A/N: sithlorde1988 here, with another chapter of Persona 5- The Amamiya Files! Hard to believe we're already on chapter 6, but here we are. Before I get into the disclaimer info and the like, I do want to take this chance to throw a warning out right now that this chapter might have some trigger warnings in it, and a few slightly dark moments, but said moments will be clearly marked so those who don't like reading such moments or who are squeamish can skip over them, though there might be minimal plot development in said moments so skip at your own risk. Having gotten that warning put out there, let's proceed to the disclaimer before I forget to do it for some reason.
Disclaimer: sithlorde1988 does not own the Persona series in any way shape or form, save for his OC Kusa which he DOES own as he created him. Credit for actually owning the Persona series (or at least making it) belongs to Atlus, Sega of America and Koei Tecmo (or at least the credit for making Persona 5 Strikers/Scramble belongs to Koei Tecmo to some extent, but the specific disclaimers for that game will be touched on more when we reach the Strikers/Scramble parts of the story) so kudos to the mentioned companies for owning Persona!
Having said all that, on with chapter 6!
Chapter 6: The Plot Thickens! Suzui and Takamaki take a stand! Codename Shenanigans! Phantoms Awaken part 6
(Leblanc, in the attic with Kusa and Ren, neutral POV)
Ren and Kusa laid on their bed/sofa and looked at the ceiling before the former spoke up uncertainly.
"So Kusa, what do you make of Morgana-sensei's suggestion about changing Kamoshida's heart? I think it could work, but it has its' risks." Ren said, making Kusa frown as he considered the question before replying after a bit to ponder his response.
"Honestly? I agree that it might well be the only way to make Kamoshida change, but I agree with Ryuji's point that we don't want to resort to risking murder unless we have no other alternative though if we can ensure Kamoshida won't die as a result of his heart being changed, then I'm all for Morgana-sensei's suggestion since he's yet to really steer us wrong, ignoring the fact that he almost got us in trouble showing up at Shujin like he did with his loudness. That being said, I think we should sleep on this so as to hopefully get a more calm and considered perspective on the subject tomorrow, don't you agree Ren?" Kusa said sagely getting a nod from Ren as he yawned while speaking up.
"Yeah, you're probably right Kusa. Let's get some sleep. After all, tomorrow's probably going to be another busy day." Ren said, getting a nod from Kusa as the two laid down to go to sleep...
(On the way to school the next day with Ren and Kusa, neutral POV)
Ren and Kusa were walking from the train station to the school when they heard a pair of females in front of them talking, the latter frowning as he listened in as the former was distracted by his contemplation of Morgana's suggestion from the day before.
"I can't believe Suzui-senpai missed such an important meeting. I wonder what happened." One of the females said as the other spoke up.
"Mister Kamoshida asked to see her. I've heard rumors about how the two of them stay late together..." The other female said as the first one spoke up again.
"I wonder what's going on... You don't think they're...?" The first female said, oblivious to Kusa's eyes going wide as he heard all this, before said eyes narrowed as he had a vague suspicion about what was in fact going on, making his already-low opinion of Kamoshida dip even lower. The second female spoke up before Kusa could react at all.
"Nah, it couldn't be...Man, it's been nothing but bad news lately. I'm worried about the future..." The second female said as the first female spoke up again.
"Oh, that reminds me. Apparently, a guest is coming to the school today. Some young guy I think..." The first female said as the second one spoke up, her tone curious.
"...Oh? Tell me more." The second female said, as the rest of the walk was just gossip about whatever guest was coming...
(At Ren's classroom, with Ren and Takamaki, neutral POV)
"So, I assume all of you know about the separation of powers? There are three branches in our government. The National Diet is legislative, the Cabinet is executive, and the Supreme Court is judiciary. This division of power provides checks and balances, which ensures no one branch becomes unstoppable." Ushimaru, the Government teacher, was lecturing Ren's class, to which Ren was listening intently, until he felt a rustling in his bag, after which a familiar voice spoke up to Ren.
"Have you made up your mind?" Morgana said to Ren after he popped out of Ren's bag, making him look at Morgana in surprise.
"Morgana!? What are you doing here!?" Ren quietly whispered. Morgana spoke up at that point quietly.
"Never mind that right now. No matter how much thinking you do, there's only one option. You'd be better off listening to me." Morgana said as Ren glared at Morgana.
"Why are you in there? Actually, don't answer that right now. I'm in class. Don't talk, or you'll get us both in trouble." Ren quietly hissed in Morgana's ear. Ushimaru frowned as he heard Morgana meowing, though he wasn't sure where the sound was coming from, so he spoke up.
"Hm? Did I hear a cat just now?" Ushimaru asked, as the rest of the class started murmuring among themselves, and Morgana blanched before hiding in Ren's desk as he spoke up once more.
"Um, ahem...M-M-Meow!" Morgana said as Ren rolled his eyes at Morgana's ability to almost get himself and Ren into trouble. Ushimaru frowned and spoke up again before Ren could yell at Morgana, though.
"Hm... Could that rumored cat be somewhere nearby? Settle down! We're in the middle of an important lecture!" Ushimaru said as Ren's phone went off to signal a group chat from Ryuji, which Ren discreetly looked at, curious as to what Ryuji might want during class.
"It's no use...I can't think of any other way..." Ryuji sent as Ren and Kusa, in their respective classrooms, rolled their eyes at Ryuji's grasp of the obvious before the latter sent a response as Ren was typing one of his own.
"Ryuji...you are at least somewhat paying attention to your class, I hope? That said, I agree that Morgana-sensei's suggestion is seemingly looking like our only viable option, risky though it might be to consider." Kusa sent as Ren nodded and sent his own response.
"I agree, Kusa. And since he's probably reading this over my shoulder, Morgana agrees too. And YES Kusa, Morgana-sensei's in my classroom. Apparently he hid in my bag. But never mind that for now, let's concentrate on class and worry about the details later." Ren sent. Ryuji huffed as he read Ren's response and sent a response of his own.
"I can't deal with that shit right now. I mean, what're we gonna do about Kamoshida? Do we just gotta go along with what that cat says? Urgh, that damn furball..." Ryuji sent as Kusa frowned before sending a response of his own.
"HE'S NOT A CAT, RYUJI! How many times do you have to be corrected on that before you understand that!? He was just cursed to look like one in this world and the other one. Also, you said Morgana-sensei's with you, Ren? If he is, tell him, or if he's reading this, hi Morgana-sensei! And Ren, be nice to him! I reserve the right to ream you if I find out you were rough to him at all." Kusa sent with a huff, as Ren chuckled as he read Kusa's response, Morgana also chuckling quietly as Ren sent one more response.
"Morgana-sensei says hi as well, Kusa. That said, let's get back to concentrating on class so we don't get in trouble." Ren sent, putting his phone away to ignore what likely would be an argument between Kusa and Ryuji via texts about Morgana, putting his phone on silent so it doesn't get him in trouble for going off a lot. Morgana frowned as he looked at Ren before speaking up quietly.
"If Ryuji only know I'm reading this too..." Morgana said as Ren nodded his agreement, before his attention was grabbed by one of the other students speaking up.
**Trigger Warning start: attempted suicide, implied abuse of students, heavy language. If you don't like these things, skip to the section marked **Trigger Warning end**, otherwise read on at your own risk**
"Hey...What's that...!?" Ren heard from one of the other students, who was looking outside of the classroom at something. Ushimaru frowned and spoke up.
"ENOUGH! This is a classroom!" Ushimaru snapped, but was ignored as one of the females in the class spoke up, looking horrified at what she saw.
"Wait... She's going to jump!" The gawking female said, making Morgana and Ren exchange wide-eyed looks of fear as the class turned to pandemonium at that point, everyone speaking up, and Mishima actually standing up, speaking in surprise, even if he only said one word.
"Suzui...?" Mishima asked, as Takamaki frowned at this, turning to the window.
"Shiho...?" Takamaki said in fear, as many voices could be heard, the most prominent ones saying things like 'Somebody has to do something!', 'She should get down.', 'Is anyone going to do anything?', and so on. Ushimaru frowned as he spoke up once more.
"Hey! Stay in your seats! Do NOT step foot outside of this classroom!" Ushimaru said, but was once more ignored, unsurprisingly. Takamaki bolted from the classroom, Ren close behind, Morgana hiding in Ren's bag...
(Out on the roof with Shiho, neutral POV)
Shiho took a steadying breath to steel herself, then, to the shock of everyone watching, she jumped off the roof of the school, drawing many gasps from the onlooking students, and horrified looks from Takamaki and Ren who saw Shiho jump. Unbeknownst to Ren and Takamaki, the closest classroom to where Shiho had jumped was Kusa's classroom, where he saw the whole thing with his desk partner, the both of whom exchanged wide-eyed looks.
"Did...Did that just happen!? We both saw that, right?" Kusa asked his desk partner, whose eyes were wide in horror as she nodded.
"Yeah...Yeah, we both saw that. Suzui-san... she just jumped! Is she gonna be okay, do you think?" Kusa's desk partner asked as Kusa frowned.
"Honestly? Not sure. But what I'm curious about is if my brother might've also seen that." Kusa said as he and his desk partner exchanged resolute nods and darted out to see for themselves what was going on. After a bit, they caught up to Ren and Takamaki, as the latter spoke up.
...! No...why? Shiho...!" Takamaki shouted in a mix of horror and concern as she darted off to check on Shiho, Ren and Kusa exchanging horrified looks with each other, and even the sight of Kusa's desk partner next to him didn't distract Ren from his worries about Shiho, though he did smile on recognizing the girl from the train, as the trio raced off to make sure Takamaki was okay. At that point, they ran into Ryuji who was also panicked, having also seen Shiho jump.
"Hey! What's goin' on!? We should head to the courtyard too!" Ryuji said as Kusa and Ren nodded, the latter giving the red-headed girl who was with the former an encouraging smile as he saw the devastated look on her face, as they went with Ryuji to the courtyard. Naturally, the entrances were flooded with concerned students, so Ryuji had to clear a path for the group in the way only he could.
"Hey, lemme through!" Ryuji said, carefully nudging people aside to create a gap for himself, Ren, Kusa and Kusa's desk partner to walk through, the latter subconsciously huddled into Ren for comfort without thinking about it much, getting a smile from Ren as the group made their way to the courtyard.
"What the hell!?" One of the students protested as Ryuji was clearing a path but Ryuji just frowned at the male and spoke up.
"Let us through, man! Please!" Ryuji said as the group eventually reached the courtyard, where Ren and Kusa could just see Suzui loaded onto a stretcher, her face clearly wracked with pain from her jump, Takamaki looking on from the front of the crowd, worry in her eyes as she looked at her best friend laid on the stretcher.
"Class is still in session!" One of the panicking teachers said in an attempt to restore order after Suzui's jump, though it was a fruitless effort as people had their phones out and were taking pictures and even videos of the scene. Takamaki gasped in horror as she looked at Suzui.
"Shiho!" Ann said in fear and worry. Ryuji frowned as he tried to catch up to Takamaki, not amused by the crowd's reactions.
"What the hell's wrong with these people!?" Ryuji said as a paramedic walked up to the group.
"We need someone to go with her...Are there any teachers around?" The paramedic asked the gathered students. The panicking teacher nodded before speaking up.
"I-I'm not in charge of her class though." The teacher said as Kusa rolled his eyes, not amused by the teacher's apparent cowardice. Another teacher then spoke up nervously.
"W-We should leave this to Principal Kobayakawa..." The nervous teacher said as Takamaki frowned and put her foot down (both metaphorically AND literally!) She then spoke up, looking at the paramedic as she spoke, not seeing Kusa and Ren giving her approving nods as she spoke up.
"I'll go!" Takamaki said decisively. The paramedic nodded before also speaking up.
"Please hurry!" The paramedic said as Takamaki nodded before sprinting over to Suzui and looking into her eyes as she spoke in a sad voice.
"Shiho... Why?" Takamaki asked Suzui in a weak, saddened voice, making Suzui lift her head to look at Takamaki as she spoke up weakly.
"Ann..? I'm sorry. I...I can't take this... anymore..." Suzui said as she went quiet after that making Takamaki look at her in concern.
"Shiho? ...Huh?" Takamaki said as she looked at Suzui who whispered into her ear, her words making Takamaki's eyes go wide as she spoke a single world after that.
"...Kamoshida!?" Takamaki said in shock, not seeing Kusa and Ryuji both growl at the mention of Kamoshida's name, or Ren's eyes narrowing in disgust as he figured out what most likely had happened, and even Morgana was upset at hearing Kamoshida's name from in Ren's bag. Suzui nodded before groaning in pain.
"Ngh..." Suzui said before seemingly passing out from her pain, making Takamaki look at her in horror as she spoke up in fear.
"No... Shiho!?" Takamaki said as Suzui was loaded into the ambulance with Takamaki riding with her as it drove off to the hospital. Meanwhile, Ryuji frowned as he looked at Ren and Kusa, as Ren was trying to comfort Kusa's desk partner who was practically hugging him at that point in mixed despair, horror and shock, while Kusa looked at Ryuji.
"Volleyball team..." Ryuji muttered, also gathering what likely had happened to Suzui. One of the teachers spoke up at that point.
"Return to your classrooms at once!" The teacher said in a forceful tone, attempting to bring order to the pandemonium that had ensued from Suzui's decision. Mishima gasped as he processed everything that had just happened before speaking up quietly.
"Ah... Ah..." Mishima said before his eyes went wide and he raced off looking anxious and fearful. Ryuji of course noticed this and spoke up.
"That guy..." Ryuji said before looking at Ren and Kusa.
"Hey...Wasn't that guy acting weird?" Ryuji asked Kusa and Ren, the former of which nodded while the latter spoke up with a nod, while holding Kusa's desk partner gently to comfort her as best he could.
"Definitely. If I had to guess, maybe he knows something?" Ren suggested, as Kusa's eyes narrowed.
"If he does, I might just help Ryuji get it out of him, by force if needed! What just happened was extremely fucked up! No one should have to feel like Suzui clearly felt given what she did!" Kusa said angrily, surprising both Ryuji AND the girl in Ren's arms with how forceful and venomous his tone was, though Ren just sadly nodded, used to seeing this side of Kusa even if it was a fairly uncommon occurrence. Ryuji nodded his agreement to Kusa's words, cracking his knuckles excitedly as he spoke up.
"Oh yeah, I agree Kusa. We're going to make him talk this time!" Ryuji said as he Ren and Kusa darted off to confront Mishima, the latter carefully lifting his desk partner out of Ren's arms, and gently carrying her to the infirmary to lay her on a bed as she'd fallen asleep, figuring she needed to sleep off what she'd seen, before catching up to Ren and Ryuji, none of them seeing Kobayakawa speak up after they'd left.
"Teachers, return to your classrooms for the time being! Please do NOT let any students go home yet!" Kobayakawa said as the scene was slowly contained and gotten under control...
(Meanwhile, in the courtyard with Ryuji, Ren and Mishima, neutral POV)
"That hurts!" Mishima said with a wince as he was pushed into the nearby wall by Ryuji who spoke up.
"Why'd you run like that? Huh!?" Ryuji asked Mishima angrily, Ren frowning as he glared at Mishima, curious to hear the answer to that as well. Kusa then walked up and saw Ryuji speaking to Mishima and quietly spoke to Ren.
"I got my desk partner settled at the infirmary for now. I'll have to remember to go check on her after this, but for now she just needs to sleep off what she saw. But I'm sure you quite enjoyed the chance to hold her in your arms like you did, eh Ren? Maybe that'll leave a good impression on her if you're lucky." Kusa said teasingly to Ren with a wink. Ren frowned as he looked at Kusa.
"Kusa, is now REALLY the time for teasing and jokes!? You DID see what we saw right!? A student just tried to kill herself!" Ren scolded Kusa who nodded.
"I saw that too, Ren. I was just trying to take your mind off of it if I could since you look extremely tense." Kusa said quietly as Ren nodded, the two turning to listen to Ryuji and Mishima once more as Mishima spoke up in a quiet voice.
"I didn't run..." Mishima denied as Ryuji growled, slamming his fist into a nearby locker as he spoke up in an angry voice.
"She jumped and tried to kill herself!" Ryuji snapped angrily at Mishima, clearly livid at what he'd seen. Mishima spoke up fearfully.
"L-Leave me alone..." Mishima said, trying to get away as Ren and Kusa spoke up at that point.
"Bull fucking shit you didn't run, Mishima-san! Ryuji and I SAW you fleeing like a bat out of hell back there!" Kusa snapped, also clearly livid. Ren frowned at Kusa's language as he spoke up.
"Kusa, calm down. Mishima, do you know something? If you do, just tell us. We all want the same thing here, which is answers as to why Suzui did what she did." Ren said in what he hoped was a calming, soothing tone. Ryuji nodded his agreement to Ren's words and to Kusa's profane reaction.
"They're right! We ain't tryin' to get you busted. We won't say you talked either!" Ryuji said as Mishima seemed to deflate before sighing and speaking up.
"Suzui...She was called out by Mister Kamoshida!" Mishima blurted out, getting wide-eyed stares from Ren, Ryuji AND Kusa, as the latter two both spoke up simultaneously.
"WAIT, WHAT!?" Kusa and Ryuji said in unison before blinking at their unintentional synchronicity as Mishima kept speaking up before Ren could laugh at it.
"I was called by him a number of times too... to the teacher's room. It wasn't just me or Suzui either. He'd nominate someone when he was in a bad mood... and hit them." Mishima said as he finally admitted to what Kamoshida was doing, making Ren and Kusa growl lowly at what he'd said, while Ryuji frowned and spoke up.
"So the physical punishment thing was for real..." Ryuji said as Mishima nodded before speaking up once more.
"But yesterday, he called Suzui out of the blue. She didn't make any mistake or anything...Mister Kamoshida seemed really irritated that day, so it must have been worse than usual..." Mishima said as both Ryuji AND Kusa's eyes went wide at the implications of what Mishima had said.
"No..." Kusa said in horror and disbelief as he could easily guess where Mishima's explanation was heading, and so could Ryuji given what he then said.
"He didn't...!" Ryuji said before turning around and gritting his teeth as his face became even more livid as he swore violently, punching the nearest object, which was a locker as he spoke up angrily.
"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Ryuji said as he darted off, presumably to confront Kamoshida. Ren and Kusa exchanged shocked looks at Ryuji's outburst as Mishima spoke up.
"Ah..." Mishima said in surprise before Ren and Kusa looked at each other nodded, and both darted off to catch Ryuji, leaving a shocked Mishima alone. After a bit he caught up to Kusa and Ren and spoke up once more.
"I bet... Sakamoto's going to find Mister Kamoshida...Mister Kamoshida's probably in the PE faculty office on the second floor." Mishima said as Ren and Kusa nodded and the latter spoke up.
"Hopefully Ryuji can refrain from getting TOO rough with Kamoshida before we catch up to him. I want to give that fucking low-life asshole a piece of my mind as well." Kusa said angrily, making Mishima's eyes go wide at the (to him) uncharacteristic outburst from the normally calm first-year. Once they reached the second floor, Ryuji could be seen racing to the far side of the floor before disappearing through a door making Mishima blanch as he spoke up.
"He went into the PE faculty office! Let's hurry, we have to go after him." Mishima said as Ren and Kusa nodded.
"Agreed. Kamoshida may be trash, but he's not worth Ryuji getting into trouble over, surely?" Ren said as Kusa scoffed.
"You say that like he'd let himself get caught, Ren! But you're probably right. Still, he better save some for the two of us to yell at." Kusa said huffily. The trio then followed Ryuji into the PE faculty office, where Kamoshida looked up at his door opening not once, but twice, and frowning when he saw the angry quartet glaring at him.
"Huh?" Kamoshida asked in surprise as Ryuji then went off, yelling at Kamoshida angrily.
"You bastard! The hell did you do to that girl!?" Ryuji asked angrily, making Kamoshida frown in confusion.
"What are you talking about?" Kamoshida asked in confusion, feigning uncertainty. Kusa growled as he spoke up.
"Really, sir? Now you're trying to play dumb? Surely you saw that girl jump off the roof earlier! I would hope you're at least man enough not to try to act like you didn't have SOMETHING to do with that!" Kusa snapped as Ryuji nodded approvingly to Kusa's words before he spoke up once more, kicking the nearest chair over angrily as he spoke up.
"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME!" Ryuji yelled angrily, his temper straining its limits, making Ren and Mishima exchange worried looks at how livid Kusa and Ryuji were. Kamoshida huffed as he spoke up, glaring at Ryuji and Kusa as he spoke.
"That is enough!" Kamoshida snapped, as surprisingly enough Mishima spoke up before Ryuji OR Kusa could do so, making them and Ren look at Mishima in surprise as he spoke up, the latter looking impressed with Mishima as he spoke.
"What you did... wasn't coaching...!" Mishima said quietly but firmly, making Ryuji and Kusa smile at Mishima, both giving him approving nods for speaking up while Ren smirked as Kamoshida frowned and glared at Mishima before speaking up again.
"What did you say?" Kamoshida said as Mishima spoke up once more, finding his courage in that moment.
"You... You ordered me to call Suzui here... I can only imagine what you did to her...!" Mishima said as Ryuji and Kusa exchanged horrified looks at the implications of Mishima's words, while Ren just frowned at what that likely meant. Kamoshida frowned as he stood up to glare at the group, arms crossed, as he spoke up in an annoyed tone.
"You're going on and on about things you have no proof of...Basically, you're simply making these claims because you can't be a regular on the team, right?" Kamoshida said as Mishima frowned as he spoke up once more.
"That's not what this is about...!" Mishima said as Kusa spoke up once more at that point.
"Does it matter if he's speaking out of spite or not, sir!? The fact remains, Suzui was called in here, presumably yesterday, and now TODAY Suzui went and jumped off the damn roof to try and kill herself, right AFTER she was called into YOUR office! If that doesn't suggest you were at least somewhat linked to it, I don't know what does! So kindly don't insult my intelligence by trying to suggest Mishima is lying about his claims, Mister Kamoshida! Besides, if it's somehow as you say and you are innocent, which I highly doubt since that's as likely to happen as Ryuji actually studying under his own power for a test, no offense Ryuji, then you have no reason to play dumb since you have nothing to hide." Kusa said in an annoyed tone as Kamoshida huffed before speaking up.
"Even if it IS exactly as you all imagine, hypothetically speaking...What can you do? We just received a call from a hospital. Suzui's in a coma, and her chances of recovery are slim...How would someone like that make a statement? There's no chance of her getting better, I hear... Ohhh, the poor girl." Kamoshida said mockingly as Ren, Mishima, Kusa and Ryuji exchanged horrified looks at hearing this before Mishima spoke up.
"No... That can't be..." Mishima said as both Ryuji and Kusa glared at Kamoshida as the former spoke up in a livid huff.
"You goddamn...!" Ryuji said, his fists shaking with anger as he glared at Kamoshida who frowned and got in Ryuji's face before speaking in a bored tone.
"This, again...? Does this mean we need to have yet another case of 'self-defense'?" Kamoshida said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.
"How can it be self-defense if Ren, Mishima and I all are witnesses and see you strike Ryuji first!? That's just a cop-out and you know it, sir!" Kusa snapped in annoyance. Ryuji nodded his agreement to Kusa's words before speaking up again in a very pissed-off voice.
"You shut your mouth, you son of a bitch!" Ryuji said, as he went to swing at Kamoshida only for Ren to grab his wrist at the last second to stop him, making him frown in confusion as he looked at Ren.
"Why're you stoppin' me...!?" Ryuji asked Ren in confusion. Kusa frowned before speaking up.
"Ryuji, you know I agree with your reaction fully. But think about it man! Do you REALLY want to let Kamoshida be able to cry self-defense to make you the bad guy here!? I don't think you do. Besides, he's not worth getting into serious trouble over. There are plenty of more ethical and effective ways of dealing with trash like him." Kusa said dryly. Ren nodded as he spoke up at that point as he let go of Ryuji's wrist while he spoke.
"Exactly, Kusa's right, Ryuji. Don't let him get to you man." Ren said simply. Ryuji reluctantly nodded to the sound logic Kusa used and backed down though he spoke up in a huff as he frowned at Kamoshida.
"But still!" Ryuji said huffily as Kamoshida looked at Ren in surprise as he spoke up.
"Oh? You're stopping him? What a surprise. There's no need to hold back. Why NOT attack me?" Kamoshida said, trying to goad Ryuji into attacking but Kusa spoke up huffily before Ryuji could even think about it, fixing Ryuji with a 'don't sink to his level' glare as he spoke.
"That's what you want, isn't it Mister Kamoshida? You'd love an excuse to paint us as the bad guys here and get the blame off of you. Well, that's not gonna happen! My brother's already fallen for that trap once before, and I'll be damned if I let another of my friends fall into that same trap a second time. So no, we're not gonna attack you!" Kusa said angrily, making Ren look at Kusa in surprise as he hadn't considered that possibility to be why Kusa was stopping Ryuji from attacking Kamoshida, though he nodded approvingly to Kusa's explanation. Ryuji looked at Kusa in surprise before nodding agreement. Kamoshida laughed at this before speaking up in a mocking tone.
"...Ohhh, you caaaan't. Hahaha, but of course you can't! Everyone present right now will be expelled. I'm reporting all of you at the next board meeting." Kamoshida said as Mishima, Ren and Kusa exchanged stunned looks while Ryuji blanched and spoke up.
"Wha-?" Ryuji said in shock as Mishima spoke up, Ren and Kusa too stunned to speak at the moment.
"You can't make a decision like that...!" Mishima said as Kamoshida spoke up again, glaring at the quartet as he spoke.
"Who would seriously consider what scum like you say?" Kamoshida said as Kusa frowned and spoke up.
"SCUM LIKE US!? Excuse you!? I can see you calling Ryuji or Ren scum to a point, since their reputations do point that way, even though it's as much horse shit as you not being involved in Suzui jumping off the roof, but neither Mishima or I are at all scum so you can quit with those lies right now!" Kusa snapped angrily. Kamoshida ignored Kusa to glare at Mishima as he spoke up once more, glaring at Kusa and Mishima as he spoke.
"You threatened me too, Mishima. That makes you just as responsible. And as for you, Amamiya-kun the younger, not only did you have the gall to say very rude things to me and raise your voice to me, you didn't try to stop your brother or Ryuji from confronting me so that makes you an accomplice and therefore just as guilty!" Kamoshida said. Mishima frowned as he spoke up once more.
"Huh...?" Mishima said in confusion as Kamoshida scoffed before speaking up once more.
"To think, you didn't know why I kept someone as talentless as YOU on the team. You act like you're a victim, but you're the one who leaked Amamiya-kun the elder's criminal records, didn't you? It's all over the internet, correct? How terrible." Kamoshida taunted Mishima as Ren, Kusa and Ryuji all turned to look at Mishima in shock as Ryuji spoke up.
"Mishima...?" Ryuji asked Mishima who got on his knees as he spoke.
"He told me to do it. I had no choice..." Mishima said as Kusa huffed, frowning at Mishima as he spoke up..
"Bullshit! There's ALWAYS a choice! You could've told Kamoshida where to shove his orders and refused, but you didn't! However, I can see that he probably bullied you into it, so I can't be mad at you for doing what you had to do. And I'm sure Ren agrees with me." Kusa said. Ren nodded his agreement as Kamoshida laughed evilly before speaking up once more, a taunting tone in his voice as he spoke.
"Now, are we finished here? You're all expelled! You're all done for. Your futures are mine to take. Now get out of my sight." Kamoshida said sneeringly as Kusa growled at this, knowing there was no real basis behind at least his expulsion. Ryuji growled as he spoke up, not pleased by what Kamoshida was saying.
"I can't believe this asshole's gettin' away with this!" Ryuji said angrily as Ren frowned before speaking up quietly.
"We can't give up, Ryuji. We'll have to retreat for now, but rest assured, he'll eat his words before much longer." Ren said quietly but firmly. Ryuji looked at Ren in surprise at this, not sure what Ren was talking about while Kusa pulled Mishima to his feet.
"Huh...? Oh right. We have THAT!" Ryuji said as Kamoshida frowned and spoke up again.
"Huh? Have you lost your minds? You worthless kids aren't making any sense, but sure, go ahead and try. After all, you'll have plenty of time to kill until expulsion..." Kamoshida said as the group left the faculty office...
**Trigger Warnings end...for now**
(In the courtyard with Ryuji, Ren, Kusa and Morgana, neutral POV)
"We can't waste any time. We gotta hurry up and go to that other world and beat the shit outta that asshole!" Ryuji said angrily as Morgana huffed and spoke up.
"We're NOT beating him up! We're simply stealing his distorted desires. But never mind that! Can I assume that you've made up your minds about this-about how he might suffer a mental shutdown?" Morgana asked as Ryuji nodded before speaking up.
"I have. Someone almost died because of him! I don't give a rat's ass what happens to him anymore!" Ryuji said as Kusa spoke up with a smirk.
"Couldn't have said it better myself, Ryuji. But I agree. Kamoshida needs to be held accountable for what he's done, and if changing his heart is the only way, then so be it. Come what may, we'll deal with the consequences of our decision, whatever they may be, when we come to them." Kusa said decisively as Morgana nodded before turning to Ren and speaking up, looking into Ren's eyes as he spoke.
"And you?" Morgana asked Ren who nodded as he spoke up.
"I agree with Ryuji and Kusa, there's no other way. I don't like the idea of possibly murdering someone, but considering Suzui almost died, and could possibly STILL die, because of him, I don't see we have much of a choice here. We have to change his heart so he'll own up to what he did." Ren said, both Ryuji and Kusa nodding approvingly as Morgana spoke up once more in a decisive tone.
"There you have it." Morgana said as Ryuji spoke up, a question coming to his mind as he spoke.
"By the way, is getting rid of a palace hard? You've tried it before, right?" Ryuji asked Morgana. Morgana shook his head in confusion as he spoke up.
"When did I ever say THAT?" Morgana asked, not seeing Kusa and Ryuji facefault on hearing this as the latter spoke up.
"Eh? WHAT!? Were you just pretendin' to know!?" Ryuji asked as Kusa spoke up.
"I wouldn't say Morgana-sensei was pretending to know, so much as he was probably drawing off of what little he could remember when he said that, so it's possible he did try it before, but has no memory of it due to losing his memories." Kusa said in Morgana's defense. Before Morgana could answer, another voice was heard, one that shocked Ryuji and Kusa, but just brought a wry smile to Ren's face as he had a feeling she'd be reaching out to them sooner or later.
"Is it true that you're getting expelled?" Takamaki asked the group as she waked up. She then spoke up, oblivious to the stunned looks on Ren, Ryuji and Kusa's faces as well as the appreciative glance Morgana was giving her as she spoke.
"Everyone's talking about it..." Takamaki added as Ryuji gritted his teeth and spoke up angrily.
"That asshole's at it again!" Ryuji huffed before looking at Takamaki and speaking up.
"So you came all this way to tell us that?" Ryuji asked Takamaki, but rather than huff at Ryuji, she spoke up again, her words stunning not only Ren and Kusa, but Morgana and Ryuji as well as she spoke.
"If you're going to deal with Kamoshida...let me in on it too." Takamaki said as Ren, Ryuji and Morgana all gaped at her while Kusa gave her an appraising look but said nothing so Takamaki took that as an invitation to keep speaking, which she did.
"I can't just sit back and do nothing after what happened to Shiho!" Takamaki said angrily. Before Kusa could say anything, Ryuji spoke up huffily.
"This has nothing to do with you...Don't butt your head into this..." Ryuji said as Takamaki spoke up before Kusa and Morgana could rebuke Ryuji.
"But it does! Shiho's my-" Takamaki said as Ryuji spoke up more angrily.
"I said, don't get in our way!" Ryuji snapped at Takamaki, not caring about the disapproving looks that Ren, Kusa and Morgana were all giving him, or the hurt one Takamaki was giving him. Takamaki then frowned as she spoke up.
"...Tch!" Takamaki said before running off angrily. After she was gone, Morgana frowned at Ryuji and spoke up.
"...That was harsh." Morgana said as Kusa huffed and spoke up.
"That's an understatement if I've ever heard one, Morgana-sensei." Kusa said with a hollow laugh while turning to face Ryuji as he kept speaking.
"And Ryuji, she just wanted to help. Ren and I would've done the same thing she did if it had been you who jumped instead of Suzui, and Takamaki was planning something to get revenge on Kamoshida. We're all after the same thing here. I get she won't be much help to us without a Persona in the other world, but is that a reason to turn her away? Besides, I get the sense she truly wants revenge on Kamoshida for what he did to Suzui! After all, Takamaki and Suzui are very close. Anyone could see that by looking." Kusa chastised Ryuji. Ren nodded his agreement as he spoke up.
"I agree with you Kusa, however Ryuji does have a point with how he reacted. Where we're going is very dangerous so involving her would be very risky." Ren said as Ryuji nodded approvingly as he spoke up.
"Exactly! We can't take her somewhere like that..." Ryuji said as Kusa huffed but reluctantly nodded as Morgana spoke up.
"That's true, I guess. Well, I hope she doesn't do anything too crazy. Women can be much bolder than men at times." Morgana said as Kusa nodded approvingly.
"Amen to that, Morgana-sensei." Kusa said in agreement as Ryuji spoke up.
"Be that as it may, we just gotta hurry up and deal with Kamoshida. Let's go already!" Ryuji said as Ren and Kusa nodded their agreement. Once they got to the alley they used to go to the castle previously, Morgana spoke up.
"The moment we cross over, we'll treat each other like phantom thieves, so I hope you're ready." Morgana said as Ren and Ryuji looked at Morgana in surprise while Kusa just nodded and gave Morgana an amused smile, intrigued by the idea of being a phantom thief. Ryuji then spoke up.
"Huh? Phantom thieves?" Ryuji asked as Morgana smiled while nodding.
"Those who covertly sneak in and stylishly steal Treasure- that's what we become!" Morgana said as Ren gave an impressed nod before speaking up.
"I see...Not bad." Ren said as Ryuji chuckled as he nodded his agreement as he spoke up.
"Oh ho, that sounds kinda cool!" Ryuji said as Kusa nodded before also speaking up.
"Indeed it does sound quite cool. However Ryuji, you have to realize that once we get to the other world, until we know what we need to know, Morgana-sensei will likely have to teach us the 'tricks of the trade', as it were, so we'll have to consider him our Sensei and treat him with the respect demanded thereof and handle ourselves accordingly." Kusa chastised Ryuji before frowning as he glared at Ryuji before he kept speaking, his tone positively dripping disapproval and annoyance as he spoke.
"And that means NOT calling him a cat! I saw that comment in our chat earlier Ryuji! You're lucky Kamoshida's the bigger issue right now." Kusa said huffily. Ryuji nodded.
"Gotcha. I'll try to be nicer to Morgana from now on. Anyways, so we just gotta say the school, Kamoshida's name, and... 'castle'? Then we end up in bizarro world." Ryuji said. He frowned as he pulled out his phone and looked at it as he spoke up again in uncertainty.
"How the hell's all this work? Someone make it?" Ryuji asked Ren who shrugged as he spoke up.
"Probably, but quite honestly I have no clue who, and frankly I don't care. Right now our focus is on stopping Kamoshida before he can report us. I don't care if he expels you and me Ryuji, but Kusa and Mishima don't deserve to suffer for our calling that scumbag out on his crap." Ren said. Ryuji nodded his agreement.
"True. There's no point in thinkin' about it now. We'll show that effin' Kamoshida!" Ryuji said determinedly as Kusa nodded and spoke up.
"Damn right we will! No one gets away with threatening one of us, let alone all of us, like that!" Kusa said resolutely. Morgana nodded and spoke up.
"Let's go!" Morgana said. Unknown to them, Takamaki had followed them and muttered to herself as Kusa, Ren and Ryuji pulled out their phones.
"They really are going to do something...They're doing something on their phones? A name? School...?" Takamaki said to herself as the area flashed purple around her and the others as the Metaverse Navigator activated.
"Huh...!?" Takamaki had time to yell before she and the others were drawn into the Metaverse...
(In the Metaverse, with Ryuji, Ren, Kusa and Morgana, neutral POV)
"All right! Time to bust on through!" Ryuji said, unaware of his and Ren's, as well as Kusa's, clothes changing to their transformed attire again. Before anyone could reply, Takamaki's voice reached their ears.
"What is this!?" Takamaki asked as she raced up to the group, Ryuji turning to face her in shock.
"T-Takamaki!?" Ryuji asked Takamaki who frowned as she saw Ren, Ryuji and Kusa in their transformed attire.
"That voice...Sakamoto!? And... are you two the Amamiya-kun brothers?" Takamaki asked, managing to completely ignore Morgana for the moment. Ryuji sputtered as he spoke up before Ren or Kusa could say a word.
"Wh-Wh-Why are you here!?" Ryuji asked Takamaki who sputtered as she spoke up.
"How should I know!? What's going on? Hey, where are we!? Isn't this the school!?" Takamaki said, as Kusa and Ren groaned as they saw hearts springing up over Morgana's head as he looked at Takamaki before speaking up.
"I see. Perhaps she was dragged in because of that app thing. If multiple people can enter with the person who uses it, it stands to reason it'll pull anyone nearby." Morgana said as Ryuji's eyes went wide before he spoke up.
"For real?" Ryuji asked as Takamaki's eyes went wide while she spoke up.
"Wait...so THIS is related to Kamoshida!?" Takamaki asked, making Ren and Kusa both swear under their breath at how perceptive Takamaki was while Ryuji sputtered and spoke up once more, frowning at Takamaki as he spoke.
"Anyways, you gotta leave!" Ryuji said firmly as Takamaki pouted and stomped her foot.
"No!" Takamaki said firmly, refusing to leave. Morgana sighed as he spoke up.
"The Shadows are gonna find us if you make a scene." Morgana said, drawing Takamaki's attention to him for the first time as she gasped before speaking up.
"No way! It talked!? Oh my god, it's a monster cat!" Takamaki said as Morgana sputtered up, looking hurt by Takamaki's statement as Kusa huffed and spoke up.
"Monster...?" Morgana said in a hurt-sounding tone as Kusa spoke up at that point, though Takamaki spoke up first.
"You better explain what's going on! I won't leave until you do!" Takamaki said angrily as Kusa huffed and answered Takamaki.
"Look, Takamaki! First of all, Morgana-sensei here's NOT a cat! He just looks like that because he lost his true form and his memories to a curse, or so he told Ren, Ryuji and I. That aside, where we are is dangerous if you have no way to defend yourself. You'd likely just be having to spend most of the time staying out of sight if you come along. Is that REALLY what you want!? And besides that, what if people saw us disappear and get the wrong idea because you disappeared with us!? Did you consider that?" Kusa said to Takamaki in a calm yet annoyed tone. Takamaki frowned at Kusa's explanation as Ryuji sighed and looked at Ren and Morgana.
"Ugh...Looks like we gotta force her. But...how're we supposed to do that?" Ryuji asked Morgana who shrugged.
"Just take her back to where we came in. That's how it worked last time, right?" Morgana said as Ryuji blinked before nodding as he spoke.
"O-Oh, yeah." Ryuji said as he turned to Ren and Kusa, the latter of which huffed as Ryuji spoke.
"Can you lend me a hand?" Ryuji asked Ren as Kusa huffed while Ren spoke up.
"I feel bad for Takamaki, but you do have a point Ryuji. Ugh, I got it. Kusa won't like this, but I'll help you." Ren said as Kusa huffed again before crossing his arms as he spoke up, his expression showing how disapproving he was of Ryuji and Ren's plan to force Takamaki out of the Metaverse while speaking up.
"I don't agree with excluding Takamaki, but it's probably for the best, unfortunately, since she can't defend herself in here. And odds aren't in our favor that we see yet another awakening in this castle." Kusa said reluctantly. Ryuji frowned at Kusa and Ren as he spoke up.
"True, but we can't deal with Kamoshida if we don't!" Ryuji said as Ren nodded, the two of them looking at Takamaki while Kusa and Morgana gave them disapproving looks, refusing to help force Takamaki from the castle. Takamaki sputtered as she looked at Ren and Ryuji who were staring at her.
"What're you-" Takamaki said but Ryuji cut her off as he spoke up.
"We'll explain after everything's over!" Ryuji said to Takamaki apologetically before Morgana, Ren and Ryuji all lifted up Takamaki and dragged her out of the Metaverse, Kusa frowning at this but not able to really disagree with the decision, though he did refuse to help move her.
"H-Hey! A-And just WHERE are you touching!?" Takamaki asked as she felt Ren and Ryuji each left one of her legs while Morgana's hands went to the back of Takamaki's head as the trio carried her back to where they'd entered the Metaverse before going back in to rejoin Kusa.
"Whoa, s-sorry, I-I didn't mean-That's not important!" Ryuji said as they dropped Takamaki in the alley ignoring her sputters.
"You guys seriously-Ah!?" Takamaki said as Ryuji, Ren and Morgana returned to the castle without Takamaki, Ryuji speaking up once the group had caught back up to a frowning Kusa who just nodded by way of greeting to the trio as Ryuji spoke. Of course, being the inexperienced group they were, they failed to consider that Takamaki might have the Metaverse Navigator installed on her phone as well. Ryuji then spoke up uneasily after Kusa gave the trio a curt nod by way of greeting as Ryuji spoke.
"We better be careful from now on when we use that app..." Ryuji said as Morgana glared at Ryuji as he spoke up.
"You should've checked the tools you used!" Morgana said huffily, Kusa nodding his agreement of Morgana's statement as Morgana kept speaking, glaring at Ren and Ryuji as he spoke, though he did give Kusa a smile while speaking.
"Why do I-the one who was watching-know more about it than you two!? At least Kusa has SOME common sense and tried to look around before we went in, even if it wasn't that effective in the long run." Morgana said, giving Kusa an approving nod as Ryuji huffed and spoke up.
"Sh-Shuddup! Ah geez, Takamaki found out right when we were startin' off...We gotta deal with this fast!" Ryuji said as Morgana crossed his arms and spoke up.
"That girl's name is Ann Takamaki, right? Lady Ann..." Morgana said as Morgana, Ryuji, Kusa and Ren ducked to the side to avoid being spotted by Shadows as Morgana spoke up once more.
"The Shadows have noticed us. You better brace yourselves, got it?" Morgana said as he turned to Ren, and what he said next confused Ren, Ryuji AND Kusa.
"We're counting on you, Joker!" Morgana said as Ryuji frowned and spoke up, unsure of why Morgana called Ren 'Joker'.
"Joker? That a nickname?" Ryuji said as Morgana huffed before speaking up.
"Don't refer to it in such a lame way! It's a code name. What kind of stupid phantom thief would use their real name!? I'm not down for that! And there's no telling what kind of effect yelling our real names will have on the Palace...It's just a precaution." Morgana said as Kusa spoke up.
"That makes a lot of sense, Morgana-sensei. Though, I confess myself curious why you chose the code name you did for my brother." Kusa said with a smirk, as Ren/Joker rolled his eyes in annoyance at Kusa's remark. Ryuji nodded his agreement as he spoke up, jerking his thumb towards Ren/Joker while he looked at Morgana as he spoke.
"So uh, why's he Joker?" Ryuji asked as Morgana smirked before speaking up once more.
"Because he's our trump card when it comes to fighting strength." Morgana said as Ren/Joker stroked his chin in contemplation before smirkiing as he spoke up.
"That's kind of embarrassing. But at the same time, it's not a bad code name." Ren/Joker said. Morgana nodded as he spoke up once more.
"It's settled then! Next up is you, Ryuji. You'll be... Let's see... 'Thug.'" Morgana said as Ren/Joker and Ryuji blinked at the choice of code name, while Kusa actually laughed at the suggested code name, making Ryuji and Ren/Joker frown at him as he spoke up.
"Sorry, just that's an oddly fitting code name, though I also don't think it entirely suits Ryuji." Kusa said sagely. Ryuji huffed at the code name.
"Are you pickin' a fight with me!? I'll choose it myself! Hm... When it comes to me, it's gotta be this mask. Honestly, I actually kinda like it. What if we named me after this?" Ryuji asked as Morgana sighed and spoke up once more.
"Fine...Why not 'Skull' then?" Morgana said as Kusa and Ryuji both nodded approvingly.
"That DOES suit him much more than Thug would even if Thug is a funnier name." Kusa said with a smile as Ryuji spoke up.
"Ooh! That sounds awesome! I'm Skull!" Ryuji/Skull said happily. Ryuji/Skull then spoke up as he looked at Morgana and Kusa.
"What do we do about these two's code names?" Ryuji asked. Ren/Joker turned to Kusa and Morgana as he spoke up.
"What do you two think?" Ren/Joker asked Kusa and Morgana, though Ryuji/Skull spoke up before either of them could.
"...How about 'Mona' for the cat since he mostly just moans at us, and maybe something like 'Draco' or 'Drago' for Kusa, since when his temper flares, he rages like a dragon?" Ryuji/Skull said as Kusa huffed at the suggestions for his code name as well as Ryuji/Skull yet again calling Morgana 'the cat' and spoke up, fixing Ryuji with an unimpressed stare as he spoke.
"What!? Do I look like a platinum-blonde racist or a Bakugan to you, Ryuji!? Though I do agree with your logic...but what if we went with something a bit fancier for my code name, like maybe 'Draconis'?" Kusa said as Ryuji/Skull nodded approval. *1*
"Ooh, that's actually pretty good, Kusa. I like that. Draconis it is." Ryuji/Skull said as Morgana/Mona spoke up after pondering the suggestion of his code name for a bit. *2*
"Well, if Joker thinks it's easier to call me Mona, then I'll go with it. All right, from here on out, we're Joker, Skull, Draconis and Mona. We need to be absolutely thorough about using those codenames from now on!" Morgana/Mona said as Ren/Joker, Kusa/Draconis and Ryuji/Skull nodded their agreement.
(A/N: From here on out, when in Metaverse, the Phantom Thieves will go by their codenames once given them but go by their real names outside of the Metaverse)
"All right, time to go steal this Treasure thing! Let's make a dash for it." Skull said excitedly. Joker and Draconis rolled their eyes but nodded their agreement nonetheless while Mona just shrugged and went with it. After a bit, the group found the vent they'd used for their previous infiltration making Skull cheer as he spoke up.
"Yeah! Looks like they don't know 'bout this way in yet." Skull said as Mona spoke up at that point, a stern look on his face as he spoke.
"Skull..Joker...Draconis...Are you all ready? Let's go!" Mona said as Joker, Skull and Draconis nodded as they started the infiltration. As Joker investigated a closed door as he left the room that he and the others had found themselves in after crawling in through the vent, he blanched as he heard a voice speaking up.
"Praise be to King Kamoshida! Death to the intruders!" A guard could be heard saying to the other guards making Skull blanch as he spoke up.
"Wh-What the hell!?" Skull said as the camera panned to a shot of many guards standing before a golden guard who if Draconis recalled correctly was the captain of the guard before Skull spoke up once more.
"Hey, look! Ain't that..." Skull said as Kamoshida spoke up at that point to the gathered guards.
"Those intruders the other day were quite entertaining. However, I can't allow that trash to ransack my castle! Strengthen the security! Kill them on sight! I'll reward whoever brings me their heads." Kamoshida said as the captain of the guards spoke up at that point to rally the other guards.
"Praise be to King Kamoshida! Death to the intruders!" The captain of the guards said. Back with the group, Skull looked at Mona as he spoke up.
"Hey, Mona. Can't we just beat the crap outta him and call it a day?" Skull said as Mona huffed and spoke up in annoyance.
"Look at all those soldiers, idiot! It'd be suicide. And I'm sure you don't want a repeat of last time. Besides, don't you want him to confess his sins? There's no point beating him up. We need to steal his materialized desires...The Treasure." Mona said as Skull sighed, rolling his eyes before speaking up, oblivious to Joker and Draconis both smirking as he spoke.
"Fiiiine. So, where is it?" Skull asked Mona who smirked as he spoke up.
"It has to be somewhere in the depths of this castle. Let's infiltrate further in while he's out here!" Mona said as Joker and Skull nodded agreement while Draconis spoke up.
"Good idea, Mona. Beats just sitting here eavesdropping and hoping not to get caught doing so at least." Draconis said with a nod. as the group did just that. Joker went to open the door he'd looked at before only to jump in shock and quickly back away before being noticed as Skull spoke up.
"Dammit, there's a guard over here too..." Skull said before looking at Joker.
"Whaddya wanna do? Should we kick its ass?" Skull asked but Mona spoke up before Joker could answer Skull.
"Hold on...Hmm...This might be a good opportunity to teach you about something...All right, Joker! Are you ready to take it down?" Mona asked Joker, who nodded.
"Let's go! We should get it before it gets us!" Joker said decisively, Skull and Draconis nodding their agreement as they leapt into battle with the guard. Mona then spoke up to Joker as the battle started.
"Remember how I taught you Hold-Ups and All-Out Attacks? I'll teach you their practical use now." Mona said as Joker nodded. Draconis spoke up with a raised eyebrow.
"Their practical use, Mona?" Draconis asked, intrigued. Mona nodded as he spoke up once more.
"Exactly, Draconis. There's another use for Hold Ups besides simply defeating enemies. Shadows are beings born from people's hearts, so naturally they can talk too. In other words, you can communicate with them. Get it?" Mona asked as Skull and Joker shrugged while Draconis nodded.
"Kind of. So it's basically like we're talking with the inner manifestation of someone's personality when we talk to a Shadow then?" Draconis said as Mona nodded.
"Precisely! That said, if you talk to them when they're cornered, they might offer money or items since they don't want to die. In fact, talking has a better chance of scoring something great, as opposed to just offing them. Well then, let's do the first step: knock all the enemies down and do a Hold Up!" Mona said as Joker, Skull and Draconis nodded. Joker then knocked the 'Beguiling Girl', as the being was identified as, down with a quick shot from his gun. The downed Shadow then frowned as she (clearly the Shadow was a female, hence 'Beguiling Girl') spoke up in a huffy sounding voice.
"Seriously!? YOU guys are the intruders that King Kamoshida was talking about!? It can't get worse than this...What're you going to do with me!?" Beguiling Girl asked Joker who shrugged before eventually speaking up.
"Honestly? Not really sure. I guess give me some money for now." Joker said after a moment's consideration making Beguiling Girl gasp.
"Ugh, for real!? Huh? So you'll let me live if I just give you money?" Beguiling Girl said as Mona spoke up at that point.
"Well, something along those lines...Now let it be money or items. Just cough it up!" Mona said as Beguiling Girl frowned as she spoke up again.
"But, this happened so suddenly...I actually don't have anything on me...I-I usually do though, you know!?" Beguiling Girl said as Mona's eyes got comically wide as he spoke up once more, not expecting that response from Beguiling Girl.
"W-Wait, what!? Oh... This isn't how I was planning this to go. Uhh, if that's the case... I guess it's time for you to go to hell." Mona said as he and the others had their weapons (Slingshot for Mona, Pistol for Joker, Shotgun for Ryuji, Bo staff for Draconis) pointed right at Beguiling Girl, ready to end her on Joker or Mona's word. Beguiling Girl pouted as she spoke up once more in surprise.
"Ugh, for real!? W-Wait!" Beguiling Girl said as Mona spoke up with a grin on his face.
"Sorry, but we're in a hurry." Mona said as Beguiling Girl pouted and spoke up in a desperate sounding voice.
"Ugh, come on! No, wait up! Can't we work something out? Don't kill me, please! Won't you let me go?" Beguiling Girl said, turning begging eyes on Joker, making Skull and Draconis huff at the blatant pandering by the female Shadow to try and save herself. Joker stroked his chin in thought. Eventually he spoke up.
"You chose the wrong enemy, you know. Still...we're not as cut-throat or heartless as Kamoshida is. I probably shouldn't do this, but fine I'll let you go." Joker said eventually. Beguiling Girl smiled as she spoke up with a smirk on her face. What happened next was as much a shock to Mona as it was to Skull and Draconis.
"Uh, wow! Are you the type who can't say no? I totally know how you feel. I'm the same way. Whoa, I feel different! Something's happening!" Beguiling Girl said as Mona gasped before speaking up in mixed shock and confusion.
"Uh, what the...!? What's going on!?" Mona asked as Beguiling Girl smiled as she looked at Joker before speaking up again.
"Cool! ...Oh yeah, I remember now! I don't belong just to King Kamoshida...I'm an existence that drifts about in the sea of humanity's souls...My real name... is 'Pixie'! I am thou, thou art I! I'm Pixie! From now on, I'll live inside your heart!" The now-renamed Pixie said to Joker as she then became a mask that flew over to Joker and landed on his face, leaving Mona to gape in shock at what he'd just seen as he spoke up.
"What was that just now...? What happened...!?" Mona asked Joker who just shrugged, not sure what happened either as the battle ended. Afterwards, Skull spoke up.
"For real!? Wh-What the hell was that about? The enemy got sucked into Joker's mask!" Skull said as Mona then spoke up.
"I-I have no idea! I wasn't expecting that either..." Mona said as a guard crept up behind the group and spoke up, catching the group's attention.
"Intruders!? Halt!" The guard said as the group turned to face the guard, Skull blanching as he spoke up.
"Crap, they noticed us!" Skull said as another battle began. Joker frowned as he looked the opponent over.
"I sense a new possibility within me stemming from the previous battle..." Joker thought as the battle started. He then looked over the beings that appeared before smirking.
"Arsene! Change out with Pixie! Pixie, Zio!" Joker said decisively as Pixie swapped out with Arsene and shot lightning at the nearest Shadow, knocking it down as Mona blinked.
"I-Is that the Shadow from earlier!? Don't tell me...Did you take in the Shadow's appearance and powers as a Persona!?" Mona asked as Joker shrugged and spoke up.
"Maybe? Not sure myself but let's go with it." Joker said as Draconis nodded and spoke up.
"This is all interesting, but maybe let's deal with the battle first, yeah?" Draconis suggested as Joker and Mona nodded. Pixie then knocked the other Shadow down, the Shadows later being identified as 'Dirty Two-horned Beast' as Joker triggered a Hold up, looking at the closest Dirty Two-horned Beast.
"Lend me your power!" Joker said decisively. The Dirty Two-Horned Beast he'd addressed turned to look at him and spoke up in a masculine-sounding voice, signifying it was a male Shadow as it spoke.
"So that's yer move? ...Then I guess I'll talk first. I'll decide if I'm gonna help you after. Look, sonny. I've, uh, got this girl waitin' fer me. ...Y'know what I'm gettin' at, right? Ya thin ya could let me go see my girl?" the Dirty Two-Horned Beast that Joker had spoken to asked Joker. Joker stroked his chin in though.
"I suppose I could...out of curiosity, what kind of girl is she?" Joker asked, not seeing Skull, Mona and Draconis facefault at his question behind him. The Dirty Two-horned Beast that Joker had been talking to chuckled as he replied to Joker.
"Ya really wanna know, huh? Well, I'm tellin' ya, my lady's one of a kind! Maybe it's the generation gap, but I just can't get what yer deal is, sonny. What in the hell are ya tryin' ta tell me, anyway?" Dirty Two-Horned Beast asked Joker who stroked his chin again before responding after a bit.
"That's a good question, but let me answer that with one of my own. Why do we fight? I mean sure, you're fighting for Kamoshida, and we're trying to stop him. But do we really have to oppose one another when we could be on the same side? You seem like a cool guy, after all." Joker said. The Dirty Two-horned Beast Joker had been speaking to nodded as he spoke up once more, smiling as he spoke.
"...It looks ta me that there's room to talk about this, right? I like that way of thinkin'-Hey! I can't believe it... I remember now...I am thou, thou art I! I'm no Shadow from this place. I used to be livin' in that there sea of the human soul! From now on, call me Bicorn. No need fer honorifics, sonny." The now-renamed Bicorn said as like Pixie before he disappeared into Joker's mask, leaving Mona to gasp at Joker in surprise as he spoke up.
"Holy... Does that mean you can wield multiple Personas?" Mona asked Joker, who shrugged as the battle ended. Afterwards, Skull looked at Mona and spoke up.
"H-Hey, Mona! What was that about!? What did Joker do!?" Skull asked Mona who frowned before speaking up.
"He sealed the enemy's appearance and powers into his mask, and made it his new Persona...Is such a feat even possible!? Even I've never seen anyone pull that off!" Mona said as Joker smirked before speaking up with a calm yet intrigued tone in his voice.
"Not really sure why you're so worked up about this, but I don't think it's anything important. But, is this good?" Joker asked. Mona nodded as he spoke up in awe and excitement as he looked at Joker.
"Of course it is! Only one heart exists per person, so normally a person can only have one Persona!" Mona said as Draconis nodded before speaking up.
"True, but that's Joker for you. He tends to blow people's minds with what he can do a lot of the time, after all. So I'm honestly not surprised he has different powers to the rest of us at all." Draconis said sagely as Mona nodded while speaking up.
"That's true...Incredible! That ability will give us a huge advantage in battle! All right, try to do that even more if the opportunity arises! You better help out too, Draconis and Skull!" Mona said as Draconis and Skull nodded as the latter spoke up with a smirk on his face as he spoke.
"Hell yeah! We'll hold every last one of 'em up!" Skull said as Draconis nodded before getting a dry smirk on his space as he spoke up in a silky yet dry tone.
"Indeed...and the ones who don't join us we'll either extort for items or money, or if they refuse us that, we end them." Draconis said with a dry smirk. Mona nodded as he spoke up, impressed with Skull, Draconis, but mostly with Joker.
"Well said, Draconis. As for you Joker...Hehe, I like you even more now! I really do have something special after all!" Mona said as the group kept going with their infiltration. The next room had several more Shadows to fight, but Mona accidentally killed the jack-o-lantern Shadows while trying to knock them down and the rest Joker already had so they wasted no time in dispatching them with All-Out Attacks, in which both Joker and Skull showed their All-Out Attacks off, leaving Mona and Draconis yet to show theirs off. In the next area, the group saw another hazy-looking door which Skull pointed out as the group approached the door and he spoke up.
"Oooh, it's another hazy-lookin' door! This is that thing! Uhhh, what was it called..?" Skull asked as Draconis huffed.
"I believe Mona called it a save room before?" Draconis said as he tried to recall what Mona had called it, getting a chuckle from Mona.
"Close, Draconis. It's called a 'safe room' though. We can discuss our strategy inside. There are a lot of places even I don't know about in here..." Mona said as the group went inside the safe room...
(Meanwhile at the castle's entrance with Takamaki, neutral POV)
"This is that place from earlier! ...What's up with this app? I just said the words Sakamoto said, and I ended up-" Takamaki said as her thoughts were interrupted by a voice speaking up to her.
"Princess!?" Takamaki heard as she blinked and looked around in confusion.
"Huh?" Takamaki said as a squad of armed guards approached her and the voice she'd heard before, namely the middle guard, spoke up again.
"Princess!" The guard said as the trio scooped up Takamaki and carried her into the castle.
"Aaaaaaaah!" Takamaki said as she was carried into the castle...
(Back in the safe room with Joker, Skull, Draconis and Mona, neutral POV)
"Aren't there even more Shadows here than before?" Skull asked. He then huffed as he kept speaking.
"Just gettin' this far's been a real pain in my ass!" Skull said as Mona huffed before speaking up.
"It's all because you guys provoked Kamoshida, you know. Still...he seems to be awfully on guard..." Mona said warily as Skull huffed and spoke up once more.
"Anyways, how're we supposed to steal that Treasure thing?" Skull asked as Mona huffed and spoke up in a reproving tone.
"Don't be so hasty! First, we'll need to secure an infiltration route." Mona said as Skull frowned in confusion.
"A what?" Skull asked as Draconis huffed and spoke up in irritation.
"Mona means a direct route to the Treasure, I'm pretty sure. Or am I mistaken?" Draconis said. Mona nodded.
"No, you're pretty much right Draconis. And Skull, it's a path to the Treasure's location. But honestly, I think we'll need a little more manpower in order to accomplish this. At the very least, one more person would be nice..." Mona said as Draconis laughed before speaking up.
"Manpower, you say? Does the extra manpower strictly speaking have to be a man? Because I have a funny feeling we'll get it sooner than we think, though it might not necessarily be in the form of a man." Draconis said sagely, confusing Joker and Skull while Mona shrugged as Skull spoke up.
"Hey, you say you don't have your memories and all, but somehow you still know about that kinda stuff?" Skull said before turning to Joker as he kept speaking.
"Do you really think this thing's got amnesia?" Skull asked Joker as Draconis frowned.
"Do you have the IQ of a little kid, Skull? Why would Mona lie about having amnesia!? I don't see what he has to gain from it." Draconis pointed out dryly. Joker heard Draconis, and stroked his chin in thought before speaking up.
"You raise an excellent point, Draconis. While I agree with Skull about it being suspicious, Mona hasn't steered us wrong yet, so I believe in Mona." Joker said after a bit. Mona smiled happily as he looked at Joker and Draconis.
"Exactly, Draconis! I wouldn't lie to you guys! Glad to see you're smart! And Joker, at least you're a step above THIS moron." Mona said, tilting his head in Skull's direction as he spoke to indicate who the 'moron' part of his response was aimed towards. Skull huffed and pouted as he spoke up.
"Ugh, don't call me a moron! You sure talk big, but what if it turns out you're just some stray cat in the end?" Skull said as Draconis glared at Skull.
"Does that really matter, Skull!? Sure Mona has more than a few mysteries to him, but we can't deny he's been nothing but good to us so far. So I for one see no reason to doubt him now. If you and even Joker want to doubt Mona now, that's your lookout. But I trust him." Draconis said icily, huffing at Skull. Mona smiled at Draconis before frowning at Skull and shaking his head in denial as he spoke up.
"That can't be..." Mona said as their conversation was cut off when they heard guards talking nearby.
"Still, why was the princess in such an odd place?" The group heard a guard say as Skull frowned.
"Princess...?" Skull said in confusion before Joker and Mona both turned wide-eyed gazes onto Draconis, recalling his previous remark about them getting extra manpower sooner than they thought. The group then went to listen in at the door.
"I could have sworn we were pursuing the readings of an intruder..." The group heard one guard say as another spoke up.
"It doesn't matter now. We must take her back to King Kamoshida!" The group heard a second guard say to the first before the guards could be heard walking off. After they were gone, Skull spoke up once more.
"Who's this princess they were talkin' about?" Skull asked as Draconis frowned before his eyes widened as he realized something before speaking up.
"I think I may have figured that out. Guys, remember when Skull and I first awoke to our powers, how there was a lookalike of a certain blonde girl we all know hanging off of Kamoshida's arm?" Draconis asked the others, making Skull blink and shrug while Mona and Joker both looked at each other, recalling what Draconis was alluding to. Mona spoke up after a moment, a smirk on his face as he spoke.
"You're right, there was a cognitive version of Lady Ann hanging off of Kamoshida when we fought his captain of the guard! I wonder if she's the princess the guards were speaking of...? Either way, I should probably look into this!" Mona said as he opened the door and darted off, leaving Skull to huff as he spoke up to Joker.
"And yet another question goes unanswered..." Skull huffed. He then spoke up some more, making Draconis' eyes go wide at what he said next.
"Stuff like the castle and that navigation app are mysterious... but Morgana's got 'em both beat." Skull said as Joker and Draconis huffed as they spoke up.
"You mean Mona, right?" Joker chastised Skull as Draconis frowned and also spoke up.
"Remember, Skull, code names!" Draconis pointed out. Skull blinked at the two before his eyes widened as he realized what he'd said.
"Oh, crap! Sorry! What was I again...? Oh yeah, Skull!" Skull said as Draconis facefaulted at Skull forgetting his own code name, but before he could light into him for his idiocy, Mona ran back in with a worried look on his face, drawing Joker and Draconis' attention to him as he spoke up.
"This is bad!" Mona said as Skull turned to face Mona before speaking up.
"That was fast!" Skull said as Mona shook his head before speaking up once more.
"Your friend... Lady Ann! She's been taken by Shadows!" Mona said as Joker and Skull blinked in surprise at this while Draconis just rolled his eyes, groaning under his breath.
"And enter the 'manpower' I foresaw us getting. Though I was hoping to be wrong on this, to be honest." Draconis said huffily as Mona and Joker blinked before Skull spoke up.
"Wait, what!? We sent her home earlier." Skull said as Joker and Draconis both groaned in realization while the former spoke up.
"Skull, we forgot to check if her phone has the MetaNav on it, so it's very possible she got herself back in here." Joker said as Draconis and Mona nodded their agreement and Mona spoke up approvingly.
"If Lady Ann does indeed have the app, it could be possible." Mona said as Skull groaned, only then realizing what the others were getting at.
"Oh no...Don't tell me it got put on hers just like mine!? Dammit! We let her out for her own safety and she just came back in by herself!" Skull said as Joker, Draconis and Mona nodded and Draconis spoke up with a smirk on his face as he looked at Mona while he spoke.
"It's like Mona said before, women are much bolder than men. So I can easily see her sneaking back in here out of spite to follow us." Draconis said sagely, as Joker and Mona nodded before Skull growled as he spoke up once more.
"Dammit, we don't got time to be takin' a break!" Skull said as Mona nodded his agreement and spoke up.
"We need to hurry and rescue her!" Mona said as Joker and Draconis nodded. The group then steeled themselves as they made ready to try and save Takamaki before it was too late, and she was lost to the Shadows forever...
END OF CHAPTER
A/N: And there we go, another chapter done and dusted! Not quite as long as I was hoping for, but it'll easily do! Before anyone asks about it, yes I have plans for Kusa/Draconis to get an All-Out Attack, a Showtime (maybe even 2) and more involvement in battles. One quick bit of clarification that probably needs making: When Kusa said 'And enter the manpower I foresaw us getting' near the end of the chapter in reference to Takamaki, he wasn't actually suggesting he saw the future and saw her joining, he was merely saying his gut instincts were once again proven right.
That being said, back on topic. For now the bigger focus is on finishing the first Palace, and with it the first arc of the game, hence the 'Phantoms Awaken' subtitle of each chapter so far. But for now, we'll take things as they go! Anyways, hope people are enjoying the story so far, and until next update, sithlorde1988 out!
NOTES
*1*- As you can tell by his response, Kusa/Draconis was less than thrilled about Ryuji/Skull's initial suggestions for his code name. Granted, he may or may not have made a couple of references to other shows/movies when he corrected Ryuji/Skull.
*2*- Before anyone gets confused by Kusa/Draconis' 'Do I look like a platinum-blonde racist or Bakugan to you!?' comment to Ryuji/Skull, I've seen a lot of fanfics that make it relatively clear that Draco (and a lot of Slytherins and blood purists) using the word 'Mudblood' in the Harry Potter series is considered akin to being a racist so that explains the 'platinum-blonde racist' part of Kusa/Draconis' response to Ryuji/Skull's remark. Hopefully the Bakugan bit is a bit more obvious, at least to those reading this who've seen at least one season of Bakugan, or at least played a Bakugan video game.