Chapter Seven
Hoist Your Colors High

Tuesday, April 12th

"I thought I just heard something move over there… Guess it was my imagination..."

"And what of the slaves?"

"They're all in the training hall. I'd assume they're screaming in pain by now."

"Very well. By the way, I heard we may have intruders around. Stay on guard."

The trio waited until the voices were out of earshot before they opened the door. "Well, if that wasn't an interesting tidbit," mused Morgana. His grin was on par with the Cheshire Cat.

Ryuji held the door open as Chiyo and Morgana walked out of the safe room. "They said trainin' hall, right" he inquired.

"I think that's just a little further up ahead," said Morgana.

He gestured for them to follow him; the monster-cat lead them to a nearby door, hidden amongst the line of cells. Hidden amongst them, one could be forgiven for mistaking it for just another cell. The pathway lead them to the training hall lead the group underground. Chiyo had to wonder why Kamoshida went through the hassle of hiding the training hall like this. But she quickly found that trying to deconstruct everything about the castle would easily distract her and likely give her a few headaches.

Turning the corner, Chiyo held an arm out, stopping Ryuji. Two guards were in conversation, perhaps one was updating the other about the intruders. They hadn't found anything, but they knew intruders were running amok in the castle. "Drat," Morgana hissed, "I had a feeling there'd be a lot of enemies. It'd be near impossible to dodge them."

"Do you want me to ambush them?" asked Chiyo.

"Hold on, lemme think." The monster-cat held his round head in one paw while the opposite arm held onto its fellow. "We don't know how many enemies we'll face along the way… How many sacks did you bring, Blondie?"

Ryuji shrugged his back off his shoulders and surveyed the contents. "Uh… eight snack bags of chips and two bottles of mineral water. I was kinda expectin' just Chiyo and me so I packed enough for us to slit evenly."

"Those snacks should come in handy while we're in here," Morgana mused thoughtfully. "We shouldn't use them too freely. But, since we have them it's a nice bit of reassurance before going in." His face contorted for a moment before he looked back up at Chiyo. "Yeah, I think we will have to ambush them and try our luck. Worst case scenario, we may need to use up our provisions."

Fluidly, Chiyo removed her ribbon from her coat. She stood up, readying herself, then moved into plain sight of the guards, who were still in conversation. "Hey!" she barked.

In unison, the guards turned to look at Chiyo, who was already sprinting towards them. She flicked her arm in front of her and flicked her wrist from left to right. The motion caused the ribbon to slice into both Shadow guards. Their bodies began to tremble before they broke apart into three Shadows. One of them had taken the form of the fairy creatures and a living flower. The other had become a red devil.

Her mask disappeared off her face, summoning Arsène "Give 'em your Cleave!"

Obediently, Arsène twirled around once before she extended her arms. A sudden flash darted out, slamming itself into the fairy, taking it out instantly. Morgana took out his sword, approached the Gallows Flower, and slashed into it. The Flower countered by throwing its leg into Morgana. Chiyo cartwheeled towards the Gallows Flower slashing into it with her ribbon. The Flower fell over, disappearing into a haze as its fellow had done previously.

"Nice work, there," said Morgana.

"Not bad yourself."

"Don't go celebratin' just yet!" shouted Ryuji.

In unison, Chiyo and Morgana turned to find a red devil with leathery wings, of all things, ready to attack. Chiyo hated herself for forgetting about the second guard and the Shadow it became. However, before the devil could attack, an earsplitting bang echoed in the corridor. The devil stood still for a moment, black puss oozed out of the wound in its chest. It fell back, vanishing before it could hit the ground.

Chiyo turned towards Ryuji, who held his model pistol in his hands, looking just as perplexed as Chiyo. "I thought you said it was fake!" she shrieked.

"It is!" Ryuji's voice broke. "I was just trying to buy you two a little time, not kill the thing!"

"Well, this is a cognitive world," Morgana spoke up casually, stealing the teen's attention. Haughtily, he had his arms crossed over his chest, as though he knew this would happen. "As long as our opponent sees it as the real thing, it becomes such. It's a good thing it's as realistic-looking as it is."

"I don't get it," Ryuji said flatly.

"Basically, so long as these Shadow thingies think it's a real gun, it's as good as a real one," Chiyo explained.

"Was that supposed to be a simpler explanation?"

"I wouldn't expect someone with your brains to understand," Morgana said much to Ryuji's irritation. "At least one of you can catch on."

The three continued on shortly after that, not wanting to stay in one place for too long. It did not take them much longer before they found another guard they needed to take on. With Ryuji working the gun, he was able to help out far more than he was before.

They exited the corridor and were once again faced with a running river. They went down another stony hallway before they came across the training hall's entrance, revealed by the banner hung over a pink-tinted metal doorway. "'Kamoshida's… Training Hall… of Love…'" Ryuji read out loud. "What kinda bullshit is this?!"

He lead the way through the door; the sounds of painful cries, moans, and begging could be heard from the entrance corridor. At first glance, Chiyo could have sworn they were back in the dungeon, for it did not look any different from the hall they just left. A river ran through the center of the hall, with a bridge or two that lead safely to the other side. However, it was not until they crossed to the other side of the river did Chiyo see the main difference between the training hall and the dungeon.

There was a set of bars, larger than those keeping them inside the cell yesterday. It was fashioned like an observation deck. Several meters below was a volleyball court, complete with a net. However, the players each held onto the net while the guards struck the player's lower backs and the backs of their legs with wooden canes.

On the left of the room, one of the team members was on a treadmill at top speed. Maybe even beyond that. Directly behind him was a spiked roller, threatening to impale him the moment he tripped and fell or even slowed down. To the right of the room, a second team member was strung up by his ankles. On the opposite end of the room, volleyballs were being launched at him, striking the boy at full velocity.

Chiyo brought a gloved hand to her mouth as Ryuji cursed loudly. "How many times do I have to tell you to keep your voice down?!" Morgana scolded.

Ryuji gestured to the sight below them. "But this is beyond fucked up! There's gotta be a way to get 'em out..."

"Don't bother..."

To their surprise, an unseen player limped upon the parapet surrounding the court. He walked with a visible limp, both his knee and wrists were bandaged up for all the good it was doing him. Chiyo wondered, vaguely, how he could have climbed up to meet them if he was this beaten up. "Leave us alone," he said miserably. "It's useless..."

"The hell you talkin' about?!" Ryuji demanded.

"If we stay obedient, we won't be executed like you guys..."

Ryuji grabbed the bars, just barely keeping himself from trembling. "You're tellin' me you wanna stay in a place like this?!"

Morgana's tail stuck straight out, the fur along his spine standing up on end. "Wait! You were planning on taking these guys out of here?!"

"We can't just leave 'em here!"

"How stupid can you be?"

"Excuse me?!"

"These people are only people in Kamoshida's cognition. They aren't real humans that entered from reality. They're different from the two of you."

Ryuji's head list to the left as he raked a hand through his hair. "Cognition…?" he repeated slowly.

"It's like how Kamoshida views the school as a castle," Chiyo explained. "Those students down there are probably how he views the volleyball team.

"So the school's a castle, and the students are slaves..." Ryuji scoffed through a mirthless grin. "That's so on point it almost makes me laugh. This really is inside that asshole's head.."

Chiyo looked back down at the volleyball court, struggling to drown out the cognition's pain-filled cries and please for mercy. She bit the fabric over the bed of her thumb. "I'd say the team isn't actually going through this in reality… but it's not far from the truth..."

Wait, where were the girls? Didn't Kamoshida also coach the girl's team? All Chiyo could see down there were boys.

"You're right." Morgana approached the bars to get a better look. "This is pretty horrible. They must be physically abused every day… There's no way they'd be so beaten up normally."

"So it might be for real..." Ryuji murmured.

"Probably. Granted, not this over the top, but I'd say it's likely..."

"I heard that Kamoshida's usin' physical punishment," Ryuji said thoughtfully. "They're just rumors, but… If they're true, wouldn't this be somethin' to report to the police..."

"Isn't Kamoshida an Olympic alumnus, though?" Chiyo asked. "Won the gold for Japan? School idol, essentially? It'd be our word against his."

Ryuji threw a hand towards the court. "But we have evidence! If we could get any one of these guys to come clean about it, Kamoshida's done for." He pulled out his phone to take a picture but quickly found the camera wouldn't work. "The hell? We can use that navigation app, but the camera's a no-go?!"

Morgana's ears twitched. "A navigation app?"

"That's how we've been getting here," Chiyo explained.

Pursing her lips together, Chiyo reached into her front pocket to find her phone was still there, surprisingly enough. She tried to get her camera app to run, but the screen remained frozen no matter how many times she tapped the screen. "Nothing on my end either."

"Well, whatever you do is fine, but we're gonna get caught if we stand around like this," Morgana said in a hushed tone. "We need to get back!"

"Hold on a second," Ryuji said, holding an arm up. He glanced back at the volleyball court. Chiyo reckoned he was either looking for familiar faces or trying to commit their faces to memory. "All right, I think I can find their real selves tomorrow."

Heading back out was far easier than the path to get there. Though their presence was most certainly known. Morgana urged them to hurry onward before they got caught. They headed to the foyer with no problem, no guards, no Shadows.

They were about halfway across the foyer when Kamoshida appeared suddenly, blocking their exit with two black-armored guards and a single guard in golden armor. "You knaves again?" Kamoshida demanded with a slight snarl. "To think you'd make the same mistake twice in as many days. You're hopeless!"

"'Mistake,' huh?" Chiyo crossed her arms over her chest. "Strange thing to say from the man who was close to pissing himself in fright last time we met."

Kamoshida clenched his jaw so tight, Chiyo could have sworn there was a vein bulging at his temple. "Don't forget whose castle this is, peasant! You'll find there are many secrets hidden away."

"The school ain't your castle!" shouted Ryuji. "I'm going to see the volleyball team first chance I get. You're goin' down!"

Kamoshida's shoulders shook in a scoff. "It seems it's true what they say, 'barking dogs seldom bite.' How far the star runner of the track team has fallen."

Chiyo's brow furrowed, she lowered her arms at her side and eyed Ryuji in confusion. He was a track runner?

"The hell you gettin' at?!" barked Ryuji.

"I speak of the 'Track Traitor' who acted in violence, ending his teammates' dreams," Kamoshida explained with a hint of condescension in his tone. "I can only imagine the pain of the others who were dragged under with your..." Kamoshida took a moment to grip his jaw, pretending to think, "selfish act."

Ryuji visibly faltered. He kept his eyes down as though afraid to look Chiyo in the face. "Ryuji, what's he talking about?" she asked.

Kamoshida crossed his arms, taking on a strong, haughty stance. "What a surprise," he told her plainly. "So, you're accompanying him without knowing anything at all? Sakamoto betrayed his teammates and crushed their hopes, yet he still carries on as carefree as ever."

"That's not true!" Ryuji shouted, his hands balled up tight at his side.

The cognitive Kamoshida ignored him, instead, he kept his gaze on Chiyo. "You've come along with this fool and now you're going to end up dead. Of course..." he paused. His yellow eyes traveled down the length of Chiyo's body. "I'm willing to excuse you, provided you give me something in return."

"I'm just playing. Relax."

Hot anger rushed through Chiyo. "Fuck that noise!" she snarled.

Kamoshida's lips pulled back into a tooth-bearing sneer. He turned and leaned towards the golden-armored guard. "Go ahead and kill them," he instructed. "Don't sully my castle with garbage."

The Guard Captain gestured to his black-armored fellow. They morphed into pair of black horses with snowy white mains and a couple of green ram horns protruding from their skulls. "Goddammit..." Ryuji murmured, still as a statue.

One of the demon horses reared back on its back legs. As soon as its front hooves hit the floor, its head was low, it charged straight at the one defenseless person in the group. "Ryuji!" Chiyo shouted.

Her body acted on its own; she ran towards Ryuji, her arms outstretched in front of her. Her hands connected with Ryuji's side, with him lost in his own world, it didn't take much for Chiyo to shove him out of the way. She took the full bunt of the demon horse's attack, thrown off her feet, Chiyo ended up sliding across the floor. "Zorro!" Morgana shouted, summoning the very being in question. "Garu!"

Zorro flicked its arm, forming the familiar Z-shape. The corresponding demon horse shook its head, a dissatisfied knicker escaped its lips. The demon horse got its revenge by ramming its head into Morgana. The monster-cat flew back, landing flat on his belly. Kamoshida proceeded to drop his foot on Morgana's back, preventing him from getting back up. Morgana sputtered, the wind forced out of him. "You piece of-"

Chiyo tried to pull herself onto her knees, but the golden-armored guard mimicked Kamoshida's actions. The weight on her back was just enough to make breathing difficult, but not impossible. In front of her, Ryuji sat on his knees, hating himself for freezing up the way he did. "I bet you simply came here on a whim and ended up like this." Kamoshida turned his gaze on Ryuji as if to further twist the knife in his chest. "Isn't that right?"

"N-No..." Ryuji's voice shook.

"What a worthless piece of trash, getting emotional so quickly… How dare you raise your hand at me! Though it was only temporary, have you forgotten my kindness in supervising track practice?"

"That wasn't no practice..." Ryuji threw his fists to the floor in frustration, his body trembling. "It was physical abuse! You just didn't like our team!"

"It was nothing but an eyesore!" Kamoshida barked back. His nostrils flared in anger. "The only one who needs to achieve results is me! The coach who got fired was hopeless too… Had he not opposed me with such a sound argument, I would've settled it with just breaking his star's leg."

"What…?"

"Do you need me to deal with the other leg too? The school will call it self-defense anyway!"

"Damnit..." Ryuji's voice shook. Even after his leg healed it hadn't worked the same way since. Their medical insurance didn't cover physical therapy, his mom couldn't pay for the appointments it would have cost on her wages. And even if Ryuji was able to get a part-time job the pay likely wouldn't keep up. His track days were over.

It would have been fine if that was the end of it, crappy but fine if it was just him. But Kamoshida, the real one, used the incident as an excuse to disband the track team. Of course, the team blamed him for it, Ryuji probably would have done the same thing if it were someone else. So he distanced himself from the rest of the team. And now he was just sitting there while Chiyo and Morgana died because of his curiosity.

Someone else who suffered because of his actions…

"WHAT THE FUCK, MAN?!"

All eyes turned to Chiyo. She pushed herself up as best as she could with the Guard Captain keeping her down, so she was mostly just on her elbows. Despite her situation, her hands were balled up into tight fists. Despite the mask hiding most of her face, it was easy to see her anger with the way her eyes contracted. "So you're just going to sit back on your heels and prove this dickhead right?!" she shouted. "You're just gonna sit there and let him win?! What the fuck has he done to deserve the satisfaction?!"

Ryuji looked bewildered initially, taken aback by Chiyo's sudden outburst. But… wasn't she onto something? What had this fucker done to deserve his tears? To get satisfaction from his anguish? Wasn't he just giving him what he wanted by wallowing in his self-pity? Fuck that noise!

"You're right," Ryuji said, feeling a surge of reckless anger inside. "Everything important to me was taken by him… I'll never get 'em back…!"

"Are you done?" asked a bored Kamoshida. "Just stay there and watch. Look down as these hopeless scum die for nothing because they sided with trash like you."

"No..." Ryuji slowly leaned back onto his knees and stood up. "That's what you are… All you think about is using people… You're the real scumbag, Kamoshida!"

With a new resolve, Ryuji slowly marched closer to Kamoshida. The king's brow twitched slightly, biting his lower lip nervously. "What are you doing?" the Shadow Kamoshida demanded. "Silence him!"

Close enough to be satisfied, Ryuji extended his right arm, pointing straight at Kamoshida. A cognitive shadow, the real this, he didn't care. "STOP LOOKIN' DOWN ON ME WITH THAT STUPID-ASS SMILE ON YOUR FACE!" roared Ryuji.

"You made me wait quite a while."

A sudden, intense pain in his head caused Ryuji to lose his composure. In a futile attempt to soothe the pain, Ryuji held onto either side of his head. He dropped right back down to his knees and withered, unable to think of anything else to make the pain stop.

Chiyo, still pinned to the floor, brought a hand to her mouth. Didn't she experience something similar yesterday when… when… "No way..."

"You seek power, correct? Then let us form a pact. Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc? The 'other you' who exists within desires it thus…

"I am thou, thou art I… There is no turning back… The skull of rebellion is your flag henceforth!"

A blue and white flame flurried across the upper half of Ryuji's face when the pain suddenly vanished, leaving him momentarily light-headed. Chiyo watched in awe, vaguely wondering if the thoughts going through her head went through Ryuji's the day before. Unlike Chiyo's domino mask, Ryuji's mask was molded into the shape of a metallic skull. However, the skull mask looked like was fitted specifically for Ryuji's face.

"What can you do?" the golden guard challenged. He raised its sword, likewise golden, ready for an attack. "Cower in fear and watch!"

Grunting in both fury and pain, Ryuji forced himself to his feet. He held his hands on either side of his mask and, with one strong yank, ripped it clean off. His face was painted red for a split second before blue and white flames consumed his person. When the flames died down a new figure hovered behind Ryuji, bound by him with ethereal chains.

The figure wore a generic pirate hat, not quite a tricorn. It wore a blue suit with a couple of cutlasses connected to thick belts crisscrossing over its chest. A tattered cape billowed behind it, and its right hand was a canon. The being's face was a bone-white skull, with an eye patch over their right eye. They stood on a small black ship like it were a skateboard, or perhaps a surfboard.

Ryuji's uniform had been replaced with a black jacket and matching slacks. He had on a pair of knee pads as a red ascot around his neck. His pant legs hung over his combat boots, and striking yellow gloves covered his hands. Around his waist his belt carried a long metal rod, Chiyo almost mistook it for a pipe.

The force of the change spooked Kamoshida and his golden guard enough to back away from Morgana and Chiyo. Kamoshida shielded his eyes with one arm, the fires surrounding Ryuji was so bright. The demon horses witnessing the chaos began to dance in place.

A grin formed on Ryuji's face, a sense of rebirth and awakening overtook him. "Right on," he said, studying the change in his appearance. "Wassup, Persona… This fucking rocks! Now that I got this power, it's time for payback…"

Freed from their burdens, Chiyo stood up, wearing a tooth-bearing grin. The thrill of the scene was just as exhilarating as experiencing the awakening.

Ryuji cracked his knuckles, never wanting to come down from this high. "Yo, I'm ready…" he declared, walking up to Chiyo and Morgana. "Bring it!"

The golden knight let out a bitter growl. "Don't mock me," he said raising his sword again, "you brat!"

Slamming its sword onto the floor the guard morphed, transforming into a red armored knight atop a purple-blue horse with a white mane. "All right! Kamoshida's cognition ain't changin', right? Then I'll act like the troublemaker I am!" Ryuji threw his arm forward, pointing straight at the knight, his Persona mimicking him. "Blast him away… Captain Kidd!"

Captain Kidd raised its canon hand and fired. A bolt of electricity struck the knight; Chiyo followed up Ryuji's attack with a physical attack from her ribbon. Finishing up the chain of attacks Morgana summoned Zorro, instructing it to use Garu.

The demon horses charged for an attack as the knight disappeared. Ryuji removed his mask a second time, willing Captain Kidd to send out a second Zio. Chiyo readied her ribbon and struck the nearest demon horse, to which Morgana followed up with an attack from his sword, it disappeared instantly. Ryuji removed the pistol from his pocket, one pull of the trigger, and the second demon horse was down for the count.

As soon as the second demon horse was gone Ryuji leaned forward, bent over double, trying to catch his breath. "How 'bout that?! Even if you apologize now… I ain't forgivin' you!"

"I told you that this is my castle," Kamoshida said, thoroughly unimpressed. "It seems you still don't understand…"

Kamoshida gestured with his head, immediately a girl in a pink bikini, pink pumps, and a cat-eared headband walked up from the foot of the stairway. Chiyo's face flushed as her jaw nearly dropped to the floor. She recognized the girl instantly, though they never really spoke. "Takamaki?!"

A purring sound at her right caught her attention. A glance down and Chiyo could see Morgana enamored with the Takamaki at Kamoshida's side. "What a meow-velous and beautiful girl!"

If Chiyo wasn't so unnerved by the implication behind Takamaki's cognitive self, she would have had something to say about that cat-pun. Nothing good. But the implications behind Takamaki certainly made Chiyo's skin crawl. "This-this is like those slaves downstairs, right?" Ryuji warbled.

Chiyo's voice broke, "Most likely…"

For whatever reason, whatever point he was trying to make, Kamoshida caressed the cognitive Takamaki's face. "Hey! Let go of her, you perv!" shouted Ryuji.

Kamoshida asked, "How many times must I tell you until you understand? This is my castle – a place in which I can do what I want. Everyone wishes to be loved by me. That is…" he turned away from the cognitive Takamaki, who draped herself over him, "everyone besides slow-witted thieves like you."

"What can I say," Chiyo shrugged, "revolution always comes when the ruling monarch has his head so far up his own ass."

Once again, Kamoshida's lips pulled back into a snarl while his fists shook. "You're really starting to piss me off, you bitch," he growled. Turning his head to the side, he barked, "Guards, clean them up this instant!"

Instantly in a splash of magenta and red… something, three guards in black armor appeared before the three. "We're outnumbered!" Morgana shouted frantically. "Let's scram before they surround us!"

"We're not gonna do anything and just run for it?!" argued Ryuji.

"I don't think we have a choice," Chiyo said quickly. "Summoning your Persona took a bit out of you and Morgana and I have been fighting for a while. We fight now, we may not get out of here."

"Thank god someone here's got a level head," sighed Morgana.

Ryuji bit his lower lip for a moment. "Fine," he relented. He glared back at Kamoshida, wanting to get the last word in before they retreated. "We'll expose what you really are, no matter what! You better be ready for us!"

The castle's self-proclaimed king threw his head back, laughing. "I was beginning to get bored with torturing the ones here! Come at me whenever you want, if you don't care about your life!"

"Ignore him," Morgana said, turning on his paw. "Let's go!"

For better or worse, they went out the same way they went in. Chiyo had it in her head to try and throw the guards off their trail by opening the door opposite the room they entered and closing the door behind them. It would have legitimately surprised her if it worked, but it was all she could think of to buy them a little more time.

Once outside Morgana collapsed face-down on the brick ground, while Ryuji was bent over double trying to catch his breath. Chiyo kept her hands on her waist and leaned back at a slight angle. She was afraid if she mimicked Ryuji's actions she might end up on the ground like Morgana.

"Anyway…" Ryuji breathed out as he stood back up. He gestured to his clothes. "I don't remember changin' into this…"

"Looks good on you…" Chiyo said breathlessly.

"Well, it ain't as bad as yours."

"I like mine!"

"Did you find them?!" a new, muffled, voice shouted.

"Both of you be quiet!" Morgana hissed, pushing himself onto his back paws.

"No," called another voice. "Search that way!"

"So what's goin' on?" Ryuji asked as quietly as he could. "My head's swimmin', man…"

"I told you before." Morgana crossed his arms over his chest. "When a Persona-user opposes a Palace's ruler and becomes a threat to them, this happens. It's to prevent you from being affected by distortions. Your appearance reflects your inner self. It's the rebel that slumbers within… Not that you'll get it."

Chiyo would have thought Ryuji would get snippy with Morgana for that quip, for she certainly would if it were directed at her. But to her surprise, Ryuji just dropped his head and sighed out a matter of fact, "Nope."

"Then stop asking questions and accept what you see for what it is."

"Wait," Ryuji gasped, a thought suddenly dawning on him, "we're in deep shit!"

"I said be quiet!"

Chiyo hissed through her teeth, "Both of you quit yelling!"

"We might've gotten away here," Ryuji said, ignoring Morgana and Chiyo. "But we're still screwed with Kamoshida at the real school…"

"I don't think we are," said Chiyo. She jerked a thumb back towards the castle. "I called this version of Kamoshida a few things yesterday, but the real one didn't act any different when we met."

"And another nice observation from Four Eyes," Morgana said happily. He crossed his arms over his chest before he continued. "The Kamoshida in reality can't possibly know what happens here. A Shadow is the true self that is suppressed – a side of one's personality they don't want to see."

"So all this is what happens when one essentially fools themselves for too long?" asked Chiyo.

"In a way. Just fooling yourself isn't enough to create a Palace, but it does play a part in it."

"Then we're okay?" asked Ryuji.

Chiyo gave him a reassuring nod. "Sounds like it."

"All right! Now that we know that, all we gotta do is-"

Morgana cut him off. "Wait a minute. I guided you as promised. It's your turn to cooperate with me." Ryuji and Chiyo exchanged questioning looks. Morgana didn't suggest any sort of bargain before, did he? "That's why I was super nice about teaching you idiots everything."

"Well, fuck you, too," Chiyo muttered under her breath.

"Whaddya mean cooperate?" Ryuji questioned aloud.

Morgana said forcefully, "Don't you remember? I originally came here for an investigation. I need to erase the distortion from my body and regain my real form! That's why we must delve deep into Mementos and-"

"Whoa, hold up!" Ryuji held a hand up, silencing Morgana. "What're you goin' on and on about? We never said anything about helpin' you out."

"Huh?!" Morgana nearly fell over. "Don't tell me… Are you not going to repay the hospitality I showed you? Especially you, Four Eyes. You're going to up and leave, even though you're already part of my master plan?!"

"I'm an idiot, remember? Also, my name's not 'Four Eyes.'" Chiyo said with false cheeriness. Instantly, Morgana's ears plastered against his skull and his eyes widened. Chiyo was half-convinced he went pale under his fur. She could practically hear his internal screaming. "And you never said anything about a deal and this is the first we're hearing about some 'master plan!'"

"Is it because I'm not human?! Because I'm like a cat?! Is that why you're making a fool of me?!"

"We're busy," said Ryuji. He knelt, patting Morgana behind the ear. "Thanks for everything, cat. You've got guts, bein' a cat and all! See you around!"

Standing back up straight, Ryuji gestured with his head for Chiyo to follow him. She gave Morgana a friendly wave of the hand. "Good luck!" she called before she followed Ryuji at the heel.

"Hey! What the hell?!" Morgana yelled, flailing his arms wildly. "Seriously?! Why're you wrapping this up like everything's all hunky-dory?! Get back here, or so help me-! GAH!"

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

The pair hardly flinched when their school uniforms returned to their persons as they ran to the alleyway across the road. Chiyo pressed her back against the building while Ryuji was bent over double, catching their breath. "Thank god… We're back," Ryuji exhaled. He stole a glance at Chiyo, whose breathing was just beginning to calm down. "I guess I dragged you around a lot, huh? Sorry, man."

Chiyo waved it off. "This was better than going home," she said.

"I'm dead tired… How you holdin' up?"

"Shouldn't have any problem falling to sleep tonight."

"Heh. Tell me about it. But damn, if what we saw was for real, this is gonna get good! I should be able to find those guys Kamoshida was treatin' like slaves. Once we make 'em fess up to any physical abuse, Kamoshida will be done."

A smile tugged at Chiyo's lips. Assuming it was true, maybe not to the extent they saw in Kamoshida's cognition, then he was unfit to be a teacher. But the cognition of Takamaki had Chiyo worried for another reason altogether. The fact that she wore nothing but a bikini… For a teacher, Chiyo couldn't think of anything more inappropriate.

"So…" Ryuji shook Chiyo out of her thoughts, "wanna help me look for those guys or any witnesses?"

"Uh…" Chiyo mulled over it for a moment. What did she have to lose? Besides her fellow students were being beaten behind the scenes by their teacher. They couldn't just let that slide. "I guess. Sure."

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

Slowly, Ryuji's bravado died down. He started to avoid eye contact with Chiyo as he shuffled his feet. "Hey, so…" he spoke as though it was on his mind for a while, "I get what you're doin', layin' low, trying to draw less attention to yourself, but I don't think it's helpin'… Everyone already knows. They totally got you pegged as a criminal and…" he looked away, "other things… That shy girl act… everyone's either expectin' you to just snap over the smallest thing or they think you're tryin' to appeal to a certain type."

Sighing through her nose, Chiyo looked down at her shoes. She figured that much on her own. Despite what everyone thought, she could hear just fine. "I knew it'd come out eventually," she said. "But how'd they find out so fast?"

"Kamoshida opened his damn mouth," Ryuji said bitterly.

"Seriously?!"

"No one else besides a teacher could've leaked it that fast. It doesn't matter if it's a student or a club; that asshole just wrecks things he doesn't agree with. Just like he did with me!" He sighed. "No one'll take anything I say seriously. Still, those rumors about him gettin' physical might be real. And after seein' Kamoshida's distorted-heart thing in person, there's no way I can just sit back!"

Couldn't sit back? Chiyo could understand that feeling. She was in her current predicament because she couldn't sit back. She gave Ryuji a nod, unable to find her voice. "I'm countin' on you! And, hey, if it means anything, I don't think you need to worry much about the rumors." He playfully punched Chiyo in the shoulder. "You're kinda hardcore."

Hardcore? Chiyo had been called several things throughout her life. Lovely. Graceful. Well-behaved. Whore. Disappointment. Criminal. But hardcore? "I've… never been called hardcore before," she confessed with a goofy grin on her face. "It's got a nice ring to it."

The joyous moment came to an abrupt halt when a growling sound came from Ryuji's stomach. "Crap," he groaned. "I haven't eaten anything since lunch. It'd be weird splittin' off now, so why don't we grab a bite somewhere?"

She almost literally felt her spirits rising. To be invited along, to just hang out. It felt like a lifetime ago since Chiyo experienced this. It was like having friends again. But… then again, maybe she did have at least one friend now. It was difficult to go through something as life-threatening as that Palace and not come out of it closer to the person you went in with. "S-sure," she said with a smile.

"Just follow me, then," said Ryuji. "I mean, I totally gotta hear about your past!"

"WHAT?!"

Chiyo imagined Ryuji must have heard the story in the rumors floating around, but the real story apparently wasn't what he was expecting. She did not go into too much detail, partially because they were in a public restaurant. Mostly because they just met yesterday, Chiyo was not that comfortable with telling Ryuji that much. Instead, she gave him a general idea of what happened without going into too many details. Confirming to him what was real, and what was just the rumor mill blow out of proportion.

"The hell, man!" Ryuji ranted. "How much shittier can that asshole get?!"

Unsure of what to say, Chiyo simply shrugged half-heartedly. She prodded her beef bowl with her chopsticks while Ryuji continued talking with food in his mouth. At least he wasn't yelling anymore. "So… you left your hometown, and you're livin' here now, huh?"

"Yeah, that's the gist of it," Chiyo confirmed.

"We might be more alike than I originally thought."

Lowering her chopsticks, Chiyo pondered for a moment, recalling what she heard about Ryuji in Kamoshida's Palace. Yeah, Ryuji was onto something. They both got royally screwed over while trying to do the right thing. "Yeah," she said with a smile. "I guess so."

"Y'know, you're the first guy that made me think that." His brow furrowed for a moment as he brought his bowl up. "I guess it's how we're treated like a pain in the ass by the people around us like we don't belong. I did something stupid at school before, too."

Ryuji brought the rim of his bowl to his lips and wolfed down the rest of it. "The place you're livin' now is in…" he paused, "Yongen, right?"

"Right."

"It's rush hour on the subways. I suggest you kill some time before headin' home."

Wasn't she doing that now? Not that Chiyo was complaining much. She was not in a rush to be grilled by Sojiro again and return to that lonely attic. "What the hell, man. You barely touched your food," Ryuji said, causing Chiyo to jump.

All she had been doing was poking at it with her chopsticks. Chiyo honestly could not remember if she ever had a beef bowl before. She was used to leaner foods, red meat was a rarity for her. In truth, she wasn't sure how her stomach would handle something this foreign. But a part of her was too embarrassed to admit it to Ryuji. She stomached Sojiro's curry okay. Shouldn't she handle a bit of beef bowl?

Hesitantly, she brought the bowl up closer and tried a bite of the concoction. The mixture of flavors was mouth-watering. The beef and rice flavored with bits of onion and soy sauce. Perhaps foolishly, Chiyo wolfed it down over savoring and taking her time.

"There ya go," said Ryuji. "Oh yeah!" He grabbed his phone out of his pocket. "Tell me your number. Chat ID too."

Her mouth still full, Chiyo dropped her bowl and chopsticks to get her phone out. She hoped she didn't come across as too eager and ended up scaring Ryuji away. After exchanging information, Chiyo returned her phone to its place and returned to her gyudon. "The volleyball rally's tomorrow," Ryuji said with a sigh. "Shit's recommended by Kamoshida. Makes me wanna gag. But thanks to that, we got no classes in the afternoon, and we can walk around unnoticed. Perfect time to talk to the volleyball team. Guess we can work out further details tomorrow."

Mouth full, Chiyo nodded.

Ann Takamaki sat by the vending machines with a black-haired girl with her hair done up in a simple ponytail. The girl looked a bit down in the dumps to her. When Ann asked if anything was wrong, she just said she was having trouble sleeping. "Whenever I close my eyes, I keep thinking about too many things..."

"Shiho..." murmured Ann.

"Nationals are coming up soon, so I keep thinking… Should someone like me really be on the starting lineup?"

"Don't worry." Ann gave Shiho her best sunny smile. "Just be confident in yourself! Your skills have been recognized! It's all because you work harder than anyone else!"

Shiho stared at her lap, her eyes darkening. "Yeah… Volleyball's all I have, after all…"

"More importantly, was that injury okay? It looked really swollen."

"It's nothing. It's normal… Especially since a meet's coming up."

"Excuse me, Suzui-senpai?"

In unison, Ann and Shiho looked up to see a first-year girl with her hair done in a couple of low braids. She was in a white t-shirt and the school-issued red track pants. Ann took an educated guess that the girl was on the volleyball team. She had the signs, a green bruise on her cheek, a fresher purple bruise on her arm, and just above her brow. There was a compression sleeve on her right wrist and the lower corner of her lip looked like it was bleeding earlier. "Noya-san?" questioned Shiho.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," the girl said, avoiding eye contact with either Shiho or Ann. "Kamoshida-sensei told me to get you."

Shiho looked up, her brow rose instantly. "What does he want?" she asked, her voice shallow.

"He didn't say…"

Her hands gripped the hem of her skirt. "Ann, I…"

"It'll be fine!" Ann said cheerfully. "I bet it's a meeting about the starting lineup or something."

Slowly, if not a bit forcefully, a smile formed on Shiho's lips. "Yeah…" She stood up, keeping her eyes on the ground. "I'd better get going…"

"Yup." Ann pumped her hand into a fist. "Good luck!"

Shiho flashed her one more smile before she and Noya walked off. "Hang in there, Shiho…"

Ryuji: Hey, I decided to go ahead and message you.
Ryuji: Can you see this?
Chiyo: Got it!
Ryuji: I'm gonna be counting on you tomorrow, OK?
Chiyo: Do you want to meet outside school tomorrow morning?
Ryuji: Sure. I'll see you then.
Ryuji: Oh! That thingy on your phone was some red eyeball icon, right?
Chiyo: Yeah, red and black.
Chiyo: …Why?
Ryuji: I found it on my phone too…
Chiyo: WHAT?!
Ryuji: I don't even remember installing it!
Ryuji: Think it's being downloaded on its own somehow?
Chiyo: Maybe
Chiyo: It just appeared on my phone a few days ago
Chiyo: Kept coming back no matter how many times I deleted it.
Ryuji: It's dangerous to use something without knowing what it is…
Chiyo: Which is why I tried to delete it.
Chiyo: It just acted on its own yesterday…
Ryuji: Seriously?!
Ryuji: But with it, we can go to that weird place, right?
Chiyo: I think so…
Ryuji: Basically, it's gonna depend on how we use it.
Ryuji: But first we gotta find evidence on the beatings.
Ryuji: Don't go ditching school on me.
Chiyo: Don't worry, I'll be there.

Chiyo placed her phone on the boxes that served as her bedside table. She held her stomach as it started making bubbly sounds and groans again. She wasn't throwing up yet, so she considered it a good sign.

When she returned to Leblanc Sojiro inquired as to where Chiyo had been all afternoon. All Chiyo said was that she was making friends. It was nothing Sojiro minded, so long as this friend wasn't a bad influence. As she got ready to go to the bathhouse, she discovered part of the money she and Ryuji collected from the castle in the pockets of her blazer. It was the most cliché place, but Chiyo hid the money under her mattress.

She tried going to the bathhouse with her contacts on. They were started to dry after a bit of time in the bath.

Chiyo returned to Leblanc before Sojiro locked up the store. She'd changed into her pajamas and turned on her star light when Ryuji sent the first IM. After the last message, she turned the light off and made herself comfortable under the covers.

Drip… Drip… Drip…

Chiyo woke up to find herself in the cell in the Velvet Room. Robotically, she stood up and shuffled her way to the barred door. "Welcome to the Velvet Room," greeted Igor.

"Yo," Chiyo said dully.

"Manners, Maggot!" shouted Henry. "You're a lady, aren't you?"

Chiyo was incredibly tempted to respond with every curse she knew and then the few she knew in English. Igor chuckled, interrupting Chiyo before she could even contemplate which curse to start with. "I thought about resuming our previous conversation tonight. That is why I have summoned you. What are your thoughts? Are you becoming accustomed to this place?"

"More or less," Chiyo said less flippantly. She wasn't panicking anymore, not here anyway. The thought of being locked up for real though was enough to keep her awake at night.

"Glad to hear it. It seems you have nerves of steel."

While Ryuji called her hardcore earlier that day, she wasn't sure about Igor's 'nerves of steel' when she was close to having a panic attack during her first visit. Nerves of steel? Chiyo wouldn't go that far.

"Your rehabilitation determines if ruin can be stopped," Igor continued. "Yet, such a feat cannot be done by you alone. But today you entered a partnership with someone who awoke to the same power, haven't you?"

"You mean Ryuji?"

"Involving yourself with others is an important foundation for your recovery," Igor said. Was he dodging the question? Was that supposed to be his way of answering? "You've done well. That said, I am not advising the formation of superficial relationships."

"What'd you mean?" asked Chiyo.

"It must not be of frivolity, but as a ring of those who would, by morals or faith, lend you their strength. In other words, they are bonds with those who have been robbed of their places to belong. The expansion of said ring will, in return, help you mature as well."

Henry turned his head to face Chiyo. "Personas are the strength of the heart. The stronger the bonds that surround you the more powerful your Personas will gain. And what luck, there's plenty of people in the city who have the talents a maggot like you doesn't. You'd better start getting them onto your side and we can change that into power."

"Indeed," said Igor. "You should be prepared to use even myself, or your ambitions will not come to fruition. We have a deal then?"

Slowly, Chiyo nodded her head, yes, not wanting to let down someone who had this much faith in her. "You said 'Personas' earlier," Chiyo said out loud. "As in plural?"

The familiar wail echoed across the Velvet Room. "This conversation is over," said Henry. "Time to get back to reality, Maggot!"

The Chariot Rank 1
The Fool Rank 1

Authors Note: Things become so much funnier to me if you add "so help me" to it. I'm pretty sure that's from growing up on Monsters Inc.