Aaaahhh! I am SO sorry for not being able to upload this on Friday as promised. That's not a really nice start, is it? ^v^" My excuse is that I have had an incredibly long week at work, and came back home after 5 days spent in different hotels around Norway. I was so tired when I came back that I could only type a few words before falling asleep on my laptop, so I had to type this extremely long chapter today. I am still tired and didn't have time to edit this given its length, so I hope you won't find too many mistakes or inconsistencies! Also, I am not 100% satisfied with what I came up with, but could be worse, I guess x) Anyhoooo, at least you have a lot to read! Enjoy and let me know what you think: keeps me motivated! :D
P.S. Thank you SO much to all of you who took the time to fav/follow and review! You're awesome!
It was finally Saturday afternoon, and Akechi could say he had officially survived his first week as a high-school student. Somehow, that week had felt much longer, what with him becoming the main topic of conversation among others for being the charming and good-looking boy who lived on his own despite having grown up without his parents. Even though almost all of the school knew who he was, he had made sure not to exchange contact info with anyone: the last thing he wanted was being bothered by meaningless requests during his free time. And he most certainly didn't have time to waste around people he didn't care about.
He took a look around: some of the boxes had disappeared, and his room looked a bit more spacious now. He had made sure to unbox and fix some of his things after school during the past week, but there was still a lot of work to be done. But that could wait, because all he wanted now was try that mysterious app once more. It had been difficult enough to resist the urge to test it this whole time. What would happen if he did it now that he finally had some spare time?
He took his phone, examining the familiar dark eyeball on his screen and took a deep breath before tapping on it once. However, this time the walls of his bedroom didn't melt away. No weird prison materialized in front of his eyes and his clothes didn't change. Also, there was no crazy-looking man grinning at him, or two wardens yelling at him. Everything around him was in fact perfectly normal, and Akechi was left staring blankly at his phone, waiting for something to happen.
He tapped once again on the app, thinking he hadn't applied enough pressure. However, after the umpteenth attempt, he decided that either the app was no longer working, or he was doing something wrong. Or maybe he really had imagined the conversation he'd had with Igor…
He lifted once more the hems of his pants, and was met with the sight of a purple bruise around his left ankle, confirming he had indeed been in that prison…
"Why won't you work?" he almost yelled at the phone, tapping furiously on it.
"Please, insert candidate's name"
"Huh?" he suddenly stopped at the sound of a dull female voice speaking. But it had sounded so feeble and distant…
"Saburo Ikeda" Akechi tried. Silence.
"Candidate found. Please, insert location"
"What?"
The brown-haired boy's heart was pounding a little harder now, as he desperately tried to think what to say next. A location? What did it mean by that? Could it refer to the place Mr. Ikeda consider most important to himself? Or to his purpose?
"Kitagata High" he stated, swallowing hard as he waited for the app to respond.
"Location found. Please, insert distortion"
"How many things does this bloody thing need before it starts working?" Akechi complained, but he was inwardly cheering. His heart was beating fast at each successful hit. The screen had turned completely black, showing only one sentence: "2 out of 3"
"Does this mean the distortion is the last information needed?" he asked himself, frowning. He paused, trying to think of the meaning of it.
Distortion… distortion…
"What does it mean?" he was growing more and more impatient as minutes ticked away with no results.
"Distortion. Manifestation of one's darkest desires."
The dull voice spoke again, providing a short answer to his question.
"One's desires? Does this mean I need to figure out where Mr. Ikeda stores his secrets?"
Akechi placed the phone on his desk, making sure the app was left open as he paced back and forth, thinking.
What could Mr. Ikeda's desire be? He knew nothing about the man, apart from him being an ex army official obsessed with discipline.
"Could it be… a battlefield?" he tried. An error message came from his phone.
"What about… a prison?"
Nothing.
"An asylum?"
Nothing.
"Dammit" Akechi cursed through gritted teeth. This was proving more difficult than he had initially thought, and all the euphoria he had felt in the start was fading away, replaced by frustration.
However, he decided he could try some more if he got any good ideas. If he didn't, he guessed he could always exploit his popularity to investigate further into Mr. Ikeda's life. He could ask some of the elder students to provide him with some information about him, so he could have a better understanding of the man's personality.
He forced himself to temporarily forget about the app, and focused on the messy room.
"Well then, time to clean up."
The damn sun was so hot now that not even the fully blossomed cherry tree was doing much to keep him cool, but Akechi decided to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of having his shirt glued to his torso as he waited. He had spent every single break between classes trying to ask some of the elder students about Mr. Ikeda, but for some reason they all seemed to be eager to leave as soon as the subject was brought up, refusing to provide any useful piece of information.
His lips curled into a smirk as he saw Tamiko Fujikawa walking across the courtyard to take a seat on her usual bench as she opened her bento box. He stepped away from the cherry tree and made his way to the girl with funny fluffy hair, for once sitting all alone. Just what he was wishing for.
"Good day, Tamiko-chan" he greeted her with a large smile. The girl was so startled she almost dropped her box, as her eyes shot up to meet his. The look of deep concern she was wearing mere moments before disappeared to be replaced by one of pure joy.
"Akechi-kun! I'd never thought you'd come and say hi to me" she replied, her smile so genuine he actually wondered how she couldn't see through his façade.
"Why not? We are… friends, right?" he retorted, hoping she hadn't noticed the mocking tone he had used at the word "friends".
She simply chuckled, moving further down the bench to leave him enough space to sit beside her. Akechi actually had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes as he silently complied.
"Tamiko-chan, I was actually wondering if you could tell me something more about Ikeda-sensei?" he asked her after eying her carefully.
"I see" was all she said in a low and disappointed tone. "Friends, huh? You just came to me to find out something about Ikeda-sensei. And I thought you were actually interested in me…"
"T-that's not true! I… do consider you a friend of mine!" Akechi tried to repair the damage sounding as sincere as possible, but no reaction came from Tamiko.
"Listen" he continued "Why don't we… go to the diner after school?"
Oh god, was he really inviting a girl out just to seek out information? What a waste of his precious time!
His words seemed to be effective when the girl hummed softly for a few seconds, before grinning enthusiastically.
In a blink of an eye, he found himself in a packed train car and with Tamiko Fujikawa standing close to him. Too close for his tastes. She had apologized several times whenever she leaned onto him after a particular bump the train took, but the dumb smile she was wearing and the fact that, no matter how much he tried to move further away from her, she always managed to end up brushing her hand against his, suggested it was no accident.
"It is not an issue" he kept telling her with a smile, while trying his best not to push her away and head straight back home.
Just buy her a coffee, use some of your charm and she'll spill all of Ikeda's little secrets.
"We're here" he announced when they reached the narrow staircase leading upstairs to a small but cozy diner where most students gathered to study. The locale still seemed quite empty, so they managed to get a particularly nice table. A cute waitress approached them immediately and asked them if they would like any refreshments.
"Two coffees, please" Akechi said "Oh, don't worry Tamiko-chan, it's on me."
The waitress bowed slightly and left to prepare their order, and a silence full of expectations fell between the two teenagers, though their purposes were totally different.
Akechi decided to ask her some trivial questions about school and everyday life just to break the ice and show her he cared- even though he wasn't paying any attention to her answers. His eyes were fixed on the clock against the wall of the diner as each minute slowly ticked away…
"…and Ikeda-sensei said we will never make it to college if we don't start studying seriously."
The name of the man he was currently seeking information about brought him back to the present. Maybe this was a good opportunity…
"Here's your coffee. Please, enjoy it!" the smiling waitress placed the cups on the table and left after another polite bow. Tamiko grabbed her cup and started sipping from it.
"I really don't understand why people are so scared to talk about him." The words left his mouth almost without his consent, running purely on instincts. Tamiko stopped drinking her coffee as she slowly placed the cup back down on the table.
He wasn't sure how long it took for her to speak next, but something was telling him to remain silent and wait patiently, so he did.
"You… you really don't want to know, Akechi-kun" she whispered, her words almost unintelligible, so low was the tone of her voice now.
"Try me" he said softly.
The girl in front of him looked down as she absent-mindedly turned the cup in her hands.
"He… he is a monster!" she finally confessed, a small sob escaping her mouth. Only then did Akechi realize she was silently crying.
"What the…?" he muttered, nervously taking a look around to make sure no one was staring at them. He leaned forward and lowered his head to try and meet her eyes.
"Hey, you can tell me, you know? I'm you friend" he encouraged softly.
"B-but please, Akechi-kun! Y-you must n-not tell anyone about t-this!" she was now sobbing even louder, and Akechi shifted uncomfortably in his seat, afraid that the diner staff would kick him out for making a girl cry like that.
"I promise. I do" he reassured her, trying to sound as calm and trustworthy as possible. He was so close!
Tamiko remained silent for a few minutes as she regained her composure and wiped the tears from her wet cheeks.
"I already told you how Ikeda-sensei likes to know as much as possible about his students to offer the ones he considers worthy valuable letters of recommendation. He has many connections and many have now become influential people thanks to him. But he chooses these people based on their families and the connections they have: if he can profit from it, you are surely granted a place in the most prestigious college in Japan! However, those he grows to dislike end up becoming the reject of society. The luckiest ones got a job at some local fast food, even if their grades were decent. I don't know what criteria he uses to discard the people he considers useless, but there is a rumor…"
Tamiko paused as her face turned grave. "…I have noticed how both girls and boys can get great letters of recommendation if they have an influential family member, however all the students who were rejected seem to be exclusively female ones."
Akechi frowned as realization hit him. Could she mean…?
"Do you have evidence?" he asked her, his voice sounding dangerously glacial.
"N-not really" she answered, shaking her head "But my s-sister… she used to be one of his students too, and she was bound to be an honor one thanks to her grades! However, after her exams she found out her grades had drastically dropped, and they never recovered no matter how hard she studied. She told me Ikeda-sensei asked her…to do something for him and she refused. That's when it happened."
"What happened to your sister after high school?" Akechi inquired, though anticipating her answer. Tamiko smiled bitterly.
"She's one of the lucky ones…" she said gravely, before pausing again. "Uhm, Akechi-kun?"
"Yes?"
"I think I will end up like my sister…"
The way she said it sounded so soft, as if she had embraced her fate already, knowing full well she was going to fall victim to the teacher's sick plan. Now, Akechi normally didn't sympathize with people because he was too focused on his own tragic present, but the resigned look on the girl's face somehow stirred something inside him.
"Are you really going to let him get away with that?"
He widened his eyes as the same voice he had heard several days before echoed through his head once more. What was that just now?
"Uhm, Akechi-kun? Are you alright?" Tamiko asked him when she noticed his reaction.
"I… yes, it's just… I'm sorry about your sister" he muttered as he tried to forget about the recent incident. "But why hasn't she talked to the police? Why haven't you?"
"Because, as I said, Ikeda-sensei has connections everywhere" she replied. "He is unstoppable. The school is his own theater to keep him entertained…are you going somewhere?"
Akechi stood up and grabbed his bag before leaving some money on the table. He had everything he needed now.
"You have been very helpful Tamiko-chan. I guarantee you that you will not end up like your sister."
He left her sitting alone at the table, wondering what in the world it had gotten into him.
One word. It had been that simple. He had gone straight back home, opened the mysterious app and said the last word out loud. He was now standing outside a majestic theater surrounded by a fenced green area, the overall architecture resembling that of an ancient Greek temple with tall and cylindrical columns supporting the rooftop. There was only one tall window at the top of the building, which sort of clashed with the overall layout of the building. A few steps led to a large door, the entrance.
He moved forward, deciding he would not waste precious time wondering where the hell he was, and what had happened to his apartment in the process. After all, last time he had asked questions, he had been told he needed some sort of rehabilitation…
He was simply accepting the fact that a mysterious alternative world existed, and he could somehow access it. And so, he forced his analytic mind to stop questioning and focus solely on their current surroundings.
He didn't meet any resistance as he pushed open the double doors and stepped inside a large room with light, marble floors and walls. Some leather sofas and a coffee table had been placed in the left corner, by a coffee machine. To his right there were the toilets and an emergency exit. In front of him, a grand staircase leading upstairs and what seemed to be a ticket office.
When he approached the counter, he pressed the Assistance button and waited for someone to come.
"Is this place really a different world? It feels so real…"
The sound of approaching footsteps could be heard from the other side of the glass panel which separated the counter from what looked like a small office. Akechi could make out someone's silhouette from behind the window leaving the office and heading his way.
The polite expression he had decided to use to charm the receptionist fell instantly when the employee finally turned around the corner and peeked out.
"Welcome sir. How may I help you?" he asked.
Akechi was fully aware of the fact his jaws had dropped, but he couldn't really care about it at the moment. He was too focused on the receptionist's face. He could definitely tell the man in front of him was, indeed, a receptionist judging by his clothes, but what startled him was his face. It was just…black. Akechi couldn't make out any facial features: no nose, no mouth, no cheekbones… He could tell it was a face because of its oval shape, as well as what seemed to be a pair of eyes? But they were yellow, and glowing… and carried no emotions.
"Sir?" the receptionist repeated, his voice sounded slightly worried and impatient.
Akechi blinked a couple of times and closed his mouth, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Ehm…"
"I see" the receptionist said "You are new. Then let me teach you the ropes." He momentarily disappeared under the counter and emerged from it after a few seconds with a plastic card he was offering Akechi.
"This is your membership card. It is individual and can only be used by you, so notify a member of our staff immediately should you ever lose it. Now, what is your name, sir? I need it for registration."
The receptionist was waiting expectantly for a reply as he stood by a terminal, ready to type in a name. Akechi was not stupid, though. He would not give him his real name.
"Eito Hirai" he said, choosing the first random name that crossed his mind.
"Sir, I guarantee you we value our members, and would never divulge private information. We will protect your privacy" the receptionist retorted, as if understanding the boy was using a fake name.
"Eito Hirai" Akechi repeated more firmly, and the other man simply nodded and typed his name on the keyboard. "You are now free to visit the upper floors. We kindly remind you that the seventh and eighth floors are off-limits, though and require a special permission from the manager himself to grant you access."
"What's the manager's name?" Akechi questioned, and the other man chuckled softly.
"Why, the great Mr. Ikeda, of course!"
Akechi wasn't really surprised when he heard the name, but the whole ordeal was seriously making him doubt his own sanity. Why was he in an expensive-looking theater run by none other than Mr. Ikeda, his social studies teacher?
"Thank you" was the only thing he said, and the receptionist bowed slightly.
Akechi climbed the stairs leading to the first floor, which was simply an open space with a large restaurant and a bar. A small crowd of people in expensive suits and dresses were sat at square tables, sipping colorful drinks and chatting merrily. Just like the receptionist downstairs, their facial features were missing, including their eyes. Their faces were pitch black. None of them seemed to pay him any mind, but the barman did keep staring at him with his yellow, glowing eyes, though… Akechi made sure to keep his card visible at all times: the last thing he wanted was to be considered suspicious and alert Ikeda.
A short corridor led to an elevator, and Akechi quickly stepped inside and pressed the second floor button. He knew, of course, that Ikeda was somewhere on the top floors, the very ones he wasn't allowed to access. As if he was going to follow some stupid rules, anyway…
The doors opened to yet another short corridor, though there were a lot more people who seemed to be waiting in line. Akechi made his way through the crowd, trying to see what they were queuing up for but a pair of robust arms pushed him back. A tall man in a guard uniform was blocking his way, and even though his eyes had no emotions behind them, Akechi could still sense the menace he radiated.
"Get in line!" he ordered brusquely. Akechi gave him a look of pure hatred as he was about to retort angrily, but then decided against it.
"I just wanted to see why they are lining up" he justified himself, shrugging his shoulders.
"Why, it's for the next show, genius!" the guard replied rudely "And why is a kid here in the first place, anyway? Are you accompanied by someone? This is no place for children. In that case, you should visit the third floor, where we offer shows suiting your age."
What the heck did he mean by that? Akechi quickly glanced at the people in line, and had to admit that, judging by their stature and clothes, they all seemed to be fully grown adults...
"Come now, kid. I'll escort you to the third floor." The guard took a step forward and reached out to grab his arm, but Akechi dodged him.
"I've got a membership card, and I am allowed to be here. I have only been told to keep off the seventh and eighth floors!" he complained defiantly. When Akechi showed him he did, indeed, have a card, the guard snorted. "Fine then. Then don't come whining to me when the show is over. And STAND IN LINE!"
Akechi watched him walk away and, once he was out of his line of sight, sneaked past the majority of the people still waiting patiently for their turn to cross the double doors ahead. Being much shorter and lighter, it was easy for him to cut in line. He stopped right behind a couple holding hands, who were apparently the next ones to be allowed in.
"Hey, when did you get here?" the man behind Akechi asked him.
"I've been here the whole time. Did you seriously realize just now?" the boy replied with another question, his voice sounding so outraged the man simply nodded at him and remained silent.
The couple finally scanned their card against a portable machine another employee was holding, and they disappeared behind the double doors. Akechi got a glimpse of a stage facing rows and rows of armchairs.
"One more person allowed in. The rest please wait for the next play which will commence in twenty minutes from now" the employee announced. Akechi felt the crowd behind him getting impatient and frustrated by the long wait, but no one said anything. The employee gestured for him to come forward and he scanned the card.
"Enjoy the show, sir."
He finally stepped inside the stage room, which was almost full. The best seats had already been taken, so Akechi decided to sit as far away as possible from the others, in a corner to the right. People around him were chatting excitedly before silence fell over them when the lights dimmed. Akechi couldn't help but wonder how they would even be able to see, what with their lack of eyes...
"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, welcome to tonight's show, an exclusive of Room Diamante!" Someone, a host, appeared on stage, frantically agitating his arms up and down to incite the crowd. Like all the others, his face was pitch black but he did have yellow eyes. Akechi couldn't quite understand why some of them did and others didn't.
"Now, since we received so many requests, we have decided to bring back last Saturday's show! Please, give our protagonists a big round of applause!" the host continued, as the crowd applauded loudly and whistled as soon as a group of new people made their entrance on the stage. Akechi's eyes actually widened when he saw the "protagonists" were all teenagers around his age. And they all had a proper face, but their lips were curled into an unnerving smile, and their eyes conveyed no emotions. Some faces looked familiar to him, and he finally recalled seeing them at his school as some of third year's students.
"…the hell?" he muttered lowly as he kept watching.
"This bright young man here" the host approached the first boy in line, facing the audience "is none other than the grandson of Kiyoshi Murakami, one of the most influential representatives of the Liberal Democratic Party, ladies and gentlemen! And over here…" he quickly moved further down the line and placed his hands on a girl's shoulders "This here, gentlemen… oh, she is a fine one! She can be anything you want, but don't forget to erase the evidence of your deeds after. I mean- she IS underage!"
The audience chuckled loudly, some men clapped their hands in approval and whistled. The girl's smile grew larger and, if possible, even more unnerving than before.
"Come on, candybar! Say something to the gentlemen in the audience!" the host encouraged her, bringing a microphone close to the girl's lips.
"I will satisfy any of my Master's desires" she declared, her voice flat and dull which contrasted even more with the creepy smile she was wearing. More cries of approval from the audience followed.
Akechi watched in shock as the host kept running back and forth, "interviewing" the kids and describing what they could be useful for. Most of them were boys coming from powerful Japanese families, the girls were, apparently, mere tools to "satisfy their Master's desires".
Akechi didn't need to ask for clarifications: he knew exactly what they meant.
"If this is indeed how Ikeda sees the real world, then it means he considers his students as tools to gain power, as well as getting some special favors from the female pupils in exchange of a letter of recommendation" he muttered to himself, as he felt rage boiling once more inside him.
The crowd all around him was becoming louder and louder, their laughter echoing through his ears and his head and the host continued with his show.
"Goro Akechi… where is your Justice? How much longer are you going to keep quiet?"
Akechi's hands curled into balls as a wave of raw hatred obscured all of his senses. The people's laughter kept resonating through his head, louder and louder…
"STOP THIS NONSENSE!" he shouted at the top of his lungs as he shot up to his feet.
The audience and the host fell instantly silent, Akechi feeling everyone's attention on himself…
The boy just stood there, feeling suddenly uncomfortable and almost regretting speaking up: he knew he was going to pay for his insolence.
"Who are you?" the host spoke from his microphone, his voice sounding three times louder in the now quiet auditorium "Who let you in?"
His sixth sense told him it was time to get the hell out of the hostile place, and he decided to follow his instincts by making a run for the exit.
"GUARDS, STOP THE INTRUDER!"
Akechi didn't even bother to look behind as he heard the uproar behind himself. He kept running, dodging the guards who were trying to make their way through the crowd still waiting for their turn to enter the auditorium, and chasing after him.
His heart was running a million miles an hour as he tried to reach the elevator and escape from the theater. However, Akechi could see more security guards running towards him from the elevator itself, and he didn't have any other choice but to open the emergency doors to his right, climbing the stairs leading to the third floor, since he could hear enemies approaching him from the area below him.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" he muttered through gritted teeth "How am I going to get out of here?"
His lungs were on fire as he ran as fast as possible across the hallway on the third floor, pushing the people standing in his way aside and ignoring their protests.
As his eyes frantically scanned for any possible escape route, he noticed a small room which read "Service Room", his attention caught by the petite figure of a girl around his age who looked extremely miserable. She was polishing the leather shoes belonging to an influential-looking man in an expensive suit, and their eyes briefly met. Akechi felt her desperation but he didn't have time to help her: he needed to save himself first. His attempt to flee was stopped by the sudden appearance of five more guards, one of them promptly lifting his shock baton and hitting his left cheek so hard the boy fell unceremoniously onto the floor.
"End of the road, intruder" the guard spoke in an almost amused tone "You can't really expect to make it out of here alive after causing such a scene."
Akechi groaned as his hand automatically went to massage his aching cheek. He simply knew he would get a nasty bruise. At least that was proof enough he wasn't dreaming.
"Now, now. This is not how you treat a guest."
A familiar voice suddenly spoke, and all the guards surrounding Akechi immediately stood straight and took a step back to let the newcomer through. Akechi froze when he saw who that was: Ikeda.
His social studies teacher, however, looked quite different from the one he was used to: his eyes were a bright yellow color which radiated malice, his lips curled into a quizzical smirk and he was wearing a red and black suit befitting a king, sporting military badges on his jacket.
"Well, well, well. Who do we have here? Akechi-kun, the bright new student of our prestigious school…" he said, his voice sounding mockingly delighted "I simply knew this year was going to be particularly fruitful ever since I saw you for the first time."
Akechi decided to remain silent, his hand still placed firmly against his left cheek.
"Not so eloquent now, are we?" Ikeda mocked again, chuckling softly "Too bad you're an orphan, my boy. A total and useless zero. Because you've got quite the guts and the brains, if you ask me but I unfortunately do not have time to waste on worthless scum like you. However…"
Ikeda's voice suddenly changed from mocking to thoughtful, almost urgent.
"You must be quite special if you managed to access my theater" he stated simply "Now, let my faithful servants eliminate you. But I have to admit, I am undecided… very much. You do have some potential, after all. I could get some profit out of this…"
Ikeda seemed to be in deep thought as he kept muttering something under his breath. "Yes… Mr. Shido can make good use of this boy…"
"S-Shido?!" Akechi almost shouted upon hearing the name. "Masayoshi Shido?"
"It seems like you know your politicians, boy. I wasn't expecting anything less from a brilliant student like you. Yes, I can introduce you to Mr. Shido and you will use your ability to enter other people's worlds to carry out his plans" Ikeda continued excited.
Akechi pondered his possibilities for a moment: he now had a chance to meet his father and possibly get revenge on him. But what good would that do? His ability to enter these alternative worlds was of no use to him, and he didn't see how he could make his father pay like that. Besides, he couldn't let a bastard like Ikeda roam around freely, and keep on exploiting defenceless and desperate students to gain profit. Furthermore, if his father was cooperating with a man like Ikeda, the chances he was a good man were below zero.
This was not how Akechi's justice worked.
e.
His heart began hammering against his ribcage as the mysterious yet familiar voice rang through his ears once more.
"I think I'll pass."
"What did you say?" Ikeda gave him a surprised look as he watched the brown-haired boy slowly standing back up.
"I said… I'll pass" Akechi repeated louder. Even if he was powerless against all those enemies, his resolve was growing by the second as a wave of courage filled him.
"You're on the right track. Just one more push…"
"I will tear down this place piece by piece, and set free all the students you have enslaved!" Akechi continued resolutely.
"Don't make me laugh!" Ikeda snorted "What can a defenceless kid like you do to stop the most powerful group in Japan? Children should only be allowed to exist if they can contribute to making this country even better! Trash like you that think they can rebel against us rulers should be squashed like bugs."
Now he had had enough.
"Right. Let rage feed your soul."
The bastard would pay for that.
"I am thou"
"You are nothing but a filthy reject…"
"Thou art I"
"…a defect in an otherwise perfect society…"
"Show him a rebel's true Justice!"
"…and as such, you will be discarded."
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!"
Akechi's inhuman screams of pain echoed throughout the hallway as a bright light engulfed him. He only got a glimpse of it, however, as his eyes were suddenly darkened by something covering his face. He brought his shaky hands to his face, touching the hard surface of what felt like some sort of mask. He needed to remove it. He needed to see again!
His fingers wrapped themselves around the edges of the mask, applying pressure to remove it but that only caused an intense pain to shoot through every nerve of his body. But the mask was slowly coming off, he could feel it. He just needed to hang in there a little bit longer…
He could feel his own blood trickling down his cheeks, and he could taste it when the drops fell on his lips. The pain, however, was mixed with an intense sense of euphoria and satisfaction and soon enough the mask fell off and he was able to see again. The first thing that came into sight was the terrified look on Ikeda's face. He was no longer smirking victoriously at him, but was slowly backtracking along with his guards.
Somehow, he felt different. He sensed a powerful yet friendly presence behind himself, but he didn't turn to look. For some reason, he knew exactly what –or who- it was.
"Let us show them what we've got, Robin Hood!" Akechi commanded, realizing only then his clothes had changed too: his school uniform had been replaced by white princely garbs, and he himself was carrying a laser saber.
He felt power coursing through his whole body and inebriating all his senses as the entity behind him revealed itself in all its glory, a bright aura surrounding it and holding its mighty golden bow.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Ikeda was shouting in fear, his body shaking violently "And why are you all standing there doing nothing? Go! Go!"
Ikeda's guards looked just as terrified and shocked as he was, but they decided to follow their master's order and stepped forward. Shortly after, it was Akechi's turn to be surprised for the guards disappeared in a puddle of red and black splashes, replaced by creatures which reminded Akechi of mythological nymphs. His surprised quickly vanished when he felt once more the power radiating from Robin Hood.
He couldn't even explain how he knew what it was, or what it was capable to do. He just knew it, as if it was an innate ability he'd possessed since birth, as if Robin had been his faithful companion all his life waiting for the perfect opportunity to show its face to him.
The creatures around them were many, but Akechi could sense their fear and insecurity. They were no match for him and Robin.
"Go, attack them! Kill them!" Ikeda yelled at the creatures as he turned to flee. Akechi wouldn't allow that.
"Now, Robin!" he commanded, just when the nymphs had commenced their assault. The majestic creature beside him simply nodded and lifted one arm as a wave of light filled the hallway and engulfed their enemies. When Akechi was finally able to see again, the creatures had all dissolved into thin air, demolished by Robin's immense power.
However, there was no time for celebrations: Ikeda had managed to escape during the mayhem that followed and Akechi needed to find him before he could plan a counterattack, or even report him to the police. As he sped up to reach the closest elevator, followed by Robin floating behind him, he wondered if the police even existed in a place like that. That wasn't his world, was it?
Akechi pushed the button on the panel on the wall and waited for the elevator to arrive. It was incredible how quiet the whole place was now after the short fight. The guests had apparently all run away to save themselves. The boy felt Robin's intense stare on his neck and he felt suddenly awkward.
"Ehm" Akechi started, without turning to look at the creature "Taking its time, isn't it?"
"Yeah" Robin nodded in agreement, but didn't add anything else.
"Right" Akechi muttered "Uhm, are you going to follow me to school, too? Because that would be a problem…"
"I can't be summoned into your world. But I can leave and be summoned again whenever you wish in this reality" the creature explained.
"That… would be lovely, thank you" Akechi replied awkwardly, as Robin simply nodded and disappeared. The elevator arrived with its familiar "pling" sound.
Akechi couldn't be bothered to check the other floors: he had learned enough about Ikeda just by visiting one. He thought his students –and children in general- were simply a tool to gain money and useful connections, enslaving the other ones who wouldn't comply and even admitting he would get rid of those who couldn't be of any use to him. That sickened him, but what made him feel even worse was his connection with Shido.
It was apparently impossible to reach the seventh and the eighth floors by elevator, so Akechi pushed the button labeled with a "6". When the doors opened, he found himself in yet another familiar-looking hallway leading to other service rooms behind locked doors. Akechi could only imagine what was happening in there...
He soon encountered other enemies, all of them looking doubtful as if they were afraid to fight him.
"Come, Robin!" Akechi ordered, and the creature carrying the large bow appeared right beside him. Most of their enemies fell easily just like the ones he had fought mere moments before, others managed to run away just in time. Soon enough the sixth floor was clear of all enemies and obstacles, and Akechi could proceed further. However, after inspecting the floor multiple times he had to admit there didn't seem to be any way to access the last two floors. Akechi calmly pondered his options as his eyes quickly scanned his surroundings: there did seem to be tall windows on one side of the building, and maybe he could reach the upper floors from the outside…
"Robin" he said softly, and the creature appeared once again. "Can you fly?"
The creature frowned at him, and he would have laughed at its reaction in other circumstances. Instead, he just waited for a response.
"Not really" Robin replied calmly "But I can give you a boost."
"Please, do" Akechi nodded, as he strode towards the windows overlooking the backyard of the strange place. He opened the window, feeling the breeze on his skin and particularly on the sore cheek.
He looked down first and then up: it didn't seem like Robin would have any problems helping him reaching the seventh floor, for there were no obstacles between one floor and another. However, the windows upstairs were closed…
Akechi and Robin exchanged a look before nodding, the former positioning himself a few feet away from the window, and the latter waiting to boost the other up.
Akechi ran towards the open window, then he jumped when he was close enough and suddenly felt floating in mid-air. He was about to curse loudly as he automatically looked down, his body losing height. Just when he thought he had just committed suicide in the most idiotic way possible, Akechi felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around his chest and legs and pushing him up. As he gained altitude, he drew his laser saber and smashed the window in front of him before grabbing the edge of the windowsill and lifting himself up.
"Thanks, Robin" he muttered as the creature reappeared right beside him and nodded quietly.
Seventh floor. Somehow, he had managed to reach one of the two forbidden floors. At first, Akechi couldn't quite tell what was so different from the other floors he had previously visited, but soon enough he got his answer: when he turned around the corner, the whole environment had changed. There were no more stage rooms where children were forced to parade, or special "service rooms" for enslaved kids. The placed he ended up in looked more like a large archive, with rows and rows of lockers sorted in alphabetical order. Each row was labeled with a letter, starting with the A. Frowning with curiosity, Akechi headed to the first row, occasionally looking left and right for enemies. The coast seemed clear, so he continued to take a better look at the lockers. He opened the first to his left, which sported the letters "AB": a tall pile of files was stored inside, all seemingly belonging to students between the age of 14 and 18. Akechi picked the first document on top of the pile and examined it. It apparently belonged to a 16-year-old boy named Masahiro Abe, who had graduated high school three years before. Kitagata High. His high school!
Akechi frantically examined the other files, which all regarded students from the same school he attended. He noticed how on some of the files there was a small comment at the bottom of the page: "Not relevant. Discard." Did it mean those were students with no useful connections? Discard…
As he assessed the situation, a thought crossed his mind: was his name somewhere there too? Curiosity was simply killing him, and he decided to open the locker with the letters "AK" on it.
He ignored all the other files until he finally found the one with his name on it: Akechi Goro, a picture of himself staring right back at him. Akechi's eyes instantly found Ikeda's comment at the bottom: "Clever and well-mannered. Troubled childhood. Potential resource or possible threat?"
"Definitely a threat" Akechi commented with a small smirk as he discarded the piece of paper and kept walking onward. He was now curious to see if Tamiko's name was somewhere there too. He stopped at the row with the large "F" letter attached to a pillar, and located the locker with the "FU" tag. There were three students with the name "Fujikawa". Ignoring "Fujikawa Yoshimi", who was a boy, Akechi found both "Fujikawa Tamiko" and "Fujikawa Naoko".
"Tamiko-chan's sister" Akechi whispered as he looked at the picture of the girl on the file, looking very similar to her younger sister.
"Rejected offer. Discard!" Akechi read the note scribbled at the bottom. "Seems like Naoko-san angered Ikeda." He turned to look one last time at the large room with the perfectly arranged lockers, a room where Ikeda could keep track of all the students he had, both the ones with potential and the ones he considered necessary to "discard" in real life.
Real life. Right. Akechi needed to find Ikeda and silence him before he could get rid of him in the other world, too.
And so, the brown-haired boy walked toward a narrow flight of wooden stairs leading to the last floor. Akechi could see the landing with a single door from where he was standing downstairs, and he knew that was Ikeda's office as well as the only place where he could be currently hiding. He climbed the stairs with resolution, the creaking sound they made whenever he took another step forward the only audible thing in the large area. When he found himself right in front of the door, Akechi realized he was not nervous or scared: after all, Ikeda was the one hiding from him, wasn't he? Which meant he, a teenager, was the hunter and Ikeda, the adult with all the powerful connections who had ruined the lives of so many, was the prey.
His fingers curled around the handle and turned it. Akechi was actually surprised when the door opened without problems: he was expecting Ikeda to sort of barricade himself inside.
The man in question was currently sitting behind a mahogany desk in his spacious office. A large Persian carpet covered most of the wooden floor, and rows of bookshelves were lined up against the walls. Behind Ikeda there was a tall window which filtered sunlight through the room. Akechi remembered seeing a window just below the rooftop when he had first arrived into the strange world, but would have never thought it could be Ikeda's office. But then again, he could never have thought what the teacher actually did in there in the first place.
The man jumped in his seat when the door to his office opened suddenly, revealing the one thing he feared the most: the brown-haired boy with reddish eyes and dressed in white garbs who was able to summon that monstrosity. Akechi didn't miss the look of raw terror reflected in the man's yellow eyes, which only served to make him feel more powerful and somewhat superior. He was in control.
The boy stepped forward as Ikeda stood up, both studying each other's movements.
"Listen, Akechi-san" Ikeda was the first to speak, breaking the silence "I can introduce you to people. With your brain and your skills, I can make you become anything you wish. What do you say?"
"I say I don't need the help of scum like you to become what I want. I can do it myself" Akechi replied coolly, and observed with pleasure as Ikeda began sweating.
"B-but you can't!" Ikeda was now moving slowly around his desk, making sure he kept a safe distance from the dangerous young man "It will be impossible to do so alone! You have no one, right?"
Akechi gave him a questioning look, and Ikeda's lips curled into an uncertain smile, as he took a tentative step forward. "I know how hard it was for you to grow up alone. How tough it is for you to trust others. But please, let me help you…"
Ikeda had managed to get very close to the boy now as he spoke softly and Akechi's eyes darkened as a veil of sadness covered them.
"Yes, let me help you…" Ikeda continued paternally "…end your miserable life!"
Akechi only had time to snap out of his thoughts upon hearing the man's words, his tone shifting from sweet and understanding to cruel and ice cold, before Ikeda grabbed his saber sword in one quick move and aimed it straight at his heart.
"I have to admit you got me worried for a while. Never met someone like you, able to summon that… thing. How do you do that? I need to know!" Ikeda was breathing heavily but his grip around Akechi's sword was tight. He remained silent, his eyes fixed on his own sword.
"ANSWER ME!" Ikeda shouted as he pressed the tip of the sword into his chest.
"I… don't know. It just happened" Akechi replied trying to remain calm. He needed to summon Robin, but he was afraid to do so as long as a deadly sword was inches away from his heart…
"You useless brat!" Ikeda spat angrily "Think you can fool me? I am the master of this place, and I can end your life here and in the real world if I so damn please!"
End your life here and in the real world? So if one were to die here…
"That monstrosity won't help you now. No one can help you. You were always destined to be a failure, since your father abandoned you. He must have realized immediately what a terrible mistake he had made. As for your mother… not even that bitch could love you enough to remain around, couldn't she?"
A raw wave of rage filled once more his senses, obscuring his reasoning as Akechi began breathing faster and his body shook with fury. His eyes widened at the man's words, and at this point he didn't care whether he got injured or even killed in the process, but he simply knew he needed to inflict as much pain as possible to Ikeda. And then he would kill him.
"Kill. Kill. Kill."
Akechi's fingers curled around the sharp blade pointed at his chest, his eyes boring fearlessly into Ikeda's bright yellow ones, and he watched as the triumphant smirk dissolved from his face, replaced by an expression of confusion.
"Make him beg for mercy..."
Akechi ignored the blood dripping from the gash on the palm of his hand, staining the expensive carpet they were standing on.
"…And then drive him MAD!"
"I am thou" Akechi said, earning another confused and terrified stare from Ikeda.
"Thou art I."
His heart was beating so fast he thought it would burst, but his voice sounded calm and somewhat soothing as he spoke the next words.
"Come, Loki."
Everything in his line of sight momentarily disappeared in a flash of blackness, and darkness engulfed him too. Akechi felt the same euphoria he had felt when Robin had first manifested, but it was somehow different. More intense. He felt like he could conquer the whole world, crush the unrighteous and cleanse the society covered up in shame.
The power he felt was so overwhelming he actually had to steady himself when darkness dissolved. He slowly opened his eyes, noticing immediately how his pure white garbs had been replaced by pitch black ones, with dark purple stripes and belts wrapped around his legs and waist. Furthermore, his vision was not exactly clear, as if something was blocking it. He slowly lifted his hands, now covered in dark gloves which resembled claws, and brought them to his face just to realize he was now wearing a helmet.
Judging by Ikeda's absolutely horrified expression, Akechi must look really threatening now. That, plus the fact that a new entity was floating beside him. Not Robin with his golden bow, standing proudly in mid-air and radiating a solemn aura of Justice, but a half-horse, half-demon creature with black and white stripes adorning its body and long horns protruding from its head. Loki was staring at Ikeda mockingly as it waited for further instructions.
"W-w-what the hell are you?!" Ikeda's voice sounded hysterical as he stumbled and fell backwards, landing painfully on the floor. As Akechi took a few steps forward, his lips curling into a malevolent smile, the man frantically turned his head left and right to try and locate the saber sword, his only hope. But with Akechi's new transformation, the sword had disappeared too and Ikeda was now left defenseless.
"P-p-please…" he pleaded, but his desperate cries only made Akechi's grin grow wider.
"Make him beg for mercy…" Akechi muttered as he remembered the words he had heard in his head. Loki nodded approvingly beside him, its red eyes still fixed on Ikeda, who kept shifting his gaze from Akechi to his creature and vice versa.
"I-I'll do anything… just please" he begged once more.
"Anything?" Akechi asked amused.
"Anything! Anything at all!" Ikeda awkwardly changed position, now knelt on the carpet and bowing his head.
"Well in that case…" Akechi smirked as he looked down at the man knelt in front of him "Be the first to taste my Justice."
Ikeda's head snapped upwards as his jaws dropped.
"Say goodbye, Ikeda-sensei."
The last thing Ikeda saw was the teenager's unsettling smirk and a pair of merciless red eyes before being lifted and violently thrown across the room, the sound of a window shattering echoing in his ears as he watched the sky above him. Then a loud thud and everything was over.
Akechi stood by the broken window and observed his former teacher's body lying lifelessly in the grass, sprawled in an unnatural position as Loki dissolved into thin air now that his job was complete.
He wasn't sure what one was supposed to feel in situations like this, but he could certainly say he felt… satisfied. He knew it was not right, that one was not supposed to feel excited about someone's death but Ikeda had deserved it, right? Akechi had killed a person, but saved so many others so he couldn't be considered a murderer, could he?
The floor under his feet began shaking violently, making him lose his balance and almost fall out of the window.
"What's going on?" he frowned as he watched the roof above his head starting to crumble. There was no time to wonder what was happening: he needed to escape or he would get crushed. But would he make it out alive in time before the place came down? After all, he had managed to access the seventh floor by a window with Robin's help…
There had to be a way to access the last floors, some sort of secret entrance for Ikeda to move around the theater as he pleased, but Akechi didn't have time to look for it.
Akechi looked down at Ikeda's lifeless body once more, then examined the tall columns at the two sides of the entrance erecting from the ground level up to the sixth floor, where they supported a small roof. He guessed he could slide down the columns if he managed to jump down onto the small rooftop below. He studied the distance that separated him from his only way out and then jumped. For a brief and terrifying second, Akechi thought he wouldn't make it, that he had somehow calculated the distance wrongly as gravity pulled his body downwards and his legs missed the platform he was supposed to land on. But in one last desperate attempt to save his life, Akechi extended his arms and managed to grip the very edges of the roof. Both his hands burned with pain, particularly the one with the gash from his own saber sword, but he used all of his strength to remain dangling a little longer before letting go, only to wrap his arms around the massive column below, as if hugging it, and sliding down until his feet finally came in contact with terrain.
He ran toward the property's gates, turning to look at the crumbling theater one last time before leaving the damned place for good.
Akechi wouldn't even bother to ask why and how he ended up in his room after walking through the gate, but wouldn't complain either. At least he didn't end up in the middle of Tokyo sporting a bleeding hand, a painful bruise on his cheek, which was already turning dark, and scratches all over his body.
His clothes had returned normal too, for he was now wearing his school uniform.
He tried calling for Robin and Loki, but they never came so he guessed his powers only worked in the other world.
The adrenaline was wearing off and Akechi was beginning to feel dizzy and nauseous as he recalled the events of the day. A horrible pain shot through his head and body, and he had to sit on his bed as he felt he was about to collapse. He felt absolutely drained and exhausted, as if he had just run multiple marathons while dragging an enormous weight all the way through. On top of that, he started to feel uneasy and worried.
He had actually killed a person. What would happen now? The police would surely find out, and he would be arrested, maybe sentenced to death. After all, Akechi didn't have any evidence that Ikeda was abusing students and he couldn't definitely go telling about the existence of an alternative world where he could summon creatures to fight for him.
His eyes were unfocusing as the headache became stronger. He barely had time to lean to the side before he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up hours later, feeling extremely thirsty and still sluggish, he slowly got up and went to the bathroom to clean up his wounds, then he changed into new clothes and decided to go for a walk to get some fresh air and help ease his mind.
Right after opening his eyes, the memories of what happened in the alternate world had come rushing back to him, making his heart accelerate. He needed to get distracted somehow and be rid of the persistent headache.
He simply let his legs bring him to whatever place they wished, ignoring strangers looking at him curiously when they noticed the nasty bruise on his face and a bandaged hand. Maybe showing his beaten up face around wasn't really a good idea…
As he thought about going back home, however, his eyes fell on a mysterious gate which seemed to be floating in mid-air. No one else seemed to pay it any mind, though, and Akechi was seriously thinking he was going crazy. After making sure the passersby were gone, Akechi headed to the gate surrounded by a blueish fog and then realized someone else was there, too. His heart skipped a beat, thinking others could see the object that was not supposed to be there in the first place, but then he saw it was only Caroline.
"Our Master wishes to see you, Inmate" she said in her usual rude voice. Akechi blinked a few times, staring back at Caroline and then examining the door.
"Oh dear" the small girl rolled her eyes impatiently before kicking Akechi in the shin, making him double over in pain, and then pushed him inside.
The world was spinning around him, which only made his headache worse and so he shut his eyes and hoped it would end soon. When he reopened them, he was lying on something uncomfortable and hard. He sat up with a light groan, massaging his temples.
"We don't have time to wait until you feel better, Inmate!"
"Our Master has important business to attend to."
"Oh, give me a break" Akechi grunted as he slowly stood up, holding onto the prison bars for support.
Igor looked amused and extremely pleased as he stared at him, one leg crossed over the other and his head resting on the palm of his left hand.
"I am impressed" he said simply in his usual deep voice "Truly impressed. You managed to awake to two powerful Personas in one day."
"Excuse me?" Akechi asked with a false polite tone "I don't think I follow you."
"If only you shut up and let our Master speak, you'd probably understand" Caroline retorted sourly. Akechi simply rolled his eyes. He didn't have the energies to start a fight with the aggressive warden.
"A Persona is the manifestation of one's inner self whenever they decide to break the mask society imposes all humans to wear. Now, normally one carries a single Persona but you are special, Trickster. You can carry multiple ones given how complex you are. This is going to be so much fun" Igor explained.
"Huh? Do you mean to say I am not the only one able to call forth a… Persona?" Akechi inquired. He was feeling kind of betrayed, as he thought he was the only one ever existed to be able to summon a creature in an alternative world.
"No need to get all worked up about it. You are, after all, the only one who can summon multiple Personas. You are what I like to call a Wild Card. The only one… so far" Igor answered, finishing his sentence with a chuckle that made Akechi's skin crawl.
"Do you have anything to ask, Inmate? If so, make it quick!" Caroline questioned him.
"Yes" Akechi nodded "What was that place? Ikeda's theater…"
"Ah yes. Your first Palace" Igor's voice sounded dreamy "It's a world only Tricksters like you can access, as well as the creator -or ruler- and Shadows."
"Shadows?" Akechi was trying to store all the new information provided by Igor.
"Shadows are the hostile creatures you met in your former teacher's Palace." Igor stopped to give Akechi an eloquent look, and the boy felt even more uneasy. Of course Igor knew about Ikeda's murder, but would he report him to the authorities? However, the crooked man seemed rather pleased..
"Every person whose desires become highly distorted can create a Palace where their other self rules, and they will normally have Shadows at their service because Shadows are attracted to distortions" Igor explained patiently.
Akechi wasn't sure he understood all of it, but it did sound legit enough after his little trip to Ikeda's so called Palace.
"What surprised me, though…" Igor continued, his voice shifting from mocking and amused to incredulous "…is the fact that your personality itself is distorted. Your first Persona is a hero of Justice and Light, while the other… my, my, boy. I am looking forward to seeing what path you will choose."
Akechi frowned at his words but decided to ask him a more relevant question.
"Ikeda's Shadow died…" he said in a half-broken voice "Loki killed him."
"You mean you let it kill him" Igor corrected with an amused grin. Akechi fell silent.
"You killed your teacher's Shadow, the personification of his distorted desires. Your real teacher is still alive and doesn't have a clue about what happened in his Palace because he doesn't know he had one in the first place. However…" Igor gave him a grave and hard look "…When a person does no longer have a desire to pursue, their whole life becomes meaningless and pointless. Just like their Palace crumbles when you eradicate the source of the distortion, so does their life. You will soon learn the consequences of your choice."
"What do you…?" Akechi needed to know more, to know what Igor meant by that but Caroline and Justine now stood in front of him, blocking his line of sight.
"Return to your world, Inmate. Now you have all the answers you need in order to continue on your path to your Justice."
"Wait, I-"
He was staring straight ahead at a plain wall in a narrow alleyway, some passersby whispering as they looked at him questioning no one in particular.
Akechi bit his lower lip as he replayed the conversation with Igor in his head.
So he was one of a few chosen ones who could access another reality where people's distortions materialized and created these so called Palaces. There, he could summon Personas who could help him fight malevolent creatures called Shadows and take down the ruler of the Palace to bring justice into the real world. Killing the ruler of the Palace didn't kill the same person in real life, but Igor had indeed said something about "consequences"…
"Whatever the consequences of my actions are" Akechi muttered under his breath "I now have the opportunity to get my revenge. With this power… I will become a hero of Justice!"
His lips broke into a triumphant smile as he stared at his hands, recalling the power he felt whenever he called forth his Personas. "I am coming for you, dear father."
Just wanted to clarify one thing: in P5's universe, Akechi is the first to awake to the special powers, even if Igor speaks of the existence of others (because he has already planned on sending the gift of Personas to Akira in the future). So being Akechi the first and currently only Persona-user, Ikeda and his Shadows are oblivious to the existence of Tricksters, and the Palace's security is therefore lacking. It is the reason why Shadows in his Palace are so weak, as well as their creator: they would never expect such a powerful intruder to sneak in.