In this chapter, Akiko is going to learn more about Personas. Her friends are going to get to use them too, not just the talking cat. Also, they're going inside Kamoshida's palace again. Seems they want to learn how Kamoshida is treating his team. Hopefully their curiousity won't kill Morgana.
Chapter 3: Power Of Persona
"So, how did you get put in probation? I already told you how I got in trouble with my school..." noted Ryuji. If only Kamoshida didn't happen to be their gym teacher. He was impressed with his volleyball skills, but he certainly wasn't impressed with
"Well, it all started one rainy night..." stated Akiko. She remembered it quite well.
Akiko was walking the streets at night. It was still a while before curfew was in effect, so she figured why not look around?
However, she quickly noticed something alarming.
There was a bald man wearing glasses nearby, and he was drunk. He was sexually assaulting a pretty lady.
"Come to papa!" exclaimed the man.
"Help!" screamed the woman. She warned him not to drink so much and now look what was happening. There was a reason why she was driving the vehicle.
It looked like she was witnessing a crime.
She decided that it would be best to do something. That man did not have good intentions.
"Um, I'm pretty sure that lady isn't your girlfriend...I really don't think you should be going to second base..." noted Akiko.
"Oh, whose going to stop me then? You?" asked the bald man.
"Actually, yes." answered Akiko.
Akiko punched him in the nose, causing it to bleed.
"Ow! You punched my nose!" exclaimed the sexual assaulter.
The woman sighed in relief. She simply didn't know what had happened to him.
"You need to respect women." answered Akiko.
"How dare you! I'll have you know that I'm a politician! You messed with the wrong man!" exclaimed the bald man.
"Wait, what?" inquired the teenage girl.
The bald man quickly put money in the lady's purse so that he could bribe her to not tell the truth.
He then called the authorities.
Shortly afterwards, a police officer showed up.
"What seems to be the problem?" asked the police officer.
"You know what to tell him." answered the bald man.
"This doesn't seem right..." stated the lady.
"Make it happen or you're fired." demanded the man. Apparently this lady was an employee of his.
"This teenage girl here attacked this man! She's a psycho!" exclaimed the woman.
"Gee, you're really grateful for me rescuing you." retorted Akiko.
Life just wasn't fair, it seemed.
"Alright, you're coming with us." answered the police officer.
The police officers put handcuffs on Akiko's wrists and drove her towards the police station.
The bald man smirked. He had gotten away with his actions...again.
"And that brings us pretty much up to date. I got sentenced to the judge to be put on probation for a year, and since my parents thought I was now the black sheep of the family they would send me off to a coffee shop where they wouldn't have to bother with me." remarked Akiko.
"I know how that feels..." stated Ryuji. Who would have thought that the man Akiko attacked was a corrupt politician?
Suddenly, Caroline approached her.
"Huh?" asked Akiko.
"Igor wants a word with you in person. Get back to your cell, inmate!" exclaimed Caroline.
A prison cell door appeared, and Akiko was kicked inside.
"Ow! My butt!" shouted Akiko.
The next thing she knew, she was back in the Velvet Room...or should she say, Velvet Prison.
"Welcome back to my Velvet Room." stated Igor.
"Nice to see you again, Banananose." answered Akiko.
"You're probably wondering why a mask appeared on your face and you were able to fight Shadows." said the man behind the desk.
"Yeah...it's as if I became a superhero or something." said the prisoner.
"That's because you awakened the power of your Persona. Personas are contained within the mask that you wear. Thanks to your time in the Metaverse, you were able to awaken your inner power. I encourage you to go find new ones. It'll make fighting Shadows a lot easier in the long run." explained Igor.
"Will my friends get Personas too?" asked Akiko. She was wondering if Ryuji was coming with her to the Metaverse again.
"Yes they will, in due time. It depends on who you bring with you to the Metaverse. However, you're unique because you can have multiple Personas at the same time. Think of it as a unique ability of yours." explained Igor.
"I am so lucky...even if I'm a prisoner here..." stated the girl.
"I shall teach you more about Personas in the near future. For now, focus on your rehabilitation." stated the man who always had a wide grin on his face.
"You got it, Banananose." answered Akiko.
The next thing she knew, she was out of her prison cell.
Ryuji seemed confused about what had happened.
"What happened? I saw a girl with an eyepatch approach you and then you disappeared! She was dressed like a police officer. Did someone press charges against you?" asked Ryuji.
"Don't worry. Everything is fine." stated the teenage girl.
"If you say so." said the blonde. He just hoped that Akiko wasn't going to get set up again. She was already on probation.
"By the way, someone I knew told me that if you spend enough time in the Metaverse, you'll unlock your persona like I did. I'm not sure when though." answered Akiko.
"That's a relief. I don't want any more volleyballs thrown in my face." stated Ryuji.
"Yeah...do you still want to delve into Kamoshida's palace?" inquired Akiko.
"Well, I am wondering how he treats his team and how he treats his opponents..." answered the blonde delinquent.
"Me too." nodded the girl.
Since they were out from school, now would be a good time to check out Kamoshida's palace.
Of course, Kamoshida would probably be more alert to their presence. There were probably guards throughout his castle.
But Akiko decided she could handle his guards with her mask. Besides, Morgana was willing to help them.
Once again, they used the Metaverse app to make their way towards Kamoshida's Palace.
Fast forward to the present...
"So let me get this straight..there's an app on your phone that you used to go to the Metaverse? Also, there as a man with a really long nose who gave you the power of persona?" asked Sae Nijima.
"Yeah. That's why I always called him Banananose. For some strange reason there were always these two girls with him. I don't know who they are but they seem to share some sort of connection." noted Akiko.
"Anyway, you said your first target was Kamoshida. It was surprising that a former volleyball champion could turn out to be despicable. But you managed to expose him...you stole his heart, right?" inquired Sae Nijima.
Akiko nodded.
"That's what the Phantom Thieves do best." noted Akiko.
"By the way, did you hear about the psychotic breakdown incident at the subway? It took place around the time you started going to school." inquired Sae Injima. She was starting to wonder if there really was a way to delve into people's minds. That would explain what was happening to those victims.
"Yeah...a lot of people were hurt by the train crash." remarked the girl.
Sae Nijima wondered if Akiko had anything to do with it. Then again, it sounded like she wasn't the only person who could delve into people's minds judging from the numerous incidents.
Rewind to the past...
Once Akiko and Ryuji made it to the Metaverse for the second time, Morgana was there to greet them.
"You're back? The last time you were here it seemed like you couldn't wait to leave..." answered the cat.
"We wanted to learn more about Kamoshida. Exploring the Metaverse seemed to be the best way to do it." noted Akiko.
"Well, you are basically delving inside his mind...so that would be a good way to find information about him. Maybe I should venture into your world since you insist on venturing into mine..." answered Morgana.
"Our world seems pretty tame compared to the Metaverse..." remarked Ryuji. Of course, there were similarities between their world and the Metaverse.
"If you say so." stated Morgana. Wasn't it the residents of Tokyo who created the Metaverse in the first place?
The three of them ventured inside.
This time, they decided to look around.
"Does this castle have a gym?" asked Akiko. Kamoshida was a gym teacher, wasn't he?
"It probably does." nodded Ryuji. That would be a good place for them to look.
They decided to look around the castle to see if there was a gym.
It turns out there was a gym.
Apparently, Kamoshida was playing a game of volleyball, and judging from the scoreboard he was winning big time.
The cheerleaders were also cheering up.
"Go Kamoshida! Here's our hero, he's our king!" exclaimed the cheerleaders.
They were dressed in skimpy outfits.
"I'm not sure why they would dress like that." questioned Akiko.
"Yeah...I don't think Kamoshida is a gentleman." answered Ryuji.
Kamoshida unsurprisingly won the game, and his team lifted him up and hoisted him in the air.
"Looks like he's full of himself." answered the teenage girl.
"Long live the king! And our champ!" exclaimed the volleyball players.
"We are not worthy! We are not worthy!" shouted the opposing team, who were kneeling on the ground.
"He clearly doesn't think highly of his opponents..." noted Ryuji.
"Well, I think we know who Kamoshida is now." answered Akiko.
From the looks of it, Kamoshida was a narcissist who thought he was better than everyone else. Also, he apparently had a thing for attractive females.
Well, he did admit that some of the girls at her school were really pretty.
Now that they had learned more about Kamoshida, it was time for them to leave.
Hoerver, at that very moment, two cheerleaders approached them. One was blonde and another was brunette.
"Hello! Did you see the big game? It was awesome!" exclaimed the blonde cheerleaders
"Yeah! King Kamoshida really clobbered the competition!" shouted another brunettecheerleader.
"Yeah...he really did. Hooray." answered Akiko.
"Wait, you're not praising Kamoshida and his epicness?" inquired the blonde.
"We'rd going to have to send you to the dungeon!" shouted the brunette.
The two cheerleaders transformed into pixies.
"I guess we're going to have to fight our way out of this castle..." noted Akiko.
"Now seems like a good time for me to introduce you to firearms..." answered Morgana.
"Firearms?" questioned Ryuji.
"Yeah...if you bring a toy gun from the real world into the Metaverse, it becomes real." explained the cat.
"Interesting..." answered the girl.
Morgana handed Akiko a gun while he pulled out a slingshot. Apparently, he didn't have the fingers to pull the trigger on his own gun. That was embarrassing.
Akiko proceeded to shoot one of the Pixies in the wing.
"Ow!" exclaimed the Pixie.
In retaliation, she attempted to zap Akiko with lightning, but she avoided it.
"Looks like I'll be using Shadows for target practice from now on." noted Akiko.
"Correct. Although, there is something else you can use those guns for." explained Morgana.
"Like...what?" inquired Ryuji.
"You can use them to threaten Shadows into doing whatever you want..." continued the cat.
"Really?" questioned Akiko.
Akiko aimed the gun at the Pixies.
"Alright, freeze!" exclaimed the girl.
The Pixies put their hands up.
"What do you want from us?" inquired the Pixies.
"Any suggestions?" asked Akiko.
"Well, you could try to make them your Persona..." suggested Morgana.
"Not a bad idea." agreed the girl on probation.
"Why don't you give me your power?" questioned Akiko.
One of the pixies responded.
"I don't know...I want to stay with King Kamoshida." answered the pixie.
"Doesn't Kamoshida want you to be a walking cheerleader stereotype?" inquired Akiko.
"Well, I have gotten tired of acting like that..." stated the fairy girl.
"He's also full of himself. Have you seen that portrait in the front hall?" questioned the teenage girl.
"Alright, you have me convinced." stated the pixie.
The pixie turned into a mask and joined Akiko's personas.
"Yes!" cheered Akiko.
"What about me?" inquirer the remaining pixie.
"You can give me yen, I guess. I need that for more bullets." said Akiko.
The pixie gave Akiko some yen and flew away.
"That was easy." stated the girl.
"Let's get out of here now, shall we? I think Kamoshida is probably suspicious after we were here last time..." noted Ryuji.
"Why do I hear gunshots? The referee didn't start the game using a pistol..." questioned the king.
"He's right. Better get moving!" exclaimed Morgana.
The three of them ran to the front entrance.
On the way there, they noticed Kamoshida's portrait again.
"Kamoshida's ego really is astounding." noted Ryuji.
"I know how we can turn it down a peg..." answered Akiko.
She pulled out a keg of spray paint.
She then began to spray it on Kamoshida's face.
Now he had goggles on his face and had hair growing out of his ears.
"That serves him right." answered Ryuji.
However, at that very moment, Kamoshida and his guards caught up with them.
They noticed what had happened to the portrait.
Kamoshida screeched.
"My portrait! Who could have done this?!" exclaimed Kamoshida.
Akiko giggled.
At that very moment, he noticed Akiko.
"You did this? I remember you! How dare you vandalize such an exquisite painting of myself! I'm going to make you play a game of dodgeball where you're the only one playing against me and there are twenty players on MY team!" exclaimed Kamoshida.
Akiko gulped. That didn't sound like fun at all.
Fortunately, Ryuji stood up for her.
"Lesve her alone!" shouted Ryuji.
"Oh, you're going to stop me? Don't make me laugh! You're just a wimpy little kid who can't even dream of challenging me! I broke your leg once, and I can do it again!" exclaimed King Kamoshida.
"Will you just shut up?!" bellowed the teenage boy.
Suddenly, a mask appeared on his face. Apparently, the anger boiling up inside him had awakened his Persona.
He was surrounded with blue flames, and he was now wearing a costume similar to Akiko's, but with a skull mask.
Also, his Persona appeared. Unlike Akiko's thief persona and Morgiana's swordsman Persona, his Persona happened to to be a pirate, Captain Kidd.
"Yarr! Get ready to walk the plank!" exclaimed the pirate.
King Kamoshida pointed to two of his guards.
"Hey, you two! Why don't you do me a favor and sink his battleship for me?" asked Kamoshida's shadow.
The two guards nodded and transformed into Bicorns.
"Thank goodness Ryuji has a Persona now..." said Akiko.
"The more the merrier!" exclaimed Arsene.
The two Bicorns charged towards Ryuji, hoping to strike him with their horns.
However, Ryuji dodged it and shot one of the Bicorns on the leg with his gun.
The Bicorn fell down.
"You brought a gun too?" asked Akiko.
"It's actually a squirt gun." answered Ryuji.
Akiko shrugged.
The Bicorns retaliated by stepping on Morgana.
"Oh sure, pick on the little guy!" exclaimed Morgana. That was what Kamoshida apparently did best.
Akiko retaliated by slashing the Bicorn on the leg.
It collapsed on the ground, freeing Morgana in the process.
"Alright! Now we can perform an all-out attack!" exclaimed Morgana.
"What are you saying?" asked Akiko.
"Well, after hearing about how Kamoshida wanted you to play a game of dodgeball where you were outnumbered twenty-to-one, I figured we would give him and his followers a taste of his own medicine." explained the cat.
"Oh, that makes sense." answered the girl.
The three of them proceeded to gang up on the Bicorns, and they burst into darkness.
"Bah! You win again! But rest assured I will have my revenge!" exclaimed Kamoshida's shadow.
Kamoshida and his remaining guards left them to leave the castle.
"Good job. Just don't draw too much attention to yourselves. If Kamoshida knows you're in his castle, he'll increase the security. If the security level gets high enough, things will start to get hairy..." warned Morgana.
"Yeah...I can imagine that." nodded Ryuji. Imagine how many guards would spawn.
The three of them left the castle.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Now that Ryuji has his own Persona, it should make their lives easier. In the next chapter, Akiko is going to learn how Kamoshida acts in real life...it's shocking.