office, two figures evident in the darkness and easy to make out.

The image of Nurse Takemi was clear to see in the dim light, her form protective and yet sinister as she stood over who he could only assume was Akira Kurusu, the boy lying stock still on one of the cots and motionless.

Also clear to see was the vial of scarlet liquid she was pouring down his throat, the dark veins spreading across his skin like spiderwebs as Goro took a step into the room, his stun gun straightened and aimed as he cleared his throat dramatically.

She turned around suddenly, surprise and hate in her eyes as Takemi froze with the veil in hand.

Goro did so love to make an entrance.

"You have one hell of a bedside manner."