This is a fanfic. BUY THE FUCKING MERCHANDISE!
"Seriously, Akira-senpai, how do you managed to pull all of those stunts off?"
Panting while taking the water bottle the black-haired boy handed him, Issei took a couple of greedy gulps before gasping. With his hands on his knees, the brunette serious seemed to be exhausted. Looking up, he saw that the 3rd year student was sweating as well. However, Akira was looking better than Issei a bit.
They were inside of the grand household of the Phantom Thieves. As they already knew, the giant building provided giant rooms. Apparently, a gym of sorts was one of those very things provided. Well, more of a training room was what they were in. The gym was right next door.
"Honestly, I'm not sure if there truly is an explanation." Akira answered the brunette, taking a sip from his own water bottle as well. Swallowing, he rolled his hand a bit. "But if I had to try and put it into words… I think it's because of a mental thing." He narrowed his eyes looking up thought, trying to process the words he had said.
He wasn't the only one to do so. Issei also was confused. "Mental thing?" The second-year asked. "What does the brain have to do with doing rolls, flips, and all that stuff? Wouldn't physical thing be a bit more appropriate?"
Akira shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe." His statement was curt. "But we unlocked our Personas first in the Metaverse." He began to explain soon after. "After that, just…" The boy scratched his head. "Never mind, scratch that. You remember how you suddenly were bursting with energy and ready to go despite being exhausted when you got your Persona, right?"
"Well, yeah, I remember." Issei nodded his head, looking down to his hands, still partially fascinated that they basically turn into metal, talon gauntlets. "It was absolutely amazing… I sort of got the same feeling when the fight first began."
The upperclassman nodded his head. "Something like that. If you never have done it before, you always think that you cannot pull it off. But if you just try and pull it off with confidence…"
Running towards the wall while changing into his Phantom Thief outfit, Akira jumped up and place his foot against the vertical surface. Kicking off the surface, he would have fallen if it wasn't for Arsene using its hands as a surface. Akira then continued the pattern of bouncing off the wall to his Persona multiple times at a fast pace.
With one final kick off Arsene, the teenager flipping in the air a few times before landing back down onto the ground and striking a pose while adjusting his gloves. "You can pull off stunts just like all of us." Akira finished while turning back to normal and his Persona disappearing.
"…Wow…" Issei just breathed in amazement, stunned at the example that was pulled off and the fact that he could do stuff like that too.
"Yeah, wow." Akira confirmed for the boy.
Hearing footsteps approaching from their sides, which sounded different than their breaths, the two teenagers turned their heads. "Hey, you two finished down here?" Makoto asked. They may look down but who knew it they were really taking a break.
"Yeah, pretty much." Akira nodded his head while Issei just gave a thumbs up. "Need something?"
Makoto scratched the top of her head a bit. "Not really." She answered, getting Akira to turn his head a little to indicate that he knew there was more on her mind. "I'm just letting you know that Sakura-san just arrived."
"Oh, really?" Akira asked. Taking out his phone, he looked at the time. "Hm, I expected him to be a couple of hours later." He then shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't matter. Best I greet him as well, huh?"
Issei however was confused. Makoto didn't have to nod her head as Akira began to make his way towards the exit of the room which made the male brunette ask. "Who is this Sakura-san person?" The name then partially dawned on him. "Are they related to Futaba?"
"You could technically put it like that." Makoto answered the boy, watching him catch up before she too exited the training room. "Sakura-san is pretty much Futaba's father. He was also responsible for housing Akira last year."
Issei then began to think. The father of Futaba while also being the one to shelter Akira for about a year. The brunette already began to picture the man. The adult at least had to have orange hair according to Issei's first thoughts. But when he walked into the living room and saw what the man looked like, it slightly caught the boy off guard.
In his sights was a middle-aged man with slicked-back dark hair. While the hairline was receding, it helped show off his gray eyes and a chinstrap beard with a goatee that flared out. Over his eyes were a pair of glasses. The man had on a white two-button blazer and in his hands was a white trillby with a red-white-and-blue striped hat band.
"Oh, so this is the infamous I-cchi I've heard Futaba talk about." The man commented as soon as his eyes laid upon Issei. Looking at the male brunette, the adult just scanned the boy.
"He's not as bad as Futaba makes him out to be if… she seemed to emphasize on some things." Akira patted Issei on the shoulder. "Issei, meet Sojiro Sakura. Boss, you've already seen Issei Hyoudou and now here you are meeting him." He introduced the two of them.
"…So, he didn't peek through a hole into the girl's changing room that was on the outside?" Sojiro asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, no, that was real." Akira confirmed. But then he saw that Sojiro just continued to look over Issei carefully. Akira narrowed his eyes slightly in a curious manner. "…Did Futaba tell you anything else about him?" He had to ask while turning his head. "Anything… that sort of reminded you of us being Phantom Thieves?"
"Not exactly trying to be subtle about it, huh?" Sojiro folded his arms while resting his chin against his hand. "But to answer your question, yes. Futaba did say something about you all being involved with a group of Devils and stuff like that. At first it surprised me since, well, they're Devils… Err, no offense if I said something insensitive." He apologized in Issei's direction.
"Huh?" Issei asked in a bit of confusion. But it eventually clicked in his mind and understood what Sojiro meant. "Oh, n-no, it's completely cool." He shook his head while waving his hands. "I was kind of like that as well when I first became a Devil and Buchou was fine with it so I don't let it bother me either." Something then caused Issei to freeze before looking over in Akira's direction. "Wait… Phantom Thieves? Sakura-san know about you guys and your secret?"
"Yeah." Futaba spoke up, scrunching up her face in a funny expression. "Long story short, Sojiro found out and was cool with it after eventually explaining ourselves."
"…You at least remember me being a bit tense during that, right?" Sojiro questioned.
"Yup, but that's water under the bridge because I know you love us." The ginger grinned while teasing.
The adult sighed. "Onto a different topic," He then coughed. Looking around, he looked like he was admiring the interior of the building. "I've got to say, I am impressed with the place you all are living in now. It's like a mansion in here. And you said that a… Fallen Angel helped you guys with this?"
"One of the leaders or something like that." Ryuji answered with a wobble of his hand to indicate that Sojiro had the right idea. "Well, less helped and more did it behind our backs while we were at school as a way of saying thanks." He then looked around. "You know, I'm kind of surprised that Nijima-san isn't here. I was sort of expecting her to be coming here with you, Boss."
Sojiro hummed, turning his body around to face the blonde. "Sae-san is currently working on a case, so she's been pretty busy lately." He explained. "Besides, I'm not just here for a social visit. Do you know how far this place is from Tokyo?"
That response took Ryuji by surprise. "Wait, not just a social visit? What else could you be here for then?"
Ann flatly stared at Ryuji. Turning her head over to the rest of the Phantom Thieves, she had to ask. "So, do one of you guys want to tell him, or should I?"
TakeABreak
Apparently Kuoh Academy had something going on that many people knew about but then it just slipped their minds. According to all the teachers, they would be hosting open classes. So, it wouldn't just be the students' parents who could come to observe, but middle schoolers too.
To Sojiro, he honestly felt old standing among the many parents as well as children that were participating in the open class. The parents were at least in their twenties or thirties so that part was understandable. But the kids were something he did not expect. Seriously, shouldn't the kids at least be in class or something?
Still, he was proud of Futaba. It was not because she knew a lot of what was going on in class. He sort of expected something like that since she learned so much about computers and other subjects that were much more advanced for her age. One had to at least know the basics before building up on it after all.
No, it came from her decision to move with Akira and the others. Even when Futaba had started going out of the house for the first time in years, she mainly went out whenever the others would. Other than that, she hung around the house and such. Thankfully as time passed, she eventually managed to go out to shop for her own stuff once. But that turned into the sudden leap when she told him that she wanted to live with her friends in another town,
In the middle of class, watching Futaba whisper to a white-haired girl that was probably smaller than her and a blonde, a small smile grew on Sojiro's face. The ginger was just growing up and it made him happy.
The bell rang and indicated that class was over. As students began to escape into the halls, Sojiro saw this coming and managed to slip out before the wave of people came crashing out. Leaning against the side, he waited for the herd to thin out. Luckily, he didn't need to go back into the room since Futaba and the white-haired female were at the end of the crowd.
"I've got to say, they're teaching some pretty good stuff for your age." The corners of Sojiro's mouth twitched upwards to make a small smile. "Glad to see that you're doing pretty good for yourself as well." He added, looking towards Futaba's companions.
"Heh, thanks, Sojiro." Futaba chuckled with a small grin on her face. Realizing that the older man was staring at two people, she then pulled them both in for a friendly hug. "Oh, right, let me introduce you to my classmates. This one here is Koneko-chan." Futaba wiggled her right arm, indicating that the white-haired girl with the almost deadpanning gaze was who she claimed it was. "While over here is Ravel-chan." The blonde however seemed to look a bit awkward in Futaba's grasp.
"Hi." Koneko greeted.
"…It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakura-san." Ravel managed to regain her composure with a bow after slipping out of Futaba's grip.
"It's nice to meet you two as well." Sojiro nodded.
Futaba then whipped her head around a couple of times. "Hey, I just realized," She started. "Where are your guys' parents?"
"They were too busy when this day would come, unfortunately." Ravel answered.
"…" Koneko lowered her head a bit so her bangs covered her eyes. "…I don't have any relatives."
Blinking, the three people serving as an audience went silent for a few seconds. Each of them looked to each other. "Err… sorry about that, Koneko-chan… I didn't know." Futaba apologized quietly, patting the small girl on her shoulders. "Tell you what though, why don't start eating now? Sojiro made us lots of curry to eat. If you think Akira's was good, wait until you try this!" She attempted to cheer her friend up. "Sojiro was the one to teach Akira after all!"
Slowly looking up, Koneko had a bit of drool dribbling from the corner of her mouth.
TakeABreak
"Someone even said that they would pay $80 for this!"
"Eighty bucks? Seriously? We're in Japan. Shouldn't it be, like, Yen or something?"
Issei proudly showed off the clay figure that he had made in English class of all subjects to his fellow Peerage and the rest of the high-school Phantom Thieves in the halls. What arts such as sculpting had to do with a language, none of them had any idea. But still, what Issei showed off was… interesting to say the least.
"Well, it's certainly interesting to see how the Red Dragon Emperor looks like in a small form." The red-head mused. In Rias' hands was the sculpture of a large western dragon, with a long neck, green eyes, and spikes throughout its body.
Yusuke bent forward, taking in the details of the art piece. "Magnificent." He breathed, seeming rather impressed at the object. "I do not recall perfectly how Ddraig looks, but this sculpture almost contains so many details one would not see at first glance. Look at the how the scales are distinguished from one another to form a smooth pattern still, like the skin of a shark. The eyes even have their pupils and corneas separate, not just two blank balls."
"How the heck were you even able to pull something like this off anyways?" Ryuji asked, raising an eyebrow while looking at the brunette.
"Well, I didn't know what I should make at first." Issei explained himself. "So I decided on the first thing that would pop into my head. So I first though, Buchou with her nice boobs, tight ass, wide child-bearing hips, and perfect thick thighs! But then I realized I may end up disrespecting her body like that and stopped. Then I started thinking about Ann-senpai in her sexy Phantom Thief outfit!"
"Hang on, let him explain himself." Akira put a hand on top of his bag just as Morgana was about to pounce out.
"But then that thought punched me and said to do something else." Issei followed up. "After that, I thought Phantom Thieves but then I wasn't given enough clay. So then Personas came to mind and…" He gestured over towards the Ddraig sculpture still in Rias' grasp.
"…Well, at least it seems that I'm having some kind of an effect on you." Ann leaned back while giving Issei a weird look.
Issei then looked around and realized something. "Oh yeah, that reminds me, Sakura-san is with Futaba. But where are your guys parents?"
"Too busy." Akira answered.
"Mom had work so couldn't come." Ryuji responded.
"Overseas." Ann informed.
"I did not know my father and my mother died when I was young." Yusuke said.
Issei stared at them before looking down in shame. "I feel like such an asshole now…" He mumbled to himself.
Several cheers soon began to enter their ears. Confusion and curiosity eventually got the better of the group and they began to move down the halls. Reaching a flight of stairs, they were unable to move up due to a massive crowd of males blocking their pathway.
"The heck?" Ryuji asked. "What going on around here with this crowd? Some event we don't know about?"
Hearing a sigh come from their sides, they turned their heads to see a familiar Devil shake his head. "Apparently they're taking pics of a magical girl." Saji said in a bit of disapproval while folding his arms. Approaching, he raised his voice. "Hey, hey! You can't have a photo shoot here! You're blocking the way for everyone who wants to pass!"
"…Magical… girl?" Yusuke asked in confusion and curiosity. "As in a young witch?"
"You know, I thought Futaba would have explained something like this to you already." Ryuji commented. "But that first part, beats me." He shrugged his shoulders soon after. "What? Did someone actually dress up and cosplay as one?"
"Break it up, break it up!" Saji continued to command while waving his hands. "It's open house today! Such commotion in the stairwell is unsightly!" Lucky for him, all the students started to disperse which left him the opportunity to lecture the one who was starring in the impromptu photo shoot. "And you. You can't wear that here. Unless… are you a parent or guardian? Even so, that outfit's not exactly appropriate."
"Aww, but this is my uniform." The adult whined.
"…Wait, is that…" Akira started slowly, recognizing that person.
"What going on here?"
Everyone turned around and saw another Devil walking towards them. "Ah, Sitri-san." Akira stated as the girl came over, not affected by the serious tone she threw at them.
"Greetings, Akira-san." Sona gave the common curtesy before seeing the red-head. "Ah, Rias, I found you. Good." She then held out a hand behind her. "I was just giving a tour to Sirzechs-sama and your father."
Sierzechs, the Phantom Thieves were already familiar with. But Rias' father on the other hand was a middle-aged handsome looking man. As it was apparent in the Gremory family, the adult had long crimson red hair tht was tied in a loose pony tail with a black hairband.
Before either of them could speak a word, Sona got right back down to business once more as she walked right up to Saji. "And you, Saji." She sternly began, much to the reincarnated Devil's embarrassment. "I'm always telling you to resolve situations quickly and without incid-"
"Sona-chan! Found you!"
The adult who was dressed up as a magical girl pounced onto the student council president, much to the younger female's dismay. Watching this, everyone was slightly taken aback at the action but Akira was the first to recover. "Hm, so I was right. It was Leviathan-sama." He stated.
"Akira-chan as well!"
"Hrk!"
Akira soon found himself his neck being wrapped into one arm and pull towards Serafall who was holding her sister in her other hand. Unfortunately, whether it was intentional or not, her hold on Akira was incredibly tight.
"Help me!" Morgana cried out from Akira's bag, which was between Akira and Serafall. "I going to be crushed to death!"
"O-onee-sama…" Sona stuttered for a bit. "I'm the student council president here. Family or not, I cannot tolerate this sort of behavior." She had to readjust her glasses after furiously escaping her sister's grasp.
"Come on, Sona-chan! You know your Onee-chan loves magical girls! I'd use my sparkling wand to exterminate the Angel and Fallen Angels for you!" Serafall playfully said while pointing her the wand out on her person while still choking Akira (on accident or purpose however was still unknown).
"…Who here thinks Futaba would be freaking out if she saw this cosplay?" Ann asked, looking around at her fellow Phantom Thieves.
"Nah, I don't think magical girls are her thing." Ryuji answered.
"Have some prudence, Onee-sama." Sona sighed. "A bit of sparkling from you could destroy this small country in minutes." She then pointed. "Also, could you please let Akira-san go? He looks like he's about to suffocate because of you."
Giving her younger sister a confused look, Serafall looked to where the pointing was and saw that Akira was still being choked by her and turning a little blue. "Ah, whoopsies." She released the boy, allowing him to take in a deep breath.
Morgana meanwhile clawed his way out of the bag and gasped for air. "Holy!" He panted, making sure to take in as much oxygen as he could every breath. "I serious thought I was going to die there!" He then looked around to see what was possibly crushing him. His eyes immediately laid upon Serafall. "…And maybe it would have been such a bad thing." The cat then purred before sinking back into the bag in a cute manner.
"Sorry about that, Akira-chan. Sometimes I forget about my own strength." Serafall apologized. But before Akira could say anything as soon as he regained his composure, she was right in front of his face. "Now, about this business of you beating my sister in chess."
"O-onee-sama!" Sona exclaimed in embarrassment immediately sliding in from the side but couldn't intervene.
Leaning back, Akira eventually found out that Serafall wasn't going to give him any room when he couldn't go backwards any further. "…I thought the results of the game were supposed to be between us." Akira stated while making it a bit of a question at the same time and eyeing Sona.
"So you don't deny it!" Serafall exclaimed, causing Akira to snap his head back in her direction. "And you refuse to accept her hand?! What?! Is she not good enough!? No! She's very pretty! She's the cutest, even better than Rias-chan! Sure, Sona-chan doesn't have much of a chest yet, but they'll grow! See mine?! Sona-chan will be like this one day as well!"
"Uuu…"
Everyone looked back to Sona. The younger Sitri had now suddenly broken down. Her usual demeanor, broken. Now she really looked like the average embarrassed high-school girl. "I can't take it anymore!" She cried out, running away.
"Wait, Sona-chan!" Serafall suddenly straightened her back and ran after Sona. "Don't leave you Onee-chan behind!"
"Please don't follow me!" Sona exclaimed while turning a corner.
As Saji chased after the both of them, their outbursts left the group in silence. But after a few seconds, Akira slowly moved towards Ann and handed her his school-bag. "Could you look after Morgana for me quickly?" He asked, getting the female blonde to slowly nod her head after comprehending what the boy had requested her to do.
With a nod of thanks, Akira started jogging in the direction Sona, Serafall, and Saji had gone off to.
"…Anyone want to tell me what the heck just happened?" Ryuji asked. But as he looked around, everyone else was just as speechless. "So, I'm not the only one. That's good… I guess."
Sirzechs however just chuckled. "I've never seen Serafall take a liking to a boy Sona's age so quickly." He mused. "Though I do have to argue that Rias-chan is the better little sister there is."
"Onii-sama…" Rias groaned into her hands.
Her father meanwhile stepped forward. "So, you are the Phantom Thieves. I thought I recognized you all from my daughter's celebration against Riser. My name is Zeoticus Gremory, a pleasure to meet you all." He greeted with a smile.
"Huh? O-oh, the pleasure is ours, sir." Morgana poked his head out again. "But, uh… is Sitri-san going to be okay?"
"Oh, no need to worry." Zeoticus reassured the cat. "While she did act like that, Sona still knows that her sister means well. Though at this rate, I believe your companion will cheer her up as well."
"…Speaking of companions…" Sirzechs decided to take over the conversation. "There is a matter I would like to discuss with you, Rias." The atmosphere immediately went a little heavy when the red-head did not add a cute part to his sister's name. "About your other bishop…"
TakeABreak
Jogging down the halls, Akira rounded a corner and saw that Serafall and Saji were both calling out for Sona.
It was at that moment that he decided to quickly duck into a classroom so that they wouldn't see him. While it was not exactly a necessary action, it was so that he could think and they won't follow him if it came down to that situation.
Sona seemed… all too embarrassed about the situation. While he did know that Sona could display expression as such, there was a bit too much emotion that what he was used to when interacting with her. He sort of knew why he even ran after her. But what to do if he would find her though… he didn't know what to do.
But he had to think of something fast because Sona was in that exact empty classroom.
The girl had her head buried in her arms and was sitting against the wall. Within seconds however, she looked up and was shocked at Akira's appearance. Just as she had opened her mouth, Akira quickly put a finger against his lips to indicate that they needed to be quiet.
Peeking out of the door, he saw Serafall and Saji both turn a corner. "…Um…" Akira began as he closed the door.
Sona immediately covered her face and brought her legs up.
Going quiet, Akira slowly walked up to the girl and stood in front of her. Just watching her stay curled up for about a minute, he immediately turned around. Shuffling around so he would end up next to her, Akira dropped down so he would be sitting on the floor as well.
"…It's okay, Akira-san…" Sona had her face turning away from the boy so he wouldn't see her cheeks that were flushed red. "It's just Onee-sama being Onee-sama…" She continued. "Just give me some time and things will pass." But when Akira didn't move, Soan settled for tilting her head just so that she could see him out of the corner of her eye. "…Seriously, Akira-san, I'm fine…"
While Akira did stare straight forward, she knew that he too was looking out of the corner of his eye. "Then I'll wait until you're better."
She didn't show it physically, but Sona was taken aback by his answer. Turning her head away, she blushed in embarrassment. To her she was unsure why, yet she felt like she knew the answer. "…You know… this is the first time Onee-sama has ever liked a boy my age…"
"Huh… lucky me I guess…"
The two of them then continued to sit in content silence.
TakeABreak
"In this room, lies my other bishop."
Rias made this statement as they were back in the old school building. Standing in front of a door, it proved to be slightly ominous but not too bad. The yellow caution tape with the words KEEP OUT printed on sort of took away from the spookiness.
All of the Phantom Thieves but Akira, Makoto, and Haru were present. The entirety of Rias' Peerage also accompanied her. Even the new addition to the Peerage, Xenovia, was there as well. Unfortunately, no Irina.
The exorcists was absolutely shocked at Xenovia's decision to become a Devil. Even when the blue-haired girl tried to explain her reasoning, Irina still was upset. While they still managed to retain their friendship, their relationship in general was still very awkward.
"Your other bishop?" Xenovia asked, putting a hand to her chin. "Why would they be holed up in here?"
"I was told that neither I nor they could fully control their power yet, so they've been sealed in here." Rias explained. "Apparently, we proved out worth during the Kokabiel incident, so I've been permitted to remove the seal."
"Yeesh," Issei commented. "Must be pretty terrifying if they have to be locked in here…"
"It's more like they're been living here." Rias continued. "My bishop was given the option to be unsealed late at night and roam freely around the old school building but refused."
"A real shut-in, huh?" The male brunette questioned with a nervous chuckle.
"Right, here we go…" Rias put her hand against the door. As soon as she made contact, a bright light with several runes showed up and slowly began to undo themselves. When the magic disappeared from their eyes, she tored the caution tape apart. "I'm opening the door now."
"Noooooooooo!"
A shriek escaped from the open doors and made everybody but Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Koneko, and even Xenovia jump. Creaking the door open, Rias sighed. "Hello. Good to see you're full of energy." She stated.
"Wh-why-why are you here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Akeno asked. "The seal's been undone. You can leave now. How about you come with us?"
"Nooooo! I want to stay here! Don't want to go out! I don't like people!"
Staring into the dark room, Futaba whipped her head around a couple of times which attracted the attention of her friends. "…Was I this bad last year?" She asked.
"…Honestly, that's kind of up to debate." Ryuji answered.
Ann punched Ryuji's back immediately after.
Shuffling inside, everyone in their vision was a single person cowering on the farther end of the room. That person had platinum blonde hair and pinkish-violet eyes. Their hair was styled in a short bob cut with several small fringes over their forehead and had pointed ears. The clothing they wore was just the school-uniform for the female gender.
"Awesome! It's a blonde, foreign girl!" Issei suddenly cheered while Asia looked in awe. "Now we got an awesome duo going on for our bishops!"
"No, that's a guy."
Hearing Futaba's comment, most of the group turned their heads over to the ginger. Issei laughed. "Come on, Futaba-san, that's totally a chick. Right, Buchou?" His question didn't receive and answer. "…This is where you say I'm right, Buchou…"
"She's actually a he?!" Ryuji questioned. "For real?!"
"Eek!" The person at the end of the hall screeched. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Futaba-san is correct." Rias had to confirm. "Gasper is biologically a boy. He just likes crossdressing."
Yusuke turned his head over to Futaba. "How exactly did you figure this out so quickly?"
Futaba shrugged her shoulders. "You'd be surprised what you can discover when you let your fingers just walk you through the internet." She then looked like she remembered something. "You guys want to see America's invasion plan for Iran later?"
"…Maybe some other time." Morgana stated. "Right now, I think we need to stop Issei from blowing himself to Iran."
"You've got to be joking! Seriously!" Issei came storming up right towards Gasper and grabbed his arm while pointing. "How can someone this cute looking be a guy?!"
Suddenly, there was a wave of purple light that erupted from Gasper. As the strange light washed through the room, all the Devils but Issei were sudden stopped moving. At first, no one noticed. But as a moment passed, many of them realized that things were a little too quiet.
"Wait, the hell just happened?!" Ryuji questioned, looking around. Walking up towards Rias, he waved a hand in front of her face. "Hello? Gremory-san?" But he got no reaction. "It's like she's frozen."
"Himejima-san too!" Ann stated with surprise.
"Even Koneko-chan!" Futaba added.
Issei immediately looked back at Gasper. "What the heck did you just do?!"
But Gasper was shocked as well. It was for something else, however. "You-you all are still moving… Even though my Sacred Gear stops time…"
"Stops time?" Yusuke asked, pacing around the room to try and get a better view of the situation. "There's a Scared Gear that can do such a thing?"
"Forget that, why the heck aren't we affected?" Ryuji asked.
Meanwhile Issei let go of Gasper. But as soon as he did, he shivered a bit. "Hey, Senpais…" He began, grabbing the Phantom Thieves' attention. "Do you guys feel that? It's like I'm getting goosebumps all of a sudden just by being in this time freeze weirdness."
"Sorry…" Gasper apologized from the side.
Each of the Phantom Thieves looked at each other. "…Now that you mention it," Morgana slowly said while narrowing his eyes. "There is something weird. It's kind of like we're out of place… Sort of like when we were back in the Metaverse…"
Well, after a couple of months, here we go. Some kind of small reveal at the end… Screw it. Foreshadowing. It's some kind of fucked up foreshadowing that may or may not make sense if I ever get to the part explaining why it is.
Also, phew, just made it to 1,000 follows! My first story to get that many. Thank you all for taking interest in this fic. I know it's not the best, but thank you for the support either way.
No flames please.