"Chiiiika! Wake up! You're gonna be late!" A voice called from the house as Chika groggily got up. "Okay, Mito-nee!" She cried tiredly as she got out of bed and got ready for school.
"See ya, everyone! Love you!" Chika cried as she raced out of the house in her uniform. The first day of her second year and there was no way she was going to miss it!
She ran hard towards the school but before she got too far from home she saw someone. "You-Chan!" She cried as she ran towards her friend. "Oh hey, Chika-Chan." You said with a smile as the ginger caught up.
"Wanna head to school together?" Chika asked as You nodded. "Sure! Let's go! We're gonna be late." You said as the duo started walking towards the school.
"So why are you late?" Chika asked as You rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, I ended up getting my clock wrong and reading the time late." She said as Chika laughed.
"That's far more embarrassing than me! I just overslept!' Chika said as You blushed. "Oversleeping is just as bad! You're in high school Chika-chan!" You pouted as it was Chika's turn to rub her neck.
"In my defense, I had older siblings to wake me up so it's partially their fault!" Chika said defensively as You sweatdropped.
"I'm not sure that's how that works…" You said as they came to a light. As they were talking a tall woman came from behind them and You turned and paled. "T-tsukomoki-san…" She whispered as Chika turned and saw a tall woman with red hair and piercing yellow eyes staring down at them.
"Why aren't you two in school?!" She demanded as the girls bowed their heads. "S-sorry Tusomoki-san! We're running late!" Chika cried as the woman glared at them. "I better see you two at school or else your families WILL be notified!" She barked and walked off as You and Chika looked up with frowns.
"She says that, yet she's running late too." You snarked as Chika turned to her. "You-chan!" She cried as You turned to her. "I mean, she is! She's always screaming at people and treating them like dirt. Why even come to our school?!" You asked as Chika looked away.
"Yeah… that is true," Chika said as You huffed. "She's so annoying! She makes school feel like a torture chamber!" You said as Chika barely stifled a laugh.
You noticed and smirked. "See? Even you agree Chika-chan." She said as Chika rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let's head off!" Chika said as You nodded. But as they started to run Chika heard a beep from her phone and opened it.
"Chika-chan!" You called to her as she noticed Chika had stopped. "Oh sorry! Coming!" She cried back as she ran to You.
Chika placed her phone in her bag as she did this and failed to notice the red eye that had taken over the phone's screen.
The duo ran through the streets to get to school and was now close. "Finally here Chika-Chan! Let's pray we don't get in trouble!" You said as Chika nodded. "Yeah! The last thing I want is to get in trouble on the first day of school!" Chika said as they slowed down.
A strange feeling then washed over Chika as a warm feeling that made her feel cold traveled through her body and she gripped her arms on instinct as she saw her breath for a second, only it was pink.
She then looked around, wondering what had just happened. "What even was that? It was so… weird... " She thought aloud as You turned back to her and put her hands on her hips.
"Chiiika-Chaaaan!" She said with a pout as Chika woke up and walked up to her and stopped just in front of her.
You blinked a few times as she scanned Chika. "What's up?" She asked worriedly as Chika shook her head. "Did… you feel anything weird You-chan?" Chika asked as You shook her head. "No… are you feeling okay? Do you think that you might need to go home?" You asked her as Chika shook her head again.
"No… I don't think so at least." Chika said as You looked at her with worry. "Let's just head to school. You might need to see the nurse." You said as Chika nodded and followed her.
Chika dwelled on that feeling for some time as they walked. The feeling was beyond alien. It wasn't just a strange chill through her body. It was a feeling of warmth… like being near a furnace but instead of being actually warm, she felt cold.
But before Chika could think on it further she bumped into You. "Ah, You-chan. What happened?" Chika asked as she walked next to her friend.
"Chika-chan… did our school always look like that?" You asked shakily as Chika looked at the school before gasping.
The place was a huge fortress! What had once been a school had changed into something completely different!
It was huge for starters. The place had a long hallway-like opening and seemed to get wider as the top seemed to have an outside staircase that wrapped around a large tower.
"What is that?!" Chika cried as You turned to her. "I know right?" She asked as Chika turned to her. "Maybe it's a way to welcome new students!" Chika said as You sweatdropped.
"Uhh, Chika-chan… I don't think that's possible…" You started as Chika raced off towards the fortress.
"Chika-chan!" You called as her childhood friend ran towards the school. "C'mon You-chan! Yousoro!" Chika laughed as You slumped down and followed the girl in.
The duo walked through the entrance and found themselves in a large room with a fireplace and an assortment of furniture.
"Uhhh this looks nothing like the school Chika-chan…" You said as Chika looked around. "This is strange…" She commented.
Before You could comment, sounds of footsteps caught their attention and both girls looked over to see multiple beings wearing security uniforms walking up towards them.
"Who in the world?!" Both girls cried as the beings walked over to them. "State your names and business here!" One demanded as the girls looked up at them.
"You-chan… I don't think we're at school…" Chika said as You nodded. "Yeah no. there is no way we're at school… or even in the real world." You said as Chika turned to her with confusion.
"Resistance!" Another guard cried as it brandished a baton.
"Run Chika-chan!" You said as she turned and ran off and Chika followed suit.
"Targets on the run! Engaging in chase!" One of the guards yelled as the others ran with it.
Chika and You kept running as Chika looked back and saw them chasing the girls with reckless abandon. "You-chan they're gaining!" Chika cried as You closed her eyes and tried to run harder as she had some ground ahead of Chika.
"Chika-chan! The exit!" You said as Chika looked forward and saw a light. "Yes, we can escape!" She cried as You opened her eyes. But that hope was short-lived as Chika felt something collide with the back of her head and she collapsed as she turned and saw a guard holding a baton over her.
She felt another thump on the ground as You got hit too. But due to her turning to Chika when she fell, You had taken a hit to the temple and passed out instantly.
Chika looked up at the guard as it once again brought its baton down on her head.
Chika opened her eyes as her head was still slightly throbbing. She was barely getting her bearings as she looked around. For one she was on the floor. Then she noticed she was on a ground that was quite a bit harder than any floor she was used to in a house.
"Where… am… I?" Chika wondered aloud as something was in her ear… not in her ear but she was hearing something. A voice.
"Chika-chan!" The voice called as Chika looked around. What was calling her? It sounded so familiar… it was… it was… it was… "You-chan…?" Chika asked aloud as her hearing came back fully and she heard a sigh of relief.
"Thank everything you're alive. I was so scared when you weren't waking up." You said as Chika sat up and tried to lean her back against a wall, only to fall on her back.
"Ow…" She muttered as she looked at You. "You-chan… what happened…?" Chika asked as You sighed. "We walked into some fortress and got knocked out. I've been awake for a few minutes now but I don't know how long we've been here." You explained as Chika took in all the information.
"Okay… so we're locked in some strange dungeon… do we still have our phones?" Chika asked as she couldn't see her bag. You jerked her head to a corner where their bags lied.
Chika sighed in relief that her phone was safe as You sighed. "Chika-chan… we're still in chains in a dungeon…" She said as Chika blushed. "Ohh yeah…" She said,
"Why are we in chains anyway?" Chika asked as You shook her head. "I have no idea…" She said,
Heels clicked as both girls turned to the sound and saw the bars open up as a woman walked through the door. Both girls gasped as they saw who it was.
Tsukomoki stood in front of the girls but was wearing a black security outfit and had no badge. Looking more like an executioner than a security guard. She looked down at them as her yellow eyes were glowing in her glare.
"Tsukomoki-san?! What are you doing?!" You demanded as the woman turned at her and walked forward… before slamming her foot into You's mouth.
The ashen-haired girl coughed and spat out blood as the woman slammed her foot against the girl's head. "How dare you speak to me like that vermin!" The woman roared with anger as fear filled You's eyes.
"You-chan!" Chika called as the woman sneered at her before snapping her fingers. In that instant, the three beings that knocked Chika and You out walked in.
"Give me my whip!" Tsukomoki demanded as one of the beings gave it to her and she looked down at You. "Worthless disobedient children need to be tamed and disciplined!" The woman said as she yanked on one side of the whip.
You tried to scramble away but she was still pinned by the woman's foot. But as if by luck the woman lifted her foot off of You's face but before the girl could try to get away another foot met her face.
"Ah, this brings me back to the good old days! Back when we were allowed to beat down on your worthless troglodytes!" Tsukomoki cackled as she raised her whip.
You whimpered in pain as she looked up at the whip. "Please… don't…" She begged as Tsukomoki grinned evilly.
Chika struggled against her binds as she desperately tried to reach You. "I have to save You-chan somehow! But what can I do? I'd do anything to save her!" Chika thought.
"Oh? Is that true? You'd really do anything?"
A voice called into Chika's mind as she looked around. "Who… who was that?!" Chika thought as time seemed to slow down.
"Do you really have time for questions? She will be brutalized or even killed if you do nothing!"
Chika gasped as she heard that. The voice was right… If Chika sat around asking questions You might not live.
"Okay! Yes, I'll do anything just please save my friend!" Chika begged
"Very well then… I will help you save her… but I have my own question… are you prepared to sacrifice anything in order to save her?"
Chika didn't know what that meant fully but she only had one answer. "Yes… yes, I am!" Chika said.
"Very well then… let us form our contract."
"Contract?" Chika thought, forgetting this voice was quite literally in her head.
"Yes. the contract… that binds us by FATE!"
Suddenly a migraine ripped through Chika's head as the girl's pink eyes turned to glow yellow just like Tsukomoki's and she started thrashing around in agony.
"You've always been normal. Not a single special thing about you"
"You have no real talents and you've never shown any skills"
"But even with that you never fall down and continue"
"Your loyalty is something to behold."
"I once risked my country and my life to make sure others remained safe… it's good to see you would do the same"
"Now you must gather that strength and use it to its fullest"
"I am thou"
"Thou art I"
"Time for you to take a risk and show the world how special you really are!"
Time seemed to return to normal as Tuskomoki raised her whip but before she could deliver the pain the sounds of chains rattling caught her attention.
She turned to see Chika standing up and trying to escape her binds and laughed. "Foolish girl! Those chains are near indestructible! A small girl like you won't be able to break them!" She taunted as Chika glared.
And to Tsukomoki's surprise, Chika broke the chains and staggered forwards, panting.
"What?!" Tsukomoki cried as Chika looked up at her with the same glowing yellow eyes. At that same moment, a black mask came over her face. It was black with orange highlights and wrapped around the front of her face just above her nose and had a curved edge with a swirl.
Chika then grabbed the mask on her face and yanked on it as it seemed harder to remove than the chains were to break. But eventually, the mask began peeling off her face as it took the skin around her eyes with it.
Chika then fully tore the mask off as blood dripped down her face. "Well, you useless buffoons?! Get her!" The woman cried as one of her guards rushed forwards and went to grab her.
Chika then looked up as her yellow eyes glared and she held the mask in her hand and uttered one word…
"Persona."
Chika then crushed the mask and blue and white flames shot from her hand and climbed over her body in a second. The guard who touched her was instantly set ablaze and burnt away.
The fire started to give away and underneath Chika was unharmed. First, she was wearing white gloves and then a long-sleeved dress with a black and red corset with long red tights and black heels.
The fire then rose above as it formed as a woman with her blond hair tied back and some kind of battle dress and it looked like she was clutching something.
Chika looked down at herself before she turned to the woman. "W-who are you?" Chika asked as the woman turned to her. "I am the other you who lives within. More accurately… I am the King of Britain! Artoria!" the woman told her as Chika nodded dumbly.
"G-guards! Kill her!" Tsukomoki called as the guards broke into black and red liquid and two beings rushed at Chika. One looked like a small fairy and the other seemed to be a pumpkin.
"What is that?!" Chika cried. Artoria then stood at Chika's side. "That is an enemy! Would you like me to take care of it?!" Artoria asked as Chika nodded.
"Very well!" Artoria said as she raised her arm and swept it down as both monsters were surrounded by a white glow that expanded and turned into multiple blasts that slammed into the monsters and caused them to disappear… at least one of them. The pumpkin was barely able to hold on as Artoria put down her arm.
"Hey, there's still one left?" Chika alerted as Artoria nodded. "Yes. I held back a little bit. Because I want you to defeat it." Artoria said as Chika gasped.
"M-me?!" Chika cried as Artoria nodded. "Swing your sword!" Artoria said as Chika realized there was a sword on her hip.
"It's coming for you," Artoria said as Chika turned to see the pumpkin coming at her.
Chika quickly unsheathed the sword and sliced the monster in half as she heard the sound of the bars closing and locking.
"You-Chan!" Chika called as she ran over to You. "Chika-chan…" You said as Chika raised her sword and sliced through You's chains and helped her up.
Chika then grabbed the chains on her wrists and destroyed them. She then turned to her Persona but Artoria got close to her face before turning back into a mask on Chika's face.
"Woah…" Chika thought as she felt her mask. "That was weird…" Chika said aloud as she heard rattling.
She turned to see You trying to open the bars. "Chika-chan! I think we're trapped!" You cried as Chika walked over and felt along the bars. Not seeing any kind of lock.
"How did she trap us?" Chika asked as You kept trying to open the door. Chika then sighed before walking forward and grabbing the bars. "Stand back You-chan!" Chika said as You stepped back and Chika started to pull the bars with all her strength.
The steel bars were bent almost effortlessly as Chika underestimated herself and made a hole that was more than large enough for both of the girls to fit through. "Oops…" Chika said, rubbing her neck as You looked at her in shock.
Both girls slipped through the opening and walked out as they saw that they were in a long hallway. Chika also noticed that the lock that trapped them was an electronic lock. The hallway also had other bars around as Chika looked at them. "Are all of these dungeons…?" She asked as You tugged on her sleeve.
"Chika-chan! I see stairs!" You said as Chika looked at where she was pointing. "Yeah me too!" Chika said excitedly as she noticed the spiral staircase.
"Looks kinda far…. And I'm still kinda tired." You couldn't say anymore as Chika lifted her bridal style, scaring the life out of the girl.
"Ch-Chika-chan!" You cried as Chika looked at her sheepishly. "Sorry. Just figured I could carry you." She said as You pouted.
"Offer a girl some warning next time!" You said as Chika nodded. "Then I'm warning you to hold on tight!" Chika said as she prepared to run and gave You a small window to wrap her arms around her neck before Chika shot off running.
Chika was much faster than she was normally and was at the staircase in moments despite holding You, the ashen-haired girl's weight seemingly meaning nothing.
Chika put the girl who didn't seem to want to let her go. "Uhh, You-chan? Can you let go of my neck?" Chika asked, knowing full well that she could just pry her arms off but didn't want to hurt her friend.
"T-that was terrifying…" You said as she let go. Chika once again rubbed her neck as she walked towards the stairs.
"It just goes up," Chika commented as You walked up next to her. "But we need to go down." She said frowning as Chika shrugged.
"We'll it is our only way out of here so let's get climbing." She said as the mikan lover walked up the stairs as You followed her.
The girls walked up the stairs for what felt like forever before they finally made it to the top… and met a dead end.
"You've got to be kidding me!" You cried as Chika slumped down. "A dead end? Then those stairs were a trick…" Chika said with a frown as You turned to her with dead eyes.
"We have to climb all the way back down…?" She said as Chika shook her head. "No, that might take forever. I got a far better idea." Chika ended her statement with a smirk as she walked up to a wall and prepared a fist and slammed into the wall.
The wall cracked and was destroyed as Chika once again created a large hole. "Chika-chan? What was that for?" You asked as Chika turned to her and grabbed her hands as she looked directly into her eyes. "You-chan… do you trust me?" She said as You nodded. "Of course!" She cried.
Chika then led her to the hole and gripped her hand even tighter. "If we jump out we can escape." Chika said as You gulped. "You'll keep me safe?" You asked as Chika nodded.
The ashen-haired girl then took a deep breath before nodding and both girls leaped out of the hole and plummeted.
Chika quickly shifted You into a bridal style hold and used one of her hands to grab her mask and threw it off her face. "Persona!"She cried as Artoria came out and quickly caught Chika and hovered both girls to the ground safely.
She then went back onto Chika's face as her mask as Chika let You down. "We escaped!" Chika cheered as she hugged You, careful to not hurt her.
You hugged her back before she realized something. "Hey, Chika-chan… shouldn't we get away from this place?" You asked as Chika nodded. "Yeah! Staying here might get us caught again." She said as the girls ran off.
As they were running due to the speed difference You noticed that pink puddles were underneath Chika's feet every time her foot hit the ground but before she noticed anything Chika stopped.
"Chika-chan?" You asked as Chika looked up. "You-chan… look around us… nobody is here." Chika said as You looked around and noticed that indeed there was no one around.
"What happened?" You asked as Chika looked around as well. "Chika-chan… are we… still in the real world?" She asked as Chika looked down. "I… don't think so…" She said as she scanned the ghost town.
"Let's try our phones!" You said as she showed the bags she had grabbed. Chika grabbed hers and dug around and found her phone and pulled it out as she opened it and tried to open apps. Nothing was working. Her call app didn't work, neither did her messaging app, not even any music app worked(The horror).
"You-chan, none of my apps work," Chika said as You looked up. "Same here." She said as both girls seemed to slightly panic. There was no way they were still in the real world.
Chika tried to open every app on her phone before she swiped up to access all apps and one jumped out at her.
It was between "gallery" and "Messages" and a few game apps and was glowing. It read "ISEKAI". Chika had never even seen the app, let alone downloaded it.
"Hey, You-chan. Check this out." Chika said as she showed her phone and You looked at it. "What is that?" She asked as Chika shrugged. "No idea. I've never seen it before. Seems to be glowing though." She said as she turned the phone back to herself.
"Chika-chan… you aren't thinking about using that thing are you?" You asked as Chika looked at her. "Well…" She trailed off.
"Chika-chan! You have no idea what that will do!" You cautioned as Chika looked down at it.
"But it might be our only exit," Chika said as she took in a breath. She then pressed the app as You flinched.
The app opened as Chika let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as she looked at the app and her eyes widened.
PALACE - Uranohoshi Girl's High School
DISTORTION - Torture Chamber
PALACE OWNER - Kyouko Tsukomoki
"What is this…?" Chika asked as You peered at the screen. "What is a palace? Or distortion?" You asked as Chika shook her head. "I have no idea…" Chika said as she noticed something. "Hey, You-chan! Look!" Chika cried.
You looked over and saw an exit button near the bottom of the screen. "Wait… is that how we get out of here?" You asked as Chika hovered her thumb over it. "Guess we'll see!" Chika said as she grabbed You's hand and pressed the button.
The world began to distort as Chika and You seemed to leave the strange world.
The duo found themselves back in the real world as they saw people walking around them.
"We're back…" You said as Chika hugged her. "We did it!" She cried as You hugged her back.
"Hey, Chika-chan… where'd your outfit go?" You asked as Chika looked down at herself and noticed she was back in her uniform. "Hey, where did my outfit go?!" Chika cried as she started checking herself.
"It was so cute too!" Chika cried as You patted her back. "C'mon Chika-chan. We have to get to school." You said as Chika nodded and the girls headed off to school.
Upon entering the school Chika and You noticed that many students were already in class, signaling that they were late.
"Damn it…" Chika said as she heard heels clicking and turned to see… Tsukomoki.
"Oh, Tsukomoki-san…" Chika said as the woman glared down at them. "Why aren't you two in class?!" She sneered as Chika bowed. "I'm sorry we got caught up in something!" She cried as the woman sucked her teeth before walking off.
Chika stood up as she heard You let out a massive sigh of relief. She turned to her friend as she noticed that You was panting and seemed to be white as a sheet.
"You-chan…?" Chika asked as the girl looked at her and gulped. "Oh uh, what's up?" She asked, laughing as Chika looked concerned. You was clearly shaken up by the events of that dungeon.
Chika brought her into a tight hug as You gasped. "Don't worry You-chan. We're out of that place. She won't hurt you." Chika said as You nodded.
Chika broke the hug and smiled at her. "Let's get to class," Chika said as You nodded.
Classes went by uneventfully as it was the first day of school and nothing interesting happened. Chika was barely able to process anything anyway. All that was on her mind was that place… what was that ISEKAI app?
You walked up to the roof and saw Chika waiting for her as she walked forward. "What's up Chika-chan?" You asked as Chika took in a breath.
"You-chan… I want to go back to that world and see what it really was!" She declared as You gasped.
YOOOOOOOOOOOO what's good everybody. It's ya boi Crash and I have let another story live rent-free in my head for so long it became a story. Despite getting Strikers day one I haven't started playing it until recently due to a son of a bitch called Ps5 controller drift. I have now bought a new controller with no drift and have been playing it. So that plus my rewatch of Love Live Sunshine it was only natural I'd create something out of it lmao. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this R/R and have a good one. GOOODBYYEEEEEEEEE