Chapter Three
As with all good things, especially for Akira, they don't last long.
Numbness dulled the nausea that the train usually induced in him, his brain was too busy trying to make sense of his life to feel queasy. Akira tried to wrap his logic around his memories, to piece them together and make sense of them, but all he felt was confusion and something else he couldn't explain. Following Sakamato into that castle had opened his eyes yet, for the all the truth that he'd managed to uncover, he still felt blind to the bigger picture.
If that castle wasn't a dream…
The implications of such were heavy and indefinite. The chances of him and Sakamato, a complete stranger at the time, falling asleep or getting knocked out and having the same dream seemed infinitesimal; impossible.
His phone held evidence outside of his and Sakamato's memories as well.
Return?
The red eye was open on his screen again, and stayed that way until he was standing outside of Café Leblanc.
Return to what? The castle was the obvious assumption, but he couldn't help but wonder how a smart phone application, one he'd never downloaded at that, could grant him access to a castle that didn't exist. Akira was the first to admit he wasn't much of a scientist or mathematician, or whatever field of study that would apply here, but he understood computers to some extent. He was certain that a series of code could not and would not allow two high school boys to access another version of Tokyo.
Even with that, he still couldn't shake this feeling.
Welcome to the real world.
His phone had announced that once Morgana had helped them escape. Again, straightforward enough. The castle occupied a fake world, and he, Sakamato, and everyone else occupied the real world. Still, how did Kamoshida occupy both? The volleyball coach even seemed to be the ruler of that fake world.
Kamoshida, and the other guards, seemed to be similar entities to that of Arsene and Zorro, personas, his brain provided, recalling Morgana's words, yet they weren't called upon they just were.
Conclusion: I'm going crazy…
Sardonically, Akira snorted to himself and closed the nameless application, not even bothering to delete it knowing that it would just reappear when he wasn't looking. He pocketed his phone after that and finally opened the door to Leblanc before he could be arrested for loitering or something equally as sinister.
Sakura-san's back was to the door when Akira stepped inside but the older man instantly swiveled around once he heard the door jingle. Sakura-san's gaze was heavy on his face and Akira minded the flooring with what he hoped was nonchalance.
Before he could pretend he hadn't noticed his new caretaker and scurry off to the attic, the deep timbre of Leblanc's owner was chastising him, "Hey, I got an interesting call from your school today." There was a pause, one of which, if Akira were able to speak, he'd be expected to offer an explanation or lie about what had happened.
Instead, Sakura-san cleared his throat and continued speaking, "It's only your first day and you're showing up hours late?" The statement really put into perspective how lowly he was thought of Sakura-san's opinion. That he, a delinquent, was going to skip class regularly, just as long as it wasn't the first day.
Akira was, unfortunately, reminded of Kamoshida. How the coach had belittled Sakamato until he was stopped. Regretfully, no supernatural entities would be wrapping him in a pillar of flame so he could correct injustices; not in the real world.
He bowed, submitting to his judgement, as expected from him.
Sakura-san sighed from behind the counter, Akira couldn't tell if he was annoyed by the gesture or just by everything.
"Look… just behave yourself." The man stressed, "Your life is over if anything happens. You do know what probation means, right?"
Straightening his spine to its usually extent, Akira nodded.
Sakura-san sighed again, interrupting the first part of his ringtone. The café owner shooed him upstairs before he answered it. Akira was happy to oblige and all but jumped at the café's staircase.
He took his time getting ready for bed, still caught up on the fake world. The application remained open on his screen, the red eye staring at him as he brushed his teeth. It was undeniably creepy, not even mentioning the fact that it kept reappearing and its connections to the fake world.
Morgana and Sakamato also crossed his mind, two witnesses to the fake world. Well, he admonished, one witness and one possibly dream. Even if his new friend had seen it as well, remembered it as he did, there still wasn't proof of the fake world.
Akira sighed, he was getting too carried away with this. It could have been as Sakamato theorized, a prank, nothing more or less. They would both end up at Shujin Academy tomorrow and they'd either prove or disprove what they thought they saw.
Which, he realized, would mean we would be back in that castle.
He and Sakamato had barely survived today, without Morgana they probably would have died.
Did he really want to risk his life again just to prove that he wasn't going crazy?
Sighing, he went about his nightly routine, which now featured turning the café lights off and locking the door.
Akira was finally in bed, exhausted but unable to sleep.
In the darkness of Leblanc's attic, he didn't feel numb at all. A surge of emotion coursed through his entire system, making his stomach churn until he was certain he was going to vomit. Then the tears came, and the disgusting noises he made while sobbing.
He was, completely and utterly, pathetic.
"Was your decision truly a mistake then?" A voice rang out, so thunderous that he thought it'd been spoken aloud, yet his breathing, if he didn't count how loudly his heart was beating, seemed to be the only noise in the room.
"Do you regret forging our contract?" Instantly, he knew that the voice belonged to Arsene, his persona, his other half from the fake world.
Akira considered his answer. It was true that he saved that woman from an ill fate, as well as saving Sakamato and himself, as well as Morgana, from Kamoshida. Did he regret it? Should he have done nothing? Should he forfeit his life to those in charge?
Arsene's presence illuminated parts of him that he'd never knew existed, granting him the gift of courage, or rebellion.
No. He didn't—couldn't regret it. Even if he went back in time, he would still make the same decisions. He'd save that woman, and Sakamato, and Morgana. Akira would save himself, but he needed Arsene to do it.
I don't regret it, he thought loudly, if that was possible.
Arsene chuckled, something deep and sinister, before continuing, "Excellent. My other half isn't as weak as I thought!"
It should have been obvious yet, the news that he was Arsene's other half and having it confirmed was slightly shocking. Belonging welled within him at the reply, mocking as it might have been.
Arsene's presence in the real world, albeit only in his head, all but confirmed that either the fake world was real or that he was going crazy. He supposed, to other people at least, that it shouldn't make him happy, that his moment of weakness and vulnerability should shatter so easily into contentedness upon hearing a voice inside of his head, but that's what he felt.
Akira fell asleep feeling somewhat happy.
He woke up earlier than he felt he should, and without the aid of an alarm, which was definitely strange, though a lot of strange things had been happening to him recently, and he couldn't discount waking up without an alarm as nothing.
Before he could sit up all the way, a grating voice called out to him, echoing off the walls that most certainly didn't belong to Leblanc's attic.
"It's about time you came to!" The statement followed by a loud clank, undeniably metal striking metal and it made his skin crawl.
"On your feet, inmate!" The same voice called, even louder than before.
Akira did as instructed, scooting off the edge of his bed and managing to find himself on his feet only to be struck with a very heavy sense of déjà vu.
The bars in front of him, as he approached them, reminded him of the one's found in the fake world's castle, as well as the lighting, but the atmosphere was distinctly different, but not something he could put his finger on.
"Our master wishes to speak with you. It's for your own sake that you take his words to heart." A different, less grating voice called. Akira glanced down, towards the source of the voice.
The twins!
He recalled this place once more, the previous speech he'd gotten about impending ruin but it was mostly a blur now.
Akira's attention was drawn to the desk in the center of the room, then towards the man behind said desk as he began speaking, "First off," The man said, sounding pleased, though only slightly. "Let us celebrate our reunion."
The man behind the desk froze for a moment, then brightened further, "Oh… You've awakened to your powers. And quite special ones at that."
Akira wasn't sure how to respond, he wasn't exactly able to measure special powers from non-special ones. Instead, he nodded briefly and didn't stare at the man's obscenely large nose.
"Your rehabilitation can finally begin." That too was a vague memory he possessed from his previous dream. The man cleared his throat, "You will be training the power of persona, of which you have already awakened to."
Training?
Igor continued, mindless to his confusion, "Personas are, in other words, a mask—an armor of the heart when confronting worldly matters."
Akira blinked.
Again, the man continued, "I have high expectations of you."
Well, that's a first.
"Is it safe to assume you are accustom to the Metaverse Navigator?"
His sleep deprived mind blanked, he had, in other words, no idea what that meant.
He shook his head, hoping his confusion was now evident, and wouldn't be ignored.
The man blinked rapidly in response.
"I see." Suddenly, the man's stillness was no more, and with a wave of his gloved hands, a block appeared between what was once empty space. It floated calmly above the man's hands until finally Akira recognized the device for what it was.
A replica of his cell phone, the red eye glowing starkly in the dim light of the room they occupied.
"This application," The term was obviously, even to Akira, not in the man's vocabulary previous to this moment. "Allows you to travel between the real world and palaces."
Akira was awestruck once more. He'd been handed more proof of the existence of the fake world! Unfortunately, all of said evidence occurred in dreams or from voices in his head.
"It will aid you in your rehabilitation, as well as train you to be a thief." The figure continued, voice still lulling Akira's half-dead brain.
Thief?
Suddenly, the twins turned appeared from wherever they'd been, and starting yelling at him once again.
"The Metaverse Navigator is a present from our master! You better take care in using it, inmate!"
"Devote yourself to your training so that you may become a fine thief."
Again, he couldn't help his confusion at the word thief. What was he supposed to be stealing in the fake world?
The man behind the desk starting speaking again, continuing as if he hadn't been interrupted by two loud little girls.
"It must be… disheartening to make use the Metaverse Navigator alone. Should there be others who would prove beneficial to you, I will grant it to them as well."
The man before him extended an arm towards him, inviting him forward as if Akira weren't stuck behind a set of bars, "This is all for you to grow as an excellent thief. Now, be gone!"
His vision swam, twisting the vision before him into nothing but darkness.
Akira woke, startled into consciousness, once again, by an overwhelming sense of unease, but when he opened his eyes and sat up, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Rain could be heard from outside, though it wasn't as heavy as it had been the day before, fortunately. Akira watched endless droplets cascade down the dusty panes of Leblanc's attic window and, once again, tried to make sense of his existence. The dream, if that's what it could be called, gave him a goal. Someone had high expectations for him, expectations to become a great thief. He didn't understand why, though; nor what that had to do with the fake world or the Metaverse Navigator. More importantly, what would become of him if he failed to meet those expectations? The ruin that the previous dream mentioned?
Fortunately, it wasn't too early for him to start getting ready and Akira was grateful for something to think about besides the fake world and all of its implications. He lost himself in the menial tasks he usually took for granted. The teen lint-rolled his uniform, tried his best to straighten the seams and even attempted to comb his hair! The last one to no avail, unfortunately, but by the time his frustration forced him to stop the café was filled with the scent of coffee and curry. Akira grabbed his school bag, trying his best to ignore the irritating weight of the whiteboard within it, as well as an umbrella; he would not be caught in the rain and lead into a creepy alley to discover another creepy castle, not today!
He waved at Sakura-san on his way out, Sakura-san grunted at him in return from behind a cigarette and reminded him to flip the sign. Akira did as he was told and cast forth his umbrella; the walk to the train station was moist, but uneventful. It didn't stay that way, of course, the closer the train seemed to get to the epicenter of the city, the more people felt the need to almost jab his eye out with their umbrellas, then act as if it was his fault for being in the path of said umbrella.
Akira was certain at this point that he wouldn't be able to manage a year of Tokyo public transportation; but according to the buzz of rumors spreading around the aluminum prison, that may hold some truth. Mental breakdowns, it seemed, were becoming quite common across Tokyo, causing many, many accidents, including train collisions. He shuddered to think what that might feel like. Two high-speed objects colliding head on at already neck-breaking speeds.
Shujin Academy also held its share of rumors. Much less catastrophic in scale, but no less painful to hear, however; whispers about the delinquent followed him through the halls, up the stairs, and even into the classroom. It did take him, regrettably, until he was in the doorway to his destination that Akira realized that all these rumors were about him, and not a series of delinquents!
"I heard he only talks to people he's about to kill, that way it's the last thing they hear." A girl, whispered, conspicuously eyeing him as he made his way towards his assigned seat.
"…Is his voice nice though?" The recipient of the not-at-all subtle gossip asked, looking perplexed and also shooting him a look, which Akira attempted to ignore along with the burning in his cheeks. He was not often—never the core of any form of gossip, good or bad.
He didn't hear the reply to the inquiry, the girls now speaking much more quietly, possibly due to the crowd of eager ears they were starting to draw or so that if he, Akira, were to overhear, he wouldn't murder them.
In front of him, an almost explosive sigh turned growl was released; Akira jumped in his seat, but only a little.
To his surprise, though it really shouldn't have been, Takamaki was sitting in front of him, glaring at the other side of the room where a group of students was eating up whatever gossip they could get their hands, or ears rather, on.
Takamaki seemed to have noticed his staring and craned her torso to face him; her face contorted immediately upon doing so, looking much friendlier but no less relaxed than when her gaze was on the crowd of gossipers.
"So, you're friends with Ryuji, right?" Takamaki asked after another terse moment of her studying him and Akira studying the floor. The question, if nothing else, took him by surprise.
Are we friends? The other boy had offered his given name so readily, though Akira was reluctant to use it, would that not make them friends? Though, he considered, it could be a city thing. Kawakami introduced him as his family name, not even bothering with his given name, so he was reluctant to accept that as truth. Takamaki also referred to Sakamato by his given name, it could be, he surmised, that Sakamato just preferred his given name to his family name. Akira understood the sentiment well enough.
"Uh… hello?" Takamaki voiced, sounding agitated. "You're not deaf too, are you?"
Akira, if he could, would have snickered. Yesterday's run-in and subsequent manipulation of the police filled him with joy.
He pulled out his whiteboard from his bag and set it flat against his desk before beginning to write. His penmanship had not improved overnight, it seemed.
I am not deaf.
Yes, I know Sakamato-san.
Before he consider a revision, one in which he did not use formal language in a moment of panic and thinly-veiled deceit. What did it actually matter if Takamaki knew he was pals with Sakamato? The blonde took the liberty of erasing the board for him.
"So…" Takamaki began, only to be interrupted with a teacher, one Akira hadn't met considering his first day at school was one period long. The girl in front of him growled something under his breath, then turned back in her seat, facing forward. Akira was left confused with the whole interaction, which was becoming quite frequent in the two days he's been in the city.
At the front of the room, the teacher sneered at all of them, holding the expression long enough for Akira to wonder if that was just his natural facial expression.
"I'm Ushimaru-sensei, the social studies teacher; it's my misfortune to teach you kids the rules of society this year."
Out of all the rude teachers he'd had, and he'd had a lot considering he was unable to verbally participate in class, something teachers loved to torture people with, Ushimaru-sensei had to be the rudest, blatantly so.
Ushimaru-sensei's sneer turned into a scowl, "You all look like spoiled children." There was an outbreak of shocked gasps across the classroom, clearly a rude teacher was uncommon in Shujin.
"Before we learn the rules of society, maybe I should teach you all the rules for being a decent human being— Hey, transfer student!" Akira's heart froze.
Was I breathing too loudly? He wondered, attempting to calculate why he'd been singled out all of a sudden as he took to his feet.
"The Greek philosopher, Plato, divided the human soul into three parts. What are they?"
It was only through the grace of god that Akira actually knew the answer, of that he was certain. Keeping his face as inoffensive as possible, he grabbed the whiteboard from his desk and began to write his answer, only to be interrupted by the individual who'd asked the question.
"I asked you a question!" Ushimaru-sensei snapped. Murmurs broke across the class room only to be silenced in the next instant with a loud, "Quiet!" from the instructor.
"…Huh?" The instructed stated brilliantly as Akira flipped the instrument around, revealing his answer, which was, to his memory, correct. There was more murmuring, this time, however, it was the instructor before them doing so as he read Akira's answer.
"Hm." Ushimaru-sensei grunted after a moment, "You're the kid who doesn't talk, then?" Akira nodded dutifully. "At least you're not stupid, also." The man laughed, and continued doing so for a long moment in which Akira took his seat and wiped off his board with his sleeve; thankfully, both the sleeve and the ink in the marker were black.
Ushimaru-sensei continued to send demanding questions around the room for the remainder of the period, fortunately none of these questions were sent towards him. Be it bias or just forgetting that he existed, Akira knew not, nor did he care too much for the answer.
The rest of his second, though Akira wondered if he should count it as his first, day at school continued in much of the same manner. None of the other instructors were as rude as Ushimaru-sensei, which he supposed was a blessing.
Exiting the classroom left him frozen though, not even two meters in front of him was the ruler of the fake world, though his skin was considerably more human, his presence was no less intimidating or unsettling.
Kamoshida towered over Takamaki, who has by no means a short girl, even in Japanese standards. The blonde could, without a doubt, smell the breath of the teacher as he all but whispered into her ear. The action looked incredibly… intimate for a school hallway. The man laughed at something he had said and Akira watched his giant shoulders shake in doing so; Kamoshida held an intimidating physique that his fake world counterpart seemed to lack.
It was then that Takamaki noticed him staring at them.
"Oh! Uh… Kakaru-kun!" Akira blinked.
Kakaru?
Takamaki, with surprising grace, escaped the hold that Kamoshida had on her shoulders and sidled over to him. "I did not mean to keep you waiting!" She said, loudly, right into his face, while winking, with both eyes, repeatedly. Over her shoulder, Kamoshida crossed his arms, looking very, very annoyed.
"Let us get going, then! I completely forgot that we had made those plans to do… that! Together! You and I, Kakaru-kun." Akira was at a loss; he had, sort of, an inkling of what was occurring, yet could not suppress the wince that occurred during Takamaki's overzealous acting.
The blonde latched onto his arm and before he, or his legs, could realize it, Takamaki was dragging him down the stairs and towards the entrance. Kamoshida's presence, or odor, he wasn't sure which, followed them to the school gates.
His arm, which had lost circulating during their decent, was finally released and Akira massaged it lightly as Takamaki continued to lead him away from the Shujin campus, though, he supposed at this point, he was just following her.
In unison, they leaned against a stone wall that was far enough away that Kamoshida wouldn't follow them, either at the risk of looking creepy or that he had other things to do.
"Thank you, by the way." Takamaki said before promptly bursting into tears.
Akira, despite often being compared to one at his old school, did not have a lot of experience with females or their temperaments. He ended up staring at the blonde as she continued to cry, which was neither helpful nor unhelpful, but at least he wasn't doing anything wrong! To his relief, the tears eventually subsided.
"Sorry… I just—" Just as suddenly as Takamaki had begun crying, she began laughing! It was odd, hearing such a light-hearted sound coming from someone who had wet tears still on their face, yet Akira found it quite charming. Odd, obviously, but charming. The blonde's laugh, much like her crying fit, did not last long. After a moment of gathering her composure, she turned to him, only to begin laughing again. It was the same sound, yet he couldn't help but feel she was laughing at him at this point. His cheeks flushed in frustration; this near complete stranger drags him into an alley just to laugh at him! "Your face! Oh my god!" Takamaki cackled and snorted and Akira had had enough. Spinning on his heel, he began to stride away, trying to stop cursing the girl in his head because people like her weren't worth the effort.
Before he could make his escape however, Takamaki latched onto his arm once again. While the girl was by no means short, he was certain enough that he was stronger! With that, he gave a mighty tug to his ensnared arm only to find that it wouldn't budge from her grip. Sighing, he gave it another tug, attempting to utilize the strength of all his muscles, yet the result remained the same. Takamaki was still firmly attached to his bicep.
"Seriously," Takamaki began, sounding sober now, "I didn't mean to laugh at you. Just your face looked so scared! Like you've never seen a girl cry before." Spitefully, Akira tried to recall all the times he had seen a girl cry before, only to come up blank. He shrugged in response, feeling incredibly embarrassed still. "Still, I shouldn't be laughing at you, you did save me from Kamoshida just then." Again, Akira shrugged.
"At least let me say thank you!" She whined, tugging on his arm until he was forced to turn around, something he was also currently embarrassed about. With not much of a choice, he abided, and waited for his thanks.
Takamaki stared at him, looking like she was also waiting.
"Well?" The girl said after a long moment.
Well? Akira thought in response, utterly confused.
"Teach me!" His guard was up instantly after that. For all he knew, Takamaki could be a spy from Principal Kobayakowa to ensure he didn't sign. That eventuality seemed unlikely, but so did a fake world existing and a smart phone being the only way to access it.
"Come on…" Takamaki whined, stamping her feet like an aggressive toddler. Akira sighed wearily. If he didn't do as requested, he doubted that his arm would be returned to him, or he'd lose the favor of the only person in his class that wasn't gossiping about him; that he knew about anyway. Takamaki's irritation with their classmates seemed genuine, but she could be an equally as fervent gossiper and hid it so she could pull a stunt like this.
He was over thinking this.
Probably.
Just as Takamaki opened her mouth to plead or yell at him, Akira went lax in her grip and nodded reluctantly. The blonde cheered, but couldn't decipher a reason why.
His arm was released, and he was now standing face to face with Takamaki.
"Thank you." He signed, chopping the back of one hand with the other and bowing slightly. Nothing to get excited about, though he supposed learning something exotic would be neat, even to city people.
Takamaki mimicked the sign decent enough. "That's thank you?" Akira nodded in response, keeping his face blank, save for his still aching cheeks; he was still wary of the girl in front of him, even if she seemed kind enough.
"Well, thank you, Kakaru-kun, for earlier, I mean, and for teaching me" Takamaki signed what she knew, all of two words, and Akira signed his thanks in return, and waved his farewell before finally exiting the alley she'd dragged him into. They walked in opposite directions, Takamaki walking further away from the school, as well as the station, and he, Akira towards them. A familiar face was lingering outside of the gates, leaning against one of the stone pillars that made up the gate to the school.
"Yo." Sakamato greeted, taking one of his hands outside of his pockets to wave at him. Akira waved in return and hastened his approach until he too was leaning against the gates to Shujin Academy.
"Saw you hangin' with Takamaki, you know her?" Akira shrugged in response, wondering if he should bother trying to write out an explanation of what the girl had wanted from him; he decided against it, it would probably only confuse Sakamato more than it confused him.
Satisfied enough, at least in Akira's perspective, the blond beside him nodded, "Anyway, I wanna talk about that castle from yesterday." The tone shifted in both the air and Sakamato's voice once it was brought up out loud. Akira glanced around, wondering if it was safe to discuss the fake world when there were still people around, people very interested in creating rumors about his voice. Sakamato's voice lowered into a husky whisper, obviously noticing the rush of people attempting to escape the school grounds, "I kept trying to tell myself it was just a dream, ya know?" Akira nodded, he wished it was a dream, but even his actual dreams confirmed its existence. That weird man told him to become a thief, and that somehow had correlated into the fake world, as well as his persona.
Still.
I think I need to go back.
"I can't act like nothin happened. It's all connected to that bastard, Kamoshida, after all." Sakamato added, disgruntled at the mention of Kamoshida, though he was the one to do so. The blond leaned in closer, and Akira could smell the food on his breath, "I wanna find out what's up with that place, no matter what. And you're the only person I can rely on for this. So, you in?"
Akira was in, without a doubt. He was just unsure if Sakamato should come, they'd nearly died the last time, without Arsene and Morgana, they definitely would have died; though, now that he thought about it, Sakamato being in danger had spurred his awakening, and the blond's quick thinking helped them just as much, if not more, than Akira himself did.
He nodded, praying for a moment that he wouldn't live to regret it.
Or not live to… not regret it.
"It was easier convincing you than myself," Sakamato chuckled, leaning back, "We should retrace our steps to find that castle again, right?" That, with the Metaverse Navigator, would most likely land them in front of the castle once again. Akira pulled out his phone and clicked on the foreboding eyeball that would, according to his dream, help them into the fake world and help him become a thief.
Return?
The question was simple enough, but he waited until they had returned to where they first met, where he'd given Ryuji the, ever charming, nickname of Blob-2. Together they made it to the alley where they had first entered the fake world. Finally, Akira gave his answer.
His head, just like it had yesterday, seemed to split open, it seemed entering the fake world caused that kind of reaction, explaining yesterday's headache as well. When Akira opened his eyes, he couldn't help but notice that his vision was partially blocked. His fingers, now gloved, ghosted over a mask that seemed to cover the entire upper half of his face, nose included. His entire attire had changed in the time it took him to blink, another byproduct of the fake world, which lead him to the conclusion that his dream was truthful.
"Huh—Woah! Those clothes." Sakamato was now gaping at him, though, to be fair, Akira would probably have a similar reaction if it were Sakamato to suddenly be clad in leather instead of… whatever it was that made their uniforms so uncomfortable. "That happened last time too." The blond tacked on, confused as Akira as to why his clothes changed when he entered the fake world.
"And the castle is here! It is real." Sakamato noticed, gazing up at the impossible structure. Akira stared at the blackened sky, thoroughly uncomfortable, there was neither sun nor moon, no indication that time was passing in the fake world, yet time did seem to pass. He was pulled from staring at the oddity that was the ceiling of this world when Sakamato made another noise from beside him.
"Woah—" Only to be shushed by an unmistakable voice.
Akira glanced towards the ground and was met with the sight of Morgana, along with his giant eyes.
"What are you two doing here?" The cat screeched, despite only having told Sakamato to quiet down but a moment ago. "You barely escaped the last time you came here, why'd you bother coming back?" It questioned, clearly annoyed.
Sakamato turned to him, as if expecting him to answer the upset cat… thing. Akira shrugged in response, not really having much of an explanation, or one that sounded reasonable anyway.
"What is this place? The school?" Sakamato asked instead of answering, kicking at some rubble on the ground.
"That's right." Morgana replied, crossing its appendages over its chest.
"…But it's a castle!" Sakamato snapped in return, frustration turning his voice into a shout.
He does have a point. The school in the fake world lingered in the area the school was in the real world.
"The castle is the school, but only to the castle's ruler." Morgana replied, now also shouting.
The school turned into the castle because of the ruler? The logistics weren't, in Akira's opinion, logical in the slightest.
"The castle's ruler?" Ryuji asked, leaning down until his backside rested on his ankles as if he suddenly decided to be sneaky.
Morgana nodded his enormous head, "I think you called him Kamoshida?" Akira watched as Sakamato's entire body tensed up all the way to his fists, which had turned a pearly color.
"That bastard rules this place?" The blond asked, sending a fiery glare towards Morgana, who nodded in kind. "It's how he views the school, how his heart does, anyway." Akira nodded, not really making sense of it. Somehow, according to the cat-thing, Kamoshida was able to make a fake world because he viewed himself as a king.
Armor of the heart… His persona was made that way, could an entire world be made from the heart also? Unreal couldn't even begin to describe the situation.
Akira was pulled out his thoughts by screaming. Loud, piercing cries for help. He shuddered; clearly the king had to punish those who defied him, he wondered if he'd be one of them.
"Wh-what was that?" Sakamato stammered, staring at the castle walls with immense unease.
"Must be the slaves held captive here…" Morgana answered, looking as uncomfortable as Ryuji at the sound. "…But they're only here because Kamoshida views them that way!" The cat-thing was quick to say, tacking it on for its own benefit, though the statement did nothing to calm any of them down.
"R-right… So they're like… imaginary?" Morgana nodded fervently, its bulbous neck vibrating in the process.
"If we stop Kamoshida, they'd be freed then?" Sakamato asked once the screams quieted down to the point where they could hear each other.
Morgana tapped what was presumably its chin with its furry appendage, "That would make sense, if the ruler of the castle dies, then the entire palace would disappear."
"Woah woah woah-!" Sakamato interrupted, "I didn't say anythin' about killing him, I just meant… beat him up or somethin'."
Morgana looked up at Ryuji, clearly unimpressed, "We won't be killing him in the real world, but if we can defeat him in his palace, then the slaves would be free… because this place no longer exists."
"What do you mean, 'no longer exists'?" Sakamato demanded, repeating Morgana's words in a shrill imitation.
The cat-thing sighed, "Why bother explaining it to a moron?"
Sakamato growled, looking like he might strangle their companion.
Akira stepped forward, then, before anything bad could happen. He doubted that Morgana knew JSL, considering the thing didn't have fingers, so he attempted his best pleading look. Morgana's mouth twitched, and a sigh was released from it.
"At least someone has some sense, even if you don't talk much…" It stated before grinning, "Cat got your tongue?" Morgana jested, giving off a hearty laugh. He, very briefly, considered throwing Morgana into the moat that surrounded the castle.
"He don't talk." Sakamato said in his place, looking annoyed.
Morgana's face expressed confusion, but he continued explaining, "Er, Like I said, the school is the castle because the ruler's heart, in this case, this Kamoshida guy, views it that way. His cognition of your school caused this palace to form, and that's what causes those slaves to scream. If we can defeat the ruler of this castle, he may have a change of heart."
Akira listened to Morgana's explanation with his full attention, though half of it made little sense.
Surely more than Kamoshida thinks they're a ruler of something… Which would mean…
He tugged out his phone, while the fake world did not have internet or service, it didn't hinder the use of the keyboard.
Is there more than this castle then? Are there others?
Akira pushed the screen into Morgana's face and held it there, not sure if the cat could hold a phone, though the lack of fingers didn't stop him from wielding a sword, for some reason. Cognition, most likely.
Morgana's mouth trembled and formed a grin, "You're pretty sharp! To answer your question, yes; anyone with distorted desires can form a palace." Satisfied enough, Akira deleted the text and turned to Sakamato. The blond looked distinctly uncomfortable and was chewing on his nail in thought.
"We just gotta stop him in this world then?" Morgana nodded.
"Let's go then!"
"You're coming too, right, frizzy hair?" Akira frowned at the title, but found himself nodding.
"Then follow me!" The cat-thing ordered, before walking away from the entrance.
"The door's… right there." Sakamato commented, looking annoyed that the cat was leading them.
Morgana scoffed, "Amateurs, the first rule of phantom thievery is to never barge in the front door… you'll only attract attention to us."
Phantom… thievery… His mind echoed, recalling his peculiar dream.
"…How 'm I supposed to know that?" Sakamato snarked back, folding himself into the shaft that Morgana was able to walk through. Once Akira was in the same position, he couldn't help but feel a little envious of the cat-thing.
Morgana chortled quietly, "I'll just have to teach you two the proper way to be phantom thieves!" It proclaimed boldly, further reassuring to Akira that this was where he needed to be to fulfill the objective his dream had set up for rehabilitation. He felt a little more confident following the cat around now.
Their impromptu tour guide helped them sneak through the winding corridors of Kamoshida's castle until they landed in front of the cell where they'd locked Kamoshida up the last time they'd been here.
"Damnit…" Sakamato cursed, slamming his fists against the cell's bars, "Where is that bastard?"
"It is his castle, Ryuji, the guards would have noticed eventually that their leader was missing…" Morgana replied, its bulbous eyes glancing around the expansive dungeon. Suddenly, the cat jumped, "S-speaking of which!" A furry appendage flew up, pointing towards the other side of the room where several guards were gathering, walking uniformly across the drawbridge, their only means of escape.
"Shit!" Ryuji whispered loudly, though the sound, thankfully, was dulled by the hissing of the river that divided the room. "That's a lot of 'em… and I'm just deadweight right now." Akira would have liked to say some encouraging words, something to dispute Sakamato's claim; the blond had been just as useful in their escape as Morgana, more than Akira himself too.
They were losing time very quickly, obviously one or all of them had been spotted coming down here, resulting in the miniature army that was closing in on them. Still, they didn't have time to form a plan, Akira not able to give orders while Morgana and Ryuji were rooted in fear and aggravation respectively.
I have to do something.
Arsene's power was great, immense and supernatural, but he doubted that the being could destroy the forces before them. Sneaking was hardly a viable option, the forces had either seen or heard them, and there weren't many places to hide. Instead…
Got it!
He'd been considering sneaking or hiding, but never both together! Akira stepped to the side, tugging on Sakamato's arm and signaled him to be quiet by covering his mouth with his gloved hand. The blond stared at the glove, then at his masked face. Clear as day, Akira could see the fear and the worry in the teen's eyes; he smiled in return, albeit the smile felt incredibly fake, even as he forced as much cockiness as he could into it.
The legion of steel-garbed guards were closing in on them. They were close enough that Akira could start making out the details on their masks.
He closed his eyes, attempting to focus. Both Sakamato and Morgana made noises of worry and protest, trying to proclaim orders over the other.
Akira snapped.
Arsene's wings conjured a draft as the being, his persona, appeared. The Pillager of Twilight drifted forward, across the room in an instant, concealed by shadow. Their connected minds relayed instructions to each other; well, Akira relayed instructions, Arsene just chuckled and abided them.
The chandelier was a massive structure, rings upon rings of thick iron with candles that cast the room in an ominous, orange glow. Fortunately, for the three of them at least, it was connected to the ceiling with rope and nothing else. The rope was easily singed into nothingness by Arsene's power, the shadowy being cackled loudly, drawing the attention of the guards and pausing their insidious march. Within a second of the rope being severed, the construct had slammed into the castle's floor, punching through the stone floor as a measure of how heavy it truly was. Dark dust scattered across the dungeon like a cloud as debris splattered from the floor into the air in heavy chunks.
Akira ran, tugging Ryuji into the same motion. In long strides, they managed to slip past the distracted and coughing guards. He kept running, even when the scenery changed from dungeon to elaborate wallpaper and disturbing paintings of Kamoshida. Akira ignored all of these things, brain functioning on adrenaline alone, ignoring even Arsene's voice in his mind, only serving to vibrate his eardrums as he slammed the door closed on what he assumed was a broom closet.
Once it was clear that no guards would be swarming them in this poorly lit room, Akira allowed himself to fall to the floor gracelessly, completely exhausted.
"Dude…" Ryuji uttered, panting but still managing to stay standing, how the blond managed to do so was beyond him, yet he had little time to consider the manner before Morgana starting speaking.
"That was amazing!" The cat-thing exclaimed, letting them know that it too had managed to escape the distracted guards, though it did sound like a toddler instead of…
Maybe Morgana is a toddler in cat years or something. The feline-like thing didn't look too old, but that could just be its giant head making Akira think that way.
"You'll make a fine phantom thief yet!" Morgana continued, making Akira's heart freeze. It was the second time Morgana had mentioned thievery, in one way or another; would that mean that his strange dreams and Morgana were somehow related? "And your control over your persona was… Amazing!"
Sakamato snorted from behind Morgana before adding his own comment, "Yeah, dude. You totally saved our butts, but how'd you come up with that so fast? I mean, Monamona and I were frozen but you were all like—" Ryuji waved his arm around, looking like he was doing a dance rather than summoning a persona to save their lives.
Akira shrugged; he had no idea if the plan would actually work or not, definitely a hefty risk, but one that had paid off quite well.
The three of them lingered inside of the quiet broom closet, Akira was pretty sure he had an idea of what the other two were thinking about, the same thing he too was pondering.
How are we going to get to Kamoshida when we're this weak…
Their personas weren't weak per se, but with the number of guards that were patrolling Kamoshida's castle, they'd run out of stamina before they could even begin searching.
"Still, I—we won't be able to depend on your quick thinking if we want to take down this castle's ruler, and the guards will only get stronger the closer we get to Kamoshida." Morgana proclaimed, taking perch on a wooden stool in the corner of the room. "And to do that, we need to battle some of the guards, not as many as back there, but a few of them so you can get used to fighting; and we might learn something about their weaknesses if we do." Morgana's explanation made sense, at it fit in with what his dream had said about training the power of his persona.
"Well, if you two are going to fight… those things, then I guess I should give you this, since I can't really help." Sakamato said, casually pulling a gun from his pocket, as if that were a normal thing to do. "It's fake though, so it only makes sounds." He let out a sigh of relief but didn't take the offered item.
It could prove useful, like a smaller instance of that chandelier falling.
"It could be useful!" Morgana chirped, mimicking his thoughts, "I mean, not as it is in the real world, but we're not in the real world!"
Sakamato shot the cat-thing a deadpan look, obviously confused, much like Akira himself.
"It's like your outfit." Was the explanation, which was met by more silence from both him and Sakamato. "Er… Well, this castle is created due to Kamoshida's distorted desires, right?" Two nods, Morgana continued, "Your outfit is the same way, it's how you resist the distortions of this place, it's a manifestation of your rebellion, of your heart."
Never in Akira's life had he, or his heart for that matter, wanted to wear leather, even if the ensemble was pretty—really cool. Still, he took Morgana's explanation for truth.
"Does that mean your heart makes you a cat?" Sakamato asked after the explanation.
Morgana growled, "I am not a cat!" It spouted from its weird cat mouth, "I… I lost my true form, and I'm trying to get it back, or I was until Kamoshida captured and tortured me!" He felt bad for Morgana, of being suspicious of it, it was a victim, just like the Sakamato and himself.
"Sorry," Morgana offered, though he had nothing to apologize for, Akira would have lost his temper too if he'd been tortured, maybe not at being accused for a cat though, "Anyways… If your cognition believes it's a gun, it'll act and fire like one too." He couldn't help but wonder what else the fake world had to offer, he imagined it was only as limited to their cognition…
For Kamoshida's entire cognition to become this castle…
"We should get going now, I think the guards have lowered their suspicions." Akira nodded in agreement, though he didn't feel fully prepared to go looking for trouble, doubted that he would ever be, really.
Morgana decided to lead the way, easing them along the confusing hallways until it stopped beside a corner, it beckoned them closer with a wave of its paw until they were all face to face, "If you can sneak up behind that guard," Morgana peered around the corner, gesturing at a still suit of armor that was facing away from them, "Rip its mask off, it'll lower Kamoshida's control over it—effectively weakening it." Akira nodded before letting out a deep breath.
Then he pounced.
The armor toppled, then disappeared into nothing, leaving two disgruntled enemies in front of him, which turned into them as Morgana leapt beside him.
Akira pulled out Sakamato's gun, it was light, as plastic often is, and felt strange to hold, the same way Arsene's knife felt. Dangerous. He ignored the shaking that his arm was producing and aimed the toy towards the closer of the two things.
Just believe it's real…
He fired.
The thing, which had been a miniature person with wings, exploded beneath the impact of the bullet, sending it flying several meters before turning into ashes.
"Holy shit!" Sakamato whispered from around the corner.
Feeling more confident, he swiveled the gun to the other beast. It was shaking as much as his arm was.
"P-p-please don't kill me!" The floating pumpkin stammered, startling all of them and causing Ryuji to let out another, "Holy shit!"
"Ignore it and fire!" Morgana commanded, winding up his sword to slice the poor thing in half.
"W-w-w-wait!" It cried, mysterious liquid seeping out of all the holes that made up its face. Akira cringed. "I c-can give you my p-power!" It reasoned, extending its appendage towards him.
The thing faded into nothingness as Morgana swept its blade over where the beast had just existed.
"What the…" Sakamato whispered, watching in awe as the monster flew into Akira's mask, causing the teen to jerk.
"Teehee, I'm a part of you now!" A voice called, but not out loud… from inside of him.
Arsene sighed wearily, also inside of his head. "It seems you've acquired another persona." The Pillager noticed, sounding bitter, though Akira couldn't decipher why.
"Dude!" Sakamato yelled, somehow managing to get in front of him without Akira noticing. "You absorbed that thing!"
"Did you really manage to absorb its power?" Morgana asked, staring at him in the same way Sakamato currently was.
"Go ahead, master! Try out my abilities!" Akira closed his eyes, drawing focus, then snapped at an unsavory painting of Kamoshida. The canvas caught aflame, like Akira knew it would, yet these flames didn't hold the same darkness that Arsene's did, they looked for all purposes like normal fire. Morgana also seemed to notice the difference.
"Amazing! So you have the power to hold more than one persona?" The cat asked, staring at the orange flame as it quickly consumed the entire portrait. "This could be useful…" Morgana muttered, "Let's continue then." The cat said, sounding more confident than before.
Together, they walked through the landscape of Kamoshida's desires, wandering through various rooms that somehow lowered Akira's already abysmal opinion of the man; Sakamato held the same reaction, though more amplified, justifiably so because he actually knew the victims; all the students he's abused, verbally and physically, and all of the girls… Akira didn't want to think about those.
Takamaki was a prominent theme in Kamoshida's castle, alters and paintings to his classmate were scattered across the castle almost as frequently as Kamoshida himself was. She was even listed as his queen, though that title, according to a rather thick tome that Ryuji had discovered, was held by many, many students. Sakamato's name came up also, fortunately in a different book, entitled Slaves, though this one, according to the blond, was just a list of names of all of Shujin's athletes, former and current. Of course, queens and slaves were nothing without their… King. All of Kamoshida's misdoings were written with gratuitous amounts of exaggeration and hyperbole, and was, quite frankly, disturbing. Akira was horrified to think anyone, even Kamoshida, could view manipulating students as a good thing, something to be praised about, even. He felt like vomiting over the leather cover.
Unfortunately, the three artifacts, all accounts of Kamoshida's abuse and scummy activities, were required to reveal a hidden room inside of Kamoshida's library. He just prayed there was nothing even worse inside of a room meant to keep others out.
The three of them entered the chamber hidden behind the library walls, Akira was certain he wasn't the only one feeling the need to bathe. The room itself was quite small, but what it lacked in space made up for in disturbing images, actual images. Some girl with dark hair and a lot of bruises covering her slender body. He'd been expecting Takamaki, if anything, but clearly Kamoshida wanted to keep this girl a secret.
"Suzui…" Sakamato rasped out, trudging up to the wall of pictures and examining each of them. "That bastard!" The blond screeched, sending his fist into the frame that had been taken inside of a locker room. Akira shuddered, the nausea from before returning in full force.
He had skipped lunch, so the meager contents of his stomach came up swiftly. His throat burned, along with his eyes. The fluids splattered noisily on the ground, staining the marble floors of the castle.
Akira stepped out of the chamber and took a seat in the library, keeping his back to the disturbing images that lingered behind him.
Minutes later, Sakamato and Morgana exited the chamber as well, Akira listened for the sliding wall to close before he could urge himself to turn around.
Sakamato was looking at the ground, looking pent up. His bleeding fist did not go unnoticed.
Morgana looked up at him sadly, "W-we found these, so we should be able to find out where Kamoshida is hiding." The cat said, lifting up a map as well as a gold medal. Akira looked at the disc, Morgana tinkered with it carefully, "It seemed important, nobody locks something away if it's not important." Akira shrugged, feeling dirty and numb, but also infuriated and disgusted.
"I think you two should leave… for today at least." Morgana said, storing the items in a pouch Akira hadn't noticed it had.
"But we haven't caught up to Kamoshida!" Sakamato shouted, making him flinch, "That bastard needs to pay!"
"I understand that!" Morgana replied, now also shouting, "But look at him! He's too shook up to continue, and… I can't do this alone."
Akira flushed from the neck up, mortified that he, despite his strength, despite having these abilities, was the one slowing them down.
Sakamato looked at him, anger and frustration swiftly morphed into pity, Akira couldn't stand it. The blond sighed, "Y-yeah… I guess you're right." Akira wanted to dispute, to continue their journey but… the fight had left him after seeing that, seeing how much of a complete monster Kamoshida was.
"I'll take you two back to the entrance, and you can come back tomorrow, got it?" Sakamato mumbled something in response that Akira didn't bother listening to. He just nodded in Morgana's direction and began following the cat when it set off.
He'd consider the facts, as much as he could through his confusion, and the signs had all been there, but to actually see the evidence, actual evidence, of something so vile. He wanted to throw up again.
Before he even realized it, his feet had carried him to the entrance hall, Morgana silently leading the two of them towards the exit. Only for the exit, as well as the entire room, to be swarmed in a symphony of armor as they approached.
"Sakamato… and you!" A voice snapped. Akira twisted his head and spotted Kamoshida through his entourage of guards, the teacher was glaring down at them with flaxen eyes, a smug sneer stretching his lips. "To think you'd come back, how far the star of the track team has fallen." The king taunted, a menacing chuckle followed the jape.
Track team? It did explain what Sakamato's name was doing in that book…
"Wh-what the hell are you getting at?" The blond shouted in rebuttal, minding the guards as they slowly started to swarm the three of them.
"Oh," The man, if Akira could even call him that, smirked, "I can only imagine the pain of the others who were dragged under because of your selfish acts…"
He could hear Ryuji's teeth grinding together, he just hoped the other boy wouldn't act rashly and get them all sent to execution, but he had a feeling that that would happen regardless of what the blond said.
"And what of your mother? Is she still disappointed at the scum her son has become?" With that, one of the guards shoved the blond to the ground, Akira was quick to receive the same treatment. Morgana, however, seemed to had gone unnoticed and was quick to summon Zorro to dispatch the guards that were starting to crush them, only for the circle of armor to grow tighter, more and more of the beasts surrounding them, all braying their praise to the glorious Kamoshida.
Akira, along with Morgana, attempted to protect themselves and Ryuji, but as each suit of armor fell, another replaced it, more frantic than the last until finally…
"Kill them!" Kamoshida shouted, annoyed with their attempt at a fight.
"…I can't… move!" Morgana shouted from beneath the foot of a looming soldier. Akira was much in the same position, mind too frazzled to summon a persona and his entire body being constricted by supernatural strength.
Akira gazed between the faces of his companions, Ryuji was glaring at Kamoshida silently, but caught his managed to catch his gaze once there was a sword propping his chin up.
"D-dude!" The blond shouted from the wrong end of a sword.
I'm sorry… Akira mouthed, transfixed in the helplessness in Ryuji's expression.
"Ryuji!" Morgana shouted from the ground, a sword centimeters from puncturing his frail neck. "You can fight this!" The cat shouted, loud enough that it echoed around the entrance hall despite being half squished by one of Kamoshida's guards.
Ryuji glanced over at him once more once there was a sword under his neck as well.
Akira knew this was the end, there was no hope left, and he wasn't strong enough to… do anything. Tears, for the second time in two days, leaked down his face, despite how numb everything felt, he was still saddened by the prospect of his imminent demise.
"NO!"
Then it all turned blue.
Flames whipped around the entire room, the roaring hiss only amplified by the screaming that was coming from the epicenter of the chaos.
In front of him…
Ryuji was awakening his persona.
