Hello everyone. Thanks for the wonderful reviews, it means a lot. Before we start, I'd like to mention a few things. First, last chapter I accidentally wrote Mrs instead of Ms Kawakami. That's been fixed. And second, it actually never clicked that Leblanc never had a shower. I knew there was a bathhouse, but in my mind I thought Akira goes there to relax not to actually bathe. My bad on that. Anyway, let's continue.
Class had ended and Ryuji had asked her to meet him on the roof.
So why on earth am I walking around with Mr. Kamoshida?
To answer her own question, he had sprang up on her moments after she had spoken to Ryuji. He was pushy man and with zero guts, she was roped into following him. He had a bright smile and seemed to enjoy showing her the numerous classrooms.
Yet she couldn't shake of the unsettling vibe she got from him.
"And this is the gym office. If you ever need to speak to me privately don't hesitate to come speak to me. I'm usually here during the day."
"Alright, thank you."
Kamoshida sighed and rested his arm on her shoulders. She imediately tensed.
"You seem anxious. Are you alright?"
You know the answer to that already.
"I'm sorry, but I need to go home. Sojiro is waiting for me." She said quickly.
"Ah, of course. We can finish this another time." He said with a grin.
She nodded and walked away as fast as she could, but not fast enough to alert him. He watched her disappear down the hall then the stairs. His grin morphed into a scowl.
"Tch!"
Within a second, the scowl was a smile once more. The pretty blonde haired girl had just stepped out her classroom. The gym teacher strolled up to her, despite seeing her face plagued with discomfort.
Akira didn't mean to eavesdrop, but she was calming herself in the stairwell. How could she not overhear?
This teacher is so sketchy...
By the time the conversation ended, the blonde had left and Kamoshida looked pissed. He soon left as well, and Akira snuck up the stairs to the roof. The door was unlocked, undoubtedly by Ryuji.
When she energed from the door, she saw Ryuji casually sitting on a chair. When she approached, he didn't hesitate to start the conversation.
"Sorry 'bout calling you up here. I bet Kawakami already warned you not to get involved with me."
He wasn't wrong. It was blatantly obvious she didn't like him much. The teacher had gone out of her way to openly state it after all.
"She thinks you're trouble."
That made him grin.
"Looks like we're in the same boat. I heard you got a criminal record. Everyone's talkin' about it."
She cringed. She had heard several whispers, but the whole school knowing was news to her.
How did they find out?
Did a teacher mention it?
Ryuji didn't seem to notice her in thought and went on. It seemed the idea of the school being a castle and almost getting killed wasn't easy for him to believe.
"It wasn't a dream...right? You remember it too, yeah?"
She did. And there was no way it could be a dream.
"I mean, dream or not, you saved me from Kamoshida. So thanks Akira."
It warmed her heart when he thanked her, to the point where she was blushing in embarrassment. But thinking back to watching Ryuji almost die struck fear in her. She glanced at his face.
At the castle, he was covered in bruises... but now there's nothing.
"Your welcome." She said quietly, looking away from him.
He grinned at her reaction, but returned to a serious tone once he began to speak of the strange Kamoshida from that world. Apparently, he has rumors floating around too. Unfortunately, no one speaks up due to making the volleyball team get to nationals, and the fact that he's a medalist.
"...I wonder if we could go back there..?"
Akira stared at him blankly.
How could he want to go back after all that happened?
Her thoughts drifted to Arsene and the power she felt, fighting against the monstrosities of the castle. She decided not to comment, leaving them in silence. This all was too confusing.
"Ugh! It had to be a dream! That's it!"
Ryuji stood and sighed. He glanced at her, standing there silently. He suddenly felt bad for holding her up. Everyone already thought bad of both of them. Last thing he wanted was making her reputation sink lower than his-especially since people might start even more rumors relating to both of them. If not for everyone knowing about her records, she might've passed off as a shy and cute girl.
Too bad she was already involved in whatever that strange Kamoshida is up to. Can't ditch her now.
"Sorry for dragging you up here. That's all I had to say."
She nodded and shifted her bag onto her shoulder.
"You know, we may be pretty similar. I feel as if we'll get along as 'troublemakers'."
She pouted a little, not wanting to be remembered as a troublemaker. He grinned at her and made his way to the door.
"I'll come talk to you from now on. Don't ignore me, alright?"
She nodded and he left with a see ya. She left soon after him and made her way back to Leblanc. As soon as she walked into the cafe, she could already see Sojiro's face.
He was pissed.
The door shut behind her, and he gave her an earfull. The school ended up calling him about her missing the first couple periods of class. She offered an apology, but the damage was already done. He looked disappointed and reminded her of the risks and consequences she could face. A phone call let her off the hook for a little. The person on the other side seemed to calm him a bit, prodding a small smile onto his face.
A girlfriend?
However, he didn't seem to enjoy Akira overhearing him. His gaze was all she needed to know he was sending her to bed. She would come back down after he left to make sure things were locked and secure.
By the time Sojiro left and she changed, she felt exhausted.
Maybe it's because all that weird stuff happened?
It most definitely was.
She curled up underneath her covers and closed her eyes.
-TAKE YOUR TIME-
Akira groaned and rubbed her head as she sat up.
Why does Igor feel the need to talk to me practically every night?
This annoyed her, but she couldn't help but be curious of the strange place. He had told her that she could finally start her rehabilitation due to awakening to her power. Igor told her about her Persona in vague terms, and when she pressed for more information, he withheld it.
Honestly, the only thing she was certain of was who sent her the strange app. Igor called it the Metaverse, so that was one mystery solved.
Only about a million more to figure out...
She clamored out of bed and began to ready herself for school. Sojiro provided her with another wonderful breakfast, accompanied by stern looks and a severe warning to attend all classes today.
"It's raining this morning, so don't forget your umbrella."
Akira nodded and obediently followed his instructions. She stepped outside and changed the sign to open, then went off.
As always, the train ride was tight and horrendous. The people within her vicinity were talking about the latest subway accident, much to her displeasure. Why anyone would talk about such an accident as they were riding a train was beyond her.
They went on about people losing their minds and such. Luckily, the train stopped so she could push her way out of the crowd and onto the platform.
The rest of the walk was uneventful; however she didn't catch a glimpse of Ryuji yet. The school seemed to be the same as well.
But what about that castle?
She shook her head and went on to class. The pretty blonde haired girl was there already, but her face radiated with hostility. Akira sat behind her silently, staring out the window as class went on. One of her teachers called on her, but she managed to scrape by and guessed correctly.
The school day droned on, but eventually it did end. She waited until majority of the class left before getting up to leave. She had a feeling Mr. Kamoshida might be around.
Her feeling was right.
There he was, a few steps away from her class. Fortunately, his focus was not on her. Unfortunately, it seemed he was harrassing the blonde girl again. The pair didn't notice her standing there idle. Eavesdropping is a bad habit to have, but she did it nonetheless.
He offered her another ride, and just like last time she declined. As their conversation drew to a close, Akira swore she saw a scowl on his face.
So her name is Takamaki...
Kamoshida left so the coast was clear for Akira to head back. As she stepped out of the gates, a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her away.
She almost screamed if she hadn't seen the goofy smile on Ryuji's face.
"Yo."
"You waited to scare me half to death?" She said, glaring at him.
"No, I wanna talk about tha castle from yesterday."
His expression became serious as he went on.
"I tried tellin' myself it was a dream...but I couldn't. I can't act like nothing happened, and it's all connected to that bastard Kamoshida."
Akira remained silent, but saw anger brewing within her friend.
"I wanna find out what's up with that place, no matter what. And ya know, you're the only person I can rely on for this stuff. So, you in?"
Akira hesitated for a moment. To be frank, the castle had terrified her. The only reason they made it out was thanks to Morgana and her strange powers.
But at the same time, having that power was like a rush. Like she was invincible. There was also no way she'd let Ryuji go in alone.
"Ok, I'm in."
"Sweet! Looks like I managed to talk you into it."
She gave him another look but nodded anyway.
"So what's next?"
"I think we should just try and retrace our steps from yesterday."
And that they did. As they walked together, he told her to speak up if she saw anything remotely strange.
He really isn't a bad guy. I guess I'll just go with it.
He led her to the street they originally met on, down the back alley, and returned to a normal Shujin Academy. Nothing had changed and there wasn't a single castle in sight. The revelation seemed to confuse Ryuji, but he showed no signs of giving up.
They decided to try again, but the conclusion was the same. No castle.
"For real?" Ryuji sighed.
There was no logic to explain what was going on. No map had the castle on it. Ryuji had even checked his phone, but no dice. The two were back to square one.
"Wait. Phone..."
"Huh?"
"That reminds me, didn't you have some kind of navigation app on your phone?"
She gave him a blank look.
"Navigation app?"
He shrugged and held his hand out.
"I dunno if it was or not, but I heard stuff that sounded like it coming from it."
Now that he mentioned it, she did remember her phone saying weird stuff when they escaped the castle.
I'm pretty sure it said welcome back to the real world.
Ryuji's hand was still out, so she handed her phone over to him. He face broke into a grin as he looked at her apps. A chuckle escaped from his lips, followed by full blown laughter.
"What's so funny?"
He struggled to breathe as he continued to laugh. After a moment, he took a breath and pointed to an app on her screen.
"You play Neko Atsume: Kitty Collector!"
Her face burned as he doubled over.
"Shut up, it's a cute game! Just look for the damn navigation app!"
"Alright, alright..."
"There's nothing wrong with collecting and caring for cats on my phone!"
"Whatever you say~"
He grinned and focused on finding the navigation app. Honestly, he had the same game on his phone, but seeing Akira get flustered was too cute of a moment to pass up. He frowned at a strange red app.
"What's this eyeball thing?"
"It just appeared. I keep deleting it but it keeps coming back."
"Creepy... What a weird app."
Akira nodded and peered over his shoulder, watching as he fiddled with the app.
"Oh wait, this is it! I knew it-it IS a navigation app! It even has your search history."
He grinned triumphantly at her.
"Oh man, I'm such a genius! Let's try it out!"
"I don't know about this..."
Ryuji shrugged and started up the app anyway.
"Why? All we're is starting the app."
Her phone buzzed.
Kamoshida...
Shujin Academy...
Pervert Castle...
Beginning Navigation.
The world itself seemed to shift and darken.
"What the hell!?"
The eye clouded her phone screen, buzzing and glowing. The school warped before their eyes eventually becoming the castle from the day before. Ryuji had already ran towards the entrance so Akira followed suit.
"It's back.. So that means everything that happened yesterday was real.." Ryuji said.
He turned and jumped at the sight of Akira.
"..Those clothes!"
She blinked and looked at herself. There wasn't any threat so why the change? Although, she did enjoy the outfit to the point of doing a little flamboyant twirl.
"What's with that outfit?"
She flashed a grin at him.
Payback time.
"Looks pretty hot on me right?"
"W-What!? No!"
He looked away as Akira giggled.
"What the hell is going on?"
-TAKE YOUR TIME-
Before they knew it, once again they were travelling and exploring the depths of Kamoshida's Castle. During said exploration, Akira noticed a few things.
One. Hate didn't begin to cover how Ryuji felt about Kamoshida.
Two. Ryuji ran in a somewhat strange fashion.
Three. A fake gun can shoot real bullets in this world.
And four. Kamoshida wasn't only an asshole, but an abusive asshole.
The things they found in the training hall were truly disturbing. Soldiers beating his own players, forcing them to keep working without breaks, and even attacking them with volleyballs. The hall was dark and radiated a somewhat sinister yet terrifying atmosphere.
"The hell? This ain't training at all...just violence!"
This is sick
Ryuji stared intently at each passing cage, memorizing the faces of the injured students.
"This is bullshit! How is he gettin' away with this!?"
Good question.
"Hey, are you done yet? We're cutting it close!" Morgana asked.
Ryuji ignored him, but attempted to hasten his work. Once done, they hurried out of the hall.
"Hurry! We need to get out of here quick!"
They escaped the hall unscaved, but it wasn't like that for long. They had overstayed their welcome, and now it seemed the shadows knew of their presence.
"Tch! We stayed too long. Come on, we gotta get out of here!" The cat whispered.
The group crept quietly out of the area. Morgana knew where the exit was so the cat led them up stairs, stopping in a lavish room of red carpeting and extravagant chandeliers.
Before them was Kamoshida himself, along with several guards. He walked towards them, anger visible on his face.
"You knaves again! To think you'd make the same mistake twice."
Ryuji stepped forward as well.
"The school ain't your castle! I've memorized all their faces real good. You're going down!"
The king only laughed in response.
"It seems what they say is true: barking dogs seldom bite."
"What was that!?"
"How far the star runner of the track team has fallen."
The comment clearly infuriated her friend, so he went on.
"There he is: the Track Traitor! He who acted in violence, ending his teammates' dreams!"
Akira shot him a questioning look, but he refused to meet her gaze.
"Oh, I can only imagine the pain they endured due to your...selfish act."
Ryuji groaned and looked at the ground.
"Track traitor?"
Ryuji didn't say anything to that, but guilt flashed in his eyes. He couldn't meet her eyes. He didn't want her to be like everyone else. Kamoshida laughed again, enjoying every moment.
"What a surprise! So you're accompanying him around without knowing anything at all."
Kamoshida continued his speech, retelling how Ryuji betrayed his team and crushed their dreams.
"And look! He carries on as carefree as ever."
"That's not true!" Ryuji yells.
The words replayed in his head. A ball of ice sank in his stomach. The faces of his old teammates, staring at him in disdain. Then it was Akira staring down at him as well. Morgana's calls brought him back to reality. He had backed up on impulse, barely missing the soldiers transform into shadows.
"Goddammit..." He muttered.
Both Akira and Morgana were quickly surrounded by the loyal shadows of Kamoshida. Sure, the duo were strong, but these shadows tool advantage of their formation, eventually defeating the two. Before long, Morgana was pinned to the ground as Akira was held up by her hair.
"No..."
Ryuji fell to his knees, watching helplessly.
"What a worthless piece of trash, getting emotional so quickly."
Kamoshida grinned and walked closer to Akira's struggling body. As if on cue, the soldier pulled harder, forcing a cry of pain out of the poor girl.
"How dare you raise a hand at me?" He says with a grin.
He gazed upon her struggling form before facing Ryuji once more.
"Though it was only temporary, have you forgotten my kindness in supervising track practice."
His tone vexed Ryuji. His fists tightened as he struggled to hold his composure.
"That wasn't kindness- it was physical abuse! You just didn't like our team!"
"The only one who needs to show results is me! If that damned coach hadn't opposed me with a sound agrument, I would've settled it with breaking his star's leg."
Akira winced.
Kamoshida actually did that? No way...
Ryuji's face paled.
"What? Do you need me to deal the other leg too? The school will only call it self defense."
Sweat trickled down his face.
He could remember it all.
The anger.
The snap.
The pain.
The floor.
The rejection.
He began to curl up, his nerves taking over.
"Dammit...Am I gonna lose again? Not only can I not run anymore... but the whole track team is gone 'cause of this asshole!"
Morgana as well as Akira felt the sorrow from him. This was the reason Ryuji despised the man. Not only had he hurt him, he had stolen something important from him.
Kamoshida put more weight on his foot, crushing Morgana some more. He imediately began ordering this execution, seeing that there was no hope for any of them. As much as Akira hated it, Kamoshida had the upper hand.
But there was no way in hell she'd let it stay like that.
"Stand up for yourself! Don't let him win!" She called out.
"Ryuji!" Morgana yelled.
Ryuji didn't move at first, but he eventually rose from the ground.
"...You're right. Everything important to me was taken by him. I'll never get it back..."
Kamoshida gave him an unimpressed look.
"Just stay there and watch! Look on and watch as these hopeless scum die for siding with trash like you."
Ryuji was finally on his feet. He stared down the man with no reserve.
"No. That's what you are. All you think about is using people... You're the real scumbag!"
Ryuji stalked up to him.
"What are doing!? Silence him!"
He wasn't going to be silenced.
Never again.
"Stop lookin' down at me with that stupid smile on smile on your face!"
You made me wait quite a while.
His eyes became glaringly yellow as he held his head.
"A-aagh!"
He sank to the ground clutching his head harder.
You seek power, correct? Then let us form a pact.
It was horrifying to watch. Your friends clawing at the ground, saliva splattering out of his mouth.
Since your name has been disgraced already, why not hoist the flag and wreak havoc...?
Ryuji cried out in pain. Sweat trickled down his face as he rolled and thrashed across the carpet.
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!
His head swung up, revealling a metallic skull obscuring his upper face.
Despite the sudden change, soldiers seemed unfazed. The golden one pulled harder on Akira, who in turn screamed in response.
"Hmph, what can you do? Cower in fear and watch!"
It's sword was no raised and aimed at the girl. He couldn't let her get hurt. Ryuji began to stumble forward, struggling to rip it off.
"Nnngh...HRAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
Blood spurted from his face as the metal was ripped off his face. Blue light blinded the room, along with whipping winds, freeing Akira and Morgana from Kamoshida and his minions.
When the light started to die down, there stood Ryuji, clad in a matching black jacket and pants with knee pads, a red ascot, combat boots, as well as a pair of yellow gloves. Behind him, was a skeleton pirate, riding its' ship like a skateboard. He gave Kamoshida a wicked grin.
"Right on... Wassup Persona... This effin' rocks!"
Akira and Morgana moved to his side. She flipped her hair and Morgana looked at Ryuji. Both were ready to assist him and make Kamoshida pay.
"Now that I got this power, it's payback time!"
He grinned at his teammates.
"Yo, I'm ready. Bring it!"
The soldier stood back up, the golden one stepping up first.
"Don't mock me, you brat!"
The soldier changed it form, taking a battle stance.
"Blast him away... Captain Kidd!"
With Ryuji and his steel pipe's help, the group manages to stop and defeat the shadows. Once the battle ended, he took some deep breaths then regained his energy.
"How 'bout that!?"
So Ryuji has a Persona too...
"Even if you apologize... I ain't forgivin' ya!"
Kamoshida only smirked. He didn't show an ounce of remorse on his face.
"I told you this is my castle. It seems you still don't understand."
He whistled and footsteps echoed in the quiet room. First was the Takamaki girl from her class in a skimpy pink and black bikini with cat ears and pink pumps.
WAIT WHAT!?
Next came herself, in an identical swimsuit except it was orange and black. And her glasses were missing.
"Get your hands off them you perv!"
The two girls were cuddle his arms between their breasts whilst giggling at the same time. Takamaki was drawing circles on his chest with her finger, and Akira was swinging her ass back and forth- as if she were attempting to hypnotize him.
Morgana didn't seem to mind, but Akira sure did.
"What's going on...!?" Ryuji muttered.
Despite him saying that, she could tell his eyes were glued on the practically naked girls.
"Will you two stop staring already!? Something's obviously off!"
The girls giggled again, prompting Akira to gag and Morgana to swoon.
"Calm down, you two. These girls aren't real. They're the same as those slaves- beings made from Kamoshida's cognition."
"This... this is what Kamoshida thinks of me. Some sort of skank!" Akira yelled.
Anger boiled in her blood, but Kamoshida paid no mind. It amused him even more.
"Are you jealous?" He sneered.
No one answered, and it seemed to fuel him even more.
"Well, I'm not surprised. Women aren't drawn to problematic punks like you."
This is ridiculous!
"Dammit...!"
This was getting to all of them by this point.
"Clean them out this instant!"
Once the words left his mouth, tons of soldiers suddenly appeared.
"We're out numbered...Let's scram before we get surrounded!"
With no other choice, the group ran as fast as they could.
Sorry this took so long guys. I got sick, my sister came home, college visits, I got sick again, SATs, and then I got sick. Again. Fun times. Anyway hope you enjoyed. Ryuji got his Persona and I changed up a few things. See you guys again next update. And about the cat app, funny story. When I started playing, I thought one of the apps was the game XD.
