Persona 5: Crusade – Chapter 6: The Problem with Confessions

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.

Trigger Warning: From the line that says, "Come in!" to the line that says, 'She left the faculty office…', there is abuse and sexual harassment.

Tuesday, April 12th, 2016

After School

"You have returned to the real world. Welcome back."

Ryuji leaned against a nearby AC unit while Fritz and Akira scanned their surroundings for bystanders. They saw people passing by the alley they were in, but no one looked in their general direction. They were in the clear.

"…Thank god. We're back." Ryuji stood up straighter, having regained some energy. "I dragged you guys around a lot, huh? Sorry."

"It was worth it." Fritz said, stretching his arms.

Ryuji groaned. "Ugh, I'm dead tired… How you holdin' up, Fritz?"

"I'll live."

"What about you, Akira?"

Akira yawned. "I could use a nap."

"Me too. Man, I'm gonna sleep like a rock when I get home." Ryuji said, then brightened a bit. "But damn, if what we saw was for real, this is gonna get good!"

"Jawohl!" Fritz muttered. "I'd say we deserve to celebrate when we get Kamoshida sacked—maybe even arrested."

"I totally remember the faces of the guys Kamoshida was treatin' like slaves." Ryuji assured his teammates that their plan would work. "Once we make 'em fess up to any physical abuse, Kamoshida will be done."

"Eh, we shouldn't 'make 'em fess up' to the abuse." Fritz put a shoulder on Ryuji's shoulder. "We should be convincing them that they should come forward on their own."

"All right, ya goody-two shoes." Ryuji smirked, then turned to Akira. "So… wanna help me and Fritz look for those guys or any witnesses?"

"Sure," Akira said, "I'll help."

Ryuji pumped the air with his fist. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

"Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow." Fritz said, walking towards the school. "I do have cleaning duty."

While their ally went back to the school to avoid disciplinary action, and subsequent attention, Ryuji turned back to Akira, serious expression on his face. "Hey, so… If you're thinkin' of layin' low 'cause you got a record, I don't think that'll help… Everyone already knows. They totally got you pegged as a criminal."

"I've noticed." Akira nodded, having overheard the other kids in his class. "How'd that happen, though?"

"Kamoshida opened his damn mouth!" Ryuji crossed his arms.

"You think a teacher did that?"

"No one else besides a teacher could've leaked it that fast!" Ryuji scowled, recalling his own experiences with Kamoshida. "It doesn't matter if it's a student or a club; that asshole just wrecks things he doesn't agree with. Just like he did with me…!"

Akira recalled what had happened back in the castle. He started wondering if things were even worse than what he heard before Ryuji awakened his Persona.

"No one'll take anything I say seriously." Ryuji shook his head. "Still, those rumors about him gettin' physical might be real. And after seein' Kamoshida's distorted-heart thing in person, there's no way I can just sit back!"

"Of course." Akira said. "Don't worry, you've got me and Fritz backing you up."

"I'm countin' on you two!" Ryuji said. "Don't worry; I'm hyped about this too!"

Akira felt a strong bond of trust form between himself and the delinquent student before him.

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Chariot Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

While Akira pondered both the bond and the strange whispering he'd just heard, he could hear something else. It was a low grumbling sound, like far off, distant thunder. Then, he identified the source.

Ryuji looked a little embarrassed. "Right. I haven't eaten anything since lunch. It'd be weird splittin' off now, so why don't we grab a bite somewhere?"

"Sure." Akira said.

"Okay! Follow me." Ryuji said. "I mean, I totally gotta hear about your past!"

Shiho sat at one of the courtyard benches, near a couple vending machines, with Anne. Aside from that time in Shibuya with Fritz, the two hadn't been able to hang out recently, Shiho's practice schedule and Anne's modelling gig drawing time away. This rare moment, right after the ponytailed girl's practice had ended, was a rare moment for her to unwind. It also enabled Anne to check in on her friend.

"I-I haven't been sleeping well lately…" Shiho admitted, leaning a bit forward. "Whenever I close my eyes, I keep thinking about too many things…"

Anne sighed. "Shiho…"

"Nationals are coming up soon," Shiho said, "so I keep thinking, 'should someone like me really be on the starting lineup'?"

Anne tried to be reassuring. "Don't worry. Just be confident in yourself! Your skills have been recognized! It's all because you work harder than anyone else!"

Shiho wished that she had her friend's optimism… and perhaps some of her metabolism. "Yeah… Volleyball's all I have, after all…"

She was good, but not top of her class; an athletic scholarship would be essential when applying to a college or university. Though, with how grueling practice was being so far, Shiho was having trouble focusing on just what she would do in college.

"More importantly, was that injury okay?" Anne brought Shiho back to the present. "It looked really swollen."

"No, it's nothing." Shiho waved off her friend's concern, while attempting to allay her own. "It's normal… Especially since a meet's coming up…"

Anne sighed, but said nothing, and that suited Shiho just fine.

"Besides," she thought, "it's not that bad."

"Sorry to interrupt, Suzui-san."

Shiho looked up. Mishima had shown up, having finished cleaning up after girls' practice. Kamoshida often asked him to stick around and clean up.

"Um," Mishima continued, "Kamoshida-sensei told me to get you."

Shiho was shocked, as well as worried. "What does he want…?"

Mishima looked away. "He didn't say…"

Shiho sighed, guessing why she was being called to the P.E. faculty office. "Anne, I…"

She stopped, unable to follow through, so Anne tried to calm her down. "It'll be fine! I bet it's a meeting about the starting lineup or something."

She didn't sound fully convinced, but Shiho decided to humor her. "…Yeah. Well, I better go…"

She stood to leave, while Anne cheered her on. "Yup. Good luck!"

Shiho nodded, then walked into the practice building. Mishima left, having delivered his message, and Shiho couldn't blame him. She did note, however, that Kamoshida never sent anyone to collect the raven-haired boy. While she made her way to her coach's office, she decided to berate herself for being so cowardly.

She couldn't admit to Anne the real reason for her injury, along with countless others in the past.

She couldn't admit to Anne the accumulating dread that came with every practice session, knowing that Kamoshida may call her out at random.

She couldn't admit to Anne how she really felt about her.

That last one, Shiho admitted, would never come to pass. Even if Anne denied it, she definitely had feelings for Fritz. And even if she didn't, there'd be no telling how Anne would react to this sudden revelation.

"She'd probably think I'm some kind of freak." Shiho thought, as she reached the P.E. faculty office.

She knocked on the door.

"Come in!"

Shiho opened the door and entered. Kamoshida was at his desk, looking through files. Shiho closed the door behind her, knowing that he would've either ordered her to do it or gotten up and done it himself.

"You wanted to see me, Kamoshida-sensei?"

"Yes," Kamoshida stood. "Is it me, or has your performance dropped lately?"

Shiho stammered. "W-Well, my knee hasn't f-fully healed—"

"That," Kamoshida scowled and walked up to her, "sounds like a goddamn excuse!"

"K-Kamoshida-sensei—?"

"I don't want to hear any more of your shitty excuses!" He grabbed the front of her sweater. "I gave you a pass the other day, and you're still giving me that shit?!"

"Sensei, I'm just—"

Before she could say anything more, Kamoshida's fist made contact with her face. She stumbled back, slipping out of his grasp, and felt her back hit the door. She slid to the the ground, bending at the knees, and braced herself for another punch. Instead, Kamoshida stepped right on her knee brace, grinding his heel and sneering down at her. She vaguely realized that he could see the black shorts she wore under her skirt.

"I went through rougher training to get my medal, and here you are complaining about a fucking leg injury?" the coach continued grinding his shoe against her knee brace. "Pathetic."

Shiho winced, unable to do anything more than whimper.

"Now, get out." Kamoshida removed his foot. "And if I hear any more of your fucking whining, then I'll have to reconsider who's on the starting lineup. You don't get on just for having a decent pair of tits, you know?"

Shiho cringed as she stood. "Y-Yes, K-Kamoshida-sensei,"

She left the faculty office and made her way to the entrance. As she did so, she thought up an excuse she could use for Anne and Fritz, given that she'd probably have a pretty big bruise over her eye: Kobayashi, the new first-year, accidently hit her with a volleyball; she was still a bit new to the game, which also explained why the first-year would be wearing a bandage on her nose tomorrow.

"Shiho?! Are you okay?"

After exiting the school and making her way down the set of stairs, Shiho was surprised by the sudden appearance of Fritz. He was carrying a can of soda, and he was giving her a look of concern.

She raised a hand to cover her injury. "F-Fritz?! What are you doing here?"

"I was given cleaning duty for the week." Fritz said, walking up to her. "But don't change the subject: what happened to you?"

"I-It's nothing."

"It doesn't look like 'nothing' to me. What. Happened?"

Shiho stammered. "K-Kobayashi-kun accidently hit me with a volleyball."

Fritz sighed, apparently buying her story, and handed over his can of Dr. Salt NEO. "It's not ice, but it should be cool enough until you get home."

Shiho took the can. "T-Thank you."

"What?!" Ryuji cried out as soon as Akira finished telling him how he came to be a transfer student. "The hell, man! How much shittier can that asshole get?!"

"Keep it down, Ryuji." Akira looked around Orenobeko, the beef bowl shop in Shibuya Ryuji had selected, to see if anyone was watching them. "Anyway, it's in the past. No good complaining about it now."

Ryuji did quiet down, but he was still seething. "Are you for real? If it was me, I wouldn't calm down until I punched that dick in the face."

After venting some steam, Ryuji managed to calm down and returned to his bowl. "So… slurp… you left your hometown, and… slurp… you're livin' here now, huh?"

"Yep," Akira replied, wondering what Fritz would say of his classmate's indecision between eating and talking. "My caretaker's a bit crabby, but he's just overworked."

Ryuji nodded, then stopped eating to speak clearer. "We might be more alike than I originally thought."

"What did you do?"

"I don't got a record like you do." Ryuji said, then backtracked to elaborate. "I mean, that's not the point. I guess it's how we're treated like a pain in the ass by the people around us, like we don't belong. I did something stupid at school before, too."

Ryuji finished his beef bowl before moving on. "The place you're livin' now is in… Yongen, right?"

"Yeah," Akira said, taking a few bites from his bowl of beef ramen, "but I'd put off visiting me. At least, until I'm more acquainted with the owner."

"You got it." Ryuji said. "It's rush hour on the subways. I suggest you kill some time before headin' home."

"I'll hang by the station platform to school." Akira said, setting down his bowl. "I did say I'd meet up with Fritz there."

"You know," Ryuji said, "Fritz hasn't been a 'people person', especially since he came back at the start of the year."

"'Came back'?" Akira asked.

"Yeah, he's from this town up north called Ōarai." Ryuji explained. "He lives with his aunt while goin' to Shujin. After our first year, he went back home for a visit. Somethin' must've happened."

"Like what?"

"Who knows. I once asked what his parents were like, and he said his mother was a witch. I mean, he didn't get all snippy and childish when I said he was full of it, but it still sounded like something a middle schooler would say."

"You think I should ask him what happened?"

"Hell yeah," Ryuji nodded. "If you're gonna tell him about that asshole who sued ya, you can at least get an answer from him."

Akira nodded. "I'll take that into consideration."

Ryuji glanced at Akira's bowl, then added some ginger. "What the hell, man. You barely touched your food."

Akira cocked an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"Just lemme do it. I gotta thank you for helpin' me." Ryuji grinned. "Anyways, I got your back like you got mine from tomorrow on. As long as we do something about Kamoshida, I'm sure we'll both feel better about bein' at school."

"Agreed." Akira nodded. "Let's bring him to justice."

Ryuji nodded, then whipped out his phone. "Oh, yeah! Tell me your number. Chat ID too."

"You got it." Akira pulled out his phone and the two exchanged numbers.

"On a related note," Ryuji continued, "you think you could give me Fritz's? I may have deleted it last year."

"It's fine." Akira said, giving Ryuji the number.

Ryuji entered it, then muttered to himself. "Just you wait, Kamoshida…" He turned to Akira. "We're gonna start right away tomorrow. First, let's hit up those guys that were kept as slaves."

"Tomorrow, huh?" Akira recalled something Kawakami told the class yesterday. "There's a volleyball rally tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Ryuji said, looking disgusted. "Shit's recommended by Kamoshida. Makes me wanna gag. But thanks to that, we got no classes in the afternoon, and we can walk around unnoticed."

"All right, then," Akira said, "that's our game plan."

"We can work out the details with Fritz tomorrow." Ryuji said, then turned his attention to Akira's bowl, still less than halfway empty. "C'mon, you gotta eat more. There's tons of ginger here."

"I'm good." Akira said, stopping Ryuji from just piling ginger into his bowl.

While Ryuji went on home, Akira took a look around Shibuya to get more acquainted with the area. He took notice of eateries like Orenobeko, Big Bang Burger, and Bikkuri Boy. He also noticed an arcade, a movie theater, a karaoke place, a video rental shop, and a gym that charged ¥2000 per visit. In the walkway under the station, he found shops and magazine racks, the latter putting out part-time job offers. Finished with his tour, the transfer student went to the Aoyama-Itchome platform and scanned the crowds for Fritz.

He didn't have to scan for very long. A few seconds later, a train pulled in, and Fritz could make out Fritz from the small crowd disembarking. He was discernable by both his blonde hair and his uniform. Akira also noticed that he was with a girl with dark hair, tied into a ponytail, who was holding a canned soft drink up to her eye. The transfer student waved them over.

Fritz looked surprised. "Ach! Hello there, Akira. What're you doing here?"

"I said that we should meet up here after school." Akira said, then turned to the girl with Fritz. "Are you a friend of Fritz?"

"Yep." She said, then looked over Akira with the eye that wasn't obscured by a can of Dr. Salt NEO. "You don't look familiar. Are you the transfer student from class 2-D?"

"That's me," Akira said, giving a polite bow, "Kurusu Akira."

"Suzui Shiho, class 2-E." After that brief introduction, she continued. "Um, this might not be any of my business, but don't let the rumors get to you, okay? My best friend is often misunderstood too, all because of her looks."

Akira suspected that this was Takamaki's friend, whom Fritz had mentioned yesterday on the rooftop. "Thank you, Suzui-san, but you don't need to worry about me. I haven't given those rumors a second thought."

"Good to hear." Suzui said, then turned to Fritz. "See you tomorrow."

Once she was gone, Akira and Fritz made their way to the Yongen-Jaya line, making small talk along the way.

"Was that Takamaki-san's friend?" Akira asked.

"Yeah," Fritz replied. "Shiho's on the volleyball team."

"So…?" Akira started, unsure of how to mention the soda can.

"I ran into her after I finished cleaning the classroom. I figured a can from one of the vending machines would do until she got home." Fritz probably figured out what Akira wanted to ask. "She says it was an accident by a first-year on her team, but… you remember what we saw in the castle."

Akira nodded. "You think we can talk to her tomorrow?"

"I'll talk to her tomorrow. Ryuji's tactless, and she doesn't know you that well." Fritz said the second Akira was done, then changed the subject. "So, why'd you wait around for me?"

"I said I'd tell you why I transferred over here." Akira reminded him. "I've already told Ryuji, so I figured that I ought to tell you."

"Okay," Fritz replied, "shoot."

Akira explained his circumstances to Fritz. He explained how he'd tried to stop a drunken man from assaulting a woman. He explained how the man was injured. He explained how the man sued him, giving the student a criminal record. He explained how he was expelled from his old school, causing him to transfer to Shujin Academy.

"The worst part about that was how my dad reacted." Akira continued. "All he did when he visited me at the detention center was berate me about how much I damaged his image. How hard it'd be for him to go to work with my arrest hanging over him. He didn't care about what really happened! Or how it affected me!"

Akira's voice raised slightly, and he calmed himself down. He couldn't be making a scene in public.

"Honestly, it's bad enough that the police listened to some drunk over you, no matter who he was." Fritz shook his head, probably disgusted by what Akira just described. "Still, your father should've at least tried to apologize before you left. With all these mental shutdowns and accidents happening, you could get injured, or even killed, on your way to school. He wouldn't be able to talk to you, try and make up for his outburst, or…"

Fritz stopped, prompting Akira to nudge him with his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Fritz replied, "it's a—personal thing."

Akira stopped. "Oh. Sorry."

Fritz waved him off. "Don't worry about it. You've already told me your backstory; no reason for me to hold back the bare minimum."

The half-German student took a breath, then continued. "Towards the end of my first year at Shujin, my father had a mental shutdown, went into a coma. He was just your average salaryman, and his hours meant that we weren't exactly close. That also makes me think that he was simply overworked. Anyway, he died shortly before school restarted in April."

Akira saw why Fritz had been somewhat upset with his story. "Sorry to hear that. If you need any help…"

"I'm fine." Fritz's tone was even, calm, when he turned down Akira's help. "I'm coping as well as possible. Right now, I want to focus on deposing Kamoshida."

Akira relayed Ryuji's plan. "Don't worry, we've got your back."

Fritz extended a hand. "Thank you, Akira."

Akira took his hand, shaking it. As he did, he felt a strong bond form between him and Fritz.

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Faith Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

Akira's train pulled in, and they said their goodbyes.

"Oh, you made a new friend?"

"Yes, Aunt Rizu." Fritz said, making great effort to forget what he saw at the castle. "He's this new transfer student."

"Aw, congratulations!" Rizu had often encouraged Fritz to make more friends, especially since she disapproved of Anne (a couple girls from Shujin worked at her bakery part-time, where she overheard the rumors concerning his friend and Kamoshida).

"Anyway, I'll be studying for a bit before dinner." Fritz said, making his way to his room.

Rizu snickered, probably assuming that he was going to read more ecchi manga. "Well, it's going to be ready in a couple minutes, so don't get too comfortable 'studying'."

Fritz rolled his eyes, entered his room, and sat down at his desk. Tomoe jumped onto his lap as he scanned the titles of manga on the shelf above his desk. As much as he tried to avoid doing so, his thoughts drifted to the cognitive copies he'd seen in the castle.

"So, he's got cognitive copies of the boys' team, cognitive copies of Anne and Aunt Rizu," Fritz thought, "but no cognitive copies of me or Ryuji? I mean, shouldn't there be someone for him to mock or something?"

As he fumed at not having been mocked, his eyes drifted to the figures on top of the shelf, and a new thought came up. "Wait! We only saw the boys' team. Where was the girls' team?"

His thoughts initially turned to Shiho being subjected to the same treatment as the slaves they saw in the training room. Then, he considered that her cognitive copy would probably be dressed like one of those French maids. Then, he recalled how the cognitive copy of Anne was dressed. He then began imagining Shiho dressed in a similar manner, but he stopped when he realized that his nose was dripping.

"Ach! How unseemly of me!" He pulled a couple tissues from his desk and started dabbing at his nose, staining the papers red.

That's when his phone started buzzing. He pulled it out, glanced at the screen, and decided to respond after dinner.

?: Hey, you seeing this?!

?: It's Ryuji!

?: Akira gave me your number!

?: Hello?

Sakura was sitting in a stool at the counter, doing a crossword puzzle, when Akira made it to Leblanc. "You're home. I take it you actually went to school today?"

"Of course." Akira replied.

"I guess you learned your lesson after what happened yesterday." Sakura said, setting his newspaper aside for now. "Eh, as long as you're not getting into trouble, it's fine by me. I don't know what you've been up to, but trust me, you'll be gone if you start causing problems. In case you forget, your life is not a free one right now."

Akira nodded, then heard his phone ring. He pulled it out to find some texts from Ryuji.

RS: Hey, I decided to go ahead and message you.

RS: Can you see this?

AK: Yep.

RS: I'm gonna be counting on you and Fritz tomorrow, OK?

AK: Got it.

AK: You want to make a group text?

RS: Sounds great!

RS: Youre a bro man…

RS: I'll get started on that group chat!

"…Sheesh, are you even listening to me?" Sakura asked, after Akira pocketed his phone.

"Stay out of trouble, or I'm getting kicked out and going to juvie." Akira replied.

Sakura sighed. "Just stay away from bad influences, okay?"

Akira nodded, then made his way to his room.

"I'm gonna head home for the night." Sakura got up from the stool. "I'll lock the store up. Don't go wandering out."

Akira nodded, then continued upstairs. He got changed for bed, then felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out, and saw that Ryuji made good on setting up a group text.

RS: Yo! Can you guys see this!?

AK: Loud and clear, Captain.

FY: Pirate jokes?

AK: Had to get one in.

RS: Awesome! We're all set!

RS: Say, you guys have that red eyeball thing on your phones, right?

AK: Right.

FY: You mean the navigation app?

RS: Yeah.

RS: I found it on my phone too…

RS: I don't even remember installing it!

AK: It's kinda creepy.

RS: For real. What is this thing?

FY: I think it has something to do with our Personas.

RS: Well, we can go to that weird place with the castle by using this app, right?

AK: Seems like it.

RS: Well, first, let's find evidence for the beatings.

FY: Guys…

FY: What if no one wants to talk to us.

AK: Like Suzui-san?

FY: Yeah.

RS: What happened?

FY: I ran into her after finishing with cleaning duty…

FY: She was injured…

FY: She SAID another player accidently hit her, but it's pretty obvious what REALLY happened.

AK: I ran into them in Shibuya.

RS: You know, he's got a crush on her?

FY: Ryuji…

AK: Yeah, it was kinda obvious.

FY: Not you, too…

RS: So, let's talk to her.

FY: I'll talk to her…

FY: YOU would scare her off.

RS: Ugh, FINE!

AK: See you guys tomorrow!

Akira set his phone aside and climbed into bed. He felt exhausted, and he chalked it down to spending time in the Metaverse. He was sure that it was called the Metaverse, given what Igor had called the app. He lay back, falling asleep quickly.

Once more, Akira found himself in the Velvet Room. He got up and walked over to the bars, where he saw Igor sitting at his desk. The twins stood at either side of the cell.

"Welcome back to the Velvet Room. I thought about resuming our previous conversation tonight." Igor said. "That is why I have summoned you. What are your thoughts? Are you becoming accustomed to this place?"

"Yeah," Akira replied, though he was still hoping to get some answers from Igor.

"Ah, glad to hear it. It seems you have nerves of steel." Igor said. "Your rehabilitation determines if ruin can be stopped. Yet, such a feat cannot be done by you alone."

"I've met a couple students who can use Personas." Akira said. "Are you talking about them?"

"Yes," Igor replied, "and you've entered a pact with these people, haven't you?"

"Yeah," Akira said, "and I heard some voice, giving me the same 'I am thou' spiel when I got my Persona."

"Involving yourself with others is an important foundation for your recovery. You've done well." Igor explained. "That said, I am not advising the formation of superficial relationships. It must not be of frivolity, but a ring of those who would, by morals or faith, lend you their strength."

"Well, that narrows things considerably." Akira remarked. "Everyone at school has me pegged as a criminal."

"They will be like you." Igor continued. "In other words, they are bonds with those who have been robbed of their places to belong. The expansion of said ring will, in return, help you mature as well."

"What about the Personas?" Akira asked.

"Personas are the strength of heart." Justine said. "The stronger the bonds that surround you, the more power your Personas will gain."

"There are countless people in the city who have talents that a weakling like you doesn't." Caroline said. "You better rack that noggin of yours and get them on your side. We'll change that into power."

Akira thought the idea of becoming stronger through bonds with other people sounded like something out of a crappy anime. But, if it could help him and his friends, he'd take it.

"Indeed." Igor said. "You should be prepared to use even myself, or your ambitions will not come to fruition."

Akira took a deep breath, and gave his answer. "Count me in."

Igor chuckled. "We have a deal then."

Akira could feel that Igor had high expectations for him. He would strive not to disappoint.

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Fool Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…

"Well, you will understand it all in due time." Igor continued. "Continue devoting yourself to your rehabilitation."

Caroline glared at Akira as soon as Igor finished. "Now, this conversation's over! Get lost, Inmate!"

"You got it, Warden Tsundere."

Caroline whacked the bars while Akira went back to sleep.

Wednesday, April 13th, 2016

Morning

While Akira made his way to school, he found himself walking behind a couple of first-year boys. He overheard much of their conversation.

"How annoying!" one of the boys said. "We've barely started high school, and already they're making us play at a volleyball rally? And why are they pitting us against the teacher team? Kamoshida-sensei's gonna crush us."

"We get to see his technique live and in person, though." The boy's overeager friend replied. We should totally get spike on!"

"Yeah, okay. You're gonna get your face smashed in." The first boy said. "Just look at how banged up the volleyball team is. What the hell goes on during their practices?"

Akira thought of what he saw in the castle. Whatever really happened in practice, it was causing noticeable injuries among the team. His thoughts turned to Suzui.

Entering the classroom provided another reminder: as Fritz said, the boy tied up and pelted with volleyballs was his class representative. Akira recalled that Fritz called him 'Mishima'.

Kawakami took to the front of the room when class started. "Okay, listen up everyone. As you all know, today is the volleyball rally. Head to the gymnasium once you've changed. Got it?"

Omake

"Kobayashi-kun?" Fritz asked, then shook his head. "How does someone as small as Mishima-san cause that injury?"

"Fritz." Shiho frowned, disapproving of how he described her teammates.

"You're right." He conceded, then subverted. "I think Kobayashi-kun's taller than that shrimp. And she's probably better than him at volleyball."

"He's doing his best!" She said, offended.

"Well, you know the old saying, 'every little bit helps'."

"Fritz!"

A/N: Yeah, I felt like decking someone as I wrote Shiho's 'meeting' with her coach.

Check out my new GuP fic, Sensha-dou VS the World, on my profile.