I'll be working on 'True Guardians' next along with 'You've Got This, Nao-Shi!'
Promise.
~NRK~
Shido growled as he clenched his hands around his phone.
"Akechi, what do you mean?!" He hissed as the voice across the line hissed.
-H-His mind is protected by some kind of beast- Akechi said as he hissed again, the sound of something swirling around across the line reaching Shido's ears. -I… I couldn't beat them. They're also protecting his nearest acquaintances for some reason! I… I can't. This is too much even for me-
Shido sighed as he rubbed his temple. "... Fine, I'll have to handle this the… old fashion way," he groaned before getting up. "Honestly, it's like I'm handling everything around this damn place," Shido grimaced as he went to a bookshelf in his office before pulling a small, inconceivably small, book out from the pages of one of his thick atlases.
He flipped through it once or twice. 'They all keep disappearing,' his hitmen were usually always around.
So, why did so many disappear? Was their job really so enemy-filled?
He huffed before finding one group's name not crossed out.
'Time to handle this brat.'
~NRK~
"So, tell me, what do you guys honestly know about the Metaverse?" Morgana asked as the collective group sat around in the classroom-like area that came and went in small distortions. "If we're to start somewhere, that'd be a good place."
"Well, this place is called the Metaverse, for one," Naruto said as he nodded to Makoto.
"For us, it became accessible through an app on our phones," the student council president said. "That app transfers from phone to phone of those in the immediate… no, wait, I don't think that's true."
"It's not," Akira said. "This app transferred all the way over to Naruto's phone through the internet despite our distances."
"Hmm… well, it might be because of how you all are connected to the situation at hand. Think about it, no one else around you was weirded out, right?" Morgana asked.
"... Wait, dude, he's right," Ryuji realized. "I fumbled with this thing at home, trying out different stuff a-and I did find one other name," he clenched his phone before Naruto nodded.
"It's cool, I figure I know who."
"Y-Yeah, well… for now, I know my mom didn't get it, she never said anything about it."
"So, it's likely only affected by the current target," Morgana considered as Ann frowned.
"Still… if we just kept going after people, wouldn't that mean we'd keep on sucking people in?" She asked.
"... I don't think so," Makoto said. "If it only chooses those who are affected by the person in question, those around who want to do something about it, and those who the corrupted person considers his enemy, we can probably narrow down who'd be affected by the app."
"Correct!" Morgana said with a grin. "Remember, cognition is important, that's the most basic concept of the ability to come in here."
"Huh? So, wait, did you have an app?" Akira asked and the cat blinked, looking down in confusion as he crossed his arms.
"... I-I think so? Well… I thought I was being obvious earlier but I don't have all my memories," he said as Shiho perked up.
"Really? What happened?" She asked but he shrugged.
"I don't know, I came towards these Palaces, places where the owner's distorted cognition and desires are contained, to see if I can figure out who I am while maybe doing some good."
"Sounds rough."
"You don't know the half of it," Morgana huffed. "Still, what else?"
"Well, besides that, we know that Palaces are related to the distorted person and this is their view of the world, or at least a place, in their own eyes and mind," Akira said and Morgana grinned.
"It's kind of weird but you guys are pretty good and spot on with that. That's all true though you likely don't know what Shadows are, do you?"
"... Wait, are those the knights and stuff?" Naruto asked and Morgana nodded.
"Well, that's their unified form to obey the owner's theme and the palace itself. They have true forms which can range from a piece of paper to maybe even the forms of gods," the cat said, shocking the group. "For your information, no, they're not ACTUAL gods but the cognition can make strong Shadows into the shape of powerful beings due to how they're recognized."
"Well, that makes sense," Ann said as Shiho nodded.
"Still… is there a way to make this entire place fall down?" the sporty girl asked with narrowed eyes. "This man… he needs to be dealt with."
"Hmph, you've got the conviction for it, I guess that's why you also have your Will of Rebellion on like him," Morgana said as she blinked at him before blushing.
"N-No, no, this isn't mine so much as it's Naruto's borrowed power. I'm just buffed up like my friends are."
"Huh? Someone who can hand out Personas?" Morgana asked and the group blinked at him. "... Oh, okay, you don't know what that is," he realized with a nod. "I'll show you," he said as he dragged his paw across the air by his face. "ZORRO!"
Naruto's eyes widened along with the others as they saw a large, buff, blue-tinted ghost man appear above Morgan's back.
He was buff, more top-heavy, and was wearing the outfit of a familiar Spanish Robin Hood.
In his hands was a rapier to match his size and his eyes moved down to the group who gaped at it.
"This is a Persona," Morgana grinned. "It's my rebellious spirit 'personified' and given form and power."
"So, this… is your power?" Makoto considered, confused.
"A Persona gives a person the ability to truly fight against Shadows, ones beyond normal strength," the cat explained further. "They help boost your body, give you access to skills, and passive skills."
"Huh? Passive?" Naruto asked before his eyebrow twitched as his eyes flashed. "Dammit, stop doing that," he grumbled as Morgana blinked at him.
"I'm curious, don't you have a Persona… I-I don't know your names," Morgana realized mid-sentence with a blush of embarrassment.
Naruto grinned. "Name's Naruto Uzumaki," he said as Shiho giggled.
"Shiho Suzui."
"Ann Takamaki."
"Makoto Niijima."
"Ryuji Sakamoto."
"And I'm Akira, Akira Amamiya," Akira finished off as Morgana smiled.
"Good names, nice to meet you all," he said. "So, like I was saying, Naruto, don't you have a Persona?"
"Well… I don't know," the spiky-haired one said as he looked at his hands. "What's it feel like?" He asked as Morgana hummed before smiling.
"You have to rip off your mask," he realized as Shiho and the others blinked. "I do it, even if only metaphorically, to call on my Persona."
Naruto hummed before reaching his hand up to his mask's horn. 'Rip it off, huh?' Who'd become his Persona?
… The blonde chuckled at the familiar presence. "That was probably a stupid question," he said, much to everyone's confusion. "There can be only ONE guy I can think of."
His fingers burned with gold flames.
"COME OUT, KURAMA!" Those flaming digits ripped across his face.
And gold burst forth from beneath his feet, throwing up powerful winds as giant paw-hands landed on both sides of the grinning Naruto.
"Hmph, took you long enough," the familiar form of a giant orange nine-tailed fox said with a smirk as Naruto grinned. "A crybaby, huh?"
"Hey, screw off-dattebayo!" Naruto said even as he rubbed the back of his head, the others balked at the size of his Persona. "Geez."
"H-He can talk?!" Morgana choked as Naruto blinked at him. "T-That's not normal! I-I mean… Zorro only speaks to me, sometimes."
"Because your 'Persona', as you call it, is just your spirit given form," Kurama said as Morgana's mouth fell. "I am much more majestic than someone's puny will."
"I know he's making fun of me but I could care less," Naruto snorted. "Still… I didn't think of my imaginary friend," the former ninja emphasized as Kurama snorted. "And you're a Persona? That's crazy."
"Imaginary friend?" Shiho giggled as Naruto grumbled. "That's adorable."
"Y-Yeah, well," the boy huffed as Akira and Ryuji smirked while Makoto chuckled and Ann grinned brightly. "Yikes, I don't wanna talk more about it."
"It's kind of on brand," Ryuji said with a laugh as Akira nodded.
"Definitely. So, uh, what does Kurama do?" The glasses-wearing boy asked as the bijuu snorted. "Oh, I'm sensing some sass."
"I'm extra in all the right ways," Kurama said as Naruto rolled his eyes. "Now, I believe I can explain this little situation you all are in better than some Hopeful Feline."
"I-I'm not a cat!" Morgana said. "MEOW!"
"... Is this one of those 'rhetorical' situations?" The bijuu asked flatly as Shiho sweatdropped. "It's like he's not even paying attention."
"H-Huh?!" The cat stuttered.
"Now, I believe you all realize it but there are numerous Palaces in the world," Kurama explained as Makoto cupped her chin. "It's not like it's not obvious. There are corrupt members of society everywhere but there are also just normal mindscapes. Those are the regular healthy minds of the lives of humans at large. There's even a collective near Shibuya though it's fundamentally different."
"Collective?" Makoto frowned. "... As in a collective of cognition?" She asked.
He smirked. "A smart one, eh? Well, you balanced this party out."
"... Hey!" Ryuji took a moment to realize what that meant as Ann chuckled nervously. "A-Alright, yeah, maybe I'm a bit dumb!"
"And he preaches."
"But everyone's probably got a few IQs on me!"
"Thanks, Ryu," Ann sweatdropped as Ryuji considered his words. "We're flattered."
"... Crap."
"Wait, you mean Mementos?" Morgana asked and Kurama nodded.
"There are several such places. We call them Mementos," Kurama said as Naruto raised a brow. "Consider them Palaces but only in the sense that ALL thought concentrates on that location, there are bound to be horrid thoughts mixed in."
"So, it's a Palace for everyone's darker desires mixed into the general mental cognition, I believe," Makoto said as Akira grinned nervously.
"I barely caught that," he said and she blushed a bit, clearing her throat.
"A-Apologies."
"S-So, it's a place for everyone," Shiho nodded. "But we got WAY off track, you guys. What about Kamoshida?!"
"R-Right, that got away from me," Morgana said. "Okay, rewinding for a bit. Personas are the most powerful expression of your spirit and defiance. It's like I said, you need Persona to truly bring down the most powerful of Shadows… and, at the center of every Palace, the most distorted thoughts of the corrupt person, is a Shadow of its owner."
"It'll be the most powerful Shadow in a Palace. For the sake of simplicity, think of normal Shadows as just regular Stands," Kurama said as the group looked at him in disbelief. "This one watches interesting stuff. So, they're normal Stands, there are more powerful Stands like that Dio guy."
"D-Dude's actually speaking my language?!" Ryuji gawked as Akira chuckled.
"You're not alone in that regard," he said.
"You'll need similar power to fend them off. So, like how a normal person could hurt another Shadow with proper spirit, they can't fend off a powerful Shadow without a Persona."
"I get that, at least," Ann said as Shiho frowned.
"So… to handle Kamoshida's Boss Shadow, I need a Persona?" She frowned. "How do I get one?"
"Calling on a Persona requires a mental trigger of sorts."
"It's true," Morgana said with a frown. "Your feelings, the want to change things, even hate, something that calls upon your powers and a strong will to change the things around you is what will cause a Persona to release."
Shiho frowned as she looked down at her hands, Naruto's power over her body filling her with the strength she felt could handle Kamoshida of all people… but this wasn't enough?
"Take your time," Naruto said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, gaining Shiho's attention. "You can't just force this out, you might need training, all of us might. Right now, we just ran headfirst into something crazy."
Shiho grimaced before sighing. "Alright… you have a point," she frowned at her hand.
"Listen to the boy, he speaks wisdom. Right now, you all don't even know where to begin, do you?" Kurama asked, Morgana nodding.
"Right now, we don't know where Kamoshida's Treasure is," the cat said as they looked at him. "Shiho's intent is the right one. When Palaces are formed, at the core of it all, is a Treasure, the pure form of the Palace owner's distorted desires given an actual tangible form. If you take that, we can reform him… I think."
"You can, dammit, cat. Why are you so bad at this?"
"I-It's not like I get it, myself!" Morgana hissed. "I can only know what memories I was left with! Right now, that's all I know."
"Hmph…" Makoto frowned with her chin in hand. "... We stepped into something bigger than I ever expected… and I think we're done for today," she said with a nod. "This is too much. We've been gone for too long and our family will get worried."
"Y-Yeah, I told my mom me and Ann would be back by 5," Ryuji said with a wince. "School let out at 3:30 and I don't remember how long we've been here."
"They're right," Ann said as Shiho sighed.
"I kind of really want to get a hang of this," she said as Naruto nodded.
"Hmph if you two want to on your own time, we'll go to Mementos," Kurama said as Naruto chuckled while Shiho looked hopeful. "Getting in is easy with my power. If you want to train, that's the best place, especially with all the benefits that come with beating Shadows."
"I don't mind. We'll still need to stop for today so you can go and talk with Rin-nee-chan," the Asura-masked boy said to Shiho who gasped as she remembered. "Remember, there are tons of ways to take down Kamoshida."
"Sounds good," Akira said. "I probably should go. Sakura-san is rather strict."
"Probation, correct?" Makoto asked and he nodded. "Well, in time, he might become more lenient."
"Maybe."
"So, after meeting with Rin-san and Sae-san, I guess you'll get back to us, right?" Ann asked and Naruto nodded.
"For now, let's get out of here," the boy said and Morgana smiled. "So, Morgana, Kurama, we want to know."
"Can you teleport out from anywhere, right?" Kurama asked and Naruto nodded. "No, only from the outside and the Safe Rooms."
"So, you guys can leave from here and will go back to wherever you arrived," Morgana clarified. "So, go back to your lives and come back when you can!"
"Alright," Naruto chuckled as he pulled out his phone. "So, do we do this one by one-" He began to say as he navigated to the Metaverse Navigation App and pressed the button to leave.
~NRK~
"Whoa?!" The group jumped as all of them landed on their feet before stumbling.
"O-Okay, so, it only needs one of us," Makoto said.
Then Naruto's collar speaker sparked to life. -YOU ALL?! WHERE DID YOU GO?!- Sae asked in horror.
-Hmm… what happened?- Came Kakashi's voice.
The group explained in detail what had happened, down to the meeting with Morgana and Kurama.
-W-W-What in the world?!- Sae choked.
-... I think we need to meet- Rin said with a nervous giggle. -Can anyone come to Sae's place?-
~NRK~
Going their separate ways at the front of the school, Naruto, Shiho, and Makoto waited for Kakashi to come at the front of the school.
"Today's been… odd," Makoto said to her fellow students who nodded. "T-This whole situation has gone beyond just curious, t-this is full-blown…" She looked around. "Supernatural?"
"Yeah, life's odd like that," Naruto said with a shrug as Shiho nodded, rubbing her arms. "For now, we've just gotta deal with it until we've got everything under control, yeah?"
"W-We're really about to take him down," Shiho realized as Naruto grinned. "J-Just… well, I don't know how long but it's only a matter of time."
Still, as they waited, their conversation had to turn back to that world.
The Metaverse.
"A world of cognition, a combination of thoughts and perceptions," Makoto huffed. "Usually, you'd hear about such things in reference to cryptocurrencies and the like, not necessarily this."
"I had Skills," Naruto said as Shiho giggled. "I-I totally cast Skills and stuff, Makoto-senpai, Shi-chan. T-That was so weird and cool at the same time!" He grinned as Shiho nodded while Makoto blushed a bit.
"Y-Yes, it was rather mind-opening that you could increase our parameters like that."
"I-It felt so different. Especially now that we're out here and not in there," Shiho said as they saw a car rolling up to them. "It doesn't feel like we're here, right now. In the real world."
That was a ridiculous set of words she'd just used, they all realized.
"Hmm, picking up a group of three kids, one blonde, one not, and one Mako-chan," Kakashi said with a chuckle as the three teens smiled in different measures.
Getting into the vehicle, they took off moments later, Naruto ignoring Kamoshida's sneer from a window of a classroom.
"K-Kakashi-nii, are you all going to be here from now on?" Makoto asked nervously.
"Yes. Our business in Italy has been dealt with for the foreseeable future," Kakashi said as she smiled in relief in the passenger seat. "Honestly, this is going to be our very long resting period. We'll visit often, still, but we're gonna be lowering the time we stay in Italy for the next year."
Makoto nodded, hands folded in her lap. "... you know about everything?" She asked him.
Kakashi hummed. "A world of thought, essentially. You all gave a short description of what happened but it'll be nice having this told in-person, in-depth."
"T-Things got really weird, really fast, Kakashi-san," Shiho said with a shake of the head. "But I'm glad this happened. If we can deal with Kamoshida, I'd hope we can do that faster."
"Hmph, Obito explained to me the background on him," the gray-haired man frowned. "His connections aren't as odd as one would think but the situation here and Kobayakawa's connection with Shido makes this odder than can be left alone."
"We're glad," Naruto said with a nod. "And you all still need to be with us, at least once, so you can really see how crazy this all is," he added as the girls nodded.
"Sounds like a plan."
The ride was maybe 20 minutes long before they reached the Niijima home, a simple one-floor flat that was white in color with a black roof and gray windows.
Parking next to a car in the driveway, Kakashi and the teens got out before walking to the front door on a stone pathway bordered by small bushes and hedges.
He opened the front door and looked at Sae sitting in the living room with a grin, the sound of a shower down a hall.
"So, welcome to the Niijima residence," Kakashi said with a chuckle as Sae smiled, looking up from the file in her hand. "I don't know how this is gonna go but I'll make some snacks while you kiddies chill," he chuckled, going past Sae but not without a kiss on her cheek. "You and Rin can handle the talk," he added with a pat on her shoulder.
"We will," Sae said as the three came over and sat on the L-shaped couch in the SUI agent's living room. "Welcome, you all. Makoto, I hope you haven't been dealing with anything underhanded from the one known as Suguru Kamoshida," her eyes narrowed as Makoto frowned.
"No, I-I didn't even know," the student council president admitted as Sae blinked in surprise at the bit of shame on her face. "No one told me."
"... Makoto…"
"It's not her fault," Naruto said as Shiho nodded. "The students, well, they see Niijima-senpai as a sort of teacher's pet and stuff, they don't want to trust due to thinking she'd rat them out," Makoto winced.
"I-I wouldn't if it was something like this!" She hissed as Shiho nodded.
"We know, now, but people's own ways of seeing you aren't… great?" The other raven-haired girl said as the older teen sighed. "We know better, kaichou, it's just… people don't get that."
"It's the way of the world, sadly, sometimes," Rin said as she came into the room in a pair of brown slacks and a black shirt. "Honestly, Mako-chan is lucky she found herself some good friends," she grinned as Sae and Kakashi chuckled, Makoto's embarrassed blush amusing in every way.
"A-Ahem! Yes, um, well, I'm glad, too?" She tried but Naruto's chuckled alongside Shiho's giggling told her that wasn't working. "Mmmm."
"It's fine, senpai," Naruto said with a teasing smirk that Makoto huffed at. "So, how about we get down to 'business'? There's a lot of weird stuff going around."
Rin nodded, picking up a laptop off the glass coffee table in front of them before sitting next to Sae. "Go on."
They explained everything that had happened in the past hour, not skimping on any details they could remember.
In that time, Kakashi had come back with some fish filets and tea. "The heck? Skills? Shadows? A big-headed cat?" He balked from Sae's other side, the woman in more disbelief than he. "T-That's… Naruto was right, we do need to go in there ourselves, this is crazy."
"Y-You're accepting this way too easily," Rin said with a shaky smile as he chuckled.
"I mean, it's not like they're lying about that weird app," Kakashi said as the three of them held out their phones and saw the app on it. "So, what else can we say?"
The two women's eyebrows twitched as he chuckled.
'In for it, tonight.'
"Hmph, still, this is all rather…" Sae tried to find the word as Rin hummed. "... right," the brunette woman laughed at her resignation. "This is supernatural and now we're dealing with a case of it being connected to the man of interest, Suguru," she said as the teens nodded.
"So, this is where we all stand," Shiho said. "I-I have my bruises so you can take pictures of those."
"Alright, come with me, Shiho-chan," Rin said as she got up with Shiho following after her. "I'll take the pictures. Kakashi-kun, Sae-chan, you both might as well reference everything we have on Kamoshida."
"Of course."
"Take good care of her."
While the two were gone, the four in the living room focused on the files, testimonies, past trails, and more.
Naruto frowned as he looked at the face of the man behind Kamoshida and Kobayakawa.
Shido Masayoshi.
"He's a bastard, I don't believe he's some random dude, unfortunately," Naruto said as Makoto frowned.
"Running for prime minister… w-what could his end goal be?" She wondered with a worried grimace. "If he's elected, h-he'd essentially rule the country!"
"Yes, it's something that can't be allowed to pass," Kakashi said with a frown as he looked at a file. "Right now, we need to be able to handle Suguru's situation, along with Kobayakawa's by proxy, and get them locked away. With the bruises, we'll have interest but we need more than that. Can't just run in with possibilities, especially if our director isn't as upright as we thought."
"I can't believe he'd work with him," Sae grimaced. "How…?"
"I don't know but, for now, your father's on vacation, we're all here, and we know he's likely to get in the way. There are no distractions, we'll solve this."
She nodded, determined. "Hmph…" She checked the time and hummed. "When Shiho-chan comes out, I'll ask Rin to take the two of them home."
Kakashi blinked. "Wait, ask Rin-?"
"Yes."
"... we'll ask Rin."
Naruto did his best to ignore the obvious sexual tension in the room while Makoto blushed and looked away.
"M-Maybe I should stay over at her h-home, j-just in case!" The student council president said immediately as the two adults perked up.
"Yes, f-for safety," Sae lied like the lawyer she wasn't, cheeks rosy as Kakashi snickered.
'I wonder what Obito's doing right now.'
~NRK~
Obito sucked on Sadayo's lower lip before pressing into her one last time, their love 'consummated' for the tenth time over the past two days.
"M-Mmmm," she moaned against his lips while pressing back. "I-I've missed you so much," Sadayo said in embarrassment, face red as he chuckled, nuzzling her a bit. "A-And… w-well," she burned brighter as he raised a brow. "Hime-chan and I didn't exactly have an issue with taking care of one another's needs-Eep!" She bucked and her hips hitched as the 'connection' below grew taut.
"I see, I should thank her," he growled into her ear as he 'took care' of her. "Really, it feels like I took advantage of her over the past year."
"I-I bet-Mmmmm!" She moaned in the middle of her sentence, her bed creaking without a moment's rest. "I-I bet she'd love that."
"Hmm?"
"After we're done!"
~NRK~
The car ride to Shiho's place was rather ridiculous.
"You jumped across buildings and reached her home," Makoto repeated his shenanigans from last night. "... Naruto-kun, that's ridiculous."
"Yep," he said simply and her eyebrow twitched. "Sorry, senpai, but it's just that simple. It's not exactly like that's the weirdest thing we've been involved in over the last 24 hours."
"... w-while that is fair, it's not ignored just became weirder things happened!"
"Um, while I do think that's right," Shiho smiled shakily. "I don't think it can be applied here."
Makoto wanted to argue that it could but once again, for the tenth time that day, her mind replayed the events of the Metaverse.
"I-I understand it's all rather…" She failed to find the word. "Yes, today was weird!"
Rin chuckled as her GPS told her they were here. "Alright, kids, we're here," she told them as they all nodded and got out, the woman rolling down the driver's window to speak with Naruto. "Alright, if anything happens, you'll tell me, right?"
"Totally," Naruto said with a grin as the 'former' former Team 7 member chuckled. "We'll hopefully not need to call for help."
"Same but you know where we all are."
He nodded before stepping back as Makoto and Shiho stood at his side. They waved Rin off as she drove away, leaving Naruto nodding.
"Alright, I'll sneak-" He began to say only for Shiho to grab the top of his blazer and drag him inside.
"No, we're not going to have my parents finding you by accident, we'll let them know you're here," she explained as he blinked.
"What'll we say, though?"
"You do remember they used to love having you around, right?"
Getting into the home had been shockingly easy, surprisingly. Shiho's parents were surprised by his return and had welcomed him, and Makoto, since they'd be well-supervised.
… of course, her dad had said he should be careful of his 'urges' and Naruto was unsure if this was a 'dad' thing or not.
Inside her room, Makoto smiled at the clean area before seeing Naruto's futon on the floor.
"I see, well, I guess I'll sleep on the floor as well," she said as Shiho blushed bright red while Naruto hummed, quickly rubbing the back of his head with some red on his own face.
"Y-Yeah, o-on the floor," she said in embarrassment. 'She can never know!' But Shiho had been so comfortable with Naruto sleeping behind her. 'I think I'm a pervert,' well, not like she didn't know that on some level.
Many lonely nights had somehow always found her thoughts going to her naturally blonde male friend in the past year, after all.
Blushing something fierce, she mechanically turned to Naruto who nodded with his finger pressed to his lips.
'Alright, good, he's aware,' thankfully, when it came to situations like secrets, Naruto was a pro. 'Which makes more sense when you think about it.'
"Hmm… I-I want to talk with everyone about something," Makoto said with a slight stutter as the two blinked. "It's just… w-well if I am a part of this group, we should probably study…" she offered, a bit embarrassed.
Naruto blinked while Shiho giggled.
"Well… it would be nice to understand Science," she admitted as the blonde rubbed the back of his head while Makoto smiled. "I guess that's why your bag is so big."
"Yes! Let's call the others immediately!"
Two hours of studying later, the three teens left Shiho's house in their school clothes, walking into the evening sun.
With her parents not home, and not feeling like cooking, Shiho had suggested they get something to eat outside. Their destination?
A place called Le Blanc.
~NRK~
Akira smiled as he sat next to Makoto and Shiho while being across from Ryuji, Ann, and Naruto.
"Huh?" A man behind the counter of the homely restaurant blinked at the six teens, scratching his chin. "I guess you're 'charismatic' in some sense," he said.
He was a moderately tall man for a Japanese person with fair skin, dark gray eyes, and dark brown, slicked-back, hair with a slightly receding hairline that connected to his goatee through his sideburns.
Wearing pair of slightly oval glasses, a pink dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to mid-forearm, a pair of khaki pants, white loafers, and a black apron with 'LeBlanc' on the front, he cut a stern but fair figure in Naruto's opinion.
"Thanks, oyaji," Naruto chuckled as the man huffed at him, eyebrows lowered.
"I'm still not so sure about him so don't be so lenient," the man, Sojiro Sakura, explained as the group hummed.
"I mean, Akira seems pretty cool compared to most people at school," Ryuji said as he leaned back in his seat, arm over the back of it, most notably on Ann's side. "It's not like he's some bad dude, Kawakami-sensei's cool with him so I am, too."
"Kawakami?" Sojiro blinked. "Hmm, right, she's the woman from Sunday, correct? The one in Principal Kobayakawa's office."
"Hmm? You met her, Sakura-san?" Makoto asked and the man made a curious sound at the proper and polite Makoto.
"Huh, didn't think he could become acquainted with a nice girl like yourself," he chuckled as she blushed a bit, Ann, Naruto, and Akira, easily capable of laughing at himself, snickering. "And, yes, when I dropped him off on Sunday so he could familiarize himself with the school. I guess you all met sometime around then?"
"Yup!" Shiho grinned. "We bumped into each other in Shibuya and then met Ann, Ryuji, and Makoto-kaichou at a cafe. He's been pretty nice."
"He's like a cat," Ryuji snorted as Naruto and Ann snickered some more.
"Well, I'll be. Hmm, now, what will you all be ordering? It's one thing to have friends but I can't just have you all randomly taking up a booth."
"I got it," Naruto said as the group hummed. "My treat as a coming back present."
"I didn't think those were a thing," Ryuji said but he looked over his menu greedily. "But if yer offerin', who am I to refuse?"
"As if you could," Ann said with a roll of the eyes that quickly landed on the desserts. "O-Oh! That looks so cute!"
The five others sweatdropped. 'Same brain cell,' they realized.
"Hmph, you just got back?" Sojiro asked.
"From a trip to Italy," Naruto answered as the man blinked in surprise. "My family and me went for a whole year and things finally settled down enough for me and my three guardians to come back."
'What is he? A rich kid?' Talk about luck of the draw for Akira, huh? 'Still, I don't know what his intentions are,' what if he wanted to fleece the seemingly kind boy?
Best to be cautious.
"Hmm, curry," Akira said with a hungry look as the others perked up. "It's really good. Especially the one with the beef in it."
"Hmph, buttering me," Sojiro huffed with his eyes closed as Naruto chuckled.
"Then let me get a Beef Curry," he said as Ryuji grinned.
"Same!"
"Chicken, please!" Ann said as Shiho tilted her head.
"Same!"
"Hmm… chicken as well, please," Makoto asked politely as Ren grinned.
"Fine, fine, three beef, three chicken, coming right up," Sojiro said as he went behind the counter and began to work. 'Honestly, they seemed to just hit it off,' perhaps he was being a bit mean to the boy…
Yes, he knew his entire situation, trying to do good… he shouldn't have. The world of adults wasn't meant for children to intervene and ruin their entire lives.
'Goodness, he'd be lambasting me right now,' the restaurant owner hummed in his head. 'Probably toting one of his stupid perverted books,' he never understood how someone could go from agent to perverted bookseller in under six years. '... dammit and I'm an idiot who bought several,' Sojiro blushed as he remembered the details of the latest one.
Damn him and his way with literature!
"Hmm, so, be real," Naruto whispered as Sojiro got busy. "We're all on-board with this 'Metaverse' thing, right?"
"Hmm, yeah, I still am," Ryuji said with a look of determination. "I don't want that fucker outside of bars. He's a danger to too many people, for the love of God, my mom knows him from college. I don't want that revenge-filled bastard trying anything. I already have enough dark-haired assholes who tried to ruin my life."
Akira blinked while Makoto winced at both the language and insinuation.
Ann pat his bicep but nodded all the same. "Ryu's right, that man's been having a long-distance relationship with a jail cell, it's time we made 'em meet," she grinned viciously while Shiho and Naruto nodded.
"W-We got the pictures taken but we need more, apparently," the sporty girl said. "I gave my testimony but we need more than just one confession. Since Kakashi-san, Rin-san, and Sae-san are investigators, though, they have better methods," Shiho declared with a confident huff. "We only need to do what we can."
"I'm right there with you," Akira admitted with a nod. "Doing something good… I don't care how much trouble I get into," he clenched his fists. "It's not wrong to help someone."
"A fine declaration," Makoto smiled as he chuckled. "I, as well, am in for the pound. I can't just let the student body be taken advantage of like this… I wish they could tell me, though," she frowned but Naruto shook his head.
"It's not your fault. Sometimes, we can't control someone's opinions right away and we have to deal with the image we do have," he said with a determined stare. "But we're here, we can do something. We'll change ourselves and the world in our own ways."
The group nodded at that before Makoto coughed into her fist.
"So, how is everyone when it comes to their studies?"
The five chuckled nervously as she tilted her head.
"It's not… well, mid-school transition, y-ya know?" Akira said nervously.
"Science is still beyond me," Shiho admitted.
"Haha… ha…" Ann looked away.
"I mean… eh," Ryuji shrugged. "I'll try my best," he offered.
Finally, Naruto rubbed the back of his head, one eye closed as he winced.
"I'm gonna need ya to help me more, senpai," he said with a grin as Makoto huffed a bit before smiling.
"Alright. I know it can be daunting but you all can surely bring your grades up!"
"Well, I mean, if it's cool, I can grab a B- sometimes," Ryuji admitted as Naruto nodded.
"I'm good at literature and stuff, I've… uhh, editored for some guys' books," he admitted slowly as Ryuji's jaw dropped while Ann and Shiho blushed. "G-Guys, don't, please. I'm not like Ero-Sennin."
"W-Well… if you're sure," Ann said with a raised brow as Akira and Makoto shot the same response at them.
"Um, what?" He asked as Ryuji cleared his throat.
"So, uh… dude, you ever heard about the Icha-Icha series?" He asked with a blush that seemed to spread all around. "R-Right, so, Naru's godfather is the writer," Ryuji whispered as the two's eyes widened as their jaws dropped.
"W-What? The creator of those amazing books?!" Akira whispered in disbelief and awe while Makoto and the others turned to him in disbelief. "... I've read a few in the library back where I'm from."
"O-Oh?!" Makoto cleared her throat while the others looked at her in confusion.
"W-Wait… kaichou?" Ann blushed as the older teen burned like a candle. "I-I guess everyone has their own private sides… y-you know?" She said shakily as Ryuji's face burned while Naruto huffed with a bit of red on his own cheeks.
"So everyone is a pervert at heart, dammit," he groaned as he facepalmed, the others blushing a bit harder. "Good to know."
~NRK~
Tuesday morning, Makoto blinked awakened as her shoulder was shaken.
"H-Hmm?" She blinked, pink pajamas covered by strawberry print shuffling as she rubbed her eyes. "N-Nee-chan?"
"Nope," Naruto said as Makoto cleared the fog from her eyes. "Mornin', senpai," he added as she tilted her head curiously.
"Naruto-san… what are you doing in my room?"
"What?" He sweatdropped as she blinked. "S-Senpai, we're at Shi-chan's house, remember? You stayed the night?" Naruto reminded the student council president.
Makoto blinked before looking a bit embarrassed. "A-Ah! Apologies," she said before noting the blonde's fully-uniformed body. "W-What time is it?!" Makoto shrieked as she scrambled towards her things and grabbed her uniform.
"It's 6:10," he explained as she ran towards the bathroom before slamming the door behind her. 'I think she's one of those types.'
'Obviously,' came the familiar voice of Kurama, surprising the blonde.
"Kurama?"
'Yes, finally, it seems your powers have truly settled in, I've been trying for years and it seems that now you can hear me,' the fox explained in his head. 'Never mind, for now, what's the plan for you all? That Akira boy's not gonna be able to go places at night while Makoto still has her duties. I believe you will be using a four-man team when hitting Mementos.'
"Right, I'd almost forgotten. Still, we might just go back into Kamoshida-teme's Palace again. We need to find out where his Treasure is so we can swipe it," Naruto said with a frown and crossed arms. "Also, the Volleyball Rally is tomorrow, have to be rested to tear that bastard a new one in front of the entire school."
'I'm liking where your thoughts are going,' the boy could feel the fox's grin. 'Remember, though, for now. He's still a teacher, we need to be a bit more gentle with this.'
Naruto nodded before the door to Shiho's room opened to reveal the girl herself, fully dressed. "Oh, senpai went in?" She asked her friend who nodded.
"You both should have awoken me earlier!" Makoto shouted through the door. "A-Apologies!" The sound of squirting reached their ears and the two shrugged.
~NRK~
Their arrival at school, the group in their entirety, had garnered several looks and shocked expressions.
Makoto frowned at that. "They act as if this is a parade of monsters," she mumbled as Akira rubbed the back of his head. "Ignoring how rude it is… t-this isn't because of me, right?" She stuttered in disbelief as Ryuji shrugged.
"I mean, I don't think anyone's ever seen ya walkin' back and forth with people, ya know?" He said as Ann nodded.
"It's true. N-No offense, kaichou, it's just… Well, you know you have a reputation. Then, you're hanging around with all of us and it makes an image," she admitted as Makoto frowned while Shiho sighed.
"It's life at Shujin, sadly," she said as Naruto nodded, the six of them walking up the steps. "Huh… h-he's not here…" Shiho said slowly as the group looked around. "...?" They turned around along with a couple other students as a car pulled up before, out the passenger side, came a familiar homeroom teacher.
Sadayo smiled as she came out, a familiar man exiting the driver's side with a wave.
"How's it going, you six?" Obito asked, a black shirt, black cargos, and a pair of brown sandals his attire while Sadayo stood there in her general teaching outfit. "Hmm, I don't see him here," he said to himself as he locked the door while he and his significant other walked over to the six, four of whom grinned.
"Good morning, Obito-san," Shiho said as Ann giggled at Sadayo's look of happiness and peace. "Sensei."
'I guess she finally got to relax,' she was happy, their homeroom teacher was one of the best. "Sup, Kawakami-sensei!"
"Obito-aniki, Sadayo-nee-chan," Naruto said as Sadayo chuckled. "How's life?"
"Good, now that you're all back," the teacher said with a smile as Obito nodded. "So, I guess I'm surprised you all are in my homeroom but shouldn't be," she said to Akira.
"Y-Yeah, well, I hope things go well for us. You've been gone since Sunday, I hear," he said as she blushed while Obito smirked proudly.
Ryuji's eyebrow twitched as he turned a bit green. "D-Dude, please, we don't want to know," he said exasperatedly as Obito pat his shoulder. "... and welcome back, we all missed you," Ryuji admitted as the man nodded.
"Well, I'm back for a long time. We've got things to definitely take care of here," he said with a look of bemusement as Sadayo giggled. 'I-I still can't believe they…' His second life was beyond weird and perverse.
He wasn't complaining though. "Alright, I'll be heading out, I have some other morning exercise to get to," Obito said as he pecked Sadayo on the lips before heading off with a wave… only to turn around and walk right into the school. "Let me just… speak with an old teammate for a moment," he said with a serene expression that didn't hide the chill that slammed into students' shoulders and napes, many shivering as he passed.
"I really love that man," Sadayo smiled as Ryuji chuckled. "Still, how have you all been? Makoto-chan, you've become involved with these four curious individuals?" She chuckled as Ann, Akira, Shiho, and Ryuji grinned innocently.
Makoto smiled. "Yes, there's been an interesting way we're connected but they're truly good people," she admitted warmly. 'I see… no wonder the students speak so well of her,' the woman was so open and warm, it was kind of intoxicating. "Hmm, we all should get to class, though. We'll meet at lunch," she said to the five teens who nodded.
"Alright, let's get into this madness once more," Naruto said as Shiho grinned.
~NRK~
The door closed with a click that seemed to ring in Suguru's ears, his face pale and sweat-filled even as he clenched his fists tautly.
"I'll remove you from this school, bitch," Obito hissed into his ear, the volleyball coach's aching shoulder all the fear he needed. "They'll never find your body for a while, trust me on that. You touch a hair on anyone's head here and I WILL find you and kill you."
'Every… one of them,' his body trembled with rage even as he grimaced. 'Shido, you fucking bald bitch, you better have a plan for all of this.'
The man was at the end of his rope and he knew that he needed 'relief', ASAP.
"Dammit, who was that girl who wanted to learn how to better her spike?" He asked himself as he got up. "Perhaps more private lessons in my new office?" Suguru grinned to himself as he stretched. "Fuck it, I know Shido's got our back, these little rebellious students will be dealt with in no time," he chuckled as he left his office.
Forever ignorant to a small metal item on his desk, a small beetle-sized thing that could be easily mistaken as a desk weight in the shape of an empty ship.
~NRK~
Sae, Rin, and Kakashi wrote down everything. "Good job, Obito," Kakashi said into his collar where a small mic sparked to life.
-No issue. I'm concerned, though. Shido's going to make a move on our pack of students and we don't know how- The man's voice was rough, the sound of a car door closing reaching their ears. -Kakashi, Rin, Sae-san, I believe you all should start some nearby undercover work. I'll inform the others- The mic cut out as his car roared to life.
"More and more, is Masayoshi Shido this powerful?" Sae grimaced as Rin nodded with a frown, the two women in white and purple robes, respectively. "..." She cupped her chin, a glare sent at her laptop. "He's right, it's time to do some in-the-field work."
Kakashi nodded, rubbing the bite marks on both sides of his neck in a pair of gray sweatpants and nothing else.
"Hmm… alright, with Obito grabbing the rest of the security," Rin began with narrow eyes. "I'm going to pay a visit to Shido-san."
"Please, be safe," Sae said with concern and Rin grinned.
"No worries, we also have a person for this. Someone who's of similar 'worth' as Shido."
~NRK~
He hummed as he puffed his pipe, his phone's speaker on as he listened to his son's efforts.
-I'm tellin' ya, dad, you really should take a vacation sometime soon. It's not like you haven't done amazing work recently- He said as the old man in his high-rise penthouse suite chuckled.
"I know, I know," dark gray eyes looked out his large living room window, wrinkled olive skin shifting as he puffed again. "Honestly, I should go and visit Naruto-kun, it's been some time and we haven't met in over a year."
-I bet he'd love it- The old man chuckled at his son's words of encouragement. -Besides, imagine what his school would say-
"Hey now, we're supposed to keep that connection quiet until he graduates," he pouted a bit, gray hair resting atop his head beneath a large conical hat, his black suit and gray ascot shuffling as he got up. "Hmm… ah, yes, I know," he chuckled. "There's a small cafe in Yongen-Jaya, Le Blanc is its name and Jiraiya knows the owner, Asuma."
-Hah! Nice and homey, we could rent out the place so we could all meet!-
"Yes, it sounds-" The man began to agree only for a ring to echo from beneath his desk.
It wasn't a normal ring, it was one that most people couldn't truly hear properly by design and so he frowned at it.
-I can tell that'll be important, talk to you later, alright?- Asuma said.
"Yes, goodbye," he ended that call before pulling on his hidden phone, a small rectangle that could easily be mistaken for just a small plate. "Hello?"
-Sarutobi-sensei, I have a small mission. I'd like your help on- Came Rin's voice as he hummed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Very well, inform me."
~NRK~
Come lunchtime for the 'student crew', they were on the roof once more, Makoto humming as they all chatted and ate, drinks bought via 'Naruto' and their food from the cafeteria.
"So, hmph!" Ryuji ate some beef from his tray before chewing to completion. "Glp! I'm curious about something, that place, you know?" He minded the other students on the rooftop. "Like… how are we going to find IT?"
Akira hummed. "... if there's a map of the Palace, that'd be convenient."
"There is," came a voice from the group who blinked.
"Whoa, really?" Ann asked the others who… blinked? "Huh? Wait, who said it-?"
"I did," came a voice from between them, the entire group looking down in unison before they all gaped at a black cat with white paws, and blue eyes. "Sup, how's life?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"... D-Did the mystery meat get mixed in with the beef?" Ryuji looked betrayed as they all looked at their food. "W-What the hell, man?!"
"Shush, you idiot!" The cat shouted at him as he covered his mouth, the group looking around at the confused students. "Dammit, stop shouting! It's me, Morgana!" The cat said.
"... W-Wait, Morgana?" Naruto asked in complete and total disbelief as the cat grew a bit smug. "... D-Dude, come on, by this point, you're messing with us, aren't you?" Morgana blinked as his tail waved back and forth, white muzzle forming a frown.
"What do you mean?"
"Y-You're a cat, Morgana," Shiho sweatdropped as the cat creature grimaced.
"I-I didn't choose this, alright?! I-It's just… I-I don't know, okay, it's just what happened!"
"... R-Right," Ann looked around nervously. "A-And should you be shouting?"
"It doesn't matter. To people who can't enter the Metaverse, all they're hearing is meows," Morgana explained as Makoto frowned.
'More odd information he knows but doesn't understand the origin of?' It's downright ridiculous for such a claim to be made. "... Very well, what is the issue, Morgana? You came to us."
"I wanted to know what you guys' plan is. Though, it seems more and more like you don't have one."
"Sadly," Naruto said. "Obviously, we have no idea what we're doing."
"Naru's got a point, do you know if there's a method to finding the Treasure, Morgana?" Shiho whispered as the cat nodded, surprising them.
"There are Maps of Palaces," he explained as he pulled something out of the ether from beneath his armpit, placing it down in front of the group. "That's one piece of it, it's half the castle."
They all gaped at the 'magic trick' that had just been played, meanwhile, Naruto picked up the navigation tool with a focused hum.
"... Dammit, this only goes down," he said as they all frowned. "So, we need to find the map that goes up, too, unless that's not where the Treasure is in the Palace."
"But if that's the case, how can we know if it's in either place?" Makoto asked as Akira looked at the paper before Morgana tapped his thigh, gaining his attention.
"Yeah?" He asked before the cat hummed at him curiously. "?"
"It's just… call me crazy, Akira, but when I smell you guys, you and Naruto over there smell the most odd to me," Morgana explained as the group blinked in confusion. "And I don't mean a normal scent, think of it as Metaverse 'scents', you two ain't normal when it comes to this."
"Huh… I'm not sure what to say," Naruto said as his friends shrugged. "Well, does it mean anything big, Morgana?"
"I don't know but we know why you're different, your Persona makes no sense to me."
'You're not much better, ya damn cat,' Kurama said, getting a nervous chuckle out of Naruto.
"Um… Kurama's not a fan of that remark."
"H-Huh?! W-Wait, he can-"
"Hear you, yes."
The cat looked shocked beyond words before the others looked at each with a look of confusion.
"We really gotta figure all this stuff out, you guys," Ryuji said.
"He's right," Makoto nodded. "As it is, we're so behind on everything there is to know about this entire situation. We need to go back in as soon as possible."
"Still, that's not a lot of time," Ann said as they looked at Akira who nodded. "You've got, what, maybe two hours or so after school's over before having to go back?"
"Actually, Sakura-san explained that as long as I didn't stay out until around nine, I'm good to travel but no leaving afterward," Akira explained as Shiho nodded.
"In that case, with school closing at 3:30, we've got five hours… w-wait, oh my God, sorry, kaichou!" Shiho winced as Makoto nodded.
"I know, I do have my duties. That said, it'll only take until five for me to complete them. In that time, you all can simply go ahead," she explained but Ryuji cupped his chin.
"... Nah, I don't think it'd be fair for ya to get left out… at least, not alone," he explained before nodding with a puffed-out chest. "Let me help move some stuff around in the student council room. Call it volunteer work, I really could use the increase in my rep, after all."
"R-Really? Ryuji-kun… I-If that's fine with you all. It's… not always full in the room…"
"Then I'll come, too!" Ann grinned while Naruto chuckled. "In that time, maybe you, Shiho, and Akira could figure out what's going on with our new friend and maybe Shi-chan can find some way of getting stronger in that place," she said with a smile as the three in question nodded.
"Then we're the 'Go In Early' team," Naruto said to Akira, Shiho, and Morgana. "And… yeah, I do think this is for the best," he frowned. "I don't like the idea of any one of us being around the school alone when Kamoshida-teme's about."
"Sound logic," Makoto frowned. "Though I question if he'd try something to me, I know he's… aggressive, somewhat, with Ann-san."
Ann shivered as Ryuji's eyes narrowed. "Y-Yeah but I'll just keep turning him down, no matter what."
"Damn right," Ryuji and Shiho said in unison with unified nods. "Fuck that guy."
"Sounds right," Akira said with a hand cupping his chin. "Still… I hope we can solve all of this soon, ya know? This guy's bad news… call it a hunch but I don't like how we're basically blue-balling him constantly, emotionally. He's gonna 'explode' eventually."
"Ugh, thanks for the imagery," Naruto's eyebrow twitched as his newest male friend shrugged.
"So, we're a-go. I'm glad we've got this settled," Morgana said. "There's also more to that agitation he'll be feeling… the Palace is on high alert," he frowned. "Maybe it was Naruto's threats finally getting to him, maybe it's the recent string of being ignored by Ann and Shiho, all I know is that they've gotten more aggressive and that red knight on the horse is patrolling more often."
"We'll handle it when we get to it," Akira said as Kurama spoke in Naruto's mind.
'Hmm, I'm seeing it,' he said as the blonde raised a brow. 'The boy's potential is rather ridiculous… it's like he has 'open spots' in his body for power to rest… hmmm, that cat may be onto something.'
'Gotcha.'
~NRK~
Getting through the rest of the school day, Naruto and Makoto made the executive decision to go by the second-year members of their group's last, shared, class.
Standing outside the door to Science, they chatted.
"So, any issues we'll need to clear up, Mako-senpai?" Naruto asked as Makoto perked up at the nickname.
"O-Oh, no… Well, it's not an issue you all should have to 'clear-up', the student council is simply questioning my sudden need for more help in the afternoon," she huffed as he frowned. "It's nothing to worry about, I actually was able to turn their words back on them. They leave early more often than not and they can't necessarily complain when I need help, I'm the president, after all."
He chuckled as the doors to the classroom opened, releasing their friends first and foremost.
"Nice, we're all here," Ryuji grinned as they all followed Makoto. "So, be honest, is there a lot to do, kaichou?"
"Honestly? Yes, worryingly so," Makoto sighed. "I'm thankful for my training, lifting all those boxes isn't as hard as it could have been."
"Wait, training?" Shiho blinked as the older teen reciprocated.
"... O-Oh! No, well…" She blushed. "No one knows but I am a practitioner of mixed martial arts, karate and aikido, specifically," she admitted quietly as the group looked surprised.
"No foolin'? That's awesome, senpai," Naruto said with a grin as she looked more embarrassed. "You should invite us to your next Rank-Up. I'm honestly considering going into a martial arts school myself."
"O-Oh? Learning to defend yourself?"
"No, I could probably beat most practitioners," he said as she balked. "I've fought, beat, and manhandled way tougher guys than you'll find in most of your competitions save for maybe your Expert Level, and I haven't watched enough of those to even be sure of that."
"T-Those are big claims to make," she said in disbelief. "No offense meant to you, Naruto-kun, but I can't very well just believe that."
"I get ya and, hey, I'm down for some sparring if you want."
Makoto looked intrigued by the prospect while Ann, Shiho, and Ryuji nodded.
"Naru's got a point, he's crazy strong," Ann explained. "Why, back in the day, you'd be surprised to know that he beat nearly every delinquent in our middle school," she sweatdropped. "I-It was kinda ridiculous when I think about it."
"Yu-huh!" Ryuji snickered. "Man, you should have seen what he did to some of those guys, hung 'em up from the flagpole by their underwear," Akira's glasses gleamed ominously as he grinned. "Pranked 'em, turning all their clothes pink," he snorted. "It was a good week."
"He's not really a specific martial artist," Shiho said as they made it to the third-year floor. "Naruto's family has a specific set of martial arts they use. He knows two of them."
"Personal family martial arts?" Makoto looked excited by the prospect. "What are they called? I-If you would."
"Gama Kata," Naruto began with a chuckle. "It's one me, my dad, and my godfather use. The next is Uzu Taijutsu, one my mom, me, and her side of the family uses all the way up to my great gramps and all my cousins, aunts, uncles, and so on."
"T-That's a lot," Makoto didn't think there could be such an unknown and yet family-wide martial art. "And the last?"
"The Yin-Yang style, it's one me, Obito, and my god grandfather know," he said as the group blinked, Morgana peeking out of Akira's bag in confusion.
"That's a lot of art-MEOWCH!" Morgana began to say only for Akira to immediately stuff him back into the bag as a pair of students turned a corner. "Ow!" He hissed from within the bag but the hand placed at the opening kept his voice muffled.
"Shh!" He said with a nervous grin as they stopped by the student council office. "Alright, we'll split up here. Don't get into trouble or let it come to you," Akira said as the group nodded before separating into their desired teams.
Naruto, Akira, Shiho, and Morgana hurried to the roof while minding the hallways.
"... Stop!" Naruto said as they were about to turn a corner and ushered them into a classroom before watching as Kamoshida passed by. "What's he doing up here?" He frowned as they looked into the empty classroom with relief before leaning out and watching him go.
Only when he completely passed the student council office and went down the stairwell did they nod before heading the way he came from.
Reaching the room three minutes later, Akira breathing a bit harder than Naruto and Shiho, they double-checked their surroundings, seeing no students, much to their satisfaction.
Akira pulled out his phone and clicked on the app, the button for Kamoshida's Palace being on display before a small dropdown came from it: Safe Room 1st Floor Left Side.
"Oh… we can teleport to the Safe Rooms when we find them," he grinned as they looked at his phone. "Perfect, this saves time if we find more of them near either the Treasure or key points," Akira added before pressing the button.
The air around them distorted into waves of black and red, the area around them shifting like a distortion before they were in that room again, Naruto back in his 'Rebellion' outfit.
"O-Okay, that's easier the second time," Shiho said as they all sat in chairs. "And we even get seated? That's interesting."
"Well, it is a 'safe' space," Akira countered as she chuckled.
"I suppose."
Morgana, back to his 'normal' state, nodded. "Alright, should we follow that map for now?" He asked them and the three nodded.
"Shi-chan," Naruto said as he passed her Pill Blessing, the girl observing the item once more before eating it. "Thermopylae."
All buffed up, they slowly opened the door, peeking through its opening to see no Shadows in the hall.
"Okay, we're good for now," Morgana said as they walked out. "So, where to?"
Traversing Kamoshida's Palace had been… worryingly disgusting.
'Training Hall of Love' had been a place within the lower corridors… no, it might as well have been a truly 'distorted' way of 'training'.
The whipping, the torture, the cages, everything about this place made their blood boil.
And as they hurried around the place… things began to get more heated as, at present, they hung off the ceiling in Naruto's grip, more and more of those Shadows passing below them.
"Don't let them get away!"
"Bring the intruders' heads to the King!"
More of such nonsense was spouted and as they watched them go, they grimaced.
"... I think it's time you guys did a bit more than snooping," Morgana said with a frown as they dropped down onto a pathway. "There's more and more of them all over the place and we're cutting it really close each time. It's time we took the fight to them and lessened their numbers."
"A-As in fighting the Shadows?" Shiho asked nervously as she looked at Naruto who nodded.
"He's right, we can't keep snooping forever, remember what he said about the danger level if we get caught?" He told her as she nodded nervously, Akira grimacing as he remembered that fact, too. "And… I planned for this," Naruto said as he reached into… 'something' and pulled out a pair of daggers and a collapsible sword. "Here, use these," he said as the two raven-haired teens blinked.
"W-When? Where?" Shiho asked in disbelief as Naruto shrugged.
"I think I have Hammer Space while we're in here, it's weird," he explained as Akira took up the daggers.
"I-I'm really holding weapons… and I'm going to use them on… beings who aren't alive… beings who aren't alive," he told himself as his eyes narrowed before blinking as holsters appeared on his hips. "... this world makes no sense sometimes," he still chucked the daggers into them, though.
Shiho swallowed as she took the collapsible sword, extending the item to a length of a shortsword. "T-Thanks… we're really about to use these, Naru."
"Yeah, I know, but you remember the ones from the front? They're not alive, you guys, they're literally negativity given shape and form. If we don't fight them, we'll be endangering more than just ourselves."
Morgana nodded with a soft look. "He's right. Right now, you're not in the real world, the only flesh and blood here are us," he explained with a frown. "We're lucky that me and Naru have healing spells because you're likely gonna get hurt, you two. Are you sure you can handle this?"
Akira frowned as he looked down at his clenched hands. "... yes. If I'm not, I'll make myself ready," he was done of being told that the world didn't treat 'kindness' as something true and full of justice.
Sojiro's seemingly defeated ramblings on how the 'adult' world wasn't as simple as 'right' and 'wrong'.
That Kamoshida guy who abused his power, the trust the students had in him, and performed horrid acts.
That man who'd tried to 'act' on that woman that night!
Shiho blinked along with Naruto and Morgana.
"Yes, feed your Will of Rebellion," came a voice from a rising blue flame, the boy's glasses fading away into the heat and light as their now red irises glared at the space beneath him.
A flaming attachment found its way onto his face and Akira frowned as he touched it, understanding pinging in his mind as he looked at both his hands.
"Akira-kun?" Shiho spoke and he closed his eyes and gripped the flaming mask that had formed over his eyes. "H-Huh?!"
He pulled on it like it was a burning leech, her eyes widened as he struggled for a time, the only thing stopping her from trying to help was Naruto who shook his head.
"He's gaining the power we'll need, Shi-chan," was all he said as the older boy finally wrenched the mask off his face, a slight shower of blood shooting down Akira's noggin as he gasped.
Then it all fell away to blue flame, his close, his new invigorated smile, his form, it all burst into blue fire before finally dispersing, leaving behind a person whose eyes shined with justice behind his mask.
A pair of black boots were led into by a pair of fitting black slacks, his torso being covered by a dark gray vest with a plate-like design, a long black trench coat with two coattails and a high collar, all followed by a pair of vibrant red gloves that he clenched.
The fire had tossed up the air, exposing a tower of flame that revealed a figure behind him.
It was tall, easily capable of being ten feet in height, with red 'legs', black boots, and a similarly red chest-length coat. Its body was slim and covered by a fanciful vest with white ruffles on his collar.
Its head was humanoid in general shape but that was more of a stretch the more they looked at its face, the completely black color only broken up by a pair of completely red eyes, a similarly colored mouth, and a pair of long horn-antennae punctuated by a long top hat.
"Hmph so you awaken," the being said as his black wings lowered him to the floor, the sounds of jingling chains filling the area. "But it seems like our time for conversation is short," he said as the group heard all the clanking and sound of hurried voices. "This power of mine is yours and nobody else's! Run wild, my master! Rage your Will of Rebellion against the injustices of this world!"
Akira's eyes narrowed as red quickly glowed bright yellow before the sight of ten Shadows came into view.
"Come on! The flow of combat will be burned into your very souls!" Morgana said as he hefted a giant scimitar, to his size, out of… hammer space, they guessed? "Come on, follow my lead!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed as he crouched down. "I'll handle most of the ones still coming, Morgana, I'll leave three for you guys to handle, alright?"
"Huh?" Morgana blinked at him before remembering all the insanity that came with Naruto Uzumaki. "... alright, don't take unnecessary risks."
He smirked before the ground beneath his feet cracked and he shot towards the oncoming Shadows with a wicked look in his eyes.
He landed in front of the oncoming group before raising his hands, a pulsing power forming between his palms.
"ORYYAAAA!" He threw his arms down, foot stomping into the dirt. "MEGIDO!"
The area around the group of Shadows distorted before 'light' erupted around them, tearing into their ranks before carving through Shadow after Shadow.
By the end of it all, Naruto blurred past the last two shaky Shadows that were on their last legs. "Sorry, guys, didn't know my own strength!" Was all the blonde said before disappearing in a flash of gold light.
Soon after, more explosions and eruptions reached the three, Morgana chuckling a bit.
"We got a real powerhouse!" He grinned before turning to the two raven-haired students. "Alright, it's time to shape up! He left you two the perfect targets!"
The two shaky knights went rigid abruptly before melting into black and red pools of 'goo'.
They reformed moments later, leaving the two humans confused.
One of them was a plant? A light pink humanoid plant with just stubs at the end of each of their limbs, a collar covered in green leaves, and a flower growing from atop 'her', it looked like it had breasts, head.
The next one was a… pot? It was just a golden jug, maybe, with a handle on either side of it with a pentagram on the front. Within it, a wide-headed green creature with horns and golden eyes with slit-pupils that were half-lidded, pun intended, as he floated in the air, wobbling all the while.
"Hmm, I wonder…" Morgana said as the two blinked at the Shadows' true forms. "True forms of Shadows can vary, like I've said, and these ones finally shed their general aesthetic."
Akira hummed at that before blinking as Shiho stepped forward. "... alright," was all he said as he followed her example, moving forward.
"Light your souls ablaze, don't let fear control you," Morgana commented from beside them. "You want to change the world? You have to fight."
As they approached the two injured Shadows, Shiho glared at them.
'This is the first step to handling him,' she thought as she turned her walk into a run, blade held in both her hands. 'I won't let him get away no matter what!'
She lunged at the pot Shadow and slashed through it, the creature in the pot barely blocking with the mouth of his jug.
She gasped and turned to a swinging 'root' only for it to be sliced off by a dagger.
Akira sliced across the mandrake-like Shadow as she growled before focusing back onto her opponent.
She removed her weapon before hesitating, blade's tip held down towards the opening in the top.
Then that green thing lunged out at her face, not a hint of fear in its eyes.
And she plunged her weapon down into its head, fighting against the Shadow's surprising amount of strength before finishing it off with another press down.
It vanished as her blade kept going until it was in the ground, Shiho stumbling a bit before sighing as she looked to her side to see Akira cutting off his opponent's head.
It disappeared as hers did and she sighed in relief, falling to her knees as she pulled her weapon out of the ground.
"T-That was…" Her adrenaline was still running as Akira helped her to her feet. "... L-Let's go! We can't let Naruto deal with this all by himself!" She said as Morgana grinned.
"Good work!" He cheered as the two nodded. "Alright, let's go! As you gain more experience, you'll learn. That's all there is to it!"
They ran towards the origin of a series of explosions a bit away.
This was their step to making the world a better place!
~NRK~
That's a wrap!
So, I've already got a woman that will work as Shiho's Persona, I just don't know what kinda attributes she'd have. For the sake of clarity, her Tarot Card is the Judgment Arcana since Sae is already alright, ya know?
A little bit of Sadayo and Obito 'hashing things out' and a bit of 'secret relief' on the women's end with Ryuji's mom. With a 'go-ahead' from Sadayo to Obito to provide Himemura the same 'concession' he did for her.
Also, Kamoshida is getting pushed more and more, ya know? It's not wrong to say, things are being raised. He's getting angrier and angrier.
Naruto's beginning insults and brush-offs, Shiho's ignoring him throughout the year, Ann's denials, Sadayo's distaste, Kobayakawa's annoyance, Naruto's return and threats along with being capable of dealing with him no problem, Shido's possible interference, Shiho completely detaching herself from the volleyball team, and, finally, Obito's own threats that he can't be sure of the truth of.
Suguru's getting piled on by more and more threats and you have to wonder what'll happen with the Rally… which is basically one of the two climaxes of this fic.
Ciao.
~NRK Out~