Sumire didn't seem all too different from the other students that day. That is, If one ignored the fact she wore an obviously different tracksuit. Not that anyone would know. As she waited outside by the men's restroom door, she twirled her hair around her finger. Akira came out of the bathroom changed into his P.E uniform, consisting of red and white colors in contrast to Sumire's black and yellow.

Akira looked at her with a smile. "You ready to go?"

Sumire rolled her eyes. "To see Kamoshida stroke his ego or go expose him?"

"Yes."

"Who're you talkin' to?" Ryuji suddenly appeared.

Akira looked around like he was looking for an excuse. "Oh, um… Just talking to myself, about the plan, y'know?" He chuckled nervously.

Ryuji's face lit up. "Hell yeah! We're gonna expose that d-bag!"

The group went to the gym where the volleyball rally took place. The student team was unsurprisingly being obliterated by the adult team, especially with Kamoshida on the court.

"Look at his stupid smile," Ryuji began. "Can't believe he's getting away with all of that."

As Sumire watched, she suddenly got an idea.

"Wait, I'm a ghost!" Sumire exclaimed. "Akira, do you think I can possess him?"

Akira shrugged with a small, cheeky grin.

She went up to Kamoshida and dove straight through him. She yelped as she tripped over. She grumbled to herself at the attempt as she picked herself up.

Akira sighed. "Not even a slight chill? Lame…"

"Pssh, right?" Ryuji said.

Akira thought to himself. "Aw, man. Why do the ghosts in movies get all of these cool powers while she's just stuck with basic levitating and going through walls? Guess it can't be that easy…"

Sumire unknowingly found herself agreeing.

When she looked up, she saw a certain blond-haired girl amongst the sea of darker colors. She appeared aloof, perhaps somewhat forlorn. Her eyes were focused on anywhere but the court. She then thought about that cognition they saw in the Palace.

How could he look at someone like that?

Sumire flew over to Akira.

"Hey, look over there. Remember her?" Sumire asked, pointing toward Takamaki.

"Hm? Oh, it's that girl."

"Who?" Ryuji asked until he saw who Akira was referring to. "Oh, sticks out like a sore thumb, huh?"

Suddenly, gasps rang throughout the court. Akira, Sumire, and Ryuji looked up to see a student on the playing team fall backward, having been spiked in the face. Sumire ran over to see a blue-haired student lying on the ground before groaning at who she saw come up to him. Kamoshida went over to him with "concern" and passed him to another student to take to the nurse's office.

The ball rolled over to Ryuji, who picked up and threw back into the court. "He'll pay soon enough…"

When the rally ended, Akira and Ryuji split up to find any volleyball team members they could. They were able to find the volleyball members quickly, thanks to Sumire. While finding them was the easy part, getting them to talk was useless. Akira and Ryuji failed to get any of the victims to speak. They agreed to meet back in the courtyard.

"Mishima…" Sumire mused aloud. "Isn't he in your class?"

"Really? Don't remember a Mishima…" Akira said. "Oh, he has bandages all over his face, right?"

Sumire nodded. "Yes, that's him." She saw somebody approach from behind Akira. "Hey, behind you." Akira turned around and saw Takamaki.

"Were you talking to someone?" she asked. "I want to talk to you for a sec if that's okay."

Akira glanced at Sumire. "Sure, what's up?"

"It'll be quick," she said. "Anyway, what's with you? Like, how you were late the other day was a lie and all. There's that weird rumor about you too."

"Well, uh…"

Before he could think to say anything, Ryuji announced his presence. "Whaddya want with him?"

"Right back at you, you're not even in our class," Takamaki retorted. "Anyway, what're you planning on doing to Mr. Kamoshida?"

Ryuji seemed to be stunned for a moment. "Huh? I see… I getcha." He crossed his arms and glowered at her. "You're all buddy-buddy with Kamoshida after all. If you found out what he's been doin' behind your back, you'd dump him right away."

"Behind my back…?" Takamaki echoed under her breath. "Anyway, people are already talking about you two. I don't know what you're trying to pull, but no one's gonna help you. I'm warning you, just in case. That's all." With that said, she left.

"Well, these two clearly have some beef with each o-" Sumire began until she was interrupted.

"Why's she gotta be so aggressive all the time?" Ryuji grumbled, scuffing his shoe against the ground.

"Case in point," she said.

Akira shrugged. "You seem pretty familiar with her," he pointed out, addressing Ryuji.

"Huh? Nah, we just went to the same middle school," he stated dismissively. "Anyway, did ya get anything?"

"Middle school… I wonder what that was like." Sumire thought to herself.

Akira nodded. "Yeah, actually. Mishima, something about him getting 'special coaching or something'."

Ryuji raised a brow. "'Special coaching,' huh? True, I always see the guy covered in bruises. Let's go talk to him before he leaves then."

"Yeah, sounds good."

—————————

Sumire silently watched from the couch as Akira plopped onto his bed and let out a deep sigh. He stared absentmindedly into the ceiling as he recounted the day's events.

I don't know what you're trying to pull, but no one's gonna help you. I'm warning you, just in case. That's all.

Akira was trying to wrap his head around the situation.

"Nobody, huh?"

There's no point… Proving that he's physically abusing us… is meaningless.

Akira sighed. "Dammit, why does nobody want change?"

Sumire looked towards him. "Akira? Are you okay?"

Akira took a deep breath and breathed out heavily. "Just… frustrated is all.

Sumire was about to say something when Akira got a notification. Both of them immediately knew it was Ryuji.

Ryuji:

—Hey, this don't make any damn sense. The principal, the parents, literally everyone knows about the abuse! So why ain't anyone speaking up?

Akira:

—Nobody wants change. They're afraid to speak up. Kamoshida and volleyball gives the school its damn clout.

Ryuji:

—Even so, this ain't right at all! And that follower of his doesn't give one single shit…

"Takamaki?" Akira mused aloud.

"Don't know who else he could be referring to," Sumire said.

"Fair enough."

Akira:

—Takamaki?

Ryuji:

—Yeah, you should know her. What a bunch of bullshit! I ain't giving up, just you watch!

Akira:

—I hear you. We'll figure something out tomorrow.

With that conversation done, Akira set aside his phone and Sumire went back to the couch. They decided to just go to sleep and try to work it out with Ryuji tomorrow.

At noon that day during school, Akira's phone buzzed. Sumire floated out of her seat over to Akira's side.

Ryuji:

—So… about the witnesses.

Akira:

—Dude, pay attention to class.

"I could tell you the same thing," Sumire commented. Akira shot her a quick glare before going back to texting. "What? I'm just saying."

Ryuji:

—C'mon, just hear me out! I was thinking we could get something outta Takamaki, right?

Akira:

—You really think that's possible?

Ryuji:

—Just hold up, I thought about that too. Takamaki's BFFs with a starter on the team, her name's Suzui. I tried talking to her, but I got nothing. That's why we should have Takamaki talk to her.

Akira:

—Ryuji.

A moment of awkward silence passed with Akira intently staring at his phone and Sumire trying not to laugh.

Ryuji:

—Shit. Sorry, lemme see what else I can come up with.

—————————

Akira and Ryuji had agreed to meet at the usual spot after-school to discuss what to do. On the way there, Akira thought about their next course of action and wound up lagging behind Sumire a bit.

Suddenly, Sumire stopped. "Hey, look."

Akira snapped out of his thoughts and looked at who Sumire was pointing at. He recognized the girl; he saw her talking to Takamaki the other day and assumed that could be Suzui. Sumire and Akira looked at each other before nodding and Akira approached her.

Suzui looked sullen. Her head perked up at the sound of footsteps coming up to her and stopping. She turned around to see Akira. "I'm sorry, were you trying to get by?"

"Uh… no, it's my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going." He noticed the bruise above her eye and his stomach sank. "Are you okay?"

Suzui flinched and brushed her bangs like she tried to hide the bruise under them. "Um, well… Actually, could you be that student from class D?" she asked.

Akira paused for a brief moment before hesitantly nodding. "I… Y-yeah, I am…"

"Um, this might not be any of my business, but don't let the rumors get to you, okay?"

"Yeah, I know…" Akira sighed. His eyes wandered away and met Sumire's consoling ones.

"Akira, she'll understand," she said.

"Good, that'd be for the best," Suzui said. "My best friend is often misunderstood too…" Her eyes widened. " Ah, I didn't mean to drag on like that. Anyway, I have to go practice. I'll see you around."

As Suzui ran off, Akira tried reaching out to her. "Wait…" He pursed his lips and sighed. He looked at Sumire. "Sorry, I know, it's just…"

Sumire sighed. "Akira… It's okay. Let's go see Ryuji for now."

"Yeah…"

They went out into the courtyard and approached Ryuji, who seemed annoyed.

Akira cleared his throat. "Uh, hey… Did you find someone?"

"Is that what it looks like?" Ryuji grumbled. He slammed his fist against the vending machine, which caused both Akira and Sumire to flinch. "All of 'em kept sayin' the same shit Mishima was talkin' about! Kamoshida had to have told 'em somethin'. At this rate… We'll have to go to him directly…"

"And how would we go about doing that?" Akira asked.

"Yeah… How…?" Ryuji echoed.

Sumire hummed as she thought. "Can't you call the cops or something?"

"No… The cops wouldn't believe us…" Akira mumbled.

"How about a sneak attack?" she suggested, to which Akira raised a brow. "Actually, nevermind…"

Ryuji frowned. "There's that thing again, what're ya talkin' about?"

"I…" Akira looked for an excuse and remembered the Metaverse. "Hold up, have you ever wanted to overthrow a king?" he asked with a smirk.

"Huh? Wait… Would that—"

"I finally found you…"

Akira and Ryuji are confused by the voice. Sumire immediately looks toward the direction of the voice to see a cat.

The voice was high-pitched and vaguely familiar. Akira and Ryuji both looked around. Sumire looked behind them, where she thought the source of the voice was and saw a black cat marching toward them.

"Um…! Is that cat…?!" she gasped.

The cat jumped onto the table and raised its head indignantly. "Don't think you can get away with not paying me back for helping you. How dare you, up and leaving me the other day!"

Akira had a surprised expression, recognizing the voice. "Wait, hold on! Is that you, Morgana—"

"The cat's talkin'?!" Ryuji exclaimed.

Morgana glared at Ryuji. "I am not a cat! This just happened when I came to this world! You two gave a lot of trouble trying to find you."

Ryuji was then confused. "Wait, you came to our world?" He gasped. "Wait! Does that mean you've got a phone?"

Sumire floated around Morgana. Noticing her, he annoyedly swatted at her. "Where would he keep one? I don't think I see any pockets."

Akira raised his hand. "Hold on!" he said firmly, grabbing everyone's attention. "All that aside, I think we have more important matters to discuss." He looked at Morgana. "How you got here aside, why did you come here?"

Morgana calmed down and groomed himself. "Going straight for the main point, huh? I like that. Anyway, I heard you two were having some trouble. Akira here has the right idea… I could tell you a thing or two—"

Ryuji's eyes suddenly widened. "Ack! Quiet down!"

Everyone looks where he was looking to see members of the Disciplinary Committee outside looking for a cat. A cat specifically, meaning they didn't hear Morgana speak any real words.

Everyone quieted down and looked at what got Ryuji on edge. Not too far from them, two members of the Disciplinary Committee were searching for a cat apparently. What was particular about this was that they specified a cat even though Morgana was able to speak.

Ryuji was confused. "Hold up, so only us two can understand what you're sayin'?"

"Looks like it," Morgana said casually.

"Anyway, if what you're sayin' is for real, then tell us more. Although this definitely ain't the best place." He grabbed Morgana by the collar, who yowled with displeasure. He thrust him toward a bewildered Akira. "Here, stick it in your bag for now and follow me."

"Wait, what?!" Akira exclaimed.

Morgana struggled within Ryuji's grasp. "Hey! How dare you treat me like an animal!" he yowled indignantly.

Sumire facepalmed. "Oh, brother…" she sighed.

—————————

"Change of heart, huh? And the risk of him dying…" Akira mused.

"Do you think it's worth the risk?" Sumire pondered. "I mean, as much as I hate him, I don't want to wish death on anyone because… y'know. I mean, what if we run into him as a ghost or something?"

Akira stared at her. "Not very assuring… But yeah, fair enough. As Ryuji said, we wouldn't be any better than him if we killed him. Anyway, it's a surprise Morgana can come here. Dunno why I'm even remotely surprised he looks like a regular cat."

Sumire nodded. "That reminds me, before we met, I tried sleeping with a group of stray cats for a night. It was nice for what it was, but it was way too loud and there was the occasional dead animal, so I had to move out."

Akira chuckled. "Maybe you were a cat person in your life?"

"Maybe, I did that since I was pretty much like a stray cat back then anyway. No home, no acknowledgement by people, and sleeping wherever I could."

As they changed trains for Yongen-Jaya, they heard someone angrily shouting, drawing their attention to Takamaki. She was on the phone, arguing with someone. Both of them stopped and heard the ongoing conversation.

"Wait, what?! That's not what you promised! And you call yourself a teacher?! This has nothing to do with Shiho!" she bellowed. Teacher? Akira and Sumire shared a look. It had to be Kamoshida. Then she looked stunned and her arm dropped. She crouched down, tucking her head into herself. "Shiho's starting position…"

Akira looked at Sumire. "Do you think that was…"

"I definitely hope not, but maybe you should go talk to her…"

Akira exhaled and approached Takamaki. "Hey, are you-"

Takamaki shot up, startled. "Wh- Were you listening?" she asked pointedly.

Akira flinched. "Ah, um… Not intentionally sorry…"

Takamaki scoffed. "Haven't you heard of privacy?" She pushed her irritation away with a deep sigh." "No, sorry I… Just forget this ever happened." She ran into the train station.

Akira instantly bolted right after her. "Wait, hold on!"

"Akira! Wait up!" Sumire shouted as she flew after him.

It was difficult trying to weave through all the people taking the commute. Nevertheless, he was able to keep her in sight, mostly thanks to how her hair stuck out. He caught up to her leaning against a column, presumably thinking that she got away from him. When Akira came up to her and called her name, she snapped her head at him, annoyed.

"Stop following me! Just leave me alone!" she shouted with a scowl.

Akira took a step back and raised his hands. "Hey, just calm down. It's okay. If you really want me to leave, then I'll just go, but something's definitely wrong."

She leaned against the column, wiped her forehead and let out an exasperated sigh. "I- Just leave me alone, I…" She slid down the column, covering her tear-streaked face. "Why... What the heck…?"

Akira warily looked around to see some bystanders observing. He kneeled down and gently tapped her shoulder. "C'mon, let's head somewhere safe."

—————————

Admittedly, he didn't know too much about Tokyo yet. He just took her far from the station which wound them up at the central street and they went into the first building Akira thought to enter, a Big Bang Burger restaurant. They sat opposite from each other while Sumire sat next to Takamaki in the booth since there wasn't anywhere else. It was a little cramped for her, but she could manage.

"On the phone, that was Kamoshida, wasn't it?" Akira stated.

Takamaki forced herself to form eye-contact with Akira. "So you heard every last word then… You heard the rumors, haven't you?" She stared ahead despondently, fingering the napkin on her side of the table.

"About Mr. Kamoshida. Everyone says we're getting it on, but that's so not true. That was him on the other line… I avoided giving him my number for the longest time… He told me to go to his place after this. You know what that means." She crumpled the napkin in a tight grip. "If I turn him down, he said he'd take my friend off as a regular on the team. I've been telling myself this is all for Shiho's sake… I can't take it anymore." Her voice was cracking. "I've had enough of this! I hate him! But still, Shiho's my best friend. She's all I have left at that sorry excuse of a school! Tell me, what am I supposed to do?"

Akira listened silently, doing his best to maintain eye-contact. He wanted to say something, but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat. It was frustrating. He clawed his pants tightly, having nothing to say.

Takamaki wiped a tear from her face. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked. It's not your problem…" She sighed, covering her forehead with a hand. "What… What am I saying? I've barely even talked to you before…"

Akira sheepishly rubbed his nape. "Well, uh… Sorry for…"

Takamaki shook her head. "No, it's fine… Are you really a bad person? I've heard people talk about you, but I'm just not seeing it."

Akira chuckled. "Well, what can I say? I'm bad to the bone."

Sumire facepalmed.

Takamaki laughed wryly. "Is that supposed to be a joke?" She frowned. "I kinda had a feeling the rumors were just exaggerations… Actually, Shiho mentioned you, when school ended that day. She told me to at least give you a chance like she did for me. I couldn't say no to her. If anything, I'd be a total hypocrite if I did. So... Like you were there for me, you have someone on your side now, so lighten up."

Akira rolled his eyes. "I wasn't the one breaking down just now," he said with a hint of snark.

Takamaki winced. "Okay, fair enough… But ouch…"

Sumire glared at Akira,

"Um, uh… Sorry…" he apologized in a whisper.

Takamaki giggled. "C'mon, I said to lighten up!" She sighed. "Still, I wish he'd just change his mind… Like, forget about me, and everything… As if something like that would ever happen."

Akira smirked. "I thought you said to lighten up. Who knows what could happen?"

Takamaki returned a small grin. "I wasn't asking for a serious response, but I do feel a bit better now." She slid out of the booth, taking her drink with her. "I'm gonna head home now. Don't tell anyone what I told you, okay?"

"Could tell you the same," Akira quipped.

"Hah, fair enough. Don't worry about me, I'll think of something. Well… Thanks." Akira silently watched as she left, but was surprised she suddenly turned around. "It's Ann by the way, Takamaki Ann. You can just call me Ann." With that, she left.

"Takamaki Ann… She sure is something, isn't she?"

Akira nodded. "Yeah, shouldering all that burden on her own."

Sumire smiled. "All the more reason to take Kamoshida down, right?"

Akira frowned. "Yeah… Let's get out of here."

—————————

"Hey, Akira?" Sumire called. Akira stopped and looked back. Talking to a ghost in the dark streets of Yongen-Jaya, it would've been a bit creepy. Would've been.

"What's up?"

"Do you think I had any friends? I mean, I sure hope I did, but… What do you think they were like?"

Akira frowned. "Where's this coming from? Not like I can tell you."

Sumire sighed. "I'm just worried about Shiho, that's all. After all that's happened so far, I'm worried about my own friends, if I had any. Who knows what my friends are doing? Are they okay? I just… want to know because… y'know… seeing as I was probably an athlete."

"I see… As much as I'd like to give you a real answer, I can't really say much, huh?"

Sumire shook her head. "That's fine. I know you can't. I just needed to let that out, so thanks. Thanks for being there."

Akira shook his head. "Nah, thank YOU for being there. Honestly, with all the crap that's gone down, I think I'd have lost my mind by now if I didn't have you or Ryuji. Hell, even Ann now. Actually, speaking of Shiho, having you there made it so much easier to talk to her, so thanks for that."

Sumire smiled softly. "I see… Thank you."

"No, thank- You know what? I'm not starting that."

They both laughed, with Akira reaching for Sumire's head, who flinched away. Not that what he wanted to do would've worked. They still got a good laugh out of it too, though.

Akira nodded. "Hm, maybe I was right about you being a guardian angel."

Sumire stared at him confused. "What?"

Akira waved his hand dismissively. "Just a dumb thing I thought about just after meeting you, don't take it seriously… or not. Anyway, we'll save them. I know we will. If any of your friends are suffering, then all the more reason to take down corrupt people like Kamoshida, right?"