~Chapter 14~
Akira was totally not pouting at the fact that not only Minato could transform in the real world without the navigation app, he also had this 'I don't care' and smug look on his face the whole time, even while explaining the circumstances behind his new discovery.
"I still think you are bullshitting me though."
"Beats me." Minato shrugged while admiring his costume. Akira sighed before activating the app and bringing both of them to the Metaverse version of their room. The cognition was almost nonexistent here but it served his purpose. The moment the world shifted, Akira was engulfed in flames and transformed into Joker. Minato looked up and down at his roommate and then his own before saying simply.
"Mine is cooler."
"Keep dreaming, bud. Anyway, this weird subspace…dimension…thing around you is Metaverse, kinda Dark Hour but revolves around human cognition. You need the app to entire it, though some special people can enter and leave at will. I'm not one of them. Usually, how the Metaverse looks is based on the most powerful cognition in the area, a.k.a You. If you imagine the room as your spaceship, castle, museum or a fucking cruise, it will warp into that imagination. Then, the room will become a Palace or a Turf as I like to call with you as its Ruler."
"But why this room still looks so normal? It is basically the same thing with weird red cracks on walls. I can promise you that I'm not high on drug."
"Can't say for sure but I think the Metaverse right now is not fully dependent on cognition but just…exists? Even the streets are more or less the same: red cracks or veins. Now, about your costume…"
As Akira was explaining how Minato's Thief outfit represented his will of rebellion, the latter was getting a better feel of it. A product of cognition, yet feel so real. The waistcoat looked like it could tank one or two direct hit and would not deform. The fabric appeared to hug his body tight but he could move around easily, as if the tightness didn't even exist.
One thing Minato noticed though and that was the white mask on Akira's face.
"This is my first method of summoning a Persona. Red Rider!" The mask burst into flames and the cackling Horsemen of War appeared behind Akira. He dismissed him immediately as the rider was poking at things he wasn't allowed to with his sword.
"Ahem, moving on. You don't have to possess a Mask to call forth your Persona. It depends on the environment the Persona user first awakened. Mine was inside the Metaverse and yours was during the Dark Hour with the Evoker as medium. I can even do the summoning with willpower so it's just the matter of preference. The mask is much more convenient since it doesn't hurt your brain or force you to basically commit suicide."
Akira squinted, trying to look for a different detail on Minato's waistcoat that could distinguish it and Akira's but there was none except the color. He even knocked the surface on both twice and they yielded the same result.
"That still doesn't explain why your coat looks and feels like mine."
"Long nose said that I got this after initiating your Social Link. Maybe it will change in the future?"
"Not sure about this but." Akira brought them back to the real world and yawned. "I'm beat. Let's just go to sleep."
"Now you mention it, you're right." And Minato just fell to the bed like a dead man.
Next day, as they were riding the train to Gekkoukan, Akira whispered to Minato as Yukari and Junepi were sitting nearby that he should not show the outfit to the others, not until the former determined how it functioned in the Dark Hour. Minato shrugged and returned to gazing the sea outside.
The school went on pretty smoothly with Junpei declaring that he was 100% at perfect state and wanted to go to Tartarus tonight. Yukari had to cover his mouth from shouting out more sensitive information.
"Akira, you gotta teach me how to shoot." Junpei turned to Akira, who was munching his bread. He was understandably skeptical about the goatee.
"And let you blow your head off after mistaking the Evoker with a handgun? Not a chance, dude."
"Bro you wounded me!"
"…Nodachi." Minato muttered loud enough for them to hear, looking at the image of an Edo-era Nodachi in his History book. Akira snapped his fingers as this reminded him of something and turned to Yukari.
"Isn't there an armory in our dorm?"
"Yeah, it has most of the basic weapons possible. What's up with that?"
Akira switched to Junpei.
"You, Minato and me will watch those 'how to fight with katana' videos for the rest of the night. You swing your katana like a goddamn baseball bat, Minato and I want to try it so it benefits all of us. Minato?" The boy in question shrugged, mouthing 'whatever'. That left Junpei, who was a bit insulted at how Akira described his 'swordsmanship'.
"Well, I'm bored anyways so bring it on."
"Nice. I will ask Kirijo-senpai to expand the basement so we can practice later."
The boys bid goodbye to Yukari, who went to the archery club, and hit the Hagakure Ramen for early dinner before heading back to the dormitory. Minato turned on his laptop and opened a bunch of YourTube videos as Junpei grabbed his snacks from his room and Akira talked with Mitsuru downstairs.
"I suppose I can ask the chairman to make use of the basement for this." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you sure you only use it as training ground and not for whatever nefarious plots in your head?"
Akira gasped, clutching his chest dramatically. "How CRUEL, Senpai! What did I do to earn such a heartbreaking question from you?!"
"Must I list them out for you?" Her tone was cold and dangerous. Akira dropped his act and laughed heartily.
"Aw relax! Me and the boys, 'cept Sanada-senpai, just want a place to horn our skills! What can possibly go wrong?"
Turned out after watching a dozen of movie clips, Junpei got pumped up and went back to his room to try the flashy katana moves. Needless to say, there was a lot of breaking sounds coming from the walls.
As Dark Hour kicked in, Minato and Akira sneaked out using the Metaverse and used it as training ground for Minato, primarily how to use his Thief power. His physical strength, endurance and agility were enhanced without directly invoking Orpheus. Minato was well-round like Akira in his early days so the latter let him jump around to get a better feel of his new body state, although Minato did little and preferred to stay in one place or move slowly and evade when necessary. Not a bad thing in Akira's book but inappropriate as a Thief.
Minato did his trademark 'I don't care' shrug before Akira could say anything. Akira was unimpressed and cocked his gun, drawing his roommate's attention.
"Try and dodge this for half an hour."
Half an hour later, Minato was on the ground panting. He only got few shots in the legs and chest while having successfully escaped from Akira's relentless barrage. Said teen was tending to his sore finger after pulling the trigger nonstop. They exited the Metaverse at the same time the sky went black again.
Akira threw an energy drink can at Minato.
"Here, drink it. You can sleep soundly and wake up in time in the morning."
Thanks."
"Interesting… So the Messiah is leeching off his power. Our power." Faust mused after witnessing the training from the shadows of the room. He sunk into the darkness and reappeared outside on the rooftop of the dormitory. The chilling breeze of midnight washed over his face, now unmasked to reveal an Akira with golden iris. His left eye was completely gone, as if it didn't even exist in the first place. A large jagged scar was there instead.
"Filthy Usurper, I have finally found you." A loud, booming masculine voice spoke up from the sky. Faust's only eye looked up to see an angel covered in yellow feathers and armed with a majestic sword.
"Doing errands for dear Ariel again? Tell that mofo to suck his own dick and die."
"Such disgusting words… You have fallen too deep O Beloved Son of God. As his sword and executor, I shall make you repent for your sins."
Faust snorted as the Angel lunged at him with killing intent.
"You angels taste horrible but." He caught the sword with two fingers, tightened the grip until it broke into many pieces and plunged his other hand through the Angel. "This will do. Bon appétit." Before sinking his teeth into the spasming angel.
Next day, Akira woke up with a surprisingly good mood, to his surprise. He was never a morning person but today seemed to be an exception. It was still 5:00 AM, way too early, so he decided to take a jog around the area with Akihiko, who regularly woke up at this hour and did the same thing. They chatted about trivial topics before Akira decided to ask for something more personal.
"What's your reason to join SEES, Senpai?"
"Reason, huh?" Akihiko briefly closed his eyes, remembering those days in the orphanage, the fire, Shinji and present. "Power, I think."
"You think?" Akira almost snorted, but stayed quiet to appear respectful. The senior seemed to catch that, however.
"Laugh all you want. In this world, without power, you are nothing." He grimaced. "Back then, I was too weak to protect her. Later on, I was still too weak to stop my friend from committing murder."
'Now that's interesting.' Akira smirked internally, having successfully baited Akihiko into revealing his past. He told the boxer about his own backstory, with modifications of course. A down-to-earth normal kid who just wanted to impress his parents that tried to be a decent human being by helping a woman in distress and got arrested for that; just like what was written in his forged documents.
"The world is unjust, yes, but I still managed to look past that and live on. You should too, Senpai, or that desire may end up killing you." Akira said, thinking about Goro Akechi and his quest of vengeance before sprinting ahead. The last part made Akihiko pause and rethink of his choices in life.
