Persona 5: Crusade – Chapter 7: Getting a Confession Out

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.

Wednesday, April 13th, 2016

Afternoon

Akira got changed into the standard gym outfit, a red jacket, matching track pants, and a white undershirt, and met up with Ryuji and Fritz in the gymnasium. Ryuji had omitted the jacket and rolled up the sleeves on his undershirt and the legs of his trousers, while Fritz wore his jacket zipped up. The latter briefly unzipped his jacket to pull out a book, titled Die Gefährten des Ringes, which he decided to read during the volleyball rally.

It didn't take long for Akira to realize that the 'rally' was really Kamoshida stroking his ego. He also noticed that Mishima was often the victim of one of Kamoshida's spikes.

"Still sticks out. Hasn't changed a bit." Ryuji muttered, then yawned when he noticed that Akira overheard him. "Pretty boring, right?"

Akira nodded, while Fritz continued reading. "In all honesty, having a Fußball team would've been better."

"You mean 'soccer'?" Ryuji asked.

"'Soccer' isn't even a real word." Fritz replied. "We only call it 'soccer' in this country because it was occupied by the United States after World War Two."

Akira tuned them out and looked off to the sidelines. Takamaki was sitting there, by herself, in a folding chair. He'd been wanting to talk to her, ask how she was doing, but it felt like she was avoiding him. He figured that it was probably for the best: the rumors about her were bad enough right now, and associating with the 'troublesome transfer student' wouldn't make them better.

Just then, Kamoshida landed a spike that made direct impact with Mishima's face. The volleyball bounced over to where the three boys were sitting. The diminutive class rep fell on his side, prompting a timeout while someone took him to the nurse's office.

"Boom, headshot." Fritz muttered, then turned to his friends. "At the very least, Fußball would've given Kamoshida a red card by now."

Ryuji just picked up the ball and tossed it back. "He'll pay soon enough…"

Fritz, Akira, and Ryuji decided to leave, disgusted by the rally.

"That asshole's actin' like a king over here too." Ryuji grumbled. "'Get to know each other better', my ass. It's just a one-man show for him to stroke his ego."

"I could swear a few of the girls had sparkles in their eyes watching the match." Fritz added, disgusted by the girls fawning over a muscle-headed jock.

"And how he acted like he was worried about Mishima?" Ryuji continued. "What an abusive d-bag…!"

"Focus, Ryuji." Akira said.

Ryuji nodded. "Anyway, now's our chance to go look for the guys we saw in the castle yesterday."

"All the members of the volleyball team should be here today." Fritz said. "That'll make it easy to find them in one go."

"Where are you searching?" Akira asked.

"The first one that pops out is a guy from class 2-D, so let's start from there." Ryuji answered. "That's your class, so hopefully you can get him to talk without any issues. People have been avoidin' me lately, so…"

"Er, Ryuji," Fritz said.

Ryuji realized his error. "Oh, but you're kinda in the same boat, huh."

Akira nodded. "Well, Fritz can help us there."

"Somehow, I thought you'd say that." Fritz muttered. "Follow my lead."

The three made their way to Akira's class, where they easily spotted the guy. He was at the front of the room, and he looked heavily injured. Fritz walked over to him, with Akira and Ryuji flanking him.

The student noticed them. "Wha—? Yamamoto-san, with Sakamoto and the transfer? Why're you skipping out on the rally with these troublemakers?"

"It got boring pretty quickly." Fritz said. "But that's not what I want to talk about with you. You see, I've noticed that you, and the other members of the volleyball team, always show up to school injured."

"So?" the second-year volleyball player retorted.

"So," Fritz continued, "how do you get so injured?"

"It's from practice!" the volleyball player said, then lowered his voice. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Kamoshida must run some pretty intense practice if you get these injuries." Fritz pointed out the bandages on the boy's face.

Ryuji sighed. "Look, no one's gonna know you told us. Just admit to us that Kamoshida's abusin' you."

The volleyball player stammered. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Did Kamoshida threaten you to say that?" Akira asked.

"He did not!" the volleyball player sounded desperate. "You guys are talking complete nonsense!"

"Don't try n' hide it!" Ryuji countered. "We already know!"

"You… You know?" the volleyball player wasn't convinced, but his tone indicated that they were on the mark. "You have proof?"

Ryuji didn't expect that, but Fritz continued. "The fact that you guys show up injured after practice should be proof enough that something's going on. If we get someone, like you, to confirm the story—"

"This is ridiculous!" the volleyball player interrupted. "Leave me alone. You're really bothering me!"

"Fine!" Fritz turned away, with Ryuji and Akira following suit. "I've wasted enough time with you anyway."

In the hallway, Ryuji fumed to the other two. "That injury ain't normal, and he still won't fess up!"

"Kamoshida must've threatened the players." Fritz said.

"If we keep goin' at this pace, the game's gonna end." Ryuji began rethinking his strategy. "Let's split up."

"Good plan," Akira said, while Fritz nodded.

"I'll check the practice building for people before clubs start. You guys handle the classroom building." Ryuji said. "There's a third-year on the volleyball team that I remember. I think he's in 3-C."

"I know a first-year I can ask." Fritz said, getting a nod from Ryuji.

"I'll hit you guys up if I find anything." Ryuji said, turning to head to one of the walkways that connected the classroom building to the practice building. "Seeya!"

Fritz wished Akira well, then went upstairs. He saw his target just outside of class 1-D. It was a girl with shoulder-length brown hair and shining silver eyes. She was rather diminutive and petite, though full of energy. Fritz noticed a bandage over her nose, and he guessed that it was a recent injury. Right now, she was talking to her class rep, a boy with black hair.

"Really, Kobayashi-san, what happened to your nose?" the class rep asked.

Kobayashi waved him off, smiling. "Oh, it's nothing. Just a practice injury."

The class rep shrugged, seemingly accepting her excuse, and walked away. Fritz walked up to her, prompting her to shoot him a dirty look.

"What do you want, Yamamoto-senpai?" Kobayashi had seen him glance at Shiho, and she declared him to be a deviant who wished to do perverted things to her senpai.

"Relax, Kobayashi-kun." Fritz said. "I want to ask about that injury of yours."

Kobayashi hmphed. "Like I told Takahashi-san, it's just a practice injury. A ball hit me in the face."

"All right then," Fritz shrugged, "but what about the other kids on the volleyball team? I noticed that Shiho had a black eye."

"Th-That's a practice injury too!" Kobayashi must've been told what happened, and what to say, by Shiho. "Look! Training's tough! I can take it! I'm strong like Suzui-senpai!"

"Should practice be that intense?" Fritz asked.

Kobayashi growled, then reverted to her old attack. "Y-You don't even care about the volleyball team! You're just a dirty boy, thinking perverted thoughts about Suzui-senpai!"

Before Fritz could retort, she stalked off. Fritz stood back and evaluated his next move. He'd have to find Shiho. Looking around until he saw Anne was a good bet; those two were incredibly close friends, especially since Shiho was the only girl who'd talk to Anne.

He pulled out his phone when he heard it ring, and he saw it was Ryuji, on a group chat with Akira.

RS: How's it going, guys?

FY: My lead was a bust.

RS: How 'bout you, Akira?

AK: He refused.

RS: Him too…?

RS: Man, everyone's too freaked out about Kamoshida.

RS: But I still got a lead. A first-year, new member.

RS: He just joined, so he might not be all wrapped up in Kamoshida's web of bullshit just yet.

RS: Pretty sure he's in class 1-B.

AK: Got it.

A few seconds later, Akira texted Fritz directly.

AK: I saw Suzui-san on the first floor with Takamaki-san.

AK: If you wanna talk to her.

FY: Thank you, Akira.

Fritz pocketed his phone and made his way downstairs. He'd wait for Anne to move on before making his move.

As it turned out, the first-year wasn't any help. He seemed naïve to what was really happening. He did let slip that Mishima got 'special coaching' from Kamoshida. Akira pulled out his phone to tell Ryuji and Fritz, while the school's PA system announced that the volleyball rally ended.

AK: The first year was a no-go.

RS: Dammit, and we're outta time!

AK: I found out that Mishima gets "special coaching" from Kamoshida.

AK: We can guess what that means.

RS: How 'bout you, Fritz?

RS: Hellooooo!

RS: Anyone there?

FY: Agsvdbjnbfjjfj

RS: Huh?

FY: NOTHING!

FY: I GOT NO INFO!

FY: AND NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED!

AK: What happened?

FY: I'll tell you later.

RS: Whatever.

RS: Let's meet up in the courtyard, see if we can intercept Mishima.

AK: Got it.

Akira pocketed his phone and made his way downstairs.

Fritz saw Anne walk away, and he took his shot. He walked over to Shiho, who had a black eye from yesterday's injury.

"Shiho," Fritz said, "can I speak with you for a minute?"

"Huh?" Shiho said. "Oh, sure! What do you wanna talk about?"

"First, how's that injury?" Fritz pointed to the bruising on her face. "If she hasn't already, I can abuse my senpai privileges and force Kobayashi-kun to apologize for elbowing you in the face."

"It was an accident, and she's already apologized." Shiho said. "And anyway, it's fine."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Say, now that I think about it, you said she hit you in the face with a volleyball."

She froze. "Wha—?"

"Shiho," Fritz shook his head, "you're not fooling me. Kamoshida did that."

Shiho looked around and whispered. "We can't talk here."

She and Fritz went upstairs to the rooftop access. After taking a quick look to make sure no one was eavesdropping on them, Shiho continued.

"Okay, you're right." She said. "I haven't been doing well lately, and Kamoshida called me to his office."

"And he hit you? How many times has this happened?"

Shiho looked away from him, causing him to shake his head. "Verdammt, Shiho-chan! Why don't you go to someone? The teachers? The police?"

"If I try anything, he'll go after Anne!" Shiho whispered.

Fritz cocked an eyebrow. "Anne?"

She glared at him. "Why are you saying her name like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like I shouldn't care about her!" Shiho was starting to look kind of pissed at what she perceived as selfishness. "Like she isn't the only person who cares about me at this school!"

"What am I, then?" Fritz asked, getting furious himself. "Have you ever considered that I care about you? Shiho, I love you!"

"You—! Wha-What?!" Shiho sputtered, causing Fritz to realize what he'd just blurted out.

Before he could say anything more, Shiho muttered a quick "See you tomorrow!" and left. Fritz watched her walk away, petrified at what just happened, then engaged in an argument with himself.

"Gott im Himmel, dummkopf! Was hast du gedenken?!" He internally screamed at himself.

"Ich! Weiß! Nicht!"

That was when his phone started ringing with texts from Akira and Ryuji.

Akira waited around for Ryuji in the courtyard, scanning the vending machines. While he made his way there, he heard more outlandish rumors about himself: he had a knife, he was in the Yakuza, he carved up small animals for fun. As he thought it over, there was something hilarious about listening to the rumors grow completely out of control.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?"

Akira turned around and found himself face to face with Takamaki. "Sure. What's up?"

"It'll be quick." Takamaki said, before giving him an accusatory look. "Anyway, what's with you? Like, how you were late the other day was a lie and all. There's that weird rumor about you too."

"Which rumor?" Akira smirked. "The Yakuza knife, or the chopped-up squirrels?"

Before Takamaki could respond, Ryuji walked in on them and started interrogating her. "Whaddya want with him?"

"Right back at you." Takamaki turned to glare at the delinquent student. "You're not even in our class."

"…We just happened to get to know each other." Ryuji dumbly replied.

Takamaki continued, folding her arms. "What're you planning with Kamoshida?"

Ryuji looked confused for a second, then glared at her. "I see. I getcha. You're all buddy-buddy with Kamoshida after all."

Akira wasn't surprised that Takamaki was offended. "That has nothing to do with you, Sakamoto!"

"If you found out what he's been doin' behind your back, you'd dump him right away." Ryuji pressed on. "Especially what he's done to your 'friend', Suzui."

"Behind my—?" Takamaki's eyes widened. "What. The fuck. Is that supposed to mean?!"

Ryuji scoffed. "You wouldn't get it."

"Anyway," Takamaki wiped at her eyes and turned back to Akira, "people are already talking about you guys and Fritz."

Ryuji snickered. "First name basis with him, eh?"

"Fuck off!" Takamaki stormed back into the classroom building, sick of Ryuji's innuendos.

Ryuji glared at the ground. "Why's she gotta be so aggressive all the time…?"

"Ryuji," Akira started, getting his friend's attention, "the way you talked to her, it sounded like you believed every awful rumor floating around about her. That she's easy, that she's a snob, and that she's seeing Kamoshida. Hell, you just implied she was sleeping with Fritz!"

Ryuji sighed. "Shit, that's how it sounded? I just think—you know—she could try and help us instead of warnin' us off."

"Kamoshida must've told her to do that, given her best friend is on the team." Akira said. "Anyway, do you know her?"

"We went to the same middle school. That's all." Ryuji said. "Who cares? Let's find Mishima. Where's Fritz?"

"Don't know." Akira shrugged.

Ryuji waved it off. "Eh, we'll probably meet him later."

They went back into the class building and caught Mishima at the entrance. He'd changed out of his gym clothes, he was carrying his bag, and Akira just noticed a bandage around his forearm. He looked back when he heard them approach.

"Hey, got a second?" Ryuji asked, perhaps a bit too aggressively.

"Sakamoto-san?" Mishima was taken aback. "And Kurusu-san?!"

Ryuji tried to get the class rep's attention. "C'mon, we just wanna chat. Kamoshida's been 'coaching' you, huh? You sure it's not just physical abuse?"

Akira noted that Ryuji wasn't very good at subtlety.

"Certainly not!" Mishima shouted back.

"What're you talkin' all polite for?" Ryuji shook his head. "Anyways, we saw him spike you today. Right in the face."

"That was just because I'm not good at the sport…"

"You got spiked at least three times." Akira pointed out. "No one's that bad."

"And, that doesn't explain all the other bruises you've got." Ryuji added.

"They're from practice!"

Ryuji lowered his voice a bit. "Is he forcin' you to keep quiet?"

Mishima looked away. "That's…"

"What's going on here?"

The students were shocked by the sudden appearance of Kamoshida. He scanned Akira and Ryuji, before turning his attention to Mishima.

"Isn't it time for practice?" he asked.

Mishima looked down. "I-I'm not feeling well today…"

"What? Maybe you're better off quitting then." Kamoshida continued. "You're never going to improve that crappy form unless you show up to practice."

Ryuji walked up to Kamoshida. "Didn't you hear? He ain't feelin' well!"

Kamoshida ignored him. "Well, Mishima? Are you coming to practice or not?"

Mishima didn't look up. "I'll go."

Kamoshida turned to Ryuji. "As for you, any more trouble and you'll be gone from this school for sure."

"Bastard…" Ryuji muttered, looking away.

Kamoshida turned to Akira. "Same goes for you. Didn't the principal tell you to keep in line?"

Akira glanced at Mishima. "You have an amazing spike by the way."

Kamoshida scoffed. "Just don't get in the way of my practice. All these unsettling rumors are making the students anxious, after all."

"That's your own goddamn fault." Ryuji said.

"This won't get us anywhere." Kamoshida muttered, then turned to Mishima. "Let's go Mishima." The teacher turned away from the students. "Shujin Academy is a place where those with aspirations come to learn. Unworthy students like yourselves don't have any right to be here. Get with the program!"

"Yes, sensei." Mishima said.

Ryuji watched Kamoshida walk away, then turned back to the class 2-D students, scowling. "That asshole…"

"Watch where you're going, Yamamoto."

"Right! S-Sorry, sensei!"

The three students watched as Fritz walked over to them, coming from the same direction Kamoshida had walked. He seemed dazed and confused, as though he'd been punched in the face and didn't know how to react.

"You okay, man?" Ryuji asked.

Fritz sighed and shook his head. "No. Today was a total bust."

"Don't worry." Ryuji said, glaring in the direction Kamoshida walked to. "He's gonna pay for this—!"

"…There's no point."

The three investigative students turned to Mishima, who was now looking resentful. "Proving that he's physically abusing us is meaningless. Everybody knows… The principal, our parents… They all know, and they all keep quiet about it."

Akira and Fritz were both shocked, but Ryuji put it into words. "This has gotta be a joke."

"Don't be a pain. You don't understand what I'm going through." Mishima said, prompting Fritz to glare at him.

"You remember yesterday, I ran into you here?" he said, making Mishima nervous. "You said Kamoshida wanted to see Shiho in his office, and she's got a black eye today?"

"Th-That's none of your business!" Mishima stomped off, looking uneasy.

Ryuji cursed and turned to Fritz. "Why didn't you mention Mishima before now?!"

"I thought you'd go tearing off recklessly!" Fritz replied, folding his arms. "I wanted to ask Shiho myself, not have you idiots terrify her."

"Oh, yeah?! How'd that work?!"

"N-Not well."

"Guys," Akira said, stopping another fight, "what do we do now?"

Ryuji sighed. "All we can do is… try to get the other guys to talk."

Ryuji left, while Fritz waved goodbye to Akira. "Well, cleaning duty awaits."

Akira exited the school, feeling appalled. Kamoshida was physically abusing the students, threatening them, and everyone else just ignored it. The transfer student was reminded of the drunk man who had sued him. Once again, someone was using their power to hurt others.

Akira started wondering, "Why bother helping anyone at all?"

Fritz was still recovering when he ran into Anne at Shibuya Station. He groaned, not wanting to deal with her tsundere-shit right now. The more he thought about it, Anne was acting like a total tsundere with him this year; she was constantly shifting back and forth between friendly, bitchy, and jealous.

"Fritz," she walked up to him the second he stepped off the train, "we need to talk."

He left the platform, with her following. "Make it quick, Anne, I've had the worst day of my life!"

"Whatever you, Sakamoto, and that transfer student are planning to do to Kamoshida needs to stop."

Fritz halted, then turned to face Anne. "Why are you defending him? Do you honestly care about what happens to him?"

"You don't understand!" Anne pleaded. "He could go after Shiho's position on the team!"

"I would love to see Kamoshida shoot himself in the foot like that!" Fritz had seen Shiho play a couple times since meeting her just before school started, and he was sure that her position was secure.

Anne decided on a different tactic. "W-Well, he can go after you! Get you Expelled!"

Fritz scoffed. "At this point, what makes you think I give a damn about school! My life's a joke! I had a friend, and now, because I freaked her out with a half-assed love confession, she probably thinks I'm a perverted freak. Aside from her, I've got a washed-up jock, some generic prick with a criminal record, a cat, and a tsundere bitch who can't decide between hating me and being friendly. So, really, who at Shujin would care if I got expel—?"

Slap!

While he stood there, stunned silent by Anne slapping his cheek, she decided to berate him. "Dammit, Fritz! I care about you! If you'd stop being such a fucking jackass for two seconds, then maybe—just maybe—you'd have someone else who cares about you!"

Before Fritz could respond, Anne left, wiping at her eyes with her blazer's sleeve. Even if she stayed with him for a year, he doubted he could think of a response. He realized that, once again, he had driven away a friend without thinking. He'd been planning on asking Anne for advice on how to deal with Shiho, but that plan was dead; it was beaten up, dragged into a dark alleyway, and shot in the head. Worse, he may have potentially ruined their friendship; if Anne started seeing Shiho as a romantic rival, things could snowball out of control; Anne could turn into a psycho-yandere bitch instead of her usual tsundere bitch.

It was at this point that Fritz began seriously considering Seppuku.

Sakura didn't say much to Akira as he made his way upstairs. As he got dressed for bed, his phone started buzzing. He didn't get to it until he was fully dressed, by which point Fritz and Ryuji were arguing on a group text.

FY: Akira, I need your help.

FY: I confessed my love to Shiho, and I think I freaked her out, and she probably hates me now, and she's never going to talk to me again, and I'm starting to panic!

FY: HELP!

RS: Dude!

RS: Finally!

FY: Damn!

FY: Didn't realize this was the group chat.

Akira decided to help Fritz.

AK: Explain to me what happened.

FY: I was asking Shiho about her injuries…

FY: She basically admitted to being beaten up by Kamoshida…

FY: She said that going to someone for help would get Anne targeted, saying that Anne was "the only one who cared about her" at Shujin…

FY: I told her that I cared about her, confessing my love.

FY: She panicked!

FY: WHAT DO I DOOOO?!

RS: FOR FUCK'S SAKE, FRITZ!

RS: SHE ADMITTED TO THE ABUSE!

RS: LEAD WITH THAT!

FY: Ryuji, I have to prioritize things here.

RS: SFBRLJJKLMUEDFBTERG

FY: Look, we're never going to get anywhere with the volleyball team.

FY: In the eyes of the principal/teachers/parents, a few broken bones are nothing compared to getting an athletic scholarship.

RS: IT'S STILL FUCKED UP!

FY: Until we can come up with a viable plan, we may as well focus on other priorities.

FY: Akira, Ryuji's no help.

FY: He's the "forever alone" type.

RS: Fuck you. Seriously.

FY: Advice…

FY: Give it to me…

AK: Look, you'll see her tomorrow…

AK: She seems nice, so she'll probably just let you down gently.

FY: But…

FY: What if I don't want her to let me down gently?

AK: Well…

AK: I'm sorry, but I don't have an answer.

AK: Why don't you ask Takamaki-san?

FY: …She basically confessed to ME.

RS: AGGRTEGNRBEREBTE

RS: THE FUCK, DUDE?!

FY: She didn't say "I love you", but she may as well have…

RS: I'm silencing my phone so I don't get dragged into this bullshit.

AK: I'm sorry Fritz, but I've got nothing.

FY: Nothing?!

AK: A girl in middle school mistook me for someone else and confessed…

AK: But, other than that, nothing.

FY: …Be my kaishakunin.

AK: NO!

Akira silenced his cell phone, tossed it aside, and went to bed. He prayed that Fritz wouldn't do anything drastic, and that he'd calm down by tomorrow.

"He what?!"

Shiho momentarily took the phone from her ear when Anne suddenly screamed. "He confessed to me."

"Sheesh, so that's what he meant." Anne muttered to herself, before raising her voice. "So, what did you do then?"

"I…" Shiho lay back, embarrassed at the mere memory. "I ran away."

"Oh?"

"I panicked. With all that's been going on, I haven't given much thought to romance. I need to tell him something tomorrow, so I called you for help."

There was about a minute of silence before Anne sighed and replied. "I'm sorry, Shiho-chan, but I can't help you here. I don't have any experience there. The most you can do is go with your gut."

Shiho hung up and began mulling over what she'd tell Fritz the next day. On the one hand, he was often a smartass, and some of his interests could be called 'disgusting'. However, he was a genuinely good person, being the only other student to give Anne the time of day without believing the horrendous rumors. Overall, a chance at trying to live a normal student life.

And yet, she was nursing her hope to finally, one day, tell Anne how she really felt.

Fritz woke up to find himself in a bouncing carriage. He sat up, and realized that it was the same carriage from the past Saturday. Altmann sat across from him, a glowing butterfly perched on his hat.

"Guten Abend, junger Fritz." Altmann bowed. "Tell me, how have you and your friends gotten used to your Personas?"

"You again?!" Fritz was freaked out, but he recovered. "Wait, 'Personas'? Are you responsible for those things?"

"No, Fritz," Altmann said, "those are the result of your own strength."

"What about the Metaverse Navigation app?"

"No,"

"Then what am I doing here?!" Fritz asked, a little miffed. "I mean, why did you choose me?"

"Because, put simply, you were not meant to be here." Altmann explained. "Instead of attending school in Ōarai, you decided to attend Shujin Academy."

"Well, yeah," Fritz replied, "I wanted to use it to get to a good college."

"What did you plan on doing?"

"I planned on becoming a historian; show those idiot revisionists what for."

"And now," Altmann continued, "because of that one decision, you are capable of changing the course of events. You and your friends have the potential to avert ruin."

"Ehh, I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you." Fritz said, then gave Altmann a brief rundown of how he, Akira and Ryuji had progressed. "We can't even put a stop to Kamoshida, so I doubt we can avert this 'ruin' you've mentioned."

Altmann sighed. "Do not worry, young Fritz. The solution to dealing with Kamoshida will come soon. All you'll need then is follow-through. For now, though, I must say, 'Auf Wiedersehen'."

Fritz fell asleep before he could ask for clarification.

Thursday, April 14th, 2016

Morning

As soon as Fritz woke up that morning, he came up with an idea that he had to share with Akira. He grabbed his phone and began texting the transfer student.

FY: Good morning!

FY: I have an idea that I want to share with you.

FY: I want your opinion first before I bring this up with Ryuji.

He waited a couple seconds for a response, before realizing that, perhaps, Akira wouldn't exactly be awake at six in the morning. After having a quick breakfast, saying goodbye to Tomoe, and leaving the apartment, his phone received a reply from Akira.

AK: Sure. What's up?

FY: You know how the castle exists because of Kamoshida's distorted desires?

FY: Morgana-chan said that a Shadow is another side of someone's personality; I'd like to ask him if doing something in the castle will do something to the real world.

AK: Sounds good to me.

AK: We can go see him after school.

FY: See you there.

Fritz pocketed his phone, but he whipped it out when he heard more texts.

AK: BTW, you've stopped considering Seppuku, right?

FY: Don't worry.

FY: As bad as things have gotten, I seriously doubt things can get much worse.

Omake

"By the way," Fritz said, "what's that on your wrist, Kobayashi-kun?"

Kobayashi held up her right arm and displayed a red hairband. "This? Suzui-senpai gave it to me; I use it to tie my hair back during practice."

Fritz cocked an eyebrow. "And you wear it on your wrist? Why not just keep your hair tied up if you're going to carry it everywhere?"

"What? Nah!" Kobayashi blushed and waved him off. "My hair doesn't look good in a ponytail! Suzui-senpai's the only one that really pulls it off."

A/N: Oh, sweet, naïve, stupid Fritz. Those who've played/watched/read Persona 5 know where this is going, right? Also, a kaishakunin is the guy who cuts off the head of a man committing seppuku (if you've seen Last Samurai, recall the losing general getting his head chopped off after the foggy forest battle in the beginning).